Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Preview, Friday 9/2, 1:20 CT: See You In September
by Al Yellon on Sep 2, 2011 11:15 AM CDT
in Chicago Cubs Game Threads
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Well, here we are; it's September and that means baseball will be leaving us soon; it ends (except for those teams heading to the playoffs) three weeks from next Wednesday. As bad as this season has been, we will miss baseball when it's gone for the winter.
In the meantime, the Cubs will try to make September as good as August was. The last time they faced the Pirates, they swept a four-game series in Pittsburgh to start August off. If they can sweep again, this time in a three-game set, they would be tied with the Pirates for fourth place after Sunday's game.
The Cubs were 16-13 in August, their first winning calendar month this year. Since August 1 -- which includes that four-game Cubs sweep in Pittsburgh -- the Pirates are 8-23. They were in first place in the NL Central on July 19. Since that date, they are 11-31.
This would be a nice weekend to keep Pittsburgh's slide going.
Cubs lineup:
Castro SS, Johnson RF, Ramirez 3B, Peña 1B, Soriano LF, Byrd CF, Soto C, Barney 2B, Dempster P
Remember, today's Pirates starter is a lefthander. Also, Bryan LaHair has been reported on his way to Chicago and might be available to pinch-hit today.
Pirates lineup:
Presley lf, Harrison 3b, Walker 2b, McCutchen cf, Jones 1b, Paul rf, Cedeno ss, McKenry c, Burres p
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Ryan Dempster has made three starts against the Pirates this year. One was pretty good, one not quite so good (but he and the Cubs won anyway) and one was pretty bad. The Pirates player who really crushes Dempster is Neil Walker (7-for-12, .583, two doubles, one HR, five RBI, two walks).
Brian Burres made 20 appearances (13 starts) for the Pirates in 2010, but has spent the entire 2011 season at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he has come close to replicating his 2010 major league season. Of current Cubs, he has mostly faced Carlos Pena (6-for-18) and Marlon Byrd (3-for-13), both of whom homered off him twice in his time in the AL with the Orioles. A repeat of that today would be nice.
Today's game is on CSN Chicago and ROOT Sports Pittsburgh. Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Pirates site Bucs Dugout.
Today's first pitch thread will be up at 1:20 p.m. CDT and the overflow threads will post at 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm and 4 pm CDT. If you need more overflows due to extra innings or rain delays, post them in the fanshot section.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
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First!
So what.
Help bring Boys of Spring The Movie to life!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1742828131/boys-of-spring-the-movie
Second.
Interesting that Pena is hitting cleanup against a lefty. Says something about Jeff Baker — who’s had a really bad second half, despite his ‘untouchable’ label. Also, it says something about the other right handed bats (Byrd, Soto, Soriano).
Or maybe it just says Quade is mailing it in.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Baker has 3 RBIs since the ASB.
And an OPS of .501. Seriously, why in the f*** did the Cubs think they shouldn’t trade that guy?
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
If by interesting...
you mean moronic, agreed! His batting average against lefties is worse than his abysmal average w/RISP. Even if Baker is unable or Quade unwilling to play him today, and Pena HAS to play – don’t bat him cleanup for God’s sake. He should be batting seventh in this lineup.
I love baseball but I'm totally ready for it to end
Maybe I’ll miss it in a couple months but the Cubs just wore me down this summer.
I don't have cable or any baseball packages
so I usually watch about 100 games a year at my local sports bar, I have watched about 10 this year, so at least my liver is benefitting from the cubs suckiness this year:)
Marilyn Monroe "yogi your a pretty cool guy"
Berra " Marilyn you ain't so hot yourself"!
I live in Chicago, about five miles from Wrigley.
I walked by an absolutely packed sports bar last night. I hadn’t seen that in a while.
Then, I realized that football season started last night. Given how bad the Cubs and Sox have been, I bet the sports bars in town are pretty happy that football can bring in some more customers.
In 2008, sports bars were routinely packed for Cubs games.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
That's not working for me.
Their suckiness is driving me to drink. Then I’m getting to go to more games because other people don’t want to go and are giving me their tickets. My poor liver.
Cracker Jack does not have an "s", even in the plural.
Who's off-season would you rather have, the Cubs or Pirates?
