Bleed Cubbie Blue - Cubs vs. Brewers Wednesday Game ThreadsA Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47557/cubbieblue.png2013-08-01T08:00:12-05:00http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/rss/stream/43267852013-08-01T08:00:12-05:002013-08-01T08:00:12-05:00Cubs 6, Brewers 1: Edwin!
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<figcaption>Reid Compton-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>At last, the Cubs' $52-million man pitched like he was worth that four-year contract.</p> <p>About 52 hours elapsed from the time of the first pitch Monday night to the recording of the final out Wednesday. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brewers</a> played four games in those 52 hours; the sum total of the game times was 12 hours, 56 minutes and, tacking on Wednesday night's rain delay, 14 hours, two minutes but at times, it seemed as if the teams were playing for just about all of those 52 hours. Even when they managed to get the game time under three hours (2:46 Wednesday; just 21 of the Cubs' 107 games this year have been that length or less, and it would have been shorter if <span>Blake Parker</span> hadn't muddled through a 21-pitch ninth inning), the one-hour, six-minute rain delay caused the elapsed time from start to finish to be nearly four hours.</p>
<p>Fortunately, Wednesday night's lengthy stay at the ballpark for the Cubs resulted in <a href="http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2013_07_31_milmlb_chnmlb_1" target="_blank">a 6-1 win over the Brewers</a>, and there was much goodness to be found, so let's get to it.</p>
<p><span>Edwin Jackson</span> had the best start of his Cubs career; I wouldn't say he "tired" after the rain delay (although he flung his first pitch after the delay to the backstop), because he dispatched of the rest of the sixth inning and all of the seventh without incident. But in the eighth, a single and a double scored the Brewers' only run. If not for that, Jackson might have been allowed to go for a complete-game shutout. He has just three of those in his career. Even better than that: Wednesday night's win was just the third start of Jackson's career (out of 225 games started) where he's thrown at least eight innings and not walked anyone.</p>
<p>That, I think you'll agree, we'd love to see more of. In his last six starts, Jackson has posted a 1.56 ERA and 0.942 WHIP, issuing just seven walks in 40â…“ innings. Now, after a really rough start, he's looked like the guy Theo & Jed signed to that four-year, $52 million deal. Starting pitching has been a Cubs strength this year, and at last, Jackson has joined the rest of the rotation in that strength.</p>
<p>Something that hasn't been a strength has been the team offense, particularly <span>Anthony Rizzo</span> and <span>Starlin Castro</span>, both of whom have had disappointing seasons. Both homered Wednesday night; Rizzo's was announced at 382 feet but must have been at least 50 feet longer, considering it disappeared over the fence past the 400-foot sign and about 10 rows into the right-center field bleachers near the batter's eye. Rizzo also doubled and is on a 7-for-17 run in his last five games (with four walks, too). Hopefully, this will lead to a good August for him.</p>
<p>Those of us with smartphones had been watching a compact, but intense line of thunderstorms bear down on the north side of Chicago for at least 45 minutes before it hit with two out in the top of the sixth; there wasn't the usual warning of a light rain before the harder rain. Heavy rain began to fall and the grounds crew had to scramble to get the tarp on the infield. It rained hard for about 20 minutes, less so for another 20 and they had the field ready to go nearly as quickly as the rain started; the Cubs completed the scoring on a two-run double by <span>David DeJesus</span> in the bottom of the sixth. By that time, probably two-thirds of the far-below-capacity crowd had left, and maybe 3,000 stayed to see the Cubs win, shortly after 11 p.m.</p>
<p>The announced number of tickets sold was 29,817. That's the smallest number of tickets sold announced for a July home game since 29,618 on <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN200207220.shtml" target="_blank">July 22, 2002</a>, more than 11 years ago.</p>
<p>The good things coming out of Wednesday's win, we hope, will begin to lead to better baseball in 2014 and beyond, so that crowds like that won't become the norm.</p>
<p>The Cubs open a four-game series with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> Thursday night. The Dodgers are the hottest team in the National League; they've gone 26-7 since June 22. But you know what? The Cubs have played decent baseball since that date, ranking fourth in the NL with a 19-15 mark. Perhaps they can still make something decent out of this homestand.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/8/1/4578196/cubs-brewers-recap-edwin-jackson-anthony-rizzo-mlb-scoresAl Yellon2013-07-31T21:50:04-05:002013-07-31T21:50:04-05:00Overflow Thread 3: Cubs vs. Brewers, Wed 7/31
