8/21/12 Columbus Clippers 10, Louisville Bats 7

Louisville Slugger Field, Louisville, KY

Game 4 of 4

There aren't many games left in the season, and even with Louisville's recharged infield, sometimes you have to look at the visiting team for noteworthy performances.  You might not expect such from the Columbus Clippers, who are currently 9 games behind the Indianapolis Indians in the IL West Division...despite the fact that the Clippers are the reigning AAA Champions.  Minor League championship titles are, in many ways, a statistical farce, as affiliate club performance bears no indicator whatsoever to their parent club's success now or in the future.  At any rate, I thought I might see a great pitching performance from T.J. McFarland, but this never materialized...instead I saw struggling starting pitchers (from either dugout), clean bullpen performances (from either dugout), and a formidable offensive push (from either dugout).  I also saw front office guys and General Managers.

It wasn't as difficult to single out a player (from either dugout) for their performance in this game as it was to come up with a reason why.  At first glance, Matt LaPorta seemed to be the best candidate, more so because he might be considered the worst candidate at the same time.

LaPorta flew out to CF in his first PA of the game in the 2nd, was walked by Tim Gustafson (and scored) in the 3rd, and presented the inning-ending GIDP to second base in the 5th, facing Nick Christiani.  Where Matt broke out (more or less) was a run walked in (by Nick Masset, more about him in a moment) in the 7th inning and a crisp 2-RBI single to the shortstop to add 2 more insurance runs for the Clippers in the 8th.  The 'run walked in' was the last of a 3-run inning; if you are looking for game-winning RBIs, you would have to accept LaPorta's claim to all 3 of them.

I don't follow the Cleveland Indians much, but it's safe to say that LaPorta is a player who is pretty much enjoying (for lack of a better term) a significant level of "goat status" for Cleveland fans.  Part of it could be because Matt was one of the key pieces in the CC Sabathia trade of July, 2008, coming from the Brewers organization as a .288/.402/.576 hitter for the AA Huntsville Stars.  At the AAA level, LaPorta was a total bruiser for the Clippers in 2009 (.299/.388/.530 with 17 HR and 56 SO in 393 PA) and brought some of that with him to the Major League club that season.  Not so much during 13 games in May, but in 39 games from late August through Cleveland's 5-game losing streak to end the season, when he was batting .273/.315/.489 with 6 HR and 26 SO in 149 PA.  This was more than enough to find him on the Indians' roster for most of 2010 (110 games) and 2011 (107 games), but as we see so often, his stuff in the Minors just never really translated into the Majors, and after so many years of Indians fans waiting for Matt LaPorta to "happen" in Cleveland, it's starting to look like it really isn't.

I remember the 2010 Matt LaPorta buzz well, as the announcers in this Clippers game I scored that year couldn't start talking about how great he and Michael Brantley were going to be for "Manny Acta's ballclub in Cleveland" over the next few years...

As I'm posting this recap several weeks after the fact, I think it's important to note that as recently as September 19th, as seen in this article, many Indians fans are pretty much fed up with LaPorta's back-and-forth ride in the organization.  The most accurate description (if not the most humble) of LaPorta's career in Cleveland is best summed up by the author TD's statement: "a step slow and a brain cramp."

Hey, he had a pretty good game tonight...but usually does in the Minor Leagues.  My intent here is not to bury LaPorta, but to praise him just for that.  However, my cautionary tale has a message.  A great deal of potential with no results at the Major League level a few years later to show for it is a common story.  It can happen anywhere, and is happening anywhere, right now.  Let's compare Matt's career to a mystery player (who shall not be named) who is indeed spending more time recently in the Majors, but is also very soon likely to be the target of such derision, as a poster child for what's wrong with the team...not the player.

