The Brewers are resting a bunch of players today, so this could be the best chance to avoid a sweep. This is a year!
Cubs lineup
RF David DeJesus
2B Darwin Barney
SS Starlin Castro
LF Adolfo Soriano
1B Bryan Lahair
3B Ian Stewart
C Geovany Soto
CF Marlon Byrd
P Ryan Dempster
Brewers lineup
LF Norichika Aoki
RF Nyjer Morgan
2B Rickie Weeks
3B Rodrigo Ramirez
1B Mat Gamel
SS Alex Gonzalez
C George Kottaras
CF Carlos Gomez
P Yovani Gallardo
@ Berselius:
Research suggests consumers are becoming more aware of this and getting pissed off by it. With over the top streaming options, viewers can cut the cord and get their preferred content ala carte. Sports is somewhat resistant to this phenomenon because of the importance of real-time viewing though.
Dempster is allergic to strikes today.
Nice double play by the infield
Starlin Castro may never eat dinner again.
Sweet baby DeJesus.
Good news…the Cubs haven’t been shut out yet in 2012 (dying laughing)
@ Rice in limbo:
It’s gonna happen
It’s pretty awesome how on MLB.TV it now has in-feed links to every at bat in the game (this is using the PC interface).
I now have five ways to watch the Cubs suck on MLB.TV: PC, phone, iPad, PS3 on one TV, and an Apple TV box on the other TV. BTW the latter two have different functionality – the PS3 app has the different audio options and easy fast-forwarding and watching from specific innings, etc.
@ Suburban kid:
I like the ps3 app, though the fast forwarding is often a little too fast
I assume they shifted against Geo to get that double play on a ball that should’ve gotten to CF according to Gameday?
Were playing a righty shift on Soto?
@ Rice Cube:
Yes, Weeks was playing behind second base.
Rice Cube wrote:
You would be correct in assuming that, RC. Hit right at the 2B who was playing about a step left of the bag.
@ cwolf:
I recall the Brewers have been doing that against righty pull guys for a couple seasons. Too bad Geo didn’t wait for one to drive in the air, but them’s the breaks.
Someone linked an article yesterday about how the Brewers have been shifting like crazy under Roenicke. Given the chatter about Sveum and his love of spray charts I’m surprised we haven’t seen that here too.
i like bryan lahair. Drawks walks. hits for power
@ Berselius:
I thought the Cubs have shifted a few times this year – it seems like a little more than in previous years. Certainly not as much as the Brewers have been though.
@ Berselius:
We have seen more shifts, especially infield shifts when right handers are up. It’s one of the things I’m most liking about Sveum so far.
@ mb21:
That’s good to hear. It’s something I don’t usually pay attention to unless the announcers keep harping on it.
@ Berselius:
Well, you cant always see it due to the whole fetish with the pitcher/batter medium shot.
That Justin Verlander guy is pretty good
Since berselius never makes errors I have to say that Miler Park’s Wrigleyficiation this offseason was done perfectly.
@ mb21:
This was just my homage to Starlin Castro’s defense at SS (dying laughing)
The Scotsman bunts against the shift. Foul.
Berselius wrote:
Another great catch by adolfo
@ Suburban kid:
That actually pissed me off. He was trying to put it right down the line when all he needed to do was put it about 5-8 feet to Ramirez’s right.
Dempster looks good against the Brewers’ bench.
Great play by Soriano!
@ mb21:
Correct.
13 innings for Dempster so far, 4 hits. Think he can allow 2.8 hits per 9 all year?
marlon byrd is bad at baseball
@ mb21:
TRANSFORMED
@ mb21:
17 pitchers had BABIPs below .270 over the past three years, so maybe
Byrd looks thinner.
@ bubblesdachimp:
You don’t think a 30% line drive rate and an .060 BABIP are out of whack with one another? If Byrd has a 30% LD% this year he’ll probably have a batting average over .400 and win the MVP award.
@ Berselius:
Ya never know.
Based on the last plate appearance I don’t think Dempster gets another batter out this season.
i cant remember the last time he hit a ball hard.
/untrainedeye
@ bubblesdachimp:
When 30.8% of your batted balls are line drives I’m going to guess he’s hit a lot of balls hard this year. What your untrained eye is seeing is an ugly batting average.
Dempster seems like he might want a good contract from someone after this season.
