Tagged: Rich Harden

Chicago Cubs 2009 Offseason: Has The Team Improved?

On Monday, the Cubs inked
Milton Bradley to a three-year deal in what is the latest of a flurry
of offseason moves by GM Jim Hendry.  With the addition of Bradley, the
Cubs’ lineup takes on a slightly different feel.  Below is a quick look.

Lineup A:

SS Ryan Theriot

LF Alfonso Soriano

1B Derrek Lee

3B Aramis Ramirez

RF Kosuke Fukudome

2B Mark DeRosa

C Geovany Soto

CF Felix Pie

P Carlos Zambrano

CL Kerry Wood

Bench: Daryle Ward, Reed Johnson, Mike Fontenot, Henry Blanco, Ronny Cedeno

Lineup B:

LF Alfonso Soriano

SS Ryan Theriot

1B Derrek Lee

3B Aramis Ramirez

RF Milton Bradley

C Geovany Soto

2B Mike Fontenot

CF Kosuke Fukudome

P Carlos Zambrano

CL Carlos Marmol

Bench: Daryle Ward (I’d prefer Micah Hoffpauir), Reed Johnson, Aaron Miles, Paul Bako, Joey Gathright

If you’re a Chicago Cubs fan, you know Lineup A is from Opening Day
2008.  After Monday’s signing of outfielder Milton Bradley, Lineup B is
my projection for Lou Piniella’s team for the 2009 season (against a
right-handed starter). 

Looking at these two lineups, after all their recent offseason
maneuvers, is the current version of the Cubs an improvement at all
from the team swept in the 2008 NLDS? 

OFFENSE

In the starting lineup, Felix Pie and Mark DeRosa have been replaced
by Milton Bradley and Mike Fontenot.  Bradley is clearly an upgrade to
Reed Johnson/Jim Edmonds/Felix Pie at the plate, and can switch-hit,
but defensively the drop is much more significant. 

As everyone under the sun has noted, Bradley has rarely ever played
over 100 games in the field, and his health concerns are a large
liability.  Fontenot provides Piniella with a nice left-handed
alternative in the lineup, but the versatility lost in the field by
trading DeRosa is enormous. 

I know, I know, that’s where the bench comes in.  Aaron Miles
can play 2B, SS, 3B (kind of), and OF. Reed Johnson and Joey Gathright
can play multiple outfield positions, but Ward (or Hoffpauir) and Bako
are one-position guys.  Defensively, the bench is very similar to 2008,
but offensively it has dropped. 

Sure Aaron Miles hit .315 last year, but that’s the only time he has
hit above .300 in his career (not including his 4-for-12 season with
the White Sox in 2003).  Last season was Joey Gathright’s first above
100 games played, and he has also only hit above .300 once in his
career (2007). 

Paul Bako previously played for the Cubs, and he is no Hank White, I
can tell you that.  Bako’s career batting average is .231, with a
career high of .272 way back in 1998.

PITCHING

2008 Starting Rotation – Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster, Rich Hill, Jason Marquis

2009 Starting Rotation – Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden, Jeff Samardzija / Sean Marshall

So before you think I’m all negative, the starting rotation has
clearly improved.  Last season’s midseason acquisition of Rich Harden
and this season’s preseason trade of Jason Marquis make the Cubs’
rotation one of, if not the most formidable in the National League.

An addition of Jake Peavy would only make the case for this being
one of the best starting rotations in history, so I don’t see much more
analysis needed here.

2008 Bullpen – Kevin Hart, Kerry Wood (CL), Carlos Marmol,
Bob Howry, Carmen Pignatiello, Michael Wuertz, Jon Lieber (Scott Eyre
and Angel Guzman on DL)

2009 Bullpen – Jeff Samardzija / Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol (CL), Chad Gaudin, Neal Cotts, Kevin Hart, Kevin Gregg, Luis Vizcaino

The bullpen suffers an immediate hit as Carlos Marmol is moved from
set-up man to closer.  Marmol is an amazing pitcher, and his 114
strikeouts in just 87.1 IP last year is unheard of.  He was one of the
main reasons the Cubs got so many save opportunities last year. 

