White Sox vs. Twins
It got pretty ugly out at The Cell tonight. After the Sox took the lead 3-2 in the 6th, they gave the lead right back in the 7th and the Twins didn't look back. Their D and their bullpen really let them down tonight. The nail-in-the-coffin play tonight was a 3-run double that usually reliable CF Alex Rios dropped a ball with the bases loaded after he initially broke in on the ball that went over his head. But you can't simply point at that play as the reason the Sox lost tonight...there were several reasons. First Sox MVP candidate Paul Konerko struck out in the bottom of the 7th with the bases loaded and only 1 out. The Sox were down just 4-3 so all they needed was a fly ball there to tie it up. That shouldn't have hurt all that much either as RBI-machine Manny Ramirez was up next. Unfortunately Manny wasn't being Manny, at least not the Manny they were hoping to be getting for their near $4 million as he also struck out to end the inning. Manny has now played in 11 games for the Sox and has the same number of RBIs as I do - ZERO. He has matched his RBI total with his extra base hits - ZERO. Getting those two guys in that situation seemed to energize the Twins while deflating the Sox. The bullpen Kenny Williams should have been looking to improve, gave up 5 runs in that fateful 8th inning. So in a must sweep series against their bitter rival Twins, they didn't exactly get off to a very good start. The Sox are now 7 games back with just 18 games to play and appear to be just about done now.
Cubs @ Cardinals
How about those Mike Quady led Cubbies? They are now 13-7 under Quade and are playing the part of spoiler which is all they have left at this point after being officially eliminated yesterday as they have taken two straight from the rival Cardinals who are now in the same position as the Sox - 7 games behind the division leading Reds.
Aramis Ramirez decided today that there's NO WAY in the world he would get a contract that would come close to the $16.6 million he'll get from the Cubs by implementing his player option.
Bob Melvin is the latest managerial candidate to be interviewed by Jim Hendry. Really? Chris Wedge and Bob Melvin...these are the guys we're looking to make the new manager of a team dying to end their 102-year World Series drought? I know Ricketts came out and said we don't need a big name to help fill the seats at Wrigley, but that doesn't mean they should scrape the bottom of the barrel, does it?
Of course, I still just don't get why Jim Hendry gets to make this hire. He's hired the last two managers...what makes Tom Ricketts think the third time will be the charm? Is anyone ever going to ask Ricketts why this guy still has a job or what it might take for him to finally lose it? I mean if finishing in 5th place with the top payroll in the entire NL doesn't finish him off, what finally will? Is he now going to sign someone to a 3- or 4-year deal? And what if it doesn't work out again next year and it certainly doesn't seem like the new manager is going to have a roster able to compete so odds are it won't work? Will Hendry get fired then only to leave behind another bad contract?
Speaking of the Cardinals and GMs not making the right move...they traded a well-liked Ryan Ludwick on July 31st of this year. The Cards were 1/2 game up on the Reds at the time and 12 games above .500. They are now 7 games back and only 6 games over .500...OOOOPS!
As I discussed in an earlier post, the Cardinals got rid of their long-time GM Walt Jocketty just one year after guiding the Cards to a World Series win. Jocketty is now with the Reds guiding them to their first division title and first playoff appearance since the strike-shortened 1995 season. Coincidence that another playoff appearance follows so soon after the Reds brought in Jocketty? Don't think so...
Yankees @ Rays
Two straight extra inning games in an ultra-important late season series. The Rays took game 1 when Carl Crawford's replacement Reid Brignac who was only in there because Crawford had been ejected in the bottom of the 9th hit a walk-off HR to break a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the 11th. That win put the Rays 1/2 game up on the Yankees for the AL East division lead. Well, tonight was a totally different story...not just with the result but also the overall "style" of the game as the Yankees won this time 8-7 but also in extras.
AL
The red-hot Twins are very quietly creeping up behind the Yankees and Rays for best record in the AL. Right now, they stand only 1 1/2 games behind the league-leading Yankees. The Yanks have 17 games left while the Twins have 18 games left...we'll see how it goes.
Rockies vs. Padres
How is it that every single September the Colorado Rockies will themselves back into the pennant race? Well, they're at it again although they've now lost two straight to the NL West leading Padres. The Rockies are 10-4 in September and are now only 3 1/2 games out of first place. As late as August 25th, the Rockies were only 2 games over .500 and 11 games out. They are now 13 games over .500 and it wouldn't surprise anyone if they snuck into the playoffs yet again.
