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Welcome to Les Grobsteins Official Website
 MOOSE(July 9,1997-August 29,2008) He will always be with us!
Welcome to GROBBERNET!
Les Calls Sky games on SKY ALL ACCESS at
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Winning run walks home s Cubs edge Brewers 2-1 in 10.
Posted by: grobber33 on Saturday, July 04, 2009 - 01:45 AM
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Jake Fox fouled off four pitches before working a two-out walk on a close 3-2 pitch from Mark DiFelice, sending the Cubs to a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in 10 innings Friday.Ryan Theriot singled off second baseman Craig Counsell's glove with one out in the 10th and went to second on a wild pitch from DiFelice (4-1). After Theriot moved up on a fly ball, the Brewers intentionally walked Milton Bradley. With a 3-0 count on pinch-hitter Geovany Soto, DiFelice also walked him intentionally to load the bases.Fox, in his second stint with the Cubs after hitting 17 homers and batting .409 at Triple-A, finally got a ball four -- and the Cubs had a victory. It was a call that had DiFelice extending his arms and walking toward plate umpire Bill Welke as the Cubs celebrated and mobbed Fox.Before Friday, DiFelice had walked only five batters all season in 31 1/3 innings.The Brewers threatened in the ninth when Cubs right fielder Bradley lost Jason Kendall's high fly in the sun -- the ball hit him on the right arm -- and fell for a double. Kevin Gregg (3-2) hit Counsell with a pitch, but Ryan Braun popped out to end the inning.Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead when Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano walked Corey Hart with the bases loaded in the fourth. The Cubs tied it in the fifth on Zambrano's RBI single off Jeff Suppan.Cubs center fielder Kosuke Fukudome made a great throw to cut down Suppan at the plate in the seventh and keep the game tied.Suppan opened with a single before third baseman Fox fumbled Kendall's bunt for an error, putting runners at first and second. With two outs, Prince Fielder hit a sharp single to center and Fukudome made a one-hop throw to Koyie Hill, who tagged Suppan to end the inning.Fukudome called it a normal baseball play.Zambrano, who hasn't won in five starts since June 5, gave up five hits and a run in seven innings.Suppan yielded four hits and a run in seven innings -- his longest outing of the season.The Brewers loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth after Counsell and Braun singled and Zambrano hit Fielder on the shoulder with a high inside pitch, but Milwaukee managed only one run when Zambrano walked Hart.When Suppan drilled Derrek Lee on the left hip in the bottom of the inning, Welke warned both benches. Lee had seven RBIs and two homers Thursday night in the opener.Bradley grounded a single to left to put runners at first and third, but J.J. Hardy fielded Fukudome's hard grounder up the middle and started an inning-ending double play.After Fox was hit with a pitch in the fifth, Mike Fontenot followed with a double over Braun's outstretched glove in left to put runners at second and third. Zambrano, a switch-hitter batting right-handed against the right-handed Suppan, then dumped a one-out single into center to tie the game.
NOTES---Struggling Alfonso Soriano returned to the lineup after missing two games. He went 0 for 5, was booed and is in an 0-for-12 slide.Lou Piniella hinted after the game,that Soriano might be dropped from the lead off spot in the batting order Saturday.
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GROBBER'S FRIDAY THOUGHTS---July 3,2009
Posted by: grobber33 on Friday, July 03, 2009 - 05:07 PM
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***Derrek Lee,who has been carrying the Cubs bewildered offense, REALLY did it on Thursday night with seven RBI's on only two swings of the bat against the Brewers. First, Lee hit a long three run blast against Seth McClung in the bottom of the first inning.That on landed in the final two rows of the left field bleachers. Then Lee faced reliever Chris Smith in the bottom of the fifth with the bases jammed. Smith was having trouble finding the strike zone,so he served up a "cookie" which the Cubs first baseman knew was coming. The result, a very long Grand Slam onto Waveland Avenue. That 9-5 win started a key home stand for the Cubs who just came off a bad road trip. The Brewers,Braves and Cardinals are the opponents leading up to the All Star break.
***The White Sox are the hottest team in baseball right now.Getting to play two of the teams playing the worst ball right now, the Indians and Royals doesn't hurt. Mark Buhrle was mostly unhittable Thursday night.After being six games behind Detroit, the Sox have closed with within 2 1/2 of the Tigers.
***Now, what will the Bulls do to try and replace Ben Gordon's scoring which he is taking to Division rival Detroit. The Bulls appear much further away from being a legit Title contender after drafting a pair of strong forwards with picks #16 and #26-neither of whom are locks to make the team, what can the Bulls do in what's left of free agency? The rich get richer. The Lakers get Ron Artest while Trever Ariza moves on to Houston. Boston lost Leon Powe to injury,so watch them grab Rasheed Wallace to take his slot as Kevin Garnett returns from his season ending injury. Cleveland acquired Shaquille O'Neal. The Bulls have not done anything yet. And for those wondering if the Bulls are waiting for next year to hit a strong expected free agent meat market, remember what happened ten years ago when Jerry Krause tried to do the same thing,only to get snubbed by all big time free agents? The Bulls had to sign a worthless Ron Mercer and over pay him just to try and save face with Bulls fans,none who whom were fooled. Mercer was gone in a bit over a year and the Bulls stayed bad until 2004-05. It will be tough(or impossible)for the Bulls to get any players with the caliber of Chris Bosh,Dwayne Wade, or anyone else in that bracket. LeBron James? Fah-get about it! Not a chance in hell.
