Chicago Cubs Apparel and Merchandise by Wrigleyville Sports

Ryan Theriot Possible Leadoff Man Next Year?

With Alfonso Soriano being moved out of the Chicago Cub's Leadoff Position for next season, this will leave open a spot at the Top of the Batting Order.  Ryan Theriot is one of the candidates to take this spot. 

This season, he has had 7 home runs, 52 RBIs, and a .289 Batting Average.  Also, Theriot is currently leading the team in stolen bases with 19.  Not to mention, the guy just loves to hit.  Theriot was quoted as saying "I haven't worried about [average] all year. My goals are always score runs -- get on base and score runs. I think if you do that, you're helping your team win and everything else takes care of itself. However that works out -- walks, or reach on an error, or get a hit or something -- just get on first base."

Now, that's a True Team Player!

Chicago Cubs Ryan Theriot Authentic Alternate Jersey

Chicago Cubs Ryan Theriot Authentic Home Jersey

Chicago Cubs Ryan Theriot Authentic Road Jersey

Ryan Theriot Autographed Baseball

Ryan Theriot Chicago Cubs T-Shirt

Chicago Cubs Ryan Theriot Big Head Bobblehead

Scoring With Two Out

One thing the Cubs have been doing with regularity during the June and July run is scoring with two out.  And they've been doing it a lot.

Tonight's game against the St. Louis Cardinals was more of the same.

A two out single in the second inning from Jacque Jones scored Cliff Floyd. Ronnie Cedeno hit an RBI single with two out in the sixth to score Derrek Lee. In the seventh inning, Ryan Theriot got on base via an error, Derrek Lee walked, and Aramis Ramirez drove in Theriot - all this with two out.

Finally, in the top of the ninth inning, with two out, Ryan Theriot walked, stole second base, and was knocked in by a Derrek Lee single.

Why is all this two out hitting happening now, when it didn't happen in April and May?  Who knows?  Who cares, as long as it continues, and the Cubs keep winning.

Tonight's Three Stars of the Game...

With all the focus on the two out hitting, the nice ballgame pitched by Carlos Zambrano was overlooked.  Big Z went 6 1/3 innings and allowed only five hits and two runs.  His only significant trouble spots came in the fourth inning, where he walked a couple of batters, and again in the fifth, when he gave up a 2 run triple.  Not bad.  He gets his league-leading 13th win.

Ryan Theriot came through for both the go ahead run in the seventh as well as a manufactured insurance run that the Cubs ended up needing in the ninth.  Theriot contributes a big chunk of the small ball play that has kept the Cubs winning over the past eight weeks.

Finally, Aramis Ramirez seems to be a nightly feature on the Three Stars of the Game.  The man is just phenomenal so far this season, knocking in big runs and hitting for average as well.  Aramis went 4-for-5 tonight knocked in the run that put the Cubs on top going into the late innings.  He has been as solid as anyone could ask for hitting behind Derrek Lee, and his batting average is a hefty .321.  He also leads the team in RBI with 65.

Jacque Jones continues to be a bright spot for the Cubs, although he didn't get a Star tonight.  Again, Jacque had no strikeouts, walked twice, and went 1-for-2 with an RBI single in the second inning. 

The Cubs keep pace with the Milwaukee Brewers, who won in Cincinnati tonight.

Cubs Sweep Houston, Await Barry and Company

The brooms were out in Wrigleyville on Sunday, and they swept the Astros out of town.  But just barely.

The Cubs have not been good with holding opposing teams scoreless in early innings, and Sunday's game was no different.  The Astros scored early and often against Jason Marquis, as the Houston hit parade marched all over the diamond in the first and second innings.

Before you could blink an eye, we were knee deep in a 5-0 drubbing.

But the Cubs, with their recent success (winners of 14 out of their last 18 games before Sunday), didn't seem concerned.  And they shouldn't have.  The Cubs lineup is full of .300 + hitters, and has plenty of run scoring potential:

Alfonso Soriano (.308)
Aramis Ramirez (.313)
Mike Fontenot (.333)
Derrek Lee (.335)

And there are a couple of other guys right there just under .300:

Mark DeRosa (.298)
Cliff Floyd (.297)

By the end of the second inning, it was a game again, thanks to the Cubs playing long ball.  And it was the long ball that won it for them, too. 

But let's not forget the great bullpen work again.

