...it takes two stories to cover his awesomeness on Yahoo.
July 30, 2008
July 29, 2008
Cubs Bring Out The Wurst In Milwaukee
Where to begin?
Note to CC - you might have done better had you put it on a tee for Soriano.
Gaudin & Marmol had as many Ks each as did the MLB-strikeout leader, Sabathia...and not only did CC take 124 pitches to get a pair of strikeouts (the most pitches he's thrown in a game in four years, by the way) half of his pair of punch-outs was against Ted Lilly!
Note to Yost - Ummm...first game of a four-game series and your ace closer throws a 37-pitch inning...nice.
Lenny Dykstra may have been "Nails", but Reed Johnson is freakin' "Railroad Spikes".
Tonight, the Big Z...who can, and will, beat you with his stick!
July 25, 2008
July 16, 2008
Halftime Thoughts and Musings
Hey all!
Much like my man, " as well. But I am home for a while and taking a minute to catch up.
Are any other Cubs fans like me all nervous that the Cubs have been so good all year? If you're a (Bleck!) Yankees or Red Sox fan, you may be familiar with being in first all year, but for we Cubs fans, this is all unsettling. I keep waiting for a '07 Rockies team to come out of nowhere and foul the whole thing up. But the more I see the other leagues (The NL West... Are you kidding me?!) the more confident I feel... Which just scares me more. Ah, well... Such is life when you're a Cubs fan I guess.
Our slogan of, "Six Degrees of Mediocity" seems to be a bit of an understatement. If the last place team in the division were sitting in the West, they'd be only a couple of games out at the break. San Francisco at 15 games under .500 is only seven games out of first, and Arizona is under .500 at the break. I think even I could manage a team in that division!
Back to the NL Central... The top two teams in the wildcard race, and arguably the most dangerous teams in the playoffs would be the Cards and the Brewers. I don't know what smoke and mirrors the Cars are using to keep afloat, but the Brewers with that lineup and as good a front two starters are there are outside of Chicago (tongue in cheek only slightly) makes them very dangerous if they make the playoffs.
A final note about the All Star game: I went to bed in the 11th, but the game was REALLY good. Far better than most I remember. It would be really interesting if the Rays and Cubs end up reaching the Fall Classic since both are outstanding on their own turf but below .500 on other ground. It would be so like the NL if that series came down to a deciding Game 7 in Florida.
That's the good thing about baseball, though... It, like a box of chocolates, is something where you never know what you'll get.
God bless us all.
Much like my man, " as well. But I am home for a while and taking a minute to catch up.
Are any other Cubs fans like me all nervous that the Cubs have been so good all year? If you're a (Bleck!) Yankees or Red Sox fan, you may be familiar with being in first all year, but for we Cubs fans, this is all unsettling. I keep waiting for a '07 Rockies team to come out of nowhere and foul the whole thing up. But the more I see the other leagues (The NL West... Are you kidding me?!) the more confident I feel... Which just scares me more. Ah, well... Such is life when you're a Cubs fan I guess.
Our slogan of, "Six Degrees of Mediocity" seems to be a bit of an understatement. If the last place team in the division were sitting in the West, they'd be only a couple of games out at the break. San Francisco at 15 games under .500 is only seven games out of first, and Arizona is under .500 at the break. I think even I could manage a team in that division!
Back to the NL Central... The top two teams in the wildcard race, and arguably the most dangerous teams in the playoffs would be the Cards and the Brewers. I don't know what smoke and mirrors the Cars are using to keep afloat, but the Brewers with that lineup and as good a front two starters are there are outside of Chicago (tongue in cheek only slightly) makes them very dangerous if they make the playoffs.
A final note about the All Star game: I went to bed in the 11th, but the game was REALLY good. Far better than most I remember. It would be really interesting if the Rays and Cubs end up reaching the Fall Classic since both are outstanding on their own turf but below .500 on other ground. It would be so like the NL if that series came down to a deciding Game 7 in Florida.
