Bleacher Report - Articles by Andy Miller

Cubs-Braves: Incredible Start for Randy Wells Spoiled by Bullpen

Andy Miller — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:07:04 -0400

To say that Randy Wells was fantastic would be an understatement. He was completely in control of all his pitches. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and practically guaranteed his replacement of Marshall as the fifth starter with his excellent start.

The Cubs offense also got it started early, Alfonso Soriano led off the game with a home run. Randy Wells then helped his own outing by hitting an RBI single in the second inning. The Cubs would add two in the sixth inning, and another in the seventh off of a Derrek Lee homer, his sixth of the season.

While great starting pitching and an offense that started early should've resulted in a one-sided game, but it turned out to be quite the opposite.

Randy Wells exited the game after allowing a home run and a base runner that reached on a rare Derrek Lee error in the bottom of the eighth. Carlos Marmol then came on in relief of Wells.

Now, having Marmol come into pitch in a game wouldn't bother me one bit—if it's the 2008 version of Carlos Marmol. However, the inconsistent 2009 Marmol came in to preserve the lead. Randy Wells should look into getting a time machine to get the 2008 version of Marmol, maybe bring Kerry back too, so that way he can get a win.

Marmol came into the situation previously described, one base runner on first and no outs. Marmol then walked the typically impatient Jeff Francoeur. He then got the Braves' Blanco to fly out.

After getting the first out of the inning, he hit Norton. He then walked in a run facing Kelly Johnson, then allowed a sacrifice fly for Escobar, and finally ended the inning against Chipper Jones, getting him to ground out to second.

Kevin Gregg didn't do much better in the ninth. He got McCann to fly out, then struck out Anderson, but he reached on a wild pitch. Prado flew out to center field, but then Jeff Francoeur tied the game with a home run.

After the Cubs offense did nothing (with the exception of a Fukudome double) in the top of the inning, Angel Guzman made sure that the bottom of the 10th was an interesting one. He allowed a single to Diaz, he was then sacrificed to second on a bunt by Kelly Johnson.

Then, on a ground out to Theriot, Diaz moved to third. They then intentionally walked Chipper Jones and Brian McCann (after trying to pitch around him). Then, with the bases loaded, Anderson grounded out to Derrek Lee.

Mike Fontenot led off the top of the 11th with a single. Bobby Scales pinch hitting for Soto then tried to put down a sacrifice bunt, but popped up the attempt, keeping Fontenot at first. Blanco flew out, and Koyie Hill struck out: The fourth straight scoreless inning by the Braves bullpen.

Aaron Heilman came into pitch the bottom of the 11th, who, like Carlos Marmol has struggled with his command here in the 2009 season. Heilman got Prado to hit a ground ball, but just out of Theriot's range.

Then, Jeff Francoeur did something he's never done in his professional career, he put down a sacrifice bunt, putting a runner in scoring position with just one out.

Heilman then knocked down a ball that was center field bound, and got the out at first, but allowed Prado to move to third. Kosuke Fukudome then made a fantastic catch in right field against Matt Diaz.

The Cubs, once again, did nothing in the top of the 12th with the exception of a Fukudome walk.

Aaron Heilman came back to pitch the bottom of the 12th, and allowed Escobar to single, steal, and then with Chipper Jones at the plate, lost the game for the Cubs. Chipper Jones singled to right, and Soriano didn't even try to make a throw.

It was over. The bullpen had blown it again for Randy Wells, a game he definitely should've won. The offense was horrendous after the seventh inning.

The Cubs need someone to step up, and I have a feeling that it will be Alfonso Soriano, he had some great rips today, including his leadoff homer.

Notes: Rich Harden threw off a mound for the first time since going on the disabled list, and everything seemed to go okay. Harden may rejoin the rotation after a rehab start on this road trip.

Milton Bradley left the game after trying to beat out an infield hit, he's listed as day-to-day and hopefully it isn't anything too serious. The Cubs can't afford to lose Bradley's bat, especially as hot as he's been recently.

