Lee again comes through in the clutch for the Cubs

ESPN.com

Updated: July 21, 2008

AP Photo/Darren Hauck

Alfonso Soriano homered early, and Derrek Lee drove home the game-winning run late.

NO MORE WAITING

By Mark Simon, ESPN Research

Want to send in comments for use on "Baseball Tonight"? Join the "Chatter Up!" chat on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Derrek Lee has consistently come through in key spots since joining the Cubs before the 2004 season.

On Monday, he came through again, driving home the go-ahead run with a double in the ninth inning of the Cubs' 6-4 win over the Brewers in a tense series opener at Miller Park.

Lee may not be having the kind of year he had in 2005 or 2007, and he had struggled to start the second half, but he's just as important to the Cubs' lineup as Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano.

Just look at his numbers in the clutch:

Most Game-Winning RBIs, NL (2008)
Player No. of game-winning RBIs
Prince Fielder 12
Derrek Lee 11
Jason Bay 11
Pat Burrell 11
Adam Dunn 11
Conor Jackson 11
Hunter Pence 11

-- Elias Sports Bureau

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: July 27 | July 24 | July 23 | July 22 | July 21 | July 20

FORWARD THINKING: TUESDAY

John Lackey • Angels at Red Sox, 7:05 p.m. ET: John Lackey (8-2, 3.02 ERA) has benefited from the success of the Angels' offense in his past three starts. Each time, the Angels have posted at least 10 runs. Clay Buchholz (2-5, 5.81 ERA) is 0-3 in his past five starts and has not won since May 2.

Todd Wellemeyer • Cardinals at Braves, 7:05 p.m. ET: After posting a 2.19 ERA in May, Todd Wellemeyer (8-4, 4.19 ERA) has seen his ERA soar; he posted a 5.02 ERA in June and has a 6.51 so far in July. Jair Jurrjens (10-5, 3.02 ERA) permitted just three hits through eight shutout innings against the Phillies in his most recent outing.

Carlos Zambrano • Cubs at Brewers, 8:05 p.m. ET: The marquee matchup in a marquee series. Carlos Zambrano (11-4, 2.96 ERA) has allowed just one run in 13 innings against the Brewers this season, but in both starts came away with a no-decision. The Cubs may find it hard to get to Ben Sheets (10-3, 2.87 ERA) early. Opponents are hitting just .192 against him in the first inning this season.

• Complete list of pitching probables for Tuesday's games

NEWS AND NOTES

Travis Hafner •  Travis Hafner, out since May 30 with a weak right shoulder, was back home in North Dakota dealing with a family matter, Indians manager Eric Wedge said. Hafner had been scheduled to test the strength of his shoulder Monday.

Dustin Pedroia •  Dustin Pedroia went 0-for-5 with a strikeout in Monday's loss against the Angels. It marked the first time in 30 games Pedroia has been kept off the bases.

Comments

You must be signed in to post a comment

Already have an account?

You are fully responsible for the content you post. Content that includes profanity, personal attacks or antisocial behavior (such as "spamming" or "trolling"), or other inappropriate content or material will be removed. We reserve the right to block any user who violates our terms of use, including removing all content posted by that user.

BBTN ON THE AIR: TUESDAY

TIME WHO'S ON?
10 p.m. ET
ESPN		 Host: Karl Ravech
Analysts: Buster Olney, Chris Singleton, Steve Phillips
12 a.m. ET
ESPN		 Host: Karl Ravech
Analysts: Buster Olney, Chris Singleton, Steve Phillips

SPORTSNATION: ALL-TIME FRANCHISE PLAYERS

"Baseball Tonight" wants to hear from you. Click here to vote for the all-time franchise players for all 30 big league teams.

BASEBALL TONIGHT MINUTE: ZAMBRANO VS. SHEETS

IF MANNY HITS, ALL IS WELL

By Orel Hershiser, ESPN

What we saw from Manny Ramirez on Sunday -- once the game started -- was a player who was able to concentrate on baseball. Leading up to Sunday's game, Ramirez said -- in two languages -- that he wouldn't object to possibly being traded by the Red Sox. Then he went out and had three hits, drove in two runs and made a couple of good plays in the outfield.

Ramirez's actions reminded me of a child who knows he's done something wrong, but hasn't been caught, and can't concentrate well on anything else. But once the child gets it off his chest, he feels much better. And that's what you saw from Ramirez right from the start Sunday night. It's just another example of Manny living in his own world: He had an episode in which he was a distraction, but now he's back in the lineup and hitting at a high level.

Manny's teammates have dealt with this before. It's not a distraction, but it is a disappointment when he doesn't show up in the lineup. Everyone has tolerated his behavior, and even laughed about at times. The reason it's tolerated is because of his production. But if Manny creates a controversy and doesn't produce -- or doesn't play -- that's when his teammates have a problem. What you saw brewing in the clubhouse from Dustin Pedroia and Mike Lowell this past weekend was internal frustration thanks to Manny's not playing -- especially when you had the red-hot Yankees coming to town coupled with the return of David Ortiz. It was odd to see him be a late scratch on Friday because of a sore knee, then to see him back in the lineup the next day.

Injured players and bench players don't create controversies because they are there for support. Producing players are allowed to have issues, especially Ramirez. But if his production drops -- or he takes himself out of the lineup -- that's when his teammates will no longer tolerate the act.

MONDAY'S NOTEWORTHY PERFORMANCES

GOOD
Kevin Slowey• Kevin Slowey tossed a complete-game shutout against the White Sox. Slowey hadn't gone more than six innings or given up fewer than four runs in any of his previous three starts.
BAD
Mike Mussina• Mike Mussina's three-game winning streak came to an end when he gave up eight hits, six runs and two homers in just five innings against the Orioles.
UGLY
Daisuke Matsuzaka• Daisuke Matsuzaka cruised through the first five innings against the Angels, then gave up five runs as part of the Angels' six-run fifth in the Red Sox's 7-5 loss.

FANTASY: PREVIEW OF TUESDAY'S GAMES

Will Harris examines the pitching matchups in store for the 15 games on Tuesday's schedule.

Fantasy Harris also looks at injuries and details player reports that could help shape the way you put together your roster for Tuesday. Daily Notes