OSS: Jason Hammel dominates on the mound and has the biggest hit of the game. The Cubs improve to 8-1 on this 10-game homestand and they have Jake Arrieta going tomorrow. Three up: Jason Hammel returned from his abbreviated start last time with 7 excellent innings. He only allowed 1 hit, though that hit was a 1st inning home run to …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (18-36) at Milwaukee General Hospital (24-30)
I don't have much time today, so this will be a short preview. The Brewers are in bad shape, with several players (Chris Narveson, Mat Gamel, Marco Estrada, Alex Gonzalez, various catchers) out, Aramis Ramirez and Ryan Braun banged up, and others (Weeks) underperforming. The Cubs might be looking ahead to their next series with the Twins, who are in …
Series Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks (94-68) vs Milwaukee Brewers (96-66)
Milwaukee is already up 1-0 in this series but these things take too damn long for me to write to have this up before that happened (laughing). It’s hard to believe that there are two teams from the NL Central in the playoffs this year. Team overviews Team stats, with NL rank in parentheses DBacks Brewers wOBA .321 (4th) .327 …
Carlos Zambrano Kept On Truckin'
Sometimes the lights all shinin on me Carlos Zambrano earned a cup of coffee in 2001 and then earned his spot in the 2003 rotation with his half-season of MLB work in 2002. Mark Prior and Kerry Wood were all anyone could talk about and Carlos Zambrano was quietly, and impressively, going about his business and becoming one of the …
Series Preview: Iowa Cubs of Chicago (42-60) at Milwaukee Brewers (54-49)
Team Matchups NL ranks in parens Cubs Brewers wOBA .316 (7th) .322 (6th) UBR -11.6 (16th) -3.6 (13th) UZR -17.7 (13th) 4.7 (5th) SP FIP 4.07 (10th) 3.71 (7th) RP FIP 4.05 (14th) 3.65 (5th) It’s almost comical how bad the Cubs are at baserunning. There’s almost a win’s difference separating them from the Brewers, who are the 4th worst …
Ramirez’s single
“Aramis Ramirez, in typical style, is at first base. I mean, no excuse why a Major Leaguer is not at seconed base on that ball.” — Bill Schroeder, Brewers color commentator In last night’s 7-4 Cubs victory over the Brewers, Schroeder took a shot at Aramis Ramirez after Rickie Weeks first error of the night. A popup was misjudged by …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (3-3) at Milwaukee Brewers (3-4)
The Cubs won the Arizona series but came away less two members of the rotation. They head to Milwaukee, who are coming off three straight wins against the Atlanta Braves. Ryan Braun and Rickie Weeks have gotten off to hot starts but the rest of the lineup hasn’t started hitting yet. Here’s a look at their (small sample size) team …
NL Central Preview: Milwaukee Brewers
Last Year: The Brewers finished in third place in the NL Central with a 77-85 record. They had the second-best offense in the NL with a team .334 wOBA, trailing only the surprising Cincinnati Reds. However, it was their pitching and defense that proved to be their downfall. Brewers pitchers posted a 4.21 FIP and 4.59 ERA on the season, …