Just watched some highlight reel on mlb.com…. looks like tough game….
Was Dome solid? At least I did watch “Dome-beam” – that’s the classic for all Dragons fans…

I really don’t understand Lou’s move with Sori, Johnson, and Pie. I’m guessing Lou realizes he made a mistake with that one and that was in part why he was so mad at the press conference. I agree with you on the bunt, and Lou hasn’t really used it all year so that was expected. However, Cedano has to be running at some point during that inning

I think the hard thing about the rivalry is there just isn’t the same hate on our side. Cubs fans HATE the Cardinals. There is just a developing distaste for the Brewers right now. The Brewers fans hate everything about us. I get blasted daily for cheering for my team. I am silent during this series because I’m used to blending in as a Packers fan in Chicago. I personally just don’t have the hate Brewers fans have. It was only 10 years ago we played them in interleague games. However you develop a hatred that runs this deep in this short of a time is beyond me. I know they hate the fact that we have taken over Miller Park in the past and that there are Cubs fans not exactly representing the base well. And they respond up here like the 10-15% they complain about. Al, I’m with you. I would love a friendly rivalry, but I doubt it will happen. This isn’t a Cubs/Brewers thing, it’s a Wisconsin/Illinois thing. They hate Illinois with its tolls, “bad drivers,” and so on. Other than Kenosha’s cops, we tolerate Wisconsin as a vacation destination. I will show respect, and that’s all we can ask I guess.

... as I was putting away my ticket from today’s game. Guess whose photo was on the season ticket for today?

Soriano, grinning away.

That said, we have to expect a couple of rough games like we just experienced, and a couple rough patches, like the one we’re currently going through. I think in the next few weeks, the bullpen will work out its issues, and Soriano will either prove himself worthy of the leadoff spot, or Lou will become impatient and move him to a lower spot in the order. I still think the Cubs are one of the two or three best teams in the National League, and once they get rolling, they will be a fun team to watch again. Hopefully, they can get it going in St. Louis this weekend.

Not normally someone who will rant but….. Mr. Soriano you are not a good baseball player. You are not a good hitter, yes you get into good streaks but when the team needs a solid at bat you are not the guy to call on. You are not a good fielder even though you seem to have the speed and throwing arm to actually be adequate, and maybe even a plus fielder. You should not be hitting lead off nor should you be playing late in games, you have become a role player for a very good team. No, you are not the only one to blame for this loss, Lou should have put Reed Johnson in left to replace you. Kerry should not have hit the lead off man or given up a line drive triple. Kosuke might have been playing a little shallow. With all that said, did you see the catch that Reed Johnson made last week?

…I could steal off Kendall. I am a bit mystified at why Lou didn’t make that call with Soto up.

But that was hardly the worst mistake of the day. What an awful loss….

The Soriano bashing is going to get ugly. It’s really rough when you have watched the team gel over the past two weeks, see Reed Johnson practically risk his life to make "the catch" and see Soriano alligator arm a catchable ball because he gets nervous when he gets within 10 feet of the wall. Ugh.

Any ball hit to Theriot’s right is a 5-/50 deal at best….... nice guy, lots of grit but…... how many better shortstops in the NL? With all the plus and minus to Ronnie’s game…..... I’ll take Ronnie…... sorry.

when the bottom line is that Wood couldn’t get the job done in the ninth.

I’ve yet to experience a winning game at Wrigley. However, the happy news is that it’s just as much fun to attend a game solo as it is with a group of friends. This was my first game as a singleton and, except for those late innings, I had a blast. Never hesitate to attend a game just because you’re solo. Midwesterners are (for the majority) such a well adjusted, friendly bunch. And to be in any part of Wrigley at any time is soul satisfying. Now that I’m armed with this realization, one of these days I’ll get to sing Go Cubs Go too.

There was no reason for Soriano to be out there in the 9th. I think even Dave Kingman might have caught that ball. And while Kerry Wood did get hit hard, if Soriano makes the catch the whole inning is different. This was a brutal, demoralizing loss.

That strike zone was all over the place today. In the 9th there was a specific pitchto Weeks that looked dead on and it was called a strike throughout the game. If that pitch was called a strike Wood who knows what Wood would have done. You can say that about anything though… what if.

Like I said, it’s no excuse to blame an erratic strike-zone but I definitely noticed it more than usual and I heard Brenly gripe about it a couple times.

