Mental and Physical Errors Cost Cubs
The Cubs quest for a five game winning streak fell short last night thanks in large part to the Cubs not being able to get out of their own way. Justin Germano got the ball for the Cubs and turned in one of his best outings of the year. Germano lasted five innings giving up one run, 
unearned, on three hits while walking two and striking out eight. Unfortunately that wasn’t good enough for a victory, not even a no decision as the Cubs couldn’t push a run across all night. It’s not like the Cubs didn’t have their chances as they were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 guys on base in the loss. They had a wonderful opportunity to tie the game in the 6th inning with runners on second and third with only one out. Darwin Barney hit was seemed to be a sacrifice fly to center, inexplicably Dave Sappelt tried to tag up from second and make it to third. In true Cubs fashion Sappelt was thrown out at third before Castro could cross the plate meaning the run doesn’t count. There was no reason for Sappelt to tag, I like being aggressive but there was no reason for it, he was already in scoring position and the important run was Castro. As I mentioned the Cubs had their chances but they weren’t really generating any offense, they only had six hits. The Astros did all they could to give this one to the Cubs by committing four errors and walking two. This loss could have been even more costly as Anthony Rizzo had to leave the game in the third inning after a violent collision at first base with Brett Wallace. All reports after the game seemed to indicate that Rizzo was going to be fine and was just sore, let’s hope so.
Five First Responders Throw Out First Pitch
Rizzo’s Scary Collision
Game Highlights:
Cubs Cost Themselves a Run
Germano’s Solid Outing
Thanks for reading,
- George
Anthony Rizzo Hurt in Scary Collision (VIDEO)
Yikes, looks like it could be a leg injury, and a head injury. By the way he was walking off the field with assistance I’m guessing he got his bell rung pretty bad, also had a welt on his head. Let’s hope he’s alright and this doesn’t turn into a concussion issue.
[UPDATE] Len Kasper and various Cubs beat writers are reporting that Rizzo is very sore but otherwise okay, expect him to be out the next couple days, but so far that is great news.
Thanks for reading, crap.
- George
September 11, 2012 – Cubs Lineup vs Astros
The Cubs look for their fifth straight victory tonight in Houston as they continue their late season surge to distance themselves from the number one pick. I’m just kidding, the Cubs are playing better as of late and it’s always nice to see winning baseball. The result however is they will not get the number one pick, that belongs to Houston, they deserve it, yikes. Justin Germano takes the ball tonight, here is how the Cubs will line up behind him.
1. DeJesus – CF
2. Valbuena - 3B
3. Rizzo – 1B
4. Soriano – LF
5. Castro – SS
6. Clevenger – C
7. LaHair – RF
8. Cardenas – 2B
9. Germano – P
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
- George
Sappelt, Volstad Lead Cubs to Fourth Straight Victory
It’s up to you, the reader, to decide whether or not you want to believe my headline, but I assure you that it is valid, and not a joke. This one was a struggle to get through, not only were two of the worst teams in baseball playing, but they did so for just under four hours. It’s hard to play a four hour 
game and only have five total runs scored, but the Cubs and Astros “accomplished” that feat last night. All’s well that ends well I guess as the Cubs wraped up what felt like the longest game of the year with a 4-1 victory. Chris Volstad was solid yet again for the Cubs as he tossed five strong innings giving up one run on four hits while walking five and striking out four. Volstad struggled with his command, see the five walks he surrendered, but he battled and made it through the fifth to not only qualify for, but register his third win of the season. The Cubs had an unlikely hero at the plate, I only say unlikely because Dave Sappelt doesn’t get a lot of playing time and hasn’t been up with the big club for very long this season. Cubs fans might want to get used to him because he most likely will have a role on the 2013 team, performances like last nights will go a long way in securing a spot on the roster next year for Sappelt. Sappy was 2-for-5 with two doubles, three RBI’s and a run scored in the victory, the three RBI’s are a career high.
Game Highlights:
Full Video Recap
Marmol Gets the Save
Sappelt’s Big Day
Volstad’s Outing
Thanks for reading,
- George
September 12, 2012 – Cubs Lineup vs Astros
The Cubs look to extend their winning streak to four tonight in Houston behind Chris Volstad. Volstad has been much better as of late, winning two of his last three starts, here is how the Cubs will lineup behind him, DeJesus not in the lineup.
1. Mather – CF
2. Barney – 2B
3. Rizzo – 1B
4. Soriano – LF
5. Castro – SS
6. Castillo – C
7. Vitters – 3B
8. Sappelt – RF
9. Volstad – P
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
- George
September 10 – 12, 2012; @ Astros – Series Preview
The Cubs are heading into this series on a high note coming off a three game sweep in Pittsburgh, a sweep that put a major dent in the Pirates playoff hopes. It will be quite the different atmosphere in Houston as this three game set will be a battle for the first pick in the draft. 
