Series Streak On the Line

I hate that headline…should I change it? Did I just jinx the Cubs? The Cubs are going for their eighth straight series win today as they take on Washington at Wrigley Field.

I don’t want to do a full preview that includes pitching matchups. Why? Becuase Jason Bergmann…Who? (Seriously Who?) goes for the Nationals today. He of a 2-9 record and a 4.50 ERA. He is facing Rich Harden. You know, the Rich “This Could be a No Hitter” Harden.

Seriously, did I just jinx the Cubs?

I hate to ever look past any games but from time to time you are going to see me mail in a preview…usually on a Sunday too…It’s usually my golf day – but I am tired for a different reason…

BozeCubbies is back and will be at the game today, and we will be trying to do a live chat under this thread and not under the live game chat page.

By the way, I am not trying to really jinx the Cubs…because we know jinxes and curses don’t exist. If they did  – the Red Sox and the White Sox would still be pining for a World Series ring along with us. I just dont feel like doing all of the work because I stayed up on the west coast to watch USA Basketball  win the Gold Medal last night….I am whipped…I just wanna enjoy the game like the rest of you. See you here in a couple of hours.

Just Read Yesterday’s Post

Cubs lose – No Offense – Marlins 3 Cubs 2

It is getting a little tiresome writing the same thing over and over and over for the game recaps. There is no offense in Chicago. There hasn’t been since the All Star Break…and despite flashes, it doesn’t appear that the offense is coming around anytime soon. Three is zero confidence coming to the plate for any of the Cubs batters. Sooner or later, the Brewers are going to catch the Cubs…and if the team is pressing now, they will be dry cleaning and ironing later.

If this is supposed to be the team that ends the curse they are going to have to stop reading the papers, stop watching the news, and ultimately, get out of their own way, and just let it happen. It is time to start beating the teams you are supposed to beat. I realize the Cubs arent going to go undefeated in the second half, and I also realize it is way to early to panic. It’s just that if I am going to be an objective Cub fan – I remember what the Cubs did to the Brewers last year, and it is beginning to seem likely the Brewers can return the favor this year. If the Brewers win tonight, and tie the Cubs for first in the NL Central, maybe it will serve as the wakeup call the Cubs bats need.

Jeremy Hermedia, the Cub killer, single handedly beat the Cubs today with two HRs and scored the other run in the top of the 12th. Harden struck out 10 again, and again got a no decision. Three starts 30 stirkeouts, 3 total runs given up…an .073 ERA …..one loss – two ND….

Time to go back to what worked in the first half….If it was just staying ahead of the Cardinals because the Brewers wern’t  a threat – It is time to come up with a new plan.

Cubs @ Diamondbacks Game One Recap

I am only now getting to the recap. I have spent the last 12 hours shaking my head. All creativity  has been sucked out of my head and I don’t really feel like tlaking to much about the Cubs after watching the last five games….so here are the notes

• Randy Johnson is now 13-0 lifetime v. the Cubs
• The Cubs are 13-26 in Arizona (not including playoffs)
• In 12.1 inninngs Rich Harden has 20Ks…but a loss and a ND to show for it
• Ararmis Ramirez is slumping…badly He is 2 for his last 30
• The Cubs have lost 4 of their last 5, but the other teams have scored a total of only 12 runs
• The Cubs Offense is an issue right now…Piniella is not allowing BP tonight before the game
• The Cubs are 2 games up in the Central on MIL and STL which are playing a series together right now

Off to the Desert / Cubs v. D-Backs Game One Preview

From Chase Field
9:40 p Eastern

Rich Harden v. Randy Johnson

At their healthiest (Harden) and in their prime (Johnson), this would be quite the matchup of pitching studs. However, Johnson at 44 years old is here collecting $15 million a year to ride off into the sunset…his vest years clearly behind him. Harden (5-1) is the easy pick on paper against Johnson (6-7). But until yesterday the Cubs bats have been frozen stiff. Hopefully the short flight from Huston to the desert didn’t do anything to cool them  off from yesterdays output.

Harden should be solid on nine days rest. Marmol hopes to rebound to his former self when he blew what should have been Harden’s sixth victory back on July 12.

