I guess It’s nice of the Bears to get their season out of they way this early. Now we can all concentrate on the THE INTERNATIONAL TUNA TOSSING contests in Australia. Or, you can join our very own THICK McRUNFAST for the open wheel racing series. He has beer and makes a wonderful Goulash. For the more adventurous among you, there’s also a series of nude sports (just Google the phrase) that have events on Sunday. Whatever your choice, it’s kind of freeing to be able to ignore football for an entire year. Because only a psychopathic masochist would follow this team this year.
The offensive line looked like freshly greased turn-style at Wal-Mart, the defense appeared to be doing a repeat of last year’s Ginger Rogers impression (backwards and in heels) and Special Teams looked like they were Special Ed when they got off the short bus wobbling. The only bright spot was watching Dan LeFevour looking sharp as he played against the scrubs. RICK TELANDER of the Sun Times feels pretty much the same way.
It couldn’t be, could it? Is Jay Cutler a bust? Is Mike Martz a has-been?
Is the Bears’ offense as dead as AstroTurf?
Are we preparing for a regular season that will seem endless?
They say the third preseason game is the big one, which makes the offensive production by the Bears’ starting unit Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals almost too wretched to ponder.
‘’That’s not how we planned it,’’ coach Lovie Smith said after a zero-point first half.
God, let’s hope not.
Cutler, the man who was to be the savior of the Bears when they acquired him 1½ years ago, was terrible during his slightly more than two quarters of play.
He looked tentative at times. He looked indecisive.
Worst of all, he looked as though he is ready to continue his astounding habit of throwing interceptions.
Cutler finished the first quarter with a miserable 49.2 passer rating—Peter Tom Willis territory.
Then he got worse.
In the second quarter, he went 3-for-7 for 22 yards and an interception. That brought his rating down to 31.0—Jonathan Quinn turf.
For the game, he was 10-for-20 for 129 yards and two interceptions and seemed to display little leadership or judgment.
After his exit, Cutler spoke on the sideline of ‘’a few misalignments’’ and some ‘’helmet problems.’’
Well, if that’s all it is—some bad wiring in the ear holes—call in the Geek Squad, pronto, and get it fixed.
But that isn’t all it is.
Martz, the man who was brought in during the offseason to make everyone forget about former offensive coordinator Ron Turner, might be wondering what happened to the game he once knew. And Turner, now with the Indianapolis Colts, might be chuckling just a bit.
Funny how well things worked for Martz when he was with the St. Louis Rams and his pinball game was being run by future Hall of Famers Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk.
This is what’s left of ‘’The Greatest Show on Turf’’?
The Bears could mount almost no attack during Cutler’s time at the helm.
Two missed field goals (one blocked, one off the upright) didn’t help, nor did an anemic running game. Nor did four sacks, even though two of them seemed to be Cutler’s own fault.
All week long, you could hear talk-radio experts telling us how horrible Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart was, how he was about ready to be kicked out of the profession.
Golly, Leinart finished with a 135.0 passer rating.
He split time with supposedly washed-up starter Derek Anderson, who finished with a 111.1 rating.
The only reason we’re emphasizing quarterback ratings here is that Cutler is extremely susceptible to the vagaries of that mathematical equation. Indeed, when he has a rating higher than 100 as a starter, he is 15-0—the only active quarterback in the NFL with such perfection.
The depressing part of Cutler’s performance, other than his inability to get rid of the ball rather than taking some of those sacks, is that his interceptions were bad ones.
Interceptions kill drives, kill spirits.
The first interception was far behind receiver Johnny Knox on a long out pattern, and the ball easily was pulled in by cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
The second interception was behind receiver Devin Aromashodu and easily was snared by cornerback Greg Toler.
There is no offense anywhere that counts on unintended underthrows for its success.
Which brings us to Martz.
What is great or unique about the alleged genius’ offense, the one that worked so well back in the late 1990s and early 2000s?
Maybe nothing.
Maybe the game has changed, passed him by.
Maybe the Bears don’t have the talent to make his thing go.
None of it matters, if this is a portrait of what the Bears will bring to their real schedule, their real foes.
Right now, you can sum up the Bears’ attack in a single word: impotent.
Impotent is not a mispronunciation of important, just in case you’re confused.
Ever since Ron Rivera was “let go” the defense has looked lost. Half a decade of cluelessness does not get erased overnight. Whatever it is that Ron Turner did to the offense seems to have left irreparable damage. New schemes do not overcome entrenched mediocrity.
Can Cutler be the QB who takes the team to the promised land? At this point I would say only if he becomes a tour guide in Israel. He is learning his fourth new offense in 5 years. He has never had true success at any meaningful level and he is being asked to save a team that allows him to spend more time on his back than a $5.00 hooker.
Some people state that Lovie hasn’t forgotten how to coach, it’s the circumstances that he’s in that have lead to this dilemma. I say that he’s never been successful when he’s been surrounded by “yes” men and that is all he wishes to employ. Think of it this way, Lovie’s the abuser and Angelo’s the enabler. The whole team makes sense if you take that view. But that still doesn’t mean you have to watch them.
Yep, Tuna Tossing is looking better and better.
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I woke up this morning and nothing bad happened. Right there I was ready to call the day a success and move on. But, time doesn’t work that way. So, instead, I checked my emails (always fun since I am now on an email list that wants me to increase my bust size), went through the potential new members, deleted them all and then fed my cats.
I know, I know, how do I stand the excitement? Well, I once spent a week or so with Motörhead, so I’ve learned how to deal with these situations.
But, enough about me. Yesterday, at the Cell they brought out trophies from all 4 major sports teams from the last 25 years. Just as ELLIOTT HARRIS said they would.
