Reds 72-90, -13
Cubs 85-77, +2 (+19 from last season)
POTG: LF Soriano (HR, 2B, 3H, 3 RBI)
Runner Up: CF Jacque Jones (2 H, 2B, R, RBI), SP Ted Lilly (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB), RP Kerry Wood (1 IP, H, 3 K)
They really should’ve kept playing the B-Squad! (plus Soriano)
Dempster sucking in a non-save situation was not a surprise. Jason Marquis sucking was a bit more worrisome. It seems like I was the only person in the world who had him ahead of Hill lately, but I was totally fine with the Cubs flipping Hill to the 3rd spot and sending Marquis to the bullpen after this. Party on Friday or no party on Friday, Marquis still sucked on Sunday.
Last 6 Marquis Game Scores: 64 38 61 13 33 0
I kinda want to throw that last one out since it was a starter, but why – it’s obviously affected how things are turning out.
Last 6 Hill Game Scores: 36 31 71 40 47 73
So it’s 2 good games to 2 good games, but Hill’s good games have been better and his bad games haven’t been quite as bad. Neither guy is the hot pitcher they were at the start of the season.
Hill Sep ERA: 5.08
Marqus Sep ERA: 6.21
By the way, Rich Hill needs a nickname so I can look him up in B-Ref quicker. Getting to choose between him and a minor leaguer is a bit annoying. (Or perhaps I need to start marking favorites.)
I don’t think Marquis gets used besides extra innings or mopping up anyway, so it makes no difference if he’s on the roster. The bigger deal is getting an extra Lilly start, since Z would start twice in a five game series regardless. That’s a big improvement.