Before we rush into football season, I do want to re-visit the Cubs-Rockies game from last Saturday night. If you didn't see the game or catch the highlights, you missed some good stuff. I was at the game, so I will do my best to provide some insight.
The Rockies had thumped the Cubs 17-2 on Friday night and the Cubs had just traded Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot to the Dodgers, so I was interested to see how the mood was at the ballpark. I arrived early for batting practice and headed down to the field.
There were Cubs fans everywhere. It really seemed like the ratio was about 1:1 between Cubs fans and Rockies fans. The attendance for the night was 48,000+, so the game was packed. This was Carlos Zambrano's second day back with the team, so I tried to keep an eye on him during batting practice. I remember going to a Cubs-Cardinals game a few years ago and seeing him run all over the place in B.P. I was interested in seeing if that had changed since his "anger management." Nope. Big Z and Sean Marshall warmed up and then went out to the warning track to try and rob some home runs during batting practice. At one point, Zambrano made a nice catch where he ran a few steps to his right, jumped, and caught the ball above the wall.
A few thoughts from the game:
-Marlon Byrd made a great diving catch on a ball in center field during the 7th inning. The Cubs were trailing 5-2 at the time and Byrd seemed to be a little dinged up as he got up from making the play. The Cubs need more players like Byrd who are going to play hard and give it their all even when things aren't looking good. Right now there are too many guys who are willing to jog after balls in the outfield and take their time when trying to beat out a double play ball.
-I loved that Derek Lee hit a 3-run homer in the 8th inning to tie the game. My dad instantly sent me a text that read: "Boom!!! Glad he decided not to go to the Angels." Absolutely. My response was that Lee needs to retire as a Cub. I realize that his power is dwindling and he isn't the player he used to be, but he plays the game the right way. He seems to be a leader in the clubhouse and the type of veteran that you want on your team.
-Zambrano made his first appearance on the mound in over a month when he came in during the 7th inning. He quickly walked a batter and gave up a single to load the bases.
Apparently he thought that he was going to come in for Marlon Byrd and play CF with the way he was "warming up" in batting practice. However, he managed to settle down and get out of the jam with an infield fly and a strikeout. The stadium radar showed that he hit 94 MPH a few times, so his arm looked pretty good considering the layoff.
-Carlos Gonzalez is having a monster year. The fact that he didn't make the All-Star team is a joke. He hits for power, average, and has good speed. He hit for the cycle (more on that in a minute), stole a base, and had a sacrifice fly on Saturday night. If he can cut down on his strikeouts, he has potential to be a MVP caliber player in the future.
-Cargo's walk off was as much of a "no doubter" as I have ever seen. The Rockies fans went crazy (rightfully so) when he launched the ball into the third deck at Coors Field.
Even though my team lost, it was an incredible night at the ballpark. I witnessed something that has never been done in my lifetime (a walk off home run to complete the cycle). For that matter, it was only the fourth time in MLB history that a player has done was Gonzalez did on Saturday night.
Before their win today, the Cubs had lost 7 in a row and it is now officially time to look to next year. Trading Lilly was a good star. It hurt to lose Theriot (a fan favorite), but DeWitt is probably as good of an option or better than Theriot at second base. I really like the young talents of Starlin Castro and Tyler Colvin leading off the batting order. I'm sure that by Spring Training next year, I will have the same feelings of belief and hope that I did at the beginning of this year when I was in Mesa. Until then....
Great post --- the pics are really nice. Sounds like a great game to have attended. To see someone hit for the cycle and cap it off w/a home run is something you can share with your grandchildren some day.
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