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.

Opposite Ends of the Spectrum

The same day that Lou says he is going to go with whoever has been good in the past, he threatens to call up some rookies to try and solve the bullpen's lackluster pitching.

"I'm going to find out if there are some kids down in Triple-A throwing the ball," Piniella said. "Maybe that's the answer -- get some different kids up here who can throw the ball. I don't know what else to say. I've tried everybody out there. You keep hoping it comes around, but we're getting into the middle of May now."

I like the unpredictability Lou, you gotta keep those veterans on their toes. I just don't think this is the right time to pull out that threat though. Today you finally used Neal Cotts, Rocky Cherry, and Michael Wuertz like I've been begging for a while. Between those three, the only mistake that was made was an RBI walk given up by Wuertz, bringing up his ERA to a still incredible 2.08. You don't threaten someone who has a 2.08 ERA after one bad outing. You do it when people like Will Ohman and Bob Howry give up 6 runs right after the Cubs scored six runs. I love the attitude, you just gotta work on the timing.

Also, Ms. Muskat wrote this gem in the game recap:

"They weren't bad pitches -- they could've been better," Wuertz said. "I've just got to pitch better. This is one of those nights I'm going to forget about and I have to move on."

Whether he'll get another chance remains to be seen.

Does she honestly think Lou would send down Wuertz, of all people? That's the most ludicrous thing I've heard today. I think it's time the Cubs got a new beat reporter. Coincidentally, I'm available. Feel free to contact me Mr. McDonough, I have great things in mind for the Cubs website.

Game Summary for May 14th, 2007

• Score: Cubs lose a hard fought battle to the Mets, 5-4.
  
• Player of the Game: Jason Marquis' offense. Went 2-for-3 with a two run single.
• Subject of Lou's Wrath: Apparently it's Michael Wuertz, because a 2.08 ERA just isn't good enough anymore, especially when we have people like Scott Eyre and his 8.76 ERA who could be pitching instead.
  
• Comments: Jason Marquis showed that he's not invincible, giving up four runs over five innings and raising his ERA to 2.22, still one of the best in the major leagues. Three of the Cubs starting pitchers have an ERA in the 2's, which means there is no reason this team should be under .500. Obviously it's an issue with the bullpen, I just think Lou's frustration was a little misplaced today. Soriano batted in the 3-spot as Derrek Lee is out with neck spasms, and he did fairly well, going 1-for-3 with a run.
  
• Magic Number: 133. The Brewers are on a two game losing streak. I say it's about time.

Zambrano tries to get his stuff together tomorrow against a pitcher named John Maine. I've never heard of him before, but with a 5-0 record and a 1.79 ERA, he makes Rich Hill look like a minor leaguer.

Who really is running this team?

It might be a valid question.

In light of a recent Tribune article on the bullpen, along with how Lou has been handling the outfield situation, I'm beginning to wonder if Pinella really is the hard ass that we all expected him to be.

"I've been going basically with the people that have done it here in the past." -Lou

Now this is all fine with me, as long as the guys that have been getting it done in the past are getting it done in the present. The problem is, they're not.

Mike Wuertz has stranded ALL of the 22 runners he's inherited so far this season. Rocky Cherry has limited the 32 hitters he's seen to 6 hits. But theses guys are not getting the ball because of Lou's current favoritism towards the "veterans".

I am all about giving these guys the chance to get back on track, but Cubs Nation shouldn't have to watch Howry and Co. (Eyre and "Oh man") give up 6 runs in an inning after the offense managed to take the lead with 6 just a half inning before.

And the same goes for the outfield. Jones and Floyd have had plenty of chances to prove that they are established vets, but they have yet to be the impact players that we need. We need Pie's defense in center.

Don't get me wrong, I effing love all these guys, but it's been a month Lou, quit playing the veterans just because they're older and play the guys that are showing results. Please.

You Can't Win 'Em All

But you should never lose when Rich Hill is pitching against the Pirates. Didn't really pay attention to the game, so this will be brief.

Game Summary for April 30th, 2007

• Score: Cubs fall to the Pirates, 3-2.
  
• Player of the Game: Gonna go with Rich Hill here. Gave up 2 runs in 7 innings, and if that's not enough to beat the Pirates then there is something seriously wrong with our defense.
• Subject of Lou's Wrath: Michael Wuertz. Uncharacteristically gave up the game winning home run, his ERA is now at 1.32. I guess you can't really get mad at him for that.
  
• Comments: Rich Hill pitched reasonably well, Cubs could only mount two runs of offense, though. Jason Bay hit a game winning home run in the bottom of the eighth against Wuertz. And thus ends the astounding 3 game winning streak.
  
• Magic Number: 144. That is what we like to call a gross.
  

Hopefully Ted Lilly will have better luck tomorrow. I'm going to bed.

