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Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh, 9 April 2008

Charlie_tiny by Charlie on

Chicago @ Pittsburgh


It's Ryan Dempster and Zach Duke at PNC, 7:05. Dempster was terrific in his first start this year, but he's been a reliever for the last several years, and not a very good one. This looks like an opportunity for the PIrates to continue their high-scoring ways. The best-case scenario with Dempster is that he becomes the next Braden Looper. Looper was a low-wattage closer for the Marlins and Mets before the Cardinals moved him to the rotation last year. He posted a 4.94 ERA there. If I were the Cubs, I'd keep Dempster in the 'pen and go with someone like Sean Marshall. But that's just me.

Anyway, here's the box. Brian Bixler starts at shortstop; we'll see whether that can possibly be any worse than Luis Rivas, who finds himself on the bench after beginning the season as a huge liability on defense. 

-P- The Pirates' AAA squad will stay in Indianapolis through at least 2012. A few weeks ago John Perrotto reported that they might move it to Buffalo, but apparently that won't happen.

-P- ESPN observes that the Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez-led Tigers are dead last in the majors in runs scored. The Pirates are fifth. Also, the Orioles are in first place and the Mets are in last. Nothing all that weird about any of that, but it's funny.

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the over/under

on mclouth homers this year, im setting at 19, what say ye bucco fans?

Aramis 5 BB - 2 K, he's come close before, I'd love to see a season from a Cubs player with more walks than strikeouts.

by kylejo on Apr 9, 2008 4:26 PM EDT   0 recs

If he ends up with 500 ABs

I'll easily say over (25)

by Bad Andy on Apr 9, 2008 6:07 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Greetings fellow NL centralites...

I'd wish you guys good luck tonight...but I don't want your team to win! LOL...anyway, you guys may get to feast on our starter tonight...we never know which Dempster is going to show up.

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.

by santoswoodenlegs on Apr 9, 2008 4:40 PM EDT   0 recs

no reason to root for us to lose

the Bucs do it themselves anyway

by Bad Andy on Apr 9, 2008 6:08 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Yeah, I think you'd be hard pressed...

...to find a knowledgable Cubs fan who would vehemently disagree with you about Dempster. Then again, he does seem very focused on succeeding as a starter. He showed up to spring training in great shape, pitched very well during the spring and pitched pretty well in his first start.

I'm hoping Dempster gives the Cubs what we hoped to see from Jason Marquis last year. That is, not necessarily a dominant starter, but a guy who will eat up innings and keep the team in the game. My personal projection for Demp goes along the lines of 12 wins and 9 losses with a 4.52 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. Not great, but decent enough.

And as a fourth- or fifth-level starter, I like Sean Marshall a lot, too. One quasi-problem with having Marshall in the rotation, though, would be that it would give the Cubs three lefty starters, and Lou would probably have to start Hill and Marshall back to back. That's not a huge deal to me, but others seem to have a problem with it.

In any case, may the best team win tonight, Bucs fans!

Nanika Ga Okoru!

by dat cubfan daver on Apr 9, 2008 5:04 PM EDT   0 recs

Why are the Cubs starting Reed Johnson in CF? I know Pie's a lefty but come on.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:08 PM EDT   0 recs

Wow that's a sparse crowd.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:09 PM EDT   0 recs

Pens playoffs game 1

at home.

http://raisethejollyroger21.blogspot.com

by Raise the Jolly Roger on Apr 9, 2008 7:10 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

cuz of that

its not on TV here either

http://raisethejollyroger21.blogspot.com

by Raise the Jolly Roger on Apr 9, 2008 7:11 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Yeah, I know.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:11 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Two men on, no outs.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:11 PM EDT   0 recs

Hello from Milwaukee

I'm going to join you until our game starts add some anti-Cub synergy.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:16 PM EDT   0 recs

Dempster pitched surprisingly well against the Brewers last time out.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:19 PM EDT   0 recs

Cool, welcome. It may be pretty quiet tonight; this game isn't on TV and the Penguins are in the playoffs.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:20 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Hockey?

What's that?

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:23 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

My question exactly!