Representing the Super Bowl XX champion Bears will be Richard Dent with the Vince Lombardi Trophy, from the game played in 1986.
Representing the NBA champion Bulls will be Scottie Pippen with the 1991-93 and 1996-98 Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Representing the White Sox will be pitcher Mark Buehrle with the Commissioner’s Trophy given the 2005 World Series champion.
Representing the Blackhawks will be coach Joel Quenneville with the 2010 Stanley Cup.
As you may, or may not, know, Chicago is the only city to have won a championship in each sport during that time. Yes, I know, the Fire won too, but they did so without a parade so no one cares.
In fact, the presentation was so cool that ESPN took 5 seconds out of promoting the YES Network to mention it. Well, not the full five seconds, but close enough.
Since we’re already talking about the doings at the Cell, we may as well start with what the White Sox did last night against the first place Yankees. As SCOTT MERKIN reports, they won.
Credit the Blackhawks, the Bulls and the Bears for contributing to the White Sox 9-4 victory over the Yankees before 38,596 Friday at U.S. Cellular Field.
All four teams were represented in an electric pregame ceremony, recognizing Chicago as the only city to have won championships in all four major sports over the past 25 years.
The trophies for each title, including the White Sox 2005 World Series crown, were brought out in front of the seventh sellout this season. And the festivities ended with Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville throwing out the first pitch and United Center’s national anthem singer Jim Cornelison performing his world-renowned version.
Little did the crowd know how their raucous cheering and screaming through the anthem, a Blackhawks’ tradition at the United Center, would only warm them up for vocal support of the White Sox on this night.
“I’ve been wearing this uniform for a long time, and I don’t remember not even the World Series, playoffs, last game with the Minnesota Twins, people got so pumped up with the national anthem,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “That’s special. Being here for that long and seeing people get into the game that way was outstanding.
“If you don’t get motivated over that, you don’t get ready for any game,” Guillen said.
Even with that extra motivation and the palpable buzz, Freddy Garcia (11-5) and the White Sox (70-58) spotted the Yankees (78-50) a 1-0 lead in the first. Brett Gardner opened with an infield single and went all the way to third thanks to Garcia’s throwing error on the play. Gardner came home on Derek Jeter’s ground out.
Aside from Sergio Mitre’s 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and Nick Swisher’s ninth-inning home run off Scott Linebrink, that Gardner run pretty much summed up the night’s highlights for the Yankees. Garcia had a great deal to do with this rude welcome to Chicago for the defending champs.
Garcia gave up just one earned run over seven innings, striking out three and walking one among his 111 pitches. He won for the first time since July 29 against Seattle but has deserved a better record. Blown saves in Garcia starts on July 18 at Target Field and Aug. 21 at Kauffman Stadium cost the right-hander at least two victories.
“Freddy changes speeds. He’s got four offspeed pitches,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. “You’re not going to see a lot of fastballs. He’s going to make you hit his pitches.”
“To me, when Freddy has a two-, three-, four-run lead, then he can make his pitch without saying, ‘I can’t walk this guy,’” said Guillen of Garcia, who has an 8-2 record over his past 16 starts. “When you do that, you have the freedom to go with the flow of the game, and I think it makes him a better pitcher.”
Four-run innings in the first and the fourth off of A.J. Burnett (9-12) made Garcia a better pitcher on Friday. A.J. Pierzynski doubled home two in the opening frame, raising his average to .417 over his past 12 games. Omar Vizquel and Juan Pierre added two hits apiece, with Vizquel driving home two, as the White Sox cruised to a 3-1 record on this six-game homestand and improved to 11-15 against the American League East.
“We jumped early, take advantage of A.J. a little while,” said Guillen of Burnett, who allowed eight earned runs over 3 1/3 innings. “Scored some runs early in the game and that gave you momentum for the game, gave Freddy a little support and cushion so Freddy can pitch like Freddy.”
Most of Friday’s early news dealt with Manny Ramirez and the White Sox reportedly being awarded the claim off waivers for the talented outfielder. The media frenzy in search of Ramirez information certainly didn’t weigh on the team.
Actually, the offense made a statement that it looks pretty good as is, especially at home, where the White Sox have a 25-7 record since June 9.
“You never go looking for or seeking help,” said White Sox captain and first baseman Paul Konerko in support of the offense. “I think we’ve shown as a team that we have been really capable of beating any team or any pitcher at any time.
“It’s just a matter of being consistent and doing that. We’re still 3 1/2 games out with 35 games to go. It’s really simple math. We just have to wait and see how it plays out.”
That 3 1/2-game deficit in the AL Central was assumed, as the Twins held a four-run lead late over the Mariners. Of greater importance than the Twins’ outcome was the spark from the White Sox, missing during a 5-11 funk coming into the homestand.
CC Sabathia stands next on the White Sox hit list. But they will have to accomplish a victory on Saturday without any championship encouragement.
“I think the trophies were probably the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, to have all four of them here,” Pierzynski said. “It was a fun game. It was great. It was a big crowd, excited crowd. To jump on them early, it was big to get the crowd into it.”
“Pressure is always there, especially in Chicago,” said Pierre, when asked if the trophy display added any extra weight on the White Sox collective shoulders. “They want to win. They don’t care about nothing else but winning. Hopefully we can bring it home this year. We’re definitely working toward it.”
Thanks to the Twins trouncing of the Mariners, the Sox remain 3.5 games out of first. Since the entire AL East makes up the wild card race, the Sox are going to have to win it to get in it.
In another nice homage to the glory days of yesteryear, JERRY REINSDORF called Jay Mariotti a “pissant.”
piss·ant also piss-ant
(psnt) Slang n.
