Bullpen Shines, But Too Late; Cubs' Offense MIA In 4-1 Loss To Mets

…the 9th had potential for a comeback, until Fox decided to hit a Roman Candle.

Would Fonzi have been able to get that ball that turned into a triple? I dunno, but it seems like it should’ve been cut down; instead, Foxy pulls a Manny.

at least the parts of the game I was able to watch. Too bad. I had hoped for a little more fire to complete the sweep.

Z was disappointing- again. Is he TRYING to pitch his way out of town? It makes one wonder…

The Cubs should have won this game. Soto, Soriano, and Fontenot are all suffering from injuries, bad luck, or both. That is why this team sucks and that is why this is such a failure.

Because it is a 7:05 game.

And my other question relates to this:

Now, that may not be 100% accurate, although I have found it to be pretty close in the several years since it was installed at the top of the upper deck

Are there any “true” speed guns? Or does everybody just think the opponents’ is jacked up to scare the other team or to impress home fans? I’ve never used one of these things, but it seems to me that every time one is brought up it is because it’s improperly calibrated or fixed.

Dan

Don’t want Hendry holding on to Harden and Heilman because he thinks we have a chance. Time to shut down some players. Get ready for one last run next season before this team gets really really old.

Time for Big Z to go have eye surgery and get that arm right. Then onto a intense physical training program.

Time for Sori to go to w/e it takes to get back to 100%

Time for Rami to go get that shoulder surgically repaired.

Time for player’s that could potentially help next year’s team to showcase their abilities and for the others to gain some trade value for us.

Most importantly it’s time for those who don’t wanna give up hope, embrace the reality of the situation and get on with it. The one phrase I’m used to as a Cub’s fan- “Their’s always Next Year”

is growing very tiresome…deal him to the Orioles in the offseason for Brian Roberts (solves the 2b problem, frees up big $$) and re-sign Rich Harden.

This team needs an offensive spark plug…to stop the offense from being what hit has been all season…offensive.

What a waste of a perfectly good sophomore campaign; I can’t believe the guy gained so much fat that he’s been rendered useless from March into September. His BAbip is the only reason I can think he’s been fat, horrible, and horribly lucky in 2009. If it wasn’t for his decent June, his stats would be Aaron Miles level incompetency.

He’s either hurt or ineffective or both. He’s had a pretty bad 2nd half (ERA of 4.85, WHIP of 1.692, K/B of 1.35, and I don’t know if his Baseball Reference page has been updated to reflect today’s start) when he’s been healthy and maybe skipping a start isn’t the worst idea. Right now he’s simply infuriating.

Renteria just hit a grand slam in the 7th, the Giants lead 6-5

Renteria just hit grand slam, SF leads 6-5 in 7th.

I know that as a matter of course, most GMs put their entire teams through waivers after July 31. Makes it easier to judge interest, keeps doors open for possible trades, etc. Let’s say Jimbo took the weekend off (Aug 1-2) so he didn’t get started on the waiver submission process until Monday, August 3. I can’t imagine it takes very long to submit 25 names to MLB, does it?

Now with 30 teams doing all this at once, I do imagine there’ll be a little bit of red-tape processing on MLB’s end. But I have to believe at some point in early August, teams can start to look at who’s been put on waivers and put their claims in if interested.

Here’s what I don’t get. Rich Harden was supposedly claimed last week, on Thursday if I read right. That’s August 27. So what exactly was happening from early August until August 27? Is all of August just one big waiver list review period? Seems like there ought to be some sort of “submit your claims by ____” deadline so they can be processed and awarded accordingly.

What am I missing?

now tied with Rockies for WC.

Crom laughs at your four winds.

I do not think that it is automatically a bad idea to swing at the first pitch. The pitcher may show a pattern of throwing some tasty meatballs on the first pitch, and if so, that is just one more thing to take advantage of.

In general, patience is a better idea, and will pay off more often, but first-pitch hitting is sometimes a good strategy.

That said, I didn’t see any of this game, caught a little on Gamecast, so I have no idea whether those first-pitch swings were stupid.

but first-pitch hitting is sometimes a good strategy.

ryan theriot agrees completely

and say, “What more could I have done?”

Clearly, this season has been a failure of fandom.

Time to figure something out —

Cubs put Harden on waivers — some club claims him and they try to work out a deal.

Z has been nothing short of disappointing all season. There have been an awful lot of games where we just sit back and wait for an inning like the one in today’s game. Just take a look at the season and you will see that this has happened way too often.

Z is not a #1 starter. Maybe for another team but until now, he has not shown the consistency required of a #1. Sure there are times when he shows signs of being that #1 guy but not often enough for a true #1.

I fully understand the past history of Harden and his physical problems. But Z has surpassed him this year.

In my mind, it is absolutely ridiculous to throw Harden out for a couple of prospects. Prospects are what they are - crap shots for the future.

Forget the waiver stuff. Pull Harden off the wire and re-sign him this winter.

Huge contract withstanding, I would consider offers for Z over the winter. There are teams that would take him at the price. The Cubs need to take one that would give them a high quality second baseman and an outfielder who could lead off and hit for a decent average.

Pitching is always a premium. Why else would anyong offer to take Heilman off our hands?

To me, Z offers no less hope for the future than Harden and would bring a lot more in return than a couple of prospects.