Today Was a Good Day

Tonight the Cubs won a one-run game, Sean Marshall pitched extremely well, Ryan Dempster didn't blow a save, and Michael Barrett didn't get into a fight with a pitcher. I am pleasantly surprised. Keep it up boys.

More Trade Talk

NOTE: This is pure speculation by the staff here at RTWF.

Today on ESPN's Around the Horn the panel discussed Michael Barrett's place on the current team. A few points against his behalf were brought up.

EDIT: The Pardon the Interruption guys think that there is either a 65% (Tony) or 0% (Wilbon) chance that Barrett will back next season. Hard to believe we're making this much news on a Red Sox/Yankee heavy network.

1) The Zambrano Fight: Both guys claim to have put this behind them, but there is speculation that bad blood still could be lingering. This is fueled by the fact that he hasn't caught Carlos since the altercation.

2) Catching Big Z: Probably the more relevant reason for Barrett's absence when Z is on the mound is the fact that Carlos simply has better stats when Hill or the illustrious Henry Blanco catches him. Much better. I can't determine if this is pure coincidence or deeper than that.

3) Rich Hill: Though small, Barrett and the young Hill had sharp words for each other in last night's game. This begs the question as to what Mikey is doing to piss off all his pitchers? People might argue that the catcher-pitcher relationship is a huge part of the game of baseball, I have no idea...but it makes sense.

4) Terrible Defense: Everyone knows Mike is an offensive catcher, and as long as he is scoring more runs than his terrible defense is giving up, I think no one should give a flying ****. However, right now that is not the case. He is struggling and his defense is staying constant at horrible. I've been screaming for Henry Blanco to get more playing time, hopefully he will get some after he gets back.

So there you go, I'm not sure where I stand on this whole thing right now. I love Mikey, but I love the Cubs more. As much as it hurts me to say it, if he can't do the job, maybe we should move him while he still has some good value. I dunno.

Hit us up with a comment if you've got a view point on this.

Go Cubs.

Everything is Going According to Plan

I said that the Cubs needed someone to show a little bit of emotion to get this team rolling. We were stuck in a rut and no one seemed to care enough to do anything about it. Having a team meeting shows that you're tired of losing, not that you want to win.

So when Lou got ejected, I was excited. While everyone else was calling his antics deplorable and going on and on about how the Cubs were losing control of their players, I knew exactly what Lou was doing. His ejection coupled with Zambrano attacking Barrett would light a fire under the team.

Since he was suspended, the Cubs went from a 6 game losing streak to winning 3 of their last 4 games. Felix Pie is doing very well, Soriano got five hits in one game against the Brewers, and Zambrano is pitching like, well, Zambrano. All is well with the world. I just hope the team can keep it up when Lou returns, otherwise the Cubs might need to send him on an extended vacation for the rest of the season. Somehow Lou seems to manage best when he's not in the clubhouse.

Barrett Gets a Taste of His Own Medicine

The one thing that has really irked me so far this year about the Cubs is that no one on the team seems to give a crap about how well we do. Lou Piniella is notorious for his managerial tirades, and so far he's hardly better than Dusty Baker in the showing emotion department. He even admits that the art of the ejection can be used effectively to prove a point. The point he needs to make now is that he's emotionally invested in this team, and I have yet to see that.

Enter Carlos Zambrano, one of the most emotional people in baseball. Things weren't going his way today, and he desperately needed to take out his rage on something. Most people would choose a punching bag. He chose Michael Barrett. I completely approve.

The ironic thing about all this is that the Cubs are trying their hardest to get everything together. A couple days ago they held a team meeting, that night they lost 9-0 to the Marlins. Today was Michael Barrett's first day back from a "mental health break", and he gets socked by Big Z. This probably happened because Barrett can't speak Spanish like Hank White, who's out with a herniated disk in his neck. Our team is doomed.

Oh and in the midst of all this, the Cubs lost 8-5 while giving up 20 hits. That's almost half as many as Michael Barrett has all year. I just hope that these rumbles in the dugout will make the season more exciting.

EDIT: Found a video over at Wrigleyville23.

Sweet, Sweet Revenge

Last year, in case you've been living under a rock, the Cardinals won the World Series. Jason Marquis was a part of this World Series team, part of why I was wary of him at the beginning of the season. You don't just let the enemy come and join your side. I would make a Harry Potter comparison here, but that would make me look like a loser. If you're a Harry Potter fan, you know what I'm getting at. If you're not, let's just say that Snape killed Dumbledore. Geezer had it coming.

What's different about Marquis, however, is that last year he was terrible. God-awful, you might say. After posting a regular season ERA of over 6.00 last year, the Cards wisely decided to not put him on their World Series roster. It must have been a wise choice, considering they won and all.

So today was Jason's day to prove them wrong for letting him go, to prove that last season was just a fluke, and to prove to us Cubs fans that he's the real deal. And the pitcher he was facing? Anthony Reyes, the man who took his spot on the roster for the NLCS and the WS. And as for the game? Let's just say revenge is a dish best served cold. I don't really know how that applies here, but Jason rocked the house. F--- you Cardinals (Jason's words, not mine).

Game Summary for April 21st, 2007

• Score: Cubs whomp on the Cardinals, 6-0.
  
• Player of the Game: Jason Marquis. Got his revenge and pitched a scoreless game through 7 innings. He now has a 1.88 ERA, lagging behind Wonderboy's 0.41 but in front off Lilly's 2.42. Did anyone expect numbers like that from those three?
• Subject of Lou's Wrath: The duo that is Ramirez/Pie. Went a combined 0-for-8, everyone else in the starting lineup had a hit, including Jason Marquis.
  
• Comments: Marquis continued the tradition lately of starting pitcher I expected to be bad tearing things up (see: Ted Lilly). Pitched 7 scoreless innings, and Will Ohman even came in and pitched two scoreless inning to finish it off. Who expected that? Barrett's three run shot in the first put this one away early, and Cedeno added a solo homer later on just to rub it in. Apparently Pie made some quality defensive plays (I didn't watch, can you tell?), but his offense is lacking. Looks like he has a shot of staying in the lineup though, more on that later.
  
• Magic Number:150. The Astros are on a 5 game winning streak. Something is wrong with the world.

Tomorrow is the rubber game with Wade Miller pitching. I'm actually happy I'm going to be working during that, a man can only take so much depression before he snaps.

Cubbies say the darndest things

I was perusing the ESPN page for the Cubs today and came across this blurb under the team notes area. The reporters were discussing the switch of Murton to right field, and then this transpired:

Asked if he needs a stronger arm in right, Piniella paused for about 15 seconds and said, "You guys ask tough questions. Ten, 11 games into the season, why can't you all throw a softball right down the middle?" He laughed, but never answered the question.

Sounds like the skipper isn't very confident with the Frenchman's throwing abilities.

The Cubs are facing Greg Maddux this afternoon, which should be interesting to watch. Michael Barrett served up this quote when asked about encountering the legend today:

"I'm going to try to hit a line drive off his head..."

Barrett then tried to cover himself by claiming he was joking, but I'm not so sure about that.

Cubs vs. Padres at 1:20 today, our worst against their classiest. May God have mercy on our souls.