DeRosa hurting, Marquis dealing, Lou reeling
What a busy Tuesday night as I check the box scores and reports with some morning coffee. Reading the Daily Herald Sports section (paper edition), I see that Mark DeRosa, now of the hated Cardinals, took himself out of last night's game after his fourth-inning at-bat after feeling pain in his wrist.
"There are so many small bones in there," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported DeRo as saying. Here's more:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/E48A...
Remember, the Cards visit Wrigley for four games beginning next Friday.
Another former Cub, pitcher Jason Marquis, probably nailed down his All-Star Game bid (the game is in St. Louis, of all places, one of Marquis' stops) with a complete-game 2-hit 3-0 win over the powerful Dodgers last night. Marquis ran his record to 10-5 with a 3.87 ERA and a WHIP of 1.31. The Rox are 2-9 against the Dodgers, and Marquis has both wins.
"How can he not be in the All-Star Game?" Rockies closer Huston Street was quoted by the Denver Post as asking.
http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_12728836
As you probably know by now, Lou Piniella tops a Sports Illustrated poll of managers whom players would least like to play for. The polling went:
Lou: 26 percent
Ozzie: 21 percent
Tony La Russa: 10 percent
Joe Torre: 4 percent
Eric Wedge: 4 percent
Take a lot of this with a grain of salt. Know that Joe Torre finished second in last week's poll behind Bobby Cox as managers players would most like to play for. Mike Scioscia, Joe Maddon and Terry Francona also are on that list.
There are champions on both lists. There are "tough" managers on both lists.
Being around Lou the last couple years, what seems to drive players nuts is that Lou reacts to the moment. He'll promise drastic changes to the batting order after one or two games of the Cubs not hitting and then back off the next day.
As I've written in the past, the quickest way to get an eye-roll from the players is to start a sentence with, "Hey, Lou just said..."
Lou said this of the poll to Chicago reporters covering the team in Pittsburgh: "I take that as a compliment. We demand things, and we want to win."
Can't wait to ask him about it tomorrow when the Cubs open a big four-game set at home against the Brewers.
the trade was good for both (Lou didn't want him) .....
don't blame the class for a few (fans who want Marquis back) bad apples.....those aren't really Cub fans.....wish him luck and move on....
we have people who want Billy Williams, Santo, DeRosa back, etc....kidding on Billy and Ron, but DeRosa was/is not Babe Ruth.......let him go.......just my opinion, if i don't get the chance, have a great 4th guys......
it's good to see a good outfielder in left or anywhere out there....i know he's not the answer but it's better then nothing.....i liked him better then pie a few years ago, but hendry knows better!
As I watched the game last night I thought to myself, this is not entertainment, it's punishment. I wanted to send the Cubs a bill for another wasted time lapse in my life stolen away. I've been a Cub's fan since the 70's and cannot remember a team with such high expectations and talent look quite so bad. They had an 06 look at the plate, swing at every first pitch, (granted Olendorf was throwing strikes, they were swinging at pitchers pitches) and it's never a good thing when you have more strike outs than hits with runners in scoring position after 74 games. It's not even just that, it's mindless inning ending outs at third, inability to cover second base properly on a stolen base attempt, and why was Fukodome batting in the 8th against Grabow with Freel on the bench? Reading other blogs and listening to talking heads, they all are for some reason giving up on the season. I'm not going to go into how many games out, ect. We have the players to be on top in this division, period. It's probably not even a question of whether these guys will even be at or around there seasonal averages, it's when. I'd
actually like to know some of the secrets of motivating $135 million dollars or whatever it is worth of men. These guys want to win and are not doing this on purpose, I'm not sure it's even possible to do what they are doing intentionally, there does need to be something that puts a CHARGE into them, hopefully someone, or something can do that relatively soon. Even with the headaches I've had watching this mess, being a Cub's fan is the ultimate test of faith, and we need to find remember that.
He started hot for us when he was here, but fell off a cliff in the second half. Most likely he will do the same thing this year....
I know not everyone liked Marquis. However, you can't question his drive and competitive nature. It's more than you can say about most of the Cubs...It looks like we got taken on that deal too.
That's how I viewed Marquis, and I grew to like him. He took the ball every five days (when he wasn't skipped) and has never really been injured. Wins can be a misleading stat, but he's got a whole bunch of them over the years. He know doubt got some run support, but he also did enough to keep his team in games. He got a little touchy about things in St. Louis and things with the Cubs. He's been a first-half pitcher throughout his career. We'll see how he does after the break.
Hopefully that cools off this hyperbowl of DeRo regret... Yes, I think he should still be with the Cubs, but doubt they would be too much better in the standings right now even if they did have him.
This has been a total team failure. Just look at the top of the 8th. 2nd and 3rd with no outs (thanks to the Pirates), and you get a strike out (Sorryiano), another strikeout (corkscrew guy), and as Harry used to say it so disgustingly, "a little tap" by Lee. Pathetic.
What can you say about Marquis? He was Dennis Lamp-esque with the Cubs; decent, would eat some innings, but could melt down just as easily. Marquis goes into the Juan Pierre class: Really good before coming to the Cubs, sucky to mediocre with the Cubs, then really good again post Cubs. Why is that?
This whole team needs a jolt. Can think of no better medicine than a four game set with the Brewers. Hopefully, anyway.
Don't think so.
I love it. 99% of Cub fans wanted Marquis gone, now that he's put together a good first half, it was a stupid move.
Guzman is a major key to this team. He has to stay healthy. I don't know why Lou pitched him in 6 of 7 games or whatever it was. This guy has an injury history and you can't abuse him like that. He has fantastic stuff and seems to really know how to pitch. We definitely need that guy in the pen who you can bring in and count on to get you through an inning without giving up a run. When you get Guzman and Ramirez back, you will have a good idea of what this team can actually do.
Agree completely. Pitching way above his head and I am sure he will come back to earth. Cubs fans are a fickle bunch. They better learn to be happy with what they have as most of the team is going to be here along time.
I hated the Marquis signing when it was made, and it actually ended up being a pretty decent transaction for Hendry, looking back. However, he was blocking the way of Marshall, and as it turns out, Randy Wells. It was a spot that the Cubs had depth and it was a move the Cubs should have made, regardless of the contract. You have to let your young players play, or you will never know if they can play. Marshall and Wells are both solid pitchers and both are capable major league starters.
That was one of the things every Cubs fan wanted done this offseason, and now it's a mistake? I am guilty of wanting him gone despite the way he took the ball every five and kept us in games. No offense to Marquis, but he is inevitably going to tank in the second half. Also, can anyone say "contract year"?