Roster games: Pie? Ward? Hoffpauir?
I'm sitting here at Shea Stadium trying to hear myself blog as the planes fly about nine feet overhead. Won't miss this place. But I'll say one thing. It looks better here only because of the new Citi Field going up beyond the outfield. It's going to be quite a change, and the greatest part appears to be the Ebbets Field-like entrance way.
Here are some thoughts before I come back with the lineups later:
If the Cubs take 11 pitchers to the playoffs, you've got to figure these guys are in:
Dempster
Lilly
Zambrano
Harden
Marquis (yes, he'll be on the roster)
Marshall
Samardzija
Cotts
Marmol
Wood
That leaves the final spot a battle among Gaudin, Howry, Wells and Wuertz. If Gaudin is healthy, I figure him for that spot. Lou got back on the Howry horse for, like, one day and got right back off. I'd be surprised to see Howry on the roster, especially with Samardzija having found it again.
That leaves you 14 position players. These guys look safe:
Soto
Blanco
Lee
DeRosa
Fontenot
Theriot
Ramirez
Soriano
Edmonds
Johnson
Fukudome
Cedeno
Lou said yesterday he'd take everbody who's been with the team all year, so that apparently means Daryle Ward makes it. That leaves you one spot. Right now, it appears to be going to Felix Pie over Micah Hoffpauir, largely because Pie can play center field and has speed. Lou has been known to change his mind from time to time, so this all can change at a moment's notice.
Speaking of Theriot, every time people want to write him off or say he's fading, he has a night like last night, when he gets on base five times. He walked twice and singled three times. That put Ryan's OBP back to .380.
The Cubs now have five players with at least 20 homers: Lee, Ramirez, Soriano, Soto, DeRosa. That's only happened two other times. In '04, it was Alou, Sosa, Ramirez, Lee and Corey Patterson. In 1958, it was Ernie Banks, Walt "Moose" Moryn, Lee Walls, Bobby Thomson and Dale Long.
Back in a few hours.
Bruce did you get your 'strami samich' yet ?.. Football went way late today...
Tomorrow or Thursday.
With homefield clinched, Lou is resting some regulars:
Soriano, LF
Cedeno, SS
Lee, 1B
Johnson, CF
DeRosa, 2B
McGehee, 3B
Fukudome, RF
Blanco, C
Marshall, P
I asked Lou if he'd favor who's pitching well now versus experience when it comes to picking his final reliever. He said he'd likely go with who is pitching well now. That could bode well for Samardzija over Howry if Gaudin continues to show he's healthy enough to have nailed down a spot.
Bruce- do you believe Lou's loss in confidence in Howry is warranted? Granted, I know the kind of year he had, but he's also got a lot of experience. . .
...Five homers in 22 games dating to late July. There's some justification to Lou's feeling, but he's so impulsive that he probably overdoes it.
..given tonight's implosion. But yeah, I agred he's pretty impulsive sometimes.
So I clicked over to the disAstros game...one would think after ALL the whining (that is still going on, by the way) they'd have a full house. Eh, not so much...I see lots of empties.
Got to agree with you, didnt Reed Johnson make one of the best catches of the year in center this year ? I do like Pie's speed, but Hoffpauir can play a couple spots if needed and not only a bat guy off the bench , which is what Ward is. You cant put him on the field.
I'd like to see Hoffpauir get some more at bats just to see if he can hit or not. If not go with Ward.
Johnson made what has to be at least in the top 3 for catches of the year. I think it was in Washington either in April or May. He dove near the warning track, caught the ball, and fortunately kind of curled up into a ball as his back slammed into the outfield wall. It was amazing. I let out a yelp. Scared the wifey, but she's come to expect that from me when the Cubs are on.
...you take Hoffpauir and unfortunately, leave Pie off. Reason is you already have Reed Johnson and Jimmy Ballgame, and they cover center pretty well.
Unfortunately, the location of Citi Field won't do a thing to solve the low flying jet issue.
I thought Shea looked better simply because most of the Mets fans were gone by the 7th inning.
They really gave up on their team, didn't they? Jets or not (and I don't mean Joe Namath's Jets), it'll be good just to have this place gone.