2011 Offseason Outlook

I want to just use this post to put down some notes flying around in my head and Cubdom about this offseason.  I'll begin with Adam Dunn, who is tied with Albert Pujols for the most homers (25) of an active visiting player in baseball at Wrigley Field.  Dunn has hit well there his entire career and has always had a like for the Cubs, and is a free agent this winter.  When the Cubs visited the Nationals in late August the Chicago media picked up on the topic and asked him about it.


''[Wrigley Field's] obviously one of my favorite parks to hit in,'' Dunn told Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Sun-
Times. ''I've always really enjoyed playing there. The atmosphere is great there for any player. The fans are always hard on the other team, which makes it fun." Dunn later continued, "I know Jim (Hendry) from my Cincinnati days. We hit it off. He's one of my favorites. And I hear nothing but great things about him.''

Yeah, I'd say he's pretty interested.  With attendance down and the Cubs down in general, many believe the Ricketts will lower the payroll this offseason, but we are already getting a lot of money off the books with the people we have traded away and revenue is increasing with the Ricketts' marketing creativity and promotional skill at Wrigley.  Dunn would be an absolutely perfect fit being a power hitting lefty who plays first base.  I still endorse the resigning of Xavier Nady for the bench due to his flexibility, but Dunn would seriously help the Cubs chances next season as well as being a good veteran leader.  Video from Ricketts about the season in general can be found here (http://www.csnchicago.com/common/dynrss/dynrss__landing_.rss?display_style=manual)

Next a few notes from a live chat on espnchicago.com with Cubs and Sox insider Bruce Levine.  A fan asks Levine if we can count on getting the Big Z or the Crazy Z next year, and Levine responds, "You never know what you are going to get with Zambrano.  Right now he is one of the best pitchers in baseball.  The good news for the Cubs or another team, he's proved he can win without a 95 mph fastball.  That's called pitching and Zambrano has learned how to do it.  Remember Z controls his own fate."  Levine makes a great point about Zambrano's velocity.  He doesn't have the stuff he used to have for sure but has learned how to be this control first, crafty kind of pitcher.  Len Kasper has pointed this out frequently on the Cubs TV broadcasts.  It puts the Cubs in a tough position because they once again have to determine whether he is worth the risk.  

A fan from Missouri also asked besides pitching what is the Cubs biggest need this offseason, and then explained he believes it to be a top of the order guy with speed.  Levine responds, "The Cubs desperately need a lead-off man and a left-handed hitting RBI guy. Their run production is still a huge question mark. It's a team that has poor on-base percentage and doesn't walk. According to Ricketts, there is going to be a slight decrease in the payroll which means Hendry will have to be creative in the trade market. Adam Dunn is a top priority for the Cubs if they can afford him."  Adam Dunn is a huge target for the Cubs this winter but an under the radar target is Carl Crawford.  He is the definite best top of the order guy out there this winter and would probably want a longer, bigger deal than Dunn.  If the Cubs were somehow able to get both and some bullpen help, we would have to be contenders.  That won't happen though.  Levine brings up the Cubs poor OBP and that they don't walk, which was a problem that plagued them during the Dusty Baker days.  In 2008 they led the league in walks which was how the offense was so good that year, and here they are in the same spot two years later not walking.  Levine had this to say on Crawford: "I'm not so sure the Cubs can afford Crawford.  He's probably going to have about 8-10 teams bidding on him."

A fan asks Levine about possibly trading pitching prospects for an ace such as Zack Greinke: "I don't see all those prospects that you might see.  Other than Chris Archer and Jay Jackson, the other pitchers in the organization still are developing.  And I'm not so sure that I agree with Zambrano that the team has five aces.  If they do he must be playing with a marked deck."  Oh, baseball humor.  Great stuff.  I don't see the Cubs making such an aggressive move for an ace considering the new ownership which must play conservative for at least a few years.  Kerry Wood is brought up in this chat thread and I highly endorse the resigning of Woody.  He's a fan favorite and has been great with the Yankees, the Cubs could bring him back allowing him to finish his career here setting up Carlos Marmol.  The full chat on the Cubs and Sox can be found here (http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/2446/chat-wrap-bruce-levine).  Well, that's all for now.  The Cubs have a lot of interesting options to contemplate this winter.

Homestand Wrapup: San Francisco, St. Louis

Record: 2-4
Final Record: 70-85
Games Behind First: 16.5 GB (Eliminated from Playoff Contention)

After a great road trip the Cubs looked to bring the momentum back home.  The pitching stayed good in the first one, but the offense got owned by Giants pitching.  Matt Cain and Carlos Zambrano were engaged in an awesome duel that saw no runs scored until the 8th.  That was when the ever hittable Andrew Cashner was brought in, and he did what he has done most this year and gave up a homer to the stud Buster Posey.  That would be the only run as Cain, Ramon Ramirez, Sergio Romo, and Brian Wilson allowed only two hits and one walk to the Cubs.  Yet another tough loss.  On Wednesday night the Cubs offense was down again but a homer from Kosuke Fukudome and an error got the Cubs two runs.  That was all they would need as Randy Wells had possibly his best outing of the year in 7.2 scoreless innings.  Carlos Marmol, still reeling in the benefits of being the NL's most dominant and intimidating reliever, picked up his 34th save which ties Kerry Wood's impressive output in 2008.  Ryan Dempster hasn't really had a consistent year and when he has struggled, he has struggled big time.  Thus was the story Wednesday evening as the Cubs played a rare three game home series where all are night games.  The incredible Juan Uribe with another 20 HR season hit two in the 2nd inning including a grand slam.  Posey and Cody Ross threw in homers as well in the 13-0 drumming.  It would be an understatement to say that the Cubs were glad to see them go.  The Giants, possibly playoff bound, are big Cub fans this week as the Cubs battle the contending Padres who need to lose for the Giants to make the postseason.

Adam Wainwright finally got his 20th win on Friday afternoon and supporting him was Allen Craig's three-run first inning homer.  That's all the Cards would need as a solo jack from Aramis Ramirez was the only real action offensively for the Cubs who totaled six hits and one run.  Tom Gorzelanny had a rough go allowing all seven Cardinal runs in the first four innings.  The Cardinals' playoff hopes were slim to begin with and they really needed a sweep to keep their chances alive.  They wouldn't get it, as Chris Carpenter gave up seven nullifying a three run lead his team gave him early.  Ramirez and Blake DeWitt both got two RBIs.  The 7-3 win would be the Cubs' last at Wrigley in 2010, their 35th.  You know it's September baseball when a guy named Matt Pagnozzi drives in three.  You also know you're losing to the Cardinals when Albert Pujols hits a three-run homer in the first, something he does a lot at Wrigley Field.  It was 8-0 before the Cubs got their first runs in the 5th, and the Cubs made an honorable comeback but fell short losing 8-7.  I guess that is what we get for starting Jeff Samardzija on the last home game.  Predictable.  Brad Snyder, a kid of ours who was leading the minors in homers when he was called up, picked up two RBI.