1. One that is insignificant.
2. Obsolete An ant.
Kind of warms the cockles of your heart, doesn’t it?
A less heartwarming moment occurred on the Northside. Mike Quade’s stunning winning streak came to a crashing close yesterday. As CARRIE MUSKAT reports, the problem came from the fact that the wind was only blowing out when the Reds were at bat.
It’s one thing to sweep the Washington Nationals. It’s a little tougher to beat the first-place Cincinnati Reds.
Jay Bruce, batting leadoff for the first time this season, belted three homers for the first time in his career and matched a personal best with five RBIs to power the Reds to a 7-1 victory over the Cubs on Friday night and hand manager Mike Quade his first loss in four games at the helm.
“A power-hitting guy and he winds up in the leadoff spot and does that,” Quade said. “Bunt the ball or something, would you?”
Quade, who took over Monday for Lou Piniella, said he wasn’t superstitious, but didn’t want to talk about winning streaks by other Cubs managers prior to the game.
“The kids played great in Washington,” Quade said of the team’s three-game sweep, “but this is a little different animal here. I would prefer to try to win one game tonight against a very good ballclub.”
Bruce and Johnny Cueto (12-4) made it tough. With the loss, the Cubs dropped to 3-11 against the Reds this season. The good news? This is the last series the two teams will play this year. The bad news is they still have to deal with Bruce for two more games. He hit a solo homer in the third and a three-run shot in the fifth off Tom Gorzelanny (7-8), then added another solo blast in the seventh off rookie Scott Maine.
Bruce had three home runs in 21 games in August prior to Friday. This was not the first three-homer game by a Reds player against the Cubs this year. Drew Stubbs clubbed three July 4 at Wrigley Field.
Gorzelanny had served up seven home runs in his 25 other games this year, so the long balls were a surprise.
“I focus on trying to keep the ball down and get guys to ground out,” he said, “and [I] haven’t given up too many long balls.”
But Bruce connected on a hanging slider and a “fastball that decided to stay right in the middle of the plate,” Gorzelanny said.
“Good hitters hit those balls, and you can’t always get away with bad pitches,” Gorzelanny said. “You make mistakes and you pay, especially in this league.”
In Gorzelanny’s past four starts against the Reds, the lefty had given up seven earned runs over 26 2/3 innings, but on Friday, they scored six off him in five innings.
“Nothing worked for me today,” Gorzelanny said. “I made bad pitches and got behind guys and didn’t execute my pitches. It’s just a real bad outing.”
Cueto scattered six hits over eight innings and picked up the win for the Reds, who maintained a four-game lead over the Cardinals in the National League Central.
“He had good stuff today—good location, good fastball, good movement,” Chicago’s Alfonso Soriano said. “When a guy’s pitching with that command, there’s nothing we can do.”
Cincinnati struck in the first on Joey Votto’s RBI single, which raised his season total to 91 RBIs, and made it 2-0 after Bruce connected with one out in the third.
With two outs in the Chicago fourth, Xavier Nady singled and scored on Tyler Colvin’s double. That was it against Cueto.
“We never got anything going,” Nady said. “With [Cueto], you have to hopefully get a couple baserunners and build off that.”
Stubbs doubled to lead off the Cincinnati fifth, Paul Janish walked, and one out later, Bruce launched homer No. 15, and his second of the game, into the right-field seats to make it 5-1. Six pitches later, second baseman Chris Valaika hit his first Major League homer.
“[The Reds] this year ... everything is perfect for them,” Soriano said. “For us, everything is worse. For them, everything’s perfect. They put a guy, first day as a leadoff hitter, and he hits three homers. They put a guy at second base, he goes 2-for-4, double, homer. We’ve got to concentrate and come back and try to win tomorrow.”
Quade was the first Cubs skipper to win his first three games since Jim Riggleman went 4-0 in 1995. His players sounded as if they expected him to go unbeaten the rest of the way.
“[The Reds] are a good team and playing good baseball right now,” Gorzelanny said, “but I also think they’re a team we can beat regularly. They’re a good team and have been a good team all year. I feel that us, as a team, could go out there and beat them the rest of the year. They’re in a better situation than us right now.”
Yes, they are.
While I admire Gorzelanny’s insistence that the Cubs can beat the Reds, their 3-11 record against them thus far would seem to belie the sentiment.
Oh well, both teams cross the lines to play again tonight a little after 6:00 PM (local time), so make sure you’ve got two TVs and plenty of beer.
Ahh success. Its sweet smell can permeate everything and not force you to break out the Fabrize. Unlike attaining enlightenment, success does not require you to hide in a mountain hovel and eschew the world. Contrariwise, it demands that you be very proactive with your life. Personal success, in one form or another, has been the driving force behind this great land of ours since its inception.
More often than not, success is not built on mere talent or skill but on a willingness to make a plan and stick to it. It is with that in mind that we look to the Northside’s favorite baseball team and cheer the fact that they have a plan for their future. Who knows? It might even work. GORDON WITTENMYER of the Sun Times takes a look at what the Cubs are looking for in a manager.
With their new family ownership bringing a long-term outlook to building a contender, the Cubs have steered away from looking at big-name, late-career managers this time around as the process for replacing Lou Piniella shifts this week from candidate-list vetting to interviewing available candidates.
The Cubs aren’t talking publicly about the specific qualities they’re targeting in their next manager, but insiders say they’re obviously looking at candidates capable of handling high-salaried veterans as well as younger, developing players. They want someone who’s not going to be blindsided by the unique daily pressures and scrutiny that come with managing a wildly popular team that hasn’t won in 102 years.