To the pitching outlook…

Johnson has not faced the Cubs this year…here are his lifetime numbers against the team

Randy Johnson vs. Batters, for Career, 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          30    25   6  2  0  2   3   4   7  .240  .367  .560  .927   0   0   0   1   1                
 Derrek Lee           24    22   4  0  0  0   0   1  13  .182  .250  .182  .432   0   0   0   1   0                
 Aramis Ramirez       19    17   3  0  0  1   1   1  12  .176  .263  .353  .616   0   0   0   1   0                
 Reed Johnson         18    12   5  1  0  0   0   2   5  .417  .611  .500 1.111   0   0   0   4   0                
 Henry Blanco         15    14   4  0  0  1   1   1   3  .286  .333  .500  .833   0   0   0   0   1                
 Mark DeRosa          10    10   1  0  0  0   0   0   2  .100  .100  .100  .200   0   0   0   0   0                
 Ryan Dempster         9     8   0  0  0  0   0   0   5  .000  .000  .000  .000   1   0   0   0   0                
 Daryle Ward           4     4   1  0  0  0   0   0   2  .250  .250  .250  .500   0   0   0   0   0                
 Jason Marquis         3     2   0  0  0  0   1   0   1  .000  .000  .000  .000   0   1   0   0   0                
 Carlos Zambrano       3     3   1  0  0  0   0   0   2  .333  .333  .333  .666   0   0   0   0   0                
+-----------------+-------+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
 Total               135   117  25  3  0  4   6   9  52  .214  .306  .342  .648   1   1   0   7   2                

Has not faced: Ronny Cedeno, Mike Fontenot, Kosuke Fukudome, Micah Hoffpauir, Geovany Soto, and Ryan Theriot & Has not faced pitchers: Neal Cotts, Chad Gaudin, Rich Harden, Kevin Hart, Bobby Howry, Ted Lilly, Carlos Marmol, Sean Marshall, and Kerry Wood

 

G_miss is the max number of games for which we don’t have data for this matchup
  (both players appeared in the game and may have faced each other).
  Retrosheet is missing about 200 games from 1956-1973.
Yr_miss is the number of seasons for which these two may have faced each other, but we don’t have data (pre-1956).

Harden has only faced two current D-Backs in his career

Rich Harden vs. Batters, for Career, Min. 0 PA’s, Sorted by PA DESC, Then by Name, vs. players for ARI

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
+-----------------+-------+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
 Orlando Hudson        8     8   2  0  0  0   1   0   1  .250  .250  .250  .500   0   0   0   0   0                
 Tony Clark            3     3   1  1  0  0   0   0   1  .333  .333  .667 1.000   0   0   0   0   0                
+-----------------+-------+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
 Total                11    11   3  1  0  0   1   0   2  .273  .273  .364  .637   0   0   0   0   0                

Has not faced: Emilio Bonifacio, Chris Burke, Stephen Drew, Conor Jackson, Miguel Montero, Augie Ojeda, Mark Reynolds, Alex Romero, Chris Snyder, Chad Tracy, and Chris Young & Has not faced pitchers: Billy Buckner, Doug Davis, Danny Haren, Randy Johnson, Brandon Lyon, Micah Owings, Tony Pena, Yusmeiro Petit, Chad Qualls, Connor Robertson, Leo Rosales, and Brandon Webb

Not much to go off to determine or project anything….alot of rest for both pitchers…D-Backs are at home but like the entire NL West have a losing record v. the team with the best record in the NL…

Accuscore Predictions available by clicking here…

The information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet.  Interested  parties may contact Retrosheet at “www.retrosheet.org“.

Cubs W – Marmol Spoils Harden’s Debut

Reed Johnson drove in the winning run on a walkoff single in the bottom of the 11th….We love the W but this day was overshadowed by trouble from the Cubs bullpen.

Everything good about Rich Harden was all undone by Carlos Marmol in the top of the ninth inning in todays game. A five run top of the ninth was just full of mistakes, hit batters, walks. You name it Marmol threw it. He is starting to remind me of last years version of Ryan Dempster. The thing that baffles me is that when you are pitching against the worst offense in the NL..why not just go right at them and make them beat you…no reason to pitch the spots. Marmol got to where he is by overpowering people. Larry Rothschild has got to get this worked out. It makes me sick to hink Harden gets a ND after such a brilliant performance.

As for Harden…I am still not sure which ovation was louder…the one to start the game, or the one in the 6th when he came out. I hope he did get a curtain call, mlb.tv cut away to a commercial so I couldn’t tell…but I know he deserved one. 10 Ks…no runners past second base….quite studly. As for all of the naysayers about Harden’s velocity being down, his final pitch was a 96 MPH fastball. Case closed.

It is Saturday so Ill let the pros do the recap…click the links to the left to go to your favorite website for additional analysis.

