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Second Verse, Same As The First

Yelloncard_tiny by Al on in Recaps

Stop me if you've heard this one before: the Cubs go out to an early lead, then cough it up because the other guys got ONE key hit, and then the Cubs have numerous chances to get back in the game, but can't get that one key hit themselves, stranding runners all over creation.

You didn't stop me, but that's pretty much the summary of last night's frustrating 5-3 Cub loss to the Cardinals. This photo from cubs.com pretty much sums it up:

Jason Marquis

via chicago.cubs.mlb.com

A look of determination on Jason Marquis' face, probably just before he gave up the critical two-out, two-run double to Albert Pujols that broke the 2-2 tie in the fourth inning. For the rest of the night, it was play-catchup time. And in the seventh inning, the score now 5-2 Cardinals, the Cubs could have and should have gotten back into it -- loading the bases with nobody out and having the middle of the batting order up. Even Alfonso Soriano contributed, singling after Ronny Cedeno reached on a HBP. Ryan Theriot worked the count full and then sliced a single through the infield.

But D-Lee flied out, too shallow to score a run. Kosuke Fukudome's fly ball was deep enough to score Cedeno, but that's all the Cubs could muster against Tony LaRussa's two pitching changes -- got to give the Cardinals credit, so far rookie RHP Kyle McClellan has been lights-out. It's too early to know whether McClellan can keep this up all year, but he is one of the biggest reasons the Cardinals find themselves in first place. I'm still not convinced Todd Wellemeyer is going to be an effective starting pitcher for a full season, but last night, he did the job they needed him to do, and unlike Friday night, St. Louis' bullpen did its job.

And that's all the Cubs got, despite drawing six more walks and having runners all over the place. They really missed having Aramis Ramirez in the middle of the order last night.

Sometimes you have to tip your cap to the other guys. Jason Marquis was shaky again, and perhaps the key play of the game was the walk he issued to Adam Kennedy just before Pujols' two-out double. Kennedy is not an easy player to walk -- his lifetime OBA coming into last night's game was only .329 -- and those two runs were the difference. The Cardinals came through in a critical situation and the Cubs didn't. Those things are going to happen in a long season.

Positive sign: Sean Gallagher threw the last two innings, worked fast, threw strikes (and only 19 pitches total), and kept the game close. He looked far more confident than the scared-looking 22-year-old kid who put up an 8.59 ERA in eight appearances in 2007. If he keeps that up he may wind up in the rotation, if guys like Marquis continue to struggle.

That's enough. Let's move on to Cincinnati to face a team that's really having trouble and beat up on them, starting tonight.

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Marquis:

10 ER in his last 10.1 IP.

Not good.

Cueto:

11 ER in his last 8.2 IP.

Let’s knock him around like the Cards did Jason, shall we?

"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07

by gary varsho on May 5, 2008 7:06 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

Hmmmm.....

Sounds like the second half of a Marquis season. Maybe we can pretend that the rest of the season is the playoffs and dump him from the roster?

by crazymountain on May 5, 2008 7:54 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Gotta take 2 of three in this series

Cincinnati is a pathetic team that needs to be taken care of. If we can’t win 2 of 3 against Dusty’s squad then we are in real trouble

2008 Cubs: Why Beat A Team in Regulation, when you can beat them in extras?

by Chanman25 on May 5, 2008 7:12 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

gotta sweep

just to get to 5-5 our last 10 games

by cozmotaylor123 on May 5, 2008 7:35 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

Dusty learning?

Patterson hasn’t been leading off the past couple of games. Only took Dusty a month to figure it out this time around. Maybe it’s just not the same for him without the magical sounding alliteration of Patterson/Perez batting one-two.

by the nth on May 5, 2008 7:50 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

RONNIE!!!

Maybe Lou will come to his senses tonight and start the hot-hitting Cedeno in place of the slumping DeRosa.

"Hey-Hey! Home Run! Attaboy Ronnie!" ~ Jack Brickhouse

by ronsanto10 on May 5, 2008 7:50 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

I agree.

DeRo really could use a night off. His bat looks slow now. I think Lou tends to lean on him a bit too much at times. I think the constant position changes start to wear on him after a while. It reall makes no sense to grind him into the ground now with ONEDEC having such a hot bat right now.

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

by willie mays hayes' gloves on May 5, 2008 7:58 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Good points.

Especially about the possible effect of the position changes.

by bluekoolaide on May 5, 2008 11:15 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

When...

...Marquis walked the guy ahead of Pujols, you just knew trouble was brewing. You just can’t walk a guy in the situation, without it biting you in the end.

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

by MPH73 on May 5, 2008 7:54 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

It Did Have That Kind Of Feeling...

...didn’t it? Especially since it felt like he already dodged two bullets earlier with Pujols.

