Tagged: Reds
Great Pitching and Defense Lead To Win
This was defensively a fun game to watch. With a little lead to work with Dempster couldn’t afford mistakes and he had to trust the defense to make great plays and they were right there to do that for him. Dempster pitched a fantastic game and then left the guys behind him to do the rest. I absolutely LOVED the double play that Ryan Theriot started on the second base side of the bag, throwing to Aramis Ramirez at second base who made a bad throw to first, but there was the amazing Derrek Lee to apply the tag to the runner! That was a fun one to watch. Then you have the dive in the outfield that definitely saved a run with Kendall on third, but Sam Fuld has proven time and time again why he belongs out there in the outfield. I say we keep him next year.
We can put him in one of the corners and Reed Johnson in center then we’ll have two little sparks out there.
The Cubs came together to manufacture a run late in the game with Mike Fontenot pinch hitting in the eighth. Now I know that this whole run took all three guys to complete, but nobody mentioned the fact that it started with Font getting a lead off, pinch hit double (his second pinch hit double in as many days, you would think that would get him a starting game. I miss having him out there). Anyway, so he lead off with a double, they didn’t have a picture of him hitting the ball, but they did of Ryan Braun missing his ball.
It started with that double, then Ryan Theriot laid down a perfect sac bunt and after an at bat for Fukudome that started terrible he was able to sac fly Fontenot home. Run produced. Baker hasn’t had a hit in at least the last two games, I wish they would put Fontenot out there for a start.
Oh and how about that Derrek Lee? Holy crap he is on fire! He is seeing the ball so well right now, there isn’t anything he can’t hit. I hope this hot streak carries him to the end of the year!
Anyway, I missed a few games due to being ill and not actually getting to watch the games so here are the scores. Go Cubs Go!
Final Score Saturday: Reds 7 Cubs 5 (Soto had a great game with two doubles)!
Final Score Sunday: Cubs 5 Reds 2
Final Score Monday: Cubs 2 Brewers 0
~Milli~
Winning On A Day Of Remembrance
Before I blog about our first game against the Reds, I would like to take a moment to say that my thoughts and prayers go out to those that were effected by the 9/11 attacks. Those that lost loved ones, friends, family and all of the rescue workers that too lost their lives. Please know that you are still thought of today and honored for your noble work and the country is still saddened by the events of that day.
That being said, congratulations to the Cubbies for their fourth straight win. Soto is really swinging a good bat right now and it’s great to see him getting hits and homeruns.
Also, how about Aramis Ramirez? Talk about clutch hitting. These two were driving in the runs like crazy. It was sad to see Harden have such a bad outing and get pulled so early. I actually think he seemed to be settling in, but when he hit that high pitch count they couldn’t let him continue considering he is prone to injuries. Randy Wells is on the mound tomorrow and I expect another win if he can get any kind of run support. Sadly I don’t think I get to see this game again, but I’ll keep track of it on my computer. Go Cubs Go!
Final Score: Cubs 6 Reds 4
~Milli~
*Note: I believe I mistakingly said these would be away games in my last blog. We are on a homestand right now. 🙂
Cubs Finish With A Sweep Of Bucs
The Cubs finish the Bucs with their first road sweep since sweeping the Nationals in July. It has been nice to see the Cubs come out and get some hits, I loved this game becuase the Cajun Connection was back in full swing. How about Fontenot’s over the shoulder catch? Come on, that was a great play. He had two hits as did Theriot. Each with one that had an RBI! Yay!
Then you have Micah Hoffpauir who is maybe flexing a little for some more playing time. I really like Hoffy and would love to see him get some more time. He hit his tenth homerun in the top of the fifth, his second in as many games.
It’s about time that Carlos Zambrano got the run support for a win. Last outing he pitched fantastic, but the Cubs lost because he was given no run support.
So realistically the Cubs are out of the running this year. There aren’t enough games to really gain any ground anywhere, do they play now for stats? Go on tears hoping to earn some playing time next year? Fontenot stepped up his game, getting two hits, a walk that ended up being intentional because they had already pitched him three balls out of the zone and he had some great fielding. Baker is really making a run for everyday second baseman. I hope his spring sucks and Fontenot’s rocks so that he gets it, but that is probably wishful thinking on my part.
Next year will be a better year for us and ideally here is hoping the team stays healthy. Soto is starting to swing better so maybe next year he’ll be out of this sophmore slump and we’ll see more of his rookie year type playing. I also hope they don’t decide to trade all of our players again, I’m pretty sure that is what hurt us this year. Good luck tomorrow to the Cubbies against the Reds, let’s end this road stand on a positive note! Go Cubs Go!