Huge crowds usually don’t turn out for these types of series, couple that with the NFL season getting underway and it could be a very empty ballpark. The Cubs shouldn’t worry about that, they should worry about going out there and getting better with each game, and trying to win a job for next year. Two guys that have jobs locked up for next year, Starlin Castro, and Anthony Rizzo, are leading the Cubs charge as both are red-hot at the plate. Castro is hitting .333 in September, and Rizzo is hitting a whopping .382 during the month, unfortunately that hasn’t translated to many win as the Cubs are a less than stellar 3-6. If the Cubs want to extend their winning streak this week they are going to need the starting staff to step up as it will now be without Samardzija for the rest of 2012.
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Here are the pitching matchups for the four game series.
Monday September 10, 2012
Cubs: Chris Volstad (2-10, 6.23 ERA)
Houston: Dallas Keuchel (1-7, 5.54 ERA)
Tuesday September 11, 2012
Cubs: Justin Germano (2-6, 6.95 ERA)
Houston: Jordan Lyles (3-11, 5.55 ERA)
Wednesday September 12, 2012
Cubs: Travis Wood (5-11, 4.42 ERA)
Houston: Fernando Abad (0-3, 5.30 ERA)
Season Series: Chicago leads 5-4
Prediction: Cubs win series 2-1
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Use Long Ball to Sweep Away Pirates
Wins at this point of the year don’t mean much for the Cubs, sure they might be able to avoid 100 losses, but that’s about it. Across the field in the other dugout these wins mean everything, which renders this weekend as a complete disaster for the Pirates as they walk away from this series without a single win. 
Today it was a combination of solid starting pitching from Chris Rusin, and the long ball as the Cubs blasted three home runs in the 4-2 victory. Rusin was solid on the mound for the Cubs as he tossed five strong innings giving up one run on five hits while walking three and striking out three. Unfortunately the Cubs bullpen couldn’t hang on to a one run lead late so Rusin had to settle for a no decision. After the Pirates tied the game in the seventh on a James Russell balk, Alfonso Soriano continued is ridiculous 2012 by blasting his 28th home run of the season in the eighth to put the Cubs up for good 4-2. Soriano finished the day 1-for-4 with a home run, and two RBI’s, he’s now has 94 RBI’s on the season to go with his 28 home runs. Josh Vitters and Anthony Recker had the other two home runs for the Cubs today, it was Recker’s first major league home run. Carlos Marmol had an uneasy ninth inning but was able to nail down his 18th save of the season and lowered his ERA to under four, which was something that no one thought he would do this year back in May.
Game Highlights:
Soriano’s Game Winning Home Run
Marmol Escapes with the Save
Sappelt’s Nice Grab
Recker’s First Career Homer
Josh Vittes Goes Deep
Thanks for reading,
- George
September 9, 2012 – Cubs Lineup vs. Pirates
Here is the Cubs lineup for Sunday, September 9.
Mather – CF
Barney – 2B
Rizzo – 1B
Soriano – LF
Castro – SS
Vitters – 3B
Sappelt – RF
Recker – C
Rusin – P
Go Cubs!!
-Mark
Samardzija Saves His Best for Last
Talk about an exclamation point on a season, Jeff Samardzija went the distance in his final 2012 start in a 4-3 victory over the Pirates. It was known for a couple of days that Samardzija would be making his last start of the season tonight, so he was ready to empty the tank tonight, and he did. Samardzija gave up three runs, two earned, on four hits while walking one and striking out nine in his first career complete game. 
A fantastic season for Shark as he was not guaranteed a spot in the rotation until the last week of spring training, he finished the year 9-13 with a 3.81 ERA, and 174.2 innings. The Cubs did just enough with the bats to help Samardzija get his ninth win of the season and put another dent in the Pirates playoff hopes. Four runs was just enough, but the Cubs could have had so much more tonight as they were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left ten guys on base. Tony Campana, hitting ninth tonight, was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base, the Cubs had four stolen bases in all. Alfonso Soriano went deep again tonight, his 27th home run of the season, David DeJesus and Welington Castillo each had two hits in the victory. Two in a row, the Cubs go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon.
Game Highlights:
Samardzija Goes the Distance
Castro Hit by Pitch
RBI Single from DeJesus
Soriano’s 27th Home Run
Thanks for reading,
- George
September 8, 2012 – Cubs Lineup vs. Pirates
Jeff Samardzija will get his last start of the season tonight against the Pirates. He is also hitting eighth as Tony Campana will occupy the nine spot in the lineup. Brett Jackson gets the day off after almost going through the wall last night. Welington Castillo will get the start behind the plate as Steve Clevenger will serve a one game suspension for his role in the fight earlier this week. Here is a look at the rest of the Cubs lineup for Saturday, September 8. The game is set to start at 6:00 PM on CSN Chicago.
DeJesus – RF
Valbuena - 3B
Rizzo – 1B
Soriano -LF
Castro – SS
Castillo – C
Barney – 2B
Samardzija – P
Campana – CF
Go Cubs!!
-Mark