@ mb21:
MB, I gotta ask you a trivia question. I was fishing with Matt Franco, used to play for the Mets. I was fishing with him on a boat, and Matt Franco asked me this trivia question. He said he had talked to players past and present. He asked me, Which guy hit the hardest line drives most consistently of all I’d ever seen. Hardest line drives.
@ Aisle424:
If he has the type of season he’s had over the last 4 years my guess is the Cubs give him a 3 year deal to stick around. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cubs gave him a 3/36 contract or something. That would probably be well under market value.
Nah i have seen a lot of ground outs and fly outs.. Now thats where we might differ is me classifying fly outs as what others consider line drives
@ WaLi:
That’s a trivia question?
@ bubblesdachimp:
That’s the problem, bubbles. You’re going to be more likely to classify a line drive out as a fly ball. I’ll stick with the numbers. He’s hitting just fine. Besides, this is the 6th game of the season. Pujols had something like a .400 OPS after 10 or 12 games last year.
@ mb21:
Well, it was for me and him. We were playing trivia on the fishing boat.
@ WaLi:
Where would I look up the answer to that?
@ mb21:
Well, you should know the answer!
@ mb21:
Oh i know its early. But the at bats have just seemed to be pretty pathetic.
@ WaLi:
Give me the question one more time.
Speaking of small sample sizes, Migeul Cabrera is loving having Fielder on the team and playing 3rd base. His OPS is over 1.2 and his OBP is .579. He has already been worth .7 fWAR (dying laughing)
@ mb21:
All right. Who hits the hardest line drives of any player you ever saw on a consistent basis?
@ WaLi:
Dave Winfield
@ WaLi:
Gary Sheffield
MB was that castro out a second ago a LD or a fly ball?
@ mb21:
All right, keep going. That’s one. That’s “A”. “A” wasn’t right.
@ WaLi:
Yes it was right. I beg to differ.
@ bubblesdachimp:
I wasn’t watching and my classification of it doesn’t matter.
The truth with Byrd is that he’s been unlucky and he’s been hitting a lot more balls on the ground than he has. It’s also been less than a week of games and is irrelevant. It would look totally different if he was off to a great start and stumbled for a few games.
@ mb21:
I’m gonna give you, uhh … I’m gonna give … I’m gonna give you a hint. Someone even broadcast games for him.
@ WaLi:
I broadcast Dave Winfield’s games.
@ mb21:
No … for the answer, I’m talking about. I’m telling you, he asked all the other players. I’m not saying—
@ WaLi:
Well, I’m saying, this is a question for which there is no correct answer.
Looks like things are shaping up for a repeat of the opener
@ mb21:
Yeah, there’s a correct answer
I think MB and WaLi are doing a bit.
@ Berselius:
It’s also shaping up to be a repeat of 4 of the first 5 they’ve played.
If bubbles is looking for a guy that hasn’t hit a ball hard so far, look no further than the guy getting more ABs than any other player on the team: Mr. Kim DeJesus
@ WaLi:
Well, what did you say? What was your answer? Did you get it right?
Ouch.
Dempster’s ERA since the end of the 6th inning: 54.00.
@ mb21:
Yes.
Al Oliver.
@ mb21:
NOT AN ACE
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
He hit a double off the wall in the first inning
@ WaLi:
Oh, Al Oliver. He was
@ mb21:
See!
Dempster has lost the plot this inning.
@ Berselius:
You’re going to include an at-bat from that long ago?
@ Berselius:
I sit corrected. With an Elysian Immortal IPA in my hand.
Bubbles has never liked DeJesus. Only really like Lahair right now.
This team is such garbage
@ WaLi:
He was a very good line drive hitter.
Cubs lose
Here comes the bullpen to tack on some insurance runs.
@ mb21:
I knew you would say that. See, I knew that you’d eventually come up with the answer
@ Berselius:
Winning on the road ain’t easy.
@ WaLi:
Joe Carter?
Thanks for playing along (dying laughing)
WaLi out fuckfaces.
@ WaLi:
We didn’t even get to the best part. (dying laughing)
@ Aisle424:
@ SkipVB:
Probably.
How is that an error on the catcher? That’s like throwing one down the middle and calling it a wild pitch if it goes to the backstop.
@ mb21:
It was interesting because Matt Franco said if I got the answer correct, he would introduce to his cousin … the actor … Kurt Russell. And I said, ‘Okay’
If Gallardo gives LaHair that pitch Stewart just hit, it’s going to go a hell of a lot further.
WHY ARE THEY BUNTING A POWER HITTER?
