Fresh Wood in pen, yet Cubs stagger with all wet Dempster
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by Silencer76
For eight innings Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, fans were treated to a well played, well managed, if poorly pitched at times, ballgame. Carlos Zambrano, the majors sole 14 game winner at game time, went 5 + innings, giving up a run on two hits, striking out five but walking SEVEN before leaving with cramps. Chicago tied the game in the bottom of the sixth on a Derrek Lee solo homer, his sixth in 13 games.
The Mets went back up 2-1 in the 7th following a walk, a stolen base, and one of the slowest base hits I have seen in years, a cue shot by Marlon Anderson that died shortly after hitting the outfield grass.
Then Cubs fans had to deal with Eddie Vedder singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Honestly, I didn't like him when he was singing grunge music in the early 90s, and it didn't get any better today. The Cubs did rally on a two out RBI double by Jason Kendall to tie the game at 2, and it held that way through the eighth, though both teams did have opportunities.
Fans were excited seeing Wood warming up in the pen in the bottom of the 7th and it appeared he would make an appearance and his 07 debut in the 8th, but after the hit by Kendall, Lou Piniella made the move to Bob Howry. Howry did get through the eighth, though not without adventure. In the bottom half, Guillermo Mota gave up a single to Lee, who stole second, took third on a throwing error by Castro, and was stranded when Aramis Ramirez flew to center to end the inning.
Enter Ryan Dempster. Dempster, who gave up five runs on three hits in an appearance against New York earlier this year, turning a 5-1 lead into a 6-5 loss, wasted no time getting in trouble, walking David Wright. Carlos Delgado, who had walked four times and singled, doubled to right, with Wright beating a poor relay, and Delgado going to third to make it 3-2. By the time the top of the ninth was over, Dempster had given up four runs on five hits, and the fans were booing the loudest they have since Bonds pinch hit for the Giants at Wrigley a couple weeks ago in a 2-2 game.
The disconcerting thing is not so much that Dempster has struggled against the Mets (obviously), giving up 9 runs in 2 innings, but that the bullpen has allowed 7 runs in the past two ninth innings, ruining what was very quality work by the pen up to that point.
One can hope that Lou thinks twice about bringing Dempster in should it be a close game with the Mets the remainder of the weekend, because his confidence in facing the club has to be shaken. Wood is obviously the freshest arm Piniella has in the pen, and he may as well throw him in the mix. There is no point in having him taking up a roster spot otherwise.
Will Wood become the closer down the stretch? Unlikely, as I would think that Carlos Marmol with his blazing fastball and dancing slider would give him the inside track. Dempster, as I have said many times before, is better suited as a setup or even middle relief, especially if Wood and Howry can occupy the 7th and 8th inning slots.
Hopefully, this outing does not hamper the Cubs down the stretch. Tomorrow Ted Lilly faces John Maine, should be a very good pitching matchup once again.
