The Doug Davis Series

OK…so it’s really the ‘Doug Davis and the Cubs’ series, or even ‘Doug Davis 2011’ would be catchy…but it’s really a 3-game series chronicling 3 of Davis’ starts for the Cubs, plus an Epilogue of sorts. I did not love Doug Davis as a Cub, I did not hate Doug Davis as a Cub. With these posts, and this post to herald their existence, I only want to formally acknowledge, but not celebrate, the Circle of Doug Davis and the Cubs. In all fariness, I should have included Doug’s single Win for the Cubs, in his start against the visiting New York Yankees on 6/17/11, but I haven’t seen or heard the game yet…I’m sure he gave ‘em hell, after all the box score shows it to have been a strong start for him. I should have included it, but I didn’t, but I did mention it, so that perhaps his other 8 outings wouldn’t seem as bad as they really were.


Game 1: 5/14/11 SF @ CHC
Doug Davis’ Cubs debut, Ryan Vogelsong and the Giants.

Game 2: 5/20/11 CHC @ BOS
The Cubs’ first visit to Fenway Park since the 1918 World Series. He leaves the game with an 8.31 ERA, his second start for the Cubs.

Game 3: 6/28/11 SF @ CHC
Doug Davis’ final Cubs appearance, Ryan Vogelsong and the Giants.

Epilogue: 7/23/11 CHA @ LOU
Doug Davis’ 2nd start with the Charlotte Knights, his first W with the club against the Louisville Bats. The Famous Chicken is also at the game, and Corky Miller signed a foul ball he hit for me earlier in the season.

So come on now, you want to know more about him: Doug Davis

If you enjoy my work, I encourage you to spread the word via Twitter
(I am @yoshiki89), and also please leave a comment!

6/28/11 San Francisco Giants 13, Chicago Cubs 7

Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Game 1 of 4
First game of Day/Night Doubleheader

Say goodbye to Doug Davis. I mean it, this time. There he goes…

Baseball is a very circular game. I mean this not in the sense that a baseball is kind of circular, or in the sense that the cross-section of a bat is circular, or any of that really. I mean this in an abstract sense...I almost used a $20 word like ‘metaphysical’ but I really don’t think it applies, and I don’t want to overstate what is really nothing but circumstance and coincidence on balls in play. There are many events in baseball that occur where some events, well…come around full circle. It may take decades, years, months, or days. It may require a 15,000 foot view or 15,000 data points to observe. Or, it may be as plain as the nose on your face. Sometimes you can see all of these peculiar baseball circles, intersecting and overlaying. Circles have a non-descript beginning and ending, we can’t really tell for sure where that point exactly is…but we know it’s there.



The circle began when today’s game was really supposed to be the 3rd game of a 3-game series that was played here in Wrigley on May 15. Game 2 of that series featured a semi-historic outing by Giants starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong as he faced opposing starting pitcher Doug Davis in his very first appearance as a Cub. That contest was called after 6 innings due to rain, the final game of the series was postponed due to continued inclement weather. As it usually happens, the game was indeed rescheduled to occur when the Giants returned to Chicago at the end of June, hence the Day/Night Doubleheader.

Here’s where circumstance and coincidence come into play; Vogelsong and Davis are both facing each other once more. Vogelsong is not as efficient (nor does he face the same defensive quandary as he did on 5/14, when the weather was effectively playing both teams for the title!) but Davis is pretty much as consistent…Vogelsong gives up 6 runs (5 earned) on 6 hits in 5 innings, 4BB, 6K and 2 HR. Davis, sigh, works for only 4.1 innings, allowing 10 runs (all earned) on 12 hits, 3BB, 3K and 1 HR.

On 6/29/11, the following day, the Cubs release Doug Davis. He signs with the Chicago White Sox on July 15, appearing in 9 games with AAA Charlotte Knights (including this admirable outing against the Louisville Bats on 7/23/11) until he was released on September 4.