We’ve discussed the Cubs ad nauseum. They weren’t buyers, sellers, or window shoppers at the deadline. While their friends went to the mall, they stayed home and watched the grass grow. The Pirates went shopping, and got Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick, hoping they would be the veterans tolead the kids down the stretch. Instead, they tanked, Lee’s on the DL and Ludwick isn’t playing today. What do they do this winter? Did they play over their heads the first half and this is the real Pirates now, or do they need to try and reload again before next year? Lee and Ludwick are not the future, so outside of Walker, McCutchen and possibly Jones, what do they really have?
Help bring Boys of Spring The Movie to life!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1742828131/boys-of-spring-the-movie
I'd take Walker, McCuthen and Jones over what we have.
That’s a nice nucleus to build around. That said, the Cubs have more resources to add in the offseason.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
And seemingly less will poser to do it.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 2, 2011 11:42 AM CDT up reply actions
Funny typo.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
They also have Tabata and Presley...
…both of whom appear to be decent, young outfielders. And, of course, Joel Hanrahan — a very good closer. I think the general story on them is that they were just extraordinarily lucky with their pitching earlier in the season, and it eventually fell apart. I’m bummed for them, actually. I really wanted to see them have a magical season like the Cubs had in ’08 or the Reds had last year.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
Caption
Quade "cmon lopesy gimmee the ball
Lopez “no”
Quade “lopesy gimme the ball”
Lopez " promise me"
Quade “all right I won’t start a minor league call-up next week.”
Lopez " yippee, you can have the ball back" wait your not putting in grabow are you there’s runners on base?"
Quade “lopesy”
Benny hill style chase begins around mound!
Marilyn Monroe "yogi your a pretty cool guy"
Berra " Marilyn you ain't so hot yourself"!
Please, Lopesy, don't be so mopesy.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
Aw, I thought you'd be locked and loaded.
About Twitter, I guess my best answer is I’ve had some changes to my work situation that have resulted in me being online a lot less. I’ve been reassessing just how much energy I want to dedicate to the Internet. And, of course, as is true for all of us, this Cubs season has been pretty draining and demoralizing. Of course, as you can see, I still can’t resist the siren call of BCB. Thanks for asking, though. I appreciate that.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
But if you're not on the internet you miss stuff like this:
"I'm not a broadcaster! I'm me!"--Ron Santo
OMG IT WORKED!!!11
Waitaminute…
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
Lets sweep them for fun!
We'll miss you Big Boy. #10 for Hall of Fame.
by mrcubsfan on Sep 2, 2011 11:54 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
It's not just for fun -
We’re three games behind Pittsburgh, so a sweep moves us into a tie for 4th place!
by Jody Jody Davis on Sep 2, 2011 12:02 PM CDT up reply actions
2 things I will not miss
at least immediately…
Stupid nicknames and thinking “How bad are they gonna loose today?”
Speachless...
I hate tight looses.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
This season has been a painful one
(in more ways than one) but I agree with Al: We will all miss it when it ends for the year.
"Chicago baseball fans, who are composites of scar tissue and mortifying memories..." - George F. Will
Avatar provided courtesy of AndrewJStone.
Pena batting cleanup against lefties
I have a feeling that Pena is starting today because he’s not going to start again for a while. A few games for the kid LaHair. A few games for Colvin. Pena is obviously going to test the market after his pillow contract. I say let him.
Baker is not really a good baseball player. He has been batting third and fourth because Quade got so very excited after a strong April and May, during which his power numbers were feeble anyway. I don’t get it. Baker’s numbers year after year are perfectly mediocre. A new GM with genuine powers of statistical analysis won’t stand for low OPS / poor K/BB hitters like this anymore. I hope.
PS Why not bat Byrd second if all he does is hit singles with nobody on? Did this occur to anyone at all?
-- Jerome Horwitz
by KO Stradivarius on Sep 2, 2011 12:14 PM CDT reply actions
Is this serious or sarcastic?
Marilyn Monroe "yogi your a pretty cool guy"
Berra " Marilyn you ain't so hot yourself"!
which part?
Byrd is hitting .346/.391 with nobody on this year. Why not bat him at the top of the order? Obviously Dr. Jaramillo isn’t helping him this year. With RISP, every swing he takes looks like he’s fighting it off. It’s odd.