Heard a promo for this on WTMJ tonight:

http://www.sportsbubbler.com/DisplayTopic.aspx?TopicID=1311

It really does hurt, because he very well may be my favorite Cub of all time. But sorry Al, 4-7 is simply UNACCEPTABLE of a rate for a closer for a team that wants to win the World Series. And that doesn’t even include his first implosion against the Brewers. The other two have come in one run games when you count on your last guy to be shut down guys, and he simply hasn’t been. His fastball doesn’t move enough to really transfix hitters, and even if it did his control is not good enough to overcome that. I don’t think he can miss bats when he absolutely needs to. Contrast that with Marmol who hitters swing and miss by FEET not inches. Our best reliever is Marmol, so really, he should be the closer. He’s going to be anyway, what are we waiting for?

I think it’s very comforting to have this closer discussion, or any other about the team, when it’s playing .600 ball. Makes these feel much less life and death.

But Fukudome was definitely safe at home. I think it is stupid to have an unwritten rule about the ball beating the player, so that pretty much makes them out.

The rule is that you have to tag the guy before he tags the base. It’s that simple.For whatever reason, Kendall pulled his tag up and Fukudome easily slid in under it. Kendall didn’t actually tag him until he foot was at the back of home.

We brewer fans know we got a break on a stupid unwritten rule, but we’ll still take it.

One final note, thank God Marmol is not your closer. I don’t think I’ve ever had the feeling of wanting to get a setup guy out to bring in the closer.

See you guys in Milwaukee. Can’t wait to see half the stadium filled with Cubs fans.

It sounds like it is good I missed us falling apart in the 9th. Were there any walks to help load the bases? I turned it on just as someone (Braun?) hit one over Kosuke’s (sp?) head.

Okay, time to rebound and ramp up for the Cards. Go Cubs!

Dave

Book it,
You heard it here first,
Tomorrows score:
Brewers 2, Cub 1
by Mr W on Apr 30, 2008 8:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I was only off by a couple of runs.

Why didn’t I predict they would win this game after such a great hitting performance the night before?????Because they are the Cubs, period!

Until the Cubs learn to win – and that takes hard work, mental toughness, and good leadership, the Cubs will always be an also ran.

but for me it was even tougher reading the game thread during the top of the ninth. Emotions were running high and it got really dicey, especially due to out favorite negative guest at this blog MDBN?? (aka blue mike). Its tough, but there is no need for that.

that someone usually doesn’t do s**t and hasn’t for a while – but maybe he will in the near future. Oh and by the way – we’re paying him through the nose for 6 more years.

Any guesses as to whom I speaking of?

I still have faith in Wood. And I still think that Sori adds value to the club. I just don’t want him playing LF in the late innings anymore. His offense will eventually come around, but his defense is atrocious.

I had errands to run, and figured that Marmol and Wood would take care of things if I left during the stretch. I was very, very wrong. I promise that I won’t let it happen again.

DMH

===============

Al,

How do you attend a game Wed. night, get to work at 4 am, then attend a Thurs afternoon game? What’s your secret? I’d be a zombie!

If you could, would you rather of had Carlos Lee than Soriano? I mean, I’d take my lumps defensivley with El Caballo because he is consistent with what he does, while Soriano is probably the sreakiest hitter in the game.

It just frustrates me because I know that we were going to go full out and try to sign Carlos Lee after the 06 season, FWIW. I don’t really have a huge source, but I do know someone. He wanted to come to Chicago, bad..

Ueck joined Pat & Ron on the radio side for an inning and talked about a lot of things, most of which were really really funny. When Ron wasn’t cracking up, you could hear Matt Boltz (sp?) laughing in the background.

But amongst all the one-liners, he did come up with what I thought to be a very insightful comment on Yost’s batting the pitcher 8th strategy. Pat was asking if things were different this year with the Brewers offense – evidently their scoring is down or something fairly noticeable. Ueck mentioned that teams were definitely pitching around Fielder – well, ok, that’s pretty understandable. But then he said that the Brewers’ #7 hitter, JJ Hardy, had 26 home runs last year (and 80 RBIs). Those are some pretty awesome numbers coming out of the 7 spot. But this year, with the pitcher batting 8th, teams are pitching around Hardy too, so his numbers are way down.

Obviously we’re only one month into the season, but I thought that to be a pretty astute observation – should be interesting to see if it plays out that way the rest of the season..

...followed the game through Cubs Cubicle, but it was bad managerial move by Pinella to sub. Pie for Johnson…Probably cost us the game. The move makes no sense even if a ball doesn’t get hit to LF.

