All Is Not Wells: Bullpen Implosion Ruins Randy's Gem, Cubs Lose 6-5 In 12

He was fantastic last night. Time after time I watch the Cubbies go up against the kind of pitcher that Wells was last night and wonder, why don’t we have one of those? Now we do. Really great. If Fonty was a little taller he would have gotten out of the 7th with the no-hitter. Wonder what Wonder Hampster’s vertical leap measure is? 8 inches?

Lou has to realize that Marmol has to be kept on a very very short leash. It was immediately apparent that he didn’t have it last night and should have been pulled right away. Another game today. Go Cubbies!

No one would have predicted his hot start – but he always seems to get 100 rbi’s a season. So to say you could not predict his start fine (the HRs are a little off), but he is always around a 100 rbi’s.

I personally think the Cubs gave up on Fukudome too early.

does Lou not order Jones walked w/ 1st base open? Apparently, he couldn’t hear me screaming through the tv screen.

in a very long time. What on earth does it take to get Randy Wells a win?! He’s been OUTSTANDING and nothing to show for it.

And as much as what I’m about to say pains me, Geo needs a break. He deserves some blame as well. Kevin Gregg had to get 4 outs that inning because of the PB, that 2 run homer should never have happened. He looks shoddy throwing people out as well. They need to figure something out there, this is just ridiculous. :(

He’s been great this season. Unfortunately, he seems to have picked up the “hard luck” mantle this season. He deserved better last night and this season. Hang in there Randy.

As for the rest of the game, I agree with your initial assessment Al. This one goes up to if not at the top of the “BAD CUBS GAMES” ladder. This one stunk.

I guess the lesson here is when you strive to build a balanced team, you go 81-81.

Sigh…

Though I’m interested to see what happens the second time he starts against a team. Still I was awful excited watching him mow down hitters and keep his pitch count down.

The problem has become Geovany Soto and his lack of power/defense. That was a very blockable pitch from Gregg last night, and Soto couldn’t get his body in front of it. If he isn’t going to hit for plus power then Koyie Hill should start and Soto should be sent to AAA. Tell him to go down there, lose 10 pounds, and hit homers. The PCL should allow him to get his power stroke back that way the good Geovany Soto is back and we don’t have to watch this new Soto become more and more useless.

Excellent point made by Brenley last night, i.e., Marmol’s the type of pitcher that has nasty stuff and makes the HS team, gets a signing bonus, etc., whereas Wells is the guy that gets ignored. Even though Wells throws strikes. I have a son who’s a pitcher, HS age, who is like Wells.

Very frustrating game, another one to go down in infamy.

He mentioned that both want to win, but when Lou is frustrated it shows and rubs off on the team, whereas Cox was out there cheering on his team, helping them out with Fly Balls, etc.

Is Lou getting too old for this game? (Not physical age, but just mental age)

Maybe the Cubs should draft catchers in every round and make them pitchers.
 This is what Lou wanted, no Wuertz, no Eyre and get every lefthanded bat ( except the ones that don’t get hurt, Abreu, Dunn, and Ibanez) that is standing.
 I can only hope Bradley goes on the DL, becasue of the contract situation. Hated the signing from day 1.
 And Soto needs a trip to Iowa.

+1

we need to assume that if we’re going to right this ship and win this division, we cant count on Bradley. Any contribution from him will be gladly expected, but me personally, I dont expect much from him anymore.

I was again disturbed at the problems the plate umpire was having:
*Missed the call when the ball hit Escobar’s bat. Jesus, you’re standing right there. WTF??
*Was apparently having difficulty with the heat. It’s hot. In Atlanta. In June. Who knew?

Not the reason the Cubs choked, but still, this is a professional sport.

Escobar’s fake HBP. The ball hits the bat and he goes on and on like it hit him in the head. I sure wouldn’t liked to see a perfect game ruined by an acting job. BUt I guess the bullpen implosion kept us from talking about that.

Wells looked GREAT. Here’s hoping he’s the real deal and another true ‘great starter’ for the Cubs.

I already knew the Cubs lost. In fact, in the ninth inning, with one on, I somehow felt Gregg was going to give up a home run and the Cubs would eventually lose. They did. Yeah, it was frustrating to watch, and yeah, it made me angry, but I’m happy I stayed out of the thread last night. This isn’t a knock against Al because I love this website. Google Chrome knows I love it, and Speed Dial knows I love it too, but I almost feel as if I can’t even read the threads because of a handful of people that pollute it. The occasional troll doesn’t bother me, but there’s a group of people that continue to troll, flame, and fight with a lot of the regulars. Some of these people that are so incredibly disruptive have also done things outside of here that I would consider unethical. It’s unfortunate that you can’t ignore these people either because they’re spewing their negativity in either fresh posts, or in replies to other people’s posts. No amount of reasoning works either.

What I want to finish with is, many of you know who I’m alluding to. Those of you I am alluding to know who you are. All I ask is to think about what you’re saying. I know that’s a lot to ask because those of you I am referring to feel as if you can say anything on the internet and not take into account how someone else may feel. Like Al and others have said before, be respectful. Would you behave this way with a group of us if we were chilling at Murphy’s before a game, or inside the park during a game? Would you be such a negative presence that you would make everyone else around you resent you? I would imagine the answer to that is no. So please, take this into consideration. We don’t all have to be hugs and kisses with each other, but have some tact and be mindful of others.

where do I get my Randy Wells jersey? :)

Frustrating game thats for sure. Crowd was probably 50/50 cubs/braves fans.

