Cubs Diaries

As any baseball fan that even casually perused the newspaper today will tell you, in the midst of a stellar pitching performance last night, Carlos Zambrano went berserk and verbally assaulted the home umpire. Zambrano, showcasing excellent command and control over the ball, demonstrated that his control extended no further than the trajectory of the ball when he completely lost it over a call at the plate. After throwing a semi-wild pitch (it's been scored as a wild pitch, but I was in attendance and that ball should have been snapped up by our ace catcher and reigning rookie of the year Geovany Soto) Nyjer Morgan made a break for home. Zambrano scuttled over to the plate and applied the tag just a nano-second after Morgan's outstretched fingers graced the corner of home. Carlson, the home plate ump, correctly called Morgan safe, sending Z into a tirade the likes of which we haven't seen since that fateful day in 07' when he punched out Michael Barrett in the dugout. For a better review of Big Z's explosions over the years check out Paul Sullivan's article from this morning in the tribune.

The result of the tantrum? Z has been handed a six game suspension and as such will miss just one start, all things considered, it could have been a lot worse. With Dempster punching the gatorade dispenser, Bradley bumping umps and Zambrano throwing equipment this Cubs team is fired up and that's exactly what we need right?

I've been perusing blog posts about this stuff all day and there seems to be a strong contingent that believe that emotional flare is exactly what this team needs to pull itself out of the mediocrity we seem to already be reacquainting ourselves with. Zambrano's theatrics, although often quite pricey, considering not only his current suspension but also the fact that when his emotions run high it frequently negatively impacts his pitching, are undoubtedly quite useful in smaller doses. Consider if Zambrano harnessed this energy and shared it with the team. Think back to days of high school or even junior high when you played for a team. Weren't there a few individuals that always provided that spark right before game time? Teammates with that glint in their eyes, the ones that spoke up at halftime when the chips were down.

I think that players with an excess of emotion, like the three I mentioned earlier need to view their intensity as a tool to be wielded for the good of the team. I wrote a few weeks ago about the danger of nonchalance on the diamond; harnessing this energy and transforming it into focus will all but erase lackluster play.

That's all well and good but this isn't going to solve the problem of what happens when a extremely close play drives a Cub over the edge, right? Well, no, but think about it like this. Generally when one of our guys gets really upset about something it's because we absolutely need the call to go our way, yesterday Morgan's run tied the game at 2 a piece in the 7th. It is simple. Winning teams, like the Cubs last year, and the Cubs in a few months this year are much less likely to be in these situations. If, for example the Cubs were pounding the Pirates, 8-1, as should have been the case considering the potential strength of our lineup and rotation, I guarantee Zambrano would have stopped himself pre-blow up and realized "meh, they can have that one."

Anywho, whatever it is the Cubs need, I hope they find it and soon. Maybe Jake Fox will be the catalyst we need ...

--- Charlie

Here's a quick little breakdown of the fantasy value I feel the Cubs' starting lineup has at this point in the season:

Aramis Ramirez: A-

Aramis might be the Cubs' best fantasy player. .352/.386/.574? Yeah, I'll take him on my team. He's played in less games than other players in the lineup, but expect those HR numbers to jump up and the average to dip. Still, one of the premiere hitting 3B in the league.

Alfonso Soriano: B+

He's come back down to Earth recently, but Fons is still a great hitter and provides a fantasy lineup with a great blend of speed and power, which is invaluable when trying to account for SBs and HRs.

Kosuke Fukudome: A

Whether he can keep up his ridiculous .329/.462/.575 remains to be seen (probably not), but at this point, he should be in every single person's starting lineup who owns him in their league.

Derek Lee: C-

Abfus had a post about D-Lee a week ago, but he's in trouble. Maybe he'll pick things up, but without the power numbers and a terrible BA, Lee is going to be hurting lineups. He's definitely hurting the Cubs' right now.

Ryan Theriot: B

I have some reservations about his ability to maintain his fantasy value throughout the entire season, but at this point, he should be getting plenty of PT in the fantasy realm. And Grand Slams definitely don't hurt his cause.

