The whole 9 hours...

by preachermancubsfan on Jul 16, 2008 1:06 AM CDT

was anyone else so nervous from like the 8th inning on that marmol was gonna come in and get lit up? but then the another part of me thought that it could be just what he needs to come in and do good against a few all stars. confidence booster! i was so nervous!

he came in and looked pretty good, maybe not great, but close! slider was working. command was there.

anyones thoughts on this turning him back to his early season form, or at least an era under 3-4 the rest of the way out?

well, i hope to get some good responses on this post, or i guess you can tell me im beating a dead horse, lol

sidenote. z shouldnt have pitched at all. they should have saved him to play 2b late instead of uggla, lol

love you all!

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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I was thinking the same thing

once the game had tied the last thing I wanted was for marmol to come in and blow it. I never would have heard the end of it from all my friends. But he almost looked like the marmol of old, freezing a few batters. His slider did look different though…....it seemed more of a 1-7 break than his 3-8.

by StlCUBBIE on Jul 16, 2008 1:52 AM CDT 0 recs

They had to use Marmol.

They had to use all their pitchers. I had fallen asleep already so I didn’t see him pitch but a scoreless inning is a scoreless inning.

"Check the magic of a winning season and there are always reasons beyond the talent." Ned Colleti

by wrigleyrocker12 on Jul 16, 2008 8:24 AM CDT 0 recs

I was nervous as hell the whole time he was pitching, because I wanted him to be the Carlos we all know and love.

He pitched a damn good inning and hopefully he will carry that over into the second half.

Missouri Tigers 2008 Cotton Bowl Champs

by nji232 on Jul 16, 2008 8:27 AM CDT 0 recs

Yep

I too was out cold when Marmol came in, but I did watch Dempster come in and strike out the side. Pretty impressive. I was pleased with the pitching.

On a side note….what the heck was up with Uggla last night? I bet he felt like a penny waiting on change after the game.

"Oh, I get a little tired now and then, but knowing my lifestyle, that's only natural." -- Harry Caray

by Cribbs463 on Jul 16, 2008 8:31 AM CDT 0 recs

I made it to somewhere around the 13th inning.

Then I looked at my watch and thought, “Crikey, it’s almost midnight. I have to work tomorrow!” and turned it off.

I’m glad to hear Marmol did OK – maybe that outing will be a big confidence booster for him. I did see Dempster K the side, which was really sweet. And I was proud of Aramis for drawing the walk that could have won the game. It was nice to learn that Big Z pitched well, too. (I missed that part.)

All in all, a disappointing result. But oh well.

Nanika Ga Okoru!

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 16, 2008 9:24 AM CDT 0 recs

I stayed and watched the whole darn thing

and the amount of Yankee worship, bad commercials and McCarver babble about lobotomized me. It was beyond pathetic. I stayed up to see how the Cub players did.

Overall:

Kosuke Fukudome is beginning to scare me. His hacking reminds of Dustyball. I know he’s better than this and he’s trying wayyy too hard.

Geovany Soto’s defense wasn’t up to par and his AB’s were all strikeouts, if I recall. It was just some tough base running he was up against, but the foul ball catch was pretty good. I held my breath when he stumbled over that bat and Manny Ramirez watched.

Z , Demp and Carlos were lights out. And seeing Z get Manny’s attention with that high pitch over his head was a scream.

A-Ram was fleetingly called a potential hero by one of the talking heads when he drew a walk .. a great AB. They should have KEPT HIM IN THE GAME, but nooooooo they lifted him.

And what was the DEAL with Uggla??? That man’s going to have nightmares the rest of his life about those 3 errors and his 3 pitch strikeout AB.

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

by cubnational on Jul 16, 2008 10:07 AM CDT up 0 recs

i have to agree, but was surprised

Marmol had to fight through some of the toughest hitters there and the worst he got was that 3-1 count. He did very well.

I hope it does increase his confidence. It should show him that YES, he can take on any hitter in the majors and own them.

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

by cubnational on Jul 16, 2008 9:57 AM CDT 0 recs

Let's hope this is actually the case.

Now, he has three days off, and he didn’t throw that many pitches. He should be well rested for the Houston series.

