The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good

Brett Jackson

The Chicago Cubs young 24 year old center fielder, Brett Jackson, made his major league debut, and didn’t  let the club down. Jackson went 2-4 including a walk and a strikeout. Jackson was batting .256 with 106 hits, 22 doubles, 12 triples, 15 homers, 47 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases. Jackson was one of two players to be called up for Sunday’s game vs the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Anthony Rizzo

The Chicago Cubs rookie first baseman, Anthony Rizzo had 2 hits in Sunday’s 6-7 loss to the Dodgers. Rizzo went 2-4 with a single and a game tying homer in the 9th inning to make it 6-6 at the time. Rizzo now has 5 homers, 12 hits, and 13 RBIs in his last 10 games. Rizzo is now batting .310 on the year and was named N.L. Rookie of the Month for July.

Neil Walker

In the Pirates 6-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, Neil Walker contributed with a big blast of his own. Walker went 2-4 with a single and a homer in the 2nd inning to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead, and they never looked back from there. Walker is batting .292 with 12 homers and 58 RBIs on the season for the Pirates.

A.J. Burnett

The Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher, A.J. Burnett, got his 4th win in a row Monday against the Cincinnati Reds. Burnett went 8.2 innings giving up just 2 runs off 3 hits. Burnett is now 14-3 on the season, which ties him for 1st in the N.L. in wins on the season. Burnett has given up just 5 runs over his last 4 starts, including a complete game 1 hit shutout against the Cubs. Burnett is now 8-1 over his last 10 starts and has lowered his ERA from 3.52 to 3.19.

Stephen Strasburg

The Washington Nationals starting pitcher lit it up from both sides of the plate in a 4-1 victory over the Miami Marlins. Strasburg went 6 innings giving up 3 hits while striking out 6. Strasburg also went 1-2 at the plate with 2 RBIs to help himself get his 12th victory of the season. Strasburg is now 12-5 with a 2.97 ERA, and 160 strikeouts, which is first in the N.L.

Hunter Pence

The San Francisco Giants newly acquired right fielder, Hunter Pence, had his first multi-hit game with his new clubs. Pence went 2-5 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and 1 run scored. Pence is now batting .267 on the season with 64 RBI.

Yonder Alonso

The San Diego Padres first baseman, Yonder Alonso, continued his hot streak behind the plate Sunday against the New York Mets. Alonso went 2-4 including a double, a homer, 1 run scored, and 1 RBI.  Alonso now has 16 hits over his last 10 games, and has improved his average to .270 on the season.

Kyle Lohse

The St.Louis Cardinals starting pitcher, Kyle Lohse, got his 6th straight start in a row against the Milwaukee Brewers. Lohse went 6 innings giving up no runs off 4 hits while striking out 6. Lohse improved to 12-2 on the season with an ERA of 2.79

The Bad

Ryan Braun

The Brewers left fielder, Ryan Braun, went 0-4 in the Brewers 0-3 loss to the St.Louis Cardinals. Braun is now 0-7 in his last two games with 4 strikeouts. Braun is now batting 3.11 on the season after the small 2 game skid.

Matt Harvey

The New York Mets starting pitcher, Matt Harvey, got his 2nd loss in a row Sunday against the San Diego Padres. Harvey managed just 5 innings while giving up 8 hits and 5 earned runs. Harvey is now 1-2 on the season with a 3.86 ERA.

John Buck

The Miami Marlins catcher, John Buck, continued to struggle behind the plate Sunday against the Washington Nationals. Buck went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts and is now batting just .172 on the season. Over his last 10 games Buck has just 4 hits with 12 strikeouts.

Homer Bailey

The Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher, Homer Bailey, couldn’t keep the Reds hot streak alive. Bailey could manage just 4.2 innings giving up 4 earned runs off 9 hits. Bailey is now 9-7 on the season with a 3.98 ERA

The Ugly

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs have now lost 5 games in a row after being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs have given up 29 runs during this 5 game skid.

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are by far on the worst streak of any team in the MLB this season. The Astros have loss 30 of their last 34 games and are now 36-73 on the season making them the worst team in all of baseball.

Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are battling the Houston Astros for the worst record in baseball after losing 30 of their last 43. The Rockies are now 38-68 on the season and are in last place in the N.L. West.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good

R.A. Dickey- The Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey won his 6th straight start and in similar fashion to his last outing. For the 2nd straight start R.A. Dickey gave up just 1 hit. Dickey went 9 scoreless innings while 13 lowering his ERA to a staggering 2.00 on the season. Dickey now leads the league in wins (11), strikeouts(101), ERA(2.00), and whip(0.89).

Joey Votto- The Reds 1st baseman added to his league leading average to .368 going 2-4 with a homer and 2 RBIs in Mondays 9-10 loss against the Cleveland Indians. After lossing his 14 game hit streak, Votto has started another  7 game hit streak.

Brian Bixler- The Astros 2nd baseman improved his average to .313 on the season after going 3-5 including a homer, a double, 2 runs scored, and 3 RBIs. It was Bixler’s first home run of the season as he has just played in 13 games this year after returning from injury in April.

Cubs bats- The Chicago Cubs batters slugged 5 homers, 12 runs, and 15 hits against the crosstown rival Chicago White Sox. 5 Cubs players had at least 2 hits including Castro(3), Lahair(2), Soriano(2), Valbuena(3), and Soto(2) and 8 of the 9 starters had a hit. This was the Cubs highest scoring game of the season.

Aramis Ramirez- The Brewers 3rd baseman improved his average by .10 points to .262 after going 3-3 including a double, a homer, a walk, and 3 RBIs. Aramis went 3-3 a day after having just 1 hit in 7 at bats.

Aaron Hill- The Diamondbacks 2nd baseman had a career day going 4-4 including a homer, a triple, a double, and a single to wrap up his first career cycle. Hill is the 297th player in MLB history to hit for the cycle. Hill improved his average by .12 points to .284 on the season.

Melky Cabrera- The Giants outfielder continued to keep pace with Joey Votto on the N.L. lead for batting average going 3-5 including 3 singles while improving his average to .364 on the season.

The Bad

Pablo Sandoval- the Giants DH for the day went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts on the day. Sandoval’s average dropped .12 points to .302 on season ending his 7 game hit streak.

David DeJesus- The Cubs outfielder was the only Cub batter to not have a hit against the Chicago White Sox. DeJesus went 0-3 Monday while the rest of the team had 15 hits.

Mike Minor- The Braves Starting pitcher went 5.2 innings while giving up 4 hits, 4 runs, and 3 walks. Minor’s ERA is now a staggering 6.04 on the season and Minor has won just 1 game over his last 10 games.

The Ugly

Brett Myers- The Astros relief pitcher was only able to get 2 outs in his outing Monday against the Kansas City Royals giving up 8 hits and 5 earned runs. This was by far Myers worst outing of the season raising his ERA  from 1.99 to 3.86 on the season

 

 

Coach Tom

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good

Brandon Phillips- 2nd baseman of the Reds went 3-4 with 2 runs, 2 rbis, and a double in a 10-3 win vs the Colorado Rockies.

Kyle Kendrick- Starting pitcher of the Philadelphia Phillies threw a 4 hit shutout against the St.Louis Cardinals. Kendrick won his first game of the year after 4 starts and it was the first time Kendrick went past the 7th inning all year long.

A.J. Ellis- The Dodgers catcher only had one hit Saturday, yet that hit was a a 3-run walk off homerun to give the Dodgers a 3-run win vs. the Astros.

Gerardo Parra- The center fielder for the Diamondbacks went 4-4 with 2 runs scored Saturday in a wictory against Milwaukee, givving him his first multi-hit gameover his last 10 games.

 The Bad

Michael Bourn- Bourn went  1-5 with 4 strikeouts in Sundays lose vs. the Nationals. Bourn has just 1 hit and 5 strikeouts in his last 10 plate appearances.

Zack Cozart- Despite every other starter having at least 1 hit, Cozart managed to go 0-5 in Saturday against the Colorado Rockies. Cozart is hitting 245 this season with just 1 hit in his last 10 at bats.

Zack Greinke- The Brewers starting pitcher could only go two and a third innings againgst the Arizona Diamondbacks lineup Saturday night giving up seven earned run offf ten hits. Saturday nights outing was Zack Greinke’s worst start of the year.

The Ugly

Chicago Cubs- The Chicago Cubs continued their woes with their 11th straight loss against the Pittsburgs Pitrates. Saturdays night loss came from a hit by pitch in the 9th inning by closer Rafael Dolis. This loss continues the longest losing street in over a decade.