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<figcaption>Reid Compton-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>----</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/7/31/4557478/overflow-thread-3-cubs-vs-brewers-wednesday-7-31-7-05-ctAl Yellon2013-07-31T21:05:03-05:002013-07-31T21:05:03-05:00Overflow Thread 2: Cubs vs. Brewers, Wed 7/31
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<figcaption>Brian Kersey</figcaption>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/7/31/4557476/overflow-thread-2-cubs-vs-brewers-wednesday-7-31-7-05-ctAl Yellon2013-07-31T20:05:04-05:002013-07-31T20:05:04-05:00Overflow Thread 1: Cubs vs. Brewers, Wed 7/31
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<figcaption>Reid Compton-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/7/31/4557470/overflow-thread-1-cubs-vs-brewers-wednesday-7-31-7-05-ctAl Yellon2013-07-31T17:00:08-05:002013-07-31T17:00:08-05:00Cubs vs. Brewers Preview, Wednesday 7/31, 7:05 CT
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<figcaption>Brian Kersey</figcaption>
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<p>One of these days, the Cubs will figure out how to defeat a N.L. Central team. Perhaps today will be that day.</p> <p>So, we have reached the non-waiver trading deadline and the Cubs have made no further trades. Given the fact that they made three major deals involving two starting pitchers and a starting outfielder, this shouldn't be really surprising. Sure, there were rumors involving several Cubs, but that doesn't mean they <i>had</i> to be dealt; I assume Theo & Jed were holding out for real value in return. When they didn't get it, they didn't deal. They did get good value for the three deals made earlier in July.</p>
<p>You can stand down now from constant following of Twitter rumors. Or not, if you choose. I suppose it's possible that the Cubs will make a waiver deal in August -- or they could just stay put and start work on next offseason. I'll have some more thoughts on the trading season, likely tomorrow, after the dust settles.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Cubs continue this season; they're two games away from the two-thirds mark, and even with the poor results the last three days, still seem on pace for a mid-70s win total, which would be an improvement over last year.</p>
<p>I mentioned this in the recap to the Tuesday doubleheader, but really, what is it with this team and its own division? I can understand losing to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Reds</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsdugout.com/">Pirates</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a>, all of whom look like they're in the postseason this year, but the Brewers? Without three of their best hitters? The Cubs are 15-31 inside the division, 33-27 against everyone else. That just makes no sense at all.</p>
<p>Another note: the Cubs optioned <span>Jake Arrieta</span> back to Iowa Wednesday afternoon. Some thought he might stick in the rotation. He'll be back.</p>
<p>Cubs lineup:</p>
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<pre>DeJesus CF, Borbon LF, Rizzo 1B, Schierholtz RF, Valbuena 2B, Castro SS, Castillo C, Ransom 3B, Jackson P</pre>
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<p>Hmmm. Another day off for <span>Darwin Barney</span>. (No, not a trade, obviously. Wonder what's up?) Also, <span>Junior Lake</span> gets a day of rest, probably just to clear his head. <span>Julio Borbon</span> hasn't started a game since July 10, so why not?</p>
<p>The Brewers lineup was not available at the time I wrote this post. Please check <a href="http://www.twitter.com/bleedcubbieblue" target="_blank">the BCB Twitter feed</a> for the Brewers lineup.</p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="680"><tbody>
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<h2><i>Today's Starting Pitchers</i></h2>
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<td class="ysptblbdr2">
<table class="yspwhitebg" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="680"><tbody>
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<td class="yspscores" align="center" width="45%">
<a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7241" target="newwindow"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2682615/edwinjackson.jpg" alt="Edwin Jackson" border="1" height="480" width="320"></a><br><a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7241" target="newwindow"> </a><center> <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7241" target="newwindow">
<h2>Edwin Jackson</h2>
</a> </center> <br><center>
<h2>Cubs</h2>
</center>
</td>
<td align="center" width="10%">vs.</td>
