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 That's quite a long title there, huh? You can thank Gianluca and Hank for this post as they got me to thinking about something after reading our/their comments on the Samardzija post earlier today. This is straight off the top of my head, so we'll see how it goes.
Everyone, including myself, is worried about the Cubs playing 29 games in 30 days to close out the season. Something similar happened to the Cubs in 2004 when they were trying to make a playoff push and their players, especially the bullpen, just ran out of gas. I know players say that during the pennant race they don't get as tired, but that's a lot of games for anyone. Here is why the Cubs won't be at risk as much as the other contenders (Cards play 31 games in 30 days)....
We've all been watching the Cubs shuttle players up and down from Iowa all season long like an elevator filled with retarded children pressing the buttons for every floor. While some of the players deserved to stay (Geovany Soto), some of the players deserved to go (Will Ohman), and some of the players seemingly didn't deserve to be here in the first place (Neil Cotts); it happened. As the revolving roster was accruing frequent flier miles I was trying to figure out why (other than the fact that the Cubs needed to field a team) the Cubs were doing this so frequently. I think that I've come up with a reason that will either make Lou Piniella and Jim Hendry genius'....or mad scientists.
By bringing up all of these kids, including position players, throughout the season it has given Lou an opportunity to see what the kids can do. On top of that, it has given these players an opportunity to get their feet wet at a time when the pressure isn't on as much. This is going to help greatly coming down the stretch because once the rosters expand it will give Lou anywhere from 28-32 players he's going to be able to count on, instead of the just 25. Players such as Sean Gallagher, Ohman, Cotts, Carmen Pignatiello, Jake Fox, Soto and Eric Patterson are going to be able to come up and help the team out, instead of just sitting on the bench which would happen on a lot of other teams trying to win a pennant. This is because Lou knows what he can expect out of the players and shouldn't hesitate to use them in certain situations.
Now, don't expect any of these players to be thrown into a pivotal position at any point over the next month, but if the Cubs need to eat up some innings, pinch run for Daryle Ward or need an extra bat of the bench....Lou knows exactly what he has in his inventory. If this is what the Cubs were trying to do all season long with these transactions then they are smarter than the average bear, if not....they are just getting lucky. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. This is something to keep an eye on as the September call-ups happen.
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2008 Cubs Preview
The Cards are actually finishing up their season with 35 games in 34 days (including last night's game against the Astros).
Um...I cut it down to 30 days because it was a round number, relax.
wow, you're a half filled kind of guy. I need some of that kool aid you're drinking. Or maybe I'll just keep hitting the meth with the other trailer parkers.
As someone from the meth capital of the world, I take offense to that.
Frankie....I had no clue you were from Princeton, IN. Awesome!
do I start worrying yet?
nope, not yet.