That's the good thing about baseball, though... It, like a box of chocolates, is something where you never know what you'll get.
God bless us all.
July 15, 2008
All-Star thoughts
I like the All-Star game. Check that, I love it. I remember as a kid, it was a big deal. The drive for expansion hadn't happened so even having one member from each team, everyone was worthy. Not to mention the novality of having the leagues playing each other. Back then only the All-Star game and World Series was when you could see interleague play. It was an event. The NL won every year until 83, when Fred Lynn hit a Grand Slam off Atlee Hamacker. Does it still hold the same feeling for me? Yes. Not because it means home field advantage in the series, but because it reminds me of being a kid. Isn't that what baseball should do?
I don't know about you but I root more for the local guys in the All-Star game than any other time. I want my guys to do well on the national stage...get some publicity. Let the country know what I believe, how good the local nine are every year, (yes drinking the Kool-Aid). I remember being pissed when Joe Niekro didn't get to play in the All-Star game, then the next year Jose Cruz didn't play either.
For the most part, I think the fans, at least in the NL, got it right. Except for Fukudome, one of the top two at each position was voted in. Fukudome, while not putting up spectacular All-Star number, wasn't a surprise with the on-line Japanese vote and the Cubs fans storied support. I think we're seeing a "changing of the guard" where the young guys like Hanley Rameriz, Chase Utley, Ryan Braun and Matt Holliday getting their chance. There's nothing worse then when fans pick some guy batting .250 becauase he's been there for 10 years.
I'm off to Dallas this afternoon, and yes I get in to town with plenty of time to find a good spot to watch the game.
I don't know about you but I root more for the local guys in the All-Star game than any other time. I want my guys to do well on the national stage...get some publicity. Let the country know what I believe, how good the local nine are every year, (yes drinking the Kool-Aid). I remember being pissed when Joe Niekro didn't get to play in the All-Star game, then the next year Jose Cruz didn't play either.
For the most part, I think the fans, at least in the NL, got it right. Except for Fukudome, one of the top two at each position was voted in. Fukudome, while not putting up spectacular All-Star number, wasn't a surprise with the on-line Japanese vote and the Cubs fans storied support. I think we're seeing a "changing of the guard" where the young guys like Hanley Rameriz, Chase Utley, Ryan Braun and Matt Holliday getting their chance. There's nothing worse then when fans pick some guy batting .250 becauase he's been there for 10 years.
I'm off to Dallas this afternoon, and yes I get in to town with plenty of time to find a good spot to watch the game.
July 14, 2008
July 9, 2008
Now, Let Me Get This Straight...
Your last name is "Harden" and you name your kid "Richard"...?
...oh, wait...his name is actually "James Richard"...my bad.
July 8, 2008
C.C. Rider
So, let me get this straight - we give the Brewers the division title because they acquired a pitcher with six wins versus eight losses?
Huh.
Oh, you say he has all those losses because of a lack of "run support"?
Oh.
So, John Kruk tells me the front office "sent a message" to the players on the team they are going to go get the starting pitcher the team needs to rack up the wins.
...and when said pitcher arrives the team - message received - responds by scoring three runs (late, no less)?
C.C.'s ERA is 3.84.
Huh.
So, had he been on the mound he would have been handed his ninth loss by .84 runs?
That is just sad.
Huh.
Oh, you say he has all those losses because of a lack of "run support"?
Oh.
So, John Kruk tells me the front office "sent a message" to the players on the team they are going to go get the starting pitcher the team needs to rack up the wins.
...and when said pitcher arrives the team - message received - responds by scoring three runs (late, no less)?
C.C.'s ERA is 3.84.
Huh.
So, had he been on the mound he would have been handed his ninth loss by .84 runs?
That is just sad.
July 5, 2008
Astros commentary
Some outstanding commentary on how the All-Star Break can effect the routines of player and teams. Notice the top notch authentic jersey. http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid823425601?bclid=769355872&bctid=1640650359
Double Life?