Known candidates range between the ages of 42 and 53.
Franchise icon Ryne Sandberg and Mike Quade, the present manager, are the only candidates the Cubs have publicly named. General manager Jim Hendry confirmed he interviewed Eric Wedge on Wednesday and spent much of Thursday with him.
Sources also say longtime Hendry favorite Fredi Gonzalez—an Atlanta resident widely considered Bobby Cox’s heir apparent with the Braves after this season—will get a serious look if he’s willing. The former Marlins manager gets points in the organization for the way he handled the discipline of star player Hanley Ramirez for loafing.
Another source confirmed the Cubs will pursue Yankees manager Joe Girardi if he becomes available.
Many speculate that the Ricketts family’s affection for the ‘80s Cubs they used to watch from the bleachers could trump the outside candidates and give Sandberg an inside track, but chairman Tom Ricketts said last month that Hendry is running the hiring process.
Those close to Ricketts say he and his family look at Sandberg with a more objective, businesslike eye. They appreciate his commitment in spending four seasons rising through the minors and the success he has shown in helping players develop and in winning. But they temper that with his lack of big-league managing experience.
In other words, kiss Sandberg goodbye. He, essentially, meets none of the posted criteria. Eric Wedge, a man who has a losing record and no history in the National League, does. So does Terry Bevington.
One thing that does boggle me is wondering why they are doing interviews now when none of the successful managers will be available until, at least, October. Sure they keep talking about Girardi, but he won’t be cut loose any time soon and many doubt that he will be at all.
Look, I never said it was a good plan, I just said it was a plan.
On the Southside, the Orioles’ Craig Tatum lost a nephew yesterday but seemed okay with it since “(he) wasn’t that close to the kid’s mom anyway.”
Way to take one for the team there Craig.
Anyway, the Sox decided to follow Ozzie’s plan of “keep them off the damn bases and we’ll win.” As SCOTT MERKIN from MLB.com reports, Edwin Jackson executed that plan (but not Tatum’s nephew) to perfection.
After six innings played during Thursday’s 8-0 White Sox whitewash of the Orioles at U.S. Cellular Field, Omar Vizquel left the game with what was called an upset stomach.
That queasy feeling must have come from something the third baseman ate earlier, because it certainly wasn’t induced by his team’s near flawless play in the series finale, which kept the White Sox 3 1/2 games behind the Twins in the American League Central.
Edwin Jackson (2-0) saved the bullpen with eight innings, and he decided he might as well dominate the Orioles (45-83) while he was out there. The right-hander didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning and gave up just three for the game.
In support of Jackson, the White Sox offense knocked out 14 hits and recorded their 11th game of 10 or more hits in the past 12. It was a much needed victory, ending a stretch of five consecutive series losses that began back at Camden Yards from Aug. 6-9.
“This is a team of professionals,” said Jackson of his squad after surviving consecutive series setbacks to the Orioles, the Twins, the Tigers, the Twins again and the Royals. “There are a lot of guys in here who have won before and know what it takes to win.
“We don’t need to put pressure on ourselves or come in and stress. The mood has been the same through the good stretches and bad stretches as long as I’ve been here. That’s always been a positive, when you have a team whose confidence hasn’t gone anywhere.”
Jackson’s confidence seemingly has skyrocketed since coming over from the D-backs in exchange for Daniel Hudson at the non-waiver Trade Deadline. He fanned 10 on Thursday, marking the first time in his career where Jackson posted back-to-back starts with double-digit punchouts.
Of course, the last official start for Jackson came on Aug. 14 against Detroit. But he also had a seven-pitch outing against the Royals in Kansas City on Friday night before the game was delayed and eventually postponed.
Eleven days in between trips to the mound seems to agree with him.
“As a professional, you have to deal with it,” said Jackson, who walked only two. “You don’t have time to make excuses. You have to keep a mind frame like you are on a regular routine. It’s definitely a lot of rest, but it’s just one of those things.”
“You look at all the good pitchers through baseball. They all pitch off their heater and get ahead in the zone with their heater, and that opens up other pitches,” said Baltimore first baseman Ty Wigginton. “And any pitcher that comes out and does that, it’s tough as an offensive team.”
Six different White Sox players came up with at least two hits off of Baltimore starter Jake Arrieta (4-6) and two relievers. The two hits for Paul Konerko raised his average to .315, while A.J. Pierzynski’s double and single in three at-bats jumped his average up to .254.
Alex Rios knocked out three hits in a game for the first time since a July 2 contest against the Rangers, and added his 18th home run and 26th stolen base. It was a good turnaround as a team after Brian Matusz shut down the offense on Wednesday, and a good bounce-back effort for Rios, who entered the game hitting .225 in August.
“Guys are off suicide watch around here,” said Juan Pierre. “We got some guys and they get no hits, it’s the end of the world to them. But I’m glad to see guys with good at-bats more so than the hits. We had good at-bats throughout the lineup, made the pitcher work, throw pitches and collectively, offensively it was a great game.”
“Every time Rios starts to try to do too much with the ball like everybody else, then he fails,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. “But I’m glad he picked it up today. I know how the players feel when they struggle. I know very well. He wasn’t feeling good the last couple of days.”
Pierre also picked up his 50th stolen base, making him the 11th player in White Sox history to accomplish such a feat and marking the 13th time in franchise history it has been reached. Luis Aparicio hit that level in three seasons.
“Our ultimate goal is to get the ‘W,’” Pierre said. “Like I said, I don’t really put too much emphasis on personal achievements, but it’s nice because I do take pride in stealing bases.”
