News
Piniella has tips for Cubs watching video
Chicago (21-22) vs. Pittsburgh (21-24), 7:05 p.m. CT
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
05/25/09 11:58 PM ET
When the Cubs visualize their swings, Lou Piniella wants to make sure they're looking at good ones, not bad. That's a message Piniella will reinforce this week during the Cubs' seven-game homestand, which continues Tuesday against the Pirates. The video room is near the Cubs dugout, but Piniella may have to do some censoring. "If I see myself rolling over or swinging at a bad pitch or popping up a ball down the middle, that's what I've got in my mind," Piniella said of watching video. "I want to see a good picture when I use visualization. If I'm going to look at things, I'm going to look at my good swings, and forget my bad swings." Piniella and bench coach Alan Trammell have talked about possibly closing the video room, but both pitching coach Larry Rothschild and hitting coach Gerald Perry like to use it. "If we have to, we'll close it down for the players, at least during the game," Piniella said. "Visualization is a great tool, but at the same time, visualize good things. Don't keep putting bad pictures in your mind." Piniella said he'd like to see players focus on the game itself and study the opposing pitchers rather than look at video. "What you need to do is watch the pitcher on the opposing side," Piniella said. "See what he's getting over. Why look for a breaking pitch if he can't get a breaking pitch over the plate? See what he's getting people out with. There are a lot of things you can focus on during the ballgame watching the opposing pitcher that give you clues on how you'll be pitched as a hitter. If you're watching tape, seeing yourself pop up or ground out, you miss a lot of things that can help you." Piniella didn't have access to video when he played, and joked that he must have been playing during the "dark ages." The Cubs batted .160 on their winless six-game road trip, scoring a total of five runs. That won't get it done. "What's amazing about baseball is the same way you can get hot and invincible, you can look cold and puny real quick," Piniella said. "Now we need to get back to the former instead of the latter." Pitching matchupCHC: LHP Sean Marshall (2-3, 3.96 ERA)
With Rich Harden going on the DL, Marshall stayed in the rotation. In his last start Thursday against the Cardinals, Marshall gave up three runs, two earned, on four hits over five innings. Marshall is 2-0 with one save and a 4.71 ERA in eight games against the Pirates. Last season, he was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in four appearances. PIT: RHP Ian Snell (1-5, 4.88 ERA)
Snell was in line to earn his first victory since April 18 in his last start until the bullpen squandered away the lead in the eighth. Though he struggled with his efficiency early -- something that still happens to the right-hander more often than the Pirates would like -- Snell settled in and looked stronger as the game progressed. He retired eight of the last nine hitters he faced and came out after having struck out six in six innings. He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. Snell is 1-5 with a 5.93 ERA in 11 appearances (nine starts) against the Cubs. Tidbits
Former Cubs pitcher Sean Gallagher gave up two runs on four hits over seven innings Monday in Triple-A Sacramento's 5-3 win over Iowa. Jeff Samardzija took the loss, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five and threw a season-high 102 pitches. The Iowa Cubs made three errors Monday, and have made at least three in each of their past four games. The team is 1-3 in that stretch. ... In Sunday's Minor League games, J.R. Mathes gave up one earned run on three hits over seven innings, but it wasn't enough as Iowa lost, 3-2, to Fresno. Jake Fox extended his hitting streak to seven games with two hits. He's batting .459 in that stretch and leads the Pacific Coast League in average, home runs and RBIs. ... Jay Jackson gave up one run on three hits over six innings in Tennessee's 5-3 win over Birmingham. Steve Clevenger had three hits and is batting .36 in his last three games. ... Daytona's doubleheader Sunday was rained out. ... Josh Vitters had two hits, including his team-leading 10th homer, to help Peoria beat South Bend, 4-3. Vitters was named Baseball America's Prospect of the Week last Friday. Michael Brenly posted his sixth multihit game. ... Country music star Jason Michael Carroll will sing during the seventh-inning stretch Tuesday -- it's country music night at Wrigley Field. Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas will handle the duties on Wednesday, actor William Petersen will sing Thursday, actor Joe Mantegna on Friday, broadcaster Larry King on Saturday and Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber on Sunday. Tickets
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• Wednesday: Cubs (Carlos Zambrano, 3-2, 4.64) vs. Pirates (Zach Duke, 5-4, 2.77), 1:20 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Cubs (Randy Wells, 0-1, 1.50) vs. Dodgers (Randy Wolf, 2-1, 3.02), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Friday: Cubs (Ted Lilly, 5-4, 3.77) vs. Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 6-2, 2.82), 1:20 p.m. CT
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