The Padres are another great story. Here's a team the nobody gave a chance with the second lowest payroll in all of baseball. Well, all they've done is led their division pretty much from mid-April to now where they currently hold a 1 1/2 game lead on the Giants.
I'm now officially a Twins fan and after watching the Bears barely squeak by one of the worst teams in the NFL at home, I can't wait for the Hawks and Bulls to start back up.
Showing posts with label cubs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cubs. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Monday, May 25, 2009
How about those Cubbies?!?
Another "fabulous" outing by Neal Cotts tonight. Lefties are now hitting .333 with 3 HRs after this knucklehead gave up a 2-run bomb to Nate McLouth which gave the lead back to the Pirates. So three runs given up in the inning on 4 hits although 3 went for extra bases.
So I'm listening to the game on the radio and I just heard Ronny talking about the Pirates having 2 lefties in their rotation and three more in their pen. Could Hendry not get his "friends" the Bucs to trade one of them? Remember the Bucs "gave" Hendry and the Cubs Aramis Ramirez and Randall Simon in 2003.
So the Cubs FINALLY score some runs tonight, but get ZERO pitching! How about getting on the same page guys?!?
What was up with Reed Johnson batting 4th tonight? The guy has single syllable RBIs (8) for the season. Was he really the best option? It certainly wouldn't have been better with Micah batting 4th tonight. I guess I was WAY wrong on this guy as he didn't take as much advantage of his opportunity as he could/should have - left 6 on base by himself today.
Did anyone else feel better having Aaron Miles up there with 2 on, down by 2 in the bottom of the 9th than Mark DeRosa? BRUTAL trade which will only get worse if he ends up in Milwaukee. His 30 RBIs for a last place Indians team would lead the Cubs by 5 over our lead-off hitter, Soriano.
Well, the skid has now reached 8 and the Cubs are now below .500 for the first time since the end of April. They are 5 games out in 4th place behind Dusty's Reds. That says it all as far as I'm concerned.
So I'm listening to the game on the radio and I just heard Ronny talking about the Pirates having 2 lefties in their rotation and three more in their pen. Could Hendry not get his "friends" the Bucs to trade one of them? Remember the Bucs "gave" Hendry and the Cubs Aramis Ramirez and Randall Simon in 2003.
So the Cubs FINALLY score some runs tonight, but get ZERO pitching! How about getting on the same page guys?!?
What was up with Reed Johnson batting 4th tonight? The guy has single syllable RBIs (8) for the season. Was he really the best option? It certainly wouldn't have been better with Micah batting 4th tonight. I guess I was WAY wrong on this guy as he didn't take as much advantage of his opportunity as he could/should have - left 6 on base by himself today.
Did anyone else feel better having Aaron Miles up there with 2 on, down by 2 in the bottom of the 9th than Mark DeRosa? BRUTAL trade which will only get worse if he ends up in Milwaukee. His 30 RBIs for a last place Indians team would lead the Cubs by 5 over our lead-off hitter, Soriano.
Well, the skid has now reached 8 and the Cubs are now below .500 for the first time since the end of April. They are 5 games out in 4th place behind Dusty's Reds. That says it all as far as I'm concerned.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
What are these guys doing???
Not a great day for Chicago baseball! What in the world went on today? The Sox set the tone early with a 20-1 shellacking at the hands of their rival Twins AT HOME! Not to be "outdone" the Cubs put together another absolutely pathetic offensive effort losing 3-1. The Cubs have now lost 4 in a row after winning 5 in a row. Ah...consistency...gotta love it.
That has been the trick for the Cubs...consistency. I heard a startling stat today. The Cubs are hitting .294 in their wins while hitting .193 in their losses. Well, the 3 game sweep at the hands of their rival Cardinals didn't go against these stats. Tue night's game was a JOKE offensively. Joel Pineiro threw an MLB season low 92 pitches in his CG 3-hit shutout. Last night, at least they scored...although it was just once and lost again 2-1. Much the same tonight going down 3-1 so overall they completed their 3-game anti-sweep losing 8-2. YEP two whole runs in 3 games combined. Who were they facing? The 1965 Dodgers with Drysdale, Koufax, and Claude Osteen (all three had less than 2.80 ERA)? Nope...the 2009 Cardinals who do have Chris Carpenter although he was making his first start in a month, but Joel Pineiro and Adam Wainright? Unless you're a serious baseball fan, you probably never even heard of these guys and yet they were able to TOTALLY dominate our Cubbies. Wainright came within 2 pitches of pitching the second CG of the series, but D-Lee muscled a jam shot into short right to bring the tying run to the plate. Fortunately for the Cards, Milton Bradley was the supposed potential tying run. LaRussa brought in Franklin to throw those two pitches, Bradley who is on pace to drive in 38 runs this year in total (Pujols drove in his 38th today!) did hit the ball hard, but right at Schumaker in RF to end the "threat".
