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Cubbies failing in EVERY phase of the game

Chicago-cubs-blue-logo_tiny by MDBNIU on

You seriously could not script a more tragic trainwreck if you were a St. Louis Cardinal fan who had hatred in your veins for the Cubs.    The Cubs failed on all cylinders tonight.    They puckered up and failed to hit, field, pitch, execute.   The best performance of the game was actually turned in by Carlos Zambrano of all people because he was the only one who sucked it up and at least tried to persevere.  

And now I'm listening to Lou on the radio and he says these have been the two worst games played by the team all year.   He has no answers, not that I expect the manager to have answers for this.   Yes Lou made a few tactical moves that raised my ire, but make no mistake this was a total failure of the players on the field.   The players who form a $110 million plus payroll.        

P.S.   Yes, it is official, Kosuke is in the doghouse.   Lou was the most critical of a player that I have ever seen him be in public.   Basically suggesting that Kosuke is useless and he's all done being out there on the field anymore.    A little too late for that revelation Lou !!!    Mike Fontenot should have been in the damned lineup tonight and Mark DeRosa and his bad wheel in right field where he couldn't possibly have been any worse than he was at 2nd base.  

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation, Bleed Cubbie Blue, or Al Yellon, editor-in-chief. FanPost opinions are, however, valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Yes, yes, yes

Kosuke should be nothing other than a defensive late inning replacement.
He should get about as many AB’s as Marmol or Wood.
Screw the lefty advantage! If you don’t hit, you don’t hit. Plat Fonty and move DeRo or just play Reed in RF if you are worried about DeRo’s wheels.
The only joy I have right now is that we don’t play tomorrow…

by wsunick on Oct 3, 2008 12:08 AM CDT   0 recs

The words of Lou were so stern I wouldn't be surprised if Kosuke isn't purchasing ticket back to Japan at this moment

We won’t see Kosuke the rest of these playoffs in any role. He has become the new 25th man on the roster if I am to interpret the rage of Lou.

Oh please let this dubious bullpen be good enough in the playoffs...

by MDBNIU on Oct 3, 2008 12:09 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I think those words will carry to next season.

If management has a clue they suck it up and send this guy packing along with that cancer in LF.

by Fraggin Judge on Oct 3, 2008 12:11 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Kosuke is owed $36 million after this year and Soriano nearly $100 million...

I think that about sums up their respective marketability.

Oh please let this dubious bullpen be good enough in the playoffs...

by MDBNIU on Oct 3, 2008 12:15 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Well they work during the regular season

Once it comes to post season they FREEZE!

This is Alaska folks. Welcome to Siberia of Sports.

by IllinoisCubs on Oct 3, 2008 1:12 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Kosuke didn't hit in the regular season.

He hit for a month or so. Ever since then, he’s hit like an AL pitcher.

MLBMilestone.com - following the numbers to Cooperstown

by D98 on Oct 3, 2008 1:47 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Kosuke can't hit a major league breaking ball

And now every pitcher in baseball knows it. If he can’t figure out a way to foul off or actually hit a decent slider, he will be lucky to hit .240 from this point on. It’s not the “long season” — he was figured out.

by cubmudgeon on Oct 3, 2008 6:46 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

my guess

he spends this offseason working on it.

---AC 00 00 00 - Believe

by mjk83 on Oct 3, 2008 7:55 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Exactly

Who knows what an offseason of hard training and working with a hitting coach can do. We know he can hit. He just needs some work on his swing. 5 months of being shamed by Pinella should drive him.

by dr stabbingworth on Oct 3, 2008 7:57 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

one of the things we heard

about him when the cubs first signed him was about how hard he trained…..I guess we’ll see that this offseason.

---AC 00 00 00 - Believe

by mjk83 on Oct 3, 2008 8:23 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I'd be calling out my infield....if I were a manager...

The best defense is a good offense.....Lou Pinella...still hasn't managed the Cubs to a post season win. D. Lee still doesn't have a post seasson RBI for Cubs...ditto for Soriano

by kcjones on Oct 3, 2008 1:03 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Let me add

that Lou is critical of Kosuke but he (Lou) is the one who put him in this failing situation. If you are mad at a guy for not getting a freakin’ hit, pitch hit for him!! Why he kept Kosuke in the game is hard to understand…

by wsunick on Oct 3, 2008 12:11 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I strongly agree

I am staunch supporter of Lou Piniella at nearly all times, but his election of Kosuke to play right field in these two games is inexcusable. And NOW after two losses in a short series he is all angry and basically says Kosuke can go f*^% himself???? Well the proverbial cow has already left the barn Lou !!