That does it for the Cubs home slate in 2010, the first year under ownership of the Ricketts family.  Ricketts walked around the gates of Wrigley Field talking to and greeting fans on the last home date.  Ricketts says it has been a disappointing year, but there are many positives to the team's play on the field and also Ricketts wants to further improve on the Wrigley Field services and facilities for 2011, although he didn't go into any specifics at the time.  The Toyota sign above the left field bleachers which is lit at night actually looks pretty cool and fits the park well kind of like the Coke bottle at Fenway.  I predict we add more advertisements over there, further moving along the Wrigley modernization process.  Gotta love it.  I think they should seriously consider a JumboTron in front of the Horseshoe Casino rooftop.  Sure, Wrigley is traditional but a screen can do so much for the fan experience.  They could make a lot more revenue from ads and promotions on the screen and it will be easier for the fans to follow along the players and stats.  I hope the Cubs do this to further improve their bid for the 2014 All-Star Game.

Road Trip Wrapup: Milwaukee, St. Louis, Florida

Record: 8-1
Final Record: 68-81
Games Behind First: 15.5 GB (Eliminated from Playoff Contention)

The Cubs finally showed on this road trip the formula that they could have been winning with all year long.  They didn't necessarily use their high priced bats, but instead the pitching and defense.  On Friday September 10th the Cubs set the tone for the trip with a dominating performance from the Big Z, who won his fifth straight decision to improve to 8-6.  Zambrano headed into the 9th looking for a complete game shutout but after getting two outs and allowing Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder to reach base (single and error, respectively), the Z was done after 119 pitches.  Carlos Marmol got Casey McGehee to fly out to right to end the game, giving the Cubs a 4-0 win.  Ryan Dempster followed on Saturday night and did the same thing as Zambrano, except only holding his shutout until the seventh after which he was yanked.  Dempster struck out eight in his 100th career win, his 13th of 2010.  The only run in the game came from an Xavier Nady home run off the foul pole in left, making him the first Cub to do that this season.  Randy Wolf had a good start but took the loss.  Yovani Gallardo shut down the Cubs who were shut out themselves on Sunday.  Ryan Braun's RBI double scoring Gallardo and Casey McGehee's homer in the 8th were the only runs in that game giving the series a combined run total of seven runs.  Casey Coleman took the loss.

The Cubs may be frustrated with their year overall, but they certainly had to be feeling better than the Cardinals coming into St. Louis after the series win in Milwaukee.  The Cardinals had basically fallen out of contention with the Reds and were almost certainly on their way to missing the playoffs for the third time in four years after being so close this season.  It has been a real struggle for Jeff Samardzija in the big leagues in 2010 but he would have his best outing of the year so far on Monday night.  He allowed ten baserunners in 5.2 innings but got a win and an RBI.  The Cubs got four off Jaime Garcia on RBI singles from Geovany Soto, Samardzija, and Alfonso Soriano.  Matt Holliday drove in the only run for the Cardinals, the only blemish for the Cubs bullpen.  On Tuesday night Randy Wells returned near his home for the first time in the major leagues, starting in St. Louis for the first time.  Wells got a win beating a frustrated Adam Wainwright who gave up five to the Cubs.  Wells possibly had his best start of the season going eight innings and allowing just one, also hitting two RBI singles.  It was the Big Z again Wednesday night, getting his second win on the road trip already.  A Blake DeWitt sac fly early was the only Cubs run for a while, and the Cards put up two against Zambrano to hold the lead most of the game.  In the 7th, though, with Chris Carpenter cruising, the Cubs put on two for Tyler Colvin who blasted his 20th homer of the year making him just the fourth Cubs rookie to hit 20 homers.  Micah Hoffpauir added another run to make it 5-2.  The Cards would get that run back but Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the 9th for more insurance and Carlos Marmol escaped a scary ninth for his 31st save of the season.

Next up for the Cubs was a trip down to Florida and Sun Life Stadium where the Cubbies are just 14-18 since 2000 including 3-9 since 2006.  The Cubs would stay on their roll, though, coming out with another sweep.  Ryan Dempster got another shutdown performance going seven and allowing no runs to improve to 14-10, and the Cubs won 2-0 thanks to Logan Morrison giving Soriano an RBI double and Geovany Soto an RBI double.  Alex Sanabia got the unlucky loss.  Casey Coleman had an average start on Saturday night, but got a win anyway.  The Cubs got four runs in the 5th most notably on a Starlin Castro game-tying walk making it a 1-1 tie.  Marlon Byrd then doubled home two and the Cubs never looked back.  Carlos Marmol recorded his 33rd save of the year, but two great scoreless innings from James Russell, Justin Berg, and Andrew Cashner were key to hold the slim 5-3 lead.  On Sunday afternoon Jeff Samardzija struggled with his command as usual but kept the Marlins scoreless until the 4th.  It didn't really matter by then though, as the Cubs were already winning 8-0 at the time due to three bases loaded walks, a Welington Castillo RBI double and other various RBIs.  Castillo would add a two-run homer later, his first in the bigs.  On the double that scored a run from Castillo his bat broke, which in a freak accident hit Colvin in the chest who was on third.  Colvin was hospitalized and his season was over, but he has still had a great rookie year.

I have a million questions about this spontaneous stretch of winning but that's just the season it has been for the Cubs, who knows why anything they do happens.  They are officially a better road than home team and didn't come close to having a homestand as good as this road trip.  With this road trip the Cubs improved to 35-39 on the road.  The Cubs outscored their opponents 44-14 over these nine games, giving up about 1.5 runs a game.  This is very, very impressive considering the way the bullpen has pitched all year.  The starters, Dempster and Zambrano specifically, caught fire and the Cubs are proving that they could possibly win with a dismal offense but stellar pitching (see: Padres).  Let's hope the Cubs can keep up this winning stuff because, as those Padres have shown us, a great September can translate into winning the next season.

The 2010 American League All-Division Team

As Part 1 of a two-part segment (Part 2 has the National League), I will be presenting the All-Division team for the American League.  What this means is I nominate the best at each position in each division, now that the regular season is winding down to the point where there are obvious standouts and obvious busts of 2010 with just over two weeks remaining.  For the purpose of this post, the definition of best is most valuable to his team.  Following each nomination there is an explanation, and the other players at that position who were in the running.  Every team has a shot to get guys on this list and it is by no means a popularity contest like the All-Star Team.  To qualify at a position, the player must still be on the team he has been for the entire season.  For example, Jose Guillen would not qualify because he was traded to the Giants.  Also, only one starting pitcher, the best starter, is in the running for each team.  Enjoy!




