Yank Aaron

I think Jim Hendry should take a tip from Robert Frost:

"Miles to go before I sleep..."

It's getting hot in here.

Cubs are officially on fire. Although they are down 4-0 to the Astros as I write this, things are currently looking up. Will it hold up? I don't know but it's nice to take a little air from under the sails of the Cardinals. Adding Holiday made things look really interesting and showed that the Cards mean business, momentum was starting to carry even further. I felt it start to shift with that Grand Slam from Soriano last night. I am believing the swagger and a strong run is building. As usual the division looks like it's going to be down to the wire just like every other year. But I want to see some strong Central representation in the playoffs this year, especially if its coming from Chicago.

So hold on St. Louis, even if you have arguably the best player in baseball, you are going to need more than that. Young pitchers from Cincy are starting to show their age, the Pirates are still the Pirates, Milwaukee goes the same sparkle and fade route. The Astros just lost Oswald with a lower back sprain to dwindle an already pathetic starting rotation. Wandy is your only quality starter and I don't see any help coming from management.

Is It Inter-league Already?

Is it just me or is this season just flying by? The Cubs are doing there usual dance with .500 coming into the All-Star break. As usual, I am happy with that especially when they are less than 4 games from the top of the division. I guess that's why we call it Six Degrees of Mediocrity. I don't think any team in the Central should be all that proud of their performance. I think that Milwaukee and the Reds are really playing better than expected. I am really surprised with the Reds' young pitching and think they are going to have a rebound year that will offer some hope late into the season.

Cubs are 4-3 in inter-league play right now and look to be making some progress. I can't believe how many extra inning games they have had this year already (I would look them up but I am just too lazy to throw out numbers right now). Looks like Kerry Wood was nice enough to lend a helping hand in the last two games. Looks like he is becoming the closer I thought he was going to be last year with the Indians, makes me think of the post I lodged against him last year when he earned the job for the Cubs. Either way, winning in extra innings give the confidence to grind it out as the summer becomes even hotter.

Derrick Lee is rolling a hot streak and seeing the ball well as of late. I have been waiting all season long for this, along with an extended visit to the DL from Soriano and the Cubs rallying off tons of wins in his absence. I think he is up to 17 games with the 2 he had today. I am curious to see what moves they are going to make to shore up the team as some teams start to fade. I suspect the Cubs will do the most shuffling in the division.

One Week Down...Will the Lineup Stay?

I am getting more and more irritated that Soriano is batting lead-off. He's off to a great start but it's affecting everything. But it could be argued that he is giving up valuable RBI's and affecting the rest of the lineup by insisting on leading off. It's no secret that the Cubs were hampered by a non-balanced right handed lineup in the playoffs in the last two years, but this is not the way to fix it. These guys are professionals and should be able to hit pitching from either arm, I know it's an advantage and helps when relievers come into play but at what cost? Since Soriano is a righty and leading off we go to Fuke because he is left at second, Lee because he is right at third, Bradley at cleanup because he is left and Ramirez at 5 because he is right. Bradley is batting horrible right now and you are taking your most consistant hitter who averages over 100 RBI's and moving him to 5? I know it's early and it doesn't seem to be affecting Rami right now, but what happens when Fuke forgets how to hit a curve ball again? I think Lou will look into moving Bradley to second but that still leaves things a mess. By insisting on keeping Soriano at 1 and rotating the Leftys and the Rightys you are throwing out the baby with the bath water. Sometimes I think Lou needs to open his mind a bit and not try to force things. The lineup get shuffled from time to time but I don't like it starting this way. I am still happy with the start but I think things could be improved on. Gregg as a closer is a BIG mistake. I would have rather given a multi-year deal to Kerry than that. I hope that they will be addressing this issue. Give Marmol the ball and find a quality set-up man and move on already.

This Year Is Here!

I have visions of the beginning of "The Bad News Bears" swirling in my head. I can see the sprinklers going off, the lines being chalked and the bases being laid out. I know there is extensive Spring Training but the 12 year old in me doesn't really recognize baseball until opening day of my favorite team. It hampers my pre-season conversations but it just makes the season all that more special to me.

That being said, it's very unsettling going in expecting big things from the Cubs this year. The "curse" or as I prefer to call it "mystique" has now worn out it's welcome with me and I just want it to end, whatever it's considered. I left last year more than a bit disappointed, I felt that I was cheated out of a great start. It's like driving a luxury car for a week and then going back to your rusted out Honda. I had the taste and it makes the reality all the worse. Today is the beginning of a new day and a new season. Last year is officially over, although I will be wearing my 08 Central Division Champs hat to remind myself and the non-believers that we are the team to beat.

This year will also be my first official live opening day. Chicago usually doesn't come to Houston until MUCH later in the season and I am looking forward to taking it all in. That being said, I think offering "healthy" options at a ballpark is blasphemy. To me "healthy" means peanuts, unsalted it you are really trying to take care of yourself. Welcome to 09 and let the games begin!