Season in Review: the 7/54ths Mark (Pitching)

As you probably don't know, cause there's a good chance you've never read this blog before, this was supposed to be a 1/9th season in review. That would have been after 18 games. However, I went to two Cubs games this week and didn't have time to do anything. So it's only fitting that the day when I finally have free time is the day that the Cubs have off, so it's not like there's anything else to write about anyways. I guess I could write about how my old high school principal is terrible, completely overreacts to everything, and does not deserve a job, but that wouldn't be very baseball oriented would it?

So far this year, the theme of the Cubs pitching staff has been...unpredictability. Good pitchers have been bad. Mediocre pitchers have been amazing. And bad pitchers, well they're still pretty bad. Here's a rundown of the way things have been.

Carlos Zambrano

• Current Stats: 1-2 W-L, 6.91 ERA, 27.1 IP, 23 K
  
• Projected Stats: 8-15 W-L, 6.91 ERA, 211 IP, 177 K
  
• Thoughts: It is a well documented fact that Carlos is like a freight train, he takes a little time to get going. After a very rough opening day he's settled down a bit. In his last game he left with the lead, but he left early enough that the relievers were doomed to fall apart. His numbers will improve as the season goes on. More wins, lower ERA, more IP, and definitely more strikeouts. Nowhere to go from here but up.

Ted Lilly

• Current Stats: 2-2 W-L, 2.18 ERA, 33 IP, 33 K
  
• Projected Stats: 15-15 W-L, 2.18 ERA, 255 K, 255 IP
  
• Thoughts: Lilly has been a pleasant surprise. An impressive ERA combined with a lot of strikeouts means that right now he is making a push to be the ace of the team. He has strict competition though, and right now he sits 3rd of the bunch. He probably won't keep up that frantic ERA pace, but I can see his wins staying around 15, especially if the Cubs can produce some run support.

Jason Marquis

• Current Stats: 2-1 W-L, 1.88 ERA, 24 IP, 14 K
  
• Projected Stats: 15-8 W-L, 1.88 ERA, 185 IP, 108 K
  
• Thoughts: While Marquis is posting a ridiculously low ERA, his innings pitched are low as well. He needs to go longer if this bullpen is ever going to get a break. He has been another surprise for the team, even performing well against his former team, the Cardinals. Let's hope he can keep that up tomorrow.

Rich Hill

• Current Stats: 3-1 W-L, 1.57 ERA, 28.2 IP, 23 K
• Projected Stats: 23-8 W-L, 1.57 ERA, 221 IP, 177 K
  
• Thoughts: Rich Hill is the undisputed ace of the staff at the moment. And it's no fluke, I said before the season began that he was going to be great. I'm not sure if I thought he was going to be this great, but I should have. Continuing where he left off at the end of last year, Hill has decimated the opposition in every game but one. The Brewers game was a fluke, he'll be back on track next week. On a side note, if I had done this 3 days ago like I was supposed to, I would have given Hill projected stats of a 27-0 W-L and a 0.41 ERA. Just goes to show how inaccurate these will be.

Wade Miller

• Current Stats: 0-1 W-L, 10.54 ERA, 13.2 IP, 6 K
• Projected Stats: 0-1 W-L, 10.54 ERA, 13.2 IP, 6 K
• Thoughts: Wade Miller will not pitch a game for the Cubs again. I'm in the process of writing a petition to see to that. Expect that to be up later today or sometime tomorrow.

The Relievers:

• Bob Howry: Has returned to almost last years form, posting a decent 3.65 ERA. Has already compiled 2 losses though, which means his talent is coming in spurts. Needs to regain some of that consistency and he'll be fine.
• Scott Eyre: Has pitched 7 innings, given up 10 runs, and posted a whopping 12.86 ERA. Worse than Wade Miller. We know he has talent though, but if he doesn't find it soon I don't know how much longer we can let him pitch.
• Michael Wuertz: The best reliever on this staff, has given up only one run in 12 innings of work. I call him the janitor cause he cleans up other people's crap. I don't see why he isn't the closer, or at least the setup man.
• Ryan Dempster: Hasn't blown any saves yet, which is promising. Keeping things calm with a 2.45 ERA, but I still cringe whenever he comes into a close game.
• Neal Cotts: Has been flawless so far with no runs given up in 8.2 innings pitched. I don't know why we haven't used him more often. Have him and Wuertz teaming up as the setup men and we're golden.
• Angel Guzman: Was doing much better than last year's shoddy performace until he was sent down to the minors to make room for Pie. Now that Pie is staying, and Miller is hopefully off the team, the Cubs need to find a way to bring him up as the fifth starter. I think a trade is in order, but not for any pitchers because Lou demands 12 of them, and 12 he shall have.
• Will Ohman: Another reliever who is struggling this year, Ohman needs to lock it down. The only reason that Cubs fans everywhere aren't crying out against him is that no one has any energy left after complaining about Eyre.
• Rocky Cherry: Brought up a couple days ago after Miller suffered his "back spasms", I'm still not sure what to make of Cherry. He's done fairly well so far, and I'm not even mad at him for losing the game a couple of days ago because I really wanted to go home anyways. Twelve innings is way too many for a baseball game.