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

by Al on Jul 16, 2008 10:23 AM CDT up 0 recs

I was thinking last night maybe we all have it wrong

maybe it is a CONCENTRATION issue not confidence! He is mentally wore out getting up for so many appearances. He was sharp last night and he just didn’t get mechanics back during the flight to New York! I know many have said his shoulder is flying out but this is concentration too. Maybe the mental break was what he needed. That’s my opinion and so far it’s different that everyone elses!

This is only the beginning....Lou Pinella end of '07 season and Chicago Transit Authority (the band when they were really good).

by mrcubsfan on Jul 16, 2008 2:09 PM CDT up 0 recs

marmol

hopefully if this is a confidence thing it helped. I’ve obviously stated my opinions enough previously, but I also noticed some of the relative “flatness” in his slider than before as well as a few drops down in velocity from time to time (90-93 with the fastball, occasionally touching 95, and 81-83 with the slider, occasionally touching 85, instead of working 93-95 and 83-85), but maybe that’s just confirmation bias seeping in

The results ended up being a positive one though so hopefully this is a turning point for Carlos, he certainly didn’t have his confidence lifted by all the booing on Saturday as indicated by his comments

“They were all booing me," he said. "I don’t know why. I didn’t try to do that."

by DartmouthCubsFan on Jul 16, 2008 10:53 AM CDT up 0 recs

Further evidence of why booing a Cubs player...

....is counterproductive and ridiculous.

Nanika Ga Okoru!

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 16, 2008 11:12 AM CDT up 0 recs

Well said.

Furthermore, regarding the Cubs in the ASG, I’m really glad none of them, especially our three pitchers, played a whole lot. Should be pumped and ready to go on Friday.

I'm thinking you weren't burdened with an overabundance of schooling, so why don't we just ignore each other til we go away.

by neverAcquiesce on Jul 16, 2008 12:24 PM CDT up 0 recs

preaching to the choir

for some reason “the right to boo” is more important than the goal of trying to help your team

either that or people believe negative reinforcement will create positive results… who knows

either way I don’t see the point in it. From my perspective why would I be interested in playing somewhere I was going to get booed anytime i gave full effort and didnt get the desired results, I personally wouldn’t. So I always think of the booing at the very least as a mild deterrent to FA’s

by DartmouthCubsFan on Jul 16, 2008 1:10 PM CDT up 0 recs

Yeah, I try not to take...

...the whole “fan as member of the team” thing too far. For instance, I try to avoid using “we” and “us” when referring to the Cubs. Nonetheless, those are my guys out there, and just as it would be ridiculous for DLee to boo Reed Johnson when he strikes out, I think it’s ridiculous for fans who want the best from their team to tear down its players.

Nanika Ga Okoru!

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 16, 2008 1:42 PM CDT up 0 recs

I still don't see the problem with booing.

You are not booing “the player”, as if you hate him. You are booing his performance. Players have no trouble accepting cheers and adulation when they do something good. The reverse should be true, and in fact, many players have said, “I deserved to get booed”, when they did something sucky.

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

by Al on Jul 16, 2008 2:02 PM CDT up 0 recs

agree to disagree

I’m also cheering for players BEFORE I’m judging their performance as well. So they’re not just getting cheers for performance, they’re getting cheers because they’re “our guys” as dat cubfan mentions and we’re cheering them on hoping to make them perform better. Its why everyone gets up on their feet with 2 strikes, we’re trying to will that 3rd strike and “root on” our guys

Isn’t that the essence of being a fan? You’re cheering to try to impose your will in the player and by supporting them you’re trying to lift them. Consequently when you’re booing opposing players you’re trying to make them feel worse and force more pressure upon them, hoping to hinder performance??

Now whether you believe the effects of a crowd have any impact on the players performance is another argument all together, but if you DO believe the effects of a crowd can impact a players’ performance I don’t see how you could rationalize the idea that booing would be helpful, when its clearly used as a hindrance tactic with opposing players

by DartmouthCubsFan on Jul 16, 2008 2:29 PM CDT up 0 recs

Yeah, I see your point, Al...

...I just think, if players are paying any attention to the crowd at all, groans and pained silence and facepalms convey disappointment/frustration with performance just as well if not better than boos. (And these are usually how I react to poor play.)

