Home MLB'Weekly' Hit Ground Ball Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Davis proves the doubters wrong

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Davis proves the doubters wrong

by Matt Smith

WHGB11Wrigley Field always creates a good atmosphere, but there was something extra special about the Cubs’ game on Friday. You could tell that this was a notable event even sitting many miles away in England, watching the game live on the television as rain hammered against the window.

It was special because the New York Yankees were playing at Wrigley Field for the first time since a three-game series in 2003, and that series was the first meeting in Chicago between the two sides since the 1938 World Series.  The Cubs aren’t having a great season so far, but that didn’t seem to matter as the first pitch was thrown. 

This was more than a game, it was an event and everyone knew it, including the players.  The smiles said it all.

One person who wasn’t there smiling was Derek Jeter.  The Yankees’ captain had his quest for his 3,000th career hit put on hold due to an injury and he headed to the Disabled List prior to the series.  Even without Jeter, the Yankees could put forward an impressive batting lineup and as I was root, root, rooting for the home team (partly because it’s second nature to root against the Yankees, partly because I like singing along to the ‘Go Cubs Go’ victory song) that was a concern.

The veteran Doug Davis was on the mound for the Cubs.  He hadn’t recorded a win since May 2010 and hadn’t really come close to breaking that sequence in his first six starts to the 2011 season. I had sat down in front of my telly exactly three weeks prior to this game and watched him labour against the Pittsburgh Pirates, so the prospect of him facing the Bronx Bombers with the wind blowing out at Wrigley prompted thoughts of a shellacking and an early shower for the Cubs’ starter.

However, the flags at Wrigley showed the wind was blowing in and Davis used every ounce of his experience to find a strong performance when he needed it the most.

The one thing that Cubs fans, either of long-standing or temporary convenience, had to hang on to was that Davis has been pitching in the National League since midway through 2003 and therefore most of the Yankee hitters had limited experience against him. Unfamiliarity always favours the pitcher.  The hope was that he could be economical and get through the lineup a couple of times before turning it over to the bullpen.

After the sight of the favourable flags, Davis got another boost when his teammates gave him a two-run lead before he had even toed the rubber.  The Yankees also had a veteran on the mound in Freddy Garcia and the Cubs’ Kosuke Fukudome and Starlin Castro started the game by getting on base and coming around to score.

Davis responded by holding the Yankees in check early on. He was noticeably, and sensibly, cautious when facing first baseman Mark Teixeira, walking him with two outs in the first inning, but other than that he was on top of things.  The Yankees didn’t get their first hit until the fourth inning and he averted a potential rally in the fifth by striking out Curtis Granderson with runners on first and second base.

By that point, the Cubs had increased their lead to 3-0 and yet it looked more and more like that was all the support Davis was likely to get.  Garcia had shook off the early rust and settled into his rhythm.  He retired eleven straight batters before giving up an infield single to Tony Campana with two outs in the sixth inning.  The jet-heeled Campana was then caught trying to steal second to end the inning and Garcia ended his day by pitching a three up-three down seventh.

Davis had got through the Yankee lineup three times without conceding a run and giving up just two hits, but when Nick Swisher hit a double with one out in the eighth, Cubs manager Mike Quade decided that Davis had more than done his bit.  He left to a standing ovation from a packed Wrigley Field crowd and although Swisher would come home on a Teixeira single, therefore putting a run against Davis’ name, nothing was going to ruin his day.

With two runners on and two outs in the eighth inning, Alex Rodriguez came to the plate as the potential go-ahead run.  That meant it was time for The Carlos Marmol show.  His fastball-slider combination is always impressive; in a day-game in front of a raucous Wrigley Field crowd it becomes even more sensational. The first two sliders were taken for balls, the next two sliders were taken for strikes, the 2-2 fastball fizzed past A-Rod’s bat for strike three and the already loud crowd got even louder. 

A walk and a single made it interesting in the ninth before Chris Dickerson stuck out on three pitches to end the game.  I call it being Marmolized.

So brought a grandstand end to an excellent contest.  Davis proved the doubters wrong, including myself, and Cubs fans could leave Wrigley cheering a victory and forgetting all about their troubles.  That’s one of the beauties of baseball: every day brings the propsect of a change in fortunes.

Seeing-eye singles

There were six main companies announced as sponsoring the Cubs’ TV coverage at the start of the Yankees game and most of the features during the game (player of the month award, batting lineups, pitcher reports etc) were sponsored by somebody too.  However, the Yankees and Cubs didn’t have any garish logos spoiling their uniforms.  More to the point, neither side was looking to move up the standings in the Budweiser AL East or Budweiser NL Central. All the little adverts do get annoying, but I would rather put up with that in football and then not have to hear and read people referring to the Budweiser FA Cup.

No real surprise that Edwin Rodriguez’s time as Marlins manager came to an end yesterday.  It’s tough to survive a 1-17 stretch and Florida’s Front Office never seems the best to work for so maybe he’s better off out of the mad house.  The question now is, do the Marlins’ appoint a permanent manager or do they go for an interim measure and bring in a new name to start 2012 in their new ballpark?

Rumours that Godzilla had nothing left were exaggerated. Whether it’s coincidence or not, Hideki Matsui has heated up for the A’s since Bob Melvin took over as manager.  The next week could be pivotal for the Japanese slugger.  The A’s are on the road to two NL teams (Mets and Phillies) and while ideally they wouldn’t want to play Matsui in the outfield, they need his bat in the lineup and the last thing they want is for him to cool off while limited to pinch-hitting duties.  Let’s hope his knees hold up and the ball keeps away from him as much as possible.

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