LaPorta's career has been only one year longer (MLB and MiLB combined) than the mystery player's career.  LaPorta's notoriety with his current organization came as part of a high-profile trade, the mystery player was drafted and developed by the organization he plays for today.  LaPorta and the mystery player do play on different teams, but in the very same AL division; both of those teams are finishing this season very much as they did their last...way behind the division leaders, but not quite at rock bottom.  Here are two distinct "upside" guys who are typically better in the Minors than they have been in the Majors.  By comparison, LaPorta is "raking" in the Minors during his career, mystery player isn't...but mystery player is somewhat known for his "raking" in the Minors, but not my that much.  Here, what you see is minor league upside, met with major league downside.  The only real difference between the two, is that the mystery player is selling a lot more T-shirts over the past couple of years than Matt LaPorta is; which means the complaining about the mystery player's MLB struggles is really just beginning.  BTW, LaPorta's career OPS+ is 92, mystery player's is 100.

I don't want to single out a team, a player, or even a group of fans whom I love, but if you knew who this mystery player was, many of you would pelt me with rocks and garbage.  Upside is upside, as baseball fans we have got to remember that when evaluating talent, what really happens next is more often than not a situation where cooler heads will prevail.  These players don't wear crowns, and they don't walk on water...your team's next superstar almost never looks like one after they are mashing the ball, or whatever, in AAA and then get a dose of reality on the MLB field.

And speaking of disappointment...cue the sad trombone for Nick Masset.

Nick Masset hasn't thrown a ball of any kind for the Reds all year after rehabbing from an injury he sustained during Spring Training (this was right after he signed a 2-year deal with the Reds for $5.5 million, avoiding arbitration).  He showed up in Louisville a few days ago as part of his rehab process, and tonight's outing must have been a big deal...not only were there several Reds front office guys leaning over the dugout rail, but GM Walt Jocketty himself was seated with his assistant near the scouting section.  I'm pretty sure these folks weren't here to see Tim Gustafson.

Masset came out of the dugout to start the 7th inning, when the Bats were enjoying a hearty 7-5 lead over the Clippers.  Masset faced 6 batters, allowed 4 hits, walked 2 (including Matt LaPorta's 'run walked in')...allowing every batter he faced to reach base without recording a single out, throwing 27 pitches (14 for strikes) in the process.  Will Ohman was called in to relieve Masset, retiring the next three batters he faced in that inning, but you can be sure Jocketty was less than enthusiastic about Masset's performance, and not so much concerned that the Clippers now had a 1-run lead...thanks to Matt LaPorta's RWI.  On September 10, Masset underwent shoulder surgery that ended the season he wasn't having anyway.

I also heard that Bill Rhinehart was released on Sunday.  More sad trombone.

Photos from the game:

Here's T.J. McFarland warming up.

Ted Power and the infield are having a conversation with Tim Gustafson.

Reds front office guys in the house!

GM Walk Jocketty and his BlackBerry are firing rather nasty messages back home about Nick Masset.

Thanks to Kei, I finally caught this common jumbotron errata...when it's 10:00PM at the game in Louisville, it's actually "no time" if you read this accurately.

This picture isn't from the game, but rather from thegoldensombrero.com - if anything, to show you what a good sport Matt LaPorta really is about his so-called disappointing MLB career.  Maybe he's smiling because on paper, he knows he's about as good as the mystery player previously mentioned.

I picked a winner in the Mystery Rookie Card game, a very sexy Jason Heyward 2010 Bowman RC.  The tag says $4, I say "OK, kool."

Kei picked this glorious 2006 Upper Deck Norris Hopper RC.  Not that it makes a heck of a lot of difference to her, but Hopper was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 8th round of the 1998 amateur draft and spent 7 years in the Royals system without any appearance at the MLB level, posting a .717 OPS and playing every position except 1B, C, and 3B in the process.  Hopper was granted free agency in October of 2004 and signed with the Reds in January of 2005.  He re-signed with the Reds not once, but twice more...in December 2005 and December 2008.  Hopper played in 168 games for the Reds in 2006 through 2008, the only MLB experience in his career, hitting .316/.367/.371 in 440 PA, and sporting an OPS+ of 90 (only 2 points lower than Matt LaPorta's career OPS+ of 92).  Here's what is the most interesting thing about Norris Hopper, as far as I'm concerned: he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in June of 2009 for the guy who is the most popular player in Louisville today...Corky Miller.  One month later, the Nationals purchased his contract, then granted him free agency at the end of the season.  He signed with the Brewers in 2010, appearing in 119 games with AA Nashville, and appeared in 79 games during the 2011 season with the Independent League Somerset Patriots, and 20 games in 2012 with the Mexican League Petroleros de Minatitlan.  The case can be made, in many subtle ways, that the Reds won the 2009 trade.