***Gordon is saying the Bulls never made him an offer(in the past few wees),and that's why he took the Pistons offer as quickly as he did.
***Marty Havlat,who had jumped to the Minnesota Wild, sounds unhappy with Blackhawk management that the Hawks went in the direction of Marion Hossa rather that try hard to resign him. The other Blackhawk issue is in goal,since Nikolai Khabibulin has signed with Edmonton, leaving Cristobal Huet and his inconsistency to the Hawks.
***Have a safe Fourth of July weekend and please don't drink and drive!
LES
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D.Lee's slam and cereer best 7 RBI's lead Cubs past Brewers
Posted by: grobber33 on Friday, July 03, 2009 - 05:41 AM
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Back in Wrigley Field after a tough road trip, the Cubs played "Bombs Away!" with the Milwaukee Brewers whom they defeated in 9-5 in the opener of a big four game series. Derrek Lee drove in a career high seven homers with first inning three run homer,and his tenth career Grand Slam to cap a five run fourth inning.
The Cubs wasted little time getting to Seth McClung. Sam Fuld,again in the lead off spot in place of Alfonso Soriano, drew a walk to start the bottom of the first. Ryan Theriot followed with a line single to left. Lee then murdered a McClung pitch into the last couple of rows in the LF Bleachers to make it 3-0. After Milton Bradley was called out on strikes, Jake Fox delivered his 3rd homer,also into the LF Bleachers. The Brewers got two back against Ryan Dempster in the top of the second via a long double to CF by Prince Fielder and Mike Cameron's 13th bomb of the season. McClung(3-2)settled down for two innings, but he did not survive the Cub 4th. Geovany Soto led off with a line drive homer that landed in the old "catwalk" seats in LF. Mike Fontenot singled and was bunted to second by Dempster(5-5). Fuld reached on an infield roller and Chris Smith relieved McClung. He appeared wild as he bounced a few pitches to Ryan Thriot and walked him to load the bases. Lee also received some pitches from Smith that bounced in and worked the count to 3-1. Smith went into a "got to get it over" mode and Lee got it "over" the fence for a no doubt about it Grand Slam to up the Cub lead to 9-2, giving Lee a career high seven RBI's. Fielder got one back by leading off the top of the sixth with a towering shot into the right-center field seats for his 21st homer. The Crew chased Dempster in the 7th thanks in part to an error by Fontenot. With one out, pinch hitter Jody Gerut singled,then Craig Counsell hit a potential double play grounder that Fontenot couldn't get a handle on. J.J.Hardy fanned,but Ryan Braun broke his bat and blooped an RBI single to short center.Sean Marshall relived Dempster and fanned Fielder. The run that inning was unearned. Aaron Heilman started the top of the 8th and after getting Casey McGehee on strikes,he yielded a double to Cameron, hit Corey Hart with a pitch,then gave up an RBI single to Jason Kendall.Carlos Marmol pitched the ninth in a non save situation.
NOTES---Attendance was 40,545......Every Cub starter except Dempster,hit safely.....Dempster fanned nine for the second time this season.
LES
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Buhrle no match for Royals as Sox stay hot
Posted by: grobber33 on Friday, July 03, 2009 - 05:39 AM
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KANSAS CITY---The last thing the slumping Kansas City Royals needed was for Mark Buehrle to get even better.But the left-hander tinkered with the grip on his sinker and became even more dominant than usual against the Royals, taking a four-hit shutout into the ninth before settling for a 4-1 victory that gave the surging White Sox their sixth win in a row.Buehrle (8-2) raised his career mark against Kansas City to 20-8.Buehrle failed to get his first complete game since May 2, 2008, when Alberto Callaspo doubled and scored on David DeJesus' one-out double. He was relieved by Bobby Jenks, who got the last two outs for his 19th save in 21 chances for the White Sox, who have won 10 of 12 and 14 of their last 19 on the road.Until the ninth, the 30-year-old Buehrle had been dominant. He did not issue a walk and had a season-low one strikeout in 8 1/3 innings. He threw 68 strikes in 100 pitches.Mark Teahen, one of the few Royals hitters who seems to have much luck against the 30-year-old Buehrle, was 2 for 3, raising his career mark against him to .440.Teahen grounded out in the eighth.Jayson Nix hit a solo home run off Bruce Chen (0-2) as the Royals lost their sixth in eight games. They've scored only three runs in their last three games, all losses.Chen went six-plus innings plus two batters and gave up two runs on five hits. Making his second major league start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in late 2007, Chen walked one and struck out five and did not allow a hit until Nix sent a 2-2 pitch sailing into the visitors bullpen leading off the fourth.The left-hander, looking for his first victory since Oct. 2, 2005, was not threatened again until Jim Thome doubled under David DeJesus' glove leading off the seventh and Paul Konerko followed with a shallow single.Reliever Ron Mahay came in and got a double-play grounder from A.J. Pierzynski that allowed Thome to make it 2-0. Scott Podsednik's RBI single off Mahay made it 3-0 in the eighth. Gordon Beckham drove in the fourth run in the ninth.The Royals helped Buehrle by running themselves into two embarrassing double plays. Willie Bloomquist singled with one out in the first but was doubled off first after Billy Butler flied out to center field. Then Teahen singled with one out in the second and failed to get back to the bag in time when Miguel Olivo flied out to right fielder Jermaine Dye.
