This has been a most disappointing season so far. We all know that.
So many people are off their game right now and yesterday's game was a great example of that.
For the second start in a row, Ryan Dempster was left in a game where he was laboring. It didn't really cost the Cubs last time...but it did yesterday.
Lou Piniella has made some really bad decisions lately. And why keep on trotting out the same failed lineup against left-handed pitchers all the time? With Castro in the big leagues, hopefully that means the end to the 2nd base platoon. And keep Fukudome in right field every day until his usual June swoon.
And Aramis Ramirez is not only struggling at the plate, but he is starting to become a liability in the field as well. Right now he has his lowest field percentage of any season since 2003. While he has actually appeared to be hustling while running the bases this season (more so than I've ever seen him), he seems to have transferred that laziness over to his defense.
On of the things I was fearful of with Rudy Jaramillo as hitting coach was this team might sacrifice wins for individual statistics. Judging on what I've seen this season, my fears appear to not be unfounded to this point. Some would argue that in baseball, there is no such thing. I disagree. It's called situational hitting, and the Cubs have been horrendous at it this season. The Rudy Jaramillo approach resulted in (hold, let me count them up...) no division titles over the last 10 years in Texas. Rest assured, that streak appears to be safe to continue this season.
And Jim Hendry? June 15th...June 15th is the date I have set and if this team hasn't shown any sign of turn this thing around, then Jim Hendry must be fired. This has been a debacle. And even though Starlin Castro has an unbelievable debut on Friday, the move isn't going to help this team significantly. In fact, outside of getting an arm in the bullpen, we are stuck with the players we have this season. He Jim Hendry better hope that these guys start getting it together soon.
Now the Cubs head home to face the Marlins, where the Fish haven't quite performed to my expectations. Their pitching isn't too bad, and they have a dangerous offense. I'm not sure if I'm going to do a series preview on this team because, well frankly, every time I do one, I figure that the Cubs should win 2 out of three or something like that and I walk away disappointed.
This Marlin team on paper is pretty good but hasn't won many games yet. The Cubs have been really good at waking other teams up (except the D-Backs and Brewers), so this might be an ugly start to the week. I'll head to Wrigley tonight to see Starlin first hand. Nate Robertson against Ted Lilly. Robertson hasn't pitched particularly well for about 4 years now.
