Koyie Hill? Really?

The Cubs just lost in the 13th inning. This doesn't surprise me. What surprises me is that Lou used Koyie Hill as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded and the game on the line. I understand that it was a long game and we had already gone through 19 players, but this was a poor decision. We still had Sean Marshall, Ted Lilly, Scott Eyre, Michael Wuertz, and Jason Marquis available to hit. Of those 5, Lilly is batting .115 and Marquis is hitting an impressive .188. You may not think that is impressive, but you will once you consider that Koyie Hill was batting .067 before today. Now it's down to .063. Lou, come on, using your grandma would be a better choice than using Koyie. Marquis would have gotten the job done.

"Let's Play 1 1/2 !"

Today was a great day, other than me being busy for a solid 12 hours and not being able to watch any baseball. But I heard it was awesome. Due to a rule change that was made just this past off-season, the rain did not cause the Cubs to lose the game, instead suspending it until today. So today was almost a double header. Not quite.

Anyways, the Cubs thoroughly trounced the Pirates in every way today, and I'm still getting this feeling that things have finally turned around. Soriano got his first two home runs of the year, the outfield is finally producing, Lee is still amazing, some of the pitchers are doing very well (Ted Lilly, you're on notice), and we've won 5 of our last 6 games. I'm pretty positive that the Independence Day post is what did it.

Game Summary for May 1st - 2nd, 2007

• Score: Cubs win a suspended game against the Pirates, 8-6.
  
• Player of the Game: Cliff Floyd. Soriano had the better game, but Floyd's two run homer in the 7th is the only reason the game was suspended instead of counted as a loss for the Cubs.
• Subject of Lou's Wrath: Rain. Lou does not enjoy delayed satisfaction.
  
• Comments: Ted Lilly reverted to his former self against the Pirates of all teams. This would have been a rain shortened loss except for the Cubs' explosive 7th in and a crucial rule change that MLB made over the summer

Rule 4.12 (a) states: A game shall become a suspended game that must be completed at a future date if the game is terminated ... (due to) weather, if a regulation game is called while an inning is in progress and before the inning is completed, and the visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead.

• Magic Number: 143, after this game at least.

Game Summary for May 2nd, 2007

• Score: Cubs reassert their dominance over the Pirates, 7-1.
  
• Player of the Game: Jason Marquis. Pitched a one run game in 8 innings of work, and has won four in a row. Again, Soriano was runner-up with another 3-for-5 game and another home run. The guy is starting to live up to his contract.
• Subject of Lou's Wrath: Apparently Ryan Theriot, because Lou had Cesar in for the past two games and he went a combined 1-for-8. Now we know Lou must have seen that coming, so what the heck did Theriot do to piss him off so much.
  
• Comments: Marquis pitched yet another amazing game, Soriano was the Soriano of last year yet again, and the Cubs peat the Pirates with no drama. All is well with the world.
  
• Magic Number: 142. Milwaukee has the best record in baseball at 18-9. That needs to change.

Zambrano vs. the Nationals on Friday. Carlos, their team is 9-18. If you're ever going to break out of your "I suck at life" phase, this is the time to do it.

Today's Gameplan: Bean Bronson Arroyo. Repeatedly.

The Cubs face off against the Reds today for their second game of the season. Pitching for the Boys in Blue Gray is none other than the $40 million dollar man, Ted Lilly. If you've read any of the previous posts, you probably know how I feel about Ted Lilly. He's underachieving, overpaid, and the reigning symbol of the organization's excessive spending spree over the winter. Today, he has the opportunity to prove me wrong. The most effective way for him to do this would be to bean Bronson Arroyo, a pitcher I despise even more. Bronson has long, flowing, golden locks of hair, a painfully awkward windup, and a tendency to hit home runs against the Cubs, and only against the Cubs. If Lilly hits him twice in this game he will have earned his pay. If he can manage to convince the ump that both times were a mistake and pegs Arroyo a third time, the man deserves a bonus. I'm fully expecting him to pitch terribly though, and it will be up to the Cubs' bats to dig us out of the hole he will create. Today could be a tough game.

Bronson should have tried cheerleading in college.