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:26 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

There's a nice hit by Bay.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:20 PM EDT   0 recs

laroche

does he still not have a hit since the opener?

http://raisethejollyroger21.blogspot.com

by Raise the Jolly Roger on Apr 9, 2008 7:23 PM EDT   0 recs

seriously there is something mentally wrong with laroche

he gets two hits in march but cant do anything in april

You're a Pirates fan?

by thegetupkids on Apr 9, 2008 7:23 PM EDT   0 recs

La Roche means "The Rock"

That's where he gets his consistency from.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:25 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

my suggestion

is to hit laroche in the 7 spot and put doumit in cleanup

You're a Pirates fan?

by thegetupkids on Apr 9, 2008 7:25 PM EDT   0 recs

Doumit is on my fantasy team

So I wholeheartedly agree.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:26 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

lol

hes a sleeper

You're a Pirates fan?

by thegetupkids on Apr 9, 2008 7:27 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Doumit is a sleeper

...and LaRoche is in a coma.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:27 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

lol

i drafted laroche late in mine thinking he would be a sleeper since he sucked last year...those two hits in the opener got my hopes up...but alas hes done nothing

You're a Pirates fan?

by thegetupkids on Apr 9, 2008 7:29 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I have him on both of mine. I have a feeling I'm going to be pretty glad about that in a couple months.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:27 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Maybe. You never know what kinds of psychological factors go into decisions like that, though.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:27 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

The Cubs are so boring

...that their own announcers have been talking about the days-old NCAA championship game for five minutes.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:28 PM EDT   0 recs

To their credit, they were talking about who Derrek Lee would be rooting for. But yeah, I mean, still!

It's still nice to have a couple quiet innings for Duke.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:30 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

For luck

"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"

by roguejim on Apr 9, 2008 7:31 PM EDT   0 recs

Hey!

Find your own blog to invade!

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:32 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I came over

to see what the holdup was on the Coke and pierogie.

"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"

by roguejim on Apr 9, 2008 7:34 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I ordered you some

They're racing over.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:34 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

So it turns out Bixler screwed up?

That's what I thought initially, but that was such a weird play.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:33 PM EDT   0 recs

Yeah, it was Bixler's fault, although a dollop of blame also goes to third base coach Tony Beasley, who didn't see it coming either.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:34 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Man, that Bixler play is the last thing I want to hear about right now.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:33 PM EDT   0 recs

(That wasn't intended as a response to you, Battlekow.)

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:40 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Haha, that's not why I shut up

Just nothing going on. I was actually reading about Primanti Bros on Wikipedia.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:45 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Ha. That play has been discussed pretty extensively here and at Where's Van Slyke. Some pretty interesting discussion.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:47 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

First and third after the single by Soriano. One out. Duke doesn't seem to be having an easy time with the top of the order.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:42 PM EDT   0 recs

ugh. 1-0.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:43 PM EDT   0 recs

after throwing so many pitches last time out, is Duke showing any signs of fatigue early on? I'm unfortunately unable to see this game.

by Chester J Lampwick on Apr 9, 2008 7:44 PM EDT   0 recs

Well, his last fastball was 87, which is slow even for him. I hadn't been paying attention before now, though. In the first inning, he was up around 90.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:45 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

The short answer is that he looks about the same as he did last time out.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:46 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

If Jeff Suppan can hang with Johnny Quest

...Young Jeff Suppan can hang with Ryan Dempster.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:47 PM EDT   0 recs

Is Duke young Jeff Suppan? That wouldn't be too bad if he grew up to be Suppan.

Who's your signature about?

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:49 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I suppose "Jeff Suppan who is young" would be a better descriptor

They seem to have a similar (complete lack of) stuff.

Phil Garner said it about Carlos Lee last year. It was pretty funny, since Carlos Lee is a manslug.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:51 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

He does steal some bases, but he would've come up about tenth on my list of Brewers that quote might have been about. Weeks? Hart? Braun? etc.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:56 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

He's very canny about the basestealing

But "quick" and "Carlos Lee" have been about a meal a day away from each other for awhile now.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 7:58 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Just back from work...

missed anything much?

Biased Fan
A disillusioned Pirates fan in Utah...

by UtesFan89 on Apr 9, 2008 7:49 PM EDT   0 recs

Nothing too important, no. Lots of baserunners for Duke.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:51 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

That's

to be expected though.