American League East

C John Buck, TOR
Nope, no Jorge Posada here.  The Blue Jays lead the AL in home runs by far, and 18 of those have come from Buck, rare power numbers from a catcher.  He's hitting .272 which is high for him and has done well working with a young pitching staff which has only five of 146 games started by anyone over the age of 30.  The Jays, who are paying him $2 million this season, are getting a lot of bang for their John Buck.  Opponents: John Jaso (TB), Jorge Posada (NYY), Victor Martinez (BOS), and Matt Wieters (BAL).


1B Mark Teixeira, NYY
As always, Teixeira started 2010 absolutely terrible.  The Yankees watched him endure his annual April slump but then he caught on.  On a roll for much of the season since, Mark finds himself with 30 HR and 101 RBI although the batting average sits at .261.  He is a good middle of the order guy for the Yankees although they have bought more middle of the order guys than they need over the years.  Opponents: Kevin Youkilis (BOS), Lyle Overbay (TOR), Ty Wigginton (BAL), and Carlos Pena (TB).


2B Robinson Cano, NYY
It has certainly been a down year for second basemen, especially in the AL.  Cano, however, is enjoying his career-best season just one RBI away from 100 for the first time in his career.  He is sure to draw MVP votes as the Yankees head to the postseason yet again.  Opponents: Aaron Hill (TOR), Bill Hall (BOS), Julio Lugo (BAL), and Sean Rodriguez (TB).


3B Adrian Beltre, BOS
Here's another guy who will get MVP votes.  Beltre is having his best season since the ludicrous 48 homer 2004 with the Dodgers.  He's also batting .328 and has been one of few sure, injury-free players on the Red Sox in 2010.  His 28 HR and 97 RBI are impressive, highlighted by launching a homer to the upper deck at Safeco Field, against his former team, while falling onto a knee.  That's the kind of season it has been for Beltre.  Opponents: Alex Rodriguez (NYY), Evan Longoria (TB), Josh Bell (BAL), and Edwin Encarnacion (TOR).


SS Derek Jeter, NYY
Jeter has not had a good year, by his standards.  Miraculously, he still wins this award because of extremely weak competition.  Jeter is only batting .262, possibly a sign of age on the Yankee captain.  He has, however, played in all but four games this season and continues to be a fan favorite in New York.  His teammates appreciate his presence.  Opponents: Yunel Escobar (TOR), Marco Scutaro (BOS), Cezar Izturis (BAL), and Jason Bartlett (TB).


LF Carl Crawford, TB
Crawford is doing just what he should be in his walk year: making a lasting impression on his team.  He is just awesome every year with the Rays, but especially in this one as he's hitting .302 with 43 steals and a surprising 78 RBI.  Perhaps he is now a 20-20 threat, something he has never done before, but another surprising stat in 15 HR could suggest so.  Crawford's speed leads the Rays to the postseason for the second time in three years.  Opponents: Brett Gardner (NYY), Fred Lewis (TOR), Corey Patterson (BAL), and Jeremy Hermida (BOS).


CF Vernon Wells, TOR
Vernon Wells hasn't been in a comfortable spot for some time now.  The Jays gave him a $126 million, seven-year deal before 2007 that has widely been viewed as the worst, most overpaid contract in baseball.  Much to his delight, he has been able to prove the haters wrong as he approaches his first 30 homer season since 2006, which was also the last time he made the All-Star team until 2010.  He sits at 27 HR and a .272 batting average at the moment.  Opponents: Curtis Granderson (NYY), Darnell McDonald (BOS), B.J. Upton (TB), and Adam Jones (BAL).


RF Jose Bautista, TOR
No-brainer here.  Bautista leads the major leagues with 47 home runs, and is on pace to be the first player since 2007 to hit 50 home runs in a season.  Bautista's swing usually ends up with the ball on the third deck of the Rogers Centre.  He has come out of nowhere at age 29 after a bunch of less than mediocre seasons with various teams, prompting some skeptics about the source of Bautista's newfound power.  Either way, he gets the award.  Opponents: Nick Swisher (NYY), Nick Markakis (BAL), Ben Zobrist (TB), and J.D. Drew (BOS).


DH David Ortiz, BOS
The old Big Papi is enjoying a better season than 2009, especially after winning the Home Run Derby at Angel Stadium during All-Star week.  He's 34 but has remained healthy unlike most Red Sox in 2010 for most of the season.  Although the Red Sox don't have enough to make the playoffs this year, his 30 HR and 91 RBI have helped the cause.  Opponents: Luke Scott (BAL), Adam Lind (TOR), Willy Aybar (TB), and Marcus Thames (NYY).


SP C.C. Sabathia, NYY
Big C.C. is a Cy Young candidate looking for his first career 20 win season.  This has been Sabathia's finest season, including the fact that he is averaging seven innings per start.  His ERA is only 3.03, but he has received a lot of run support which has helped him stay undefeated at Yankee Stadium.  He will get the nod in Game 1 of the ALDS whomever the Yankees face.  Opponents: Clay Buchholz (BOS), Jeremy Guthrie (BAL), Shaun Marcum (TOR), and David Price (TB).


CP Rafael Soriano, TB
Few people predicted this.  Soriano had been in the closer platoon with Mike Gonzalez in Atlanta for quite a while, but he was able to take over the full time solo closer role giving the Rays their best and most consistent closer in franchise history.  His ERA is only 1.85 with 43 saves for the playoff bound Rays.  Opponents: Mariano Rivera (NYY), Jonathan Papelbon (BOS), Kevin Gregg (TOR), and Alfredo Simon (BAL).




American League Central

C Joe Mauer, MIN
The country has cooled off on this guy popularity wise after being AL MVP in 2009 then the cover boy for the best-selling baseball video game, MLB 10 The Show.  Somewhat quietly, he has put together another great season.  Fans can only wonder where the power went, hitting only 9 HR this season after 28 in 2009, but he is still batting .331 with 74 RBI and has handled a mediocre starting staff very well.  Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano have improved recently with a likelyhood that it had something to do with Mauer.  Opponents: A.J. Pierzynski (CWS), Jason Kendall (KC), Lou Marson (CLE), and Alex Avila (DET).


1B Miguel Cabrera, DET
Miguel Cabrera has to be the best under-the-radar slugger in baseball.  Not that he is unknown, but rather that he is not the guy on the leaderboard with 50 homers neither is he injured or inconsistent which would make bigger news.  He's batting .333 with 34 HR and 118 RBI and is definitely the main run producer for Detroit.  If not for Cabrera, the Tigers would likely be in last place.  Opponents: Paul Konerko (CWS), Billy Butler (KC), Matt LaPorta (CLE), and Michael Cuddyer (MIN).


2B Orlando Hudson, MIN
The O-Dog has bounced around between teams for the last few years, but the Twins may want to lock him up for at least a few more years.  He has done quite an admirable job of rallying his team in the fight for the playoffs, a fight that it appears they will win.  He ranks 23rd on the ESPN Web Gem leaderboard, always been known for his defense.  Opponents: Gordon Beckham (CWS), Carlos Guillen (DET), Luis Valbuena (CLE), and Mike Aviles (KC).