On a side note, RTWF has hit the big time! Well not really, but considering we've only been at it for a week, I'm pretty happy with where we are. Today we were linked to by the good people over at Thunder Matt's Saloon, which is significant because it's a Cubs blog that I've actually read before. And they're linked to by View From the Bleachers, who is linked to by Bleed Cubbie Blue, which means we're practically famous. Or at least that's how I see it.

Can't We Just Clone Zambrano Four Times?

Ok, so you've looked over the batting order for opening day and you're thinking to yourself "Wow, I'm impressed." As well you should be, the Cubs brought in some nice talent and resigned some key players over the offseason to make our lineup one of the most fearsome in baseball. But the Cubs have never really had problems scoring runs (last year doesn't count in my mind). Where we do usually have problems though, is with our pitching. Usually it's the bullpen that causes the headaches, but this year the rotation is taking the lead role in increasing aspirin sales. Let's have a look-see, shall we?

"RAAAAAAAHHHHHHHRRRRR"

Carlos Zambrano

• Salary: $12.4 million
• Key Stat: Every stat he has is impressive.
• Comments: Zambrano is the star of this team, Mark Prior be damned. The man is a workhorse, he piles on the innings, racks up the pitch counts, actually shows some emotion out there on the mound, and never gets injured. All of this is even more impressive when you realize that he plays for the Cubs. There were some tensions between him and the team this offseason, there still are, but he deserves every penny he makes. I'm not saying he deserves $18 million a year, but he definitely deserves at least as much as Zito is making. Zito is just overpaid.

"Wow I suck..."

Ted Lilly

• Salary: $9 million (includes $4 million signing bonus)
• Key Stat: Career 4.60 ERA, 59-58 W-L
• Comments: Come again? Our second starter is a career .500 pitcher with a 4.6 ERA? And we're paying him $40 million over 4 years? I'll have some of what Jim Hendry is smoking please. This is what Zambrano should have been using in his negotiations. "You only want to pay me $11 million this year and you're giving this puta $9 mil? ¿Estás loco?"

"Wow Ted Lilly sucks"

Jason Marquis

• Salary: $4.75 million
• Key Stat: Career 4.55 ERA, 56-52 W-L
• Comments: This makes two people that should be pissed off at how much Ted Lilly is making. Basically identical stats, Jason actually has the edge, and Lilly is raking in the dough. Lilly is averaging $3 million more a year over the length of his contract, and that's ridiculous. I know Marquis used to be a Cardinal, so by nature we start things off hating him, but that's in the past. He's a Cub now, and he deserves to be treated like one. Or maybe that has to wait until his initiation (when he breaks something).

"I look like I'm 14. WEEEEEE!!!"

Rich Hill

• Salary: $380,000
• Key Stat: 3-1 W-L with a 1.93 ERA in his last 6 starts last season
• Comments: Rich hill had a rocky start last year, let's be honest. But I'm all about giving people second chances. He tore up the mound in September, the guy was amazing. Made us forget all about the money we had sunk into Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. Why Lou feels like he deserves to be stuck in the fourth starting spot is beyond me. I have much more faith in this kid than in Lilly and Marquis combined.

"Kei....Jason....Rog...Keith....you're drunk. Gimme your keys."

Wade Miller

• Salary: $1.5 million (with lots of performance bonuses)
  
• Combined 31-12 record with a 3.45 ERA in 2001 and 2002
• Comments: If Wade Miller manages to start in at least 30 games and pitch 200 innings, he stands to make a cool $5.8 million instead of that 1.5 number. Kinda wish all pitching contracts were written like that, don't you? He's been very shaky the past three years and has spent a good portion of time rehabbing his right shoulder, but he's looked strong in spring training and we know he can be great. He just needs to bring the greatness back. I hope working for an extra $4.3 million will help him do that.

So there's the rotation, as initially set by Captain of the Sinking Ship Lou Piniella. It has its flaws, no doubt about that. If Mark Prior can toughen up a bit and somehow make it back, all we need is for Ted Lilly to suffer a Prior-esque injury and I think we'll be set. I still can't figure out why we're paying him that much.

Sometime tomorrow I'll discuss the bullpen, to be honest I haven't even looked at who Lou has chosen yet. It could get interesting. See you then.