Colorado Rockies- THe Colorado Rockies continued to keep pace with the games as the biggest losers of the seaon with their 8th loss in 10 games.

Coach Tom

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Here’s a daily recap of the good, the bad and the ugly in the National League.

The Good

Cole Hammels: In his first start against the Nationals since purposely plunking Brice Harper May 6th, Hammels extended his league leading 7 wins this season. Hammels went 8 innings, giving up only 1 run, while striking out 8.

Jonathan Lucroy: Lucroy had 2 hits Wednesday, one being a long ball. Over his last 10 games Lucroy is hitting .411 with 4 doubles, 2 triples, and 3 homeruns. If it wasn’t for a pinch hit at bat against San Francisco, Lucroy would have a 10 game hitting streak.

Troy Tulowitzki: Tulowitzli had 2 hits and a season high 4 rbis last night against the Miami Marlins. Last night marked Tulowitzki’s 4 multi-hit game of the month.

The Bad

Ted Lilly: Lilly gave up a season high 9 hits, and 8 earned runs wednesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 11-4 lose.

Barry Zito: Zito only lasted 3 innings after giving up 6 in the firs, and 2 in the second, Zito’s day was over. Wednesdays outing marks Zito’s shortest start of the year.

Ryan Braun: While everyone else on his team didn’t have a problem squaring up Zito, the reigning NL MVP went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts.

The Ugly

Chicago Cubs: The Chicago Cubs lost their 9th straight game wednesday. This was the first time the Cubs have been swept in Houston in nearly 4 years. This losing streak also marks the Cubs worst losing streak in a decade. The Chicago Cubs are currently the worst team in baseball with a 15-29 record this season.

Colorado Rockies: Although the Rockies won last night, that win just marked their 5th win of the month, and only their 7th win on the road all season giving them a 16-27 record. The Cubs and Rockies are currently fighting for the worst records in the NL.

Coach Tom

Wood’s Career Strikes Out

The lovable Cub Kerry Wood, known as “Kid K” to most Cubs fans, is calling it quits after 15 years. This brings an end to a career that never let people see Wood’s true potential. Kerry Wood entered the majors in 1998 as a hard throwing righty from Irving, Texas and became widely known his rookie year. In just his fifth start, Wood threw a one hit, 20 strikeout game against the Houston Astros. He continued to win 13 games, earn Rookie of the Year honors and took the Cubs to the playoffs. After winning Rookie of the Year, all signs were pointing up for Wood’s young career, but early next season Kerry Wood had Tommy John surgery and would miss all of his second season. Wood returned and would strike out more then 200 batters 4 out of the next 5 years. Wood’s long line of injuries began in 2004. Wood had potential to be one the greatest of all time, but he had one major flaw, his throwing motion across his body. His mechanics kept Wood from ever winning more than 14 games in a season and ultimately removed him from the starting rotation. Kerry Wood will forever remain in the hearts of Cubs fans as “Kid K”, his record tying 20 strikeout game, and goes out as one the best pitchers to wear Cubbies blue in recent decades.

Coach Tom

Any Bullpen Hope?

Unfortunately yesterday’s inaugural blog proved too true. Matt Garza gave up 2 ER over 6.2 IP and left with the game tied 2-2.

Enter Shawn Camp, Scott Maine and Michael Bowden; or in box score lingo 7 ER over 2 IP. Camp only gave up 1 ER and still holds a respectable 3.43 ERA. However, Maine, called up yesterday to replace the waste of a roster spot known as Lendy Castillo, threw nine pitches, gave up 3 ER and recorded zero outs. Not to be outdone, Bowden came in a served up a grand slam to Hector Luna, a man with 14 career big flies.

What can the Cubs do about the fifth worst bullpen in baseball? Let’s take a look at the minors.

Trey McNutt, RHP

The 22-year-old starter ranks among the top 3 Cubs prospects according to most scouting reports. The 980th pick in the 2008 draft currently holds a 2.84 ERA over 25.1 IP in AA Tennessee. He has only reached 5 IP once this season so it is not hard to imagine the Cubs entering him into the bullpen and grooming him for a starting role in the mold of Jeff Samardzija. Batters hit .319 off McNutt last year in AA, but McNutt has lowered that this year to .194. Seems like the young guy is figuring it out. While the Cubs may not want to rush a young talent into the big leagues, bullpen fatigue may call for an early cup of coffee.