Final Score: Cubs 8 Pirates 5
~Milli~
Now Starring…Tom Gorzelanny!!
So, I will be the first to say I was a little skeptical going into this game with a new pitcher on the mound, a pitcher that I admittedly hadn’t heard anything about until he was traded to the Cubs, but I must say I was rather impressed with his outing. He threw shut out baseball…reminds me of another pitcher, Wells. Starting pitching doesn’t seem to be an issue for us, now if we can just get our bullpen pitching to line up, we could be unstoppable. Not only did Tom do an amazing job on pitching, but he singled in a run during the blowout sixth inning!
The Cubs continue to do well against the Reds and I hope that we can continue it through the Rockies series or at least Saturday when I am there to watch. 🙂
Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome both had solo shots in this game, Fontenot had another double but he hits so low in the order that it’s hard for the ones behind him to drive him in.
Ryan Theriot went hitless again, which is unusual, however, he was hit by a pitch in the arm so he did reach base once. Jake Fox also took a ball to the arm in almost the exact same spot that Theriot did.
Both looked painful, but they stayed in the game. However, I think the hit threw off Theriot as he over shot Derrek Lee for an error, but he is still amazing.
How about Koyie Hill during this game? I’ve never seen him hit so well before. He had two doubles! It was great to see him getting in some hits, I know they have been few and far between. At least he is still the IRONMAN behind the dish. 🙂
This was a great game, I just love my Cubs going out and giving it their all. Go Cubs Go!
Final Score: Cubs 6 Reds 3
~Milli~
4 Days To Game Time!!
Fontenot Gives Cubs Early Lead In Win!
I love when Randy Wells is on the mound for us. This guy can pitch! Nothing over powering, but perfectly placed pitches keep him streaking in the wins. He has eight right now, one behind our team leader, Lilly. The Cubs would not be in first right now without him and I hope that he continues on this way so that next year he can contend for another starting spot in the rotation, there is no reason he shouldn’t get one at this rate. Not only was his pitching fantastic, he hit his first career double in the second inning!
Mike Fontenot got us off on an early lead and it was great to see him get two hits in this game. I love this guy and get frustrated right along with him when he gets good hits on the ball, but someone in the outfield is always there to get it. Hopefully this will help keep him out of the slump and we’ll see the Fontenot we are used to.
In the second inning, Bradley was hit by a pitch and Soriano singled, setting the ground work for Fontenot to hit a 2-2 pitch to almost the deepest part of the park.
Ryan Theriot went without a hit and so did Aramis Ramirez, that was really weird, good thing Fontenot and D. Lee were there to drive the runs in! Theriot did have a sac bunt in the eighth which put Fukudome on second for D. Lee to drive in on the double.
I’m sure Gregg feels bad for his two blown saves so now it’s time to get over it. A closer will blow saves, just like starters will have bad outings. I think as Cub fans we are hard on Fontenot and Gregg because we lost two of our most beloved players from those positions. I’m going to try very hard not to bash Gregg anymore and hope that he gets more comfortable and doesn’t blow too many more saves on the year. As a team, we are loooking fairly good, now if we can get the bullpen pitching going and keep the offense rolling, we might have a shot.
Marmol still looked very erratic, thank you to Piniella for getting out there and barking at him. I don’t know what he said, but he seems to pitch better when he is angry for getting yelled at. He sure cleared up and ended up with the save.
Let’s beat those Reds again today and take the series. Keep it rolling for Colorado when I come watch them beat the Rockies. 🙂 Go Cubs Go!
Final Score: Cubs 4 Reds 2
~Milli~
5 Days Until Game Time!!
Same Old, Same Old–Bullpen Falters In Close Game
This year the Cubs cannot win a close game. We have to have at least a five run cushion so that when our bullpen gives up runs then we can still come out on top and that’s sad. These pitchers get paid a lot of money to save games and most of them can only do it like once out of every ten tries. I don’t understand.
I thought we looked good when Theriot tripled, Fontenot doubled…there just was no run support and sadly the bullpen let it go. Dempster pitched well, but the offense couldn’t get rolling.
I hope that Rammy can be back tomorrow even though Fox did a great job smacking his eighth homer of the year. It’s just too bad that we couldn’t hold onto the lead for the series win. We could have taken first because the Cards lost, instead we’ll remain in second.
I hope we can win against the Reds and come into the Colorado series on a winning streak so that when I am there Saturday we can take the W. I love the Cubbies, we are a great team so lets get our wins and come out on top at the end of the year.