Is it possible that one of our bloggers leads a double life? And if so.....who have are tickets been given to?
(He is no longer with the Cubs)
July 4, 2008
One other thing...
I hope everyone on the blog's family is safe from the most recent Mississippi River floods.
I'm baaaacccckkkk and more frustrated than ever
To all,
I apologize for my absence from the blog for the past couple of months. I've been doing some serious traveling. Not the type of traveling I normally do, where I am spending three months or more, Monday - Friday at a client site, then coming home on weekends. No, I've had the joy of doing multiple one and two day trips going everywhere from Chicago to SF to LA to Dallas (multiple times) to Tucson. As much as I travel, it's refreshing to know I'll be traveling to Dallas as the flight is between 37-45 minutes; however, my last two flights back from DAL have been weather delayed. One of those we took off from Love field heading north, went around Wichita Falls, past San Angelo, took a slight left at San Antonio, then a sharp left around Galveston. that 37-45 minute flight too nearly 2 1/2 hours. Even my 2 hour flight from Tucson took over 6 hours due to weather including a delay to the tarmac at DFW (why does Dallas continue to haunt me? Is it because I hate the Cowboys?) I'm scared as it looks like I'll be managing a project in Dallas, possibly until September of 2009, but I digress.
While I'm in town I've been catching as many Astros games as I can. My first two were against the Cubs, the first game was a 7-2 Astros loss and the second was a 4-2 Astros win, thank you Hunter Pence for the grand slam. This was the first time I noticed how many jerks dressed in Cubs jerseys were in the stands. Let me be very careful on what I'm saying here. I'm NOT saying all Cubs fans are jerks, as many friends of mine, including ones on this blog, are straight up good fans. That to me means rooting for your team with all energy until the end of time. Represent when you go to games, and cheer your team. I have never heckled (at least not seriously) someone at an Astros game who is just cheering for their team. The fans I experienced wearing Cubs gear were talking more smack than any fans I've seen, reminding me of local Dallas Cowboy fans as they were similar. For example...one young man in front of me was quick to give double rods to Berkman anytime he came to the plate, and if Berkman got out, he would turn and give the fans double rods, and point to people wearing Berkman jerseys. Fortunately for him, there was a mother with kids close to him that reported him to security and had him removed. I'd preferred to have us deal with our own security, if you know what I mean. Yeah, wishful thinking. While I've been in sections (including today, more later) that are screaming for the 'Stros until the last out, as a group we are pretty passive. Yet this guy during the first game, with the Cubs other similar fans just got my goat, (oops, I shouldn't mention anything about a goat...lol). The second game the Astros fans did represent as when the "Lets go Cubbies!" cheers would start, the would be quickly taken over by "Let's go Astros!". I even saw a group of Astros fans walking through the concourse after the game yelling, "Cubs suck! Cubs suck!". I thought that would lead to a throw down and even pushed my wife behind me while I...um those other guys were yelling that to Cubs fans. :)
I also went to two game of the Yankees series and what a let down. The Saturday game was at least somewhat competitive 8-4, but I was at the 13-0 Father's Day massacre. I've never seen less energy from a team ever. From rec league softball to Chachi to MLB, this was one of the worst representations I've ever seen. Roy Oswalt, who has been non-Roy like this year, gave up seven runs....but only three were earned. Here was the tipping point. I believe it was the sixth inning, the bases were loaded and two outs. Jeter batting...full count...ground ball just to the right of 1st base. As Coop decided to rest three of his infield starters for the game Erstad was playing first and let the ball go through. Maybe I've gotten ruined by Berkman's (furthermore referred to as Big Puma) effort, but it seemed like Erstad didn't make an attempt. He watched the ball go into right field and was even late positioning himself for the relay. The only thing I can assume was he was day dreaming about his great days being a punter for University of Nebraska. Next batter was Abreau, who I belived reached, so the Stros' made a pitching change. Wesley Wright, who I really like as a young guy with a good arm. Um...didn't work out well for him. First batter he faced was some A-Rod guy. He hit it off the glass. Next batter was "Porn Stache" Giambi, who got on base, then Jorge, don't call me George, Posada took one out. Sigh...not the best father's day result.