I didn’t realize that Gagne was pitching the 9th…I don’t trust Cedeno to steal a base so there’s no way I send him. Anyone trust worthy who is a decent runner I’d send. The bunt? Typically, no way, and you don’t expect Pie to GIDP. I don’t like bunting but for one run it can make sense. Given the horrid Gagne on the mound I’m okay with swinging away.

This was a real bummer of a loss. Plenty of blame to go around. Geeze I don’t want to see Soriano bat leadoff anymore, I know it’s one game but I’m sick of this crap, make him take his place down in the order for the TEAM.

1. DeRo
2. Riot/Cedeno
3. Lee
4. Ramy
5. Sori
6. Dome
7. Soto
8. Pie/Johnson

even though it moves Dome down to #6? Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing Sori and Dome flip-flop, but it does leave the middle of the order without a LHB.

When Pie went in, 1st thing I said to my 14 year old was why is Johnson not in left.

We need his glove, bat, speed and energy.

Sometimes I thing Lou and Sori are related !!!

Let’s go 17 – 12 in May and we can all forget today !!!

be in favor of it, but I like your second idea better, and have DeRo in the 6 spot. I don’t think it makes that much difference without having a LHB in the middle. A-Ram is going to hit no matter who’s bats in front or back of him. The consensus seems to be that Sori hits better leading off, but I say leave him in the 5 spot for awhile and see how it plays out. He may just get hot hitting there, who knows?

Can we please get real for a minute and stop denying and rationalizing. Kerry Wood is proving to be his same old enigmatic self from the past, only this time in the all important closer role. But ANYONE who dares critiques Wood or the role he shall serve on this ballclub is blasted. People come to his defense like no other Cub outside of Ron Santo.

A dose of reality. I like Kerry Wood. I admire Kerry Wood. At times I am awed by Kerry Wood. But I don’t for a minute believe I am the only person on the planet who went “oh shit, we’re up a creek without a paddle now” the second Wood hit Craig Counsell. When Wood was a healthy starting pitcher the pattern was forever one dominanting start followed by one awful start followed by one start where he would no hit the opposition for several innings before completely imploding. Now we are seeing the same troubling pattern all over again in the form of a closer.

Take Wood out of the closer’s role NOW. Make him the top setup man. Maybe it’s the pscyhological pressure. All I know is that sure cure recipe for another disappointing season is reliance on Wood as closer.

Carlos Marmol, your table is ready.

It’s guys like Marmol who have nasty movement on their fastball that are unhittable. When Kerry loses it, you can tell early.

Marmol is the friggin next big thing!!! Give him a shot!!

My account is still jacked and I can’t make Fan Posts, so I’ll just leave this here.

You’d think clicking on the picture would take you to some website, but it doesn’t. Laaame.

I did not see the game live and all I saw were the “highlights.” When I heard the sports blab on the way home from work, I half expected Soriano to have been standing with his hands in his pants while the ball sailed over his head.

Maybe I’m wrong, and as I said, I only saw the Soriano “misplay” on the ABC 7 sports report, but it didn’t look as bad as I expected. Plus, Soriano is coming back from a leg injury.

Mind you, this comment is by a Sox fan and someone who’s been attacked here for criticizing Soriano’s defense.

The loss falls on Lou and the staff. The minute that first player stood on first base, all outfielders should have been playing with their backs on the wall. The wind was howling straight out and those dinky flies were carried. If the outfielders were playing back, we would not be blaming Soriano or Dome. And, when was the last time Wood pitched? He should have had an inning in last night’s blow out.

Soriano is a 6 time all star. He has never, as sue(three numbers) pointed out, thrown a tantrum, has always said Lou is the manager and it is his job to do what Lou says. Oh, and did Soriano yell and scream and say “if I don’t get 136 million, I’m gonna cry”? Baseball salaries have been the fault of the owners who are throwing money around like it was confetti. A-Rod was given a $250 Million contract…..that is 1/4 of a BILLION…..Don’t blame the players or hold their salaries against them. There is NO ONE on this site who would have said “man, I just don’t think it is fair that I make Millions of $$$ for playing a game, here, take it back”.....

I think we all need some perspective here.

And I am sure the Cubs will have another tough loss like this one. Really have to move on and get the Cards this weekend.
Couple of things: Dome was safe at home.
Woods sliders were flat as pita bread.
Soriano should of caught the ball.
Theriot is a average fielding ss.
Cubs lost, not individuals, take two out 3 this weekend

But before I go…........ I really like the pitcher hitting eighth…...Kendall was in and come through in several situations on Wednesday night and today…..I just like all the possiblities that presents themselves over the course of the game…. Give Toney his due, I do…..As for Jason Kendall and his new found success at tossing out runners…..may not the Brewer pitchers doing a better job checking the runners then his former team did…....it takes to to tango they say….......

