The Cubs flew out of Chicago high on the sweep of the Astros, but had to go to Atlanta and face a team over .500. Anthony Rizzo homered again and Jeff Samardzija looked more like the pitcher we saw earlier this year and less like the pitcher we saw in June. He apparently was trying to throw a curve ball without much success.
“That’s the learning curve of this starting stuff,” manager Dale Sveum said. “If you’re a three-pitch pitcher, be a three-pitch pitcher and don’t all of a sudden think you’re going to get to a 1.00 ERA. Just like a .300 hitter, don’t try to be a .350 hitter and change things otherwise you’re going to go backward. But that’s the learning curve of starting sometimes.”
Samardzija said he added the curveball in his June 16 outing against theBoston Red Sox with the intention of not only having another out-pitch at his disposal, but to also give opposing hitters one more thing to think about.
It turned out that the one more thing opposing hitters were thinking about was how far they were going to hit the curve ball. Anthony Rizzo hit his second home run of the year, but also covered for what looked to be a strange Starlin Castro gaffe in the second. Dan Uggla grounded to short, Castro waited to throw to first and Uggla beat the throw for a single. As you might imagine, Dale Sveum was waiting for Castro at the end of the inning, but that’s where Rizzo stepped in.
“Rizzo came to his rescue right away,” Sveum said. “Rizzo told him to give him time to get to the bag. He got caught probably trying to get too much ground and told somebody to take their time when they got a ball deep in the hole. It was one of those things that I apologized to Castro after.”
He’s a slugger and a stand-up guy.
“It was my fault in my opinion,” Rizzo said. “I told him before that to give me a little time. That’s just me not knowing Uggla’s speed. I thought I had time to get there.”
Luis Valbuena had two doubles and three RBI last night, and he appears to be the choice for now as the starting third baseman for the rest of the season. That’s because Ian Stewart is out for the season, facing surgery on his injured wrist. Does Dale Sveum expect him back next year?
“He’s got all the ability to do it,” he said. ‘I’d like to see some adjustment in the swing, whether it was the hand or not. … The defense is something you’re always wanting, and the power and athleticism he brings, there’s just not many around at third base that have those kind of attributes. We’ve got to get better than what we’ve been the last 300 at-bats in the big leagues.”
I hope he gets all better and then turns into Mike Schmidt.
You want Ian Stewart to turn into a jerk?
Rizzo covering for Castro-not sure if that’s a good idea. If Rizzo actually did tell Starlin not to throw it okay, but if he’s trying to not get Castro yelled at he’s not doing him a favor. Castro being yelled at=Castro learning not to do it again.(I hope)
He’d better learn very quickly how much faster the game is at the ML level. Even a muscle-bound stump-of-a-man like Uggla can run.
I’d rather him make mistakes now (while this team still stinks) as opposed when they have a quality lineup on the field. He’s still learning…just like they say about Castro.
A company in Atlanta wants to hire me…not that I’m super actively looking…but they really are interested in me (God knows why) and I actually appear to be a very good fit for this company.
I was in Atlanta in 1996, visiting to watch the Olympics, and I thought the place was kinda dumpy…but that just might have been because of the billions of tourists in town.
Does anyone have any thoughts about Atlanta? Is it actually a good city to live?
I spent a year in Peachtree City (south of Atlanta) in 2006-7.
1. It is hot and muggy.
2. You will be just another Damn Yankee. The difference between a Yankee and a Damn Yankee is that a Yankee comes, spends his money and goes home.
3. You will never be accepted fully into the local population.
4. The amenties of big city are all there.
5. You can say anything about anyone as long as you add “bless their heart” at the end.
6. There will never be a draught there. They just go outside, slice a cube of air, and bring it inside and wring it out.
7. Be VERY aware of any neighborhood you look at for housing. Also look at the surrounding areas.
8. GET A GPS Locator like Tomtom. Every third street is ****-Peachtree-****** Ave/street/blvd/walk/etc.
9. The Braves stadium is a great place to watch a game.
10. I couldn’t wait to get out of there.
Bear in mind I went there to work for a Japaneese company (Panasonic) and that tainted my view.
It’s funny because if I were to get a job offer from this company, I would be leaving a Japanese company (Sony) which might actually make me want to unreasonably move to Atlanta.
I would never ever never ever EVER EVER EVER ever never ever work for a Japanese company again.
A direct quote from the guy running my new-hire orientation: “YOU have to understand that the Japanese consider Americans to be BARBARIANS.”
Send me your phone number and I’ll tell you some real fun stories.