But which team had the worse day? That has to go to the White Sox. It started all well and good as Kenny Williams finally came off his LONG vacation (where was he all off-season?) to work a deal with the Padres for Jake Peavy. With Contreras struggling and Colon still kind of iffy plus Floyd and Danks struggling, adding Peavy would have been a HUGE lift for the pitching staff. Don Cooper seemed REALLY excited in an interview I heard this morning. After taking the first two games from the Twins in their 3-game series with their rival, the Peavy news just seemed to be the cherry on the top of a great week. So what happened after that? Well, they went out and got DESTROYED 20-1 in front of the home folks. Yikes! That's the worst home loss in a baseball game in my recollection and tied the worst in Sox history.
My daughter's baseball coach is a Sox fan. I asked him tonight if he had seen the Sox game or heard the result. In typical Sox "fan" fashion, he had no idea. When I told him they lost 20-1 to the Twins today, his next question was curious. "Who pitched?" he asked. I said "lots of guys!" Colon started and left after 2 innings and 8 runs although only 1 run was earned after a Betemit error on a sac bunt helped the Twins push 7 across in the 2nd inning including a bomb from former Sox Joe Crede.
But as bad as that was, it wasn't the worst thing to happen to the Sox on this day. Shortly after the game was over, the Sox learned that Jake Peavy had rejected the trade to the Sox (maybe he was watching the game). Peavy has a no-trade clause so he can choose his next team. In his statement he said "Right now, this [San Diego] is the best place for me and my family." Tough day Sox fans.
That has been the trick for the Cubs...consistency. I heard a startling stat today. The Cubs are hitting .294 in their wins while hitting .193 in their losses. Well, the 3 game sweep at the hands of their rival Cardinals didn't go against these stats. Tue night's game was a JOKE offensively. Joel Pineiro threw an MLB season low 92 pitches in his CG 3-hit shutout. Last night, at least they scored...although it was just once and lost again 2-1. Much the same tonight going down 3-1 so overall they completed their 3-game anti-sweep losing 8-2. YEP two whole runs in 3 games combined. Who were they facing? The 1965 Dodgers with Drysdale, Koufax, and Claude Osteen (all three had less than 2.80 ERA)? Nope...the 2009 Cardinals who do have Chris Carpenter although he was making his first start in a month, but Joel Pineiro and Adam Wainright? Unless you're a serious baseball fan, you probably never even heard of these guys and yet they were able to TOTALLY dominate our Cubbies. Wainright came within 2 pitches of pitching the second CG of the series, but D-Lee muscled a jam shot into short right to bring the tying run to the plate. Fortunately for the Cards, Milton Bradley was the supposed potential tying run. LaRussa brought in Franklin to throw those two pitches, Bradley who is on pace to drive in 38 runs this year in total (Pujols drove in his 38th today!) did hit the ball hard, but right at Schumaker in RF to end the "threat".
But which team had the worse day? That has to go to the White Sox. It started all well and good as Kenny Williams finally came off his LONG vacation (where was he all off-season?) to work a deal with the Padres for Jake Peavy. With Contreras struggling and Colon still kind of iffy plus Floyd and Danks struggling, adding Peavy would have been a HUGE lift for the pitching staff. Don Cooper seemed REALLY excited in an interview I heard this morning. After taking the first two games from the Twins in their 3-game series with their rival, the Peavy news just seemed to be the cherry on the top of a great week. So what happened after that? Well, they went out and got DESTROYED 20-1 in front of the home folks. Yikes! That's the worst home loss in a baseball game in my recollection and tied the worst in Sox history.
My daughter's baseball coach is a Sox fan. I asked him tonight if he had seen the Sox game or heard the result. In typical Sox "fan" fashion, he had no idea. When I told him they lost 20-1 to the Twins today, his next question was curious. "Who pitched?" he asked. I said "lots of guys!" Colon started and left after 2 innings and 8 runs although only 1 run was earned after a Betemit error on a sac bunt helped the Twins push 7 across in the 2nd inning including a bomb from former Sox Joe Crede.
