Cubs vs. Brewers Sunday Blogcast

Live From the Full Schilling

1:20 Start
TV: WGN
Radio: WGN Radio - 720 AM

Victor Santos vs. Greg Maddux

1:11pm -- Maddux is 7-3 in his last 12 starts at Wrigley -- not that it means much in early April. Santos is 1-1 in three appearances at the Confines.

Patterson is leading off again today for the Cubs. Lee in the six hole.

Brady Clark will lead if off for the Brewers, followed by Spivey and Overbay.

1:18 -- Lee signed an autograph for a horrid brunette. Yikes.

1:20 -- Maddux is ready to let it go. Clark hitting .143 in the early going.

1:21 -- Maddux snares a liner, putting in for that Gold Glove again.

1:24 and the Cubs are behind as Spivey put a mistake into the left field basket. *sigh*...

1:25 -- Ex-Sox Carlos Lee takes the third looking to end it. 1-0 Brew-has.

1:29 -- Santos is wild early, but C-Pat is behind 2-2; what are the odds he fans?

1:29 -- Patterson manages to see 8 pitches, but tapped back to the mound. At least not a K. Maybe a tenth of a walk for the Walk-A-thon.

1:31 -- Walker takes a walk. Hit and run saves Nomar from the double play, and A-Ram puts it in the gap to drive him home. 1-1 tied.

1:36 -- Burnitz popped up to end it. Sight seen: a scalper bust right outside our window at the Full Shilling. The scapler comapnies get off scot-free, and Joe Independent gets nailed. Capitalist Conspiracy! :)

1:40 -- Jenkins singles, and so does ex-Cub Damian Miller. It's taking nine of Chicago's finest to confine one guy with some tickets. Taxes at work. Another squad just pulled up.

1:41 -- Forget the Gold Glove -- Maddux throwing error kills a possible double play and they're loaded. Trying to get an interview with the arrestees.

1:44 -- Bill Hall works Maddux to 2-2, but 6-4-3 scores a run. 2-1 Brewers as we build the picket fences.

1:45 -- In other news, Smoltz fans 15 through 7. Recovering from his terrible first start. 6-3 ends the top of the second. Maddux looks very hittable today -- a good match for Santos.

1:50 -- Lee grounds out. The aggrieved ticket scalpers, our crack interview team discovered, are innocent of anything and are not a particularly good interview. Surpising.

1:54 -- Hollandsworth walks, and the Cubs are being uncharacteristically patient -- but Barrett hits into the twin killing to end it. Still 2-1 Milwaukee.

1:59 -- Spivey singles -- he's 9 for 22 in April -- but gets nailed by a perfect throw from Barrett down to second.

2:01 -- Good thing, too, because Overbay plants a fastball in the right field bleachers. 3-1 Brewers at the end of the inning.

2:07 -- C-Pat gets to 2-2 and goes swinging. Again.

2:09 -- Nice to see the adverts behind the plate -- out of the 19th century. Grounder to first by Walker end the third.

2:14 -- Maddux issues a five-pitch walk to stikeout-prone Jenkins. I doubt that's a setup for later this year. But 5-4-3 helps out.

2:17 -- Branyan singles -- a rarity -- and Maddux hasn't strengthened at all. More early struggles. Remember last April's 5.65 ERA? Infield hit for Hall and its first and second with 2 down.

2:21 -- Grounder to Nomar ends it, but a long inning for Maddux. 63 pitches through four. Still 3-1 Sudstown.

2:24 -- Nomar goes after a ball in the dirt for strike three. Nomar's 5th K in six games -- a extraordinary pace for one of the harder Ks in baseball. A-Ram shoots one past first for a double, though, and the Cubs are in business.

2:29 -- Burnitz singles and its 3-2. He's 6-for-24 early. Time to buy your Tribco-authorized "Believe" ripoff bracelet.

2:34 -- Lee takes another very professional walk -- I know Ramirez is the favorite son, but Lee has the best plate approach on this team. First and second and one out. But it ends without more.

2:41 -- Two singles open the fifth frame, and Maddux is in trouble again. Nine hits through four plus. Spivey is 3-3.

2:43 -- Nearly a 3-6-1 double play -- Maddux argues and replay shows that its a blown call. No help, though, and its first and third with one away.

