Jump to content

Reversing the Curse: A Chicago Cub's Dynasty


daverick

Recommended Posts

Sorry about the mixup everyone. I got everything straight now. Here come the Cubbies!

By the way, I'm playing on All Star difficulty with sliders set at 0.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Roster Moves

The Cubs released relief pitcher Joe Borowski this weekend. General Manager Jim Hendry talks about the change.

"I just thought it was time for us to go younger and cheaper. Joe was great for us during the time he was here, and I'm sure whoever takes him will be getting a solid veteran pitcher. To take his spot on the roster, we called up Michael Wuertz. He's been ready for awhile now, but we haven't had anywhere to put him. Now it's time to see what this kid can do."

The Cubs also sent down starting pitcher Sergio Mitre, and recalled Todd Wellemyer to make the final spot in the pen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dusty Baker has submitted his 2005 roster.

CF Corey Patterson

2B Todd Walker

SS Nomar Garciaparra

3B Aramis Ramirez

RF Jeromy Burnitz

1B Derek Lee

LF Todd Hollandsworth

C Michael Barret

SP Mark Prior

SP Kerry Wood

SP Carlos Zambrano

SP Greg Maddux

SP Glendon Rusch

RP Cliff Bartosh

RP Mike Remlinger

RP Todd Wellemyer

RP Michael Wuertz

RP Chad Fox

SU LaTroy Hawkins

CL Ryan Dempster

C Henry Blanco

OF Jerry Hairston Jr.

LF Jason DuBois

MIF Neifi Perez

IF Jose Macias

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 1: Cubs at Diamondbacks

Mark Prior (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Javier Vasquez (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Prior on the Mark as Cubs win 4-1

coreyleadoffhr6mj.th.png priork0ru.th.png

left: Patterson delivers a leadoff homer in the first, right: Prior records one of his 13 K's

The scoring began early on as Corey Patterson lead off the game with a solo shot to right field. The Cubs would slowly chip away and build a lead for Mark Prior, who was simply dominant.

In the bottom of the third, Chad Tracy hit a hard liner back towards the pitcher, and Prior made an unbelieveable bare handed, behind the back catch. Most certainly a web gem for the first half.

The Diamondbacks had something going in the bottom of the 7th, after Royce Clayton hit a leadoff triple. But Mark Prior would strike out both Luis Gonzalez and Troy Glaus, and then get Shawn Green to ground out to third to escape without any damage done.

Arizona was able to score a run in the bottom of the eigth, as Mark Kata deliviered an RBI single to plate their only run of the ball game.

Prior finished the game on his own, while throwing only 77 pitches, and striking out 13.

Hitting Noteables

Patterson 3/4 HR, 2B, SB

Ramirez 1/4 RBI

Hollandsworth 1/4 2B, RBI

Player of the Game: Mark Prior - 9 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 13 SO

game1score1qh.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, since your using imageshack, this will be easy.

Upload your pic, then click the "Show To Friends" or w/e that is. Then it will open up your pic. Right click on the pic, and copy paste it between 2 img tags.

Like this:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Around the League

Seattle signs 2B Brandon Valentine to a minor league contract.

Kansas City signs backup 1B John Olderud.

Kansas City relief pitcher Nate Field injured his hernia and will be out for 254 days.

Milwaukee signs backup catcher Tom Greisinger.

San Diego signs 3B John Tucker to a minor league contract.

Chicago Cubs release relief pitcher Joe Borowski.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 2: Cubs at Diamonbacks

Kerry Wood (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Rus Ortiz (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Homer happy Cubs hold on

g2barrethr4hc.th.png dbacksbenchhappy8zf.th.png

left: Michael Barret hits his first homer of the day, right: the D'Back's bench celebrates Clayton's game tieing HR

The Cubs picked up where they left off yesterday, scoring a run in the first via an RBI double from Aramis Ramirez that plate Todd Walker.

Michael Barret played his part, supporting Kerry Wood with a solo blast to lead off the 3rd inning. The home run traveled deep to right field, bouncing off the "Welcome to Bank One Ballpark" sign just below the upper deck.

Trouble struck for the Cubs in the bottom of the 5th inning, when Hill led off the inning with a blast to right field. Ortiz kept the rally going with a solid single up the middle. Craig Counsel hit a rocket off the bat, but Nomar Garciaparra timed the jump perfectly and took that base hit away and threw to first for the double play.

