Bleed Cubbie Blue - Cubs vs. Cardinals Sunday Game ThreadsA Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47557/cubbieblue.png2013-08-11T18:01:39-05:00http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/rss/stream/43663092013-08-11T18:01:39-05:002013-08-11T18:01:39-05:00Cardinals 8, Cubs 4: More Bullpen Failures
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<figcaption>Dilip Vishwanat</figcaption>
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<p>The bullpen did a good job Friday and Saturday and the Cubs won. The bullpen did a bad job Sunday. Can you guess the result?</p> <p>This recap of <a href="http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2013_08_11_chnmlb_slnmlb_1" target="_blank">the Cubs' 8-4 loss to the Cardinals</a> Sunday afternoon is going to be mercifully short, while I work on a recap of the Kane County Cougars game I attended in Geneva.</p>
<p>First, I want to apologize -- I neglected to attach all the game threads to the stream, as I normally do; was going to do that via my phone and simply forgot. I see that you found them anyway; this won't happen again.</p>
<p>The game was long enough -- a ridiculous three hours, 44 minutes, and here I thought the 3:08 game time of the Cougars game was dragging -- that I was able to listen to the last two innings in the car heading home from Kane County. I shouldn't have bothered -- every other minute, it seemed, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a> hitters were getting hits off <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> relief pitchers, and there is the story of the game.</p>
<p>The Cubs did a nice job of coming back from a 4-1, third-inning deficit to tie the game with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. Unfortunately, <span>Edwin Jackson</span>, having thrown a ton of pitches yet again (84 in five innings) had to be lifted for a pinch-hitter during that rally (<span>Logan Watkins</span>, who grounded into a force play), and the bullpen simply couldn't handle success. <span>Blake Parker</span>, <span>Hector Rondon</span> and <span>Michael Bowden</span> coughed up seven hits, three walks and four runs to the Cardinals from the sixth through the eighth inning; only <span>James Russell</span> was untouched, but by the time he came into the game, Parker had already given up the lead.</p>
<p>So for those of you who slogged through this mess of a game, I'm sorry. If there's one Cubs game this month that I had to miss watching, this appears to have been a good one.</p>
<p><span>Starlin Castro</span> had three hits, including a double, and has his batting average over .250 (at .252) for only the second time since early June (it was also over .250 for a brief stretch on the last road trip, too). Let's hope he can continue to build on this; since his enforced day off in Milwaukee June 25, Castro is hitting .293/.326/.435 in 184 plate appearances, which is much closer to the career norms he established in his first two seasons. Keep that up for the rest of the year, and that should lead to good things going forward.</p>
<p>But first, the Cubs have to fix the back end of the bullpen.</p>
<p>Now, if you'll excuse me for a bit, I will be writing and posting a recap of the Kane County Cougars game, probably within an hour or less after this one goes up. The Cubs will open a series against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Reds</a> Monday night at Wrigley Field, with <span>Travis Wood</span> facing <span>Mat Latos</span>.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/8/11/4612306/cubs-cardinals-recap-starlin-castro-edwin-jackson-mlb-scoresAl Yellon2013-08-11T16:00:09-05:002013-08-11T16:00:09-05:00Overflow Thread 3: Cubs vs. Cardinals, Sunday 8/11
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/M-MYqs5bUrVrEetMc2RplL6mb50=/0x250:2667x2028/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/17707439/175961507.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Dilip Vishwanat</figcaption>
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<p>----</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/8/11/4565526/overflow-thread-3-cubs-vs-cardinals-sunday-8-11-1-15-ctAl Yellon2013-08-11T15:15:01-05:002013-08-11T15:15:01-05:00Overflow Thread 2: Cubs vs. Cardinals, Sunday 8/11
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/anxQwjDrOAM7NfLQqp_SI8GNAto=/0x0:2667x1778/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/17707403/175961449.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Dilip Vishwanat</figcaption>
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<p>----</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/8/11/4565524/overflow-thread-2-cubs-vs-cardinals-sunday-8-11-1-15-ctAl Yellon2013-08-11T14:15:06-05:002013-08-11T14:15:06-05:00Overflow Thread 1: Cubs vs. Cardinals, Sunday 8/11
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/g5TCj8DuFwb1j6oY12CA8vW54XI=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/17707383/175961508.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Dilip Vishwanat</figcaption>
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<p>----</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/8/11/4565520/overflow-thread-1-cubs-vs-cardinals-sunday-8-11-1-15-ctAl Yellon2013-08-11T12:00:04-05:002013-08-11T12:00:04-05:00Cubs vs. Cardinals Preview, Sunday 8/11, 1:15 CT
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sdwhk0lGADFS5dK-Wu9ZQP0CogQ=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/17707299/175961462.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Dilip Vishwanat</figcaption>
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<p>The Cubs have a chance for their first sweep in St. Louis in almost three years. That'd be... sweet.</p> <p>I am heading to Geneva, Illinois, this afternoon to check out the Kane County Cougars game against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Unfortunately, I'll miss <span>Albert Almora</span>, who's on the disabled list, but I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the squad, including Tayler Scott, the scheduled starting pitcher.</p>
<p>So I'll have two recaps to post later this afternoon -- one on the Cubs/Cardinals game, which I'll be able to follow primarily through Gameday, and a separate recap on the Cougars game, hopefully with photos.</p>
<p>If you're going to the Cougars game today, check <a href="http://www.twitter.com/bleedcubbieblue" target="_blank">the BCB Twitter feed</a>; I'll tweet my seat location when I get there.</p>
<p>In the meantime, <a href="http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/sveum-cubs-need-rizzo-and-castro-pick-it" target="_blank">check out this CSN Chicago article</a> in which Dale Sveum tells it like it is:</p>
<blockquote>
<pre>As the organization heads toward another winter of rebuilding, the focus will again be on <span>Anthony Rizzo</span> and <span>Starlin Castro</span>, who are supposed to be fixtures for years to come.
