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Billingsley vs Zambrano

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djkent01

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Feb 21, 2008
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Billingsley throws a lot of heat but is not nearly as crafty (or experienced) as Lowe. He's been the best pitcher on the Dodger's over the course of the season, but is prone to being wild in the early innings and can be rattled. If the Cubs can turn his fastball around a time or two early, anything can happen.

Which Zambrano will show up tonight? My guess is the dominat one, and he's done it before against LA in a critical game last year.

I predict (to my chagrin) a reversal of last nights score. What's everybody else thinking?
 
I would like to see teh same thing...with maybe the middle of the order doing what they are suppose to do.

oh, and don't freakin start kosucke
 
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I would rather see Lilly in this spot tonight actually. I think he's been pitching as well as anyone in the rotation lately and his calm demeanor would go a long ways right now. I'm really nervous about Z tonight, he knows what is on the line and that probably means there is a better chance the emotional and wild Z is out tonight and not the dominate no-hitter Z.
 
I don't know enough about Lilly to comment on that. But I'm more inclined to think - if everything is OK physically - Zambrano will pitch a very good game. I'm expecting it actually.

I'm more nervous about the Cubs lineup facing a pitcher that is much more power oriented. Plus, Billingsley is only 24 and in his second full season. Correction - his playoff experience includes two scoreless innings in relief while with the Mets in '06.
 
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The fact that Lowe pitched very well last night did not surprise me, he gave up 3 runs over 14 innings this year against the Cubs...what surprised me was how poorly Dempster pitched. I expected a low scoring one run win last night, by either team.

Billingsley has given up 6 runs over 11 innings this year to the Cubs, and on the flip side Zambrano has given up 8 runs over 15 innings to the Dodgers. The one thing I will note on the Zambrano side is on May 28 he gave up one run over 8 innings at Wrigley, and on June 7 he gave up 7 runs over 7 innings in LA.

I think the game tonight is simple, if Zambrano pitches good, Cubs win; if not, its at least going to be 101 years between World Series wins.
 
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I think Zambrano will pitch a good game tonight. No real basis for that opinion other than he basically has to.
 
chuckd4735 said:
Billingsley has given up 6 runs over 11 innings this year to the Cubs, and on the flip side Zambrano has given up 8 runs over 15 innings to the Dodgers. The one thing I will note on the Zambrano side is on May 28 he gave up one run over 8 innings at Wrigley, and on June 7 he gave up 7 runs over 7 innings in LA.

I think the game tonight is simple, if Zambrano pitches good, Cubs win; if not, its at least going to be 101 years between World Series wins.
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Interesting analysis. Here's the scouting report from the Dodgers website.

Scouting Report:
Dodgers: He's made a little progress in two years. When the Dodgers played the Mets in the 2006 playoffs, Billingsley was a rookie added to the roster hours before Game 1 because Joe Beimel sliced his hand in a barroom mishap. Billingsley didn't fall victim to the pressure or his inexperience, pitching two innings of scoreless relief. Now he's advanced to the No. 2 starter of the playoff rotation after pitching like an ace during the regular season, leading the club in wins (16) and strikeouts (201) and going 3-0 in September. He's 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA this year against the Cubs and 1-1 against them with a 3.60 ERA overall.
Cubs: The Cubs' Opening Day starter, Zambrano is 7-2 with a 3.77 ERA at home and 7-4 with a 4.07 ERA on the road. He's been a little erratic in the final month. He threw a no-hitter on Sept. 14 against Houston in a game played at Miller Park because of Hurricane Ike but lasted only 1 2/3 innings in his start after that against St. Louis. Part of the reason for the rough outing, in which he gave up eight runs on six hits and three walks, was that he'd flown home to Venezuela to attend his grandmother's funeral. Lou Piniella has talked to Zambrano about how his antics sometimes get in the way. No one knows which Zambrano will show up. He is 0-0 with a 3.09 ERA in two NLDS starts.

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/probable_pitchers.jsp?c_id=la
 
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This thread mysteriously ended well before the game did. Actually Big Z pitched pretty well last night considering the Cubs defense fell apart. Bills had his good stuff and when he does, he dominates. I know most Cubs fans think it's over, but momentum can turn quickly if the Cubs turn it on, and 3 in a row can happen easily.
 
CYKOFAN said:
This thread mysteriously ended well before the game did. Actually Big Z pitched pretty well last night considering the Cubs defense fell apart. Bills had his good stuff and when he does, he dominates. I know most Cubs fans think it's over, but momentum can turn quickly if the Cubs turn it on, and 3 in a row can happen easily.
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He gave up only 3 earned I think, but the unearned runs probably took the wind out of the Cubs' sail.
 
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