First, Kerry Wood has blown too many saves already. Our choices are: (1) Either Kerry turns that around, or (2) we resign ourselves to a rollercoaster ride like the one we rode with Dempster and Borowski closing, or (3) someone else becomes the closer. (Mármol? Who will throw in the 7th or 8th then? Will Wood blow the game in those innings instead of the 9th?)

Second, I am afraid that inserting Soriano in the leadoff spot will kill the team’s offense. He is not helping out there. We need to make better use of Soriano’s power because it is evident he will not learn to be a patient hitter and will not be on base as needed. Furthermore he is not a threat to run nowadays after all the leg injuries. And right now he is not hitting.

Other bad things happened in this game. Bad defense; bad base running (Theriot), as pointed out by others. We need to keep an eye on those too to see if they keep happening or not.

I am as pissed off as everyone about this loss but let’s realize- we are in the best spot we have been in for a long time at the end of April, and we have also been on the flip side of a lot of these late inning comebacks…Today was disappointing as HELL, but we will bounce back!

I rode a train full of Cardinals fans the other day, excited about the day game victory they had just witnessed. I noticed that another guy on the train was wearing a black Cubs hat. He had come from the game, too, but subtly let his loyalty show.

I said, “We’re in enemy territory” while being squished against more Cardinals fans than I care to think about.
“You can tell?”
“Yeah, I saw your hat.”
“You’re only the second person who’s noticed.”
Afterwards, I announced to the train that I was a Cubs fan. The groans filled the train’s compartment. It made me smile.

Anyways, I will be going to the game tomorrow night, and maybe take some pictures. Weather looks hideous, but I’ll be out there in my #16, lower level, blue home cap on, and probably arguing balls and strikes from 150 feet. It’s going to be great. Go Cubs!

I thought I might see this headling for today’s post, Al. 3 runs by the Brewers in the 9th against Kerry Wood had that feel to it.

As for seeing the Chiefs at Wrigley, it should be a fun time. I just saw them here in mid-Michigan. They are pretty raw, but Ryno’s teaching them the right way. I can imagine that there will be well in excess of 10,000 fans, just to get to see Ryno up close.

Leave it to the Cubs to find a way to make major league profits from a minor league product!

still feeling horrible as I did on the drive home from work yesterday. I agree that Lou should have would have could have put Johnson in LF, but hindsight is always 20/20. Soriano’s return was a complete disappointment and his leadoff capabilities will need to be seriously evaluated. Wood will be fine and a change this early in the season is not warranted. It happens to the best of them and I have COMPLETE faith that he will rebound and be the shutdown closer that everyone wants him to be. This was such a deflating loss, but hopefully the team puts it behind them quickly. On to the Birds…

Lets go down to the river-rat city known as St. Louis and take this loss out on them this weekend. The past few years the Cubs have had the Cards number lets keep that trend going!

I’ve gone from fuming along with Lou to feeling disappointed along with the rest of BCB. I don’t think this will have the lasting sting of the Shea Stadium Debacle from the 2nd to last weekend in 04, but it still has me shaking my head.

Kerry Wood: I love his heart and his willingness to be the stand-up guy in the clubhouse. Between him and the USC graduate, I’ve personally preferred Woody and I’m glad he’s been able to come back from his arm woes. I think he’s a lot like DeRo, another guy who gets the whole Cubs history and what the team means to the city and fans. Also like DeRo, Woody seems struggles when he game is on the line because he gets so psyched up and wants to give 600 percent. Can anything be done to get these guys to just focus on the play or pitch at hand without the burden of goats and black cats and Padres and Marlins?

Alfonso Soriano: it’s hard to dispute the better OBP numbers he puts up at the top of the lineup. Relative to himself, he hits best when leading off. But relative to the other guys on the club, his OBP is last among all the regular starters. I think there can be a happy medium whereby Lou puts Sori in the 6-hole for the current time being and then, as he and the weather warms up, move him higher up in the order. Conversely, if and when Sori starts to slump then move him down in place of better OBPs.

This weekend: expectations are dangerous things, however I expect the Cubs’ offense to net us at least one victory in St. Louis. Maybe two if the starters really step it up.

Out for the rest of the year. Nice knowing ya, Ned!