RoyO on the mound, up 5-2 against the fuzzy Cubbies.  Put it on the board, right?

Not so much.

As Triple347 mentioned, something doesn’t look quite right with Roy.  For me, it wasn’t as much the lack of velocity on his fastball as it was the lack of snap on the slider.  Specifically, in an AB with Geovany Soto, Roy threw three straight sliders that were 84, lazy, and far off the mark.

And Roy didn’t get much help, either.   Oscar, Wright, and Geary couldn’t get an out until three more runs scored, allowing all of their inherited runners to score in the process.  No es bueno.  And if there is something wrong with Roy, who really is our only pitcher capable of giving the pen a rest, then we are going to have even bigger issues with our relievers.  In other words, it’ll be a cascade of shit effect.

Dearest Brad Ausmus: You had a hard time with Oswalt’s stuff yesterday, and the stuff wasn’t that good.  It’s time to start that modeling job, my friend.  Thanks for the weak OPS and all, and you can keep the stool sample, but it’s time.  Kthxbye!

Today, it’s Brandon Backe versus Carlos Zambrano, a matchup that definitely favors the Cubs.  Between the Rocks and Stros, it’s hard to tell who Zambrano owns the most.  Against us, he’s 10-6 with a 2.65 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and .193 batting average against, all well below his career numbers.  Meanwhile, against the Cubs, Backe is 2-1, 4.97 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and .292 BAA.  On paper, it’s a mismatch.

Well, at least we aren’t Detroit Tigers fans.  And is anybody else getting some schadenfraude out of their sucky start?

If you’re looking for a fun team to root for this year, you might want to consider the Rays.  They’re a young team and fun to watch.

Finally, a little farm news.  Bud Norris, who is one of the few decent arms we have on the farm, struck out 8 in his Corpus Christi (AA) debut.  Right now, he doesn’t profile as more than a back-end starter, but that’s an encouraging debut.  He’s already 23, and we skipped him past high-A this year, so at least we are fast-tracking him to see what he can do against similarly-aged competition.