But can Marmol hold up under the pressure of the ninth inning?  Will
Cubs fans turn on him as they did during his bad slump during the 2008
season?

On top of that, who gets him the ball in the ninth inning with the
lead?  “Proven” veterans Chad Gaudin and Neal Cotts?  Young gun Kevin
Hart?  Newly acquired Kevin Gregg or Luis Vizcaino?  I’m glad we have a
potential lights-out closer in Marmol, but we can’t count on our
starters to go eight innings every game to give him a lead to work with.

OVERALL

Lineup – Advantage: Even

The 2009 Lineup is better in terms of balance and power, but defensively the 2008 lineup is superior.

Bench – Advantage: 2008

Paul Bako pretty much says it all. 

Starting Pitching – Advantage: 2009

Plus Rich Harden, minus Jason Marquis = Advantage 2009

Bullpen – Advantage: 2008

In both years we have an unproven closer, but in 2008 Wood had Marmol.

Overall– Advantage: TBD

Before you write this off as a cop-out answer let me make one
point.  There is virtually no way the Cubs can improve on the regular
season of 2008. Anything less than a division title (and the best
record in the NL) would be a huge disappointment.  There is literally
no way the Cubs can have a worse postseason than 2008.  None.  So only
October will truly be able to tell whether or not these moves have made
a difference.

Time to Panic?

Black Cat.jpgI keep reading about and hearing about how much this season resembles 1969.  Well I wasn’t alive then, and I don’t particularly want to think about any similarities between the two seasons.  But some say that the comparison does raise the question, is it time to be worried?  If you’re reading this and you’re a Cubs fan, then you already know the answer.  If you’re not a Cub fan, let me inform you that we, as a fan base, are always worried.  It could be April 2nd or September 27th and we would be equally as worried about our chances to go all the way. It’s something that never leaves a true Cubs fan.  Yes, the current slide where we have lost 7 of 8 (including 2 of 3 to our final cupcake opponent of the season) is somewhat troubling, but Milwaukee keeps losing and we still have a 4-game cushion for the best record in the entire NL and the second most wins in the entire MLB. 

And yes, the remaining schedule is a killer.  13 out of 19 games on the road and all against teams above .500 who still have something to play for.  6 each versus St. Louis and Milwaukee.  That may be frightening to some, but the way I see it is that the Cubs have their destiny in their hands.  Scoreboard watching will basically not come into play, which means the Cubs can decide their own fate.  Actually, I take it back, that is pretty frightening.

On top of all this, two of the Cubs top starting pitchers are having arm troubles.  And, no, I didn’t say top two because I think Ryan Dempster has been the ace of the staff all year long and should start game 1 of a potential NLDS at Wrigley.  I, like all other fans, will be worried about them, but I see no way that Big Z misses any starts in a potential October, or late September if the race tightens.  Harden is another story, and I say that as long as we have this cushion of 3+ games we give him as much time as he needs to rest up. 

So where does all of that leave us?  An 86-57 record, 4 game lead in the NL Central and 7 game lead on a playoff spot, with less than 3 weeks left in the regular season.  Not knowing anything else I’m pretty sure any Cubs fan would take that in a heartbeat. 

A Look Back

The Cubs enter into a series against Philadelphia tonight in their first battle against a potential playoff team in 3 weeks (4 if you don’t count St. Louis).  The Cubs take a major league best 83-50 record into tonight’s game, having won 5 in a row, 13 of their last 14 on the road, and unbelievably 9 straight series dating back the 4 game sweep of the Brewers in Miller Park.  Here at CubBlog, we feel it is our duty to remind all you Cub fans of how we got to this unfamiliar place by looking back at some of the games that you may or may not remember, but were crucial in getting the Cubs to where they are today.