3B Omar Vizquel, CWS
Vizquel has been an incredible pickup for the White Sox.  Batting .283 while playing great defense is impressive enough, but the unbelievable stat is he is only three years younger than his manager.  The 43-year-old Vizquel will be back for more in 2011 with the Sox and although it is unlikely he repeats his clutch ability again, this is a season to remember for him.  Opponents: Brandon Inge (DET), Wilson Betemit (KC), Jason Donald (CLE), and Danny Valencia (MIN).


SS Yuniesky Betancourt, KC
Betancourt has been solid with 70 RBI and a .258 batting average.  The RBI total is tied with Billy Butler for most on the Royals, a team without much run production.  Betancourt is necessarily a run producer, but the lack of run producing teammates has kind of allowed him to develop in the area.  Opponents: Alexei Ramirez (CWS), Ramon Santiago (DET), J.J. Hardy (MIN), and Asdrubal Cabrera (CLE).


LF Delmon Young, MIN
For the first time in his career, Young became an All-Star this season.  And for good reason.  Young has been terrific for Minnesota, driving in 102 runs with only 18 homers.  That is the sign of a good hitter with runners in scoring position.  In fact, he's hitting .359 with Runners in Scoring Position (RISP).  He has been carrying this team to the playoffs.  Opponents: Alex Gordon (KC), Juan Pierre (CWS), Ryan Raburn (DET), and Shelley Duncan (CLE).


CF Alex Rios, CWS
Rios, picked up by the Sox midseason 2009, did pretty much nothing after the acquisition.  In 2010, however, he has resurrected his career with one of his finest seasons yet.  He made the 20-20 club this year with 21 HR and 33 SB, and 84 RBI becoming a crucial part of the Sox offense.  He looks to keep it going having nailed down the starting spot in center after some competition early on.  Opponents: Austin Jackson (DET), Mitch Maier (KC), Trevor Crowe (CLE), and Denard Span (MIN).


RF Shin-Soo Choo, CLE
Shin-Soo Choo may be the only impressive talent on an awful Cleveland club.  But at least he is a talent, making the 20-20 club in 2009 and approaching it this season.  With Travis Hafner old and not back to his former form, Choo is the only hope for the Indians and thankfully he is delivering with a .286 batting average.  Opponents: Carlos Quentin (CWS), Gregor Blanco (KC), Brennan Boesch (DET), and Jason Kubel (MIN).


DH Jim Thome, MIN
Of all the teams Thome has hurt over his career, perhaps none more than the White Sox regret Thome more.  In January the Sox (Ozzie Guillen, actually) let him go in favor of the DH by committee method.  And Thome has made them pay.  Perhaps the MVP of the Twins, Thome wasn't even guaranteed a job out of spring training and is now their veteran leader batting .283 with a team leading 23 homers in only just over half a season's worth of at-bats.  No doubt, he has been key for Minnesota.  Opponents: Mark Kotsay (CWS), Johnny Damon (DET), Kila Ka'aihue (KC), and Travis Hafner (CLE).


SP Justin Verlander, DET
He hasn't been as dominant as he was in 2009, but Verlander has still compiled a 16-8 record with a 3.48 ERA.  His stuff is as good as ever, prompting players to vote Verlander's fastball the toughest in baseball in a poll taken in July.  He has struck out 190 hitters in just under 200 innings.  Opponents: Fausto Carmona (CLE), John Danks (CWS), Zack Greinke (KC), and Francisco Liriano (MIN).


CP Joakim Soria, KC
It's been a quiet year for Joakim Soria, but he's still getting the job done.  He has 38 saves on a team that only has 60 wins.  His ERA of 1.65 is practically unbeatable, and he has struck out just under 10 per nine innings pitched.  The poor offense of Kansas City gives them a lot of tight, low-scoring games, and Soria has been doing his part to preserve what leads they do get.  Opponents: Bobby Jenks (CHW), Chris Perez (CLE), Jose Valverde (DET), and Jon Rauch (MIN).




American League West

C Mike Napoli, LAA
Although Napoli has been playing the majority of games at first base since Kendry Morales' injury in May, he has still played more games and defensive innings at catcher.  The move hasn't affected him offensively though, as the 28-year-old is enjoying the finest season of his career with a career-high 25 homers.  Napoli has been very versatile and a quick fix for the Angels who worried they would not be able to find an able replacement for a season at first base.  Opponents: Matt Treanor (TEX), Rob Johnson (SEA), and Kurt Suzuki (OAK).


1B Daric Barton, OAK
This has not been a division that has had many strong first basemen recently, except for the obvious favorite in Kendry Morales, who went down in May with a freak injury.  Although Barton is still looked upon as a prospect bust in most baseball circles, Barton is batting .277 and has more walks (101) than strikeouts (90).  Barton may not be great, but in this division he's the best.  Note: Mike Napoli was disqualified for the running at this position due to his title at catcher.  Opponents: Mitch Moreland (TEX), Casey Kotchman (SEA), and Mike Napoli (LAA).


2B Howie Kendrick, LAA
Kendrick is a consistent hitter where one knows what to expect.  A freeswinger, Kendrick has 151 hits this season by far a career-high in his first actual full season as a starter, appearing in all but four of his team's 146 games so far.  Howie also didn't have much competition for this spot.  Opponents: Ian Kinsler (TEX), Mark Ellis (OAK), and Chone Figgins (SEA).


3B Michael Young, TEX
After being an All-Star six years in a row, that streak ended in 2010.  However, Michael Young has been as important as anybody on the Texas Rangers who are charging towards the playoffs.  Young has played the most career games without a playoff appearance of any active player.  His 20 HR and 83 RBI easily beat the competition.  Opponents: Kevin Kouzmanoff (OAK), Alberto Callaspo (LAA), and Jose Lopez (SEA).


SS Elvis Andrus, TEX
After receiving a year of tutoring from the veteran Omar Vizquel, Andrus was all on his own to start 2010.  Given the starting job and trust from the organization, Andrus came through.  His 30 steals lead the team and he is batting .276, not great but not a negative either because he isn't relied upon for his hitting as much.  Andrus is a regular on the highlight reels for his flashy defensive play.  Opponents: Erick Aybar (LAA), Cliff Pennington (OAK), and Josh Wilson (SEA).


LF Josh Hamilton, TEX
Hamilton is expected to receive many, possibly a majority, of AL MVP votes due to his dynamite offensive and defensive play this season.  After suffering through an injury-riddled 2009, Hamilton started where he left off in 2008 with a ridiculous .361 batting average.  Oh, and eight steals.  And 31 HR and 97 RBI.  Opponents: Juan Rivera (LAA), Michael Saunders (SEA), and Rajai Davis (OAK).