In another twist to the Three Stars of the Game feature, we are giving four Stars, because there really are too many contributions toward the win:

Derrek Lee - his three run home run in the second inning put the Cubs back in the lead, after being down five runs early.  DLee was 3-for-3 with a walk and again, no strike outs.

Angel Pagan -  prior to DLee's shot in the second, Pagan had his own two run shot on the heels of a Giovanni Soto RBI single.

Ryan Theriot - his fourth inning solo home run gave the Cubs the lead for good, as our fourth "star" went to work...

The Cubs bullpen - the 'pen shut down the Astros from the fifth inning on, allowing no runs on just three hits and three walks.

Cubs Bats Awaken, No Power Surge

The Cubs team is not designed for small ball, but that's what we're getting lately.

Tonight's game was a very good example of this, with all 14 of the Cubs hits going for singles. It just so happened that they strung several of those singles together, and combined them with some bases on balls and sacrifice flies to the tune of seven runs.

PNC Park is not known as a hitter's paradise, but you'd think the Cubs could squeeze out just one double or home run.  Let's hope Derrek Lee's lackluster power numbers do not continue to rub off on his teammates as we head into the second half of the season.

On another good note, the Cubs re-gain the game they dropped to the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday, as the Brew Crew dropped a close game to the Washington Nationals tonight.  With one game left before the All Star break, the Cubs are four and 1/2 games behind the Brewers.

Tonight's Three Stars of the Game for the Cubs are...

Alfonso Soriano - his name keeps popping up as a Star of the Game, as he continues his hot hitting, base stealing, and run scoring.  Alfonso went 3-for-5 tonight with three singles (of course), two runs scored, and an RBI.  His stolen base came in the first inning, which set the stage for two Cubs runs and an early lead for Ted Lilly.  The Cubs have been a first inning scoring machine, with more runs scored in that inning than any other this season.

Ryan Theriot - the Cubs other unknown infielder (Mike Fontenot was given the day off) also went 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI single. 

Ted Lilly - the Cubs left hander pitched into the eighth inning, giving up only one run on eight hits (most of those hits came as he was running out of gas in the seventh and eighth innings) while only walking one and striking out six.  Lilly has improved his record to 8-and-4, and is becoming a solid force in the Cubs starting rotation.

The Cubs finish out the series with the Pittsburgh Pirates tomorrow.  If they win the game, they extend their series winning streak to 5, and take their record to 13-3 over those five series.  If the Cubs can couple a win with a Brewers loss, they will be only 3 and 1/2 games out of first place at the All Star break. 

Get ready for a wild ride in July, August, and September.

That's the Way the Game is Meant to be Played

The Cubs played an all around fundamentally solid game today, and it paid off with a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.  With the win, the Cubs take the series 2 games to 1 and pick up a game on the first place Brewers.

For the first time in the series, the Cubs did not give up a first inning run, and managed to take a two run lead in the bottom of the frame on an Aramis Ramirez two run double into the right center field gap, plating Ryan Theriot and Derrek Lee.  They added two more runs in bottom of the third on three hits and a Brewer error.

Then, the offense left it up to Jason Marquis to shut down the Brew Crew. 

Marquis threw seven strong innings, allowing only one run - a Corey Hart solo dinger - on just four hits.  He walked only one batter and struck out five in a very solid performance.  He even threw in a defensive gem on a broken bat comebacker.  The shattered barrel of Ryan Braun's bat flew toward the pitcher's mound at the same time the ball did.  Marquis was able to keep his focus on fielding the ball, even as the bat hit him in the face and forearm.  Keeping composure, he threw to first for the out.

Carlos Marmol threw a nearly perfect two innings of relief, giving up just one run and striking out four of the six batters he faced.  Marmol's stuff was nasty - his heater was showing mid 90's on the radar gun, and his slider was crisp and breaking sharply.  His intensity was also very impressive, as he pumped his fist after striking out Bill Hall to end the game.

Our Three Stars of the Game go to...

Ryan Theriot - his three for four performance consisted of all doubles, and he scored on all three.  He did not strike out at all, and left no runners on base.  Theriot was also a key player defensively, turning a nice double play to get the Cubs out of a jam in the fourth inning.

Jason Marquis - a very well pitched ball game, and a very efficient one.  Seven strong innings on only 77 pitches, 54 of which were strikes.  Only four hits allowed and just one run.

Carlos Marmol - his two innings were stunning, and he looked to be nearly unhittable.  Ryan Dempster better pitch well after the All Star break, or we may be seeing a new closer for the Cubs.