TODAY'S CUBS/NATIONALS GAME: 2 - 4
I finally sat down to watch yesterday's thrilling contest between two great pitchers. Only one can win, and the Nationals' Livan Hernandez emerged triumphant for his 12th straight win of the season, tying for first place with two other guys whose names I don't remember. Livan used to work for the Giants, who didn't know what to do with him. Pity, since Frank Robinson has found his pitching secret weapon in Hernandez.
Mark Prior pitched a pretty good game, but gave up three runs early, including a home run to Jose Guillen in the first, a home run Guillen duplicated against another former Giants pitcher, Jerome Williams, in the first inning of today's game. Wow.
4:01 PM CT: The Game is in the top of the fourth. Jerome Williams, aside from giving up the homer, has pitched well, but now has two men in scoring position, including that crafty Guillen, who, as I type, just ran home to score—again. 2-0 Nationals.
4:03 PM CT: Vinny Castilla came home on a single line drive from Nationals catcher Gary Bennett. 3-0 Nationals.
[conflicted fan musing] Although I love the Nationals, I'm now rooting for the Cubs because, well, they inspire that. I want both teams to win, and will be happy with any outcome.
4:09 PM CT: Derek Lee just tripled off Tony Armas, who's pitching a slightly better game than Jerome Williams. It's interesting to note that Williams and Hernandez pitched for the Giants at the same time in 2003, where Williams learned much of his craft by idolizing Hernandez, who already had cut his teeth with the Marlins.
4:14 PM CT: Derek Lee's triple paid off as he comes in for the Cubs first run of the game. 3-1 Nationals.
4:20 PM CT: Brad Wilkerson blasted a fly ball to left field for a triple. Moments later, the fabulous Junior Spivey sac-flied to center so that Wilkerson could score. Woohoo! 4-1 Nationals.
4:47 PM CT: Derek Lee just hit his 25th HR of the season. Go, boy! Tony Armas has been completely unable to contain Lee, who has singled, tripled, and now homered off of him. It fascinates me that Derek Lee can see everything Armas has to give, and Armas can't pitch around that. People ask what I see in baseball—it's precisely this kind of psychological battle that I see. Doesn't everybody? 4-2 Nationals.
At this point—bottom of the 6th—I urge the Cubs to be extra careful. The Nationals have a stellar bullpen. I'm pretty sure the Chief will close for the Nationals, and there's no hope for Chicago once that happens. Frank Robinson, he who waits for no disasters to occur, just walked out and relieved Tony Armas. He's bringing in Gary Majewski, which is odd, since this gives the Cubs some chance of scoring another run (Majewski is a good setup man, but prone to occasionally fatal flaws). If he keeps it tight for two halves...
5:10 PM CT: An exciting confluence of circumstances, indeed. Today marks the triumphant return from the DL of Joey Eischen (who looks like a thug, although he's apparently a real sweetheart) to the Nationals' active bullpen. Eischen, designated early as a premium bullpen reliever, broke his right arm in a game against the Mets back on May 1st. Since he's mostly an unknown factor for the Cubs, he had no problem getting them out in order: one pop out to third, and two consecutive strikeouts. Welcome back, Joey!
5:18 PM CT: Frank Robinson, taking no chances, brought out Hector Carrasco to continue Eischen's pattern and prepare us all for the arrival of (drum roll) the Chief. Carrasco's finally done what Armas couldn't do—gotten Derek Lee out.
5:45 PM CT: Chad "the Chief" Cordero just achieved his 26th consecutive save against the Cubs, who tried hard, but didn't gel the way they've gelled against good teams in the past (anybody else notice that the Cubs are at their best when playing good teams? Kind of like me in a pool hall.).
Mark Prior pitched a pretty good game, but gave up three runs early, including a home run to Jose Guillen in the first, a home run Guillen duplicated against another former Giants pitcher, Jerome Williams, in the first inning of today's game. Wow.
4:01 PM CT: The Game is in the top of the fourth. Jerome Williams, aside from giving up the homer, has pitched well, but now has two men in scoring position, including that crafty Guillen, who, as I type, just ran home to score—again. 2-0 Nationals.
4:03 PM CT: Vinny Castilla came home on a single line drive from Nationals catcher Gary Bennett. 3-0 Nationals.
[conflicted fan musing] Although I love the Nationals, I'm now rooting for the Cubs because, well, they inspire that. I want both teams to win, and will be happy with any outcome.
4:09 PM CT: Derek Lee just tripled off Tony Armas, who's pitching a slightly better game than Jerome Williams. It's interesting to note that Williams and Hernandez pitched for the Giants at the same time in 2003, where Williams learned much of his craft by idolizing Hernandez, who already had cut his teeth with the Marlins.
4:14 PM CT: Derek Lee's triple paid off as he comes in for the Cubs first run of the game. 3-1 Nationals.
4:20 PM CT: Brad Wilkerson blasted a fly ball to left field for a triple. Moments later, the fabulous Junior Spivey sac-flied to center so that Wilkerson could score. Woohoo! 4-1 Nationals.
4:47 PM CT: Derek Lee just hit his 25th HR of the season. Go, boy! Tony Armas has been completely unable to contain Lee, who has singled, tripled, and now homered off of him. It fascinates me that Derek Lee can see everything Armas has to give, and Armas can't pitch around that. People ask what I see in baseball—it's precisely this kind of psychological battle that I see. Doesn't everybody? 4-2 Nationals.
At this point—bottom of the 6th—I urge the Cubs to be extra careful. The Nationals have a stellar bullpen. I'm pretty sure the Chief will close for the Nationals, and there's no hope for Chicago once that happens. Frank Robinson, he who waits for no disasters to occur, just walked out and relieved Tony Armas. He's bringing in Gary Majewski, which is odd, since this gives the Cubs some chance of scoring another run (Majewski is a good setup man, but prone to occasionally fatal flaws). If he keeps it tight for two halves...
5:10 PM CT: An exciting confluence of circumstances, indeed. Today marks the triumphant return from the DL of Joey Eischen (who looks like a thug, although he's apparently a real sweetheart) to the Nationals' active bullpen. Eischen, designated early as a premium bullpen reliever, broke his right arm in a game against the Mets back on May 1st. Since he's mostly an unknown factor for the Cubs, he had no problem getting them out in order: one pop out to third, and two consecutive strikeouts. Welcome back, Joey!
5:18 PM CT: Frank Robinson, taking no chances, brought out Hector Carrasco to continue Eischen's pattern and prepare us all for the arrival of (drum roll) the Chief. Carrasco's finally done what Armas couldn't do—gotten Derek Lee out.
5:45 PM CT: Chad "the Chief" Cordero just achieved his 26th consecutive save against the Cubs, who tried hard, but didn't gel the way they've gelled against good teams in the past (anybody else notice that the Cubs are at their best when playing good teams? Kind of like me in a pool hall.).
posted by Andrew at
3:56 PM
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