Top 9 (10:44): Well, there goes the shutout. Should have been over with a Soto strikeout, but the First Base Umpire is evidently an idiot. Anyways, a Reed Johnson strikeout brings this one to a close.
Meanwhile, in Houston, the Brewers are losing by 5. Good night. Goodnight.
Bottom 8 (10:28): Nothing happened. Whatever. C'mon Franklin!
Top 8 (10:22): Jason Motte sucks, then doesn't. Dennys Reyes made Fukudome look like an idiot.
3 MORE OUTS!!
Bottom 7 (10:11): Rick Sutcliffe is absolutely gushing over the new Busch Stadium. For a former Cub, I sort of like this guy.
Another hit from Duncan starts the inning off right. Sacrifice works from Barden (although it probably should not have). Walk to get to Khalil Greene who flies out weakly. Heads up running play from Duncan on a ball that shouldn't have scored the run.
Dempster out. 2-run lead. I feel better, but I wonder who is coming in
Top 7 (9:54): "Another good inning from McClellan."
Bottom 6 (9:49): Another inning ending double play. Chances of victory: 55%
Top 6 (9:40): McClellan pitched nicely. I hate hitting batters, but if you have to hit someone I suppose I prefer Fukudome, who is most likely to get on anyway. Nice K to end the inning.
GET SOME RUNS!!
Bottom 5 (9:30): Carpenter is done. Damn.
Waino pinch-hitting, that is how shallow the Cardinal bench is. Feeble strike out.
Kyle McClellan is warming up. I am confident that the Cardinals are going to lose if they don't score again.
Another easy inning for Dempster.
Top 5 (9:24): I ran to the restroom (TMI?) and suddenly the top half of the inning was over. I guess that's a good thing. I hope Carp isn't at 75. :(
Bottom 4 (9:18): Pujols turned a single into a double. My heavens this man is good! Molina moves him over to 3rd for Duncan. I am supremely concerned about a K here, or weak grounder back to the pitcher. What shall it be ... base knock! Run! Credit Albert Pujols for creating that opportunity.
Stavinoha adds a double-play to his strike out in his first at bat. I am not impressed.
Top 4 (9:11): Lead-off walk = shit. Fly out leads to double play! Another fly out ends the inning. I am pleased.
That said, the broadcasters seem to think Carp is on a 75 pitch pitch count. Dang. I fear we are looking at at least four innings from the bullpen.
Bottom 3 (9:00): Carp swung! Weak grounder though. Ugh. Schumaker reaches but Rasmus lines into a double play in front of Pujols. Crap.
Top 3 (8:52): The Cubs hitters that have reached have all done so by going with the pitches and taking them to the opposite field. Anyways, Carp gave up a double (it was a single and Stavinoha took his sweet time getting to it) but got out of it. Carp is up next, let's see if he swings.
Bottom 2 (8:44): DO SOMETHING!!!
Top 2 (8:37): Yep, a pitcher's duel. Settle in.
Bottom 1 (8:30): Ugh. Is this going to be a pitcher's duel? *Sigh*
Top 1 (8:22): Soriano K - grrrreat! So excited! Then the crap from Carp. Walk to Fukudome. Derrick Lee single. Then a double-play! It worked out. Whew!
Thank you, ESPN, for this evening. That said, your love of the Cubs is bound to annoy ths shit out of me tonight, but you can't be any worse than WGN ... I hope.
Before we start, let's have a look at Alphonso Soriano looking ridiculous during a WWE event in Chicago. PLAY BALL!
Showing posts with label Ryan Dempster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryan Dempster. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Break It Down! April 24th Edition
The Pitchers:
- Cardinals: Adam Wainwright is pitching on 7 days rest tonight. He was flip-flopped with Lohse because Tony preferred Lohse against the Mets and Waino against the Cubs over the alternative. That worked out well against the Mets. Wainwright's last start was a win against the Cubs last Friday. The main reason the Cardinals won that game, however, was Zambrano's meltdown, not Wainwright's success. I am hopeful that Wainwright can get deeper into this game, but I am not confident of it.
- Cubs: Ryan Dempster hasn't pitched since last Saturday, when he gave up 4 runs over 6 innings (as I predicted). Dempster didn't factor in the decision (7-5 extra innings loss). I expect more of the same tonight, with a possibility of even more runs from the red hot Cardinal bats.
The Lineups:
- Cardinals: Ludwick, Schumaker, LaRue, Molina, Duncan, and Pujols (surprise!) have all enjoyed some degree of success against Dempster, but I wouldn't say anyone has owned him. Last Saturday Ludwick and Greene did the damage and Albert and Ankiel went a combined 0-for-10. After their success in the Mets series I expect much more from those two gentlemen.
- Cubs: These losers only scored one run over the past two days. Although Waino wasn't great last week, only Fukudome really did damage, and I expect the Cubs to be similarly productive tonight.
NOTE: This game is on WGN so I should get to watch it! If I am really lucky maybe I will get to see Jeff Smardzija, who got recalled the other day. *Groan*
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in St. Louis. GO CARDS!!