Kerry Wood had to leave after 7 innings due to a high pitch count. Todd Wellemyer came in for relief, and gave up a game tieing solo shot to Royce Clayton.

Chad Fox came in during the ninth to try and send the game into extras, and it wasn't easy. Back to back singles to lead off the inning really put the Cubs in a tough situation. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild came out to calm his pitcher down, and it sure helped. Chad Tracy hit into a double play, but there was still a runner on third with 2 outs. Pinch hitter Toby Clark hooked a deep flyball just foul. Had it been fair, the game would have been over. On the next pitch, Fox threw a vicious slider to strike him out.

The Cubs built on their momentum heading into the 10th, when Michael Barret hit his second homer of the day to put the Cubs up 4-3. Next batter up, pinch hitter Jerry Hairston Jr. kept the trend in order, hitting his first homer of the year to add to the lead.

Chicago's newly proclaimed closer, Ryan Dempster, got his first save oppurtunity, and made an adventure out of it. runners on 1st and 3rd with only 1 out, but got Luis Gonzalez and Troy Glaus to strike out to end the game.

We caught up with Cub's pitching coach Larry Rothschild after the game. Here's what he had to say when asked about Kerry Wood:

"He pitched well. He went 7 solid innings, but due to his high pitch count he had to come out, and unfortunately couldn't get the win. He still needs to learn how to pitch more effectively. He has the talent, but is still too wild. If he could learn how to conserve his pitches more effectively, he could close out games himself. Overall, he pitched well."

We also got a quick question into Ryan Dempster about closing. His response:

"Everyone has their job to do. After JoBo was released, we needed someone to step up. I didn't want LaTroy to have to take that job again, so I took one for the team. It feels good to contribute. I just hope next time it's a little easier."

Hitting Noteables

Michael Barret 2/4 2 HR, 2 RBI

Todd Walker 3/5 2B, R

Aramis Ramirez 2/5 2 2B's

Jerry Hairston Jr. 1/1 HR

Player of the Game: Michael Barret - 2/4 2 HR, 2 RBI

W - C. Fox

L - B. Lyon

S - R. Dempster

game1score3bf.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 3: Cubs (2-0) at Diamondbacks (0-2)

Carlos Zambrano (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Brandon Webb (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Cubs rally late; Complete sweep

untitled29kq.th.png untitled17kc.th.png

left: Troy Glaus connects for his first bomb of the season, right: Dempster celebrates after the game

This game didn't see a baserunner until the bottom of the fifth inning, but they were each big. The Diamonbacks hit 3 solo homers in that inning, credited to Troy Glaus, Chad Tracy, and Koby Hill.

The Cubs didn't get their first baserunner until the 7th, went Todd Walker drew a base on balls with 1 out. Nomar followed it up with a double, but Todd Walker was thrown out at home by a perfect throw from Jose Cruz Jr. Aramis Ramirez made up for it with a base hit of his own to plate the Cub's first run of the game. Burnitz took a 2 out walk, and Derek Lee made Webb pay. A sharp double right up the middle plated 2 runs to tie the game at 3. Todd Hollandsworth delivered the go ahead hit, a double that plated Derek Lee to take the lead. A few batters later, Neifi Perez was pinch hitting with runners on 1st and third, and grounded out to 1st.

Ryan Dempster came into the game and shut the Diamondbacks down in order, to complete the 3-game sweep. The final out was made on a diving stop by Todd Walker and a quick throw from his knees to just get Troy Glaus at 1B.

Arizona pitcher, Brandon Webb was busy, but was nice enough to answer a few questions for us. When asked about his outing and the clubhouse right now, he said:

"It's funny really. I was really excited. I was pitching so well, I mean I retired the first 19 hitters I faced, and then things just went down hill in the 7th. I didn't come through for the team. I take the blame for that loss. The clubhouse? We're all kind of down right now. You never want to start the season off getting swept, but certainly not at home. We're gonna have to play better, that's all. They came out and did their jobs. All you can do is tip your caps to them and move on."

