It’s a rookie mistake. You go to a game one day, and it’s cold. It’s raining. It’s overcast and it’s generally miserable. But, hey, it’s a Cubs game. So, the next day, naturally, when it’s supposed to be just a touch nicer, you don’t much think about the weather. You go, you sit, you enjoy, you bask in the sun’s rays, even if it’s only 60ish degrees. And then you look in the mirror … and you’re fried. My face currently looks permanently embarrassed (which I kind of am) thanks to its bright shade of red. The left side of my neck and the backs of my hands also got it good. Oof.
Carlos Marmol’s appearances yesterday was his 453rd with the Cubs, a club record. But I’m sure it was an outing he’d like to forget. “He’s not executing,” Dale Sveum said after yesterday’s game, per Cubs.com. “He’s not throwing the ball over the plate. It doesn’t matter what pitch is called …. He’ll be pitching in roles with the game on the line, early in the game, or whatever. One way or the other, he’s got to get fixed. I don’t even know if he threw a strike today. There were a couple swings, but I don’t know if they were strikes. One way or the other, we have to get him fixed, because he’s got to pitch.” There’s only so much you can do when a guy simply can’t throw strikes. All you need to know about the horror that is Marmol’s season is that his walk rate is now 9.3 per 9 innings, and his strikeout rate is a (by far) career low 8.5 per 9. He’s walking more guys than he’s striking out. He’s also given up more hits and home runs per 9 than before in his career. In other words, on the young season, Carlos Marmol is pitching worse than he ever has before – even back when he was a young, unsuccessful starting pitcher.
Darwin Barney’s been struggling with the bat all year (.169/.290/.288), and Dale Sveum says it’s partly because Barney is changing his swing every day, per CSN. Specifically, Sveum says there are some mechanical issues that they thought they’d sorted out with Barney’s swing in Spring Training, but “he kind of abandoned it.” Wonder what that’s about.
Dale Sveum has no intention of seeing Ian Stewart in Chicago any time soon, given the success of the Luis Valbuena/Cody Ransom platoon. Sveum said Stewart is a “AAA player” right now.
Brett Jackson’s nagging toe injury – turf toe – has forced him to the disabled list. He’d already gotten out to a rough start, though he’s been dealing with the toe issue for most of the season at AAA.
Paul Sullivan with the do’s and don’t’s of a video board at Wrigley Field, and I’d say he’s just about right on all accounts. Though I wouldn’t mind the marriage proposals.
A thanks to my buddies at Sons of Ivy for a great time yesterday, and it was also great to see BN’ers Danny and Tim after the game.
Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here.
Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.
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NEWSLETTER
It’s a rookie mistake. You go to a game one day, and it’s cold. It’s raining. It’s overcast and it’s generally miserable. But, hey, it’s a Cubs game. So, the next day, naturally, when it’s supposed to be just a touch nicer, you don’t much think about the weather. You go, you sit, you enjoy, you bask in the sun’s rays, even if it’s only 60ish degrees. And then you look in the mirror … and you’re fried. My face currently looks permanently embarrassed (which I kind of am) thanks to its bright shade of red. The left side of my neck and the backs of my hands also got it good. Oof.
