April 18, 2008...2:44 am
Game 15
- Thursday April 17th – Wrigley Field
- Reds 9 – Cubs 2
- Record (9-6) – 2nd place tie with Milwaukee in the NL Central
- Record with A. Soriano on the 15-day DL (1-1)
The skinny: I’m officially worried about Ted Lilly. In four starts the Cubs’ left-hander is 0-3 and sporting a hefty 9.16 ERA.
The zip on Lilly’s fastball has been AWOL and batters seem to be waiting on his breaking pitches. The proof is in the numbers. In Lilly’s 18.1 innings pitched, he’s allowed 19 earned runs on 25 hits. Yesh.
Lou says Lilly’s arm strength is not up to snuff and adds that it’s not the result of an arm injury. Lord, let’s hope not.
Because the Cubs have some starting pitching depth, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lilly lands on the DL.
Not to mention, one more start like his performance this afternoon (6 IP, 5-ER, 6-H, 3-BB, 6-K) and the Cubs will have no choice but to shelve Ted for a couple of weeks.
I heard Peter Gammons on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight say the Cubs are interested in trading for Boston centerfielder Coco Crisp.
My guess is the Red Sox are probably looking for more starting pitching (who isn’t?) and will eyeball Cubs’ pitching prospects Sean Marshall and Sean Gallagher.
Of course, if Lilly ends up on the DL, Marshall becomes a likely candidate to move into the rotation. And, because Chicago would be desperate for help at this juncture, Boston would hold off on a straight-up trade of Crisp for Gallagher.
Meanwhile, Reed Johnson provided one of the few bright spots in today’s ugly loss by going 4-for-4 and raising his average to .361. The scrappy centerfielder is forcing Lou’s hand to play him over Pie on a daily basis.
Speaking of Pie, during batting practice the Cubs’ skipper, a former hitting coach, has been tutoring Felix on hitting the ball to left and shorting his swing a touch.
How soon will Pie learn? Lou seems to think it will take another week of practice.
I’d say Pie will practice until Reed Johnson cools off at the dish. That sucks defensively, but you gotta score runs too.
Reds first baseman Joey Votto looks like he’s going to be a Cubs killer for a long time. Not only did Votto double with the bases loaded, homer, and drive in five RBIs, but he also made a nice diving stab on defense.
Plus, how about pitching star-in-the-making Edinson Volquez? The young right-hander over-matched Chicago for five innings allowing one run on four hits and fanning seven.
Moreover, in three starts this year the former Ranger has allowed just 2 earned runs in 15.1 innings pitched. And, that’s matched with 16 strike outs too. Wow!
This is what the Reds had in mind when they traded Josh Hamilton for Volquez during the off season.
W: Volquez (2-0)
L: Lilly (0-3)
- Notes: The Cubs take two out of three from Cincinnati and face another division opponent tomorrow, Pittsburgh.
- Ken Griffey Jr, homered twice during the series including a three run shot against Jon Lieber this afternoon.
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