NOTES---X-rays on Alexei Ramirez's right middle finger were negative but manager Ozzie Guillen was not sure how soon the White Sox shortstop would return to the lineup. Ramirez was hurt Wednesday in the game at Cleveland.....The Royals went over the 1 million attendance mark, seven dates earlier than in 2008.
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Contreras pitches Sox to sweep finishing win over Indians
Posted by: grobber33 on Thursday, July 02, 2009 - 06:07 AM
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CLEVELAND--- Jose Contreras, demoted to the minor leagues earlier this season after an 0-5 start, pitched eight superb innings for his third win since his return to the majors as the White Sox won their fifth straight, 6-2 over the lifeless Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night. Contreras (3-7) improved to 3-2 with a 2.17 ERA since being recalled on June 8 from Triple-A Charlotte. Contreras allowed two runs and five hits, pitching into the eighth for the fourth time since being recalled. He struck out eight and walked one. He's 4-0 with a 1.88 ERA in his last five starts against Cleveland.Ramon Castro, who has served as Contreras' personal catcher since arriving in a trade, hit a three-run homer off Jeremy Sowers (2-6) in a four-run sixth as the Sox moved within three games of first-place Detroit in the AL Central.The White Sox completed their first three-game sweep of Cleveland since the final weekend of the 2005 season, when they knocked the Indians out of the playoff race.Cleveland has dropped five in a row, 13 of 15 and the Indians' slide into obscurity shows no signs of ending anytime soon.Sowers ran into a familiar problem in the sixth inning: the sixth inning.The left-hander has had trouble getting outs his third time through a lineup and the White Sox tagged him for four runs and five hits to open a 5-1 lead.Jim Thome and Paul Konerko hit consecutive singles before Castro, batting .105 since being acquired from the New York Mets in May, drove Sowers' first pitch over the fence in right to make it 4-1. Jayson Nix followed with a double and scored on Gordon Beckham's single.Cleveland closed within 5-2 in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Victor Martinez and Shin Soo-Choo.The Indians came in hitting just .218 (12 of 55) in the previous two games and scored only 11 runs in the past four. They took their first lead of the series in the second, but missed a chance to have a big inning against Contreras.Jamey Carroll singled and Ben Francisco, in a 4-for-37 slide, doubled to put runners at second and third with nobody out. However, Contreras struck out Asdrubal Cabrera and gave up Grady Sizemore's RBI groundout before retiring Martinez on a fly ball to left. The White Sox tied it in the fifth on Alexei Ramirez's two-out RBI single.
NOTES---Ramirez left in the middle of the eighth with an injured right middle finger. Guillen said his shortstop injured it on Tuesday. Ramirez will sit out Thursday's game in Kansas City and Guillen said it was likely Ramirez will have X-rays. ... The Indians have been swept five times this season. ... Thome recorded his 1,600th walk, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Stan Musial for 12th on the career list. Next up is Darrell Evans (1,605). ... The Indians received favorable reports on RHP Fausto Carmona, who had his second straight strong minor league start Tuesday. The former 19-game winner is trying to get back to the majors. Wedge said there is no timetable on Carmona's return, but the club has been encouraged by his progress. ... Cleveland has used a major league-high 25 pitchers.
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Cubs, Wells end road trip with win over Bucs
Posted by: grobber33 on Thursday, July 02, 2009 - 06:01 AM
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PITTSBURGH---No doubt the Cubs anticipated needing Randy Wells and Sam Fuld to win games for them as the All-Star break approached in early July. The Iowa Cubs, that is.The Northsiders? Hardly, at least not until injuries repeatedly made them dip into the minors for help.Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome homered to support Wells' seven effective innings and the Cubs won another series from division opponent Pittsburgh, beating the Pirates 4-1 on Wednesday night.Fuld made a major contribution with his first two career hits and a strong throw from left field to get Jack Wilson at the plate and shut down a potential Pirates rally in the fifth.Wells (3-3) was all the Cubs could ask for. The right-hander gave up one run and six hits, allowing the Cubs to take two of three in Pittsburgh and avoid falling three games under .500 for the first time since they were 36-39 in 2007.Wells, lost in the December 2007 draft before the Cubs got him back from Toronto last year, has been a pleasant surprise to a team that has been set back by injuries all season. Wells has a 2.18 ERA while winning his last three starts.The Cubs kept it going against the Pirates, who have dropped eight of their last nine series to the Cubs dating to 2007 and 21 of the teams' last 27 games. The Pirates are 2-4 against them this season, which partly explains their 11-23 record in the NL Central. Lou Piniella liked everything he saw, even if he didn't see all the game. Piniella was ejected by first-base umpire Chad Fairchild for throwing his cap while arguing Wells was safe on a slowly hit ball to the mound with two on and two outs in the sixth.Wells, given a 2-0 lead on Lee's two-run drive three batters into the game, gave a run back on Andrew McCutchen's double and Brandon Moss' RBI single in the bottom of the inning, but didn't allow anything after that. He struck out four and walked one, permitting only one runner to reach third after the first.Wells gave up three singles in the fifth, but the Pirates -- down 2-1 -- ran themselves out of a potential rally when Fuld threw out Wilson on Freddy Sanchez's single, stranding two runners.Fuld, making his first start this season and second in the majors, opened the game with a double off Virgil Vasquez for his first hit in seven career at-bats. Lee followed a batter later with his 12th homer.Fuld, 0 for 6 during a September callup in 2007, also singled while reaching base three times.Carlos Marmol followed Wells with a scoreless eighth and Kevin Gregg finished up for his 14th save in 17 opportunities, with neither reliever permitting a hit.