I also couldn't resist picking up this 2010 Bowman Chrome Starlin Castro RC.  I love that guy, in a way that a baseball fan guy loves a baseball player guy.

SCOREKEEPER'S NOTE: I had not one, but two disagreements with the Official Scorer tonight.  Per usual practice, I held my ground on both.

Clippers RF Vinny Rottino (almost as great an Italian name as Valentino Pascucci) hit a soft-chopper to Mike Costanzo in the 3rd; Costanzo (as usual) wasn't playing at his position well and was too far away to field the ball cleanly...he managed to make it to the ball, and had plenty of opportunity to throw Rottino out at 1st, but in his haste to reach, bobbled the ball on the pickup.  Ordinary effort would have resulted in an out, so I scored this E5.  In an effort to apply "home cooking" to award Costanzo with a play he had no chance at (when I felt that he did), the O.S. ruled this a hit.  It was an ERROR.

Bats LF Cody Puckett hit a seeing-eye grounder through the gap between 1st and 2nd base, there was no play by the Clippers' infielders, so I ruled this a hit.  Not as much to my surprise as to my chagrin, the O.S. posted an E for this play.  I did consider, for a moment, that there might have been a play.  I even started to erase my entry on my scoresheet, but I reconsidered and once again, held my ground on this.  Later in the game, I was vindicated and the E was reversed to a hit.

Official Program #4, featuring Didi Gregorius...my goodness, they misspelled his name, inside and out!!

Official Scorecard #3, featuring Corky Miller (traded to the Reds for Norris Hopper), and autographed by Corky Miller.

Bat Chat and Gameday Stats

8/18/12 Chicago Cubs 9, Cincinnati Reds 7

Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH
Game 3 of 4

Today, my wife and I were fortunate enough to be the guests of friends of ours who have great seats in Section 130 a few times a year.  They offered for us to join them for today's game and I was hard pressed to refuse...not only would it be the first (and probably only) chance for me to attend an MLB game this season, but the CUBS are in town...and I can't say NO to that!

I also can't say NO to seeing Brett Jackson "in Action" again, for the first time as a CUB since his call-up to the big leagues on August 5th.  You may or may not recall the beginning of my Brett Jackson man-crush, when I saw him with the Tennessee Smokies during the 2010 BIL Tour, where he graciously signed my scoresheet.

This amazing graphic created by @RandallJSanders, and used with permission!

On the short drive to Cincinnati, I warned my wife (as well as our hosts) that to expect something great from the Cubs today would be an expectation far too great.  I briefly touched on the painful, yet promising, benchmark of the Cubs' 2012 season and also pointed out that the Reds were getting hotter as the season went on.  Sometimes, I really don't mind being wrong.

This evening game turned out to be the second of an unscheduled day/night doubleheader, with the day game being a makeup of a postponed game earlier in the season.  The Cubs fell hard in that contest, losing to the Reds 5-3 as Todd Frazier continued his campaign for NL Rookie of the Year with 2 RBI and his 17th HR.  Johnny Cueto bested Jeff Samardzija, cruising through 8 innings and 2ER.  On the mound tonight is Brooks Raley, who has yet to earn his first MLB win, against Todd Redmond.

Hold on...Todd Redmond?  Yes, he was just traded to the Reds for Paul Janish only a few weeks ago, has pitched reasonably well in Louisville, and was called up this afternoon to make this start due to the 26-man roster rule for make-up doubleheader games.  The good news: Redmond's infamous invisi-ball did make an appearance (and was documented by FanGraphs in this article, using information from today's game).  The bad news: well, far be it from me to accuse the Reds of throwing Todd Redmond under the bus by having him start against Brooks Raley and the whimpering 2012 Cubs, but yeah...that just happened.