Tomorrow's match up: Ted Lilly (6-4, 3.50 ERA) vs. Derek Lowe (6-3, 3.49 ERA)

Cubs-Dodgers: Cubs Split Four Game Series with MLB's Best Team

Andy Miller — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:24:57 -0400

The Chicago Cubs look like they have started to take away some of the question marks surrounding this team.

How can a pitching staff that's so good on paper (maybe the best in the National league, when healthy) keep losing one run games? Ted Lilly got the win in a close 2-1 ballgame.

How can an offense that was so potent and productive last year not be scoring runs consistently? The Cubs, combined with a masterful performance from Ryan Dempster, shut out the Dodgers 7-0.

Now, a new question mark has come into place. Did the Cubs make the right decision in choosing Sean Marshall as their fifth starter? This particular question mark will be addressed when Rich Harden returns from the disabled list, when Marshall will almost certainly be sent to the bullpen to take the place of Neal Cotts, who was the lone lefty in the 'pen.

Randy Wells, (0-2, 1.80 ERA) has pitched a lot better than his record will tell you and will take over the fifth starter position on a permanent basis.

Marshall (3-4, 4.73 ERA) struggled through the first inning of a prime time Sunday night game, allowing five runs. He was not mixing his pitches well, and didn't throw what many consider to be his best pitch, his 12-6 curve ball. In fact, when asked what happened to Marshall in the first inning, that's exactly what Piniella blamed the horrifying inning on.

Did Cubs fans ever think they would miss Jason Marquis (7-3, 3.93 ERA) as their fifth starter? While Marshall looked shaky in this last start, Marquis has found a way to win seven games with a team who doesn't seem to have a snowball's chance of competing in the NL West.

In fact, Marshall's start reminded me of a Marquis start; the only difference is Marshall was able to find the strike zone, he just wasn't fooling the Dodgers hitters. He allowed five hits before recording an out in that dismal first inning.

Two of four from the Dodgers is still fantastic, in my opinion. There were certainly bright spots among the negatives that easily stick out.

Ryan Dempster (4-3, 4.48 ERA) pitched three hit, shutout ball en route to his fourth win of the season. Dempster hadn't been pitching as well as he had last year when he won 17 games, but a shut out of the best run scorers in the league may be just what Dempster needed to regain some of the confidence he lost from his last start against the Pirates, that back and forth game that ended in an 8-10 loss. It was also the last time Neal Cotts pitched for the team, who was demoted (thank God).

Reed Johnson was able to play center field for the series because Los Angeles only used left handed pitchers in the series. Johnson was fantastic, going 8-12 in the series, including a couple home runs and one of the most beautiful squeeze bunts I've ever seen.

The Cubs will now start a nine game road trip Tuesday night in Atlanta, after a much needed off day. Hopefully the team carries the mentality that they split a series with the best team in baseball rather than thinking about their horrific 8-2 loss.

Cubs-Dodgers: Hot Bats Cooling Off Already? Dodgers Defeat Cubs 2-1

Andy Miller — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:52:56 -0400

The bats were finally heating up, they had won two games in a row. And, as Bob Brenly said, "they watched the Dodgers do their thing."

The Dodgers "thing" is great ground ball pitching, and small-ball baseball.

The Cubs watched helplessly as former Cub, Juan Pierre, laced a ball up the middle for a single. Then Pierre displayed his incredible speed by taking second (and probably could've taken third) as Soto had trouble transferring the ball from his glove to his hand. Whether Soto gets that ball in his hand or not, Pierre's safe.

Rafeal Furcal then bunted a single that got into the outfield. It was an incredible bunt, and with it getting into the outfield, it easily scored Pierre. The Dodgers would go on to score one more run over the next six innings.

Randy Wolf, a pitcher the Cubs were able to beat around in his last start against Chicago, took a shut out into the eighth inning, the only run he gave up was a solo shot to Bobby Scales.

The reference to beating up on Wells happened up in Milwaukee. He was the opposing pitcher against Zambrano on Sept. 14, and didn't pitch past the fourth inning in that game. We know how Zambrano pitched in that one.

It's not like the Cubs didn't have opportunities to score against Wells. They left a total of eight runners in scoring position, including a golden opportunity with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with only one out.