But as bad as that was, it wasn't the worst thing to happen to the Sox on this day. Shortly after the game was over, the Sox learned that Jake Peavy had rejected the trade to the Sox (maybe he was watching the game). Peavy has a no-trade clause so he can choose his next team. In his statement he said "Right now, this [San Diego] is the best place for me and my family." Tough day Sox fans.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
May 19th Update
I wanted to do an update on the most recent happenings associated with the posts on my blog. I'll go through each of the most recent posts one at a time here so read the ones that interest you and feel free to respond/comment as you see fit.
Well, I simply must start with the Blackhawks. Does anyone else feel like the Hawks have the Red Wings right where they want them? Even though the Hawks are down 2-0, I feel like they are really "right there" and could easily take the next 4 games to win the series in 6. After being a non-factor in Game 1, Towes obviously came to play tonight scoring both of the Hawks goals. Khabibulin stepped up pretty well tonight saving 35 shots. Unfortunately, he was only 1-for-2 in OT and the Hawks fell 3-2. My daughter was hoping the Hawks would duplicate her soccer team's performance over the weekend. They were down 2-1 late in the game but were able to tie it in regulation and were able to pull it out in OT. The Hawks got it half right. Now they come home to a rockin' UC and will take back the momentum from the Wings. This whole thing kind of reminds me of the 1980 Olympics with the Wings playing the role of the "unbeatable" Russians while the upstart Hawks are the USA.
Now on to the Cubs...what the heck was THAT tonight against a reeling Cardinals team? Weren't the Cards coming off a home sweep at the hands of the 1st place Brewers while the Cubs were coming off a 4-1 homestand? That's not what it looked like to me. Did they really get completely dominated by Joel Pineiro? 3 hits? Really? 3 lousy hits! Where was the patience at the plate this team has exhibited most of the year? Pineiro pitched his first complete game of the season while throwing only 92 pitches. He came in with an unremarkable 4.17 ERA but after 9 innings of shutout ball, dropped it to 3.48. On a good note, they only left 1 guy on base. Of course, it is easier to let only 1 guy on base when 3 guys reach base with no walks to go with their 3 measley hits. Bradley hit into a DP to eliminate one of the runners and then Soriano was picked off to eliminate another; hence "only" one runner LOB. Wow!
How can you explain such a lousy effort against your #1 division rival? I just don't get it. You can't blame Lou for the lineup this time either. Other than Aramis being out with his injury, the rest of the lineup would have to be considered their best lineup. You really need to take advantage of those rare days when Phat Albert doesn't do anything too. Pujols was 1-4 and left 3 runners on base tonight. Too bad.
Cubs fans vs. Sox fans update. CSN is advertising this week as rivalry week with the Cubs in St. Louis and the Sox home facing the Twins. Cubs vs. Cards drew 41,374 while the Sox vs. Twins drew all of 26,696 on a GORGEOUS Tuesday evening. Where's all the Sox fans? Too busy watching the Cubs lose on WGN tonight? Hey Sox fans, double-bonus as I'm sure you didn't even notice - the Sox won tonight! By the way, just to put that pretty pathetic attendance figure at The Cell last night in perspective...the Cubs drew 23,441 to Miller Park with 24-hour notice on a rescheduled game that was supposed to be played in Houston but was moved to Milwaukee due to the hurricane in Houston. The game date was September 14th so don't tell me how last night was a school night because the game at Miller Park was a school night too.
Lee vs. Hoffpauir update. Maybe watching Hoffpauir play well in his absence clicked something in D-Lee's head. Lee has gone 6-11 in his last 3 games since coming back to the starting line-up and has even drove in 3 runs in those 3 games. Of course, the Cubs are 1-2 in those games. Hmmm. I was hoping Hoffpauir would take a little more advantage of his opportunity than he actually did, but he still did pretty well while being thrown into the starting line-up like he was. I'd still like to see him play more consistently but if just the threat of his being there and ably fill in is enough to help D-Lee produce, that works too.
I hope you are all enjoying my posts. Please be sure to comment as much as you can so I know you're "listening". Thanks!
Well, I simply must start with the Blackhawks. Does anyone else feel like the Hawks have the Red Wings right where they want them? Even though the Hawks are down 2-0, I feel like they are really "right there" and could easily take the next 4 games to win the series in 6. After being a non-factor in Game 1, Towes obviously came to play tonight scoring both of the Hawks goals. Khabibulin stepped up pretty well tonight saving 35 shots. Unfortunately, he was only 1-for-2 in OT and the Hawks fell 3-2. My daughter was hoping the Hawks would duplicate her soccer team's performance over the weekend. They were down 2-1 late in the game but were able to tie it in regulation and were able to pull it out in OT. The Hawks got it half right. Now they come home to a rockin' UC and will take back the momentum from the Wings. This whole thing kind of reminds me of the 1980 Olympics with the Wings playing the role of the "unbeatable" Russians while the upstart Hawks are the USA.