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
SMALL BALL WINS BALLGAMES!!!
Cmon Geo
Which confuses me… do they play with a different sized ball if they are bunting as opposed to hitting a home run? I would think the greater forces involved when hitting a home run would compress the ball making it smaller. So therefor hitting a home run should be called playing small ball.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Cliche about playing for the tie at home etc etc. Grit.
Ugh.
I’m surprised Gallardo is still in the game
@ WaLi:
That’s his cousin?
@ mb21:
That’s his cousin.
Don’t worry guys, Blake DeWitt’s got this
@ WaLi:
So when did you meet Kurt?
@ mb21:
Well I haven’t met him yet. I just answered it last week.
@ WaLi:
Well, what’s taken him so long? We’re in L.A. Kurt could have been here tonight. Or maybe he wants to wait till you’re in New York, and we can help Kurt Russell … escape from New York
Nice line drive from Byrd there.
Did anyone else enjoy Ernie’s introduction of John Grisham?
@ mb21:
Yeah, that was a great movie. Snake Plissken. The Snake.
@ WaLi:
You want to meet him bad, don’t you?
90 MPH on the 4-seamer from Kerry. *tear
just wow. So little chance.
@ mb21:
Yeah, that was his … That was his name. Snake.
Anyone thinking they should have traded Byrd before the season started?
Nationals have 9 hits, 10 walks against the Mets but only 4 runs
I got up to get a drink of water and when I got back Wood had struck out two batters.
/things I did not expect
@ WaLi:
(dying laughing) I remember reading that discussion somewhere awhile back and laughing my ass off. Thanks for helping me waste an afternoon doing something other than watching the Cubs lose.
@ josh:
Yeah, but not based on his poor start. It’s just that he’s not going to have more value at the deadline when he has 4 fewer months of club control.
@ mb21:
What the hell was that from? The Googles, they do nothing
According to Nasty Factor, Kerry Wood just unleashed the nastiest curve in the recently-ended history of sports
@ Berselius:
Joe Morgan and Jon Miller during some broadcast. I’m sure you can figure out which one was Joe Morgan. (dying laughing)
When did it become 1998 again? Who the fuck was that kid pitching for the Cubs just now?
@ mb21:
That, and just the risk that he won’t have a good season. A poor start doesn’t mean anything, but there’s always that chance that he’s basically done. Maybe I’m the only one who worries about that kind of thing.
@ josh:
I don’t think Byrd had all that much value in a trade to begin with. He probably could have brought the Cubs a low B prospect. Maybe not. It was clear the Cubs didn’t want to bring Jackson up to start the year so the question becomes, who plays CF until he’s ready? Tony Campana? Reed Johnson would have been acceptable, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with holding onto a player making little money who still provides value above it.
@ mb21:
Yeah, that’s a good point.
nicely done, wali and mb. +1s all around
pads have serious rotation holes now with moseley out for the year and stauffer missing time, also. be interesting to see if they give cashner a shot
Another of KGs claims about Starlin is slowly dying.
Fantastic AB from Sori.
Fucking Stewart. When you waste a pair of two-out walks from what are arguably the two least-patient hitters in the lineup, you deserve to lose.
http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2012-articles/april/skip-bayless-answers-his-critics-as-first-take-spirals-into-a-circus.html
@ mb21:
Smith is as groin-grabbingly stupid as Bayless is maddeningly hypocritical. Good on Rose for calling them both on their bullshit.
I honestly believe Marmol has no idea where the ball is going when it leaves his hand. He’s just a thrower.
Has Marmol pitched in every game so far?
Gameday sez Marmol’s getting squeezed
Clown shoes!
I think this is the first game where the bullpen hasn’t given up a run, save that 1/3 inning stint by Marmol after F7′s Ascension.
It would be so Cubs if Soriano put up a 4 WAR season this year (dying laughing)
Wait, so now both catchers are used, so if this goes into extras, Geo is catching the whole thing?
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I don’t really have a problem with it. I wish managers did it more often. If the game goes long then Clevenger can just start tomorrow.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
The Blue Jays catcher caught 16 innings and hit the game winning home run. Just sayin’.
Wow, the Cubs bullpen did their job today! Wait, they didn’t have a lead to protect? Damn.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Especially in a low-scoring game like this one. It’s not like Geo’s been behind the plate for 90 batters.
Reed. Blech.
Inevitable 9th inning near-rally complete
/ccd
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
He has a reputation that biases umpires. He’s the anti-Maddux.
