Weekend Wrap-Up
I had a virtually sports-free weekend as I spent the weekend celebrating Easter with the family. So tonight I caught up on some box scores. What did find?
- Before I left, I did manage to watch Friday night's Cubs win over the Pirates. Marshall looked as perfect as his line through the first three innings, before Jack Wilson wore him down with a monster at-bat in the fourth. He only ended up with a single, but he fought off about 11 or 12 pitches, and broke Marshall down in the process. Since the Cubs had an early lead, Dusty let him work it a bit. Marshall got out of the inning and pitched a solid fifth before losing it again in the sixth. After a leadoff homer and a single, Mike Weurtz came in and quite possibly made his last appearance as a Cub. Three batters, two homers, one single. Enter Scott Williamson, good-bye jam. I hear Weurtz got demoted to AAA in favor of Novoa. Fine by me, I've always liked Novoa. Weurtz should only come back if someone's injured.
- It seems the Cubs only problem Saturday was that they ran in to the buzzsaw-that-is-Zach Duke. Only Murton seemed to figure him out. Jerome Williams' line on Saturday looked pretty good, but the four walks are a bit high. With an off day scheduled for Thursday, I think the Cubs are planning on skipping his turn again. I'd let him pitch, personally. It wouldn't hurt to give the other starters an extra day of rest.
- On Sunday, the Cubs returned to beating Pittsburgh the way a team like the Cubs should beat a team like the Pirates. Not sure why Bynum was batting second with Walker down in the order, but whatever dude, it worked.
- Nice to see Pierre getting some stolen bases. He had four this week after none his first week. My fantasy team thanks him for showing up.
- I heard Angel Pagan got hurt, too. Hopefully it's not too serious, or else Hendry's going to have to make a trade. Mabry's a good hitter, and Bynum has a pulse, but having both a heartbeat away from a starting job makes me uneasy. Pagan, too, for that matter. Jones pinch-hit tonight, so he should be back by tomorrow, thankfully. Wow, I'm thankful for Jacque Jones. Never thought the day would come.
- I heard some talk that if Pagan's injury is serious, the Cubs might turn to red-hot Felix Pie, who's tearing up AAA. I'd hold off, unless Jones, Pierre or Murton was going to be out for an extended time. It won't do him much good playing the role of fifth outfielder on Dusty's bench. He needs to play every day. If he's not going to play every day in the bigs, I'd just assume have him hit in the minors. Many think Corey Patterson was ruined by such shenanigans. I wouldn't say that was the sole cause of Corey's problems by any stretch, but it certainly didn't turn him into a productive big-leaguer.
- The Bulls clinched a playoff birth, and with a pair of victories and some luck, they might climb into the FIFTH seed. Instead of Detroit, they'd have to play Cleveland or New Jersey. The Bulls seem to match up fairly well with the Nets, so lets hope they go that route. Oh, and Ben Gordon is a STUD.
- Finally, I must admit that the weekend wasn't completely sports-free. I did catch some Arena Football, and if you want to know how the Iowa Hawkeyes spring practice went, drop me an email.
Happy Easter, everybody.