Lou Piniella has handled this situation exponentially poorly.

Oh please let this dubious bullpen be good enough in the playoffs...

by MDBNIU on Oct 3, 2008 12:13 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I think you're right

Usually when he gets mad it has an explanation that is closer to the source.

by wsunick on Oct 3, 2008 12:16 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Because he's a lefty and a patient hitter.

Lou is mad because the guy wasn’t swinging. A pitcher who was wild decided that he could throw down the middle to the Japanese fraud with no risk involved. Then Ward decided to do a Fukudome imitation, looking at a border line pitch with two strikes. And I just mentioned two players who have to leave by next year.

by Fraggin Judge on Oct 3, 2008 12:14 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

As bad as Fukudome has been...

… he wasn’t the reason the Cubs lost these two games.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Oct 3, 2008 9:27 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Agreed.

"Can that be used in a sentence now as a swear word? as in "That was the most White Sox White Soxing call I’ve ever White Sox seen in all my years of watching this White Sox game. White Sox it all to hell!" Weeghman Park

by derv on Oct 3, 2008 10:26 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Kosuke had no business starting these two games and batting 2nd in game 1

Fact is he has hit in 10 weeks. Not a lick in fact. Fact is also both Reed Johnson and Mike Fontenot have been fine offensive catalysts when they are in the lineup. And finally, how much worse could an alleged hobbled DeRosa have been in right field versus how awful he was at 2nd?

No excuse for Kosuke in the lineup. Certainly not after the dismal first game of the series. To have him start a second consecutive game while Johnson and Fontenot lay waste on the bench?

There are no more excuses, rationalizations, analysis on paper, extrapolation of regular season performance, examination of the statute of limitations on certain curses, whatever...

by MDBNIU on Oct 3, 2008 11:33 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I honestly thought Lou had him in there

for his defense. Didn’t he say as much? Did Lou really expect him to hit? If so, that was overly optimistic if not delusional, much as I love Lou.

This hurts.

by Emelie on Oct 3, 2008 5:44 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

And yet

he got a hit off Kuroda.

Witty .sig goes here.

by scareduck on Oct 5, 2008 2:50 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Get lost.

Honestly you’re pathetic. Blue mike, do you do anything but spew idiotic opinions and bother rational Cubs fans? Why dont you just give up or move along? They’re the Cubs, get over it. They’re going to lose in creative ways and its part of this team’s history to do so. Get used to it.

Also, get lost. I’m tired of reading your idiotic opinions and boring old nasty stuff. I get it, you think you know baseball, oh well. You dont. If you did, you’d be getting paid to coach. Instead your on a message board. Give it up, I’m sick of your dark side of baseball.

One thing you learned as a Cubs fan: when you bought you ticket, you could bank on seeing the bottom of the ninth.
Joe Garagiola

by Ryan at Cubshub on Oct 3, 2008 12:10 AM CDT   0 recs

Pound sand

Oh please let this dubious bullpen be good enough in the playoffs...

by MDBNIU on Oct 3, 2008 12:16 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Thinking about your signature quote...

we should notice that we gave up 3 runs after the 6th last night and 4 more tonight. 10-2 after the 6th will also not get the job done.

by wsunick on Oct 3, 2008 12:18 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Absolutely. The bullpen sucked. But it was a wide open game. The relievers were not really into the game.

But it is interesting to see Mármol fail again in the postseason. Hopefully, in a close game he will perform better.

by Fraggin Judge on Oct 3, 2008 12:20 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I really hope so

I advocated bringing in Marmol and Wood no matter what just to give them some work. At least Lou didn’t decide to “save” them for a game that matters again.

by wsunick on Oct 3, 2008 12:22 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Ah, the classics never go out of style :)

Seriously though… Blue Mike can be inflammatory at times, but there’s nothing wrong with this diary.

I think that we all share his frustrations this morning, and can all agree that these 2 games have been pathetic on all fronts.

"...the internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a truck. It's a series of tubes." - Sen. Ted Stevens

by bobby h on Oct 3, 2008 11:18 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

This diary...

…is spot on.

"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel

by MPH73 on Oct 3, 2008 11:26 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Yeah. he was so "idiotic" that turned out he was on the money all along.