Vasquez (1-1), coming off a 5-3 decision over Kansas City on Friday, gave up six hits and three runs in six innings. Fukudome made it 3-1 with a drive into the seats in right-center on Vasquez's 3-2 pitch in the sixth.
NOTES---The Cubs, 3-7 on a 10-game trip, return home for their final 11 games before the break....Aramis Ramirez (shoulder) begins a rehabilitation assignment with Class A Peoria on Friday and could return as early as Monday. The Cubs are 21-24 without him.
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Bye Bye Ben, Pistons agree with Gordon
Posted by: grobber33 on Thursday, July 02, 2009 - 02:04 AM
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The Bulls have lost their best shooter to a Division rival.The Detroit Pistons struck Wednesday, getting commitments from their top two free-agent targets, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva.Gordon agreed to a five-year, $55 million deal, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. Villanueva also agreed to a five-year deal in the $35 million range -- or slightly above the anticipated mid-level exception of $5.6 million per year -- a person involved in those discussions said. The exact figures won't be known until the deals are signed on July 8, after the league and players association agree on the salary cap and luxury tax for the 2009-10 season.After firing coach Michael Curry Tuesday, Pistons president Joe Dumars acted swiftly in targeting Gordon and Villanueva with the salary-cap space produced by the controversial decision to trade Chauncey Billups to the Nuggets for Allen Iverson and his $22 million expiring contract last November. But the signings posed two potential problems: 1) There isn't enough room in the same backcourt for Gordon, Richard Hamilton, and Rodney Stuckey; and 2) The Pistons will no longer be major players in the much better free-agent summer of 2010.Not able to afford another miserable season for the mere chance that a big-ticket free agent would come to Detroit in '10, Dumars decided to strike now. The Pistons were among only a handful of teams with significant cap space this summer, and thus could dictate which players they pursued. Next summer, they might've ended up on the periphery of the excitement when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and others were looking for not only money, but also a championship-ready roster to join.The Pistons don't have a championship roster, but they did have money. As a buyer in a seller's market, Dumars obviously felt the time to act was this summer, not next.The backcourt logjam lends credence to the idea that Dumars isn't finished shuffling the deck this summer. Some league executives have speculated that once Dumars landed Gordon, a prolific scorer who doesn't do much else, he would begin exploring trade possibilities for Hamilton. That's somewhat ironic, given that Hamilton's contentious relationship with Curry led, in part, to the coach being fired after only one season. Hamilton has four years and nearly $50 million left on the extension he signed shortly before Billups was shipped to Denver and the demolition of the Pistons began. Moving Hamilton would give Dumars a Gordon-Stuckey backcourt, which presumably either Doug Collins or Avery Johnson -- the two front-runners to succeed Curry -- would find intriguing.The Bulls drafted Gordon in 2004 out of UConn and they made the playoffs in four of the five seasons he was with them. He turned down a couple of different offers from the Bulls the past two years, making it more likely by the day that he wanted out despite his saying that he hoped to remain a Bull.
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Hawks land Hossa,Kopecky from Wings, lose Khabibulin to Oilers,and Havlat to Wild
Posted by: grobber33 on Wednesday, July 01, 2009 - 11:52 PM
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The Blackhawks dipped deep into the free-agent market by signing star forward Marian Hossa away from the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday with a 12-year contract.Hossa, who surprisingly took a one-year deal with the defending champion Red Wings last summer, cashed in this time. The four-time All-Star and 11-year NHL veteran has played on the Stanley Cup runner-up the last two seasons. The Blackhawks are his fourth team since 2008.The Hawks also signed center Tomas Kopecky, who, like Hossa, played last season with the Red Wings. He was knocked out of the playoffs after sustained injuries to his face during a fight with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin in the second round.The Blackhawks lost RW Marty Havlat who got a 6 year deal with Minnesota, and Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin who signed with the Edmonton Oilers. He got a four-year, 15-million deal on Wednesday. He'll replace 39-year-old Dwayne Roloson, who signed earlier in the day with the New York Islanders.Khabibulin is a former Stanley Cup winner with Tampa Bay.
Hossa has played for Ottawa (1997-2004), Atlanta (2005-08), Pittsburgh (2008) and Detroit (2008-09), recording 719 points 339 goals and 380 assists in 775 regular-season games. He has appeared in 98 playoff games with 31 goals and 45 assists.He led the Red Wings with 40 goals last season and was third on the team with 71 points. He had 15 points -- six goals and nine assists -- in the playoffs where the Red Wings were dethroned in the finals by the Penguins. He had no goals and three assists in the seven games against Pittsburgh, his former team.Hossa was chosen by Ottawa in the first round of the 1997 draft.Kopecky had 109 hits, six goals and 13 assists in 79 games for the Red Wings last season, his fourth with Detroit.