Today I took my three boys to the game. Rough start...as we moved from eating the good food in the club level, to our seats in behind 3rd base, we went from two outs and no one on, to down 3-0. Talk about your head spinning! Big Puma didn't do well tonight at the plate, which is consistent with Astros games I attend. It's similar to Bagwell. Every game I went to, they sucked. Didn't always effect the team as I was 12-0 in Minute Maid Park in attendance for the first three years, but the stars never did anything. Anyway, our section kept pulling for the Stros' loudly until the end. I appreciate the Astros making things interesting, but the frustration is getting a bit much. First of all, why does Coop keep changing pitchers while down by at least three? Why cant the Astros learn to work a count? You should have seen how many early count outs we had today. It seemed like a competition to see who could hit of the handle the most times. Is Dewey Robinson, the pitching coach, soon to go? I would hate it on a personal level as he autographed two baseballs for my boys today, but it seems that whenever a pitcher is having a problem, they either call AAA pitching coach Burt Hooten, who used to be the Astros pitching coach, or Tampa Bay coach Jim Hickey...hmm...another pitching coach who used to be with the Astros. I haven't heard anyone say they've worked with Dewey. That would be too bad as he's a nice guy. At this level, how much does a batting coach help? If it's important, than Sean Berry should be gone. Today was a perfect example, as through eight innings, the Dodgers pitcher was still around 80 pitches, because we don't know how to work a count. Don't even get me started about our "leadoff hitter" that rarely get's on base. The best part of today's game was getting interviewed by Anna-Megan Raley from Chron.com (the Houston Chronicle's web site) after the game. Anna-Megan is a real up and comer in the local media and picked me out to interview as she saw my authentic, bad a** Berkman jersey. I'll post the link as soon as it's on the Chron.com site.
I'm frustrated with our team as we took two out of three from the Rangers, Rays and Red Sox, but then drop three of four to the Dodgers. Just like our road trip that we won like eight in a row, then tanked against the Pirates. I know the Cub's fans have to be as frustrated as they sweep the White Sox at Wrigley, then get swept at Comisky...um New Comisky...um US Cellular Field...um if you're in the upper deck, beware of bullets from the projects next door and are 3-7 in their last 10. Hard to believe the best team in baseball right now are the Rays. Actually it's not hard to believe if you realize the connection to the Astros. Gerry Hunsicker, is their Sr. VP of Baseball Operations. He was the Astros GM during ALL their recent playoff runs. Allegedly our owner, Drayton McLane didn't like that Gerry would stand up to him. Sense then, there have been many many many bone headed moves, (See Jason Jennings, Miguel Tejada, etc). Does anyone realize we gave away FIVE pitchers in the two moves I mention above? I really really like Tejada, but long term, I believer I'd rather have Patton and Alberts. They also have our former pitching coach that I mentioned above, Jim Hickey, players that used to with the Astros, (Trever Miller (3.74 ERA), Dan Wheeler (1.82 ERA) and numerous players from the Houston area such as Scott Kazmir (Cy-Falls) and Carl Crawford (Davis High School). There are lots of fingers to blame, but why is our minor league system so empty of top notch talent?
BTW - I will still continue in my belief that I would take Lance Berkman, (aka...The Big Puma), over Derek Lee (aka...The Big Wu**Y)
I still belive we have the best PA announcer in baseball. Long live Bob Ford!