The victory momentarily took the focus off of the White Sox great Manny Ramirez waiver pursuit, and set the club up with a little momentum as the Yankees and their 78-49 record come to town this weekend. It might make Ken Williams sleep a little easier and feel good about his team.
Then again, it doesn’t take much to build the general manager’s confidence in his charges, as presently assembled.
“They’ll give me confidence by stringing together some wins,” Williams said prior to the victory. “It’s not the time to have confidence or anything other than just watching and having confidence that you have a team that’s competing right now and you got a chance to win a division.
“When we started Spring Training, we hoped that we’d be there and we’re here. We just have to capitalize off it. We got to win games like last night when the team in front of us was losing, and that makes you feel a lot better when you go to sleep.”
You know things are going your way when even a player’s puke becomes a cute anecdote.
While the Manny Ramirez race intrigues me, here’s hoping that KW gets an arm for that beleaguered pen. Otherwise Ozzie will be available for the Cubs’ job on 10/01/10.
According to a friend of mine who works in MLB, Buck Showalter (Oriole’s manager) has developed an exciting, and new, motivational technique for his team. It also appears that he’s shared it with new Cubs’ manager Mike Quade (pronounced Kwah-dee).
It goes a little something like this;
For every game you lose we will have the Orioles’ elite assassination squad kill a child related to a player, who will be chosen at random. For the first loss it will be a distant cousin. But, if the losses start to pile up, we will get to your children. Now, go out there and have fun.
You can see that its beauty lies in its simplicity.
With that happy thought in mind, let’s turn the blog over to MLB.com’s latest pundit, PETE KERZEL, who seems to have bought into this new philosophy.
A defensive swing was all the offense the Chicago Cubs needed to back up a sterling pitching effort by Ryan Dempster and keep interim manager Mike Quade unbeaten.
Starlin Castro’s eighth-inning RBI double broke open a brilliant pitchers’ duel, helping Dempster win his fourth consecutive decision and giving the Cubs a 4-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.
As game-breaking hits go, Castro’s drive wasn’t a thing of beauty, just an effective poke at the right time. With pinch-hitter Tyler Colvin at second after drawing a leadoff walk and stealing a base, Castro tried to protect the plate on a 2-2 changeup by Tyler Clippard, reaching out to shoot a double down the left-field line.
“I didn’t want to strike out. I tried to put one in play. It was a defensive swing,” said Castro, admitting he was surprised at how far the ball traveled into the left-field corner.
Castro’s hit justified Quade’s decision to yank Dempster for a pinch-hitter after a brilliant seven innings from the right-hander. Dempster yielded two hits—only one out of the infield—walked one and struck out eight in an efficient 79-pitch effort
“Especially when a guy’s got such a low pitch count, [Dempster] wanted no part of coming out,” Quade said. “He wasn’t happy about that, and that’s OK, I don’t want guys happy. But I think you’ve got to try and win the game.
“That’s just one of those decisions you’ve got to make when you’ve got a chance to set somebody up at the top of the order with his spot. ... You can do what you want, decision-wise, but the guys have to execute and pick you up.”
Afterward, Dempster was more than willing to trade the early exit for a victory.
“I don’t care. We won the game,” he said. “We swept them, and what a great series. It was a lot of fun. It’s awesome, man. Do I want to come out of the game? No. He knows that; everybody knows that. But [there were] way too many positive things to come out of today to worry about that, for sure.”
After Castro dumped the decisive double down the left-field line to break open a scoreless game, Aramis Ramirez added a two-run homer off Clippard. It was Ramirez’s 20th homer of the season.
The Cubs completed a three-game sweep in Quade’s first series at the helm following the unexpected early retirement of Lou Piniella after Sunday’s game. It was also Chicago’s seventh shutout of the year.
“He’s undefeated. He’s really doing a great job,” Dempster said of Quade. “It’s good for him—he’s getting a great opportunity to go out there and manage. I’ve always said we never quit. Sometimes we just haven’t played as well as we want to. We’re not going to quit for him and, more importantly, we’re not going to quit for the entire team.”
Quade seems to be finding a rhythm early in his tenure.
“I like managing,” he said. “I loved it in [Class] A ball, I loved it in Double-A and it sure has been fun, and the guys have made it a lot of fun for me by playing well.”
But his third consecutive victory wasn’t easy. On paper, ex-Chicago right-hander Jason Marquis shouldn’t have presented an impediment, given his winless record and 11.39 ERA in six starts during a season interrupted by the removal of bone chips from his pitching elbow.
But Marquis (0-7) didn’t cooperate, taking a shutout into the eighth inning and wiggling out of trouble a couple of times. By the time Marquis was pulled after Kosuke Fukudome’s fly ball to the warning track for the first out of the eighth, Marquis had lowered his ERA by almost three runs. Marquis allowed a run on four singles, walked three and fanned two.
“I was attacking the strike zone,” Marquis said. “The more I’ve been throwing, I’m creating better habits and allowing myself to make those pitches in the bottom of the zone. I let my defense do the work, which I have done the last two years. It’s definitely exciting to be back.”
In the first inning, a leadoff walk to Fukudome, a balk and a throwing error by Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman put runners at first and second with one down. But Marquis got out of the inning unscathed, a pattern repeated in the fifth, when Geovany Soto’s one-out single, a Dempster sacrifice and a walk to Fukudome created a similar situation. Inning-ending double-play grounders erased Cubs scoring chances in the third and sixth innings.
Meanwhile, Dempster (12-8) was mowing down Washington hitters, allowing only an infield single by Wil Nieves in the third and Marquis’ sixth-inning line-drive single to left through the first six frames.
