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Pregame Thread: Cubs vs. Reds, Thursday 8/21, 1:20 CT

By Al Yellon

Next Game

Cincinnati Reds
@ Chicago Cubs

Thursday, Aug 21, 2008, 1:20 PM CDT
Wrigley Field

Josh Fogg vs Carlos Zambrano

Mostly cloudy with a 30-percent chance of rain. Winds blowing from right to left field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game Time temperature: Around 80.

Complete Coverage >

Interesting Barry Rozner column today in which he:

  • Calls out Alfonso Soriano for not running hard enough on the fly to left last night;
  • Says Lou is frustrated with Kosuke Fukudome and may start giving him days off.
  • Bruce Miles writes about Geovany Soto and also says: September callups are likely to be Kevin Hart, Koyie Hill, Felix Pie, Michael Wuertz, Micah Hoffpauir... and Angel Guzman. That last one would surprise me, but maybe Guzman IS ready after all.
  • Former #1 pick Mark Pawelek apparently upset the organization because, according to Bruce, "club officials said Pawelek did not acquire a passport in time for a team trip to Canada." Pawelek has been sent home.
Today's Starting Pitchers
Carlos Zambrano
C. Zambrano
Cubs		 vs. Josh Fogg
J.
Fogg
Reds
12-5 W-L 2-5
3.38 ERA 7.71
107 SO 38
53 BB 24
15 HR 13
vs. Hou -- vs. Cubs
W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP
2008 - Carlos Zambrano 12-5 24 24 0 0 0 0 157.0 144 62 59 15 53 107 3.38 1.25
W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP
2008 - Josh Fogg 2-5 19 11 0 0 0 0 65.1 83 59 56 13 24 38 7.71 1.64

The Cubs will get to face Josh Fogg for the second time this year. The first time, on April 16 at Wrigley Field, they had seven hits, two walks and nine runs off him in two-plus innings. Fogg's lifetime ERA vs. the Cubs is 6.33 in 21 starts and players currently on the team are hitting .364 against him, including Derrek Lee (.441), Jim Edmonds (.429), Aramis Ramirez (.333, 4 homers, 16 RBI), and even Carlos Zambrano (3-for-7).

Z, for his part, acknowledges his mechanical problems:

"I’ve been rushing a little too much and I’ve been working with the pitching coach on correcting some things in my approach," Zambrano said.He faced the Reds on July 9 at Wrigley Field and allowed only one hit in eight innings -- a HR to Adam Dunn, who's no longer on the team. Dunn had been a particular tormentor of Z's -- only Edwin Encarnacion (10-for-28, 2 HR) among current Reds has hit him well.

Today's game is on CSN Chicago only -- no Reds TV, so EI viewers will see Len & Bob. Also see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Once again, a reminder that you can find the overflow comment threads, including the first pitch thread, on the right sidebar of both the front page and any interior page in the box headed "RECENT STORIES IN GAME THREADS". Today's first pitch thread posts at 1:15 pm CT, and the overflow comment threads will post at 2:15, 3:15 and 4 pm CT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

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