Notes on the Cubs' 16-7 Victory
Submitted by cubsnet on Mon, 2006-04-03 19:25.
For the fourth year running, another great opening day today. The bullet points:
- Big innings win games. Today, the Cubs had three big innings (5 in the 1st, 7 in the 6th after the Reds tied it, and 4 more in the 9th). Cubs' pitchers allowed 10 walks and 2 homers, and the Cubs still won by 9 runs
- The table setters certainly did their job. Juan Pierre and Todd Walker combined for 6 hits, 2 doubles, a triple, and 5 runs scored.
- Murton! That is all.
- I thought Dusty Baker managed the bench well. Substituting Angel Pagan for Jacque Jones -- even though Jones was his #5 hitter -- with the double switch in the 5th inning; getting Neifi Perez in as a defensive replacement when the Cubs took control in the 6th inning. Baker also made good bullpen moves. Carlos Zambrano, for the second straight opening day, had to come out before the end of the 5th. Will Ohman got an important out to end that inning. It wasn't Baker's fault that Scott Williamson pitched like Zambrano and couldn't find the zone. I also liked that Baker went with Scott Eyre for two innings, especially with so much time off these first two weeks.
- Adam Dunn took himself out of the running for the Gold Glove in leftfield on the very first day of the season.
- Why oh why do the Cubs have to have an off day tomorrow? I need more of this.
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Dennis's First Hand Recap of Opening Day
Dennis at Northside Lounge has a fun first-hand recap of the game.
Worried About Z?
Zambrano had a rough time of it, and was fortunate to get out of a few jams. He claimed he could not get a "feel" for the ball, as the cold weather caused it to be slick. Or maybe it was the numbness in his fingers. Hope he has warm weather for his next start.
Dusty mentioned that instead of keeping the pitches on the outer part of the plate, Z was putting them in the middle. Oh well, at least it's a "W", even though Ohman got the W for 1/3 of an inning of work. Something is not right with that rule.
Let's hope that the Cubs can take an opening day victory and win a few more after it, unlike last year.
No worries about Z
No worries on my part. He did the same thing last year. He'll be fine. He won't win the Cy Young, but he'll be fine.
President Bush visits the Cubs / Reds clubhouses
Check out these photos of President Bush as he visits the Reds and Cubs clubhouses... (Source: www.whitehouse.gov )
Visiting the Cubs
Visiting the Reds
Compare the home team and visitor's facilities. How many differences can you see? Which clubhouse would you rather be in - just based on the room - not the people in it?
More pictures:
First pitch
8 pics from opening day Source: Chicago Tribune
President Bush tosses Opening pitch Source: www.cubs.com
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Photos from Ryne Sandberg Day at Wrigley Field
Meet Ronnie the Collie
Replies to previous comments...
It's kind of a weird week for the Cubs. Three days off in the same week.
(Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday)
I recorded yesterday's game and have it playing now. I need to remember to pad recording times in the future. When they score runs the games tend to go over three hours. :) Since Tivo's use viewer recording data for tv ratings, I imagine that a lot of shows that air right after the Cubs telecasts get undeserved higher ratings.
On another bulletin board some time ago we were discussing ways that a pitcher could get a W without throwing a single pitch.
The folks at www.mlb.com have an article titled April (and May, and June ...) fools - Humiliating teammates is a cherished baseball tradition
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Photos from Ryne Sandberg Day at Wrigley Field
Meet Ronnie the Collie