Jacque Jones is gone, and I doubt Ivan DeJesus would mind this!

by initram on May 5, 2008 10:08 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Pujols

actually appeared to “mis-hit” that pitch.

That was a big old grapefruit right down the middle of the plate that he usually puts in the seats.

by salparadise23 on May 5, 2008 11:13 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Cubs need a winning streak

They looked pretty uninspired last night. Not too make excuses but playing as a visiting team on Sunday Night Baseball, is a pain in the butt, especially if you have to play on Monday. Mainly because you lose half a day basically like the rest of the teams who play during the day. I imagine that had a lot to do with their “uninspired” play. With one of the better teams in the NL coming in to Chicago this weekend in the DBacks, taking 2 of 3 from a lesser team like the Reds, is needed. Good news for the DBack series, is they will miss Webb (Haren-Scherzer-Johnson).

Over time, your quickness with a cocky rejoinder must have gotten you many punches in the face - Al Swearengen

by lemon20pie on May 5, 2008 7:58 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

I look for the Cubs

to do pretty good against the D-Backs. I know they have started out like a house afire, but I am still not convinced that they are quite as good as they seem. It’s obvious that they may have the best pitching in the league, but I am not impressed with their offense. These guys couldn’t buy a run last year and now, all of the sudden they are the’27 Yankees? They will come back to earth soon and let’s hope it happens this weekend.

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

by willie mays hayes' gloves on May 5, 2008 8:04 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Man, we had them vs Mets as the national game this past Saturday..

they have some GREAT young hitters….and they should be together a long time…..

by crazymountain on May 5, 2008 8:24 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I look for them to continue their losing ways

vs. the D Backs. The Cubs have only won 2 of the 10 season series played and overall are 30-46 against them, then add the sweep in the playoffs last year. This is a team that has our number, seemingly. The only glimmer I see is that we win a season series every 5 years and this is the 5th year since the last one, so maybe…

"WGN, Channel 9 Cubs Baseball, Excitingly, Importantly, Dramatically Yours." - Jack Brickhouse

by BigJohnAZ on May 5, 2008 8:27 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

No doubt abut that.

He has a chance to be something special. He throws hard and has a very good slider. He starts tonight too.

Over time, your quickness with a cocky rejoinder must have gotten you many punches in the face - Al Swearengen

by lemon20pie on May 5, 2008 8:22 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

So

when’s he scheduled for Tommy John? Seems every hot, young hurler goes down at some point their first year or two

"Just because you've had enough/ doesn't mean you wanted too much." -Dean Young

by Kegler on May 5, 2008 11:00 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Forgot to mention that that link contains foul language.

Here’s another article on somewhat related topic

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8092720?MSNHPHMA

Over time, your quickness with a cocky rejoinder must have gotten you many punches in the face - Al Swearengen

by lemon20pie on May 5, 2008 8:21 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Any info on Ramirez ?

have I missed anything important?

by coral on May 5, 2008 8:21 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

Probably not

He just got a couple days off probably due to swelling. If it was anything serious like a broken bone, he’d been placed on the DL already.

Over time, your quickness with a cocky rejoinder must have gotten you many punches in the face - Al Swearengen

by lemon20pie on May 5, 2008 8:23 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I Wouldn't Doubt...

... that Piniella knew that he would be out the rest of the Cardinals series when it happened. He just didn’t want to announce it until the last minute such that the Cards may not be as prepared.

Not that it mattered.

Hey, we were “in” all three games. We seem to be consistently getting guys on base; just not consistently driving them in. Bases loaded, no-one out situations have to yield better results than 1 run…

Jacque Jones is gone, and I doubt Ivan DeJesus would mind this!

by initram on May 5, 2008 10:11 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Most runs scored in the major leagues

This is something you can be happy about. LOB, yes, compare it to the rest of the league.

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on May 5, 2008 10:17 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

The problem with that is

we’ve had several blow out victories that have skewered the numbers. Our offense has been incredibly inconsistent-we’ll blow a team out one day and then not be able to score more than a couple of runs the next game.

by bluekoolaide on May 5, 2008 11:20 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

We've been doing that

for my entire life, 30+ years. That’s nothing new.

"Just because you've had enough/ doesn't mean you wanted too much." -Dean Young

by Kegler on May 5, 2008 11:40 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

OT Where to post site related tech weirdness?

Went and read another topic, came back and a lot of posts were missing. Jumped out to find a way to report what is happening, was asked to creat an account….cancelled that came back here and the missing posts were back…Just my box acting up? Anyone else had that happen? Maybe the dry New Mexico air…....

by crazymountain on May 5, 2008 8:29 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

Send an email to...

... bugreport (at) sbnation (dot) com

Tell them what happened, describe in as much detail as you can, make sure you include what OS and browser you are using.

