Carlos Zambrano was good enough until he wasn’t. The offense was good enough until it wasn’t. The bullpen, used probably, might also have been good enough (but it wasn’t). My – admittedly reactionary and probably unfair – thoughts are well-summed up in today’s enhancement.
Brett Taylor is the lead writer at Bleacher Nation, and can also be found as Bleacher Nation on Twitter and on Facebook.
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Usually I’m upset when the games are on WCIU. This one, not so much.
When did we pick Antonio Alfonseca up again?
He’s a dead ringer. Right down to the oops-I-crapped-my-pants.
Only five fingers, though.
Why you all gotta be hatin’ on Samardzija? He looks NOTHING like Alfonseca!
Really, I’m pretty glad I turned the game off at the end of the 5th. As far as I’m concerned, Zambrano threw a 1-hit shutout. Cubs win.
One of thee most painful Losses this season. Soriano is not a good baseball player right now. On defense he is a liability, He seems like he iisnt running hard or maybe he cant. Bases loaded after you see a guy cant get a ball over the plate he COMES UP AND SWINGS AT THE FIRST FEW PITCHES. PLAIN AWFUL.
Huge, huge pet peeve.
I didn’t see the game. What did Quade do that was so wrong?
In short, he left Zambrano in for about two or three batters too many (becoming a recurring problem), and then brought in Mateo rather than Marshall or Wood when the game was still close.
what did he do right?
I hate how Quade keeps saying that Colvin needs more at bats, but then he never plays him and put Soriano out there who seems like he has no clue what he is doing on defense and doesn’t know how to hit with people on base. I just saw on MLB Trade Rumors that the Cubs optioned Colvin to Iowa after the game.
ah, but he works so hard in pratice….
I am just absolutely appalled at Quade’s managing of the pitching staff. This is not the minors, you do not just sit back and wait and see what happens next. As for bringing in Mateo instead of Marshall, Marshall has pitched 16 innings this year, Mateo has pitched 15. I suppose the right-handed Mateo and his 5+ era was a better choiceto face the string of righties than Marshall and his 1.69; or at least that will be the excuse.
If it hadn’t happened before, several times, I’d say Quade just made a mistake. But, as it is, he seems to just not have a great grip on how to use his starters and pen.
i don’t know how much more of this i can take. i consider myself a very loyal and dedicated fan, but i find it somewhat discouraging that it has gotten to the point where i don’t get mad when the cubs leave runners in scoring position with less than 2 outs. They get the bases loaded with no outs, they don’t score. Yet i’m not one bit surprised anymore. I can’t take much more of Quade either, when it comes to managing the game and deciding when is the right time to pull a guy he is a complete idiot. In the end i’ll stand by the Cubs, but if nothing changes soon then i’ll look to the offseason in hopes of building a winner. (fingers crossed)
like this past winter?
Sadly, I’d say today is the first day that it is completely reasonable to start planning for 2012. Grumble.
It is now becoming alarming – the whole thing is alarming. By that I mean, this organization is a mess – from top to bottom and has been for a long time and is just as bad, and maybe even worse, since the purchase by Ricketts. The attempt to get state financing was done by clowns, the selection of a new manager, the Silva affair, handling of the 4th and 5th starters after injuries, the handling of Colvin, the Koy Hill signing, Hayden Simpson’s selection in the first round, very few stud prospects coming through the system (did anyone read the SI.com story yesterday on Kansas City’s farm system?), total silence from ownership on the state of the club, abysmal fundamental baseball, the list goes on. This isn’t a problem the greatest manager in history could fix. This is a total organizational breakdown. Pure and simple.
Don’t disagree with any of that, but one minor point: Kansas City drafted in, like, the top five for a decade. Their system better be absolutely exploding with top prospects.
is it time to tell hendry… NOW…. that the season is over!!
I’ve mention this before but this is time for Ricketts to make his mark on this team, by hiring a GM that is his choice. I hope he is getting his short list vetted and ready so that he can move at the end of the year. It’s important to this team and his reputation that this move is made before any free agents are signed, since we need the need major signing to be identified with Ricketts vs Hendry. I hope he is ready to eat the final year and let 2012 be the year he truly becomes the owner.
I did not expect the Cubs to do much this year and after being a CUB fan forover 50 years that was disheartening. I remember the days when it was, The Cubs haven’t won a pennant in 20 years, then 30 then 40…
I did not like the selection of Quade as the manager. I didn’t think Sandberg was the right choice either, even though I have been a big Sandberg fan. I wanted Girardi.
I’ve supported Hendry because I see a huge difference in the quality of minor league prospects over other regimes (except for Dallas Green) and the Cubs have won the division. ( Haydon Simpson hasn’t played enough, and it can take up to a year to get over Mono, to make any determination on his value)
Quade is now upset because the CUBs lack fundamentals and his coaches make bone headed decisions. THAT is what Spring Training is for to teach fundamentals, to learn who can and cannot do things and adjust accordingly. Quade, I am assuming had a say in who the coaches were other than Jaramillo. So who’s to blame ? All of us.
The Fans for continuing to go to games. The Owners for failing to see the changes to be made. Hendry for failing to acquire the kind of players that play the game correctly and for hireing a manager who is innept. Quade for hireing coaches who are innept. The coaches for being innept. And the player who don’t play the game the right way. Most of them have been around long enough to know.
In conclusion. As Durocher said ” it’s time to back up the truck ” get rid of th garbage.
Indeed. “Bad luck” explains organizational failings for only so many years.
Hey does anyone has a good “rule of thumb” as to when hot new players begin to cool off? I feel that Barney is approaching or past that new car smell period and pitchers should have a “book” on him, yet he continues to strive as a hitter especially with RISP position see http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/8787/situational;_ylt=AifftERWL6hI3k7p1kon2iaFCLcF he has a better average and OPS with RISP.
Just wondering if anyone has a benchmark for when new players start to get “figured out”… it will be interesting to see if Barney continues to perform like this by mid-year but I think he is past that “hot out the gate” stage of a young player.
I’m very cautious about getting too excited by him but when I look at his situational stats I see real promise.
It tends to be by the second and third times teams are facing that player. Mid-season.
I wnet to bed when the Cubs were up 4 -0. I found out they blew it. Even before I went to bed I was thinking “It’s funny, nobody (fans, writers, players, management) even dares mention Quade’s 23-14 mark in a bunch of meaningless games anymore. I thought it was b.s. reason to hire somebody at the time and now I know it.
But I would’ve thought at least some of the most dillusional, like Hendry and Soriano would still have his back after only a month and a half. Nope. I guess Ricketts never learned that you get what you pay for and there’s a reason Q spent something like 30 years in the minors without anybody ever giving him a shot. And he had Sandberg, Trammell, and Rothchild just sitting there…
Excellent point about nobody mentioning last season’s 23-14 record under Quade any more. Hopefully Ricketts is paying attention to what’s going on in the front office and on the field and makes changes before the offseason. With a lot of money potentially coming off the books after this season, Hendry is not the man I’d want in charge of putting together the 2012, and beyond, roster.
If Hendry isn’t going to be in charge in 2012, he shouldn’t be the guy tasked with dumping players at the deadline.
I’m with you there but how often has a GM been fired mid-year? I can’t think of any. I also think that when it happens it should be bye-bye to both Hendry and Quade. I really hope this is being planned and that’s why duo has been saying such reactionary statements.
It happens, though I can’t recall the last time. It’s really rare. I don’t see it happening. But *if* Ricketts is pretty certain Hendry won’t be back in 2012 come mid-June, I hope he makes a move.
It would be a powerful decree, and really make the statement “this is my team”
The Cubs fired Ed Lynch in July, and Andy McPhail stepped aside for Hendry in July, so we can hope. As for other teams recently; Arizona fired Josh Byrnes just last season, Bill Bavasi was fired by Seattle mid season a few years ago, Houston fired their gm midseason in 07, so it’s not unprecedented, and the manager usually goes with the gm.