bc2k

NinjaUbi, don't be too discouraged. I don't know how bad Small is but Clement is not 100% healthy. He left early two starts in a row before coming back on extra rest to pitch 6 or 7 innings. If the Marlins hitters can make Clement throw some pitches early--get him to labor--the Marlins might have a chance depending on how big Small pitches. I think some of you guys overrate Prior. He is just a different pitcher from 2003. He's human this year. If you guys could beat 2003 Prior--which you did (assist to Bartman)--then you can definately beat 2004 Prior, especially when matched up against Cy Pavano. My prediction: Marlins sweep. Pavano carries the game 1 load while the offense and bullpen are most responsible for the game 2 victory. Go FISH! :notworthy

Didn't Small give up 3 ERs in 1.1 innings the last time he faced the Cubs? 564017[/snapback] Is Small the rookie from A ball?

I think Big Balls by AC/DC fits Beckett.

i thought he was a teenager also but apparantly he's 26 How did they get all his personal information?

From reading these boards, I've known Lee is not clutch, and I became upset whenever he came up to bat. I think he made two outs swinging at the first pitch tonight alone, and then he of all people, comes through with the game tying hit. I think it's safe to say that all is forgiven Mr. Lee.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to party like it's 1984. :cool For good luck, rock out with Van Halen's 1984.

i cant bel. sammy did that-well actually i can-hes done rude things like this b4-hes just not a nice person. Talk about not being able to put two sentences together...

Right now, there is eternal hope. Everything and anything seems possible. But to think we are going to walk into Wrigley and take one game, let alone two, against some of the toughest pitching we have seen all year is gumptious. It takes balls. And we have em boys. Had em all year long. I think for the most part, the philosophy applied in Game 5, the first real Marlins'-style game we have played this series. We got to keep Lofton off base, and keep the Cubs from scoring early. The longer we keep them off the board, the better. We also have got to get our hitters on base against Wood and Prior to force them to throw from the stretch. They have thrown a lot of pitches to this point, and forcing them to throw more only works for our benefit. I dont care how jacked up they have to be, truthfully, the pressure is on them right now. We have had our backs against the wall - have been that way all season. The Cubs, well, they have underachieved all season long. Which sets the stage for a possible miracle... Keep our poise, lock in, and get the job done. Play good defense, do all the little things, and be on alert. Do that, and we win Game 6. One game at a time... This is great speech material. I can picture Mckeon saying this as his players surround him, taking a knee.

Oh my God, there was a shadow. I was there, the shadow wasn't bad at all. Just whining cuz they got owned. I know, talk about lame excuses. Our Frank Thomas whined about the shadows at Safeco Field during the 2000 NLDS. Thomas failed to record one hit the entire series despite the fact that Comiskey Park doesn't have shadow problems.

Couldn't this weather be dangerous? Yes, for the players. Wrigley Field has one of the worst irrigation systems in all of baseball. It can't hold much water, a good amount of rain will leave puddles and extremely slick grass. I've recommended bunting on Clement to reinjure his groin, and I recommend bunting here as well. Make Prior run on this slick surface and bad things may happen to him.

I haven't seen D Lee play outside of this series, but I'm benching him against Prior. The Marlins need all the offense they can get. Cabrera, Lowell, and Conine have to start. I'm sure Conine will give quality at bats facing Prior.

Marlins need to win Sunday to force a game 6 which will be pitched by Mark Prior. If the Marlins get swept at home, Prior will be able to pitch games 1,4, and 7 against the Yankees giving them better odds of winning the Series. Come on Fish, win one more for pride's sake.

bahhahahhaha hello marlin fans. if everybody puts there avatar picture of me bahhahhahah, the picture in my signature, I will help you to win game 4. everybody that posts must do it to work . if you did not notice, since i first posted in the same inning marlin tied an then took leadbahahahhahhhhhhhh bahhahahhahhhhh Hey buddy, next time you go to the petting zoo, or, in this case, your backyard, step back 2 feet so that the flash doesn't grey the picture.

That's the third time he's come close to hitting one of us... I think he lead the league in hit batsmen.

This is a very winnable game for the Marlins. Wood ain't on tonight, and Redman has regrouped and looks good at this point. The Marlins need to wake up and get something going on offense because right now, there might as well be 65,000 empty seats.

bro these ppl are commentating too much on every single pitch. Isn't it annoying? :thumbdown Someone needs to take down Lyons. I don't think I can take much more of him Don't you local Fish fans have a radio broadcast? Put the tv on mute and turn up the radio guys.

Come on Marlins hitters. Don't swing at a pitch he ain't throwing for a strike.

If you think wood is gonna dominate, think again. I can tell when he's off and he's off tonight. Pretty much every ball put in play by a marlin hitter 1-8 has been hit well and when you get good contact off wood during an out you'll get good contact which will go for hits. If the fish staff can hold down the flubs, the marlins have a good chance to win Yeah, this doesn't look like one of his dominant starts. Leiter said Wood doesn't have his big curve tonight. Now I'll add a Farmerism, "That doesn't mean he can't find that curve as the game goes on."

Where the F was that pitch?

Cubbie hitters are not helping Redman out.

Lyons was very quick to say Lofton's play was not intentional, but it was intentional to me. Lofton didn't keep pumping his arms all the way to first base. Notice him stop pumping his left arm and hold it there to take a cheap shot at Redmen. Ok, who the F bunts in the first inning?

Prior and Wood are not equal. Prior, like doublem23 said, is more consistent than Wood. Wood has major blowups hence his 11 losses. If I'm facing the Cubs in a one-game series, I'd prefer to face Wood instead of Prior. Technically, they are both beatable, but that doesn't mean the odds of beating each one is equal. You have better odds beating Wood than Prior. I'm looking for the Marlins to take the next two games because of this.

One question for Marlins fans: Does your team struggle against lefties? We hit as good as anybody in the league against lefties. Our whole lineup is right handed except pierre. Well, Castillo is a switch hitter but he kill lefties. So it wouldn't make much sense for Baker to use Estes. farmer fran and CitanX, I think it's safe to say Shawn Estes will not be starting any game in this series. That leaves us with three options for game 5 listed in order most likely to happen IMO: Zambrano on normal rest; Juan Cruz; or Mark Prior on limited rest. (If Baker kept Prior under 100 pitches Wednesday, he would have been my second most likely option). Though the outcome of games 3 and 4 may have an effect on who Baker decides to pitch in game 5. If you guys win 3 and 4, would Baker really want Zambrano or Cruz pitching an elimination game? I've never even experienced your home field noise level on tv, so I'm looking forward to seeing that intangible giving the Marlins the edge.

As a matter of fact, you could even take Pavs out of the bullpen & start him for Game 5. Then you'd have Josh Beckett in a Game 6 or 7 situation where you may need a win to clinch it. Game 3: Redman-Wood Game 4: Willis-Clement Game 5: Pavano-Zambrano/Estes/whoever Game 6: Beckett-Prior Game 7: Redman vs Wood If Pavano isn't your best option to win, don't start him just because the Cubs are starting an inferior pitcher. Throw your best that day and go for the kill. We Sox fans experienced a chance to sweep the Yankees in Yankee Stadium with Mark Buehrle supposed to start the final game of that series. Our now ex-manager Jerry Manuel decided that since we've already won the series over such a great team, we might as well throw a rookie vs. the Yankees instead of Buehrle. This was not a phenom rookie like Dontrelle Willis, this was a kid making something like his third start of the season. Manuel held back Buehrle to face the Tigers! The Sox lost the third game to the Yankees with our rookie starter failing to get out of the second inning, and then lost Buehrle's start against the Tigers. Our losing continued and we nose-dived to the end of the season. Moral of the story: GO FOR THE KILL! LIVE AND DIE WITH YOUR BEST!

Matt Clement will start Game 4 against the Marlins, but Dusty Baker hasn't announced his Game 5 pitcher yet and has hinted it won't be Carlos Zambrano. Baker said the Cubs need more out of their other starters if they hope to win it all. Who else? Estes? I'll take Beckett against whoever they want to throw out there for Game 5. As a matter of fact, you could even take Pavs out of the bullpen & start him for Game 5. Then you'd have Josh Beckett in a Game 6 or 7 situation where you may need a win to clinch it. Game 3: Redman-Wood Game 4: Willis-Clement Game 5: Pavano-Zambrano/Estes/whoever Game 6: Beckett-Prior Game 7: Redman vs Wood I guess it depends on how games 3 & 4 turn out. Woah, that's crazy talk, Baker! Zambrano isn't pitching game 5? How can that be, what's the reasoning? Zambrano pitched on Tuesday, the opening of the NLCS, and game 5 is Sunday. Tuesday to Sunday is 5 days, the normal rest for a starter. I guess Prior could pitch Sunday, but if that was the case why would you let him throw 118 in his previous start? Shawn Estes wasn't on the NLDS roster to my knowledge, I don't know if he's on the NLCS roster, but if he's getting the start in game 5, WTF could Baker be thinking? One question for Marlins fans: Does your team struggle against lefties? Because that is why Estes got his last regular season start - beacuse the Reds were poor against lefties. You guys must beat Clement on Saturday. He's been having groin problems so your speed guys need to force Clement to field a few bunts, hopefully reinjuring his groin. I'd bet that the Marlins will not see Estes at all, but rather Juan Cruz if Baker is not going to start Zambrano. Juan Cruz is like 140 pounds and while a better pitcher IMO than Estes, he's still worse than any of the other front-four Cubs starters.