CF Torii Hunter, LAA
Hunter is enjoying another fine 20 HR, 80 RBI season, the ninth such season in his career.  He is an undoubted vocal leader known to joke and have fun at the ballpark.  Torii also looks to reel in his 10th consecutive Gold Glove.  Opponents: Coco Crisp (OAK), Franklin Gutierrez (SEA), and Julio Borbon (TEX).


RF Nelson Cruz, TEX
Cruz really came out of no where in 2009, smashing 33 homers which was 24 homers more than his previous career high.  This season he has 19 homers.  Cruz is a key cog of the Rangers' high-flying offense and together with Josh Hamilton makes them one of the best corner outfielder dous in baseball.  Opponents: Bobby Abreu (LAA), Ryan Sweeney (OAK), and Ichiro Suzuki (SEA).


DH Vladimir Guerrero, TEX
This may be the best comeback story in baseball this season.  After suffering through injuries in his last season as an Angel, many doubted Guerrero still had any power left in him, and experts have been criticizing his power swoon that saw him only hit 54 homers in his last two full seasons in Anaheim.  Currently, however, he leads the Rangers in RBI with 107 and is hitting .305, third-best of the Rangers starters.  He has kept his ability to hit the ball with authority no matter the location, something he has become notorious for over the years.  Opponents: Jack Cust (OAK), Hideki Matsui (LAA), and Russell Branyan (SEA).


SP Trevor Cahill, OAK
This 22-year-old stud carries a 2.84 ERA and a 16-7 record, the best of a pretty impressive young rotation the Athletics have.  His WHIP is only 1.08, leading all Oakland pitchers except relievers Andrew Bailey and Craig Breslow.  The A's have hung around .500 and are now in 2nd place ahead of the Angels, and a huge share of the reason comes from Cahill.  Opponents: Jered Weaver (LAA), Felix Hernandez (SEA), and C.J. Wilson (TEX).


CP Neftali Feliz, TEX
Neftali Feliz has the best stuff of any reliever in the division.  He strikes out 1.04 batters per inning while walking only .27 batters an inning.  His 36 saves lead the division, and although his ERA is at 3.00, he has been more conducive to winning for the Rangers than any other closer in the division.  Opponents: Andrew Bailey (OAK), David Aardsma (SEA), and Fernando Rodney (LAA).


The amount of representatives is somewhat conducive to the success of the team.  See below:

Team Representative Chart:

6 players: TEX
5 players: (None)
4 players: MIN, NYY
3 players: LAA, TOR
2 players: KC, DET, CWS, BOS, TB
1 player: OAK, CLE
0 players: SEA, BAL

Seattle and Baltimore, the two worst teams in the league for most of the season, get the dubious title of not having any players selected.  Texas has higher odds of having such a high number of representatives because there are only four teams in the division, making it 20% easier to get on the team.  This will be important in the National League issue (coming soon) because the NL Central has six teams which makes it very tough to have more than two on there.  I hope everybody learned something today, because I know I did.

Ramirez to Stick Around

Aramis Ramirez is in his eighth season as a Chicago Cub.  And it won't be his last.  Ramirez exercised his $14.6 million player option to play for the Cubs in 2011.  His contract allowed him to void his 5-year, $75 million contract that he signed before 2007 and become a free agent this upcoming offseason, but he decided to stay.  "I'm staying here," he told the Chicago Sun-Times.  "It won't be very long.  I miss a lot when I'm away from my family.  I have 12 years in the league.  I don't know how long I'm going to play, but it won't be very long."
This kind of attitude is kind of bad to hear.  I can understand that he wants to be with his family, but this is his job.  He has to commit to the contract he signed and although technically he doesn't have to stay, the team needs him.  He should sign it and be happy about it, instead of acting like he was forced into it.  He has always been kind of a quiet guy, and he has been criticized before about his lack of leadership.
The Cubs have a club option on him for 2012, worth $16 million.  If the Cubs pick up the option, he can buy out with a $2 million penalty.  Ramirez is batting .242 with 22 homers and 73 RBI in 109 games this season.

The numbers to be concerned about are that Aramis has proven his worth over the years, although it may be time for him to go.  Ramirez has hit 210 HR and 703 RBI, while batting .294 in those eight years as a Cub.  He couldn't come through in the playoffs and was partly blamed for the Cubs' downfall in 2007 and 2008, going a combined 2-for-23 with two walks.  Aramis and first baseman Derrek Lee formed one of the best corner infield power dous in the National League primarily in 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008.

Aramis Ramirez could be a valuable part of a rebuilding team in 2011.  Could be.  Ramirez will need to realize he is on his way out on the Cubs, and not on his time.  He could be dealt at the deadline next season, there are plenty of teams that could use his bat.  This will probably depend on how good the Cubs are in 2011, as the core of the Cubs from the late 2000s of Derrek Lee, Ryan Theriot, Mike Fontenot, Ted Lilly, Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, and Ramirez is being dismantled in favor of a new brand of Cubs baseball.

Crunch Time

Two struggling contenders entered play Wednesday certainly feeling the pressure of holding down first place.  One of the teams, the Atlanta Braves, even lost first the night before to the Philadelphia Phillies.  Trailing by a half-game, the Braves will need to recover well to get it back.  In the West, San Diego endured the longest losing streak ever by a first place team, losing ten in a row.

Being honest, I think both the Padres and Braves will win their respective divisions.  It's hard to read momentum swings like this.  The Phillies usually don't stop winning when they get on a roll, but I think they will this time.  No one gave the Braves more than a week or so in first place when they got it in May and they held it for the entire summer.  The Phillies aren't having a terribly great year by their standards because Ryan Howard is having arguably the worst year of his career, which is still pretty good, and Jimmy Rollins is so-so yet again.  The additions of Placido Polanco and Roy Halladay have been instrumental to getting them to where they are now, but I don't see them winning the division because the Braves will have some the Phillies don't this season.  And that is pride and passion playing in the last year for Bobby Cox, and possibly the last year with Chipper Jones' playing career.  There's no doubt Jones has been as much of a franchise player as anybody over the past 15 years, and although he's out for the season now this could be his last shot at watching one of his teams win big.  The Phillies are only pesky as usual.

The Padres have received fantastic pitching all year long especially out of the bullpen from Mike Adams, Heath Bell, Luke Gregerson, etc.  The Giants are no stranger to strong pitching, with the two-time defending NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum although he has struggled this year.  So they are somewhat even on the pitching side.  The Padres have fallen victim of inconsistency offensively and they have a lot of hitters hitting for too low of an average.  Adrian Gonzalez is carrying too much of a load on the team's run production, while Wil Venable and Tony Gwynn, Jr. are hitting .223 and .213 respectively and that just isn't good enough to be starting outfielders.  Aaron Rowand and Nate Schierholtz are only hitting .236 and .250 respectively, though.  The Giants have also had problems hitting, these problems have plagued them for most of this decade while Barry Bonds was their only offensive threat and he would be walked constantly.  So, both teams have struggles offensively.