Kevin Rhoderick, RHP

A 9th round draft choice in 2010, Rhoderick sports a flossy 1.29 ERA in AA Tennessee. The Oregon State product throws a low-90s fastball, a slider in the low to mid-80s and a changeup. Rhoderick struck out 77 batters over 71.1 IP in A and AA last season. The 23-year-old relief pitcher appears to be on a rapid ascent to the bigs.

Frankie de la Cruz, RHP

The Cubs grabbed this 27-year-old journeyman at the right time. Over 13 IP last season with the Brewers, de la Cruz earned a 2.77 ERA and a solid 1.154 WHIP. Pitching in AAA Iowa this year, de la Cruz owns a 2.86 ERA over 28.1 IP. The contact pitcher has only struck out nine batters and gets a lot of fly ball outs. Hopefully Sveum uses him when the flags point in at Wrigley.

With the bullpen woes continuing to plague the Cubs, these three options may soon be called on to stop the late inning leaks.

The Cubs So Far

The story of the Chicago Cubs 2012 season so far goes something like this: Solid starting pitching, multiple hits from Starlin Castro and Bryan LaHair, a role guy like David DeJesus or Ian Stewart picking up an RBI or two and a blown lead by the bullpen to wrap it all up. While the season seems to be stuck in Groundhog Day, that is not to say the games have not been entertaining or worth watching.

The Highlights

1. The emergence of Bryan LaHair. After nine seasons in the minor leagues and two cups of coffee in the bigs, LaHair broke camp as the everyday first baseman. In his first real opportunity LaHair has done nothing but rake.   In 128 plate appearances through 33 games, LaHair has 10 bombs and a cool .352/.445/.713 line. The ease with which the lefty takes the outside pitch to left and the inside pitch to right suggest a 29-year-old rookie that will lead the team all year.
2. Jeff Samardzija sticks as a starter. When a guy can throw mid-90’s with movement, he is going to get ample opportunities to succeed. Samardzija broke into the bigs in 2008 and posted a 2.28 ERA over 27.2 IP. He followed that up with ERA’s of 7.53 and 8.38 in ’09 and ’10, respectively. The young pitcher turned the corner in the second half last season, becoming one of the Cubs best bullpen pitchers. Given a shot to earn a starting spot in the rotation this spring, Samardzija dazzled in Mesa. Through seven starts this year the Notre Dame grad has a 2.89 ERA and just over 1K/IP. The young pitcher appears confident and no longer the thrower Cubs fans used to watch through forehead-slapping fingers.
3. True Grit. The biggest difference between this year and last year? The Cubs come to play every day. The combination of youth and shoulder chips make the Cubs exciting. The White Juan Pierre (Tony Campana) is too small. Bryan LaHair never made it to the majors for a reason. Starlin Castro makes too many errors. Ian Stewart is a first round bust. Matt Garza is Carlos Zambrano reincarnated. The Cubs play with attitude and so far manager Dale Sveum is getting the most out of his players.

The Lowlights

1. Bullpen
2. Bullpen
3. Bullpen…seriously. Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol may be the only players standing between the Cubs and a .500 record. Wood— 8.64 ERA. Marmol— 6.35 ERA. When you break camp expecting those two to lead your young bullpen and get that in return, you know you are in trouble. James Russell, Rafeal Dolis and Shawn Camp can only handle so handle so much of the load. It also doesn’t help that Lendy Castillo seems to only be in the majors because he is a Rule 5 pick. With only 7.2 IP and a 7.04 ERA he is essentially leaving our bullpen one man short every night. It is hard not to miss Sean Marshall and wonder what the hell Theo Epstein was thinking when he sent one of the best lefty bullpen pitchers in baseball to a division foe in exchange for  A Guy Who Can’t Even Pitch Well in Triple A.

The Takeaway

The Cubs are not as bad as expected. The bats are middle of the pack and the starting pitching (minus Chris Volstad) is superb. With LaHair and Castro hitting like studs and Campana flying around the basepath, the Cubs are a fun team to watch. In Year 1 of the rebuilding process, the Cubs appear a bit ahead of schedule.