I apologize for my absence from the blog for the past couple of months. I've been doing some serious traveling. Not the type of traveling I normally do, where I am spending three months or more, Monday - Friday at a client site, then coming home on weekends. No, I've had the joy of doing multiple one and two day trips going everywhere from Chicago to SF to LA to Dallas (multiple times) to Tucson. As much as I travel, it's refreshing to know I'll be traveling to Dallas as the flight is between 37-45 minutes; however, my last two flights back from DAL have been weather delayed. One of those we took off from Love field heading north, went around Wichita Falls, past San Angelo, took a slight left at San Antonio, then a sharp left around Galveston. that 37-45 minute flight too nearly 2 1/2 hours. Even my 2 hour flight from Tucson took over 6 hours due to weather including a delay to the tarmac at DFW (why does Dallas continue to haunt me? Is it because I hate the Cowboys?) I'm scared as it looks like I'll be managing a project in Dallas, possibly until September of 2009, but I digress.
While I'm in town I've been catching as many Astros games as I can. My first two were against the Cubs, the first game was a 7-2 Astros loss and the second was a 4-2 Astros win, thank you Hunter Pence for the grand slam. This was the first time I noticed how many jerks dressed in Cubs jerseys were in the stands. Let me be very careful on what I'm saying here. I'm NOT saying all Cubs fans are jerks, as many friends of mine, including ones on this blog, are straight up good fans. That to me means rooting for your team with all energy until the end of time. Represent when you go to games, and cheer your team. I have never heckled (at least not seriously) someone at an Astros game who is just cheering for their team. The fans I experienced wearing Cubs gear were talking more smack than any fans I've seen, reminding me of local Dallas Cowboy fans as they were similar. For example...one young man in front of me was quick to give double rods to Berkman anytime he came to the plate, and if Berkman got out, he would turn and give the fans double rods, and point to people wearing Berkman jerseys. Fortunately for him, there was a mother with kids close to him that reported him to security and had him removed. I'd preferred to have us deal with our own security, if you know what I mean. Yeah, wishful thinking. While I've been in sections (including today, more later) that are screaming for the 'Stros until the last out, as a group we are pretty passive. Yet this guy during the first game, with the Cubs other similar fans just got my goat, (oops, I shouldn't mention anything about a goat...lol). The second game the Astros fans did represent as when the "Lets go Cubbies!" cheers would start, the would be quickly taken over by "Let's go Astros!". I even saw a group of Astros fans walking through the concourse after the game yelling, "Cubs suck! Cubs suck!". I thought that would lead to a throw down and even pushed my wife behind me while I...um those other guys were yelling that to Cubs fans. :)
I also went to two game of the Yankees series and what a let down. The Saturday game was at least somewhat competitive 8-4, but I was at the 13-0 Father's Day massacre. I've never seen less energy from a team ever. From rec league softball to Chachi to MLB, this was one of the worst representations I've ever seen. Roy Oswalt, who has been non-Roy like this year, gave up seven runs....but only three were earned. Here was the tipping point. I believe it was the sixth inning, the bases were loaded and two outs. Jeter batting...full count...ground ball just to the right of 1st base. As Coop decided to rest three of his infield starters for the game Erstad was playing first and let the ball go through. Maybe I've gotten ruined by Berkman's (furthermore referred to as Big Puma) effort, but it seemed like Erstad didn't make an attempt. He watched the ball go into right field and was even late positioning himself for the relay. The only thing I can assume was he was day dreaming about his great days being a punter for University of Nebraska. Next batter was Abreau, who I belived reached, so the Stros' made a pitching change. Wesley Wright, who I really like as a young guy with a good arm. Um...didn't work out well for him. First batter he faced was some A-Rod guy. He hit it off the glass. Next batter was "Porn Stache" Giambi, who got on base, then Jorge, don't call me George, Posada took one out. Sigh...not the best father's day result.