Now on to the Cubs...what the heck was THAT tonight against a reeling Cardinals team? Weren't the Cards coming off a home sweep at the hands of the 1st place Brewers while the Cubs were coming off a 4-1 homestand? That's not what it looked like to me. Did they really get completely dominated by Joel Pineiro? 3 hits? Really? 3 lousy hits! Where was the patience at the plate this team has exhibited most of the year? Pineiro pitched his first complete game of the season while throwing only 92 pitches. He came in with an unremarkable 4.17 ERA but after 9 innings of shutout ball, dropped it to 3.48. On a good note, they only left 1 guy on base. Of course, it is easier to let only 1 guy on base when 3 guys reach base with no walks to go with their 3 measley hits. Bradley hit into a DP to eliminate one of the runners and then Soriano was picked off to eliminate another; hence "only" one runner LOB. Wow!
How can you explain such a lousy effort against your #1 division rival? I just don't get it. You can't blame Lou for the lineup this time either. Other than Aramis being out with his injury, the rest of the lineup would have to be considered their best lineup. You really need to take advantage of those rare days when Phat Albert doesn't do anything too. Pujols was 1-4 and left 3 runners on base tonight. Too bad.
Cubs fans vs. Sox fans update. CSN is advertising this week as rivalry week with the Cubs in St. Louis and the Sox home facing the Twins. Cubs vs. Cards drew 41,374 while the Sox vs. Twins drew all of 26,696 on a GORGEOUS Tuesday evening. Where's all the Sox fans? Too busy watching the Cubs lose on WGN tonight? Hey Sox fans, double-bonus as I'm sure you didn't even notice - the Sox won tonight! By the way, just to put that pretty pathetic attendance figure at The Cell last night in perspective...the Cubs drew 23,441 to Miller Park with 24-hour notice on a rescheduled game that was supposed to be played in Houston but was moved to Milwaukee due to the hurricane in Houston. The game date was September 14th so don't tell me how last night was a school night because the game at Miller Park was a school night too.
Lee vs. Hoffpauir update. Maybe watching Hoffpauir play well in his absence clicked something in D-Lee's head. Lee has gone 6-11 in his last 3 games since coming back to the starting line-up and has even drove in 3 runs in those 3 games. Of course, the Cubs are 1-2 in those games. Hmmm. I was hoping Hoffpauir would take a little more advantage of his opportunity than he actually did, but he still did pretty well while being thrown into the starting line-up like he was. I'd still like to see him play more consistently but if just the threat of his being there and ably fill in is enough to help D-Lee produce, that works too.
I hope you are all enjoying my posts. Please be sure to comment as much as you can so I know you're "listening". Thanks!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Cubs Fans vs. Sox "fans"
So what is the difference between Cubs fans and Sox fans? In my experience, it's all about the focus between the two fans. Cubs fans really only keep track of the Cubs with an outside interest in the Sox. Sox fans seem to have MUCH more interest and derive much more excitement from Cubs' losses with a little more than secondary interest in the Sox. I have had conversations with supposed Sox fans that don't even know all five if the Sox starters. Really? But you know what made it worse...they knew the Cubs rotation including the order they pitch. Regardless, there is definitely a rivalry between the two ball clubs, but I think the rivalry between the fans is even more intense.
This whole cross-town rivalry thing for me dates back to 7th grade. I took a bus to my new Catholic school in 7th grade where I met several new kids. One of them lived in a different subdivision and it turns out he was a Sox fan while all of my friends all cheered for the Cubs so this was the first time I ever had to deal with someone like that. I was picked up before he was so I was on the bus when we picked him up. I took great pleasure letting him know that the Cubs won their game the day before and he did the same when the Sox won. I would have the whole bus yelling "Cubs WON!" and he was primarily on his own countering us. Even when the Cubs lost, it was nearly as fun if the Sox lost as we would all yell "Sox LOST!" and doubly fun when both happened. I still remember his name...weird.