@ Berselius:
Agreed. I really like that Sveum has been using Clevenger to pinch hit this year.
@ mb21:
Ditto
Didn’t see the game, but it’s nice to see Starlin took another walk. Also, he leads the league in steals and hasn’t been caught yet. Too bad about the error.
Aramis is now: .091/.192/.182
Byrd is now: .048/.130/.048
@ ACT:
Should have been 2 errors. Soto’s error was a perfect strike throw to 2nd on a stolen base that Castro whiffed on. How that’s an error on the catcher is beyond me.
Aroldis Chapman is off to a great start.
@ mb21:
I guess the technical definition allows for that because the SS never caught or touched the ball, therefore it couldn’t be an error on the SS by the letter of the law?
@ Rice Cube:
Which is why errors are stupid idiot morons of statistics.
It looked like Castro took his eye off the throw for a second, right when it tailed away.
(dying laughing) (dying laughing) (dying laughing) (dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
It’s been a rough three seasons.
@ GBTS:
Orioles baseball and Peter Angelos will do that to you.
“The shit will hit the fan” is one of the all time great expressions.
Broxton —-> walk-off HBP
Way to go!
Who needs Chase Utley when you have Freddy Galvis?
@ Rice Cube:
Dodgers: TRANSFORMED
(into Cubs, or Orioles)
@ SkipVB:
?
Broxton is the Royals’ closer now. I missed a joke. *sad*
@ Rice Cube:
SMH.
Just after posting that, I had a nagging feeling that Broxton was no longer a Dodger. MB will probably skewer me now, eh?
Royals: NOT TRANSFORMED
Josh Johnson ———–> Not an ace
Not to beat a dead horse, but here’s a quote from yesterday’s game:
Pretty sure Maholm threw a lot like he normally throws. Slow and Poor.
Guess I’d have to go back through yesterday’s game notes to be absolutely sure, because the commentary there was certainly spot on, but going back to yesterday’s blog is so, well, yesterday.
Pavano———>No hitter through 3.
@ SkipVB:
That didn’t last.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/animals-who-are-extremely-disappointed-in-you
win.
@ Rice Cube:
I figured I’d post his no-hitter status in an effort to jinx the Twins.
@ Berselius:
Is this a swipe at those here who watch Game of Thrones?
SkipVB wrote:
@ Berselius:
Berselius wrote:
@ SkipVB:
I think it’s a swipe at those here who watch the Chicago Cubs on TV.
In related news, if the Cubs lose their next two games, they will have triggered the “5-back rule” by the end of their first away series. That would be quite the accomplishment.
@ shawndgoldman:
Oof! I am wounded.
@ shawndgoldman:
That’s why I listen on the radio.
(and because I can’t get them on TV)
Lincecum (and various other Giants) got shelled in Coors tonight
Johnny Damon —> Indians?
@ Berselius:
Lincecum leads the league in SO/9, but has the highest ERA in baseball (12.91).
@ ACT:
What a scrub. Not an ace.
@ ACT:
Sounds like he’s transformed
Today in baffling television-related valuation: Matt Lauer is making $25m per year.
@ Berselius:
WTF.
@ Rice Cube:
Johnny Damon shot an arrow at some Indians?
@ Berselius:
You can make money by being on TV?
I have wasted my life.
You work in a tough environment, Josh
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2012/04/12/worker-sues-over-phallic-dumplings.html
@ Mish:
Yeah, that chick is always complaining about our cock dumplings.
@ shawndgoldman:
The Red Sox could accomplish it too. We really did bring Boston to Chicago. Everything except the mid-summer stretch of .650 baseball.
mb21 wrote:
A minor omission, really.
(dying laughing) at all of the complaining/warning about tomorrow’s game on twitter/facebook. It baseically boils down to:
Hey Cubs fans attending/watching tomorrow’s Cardinals home opener against the Cubs – they might be acknowledging the fact that they won the World Series last year. ZOMG.
@ Berselius:
I went to a Cardinals/Cubs game twice in St. Louis. Both times it was the worst experience I’ve ever had at a game, though the new stadium is beautiful.
@ josh:
I’ve been a few times over the past 3-4 years. I can’t recall any bad experiences, probably because the Cubs haven’t been too great. And also the group I go with is split 50/50 between Cubs/Cards fans.
Although now that I think about it, we usually have one person in our group who is that obnoxious Cards (or Cubs) fan (dying laughing)
minor league post coming soon
new shite up