The difference I think here is that the Padres have absolute shutdown pitching.  If the opposing team doesn't have a lead by the 6th, there's no chance.  No Padre pitcher who has appeared in more than 15 games has an ERA over 3.40.  The Padres have only used 18 pitchers this year, eight of which have started a game.  Of those eight, only two (Wade LeBlanc, Kevin Correia) have ERAs over 3.45.  The team has gotten support from the community and although the Giants still beat them in many categories, I think the Padres do too much right especially on the pitching staff to not win.  The fact that San Diego has committed the second least errors can't hurt, either. 

Homestand Wrapup: Pittsburgh, New York (NL), Houston

Record: 5-4 Final Record:
Games Behind First: 19.5 GB

First a quick note about playoffs.  My proposal in July (see: A Proposal to Turn Baseball Upside Down) isn't nearly the only potential playoff reform out there.  On ESPN.com today is an interesting article by the ever-interesting Jayson Stark about a second wild card team in each league.  Recommended reading for all fans looking for food for thought (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&page=rumblings1000909).  Now on to the wrapup.

The Cubs finally got revenge against the Pirates, winning a series against them for the first time this season.  The Cubs poured on 14 runs including one home run by a somewhat unlikely source.  Carlos Zambrano homered to the opposite field, his first of the season, scoring Koyie Hill.  Zambrano's 21 career homers are the most by any pitcher since the DH rule was adopted with a five homer lead over Mike Hampton.  The Cubs put up seven in the fourth, and the game totals included four RBI off two hits from Aramis Ramirez, three hits for Starlin Castro, and two RBI each for Jeff Baker, Marlon Byrd, and Zambrano.  Zambrano improved to 6-6 with an good start, going 5.1 innings with seven strikeouts and four walks.  He allowed just one unearned run.  Pittsburgh could only scrap together two runs late, making the final 14-2.  They would scrap together nine before the Cubs could even score one the next night, with a final score of 14-7.  Koyie Hill hit a two-run homer, his first of the season, and the Cubs would score five in the 8th thanks to RBI hits from Blake DeWitt, Castro, Micah Hoffpauir, Xavier Nady, and Alfonso Soriano.  That was all the Cubs would get and Elias Sports Bureau came up with the stat after the game that the Cubs had allowed 14+ runs in seven games in 2010, the most in any single season for the Cubs franchise since 1897, where there were 12 such games.  The schedule was about a third the size it is today, so that (18)'97 team must have really stunk.  The following afternoon Kosuke Fukudome would help ensure the season series against the Pirates would finish with a win as he drove in the go-ahead run in the 3rd and the Cubs would never look back.  Tom Gorzelanny left to injury after being drilled by a liner, so Thomas Diamond would come on and he got rattled, as he has in most of his appearances as part of an incompetent bullpen, but still earned the win.

While the season series against Pittsburgh closed with a 5-10 losing mark, the Mets have only played the Cubs four times back in April on the second road trip of the year.  The Mets won three out of four then, and they would get off to another good start in the matinee opener Friday.  David Wright doubled home two in the first and Joaquin Arias would bring in another.  It would stay 3-0 until the 4th, when Nady singled home a run.  Soriano then came up with two on, and he would bring them all home with a three-run blast, his 22nd of the year that was tied for the team lead.  A Mets minor league callup doubled home the tying run in the 6th, but DeWitt would respond with another three-run homer.  The Cubs bullpen made things interesting, like they always do, allowing homers to Wright and Luis Hernandez but Carlos Marmol saved #26 and they would sing 'Go Cubs Go' for the third time in three games on the homestand.  Geovany Soto would double to left, his first big noise offensively in a while, in the 2nd inning Saturday to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead.  Then a sac fly by X-Nady, as MLB Network Studio Host Matt Vasgersian calls him, made it 2-0.  The Cubs never surrendered the lead but Carlos Zambrano gave up a homer in the 7th to Ike Davis, perhaps his biggest mistake of a nearly flawless outing.  More on him in a minute.  Andrew Cashner pitched the 8th giving up a run like he always does (give that man kudos for consistency, right?), and Marmol struck out the side to earn save #27.  Starlin Castro became the first Cubs rookie in 66 years to have six straight multi-hit games.  Back to Zambrano.  He walked just two, keeping his biggest problem since his return to the rotation at a minimum.  Recording eight strikeouts, he passed former teammate and rotation-mate Kerry Wood on the Cubs all-time strikeouts list, moving into third 1,411 passing Wood's total of 1,407.  Ramirez also hit his 21st homer of the season in the 8th, extending the lead.  That Elias Sports Bureau stat mentioned earlier in the post would change to eight such games this season when the Cubs allowed 14+ runs after an explosion of offense from the Mets on Sunday.  The Mets would score five in the 5th, 8th, and 9th.  This wasn't the Mets lineup off a few years ago with such formidable foes of Carlos Beltran in his prime, Carlos Delgado, David Wright, and Jose Reyes.  In fact, Beltran was the only one of the three of those still on the team to play Sunday and he didn't even do most of the damage.  11 RBI came from rookies, who made up six of the eight position players in the lineup (Luis Hernandez, Ike Davis, Mike Hessman, Lucas Duda, Josh Thole and Robinson Tejada).  Tejada picked up five RBI in the beatdown.  The only action for the Cubs was three RBI from Ramirez including two from a homer, his 22nd.

The Cubs and Astros were in a good battle Monday, and the Cubs came out on the right side with five unanswered runs to win.  Chris Johnson homered against the Cubs again, something he did last time at Wrigley Field, part of a four-run 2nd for Houston.  Blake DeWitt knocked in a run in the 3rd right before Marlon Byrd unleashed a two-run tater to make it a one-run game.  Two innings later Darwin Barney would score on an RBI double off the bat of Jeff Baker.  The game would remain tied until the 8th, when Soto hit a bomb onto Waveland Avenue out of the ballpark to take the lead.  Marmol saved #28.  Rumors were swirling around that, with the wind blowing out of Wrigley Field perhaps the hardest all season, an Astros player hit a homer in batting practice over Waveland and onto the rooftop off the big yellow building right down the left field line.  The distance up there is over 475 feet, and a homer has not been hit there since Glenallen Hill did it against the Brewers in a real game in 2000.  As far as anyone knows, there is no video of the Astros player's homer or any word on who it was.  My money would have to be on either Hunter Pence, Carlos Lee, or Chris Johnson who hit one 428 feet to center in the real game a few hours later.  Carlos Silva made his first start since a heart condition forced him out of a start in Denver on August 1st.  He didn't do too well and took the loss.  Tyler Colvin picked up two RBI, but Michael Bourn topped that with three and Brett Wallace hit his first career homer on a depressing night at Wrigley.  Looking to win their first series against Houston this season, the Cubs came up short against Brett Myers and lost 4-0.  The loss clinched a losing record on the season at Wrigley, where home field advantage hasn't meant much of anything.  Randy Wells had his typical mediocre start and Hunter Pence took him deep, one of the four runs Wells would give up.  Myers has gone at least six innings in 29 straight starts, the longest streak in Astros history and the longest streak overall since Curt Schilling did that for 35 starts with Arizona in 2002. 