- Cardinals: Adam Wainwright is pitching on 7 days rest tonight. He was flip-flopped with Lohse because Tony preferred Lohse against the Mets and Waino against the Cubs over the alternative. That worked out well against the Mets. Wainwright's last start was a win against the Cubs last Friday. The main reason the Cardinals won that game, however, was Zambrano's meltdown, not Wainwright's success. I am hopeful that Wainwright can get deeper into this game, but I am not confident of it.
- Cubs: Ryan Dempster hasn't pitched since last Saturday, when he gave up 4 runs over 6 innings (as I predicted). Dempster didn't factor in the decision (7-5 extra innings loss). I expect more of the same tonight, with a possibility of even more runs from the red hot Cardinal bats.
The Lineups:
- Cardinals: Ludwick, Schumaker, LaRue, Molina, Duncan, and Pujols (surprise!) have all enjoyed some degree of success against Dempster, but I wouldn't say anyone has owned him. Last Saturday Ludwick and Greene did the damage and Albert and Ankiel went a combined 0-for-10. After their success in the Mets series I expect much more from those two gentlemen.
- Cubs: These losers only scored one run over the past two days. Although Waino wasn't great last week, only Fukudome really did damage, and I expect the Cubs to be similarly productive tonight.
NOTE: This game is on WGN so I should get to watch it! If I am really lucky maybe I will get to see Jeff Smardzija, who got recalled the other day. *Groan*
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in St. Louis. GO CARDS!!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Break It Down! April 18th Edition
The Pitchers:
- Cardinals: Kyle Lohse has been awesome so far this season. Just so you don't think I am being a total homer, the stats back me up. Lohse is 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings of work. This includes his shutout last week against Houston. All that having been said, I must note that Lohse was pretty mediocre against Chicago last year in three starts. To be precise, 18.1 IP and 13 runs for a 6.38 ERA. Conclusion: cautiously optimistic.
- Cubs: Something about Ryan Dempster just pisses me off. I don't know what it is. Anyways, he is 1-0 so far this season in 2 starts. 4.50 ERA. If Reed Johnson hadn't robbed Prince Fielder though, Dempster's ERA would be much higher. In three starts against the Cardinals last year, however, Dempster was 2-0 with a 2.90 ERA. That's pretty close to his 2.86 home ERA last season too. Ultimately I don't know what to expect from Dempster, but I assume will be 6-8 innings, 2-4 runs. Middle of the road.
The Lineups:
- Cardinals: Ludwick, Schumaker, LaRue, Molina, Duncan, and Pujols (surprise!) have all enjoyed some degree of success against Dempster, but I wouldn't say anyone has owned him. Then again, the Cardinals have scored more runs per game than any other team in the NL so far this season (6 per game). I feel alright about the Cardinals' ability to score runs against right-handed pitchers.
- Cubs: Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Theriot, Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramirex have all enjoyed some success against Lohse in the past. I guess all these guys will start. Geovany Soto has sucked so far this season, but he has 3-for-8 against Lohse, so I assume he won't sit Saturday.
NOTE: This game is on national television, FOX, in theory. I am sure I will get stuck watching some friggin' AL East game. Whatever. Enjoy it if you get to see it.
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in Chicago. GO CARDS!!
- Cardinals: Kyle Lohse has been awesome so far this season. Just so you don't think I am being a total homer, the stats back me up. Lohse is 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings of work. This includes his shutout last week against Houston. All that having been said, I must note that Lohse was pretty mediocre against Chicago last year in three starts. To be precise, 18.1 IP and 13 runs for a 6.38 ERA. Conclusion: cautiously optimistic.
- Cubs: Something about Ryan Dempster just pisses me off. I don't know what it is. Anyways, he is 1-0 so far this season in 2 starts. 4.50 ERA. If Reed Johnson hadn't robbed Prince Fielder though, Dempster's ERA would be much higher. In three starts against the Cardinals last year, however, Dempster was 2-0 with a 2.90 ERA. That's pretty close to his 2.86 home ERA last season too. Ultimately I don't know what to expect from Dempster, but I assume will be 6-8 innings, 2-4 runs. Middle of the road.
The Lineups:
- Cardinals: Ludwick, Schumaker, LaRue, Molina, Duncan, and Pujols (surprise!) have all enjoyed some degree of success against Dempster, but I wouldn't say anyone has owned him. Then again, the Cardinals have scored more runs per game than any other team in the NL so far this season (6 per game). I feel alright about the Cardinals' ability to score runs against right-handed pitchers.
- Cubs: Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Theriot, Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramirex have all enjoyed some success against Lohse in the past. I guess all these guys will start. Geovany Soto has sucked so far this season, but he has 3-for-8 against Lohse, so I assume he won't sit Saturday.
NOTE: This game is on national television, FOX, in theory. I am sure I will get stuck watching some friggin' AL East game. Whatever. Enjoy it if you get to see it.
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in Chicago. GO CARDS!!
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