Redmond seemed to labor from the very beginning, throwing 27 pitches in the first inning and facing 6 batters (two of whom he walked).  His second inning wasn't much better, adding 23 pitches to his count, facing 6 batters again, this time opening up with a spectacular solo HR by my BFF Brett Jackson to put the Cubs on the board first.  Redmond's struggles continued, allowing 6 hits, 4 runs (3 ER), walking 5 and striking out 2 (one swinging) by the time he was lifted in favor of Alfredo Simon in the 4th inning, throwing 91 pitches total (52 for strikes).

Raley, however, was throwing 28 pitches total by the end of the 3rd inning and went 5.1 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs (3 ER), walking 2 and striking out 4 (2 of them swinging), throwing 76 pitches total (49 for strikes).  He wasn't exactly on fire, but was indeed smoldering by comparison.

The Cubs took a significant lead by the middle of the 6th, 8 runs to the Reds' 2, but Raley's exit and Manuel Corpas' relief found the Cubs giving the Reds every chance to strike back, and the score was 8-4 at the end of the 6th, then 8-6 after a Ryan Ludwick 2-run HR (his second HR of the game) in the 7th.  Miguel Cairo's 2-out pinch-hit RBI triple in the 8th added another run for the Reds (and was this close to giving some temporary justification to the whole "clutch hitter" manifesto) but in the top of the 9th, with 2 outs, David DeJesus brought forth his 5th HR of the season to add a late-inning insurance run (also clutch, he he) and pad the Cubs' lead by 2.

I was wrong here, again, when DeJesus approached the plate, worked a full 3-2 count, and my wife proclaimed "OK, he's got a HR comin' right here" and I laughed sarcastically and said, "No, honey...not David DeJesus..." --CRACKKKK-- "...OK, David DeJesus!" You can't predict baseball.

We rode the MarmolCoaster as Cubs fans often do in the bottom of the 9th, and the Cubs prevailed...no Tums were required!  

More good news today: Starlin Castro, who has been slumping recently, went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs and a marvelous deep right field triple in the 6th.  More bad news today: after his 2nd inning lead-off HR, Brett Jackson struck out three times, once swinging.

I had a bad day with the camera, not sure why, but I did manage to squeeze out a few interesting shots:

Here's Starlin Castro nailing a single in the 1st inning, it's a little blurry but the "bat action" is awesome.

The bases are loaded with CUBS in the first inning, Redmond is pitching to Steve Clevenger.  Steve Clevenger, you're on the Jumbotron, bro!

Brooks Raley on the mound...yeah!!

Another blurry, yet significant, shot...Brett Jackson CRUSHES in the 2nd inning.

Todd Frazier in the house...still with his particular batting stance, only his thighs are pressed MUCH tighter in the process...whatever, it's totally working for him.

Go CUBS!

SCOREKEEPER'S NOTE: Anthony Rizzo's lead-off single in the 6th was ruled an error by Cincinnati's Official Scorer.  This was a very hard hit groundball that caught Frazier with his back nearly turned to first base, several feet away from the bag; Frazier attempted to back-hand the ball with his glove, but it snapped out quickly and allowed Rizzo to reach first safely.  Even if Frazier had snared the ball, he would have had no play at the bag, period.  My party looked at me after the play and asked "hit or error?" and my immediate response was "hit...he couldn't have made it at all."  The gentleman sitting next to me (gentleman is something I call someone who is older than I am, hrm) agreed with me, both of us were profoundly shocked when the play was ruled as an error.  Per my usual practice, I can be convinced of a hit or an error, one way or another, but if I maintain my stance after consideration, my ruling stands on my scoresheet...because it's mine and I can do that if I like.

My favorite souvenir from the game, this enormously #kVlt ticket stub featuring Jay Bruce apparently experiencing some sort of arcane flatulence...

Official Program (the only scorecard you can get is inside this monstrosity) featuring Aroldis Chapman, the Cuban MISSile Crisis

8/10/12 Cincinnati Reds 10, Chicago Cubs 8

Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

Game 2 of 4

Only 5 days ago, Josh Vitters and Brett Jackson were called up to join the Cubs while they were on the road in Los Angeles.  

