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Monday, June 23, 2008

Chicago Tribune: Dempster pitches Cubs to sweep of White Sox

Ryan Dempster remained perfect at Wrigley Field with eight-plus innings of one-run ball in a 7-1 victory, improving to 9-0 at home while pitching the Cubs to their 14th straight home win. Aramis Ramirez collected his fourth home run off Sox pitching in three days, adding to his credentials as a Sox-killer extraordinaire.
...
Dempster and the Cubs are traveling in a parallel universe, looking unbeatable at the corner of Clark and Addison Streets. The 14-game home win streak is the Cubs’ longest since 1936. Dempster became the fifth Cubs starter since 1945 to win nine straight at Wrigley.

“Were playing with confidence at home because we’ve won at home with regularity,” manager Lou Piniella said. “I said it last year—this is a very fun place to play. The fans are into it. It’s full every night. It’s just a fun atmosphere. We’ve been winning at home, so our guys don’t get down when we get down in the score, and we’ve been able to have quite a few come-from-behind wins at home.”

 

The Cubs have only lost two series at home all season - both to the Brewers (who find having the third-best record in the NL gets them… third place in the NL Central).

NTNgod Posted: June 23, 2008 at 02:57 AM | 21 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
  Related News: GeneralChi CubsChi White Sox

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   1. Dag Nabbit and his imaginary friends Posted: June 23, 2008 at 03:38 AM (#2829524)
Best records in the NL over the last four weeks:

Cubs 17-7
Brewers 16-7
Cards 14-10

Fun race.
   2. Misirlou's got a busy day, he's wearing a vest Posted: June 23, 2008 at 03:45 AM (#2829530)
the Brewers (who find having the third-best record in the NL gets them… third place in the NL Central).


Heh. If the playoffs started today, the teams would be #'s 1, 2, 4, and 6.
   3. Fred Garvin is a sick f**k, guilty as charged Posted: June 23, 2008 at 03:47 AM (#2829532)
I'm not going to say that these guys are at all similar or anything, but I realized today what this season from Dempster reminds me of --

Mike Bielecki, 1989

I'm not sure why, but I think it's because, like Bielecki, Dempster's season is coming totally out of the blue, when many (I in particular) thought he would fail miserably.
   4. Phil Coorey, You Won't Posted: June 23, 2008 at 04:59 AM (#2829556)
####### cost me money today - I thought the White Sox would win for sure. Thank god for the celtics and tiger pay days from last week or I'd be on the street
   5. BeanoCook Posted: June 23, 2008 at 05:39 AM (#2829565)
The Cards nearly swept the Red Sox in Boston without Pujols. That is pretty telling. They will be around all year I think.
   6. Walt Davis Posted: June 23, 2008 at 06:58 AM (#2829578)
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!!

THROUGH JUNE!!
   7. jwb Posted: June 23, 2008 at 09:24 AM (#2829590)
Bielecki was a little different situation. He had back issues. This is coming more from 1990 and 1991, when he wasn't physically ok every start. You could tell whether he was on or not in the first inning from how he moved his back in his pitching motion. When he was on, he came stright forward. When he was off, he angled his back slightly to the right. He was just on for every start in 1989, or at least the ones that I saw. I explained this to my wife, who has chronic back problems, and she said it made sense to her that he would move that way if his back was uncomfortable.

Dempster is just fungible bullpen filler to All Star quality starter where did that come from and how do we get some more?
   8. Gern Blanston Posted: June 23, 2008 at 10:23 AM (#2829600)
####### cost me money today - I thought the White Sox would win for sure.

Betting against Dempster and the Cub offense at home? Silly man.
   9. Phil Coorey, You Won't Posted: June 23, 2008 at 10:33 AM (#2829602)
Betting against Dempster and the Cub offense at home? Silly man.


yEAH - Had more faith in Javy Vasquez for some reason
   10. Gern Blanston Posted: June 23, 2008 at 10:38 AM (#2829603)
Like the Mekons reference, Phil.
   11. Dag Nabbit and his imaginary friends Posted: June 23, 2008 at 11:00 AM (#2829611)
Best fluke seasons by a Cubs starting pitcher since 1984, going by ERA+:

1996 Steve Traschel 144
1992 Mike Morgan 142
1995 Frank Castillo 128
1990 Mike Harkey 126
1995 Jaime Navarro 125
1989 Mike Bielecki 121

Harkey really wasn't a fluke. Or, rather, the fluke wasn't the quality, but that his arm held up in reasonable order.
   12. zfan (was zambranofan) Posted: June 23, 2008 at 12:41 PM (#2829681)
Three keys to Dempster's season:
1. Stronger legs so he doesn't tire as easily
2. Pitching to contact and to the hitter's weaknesses instead of his (generic) strength
3. Split-finger: a new pitch for him that changes his pattern

I'm not saying I expect him to keep this up all year. His conditioning may help more the first half than the second half of the season. Once batters realize he is not pitching for strikeouts, and see him a second or third time, they may hit him harder. His arm may start to hurt from throwing the splitter too much.