In Chronological Order:

1.  April 5th vs. Houston
After dropping 2 of 3 to Milwaukee to start the year and the first game of the series to Houston the day before, the Cubs were in danger of dropping to 1-4 on the year as they trailed the Astros 5-3 going into the bottom of the 7th inning with Astros ace Roy Oswalt still on the hill.  The Cubs scratched out a run on a walk, infield single and 2 ground outs before Derrek Lee tied it with a single and the legend of Kosuke Fukudome grew even larger when he hit a tie breaking 2-run double to give the Cubs the lead and chase Oswalt from the game.  The Cubs needed all the insurance they could get, holding on to win 9-7.  The Cubs went on to win 4 straight after that, including our number 2 game below.

2.  April 7th / 9th @ Pittsburgh:
The Cubs were lucky to have a day off between these games, as they played enough innings in these two to last them a 3rd game.  After going 2-8 in extra inning games in 2007, the Cubs took game 1 in 12 innings and game 2 in 15, blowing a 1-run lead in the 9th and a 2-run lead in the 14th before Felix Pie (a name we won’t hear much more this year) knocked a 2-run single with the bases loaded in the 15th.  In a theme we will see more of this year, Sean Marshall did whatever the team needed, making an appearance out of the bullpen and picking up his first career save in the 2nd game.

3.  May 11th vs. Arizona
It was a cold, dreary, rainy Mother’s Day in Chicago, and the Cubs were going for a sweep of the Diamondbacks.  Although they had completed a 2-game sweep of the Mets in April, many touted this series as the Cubs first real test against a contending team.  After beating Dan Haren in game 1 and coming from behind against the DBacks’ pen in game 2, Carlos Zambrano was slated to face off against Randy Johnson in game 3, but the weather forced both managers to take precautions, and those of us in the stands were left to see Sean Gallagher face Edgar Gonzalez. What ensued was the Cubs’ second straight come from behind victory, with Reed Johnson hitting his first HR as Cub to tie the game in the 7th and Daryle Ward coming through in the 8th with a huge 2-run double with the bases loaded off the bench.   Marmol and Wood each pitched a perfect inning and the Cubs swept the NL-best (at the time) DBacks. 

4.  May 30th vs. Colorado
The Comeback.  If you’re a Cubs fan you should already be replaying this game in your head, it’s that unforgettable.  With the wind blowing out and Ted “Gopher Ball” Lilly on the mound, the Rockies built an 8-0 lead after 4 innings and had a 9-1 advantage going into the bottom of 6th.  That’s when Cubs fans around the country (and maybe even world) started to believe.  Fukudome drove one the opposite way for a 2-run bomb, new Cub (or should I say former Cardinal) Jim Edmonds drove a solo blast to center, Henry Blanco hit his first homer since 2006 to make it 9-6, Edmonds drove a 2-run double to center and then scored on Mark DeRosa’s HR to give the Cubs a 10-9 lead that they held onto.  What added to the incredibility of this game was that Theriot and Ramirez both had the day off, and Lee and Soto were each removed in the top of the 6th.  Since it was a Friday day game, I didn’t get a chance to watch it live (Pat and Ron did a superb job), but this was one of a few games that I stayed up to watch the replay on Comcast at 1 AM.