Center Dave Bolland also re-upped with the Hawks on Tuesday for five years.
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Pelfrey outduels Gallardo as Mets blank Crew 1-0
Posted by: grobber33 on Wednesday, July 01, 2009 - 11:39 PM
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MILWAUKEE---Mike Pelfrey bailed the New York Mets out of a season-worst losing streak, overcoming a career-high 12 strikeouts by young Milwaukee Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo in a 1-0 victory Wednesday. Pelfrey (6-3) gave up six hits and two walks in 7 2/3 innings, and Ryan Church came through with an RBI single in the sixth as the Mets stopped a five-game losing streak and avoided a series sweep by the Brewers.Gallardo (8-5) gave up five hits in seven innings. The Brewers completed a 5-4 homestand and will travel to Wrigley Field for a four-game series against the Cubs beginning Thursday.Pelfrey allowed a single and a walk with two outs in the eighth, but Sean Green got J.J Hardy to ground into a forceout at third. Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth, allowing a leadoff single to Ryan Braun before retiring the side for his 21st save.New York (38-39), which backed Pelfrey with a pair of double plays, was coming off a 9-18 record in June, its worst month in nearly six years. The Mets are without injured stars Carlos Beltran (knee), Jose Reyes (calf, hamstring) and Carlos Delgado (hip).
Gallardo's 12 strikeouts were the most by a pitcher against the Mets since John Smoltz struck out 15 for the Braves on April 10, 2005. The Mets also won that game, 6-1.Gallardo had six strikeouts in first three innings -- including a pair by David Wright in his first two at-bats, on his way to three strikeouts against Gallardo on an 0 for 4 afternoon.It was a frustrating afternoon all around for Wright, who slammed his glove into the bench after making a throwing error in the second inning, then flung his helmet to the ground after taking a called strike three from Gallardo in the third.But the Mets finally broke through in the sixth when Luis Castillo led off with a ground-rule double, losing a shot at a triple when a woman wearing a Hardy T-shirt fell onto the field trying to reach for the ball.Gallardo then struck out Wright -- Gallardo's 10th of the game and Wright's third in three at-bats. But Church sent a grounder past the outstretched glove of second baseman Craig Counsell for a single, scoring Castillo.Church was thrown out trying to steal, but Gallardo walked Nick Evans before getting Daniel Murphy to fly out to the warning track in right field. Prince Fielder led off the seventh with a single, then went to second on a balk by Pelfrey -- Pelfrey's fifth balk of the season. But Fielder was thrown out trying to take third base on a missed bunt by Corey Hart. Pelfrey then got Hart to ground out, then struck out Gamel to end the inning.
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Sky still unbeaten at home after 74-72 win over Sacramento
Posted by: grobber33 on Wednesday, July 01, 2009 - 04:22 AM
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The Sky reached two more Franchise 'firsts' at the UIC Pavilion Tuesday night with their come from behind 74-72 win over the struggling Sacramento Monarchs. They have started a season 5-0 at home and are three games over .500 for the first time ever. The Monarchs(1-8)did not look like a team with only one win and in fact,they led the Sky most of the night. An early 16-6 Sky lead evaporated fast and the Sky settled for a 20-16 lead after a quarter. The Monarchs dominated the second period and had a 21-12 edge-good for a halftime lead of 37-32.The Monarchs,who led by as much as 40-32 early in the third quarter,kept getting to the free throw line which was the reason they led much of the way. The Sky also got a score when leading scorer Jia Perkins appeared to roll her ankle with 2:15 left in the third,but she came back for the last few minutes. Good thing too! The Monarchs had a 67-62 lead with 3:29 left. The Sky then went on an 11-0 run keyed by a Candice Dupree jumper that cut the Sacramento edge to 67-66, a Perkins driving layup off a Dominique Canty steal and assist to give the Sky(6-3)the lead for good, and after a "stop" by the Sky, Perkins drilled a three point bomb from the left of the circle. She then added three free throws to wrap it up.Perkins led the winners with 17 points,Dupree added 16 and Sylvia Fowles had another double-double with 14 points and 14 boards. Nicole Powell led the Monarchs with 21.
NOTES---Sacramento attempted 28 free throws(hitting 23)while the Sky only tried 16 foul shots(canning 15).....Fowles blocked three shots, the first of which was the 50th of her career.....Brooke Wycoff scored 8 points, the first of which gave her 700 career WNBA points....The Sky starts a three game road trip at San Antonio Friday night.....Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas attended the game to see fellow LSU Alum Fowles.