But these changes are not just luck. Unless he goes on the DL later this year, he has probably already guaranteed himself a three-year deal from some club.
   13. Gern Blanston Posted: June 23, 2008 at 01:36 PM (#2829749)
The Cubs have only lost two series at home all season - both to the Brewers

Yep. The Cubs are 2-4 against the Brewers at home, 30-4 against everyone else.
   14. Moses Taylor demands to be housewarmed Posted: June 23, 2008 at 02:49 PM (#2829827)
And both of those series with the Brewers were pretty early in the year. Both teams are better right now, IMO.

Fun series. Not because of the "rivalry" but because the Sox are a good team and the Cubs really took advantage of the Sox's strengths - bullpen and starting pitching.

The Cards nearly swept the Red Sox in Boston without Pujols. That is pretty telling. They will be around all year I think.

And right before that, they were swept at home by the Royals. That is pretty telling. They're finished.

Or, more likely, it's silly to draw conclusions on a couple of games.
   15. Slinger Francisco Barrios (Dr. Memory) Posted: June 23, 2008 at 02:52 PM (#2829832)
aargh
   16. Harveys Wallbangers Posted: June 23, 2008 at 03:03 PM (#2829845)
Milwaukee has taken advantage of injuries and complete disasters removing any decisions from management. This isn't an attempt to "crack" on Yost. It's just fact.

If Eric Gagne doesn't go to the DL it is all but certain that until he burst into 1000 pieces he would still be in the mix to finish games. And despite "stuff" that looked solid his control was completely absent. Salomon Torres throws strikes, keeps the ball down and is capable of going more than an inning. He has been a godsend.

Bill Hall's entire game collapsed. Offensively, defensively, running the bases you name it he was a nightmare. Meanwhile, Russell Branyan was slugging .800 at Triple A. If Bill were even passable Branyan would have been left in Nashville. But Bill was SOOO bad the team didn't have a choice.

Same with Turnbow. Derrick was/is the very personification of "train wreck". If he hadn't been so hideous it's a certainty that Yost would have kept using him as Ned was a firm believer in Derrick Turnbow.

Now Yost has also made some obvious changes. He is pushing his starters deeper into games. It's only an inning or so but it's clear this is a concerted effort to have starters pull more of the load. Also, despite Branyan's success he is being kept on a strict platoon. Branyan rarely faces a lefty. Yost is also mixing and matching his bullpen versus a strict regimen previously defined.

These were all things that doomed the 2007 season. Yost had a "plan" for the bullpen and even as it dissolved into dust he stuck with the program. Even as his relievers fell to their knees due to exhaustion by mid-July Ned kept coddling the Jeff Suppans of the world. No more.

Now, there is more than a bit of evidence that this is the influence of Ted Simmons who was specifically hired to "help" Ned on handling the finer points of the game. I am just glad Yost has listened to Simmons.

Though I have pointed out that Yost refuses to give Ted any public credit. Jason Kendall has made astonishing progress in his throwing and everyone in Brewer Country knows it was Simmons who worked with Kendall in spring training on his mechanics. But ask Ned in an interview and all you will hear is "we" or "I". No specific mention of Ted's involvement. That's the petty side of Ned that's so aggravating.

But he's listening. Instead of READING and then being unable to implement Ned is SLOWLY trying different approaches. And generating mostly positive results.

Some of the Brewers turnaround is some guys playing better. But some of it is the manager not adhering to failed policies of the past.
   17. Cabbage Posted: June 23, 2008 at 03:20 PM (#2829866)
Some of the Brewers turnaround is some guys playing better. But some of it is the manager not adhering to failed policies of the past.

Would you say that they are "surging"?
   18. Justin T contains indigenous nudity Posted: June 23, 2008 at 03:29 PM (#2829878)
BTW, for those who were wondering where the hell Rich Hill went, one of the Chicago papers today disclosed that the team sent him to Mesa to work on his delivery and that there is no timetable for him to get back to Iowa.
   19. Gern Blanston Posted: June 23, 2008 at 03:30 PM (#2829880)
Or, more likely, it's silly to draw conclusions on a couple of games.

It's Beano. As usual, he's trolling.
   20. Harveys Wallbangers Posted: June 23, 2008 at 03:31 PM (#2829883)
Cabbage:

They have won 21 of their last 31 games. Term that what you will.

They have also hit 45 homers in their last 22 games while their starters have an ERA under 3 during the same timeframe. That's a good combo.

Not sustainable. But fun while it lasts........
   21. Gern Blanston Posted: June 23, 2008 at 03:33 PM (#2829886)
They have won 21 of their last 31 games. Term that what you will.

I think Cabbage was making a political comment, though perhaps I'm reading too much into it.
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