Let me get a few things out of the way first - quirks, charming idiosyncrasies, really. I will list them here. Note them well, and be prepared to be stonewalled if you question me.
- Michael Eugene "Mike" Fontenot: This one is the Big One. I love Mike Fontenot. I know he's an average second-baseman at best, and although he's been on a few hot streaks in his time, he's not exactly a slugger. I've even heard him described as "scrappy" (see below). But I love watching him play, and he's the jersey I wear when I go to the ballpark. Deal.
- Sabermetrics: I won't call myself an accomplished sabermetrician by any stretch of the term. I don't know statistics and I'm not a practiced seamhead. I don't play fantasy baseball or rotary baseball or pit imaginary teams against one another in all their numerical glory. But I do know what xFIP and BABIP and VORP are, and I trust sabermetric analysis. Expect to see plenty of references. If you like "intangibles" and/or "scrappy" players, please go read Fire Joe Morgan. Then stop commenting on baseball. (Note: much like the Three Laws of Robotics, my faith in sabermetrics does not extend as far as Mike Fontenot. Deal.)
- "Scrappy": Scrappy players are often short, wiry, and white. They tend to play infield positions. They may also be referred to as "gamers." They're the guys who, according to the established baseball wisdom, may not get a lot of hits or do anything spectacular (or much of anything at all), but dammit, they come to the ballpark and they do their jobs and they've got Intangibles. We like them because we see ourselves in them. But frankly, we see ourselves in them because they suck. See Eckstein, David or Counsell, Craig.
God, what a game tonight, eh? That's what you like to see. I had a feeling Ramirez was going to be turning things around pretty soon - his at-bats had been steadily improving, and he crushed a lot of balls to the warning track. It's good to see him come through for us twice in one game - and in awfully dramatic fashion.
Starlin Castro - I have to say, I really disliked that they brought this kid up. It struck me as too early, a panic move after we got swept by the Pirates. And then he made three errors in his first home game. But he has settled in well. He's turned some great double plays, and he got on base quite a bit this game. He even stole a bag. And I can't help but respect that.
Derrek Lee - continues slumping. Ouch. Really, ouch. He's overdue for a hit now - all I can hope is that tomorrow he'll tear it up. He's been struggling less than Rami, but that doesn't say much. Still, not a whole lot to do but wait it out.
Randy Wells - I used to trust him, as a pitcher, but after a couple rough outings this year it makes me a little nervous when he takes the mound. Still, he had a quality start today, and he only walked one. He got behind in a lot of counts, but he got the job done for 6 2/3.
Sean Marshall - is the real star of the show tonight, in my humble opinion. Two solid innings of relief, a boatload of strikes, and that mighty mighty curveball. Let this guy pitch the 8th inning, please, Lou - John Grabow is regularly pretty worthless.
On a slightly different note, did anyone catch Lou's comments about "changing Zambrano's role" in the bullpen? Raise your hand if you thought we needed more long relief.
...
That's what I thought.
I can't say for sure, but I'm betting this move is mostly to satisfy Zambrano. What we need more than anything is an eighth-inning setup man, and Zambrano (much as I hate to say it) didn't do so hot in that role. Grooming him for long relief will make him feel better about being in the 'pen, and maybe we can... er... platoon him? With... Silva? Hell, I don't know what Lou's thinking on this one.
If you have any thoughts, weigh in below. Go, Cubs, go.
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