Go Cubs Go!
Final Score: Marlins 3 Cubs 2
~Milli~
Derrek Lee Once Again Saves Kevin Gregg
Carlos Zambrano was unusally erratic last night and managed just three innings. Later it was said that he had a stiff lower back, which could be why he was having so many problems finding the strike zone. Hopefully his next start, he’ll be a little more sharp and back to the Big Z that we are used to.
The Cubbies started out very strong in the first two innings. Fukudome was walked in the first and later erased on Blanco’s FC (Theriot starting the night with a rare one off). Lee singled and Blanco moved to third. Rammy doubled Blanco and Lee in, with Lee making a great slide to get his hands under the catchers legs. Doesn’t have to be pretty just has to get the job done.
Then Rammy would move to third and score on a wild pitch and throwing error. In the second, the Cubbies tacked on another three runs with Fontenot starting the inning doubling, Hill grounded to second base which moved Fontenot to third. Fukudome walked again, followed by a walk issued to Blanco to load the bases. Lee singled again scoring Fontenot and Fukudome and then Rammy singled Blanco home. Score was quickly 6-0, however the Marlins would fight back in the eighth to come within one run of us.
Ryan Theriot leads the team with the most games played, now sitting at one hundred. I believe he has had one complete game off this year. Talk about Hill being a work horse, Theriot has also been a staple to this team all year. He came in late to this game. Striking out in the sixth, singling in the eighth and then hitting a beautiful two RBI triple in the ninth. So I’m thinking 8-5 we have the game locked down. In comes Gregg, who looked very sharp for the first two batters and lost it tying the game at the end of the inning to take us into extras.
Derrek Lee hit his twenty-first homerun, which is more than he hit last year, to make the score 9-8 and thankfully we were able to hold onto it. Aramis Ramirez was hit by a pitch and later left because he was dizzy. I sure hope he is alright, we can’t afford to lose him again. It’s no joke that the bats started to warm up when he was back in the lineup. I saw cute little Fontenot help him into the clubhouse. Did I mention I am a huge fan of Fontenot’s? 🙂
So in a wild game where we saw the lead swap teams a lot in the final innings, Zambrano erractic, Marmol load the bases with one out and somehow manage to keep the lead and Gregg who tied the game blowing the save and still gettting the win for it. The most crazy part being Soriano moved to second…then to third…then to second…hmmm…at least it worked out and no balls were hit in his direction.
Rest Theriot so that he can play on Saturday!! Against the Rockies!! So I can see him and start Fontenot! I must see the Cajun Connection. I won’t get to watch todays game because it isn’t showing on my networks so I will keep track of it via the Cubs website. Go Cubs Go! Let’s beat the Marlins and then go on to beat the Reds.
Final Score (ten innings): Cubs 9 Marlins 8
~Milli~
6 Days Until Game Time!!
Wrigley Hosts Impromptu Homerun Derby In Cubs Win
The ball was flying out of the park all day today. Thankfully it was mostly the Cubbies sending them to the stands.
The surprise of the game was the Reds pitcher, Aaron Harang, hitting a three-run homer to give them the lead. After that it was pretty much all Cubs.
Today’s homerun hitters were, Mike Fontenot, Derrek Lee, Jeff Baker and Aramis Ramirez. It was Jeff Baker’s first homerun of the year and the funny part is I was upset they had taken Fontenot out of the game. 🙂 Aramis Ramirez was deservingly player of the game. He had four hits and was a triple shy of the cycle with two doubles, a single and a homerun.
Ryan Theriot continued his hitting streak as did Kosuke Fukudome. Theriot is amazing! They announced they were auctioning off a lunch with him through Cubs Care, I wish I had the money to not only win that and fly out to Chicago, but help their charity. Theriot impresses me everytime he plays. He singled in the eighth inning for an RBI and then stole second. Derrek Lee followed it up with a two run homer to deep center.
I have a thought on Milton Bradley. I think that they should take him off switch hitting and leave him as a right handed hitter. I feel that he is too tense on the left side of the plate. They were trying in the minors to turn Theriot into a switch hitter and when they made him just a right handed hitter he progressed to the major leagues and now look at him. I know that Piniella and Hendry are looking for more left handed hitters, but look what we did the last two years with primarily right handed hitters and Bradley isn’t dong anything from the left side of the plate anyway.
I hope the Cubs keep getting their hits like they have the last two games they played in and finally showing their true talent. Go Cubs Go!
Final Score: Cubs 8 Reds 5
~Milli~
15 Days Until Game Time!!
The View From A Diehard Utah Fan 