“For me, that’s as good a fastball command as I’ve ever had in a game pitching,” Dempster said. “I was able to hit my spots and keep the ball out of the middle of the plate. When you’re doing that, you get quick outs and you get quick innings.”
Dempster was finally rewarded with the rally in the eighth, and seeing Castro come through in the clutch was hardly a new experience for Quade.
“Obviously, [Castro’s] average is excellent, and his at-bats in those situations have been pretty darned good,” Quade said. “[He’s] a kid that’s still learning, but from an offensive standpoint, he’s contributed hugely this year.”
Alfonso Soriano opened the ninth by hitting a solo homer to center off Sean Burnett. It was his fourth home run in six career games at Nationals Park.
And just like that the Cubs are undefeated in the Quade era. If they maintain this streak they should be in easy contention for the playoffs. I know that Big Star and several others are breathing easier now.
On the Southside, Ozzie has stuck with a more traditional motivational theme, “You no win, you no go to playoffs. You no go to playoffs, you no have job.” While financial destitution and personal ignominy have long been prime motivators, one thinks that Ozzie might just want to up the ante now that the team is only 3.5 games out of first. Certainly, last night, it seemed that they needed a little more fire in their bellies. As SCOTT MERKIN reports, Buck Showalter’s team seemed a little more motivated.
It didn’t take long for Mark Buehrle to break down Wednesday’s 4-2 White Sox loss to the last-place Orioles at U.S. Cellular Field.
“Two leadoff walks, and two runs scored on that,” Buehrle said. “We lost by two, so I think that explains everything.”
Buehrle (12-9) threw a season-high 115 pitches over seven innings, striking out four and giving up just six hits. But those two walks he spoke about, two of four he issued in the setback, helped cost the White Sox (68-58) a chance to pick up valuable ground on the Twins. The American League Central leaders lost for a third straight time on the road in Texas, but they maintained a 3 1/2-game lead in the division.
Meanwhile, the White Sox slipped to 2-4 on the season against a team, in the Orioles, sitting 37 games under .500 at 45-82.
“If people expect that we’re going to sweep them, well, this is a big league club out there,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen of the Orioles. “We cannot make too many people happy.
“When we sweep Pittsburgh [during Interleague Play], people were surprised. Well, those are big league clubs out there. We don’t play well against them for some reason. They have a lot of good talent on the field—and it’s all about pitching and they’re pitching well.”
Brian Matusz (6-12) shut down Guillen’s crew on just three hits over seven innings, with Gordon Beckham’s home run in the sixth providing the lone run against the Baltimore starter. Beckham has gone deep in two straight games and now has nine for the season.
The best scoring opportunity off of Matusz came in the second, when Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski singled—putting runners on first and third with one out. But Andruw Jones hit into an inning-ending double play two pitches later.
Aside from Beckham’s deep drive, Matusz did not allow another runner to get as far as second base before he gave way to Michael Gonzalez in the eighth.
“For [Baltimore manager] Buck [Showalter] to give me the chance to go out there for the seventh when my pitch count’s starting to climb a little bit, he gave me an opportunity so I got to attack the zone and throw strikes,” said Matusz, who threw 76 of his 117 pitches for strikes. “I was able to just slow it down and attack the zone. That’s all you have to do is attack the zone, don’t overthrow and let the hitters get themselves out.”
“Looking at the game, I guess he pitched very well,” said Guillen of Matusz. “But I don’t think our approach was the best. We had an opportunity early in the game to get something done and we missed some clutch hitting.”
Those two leadoff walks from Buehrle came in the fifth to Felix Pie and in the sixth to Ty Wigginton. Pie scored on Matt Wieters’ double, with Corey Patterson adding a two-out single to raise the lead to 2-0. Wigginton came across the plate on Wieters’ sacrifice fly.
Brian Roberts’ one-out homer in the seventh completed Baltimore’s scoring. Despite the setback, Buehrle felt good on the mound and felt primed to improve on a 4-3 showing since the All-Star break. He also seemed satisfied with lasting seven innings, giving the worn down and injury-riddled bullpen a rest.
“That was the only positive that came out of tonight,” said Buehrle, who threw a season-high 115 pitches. “Went into seven innings, got into trouble a few innings and the pitch count go up but went deep in the game.
“Everyone knows the bullpen is struggling and you got two of your top guys [J.J. Putz and Matt Thornton] go on the disabled list—we [have] got to step up and go deeper in the games. It’s about the only positive that happened.”
A single by Konerko and Carlos Quentin’s two-out triple off of Patterson’s glove in left gave the White Sox one run and a little life off of Koji Uehara (second save) in their final at-bats. Pierzynski struck out to end the game, marking the first time since Aug. 12 the offense didn’t pick up at least 10 hits in a game.
On Wednesday, they checked in with exactly half—at five.
“It’s impressive,” said Showalter, referring primarily to Matusz’s stellar work. “Especially when you are playing them in their ballpark in the middle of a pennant race, when every game means that much to them.”
Wednesday’s exact meaning wasn’t known to the White Sox when they completed their contest in a quick 2 hours, 22 minutes. The Twins were down by one but still in late action against the AL West’s top team.
Yet, there wasn’t a television in the White Sox clubhouse turned to the Minnesota broadcast. With the White Sox needing a win on Thursday to avoid a sixth straight series loss—and with the Yankees coming to town Friday—they have their own concerns to focus upon.
“People ask if you watch the score. I watch scores from day one till the end of the year—no matter if we’re in it or out of it,” Buehrle said. “I’m a baseball fan. I watch baseball. I watch what everyone is doing.