The Cubs finish 5-4 on the homestand and will now head to Milwaukee, the team they have had the most success against in 2010.  The road trip continues to St. Louis and Florida, before the last homestand of the year against San Francisco and St. Louis.  Look for the continued participation of kids from the minors, something to keep an eye on for next year also.  Some of these kids will be the faces of the franchise in a few years, kids like Castro and Colvin and Cashner, as the Cubs will likely turn over a lot of the roster this offseason.

    

Survey Says: Competitive Balance Better in NL

There are plenty of reasons to think that the American League is the more powerful league.  The American League has won Interleague Play 10 of the 14 years it has been played (since 1997), the American League  won the All-Star Game 12 times in a row (not including the infamous tie in 2002), and the American League has the DH position giving the league better offensive statistics and an opportunity for out of shape sluggers to sit on the bench and then come up and drill homers.  However, through a study that's original work of Kwin, it appears there is more opportunity for teams in the National League despite having two more teams.

In the last decade (from 2000-2009), there were four AL teams that didn't qualify for the playoffs at all (Toronto, Baltimore, Kansas City, and Texas).  During that same span, there were three NL teams with the same characteristics (Montreal/Washington, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati), but the Reds are currently in first place and looking to enter the postseason for the first time since 1995.

The following is the number of years since the specified team has last made the playoffs:

National League

ATL: 5
PHI: 1
FLA: 7
NYM: 4
WAS: 29
East Average: 9.2 years

CIN: 15
STL:1
HOU: 5
MIL: 2
CHC: 2
PIT: 18
Central Average: 7.17 years

SD: 4
SF: 7
COL: 1
LAD: 1
ARI: 3
West Average: 3.2 years

NL AVERAGE: 6.56 years


American League

NYY: 1
TB: 2
BOS: 1
TOR: 17
BAL: 13
East Average: 6.8 years

MIN: 1
CWS: 2
DET: 4
KC: 25
CLE: 3
Central Average: 7.0 years

TEX: 15
OAK: 4
LAA: 1
SEA: 9
West Average: 7.25 years

AL AVERAGE: 7.0 years

The half a year difference might not seem like much to you, but it stands for the different type of ownership and roster organization that goes on in the American League.  The AL has been known for its power pitching and with the DH spot, usually reserved for power hitters, it is more of a power on power game where teams try to literally get bang for their buck.  Obviously, this takes money.  The constant bidding war between the Red Sox and Yankees (see: AL East Twister) means there's a lot of money spent on talent.  Money, however, isn't necessarily directly correlated to wins; it's probably much less of a factor than you thought it was.

The following is the average opening day payroll from the playoff teams of each league.  Note the difference between AL and NL.

2000:
AL: $53 million
NL: $69.25 million

2001:
AL: $77 million
NL: $81 million

2002:
AL: $66.25 million
NL: $86.75 million

2003:
AL: $89 million
NL: $79 million

2004:
AL: $115.25 million
NL: $81.5 million

2005:
AL: $124 million
NL: $79 million

2006:
AL: $100.25 million
NL: $89 million

2007:
AL: $125.5 million
NL: $75.75 million

2008:
AL: $104 million
NL: $103.5 million

2009:
AL: $125.25 million
NL: $94 million

Total:
AL: $95.26 million
NL: $83.88 million

The trend here is that the American League consistently has the higher payroll.  The National League teams are paying less per player, and thus they are more cost efficient.  This means that the NL has a better ability to operate in smaller markets where attendance may dwindle when not in contention and the payroll is quite limited.  Like I said before, the AL is a power game where big bucks equals big bang, while the difference of play in the NL can also be a difference in the way the team is constructed.  A team using smallball tactics like bunting, sacrificing, and aggressive baserunning will probably be more likely to bring up players who are familiar with the way that organization is going to play ball, and the players in the organization will know that their only chance to play in the bigs is to play it that way.  It is easier for a team with a limited payroll, or an expansion team with no current talent, to follow this method to win, but sometimes in the American League there is no way to beat the team hurling dough at the prized signings.

In 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2009 the Yankees represented the AL in the World Series.  In 2004 and 2007, the Red Sox represented the AL in the World Series.  In 2008 and 2009, the Phillies did the same for the NL.  But all of the other teams to appear in the Fall Classic only appeared once in the decade, with nine different teams qualifying in the NL and just six different teams appearing in the AL.

The only division in baseball where all five teams made the playoffs in the last decade (with two advancing to the World Series) is the National League West, the ultimate example of rebuilding and player development.  The Dodgers are the only high spending team in the division, but ironically they weren't one of the two that made the World Series.  The 2007 Rockies opening day payroll was $54 million, the third-lowest of all the 40 NL playoff teams.  The Giants have been known for harvesting Japanese talent along with most of the West Coast teams, a unique option out there.  The Padres operate a model small market franchise and still field great teams always with impressive young talent.  The Diamondbacks became immensely popular in the early 2000s when Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were the aces of the desert.  They since have brought up great talent in players like Chris Young, Justin Upton, and Stephen Drew.

The flash and glory of the American League game may make the baseball fan stare in awe, but the fundamentals and rebuilding of the National League allow teams a better shot at getting a shot to win it all.  For most teams right now though, it's just Wait Till' Next Year once again.          

Derrek Lee's Cubs Career

In my opinion, Derrek Lee has been more important to the Cubs than anyone else in the entire decade of the 2000s.  Lee, joining the team in 2004 after being part of the dreaded 2003 Marlins, would go on to be known as an undisputed clubhouse leader during his time with the Cubs.  His performance on and off the field was remarkable during his entire tenure.

In the 2003 NLCS Game 6, all Cub fans remember the Bartman ball.  Some remember the fact that manager Dusty Baker refused to take out Mark Prior in the 8th with a high pitch count and a slim lead.  Some remember Alex Gonzalez, the Cubs shortstop, booting a routine double play ball that would've ended the inning and the threat.  But few remember that, with the bases loaded with Marlins, it was Lee who lined a double to left field to tie the game at 3.  He was almost as important to them as he was with the Cubs.  Prior (no pun intended) to the 2004 season, Derrek Lee signed with the Cubs who had used a few different first basemen in 2003 and wanted some stability.  The 32 HR and 98 RBI he hit in his first year were certainly better than what had come from Hee Seop Choi, Eric Karros, and Randall Simon.  It wasn't good enough, however, as the pitching faltered near the end and the Cubs missed the playoffs when they should have won the Wild Card.  2005 was the best year of his career, when he challenged for the Triple Crown but ended up losing.  His .335 batting average topped the National League, but his 46 HR was second to Andruw Jones and his 107 RBI was well behind first.  He finished behind only Albert Pujols and Jones in the NL MVP voting.