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

by Al on May 5, 2008 8:33 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

In Indy,

so I’ll be watching on Fox Sports Ohio tonight.

Can’t wait to listen to these guys:

"This is the kind of thing … that makes you want to see the Chicago Cubs team lose." Marty Brennaman

by Bildo1805 on May 5, 2008 8:30 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

I love Statler and Waldorf!

Statler: Wake up you old fool. You slept through the show.
Waldorf: Who’s a fool? You watched it!

"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07

by gary varsho on May 5, 2008 10:27 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Actually, after Marty's latest comments, he's more of:

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is I – Sam the American Eagle. I would just like to say a few words about “nudity” in the world today. And I for one am just appalled by it. Why, did you know that underneath their clothing the entire population of the world is walking around completely naked? Is that disgusting? And it’s not just people, although goodness knows that’s bad enough. Animals too, even cute little doggies and pussy cats, can’t be trusted. Underneath their fur – absolutely naked! And it’s not just the quadrupeds either. Birds too – yes, beneath our fine feathers, birds wear nothing! Nothing at all. Abs… oh m… could someone, hand me a robe? ... Mmmhmm. —‘Source: Second Muppet Show Cast Album’, Discourse on Nudity

"This is the kind of thing … that makes you want to see the Chicago Cubs team lose." Marty Brennaman

by Bildo1805 on May 5, 2008 10:46 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Outstanding!

"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07

by gary varsho on May 5, 2008 10:50 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Joe Buck too..

The game when he railed Randy Moss for fake mooning the GB crowd was a Sam the Eagle rant, verbatim.

"This is the kind of thing … that makes you want to see the Chicago Cubs team lose." Marty Brennaman

by Bildo1805 on May 5, 2008 1:36 PM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Sometimes you have to tip your cap to the other guys

is the Cubs mission statement I think. Sure seems like it Al.

by Mapmaker on May 5, 2008 8:40 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

162-0

Yes we can!

"This is the kind of thing … that makes you want to see the Chicago Cubs team lose." Marty Brennaman

by Bildo1805 on May 5, 2008 8:43 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I don't see any reason

not to replace Marquis in the rotation with Marshall and use Marquis to mop up games we are out of or eat innings in games such as the 19 run game. Marshall did really well last year in the rotation. I think to continue using Marquis is idiocy.

by crazymountain on May 5, 2008 9:02 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

Marshall has never shown

that he can be counted on for a full season in the rotation. You might be able to say Gallagher over Marquis but right now I don’t think the Cubs can count on Marshall to stay healthy and pitch 180+ innings.

by rlpete on May 5, 2008 10:19 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

The rotation

It would be nice if Lou Piniella would bite the bullet and go with the following…Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster, Lieber, Gallagher

I dont’ really care what happens to Jason Marquis. Other organizations have swallowed salary, but unfortunately the Cubs have always been adverse to the notion. They’d rather keep suckage on the roster as opposed to considering somebody a sunk cost. And we wonder why it’s been 100 years and counting.

Sean Marshall in the rotation? No. Not good enough. I’m simply not a fan of Marshall. I don’t like his stuff at all. Keep him in middle relief and mop up duty until he starts sucking, then ship him to Triple A.

by MDBNIU on May 5, 2008 9:07 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

His stuff.....

is looking pretty good so far. Why not give him a shot. He was pretty nasty last night against all three lefties he faced shattering all three bats. He has better command than Marquis, I say give him a shot and see what happens.

All things great in 2008!!

by By Santo's Grace on May 5, 2008 9:57 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Youre arguing against

.......well I dont have a specific answer, but dont get involved. He is trying to get a reaction out of whoever will bite.

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on May 5, 2008 9:59 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Exactly... why not?

What is happening now is what makes me so glad that the Cubs got off to a hot start. It gives them the opportunity to figure out some pitching solutions without falling out of contention – despite the bad stretch they are in, they are only 1.5 games back, and it is still quite early.

I have to agree that a rotation of Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster, Lieber, and Gallagher sounds pretty good to me right now. Marquis could become the mop-up man in the bullpen. And if Gallagher can’t handle it, there is always Marshall (or perhaps a straightened-out Rich Hill) to step in.

by SuperContext on May 5, 2008 10:02 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Not good enough?

Seriously, do you get up in the morning, throw a dart at a list of the Cubs 25-man roster and make it your goal to hate on whichever player the dart lands on? Unbelievable.

Are you forgetting that Sean Marshall was in the rotation in 2006 and 2007? Granted, he struggled like all of the young pitchers did in ‘06 (24 starts, 5.59 ERA), but he put up some pretty solid numbers last year (19 starts, 3.92 ERA). His only question mark, really, has been his durability.