"We definitely have to get Rizzo and Castro going on a consistent basis these last seven weeks of the season," manager Dale Sveum said. "We have to get these guys hot or we’re going to really struggle."</pre>
</blockquote>
<p>No question about it. Management has made a statement that those two players were supposed to be the beginning of the new "core" by handing them both long-term contracts. It's time for them to start producing.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> lineup:</p>
<blockquote>
<pre>DeJesus cf, Lake lf, Rizzo 1b, Castillo c, Schierholtz rf, Murphy 3b, Castro ss, Barney 2b, Jackson p</pre>
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<p>The Cardinals lineup was not available at the time I wrote this post, had to head out early to get to Kane County. Check the BCB Twitter feed later for the Cardinals lineup.</p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="680"><tbody>
<tr class="yspsctbg">
<td class="ysptblhdr" align="center" height="18"><center>
<h2><i>Today's Starting Pitchers</i></h2>
</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="ysptblbdr2">
<table class="yspwhitebg" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="680"><tbody>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" height="3">
<spacer type="block" height="1" width="1"></spacer><spacer></spacer>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<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/9212" target="newwindow"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2904895/joekelly.jpg" alt="Joe Kelly" border="1" height="480" width="320"></a><br><a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/9212" target="newwindow">
<h2>Joe Kelly</h2>
</a> <br><h2>Cardinals</h2>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="ysptblbdr2" colspan="35">
<spacer type="block" height="1" width="1"></spacer><spacer></spacer>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ysprow2" valign="top">
<td class="yspscores" align="center"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/bvsp?playerId=5842" target="newwindow"><center>
<h2>vs. StL</h2>
</center> </a></td>
<td class="yspscores" align="center">--</td>
<td class="yspscores" align="center"><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/bvsp?playerId=31992" target="newwindow">
<h2>vs. Cubs</h2>
</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<hr class="widget_boundry_marker">
<div class="pane sports_data_widget player_stats clearfix">
<table class="zebra">
<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>7-12</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>127.0</td>
<td>135</td>
<td>78</td>
<td>70</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>42</td>
<td>103</td>
<td>4.96</td>
<td class="td-last">1.39</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>
</div>
<hr class="widget_boundry_marker">
<hr class="widget_boundry_marker">
<div class="pane sports_data_widget player_stats clearfix">
<table class="zebra">
<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>Joe Kelly</span>
</td>
<td>3-3</td>
<td>29</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>66.1</td>
<td>67</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>24</td>
<td>46</td>
<td>2.98</td>
<td class="td-last">1.37</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>
</div>
<hr class="widget_boundry_marker">
<p>Edwin Jackson has two starts against another of his former teams, the Cardinals. <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN201307110.shtml" target="_blank">The one at Wrigley Field</a> was really good; <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN201306190.shtml" target="_blank">the one in St. Louis</a>, not so much. Despite having a rough outing against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thegoodphight.com/">Phillies</a> in his last start, Jackson has a 3.38 ERA and 1.103 WHIP in his last seven starts (since June 30). He's walked just nine in 45⅓ innings in those starts, struck out 30, and given up only three home runs. Keep that going and today could be a success.</p>
<p>Joe Kelly threw 5⅓ decent innings against the Cubs <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN201307120.shtml" target="_blank">July 12 at Wrigley Field</a>. Since then he has made three more starts and allowed just one earned run in 17⅔ innings. The Cubs will have a tough time with him today; current Cubs are a small-sample-size 9-for-29 against Kelly.</p>
<p>Today's game is on WGN.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/index.jsp?ymd=20130401#date=8/11/2013">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_08_11_chnmlb_slnmlb_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/118403/pregame">SB Nation game preview</a></p>
<p>Please visit our SB Nation <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a> site <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Viva el Birdos</a>.</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 StoryStream™, 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 StoryStream™. 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/2013/8/11/4562788/chicago-cubs-st-louis-cardinals-lineups-preview-sundayAl Yellon