Despite grabbing the loss, Randy Wells pitched another excellent game. Rumor has it that once Rich Harden is healthy (well, off the disabled list anyways), Wells may take Marshall's spot in the rotation. Marshall would then take over Neal Cotts's role in the bullpen.

While the Cubs did manage nine hits against the Dodgers, it's troubling that only one run was scored. Somebody needs to step up. Someone needs to come up with a clutch hit with runners in scoring position. And while it would be nice for Fox or Scales to be that guy, it really can't be expected of them.

Soriano, Bradley, Lee. These are the guys that need to step it up, and get the clutch hits that Ramirez would typically get for the Cubs. It's early, but this team has no room for error while sitting in fourth place in the Nation League Central.

A division they were supposed to run away with. What happened to that team? I want to see that team start playing.

Cubs Recap: Hoffpauir 'Slams' Cubs Over Los Angeles Dodgers

Andy Miller — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:34:04 -0500

On a beautiful day that had hints of spring in the air here in the Chicagoland area reminded us a lot of a gorgeous April or May day when the Cubs would be playing some baseball. Well, it's not April, it's February. But the Cubs did play some baseball today.

The Cubs opened up the first of their 39 game schedule today at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, Arizona. Jeff Samardzija got the start today for the Cubs who were taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers, the same team that just four months ago knocked the Cubs out of the playoffs.

Samardzija is hoping to have a shot at that vacancy in the pitching rotation made by the departure of Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies. He opened things up by working a 1-2-3 first.

Then the offense got rolling. Alfonso Soriano, looking the healthiest he has in a long time got on base. Theriot followed with a base hit, as did Derrek Lee. Micah Hoffpauir unfortunately, grounded into a double play, but at the same time giving the Cubs their first run and the lead.

Samardzija came close to getting out of a jam in his second inning, but allowed a two run single with two outs from Tony Abreu. The Dodgers then added on another run in the fourth inning against Cubs pitching prospect Mitch Atkins.

In the fifth inning, Hoffpauir once again came to the plate with the bases loaded and the Cubs trailing 3-1. Hoffpauir hit a grand slam off Ramon Troncoso to give the Cubs the 5-3 lead. It was all the scoring that would take place for the rest of the game.

Cubs Cactus League Record: 1-0

Dodger Cactus League Record: 0-1

Winning Pitcher: Ken Kadokura

Losing Pitcher: Ramon Troncoso

Save: Jeff Stevens

Coming up next for the Cubs: The Cubs will host the division rival Brewers. Sean Marshall, also a contender for the vacant starting pitching position, will get the start for the Cubs, while the Brewers will throw out projected ace Yovani Gallardo.

2008 Year in Review: The Chicago Cubs

Andy Miller — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:15:52 -0500

Lou Piniella brought the worst team in the NL Central to the top of the NL Central in just one season. He was ready to bring the Cubs to back to back playoff appearances for the first time in 100 years. He was also trying to do something else for the first time in 100 years. The 2008 Cubs team won 97 games, they brought in a new right fielder (didn't contribute the way the club had hoped), Ryan Dempster joined the starting rotation, Kerry Wood became the closer. Throw in a few miracle comebacks, a few sweeps of fierce rivals of the North Siders and a few other thrilling and disappointing events, and you have the Chicago Cubs 2008 season.

Begin Slideshow

Cubs Recap: Jim Hendry Needs Only To Look to Iowa For Power Lefty

Andy Miller — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:43:44 -0500

It is completely beyond me why the Cubs are willing to bring in a player who will sacrifice good defense for good offense, when they have that type of player in house already.

Micah Hoffpauir, in my opinion, is exactly what the Cubs are looking for, and he's already on the payroll. He plays just average defense, and would certainly be a downgrade from Kosuke in right, but that's the case with most of the power lefties that the Cubs are looking at on the free agent market.

In the last two years in Triple A Iowa, Micah Hoffpauir has exceeded all expectations. Batting for power and average.

He tied a Pacific Coast league record when he hit four home runs in one game this last year.

