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The Cubs are going for their 10,000 win today (Wednesday, April 23) against the Colorado Rockies. It is nice to talk about such a historic franchise and NOT talk about a record having to do with losing. There is only 1 other team to reach this historic mark, the New York/San Fran Giants. This begs the question: “How can a team that hasn’t won a championship in 100 years and hasn’t even seen the World Series since the ’40s possibly have more wins than a team like the Yankees who have 25 championships?”
The answer is that I have no idea, but it is pretty amazing.
Another season of Cubs baseball begins today (March 31), and maybe this year the Cubs will end their century long drought and finally win a Championship. Here’s to hoping.
Prediction: 89 wins and a Central Division Championship. End up losing to Mets in the NLCS in 5 games.
The start of baseball this year brought with it the biggest buzz for Chicago’s loveable losers that I can recall in recent memory. Cubs fans really think this year might be their year and Buster Olney even has them in his World Series. That is all well and good, however, I am hear to remind everyone of the one key piece to the Chicago puzzle: The Cubs are cursed.
It is nothing catostrophic this time as Alfonso Soriano will only miss five games due to a fractured middle finger but it is comforting to know that the Cubs Curse has reported to Spring Training, albeit late. A fractured middle finger will likely have little impact on anything of value this season but the incident has a certain feel to it…as if the Curse just came in to say, “don’t even think about going too far without me!”
I am not trying to rain on anybody’s parade (Bob’s especially) as my Reds are always on the outside looking in, but when the Cubs are on the verge of winning Game 7 of the NLCS and Wrigley Field is completely engulfed by the fiery depths of Hell, remember we had this conversation.
It was 10 years ago, Feb 18, 1998 that the beloved Cubs’ announcer Harry Caray passed away due to brain damage following cardiac arrest. Many people around the league and Cub fans especially have their favorite Harry Caray moment. Whether it be Will Farrel playing him on Saturday Night Live, The Budweiser and Bud Light commercials, or the seventh inning stretch, there are certain things which will forever remind us of the man with those big glasses. To some Harry Caray might have been a big joke or an embarrassment, but being a kid at the time; to me Harry was a hero. A recognizable voice coming out of the radio to broadcast the lovable losers on warm summer days. His stories, his enthusiasm, and his love of baseball is the reason I still watch baseball and the Cubs. With a hot dog and an ice cold Budweiser, I say this proudly “Holy Cow! Cubs win! Cubs win!”
In the days of baseball cheating, scandals, and cutting corners, no one has provided more class to the game then former Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg. For those of you who don’t know, a Hall of Famer, Ryno has complied some of the best numbers ever seen at second base. To go along with his 10 consecutive All Star appearances and his 9 consecutive Gold Gloves, Ryno has posted a MLB 2nd baseman record .989 lifetime fielding percentage.
It is more then just numbers for Ryno, which are amazing, but about the man he was and the Cubs legend which he became. Sandberg drew national attention on June 23, 1984 in what would become known as the “Sandberg Game.” During the nationally telecast game, the Cubs were down 8-9 in the bottom of the ninth to their rival St. Louis Cardinals. The premier closer was on the mound, HOF Bruce Sutter who saved 45 different games in 1984, but this was of little relevance when Ryno belted a solo shot into the left field bleachers to tie the game and send it into extra innings. Then in the 10th, the Cardinals scored 2 more runs and it looked all but over for the loveable losers. However, in the tenth lightning struck twice as Ryno belted a 2 run homer deeper into the left field bleachers to tie the game again. The Cubs would go on to win it in the 11th and Ryno would go on to be loved by Cubs’ fans forever.
Ryno was simply the greatest offensive and defensive second basemen ever to grace the hallowed grounds of Wrigley Field. He did it without taking steroids and cutting corners. He did it with class, hard-work, and with respect. Young kids should listen to Ryno’s HOF induction speech and take these words to heart, “Make a great play, act like you’ve done it before, get a big hit, look for the third base coach and get ready to run the bases, hit a home run, put your head down, drop the bat, run around the bases, because the name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back. That’s respect.”
Ain’t no party like a Sweet Lou party ’cause a Sweet Lou party don’t stop!
With the Reds being at or near the bottom of the National League Central Division on a yearly basis it is not often I have much to cheer about so I have to get my shots in on Bob Swerski and his Cubbies while I can.
