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 It all started on Friday with Sports Illustrated cover girl Marisa Miller making throwing out the first pitch relevant and it ended with the Cubs sweeping on Sunday. A lot of things happened in between but all in all it was a dominating weekend for the Cubs. (If you want more pics of Miller preparing for the first pitch...go here. Seriously, run, go as fast as you can)
As I told you on Friday, if the Cubs pitched well they were going to win and Rich Hill got the Cubs off to a good start by throwing five decent innings on Friday before handing the ball over to the bullpen (more on them later) to close out the game as the Cubs won 3-2. Hill still struggled with his control from time to time but was able to grind his way through five innings on 82 pitches while only giving up one run. I watched this game and it was very similar to the games the Cubs had to grind out in Pittsburgh....luckily they wouldn't have to do that again the rest of the weekend.
On Saturday the onslaught began as the Cubs offense busted out for 13 runs and took 10 walks on the day. The fact that the Cubs took ten walks can not be overlooked as the Cubs are now in the Top 5 in the National League in nearly every offensive category, including on-base percentage. In the past this would have never been the case as the Cubs were prone to swinging at the first pitch and, in essence, getting themselves out. With the additions of Kosuke Fukudome and Reed Johnson, the Cubs have added two players who relish taking pitches during an at-bat and it seems that this has carried over to the rest of the lineup.
Jason Marquis threw seven very strong innings on Saturday while striking out seven for his first win of the season and gave the bullpen some much needed rest. Derrek Lee hit his seventh homer of the season and Mark DeRosa had two RBI's as the Cubs won 13-1.
The Cubs threw out their 'B' squad on Sunday as recently recalled OF Matt Murton and 2B Ronny Cedeno were in the lineup but it didn't matter as the Cubs won 13-6. The Cubs put the pressure on early and often as they were lead by Ryan Theriot and his four hits, three runs and two RBI's. The Cubs continued their theme of the weekend as they put persistent pressure on the Pirates pitching staff by taking seven walks and lashing 18 hits in the ballgame. Aramis Ramirez busted out of a mini-slump with four hits, including a home run, and four RBI's of his own. I love it when A-Ram is driving in runs.
Ryan Dempster picked up his third victory of the season on Sunday but barely made it through the fifth inning because of control issues. I don't think this is necessarily anything to be worried about but it did force the Cubs to use their bullpen for four innings in a game that was out of reach early. The Cubs have used their bullpen frequently early in the season and, even though they have good pitchers, they probably can't keep forcing that kind of a workload on them. Hopefully the starters will pick it up soon and start throwing seven or eight innings consistently.
All in all it was a great weekend for the Cubs as they moved into first place in the NL Central with the sweep. This sweep was a total team effort as everyone from D-Lee to Daryle Ward contributed in one way or another. This weekend the Cubs looked like a dominant, playoff-type team. They absolutely man-handled the Pirates and didn't let up. This is a different Cubs team than we are used to seeing.
The Mets head into Wrigley tonight for a two game series in what could become a playoff matchup.
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2008 Cubs Preview
Cobra - did you watch the WGN/Cubs special last night? I was able to DVR it and watched the first hour. One note from the special - if I met Andre Dawson in person, he would still scare me just like he would of during his playing days.
No, I've been addicted to MLB '08 for the last three weeks so I was probably messing around with that.....Good stuff?
Okay, I'll bite... why is that Cubs guy hugging Marisa Miller like that? Is it just because she threw the first pitch? I mean, isn't that a tad bit over-affectionate for a first pitch? Do you think the dude who throws out tomorrow's pitch should expect similar molestation?
It was 'odd' to say the least. She went out for the first pitch and Bob and Len (the Cubs announcers) were saying that the Cubs players were having fist fights in the clubhouse over who would get to catch the pitch. Ryan Dempster won. She took her spot on the rubber and tossed it right in there. Seriously, it was a pretty good throw from the mound. She walked down the mound, Dempster started running a bit, she started running and jumped right into his arms like they had won the World Series.....which he kind of did. It was a sight to see.
if you go to that web site linked, you must click on the pic of her sitting in the dugout and check out the "unique" pose of Mr. Wood. That has got to be the newest incarnation of the an R rated version of the Shooter.
Kerry Wood is awesome but I thought for certain you would say something about Lilly holding wood in that pic
no - missed it completely after being scarred by Wood holding his Johnson. I believe that is same pose Wood used when getting arrested for public urination back in rookie season.
I'm actually pretty impressed with that pitch. Better than I could do, that's for sure.
That remains to be seen. Seriously, we'll find out some day. I took measurements in our new backyard