When September rolled around, there was no question he would be added to the 40 man roster. On September 25, Hoffpauir went five for five with two home runs against the New York Mets.

In limited time with the Cubs, Hoffpauir batted .342.

Granted, Hoffpauir will most certainly be a downgrade defensively in right, but wouldn't Dunn and Ibanez be too?

With Hoffpauir, we could eliminate the possibility of trading young talent away, or adding another big contract on to the already tight budget.

Then the Cubs can focus on the important things, like getting rid of Jason Marquis and adding, I don't know... Jake Peavy?

Cubs Recap: No Free Agent Arbitrations

Andy Miller — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:25:46 -0500

Are the Cubs really ready to break ties with Kid-K? It appears so.

When the arbitration offer deadline last night at 10:59 pm CT rolled around, the Cubs had yet to offer it to any of their six year free agents.

Had they offered it Wood, Howry, Edmonds, Ward, or Blanco, they would've received a certain number of draft picks had the free agent not signed with the team.

While the Cubs can most certainly continue to negotiate with Wood, the more time goes on, the more it seems like number 34 won't be with the Cubs this year.

Here's a look back at some of Kid-K's accomplishments with his only major league team: The Chicago Cubs.

'98- Kerry Wood throws a gem against the Houston Astros, striking out 20 and only giving up one hit (that hit was most certainly an error though).

Wood finished the '98 season with a 13-6 record and won the Rookie of the Year award.

'99- Wood underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire season.

'00- Had a mediocre year, which can be expected after missing an entire season. Wood went an unimpressive 8-7.

'01- Wood went 12-6 with a 3.36 ERA and struck out 217.

'02- Wood went 12-11, more importantly, he didn't miss a start and once again struck out 217.

'03- Wood went 14-11, had a 3.20 ERA, struck out 266, and only surrendered 24 home runs. Wood won two games in the NLDS to beat the Atlanta Braves, and won game three of the NLCS. In game seven, Kerry Wood hit a home run, but was on the losing side of the game allowing the Florida Marlins to go to the World Series.

'04- Wood went 8-9, and was sidelined for two months with strained triceps.

'05 till '06- Kerry Wood sustained a few unfortunate injuries that kept him from pitching a whole lot.

'07- Kerry Wood came back in August as an end of the bullpen guy sharing time with Marmol and Howry. He went an impressive 1-1 with a 3.33 ERA

'08- Kerry Wood won the closer role after Ryan Dempster made his return to the starting rotation. Kerry Wood saved 34 games in 40 chances.

*MLB Records and Awards Held*

Fastest to reach 1,000 strikeouts in MLB History (in appearances): 134 games

Fastest to reach 1,000 strikeouts in MLB History (In innings pitched): 853 IP

Strikeouts in a nine inning game: 20 (Tied with Roger Clemens)

1998 Rookie of the Year

Bears-Vikings: Top Three Reasons Minnesota Destroyed the Bears

Andy Miller — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:25:36 -0500

There have been quite a few games this season where the Chicago Bears just couldn't get it done within the final minutes of the game.

This week, the game ended a lot sooner.

Through the first few series, it looked like the Bears were doing well; Hester hauled in the longest throw of Kyle Orton's career, the defense was looking a lot like the defense we saw last week at St. Louis.

A goal-line stand by the Vikings defense, a 99-yard pass to Bernard Berrian just one play later, and all the momentum for Chicago was gone.

So, what or who's to blame? What happened? Here's the top three reasons the Bears are no longer at the top of the NFC North.

3. Jerry Angelo.

Some of you are already questioning this one; let me explain. Jerry Angelo, in my opinion, is one of the worst general managers in football. His first-round draft pick didn't start playing until a couple of weeks ago, and it's taken him seven years to find a decent running back (and it's still a little early to assume that Angelo won't find a way to screw up Forte).

He let the most dangerous return man in the game of football play a position he had never played before in his life, and has probably ruined his career.

Being specific to this season, he got rid of all of our decent wide receivers. Last year, I would have thought there couldn't be any way that in Week 13 of the '08 season Bernard Berrian would be hauling in a 99-yard touchdown pass in a purple jersey.