And that’s assuming a player even needs his poor performance pointed out to him. (I kinda doubt Dan Uggla did last night, for instance.) When all’s said and done, I just think booing is counterproductive – and it may even boost the other team’s momentum when things are going badly for the Cubs.

Nanika Ga Okoru!

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 16, 2008 2:46 PM CDT up 0 recs

Players don't hear "pained silence".

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

by Al on Jul 16, 2008 4:47 PM CDT up 0 recs

I think they do.

How many times does an announcer say, “And so-so [on the opposing team] just silenced the crowd”? That’s what I mean. Players know when the crowd goes quiet, they’re probably not doing their jobs.

Nanika Ga Okoru!

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 16, 2008 9:21 PM CDT up 0 recs

2 cents

I boo poor effort and stupid plays, like when Cedeno overshot second base on walk.

I don’t (or try not to) boo failure for it’s own sake. I’m assuming that laziness and stupidity are not the reasons the Cubs do poorly against a Tim Lincecum, or the reasons Albert Pujols hits a homer off a Cubs pitcher.

But laziness and stupidity shouldn’t be tolerated.

Think of how stupid the average person is, and remember, half of them are stupider than that!

by DaBard on Jul 16, 2008 3:05 PM CDT up 0 recs

I certainly did think that

I hope it helped him because I’m sure he feels like crap.

by coral on Jul 16, 2008 10:39 AM CDT 0 recs

I'm always nervous

when my guy is pitching and less nervous when hitting. Sure would have liked to see Ramirez get at least a second at bat but he was taken out of the game. The 3rd error by Uggla was really a bad hop so couldn’t get to upset with him on that one but the other two were really terrible.

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings. ~Earl Wilson

by tucsoncubsfan on Jul 16, 2008 10:41 AM CDT 0 recs

I was at the bowling alley drinking a little with a group of aout 10 people til about 3 am

and when Marmol was warming up, I stopped and held up the game because I had to go into the bar and watch the game… I was so nervous… turned out alright though

"This balls got a chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannce, GONE!" - Pat Hughes

by SouthsideCUBSfan on Jul 16, 2008 10:51 AM CDT 0 recs

You were drinkin' in a bowling alley 'til 3 am watching the All-Star Game with your friends?!

Now that’s what I call livin’ the High Life!

Nanika Ga Okoru!

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 16, 2008 11:17 AM CDT up 0 recs

and now youre a Brewers fan...

Ok – You’re not.

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

by Hammer on Jul 16, 2008 6:44 PM CDT up 0 recs

It's been said by about everyone

already but I was watching and as soon as I saw Marmol warming up I thought no don’t put him in he’ll blow this game. After watching his inning all I can think is that one inning might have been what he needed to get himself right. And hopefully the unhittable Marmol comes back for the 2nd half.

by CHCOWNTHECENTRAL on Jul 16, 2008 11:04 AM CDT 0 recs

Of course Marmol pitched great...

The NL wasn’t using him with a 5 run lead! One decent inning aside Marmol still scares me on multiple fronts. One he’s still seemingly headed for 100 or so innings this year, and it seems all too easy to cut that down by not wasting him in blowouts, which hopefully we’ll see in the 2nd half? Also (and I freely admit this could be observer error) I don’t recall the last batter that looked bad on a Marmol fastball. The slider is still there, but it seems as of late the fastball is simply a show pitch and any swing and a miss on a strike is going to come from a breaking ball. Carlos is a little young to evolve into Larry Anderson Jr. so with any luck 3 out of 4 days off and fewer low leverage innings in August and September and we’ll still have a fresh Marmol by the end of the year.

by GSG on Jul 16, 2008 11:31 AM CDT 0 recs

Marmol needs to locate his fastball better...

But during the All Star game he was doing that. His biggest problem the last month was that hitters were sitting on the slider because the fastball wasn’t getting over. Once he gets his fastball over hitters can’t do that anymore. A great example was in the All-Star game (where he was getting his fastball over) on the 3-1 pitch to I think Michael Young where he got buckled on the breaker. You don’t see many pitchers that can buckle Michael Young on a 3-1 pitch. If he locates his fastball he has one of the best if not the best stuff in the Bigs.

by pie20 on Jul 16, 2008 2:02 PM CDT 0 recs