Hitting Noteables

Aramis Ramirez 1/4 2B, RBI

Derek Lee 2/4 2B, 2 RBI

Nomar Garciaparra 2/4 3B, R

Player of the Game: Derek Lee - 2/4 2B, 2 RBI, Game tieing hit

W - C. Fox

L - B. Webb

S - R. Dempster

untitled1ex.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Around the League

Baltimore signs 1B Russ Shuey to a minor league contract.

Anaheim signs SP Peter Munro.

Houston signs backup SS Lamont Guerrero.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 4: Brewers at Cubs

Victor Santos (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Greg Maddux (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Dramatic finish, Walker walks off

branyan1ea.th.png fireworks5zz.th.png

left: Russel Branyan connects with his 1st inning home run, right: Fireworks go off at Wrigley after the Cubs victory

Russel Branyan came through in the 1st inning, slugging his 2nd homer of the season, to put the Brew Crew up 1-0.

Todd Walker had a solo shot in the 3rd inning, and Todd Hollandsworth put the Cubs ahead in the 4th with his 1st homer of the season.

Corey Patterson led off with a bunt single and stole 2nd base in the 7th inning, and scored on Aramis Ramirez's 2 out double.

Greg Maddux cruised through 7 innings allowing only 3 hits and 1 run, and the bullpen came in the 8th. A 1-2-3 inning looked promising, but the Crew led off the 9th with back to back doubles by Lyle Overbay and Brady Clark, and a sac fly and a strikeout later, Russel Branyan's single tied the game at 3, heading into the bottom of the ninth.

The Cubs didn't waste any time to respond, as Michael Barret singled to left to start it off, and pinch hitter Jose Macias walked to have 2 men on for Corey Patterson, who struck out swinging. But Todd Walker picked up his teammate with a walkoff base hit, as the Cubs win in dramatic fashion, 4-3.

We caught up with Carlos Lee after the game, and talked about the game:

"This is a solid team. Whenever you have to go up and face Greg Maddux, you know you're in for a rough night. He had our number. We came through in the ninth, but we let the momentum shift away from us. All we can do is look forward tomorrow. Hopefully we'll come out on top next time."

Hitting Noteables

Corey Patterson 1/4 R, SB

Aramis Ramirez 3/4 2 2B, RBI

Todd Walker 2/5 RBI

Player of the Game: Todd Walker - 2/5 Walk off RBI single

gghh4sw.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Before the game, we caught up with Dusty Baker, who had a few words to say before this afternoon's game with the Milwaukee Brewers:

"I've been very impressed with the way we've played up to this point. There was alot of talk about how this team lives and dies with the home run, and that's definitely not how we've played. We've had alot of clutch hits, and the pitching has been great. Winning the first 4 games of the season, I couldn't be more pleased. I'm gonna give a few of the regulars a day off today, so expect some new faces."

Game 5: Brewers at Cubs

Wes Obermueller (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Glendon Rusch (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Brewers pound Cubs with the longball, streak ends at 4

gghh3nj.th.png

Geoff Jenkins pumps his fist after hitting one of 3 homers on the day

The Brewers had a team meeting before today's game, trying to avoid falling to 0-5 on the season. Russel Branyan responded with his 2nd homer of the series, a 2 run shot in the 2nd, to give Milwaukee an early lead. Geoff Jenkins joined in on the fun himself, clubbing a 2 run bomb to right field in the 3rd, 4-0 Brewers.

The Cubs got on the board in the 4th inning, when Jerry Hairston Jr. reached on a throwing error by Obermueller. He would later steal 2nd base and score on Aramis Ramirez's single.

Lyle Overbay led off the 5th inning with a solo shot to left, which forced the Cubs to get the pen rolling. Geoff Jenkins later in the inning hit his second 2 run homer of the day, resulting in Glendon Rusch being pulled for the lefty, Mike Remlinger.

Guess who's at it again? Leading off the 8th inning, Geoff Jenkins clubbed his 3rd homer of the day, to put the Brewers up 8-1.

The Cubs wouldn't go down without a fight though. Jason DuBois hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the 8th, and with the bases loaded and 2 out, Aramis Ramirez delivered a 2 run single. Brew Crew leads 8-4 after 8.

The Cubs went down in order in the ninth, to end their 4 game winning streak and lose their first game of the season.

During the interviews, we had a chance to talk to Glendon Rusch about his performance this afternoon:

"It was just one of those days. We were doing so well, especially our starting pitchers. They were just dominating, and I was hoping to keep it going. There were alot of pitches I wish I could have back, but I just have to wait for my next start and try and make up for it."