That being said, it was announced yesterday that Wrigley Field and the Cubs will add room for seating for nearly 70 more in what are being called “bullpen box seats.” — meaning 70 more people will be in attendance each game to watch the Cubs inevitably blow it come September.
Apparently the organization had to receive permission from the city of Chicago to modify the stadium as Wrigley Field has historic landmark status.
Well it is playoff baseball in Chicago, and the Cubs are back to their old ways of failing to execute and, in turn, losing a close ball game to the Arizona D-Bags. I was listening to 670 The Score and WGN 720 (two talk radio stations in Chicago) and was getting very frustrated by people calling in and complaining about Lou Piniella and Carlos Marmol.
Now you can’t point the finger at both of these people. There was no reason for Lou to take out Carlos Zambrano at the end of the 6th with only 85 pitches thrown. He was rolling over the D-Bags and that likely could have continued; but Marmol had a bad game giving up 2 runs in the 7th. I have a feeling that if Marmol played like he did all season, no one would have questioned Lou’s call.
However, it is the small things where the Cubs didn’t execute which lost us the game. It is getting back-to-back leadoff doubles by your 8 and 9 spot hitters and not having the pitcher or the lead off man bunt the runner over to third. I don’t care if the last time up the pitcher got a double, or if Soriano is a power hitter, wth no outs and a man on second you have to move that runner to third; especially when you are down by a run and your pitcher is at the plate. It seems almost ridiculous that you even let Carlos Zambrano swing away in that situation. Then it was twice where Ramirez and D-Lee decided to swing at 2 of the worst pitches of the night to strike out and both balls got by the catcher. Instead of hustling and running down to first and probably getting on base, they throw a hissy fit at themselves at the plate and then have no chance of making it.
Oh, and by the way, your top 3 hitters (Soriano, Lee, and Ramirez) can’t go a combined 1-13 either. Lets try to execute in tonight’s game because it is a must win.
Playoffs and Marlins and Bartman, oh my! The Chicago Cubs are back in the playoff race, ahead of the Brewers by 2 going into tonight tonight as the Cubs lost and the Brewers won big, and I can’t take this anymore. Of all the teams in all the leagues, why do we have to play the Marlins? The same team that, in 2003, ended up nudging out my beloved Cubs who were only 5 outs away from the World Series. The memories (or lack their of because I got pretty f*cking wasted after the game to try to block it all out) are too much for Cub fans to bear.
Aisle 4, Row 8, Seat 114: The seat down the third baseline that changed the history of Cubs baseball like the previous 90 odd years that the boys in blue didn’t win. Then it was a botched double play ball by Alex Gonzalez (who had one of the best feilding percentages in the league). Then it turned into an eight-run 8th inning and the Cubs lost 8-3. No fear though because our hero Wood was pitching the next day at home, and Wood and Prior had not lost back to back home games all year. They might have stolen game 6, but we had game 7.
The rest, as they say, is history:
On a related note: If the Cubs don’t make the playoffs and the Reds are the team that spoils that for us, I may not be able to write for this weblog anymore.
When growing up on the North side of Chicago three things are certain: death, taxes, and the Cubs will lose. Not only will they lose (we haven’t won the World Series since 1908… hell, we haven’t even seen the World Series since 1945), but they will find ways to TANK come the end of the season.
Take 1969 for instance. On September 2nd of that year they defeated the Reds to have a league leading record of 84-52-1. At that very moment the decided to try losing instead of winning and posted an eight game losing streak. This went to 1-11, then to 6-15, and ended the season with a record of 92-70-1. This might not sound terrible to you non-baseball fans (actually it probably sounds terrible to everyone) but here is something to put things into perspective. On September 2nd of 1969, the New York Mets had a record of 77-55. This put us around 7 games ahead of the Mets (give or take a few because my math skills are terrible). At the end of the season (which was 1 month later, as in exactly 30 days from that point) the Mets finished with a record of 100-62. THE CUBS GAVE UP 15 GAMES IN 1 MONTH. To further put things in to perspective, if that happened in the National League Central this year, the Astros or Pirates could over take the Cubs and win the division by about five games.
This year you might see very little difference because right now the Cubs have the best team in the National League Central, but lack certain skills to close the division. The Cubs lack charisma and hustle. Today’s game is a prime example of both things not being present. It is the small things that win ball games like running around the bases, hustling to make plays, and putting forth your best effort which will win these games down the stretch. The worst of these players is Alfonso Soriano. Soriano has gotten by only on his skill and not on his hustle or will to win.
Last night against the Brewers was a prime example. The Cubs scored their only run on a Ramirez sacrifice fly which scored Carlos Zambrano. Soriano decided to walk to third and stroll in while getting tagged out on a great throw from right field. He didn’t hustle, he didn’t slide, he slowly strolled into third after the tag was applied. Luckily for the Cubs the umpire made a bad call and Soriano was safe. This is simply the latest in a series of being picked off, missed outfield fly balls, and complete lack of heart and hustle from our “star” left fielder. Don’t get me wrong now, he is a talented ball player…probably one of the best in the league… but his lack of effort is hurting the ball club and could lead to them falling in the final stretch here.
I should now go on record by stating that I still think the Cubs are going to win the division. It should be noted though that if the Cubs can find a way to lose alot of games in the stretch they probably will
Top 5 reasons the Cubs will be at the top of the division at the end of the season:
1. 3rd lowest team ERA in the majors (Brewers 15th, Pirates 23rd, Astros 24th, Reds 26th, ‘Cards 28th)
2. Best record in baseball since early June
3. Second best batting average in division with a .269 (behind St. Louis with a .270)
4. Carlos Zambrano has more wins then any other pitcher with 14, after a shakey start, and Ted Lilly has 11 wins which makes him 13th in MLB. These are more wins then any other pitcher in the NL Central (there are 2 pitchers with 10 wins and 2 with 9).
5. Carlos Zambrano, a pitcher, has one of the highest batting averages in the league with a .291, and the other day he had more hits, with 3, than he gave up against the Reds .
Catcher Jason Kendall made his debut for the Cubs last night in front of a sold out Wrigley Field. His start was pretty… how should I say this… atrocious. Far from this .300 hitter (not this year: .226) was a night filled with dropped pop flies, passed balls, and a big night at the plate going 0-3 and getting taken out in the 9th. The issue wasn’t that that he made a few bad plays, it was that he didn’t make plays which came at important times and ended up costing the Cubs the game. One instance was when he gave up the first go ahead run in the 4th by not being able to field a difficult, but makable, play on an outfield throw from Alfonso Soriano. Then in the 8th, with the score tied and 1 out, he dropped a routine pop fly out in foul territory. This caused Roberts to eventually get on base and score what would be the game winning run for the Giants. Also in the 8th, Carlos Marmol performed a pitch out with a runner on first. It wasn’t the best throw, but it went off Kendall’s glove and found its way to the brick backstop. This was another play which Kendall should have easily made. He also almost threw one into center trying to catch Lewis in the same inning, if not for a great grab by Fontenot to save him. This just proves the fact that the Cubs should never have gotten rid of Michael Barrett. People always complained about his defense, yet the defense we have seen since we traded him has been swiss cheese, filled with holes and bad plays from the new guys behind the plate.
The day we acquired Kendall (Monday) Barrett went 3-4 with 3 RBIs. Good work on that trade, Hendry.
In case you missed it June 28th at Wrigley Field it was Michael Barrett 2007 home jersey day and July 1st was Michael Barrett bobble head day. These normally wouldn’t be news worthy promotions, the only problem is that Michael Barrett is no longer the man behind home plate for the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs made a terrible trade this month sending our beloved catcher and instigator Michael Barrett with money to the Padres for two shitty minor leaguers and a catcher who is probably worse then both Koyie Hill and Henry Blanco.While Barrett did have a few run-ins with Cub’s players like Carlos Zambrano, he was still a great ball player and a FAR better hitter then Bowen.Not only this, but many criticized Barrett for his lack of defensive ability.Well not only does Bowen let breaking balls get passed him like it is out of style, but he has a worse defensive numbers then old number 8.The fact is that the Cubs decided to trade a good player because of a few club house problems which probably could have been fixed with some simple communication.I’ll always hold a special place for Barrett after punching White Sox catcher A.J. Pier-whatever in the face for being a dick.Barrett, you will be missed.
Matt
Charlie Hustle
Condo
Doc Hancock
Bob Swerski
Vega