2:44 -- Sac fly scores one, and the call comes home to roost. 4-2 Brewers, and that's how it ends. Tiger leads the Masters at 13 under.

2:50 -- Maddux lifted for Hairston. The sorrowful line: 5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB and 1 K over 75 pitches. He never had it today.

2:52 and OH MY GOD! The Corey Patterson Walk-A-Thon continues!! He stands proudly (confusedly?) at first after five pitches. Santos is starting to lose it a bit after 80+ pitches, and hits Walker. First, second, two away and Ramirez at the plate.

2:58 -- A wild pitch, and A-Ram goes 3-1. Relief up. Generous call on strike 2. Ball four, however, is grounded to second to end the threat. Still 4-2 Milwaukee.

3:02 -- Wellemeyer is on, so cross your fingers.

3:02 and thirty seconds -- Wellemeyer gives up a tater to Miller -- his first in over 100 at-bats. We've said it before: the Cubs need bullpen help.

3:04 -- Branyan singles again -- weird -- and Wellemeyer is typically ineffective. Wild high. In the dirt. The kid isn't a major league pitcher at this point.

3:08 -- Wes Helms pinch-hits into a 6-4-3 to end it. Santos final line: 5 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 2 ER and 2 K.

3:13 -- 1060west anchor MCav is being proved right as Burnitz drives one to the rightfield gap off the new Brewer tosser Phelps. Lee singles and Burnitz holds at third. Setting up shop with nobody out.

3:14 -- Hollandsworth singles to drive in Burnie and Phelps leaves without recording an out. The infinite ERA looms. This pitching change brought to to by the round CornCobDress bought for everyone in the bar to celebrate Corey's walk.

3:19 -- Old Phillies closer Ricky Bottalico on for the Brewers. He summarily hits Barrett to load 'em.

3:22 -- Neifi hits for Wellemeyer (thank god) and hits a slow roller to second; only play to first and a run scores to make it 5-4 Brewers. Still second and third with one away, Patterson up.

3:25 -- Infield hit for C-Pat and Hollandsworth scores to tie it. Walker fouls off a few, but hits into a 1-4-3 (off Bottalico's foot) double play to end it. We're tied at fives at the end of six.

3:33 -- Baker is tossing stuff around the dugout. Brenly speculates that Patterson missed a few steal signs out on the bases. Seriously -- would you be surprised? Corey doesn't have the attention span to look at more than six pitches. Why would he look at the third-base coach for ten straight seconds?

3:39 -- Wuertz on. Brady Clark singles but gets caught stealing. Still fives. Cheese from Old School sings the seventh. Can this thing just mercifully die? Harry has been in the ground for years now. It isn't cute anymore; it's an abuse of tonality. Bonnie Hunt sang yesterday. Who is she?

3:45 -- Bill Hall makes a great play in the hole on Aramis. It's easy to see why they're high on him. If he hits at all, he'll be in the majors for a long time.

3:50 -- Wuertz still and he blows it by El Caballo before being lifted. 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 K. Another outing to support CornCob's argument for putting Wuertz at the end of the bullpen. Solid.

3:53 -- Remlinger on. Miller singles, but he looks good and Branyan won't single three times in any game.

3:57 -- Called strike three. Wise out of the bullpen for Milwaukee.

4:03 -- Wise looks tough with a Lee groundout and Hollndsworth fanning and on eye-high fastball. Smoltz finished with 15 Ks, but gave up 8 hits as Atlanta lost 6-1.

4:04 -- Hall again comes up on a ball in the hole to throw out Barrett. Very tough on defense. Career OBP of .280 keeps him from playing every day.

4:10 -- Nomar charges a ball of his own to keep from being totally shown up by Hall. Nice play. Then Nomar ends the inning on a routine grounder.

4:14 -- The much-heralded Jason DuBois pinch-hits for the pitcher, shows an eye in getting to 2-1, but gets gets fooled for strike 2. Works 3-2, pulls a strike foul but takes strike 3 on a perfect fastball, inside on the black. Great pitch from Jorge de la Rosa, but a nice at-bat for the kid.

4:17 -- Patterson fans again for the second out in the ninth. Still 5-5. Clubhouse representative Wodd Talker at the plate.

