The most exciting Cubs game since....?

by Imtrejo on Apr 10, 2006 2:11 AM CDT Comment 12 comments

(Al, I hope I'm not stealing your thunder here.)

It was a great night of not so freezing cold baseball at Wrigley. It is my first game of the year, and another positive review for the new bleachers. The bleachers look great outside and inside. That's coming from an architect as well.
First of all Marshall looked OK, a little wild but effective. All in all a good outing for him.

The bullpen was solid, Wuertz did a good job finishing the fifth. Jerome Williams was shakey in his two innings of scoreless baseball, a few fortunate At'em balls.

The offense did it's job. Jacque Jones got his first hit and it was a big one, three run homer, he got another hit later. Barrett had his second big homerun in two games. Cedeno looks great at the plate, Murton and Aramis do not.

I moved seats this season from the section 438 to 434, what a difference that makes. The sight lines are much better. There seems to be a solid group of regulars in my section, a group of four of them must have drank 30 beers but never got out of hand. There was an altercation nearby, it had something to do with nacho cheese and somebody's face but was quickly taken care of.

Another odd thing I noticed was after the Barrett Grand Slam fans threw brooms onto the field. The thing was they left them out there for a full inning before anybody made an attempt to pick them up. An injury waiting to happen.

Next game Tuesday....

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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You make a good point about Wuertz--

Though he allowed the two runs on that cheap single by Pujols--he pitched with a hell-of-a lot of courage and control, and got us out of a difficult situation, facing the heart of the line-up, with minimal damage. I mean, he did have Pujols looking foolish on those sliders, and he did conjure the most-dangerous batter in baseball to hit a ground ball to the ss -- that's what he wanted there.

You know, someone during the game discussion last night said that Wuertz absolutely shouldn't be used in crucial situations, especially on long-rest--based on his performance last year; and that Dusty's decision to bring him in was a bad one. I couldn't disagree more, and I think that each year, a player should be given the opportunity to prove himself and wipe the slate clean--again. I mean, look at the difference b/t Isringhausen last night and last year--I know he had an off game, but a new year is a new year, and though most players maintain a level of consistency from year to year--You have to give the guy a shot, and let him know: hey go in there, in this playoff-like game, and get the stop for your team -- we need you this year, and we have confidence in you--now do itand I think Wuertz, IMO, did that -- he got the stop with minimal damage and kept us in the game at an opportunity when many teams would have folded to the big inning.

I think it paid off huge, and I think it was the right move--sometimes Manager's are paid to make difficult decisions, and in this case it paid off big-time--Not to mention the fact that it gives Wuertz a level of confidence at the start of the year he can feed off of.

Gray--I prefer over black and white.
(interpret as you see fit).

85% of the world's working and the other 15% come out here (to Wrigley). --Lee Elia

by southerncubbie on Apr 10, 2006 10:20 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

so you think

I think that each year, a player should be given the opportunity to prove himself and wipe the slate clean

we should ignore past data about player performance and go with... what?

by gaius marius on Apr 10, 2006 10:31 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

let me guess

optimism?

by gaius marius on Apr 10, 2006 10:32 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No Gaius......

....I'll just quote what you said, and then maybe you'll try and understand what I'm getting at:

i do think that wuertz has to have an important role in this pen with starters going only five innings. everyone needs to pitch in. glad wuertz did his part.

So why ridicule Baker as making a bad, risky decision?

The game is about risk--hell everyone wanted suicide squeezes galore last year with a team that had poor personnel with no ability to bunt, and little team speed--if that isn't careless decision making, I don't know what is

And, no , I don't think that numbers from past years need to be ignored, nor do I think that they need to be the absolute in determining what decisions need to be made. I think that more than important than optimism or pessimism, is the decision-making and factors that only the pitcher, pitching coach and manager know in calculating the decision. We don't know that--entitled to our opinions, sure--but we don't know what they know.

I just happen to have faith in Dusty Baker, and you and others don't--that matters as it pertains to how you analyze a manager's decision, because it brings prejudice.

I am willing to criticize Baker, and have stated many times that I find some of his moves questionable, however, this was not one of them.