Keep drinking the blue Koolaide. I’m past that because I don’t accept failure as an option. I’m as angry as Lou is right now.

by Fraggin Judge on Oct 3, 2008 12:18 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

You get lost.

I’m tired of Blue Mike haters. You sound like an idiot right now. You’re calling his views in this thread idiotic? I guess all Cub fans are idiotic then.

This guy could quote scripture or poetry and you’d call him out. You act is tired, you and all the other MDBNIU haters. Sometimes I disagree with him, but I find his opinion usually pretty rational.

Don’t like his threads…DON’T READ THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Demp and Rich: proof that people that live in igloos and say "eh" can contibute!

by Canadian Cubs Fan on Oct 3, 2008 12:19 AM CDT to parent up   1 recs

+1

Don’t hate before reading the facts.

by wsunick on Oct 3, 2008 12:20 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Agreed , why the personal attacks on this guy? Isn't he allowed to express his opinion without being attacked.

Seems that some of the regulars out here enjoy spewing venom just as much as anyone else, only difference is their venom is never directed at the Cubs but at other posters that they don’t agree with.
It’s like that High School clique that thinks they’re above everyone else, I’m sick of it.
Unless someone is using profanity or personally attacking someone on this board why not learn to be a little more tolerant instead of acting so juvenile.
By the way just because you have more posts than me is meaningless, so don’t go there.

Fat , drunk , and ,stupid is no way to go through life son.

by alabebo on Oct 3, 2008 8:21 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

+1 again

The guy didn’t say anything wrong. He was just discussing the negative aspects of the game. He didn’t attack anyone on this board, so why do some of you people feel the need to pointlessly attack him? Ridiculous.

I don’t agree with people on here sometimes, so what do I do? Either state my opinion in a civilized manner or I just don’t say anything at all. Not that hard.

by rambler19 on Oct 3, 2008 8:54 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I agree.

In this case, Mike happens to be 100% correct in his analysis. I know we’re all angry and frustrated and upset this morning — but let’s not attack each other.

Thanks.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Oct 3, 2008 9:27 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Al, this is constantly happening and is not a new or recent occurance

Self-professed “good BCB’ers” in their clique will gang up and attack anyone others on this board that expresses an opinion different than theirs or that is critical of the Cubs. Sometimes they are instigating it themselves….. It gets really old and keeps me away from threads and this board. They sound very self righteous and act as if being critical of a Cubs player makes you less of a fan.

"I don’t believe that things go your way," said Lou Piniella, the Cubs manager.
"I believe you make things go your way."

by Basman on Oct 3, 2008 11:46 AM CDT to parent up   1 recs

Aaaaaaaand...what should Al do about this exactly?

The Chicago Cubs: 2008 Central Division Champions

by dat cubfan daver on Oct 3, 2008 11:50 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I think we ought to shoot the bastards.

"Hats for bats.....keep bats warm." - Pedro Cerrano
"Hey bartender, Jobu needs a refill !!!!!!!" - Eddie Harris

by willie mays hayes' gloves on Oct 3, 2008 11:50 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I don't know .... it just has been increasingly annoying and detracts from this website.

They act like the blog police and stifle opinions that don’t necessarily agree with theirs and they do it in a manner that just gets out of hand. Then on top of that, they act all self-righteous about it.

The ridicule that MDBNIU has gotten over the course of a season, for example, is out of line. He has mainly expressed his opinion and on some occasions been dead on but he continues to be this vilified poster b/c not everyone likes to hear what he says. He may have been out of line on some occasion and has had that pointed out but it gets old when he is always attacked every time he says something, even when it is a valid point. And he is just one example out of quite a few that I have seen that seem to involve the same people.

I guess there isn’t much more anyone can do but to point it out and hope it doesn’t continue to happen. I think most of us are here b/c we are Cubs fans and, yes, that does include MDBNIU despite perceptions by some. I just think it makes it so much less enjoyable and I don’t think we should be censoring opinions just b/c someone might not agree.

"I don’t believe that things go your way," said Lou Piniella, the Cubs manager.
"I believe you make things go your way."

by Basman on Oct 3, 2008 1:38 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

it's a democracy

for the most part (thanks to Al’s light hand) and if the community objects to the views or methodology of a poster then we have the right to respond. You reap what you sow and all that… Blue Mike is abrasive and we respond to the abrasiveness. He is often also correct. It’s the way in which he expresses himself that people find objectionable, myself often included.