<td class="yspscores" align="center" width="45%">
<a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/9019" target="newwindow"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2824623/wilyperalta.jpg" alt="Wily Peralta" border="1" height="480" width="320"></a><br><a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/9019" target="newwindow">
<h2>Wily Peralta</h2>
</a> <br><h2>Brewers</h2>
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<td class="yspscores" align="center"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/bvsp?playerId=5842" target="newwindow"><center>
<h2>vs. Mil</h2>
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<td class="yspscores" align="center">--</td>
<td class="yspscores" align="center"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/bvsp?playerId=31140" target="newwindow">
<h2>vs. Cubs</h2>
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<thead><tr>
<th></th> <th>W-L</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>CG</th> <th>SHO</th> <th>SV</th> <th>BS</th> <th>IP</th> <th>H</th> <th>R</th> <th>ER</th> <th>HR</th> <th>BB</th> <th>K</th> <th>ERA</th> <th>WHIP</th>
</tr></thead>
<tbody><tr>
<td class="td-name td-first">2013 - <span>Edwin Jackson</span>
</td>
<td>6-11</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>114.0</td>
<td>117</td>
<td>70</td>
<td>62</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>40</td>
<td>97</td>
<td>4.89</td>
<td class="td-last">1.38</td>
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<table class="zebra">
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<th></th> <th>W-L</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>CG</th> <th>SHO</th> <th>SV</th> <th>BS</th> <th>IP</th> <th>H</th> <th>R</th> <th>ER</th> <th>HR</th> <th>BB</th> <th>K</th> <th>ERA</th> <th>WHIP</th>
</tr></thead>
<tbody><tr>
<td class="td-name td-first">2013 - <span>Wily Peralta</span>
</td>
<td>7-10</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>125.0</td>
<td>133</td>
<td>79</td>
<td>63</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>50</td>
<td>79</td>
<td>4.54</td>
<td class="td-last">1.46</td>
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<p>Edwin Jackson has made two starts against the Brewers this year, both in Milwaukee. He gave up a bunch of runs in <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL201304200.shtml" target="_blank">the first one</a>, but most of them were unearned. The second one? <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL201306250.shtml" target="_blank">You really don't want to look.</a> (Don't say I didn't warn you.) The good news: Jackson in his last five starts has a 2.51 ERA and 0.983 WHIP and just two HR allowed in 32&frac13; innings and has his season ERA below 5 (4.89) for the first time all year. Keep up the good work, Edwin.</p>
<p>Wily Peralta has faced the Cubs twice this year. <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN201304090.shtml" target="_blank">He threw pretty well against them April 9 in Milwaukee</a>; not so much <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL201306270.shtml" target="_blank">June 27 at Wrigley Field</a>. Peralta was having a really good July (one earned run in 29&frac13; innings) until the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.purplerow.com/">Rockies</a> hit him real hard in his last start. Let's hope the Cubs can keep that up.</p>
<p>Today's game is on WGN.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/index.jsp?ymd=20130401#date=7/31/2013">Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.</a></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2013_07_31_milmlb_chnmlb_1&mode=gameday">MLB.com Gameday</a></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/previews/CHC.shtml">Baseball-reference.com game preview</a></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/events/130063/pregame">SB Nation game preview</a></p>
<p>Please visit our SB Nation <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brewers</a> site <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brew Crew Ball</a>. The usual caution is advised.</p>
<p>Here's the scoop on game threads for 2013. You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStreamâ„¢, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.</p>
<p>In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.</p>
<p>You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "<a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Chicago Cubs</a> Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (<a href="http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/game-threads">you can also find them in this section link</a>). They will also appear in this StoryStreamâ„¢. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.</p>
<p>Discuss amongst yourselves.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/7/31/4562674/chicago-cubs-milwaukee-brewers-lineups-preview-wednesdayAl Yellon