LES
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Sox hammer Cliff Lee and Tribe, get over .500
Posted by: grobber33 on Wednesday, July 01, 2009 - 04:21 AM
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CLEVELAND---The rainy weather stopped the game prematurely. The White Sox ended Cliff Lee’s night soon after it started.Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye drove in two runs apiece Tuesday as the White Sox chased Lee in the fourth inning and pounded the miserable Indians 11-4 in a game called in the seventh to move above .500 for the first time since May 2.Konerko hit a two-run homer in the first off Lee (4-7), who had worked past the fifth in 47 consecutive starts before being battered for seven runs and 11 hits in three-plus innings. Gordon Beckham and Josh Fields also homered for the White Sox, who have won four straight, 11 of 15 and have a winning record for the first time since they were 12-11.Clayton Richard (3-1), moved into the rotation in May, won for the first time in six June starts. He allowed four runs and four hits and was credited with his first complete game, staying in following a 30-minute rain delay in the fourth.The left-hander is 5-0 with a 2.37 ERA in six career starts of at least six innings.Richard was able to block out his matchup with Lee and set down the Indians with ease.The umpiring crew finally called it at 10 p.m.(Chicago time) following a 57-minute rain delay with two outs in the top of the seventh—the second stoppage of the game and third overall. The first pitch was pushed back from 7:05 to 7:37 by threatening weather.Lee insisted he wasn’t bothered by an unnecessary 32-minute delay at the start. The Indians had the infield at Progressive Field covered before the first pitch despite mostly sunny skies.Lee turned in his shortest start since he went only 2 2-3 innings in an 11-0 loss to the White Sox on May 29, 2006. He was unaware of his 47-game streak of lasting until the fifth, the longest in the majors and most by a Cleveland pitcher since Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry went 71 straight in the 1970s.Lee, who has pitched far better than his record, came in riding a 22-inning scoreless streak against the White Sox, who quickly made sure it didn’t reach 23.The Sox scored four runs in the first off Lee, highlighted by Konerko’s 13th homer into the Indians’ bullpen.Alexei Ramirez, who was beaned by Cleveland’s Chris Perez on Monday, walked with one out in the first and scored on Dye’s double. Konerko then busted out of a 2-for-15 slump with his homer. One out later, Brian Anderson doubled and scored on Beckham’s single.Lee, though, couldn’t contain the White Sox, who scored two more in the third on Chris Getz’s double.Dye had another RBI single in the fourth and the Southsiders went up 9-1 in the fifth on the homers by Beckham and Fields off Mike Gosling.
NOTES---Hafner is batting .364 with three homers in his last 12 games. … Jim Thome was delighted to tie Hall of Famer Stan Musial with 1,599 career walks. “It’s very cool because growing up in Peoria, you had to know Stan,” Thome said. “He was the man.” … Indians LHP Scott Lewis, who pulled himself from a recent rehab start at Double-A Akron because of elbow soreness, will visit famed orthopedist Dr. James Andrews next week. Andrews performed Tommy John ligament replacement surgery on Lewis in 2003. The Indians are not recommending surgery for Lewis. … Indians RHP Jake Westbrook, who made two rehab starts in the minors before being shut down with soreness, will resume a throwing program next week. Westbrook had Tommy John surgery last June. …Scott Podsednik got the night off.
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Cub bats snooze again, Bucs win 3-zip
Posted by: grobber33 on Wednesday, July 01, 2009 - 03:48 AM
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PITTSBURGH---Ross Ohlendorf pitched seven innings and Freddy Sanchez got the depleted Pirates going by scoring from second on a ball that bounded only a few feet from home plate during the fourth inning, helping Pittsburgh beat the listless Cubs 3-0 on Tuesday night.
Sanchez, coming off probably his worst game of the season, went 3 for 3, reached base four times, and drove in two runs as the Pirates beat the Cubs for only the sixth time in their last 26 games in Pittsburgh.The Cubs finished a forgettable June in which they went 11-14, their first losing month since August 2007. Their June swoon included manager Lou Piniella's blowup with Milton Bradley, seven extra-inning games, Bradley forgetting how many outs there were and throwing the ball into the stands and Geovany Soto's apology for failing a drug test.The finish wasn't memorable, either, with the Cubs running themselves out of a possible rally in the seventh and leaving runners on second and third in the eighth after they reached with none out.With the Pirates leading 2-0, Soto and Mike Fontenot singled against Ohlendorf (7-6) with two out in the seventh. Soto briefly held up at second on Fontenot's single to left, changed his mind and tried to advance but was easily thrown out by left fielder Brandon Moss.An inning later, Ryan Theriot singled off John Grabow and moved to third when shortstop Jack Wilson threw wildly on pinch-hitter Bradley's infield grounder, with Bradley taking second. Grabow recovered to strike out Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome, and Derrek Lee grounded out.Before that, Ohlendorf made his best start since holding Florida to two hits over seven shutout innings on April 20. He gave up four hits, struck out eight and walked none while limiting the Cubs' middle three hitters - Lee, Jake Fox and Micah Hoffpauir - to one single in nine at-bats.The Pirates, with only 23 players in uniform Tuesday rather than the usual 25 due to two trades, went 14-13 in June - their first winning record in the month since they were 15-12 in 1996.Sanchez played as if he wanted to make up for going 0 for 4, grounding into a double play and stranding six runners during a 3-1 loss on Monday.Sanchez singled to start the fourth against Ted Lilly (7-6) and moved up on Andy LaRoche's two-out single. Moss struck out swinging, but the ball bounced high into the air after striking the dirt. Sanchez kept running and scored when Lilly was late covering the plate. Lilly drew an error for mishandling Soto's throw.Sanchez had a run-scoring single an inning later and doubled following pinch-hitter Steve Pearce's double in the seventh.Matt Capps pitched a scoreless ninth for his 18th save in 20 opportunities.
