David Ortiz vs. Kevin Gregg was far from a title bout on the field. But pit these two against each other in the ring and it’s a legit heavy weight match-up in the making.
Gregg is a strapping 6’6 230lbs, Big Papi 6’3 and a generous 230lbs.
No punches were landed during the batter vs. pitcher confrontation a week ago, but I suspect they could last tow-to-toe for several rounds in the ring anyway.
That got me thinking, in all fun of course, what would be a good feather weight bout?
How about Tony Campana vs. Mike Fontenot, each listed at 5’8, 165lbs, in a speed vs. speed battle?
Gregg, meanwhile, has made a good go of it since departing the Cubs–(5-6) 23 saves– following the 2009 season. He saved (37) games for Toronto in 2010 and has (15) with Baltimore at the break this season.
-Papi finished the first half at .304, 19 HR & 55 RBI. -Fontenot is batting .227, 2 HR & 9 RBI with the Giants. -Campana is hitting .263, 2 RBI & 10 stolen bases.
The Cubs finish the first half (37-55), with the second most losses in the NL.
That puts them on pace for a (65-96) campaign, meaning in all likelihood, Chicago will challenge Houston for the Central’s basement while finishing behind Pittsburgh.
Unforgivable for the major’s third highest payroll.
The Cubs’ dramatic comeback Thursday night, down 8-love through five, put a feather in Mike Quade’s cap following a 10-9 victory at Washington.
Certainly, a comeback of this magnitude proves Quade’s not a deadbeat manager in the clubhouse–well, not yet.
But measuring staying power for a manager pulling the strings on a team 17-games below .500 is tricky when his players keep battling the good fight.
It would be easy for the Cubs to simply roll over. Q’s guys, however, continue to play hard…whether or not it’s for the skipper, who knows?
We could blame any number of issues on the Cubs’ miserable season: injuries, lack of talent, plain bad luck, or Quade’s inability to manage and instill fundamentally sound troops. Perhaps, it’s a little of all the above?
Cubs are (10-17) in 1-run games. They’ve dropped three straight 1-run contests vs. the Nats. In fact, the last 9-games have been decided by three or fewer runs. But the Cub are just (3-6) during this span. Good teams win close games. The Cubs find ways to lose them.