That aside, I’ve always seen Marshall as a good back-of-the-rotation guy. Is he an ace? Of course not. But he’s just the kind of quiet, goes-about-his-business starter a team needs in the No. 4 or No. 5 role. I think the only reason he isn’t in the rotation now is Lieber had first dibs.

Nanika Ga Okoru!

Oh, and remember, folks: Alfonso Soriano is NOT batting leadoff. He's batting first.

by dat cubfan daver on May 5, 2008 10:15 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

If it's your

plan everyday to show people just how ignorant you are it’s working.

by sue369 on May 5, 2008 1:46 PM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

jada lee

was just reading that there has been a huge break in the finding of a cure for lca

Go Cubbies Go!!!!!!

by cubsluver22 on May 5, 2008 9:39 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

Nice!

I hope they continue on to a cure…

You ARE freaking out MAN!

by crw89 on May 5, 2008 9:57 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Do You Have a Source?

I wear the red “Believe the Unseen” bracelet, and would be interested in reading about the breakthroughs…

Jacque Jones is gone, and I doubt Ivan DeJesus would mind this!

by initram on May 5, 2008 10:12 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Here's a source

Link

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

by Al on May 5, 2008 10:14 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

That's great news.

Sometimes it helps to be reminded that there are more important things than baseball.

by bluekoolaide on May 5, 2008 11:25 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

theres was also...

a link to the story on www.prosportsdaily.com

Go Cubbies Go!!!!!!

by cubsluver22 on May 5, 2008 3:20 PM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

FYI for Al

The standings on the right-side bar are, unfortunately, incorrect, as they credit the Cubs with one less loss than they have “earned” (18-12 should be 18-13).

Let’s hope the Cubs go out there and get back on track tonight. I still think this team has a lot of potential and can go further than last year – but they are going through a really bad stretch that needs to end. The silver lining on the cloud of this weekend, though, is that it looks like Ted Lilly is finally rounding into form (and not a moment too soon.)

Here’s hoping for at least 2 of 3 from the Reds, ensuring a .500 road trip. Here’s also hoping for some consistent starting pitching.

by SuperContext on May 5, 2008 9:56 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

Send the report on the standings...

... to bugreport (at) sbnation (dot) com

They should be updating right after games are over.

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

by Al on May 5, 2008 9:59 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Clearly...

a very disappointing weekend that we couldn’t take the series…

All the players in the dugout at the end of last nights game, looking dejected, is a picture that I can’t get out of my head. Hopefully, we can get this straightened out against Cueto and the Reds…

You ARE freaking out MAN!

by crw89 on May 5, 2008 10:01 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

Hopefully

For fantasy bball sake, Cueto goes 9 innings and gives up 1 run. Cubs 1 Reds 0

YAY

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on May 5, 2008 10:05 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I'll take that my man!

You ARE freaking out MAN!

by crw89 on May 5, 2008 11:35 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Marquis

In that picture, Jason has ninja turtle mouth.

I used to be "Jones," but I got swooped on the redesign.

by Mr Snrub on May 5, 2008 10:06 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

LOL!

Perfect!

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

by Al on May 5, 2008 10:12 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I prefer

Le Marquis de Mediocre

It’s got a nice alliterative ring to it.

"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07

by gary varsho on May 5, 2008 10:53 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I wonder how many times he got beat up as a kid with that name?

As a kid I remember how cruel we kids in Rogers Park were. A kid with the first name of “Marquis” wouldn’t have made it out alive. Hopefully, he grew up in a nicer and kinder part of the country. :-)

by zevkalman on May 5, 2008 11:18 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I know May has started off disappointing...

But we started off April going 1-3 in our first 4 games as well, then we won 5 in a row. Here’s to the start of another 5 game winning streak tonight!

''As long as he doesn't talk World Series, I'm happy.'' Lou Piniella on Ronny Cedeno.

by CubsBullsBears on May 5, 2008 10:17 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

Interesting Stat.

The Cubs have outscored their opponents in each of their last three series and have lost all 3 of them. I can’t see that stat. continuing.

by MerigoldBowling on May 5, 2008 10:21 AM CDT reply reply   0 recs

I'll take the results of the 2007 Diamondbacks.

Well, up to what they did in the NLCS, anyway.

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

by Al on May 5, 2008 10:50 AM CDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

PIE!!!!

Man, when is Lou going to let Pie play? I thought he was the future of our center field?? Just let him play everyday and get in the groove. I remember wheh Sandberg was a rookie, he started the season something like 1-33 and we all know the rest is history. We have 3 choices: 1) Trade him, 2) Send him to Iowa, 3) Play him everyday. I vote for 3). We don’t want another Corey situation.

"Hey-Hey! Home Run! Attaboy Ronnie!" ~ Jack Brickhouse

by ronsanto10 on May 5, 2008 11:38 AM CDT reply reply