The Cubs kicked off 2010 in typical Cubs-like fashion, losing16-5 in Atlanta to the Braves. On national television, the Cubs pitchers walked eight batters, and made two errors and additional defensive miscues en route to the blowout.
In the first inning, Marlon Byrd drilled a fastball 410 feet over the center field fence for a three-run home run. As he entered the dugout, he yelled out, “this is how you make a statement.”
I think he was talking about a positive statement. Apparently Carlos Zambrano thought otherwise.
Zambrano didn’t have his stuff in the first, walking Melky Cabrera and giving up three straight hits before striking out Troy Glaus. Those three hits were basically bloopers. McCann singled on a pitch that broke his bat. Chipper Jones singled on a pop up to Theriot. No, seriously. That’s what the gamecast on mlb.com said.
Zambrano started throwing fastballs down the middle, giving up a single toYunel Escobar, then giving up an absolute piss rocket to Jason Heyward.
It was the worst first inning I’ve ever seen on an opening day. Maybe Z got it out of him after the first game. I can’t say that I’m really worried about Z, but I am worried about some of the other things that happened.
1. Alfonso Soriano looked absolutely lost – Soriano went 0-4, struck out twice, and only saw 10 pitches. Even worse, his swings were usually nowhere near the ball. I know he’s a slow starter, but he looked like he was 50 years old and was swinging a garden hose.
2. Geovany Soto rolled over two pitches for groundouts, and didn’t have the same swing that we saw in 2008.
3. Mike Fontenot looked to be pressing, and his bat showed it. One of these three need to hit so the end of the lineup is better than abysmal. He bobbled a couple balls, couldn’t get to others and looked like he belonged in Iowa. He did make a diving catch late in the game, but it couldn’t save his performance.
Now, I know that it’s just one game, and that things could completely turn around on Wednesday. But after the poor seasons these three had in 2009, it’s a bit concerning.
Other notes of concern – Derrek Lee didn’t look right in the field with his throw to Samardzija in the 7th. Everyone looks like they were afraid to go make a play.
Jeff Samardzija – FAIL. EPIC FAIL. CAREER FAIL. His ERA is 108. His WHiP is 9. Why people have any hope left is beyond me. I don’t know why I did. Maybe it’s because he throws very hard? Maybe it’s because he went to ND? Either way, the guy is hopeless. When Lilly returns, he should be the one sent down, and maybe sent out of the organization.
‘Pen – Outside of Caridad and Marmol, this pen could be bad. It showed some life though, as Marshall and Russell pitched well. But you have to throw strikes, and if you can’t, you’re not ever going to make it. Justin Berg and Jeff Samardzija looked like they had no idea where the ball was going. But, Sean Marshall threw really well, and Russell did too, considering the circumstances.
Again, it’s one game, and everyone, including myself, is going to overreact. (My Al Yellon sentence). The bad part about it is that they are the same mistakes that happened last year.
Good news is, the Cubs can’t lose today. Also, 5 of the 8 playoff teams started 0-1 last year. Both World Series teams lost their first game. There’s still hope, but not a lot.
When I saw that the Cubs traded for John Grabow, I thought it was a good move. He had a low ERA, pitched reasonably well vs. the Cubs and I thought he was worth what the Cubs gave up. In hindsight, the move was still good, but the contract he received this off-season was not.
