Archive for the ‘lineup’ Category

Life without Aramis Ramirez

It’s been a tough week for sluggers named Ramirez. Of course Manny’s undoing was of his own making.  But all-star Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez having dislocated his left shoulder in last night’s game is a tremendous blow to this team. There was a lot of talk as spring training broke of having no legitimate backup for [...]

May 9, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Hot Stove, Jim Hendry, lineup, observations, players, roster  No Comments

Did Lou concede yesterday’s game?

Cubs manager Lou Piniella filled out a most unusual lineup card yesterday. He started just two regulars (Derrek Lee & Kosuke Fukudome), one rookie’s first every MLB game (Bobby Scales), and his #5 starter (Sean Marshall) to face reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. “We’re in a stretch of 20 straight games [...]

May 6, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Lou Piniella, game recap, game strategy, lineup, observations  No Comments

Guest Post: Philosophy 101

Here is another Guest Post sent in by AJ. Back in the day, as a first year student at Illinois State University, I recall registering late in the process and as a result got stuck with a couple of courses I otherwise would never consider taking to complete my general studies. One of them, Philosophy [...]

April 19, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Hot Stove, Team Ownership, fan comments, guest post, lineup, observations, players, roster  One Comment

It is still early for Kevin Gregg

It is early. Very early. Just a reminder: 158 games remain in the regular season. Now, I’m not a necessarily a big Kevin Gregg fan. I only know him by his numbers from last year and looking at those, I’m not impressed. He would be fine as closer for a lesser team. But for a major [...]

April 10, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Lou Piniella, game day, game strategy, lineup, observations, players  No Comments

Lou taps Gregg for closer

I am surprised. I thought for sure Carlos Marmol the heir apparent, and newly acquired Kevin Gregg the insurance policy. Wrong. Some of the arguments pro and con that I am hearing today make sense to me, but I’m not so sure about Gregg.  I have never seen him pitch – I only know him by [...]

March 30, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: controversy, lineup, players  No Comments

Game 1 Lineup

Fukudome gets the start in Right on a chilly day at Wrigley… Alfonso Soraino – LF Kosuke Fukudome – RF Derrek Lee – 1B Aramis Ramirez – 3B Geovany Soto – C Jim Edmonds – CF Mark DeRosa – 2B Ryan Theriot – SS Ryan Dempster – P If you haven’t already, get your free [...]

October 1, 2008   Posted in: lineup, players, playoffs  No Comments

Cubs-Dodgers NLDS Preview

Here’s how the Chicago Cubs (97-64) stack up against the Los Angeles Dodgers (84-78) going into the 2008 National League Divisional Series.  First Base Derrek Lee – Cubs vs James Loney – Dodgers: Lee is higher in virtually all offensive categories, and is a Multiple Gold Glover.  Advantage: Cubs Second Base Mark DeRosa – Cubs [...]

September 30, 2008   Posted in: lineup, playoffs, roster  One Comment

Call-ups play into Lou’s hot hand

Lou Piniella has proven masterful at pulling the right strings in his tenure as Cubs skipper. With the added bodies, Lou has more options for pinch hitting, spot starts and some creative double-switches. Dusty could never figure out how to double-switch, but Lou usually seems to make the right calls. The first round of September call-ups are Micah Hoffpauir, [...]

September 1, 2008   Posted in: Lou Piniella, lineup, players, roster  No Comments

Mediocre in the Middle

July has been an uninspired month for Cubs hitters.  With Alfonso Soriano out for the past six weeks, the team picked him up big-time going into the All Star break as the league’s leading offense. But over the past couple weeks, the 2, 3, 4, 5 hitters have been struggling to say the least. Kosuke [...]

July 22, 2008   Posted in: lineup, observations, players, stats  No Comments

Fontenot Showing Some Timely Power

The Cubs diminutive (listed at 5 foot, 8 inches) reserve second baseman Mike Fontenot has found some power lately.  Maybe manager Lou Piniella will begin to take note as he has homered in 3 of his last 8 games – and Lou pinch hit for him immediately following two of those home runs! On June 21 [...]

July 3, 2008   Posted in: Lou Piniella, lineup, players, stats  No Comments