I would have thought, well, he was the reason that anything good happened in '07, they gotta resign him, right?

No, and I blame Jerry Angelo, and that's why he makes my list.

2. Inconsistency from our overpaid defense.

Three weeks ago, while Rex was blowing it for the offense, everyone was getting it done on offense. The defense allowed an average of 0.7 yards per rush. Despite the loss, there was some great defense.

Then the Bears went to Green Bay, and things changed a little. The Bears' defense was shoved all over by Ryan Grant and the rest of the Green Bay running game. The bears gave up an average of over 6 yards per rush that week.

St. Louis, they got it back. 0.7 yards per rush.

Is this just going to be an on again off again thing? This kind of ties into my No. 1 reason the Bears lost control of the NFC North.

1. No. 28: Adrian Peterson

Let me tell you, it's embarrassing to watch Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher, and Tommie Harris all getting pushed around by someone who's about half their size. The only way the Bears could take Peterson down was if there was about 20 guys going to tackle him, and even then, you can't tell for sure.

I understand he's one of the best, if not the best offensive player in the NFL. But there's a reason Urlacher, Harris, and Briggs get paid the big bucks (besides Jerry Angelo being an idiot, see No. 3).

"The Monsters of the Midway" certainly never earn that title whenever they're matched up against Adrian Peterson.

*Honorable mentions*

John St. Claire: What a joke of an offensive lineman.

Lovie Smith: Halftime interview- "I think we played real well in the first half..." If giving up 99 yards on one play is playing great, well... Never mind.

Oh, and Lovie, here's an idea, Kreutz is a huge center, quit handing the ball off to Forte and McKie on those one-yard pickup situations. Just let Orton duck under center and keep it just once.

Charles "Peanut" Tillman: 'Nuff said.

Devin Hester: Yeah, that was a great touchdown catch, but what about the one that hit you square in the chest that you weren't looking for?

Kyle Orton: 205 attempts without an interception, and then what happens? Just because your streak was broken doesn't mean that you can start throwing it up for the defense.

As Lovie Smith will tell us tomorrow in his interview from Halas Hall, we've still got four games, we're now about to enter into the fourth quarter of the season. With the way they played in tonight's fourth quarter, I don't know that I have much hope for the playoffs this year.

Cubs-Orioles: Chicago Doomed By a Lack of Patience in the Ninth

Andy Miller — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:41:24 -0400

The Baltimore Orioles had taken a 7-1 lead. I looked over to my brother and we agreed we'd rather watch the game at home and hope for a comeback there.

After getting some more wings to go (Oh, how I love Buffalo Wild Wings) we hopped in the car and turned on Pat and Ron.

Derrek Lee got a base hit. Aramis Ramirez got a base hit. And then something happened that gave everyone hope again, Jim Edmonds hit the long ball to left center-field, pulling the Cubs within three runs with two more innings to play.

I started honking my horn and put the pedal to the metal to get home to watch the Cubbies pull off a come-from-behind win.

I hate it when they get my hopes up; it felt like they had lost a playoff game, that's how disappointed I was.

I realize it's just a game against the Orioles, and the Cubs still have a 3.5 game lead over St. Louis, but there was something majestic about a team who hadn't been beaten at the Friendly Confines in 14 games, and I just couldn't believe that it would ever come to an end.

It almost didn't. In fact, it shouldn't have ended.

It's the bottom of the ninth. Geovany Soto got a base hit. DeRosa walked. Daryle Ward got a base hit. Bases loaded with NOBODY out.

A base hit would tie the game (at this point it was 7-5), an extra-base hit would win the game. There was no one out, how could the Orioles possibly escape unscathed from such a patient Cubs team?

Cedeno set the tone for the following two hitters. He swung at every single pitch and struck out. Then something happened that I knew sealed the deal, Kosuke Fukudome, the most patient of the patient Cubs hitters, struck out swinging.

While I was still upset when Blanco struck out after Fukudome, I wasn't surprised.