Mike Fontenot: C+

Not a bad guy to plug in for favorable match-ups if your league can be changed day-to-day. The average isn't great, but 4 HRs and an OBP over .350 makes Font a guy worth having on your bench.

Geovany Soto: C-

Injury problems make Soto tough to grade, but when he's been in, he hasn't done much at the plate to make him a good option. I do expect that to pick up though, so nobody should get too carried away and drop him right now.

Milton Bradley: F

Milton has been a non-factor for the Cubs so far. I heard a Cubs fan say this week that if they don't win the World Series this year, they'll blame it on Milton. Somewhere, a goat is smiling.

Aaron Miles: D-

Not worth your trouble.

Next week: Cubs' pitchers. Stay tuned. -Gotty

I was all ready to write an entry on the Cubs' recent lack of offensive power. They routed the Cardinals on Sunday and had a solid win last Tuesday against the Reds. But in their past five losses, the Cubs managed a total of eight runs. Night after night, the Cubs didn’t come out swinging or play their smartest game. I was worried that their injuries were finally catching up to them.

Then came tonight's eruption. They dominated the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-3 behind Zambrano's strong pitching and hitting. He picked up his first win since the season opener, showing the same first-class skills he did that night three weeks ago in Houston. In addition to doing a fantastic job on the mound, Zambrano also proved he could be an offensive threat, singling in the third, doubling in the fifth and homering in the seventh.

The only thing I’m worried about now is the Cubs’ consistency. While they have been able to dominate some games by double-digit margins, they have also managed to lose the tight ones due to their lack of run production. But once Lee, Marmol, Ramirez and Bradley heal from their injuries, the Cubs should have enough thump in the lineup to prove why they should be NL Central champs once again. --- Katie Tang

It's easy for anxious fans to reassure themselves that the season is still young and that their favorite slugger who's amid a slow start will awaken and return to form. The truth is, we've already played 20 games and that window at the beginning of the year to work out the kinks is on its way to closing up. Pretty soon without some more production, players may be shipped off to the minors. Batting averages have already begun to solidify with 50-plus at-bats already in the books for the average starting player. Cubs fans will have noticed among the averages of the key players from last year, a few of them are seriously underperforming; namely, Soto and Lee. We've discussed Lee's situation quite thoroughly already in the live blog and in an earlier post so I'm going to take this opportunity to discuss our very own rookie of the year, Geovany Soto.

Soto's numbers for last year are as follows: BA .285, OBP .364, SLG .504 RBI 86. These numbers, along with stellar defense, were enough to secure Geo a basically uncontested (Joey Votto received the second-most points and was still 80 shy of Geo) rookie of the year award. It is important for Cubs fans to understand that Geo's surging 2008 numbers at the plate were an added and unexpected bonus.

In '08, Soto was an extremely reliable, defensively solid catcher with a 27 percent caught-stealing rate and only five passed balls. These numbers were among the best in the league and they are precisely what was predicted of him, his offensive production was a sweet little surprise.

BA .128, OBP, .292, SLG .154 RBI 2.

When looking at Soto's offensive numbers to start off the year, we must remind ourselves of two things:

1. Soto missed most of spring training for the World Baseball Classic and therefore many consider these first 20 or so games to be Soto's own personal Cactus League. But, if you ask me, this seems like an excuse for bad play more than a solid explanation of rustiness.

2. Although you'd love to have a guy that is consistent through seasons, many players do not function this way. For whatever reason Soto put up very strong offensive numbers last year; stronger than expected. For whatever reason Soto has been unable to hit even a duck snort into shallow right so far this year. Cubs fans should take these two points as the extremes of Soto's performance and expect a happy medium.

So Cubbie faithful, don't get too down on Soto, he'll pick it up. He's proven for a number of years in the minors and one amazing year in the pros that he can hit a heck of a lot better than he is now; it's only a matter of time. Furthermore, I haven't even discussed one of the aspects of his play that makes him invaluable to this club and that is his dynamic ability to manage Cubs pitching. A catcher's capacity to call pitches and work well with the pitching staff is arguably the most important qualifier to a great catcher, and Soto's got that in spades. So let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Harken back to his September heroics and remember why he's the right man for the job.