The Cubs are, then, firmly routed by the Giants, but a Cub fan makes a humorous turn on a Home Run trot by Miguel Tejada in the 9th. It’s well-known that when you are in the bleachers at Wrigley and the opposing team hits a Home Run, you should throw the ball back on to the field. It’s a turd, really…don’t keep it, throw it back! You may think this is silly, and you are entitled to think this, but it’s not just a corny thing some people do, it’s something Cub fans do to show their respect, and there really is nothing stupid or silly about it…and that’s MY opinion about that.

Of course, it’s also true that lots of fans in the bleachers do have ‘alternative balls’ that they will throw back onto the field instead of the ‘actual’ ball…I would never do this, but I would support any fan’s doing so as, once again, it still serves to demonstrate the respect we have for our own team’s Home Runs, as opposed to the disrespect we have for the opposing team’s Home Runs.

It’s clear in this instance, that this fan is not switching any baseballs, and it’s also clear that as Tejada’s tater lands squarely in his hands, he knows well before the catch what he’s going to do with it. And he does it very well, with a formidable gold glove-caliber outfield assist throw that finds the ball actually beating Tejada back to the plate. Somebody sign this guy!!

The Doug Davis Cubs circle began with a game against Ryan Vogelsong and the Giants, who were victorious, the circle ends with a game against Ryan Vogelsong and the Giants, in a makeup of what was to be the final game of the original series. Baseball is weird like that, very circular at times.




If you enjoy my work, I encourage you to spread the word via Twitter
(I am @yoshiki89), and also please leave a comment!

5/27/11 Pittsburgh Pirates 4, Chicago Cubs 2

Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Game 1 of 3

A sad footnote to the Doug Davis Series...his 300th career appearance, his 280th MLB start, and another forgettable performance...

However, a rather startlingly remarkable one from Kevin Correia.  The buccos nearly shut the Cubs out, and would have if not for a 9th inning 2-run blast from Alfonso Soriano off of reliever Joe Beimel.  The Pirates give the ball to Joel Hanrahan, who strikes out the side to end the game, sad trombone.

5/20/11 Chicago Cubs 5, Boston Red Sox 15

Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Game 1 of 3

The fabled GREEN MONSTER. This historic meeting between the Cubs and the Red Sox was filled with famous facts and cute images of Cubs goofing around with the GREEN MONSTER. Later in the game, the goofing around with the GREEN MONSTER pretty much amounted to the amount of batted balls going over the GREEN MONSTER plus batted balls hitting the GREEN MONSTER. The Red Sox launched 7 hits to the wall, plus 2 of them over the wall (1 of them caught by Cubs President Crane Kenney). The Cubs launched 3 hits to the wall, none over. But, I digress…

Know this: this is the first Cubs visit to Fenway Park to face the Red Sox since these two teams faced each other in the 1918 World Series.

And Doug Davis spoiled it!!



Bill Buckner joins Len Kasper for the WGN broadcast (filling in for Bob Brenly) and besides the game-calling, our eyes and ears are getting filled with as much trivial brain-crowding stuff you may or may not want to know as any human can handle. Probably too much; it was neat-o at first, but as the game crawls on, many of us find ourselves reaching for our motion sickness bags.

…and by the time we thought we wouldn’t need them, Doug Davis’ performance mandates their eventual use…

Doug Davis’ previous start (his first for the Cubs and his first MLB start since July of 2010) wasn’t really a cause for great celebration, but you could chalk that up more than anything to very inclement weather plus a stunning Ryan Vogelsong added up to equal Doug Davis trouble on behalf of the Cubs. Tonight, Davis can’t really rely on either factor; the weather is better and Jon Lester isn’t really outstanding.

The first inning was confusing enough, including but not limited to a stolen base, obstruction call on Jeff Baker, a passed ball charged to Koyie Hill, a throwing error charged to Koyie Hill (on a PO Attempt during the stolen base), most of this occurring in the space of 3 Red Sox plate appearances.

The 3rd inning gets hairy, but not as hairy…the 4th inning is where Davis allows 3 runs with 2 outs recorded, one of those runs was driven in on an epic rocket-launcher HR by Kevin Youkilis that went all the way to Lansdowne Street, and beyond...that HR was given up by Scott Maine in relief of Davis, who topped this feat by allowing 2 more runs before being replaced by James Russell, who has been pretty much cool as a cucumber so far this season. Let’s not bring up Jeff Samardzija, if only to spare the analysis that his 5 runs allowed (3 ER) didn’t really have an impact on the outcome of the game.