In 2006, he was injured for the majority of the season which led Cub fans to believe that the season outcome would have been quite different if he was healthy.  The Cubs finished in last with 96 losses that season.  Lee was key in getting the Cubs back to the playoffs in 2007, getting MVP votes again although his power hadn't completely returned.  His 22 HR was somewhat disappointing, but he remained a big part of the offense and won his third Gold Glove, including his second with the Cubs.  In the playoffs, Lee went 4-for-12 as the Diamondbacks surprisingly swept away the Cubs in three games.  His role as a leader became even bigger as the Cubs were the class of the National League in 2008, winning 97 games and entering the playoffs with high hopes.  The Cubs were swept again, shocking the fan base, although Lee led the team with six hits in 12 at-bats.  He infamously slammed his bat and helmet after striking out in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium.  When he did that, he spoke for the frustrations of the entire team although he himself was actually having a great series.  2009 saw the Cubs fall out of contention by August, but Lee put together one last season to remember.  After starting slow like usual, he caught fire in June and July and seemed to be homering every day for a stretch.  He batted .306 with 35 HR and 111 RBI and was ninth in MVP voting.  It was a struggle for Lee in 2010, but Cub fans supported him through it because of all he gave us.  The Cubs will likely not sign him in the offseason, but will live on as a great player in Chicago sports history.

The stats with the Cubs (2004-2010):
.298 AVG, 179 HR, 574 RBI, 1046 H, 51 SB
2 All-Star Games (2005, 2007)
2 Gold Gloves (2005, 2007)
1 Silver Slugger (2005)
2005 Batting Champion (.335)
2005 Doubles Champion (50)
2005 Slugging % Champion (.662)
2005 OPS Champion (1.080)
3x MVP Voting (2005; 3rd, 2007; 21st, 2009; 9th)

Road Trip Wrapup: Washington D.C., Cincinnati

Record: 4-2
Final Record: 55-76
Games Behind First: 20.5 GB

Mike Quade was the Cubs manager of record starting Monday, August 23, 2010 making him the first manager to do so not named Lou Piniella since Dusty Baker in 2006.  Quade made an impact right away by ending the Tyler Colvin at first experiment, at least temporarily.  Blake DeWitt hit leadoff for the first time and apparently that was the right move as he homered in the 3rd.  The Cubs would get four more in that inning and eventually lead 9-0 in support of Casey Coleman, enjoying his first successful start in the bigs.  Coleman went 6.1 IP allowing just three hits and two walks for one run.  Livan Hernandez dropped to 8-9 after getting lit up for 10 hits in the first 4.1 innings when he was yanked.  The Cubs got the ever-elusive series opening win, something that escaped them 11 series in a row earlier in the season.  On Tuesday night Carlos Zambrano made the start having not been too bad in his starts in August.  He did his best yet against Washington, certainly looking like the ace of old and of the $91.5 million contract he earned for his job.  He went 7.1 IP to earn the win and struck out eight, walking just one and allowing five hits.  Walks had been his only problem since returning to the rotation and he solved the problem in this one.  For the second straight year Alfonso Soriano homered at Nationals Park, a three-run shot in the second to near the same spot as the one last year.  After the Nats got one back in the 3rd, Tyler Colvin answered in the 4th with a two-run shot scoring Soriano, making it 5-1.  Things got a little dicey with Carlos Marmol in the 9th as Adam Kennedy hit a three-run double to bring the Nats within one.  Against all odds, the Cubs escaped and won 5-4.  It had been a rough year for Jason Marquis when he took the mound Wednesday afternoon.  At 0-6, his record wouldn't get any better on this day.  He did his best, allowing one over 7.1 innings after the game remained scoreless for seven innings.  On the other end was Ryan Dempster, removed after seven innings and only 79 pitches and having allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out eight.  This had to have been his best start this season, as he improved to 12-8.  And thus, the Cubs completed a sweep of Washington, improving to 26-36 on the road, not too bad considering the Cubs record overall.

Playing the Nationals was easy enough, even for a struggling team; the Cubs' infusion of youth would be put to the test when they went to Cincinnati for the second and final time in 2010.  The last time they were there was a trip plenty familiar to Starlin Castro.  His hot hitting all season began with a major league record tying six RBI in the first game off Bronson Arroyo including a three-run homer in his first at-bat.  For his unbelievable effort this season, I have officially nicknamed him StarStro.  But he's no Astro, he's just taken his hitting to a new plateau.  Castro would go 0-for-4 in the opener against Johnny Cueto, but he wasn't the only Cub to struggle in this one.  The only Cubs scoring would come on a Colvin RBI double, as Jay Bruce homered thrice powering the Reds to a 7-1 win.  The last Red to do that was Drew Stubbs on July 4th against who else?  The Cubs.  Cueto improved to 12-4 as Tom Gorzelanny struggled to take the loss.  Xavier Nady launched a bomb in the 2nd inning on Saturday night, getting the Cubs going.  Bronson Arroyo was efficient through seven but got the loss as Randy Wells did better allowing two over six.  Joey Votto homered to center to tie the game but Kosuke Fukudome hit a two-run homer for the lead and the Cubs never looked back.  Give Carlos Marmol the save, his 24th.  The Reds came out in their red alternate uniforms for Sunday, and they were certainly ready to put up a fight.  Kosuke Fukudome hit a two-run homer in the 8th to tie it 5-5 for the third tie of the day.  The poor defense of the Cubs would cost them once again this season as on a single by Ramon Hernandez in the 8th, the runner on first pedaled around to third.  Fukudome lined a throw from right to third that was offline, and a poor cutoff job from the Cubs and a poor job of getting in front of the ball by Aramis Ramirez cost the Cubs a run.  The runner scored, one of two that would score in the inning.  Francisco Cordero then came in and worked a one-two-three ninth for his 35th save.

Mike Quade has to be pleased with his team's performance on its best road trip of the year.  He was humbled when announced as manager, but has since quickly opened up to the media, not hiding his opinion about the team.  He made a few changes and has the team pretty much the way he envisioned it when he took over, allowing him to comfortably settle in in his first major league managerial job.  The sweep of Washington was impressive, with Carlos Zambrano having to be the most important player of the series.  His start gives the Cubs two options: they could take that as a positive sign for next year, although there is no promise he is done with his anger issues, or they could use that to showcase his talents to up his trade demand.  I would go for the second option, and it appears the Cubs will too.  With such a big salary, the Cubs will want to dump at least a sizable chunk of it.  Jim Hendry has said the Cubs are just a few pieces from winning in 2011, an opinion I believe in.  Clearing some space will give the Ricketts more options with their money.