5.  June 20th vs. White Sox
The Cubs arrived home after a 6-game road trip that took a detour through Cooperstown, having been handed their first 3-game losing streak of the season courtesy of a sweep by the Rays.  Following up the Thursday night game with the traditional Friday day game at Wrigley, the Cubs faced off against their crosstown rivals with both teams in first place, adding hype to a series that really didn’t need any more.  The Cubs scored first in this one, with Derrek Lee taking another 2 on, no-out situation and turning it into a 1-0 lead with a double play.  “Gopher Ball”  Lilly then struck again, allowing an absolute bomb to Jermaine Dye in the second and a 2-run shot to A.J. Pierzwhatshisface in the 3rd to give the Sox a 3-1 lead.  It remained that way through 6, with John Danks limiting the Cubs to just 5 hits on only 85 pitches when Ozzie Guillen removed him for a pinch hitter in the top of the 7th.  Although pinch-hitter Juan Uribe singled, the Sox failed to score, and Octavio Dotel came in to pitch the bottom of the inning.  Something like 3 pitches later, the game was tied at 3 as Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez went back-to-back, winning some lucky WGN Radio listener $7,000 in the back-to-back jacks game.  After an an uneventful 8th and top of the 9th, Aramis Ramirez came up again in the bottom and took Scott Linebrink’s 2nd pitch into the center field shrubbery for a walk-off homer, which sparked the eventual sweep of the South siders.

6.  July 12th vs. San Francisco
This was the shining debut of Rich Harden and the unraveling of Carlos Marmol.  Who knew a blister on Kerry Wood’s finger would end up meaning so much to this season?  Harden struck out 10 in 5.1 scoreless innings in his debut, but the Cubs pen blew a 7-0 lead, including 5 runs allowed in the 9th by Carlos Marmol during his really really really bad stretch.  That guy Sean Marshall came up huge again, pitching 2 perfect innings of relief and then hitting a leadoff single in the 11th which led to the game-winning run.  A loss here would have been awful for the Cubs’, especially Marmol’s confidence going into the break, but this year’s team just managed to pull another one out. 

7.  July 23rd @ Arizona
The game that started the Cubs on their current hot streak on the road is not coincidentally the same game that saw Alfonso Soriano return to the top of the lineup after missing nearly 6 weeks with a broken finger.  Fonzie went just 1-5 with an RBI, but the Cubs offense exploded for 10 runs, including an 8th-inning grand slam from Reed Johnson which proved to be valuable insurance as the Cubs went on to win 10-6.  Ted Lilly helped his own cause with a game-tying RBI single in the 5th, and pitched 6 strong innings in a quality start, a trend which he would continue through the rest of July and August.  The Cubs 6-run outburst in the 8th inning also added to 2 more common themes, the Cubs scoring lots of runs in the late innings (7th and 8th in particular) and leading the league in innings which they post 5 or more runs on the board (currently at 25, 2nd place at 17).

8.  July 27th vs. Florida
This Sunday afternoon game saw the Cubs coming off 2 straight 3-2 losses at home in which they had blown leads and wasted good outings from starters.  Naturally, that meant Jason Marquis was on the bump and promptly served up a 5-0 lead to the Marlins.  At this point, the Cubs were tied with the Brewers in the division, and were traveling to Milwaukee for a big 4-game series the next day.  Alfonso Soriano would have none of it, scoring the Cubs first run in the 3rd and tying the game at 5 with a 3-run opposite field homer in the 4th.  After Marquis gave up the lead again on a Dan Uggla bomb that still hasn’t landed, Derrek Lee tied it with a homer and
Mike Fontenot hit a bases clearing double to give the Cubs a 9-6 win.  Going into the series at Milwaukee up by a game rather than down made a huge difference, especially in the very next game on our list.

9.  July 28th vs. Milwaukee
A game in July that felt like a game in September.  The first of 4 at Miller Park with just 1 game separating the two teams.  The new ace of the Milwaukee staff was on the hill, but the Cubs struck early thanks to Alfonso Soriano, who doubled and scored in the first and homered in the 3rd.  “Gopher Ball” Lilly pitched great for 5 innings, but baseball games last 9, and he fell apart in the 6th, allowing 3 runs (including back to back jacks) to surrender the lead.  Then this Cubs team showed why this year feels different then all the years past.  Instead of rolling over, the Cubs fought to load the bases with one out in the top of the next frame.  Derrek (league leader in double plays) Lee stepped to the plate and hit a tailor made ball.  Reed Johnson hustled into second, slid into Rickie Weeks, who promptly threw the ball past Prince Fielder and two runs scored to give the Cubs the 4-3 lead.  Although Bobby Howry would surrender the lead, the Cubs scored 2 in the top of the 9th against the Brewers “closer” Solomon Torres and took game 1 of what would turn into a crucial 4-game sweep.

