KTE Chicago Cubs

[Guest Kid Carsey]

8/3 Eckersley vs Darling 2:20 SNY
8/4 Moyer vs Fernandez 4:10 FOX
8/5 Lynch vs Gooden 8:05 ESPN

[Guest Kid Carsey]

8/3 RHP Carlos Zambrano (14-7, 3.47) vs. RHP Orlando Hernandez (7-4, 3.02)
8/4 LHP Ted Lilly (11-5, 3.60) vs. RHP John Maine (12-5, 2.92)
8/5 RHP Jason Marquis (8-6, 4.22) vs. LHP Tom Glavine (9-6, 4.38)

If this place is still standing next year and we do KTE's and I volunteer to
participate, remind me that I never come up with anything that I feel worthy
of publishing that isn't already on the internet and to put my hand down.

[Guest Edgy DC]

So copy and paste it. Just read a few trib columns and tell us what the temperature is up there.

Some questions:

• Has Carlos Zambrano throttled anybody since he attacked his catcher twice?



• Has the environment of the team been better since said catcher split?



• Lou... still nutty?



• The sale of the team... how's that going?



• This team opened with three corner outfielders and a B-grade ex-Met farmhand as their only passable centerfielder. How have they worked that out?



• Zambrano... is he like a bird? Will he only fly away?



• What's the city's attitude toward the team sneaking into first in the standings? Hopeful? Cynical?



• Those bleacher bums... are they bums or what?



• What's with that little trademark symbol in the Cubs logo? Is their logo more sacred than anybody else's?
  
  
  
  
• I know that Derek Lee is very good, but --- just like with blues guitarists --- I get my Lees confused. Can you help?



• Kerry Wood is coming back this week. Will he be ready for the Met series? Is he still dangerous?



• Will new ownership move the spring site out of Arizona?



• Who are the Cub-loving big shots?

[Guest Kid Carsey]

The temperature? You want a weather report too?

Each teams press notes are available for free on MLBdotcom. The Cubs .pdf file today
was like 12 pages long. I admire what many of the cpfr's do with their KTE's but I'm
just not a reporter who can restate the facts in a way that I'll feel comfortable that it
has my stamp on it and it isn't just regurgitation of what's online.

I have the same problem with my adoptee, Master Guerra.

[Frayed Knot]

So we can do a tag-team KTE.
Somebody tell us about their pitchers.


1B - Derrick Lee: .326/.414/.527, 13 HRs;
is not quite where he was during his monster year a few seasons ago, but is bouncing back from his lost and injury-depleted 2006

2B - Mark DeRosa: .288/.369/.433

SS - Ryan (the riot) Theriot:.283/.353/.370
takes over for the traded Caser Izturis

3B - Aramis Ramirez: .318/.358/.547
Oooh, another good move by the Pirates

OF - They seem to interchange these guys between positions.
Jacque Jones: .249/.303/.338 - is manning CF most of the time
Cliff Floyd: .294/.359/.396, 4 HRs - is platooning in both LF & RF
Alfonso Soriano: .298/.338/.517, 18 HRs - Takes most of the innings in LF

C - Koyie Hill: .163/.233/.288
and the recently acquired Jason Kendall: .229/.325/.286
replace the combative Michael Barrett

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Rocky Cherry in the bullpen. Rocky Cherry.

[Farmer Ted]

I'm a Sun-Times man myself, with the today's masthead noting a "Sizzler" is in store for the game.

Today: Sunny; very warm, less humid H:90�F

Saturday: Partial sunshine H:82�F

Sunday: A thunderstorm in the morning H:88�FL:70�F

[Guest Edgy DC]

Bill Murray: Cub-Lovin' Big Shot

[Benjamin Grimm]

Now it's time to start rooting for the Brewers and against the Cubs.

Pennant races sure can make us fickle.

[Frayed Knot]

Because after having a series against the NL Central leaders ... we get to have a series against the NL Central leaders!!

[Guest Edgy DC]

OK, I'll take Pitcher One.

