Astros Hate Holidays, Lose to Cubs 5-4
by David Coleman on Sep 6, 2010 4:06 PM CDT
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PrintWay to bum me out, guys. Here I am, working away when most of the nation is grilling and/or enjoying a frosty beverage. You go into Wrigley Field, home of a team I really could not like any less, and promptly blow a four-run lead.
Thanks a lot, jerks.
Not even a Chris Johnson home run (as he continues to heat back up again and says, "Luck? I don't need no stinkin' LUCK!) could bring me any joy today. That's what happens when Wandy pitches alright, but gives up his lead late and Wilton Lopez loses the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Seriously, these are the two pitchers who have mini-implosions? "Every Day" and Dominant Wandy?
Not even Matt Downs starting at short and going 1 for 2 with a walk could help salvage this game. Not even solid days at the plate from Michael Bourn and Jason Castro could salve these wounds. I've been let down by this ballclub. I thought you were better than this, Astros...I thought we had left all this back in April and May. But, no, you have to go and bring it all back up again.
Did you have to take little WIlton with you? I didn't ask for much. Just one feel-good story in the bullpen. He wasn't hurting anyone. And yet, whatever magic he had in his arm earlier in the season seems to be gone, as he does the Regression Shuffle back towards his minor league numbers. Alas.
Okay, let's leave this one behind and move on to tomorrow, when we kick off Prospect Week. Get excited...
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This isn't entirely fair
But I blame Carlos Lee’s butchery at first base for this loss. He looked ugly and indecisive out there, slow off the bat and unsure about what he was supposed to be doing on several important plays (runs scored later in the inning). He hasn’t spent much time at the position, so it’s somewhat understandable, and yet… with Wallace at first base, we might have won this game.
Hitting or not, I’m very tired of seeing Lee in the field for this team. He almost makes me wish the NL used the DH.
Salt in the wound was Bogey making a nice play in left field that there is absolutely no way Lee would have gotten to.
I don't blame Lee at all
The only bad play involving Lee I remember was the grounder in the third inning he stopped from going into right field for a run scoring single in the first place. He made a throw from an awkward position to first that Wandy dropped – hard play for both guys.
I’ll take your word on Bogusevic making a nice play in left, but the tying run scored when he was slow to field a ball off the wall (more from lack of experience with playing the ivy as much as anything)
While those two plays were costly, they had plenty of company. A critical wild pitch, a critical passed ball, two critical GIDPs early in the game, an unaccountalble bunt, a toss out at home, and not jumping all over a struggling Cubs pitcher all contributed to this painful one run loss.
Astros fan for life
by Joe in Birmingham on Sep 6, 2010 6:34 PM CDT up reply actions
It wasn't the only botched play.
I think him being in such a bad position to field the ball you’re talking about in the first place was due to his poor first step and his awful range; he’s slow and he’s clumsy. It was an all around poor play. Wandy was in position; Lee barely stopped the ball from going through and made a bad throw as a result.
That wasn’t the only botched play on Lee’s part. There was another (it may have even been in the same inning, I forget) where he was within range to stop a ball from going into right field, but stood there indecisively for a split second and then broke to the bag instead. It went for a single. There was another play where he dove late for a ball and came up short.
The play I was praising Bogusevic for was a shallow low fly ball which Bogey ran in for and caught. Lee would have allowed that to drop in front of him.
In any case, like I said, it’s not entirely fair for me to blame Lee. You can’t expect him to be good at first base with his awful tools and lack of experience. But seeing him start instead of Wallace pissed me off the second I saw the lineup before the game, then he went on to confirm my irritation with his horrible defensive play.
I agree with everything you said
Except being pissed at seeing Lee at first. While I’m sure that Wallace would have done a better job.. You have to try to keep Lee’s bat in line up.. He’s been pretty hot lately (even though he only managed a double today, if I recall.)
There has to be some reason for Lee to play first, and none of us know exactly what this is. But whatever the reason is, to get him out of left.. or make him look more attractive in a trade.. it seems it must be done. This is a Cubs and Astros game, so it doesn’t mean much to anyone since neither have any playoff hopes, so its the best time to start Lee at first.
We may have won with Wallace at first today.. I think that’s a very real possibility and I criticized Lee’s play in the field during the game thread.
It’s easy to say I don’t blame Lee.. but hell, he makes $18 million or something, so whatever. He sucked today
by entropic soul on Sep 6, 2010 11:19 PM CDT up reply actions
Carlos Lee’s effort on that ball which Wandy dropped was excellent. I don’t have any reason to believe that either Wallace or Berkman gets to that ball in better shape. That play actually encouraged me to believe that Carlos Lee can be a better anticipated defensive first baseman. That’s the way I saw it.
You can get a pretty good view of what I’m talking about here. Lee’s lack of mobility really cost him on that play. His first step is simply atrocious. Many first basemen get to that ball standing up and it’s a routine play. I don’t know if Wallace does, but I suspect he would have even though he’s not the most mobile guy either, because he actually has a pretty good first step despite an overall lack of speed.
Looking at the video, I didn’t really change my opinion, other than to perhaps downgrade my description of Lee’s play as average. But I think most any first baseman positioned where Lee was at would have been forced to dive for the ball. If a player kept his feet he would probably have had to make a pirouette throw to first base which would have been spectacular play. Given the positioning and time involved, the player will be facing the outfield when they get to the ball, so I don’t see it as a high percentage play. Perhaps a lefthander has a better chance if they can backhand the ball, but it wouldn’t be an easy play.
..oh, omit my last sentence…I think a righthander has a better chance at backhanding the ball if they could get there standing up.
I thought the dive was good, but the throw was simply bad to a left handed pitcher. Wandy almost barehanded that ball for the out, but even then the ball was still a foot or two behind him. Not throwing to the glove side is what doomed the play.
by Timothy De Block on Sep 7, 2010 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions
Footer provides a couple more photos.
Lee had a pretty poor night at the plate. He basically had hitters counts in all of his at bats, and had one double, considering in his first three at bats, he swung four times in hitters counts and didn’t get a dime from them.
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