10.  August 8th vs. St. Louis
The Edmonds game.  How else can you title a game where a guy hits 2 homers against his former team and throws the bat at the visitor’s dugout after the first one?  After giving the Cubs a 1-0 lead with a homer in the first, Jim Edmonds stepped to the plate with the Cubs trailing 2-1 in the 8th and promptly cracked his 2nd of the game, adding to the Cardinals league-leading blown save total.  What might be overlooked in this game was the Cubs’ pen, who allowed only 1 hit in 3.2 IP, allowing for the game winning single by Hank White (aka Henry Blanco) in the bottom of the 11th. 

11. August 27th vs. Pittsburgh
Yes it was only 2 days ago, but it is the perfect example of how this club is a 25-man team.  The Cubs’ 5th and most inconsistent starter, Jason Marquis, was on the hill, and held the same Pirates that lit up Carlos Zambrano a night earlier to just 5 hits in 7 innings.  Meanwhile, a combined 0-for-6 from Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez meant runs would have to come from elsewhere.  Tied at 0 in the 7th, Reed Johnson (aka Mr. Hustle) led off with a perfect bunt single.  DeRosa kept the hot hand going by doubling him to 3rd, where Reed then hustled home on a grounder by Ronny Cedeno.  Next up was Henry Blanco, playing in place of Soto who had 7 RBI the night before.  I can’t say it was a perfectly executed squeeze, but the popped up bunt got the job done to score DeRosa and give the Cubs that insurance run they needed to get a rare win when scoring less than 4 runs.

mlb_g_cubs_sw_412.jpgAs I complete this article, the Cubs have just pulled off another come from behind late innings dramatic 5-run inning everyone contributes victory, beating the Phillies 6-4 thanks to an 8th inning grand slam by Aramis Ramirez.  It’s hard to believe that all the games I just wrote about involved wins by THE CUBS, but that’s what makes this year’s team so special.  Let’s hope it continues into September, where the Cubs play 25 of their remaining 28 games at teams currently above .500.  Should be exciting.

Dueling Aces

On Monday, CC Sabathia put on another show in Milwaukee, going the distance while giving up just 2 earned runs to improve to 8-0 in 9 starts since being acquired by the Brewers in early July.  Not to be outdone, however, Rich Harden helped the Cubs win on Tuesday by going 7 shutout innings, giving up just 2 singles and walking none en route to his 3rd win as a Cub.

Which pitcher has had a bigger impact?  Can it even be quantified?  Let’s find out.
(And, no, the “bigger” was not a reference to CC’s size)

capt.a32e5ad9877c4ca39cdd806f0a07bf35.astros_brewers_baseball_widh101.jpgOverall with Milwaukee, Sabathia has thrown 73 innings in 9 starts, averaging just over 8 IP per game.  He has had only one start in which he did not finish 7 innings, which not surprisingly was his only no-decision for the Brewers (although I can’t seem to remember who that was against…)  In that department he trumps Harden, who has been removed after 5 IP a number of times as the Cubs try to protect his arm.  We all know how that worked out in his first start with the Cubs (See Here).  Harden has gone 42 IP in his 7 starts, an average of 6 per game. The impact on the bullpen is tremendous, as anytime Milwaukee can keep theirs from coming into the game it definitely improves their chances of winning.  6 IP will qualify as a quality start, so the Cubs can’t complain if they get it every time out from Harden.  And something tells me he will be able to find some extra in the tank come the stretch run and hopefully October. 