HOT stove!

I find it curiously coincidental a ball club owned by a guy who also owns a newspaper would spend so much to sign on a player with a moniker providing such a vast wealth of headline pun fodder...

Will Gerard, age 11

My son "hunted & pecked" out this note to me today recounting his first "playoff atmosphere" experience...it is worth noting Will was celebrity batkid when the Cubs beat the Cardinals on an ESPN Sunday night and watched - from the front row of the left field bleachers (Soriano tossed him a ball between innings) Carlos Lee misplay a Fukudome liner to give the Cubs a win over the Astros in April...not to mention the countless hours we spent playing catch & listening to Pat & Ron on the radio, listening to Big Z's no-no on the radio, watching some amazing comebacks and some simple fundamentally sound games won by a good, sound team...

Anyhoo...here is Will's note:

go cubs!
The thing that was most disappointing about last were the fans support. All this one guy was saying after dero's error was "this is the f******* playoffs. make the plays, defense!" OVER AND OVER AGAIN! we were down 1-0. the lee had a shot at him and everyone thought the inning was over. E-3. again "this is the f******* playoffs. make the plays, defense!" poor Z IS GOING THOUGHT THIS. he's getting mad. 3 run double. 5-0 and everyone was down teary eyed and I'm thinking WE'RE STILL IN THIS! SOMEONE STRIKES OUT
''BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*******OOOOOOOOOOOOO**OOO****************** ! More and more people are restless till it's dead silent. I was feeling sad for the players.E-5. 3 errors. STILL 5-0 and people are getting more flustered. " Put in the batboy!" Manny crushes one and it goes ping you can hear it bounce off the camera place. The ump rolls it past Z and Z gets it then he almost does it again and Zambrano makes a kick save to stop it. More wisecracks and Z pitches with that ball. Speaking of throwing it away Soto rolls one to Z and throws one past him with a man on first. No consequence but still boos, same for a derosa's catch. Plus the only ones there in the eight are super drunk. In the 9th people are rooting for the dodgers. A PAPER AIR LANE WHIZZES BY LEE! Someone says " who says we can't get 9." "I do", says someone so far away we can't see them. The noise level is on pin drop. Then finally E-6.PLUS PEOPLE FLIP OFF THE UMP. AND ARGUE WITH MEANINGLESS CALLS.



But was a learning experience and I would have had fun if the final score was 26-2 dodgers. Sadly the place was booming in the first.

Sincerely,
will

PS SORRY THE EMAIL WAS SO LONG IF YOU GOT THIS FAR!

Sucks?

Fox game announcer (when Cubs clinched division) - "The regular season is like a scientist studying elephants, but the playoffs are like a scientist studying parasites. I say this because once the playoffs begin everything is under a microscope."

Coincidentally - Leitches:

Hey, This "Eddie Somebody" Might Just Make It In That Crazy Music Biz!

...although, admittedly, he's no "Cool Hand Leuk".

Brought to you by the letter "W" and the number "11"

13

Dempster The Maven

"We've just got to come to the field and have a good day off [Thursday]," (Ryan Dempster) said, "maybe go get some Einstein's Bagels in the morning, go for a nice run, then have a nice plane flight, go have a nice dinner and go to Cincinnati refreshed and put this behind us and just play well."

Magic Number

The Cubs' magic number for the division title is...

Run Centraly Run

Holy crap.

The Cubs' run differential is stupid crazy...

Maybe they are saying "Chieeeeeeeeef..."

Boo.

All the third baseman did during his time in Pittsburgh was put together one of his most successful seasons -- one in which he hit .300 and slugged 34 home runs and 112 RBIs as a 23-year-old.

He never complained or asked to be traded.

"They boo their own players, so I'm not surprised they boo me," said Ramirez, who was traded from the Pirates to the Cubs in 2003. "They booed me while I was playing here. That's the way they are.

"They just traded me, so they should boo whoever traded me."

Deb Gurke's Big O

Hey Tim,

I was thinking (always a dangerous thing). But last night Lou put in the lefty lineup. I am proposing the all "O" lineup.

Soriano--LF
Theriot--SS
Blanco--1B
D-RO--CF
Soto--C
Cedeno--3B
Fonteneau--2B
Fuko(dome)--RF (Okay, I cheated a little on that one)
Zambrano--P

1st base coach--Sinatro
3rd base coach--Santo

Go Cubs Go!

Deb

Posted by: Deb Gurke | August 17, 2008 at 11:26 AM

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Cubs 18, Scalpers 2

Did you know the last time the Cubs beat a team by eight or more runs in both games of a double header was in 1908?

...and do you know what happened in 1908?









You guessed it - the Feyenoord Rotterdam football club was founded.

Knee Kurkjian Response

Last night on ESPN Tim Kurkjian reported the Milwaukee Brewers are enjoying the results of acquiring CC Sabathia as witnessed by sellout crowds at Miller Park for the four-game series with the Cubs.

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!