By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com

The Cubs have lost five of their last seven contests and there hasn’t been many good things to discuss. With that, I think I’ll take it easy on this blog to collect any random thoughts you might have on the season.

In the meantime, I’ll start a topic pertaining to something good. What’s the best Cubs game you’ve been to in person? It can be for any reason — something funny you saw, something great that happen, something memorable, like your first game. I want to hear it.

I was lucky enough to be at, what I believe to be, one of the most important Cubs games in history. It was 2003, and I had bleacher seats for the Cubs-Cardinals series — the one that saw them play five games in four days. On Sept. 3, they were in third place, but still just one game behind the Cardinals. A loss to St. Louis would have shoved them further back.

Down 6-0 in the sixth inning, I was feeling awful. The Cubs got three back to make it interesting, but St. Louis scored again in the seventh. Then there was that argument between Dusty Baker and Tony LaRussa — the one where Dusty shouted obscenities and pointed his middle finger at Tony. The Cubs were sparked. They scored three more runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth — the go-ahead run singled in by Moises Alou.

The place was going nuts.

I call it one of the most important games in history, because it saved that series. Instead of losing what would have been two in a row — two important swing games — it energized them, and they ended up winning four of the five contests.

Later in the year, I was at my first ever playoff baseball game — a 12-3 win over the Marlins in the NLCS. My brothers and I watched Sammy Sosa hit a moon shot off of the camera well in left-center. As long as I can remember, that moment was the loudest I have experienced at Wrigley. You had fans spilled out into the streets coupled with full rooftops and in-house seats. People stood and raised their arms the exact moment Sammy connected with that ball.

My brother also noted how surreal it was to look at the big, green scoreboard — usually full of teams and numbers — and see it displaying just two games.

I wish for that again.

By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com

Bob Brenly made a good point during today’s broadcast of the Cubs 9-0 loss to the Reds. He said, those who observe the team from outside of the lockerroom will often have a different feeling about the team than those inside the lockerroom.

The Reds hit seven homers Wednesday — four were given up by Jon Lieber, two by Sean Marshall (back-to-back) and one by Sean Gallagher. It’s a tough one for a Cubs fan to forget, but essentially Brenly was trying to make the point that Lou Piniella belives his players are trying hard to win, but baseball can be fickle at times. Eventually, the hope is that things turn around.

While I hope, and believe, that’s true, I don’t think it’s quite as simple as whether or not the players are “trying hard.” There are always other factors — Rich Hill going down, Ted Lilly’s hot and cold pitching and Jon Lieber trying to fit himself back into the starting role.

Wednesday was Lieber’s first start, so I’m not going to get too uptight about his giving up four homers. There’s something to be said for the other team being hot — Joey Votto for instance. He has seven homers this year and six of them have come against the Cubs. He hit three of them Wednesday.

But aside from that, the Cubs starting corps as a whole is going to have to start pitching deeper into games, much like Z did Tuesday night. As one of our VetoPower frequenters, Travis Swanson, pointed out, the bullpen is getting worked.

Then there are also some arms that are not improving, or in some cases, going backwards. Marshall seems to be retreating as is Michael Wuertz.

I’m keeping faith that Scott Eyre’s return will bring good fortune. He should be back soon.

By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com

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I finally had a chance to do a little in-progress blogging during the game. It was a pretty solid day for Carlos Zambrano and the rest of the crew.

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It was the anniversary of Kerry Wood’s 20-K game against the Astros so that was a common topic during the game. He made an anniversary appearance and contributed a relatively uneventful save. Feel free to peruse some of my thoughts during the game. These were thoughts blogged live as the game happened. You can tell I’m blogging live when you see IN PROGRESS BLOGGING ahead of the score.

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Nice to be back on the winning end.

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The following are notes from my first IN PROGRESS blog of the season.

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–Top 1: Alfonso Soriano struck out swinging at a pitch so far in the dirt it was almost funny. My buddy Jeff called me three seconds later and said “Why doesn’t Lou just bat the pitcher first if Soriano’s going to strike out every time?” It’s OK. They have the lead as Ryan Theriot scored on Aramis Ramirez’s RBI single to take a 1-0 lead. I’m glad “the Ram” is back.

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–Bot 1: Interesting to have Griffey batting second in the lineup. Perhaps they attempting to speed his way into the 600 home run column. Nice strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out to end the inning. Griffey was caught stealing on his first attempt of the season. He’s stolen 17 bases in the last eight years. In case anyone didn’t know, Griffey’s real first name is “George.” His dad’s name is also George.

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–Top 2: No score; 1-2-3.

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–Bot 2: Adam Dunn is a beast. I’d walk him, too. Len and Bob were talking about how Dunn could literally hit a home run into another state if he could hit it over the Ohio River that is beyond the right-field wall in Ciny. I wouldn’t put it past Dunn to hit one into Kentucky.

