The Cardinals are good. The Cubs are not. Here's a look at the matchups for this quick series in St. Louis
Monday: Ryan Dempster, RHP (1.02, 2.16, 2.80, 3.83) vs Jake Westbrook, RHP (1.76, 2.79, 3.20, 4.00), 6:05 PM CT
This is a matchup of pitchers who have gotten off to fantastic starts to the year. You have to give the edge to Westbrook though, his 4-2 record says that he just wants to win more than Dempster (0-1). Dempster's had a lot of help from BABIP (.218) and HR luck (3.8% HR/FB) but he's still pitching well enough to put up a 2.80 xFIP. He's going to make a lot of money this offseason. Westbrook has a similarly low FIP (and batted ball luck) but gets most of his outs via the ground ball. He's seen a small uptick in his strikeout rate but he's not that kind of power pitcher.
Tuesday: Paul Maholm, LHP (4.05, 5.17, 4.53, 4.10) vs Kyle Lohse, RHP (2.08, 3.33, 4.10, 3.90), 12:45 PM CT
Unlike rotation-mate Chris Volstad, Paul Maholm has managed to improve on his disastroust start to the season. After giving up 12 runs on 3 HR, 3 walks, and only 4 K (and not very many GB) Maholm finally started doing Paul Maholm things, namely, getting a shitton of ground balls. The Cubs have won his last four starts and not coincedentally he's tallied double digit grounders in each game, and only gave up 3 runs in those four starts.
It's hard to believe that this is Lohse's fifth year with the Cardinals. In my head he's still the fringy starter that he was with the Twins. It's been up and down with the Cards but for the most part he's yet another poster child for the Dave Duncan Transformation
Also, this is back
Comments
Ho(dying laughing)oiday
BerseliusQuote Reply
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/05/angels-place-torii-hunter-on-restricted-list.html
I didn’t know a player could just volunteer to be put on the restricted list…or that the team could do that because a relative did something potentially illegal.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
THIS. I’ve been beating this drum since Tommy Boy took over. Things get done one way in Chicago.
@ Aisle424:
What else can Kenney fuck up before he gets shitcanned? Firs the stupid priest stunt, then he gets put in charge of the public money boondoggle and shits the bed, so they turn that over to Julian Green, and now we find out that Mr. In Charge of the Business Side of Things forgot to fulfill Priority Number One when dealing with Chicago politicians, i.e. grease the palms of the local bosses. WTF?
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Didn’t Votto request to be placed on the restricted list when he was struggling with anxiety disorder?
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I do not recall. Perhaps I will learn something new today.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Gotta love the Cubs defense
BerseliusQuote Reply
What the shit was that?
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Cubs being Cubs
WaLi22Quote Reply
How is that not an error on Barney?
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Because he has heart.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Yes, let’s keep trying to steal on Yadier Molina
BerseliusQuote Reply
Don’t steal on Molina!
WaLi22Quote Reply
Berselius wrote:
uncle daveQuote Reply
@ mb21:
It was a difficult play. Barney had to range a long way to get to the ball on a dive.
ACTQuote Reply
Junior Lake with 3 BB’s so far today. Pretty good sign
Jtsunami1Quote Reply
Why would anyone still try to steal off Molina? It’s stupid.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
It was apparently a botched hit-and-run.
ACTQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Because trying hard counts.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ ACT:
It was a difficult play, but he fielded it and was in position to make the throw. A halfway decent throw gets him. The idea that an error is about the difficulty of the play irritates me. Imagine a baserunner falls down when hitting a ball deep into the hole between 3rd and SS. The SS makes a spectacular play that nobody thought possible. By this time the batter is up and finally starts running. The SS has the ball, can fire to first and if he throws it away it’s not an error. That’s crazy to me. There are different If at some point the fielder should have made the play then it’s an error. If Barney didn’t come up with the ball on the slide then it’s not an error, but he did and he had time to throw the guy out. To me, that’s an error.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Jtsunami1:
He now has 7 on the season in 7 games and 5 strikeouts.
mb21Quote Reply
mb21 wrote:
I disagree. It’s not a play he should have been expected to make and, so, not an error.
ACTQuote Reply
It’s not a play he was expected to make when the ball was put in play, but when he had the ball and was ready to throw to first it was a play he was expected to make. A decent throw gets him. it’s really as simple as that to me. There’s no reason we can’t expect an MLB player to make a decent throw. When he doesn’t, it’s an error.
mb21Quote Reply
The whole point of the error is when you hurt your team by not making a routine play. I don’t see the point of giving an error designation when you make extraordinary effort, but fail to complete the play (plus, I’m not sure the play was so easy with Demp running, but that’s another argument).
ACTQuote Reply
ESPN announcers mention Lou Brock. Where’s the mute button?
ACTQuote Reply
Damn the Cubs are bad at scoring
Recalcitrant Blogger NateQuote Reply
Bryce Harper ————> Tied with Albert Pujols in home runs
ACTQuote Reply
That’s a base hit too? Why do they even have errors?
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
That surprised me, too.
ACTQuote Reply
They pitch out and Molina still can’t catch Campana.
ACTQuote Reply
Recalcitrant Blogger Nate wrote:
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
There’s your lead, kid. Now go out there and hold ’em.
uncle daveQuote Reply
Adam Dunn just surpassed his homer total for 2011.
ACTQuote Reply
LaHair!
ACTQuote Reply
The Cubs have supplied 3 runs. So, if Dempster doesn’t win, it’s all his fault.
ACTQuote Reply
This is an offensive explosion for a Dempster start.
mb21Quote Reply
LABOMB!
BerseliusQuote Reply
The Cubs are scoring.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Dempster wanted to win today, apparently
BerseliusQuote Reply
Cubs have made Westbrook throw 100+ pitches already and they’re just barely in the 5th inning.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube wrote:
I guess that’s the upside of leaving seven on base (dying laughing).
uncle daveQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
Always look on the bright side of life.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Harper’s homer: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=21427633&c_id=mlb
ACTQuote Reply
Newtonion shit by WaLi: http://obstructedview.net/commentary-and-analysis/soriano-his-bat-and-momentum.html
mb21Quote Reply
The longer LaHair continues this streak, the more afraid I become of a drastic and precipitous regression. That 30% K-rate, outlandish BABiP and Pujols-esque ISO haunt me.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Aisle424Quote Reply