The Cubs will head into Mondays opener against the Pirates 30 Games over .500(80-50)……..i keep asking myself is this for real?The Cubs 30 games over .500 heading towards September?Not trying to be a homer here,it’s just us Cub fans are not used to this,but rest assured all the homers will be out soon with their usual saying (Cubs)=completely useless by September,as you all know none of us here are into those sayings or black cats or the curse or any other dumb shit that rival teams fans come up with.
Seriously though why are we so much better then last year?I can think of many reasons,but here are just few,One: are pitching staff which is anchored by three guys who could be number 1 starters on many teams,everybody knew what to expect from Zambrano but Dempster has been just as good if not better.i think Dempster has been the biggest surprise this year,then we added the ridiculous strikeout machine in Rich Harden,Two:The two guys we got for hardly nothing has made a HUGE impact,Jimmy Edmonds and Reed Johnson,you know the Jim Edmonds that was said to have only warning track power according to many scouts and the media before coming to the Cubs and Reed Johnson is just one of those guys that does it all and will break every bone in his body if it meant making a catch,Johnson was actually cut by the Blue Jays in spring training.Finally,and yes im sure their are many more reasons for all the winning but this whole season their seems to be a different hero every game and the Cubs seem to play more like a team then previous years,one more thing to add,Geovony Soto,the year he is having is great and of course the man that can do it all but pitch and if needed he would probably try to,Mark Derosa.
Well i left the addition of Fukudome but as i said i could go on and on about why this team is so great,ok i better shutup now before i jinx us as mikey likes to say,then again,hell with it,today is my birthday so i can boast about how good the Cubs are if i want too,there,now there is your jinx!
Here is game one’s preview:
Ted Lilly
- #30 LHP
- (12-7) 4.25 ERA 148 SO
Cubs: Lilly had a no-hitter broken up by the leadoff batter in the sixth in his last start and wound up losing a 2-1 decision to the Reds. He only gave up two hits in seven innings and struck out seven. That outing lowered his ERA to 4.25, the lowest it’s been after a start all season. The lefty dominated Pittsburgh on Aug. 2, holding the Pirates to one run and six hits in 6 1/3 innings for the win. But he was touched up by them in two previous starts this year.
Ted Lilly vs. Batters, for 2008, Min. 0 PA’s, Sorted by PA DESC, Then by Name, vs. players for PIT
PI Click on the player name for a list of plate appearances between these players.
**PA** AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GDP G_miss YR_miss
+-----------------+-------+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
Nate McLouth 9 9 5 0 1 0 1 0 0 .556 .556 .778 1.334 0 0 0 0 0
Luis Rivas 8 7 3 0 0 2 3 1 1 .429 .500 1.286 1.786 0 0 0 0 0
Freddy Sanchez 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 1
Ryan Doumit 5 5 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 .600 .600 .800 1.400 0 0 0 0 0
Paul Maholm 5 5 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .400 .400 .400 .800 0 0 0 0 0
Chris Gomez 4 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .250 .250 .250 .500 0 0 0 0 1
Adam LaRoche 3 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 .667 .667 1.333 2.000 0 0 0 0 0
Andy LaRoche 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 .333 .000 .333 0 0 0 0 0
Brandon Moss 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000 0 0 0 0 0
Jack Wilson 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Doug Mientkiewicz 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 .500 .000 .500 0 0 0 0 0
+-----------------+-------+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
Has not faced: Raul Chavez, Jason Michaels, and Nyjer Morgan & Has not faced pitchers: Denny Bautista, Sean Burnett, Matt Capps, Jason Davis, Zach Duke, Tom Gorzelanny, John Grabow, Craig Hansen, Jeff Karstens, Ian Snell, and Tyler Yates
Jeff Karstens
- #36 RHP
- (2-2) 2.25 ERA 11 SO
Pirates: Karstens continues to pitch deep into games, but he also continues to give up runs. His four-run, nine-hit performance against the Mets was good enough to give his team a chance to win, but he was opposed by two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, who threw a shutout. Pirates manager John Russell continues to praise Karstens for the right-hander’s ability to attack the strike zone and go after hitters. He’ll try to recapture the magic of his first two Pirates starts against the Cubs, whom Karstens shut out over five innings in his National League debut on Aug. 1.
Jeff Karstens vs. Batters, for 2008, Min. 0 PA’s, Sorted by PA DESC, Then by Name, vs. players for CHC
PI Click on the player name for a list of plate appearances between these players.
**PA** AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GDP G_miss YR_miss
+-----------------+-------+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
Jim Edmonds 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 .000 .667 .000 .667 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Fontenot 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333 .333 .333 .666 0 0 0 0 0
Kosuke Fukudome 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 .333 .000 .333 0 0 0 0 0
Derrek Lee 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 .333 .000 .333 0 0 0 0 0
Aramis Ramirez 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .667 .667 .667 1.334 0 0 0 0 0
Alfonso Soriano 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333 .666 0 0 0 0 0
Geovany Soto 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Ronny Cedeno 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 1
Jason Marquis 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000 0 0 0 0 0
+-----------------+-------+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
Has not faced: Henry Blanco, Mark DeRosa, Reed Johnson, Ryan Theriot, and Daryle Ward & Has not faced pitchers: Neal Cotts, Ryan Dempster, Chad Gaudin, Rich Harden, Bobby Howry, Ted Lilly, Carlos Marmol, Sean Marshall, Jeff Samardzija, Kerry Wood, and Carlos Zambrano
Posted by mikeychx 