However I was surrounded by braves fans and was sitting next to a smart braves fan which I always enjoy anywhere.

Cubs played great baseball for 7 1/2 innings. Timely hitting, a couple bombs, great double play turned by Blanco early in the game to keep Wells on pace to face the minimum.

Then it blew up.

Even though Wells had only thrown 83 pitches I agreed with the removal. Had just lost the shutout then a wierd play where Lee just drops a throw. Bring in a fresh attitude before anything crazy happens. But why Marmol in this situation, four run lead, one guy on. This seems like Guzman to me. However, Marmol needs to due better obviously, but doesn’t this seem to happen to a lot of late inning guys when they come in to games that are not exactly close.

Top nine the cubs responded with nothing and went 1,2,3 and that hurts but the lead is still there.

My only thought on Gregg’s ninth is it happens. He struck out Anderson on a good breaking pitch that bounced close to the plate from my angle. It looked like Soto might have been a little slow but it also appeared to bounce a little oddly. Still have to get frenchy out who I mentioned to the guy next to me he could delay his demotion to AAA with a big swing, which he ultimately got (damn).

Hielman is what he is. I was glad he gave us at least one more chance to score runs.

Few other thoughts. Why pinch hit for Soto if your going to bunt. Let Soto at least try, I know he hasn’t done it a lot if at all, but why lose a player in an extra inning game to give up an out. Killed me. Also, you must walk Chipper in that situation (you did it earlier). Face McCann with the double play in tact.

Terrible ending to the game but what a promising start to Randy Wells career as a Cub. I was excited about that leaving the game.

Sorry for the Length, but a couple of quick things from the stands last night.

A family of four braves fans sitting a few rows behind me started a, hey you know he is throwing a no-hitter, really a no hitter, (increasing volume) no seriously a no hitter… right before Chipper got his hit. I am not superstitious so I found this quite funny.

But not as funny as the drunk braves fan with the annoying voiced gf cubs fan who called everybody in his phone to tell them he was at a game that went to overtime. Yes he used overtime numerous times, never extra innings. Spectacular.

And last but not least the guy who answered the mid inning trivia question of who did Jeff Francouer hit his first ML HR against by selecting the Red Sox from the three options of Cubs, Astros, and Red Sox. Brilliant (the smart braves fan next to me said as soon as he read the question fourth ML at-bat vs. the Cubs, which I never confirmed, but believed)

I noticed a bunch of these things have been discussed since I started typing but oh well and I completely agree with you Craig (I did the same thing this morning).

Thanks for reading (if you lived threw it).

First, Randy Wells deserves a victory, and we’ve been denying it to him for weeks. Second, we needed to get a hot start on a long road trip, and everything was clicking through seven innings. Third, our biggest weakness—our bullpen—couldn’t hold a 5 run lead. I was simply ecstatic through 7 innings, then was resorted to looking between my fingers as my hands covered my face the rest of the game. I have no idea how teammates can trust guys like Marmol, Gregg, or Heilman after last night’s crap. What a heartbreaker.

And to top it off—Jeff Franceour hit the dong! Jeff Franceour! Bob Brenly was amazed that Frenchy had only run the count to 3-0 ONCE this season…then Marmol did the same damn thing! Walked him on four straight pitches! This kinda thing is inexcusable.

Finally, as for the game threads…the trolls come out of the woodwork when we are losing. There’s nothing we can do about it. Get a few jabs in and make fun of them, but then just ignore the buggers. It’s been this way for a loooong time on BCB game threads, it’s not going to change. In fact, it only gets worse when we lose a lot. Deal with it.

Dan

The guy was awesome last night. I don’t even know what to think of Marmol any more. His on again off again pitching is going to grow tiresome.

I agree something has to be done with Soto. Whatever they decide they need to do it soon.

all I have to say is Randy Wells look very similar to Chris Carpenter. I’m talking strictly looks, not sure if that comparison has been made here.

that Marmol is falling into the every other year thing for relievers because of the overuse the year before? His walk rate is horrible.

Tearing the cover off the ball, doesn’t even get a chance to swing the bat in a 12-inning game?

For my behavior on the boards last night. I was out drinking with some friends before getting on the game threads right before the Cubs had their meltdown.

Not that it should be any sort of an excuse, but I was pretty quick to challenge anyone who was attacking my team, and in doing so, I was using some pretty poor language choices.

Again, I want to say sorry to whomever might have been offended by my language.

I love this community, and should respect it as such.

the catcher the Cubs got from Detroit in the Neifi deal, is hitting around .333 in Iowa. Until now, his rep was a good defensive catcher who couldn’t hit.

Bring him up and send Soto down.

It’s June, we’re two months into the season. Our offense has been a big problem all year.

We have a guy who’s surprisingly hitting very well in Koyie Hill. We can’t afford to continue to trot Geo out there when he’s simply not getting it done.

I can’t help but feel as if last night’s game will be looked back on after the season as the turning point of 2009. For all of it’s problems, this team is only 4 games out. How they respond to last night’s lose will, IMHO, determine the fate of the ’09 season.

Here’s to hoping that the Cubs dwell only on the positives from last night and get the first W of the road trip tonight.

and no mention of Hank White……

Guys isnt it funny that Hank White leaves and Soto starts to suck?