Brett Jackson made his first start at Wrigley yesterday, going 0-for-3 with one strikeout in the Cubs' 5-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.  Today, Vitters makes his first start at Wrigley, at third base.

Vitters goes 1-for-5, crossing the plate once on Welington Castillo's 6th inning double.  Jackson strikes out twice, yet draws a walk in the 8th inning, scores on Castillo's 2nd consecutive double, and the Cubs hang in there to compete with the Reds...but it was the Reds' 6th inning that knocked starter Justin Germano out of the game, where the Cubs committed 2 errors in a single at bat (one of them Jackson's), that pretty much sealed the deal.  This couldn't erase Cincinnati's 3-run 3rd inning with 3 Cubs errors (by Rizzo, Vitters, and Castro) but the Cubs were surging onward late in the game.

Starlin Castro's TOOTBLAN in the 6th inning meant that Castillo's double didn't score him as well.  It wasn't really Castro's fault; Dave McKay waved him to 3rd on Vitter's bloop single, and Castro seemed to have trouble picking up the signal (what Listach was doing during this, I have no idea).  Castro was fooled on an "infield decoy" play, and was thrown out in a 9-4-5 relay.

7/7/12 Chicago Cubs 1, New York Mets 3

Citi Field, Flushing, NY
Game 2 of 3

Well, it finally happened!  On June 26, just over a week ago, RIZZOMANIA arrived in Chicagoland!!

Kevin Goldstein now has an extra 3 hours of his day back (only to be replaced by questions about Junior Lake, I suppose...or twice as many questions about Brett Jackson), and the Cubs have Anthony Rizzo in the lineup.  And this is pretty exciting stuff.

Sure there are lots of expectations for Rizzo in Chicago, and the pressure is certainly on.  There were also expectations for Rizzo in San Diego last year, but the shoes he was expected to fill were pretty darn big (Adrian Gonzalez) for starters, his eventual thumb injury didn't help batters...but the story is quite different now.  I don't think even the most psychotic of Cubs fans expects Rizzo to be the key to a World Series any time over the next 5 years; at best his presence at first will fill a void some fans found vacant when Derrek Lee was traded, a void that even Carlos Pena couldn't fill.  Only time will tell how that's going to work out, but for now, Rizzo is here and he's a great deal of fun to watch.  

Rizzo's debut in a Cubs uniform was, incidentally, against the Mets at home.  He was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI and the Cubs beat the Mets 5-3.  So, this is what hope is about: Randy Wells started that game (and couldn't finish it) against Dillon Gee.  10 days later, the Cubs are in New York, Gee is on the mound again, and Wells is back at AAA (he was sent there immediately following the June 26th outing, also known as "Randy's Last Straw"), and this is the first time I am seeing Rizzo in action with the Cubs.

With Wells gone, Samardzija is here to face Gee; this time the tables are turned and Gee turns in an amazing performance, 8IP, 7H 1ER, 4K.  Samardzija seems to be rushing his delivery a bit, and gets tagged for 2 HRs, from which all 3 of the Mets runs were scored.  Still, the Shark goes 7 innings, walks 2 and strikes out 4 (3 of those were swinging).  One would like to look at this outing and think he didn't do all that poorly...well, but Gee had the upper hand, and that's that.

But, hey...who in the hell is Jordanny Valdespin??

This guy was truly shocking, could this be the dawning of the "Valdespin Era" for Mets fans?  I was surprised to see him in the lineup, as I really honestly didn't know who he was.  Found out quickly who he was when he tattooed a solo shot waayyyy over in right-center field on a 1-1 pitch in his first at-bat of the game, 2nd inning.  

Valdespin moved up rather quickly in the Mets system, so quickly over the past couple of years that between the last time I saw the Buffalo Bisons in Louisville last season, he was in Binghamton...he was called up to Buffalo in August, and barely hit the ground there to start the AAA season in April when he made his Mets debut in April 23.  Mostly making spot starts and appearing in primarily pinch-hitting roles, but the more PAs he started to get, the better his results...through May 30, he was .095/.136/.238, 1HR and 3 RBI (WPA 0.147) in 22 PA.  By comparison, in June he was .286/.302/.524, 1HR and 9 RBI (WPA 0.281) in 43 PA.  Kinda sexy stuff.

