Roast Some Chestnuts on the Hot Stove

The Yankees made another move, now I believe, it’s the Red Sox turn.  Righthanded starting pitcher Javier Vazquez & lefty reliever Boone Logan (both with the White Sox a couple of years ago) were dealt to Atlanta in exchange for centerfielder Melky Cabrera, a 19 year old out of the Dominican Republic by the name of Arodys Vizcaino, and lefthanded relief pitcher Michael Dunn.  Vazquez crashed & burned in the Bronx, he did well with the Braves (but that’s the National League), it’ll be interesting to see how he makes out in the Big Apple (with big pressure), one of my happiest days as a White Sox fan  was when Javier Vazquez & Boone Logan were put on a train out of town.  Melky Cabrera, a fan favorite, will move into the lineup as the Braves everyday centerfielder, Dunn has a shot as a lefty in Atlanta’s pen, and the young righthander, Vizcaino, has a huge upside, only time will tell.

Atlanta also added their firstbaseman in the person of Troy Glaus.  Troy was injured last season with the Cardinals.  The hot corner has always been this big power hitter’s position, but he shouldn’t have any problems shifting across the diamond, his real position is BAT.

Darren Oliver went back to where he started, returning to Texas.  This will be Darren’s third go around with the Rangers.  Oliver spent the last three years in the Angels bullpen, the Halos are pursuing Fernando Rodney.

In a move that was kind of under the radar, Jason Marquis was signed by the Washington Nationals.  Marquis showed guts in winning 15 games last season with the Rockies.  This veteran righthander will provide the Nats with just what the doctor ordered, 200 innings & 30+ starts.  Next up Washington needs to secure Mike Capps as their team’s closer.

Cubs get Ballpark envy?

After enjoying two days as the host team in another ballpark, some Cubs players are fanaticizing about a new park in Chicago especially one with state-of-the-art locker facilities.  Zambrano was the most blunt about his comparison between the two parks:

"(Miller Park) is a beautiful ballpark. Gosh, I wish we could have a new ballpark."

Though Jason Marquis also enjoyed his Miller Park stay, he had more appreciation for the fan’s love of Wrigley and had a creative idea:

"You never want to see a landmark taken down, a place with so much history," Marquis said. "The fans love it. That being said, the game is changing, stadiums are getting updated. There are better facilities, not only for the players, but for the fans—better food concessions, comfortable seats, better views. …

"If I had a personal choice, I think they should knock Wrigley down and build a replica in the exact same spot to give it that same feel. The same colored seats, same ivy, same wall, and throw up a Jumbotron, but have it look like a replica of the scoreboard that’s up there now, try to give it the same feel, in the same spot. I wouldn’t be opposed to that."

I suggest to the Cubs that before they get too concerned about grandiose ideas like new parks and locker facilities that they realize that they have a division to clinch and playoffs to be more concerned about.  They’ve come this far with the Friendly Confines as their home base.  Their two-day stay in Milwaukee was awesome and in some ways, historic.  But let’s not lose sight of why it was important to win those games. 

Hint:  it wasn’t for "The Locker Rooms that Zambrano Built. 

Five Ribbies and 3 HR for Alfonso (and a tense moment for Jason Marquis)

Linescore of the Day: 

Alfonso Soriano: 4 for 5, 3 HR, 4 runs, 5 rbi (and no errors)

Soriano came though for the Cubs in a big way for the Cubs Saturday against the Reds in a game they quite honestly needed to win.  They needed all of Alfonso’s production as the Reds made a comeback against the Cubs beleaguered bullpen scoring 8 runs in the last two innings.  Final score: 14-9. 

Much kudos to starter Jason Marquis who not only pitched a good game (2 runs in 7 plus innings though with five walks… more on that later), he had a good day at the plate.  He hit two nicely hit flyballs for outs the first two times he was up but the third time was a charm.  That one reached the right field seats for a solo homer. 

The day wasn’t without a little controversy, though.  The situation with umpire Brian Runge was just plain weird.  With the bases loaded and a 3-0 count, Marquis threw one that looked like a strike to me.  Regardless, Runge didn’t call it.  Even stranger, batter Chris Dickerson didn’t make a move to first thinking it was a strike himself.  It took a long while before anyone did anything.  Finally, Runge made the call, Ball Four.  Boy, that got Marquis upset and he got yelling and gesturing the shape of the strike zone. 

The Play of the Game?

The best play of the game wasn’t a hit or a play in the field.  It was a simple gesture made by catcher Geovany Soto to Runge that could have saved the game.  While Marquis was yelling at Runge and things were getting tense, Runge started to move to go toward the mound.  Soto touched Runge’s arm as if to say, "Don’t worry. I’ll handle it." and went out to the mound.  Runge turned back to his spot behind home plate.

In my opinion, Soto prevented Marquis from getting ejected from the game.  It may have been obvious and simple but it worked.  Marquis pitched pretty well the rest of his outing, allowing one more run in the eighth (don’t forget about his homerun too).  Had he been ejected, who knows what could have happened.  We saw what happened in the 8th and 9th inning. 

Soto has been showing this kind of maturity and presence of mind all year.  I will most likely have the first pick in the rookie draft in the Ilowa APBA League next year. 

I think I have made my decision.