In those 42 innings with the Cubs, Harden has allowed just 40 baserunners (26 hits and 14 BB), equating to a WHIP of 0.95.  Amazingly, 5 of those walks came in the win against Atlanta, and 3 were back-to-back-to-back in the 2nd inning.  Sabathia has been nearly as good in that department, allowing just 75 baserunners in 73 IP (1.03 WHIP).     In terms of ERA, both have been outstanding, with Harden’s at 1.50 and Sabathia at 1.60.  If you discount Harden’s outing against Houston where he allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits, his other 6 outings consist of 3 where he allowed 1 ER and 3 where he allowed 0, which equates to just 3 runs in 37.2 IP!  As much as I like Sean Gallagher, no way he puts up those numbers.  While Sabathia’s individual game lines aren’t always as pretty, he has thrown 5 CGs (including 3 in a row).

capt.6dc2b9809098493985c61eb2c1b63371.reds_cubs_baseball_cxc101.jpgThe one area in which Sabathia clearly trumps Harden is at the plate.  CC loves to hit, plain and simple, and he has shown that by going 6-for-28 (.214) with 1 HR and 4 RBI since joining the Crew.  Harden still looks like he is getting adjusted to batting, but did get his first career RBI on Tuesday (a big one at the time).  The impact of having a pitcher in the 9th (or 8th) spot in your order who can hit is huge.  I wish I knew how many more times Soriano batted with runners on when Zambrano was at the plate vs. the other pitchers, but I do know it definitely helps the guy batting in front of the pitcher if you can’t assume he will be the 3rd out.  

Overall, both players have had tremendous impacts on the staff and will be outstanding in the postseason (should the Cubs make it there).  To me, it appears the acquisitions in essence cancelled each other out, as both teams improved substantially.     

Hello Wisconsin

Chants of “Sweep,
sweep, sweep, sweep” could be heard on WGN Radio this afternoon, loud enough to
the point that it sounded like a home game. 
From what I saw, heard and read, this was the atmosphere for all 4 games
at Wrigley North, aka Miller Park, where the Cubs put their road woes aside and
went into the land of Cheese to sweep the Brew Crew and open up a 4.5 game lead
in the Central.  A few things stood out
from this series.

 

1.  The Cubs offense showed up on the road. 

At least 6
runs in every game and 31 in the 4 game series, numbers unheard of from this
Cubs team who had done next to nothing on the road to date (see previous
entry).  In my mind, the key to this offensive
output was scoring first in every game. 
Only in Game 1 when the Cubs trailed 3-2 for half an inning did they
ever play from behind.  Insurance runs
are much easier to score than tying / go-ahead runs, and the Cubs piled on
plenty of them this week.  The Cubs put
up 49 hits in the 4 game series, amazingly having their smallest output (9) in today’s
game where they scored the most runs (11). 

 

2.  Intangibles

There are
many ways to define this word, but in terms of sports I like to keep it
simple.  Things that don’t show up in the
box score.  Things like Reed Johnson’s
slide (which forced the error that did show up the box score), Ryan Braun’s “dive”,
the fact that the Cubs got 7 hits on 17 pitches against Ben Sheets in the 6th
inning of Tuesday’s game, meaning there was no one ready in the Brewers’ pen
when Sheets should have been out of the game, and of course, the home
atmosphere on the road.  Little things
lead to big innings, and the Cubs took advantage of everything handed to them
this week.

 

3.  Pitching

The Brewers
started off the series as if it were October, putting C.C. Sabathia and Ben
Sheets on the hill for games 1 and 2. 
The Cubs offense was struggling, and with their road woes well
documented it seemed that a split was the best the Cubs could ask for.  Not to take anything away from the offense,
but with the exception of some 9th inning lapses by the pen, the
Cubs staff was outstanding. 