This hurts.

by Emelie on Oct 3, 2008 5:49 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Please, keep responding to him when you don't like his posts.

What Basman objects to isn’t that but attempts by certain posters to censor MDBNIU.

by Fraggin Judge on Oct 4, 2008 10:49 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Responding to him with that same abrasiveness only brings about even more negativity.

It seems to me that many out here have a very small tolerance for anyone that has an opposing view if it is in any way negative or even realistic.
We all love the Cubs but sometimes they just don’t play good baseball and we have the right to call them out on that just as much and we have the right to praise them when they play well.
I do however feel there’s no need for the profanity in either case.
Unfortunately life isn’t always rainbows and puppies.
I however do understand that if someone does nothing but complain about how bad the team is that they do reap what they sow, and it works the same way for the so called cheerleaders, if you can’t take off the rose colored glasses for a minute to see reality as it is, then you too are open to criticism.
Even Al who is almost always optimistic has begun to come to terms with the reality of this team not making it past the first round, let’s just hope for the best.
Why don’t we all try to be a little more tolerant of each others opinions.
Think of it this way , if we were all in a room together at a party, none of us would act this way just because someone had a different view of a particular subject.
But because this is the internet and none of us really know one another we feel it’s ok to be abrasive , I’m sure none of us would act this way in a public setting.
That said …GO CUBS!

Fat , drunk , and ,stupid is no way to go through life son.

by alabebo on Oct 4, 2008 11:35 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

100% true

What I get a kick out of is that they’re all just trying to “keep it positive”, and don’t see the negatives that come of their gang tackling. Someone the other day mentioned the Bill Burr stand up act about people fighting on the internet. He would love this place.

by TheRamZamDLEE on Oct 3, 2008 12:00 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Y'know I certainly wouldn't be weeping in my Cheerios...

…if BlueMike decided to get lost. But, as MDBNIU fanposts go, I really can’t find much to disagree with here. Am I surprised that he’s taking this opportunity to garner attention by wallowing in the abject horror of the Cubs situation? No. But the fact is that the Cubs did fail in virtually every facet of the game last night (and the night before).

And, yes, as much as it pains me to say this, Kosuke Fukudome has officially become a huge problem. It’s just hard for me to imagine any hitter that looks as bad as he does right now bouncing back to any sort of favorable form next season. I’d, of course, love it if he proved me wrong. I guess we’ll find out eventually.

The Chicago Cubs: 2008 Central Division Champions

by dat cubfan daver on Oct 3, 2008 9:44 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I think a lot of the venom spewed at BlueMike has to do with

When he was being relentlessly negative in the season. Really, if there’s nothing negative to say, he’s rarely seen.

That said, you’re right. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this post. I don’t agree with everything he said, but a lot of it’s spot on.

by cocknfire on Oct 3, 2008 11:56 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Being fair,

the way basketball and it’s cap rules are set up limits the effectiveness a free spending owner can have on his team. If Cuban were to buy the Cubs, i believe he would pull out all the stops.

by dakoose on Oct 3, 2008 12:22 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Yes....he would....

but…as we can see…especially in baseball…money doesn’t always buy the rings..

The best defense is a good offense.....Lou Pinella...still hasn't managed the Cubs to a post season win. D. Lee still doesn't have a post seasson RBI for Cubs...ditto for Soriano

by kcjones on Oct 3, 2008 1:02 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

No, it's

money spent foolishly doesn’t buy rings, or something like that. If a halfway decent GM like Billy Beane was given the money that the Yankees have the A’s might win the WS every year, or because of the way strange things happen in short series, at least be competitive.
On a slightly different note, one of the reasons I would love to have Cuban buy the team has is not really related to what players he would buy. Cubes appears to be a very open minded guy and would not have any problem hiring stat guys to help build his team, something most old time baseball insiders would never do. Not only would Cuban give the GM enough money to get the job done, he would bring in people with varying backgrounds to help assemble a team using both scouting and advanced statistical analysis.
Thats a lot of conjecture, but I believe it.

by dakoose on Oct 3, 2008 4:18 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

And please explain to me how that would have changed the result of the last two games.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Oct 3, 2008 4:52 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Or at least buy us Mark Texiera for his cool $200 million asking price this winter

There are no more excuses, rationalizations, analysis on paper, extrapolation of regular season performance, examination of the statute of limitations on certain curses, whatever...

by MDBNIU on Oct 3, 2008 12:21 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Please

Cuban has won what? Only thing Cuban could do is spend more, and that aint the problem.