Carlos Zambrano recently got named Pitcher of the Month for July*. He once promised he'd win a Cy Young, and his 5-1/1.38 July has launched him into this year's race. Since June 6, he is 9-2 with a 1.41 ERA and 77 strikeouts.

Here is his ranking in the triple-crown categories:

Wins: 1 (14)
ERA: 14 (3.47)
SO: 128 (5)

Plus:

IP: 6 (150.1)

The Cy Young race is still largely a two-man game between Peavey and Penny, but he's just now entering the picture and there's a lot of ball to be played. At any rate, this is the kind of walk year that agents dream of. His is Barry Praver and you'd expect that the asking price wiill be upwards of 20 milion (thank you, Roger Clemens). You'd expect that, except he's Carlos Zambrano, knucklehead-quoting Carlos Zambrano, and the other day, this same pitcher who earlier said he wouldn't negotiate during the season, let this one drop:

"Yes, I could do pretty good as a free agent," Zambrano said. "But I have to think as a Cubbie now ... and I'd sign for less. A

lot, lot less

."

How'd you like to be Barry Praver waking up in the morning and seeing that back page on your table?

But he's Z, and while he's an agent's nightmare, he's a sportswriter's dream. This same guy predicted the Cub's would win the World Series. He recently reiterated that.

"I still feel that way. This is our year. Our century. We can do it."

What Venezuelan planet is he from?

Anyhow, the Cubs have had trouble most teams have trying to get consistency out of the back end of their rotation. Pinella likes his pen, particularly with Kerry Wood coming back, and may lean more on his horse CZ down the stretch to allow him to go to the pen earlier in the backenders' starts.

Everything is hard with this guy -- a two-seamer and four-seamer both in the mid-nineties, plus a heavy sinker that peeps beat into the ground. The way to beat him is obviously to get into his crazy head, so maybe the key is for Reyes and Castillo to beat some hard ones into the ground but make hay from them, and screw with him on the basepaths. And if they can't pull that off, they may have to just look forward to getting the Cubs the next day as they tip their caps to one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Meantime, they can enjoy some knucklehead quotes as only Carlos can deliver.

"Any time I can do something for myself --- pitching, running, fielding, kicking the ball, whatever --- it's good for me. I have to be able to use what God gave me and use the ability."

Let's hope God lets him kick a few this afternoon.

* Other pitchers receiving votes this month: Tim Lincecum (4-0, 1.62 ERA, 39 SO); Ted Lilly (5-1, 2.52 ERA, 24 SO); aron Cook (4-1, 2.68 ERA, 21 SO); Chad Cordero (9 SV, 1.29 ERA, 8 SO); and Billy Wagner (8 SV, 0.00 ERA).

[Benjamin Grimm]

Is Carlos Zambrano a future Met? Right now I'm guessing no, but if he does go into the free agent market, I expect that there will be a Zambrano watch similar to the one we had last winter over Zito.

[Frayed Knot]

Other Zambran-o-facts:

Slugging Average Against = .361
HIS Slugging Average = .418 ... off of a .291 BA


Also, the Cubs bullpen may be boosted by a return of Kerry Wood.
He's pitched 20 innings in the majors over the last two seasons.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Mets and Cubs, as Kase alluded to, had a big series starting on this date 22 years ago.

Game one was started by today's broadcaster, and the hero was today's pitching coach.

Our other broadcast color dude got three hits, but also made one of three errors, giving the Cubbies three unearned runs.

[Guest sharpie]

]and the hero was today's pitching coach.

I'm guessing you meant to say hitting coach as Rick Peterson doesn't seem to have had anything to do with that game.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Bad fingers. Bad mistyping fingers.

[Gwreck]

Another Cub loving bigshot: Eddie Vedder. With Pearl Jam in town (playing Lollapalooza) expect him to sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game during one of the three games.

[Farmer Ted]

Peral Jam...still in business? Where the hell have I been?

The Mets will be the visiting team at Wrigley, residing in the FIRST BASE dugouts.

In my book, that dugout is for the home team. And probably the real reason that franchise is cursed out its arse.