However, you may be asking yourself...how are the Mets doing with Valdespin's performance during these two distinct periods of time?  From April 23 through May 30, the Mets were 8-8 in the 16 games Valdespin played in.  From June 3 through June 23, the Mets were 7-10 in the 17 games Valdespin played in; about the same amount of games, just about twice as many PA.  I guess that's why they call it "win probability added"...sure, it's higher during his better offensive period, but his offense isn't the single most contributing factor to the team's winning games.  One month in comparison to another is also two sample sizes that are almost too small to call...even with more PA, Valdespin averaged 2.47 AB per game (2.53 PA) during June.  It will be interesting to see how he does with more playing time...and how that playing time contributes to what could be a great season for the Mets.

Go CUBS!!!

5/17/12 Philadelphia Phillies 8, Chicago Cubs 7

Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Game 2 of 2

By the time the Cubs’ 2nd inning had ended, I was pretty sure the story of this game was going to be the inevitable exit of Chris Volstad from the Cubs rotation. 58 pitches, 3BB, 2K, 4R (all earned) and 15 batters faced speaks volumes to Volstad’s continuing slide as a starting pitcher. I think the writing on the wall speaks for itself, and I’m weary (at the moment) of belaboring the “failures” of men* in these posts, so instead I’m going to shake off the dust of another Cubs loss by celebrating the greatness of 2 position players in tonight’s game.

* this pun brought to you by the eve of the 32nd anniversary of the death of Ian Curtis. “Wise words and sympathy tell the story of our history / New strength gives a real touch, sense and reason make it all too much.”

I usually chuckle at catchers, this is mostly due to my unabashed “catcher bias” in my fantasy league, catchers are pudding, I don’t have to draft them so I never do. Furthermore, I like catchers more for what they do behind the plate and less for how they handle themselves with a bat…with the bat, that’s where the chuckling comes from. And the injuries. Tonight, amid an exciting game with an inspiring, yet anti-climactic Cubs comeback in the 9th inning, catchers from both dugouts rocked my baseball world, for sure.

So, these guys were NOT pudding tonight, not Carlos Ruiz and not Welington Castillo. 

It’s always fair to expect something special from “Chooch,” tonight’s game was no exception, but maybe a little more special than usual. Besides backing up Roy Halladay very well behind the plate (Halladay was 1-5 against the Cubs going into tonight’s game, with Volstad starting you could almost certainly pencil in 2-5 afterwards), Ruiz went ape in the batter’s box, 4-for-5 with 5 TB and 3 RBI, the last of which you can mark down as the Phillies’ game-winning RBI, if you are so inclined. Even I have a tendency to mutter “CHOOOOOOOOCH” after his plate appearances.

Sir Welington of Beef (sorry, he doesn’t really have a better nickname yet) pulled off his own kind of offensive special as well, 2-for-4 from the #7 hole in the lineup with a whopping 4 RBI (his 3-run double in the 9th being the crack that nearly burst the Cubs’ big chance at a last-minute WIN wide open), 6 TB with a solo lead-off HR in the 8th. With Clevenger on the DL and Soto soon heading there, I suddenly feel warm and fuzzy about his getting more playing time.

The Cubs fought hard, but were a run shy of extending the contest, Halladay improves his Cubs record to 2-5.

Starlin Castro = still sexy...a great defensive bare-handed pick-and-quick throw to put out Juan Pierre (yes, that's right, Juan Pierre) in the 1st inning was lighting kool, his solo HR in the 7th was also eye-popping.

And hey…wasn’t it great to see Casey Coleman again?

Go CUBS!

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

4/5/12 Washington Nationals 2, Chicago Cubs 1

Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Game 1 of 3
Cubs Home Opener (on Opening Day Number 3)

Ah, yes…the sun is out, the grass is green, and BASEBALL SEASON has arrived! It was cool and the wind was blowing in at Wrigley, but you just couldn’t wipe off the smiles of the Chicago faithful as the Cubs host the Nationals to start the 2012 regular season. Not unless a pitching change out of “left field” comes along…



Fans were hopeful for a pitcher’s duel, with Ryan Dempster starting for the Cubs and the phenom Stephen Strasburg on the mound for the Nationals…and we got to see a pitcher’s duel! But we ultimately ended up seeing a pitcher’s fool instead.



Each starter’s lines didn’t look anything like what I had expected, actually quite the inverse. Strasburg didn’t record a K until the 5th inning, throwing heat and throwing it well but throwing it to contact today. Dempster, on the other hand, was ballistic, recording 10 Ks in 7.2 IP. He topped 9 Ks in a game only once in 2011, against the San Francisco Giants in Chicago on May 13th.

The Nationals were shockingly handcuffed by Dempster, who allowed one hit in the first inning and no more until the 8th. Strasburg was nearly as effective, yet had allowed 5 hits and 1 earned run through the 7th. The first of those hits was an amazing infield pop-up single by Starlin Castro in his first at bat, on a ball that Strasburg quickly identified with his index finger in the air, then inexplicably ran out of the way, allowing it to drop and Castro to reach first on his tippy toes.

Dempster and the Cubs had that one-run lead sharply penciled in through the 7th. In the 8th inning, Dempster struck out former Cub PH Chad Tracy, allowed a single from Ian Desmond, and then struck out Danny Espinosa. 2 out, 1 on, 105 pitches so far (71 for strikes), and with only one out left to escape the inning…uh oh. Sveumus heads to the mound, at first I thought to talk to Dempster on how to pitch to Ryan Zimmerman, and then…then he took the ball!!! Huh???!???

”Sveumus” is new Cubs manager Dale Sveum; for non-Cubs fans the “Sveumus” is a play on something else you probably don’t care about…

I can’t seem to figure out why this happened. Dempster was still cruising, and 105-plus pitches isn’t an unusual chore from this guy. Dempster threw 105 or more pitches 19 times in 2011, the Cubs were 9-7 when he did if that matters to you. I don’t like to pass myself off as an armchair GM, but at this moment, when Kerry Wood comes charging onto the field, I am literally pulling my own ears off, one ear at a time.

Why did this happen? Was it Sveum’s plan to have Wood walk Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche (who had struck out swinging against Dempster in all 3 of his plate appearances, he LOVES to swing at the 84 mph split-finger FB!!) to pitch to Jayson Werth (who is 0-for-7 in his career AB against Dempster)??? That must have been the plan, and well-executed too. With only one strike left to retire Zimmerman, Wood walks him as well as the agitated LaRoche and the bags are full of Nats. With the count full, Wood’s fastball rises too late, and Werth walks in a run. The game is tied, and God help me, I can’t stop the bleeding from my ear-holes.

I feel all the love a Cubs fan can feel for Kerry Wood, but I feel extreme pain in the spots where my ears were over his entrance into this game. I asked my friends on twitter if they had any ideas as to why this move was made, and I didn’t get a response.

In the top of the 9th but the Nationals do something more…Tracy doubles off of Carlos Marmol with 2 outs and the pesky Nat Ian Desmond scratches his 3rd base hit of the day in 5 at-bats. Tracy scores, and even a timely triple from Ian Stewart (who could only dribble a ground ball 2 feet in front of him in 2 of his 3 at-bats against Strasburg) wasn’t enough of a rally.

I laughed dismissively at first, but after Byrd struck out looking against Brad Lidge to end the game, my only consolation was to replay the pre-game excitement, featuring Bill Murray’s ceremonial first pitch, which in turn was preceded by a fearless huff around the bases. Watching the second time around, I felt that I loved this.

Murray sang the 7th inning stretch (along with Big Head Todd, WTF?!?), and talked to Len and Bob for the bottom of the 7th as well as the top of the 8th, while Wood was working his magic. Len commented on how much of a “true fan” Murray was for keeping score during the interview segment.

Go CUBS!




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