Ted Lilly –
6 IP, 3 ER, 4K

Carlos
Zambrano – 8 IP, 0 ER, 9K

Ryan
Dempster – 7 IP, 1 ER, 9 K

Rich Harden –
7 IP, 1ER, 9K

28 IP, 5 ER,
31 K.  You really can’t ask for much
more.

 

4.  Rich Harden

Yes I know I
just mentioned pitching but I want to give a special “shout out” to Rich.  Since joining the Cubs on July 8th,
check out these stats: 24 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 39Ks, 1.11 ERA.  Oh yeah, and a 1-1 record.  Only on the Cubs.  Fellow ex-A’s pitcher Chad Gaudin is 2-1 with
a 1.54 ERA since joining the Cubs while only pitching in 11 2/3 innings, so I
hope nobody is still calling him a “throw-in” to that deal.

 

However, one of the key factors that led to the outcome of this series occurred before the series even began.  On Saturday July 26th, a Cubs extra inning loss coupled with the Brewers’ 9th win in their last 10 put the teams into a tie atop the Central Division standings.  The next day, Milwaukee led 4-1 while the Cubs trailed 5-0 early in both games.  If those outcomes had stood, the Brewers would have come into the series leading the division for the first time since sometime in May, while the Cubs would have lost 3 in a row at home for what I think would have been the first time all season.  Houston’s 7-run 5th and Mike Fontenot’s 3-run double completely changed the momentum going into this huge series, and in this writer’s opinion, allowed the Cubs to tough out a big win in the opener on Monday. 

As this
article goes to press, the Cubs now have 4.5 games worth of breathing room in the
division.  But don’t get too comfortable
Cubs fans, as we have 9 left against St. Louis (6 at home) and 6 left against
Milwaukee (3 at home).  Those 15 games account
for 28% of the remaining games left on the schedule, so nothing is decided just
yet.  Next up, the Jason Bay, Xavier
Nady, Damaso Marte-less Pittsburgh Pirates for 3 at Wrigley. 

The Near Collapse

Carlos Struggles.jpgRich Harden’s debut as a Chicago Cub went just as planned.  For 7 innings.  Harden was lights out for 5.1 innings yesterday, throwing 96 pitches (66 for strikes) and fanning 10.  The Cubs offense was also hitting on all cylinders in the first half of yesterday’s game, scoring 7 times in innings 2-4.  CubBlog favorite Jim Edmonds had a HR and 4 RBIs, sparking the Cubs to a 7-0 lead.  

Then came the 8th.  Kevin Hart, who had thrown a scoreless 7th, promptly gave up a single, a double and another single to allow 2 runs to score.  Bobby Howry came in and put out the fire and the Cubs were out of the inning with no further damage.  Then Carlos Marmol came in to “get some work”.  Marmol misplayed a ball, walked a batter, and gave up 4 hits in allowing 5 runs to score.  We later found out that Kerry Wood was unavailable due to a blister (which will keep him out of the ASG on Tuesday), which explains why Lou had to stick with Carlos in that situtation.  

While listening to Pat and Ron in the 9th, I didn’t even consider the possibility that we could lose the game.  Then the wheels fell off, and it’s pretty clear that something is up with Marmol.  I mentioned in this June entry that Marmol had been pitching a lot (see #3), but now that he has been getting a great deal of rest and pitching in less important situations, the probability that this is a mental block is getting stronger.  The Cubs are definitely going to need Marmol on track for the stretch run, so let’s hope his time at the ASG gets him back where he needs to be.  

Back to the game, Sean Marshall pitched brilliantly out of the pen, just days after being in the rotation.  I don’t know from experience, but I’m pretty sure that it is a tough transition to make. He’s like our Mark DeRosa of the pitching staff.  After throwing his 2nd scoreless inning, Marshall led off the 11th with a base hit and moved to second on a walk to DeRo.  He was forced out at 3rd on Mike Fontenot’s bunt that was hit just a bit too hard, but the next batter was Reed Johnson and he singled home DeRo (on a very exciting play at the plate) to win the game.  