It was almost like it was a completely different batter from the man who had hit such a long home run in the bottom of the fourth. Fukudome had done so well earlier in the game that I thought there was no way we could possibly lose with him coming up.

On a positive note, a pleasant surprise, in my opinion was Sean Marshall. In four-and-two-thirds innings, he struck out seven, but did give up seven hits. For a pitcher making his first big league start of the season, I give Marshall a thumbs up.

Eric Patterson possibly was the second-biggest disappointment (next to Fukudome striking out in the ninth). Along with doing next to nothing at the plate—to the point where he was lifted for Blanco to pitch hit in the ninth—he came in and called off both Edmonds and DeRosa for a ball DeRo clearly had, and then he dropped it to give the Orioles yet another person in scoring position.

Had the Cubs been more patient in the bottom of the ninth, my drought of not seeing a Cubs win in nearly three weeks would've ended last night, hopefully tonight will be different.

The Cubs home streak ends at 14...Let's start a new one tonight. Go Cubs!

Chicago Cubs and One Fan's Withdrawal

Andy Miller — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:59:38 -0400

I have not sat down and watched my beloved Cubbies win a game in nearly three weeks. On June 8, I left for Bosnia and came back on the June 17. Two days later, I left for Ohio (in the two days I was home they played Tampa Bay and got swept) and I just got home late last night and caught the end of the game on WGN Radio.

What a few weeks to miss. I missed (but updated it practically pitch by pitch on my phone) the Cubs sweep the Sox at Wrigley. I missed Alfonso Soriano getting beaned in the hand and landing on the disabled list (again).

I missed the Cubs sweep Atlanta at Wrigley, complete with a throwback jersey day where Len Kasper got to do a Jack Brickhouse "Hey, Hey" to a Jim Edmonds game-tying home run in the ninth inning.

Perhaps I need to leave more often so that way I can sit in front of a computer just watching replays of these moments instead of getting to watch the games live.

Tomorrow, I will be able to watch the entire game, and maybe the headaches will go away.

I can't wait, because the Cubs seem unstoppable right now after watching highlights of this weekend's games. Aramis Ramirez has certainly found his power again, Jim Edmonds can suddenly hit again, and the starting pitching has been pretty good.

The next-to-last place in the AL East Baltimore Orioles come to Chicago tomorrow. The Cubs haven't lost a game at Wrigley in the last 14 attempts. The odds are against the Orioles.

It's good to be back home.

Can the Chicago Cubs Make it Eight in a Row?

Andy Miller — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:27:38 -0400

The Chicago Cubs have won seven in a row, and they have the best record in Major League Baseball. They have the best batting average in the league, they have the most runs scored in the league...and the list goes on and on as to why the Cubs are doing so well.

After years of misery and high hopes, only to have the Cubs disappoint, I'm not going to go as far to say that they're going to the World Series. I think they have a VERY strong possibility of making it to the playoffs.

If they do that, it'll be the first time that they've gone to back-to-back playoff series since 1907-1908. Also, the last time the Cubs had the best record going into June: 1908.

Again, I'm not saying that the Cubs are going to do what the 1908 Cubs did. All I'm saying is that this is the best Cubs team in a LONG time.

The Cubs start a long string of road games today, where 23 of their next 32 games will be away from the Friendly Confines.

This is definitely the series where the Cubs could easily turn their losing road record around. While the San Diego Padres aren't the worst team in baseball, they're certainly not doing so well.

The Padres are 23-35, and have a 7-10 record against the Central division, and a 1-3 record against the Cubs.

I fully expect the Cubs to extend their winning streak to eight tonight versus anther wounded NL West team.

Starting pitchers- Carlos Zambrano RHP (7-1, 2.33 ERA) vs Cha Seung Baek (1-1, 5.23 ERA)

Maple Bats: Major League Baseball Looks the Other Way

Andy Miller — Fri, 30 May 2008 07:04:38 -0400

I was watching the Cubs' batting practice yesterday at Wrigley Field along the first-base line, hoping that Fukudome would catch a foul ball and possibly toss it my way.

Soriano was taking batting practice, and one of the employees at Wrigley Field was making sure that the people in the section watching batting practice actually had tickets for that section.

A foul ball missed hitting him in the head by about five inches. It didn't seem to faze him one bit. I realized that he works there every game, he's probably been nearly hit many times.

A baseball isn't that big and somewhat easy to avoid. But what if a maple bat had exploded towards him? Would he have been as fortunate?

In the past couple of weeks, there have been a few people at ballparks around the MLB that haven't been as fortunate.

While the MLB is currently focusing on issues such as instant replay for controversial calls, they're turning a blind eye towards a much more pressing subject: the banning of maple bats around the league.

Up until about eight years ago, the norm for most major-league players was to use a bat made of ash wood. While these bats would still break, they wouldn't explode like maple bats.

The reason for the change of the status quo? Who else except for MLB's most controversial player, Barry Bonds.

Bonds started using maple bats and started putting up big numbers* (Hopefully somebody will appreciate that). Superstitious players around the league started using maple bats, hoping that their numbers would be boosted by a different bat.

The result is that bats are breaking much more often than they ever have, and it's a serious risk to the players, the coaches, and the fans.

People have been wondering what it'll take for the league to take steps to prevent injuries. Would someone have to get hurt in order for the MLB to take action against these bats?

Obviously, it's going to take more than that.

On April 15, Nate McClouth's bat shattered and a fragment of it sliced the side of Pittsburgh's hitting coach Don Long. That was only one of two so far this season.

Number two came just 10 days later when the Rockies were playing the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Todd Helton was using Tulowitzki's maple bat, and the barrel of the bat flew right into contact with the jaw of Susan Rhodes. The bat fractured her jaw in two places.

So, the MLB is currently discussing how they're going to fix this, right?

Wrong. They're too worried about what a home run is and what's not.

It's going to take a death to get this corrected, and unfortunately, that's very ignorant of the MLB. Something needs to be done about this. It shouldn't take the death of a player/fan/coach/umpire to fix something that has already produced two injuries.

So, what are possible solutions to this? There's about two options the league has. One, ban all maple bats and then there's not too much to worry about.

Players who have used maple bats for most of their career would be very upset over this solution, and would suggest another that would only protect the fans. Extend the net behind the plate so that way it covers practically the entire front row of baseball parks.

While this would certainly solve the risk of hurting fans, there's still the risk for players, umpires, and coaches.

The MLB NEEDS to ban maple bats if they hope to prevent serious injury as a result from broken bats.

Chicago Cubs Closer Look: Kosuke Fukudome

Andy Miller — Thu, 29 May 2008 05:12:38 -0400

Yes, his name is probably the most easy in the MLB to poke fun at on a few different levels (I recently read that his name in Greek means man who loves bald heads...Perhaps there was a reason for Zambrano shaving his head), but Kosuke Fukudome's presence in this year's 2008 Cubs line up may not seem like much unless you look more into it.

Fukudome is one of the most patient hitters in the MLB. Earlier this month, he was seeing more pitches per plate appearance than any other batter in the league. He is currently sixth in the NL in BB, his OBP is right above .400.

A patient hitter is exactly what the 2008 Cubs needed, because in 2007 they were a very free-swinging team. Last year, they finished ninth in the NL in OBP; this year they're currently leading the NL in that category.

A huge reason for this is that batters who used to swing at pretty much any pitch have learned from their Japanese teammate that staying back and getting ahead in the count will usually produce a higher quality at bat.

Fukudome has only seen his average slip below .300 a few times. He's coming off a tough road trip where he fell into his only true "slump" of the season, and he still was able to contribute by doing what he does best: getting on base.

The only thing that Fukudome could improve upon is his power. So far he has only hit two long balls, both coming at Wrigley Field where he has easily become a fan favorite.

While everyone is contributing up and down the '08 Cubs line up, it's been Fukudome who has been the most consistent, and has inspired his other teammates to take a similar approach (Ted Lilly has taken it a bit far, he's started to hold the bat a lot like Fukudome, and his batting stance was weird enough to begin with) and help bring up their OBP.

Continue to expect nothing but great things from yet another great Japanese import.