"Have You heard of the Boom on Mizar 5?"

by Grockcubs on Oct 3, 2008 8:23 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Exactly.

Did failure to spend money cause these two losses? No. Did failure to go out and get useful players during the season cause these two losses? No, in fact, most of us praised virtually everything Jim Hendry did this year, and justifiably so.

Mark Cuban couldn’t have done anything about this unless he was on the mound throwing two shutouts.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Oct 3, 2008 9:29 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I agree.

I think Hendry tried. Unfortunately, this team is not built for the pressure and the grind of the postseason. It’s a bunch of talented but tense players and manager. Hendry got the money and spent it. Some can criticize who he spent the money on but there’s no denying that performance wise, Hendry improved this club 100%.

by Fraggin Judge on Oct 3, 2008 12:22 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

maybe if he's willing

to eat soriano and fukudome’s contracts and let them hit the road

by cubsmania on Oct 3, 2008 11:45 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

And

I believe soriano is a good player for the regular season but he just cant hit good pitching well enough to come through in the post season

by cubsmania on Oct 3, 2008 11:46 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Blue Mike

You have a right to be pissed at the way this team has played the last 2 games.

I think its an obvious choke job, this team just doesn’t have what it takes in the postseason.

I hope against hope that Harden and Lilly can have good games, but THEN we have to score more than 2 or 3 runs AND the bullpen needs to be good. So far not so good on the bullpen.

by jeff_pico on Oct 3, 2008 12:19 AM CDT   0 recs

+1000

100% correct.

Every Cubs fan has a right to be pissed off by this team now. This is NOT the team we watched play and compete with fire all season long.

Teixeira in 2009.

by airweino on Oct 3, 2008 12:21 AM CDT   0 recs

Hope exists in the form of Rich Harden and Ted Lilly...

Harden is a dominant shutdown pitcher and Lilly has been masterful the second half and will have the benefit of facing a lefty dominated Dodger lineup in pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium.

There are no more excuses, rationalizations, analysis on paper, extrapolation of regular season performance, examination of the statute of limitations on certain curses, whatever...

by MDBNIU on Oct 3, 2008 12:22 AM CDT   1 recs

I do have hope...

We have been absolutely belly-up other than Z’s pitching and DeRo’s offense but I still feel like we are the better team. Now we have no room for error but let’s go out and win a freakin’ game. I’m signing out here in WA state where it is only 10:30. See you all on Saturday and GO CUBS!

by wsunick on Oct 3, 2008 12:30 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

+1

or actually +2, one for Harden and one for Lilly each.

The author of this post is not a certified scout, doctor, agent, statistician, manager, or journalist, nor was he ever a very good player, though he tried very hard to be like Ryne Sandberg and was about as scrappy as it gets (in T-ball). Any opinion expressed above should in no way be confused with fact, truth, or reality and is hereby qualified in the following ways: 1) The author does not know as much about baseball as Lou Piniella. 2) The author does not know as much about baseball as Jim Hendry. 3) The author does not know as much about baseball as either Dusty or Darren Baker.

by DGU on Oct 3, 2008 9:50 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Hey, I'm open to miracles.

The Chicago Cubs: 2008 Central Division Champions

by dat cubfan daver on Oct 3, 2008 9:54 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I just finished reading Sullivan's column in the tribune and it really pissed me off

…that Hendry is quoted so much regarding the fans and the silence as a possible reason for the losses. he sounds disappointed in the fans!!!!!!!! He ought to be disappointed with himself and his players first. The excuse making B.S. from this front office is relentless, no wonder Dusty was such an excuse making jackass here, Hendry leads by example.

In life, Hendry, when the opposition gets Manny, and your hampsters can’t hit, you should go do something else.

by DudeVf11 on Oct 3, 2008 12:25 AM CDT   0 recs

totally agree

You have to execute and make simple plays whether the crowd is slient, loud, drunk, angry, absent, wet, etc, etc….what in the world does the state of the crowd have to do with the players executing?

Maybe Hendry should hire cheerleaders and ‘instruct’ the fans on how to feel during the game, anything that will help.

by jeff_pico on Oct 3, 2008 12:28 AM CDT to parent up