Oh…I know exactly how you feel. I’m dealing with the same right now.
“6. There will never be a draught there. They just go outside, slice a cube of air, and bring it inside and wring it out.”
I lol’d.
I had to travel there for a class, and arrived at night. It was awful hot, but the cab people were really nice. They told me the main street name in Atlanta was Peachtree, and depending on the direction it would be Peachtree Lane, Peachtree Road, Peachtree Place.,etc. The city seems to be broken into sections; I was in the downtown business section near the CNN building; some of my co-workers went to Buckhead, which is where some shops,cafes, etc. were at. They have featured Atlanta as a city where you can find affordable housing, so you might want to weigh that in….
I’m also curious about how the schools are down there. That’s something else I suppose I would have to take into consideration.
Not to burst your bubble, but I know several Chicagoans down there who absolutely hate it. And, it’s supposedly a horrible sports town, to boot.
I know all about how bad of a sports town it is…but I don’t care too much about that since I won’t cheer for any of those teams anyway…and the fact that I am a Cubs/Bears fan won’t result in continuous ridicule down there.
I get the sense that most people from up here don’t like it…but I seems the biggest complaint is about the heat, which isn’t something that bothers me that much.
I’m just going to go out in a limb and guess that schools in Madison are far superior to those in GA.
Actually, the schools in Madison are a complete mess. Luckily, I live in Evansville that has actually done a good job with their schools.
Overall (as you probably know), I want out of Wisconsin.
You will find good food in Atlanta, if that helps. Unless you are vegan, there are tons of good regional restaurants, with different styles of Southern cooking.
Anything is better than the crap food up here in Wisconsin…”Would you like some cheese with that cheese?” UGH!
I’m pretty sure they do the same thing down there, only with gravy.
black-eye peas with everything
but there would be grits and fried okra, 2 things I can’t seem to find up here, at least not good ones
this wasn’t in Atlanta, but I had grits and shrimp in May, how is it that I have never had this before? sounds weird I know, but it was amazing
mmmm, I love grits. Had em Tulsa for breakfast.Felt like Vinny in ‘Bama.
I wish that a company wanted me. I had to practically BEG my way into the job I have now. I’d move to India, Pakistan, or even Wisconsin if someone wanted me . . .
Pakistan? Bin Laden’s house is for sale…Oh wait I think they destroyed it. But the lot is probably up “for sale. Build to suit”
I lived in Newnan Ga, just below Peachtree City in 2008 and everyone is correct with their take on the place. Are you a Southern Baptist? If you move there you might want to consider becoming one because that is all you will find out there. I have never lived in Wisconsin but I was born in Chicago and have been there many times and it sucks. I would probably pick Georgia over Wisconsin if you ask me. The Catfish fishing is way better and you might want to pick up a can of Copenhagen on your way.
You know how we traded Colvin and whoever for Ian Stewart and then we got Valbuena who is just as good anyway and by the way Stewart is hurt and probably out for the year?
Here’s Tyler Colvin’s line this year:
.303, 9 HR, 32 RBI
Fun!
He could never have stayed here, not after Wrigley Field went all Van Helsing on his ass.
He’s also walked only 7 times and struck out 44 times in 179 plate appearances. It’s basically the same Colvin from the beginning of his rookie season in a platoon. We’ll see how the second half goes for him.
Besides…the key to that deal was Casey Weathers who is putting up great numbers in AA right now….
Well, great numbers compared to what I would put up if I was pitching in AA right now.
There are some freakin’ idiots on Twitter.
I never liked the fact that we gave him on the basis of 1 down year.
move this 1 spot up
Do tell…
I could have really used a day game today Atlanta, just saying
I certainly could use a lot more day games
shoot, now I want to learn how to make shrimp and grits
thanks a lot LOHO
Maybe I’ll ask this company if I can work off-site…and then move to Hawaii or something.
Go to the Food Network website, they have recipes…
Next week there is no Cubs baseball for 4 whole days in a row. And we’ll probably go into All Star break hot.
I blame Theriot.
Cashner starts against the D-backs tonite. Pitched 6.1 innings of no-hit ball his last start.Struck out the side twice. Reached 100 mph. Glad Rizzo is doing well.
I don’t think there is much concern about Cashner’s stuff. It appears to be quite good…just like when he was with the Cubs. The bigger problem with Cashner is his mechanics. A lot of people believe he’s likely to break down relatively early in his career.
I don’t see Cashner as a starter over the long term…I believe Rizzo has a better chance of panning out for the Cubs.
All that being said…Cashner was really impressive last week.