--- Charlie

The last time I went to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game was during the summer of 2007. We were playing the San Francisco Giants, and Barry Bonds hit career home runs 752 and 753. All of us Cubs fans were happy to see two moments in history, but I think we were all happier to go home with a 9-8 win.

Tonight, I’ll finally return to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs face off against the Cincinnati Reds. Sure, there are questions surrounding tonight's game. Will Harden finally show up and pitch more than three innings? Will Bradley's suspension be a distraction tonight? But that's not what I'm thinking about. I’m thinking about the game-day buzz in Wrigleyville. I’m thinking about taking the “El” and see all the Cubs fan slowly fill up the train into the city. I’m thinking about peanuts and popcorn.

But mostly, I’m thinking about watching the Cubs up close for the first time in so long. It’s just that much better to watch sports live than at home on your couch. You get to boo with everyone when an ump inevitably makes a bad call and cheer together when he finally gets it right. You get to feel every high and low of the game with 40,000 fans just as dedicated as you. Cheering on the Cubs with everyone around makes you feel like you’re a part of something bigger. There’s magic at Wrigley Field and I can’t wait to feel it tonight.

Catch you guys after the game! --- Katie Tang.

Why was our Cubbie faithful booing Jason Marquis today?

I don't get it, nor do the folks at the Bleed Cubbie Blue blog. Sure, Marquis wasn't great in a Cubs uniform, and he probably didn't pitch up to the huge contract he was offered, but as BCB mentioned, it's not his fault that he was grossly overpaid.

Marquis did not disgrace the city. He wasn't an embarrassment. He isn't on the Mitchell Report. So what's the problem? I hate to bash suffering Cubs fans, but shouldn't booing be reserved for the truly loathsome that step onto Wrigley's hallowed Field? Shouldn't a pitcher who simply couldn't live up to a contract he never deserved in the first place be spared the jeers?

Apparently not.

But it didn't matter to Marquis, who not only stymied the Cubs, but who also contributed offensively as well. How's that for payback?

The lesson learned today? Let's refrain from booing players who don't deserve it. That way they won't make us stick our foot in our collective mouths. --Gotty

Dempster takes the mound tonight for the last of 3 at Miller Park, or as we north-siders like to call it, Wrigley Field North. Few people outside of Chicagoland realize that Milwaukee and Chicago are only separated by about 90 miles of highway and each time the Cubs play the Brewers at Miller Park throngs of Cub Fans head north to catch the game and of course the famous sausage race.

Although Dempster pitched quite well in his first outing (2 earned runs and 5 strikeouts) the run support wasn't there for him and he wasn't able to secure that first W. Despite the unparalleled joy I felt when Sori blasted that 2 run shot in top of the ninth last night, I think I'd like to see a bit more than a 1 run difference between us and the Brewers. Considering the devastating losses of Sabathia, and Sheets as well as other notables like Gagne, and Branyon, the Brewers should be a team that the Cubs consistently put away. Let's see Demps go after them tonight, aggressive pitching instead of pitching for contact. Few Cubbies were more influential in last year's epic season than Dempster, and after signing him for a 4 year 52 million dollar contract I'd like to see him throw something special tonight.

---Charlie

Carlos Zambrano delivered last night on Opening Day.

He pitched masterfully- nobody will argue that. Six solid innings, one earned run, picking up his first Opening Day win in five tries- that's reason for Cubs fans to be excited.

But I've seen two separate Cubs blogs-

Here and Here

- that are very optimistic we are going to see a more mature, focused and ultimately successful Big Z. Let's not jump to conclusions, shall we?

For one, it's tough to judge a pitcher's mental maturity when things are going well. Zambrano was on yesterday. He felt good. Threw well. And his mindset reflected that.

But what about when things don't go well? If he gets shelled at the New Busch Stadium in front of 45,000 fans in red. That's when we'll know whether Carlos no longer needs to sit on Freud's couch. Until then, let's hold off on proclaiming him a psychological breakthrough and focus on his next start.

Let's see how he handles adversity. If he goes off in the press, we'll know things haven't changed.

Then again, if he pitches like he did last night every time he takes the bump, it won't matter whether he's mature or not. He'll be the league's best pitcher. -Gotty