No Joke: Cubs’ Skid Hits 5 Since Trade

July 9, 2014 @ admin → No Comments

Midweek musings: OK, this was supposed to be a one-day joke. Maybe two. You know, the Chicago Cubs’ winless streak since their July 4 trade of Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the Oakland A’s. And in the second game of a day/night doubleheader it appeared that would occur. Home runs by Anthony Rizzo, Chris Coughlin and Mike Olt. A 5-0 lead. One unearned run allowed by Tsuyoshi Wada in his big-league debut. A 5-0 Cubs lead. A 6-5 Cincinnati victory on a walkoff single in the ninth. No joke (although the Cubs continue to be the butt of one).

Aneta Kowal would like your vote for Miss Hooters Social.

* Let the record show that the Cubs’ record since the July 4 trade is 0-5. Oakland’s record is 4-0. And Smardzija’s record is 1-0. Meaning it could be challenging for the Cubs to post more victories before the All-Star Game break than Samardzija. Maybe that was part of the master plan by president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer..

* Speaking of the All-Star Game, White Sox left-hander Chris Sale was leading American League balloting by fans for the final spot on the AL roster and Rizzo was second to Colorado’s Justin Morneau for the National League berth. On Comcast SportsNet, analyst Todd Hollandsworth mentioned how the fans in Minnesota want to see the former Twins star in the game (even if it is for the NL); Hollandsworth also urged viewers to vote for Rizzo. Hollandsworth is not alone in trying to boost the vote for Rizzo. Someone might want to tell those media folks that it is not their job — and it should not be their job — to try to sway the vote. Of course, with the Cubs having part ownership of CSN, there is no expectation of subjectivity. OK, time for me to get off the soap box.

* Speaking of Rizzo, maybe he should be up for an All-Star spot all the time. He certainly has performed well since the balloting started.

* Cubs prospect Kris Bryant was kicked out of Tuesday’s Class AAA Iowa game for disputing the eyesight and/or judgment of the umpire calling balls and strikes. Obviously, the umpire’s vision must be lacking because he failed to recognize future Hall of Famer Bryant. Hopefully, coach Manny Ramirez can help Bryant in ingratiating himself with umpires. That is why the Cubs hired him, no?

* Speaking of Sale (well, we were a few paragraphs ago), he takes his 8-1 record into Wednesday’s game vs. the Red Sox, the lowest-scoring team in the AL. Sale’s 2.16 earned-run average is second among AL pitchers with at least 10 starts to Seattle’s Felix Hernandez’s 2.11. All of which means Boston probably will score early and often vs. Sale. Makes no sense — which makes baseball so entertaining for some of us.

* Speaking of all-star games (I think we were a little while ago), Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky was the leading Eastern Conference vote-getter and second overall for the July 19 WNBA all-star game. The 2013 rookie of the year captured the overall vote title last season. She has been sidelined recently by Lyme disease, so she could miss her second all-star game (she was recovering from a concussion and did not play in the 2013 contest).

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