Biased Fan
A disillusioned Pirates fan in Utah...

by UtesFan89 on Apr 9, 2008 7:56 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I made fun of Dempster a few hours ago, but the Pirates sure haven't figured him out.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:55 PM EDT   0 recs

Wow, Duke just made Fukudome look silly. Maybe he expected a backdoor breaking ball?

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:58 PM EDT   0 recs

It's certainly promising that he's gotten this far.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 7:59 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Really nice inning for Duke.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 8:02 PM EDT   0 recs

j bay

will solve dempster now...hoping

You're a Pirates fan?

by thegetupkids on Apr 9, 2008 8:02 PM EDT   0 recs

That

didn't go so well.

Biased Fan
A disillusioned Pirates fan in Utah...

by UtesFan89 on Apr 9, 2008 8:04 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

All right

Back from whence I came.

Rest assured, we're all cheering for you.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 9, 2008 8:03 PM EDT   0 recs

Cheers, good luck to your Brewers tonight.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 8:04 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Duke

has 3 K's so far.

Biased Fan
A disillusioned Pirates fan in Utah...

by UtesFan89 on Apr 9, 2008 8:03 PM EDT   0 recs

Yeah. They were real ones, too, just fooling good hitters.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 8:04 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Did the true story behind LaRoche's thumb ever come out? Was it a true injury or was it an excuse just to keep him and his .083 BA out of the lineup?

by Chester J Lampwick on Apr 9, 2008 8:06 PM EDT   0 recs

Oh wow, LaRoche just got on base.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 8:07 PM EDT   0 recs

*checks outside for other signs of the apocolypse*

by Chester J Lampwick on Apr 9, 2008 8:08 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Unfortunately

(if I'm correct) he's still hitless this month.
The apocalypse will be signaled by him getting a hit, not a walk...

Biased Fan
A disillusioned Pirates fan in Utah...

by UtesFan89 on Apr 9, 2008 8:10 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

What happened to the offense?

They had 17 runs scored in the last 2 games... and they've only gotten 1 hit through 4 today.

Biased Fan
A disillusioned Pirates fan in Utah...

by UtesFan89 on Apr 9, 2008 8:12 PM EDT   0 recs

anyone watching this game on mlb.tv?

gameday showed the ball that doumit hit was at the center field wall basically

You're a Pirates fan?

by thegetupkids on Apr 9, 2008 8:12 PM EDT   0 recs

No, it was just a standard fly to deep center.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 8:13 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I think this is the best, smartest pitching I've seen from Duke in about a year.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 8:14 PM EDT   0 recs

Well, maybe '06. The velocity he showed in 2005 still isn't back.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 8:19 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

And sadly...

the 1 run allowed might still prove to be the biggest obstacle in his attempt to pick up a win.

Biased Fan
A disillusioned Pirates fan in Utah...

by UtesFan89 on Apr 9, 2008 8:17 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

that would suck

if this effort by duke is wasted

You're a Pirates fan?

by thegetupkids on Apr 9, 2008 8:18 PM EDT   0 recs

Is Bixler...

looking even partially good out there?

Biased Fan
A disillusioned Pirates fan in Utah...

by UtesFan89 on Apr 9, 2008 8:19 PM EDT   0 recs

Looks fine on defense so far. Hasn't done much at the plate.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 8:20 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Tough play for the Pirates on that single by Fukudome.

I can't believe Fukudome's going to hit for much power over time if he keeps swinging like that. He didn't put his body into that ball at all.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 8:27 PM EDT   0 recs

Nice to see

Duke get out of that without giving up a run.

Biased Fan
A disillusioned Pirates fan in Utah...

by UtesFan89 on Apr 9, 2008 8:30 PM EDT   0 recs

Now,

if only the offense would follow suit.

Biased Fan
A disillusioned Pirates fan in Utah...

by UtesFan89 on Apr 9, 2008 8:33 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Yeah, Dempster's just destroying them right now.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 8:35 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Good ole

Jason-ity

Biased Fan
A disillusioned Pirates fan in Utah...

by UtesFan89 on Apr 9, 2008 8:36 PM EDT   0 recs

anyone

in the pen?

You're a Pirates fan?

by thegetupkids on Apr 9, 2008 8:41 PM EDT   0 recs

I don't know, but Duke's not really having any trouble... has he thrown too many pitches?

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 8:44 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

That's probably about enough.

by Charlie on Apr 9, 2008 8:45 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs