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Deuce2223 · 06-01-2013, 06:53 PM

How are the Smokies and Iowa Cubbies, doing in the standings. With Baez hitting .362, it might be nice to see what he would do in AAA, depending on if either team are in the playoff hunt.

k_mac · 06-01-2013, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deuce2223


	How are the Smokies and Iowa Cubbies, doing in the standings. With Baez hitting .362, it might be nice to see what he would do in AAA, depending on if either team are in the playoff hunt.

Crap, that's my fault. I accidentally put his OBP on the batting average spot. I'm pretty sure he's batting somewhere around .280. My mistake.

I'll edit their records into that post when I get back on the franchise.

k_mac · 06-04-2013, 04:52 PM

Owner Tom Ricketts shakes pitcher Travis Wood's hand after his game two victory

Series Recap
August 5, 2013
Cubs Record: 57-54
0.5 Games out of NL Central

Game 1

Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs
Aug 1, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles (66-42)	1	0	0	0	8	0	2	0	0	11	18	0
Chicago (56-52)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	2
W: Zach Greinke (8-5) L: Scott Baker (4-2)

Game 2

Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs
Aug 2, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles (66-43)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	1
Chicago (57-52)	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	X	4	6	1
W: Travis Wood (10-7) L: Matt Garza (9-8) S:Kyuji Fujikawa (6)

Game 3

Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs
Aug 2, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles (67-43)	3	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	5	14	0
Chicago (57-53)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	1
W: Chad Billingsley (5-7) L: Scott Feldman (2-2)

Game 4

Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs
Aug 2, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles (67-43)	3	0	0	2	0	4	0	0	0	9	16	0
Chicago (57-53)	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	10	1
W: Josh Beckett (13-5) L: Jeff Samardzija (9-8)

Coming into this series we knew that the Dodgers were a very good team. They showed us just how good they were, outscoring us 26-8 in the series. The only win we managed to get was off of none other than Matt Garza, who was shipped to L.A. a little more than a month ago in a three player deal.

We got the series off on the wrong foot, after Scott Baker (4.1 IP, 10 H, 5 R) and company allowed 11 runs. Zach Greinke pitched a complete game, allowing only one run and striking out 6. Our offense couldn't get a thing going, as we didn't even manage to get an extra-base hit.

Game two started out much, much better for the Cubs. We quickly added three runs, courtesy of Anthony Rizzo's 31st home run of the year - a three run shot to left-center field. Garza would settle down after the shaky start though, only allowing two more hits in 6 innings of work. For the Cubs, Travis Wood allowed one run in 7 innings of work. He struck out 5, walked one and only allowed three hits. The only hiccup was a towering home run off the bat of Matt Kemp, which is just unavoidable sometimes. With that lineup, it's only a matter of time before someone jacks a ball out over the ivy. Wood exited the game in the 7th, after registering his 100th strikeout of the year on the final out of the inning. Eduardo Sanchez got his 4th hold of the year, while Kyuji Fujikawa picked up his 6th save.

Cubs pitchers named Scott just can't seem to pitch against the Dodgers.. This time, Scott Feldman allows 4 runs on 8 hits in only 4 innings of work. The only positive from our pitchers this game, James Russell didn't allow a run. He's allowed at least a run each of the last 5 times we've jogged him out to the mound. Chad Billingsley pitched a complete game, with 9 strikeouts. Other than Ian Stewart's home run, the Cubs just couldn't get anything going.

Game four, same ****, different day. The Dodgers just put the beating on us. With the way Jeff Samardzija has been pitching, it's hard to imagine a team just teeing off on him. That's exactly what L.A. did. Samardzija allowed a season high 11 hits and 7 runs in 5.2 innings. He walked 2 and struck out 4. Guillermo Moscoso came in and immediately gave up a two run home run. Thankfully Michael Bowden, Hector Rondon and Kevin Gregg could be trusted to come in and stop the bleeding in the last three innings. Josh Beckett earned his 13th win of the season, allowing only 2 runs on 9 hits, notching 9 strikeouts.

Luckily for us, the Brewers and Cardinals were off getting swept in three game series, keeping the standings pretty much the same. The Reds are now only 2 games back, after sweeping the Cardinals.

The Cubs will head to Philadelphia tomorrow to play the Phillies (55-56). Edwin Jackson will take the bump against Roy Halladay (11-3, 2.31 ERA, 123 K). Scott Baker will face off against Cliff Lee (8-12, 3.57 ERA, 123 K) in game two. The starters for game three are projected to be Travis Wood and John Lannan (6-9, 5.36 ERA, 44 K).

k_mac · 06-04-2013, 08:22 PM

Chicago Promotions
By Walter White [August 7, 2013 at 7:16pm EST]

The Cubs have called a trio of minor league prospects up to the show, showing everyone that they're all in for this playoff run. Not many people expected Chicago to be in a heated battle for the NL Central in early August, but that's just where they've found themselves. After a win today against the Philadelphia Phillies and a loss by the Brewers and Cardinals, the Cubs take full possession of the Central division lead. Josh Vitters, Sean Gilmartin and Jorge Soler will join the team in Philadelphia for the second of a three game series with the Phillies.

Third baseman Josh Vitters will take Ian Stewart's place on the 25 man roster, and start immediately for the Cubs. Current third baseman Luis Valbuena has been struggling mightily at the plate, and Ian Stewart wasn't doing much of anything to prove that he deserved his spot on the roster. Valbuena, who has batted an abysmal .111 over his last ten games, with three errors, will now fill in as a backup 2B/3B. Ian Stewart has been removed from the 40-man roster and put on outright assignment waivers.

Josh Vitters, the Cubs first round selection back in 2007 is excited to get another shot in the MLB, after a disappointing callup last season. "Hopefully I can have more success this time around," said Vitters. "I've been working on my approach in [AAA], and feel like I'm more confident at the plate this year." Vitters was hitting .270 with 8 home runs before this promotion.

After acquiring Corey Seager from Los Angeles in the Matt Garza trade, many have written off Vitters as the 3B of the future. When asked about being dethroned, Vitters replied with, "I'm concentrated on me, and getting better any way I can. I've seen [Seager] play, and he's one heck of a ball player. I understand, at 23, my "prospect" days are coming to a close, I've got to make an impact while I have a chance, and that chance is right now."

Sean Gilmartin, like Seager, is another player that the Cubs received at the trading deadline this year. The Cubs sent Carlos Villanueva to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Gilmartin. The 23 year old has made four consecutive quality starts since joining the Iowa Cubs, and with recent struggles from Scott Feldman, the Cubs have decided to give Gilmartin the chance to be the new number 5 starter in Chicago.

Scott Feldman will be moved back into the long relief role, which he had occupied before the Carlos Villanueva trade. Feldman went 2-2 as a starter, with an ERA over 5. Reliever Hector Rondon has been optioned to AAA to make a spot for Gilmartin on the MLB roster.

The biggest surprise of the bunch is outfielder Jorge Soler, who, in the last ten games has 19 hits, 3 home runs, 10 RBI and a .383 batting average at Iowa.

The Cubs traded away outfielders Alfonso Soriano and Nate Schierholtz, leaving them with an outfield of Scott Hairston, Brett Jackson, and David DeJesus, with Ryan Sweeney and Dave Sappelt as reserves. Coach Dale Sveum has been very vocal when it comes to Hairston's sloppy outfield play. In his most recent comment, he said ".. and you guys thought Sori's defense was bad." Hairston has been struggling at the plate as well, going hitless in the most recent four game series with the Dodgers, which saw him strike out 5 times in two games. Ryan Sweeney started the final two games of the series, as well as today's game against the Phillies.

"Our plans were to keep Soler in AAA for the rest of the year. Sometimes things change, and this is one of those occasions. He's been tearing the cover off the ball in AAA lately, and is our best available option right now, after Hairston's benching. There's a lot of people who say we're rushing [Soler], but realistically, he's immediately a top three left fielder in the NL Central, only behind All-Stars Matt Holliday and Ryan Braun, and those two guys are great players." said Cubs GM Jed Hoyer about Soler's promotion.

Deuce2223 · 06-04-2013, 11:59 PM

Looking forward to seeing if Vitters and Solar can have success at the MLB level.

k_mac · 06-06-2013, 12:40 PM

soler2.jpg

Cubs management watching Soler take BP at Wrigley

Cubs Recap: 8/6-8/14
Record: 64-56
1st in NL Central

Chicago @ Philadelphia: Box Scores

Spoiler

After getting spanked by the Dodgers, the Cubs needed to turn things around if they wanted to be serious contenders in the wide-open NL Central. The Milwaukee Brewers are busy getting swept by the Nationals, so now's our time to take the Central.

Game one was another excellent outing by starter Edwin Jackson, who turned in another quality start. 6.2 innings pitched, 1 run on 8 hits, no walks and 10 strikeouts. Jackson has turned into everything the Cubs hoped he'd be when they inked him to a 52 million dollar deal this offseason. He had the stuff going today, and if it wasn't for a very high pitch count, mostly due to those ten strikeouts, he would have probably stayed in the game longer.

Game two, or Soler's coming out party as some Cubs fans are calling it. The same day the kid was called up, he erupted for a two run home run (first at-bat), a double and a single, notching 4 RBI. Falling only a triple short of the cycle, Soler's day was the most impressive Cubs debut since Starlin Castro's 6 RBI day against the Reds back in 2010. Josh Vitters had quite the day at the plate as well, going 3-4 with double that knocked in two runs late in the 9th.

Soler wasn't the only impressive rookie taking the field in game two, the Cubs sent Sean Gilmartin to the bump against Cliff Lee in Philadelphia, which is no easy task. Gilmartin went 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits with a walk and three strikeouts earning the win over Lee. Gilmartin was leaps and bounds better than Lee, who only lasted an inning, allowing 8 runs.

Scott Baker only lasted 4 innings in game three, picking up the loss. John Lannan went 8 innings only allowing 2 runs. That was enough to get him the victory.

The Phillies didn't have an extra base hit in game three, but it didn't stop them from scoring 4 runs. For the Cubs, Ryan Sweeney homered, and Josh Vitters knocked in a run with another double.

Chicago @ St. Louis: Box Scores

Spoiler

Winning the series against Philadelphia was a good start, we now had the NL Central lead by a game. Except, it wasn't a lead over the Brewers anymore. The Brewers got swept by the Nationals, and followed that great performance up by getting swept by the Giants in four games. The Cardinals and the Reds were the next two immediate threats, and we happen to play the next two series against them.

Game one saw Travis Wood pitch against Trevor Rosenthal, who took Jaime Garcia's spot in the rotation after an inflamed nerve in his neck sidelined him for the series. Wood was his normal quality self, going 6 innings, striking out 3, walking 1 and earning the win. The strikeout total was low for Wood, who's been been pitching to the tune of a 7.1 K/9 before this start.

Vitters just keeps hitting, with a double and a home run to deep left field at Busch Stadium. Jorge Soler added another RBI with a sac fly in the 1st inning.

Jeff Samardzija vs Adam Wainwright for game two, as rival teams send out their aces. This was a good one, if you like watching free baseball. The Cardinals won this one in 16 innings, off of a 3 run shot by Carlos Beltran off of Kevin Gregg. Both Samardzija and Wainwright went 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, walking two, striking out 6.

Remember the Castro reference for Soler's debut? Well, Starlin must have wanted to prove that he's still got it for game three. The struggling shortstop was a single away from the cycle. Yeah, a single. He thought he had it too, in the 9th, he hit a hard line drive right at the base at third. The ball was too much for a diving David Freese, as it bounced off the tip of his glove. Personally, I would have gave him the base hit, but they scored it an error on Freese. If he would have caught it, it would have been one hell of a play at third. Like, top play on sportscenter good. But, they gave him the error for knocking the ball down. Talk about frustrating, I've never hit for the cycle before, and was one David Freese "error" away from doing it.

Anyways, Edwin Jackson picked up another win, with another 10 strikeouts. He's been blowing his fastball right by guys, reaching up to 97 miles per hour. His command has been excellent, as he's racked up 20 K's in his last 14 innings.

Cincinnati @ Chicago: Box Scores

Spoiler

We took 2/3 from the Cards, so that's two straight series wins. Not too bad, but we wanted more, we wanted to let the Reds know that we mean business. I say take the NL Central, because Cincinnati was only two games back of the lead coming into this series. With a sweep of the Padres and the Brewers getting beat twice by the Mariners (lol), they found themselves in 2nd place.

We sent out Travis Wood to pick his old team apart for game one, and that he did. In his 6 innings pitched, he only allowed 2 hits, with 5 strikeouts. The Cubs bullpen held for the final three innings, and we picked up the win. Oh, and another day, another Starlin Castro home run. (I may never get to say that ever again)

Could Scott Baker turn things around against the Reds was the question on the minds of many coming into game two. Is a complete game shutout qualify as "turning things around?" You read that right, Scott Baker tossed a complete game shutout, and the best thing about it, was that it was all simulated. Honestly, I can't stand pitching with Baker, so I simulate his starts. I simulate 3/4 games a week, and at least one of those are a start from Baker. I just can't get it going with him, but a simulated shutout is nice.

Jorge Soler would put two runs on the board with a homer in the 5th inning. Baker only needed one to win, but he ended up getting four. The other two runs came from a Brett Jackson double.

Getting shutout by Scott Baker of all people must have just send the Reds over the edge. Game three of this series was too easy, as rookie Sean Gilmartin recorded 9 strikeouts in 8 innings, picking up his second win of his career. Gilmartin's nasty 12-6 curve gave the Reds hitters fits, as they only managed to score one run in this game, but that was off of Eduardo Sanchez in the 9th. David DeJesus and Jorge Soler both homered for Chicago as they sweep Cincinnati at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs will travel back to St. Louis this Friday to take on the Cardinals for the second time in as many weeks. The Cubs currently lead the NL Central by 3.5 games. The Brewers rebounded nicely, picking up two wins in Texas and beating Yu Darvish

Deuce2223 · 06-06-2013, 05:21 PM

If I counted right that's 3 HR's from Solar, at this pace he is likely to finish #2 behind Rizzo in the HR column.

Tough break on the Cycle. I have never hit one either.

Congrats on leading the race for the division. Not something I would've expected from our team this year.

k_mac · 06-06-2013, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deuce2223


	If I counted right that's 3 HR's from Solar, at this pace he is likely to finish #2 behind Rizzo in the HR column. Tough break on the Cycle. I have never hit one either. Congrats on leading the race for the division. Not something I would've expected from our team this year.

Yep, he's got three. I'm a few games ahead of what I posted, and he hasn't hit any more.. yet. He's raking though, 12 RBI already. I've got him batting cleanup behind DeJesus/Castro/Rizzo. There's a very good chance that he does finish 2nd in HR on the team, and that's kind of sad, since he's only going to get a month and a half of playing time. Scott Hairston (14), David DeJesus (11), Welington Castillo (10) and Starlin Castro (9) are the only guys "close" to Rizzo's 31. I'd expect Soler to get around 15 or so by the end of the year.

Other than the elusive perfect game, the cycle is pretty much the only thing I haven't done on a baseball game. I was kind of bummed when that happened. It was a little hard to explain, but it should have been a base hit. I've come very close to both now though, so I think I'll eventually get it.

You know, I honestly don't know how I keep winning. My team is maybe the third or fourth worst rated by the game's standards, but we consistently grind out wins. I'm definitely benefiting from a very tough NL Central. We just constantly beat up eachother. If I'm going to make the playoffs, it's got to come from winning the division, because the Nationals/Braves and Diamondbacks/Dodgers have those two spots all but locked up.

06-01-2013, 06:53 PM	#113
Deuce2223 Hall Of Fame OVR: 22 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: La Grande Oregon	Re: The Friendly Confines: A Chicago Cubs Franchise (MLB 13 The Show) How are the Smokies and Iowa Cubbies, doing in the standings. With Baez hitting .362, it might be nice to see what he would do in AAA, depending on if either team are in the playoff hunt.

06-04-2013, 08:22 PM	#116
k_mac the team OVR: 17 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Terre Haute, Indiana Posts: 2,068	Re: The Friendly Confines: A Chicago Cubs Franchise (MLB 13 The Show) Chicago Promotions By Walter White [August 7, 2013 at 7:16pm EST] The Cubs have called a trio of minor league prospects up to the show, showing everyone that they're all in for this playoff run. Not many people expected Chicago to be in a heated battle for the NL Central in early August, but that's just where they've found themselves. After a win today against the Philadelphia Phillies and a loss by the Brewers and Cardinals, the Cubs take full possession of the Central division lead. Josh Vitters, Sean Gilmartin and Jorge Soler will join the team in Philadelphia for the second of a three game series with the Phillies. Third baseman Josh Vitters will take Ian Stewart's place on the 25 man roster, and start immediately for the Cubs. Current third baseman Luis Valbuena has been struggling mightily at the plate, and Ian Stewart wasn't doing much of anything to prove that he deserved his spot on the roster. Valbuena, who has batted an abysmal .111 over his last ten games, with three errors, will now fill in as a backup 2B/3B. Ian Stewart has been removed from the 40-man roster and put on outright assignment waivers. Josh Vitters, the Cubs first round selection back in 2007 is excited to get another shot in the MLB, after a disappointing callup last season. "Hopefully I can have more success this time around," said Vitters. "I've been working on my approach in [AAA], and feel like I'm more confident at the plate this year." Vitters was hitting .270 with 8 home runs before this promotion. After acquiring Corey Seager from Los Angeles in the Matt Garza trade, many have written off Vitters as the 3B of the future. When asked about being dethroned, Vitters replied with, "I'm concentrated on me, and getting better any way I can. I've seen [Seager] play, and he's one heck of a ball player. I understand, at 23, my "prospect" days are coming to a close, I've got to make an impact while I have a chance, and that chance is right now." Sean Gilmartin, like Seager, is another player that the Cubs received at the trading deadline this year. The Cubs sent Carlos Villanueva to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Gilmartin. The 23 year old has made four consecutive quality starts since joining the Iowa Cubs, and with recent struggles from Scott Feldman, the Cubs have decided to give Gilmartin the chance to be the new number 5 starter in Chicago. Scott Feldman will be moved back into the long relief role, which he had occupied before the Carlos Villanueva trade. Feldman went 2-2 as a starter, with an ERA over 5. Reliever Hector Rondon has been optioned to AAA to make a spot for Gilmartin on the MLB roster. The biggest surprise of the bunch is outfielder Jorge Soler, who, in the last ten games has 19 hits, 3 home runs, 10 RBI and a .383 batting average at Iowa. The Cubs traded away outfielders Alfonso Soriano and Nate Schierholtz, leaving them with an outfield of Scott Hairston, Brett Jackson, and David DeJesus, with Ryan Sweeney and Dave Sappelt as reserves. Coach Dale Sveum has been very vocal when it comes to Hairston's sloppy outfield play. In his most recent comment, he said ".. and you guys thought Sori's defense was bad." Hairston has been struggling at the plate as well, going hitless in the most recent four game series with the Dodgers, which saw him strike out 5 times in two games. Ryan Sweeney started the final two games of the series, as well as today's game against the Phillies. "Our plans were to keep Soler in AAA for the rest of the year. Sometimes things change, and this is one of those occasions. He's been tearing the cover off the ball in AAA lately, and is our best available option right now, after Hairston's benching. There's a lot of people who say we're rushing [Soler], but realistically, he's immediately a top three left fielder in the NL Central, only behind All-Stars Matt Holliday and Ryan Braun, and those two guys are great players." said Cubs GM Jed Hoyer about Soler's promotion.

06-04-2013, 11:59 PM	#117
Deuce2223 Hall Of Fame OVR: 22 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: La Grande Oregon	Re: The Friendly Confines: A Chicago Cubs Franchise (MLB 13 The Show) Looking forward to seeing if Vitters and Solar can have success at the MLB level. k_mac likes this.

06-06-2013, 05:21 PM	#119
Deuce2223 Hall Of Fame OVR: 22 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: La Grande Oregon	Re: The Friendly Confines: A Chicago Cubs Franchise (MLB 13 The Show) If I counted right that's 3 HR's from Solar, at this pace he is likely to finish #2 behind Rizzo in the HR column. Tough break on the Cycle. I have never hit one either. Congrats on leading the race for the division. Not something I would've expected from our team this year.

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