Today I took my three boys to the game. Rough start...as we moved from eating the good food in the club level, to our seats in behind 3rd base, we went from two outs and no one on, to down 3-0. Talk about your head spinning! Big Puma didn't do well tonight at the plate, which is consistent with Astros games I attend. It's similar to Bagwell. Every game I went to, they sucked. Didn't always effect the team as I was 12-0 in Minute Maid Park in attendance for the first three years, but the stars never did anything. Anyway, our section kept pulling for the Stros' loudly until the end. I appreciate the Astros making things interesting, but the frustration is getting a bit much. First of all, why does Coop keep changing pitchers while down by at least three? Why cant the Astros learn to work a count? You should have seen how many early count outs we had today. It seemed like a competition to see who could hit of the handle the most times. Is Dewey Robinson, the pitching coach, soon to go? I would hate it on a personal level as he autographed two baseballs for my boys today, but it seems that whenever a pitcher is having a problem, they either call AAA pitching coach Burt Hooten, who used to be the Astros pitching coach, or Tampa Bay coach Jim Hickey...hmm...another pitching coach who used to be with the Astros. I haven't heard anyone say they've worked with Dewey. That would be too bad as he's a nice guy. At this level, how much does a batting coach help? If it's important, than Sean Berry should be gone. Today was a perfect example, as through eight innings, the Dodgers pitcher was still around 80 pitches, because we don't know how to work a count. Don't even get me started about our "leadoff hitter" that rarely get's on base. The best part of today's game was getting interviewed by Anna-Megan Raley from Chron.com (the Houston Chronicle's web site) after the game. Anna-Megan is a real up and comer in the local media and picked me out to interview as she saw my authentic, bad a** Berkman jersey. I'll post the link as soon as it's on the Chron.com site.
I'm frustrated with our team as we took two out of three from the Rangers, Rays and Red Sox, but then drop three of four to the Dodgers. Just like our road trip that we won like eight in a row, then tanked against the Pirates. I know the Cub's fans have to be as frustrated as they sweep the White Sox at Wrigley, then get swept at Comisky...um New Comisky...um US Cellular Field...um if you're in the upper deck, beware of bullets from the projects next door and are 3-7 in their last 10. Hard to believe the best team in baseball right now are the Rays. Actually it's not hard to believe if you realize the connection to the Astros. Gerry Hunsicker, is their Sr. VP of Baseball Operations. He was the Astros GM during ALL their recent playoff runs. Allegedly our owner, Drayton McLane didn't like that Gerry would stand up to him. Sense then, there have been many many many bone headed moves, (See Jason Jennings, Miguel Tejada, etc). Does anyone realize we gave away FIVE pitchers in the two moves I mention above? I really really like Tejada, but long term, I believer I'd rather have Patton and Alberts. They also have our former pitching coach that I mentioned above, Jim Hickey, players that used to with the Astros, (Trever Miller (3.74 ERA), Dan Wheeler (1.82 ERA) and numerous players from the Houston area such as Scott Kazmir (Cy-Falls) and Carl Crawford (Davis High School). There are lots of fingers to blame, but why is our minor league system so empty of top notch talent?
BTW - I will still continue in my belief that I would take Lance Berkman, (aka...The Big Puma), over Derek Lee (aka...The Big Wu**Y)
I still belive we have the best PA announcer in baseball. Long live Bob Ford!
July 3, 2008
Going into the Break
Good morning folks,It's been awhile mostly due to my own superstitions but it looks like it doesn't matter at this point. We are coming to the All-Star break and all seems to be well. I will admit that I don't know what to do at this point, I am normally just happy to be .500. All the constant winning left me in uncharted emotional territory. I was almost suffering from Braves/Astros Syndrome (where the team always does so good that you ALMOST lose interest). Nice to see that reality is back and I can feel more like myself. It's nice to not be chasing the Cards at this point, and much like last year, I am usually looking to see what the Brewers are doing instead. It used to be that my daily mood would be determined by the Cubs winning or losing. This was a special treat especially with all the day games and the having to go to work thing. I haven't been suffering with this as much this year and that let's me focus on other things to get upset about. Yea, for me. I remember when the All-Star break would fall around the 4th of July to match my little league and APBA All-Star Games, guess it doesn't jive anymore. Maybe the NL can win for the a change to give the ahem...Cubs a boost in the postseason?
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