“Obviously you see what they’re doing on the board. But if they’re winning or losing, we can’t go out there and say, ‘They’re losing the game today so we don’t have to play as hard. We can lose. We’re not going to lose any ground.’ We want to go out there and win every game, and we can’t really worry about what they’re doing.”
With the Twins seeming to have hit a bump in the road, it would appear to be the perfect motivation for the Sox to start winning in bunches again. If that doesn’t work, Ozzie knows where they live.
I started to write this yesterday and then the whole day went to hell in a hand-basket. While all might have appeared calm to outsiders, here at mission command it was like watching a rocket suddenly take a hard left over a major city. Panic described the quieter moments. Even so, everyone survived and life continues to march merrily on. In other words, let’s chat about porn.
Do you know why guys like porn? Sure there’s sex and nekkid women and stuff, but that’s not really it. They like it because they don’t have to think. They know exactly what’s going to happen before the opening credits have finished rolling. They don’t have to worry if they are going to get weepy or if they need to understand Medieval philosophy or anything else. All they need to know can be summed up in 3 words; Yes she will.
The same basic mindset also applies to action films. Just substitute “blow stuff up” for “yes she will.”
It’s a basic reason that guys like sports too. They can put their tiny minds on hold and just watch someone else do all the work. However, lately, they have been asked to think about stuff. Did the Hawks really have to trade all those guys? Who should really be the QB for the Bears? What should Lou do? Are the Sox for real? And so on.
As you can readily tell, that’s too much for one mind to tackle all in one day and the questions have been piling up all year.
But now guys can put their worries on hold, grab a beer and get back to just being voyeurs.
The answer to the first question turns out to be an emphatic yes. Dale Tallon was a great judge of talent but seemed to be imbued with the business sense of a deranged wombat. So, the club needed to move a lot of pieces just to ensure they would have any pieces left to try and make a legitimate run for the cup again.
As to the Bears, let the Tod Collins era begin. He can get run over by opposing defenses just as well as anyone else in the NFL and that seems to be the only requirement for a Bears QB since Lovie came to town.
As to Lou? Well, people wanted to run the only manager to win back to back division titles on the Northside in over a century out of town and now he’s gone. And, in keeping with all things Cubbie, since Lou left they are a juggernaut. Seriously. You couldn’t make this stuff up. The latest Cubs’ writer for MLB.com, JEFF SEIDEL, takes a look at their two game winning streak as the Cubs begin their playoff run.
Carlos Zambrano looked like his old self again in Tuesday’s game. He gave up one run and struck out eight in 7 1/3 innings, retiring 11 Washington batters in a row at one point and keeping the Nationals very quiet.
But even though Zambrano certainly liked his effort and how it helped the Cubs to a 5-4 victory over Washington before 18,250 at Nationals Park, the big right-hander had other things on his mind much more important than fastballs and home runs.
Zambrano left after the game to begin the long trip to his home country of Venezuela. That’s where his 11-year-old nephew is in a hospital battling a bad infection. He’s in intensive care, and the Cubs are allowing the pitcher to stay with his family for a few days. Zambrano is going to return on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Zambrano spoke to his brother (the boy’s father), who told the pitcher not to worry about what was going on back home and just dedicate the game to his son. Zambrano followed through on that idea.
“In the first inning, I was thinking about him, and I was throwing all the pitches, saying, ‘This is for my nephew.’” Zambrano said. “Every pitch that I threw in the first inning, I was saying, ‘This is for you, and I was saying in my mind, ‘Don’t give up, don’t give up, just pitch this game for him.’”
Zambrano (5-6) controlled the game and gave up only a third-inning run to Washington (53-73). He retired 11 in a row from the third through the seventh inning as the Nationals hit only two balls out of the infield.
“I think he pitched with a heavy heart, and [it’s] just as good an outing as I’ve seen from him in a while,” said Chicago interim manager Mike Quade. “He was good. He was real good.”
Alfonso Soriano and Tyler Colvin both supported Zambrano with homers. Soriano put Chicago (53-74) into the early lead with his three-run shot in the second off starter John Lannan (5-6) for a 3-0 edge.
Jeff Baker and Geovany Soto started the inning with back-to-back singles before Soriano crushed his 20th homer to left field. This is now the ninth straight season that Soriano has hit at least 20 homers.
Colvin added a two-run homer in the fourth to give the Cubs a 5-1 lead. His 19 homers are the most among Major League rookies. Soriano was batting seventh and Colvin eighth on Tuesday, and the pair combined for two homers—three hits overall—three runs and five RBIs.
“That’s fun to watch Sori, and I got to do it right behind him,” Colvin said. “That was pretty exciting.”
The game got a little too exciting for the Cubs in the final two innings. Washington loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth against Sean Marshall. But closer Carlos Marmol came on to strike out pinch-hitter Ian Desmond on three pitches.
Washington rallied again in the ninth. This time, the Nationals loaded the bases with one out before Marmol struck out Nyjer Morgan. Adam Kennedy then lined a three-run double into the right-field corner to cut Chicago’s lead to one and awaken the crowd.
Ryan Zimmerman came up and ran the count to 2-2 before fouling off a pitch. He then sliced a shot toward the right-field corner. But Kosuke Fukudome, who came in for defense in the seventh, raced over and made the catch to lock up the closer’s 23rd save.
“I thought it had a shot to get over Fukudome’s head,” Zimmerman said. “[Marmol] is not an easy guy to get hits off of.”
The ball appeared to have a chance to be a hit at first, but Fukudome said later that he wasn’t worried. He made extra sure by squeezing the ball with both hands after catching it in the right-field corner.
“I wanted to be careful,” he said through an interpreter. “I thought I could catch it.”