I’ll write this again: I still want to be optimistic about his future not only as a Major League pitcher, but also as a Cub. But so far, this adventure isn’t working out very well.

On a more positive note: the most Cubs fans at a road game I think I have ever seen in my life, even Bostonians are wondering – “where did all these crazy people come from???” I can’t answer that, but I can answer this: “Yes, Kevin Youkilis is pretty good at baseball.”




If you enjoy my work, I encourage you to spread the word via Twitter
(I am @yoshiki89), and also please leave a comment!

5/14/11 San Francisco Giants 3, Chicago Cubs 0

Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Game 2 of 3

On a day like today, one can only expect an absolute mess, at a minimum.As you can see, gametime weather at Wrigley was not-so-great for baseball. This seems to be a common occurrence this season, but inclement weather in Chicago tends to lead to the most inclement of games on the field.



This was my first time seeing Ryan Vogelsong in action stateside.Being a fan of the NPB Hanshin Tigers for many years, I was overjoyed during his tenure there, and genuinely pleased to not only see him back in an MLB roster, but also in having such a great run in his return…even if it is for the San Francisco Giants!

What you may not have known about Ryan Vogelsong that kind of applies here: his MLB debut was on September 2, 2000, with the Giants in relief against the Cubs in San Francisco, he pitched 2 innings, allowed only 2 hits, and sealed the deal for a Giants win over the Cubs, 13-2. A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…just to illustrate, check out the box score for a good nostalgic chuckle…

That being said, this was a historic game for Vogelsong…and a banner forgetful game for the Cubs. Vogelsong pitches his 1st career shut-out, striking out 7 Cubs and allowing 7 hits in the process. Before you ring this up as “The Ryan Vogelsong” game, consider the following: The game was held up on a rain delay (seemingly overdue, if you watched the game you know what I mean) to start the 7th inning, and eventually called altogether, as 6 innings had been played. Was Vogelsong on his way to a gem? That’s unlikely, mostly due to the fact that the weather was so bad and with 12 base-hits and 5 errors from both dugouts dropping like free popcorn, the probability of a shut-out cruising throughout a 9-inning game is probably nil. With better weather, and considering Vogelsong’s performance up to today’s game, I might be inclined to bet he could have been on his way to something more glorious than his linescore from this cold, wet, soggy outing.

To say the least, play on the field was disgusting and disturbing. Springtime in Chicago, HOOAH!!

Of other interest, the lumbering Doug Davis starts his first game as a Cub (and his first MLB start since July 2010). A 6-inning game called at 2 hours and 11 minutes? You may want to thank Slowpoke Doug Davis for this, but let’s be fair…I want to be optimistic about Davis’ return, he’s had quite an interesting career (and no, I’m not talking about his 2005 appearance as a potential home buyer in “Flip This House”). After a much-publicized battle with thyroid cancer in 2008, he’s still cancer-free and you still want to be optimistic about his future not only as a Major League pitcher, but also as a Cub.

All that aside, he has the worst facial hair in baseball, hands down. A porn-star landing strip on my chin? No, thanks!




If you enjoy my work, I encourage you to spread the word via Twitter
(I am @yoshiki89), and also please leave a comment!

4/12/10 Milwaukee Brewers 5, Chicago Cubs 9

Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Cubs Home Opener (Game 1 of 3)

A wonderful home opener game, complete with the Ricketts family singing the 7th inning stretch.

MIL 5 8 1
CHC 9 13 0

After the Braves and Reds series, I had some uneven expectations for this game but it's all true...offense when we need it, defense when we need it (well, the near-collision of Baker and Nady was nearly ruled an error). Dempster had me very worried as he started to roll on his characteristic 'unraveling inning,' this time in the 5th when the Brewers threatened to catch up. And why on earth would you pitch to Braun with a runner on?!?

Fortunately, the damage done to Doug Davis (whose super-slow from-the-stretch delivery added 20 minutes to the game) was enough to keep the Cubs above the red and our bullpen (even Samardzija!!!) kept the lead clamped down.