Cubs 6, Pirates 1: Cubs Snap Losing Streak

by Charlie on May 27, 2009 12:58 AM EDT Comment 10 comments

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Ian Snell fights the rain in the Pirates' loss to the Cubs on Tuesday.

Not-so-fun fact: the score of today's game (6-1) is the inversion of Ian Snell's record (1-6). Like a lot of starts he's had this year, Snell managed to get through several innings, but he allowed a ton of baserunners and seemed to give up a run every inning. Offensively, Freddy Sanchez went 2-for-3 and Andy LaRoche extended his hitting streak to 11 games by going 1-for-1 with a walk (raising his average to .303), but generally the Bucs had trouble with Sean Marshall and his big-breaking curveball. I'm actually surprised the game lasted long enough for the score to be final--rain was pouring down even in the early innings. After dropping eight in a row, the Cubs are probably pretty thrilled that Mother Nature gave them a hand here.

Some notes:

-P- The Post-Gazette reports that Rene Gayo has convinced Miguel Angel Sano has agreed to participate in a series of exhibition games in mid-June that Gayo is coaching. That sounds tremendously promising.

-P- In the blog, there's also a pretty interesting explanation of some of Nyjer Morgan's positioning issues.

-P- Eric Hacker's second start for Class AAA Indianapolis was pretty nifty.

-P- Robbie Grossman had a Golden Sombrero for West Virginia tonight. Kyle McPherson had a very nice start, though, and the Power won 4-3.

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Is it me...

or…when discussing Morgan’s positioning with Dejan…JR somewhat threw the pitching staff under the bus…saying that the pitchers did not pitch the batters the way they were supposed to? And that is why Theriot had 3 doubles down the left field line.

Two problems with that. 1) We are talking about a pitching staff essentially the same as last year…which was 2nd in the majors for most walks. This year they are in the middle of the pack. Command and control are not strong points for this staff. 2) This problem is occurring several times a week. It’s not like Monday was the only start this occurred.

Has anyone else had enough of Snell’s excuses every game?? Tonight was…bad pitches…walks…bad pitch selection and bad umpiring. No one else was throwing the ball, Ian…just you. Your catcher could have tossed you under the bus when he was asked about pitching inside…but he didn’t comment. Maybe you should do the same…and either man up and pitch the way the catcher and coaching staff want…or quit with the excuses every bad start.

My suggestion to JR would be to put him in the bullpen for a few days (not pull him from the rotation entirely, at least not yet)…skip a start around a day off somewhere. See if he can concentrate for the 3 or 4 batters he might see in a high leverage situation. For those of us that have watched the Pirates for more than 25 years…the name Jose DeLeon comes to mind…million dollar arm…and not enough upstairs to put it to the best use. Comes unglued very easily.

by Thunder on May 27, 2009 2:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m tired of everything about Snell. He is terrible! Why is he the only pitcher that STILL doesn’t throw inside? Every other pitcher, under the command of Joe Kerrigan, is throwing inside this year, and Snell just continues to stay middle-away. What is going on with that? I know Kerrigan and the catchers are calling for inside pitches. Is Snell refusing and shaking it off(I would find that hard to believe)? Can he simply not locate the inside pitch (probably more likely)? It’s no secret why he gets pounded every time out. First of all, he walks everybody and then the hitters that actually get strikes thrown to them just wait on the fastball or changeup middle-away and crush it. They don’t have to think about the inside part of the plate. When you’re essentially cutting off one half of the plate, good luck to you. Kerrigan is a great pitching coach, and even he can’t iron Snell out. Snell is the problem. Get rid of him.

by mspirate on May 27, 2009 3:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Get rid of Snell? Bad idea.

For one, we still have very little rotation depth within the system, and dropping Snell would only exacrebate that problem. For another, Snell has a large degree of untapped upside that our other starters do not, in that he’s almost the only guy on staff who actually misses bats and generates strikeouts. His control problems this year have been disappointing, no doubt, but if he can get his difficulties ironed out he could be the best pitcher on staff.

by Vlad on May 27, 2009 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like Thunder's take

I would switch Gorzo with Snell and let Snell work it out in the pen. My only concern(s) are that Snell misses too much and when the ball is hit, it is hit square. This could be magnified in a pressure relief situation. I do however think he could have more impact out of the pen. He has been pretty dismal as a starter for a year and a half.

by vanslyke on May 27, 2009 9:18 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs