Chris Volstad is having a crummy year. He entered Sunday with 24 consecutive starts without a win (dating back to last year) and was 4 away from tying the MLB record. He took matters into his own hands on Sunday, allowing no runs in 6.2 innings on his way to his first victory since July of 2011.
“It was only fitting that the day took so long,” Volstad said. “(A delay) before the game, I’m used to that. It’s happened to me couple of times already this year and in Florida obviously. But the tarp being pulled in the ninth inning it was like, ‘Come on, let’s just get this over with.’”
And when the game was called after 8 innings, Volstad was feted like it was his bachelor party. To his credit, he only gave up two hits in his 6.2 shutout innings.
“I guess it was a little bit of a relief but like I’ve been saying I just want to throw well, keep the team there and have the team win the game,” Volstad said. “The streak, that’s just for you guys more than it is for me. But it is a little sense of relief to get it over with.”
And Dale Sveum is just so gosh darn proud of him.
“He pitched one heck of a game, keeping the ball on the ground and was actually getting some weak contact on that sinker,” manager Dale Sveum said. “He had his offspeed pitches working. He was pitching down and away. He had a great day and it was nice for him. I know that’s a huge monkey off his back.”
Now that Volstad is off the schneid, Dale Sveum can get back to concentrating on molding Darwin Barney into the hitter he thinks he can be.
“He knows some of the adjustments he has to make to get some things working on the backside where he can get some length through the strike zone with his bat,’’ Sveum said. ‘‘His hand-eye coordination, the strength, the hand speed, it should play into a .290-to-.310 hitter someday.”
To round things out today, Bob Brenly’s contract with the Cubs ends after this season. That, coupled with Mark Grace’s leave of absence following his second DUI has many speculating that Brenly might be headed west after this season. Bob isn’t going to fuel that fire.
Brenly said he’s not worried, adding talks with the Cubs are going well.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I have every confidence that we’ll get something done.”
Brenly said media speculation he would leave for the Arizona job was simply “rain delay filler.” Diamondbacks analyst Mark Grace has taken a leave of absence after being arrested on a DUI charge in Scottsdale.
I’m able to watch so few games that this is of little consequence to me. But if Brenly bails, is Kerry Wood ready to step in as his replacement?
Only Mark Grace could turn his second DUI into a job opportunity. He managed to turn “drunk-ass womanizer” into an actual job.
Sounds a lot like Harry Caray.
So with this series win over the Rockies, I think the Cubs have crawled back into the wild card race.
No,but it sure makes Colorado feel bad that they lost to the Cubs. The best the Cubs could shoot for to is keep someone else out the of wild card..
So are you telling me the Cubs are out of playoff contention? I don’t believe you.
Now that Volstad finally won a game, I really have nothing to talk about.
Julie rendered speechless! I’m waititng for an earthquake!
I blame rap music for my obsession with butts.
You better take a break from that book your coworker gave you.
So . . um . . how about that hurricane down in the gulf?
I really,really, want the storm track to change back to its original course.New Orleans doesn’t need this storm; Florida has prepared and is in better shape to take the hit. I hope Mother Nature realizes Bobby Jindal is in Tampa this week…
Unforutnately (or fortunately), Bobby Jindal is skipping to convention to help with storm preparation.
We’ve officially hit rock bottom:
http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Drew-Peterson-trial-judge-pokes-fun-at-Cubs-3817888.php
Cubs have acquired Anthony Recker (C) from the Athletics. No, I don’t know why.
Did they pay anything for him,or was he hanging around, and Theo felt sorry for hin?
It was in exchange for Blake Lalli…
This is good because we need to purge our system of Blakes.
I didn’t know “Anthony Recker” was a copyrighted name.
I was laughing at this article in today’s NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/sports/baseball/white-sox-though-winning-cant-outdraw-cubs-in-chicago.html?ref=todayspaper
I know what else they could do…..
MOVE!
He’s probably thought about the fact that he should have moved the team to St. Petersburg in the 90′s…except he probably would have experienced the same problems down there.
The one thing that almost no one has brought up as a theory behind this kinda of indifference from Sox fans is that the team has really choked down the stretch over the last few years. It might have left a bad taste in the mouth of many Sox fans…especially that joke of stretch at the end of 2010. And after the “All in” stupidity of last year, I think it’s going to take a lot more than being in first place in before their fans are going to get excited enough to brave it at the ballpark.
Hey! We’re 20.5 gms out.
With the right combinations of losses by other teams and of course an incredible win streak by our Cubbies,we can do this.
this was sopposed to go up where Doc correctly stated we were in wild card contention.
And GO VOLSTAD!
See! It’s time to get excited folks.
There were some bright spots this weekend:
1. The Dodgers lost.
2. But Vin Scully is coming back for 1 more year,and will announce the Yankee series in NY in 2013.
3. Volstad won, preventing the first documented case of an exploding pitcher.
4. Nobody care about the White Sox..
5. I got to watch,”Robin Rood:Men in Tights” again…
“Walk this way!”
Josh Vitters is living up to my expectations…. .091 BA (11/66) I think he’s even money to be released over the winter.
Game thread posted