That sealed the victory for Zambrano, who’s pitched consistently since coming back to the rotation earlier this month. After the game, he quickly got dressed and talked to reporters before quietly making his way out of the Chicago clubhouse to see his nephew back home. He’s hoping the child will get an even bigger victory of his own in the coming days.
So far the Cubs have shown that one aspect of the old philosophy will carry over to the new. Anyone who argues with Carlos Zambrano is gone as quickly as possible. Michael Barret? He gone. Derrek Lee? Hasta-la-bye-bye. Lou Piniella? Shipped off to the land of tan sandals, black socks and orange juice. The only one left is Hendry. Something tells me that Cubs’ fans are now really hoping that the trend continues. Anyway, as the Cubs go for the sweep tonight against the Nationals, we all here wish Big Z’s nephew a quick recovery and a long, healthy, life.
The Cubs are classic porn like Debbie Does Dallas. There is a little more plot at the beginning but even the dirty girls are cute and cuddly. In other words, porn you can share with your family.
But, if you like your porn filled with “talk dirty to me” girls, then the White Sox are the team for you. From Ozzie’s foul mouth to Bobby Jenks fat, sloppy, “I’ll do whatever you need” attitude, this is the dirty porn that you watched in your garage when no one was around. It’s also, usually, the stuff that stays with you the rest of your life. As SCOTT MERKIN reports, even their wins are dirty and nasty.
Don’t try to convince Ozzie Guillen that Tuesday’s 7-5 victory over Baltimore at U.S. Cellular Field has any less meaning due to the last-place Orioles’ three-run, ninth-inning rally.
With 37 games remaining and American League Central-leading Minnesota falling once again in Texas, there are no extra points for making a win look good or easy.
“A win is a win. I don’t care how it comes,” said Guillen, whose team survived to move within 3 1/2 games of the Twins. “Especially how we played last week, I will take that one.”
The White Sox (68-57) entered Tuesday with just a 5-11 record over their past 16 games and had lost five consecutive series, starting with dropping three out of four to these same Orioles (44-82) in Camden Yards. But when Gordon Beckham launched a three-run home run off Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie (7-13) with one out in the seventh, Chicago looked well on its way to a comfortable and successful start to this seven-game homestand.
Then, the ninth inning rolled around.
On six occasions since the All-Star break, the once-sturdy White Sox bullpen has blown games where it held the lead in the seventh inning or later.
Tuesday’s contest seemed unlikely to fall into that category, but the unlikely has been playing out as reality of late. Sergio Santos started the ninth and walked light-hitting Cesar Izturis. By the time the inning was done, Bobby Jenks was called upon to record his 24th save—after throwing three innings Sunday—and J.J. Putz appeared headed to the disabled list.
Putz threw three pitches outside of the strike zone in relief of Santos before leaving the game with a recurrence of his right knee pain. It was up to Jenks to come up with one of his more important saves in recent memory.
“I’m just happy we got the win,” said Jenks, who recorded three outs while allowing just one of Santos’ runners to score on a double-play grounder. “The whole day was a good day. We were hitting with guys in scoring position with two outs and doing all those things that got us into first a little while ago. If we can continue doing that after the week we just had on the road, we have a good chance to be right back in this.”
“I’ve got a couple guys I can’t use, and the last guy I want to use out of the bullpen was Bobby,” Guillen said. “One day in between three innings and [Tuesday], I was taking a risk. That’s why it’s important late in the game when you have a bullpen that can go in there and shut it down. We’ve done that all year long, but unfortunately right now, we’ve hit a bump. We’ve struggled for the last week, week and a half to shut it down.”
Gavin Floyd (9-10) earned the victory, allowing two runs on seven hits over seven innings, striking out six and walking two, before yielding to Chris Sale. The seven innings on his final pitching line stood out as the most important.
“I probably had 80-some pitches after the fifth, and I was like, ‘Hopefully six,’ but I wanted to go longer than that—and they let me go longer,” said Floyd, who finished with 109 pitches. “It was nice to save some of the bullpen and it’s definitely a goal to go as deep as you want to, especially because this past weekend was a tired series for us.”
“He threw the ball very well against us,” said Ty Wigginton. “I look back at my at-bats against him. I can’t think of too many pitches out over the middle of the plate that you can hit. He was down in the zone. He was around the corners and just off the plate. He made good pitches, so you got to tip your hat.”
Floyd watched the Orioles grab a two-run lead with two runs in the fourth, one coming on Luke Scott’s 25th home run. But with one run in each of the fourth and the fifth innings, the White Sox quickly forged a tie. That rally set the stage for Beckham, who was picked off, doubled off first and hit in the right hand by Guthrie earlier in the game.
All of that frustration was taken out on his 405-foot home run, his eighth of the season.
“We needed kind of a spark,” said Beckham, who now has 45 RBIs. “We needed to get some runs. We needed to get a hit in a big situation. On Sunday, I had a couple of at-bats where I didn’t get it done. It was nice to come through.”
Winning the series opener was a nice moment for the White Sox. Then again, any win is nice when you are on a full-out chase to catch the Twins with just three head-to-head games remaining.
Adding insurance runs in the seventh and eighth ended up making a difference for the White Sox, although they didn’t look necessary until that heart-stopping finish.
“Our players should be excited,” Guillen said. “They played a pretty good game and we did something [Tuesday] that we didn’t do on the road trip—we got a base hit when it counted. But it will take me a little while to get over this one as a manager.”
Yeah, that’s one of the problems with the nasty stuff; You end up all wet and fatigued. Yet, somehow, it’s worth it.
I avoided talking about the Sky since “5 women who suck” seemed too obvious and avoided the Fire as well since watching guys miss the hole over and over again is no fun at all.