85% of the world's working and the other 15% come out here (to Wrigley). --Lee Elia

by southerncubbie on Apr 10, 2006 10:50 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

the game is about managing risks, not taking them

i don't happen to think he did anything wrong by bringing in wuertz there -- the guy is going to have to pitch when your starters aren't getting out of the fifth.

but various had a point in that other thread. it was risky, and maybe unnecessarily so, though it paid off.

by gaius marius on Apr 10, 2006 12:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I suppose--

--it just seemed from my perspective that the rest of the pen was taxed--and Wuertz was the option.

85% of the world's working and the other 15% come out here (to Wrigley). --Lee Elia

by southerncubbie on Apr 10, 2006 3:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Risky?

Risky compared to what?

It would have been more damaging to leave Marshall in and let him get pounded. There was little upside to the option of leaving him in; he'd already proven himself.

What RH should be used in the 5th? Howry's there to get the game to Dempster.

Do a risk analysis all you want. Wuertz comes out as the best option.

by Jed Taylor on Apr 10, 2006 10:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i tend to agree

if you're going to have guys leaving in the fifth, that's what wuertz is for.

but let's not pretend that he didn't just get done nearly pissing away his job after two mediocre years in the cub pen.

some enjoy the rigidity of people slotted for innings -- howry = eight, dempster = nine, etc -- but that was a really difficult situation and inserting your best man would not have been a stupid play.

by gaius marius on Apr 11, 2006 10:53 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Better than league average is

nearly pissing away his job?

Yes, Wuertz has not been a "lights out" relief pitcher, but to pretend that he has been mediocre or worse, is probably an exageration. His ERA was better than league average in his first season and much better than league average in his second season. And many of the runs that he allowed were in games where he had appeared and thrown a substantial number of pitches in the prior game. More importantly, his ratio K's to BB's has improved and he is throwing fewer HR per inning.

In sum, he looks to be a valuable part of the bull pen and he may well become more valuable with experience. I have no problem, in fact I applaude Dusty for putting him in the game. My problem is when Dusty uses him several games in a row and his effectiveness drops.

by Frustrated Fan on Apr 11, 2006 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re

Calling in your best man from the pen makes a ton of sense if it's late in the game and you won't need him later if he gets the job done now. That's just what LaRussa did, and it was a smart move in spite of the results.

Burning your best, as in most likely to be effective in getting out of the current situation, reliever in the 5th inning would be comparable to leaving in your best player in basketball when he gets his 4th foul early in the 2nd half. You need him late in the game, so you do what you have to to make sure he's available.

That's what Baker did by bring in Wuertz in the 5th. Baker played it right, and, all things considered, Wuertz did his job.

by Jed Taylor on Apr 11, 2006 2:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wuertz

Southerncubbie wrote:

You know, someone during the game discussion last night said that Wuertz absolutely shouldn't be used in crucial situations, especially on long-rest--based on his performance last year

That's a bizzare comment. Wuertz was just fine last year when not used on consecutive days. The real question is whether Dusty is burning up Dempster's arm or keeping him sharp. He's had three strong appearances this year, but only one of them "qualified" as a save. Taken out over the course of a season, that's quite a few (in fact too many) appearances for Dempster. But early in the year, if it helps get him ready to go, its probably not a bad idea. (That and the fact that the Bullpen should be pitching less innings as the starters start to go to 100 pitches more often...)

That being said, do you seriously mean that it is irrelevant to look at a player's prior performance in deciding what they are capable of doing this year? That Brian Dopirik and Derek Lee should be given the same shot at a starting job? Its not feasible to "wipe the slate clean". You need to look at past performance as well as at least a partial gauge.

by Frustrated Fan on Apr 10, 2006 5:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I give Wuertz enormous credit ..

that was one of the gutsiest performances I've seen by a Cub pitcher .. holding off the heart of one of the most dominant baseball lineups in the game, bases loaded. It's gotta be right up there with Kerry Wood's performance when they took the division in Atlanta in 04. In fact, the emotion and passion of the moment was so enormous, you would have thought it was a playoff game.

You got to hand it to Mikey. I tip my beat up old Cub cap to that guy. Would YOU like to have taken the mound with bases loaded and the Cards staring you down?

raf

Well, Next Year is here .. and Jack's century's gotta end some time .. GO CUBBIES!

by cubnational on Apr 10, 2006 7:37 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs