Fox looks like Paul Giamatti.
3 years since he pitched, and as I type this another nice catch by Reed Johnson.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

chad fox? what the hell, did they send someone down?

Hart.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Im getting sick of this extra inning BS. Someone end this game so i can go to bed for gods sake.

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Thanks, missed it.

Jerry Springer, now up in the Cards bullpen.

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Fuck me sideways.

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Fucking Blanco, catch the ball. Glad to see Soriano K again. Looks like Fox will fit in with the others.

Dadgummit

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

You can blame Hill for this one, forcing Lou to go to the bullpen in the first inning, Lieber could have been pitching in extra innings instead of the middle innings.

Send Hill down for a few starts and see if Hill can get in a rythym. If I recall the Sox did that with Alvaraz in '93 and he came back and was arguably the best pitcher for the Sox down the stretch. Of course that is the best case scenario.

This S.O.B doesn't run out a dropped 3rd strike TWICE. He just stands there waiting for the catcher to tag him out. WTF... and he drops 2! freakin balls? Stop jumping at the ball you idiot!

TRADE him while he still has some value. They will go nowhere with this poor excuse for a baseball player.

I have to tell my son, NOT to play like Soriono the "STAR" Cubs player. How bad is that?

Can't argue with that, Hill fucking blows.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

Dropping the first game in a three game series can start to get expensive. Three series in a row...futhermucker.
The tradeoff with Soriano isn't worth it. You won't find a buyer today, but by the deadline, you may very well. He's not worth much defensively and in OBP. That means you find a team that can use him (and make him play) down in the lineup. If the Cubs can make him successful down in the 5 or 6 hole and take him out defensively late, then terrific.

I won't hold my breath.

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Stupidity irritates the crap outta me... and yes, I irritate myself far too often.

it is definitely time to start jon leiber in rich hills spot. it was a very smart move for lou to pull him out so quickly, and they almost pulled out a game there because of it.

soriano is a lousy outfielder, but that play on the ground rule double wasnt just because he is a lousy outfielder; it was because he was lazy. that is just plain laziness the way he drifted back and back and back, and he is afraid of walls, that much is glaringly apparent. inexcusable. watch how felix pie and reed johnson go after fly balls. they haul ass to a spot, and make the catches waiting for the ball.

however, that being said, he delivered in the 9th, and showed why he has to play every day. as bad as he is in the field and at the plate right now, the cubs will weather this storm, and he will be a major contributor to this team.

i reiterate what i say in every post i have about this guy, i hate his game, and was sorry they signed him, but everyone saying he needs to be benched or yelled at by his teammates or whatever need to realize he is exactly what they signed, a free-swinging slugger. he will get red hot and start popping them out this summer, and the cubs will get some production out of him, but he is never going to have a great OBP. he isnt a young player who is going to overhaul his game. he is 32 years old, and he is what he is and the cubs knew that when they got him. that means ride the wave, and take the hot streaks with the cold. carlos zambrano yelling at him is not going to make this cat change his ways.

one other point, for those ready to trade soriano and stick the great reed johnson out there every day, it looks like reed is coming back down to earth as well, he isnt exactly killing the ball. if we send pie down, and imagine that they somehow unloaded soriano, who is going to play outfield? reed johnson as an everyday player, are you sure? he is barely hitting .200 the last 10 games. matt murton? mark derosa? daryl ward? do any of these sound like a better everyday option than soriano? ill take my chances that he will find the groove, hit .270, and hit 30 when all is said and done, and i will grit my teeth when a fly ball goes to left.

it was very funny when in the bottom of the 9th (i think), the cards had 2 outs, and brenly said "hit it anywhere but left field". ouch! classic.

I agree that Reed Johnson isn't the answer in Left either. If the Cubs somehow were lucky enough to trade Soriano, they would have 2 huge holes in the outfield. I love Felix defensively, but as a hitter, I'm done with him.

for the record, felix is hitting .300 over the last 10 days, 6 for his last 20, with 2 walks and 7 k's. reed johnson is hitting .184, 7 for his last 38, with 3 walks and 6 k's.

i love the reed johnson acquisition, he has been a great find, and a very helpful player to have. felix has struggled, but he has had some hits lately, and i am missing the part where reed johnson is doing any better than felix recently. that catch he made in washington was exceptional, but is he a better CF than felix pie? i dont think so. pie is pretty damn good at picking them up and laying them down, and has run down his share of fly balls this year too. and johnson has a noodle for an arm. felix should not only NOT be getting sent down, he should be getting the bulk of the starts! i will agree that it would be a good move to probably start johnson against tough lefties, but i would be running pie out there every day, and give him a chance to do his thing. when will people start to notice that reed johnson looks worse at the plate right now than felix?

Soriano didn't want to go down to rehab and now that he is back, it will take some time to get ready while playing defense. He came back with that 2 run homer though didn't he?

Yeah, but he wouldn't have tied the game with that shot if it weren't for his shenanagans, he would have won it. Or not. Who knows what would have happened if he didn't drop two easy fly balls.
Not the kind of baseball player you're proud to be paying $140 million. At least he wasn't last night.
I'll give him today before we give him the "treatment".

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

the cubs signing him for that much pretty much sets it in stone he will be a cub for a long, long time. i cant see anyone trading for him, unless he started going absolutely NUTS with the bat, and the cubs swallowed his entire salary.

nope, he's ours, and he had better start doing some damage control by, gee, i dont know, RUNNING after fly balls, and CATCHING them.

maybe they can lay some invisible fencing down out in the outfield, and fit him with a collar, so he can run hard toward the wall and be alerted when he is getting close.

On that play, my sense was that he can't go all-out on his leg yet. I agree he's a poor outfielder (and he broke the wrong way on that ball off the bat), but typically he's not lazy out there (though you're right he has problems with the wall). But to me, it looks like he can't go 100% - or even close to it - on that leg yet, and if that's true, he probably needs to be disabled again. And then spend some time in Des Moines.

No Ramirez today, as DeRosa plays 3rd.

fair enough, but lou came right out and said he absolutely is at 100%, that he was running full-out down the line, no problems. he didnt try to protect him by saying he had to work his way back or any of that.

i respectfully disagree with you - he is slow getting to the ball, and has always relied on his arm to keep people from advancing on him, not his hustle.

Why does anyone throw Soriano a fastball when he is down in the count? 1-2 ptich and Lohse throws a fastball and Soriano rips it down the line.

Happy obviously, but a really dumb pitch.

I know he and Lou say he's 100%, but this is the second (or third...trying to remember the situation with the hamstring injury earlier last year) time he's come back much sooner than expected from injury. He might be a fast healer, or - to his credit - he tries to come back sooner than he should. I just think he's looked gimpy a few times since coming back, particularly on that play. But I could be wrong, as I do agree with you that his outfield play is highly suspect most of the time.

godDAMNIT marquis is frustrating to watch.

"oh i have a lead to sit on? let me give it up immediately."

jagamuffin!

Hendry must find a starter at the deadline. Marquis sucks, the 5th starter will be bounced around, and I doubt Dempster will pitch this well all year. Love how Soriano is hitting .060 when that count goes 0-1, and is 1 for 16 when the count is 0-2. Seemed like he was dogging it, to the double Albert hit to give them the lead.

1 run scored, with bases loaded and no out. Horrible.

Thanks for swinging the damn bat, Lee. Bottom of the 9th, and he takes 3 fast balls down the middle without swinging. He can't be taking 0-4 or 0-5's, with Ramirez out.