4:18 -- Walker grounds out and we get some free baseball.

4:22 -- Rusch on in the 10th to face three-hit Spivey. Rusch bobbles it, Spivey safe at first. There's trouble here, Cherie...

4:26 -- Carlos Lee drives a 3-1 pitch into left, and its first and second with one away for the Brewers. Jenkins up.

4:28 -- He is so Brett Favre's secret brother. Fielder's choice ends in a collision between Walker and Lee at second -- an illegal legwhip, in fact. But there's no call, and no harm done.

4:30 -- Rusch fans Miller and its the Cubs half of the 10th. Wrigleyville Dogs is starting to look pretty good after a half dozen Miller Lites. (Product placement at no extra fee.)

4:31 -- Walker limps off after the incident, looks like a ankle. Hairston has already been used. Macias will have to man second.

4:35 -- Nomar swings at a ball outside in the dirt for strike three for the second time. He looks very bad -- for him, anyway. 0-4 today makes 4-27 so far.

4:36 -- Ramirez doubles -- he gave the Sammy hop! Missed by two feet, and its second base with one out.

4:38 -- De la Rosa breaks off a huge curve to get Burnitz looking. Walking Lee to face Hollandsworth -- good decision by Milwaukee manager Ned Yost, one of the more underrated managers in the game.

4:42 -- 3-2 with two down, and Hollandsworth draws a walk. Fine outing for de la Rosa -- and they'll leave him in to face Barrett.

4:45 -- Barrett sees four balls and goes to 1-2 anyway. Drives one foul. Gets caught looking. On to the 11th.

4:50 -- Rusch fans Branyan -- over 500 Ks in some career 1200 ABs -- but Hall draws a rare walk.

4:52 -- Chris Magruder pinch-hits for de la Rosa and singles Hall to third with one away. Uh-oh.

4:55 -- Bartosh is warming, but it may be too late for Dusty's move. Brady Clark pops up, and the righty Spivey is up. But Dusty leaves Rusch in.

4:58 -- Rusch comes up big and Ks Spivey looking. To the bottom of the 11th.

5:02 -- Derrick Turnbow on for the Brew-has. Rusch hits for himself. I can't explain that, with Hawkins and Leicester in the pen. He pops up.

5:03 -- C-Pat demonstrates why he should hit every ball on the ground by getting another infield hit. He really is Willie Mays Hayes.

5:06 -- Patterson should probably have stolen second by now, but remains on first as Macias gets to 2-2. A start-and-stop looked like an aborted steal attempt. A hit-and-run attempt ended in a foul ball. Grounder to Branyan moves Patterson into scoring position.

5:10 -- Nomar taps a ball back to Turnbow. TO THE 12TH!

5:12 -- The Cubs have nine hits and six walks; the Brewers 15 hits and 2 walks. MCav is on his second scotch despite the Vicodin he took to relieve the pain of oral surgery. An ambulance awaits.

5:14 -- Overbay leads off with one of his ubiquitous doubles. El Caballo to the plate and they walk him intentionally.

5:18 -- Fly ball to Burnitz, but Overbay holds at second. Maybe a minor break for the Cubs. Two away. Branyan grounds out to Lee to end it.

You know, I didn't count on 13 innings when I started this thing. Let's score one and free me to to drink beer uninhibited.

5:23 -- Bill Hall again charges a deflected ball to get A-Ram. A joy to watch him work.

5:25 -- Burnitz stat of the day: has his 7th career two-homer game on June 23, 1999.

5:26 -- The Burnitzalypse drives it off the wall over Clark's head -- a triple! One out and we're looking golden! Derrek Lee approaches.

5:27 -- Lee walked intentionally to get to the lefty Hollandsworth. The 1996 rookie of the year, hitting .291 with 12 homers.

5:29 -- HOLLANDSWORTH KNOCKS IT THROUGH A DRAWN-IN INFIELD, AND I AM FREED! The massive respect for Lee forces a righty-lefty matchup for the Cubs, and it works.

Brewers 5 runs, 16 hits, 0 errors
Cubs 6 runs, 11 hits, 2 errors

WP -- Rusch (2-0) LP -- Turnbow (0-1)