-- Jerome Horwitz
by KO Stradivarius on Sep 2, 2011 12:37 PM CDT up reply actions
Sorry I wasn't being snarky
90% seemed serious, with 10% sarcastic undertones:). I’m never really sure with some of the posts on this site. To answer your question I don’t think Byrd is enough of a situational hitter to fit the mold of a second batter. Brett Jackson on the other hand seems like a great second batter. I’m excited about him and Castro in the 1-2 spot in the future although I think it will be Jackson- Castro not casto-Jackson.
Marilyn Monroe "yogi your a pretty cool guy"
Berra " Marilyn you ain't so hot yourself"!
Re: Byrd ...
traditionally, your No. 2 hitter needs to be able to take a few pitches and advance runners. Reed Johnson isn’t an ideal choice for that, but Reed doesn’t swing at the first pitch 90 percent of the time.
I actually don’t have a problem with Pena playing today. Baker sucks, and Colvin and LaHair are also left handed (to say nothing about bad defense).
Here’s what Quade really should do: Soriano mashes lefties. Why not hit him cleanup today?
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Y'know, I must admit....
…I didn’t realize until just now how far Bakesy had fallen this season. His numbers do look awful. But, in Jeff’s defense, he’s been worth a little over 1 WAR in each of the last two seasons — that’s not bad for a utility player. Plus, Federal law requires me to mention his .381 career wOBA against LHPs. Having said all that, with Ryan Flaherty coming along, maybe it is time to move on.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
Nothing about Jeff Baker should give him an untouchable label.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
We Want LaHair!!!!
"Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship into port." --Steve Stone, September 2004
Meh. Not against a lefty.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
I know you're joking, but I am interested in seeing the guy play.
He’s something new and different, and other than Kosuke and the scrap-heap rotation, there’s been little change for the Cubs since April.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
I stand by my comments.
Campana is the new Ced Landrum.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
But he is new and different!
And is that an anagram for something?
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
For a team that has the collective total speed....
of a herd of land tortoises, I would not be opposed to brining back Ced in his late 40’s as the 25th man on this roster. He still could be a more effective pinch runner than anyone on this year’s team, except Tony C.
"Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship into port." --Steve Stone, September 2004
Not Surprising
Is it surprising that the cubs hit a ton of homers in August and won games…….unfortunately, the roster as constructed combined with Quade as a manager = mostly homer or nothing baseball!
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
Go Cubs!
My first week of pre-med classes is done.
Minor League Contributing Writer, Athletics Nation.
State high point count: 4/50
If you are grouchy, irritable, or just plain mean, there will be a $10 charge for putting up with you.
by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 2, 2011 12:24 PM CDT reply actions
Been wondering where you were.
Hey, doc, my arm’s broken!
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 2, 2011 12:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Glad to see the Cubs have improved their plate discipline.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Well, at least they're making solid contact.
A DRaysBay and FanGraphs writer from Cubs Stats and Twitter @BradleyWoodrum
That's what you get for throwing inside!
I spent 90% of my money on women and drink. The rest I wasted - George Best
Soriano needs to use a bat that small
instead of swinging the tree trunk that he currently uses, of course, it wouldn’t help with the outside slider/curveball.
Finally! Da, da, da da danana...whoooo hoooo!
J/k.
However, for those of us pining for LaHair (and really just something different than what we have), let’s relax. I can see him playing once a week………so unfortunately, we will have no idea if can succeed or not. Now, I know many many think he can’t….all I’ve said (since august 2nd) is play him everyday and see. I think cubs owe us an obligation for next year to get in line guys now that may or not be helpful in 2012.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
A few names
Brooks Kieschnik, Rosey Brown, Julio Zuleta. Micah Hoffpauir.
Michael Morse.
You know, for every ten Kieschnik’s, you find a Morse.
Brian LaHair has done everything a hitter can do in the minors this year. His numbers during his brief callup in 2008 were not that bad… and if Von Joshua really did help him, then maybe he’s serviceable. At least average.
I just don’t get giving ten million to a bad hitter like Pena. Is this all about saving the throwing errors of Ramirez and Castro? Well, maybe if they have a different guy over there, Castro will take his time and plant his feet better.
-- Jerome Horwitz
by KO Stradivarius on Sep 2, 2011 1:25 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
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