Notes

The numbers rarely lie. In my gameday preview post the numbers said that Harden would dominate the Giants and that the Cubs would be all over Kevin Correia. Click here to see the post…and check back later for tomorrows numbers and analysis. The only thing that the numbers couldn’t tell us prior to the game is the need to position a Doctor behind the mound to perform the Heimlich Manuver on Marmol.

Player of the game 1 Harden / 1A Sean Marshall

(Random Side Note…Dick Butkus who did the stretch today belongs to my Father in Law’s Country Club in Camarillo, California…I see him all of the time…he’s not so big…I out drive him….) 

Click here to Sing Along…Go Cubs Go!

Gameday Notes

Pray for this Kid (Yahoo Sports)

Everyone is expecting harden to be hurting (ESPN)

Pretty Cool Story by the Wisdom Cube (ESPN Fan Profiles)

Before we do our First Half Awards…Lets Get A Players Opinion (Mark DeRosa’s Blog)

Cubs v. Giants Game 2 Preview

LIVE GAME CHAT TODAY>>>>TRY IT OUT!!!! CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE CHAT

Will Harden Dominate??? The numbers say yes…

HARDEN V. GIANTS 2008

20 plate apperances, 9 strikeouts, 2 walks, 1 hit (Randy Winn…whos out today)

Does he dominate today???

Inside the numbers…courtesy of BaseballReference.com

Rich Harden vs. Batters, for 2008, Min. 0 PA’s, Sorted by PA DESC, Then by Name, vs. players for SFG

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
+-----------------+-------+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
 Ray Durham            3     3   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000  .000   0   0   0   0   0
 Fred Lewis            3     2   0  0  0  0   0   1   2  .000  .333  .000  .333   0   0   0   0   0
 John Bowker           2     2   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000  .000   0   0   0   0   0
 Matt Cain             2     2   0  0  0  0   0   0   2  .000  .000  .000  .000   0   0   0   0   0
 Jose Castillo         2     2   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000  .000   0   0   0   0   0
 Bengie Molina         2     2   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  .000  .000  .000  .000   0   0   0   0   0
 Aaron Rowand          2     2   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000  .000   0   0   0   0   0
 Omar Vizquel          2     2   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000  .000   0   0   0   0   0
 Randy Winn            2     1   1  0  0  0   0   1   0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000   0   0   0   0   0
+-----------------+-------+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+

Has not faced: Eliezer Alfonzo, Rich Aurilia, Emmanuel Burriss, Travis Denker, and Eugenio Velez & Has not faced pitchers: Kevin Correia, Alex Hinshaw, Tim Lincecum, Osiris Matos, Sergio Romo, Jonathan Sanchez, Jack Taschner, Tyler Walker, Brian Wilson, Keiichi Yabu, and Barry Zito

How badly have the Cubs beat up on Kevin Correia in 2008? .333 BA For most of the Team!!!

Kevin Correia 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
+-----------------+-------+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
 Kosuke Fukudome       4     4   1  0  0  0   0   0   0  .250  .250  .250  .500   0   0   0   0   0
 Ryan Dempster         3     3   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000  .000   0   0   0   0   0
 Mark DeRosa           3     3   1  0  0  0   0   0   2  .333  .333  .333  .666   0   0   0   0   0
 Jim Edmonds           3     2   2  0  0  1   2   1   0 1.000 1.000 2.500 3.500   0   0   0   0   0
 Mike Fontenot         3     2   0  0  0  0   0   1   0  .000  .333  .000  .333   0   0   0   0   0
 Derrek Lee            3     3   1  0  0  0   0   0   0  .333  .333  .333  .666   0   0   0   0   0
 Geovany Soto          3     3   1  1  0  0   0   0   1  .333  .333  .667 1.000   0   0   0   0   0
 Ryan Theriot          3     2   0  0  0  0   0   1   0  .000  .333  .000  .333   0   0   0   0   0
+-----------------+-------+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+

Has not faced: Henry Blanco, Ronny Cedeno, Reed Johnson, Aramis Ramirez, and Daryle Ward & Has not faced pitchers: Neal Cotts, Chad Gaudin, Rich Harden, Bobby Howry, Jon Lieber, Ted Lilly, Carlos Marmol, Jason Marquis, Sean Marshall, Kerry Wood, Michael Wuertz, and Carlos Zambrano

 

The information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet.  Interested  parties may contact Retrosheet at “www.retrosheet.org“.