Dero Scores.jpgWhat could have been a devastating loss turned into another exciting win at the Friendly Confines.  The Cubs are attmepting to finish the first half with a sweep of the Giants, but they face a tough task as Tim Lincecum (10-2) takes the bump for the Giants today.

Hendry Strikes Back

t1_harden.jpgApproximately 48 hours ago, I wrote this in an entry in response to the C.C. Sabathia acquisition by the Brewers: “Plus, there are still 24 days left of the trading season, and Jim
Hendry will be working the phones trying to add another starter to the
Cubs rotation (Rich Harden perhaps).” 

Well it certainly didn’t take 24 days, as Jim Hendry moved quickly to acquire the A’s right hander on Tuesday.  Harden and righty Chad Gaudin head to Chicago while CubBlog favorites Sean Gallagher and Matt Murton head to Oakland along with Eric Patterson and minor league catching prospect Josh Donaldson. 

The immediate reaction to this trade was “YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!”  After some consideration, however, my next reaction was that we just traded for Mark Prior v2.  Unhittable when healthy, but unhealthy more often than not.  Harden has already pitched more innings this year (77.0), than in 2006 and 2007 combined (72.1), and that includes a 3-week stint on the DL this year for shoulder problems.  This of course only includes innings pitched in the majors, not in simulated games (a category in which Mark Prior is among the all time career leaders).

In my opinion, there are two ways to look at it. 
1) The Brewers acquired the best available player with a package of prospects that the Cubs were unable to match.  The Cubs went out and acquired the next best available player and paid a pretty good price. 
2) The Cubs acquired a player in Harden who is one of the best, but has a very bad history of inability to stay healthy, and whose fastball has dropped in speed over his past few starts. 

So look at it whichever way you choose, but if (and I did say if) the Cubs take this team into October, and Carlos Zambrano and a healthy Rich Harden are slated to start games 1, 2, 5 and 6 of a playoff series, is there anyone who would pick against them?  I may be biased, but I know I wouldn’t.

Lost among the Harden hoopla is the acquisition of Chad Gaudin.  Don’t call this guy a throw-in, as he will provide much needed long relief in place of Gallagher (or Marquis who refuses to accept a role in the pen).  He has pitched very well in Oakland, has played for Lou briefly in Tampa, and will be a welcome addition to the Rajun Cajuns squad forming along with TheRiot and Fontenot.  In all seriouness, his presence in the pen will give Marmol and Howry some additional rest, which may be the biggest key in the Cubs run towards the postseason.          

Are the Brew Crew the Front Runners?

mlb_a_sabathia_412.jpgWhen I first heard about this trade, my immediate reaction was “Oh crap”.  The Brewers now have Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia at the top of their rotation, a potent offense, and 43 out of 74 remaining games against teams currently under .500.  Then I read an article by Jayson Stark which contained 1 sentence putting everything into perspective.  It read: “The Brewers may have leaped over the Cubs as The NL Team You’d Least
Want to Face in October, but I’m still taking the Cubs as the favorites
in this division.”

The Brewers are definitely the team you do not want to face in a short series, there is no arguing that fact.  But Sabathia only makes the Brewers better 1 out of every 5 days (unless he becomes the next Carlos Zambrano and becomes an outstanding pinch hitter). 

Say he makes 16 starts for the Brew Crew.  The most wins he can bring to the team is 16, which yes, is a lot.  But that assumes the Brewers win every time he takes the bump (and they have Eric Gagne in a shaky bullpen), which isn’t very realistic. In addition, he is taking the place of their 5th starter in the rotation.  Assuming the Crew would have gone 8-8 in his 16 starts, in this case C.C. is only bringing a max of 8 wins to the table.

So yes, adding Sabathia makes the Brewers a much better team and drastically improves their chances of winning the Central and making a run at the World Series, but let’s not overblow the impact he will make.  Plus, there are still 24 days left of the trading season, and Jim Hendry will be working the phones trying to add another starter to the Cubs rotation (Rich Harden perhaps).