Woody and DeRo and Cubs stuff, too
We'll get to our regularly scheduled Cubs blog in a minute, but Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa (THE MOST POPULAR CUB EVER) are here. Had a chance to visit with Woody for a second in the Indians clubhouse.
"I think I've done two interviews all year," he told me.
Quite a change from Chicago, where whenever he sneezed, the entire fan base caught a cold.
DeRo is in the lineup batting second and playing left field for the Indians. He and Kerry talked with the media in the tunnel between the dugout and the quaint visitors clubhouse.
Both figure to get warm ovations if the rain ever stops and they play.
"The best two years of my career were spent in that clubhouse," DeRo said, referring to the Cubs side. "It's exciting to be back."
DeRo said he was "disappointed" at the time of the New Year's Eve trade from the Cubs and that he has no control over rumors about him being traded again, from the Indians to anybody in baseball, including, dare we way, the Cubs.
He also once again denied that he ever had any rift with Cubs manager Lou Piniella.
"That was a shock to me," DeRo said of reading about the so-called rift. "There was never one moment in our two years together that we didn't see eye to eye. His door was always open and he was honest, beyond honest."
He answered "of course" when asked if he still follows the Cubs.
As far as the home team goes, Jake Fox makes his first start at third base.
"Let's hope it's hit to him right away, he catches it and throws it across the infield," Lou said. "That would be the best of all situations. Look, he's been working over there with Alan (coach Trammell). The young man swings the bat. We've got to find a place for him. We're going to put him at third base against left-hand pitching and see what he does."
As I suspected, Angel Guzman is one of the Cubs' "tender" pitchers. Lou says he has some discomfort under his right arm that isn't serious and that he's taking medication for it.
The 4 runs the Cubs scored in the eighth yesterday were the most in one inning since they scored 4 in the sixth May 14 against the Padres. They scored 6 in the fifth inning that day.
The Cubs lead the majors with 40 quality starts. D-Lee has an OPS of 1.008 since May 16. He has a 15-game hitting streak and has reached base in 25 straight.
Lineups:
Cleveland
Carroll, 2B
DeRosa, LF
Martinez, 1B
Choo, RF
Peralta, 3B
Shoppach, C
Valbuena, SS
Francisco, CF
Lee, P
Cubs
Soriano, LF
Theriot, SS
Bradley, RF
Lee, 1B
Soto, C
Fox, 3B
Johnson, CF
Blanco, 2B
Harden, P
well another hit by theriot to right to win a game......soriano walked, rarety (that's team baseball) then stole 2nd, i applaud him, still think he should sit a few games.....glad to see the kid (Fox) at 3rd....worried about harden being on-off-on-off.....what is this talk about Pedro? we don't need him......he's trouble......hopefully Bradley can get going.....Blanco gives us some defense at 2nd.....if only he could hit.....
good win for them......hendry said with soriano we won 2 divisions, so i'll say with Fox we just won, lol, kidding....feels good not to be mad/upset
I've been a Lee basher, so give him his due......
also if you notice DeRosa was taken out for defense......he plays cause of his hitting not defense......by the way did Fox do well? wasn't really watching the game....now why did they take johnson out? oh i see, fukudome will bat early rather then last......
0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout. Took Johnson out on a double switch so Gregg won't have to bat in bottom of 10th.
did Lou just use up all his position players here in the 8th? i'm not sure..
He's still available, as is Z to pinch hit.
I'd say about three-quarters of the crowd stood and cheered DeRosa. He looked a little anxious at the plate, too.
don't do anything to get in Lou's doghouse and contribute just half of what you were doing in Iowa!
i hope the kid plays well cause if he make's an error, most of the media and Lou will say "see i told you"....and we may never see him again......the problem is Lou said he'd play against lefties, we don't see many lefties.....
They sure take care of their young guys don't they?
They overuse Guzman.
They won't use Hoffpauer but expect him to pinch hit
every 3-4 days without any at bats
They had plenty of time to give Fox some work at
3rd when he was in Iowa ...and again when they
sent him down so they could have 13 pitchers, but
I guess they'd rather have him play completely
distracted with learning a new position
Also some not so young tho new to the majors -
They let Hill's and Scales' bats to also go cold from
no playing time even tho they had hot bats like
Hoffpauer and Fox did
it sure seems like they don't want them to succeed....cause if they do then what does management say?.....cause if Fox, Blanco, and hoff did well what would they do with Bradley, A-Ram, and Fontenot?....Baker was like that with Theriot and other rookies....Baker later said he owed his guys (neif)....this management said it with this team "we won 2 divisions with him".....i think there is something to that....
Cubs tell us the game is scheduled to start at 2:45 this afternoon.
if it isn't already.
Ok, Fox is finally in there, now we just need Soriano out/moved for a bit.
yes, call it a day/s of rest.....