NOTES---The Pirates were down two players after trading OF Eric Hinske, OF Nyjer Morgan and LHP Sean Burnett. They recalled OF Garrett Jones from Triple-A Indianapolis. ... Jeff Samardzija, recalled earlier in the day, pitched a scoreless eighth for the Cubs. ... The Cubs are 2-7 on a 10-game trip that ends Wednesday. ... Tuesday was the 100th anniversary of the opening of Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.The Cubs played(and lost)the last four games at Forbes in 1970.
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Harden slows Cubs slide against Bucs
Posted by: grobber33 on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 - 03:50 PM
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PITTSBURGH---One good week is all that's needed to move near the top of the crowded,mediocre NL Central. Or, maybe for the Cubs, one good series in Pittsburgh.Rich Harden repeatedly worked out of trouble to win for the first time in more than six weeks, Ryan Theriot homered and the Cubs maintained their mastery of the Pirates by winning 3-1 on Monday night.The Cubs started 1-6 on a 10-game trip that included manager Lou Piniella's run-in with Milton Bradley and were 14-24 on the road before winning their eighth in their last 10 in Pittsburgh. They have won 20 of their last 25 games here, with two more remaining in this series.Now that interleague play is over except for one makeup game, the Cubs are looking to make a move in the division, and are 3½ games behind first-place Milwaukee.They are 18-17 against the NL Central, while the last-place Pirates - despite trailing the fourth-place Cubs by only 2½ games -- are 10-22.The Pirates would be, too, if only they were modestly better in the division. The Pirates had numerous chances to get to Harden (5-4), who was 0-3 with a 5.64 ERA in four starts since last winning May 12, but never did.They stranded a combined five runners during the fifth and sixth innings, and No. 3 hitter Freddy Sanchez grounded into a double play with two on and one out in the seventh.Sanchez, hitless in four at-bats, also grounded out to Harden with the bases loaded and a run in following Andy LaRoche's double in the fifth. An inning later, Harden struck out Jason Jaramillo and Wilson after one-out singles by Brandon Moss and Andy LaRoche.Harden, facing Pittsburgh for the first time, gave up nine hits -- eight singles -- and walked a batter, but struck out nine. The Pirates were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.Kevin Gregg pitched the ninth for his 13th save in 16 opportunities.Zach Duke (8-6) couldn't extend his five-game home winning streak, giving up seven hits and three runs in seven innings. However, the Pirates have scored only five runs with the left-hander on the mound during his six losses.The Cubs, 6-0 losers to the White Sox on Sunday, took a 1-0 lead on Andres Blanco's two-out RBI single in the second. Theriot hit his seventh homer one batter into the third, and Bradley's run-scoring double made it 3-0 in the fourth.Bradley, who will sit down the next two days to work with hitting coach Von Joshua on improving his .195 average as a left-handed hitter, went 2 for 4 to bump his average to .238. He was 1 for 16 with nine strikeouts in his previous six games.
NOTES---The Cubs are 3-1 against Pittsburgh....Aramis Ramirez (dislocated shoulder) is taking batting practice in PNC Park before going on a rehabilitation assignment Thursday.....Angel Guzman (triceps) might start a rehab assignment the same day.....The Pirates are 13-13 this month. They must win Tuesday for their first winning June since 1996 (15-12)....The Cubs don't see many crowds like this: 15,400.
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Sox break it open late, then hold on vs Tribe
Posted by: grobber33 on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 - 03:42 PM
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CLEVELAND---Gavin Floyd made 95 pitches, some good ones, some bad ones. However, the strike he threw to first mattered most.Floyd shut out Cleveland on five singles over 7 2/3 innings and made a smart defensive play to escape a bases-loaded jam in the seventh as the surging White Sox climbed back to .500 with a 6-3 win Monday night over the free-falling Indians, who lost for the 11th time in 13 games.Floyd (6-5), who started the season by losing four of his first six decisions, improved to 3-0 in June, 4-1 since May 22 and has a 1.39 ERA in his last eight starts. The right-hander walked two, struck out five and made the game's biggest defensive play while protecting a 2-0 lead.In the seventh, the Indians loaded the bases off Floyd on a single sandwiched by two walks. Ryan Garko then hit a tapper toward first that danced along the white-chalk line. Floyd hustled off the mound, scooped it and fired to first in time to retire Garko.However, plate umpire Scott Barry, recently called up from the minors, ruled it was foul, prompting Guillen to come out and complain. The umpiring crew then met for several moments near first before calling Garko out. That set off Indians manager Eric Wedge, who stormed from the dugout and was quickly ejected by crew chief Tom Hallion. Floyd wasn't certain what to do when he first went after the ball. He was worried if he let Garko get too far past him, he wold have a tougher throw.Garko was more upset with his swing than the controversial call.Floyd was lifted in the eighth by Guillen with a runner on and Grady Sizemore coming up. Thornton came on and got Sizemore to swing at his first pitch and lift a harmless fly out to left.Jermaine Dye and Gordon Beckham had RBI singles off Carl Pavano (6-7) as the White Sox won for the 10th time in 14 games.The last-place Indians have dropped three straight and only avoided their fifth shutout with a three-run ninth as Shin-Soo Choo homered off Matt Thornton and Garko hit a two-run, two-out shot off Octavio Dotel.Newly acquired reliever Chris Perez melted down in his Cleveland debut. He hit the first two batters he faced, walked the bases loaded and then cleared them as the Sox scored four runs in the ninth on a fielder's choice, an RBI double, wild pitch and run-scoring single.The White Sox got a scare in the ninth when shortstop Alexei Ramirez was beaned by Perez. Ramirez dropped after being struck on the helmet by the right-hander's fastball. Ramirez was checked by a White Sox trainer before being assisted from the field.Perez then hit Dye, not exactly the production the Indians were looking for after trading third baseman Mark DeRosa to St. Louis on Saturday.Ramirez gave a thumbs up that he was fine and expects to play Tuesday. Guillen said Dye is also OK.The White Sox jumped on Pavano for a run in the first on Dye's RBI single and made it 2-0 in the second on Beckham's run-scoring single.