Geoff Jenkins had this to say about his great day at the plate:

"Did I really hit 3? Wow... Well, Wrigley Field is one of those ball parks. The wind was blowing straight out today. I didn't think any of mine were hit hard enough to get out, so I bet that had something to do with it. We faced a tough pitcher who had an off day. Sometimes these things happen. Wes went out and pitched a great ball game, and shut 'em down early so we could build a big lead. The best part about it is being able to hand a rival their first loss of the season, and in a grand fashion at that."

Hitting Noteables

Aramis Ramirez 2/4 3 RBI

Jason DuBois 2/4 2B

Player of the Game: Aramis Ramirez 2/4 3RBI

W - W. Obermueller

L - G. Rusch

c0wq.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, great Dynasty bro, We are almost playing same games...

I'm going to start my new series vs San Diego. I have a 5 game winning streak.. You can take a look to my page, but it's in spanish ('cause I'm Dominican :D). I'll try to make a link to the english version (dunno how)... but here is the link to the page

http://www.dynastymanager.com/dynasty.cgi?...uSSJ&y=2005

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Hey, great Dynasty bro, We are almost playing same games...

I'm going to start my new series vs San Diego. I have a 5 game winning streak.. You can take a look to my page, but it's in spanish ('cause I'm Dominican :D). I'll try to make a link to the english version (dunno how)... but here is the link to the page "

I took Spanish as my language (well, still taking it) so I have a pretty good idea of what's going on there. Nice work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Around the League

American League

Kansas City signs backup 2B Reed De La Rosa.

Boston signs C Chris Eaton to a minor league contract.

Chicago White Sox sign 3B Tony DeHaan to a minor league contract.

Minnesota place SP Peter Munro on the 15-day DL with a fractured left hand.

National League

New York Mets signs RF Edgar Ryan to a minor league contract.

Pittsburgh signs nackup catcher Brent Mayne.

Milwaukee signs CF Wilbert Lewis to a minor league contract.

Atlanta signs C Kelly Stinnett to a minor league contract.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were able to get in a few words with today's starting pitcher, Mark Prior, before the game:

"Yesterday was a tough loss. Whenever you get on a winning streak, you feel invincible. You feel as if you're on top of the world, and it's gonna last forever. Alot of fans came out to the game yesterday, and we didn't come through. Nothing kills moral more than the long ball, and we gave up plenty of those yesterday. Hopefully I can go out and get us back on track today."

Game 5: Brewers at Cubs

Gary Glover (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Mark Prior(1-0, 1.13 ERA)

Pitching dominates; Cubs win 5th

brewersreact2ke.th.png walkoff6vq.th.png

left: the Brewers bench reacts after the Cubs get the go ahead run in the 7th, right: Cub's players Nomar Garciaparra, Todd Hollandsworth, and Jeromy Burnitz walk off after the win

The game started off looking like it would be a classic pitchers's duel. Through the first 2 1/3 innings, the game had only seen 1 baserunner. But Todd Hollandsworth broke out of it in thebottom of the 3rd, with a leadoff double, but the Cub's hitters couldn't pick him up.

The Cubs had another chance in the 5th inning, when Derek Lee took the walk to start the inning. The 2nd base umpire blew the call when Lee stole 2nd, but was called out. Dusty Baker came out enraged, and was ejected, but the Cub's dugout appeared pumped up.

Mark Prior worked a hard at bat to lead off the 6th, seeing 9 pitches before lineing a single into left field. Corey Patterson would then ground into a fielder's choice, with Todd Walker coming up.

Gary Glover pitched a great 6 innings, but was forced out of the game in the 7th when Nomar Garciaparra led off the inning with a triple that got caught in the right field corner. Aramis Ramirez would then deliver the go ahead run on a sac fly to score Nomar to left field.

Ryan Dempster was on, looking for the save. A strikeout, pop up, and a groundball later, the Cubs were celebrating their 5th win of the season.

Hitting Noteables

Nomar Garciaparra 1/3 3B, R

Aramis Ramirez 1/2 RBI

Player of the Game: Mark Prior - 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 SO

W - M. Prior

L - G. Glover

S - R. Dempster

socreline0ni.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...