It was brutal today, wasn't it?
Still: we had a .500 roadtrip.
I wonder how long Dempster will put up with this, though.
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It was brutal today, wasn't it?
Still: we had a .500 roadtrip.
I wonder how long Dempster will put up with this, though.
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I hope that's the last of Marmol as the closer. IMHO, he would have been a tougher pitcher as a spot middle reliever.Originally Posted by Iowanic
The answer is "as long as he's getting a paycheck."
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Listening to Sveum after the game, looks like Marmol will be canned as closer, if he hasn't already been.
Can't recall a reliever with such good stuff and no idea how to use it.
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don't forget to vote for LaHair in the ASG voting.
I think walks are overrated unless you can run. If you get a walk and put the pitcher in a stretch, that helps, but the guy who walks and can’t run, most of the time he’s clogging up the bases for somebody who can run. – Dusty Baker.
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So it looks like the hitting is coming around. The starting pitching has been really good. bullpen? Not so much. Can they just designate Marmol for assignment after coming off the DL? As for Wood, I hope after throwing 9 straight balls, but pitching 2 scoreless innings is a sign of him getting out of his funk. This team seems surprisingly solid except for relief pitching.
Last edited by The Uncoach; 05-12-2012 at 06:59 AM.
Hitting hasn't come around. The Cubs hadn't a scored run in last night's game until DeJesus' pinch hit grand slam in the 7th. Milwaukee relievers are even worse than the Cubs' relievers. Over their last 15 games (including last night's game) the Cubs have scored 3.33 RPG. Over their last 10 games they have averaged 3.4 RPG. Over the 5 games leading up to last night the Cubs had averaged 2.4 RPG.
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well that might be why there are 9 innings in a ball game.
Which still doesn't mean hitting has come around. How many runs did they score yesterday?
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So, IOW, you think their relief pitching is fantastic.
No, I think your statement that "hitting is coming around" based on one game against one of the league's worst bullpens is a highly flawed and incorrect position to have.
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Incorrect assumption that I based the "hitting coming around" on one game. We've also seen a few HRs at this point, including back to back from Lahair and Stewart.
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When this team decides to go on losing streaks, they don't mess around!
A Baseball Fan
Good News!! Cubs didn't lose today!!
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Ouch! Just Ouch!
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there is going to be no quick fix for this...however, what I dont want to happen is people going after Sveum...this certainly is not his fault...he was handed this mess and told to manage it...the Cubs are filled with guys who probably wont be around for another year (minus Soriano, he is like a cold you cant get rid of at this point)
A Baseball Fan
I agree. Theo, Jed, and Dale should all get a pass this year. When they came into power the Cubs weren't 1 or 2 players away from making the playoffs.
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at this point, it looks to be a 5 year fix at the very least...their pitching is absolutely horrible
Bitter Optimist
I don't know about that. We got some young players with potential: Castro and Samardzija are doing well at the ML level. Jackson, Rizzo, and maybe Castillo and/or Cleavenger are nearly ML ready as well. Garza is still on the right side of 30. And the Cubs will have a lot of payroll flexibility next year, with Soriano and Marmol being the only big contracts left on the books.
Best case scenario I could see the Cubs returning to respectability by 2014. But this year and next year are looking like 100 loss seasons.
"I will calmly wait for my induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame."
- Sammy Sosa
"Get a comfy chair, Sammy, cause its gonna be a long wait."
- Craig Ashley (AKA Windy City Fan)
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A five year fix? Come back from the ledge, Cap.Next year they will begin to be more competitive. You will see very shortly more of the youth coming up from AAA. That experience this year will translate to the next. A few more draft picks....a few savvy trades......3 years and the picks from this year are up in the bigs, etc. Next year begins the year where the new mgmt team shouldn't get as much grace.
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You just made my point for me...3 years from now draft picks will be coming up...at least a couple years before they produce in the bigs
In less than 10 days we'll see Rizzo and then that is about it in terms of youth coming up for awhile. Brett Jackson might come up at some point but he is struggling in AAA right now. Striking out way too often for him to come up any time before a cup of coffee in September.
In terms of immediate future players on the farm right now that is it.
Cardenas is up and doing absolutely nothing to prove he should be here right now.
The other bright spot beyond Rizzo is Clevenger/Castillo. Clevenger is back from the DL and hopefully he'll keep on showing us that he belongs in the bigs. But it must be realized that Clevenger is not a 1.000+ OPS kind of guy. This is a guy we should be expecting/hoping to put up mid to high .700 OPS at the major league level.
This is a team that is going to have a ton of holes next year and will continue to have a ton of holes throughout this season.
There isn't a crop of players down in the farm that are going to become starters and fill those holes anytime soon beyond Rizzo and maybe Jackson.
If you want an inhouse built team it is going to take at least 5 years for them get them, develop them, and have enough to field a decent major league team.
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"If you want an inhouse built team it is going to take at least 5 years for them get them, develop them, and have enough to field a decent major league team."
Thank you for agreeing with me Ubiquitous
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That's assuming they don't sign any free agents to fill some holes.
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Like the amazing and wonderful Jeff Baker? Or how about Soriano? Perhaps Reed Johnson
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Oh my. Did these guys sign Soriano? Who was available? Did you want Zambrano back or is it OK that he isn't in Wrigley any longer? How about comparing Epstein's moves of getting Ortiz, Meuller and Millar, which put them over the top and got them a WS victory? He went out and got Papelbon, Lester and Beckett as pitchers, etc. They don't all work out, but why would you have expected this mgmt team to get some bigtime FA's this year? It was time to thin the herd, not add to it.
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