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Sweet pickoff from Z on Joey Votto for the second out. I’m pretty sure pitcher will tell you so many things can go wrong on the pick off to second. Nicely executed, Mr. Z and Ronny C.

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–Top 3: They showed Z’s career batting stats. He’s hitting .220 with 13 home runs. To me, it’s guys like Z and Micah Owings, the hard-hitting pitcher for the Diamondbacks (who had a pinch-hit homer the other day) that make me believe National League pitchers could be better hitters.

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–Bot 3: One of my co-workers tells me that Ronnie Santo is struggling with a cold on the air and is difficult to understand. Can anybody confirm?

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Z has a mild stroke every time he walks a batter.

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–Top 4: Good Alfac trivia question. Did Kerry Wood strike out every Astros batter at least once in his May 6, 20-K game? I don’t remember, but I’m going to guess Craig Biggio got away without a K. I know that the broom-mustachioed Derek Bell K’d in his last at bat. That was the dirtiest slider I’ve ever seen.

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Here we go. Two on, second and third, one out. Get ‘em in. Lee and Ramirez score on Ronny Cedeno’s double. Ramirez would have been toast at the plate with a good throw from Griffey. Again, Cedeno needs to be an every day starter. One of my co-workers asked me the question a second ago, “Is it time to consider trading either Ryan Theriot or Ronny Cedeno?” It’s a tough question, but one to mull. I tend to land on the side of trading Mark DeRosa.

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–Bot 4: Turns out Craig Biggio did strike out, as did everyone else in the Houston line up, in that Kerry Wood 20-K game. Z still twirling a gem.

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–Top 5: With Z on second and Theriot on first, the Reds tried to turn two on a ground ball, but ruled Derrek Lee beat the throw. Replays show he did not. With runners on first and third and two outs, the Cubs had Ramirez up. He flew out to end the inning.

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Early in the inning, Z was caught a bit off first base on a line drive out. The Reds threw behind him and he managed to dive back safely, but scraped up his right elbow. We’ll have to see how he fares. Brenly suggested they tape up his elbow with a large, round Band-Aid that looks like a baseball.

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–Bot 5: I love Paul Bako…wearing another jersey.

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–Top 6: 1-2-3 they go.
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–Bot 6: A good jam to get out of; Reds had runners on first and second with nobody out. Z got a fly out and a double play.

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–Top 7: Nothin’ doing.

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–Bot 7: Quick 1-2-3. Z still throwing strong. Who do we see in the 9th?

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–Top 8: Nothing to write home about.

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–Bot 8: Len Kasper just pointed out if Z can record an out in the eighth, it will be the longest outing for any Cubs pitcher of the season. Sad.

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1-2-3 and they go to the ninth. Looking for a Zambrano complete game. Keep him in there.

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–Top 9: Looks like with 113 pitches, Z will not come out in the bottom of the ninth. That was a great outing though. Hats off to Z. Can they get some insurance?

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Hey! Soriano doubles! Nothing happens, though, and we go to the ninth. Wood?

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–Bot 9: K-Wood slams the door. Great game all around.

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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
 

I missed it.

This is the first game of the season I admittedly missed in its entirety. It was a busy night in the office, and I had no radio at hand — and of course the game was on WCIU. (I know they lost 5-3 to the Reds and Geovany Soto was 3-for-3 with a bomb. Check out Felix Pie’s theft of Griffey’s homer.)
 

Now I’ve been watching WGN since the Bozo Show was on. (Another side note: I honestly didn’t realize the Bozo Show was in fact an hour long until I was 20 years old. As it turns out, my mom would slyly change the channel after the Grand Prize Game and told me that it was over. This was less traumatic than the time my brother told me Mr. Rogers fell down the stairs and was no longer going to be on T.V. I guess that comes with being the youngest of four.)
 

WGN was always the go-to for Cubs broadcasts until the late ’90s. To easily answer the question of why more games are not broadcast on WGN, I’ve pulled this response directly from WGN’s Q & A page:

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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com

I loved Lou Piniella’s jovial interview on ESPN moments after lipreaders watched him drop an F-bomb in Alfonso Soriano’s direction when the 136-million-dollar man swung at a slider out of the strike zone to end the inning.

Lou was questioned by Jon Miller and Joe Morgan about the use of Soriano at the top of the lineup. He said, “That’s a popular topic for those that follow the Cubs in Chicago.” Essentially, he compared Soriano’s situation to that of Bobby Bonds.

Lou said that Bonds was not producing when he moved from his familiar clean-up role to a position lower in the order. “When he moved back, then he started hitting everything. He was just more comfortable,” Lou said. (I hate mid-game interviews by the way. The NBA has been interviewing coaches now after the third quarter for crying out loud.)

I understand there is something for feeling comfortable in the lineup, and those players that say they go to the plate with the same approach no matter where they are hitting are just giving the easy soundbite, or aren’t heady players. You are simply going to see different pitches and experience different situations in different spots in the order, so you should be approaching each position differently.

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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com

As postulated, Jon Lieber is in the rotation and Rich Hill is back to the Minors. Sean “Galaga” Gallagher will come to Chicago to smash a few watermelons.

It will give Hill a chance to “clear his head” at the AAA level, and unfortunately, this might be his last chance to do so. Hill will need to prove himself and I think some of the commenters on Friday’s blog are right — he’d be a steal for a team out there that wanted a young arm.

For now, Lieber is the man once again. He’s not the same 20-game winner that he was for the Cubs in 2001. He’s seven years older and hasn’t won more than nine games since 2005, but he is pretty steady, and I think for the most part you know what you are getting with him. He will start Wednesday against Cincy.

The Cubs and Ted Lilly looked good in Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Cardinals. Lilly had his longest outing of the year. When Albert Pujols came up there in the bottom of the sixth, I had a feeling he was going to crack one out (of course, I pretty much always have that feeling, don’t you?) But at the same time, I remember also thinking “This is just the time to have him do it. Bases empty.”

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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com

I’m afraid to wonder what might become of Rich Hill. Rick Ankiel? Mark Wohlers? Heck, he was mentioned in the same sentence as Steve Smyth on Cubs.com.

After walking four of five batters in the first inning of a 5-3 loss to the Cardinals Friday, Hill was taken out having tallied just one out and walking in a run. It was the shortest Cubs outing since Ted Lilly was ejected last year after throwing just a third an inning. Smyth couldn’t get out of the first inning in 2002, only he wasn’t ejected. He was just bad.

Hill has lost his focus — and has admitted to losing his focus already this season. I know we have some pitchers that read this blog. Perhaps they can offer some insight as to just how mental the position can be and what help Hill can get.

Either way, I believe two doors were opened Friday.

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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com

I was pretty disappointed listening to everyone that called into sports radio Thursday night. While the 4-3 Cubs loss to the Brewers was very tough to swallow, I’m not about to call for Carlos Marmol to take over for Kerry Wood as the closer.

Wood has been exactly what I thought he’d be — hard throwing and ultimately reliable, but with some time needed to develop as a closer. I’d be willing to put it on the line and say that over the last 30 years the “closer” has gone from a little-used role to the most difficult role to play on the diamond.

As a closer, you get one inning and so much can go wrong behind you, but YOU will take the blame. In the top of the ninth, Thursday, Alfonso Soriano might have been able to catch Gabe Kapler’s double that went to the wall. Secondly, Jason Kendall’s ground ball to Ryan Theriot could have been handled and lastly, Kosuke Fukudome probably should have gotton a better jump on Ryan Braun’s double that led to the game winner.

But don’t get me wrong — I’m not defending Kerry Wood for his role in blowing his third save of the season. He hit the first batter he faced and likely changed the integrity of the inning. He won’t defend himself, either. He said his job is to get outs and he didn’t do that. I’ll always respect Wood for owning up to his less-than stellar performances. 

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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com

Oh, Geo!

Everybody loves a comeback story. After striking out eight straight times over two games, Geovany Soto homered twice in a slugfest — a 19-5 Cubs win over the Brewers at Wrigley Field Wednesday.

The Cubs found their offense — apparently all at the same time — and Ryan Dempster remained undefeated. The 19 runs Chicago scored was the most since 2001 when it beat the Dodgers 20-1. (I remember that game, but it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago).

Soto that was the star. He drove in six runs on two swings, and if you ask me (of course no one is, but if they were), Geo Soto became a big leaguer Wednesday.

I’ve seen guys rise quickly and fall fast and hard. But the ability to quickly come back from a slump is what separates the flash-in-the-pan from the true pro.

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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com

I have a lot of problems with the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It’s a circus. I can’t believe they used to play two — a first half and a second half.

The most ridiculous baseball concept, even more ridiculous that the AL’s designated hitter, is the fact that the All-Star Game — an exhibition that ought to remain meaningless — has something as important as World Series home-field advantage at stake. I cannot believe it has lasted this long.

It ended in a tie in 2002 when it went into extra innings and pitching staffs were depleted. Apparently people were “outraged,” but I don’t remember caring at all. I truly believe Selig could have done nothing, and everyone would have forgotton they cared so much.

But it doesn’t seem to me that Bud Selig even thought it through before marketing his “This time it counts” game. The reason they tied in the first place was because it was an exhibition! If the players or coaches really cared about who won, they would have thrown a position player. Wisely, they did not.

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