NOTES---The Indians are 2-28 when scoring three or fewer runs.
For the first time in six games, the White Sox did not make an error. They came in on a sloppy slide, having made 17 errors in their previous 11 games....Jim Thome earned his 1,599th walk in the ninth, tying him with Hall of Famer Stan Musial for 12th place on the career list.
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GROBBER'S MONDAY RANTS---June 29,2009
Posted by: grobber33 on Monday, June 29, 2009 - 12:07 PM
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***Cue Tom Petty...The Cubs ar FREE FALLING. This is a team that is only a game and a half out of last place,and looking pathetic.
***ALFONSO SORIANO: Mediocre at the plate, did get a couple of hits over the weekend,but shows now
power. A complete liability in LF. Screwed up two fly balls over the weekend. His misplay on Friday opened the door
for the W.Sox to pull the gamer out,but they failed when A.J. bounced into a key 3-2-3 DP. He messed up two more fly balls on
Sunday. Soriano look's like he is hurting and even his decent throwing arm appears to be 'in neutral'. And THAT is his best attribute in LF,otherwise he is playing as lousy a LF as the Cubs have had since DAVE KINGMAN.
***KOSUKE FUKUDOME: Playing an adequate CF, but his bat has reverted back to the second half of last season. Has joined a crop of Cub batter's
that are barely more than automatic outs. Kosuke's decent start in in his rear view window.
***MILTON BRADLEY: This is a guy that always put up decent numbers,but for whatever reason, he's also not getting ther job done with the bat. Bradley
threw a fit Friday,got into it with Lou Piniella and we all know what happened. Lou even apologized to Bradley for calling him a piece of BLEEP. The fact that Piniella and Jim Hendry have failed to discipline Bradley, Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly for abusing equipment like the gatorade,and water coolers, have thrown helmets, and acted like little leaguers, shows that they are the verge of LOSING THE CLUBHOUSE.
***GEOVANY SOTO: Has actually swung the bat a bit better since it came out that he has been suspended from International Play after testing positive in the WBC. But his lousy start hasn't helped this team a bit.
***CARLOS MARMOL: This is a fellow who simply can't throw strikes. He may have ther best STUFF of any closer on the Cubs, but if he keeps falling behind batters and issuing walks, he's worthless. There can be NO confidence in Marmol right now. He allowed the W.Sox a key run on Saturday which set things up for the game winning run
for the Sox in the bottom of the 9th.
***CARLOS ZAMBRANO: Was on Sunday, and has been average at best for most of the season and cant keep his temper in check. Giving up a homer to Alexi Ramirez,,,,,OK, but he then screwed
up a pitch out on a suicide squeeze by chucking it to the screen allowing Chris Getz to get credit for stealing home. And what does big Z do? He beans DeWayne Wise, a BUCK and a QUARTER hitter. That led to the Sox putting the game future out of reach--not that this embarrassing lineup was going to come back against John Danks. They also made Scott Linebrink,whom they torched a bit over a week ago,look like Mariano Rivera. Zambrano is NOT close to the ACE he out to be.
***RYAN DEMPSTER,TED LILLY,& RICH HARDEN. Nothing special with regard to any of them.
LES
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Latest Scores
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Courtesy of CBS Sportsline |
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Past Articles
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- Sunday, June 28
- Sox blank dead looking Cubs behind Danks. (0)
- Cubs get DeRo back,,, uhh,,you kidding? DeRosa to Cards as Tribe starts selloff. (0)
- Beckham knocks in winning run for Sox as Marmol and Cub pen fail. (0)
- Dupree and Perkins rescue Sky from awful shooting night against Mystics. (0)
- Friday, June 26
- Cubs rally past Sox 5-4 behind Wells,Fox and Soto....Piniella and Bradley get into shouting match in dugout during 6th inning. (0)
- GROBBER'S FRIDAY THOUGHTS-June 26,2009 (0)
- Bulls select two power forwards in NBA Draft (0)
- Thursday, June 25
- Sox outlast Dodgers 6-5 in 13 innings (0)
- Tigers sweep Cubs again, losing streak now at four. (0)
- Sox bats wake up-six long balls enough for 10-7 win over Dodgers (0)
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