As I increased my base of friends, I expanded to know more Sox fans. When I was in high school, my best friend had another friend that was a Sox fan. The year was 1983 and if you know much Chicago baseball, you know the Sox crushed the competition on their way to a 20-game division victory over the Royals. At the same time, the Cubs were scuffling along to "just miss" the playoffs by 19 games. That was a long summer at my friend's house. I remember this particular kid was pretty handy (actually worked at Handy Andy - remember that store?) and he had built himself a light kind of in the shape of a wagon wheel. In each of the spaces between the spokes (there were 20), he had different White Sox pennants. It was pretty cool even though they were Sox pennants.
In high school I befriended a guy who turned out to be a Padres fan. Really? A Padres fan in the NW Chicago burbs...how does that even happen. Well, the year was 1984 which ended up not being a good time to have a friend who was a fan of the Padres. The night Sutcliffe struck out Joe Orsulak and the Cubs clinched their first playoff berth in 39 years, I wrote the names of all the Cubs' players, numbers, and a Cubs logo in permanent marker on my Levis for school the next day - I didn't care if I got a detention (which I didn't). Our Homecoming Dance was Saturday night during Game 4 of that fateful playoff series. I spent more time walking out to my car checking the score (no internet cell phones back then!) on the radio than I did with my date (don't remember her name - must not have been a baseball fan).
In college, I again expanded my friend base and ended up becoming friends with more Sox fans. They weren't fanatical and they also didn't despise the Cubs so it wasn't much of a problem. I did get to know even more Cubs fans in college too and they were fanatical - I remember their names. When the Cubs clinched the division in 1989, I remember all of us were dialing the phones like crazy trying to get tickets not that we had the money to pay for them, but what's a couple days worth of food compared to a Cubs playoff game? I picked up my girlfriend (now my wife) at the Amtrak station at school. There was a whole bank of pay phones and the TicketMaster number was toll-free so I had two phones going at the same time. No luck however and neither did my friends.
Now I get to deal with my adult friends and neighbors and their kids. Just as I was brought up as a Cubs fan thanks to my father, my friends' kids are growing up as Sox fans based on their own father. Nothing wrong with that I guess. But here's the question...how did these guys end up as Sox fans instead of Cubs fans to start with? A couple of the guys I know that are Sox fans grew up on the north side which would logically mean they "should" be Cubs fans so what happened? Either they switch alliances just to be different or they had some other reason. I have heard Sox fans argue that most of the people attending Cubs' games are not true Cubs fans...rather they are only interested in the exerience. While I agree there are plenty of people there to get the experience...particularly the Friendly Confines which many people refer to as the biggest beer garden in the US. That may be true, but most of the people in the stands do pay attention to the game as you can tell by watching the game - they know when there is a big spot in the game; when to stand up and cheer. The Cubs continue to draw more and more people each year, but where are the Sox fans? Even in their World Series season, they still hardly drew more than average and couldn't even sell out their final regular season homestand. Does anyone think that could have happened with the Cubs at Wrigley? Didn't think so.
So what about Wrigley Field? I have been visiting ballparks throughout the country over the last few years with my family. All 5 of us are headed to the Midwest ballparks this August for our 3rd annual baseball vacation. Two years ago, we visited Detroit, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. Last year, we saw the end of Shea and Yankee Stadium as well as Philadelphia and Boston. So we saw some old and saw some new parks. I know it might be blasphemy and before my visits to the new "old school" parks I would have agreed, but I think it may be time to knock down the Friendly Confines and build us a new old school park similar to those in Detroit, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. We haven't made it to Baltimore yet, but we will eventually and I know Camden Yards is where it all started back on the right track after all the lousy cookie-cutter artificial turf stadiums built in the 70s. I've also been to Turner Field in Atlanta which I also really liked. Tough to beat the locationin Wrigleyville so they'd have to tear it down and put the new park up in its place. I'd be willing to sacrifice a season of playing ball at The Cell on the southside; heck, maybe two seasons. THEN we could put to rest all the talk about how the Cubs only draw more fans than the Sox because of Wrigley. Would anyone like to make that bet if both teams played at The Cell? Didn't think so. Did you see how many butts were in the seats for that make-up game against Houston last year that was held in Miller Park in Milwaukee? The Cubs drew 25,000 there with 24-hour notice. Not bad, huh? Those are Cubs fans my friend.
This whole cross-town rivalry thing for me dates back to 7th grade. I took a bus to my new Catholic school in 7th grade where I met several new kids. One of them lived in a different subdivision and it turns out he was a Sox fan while all of my friends all cheered for the Cubs so this was the first time I ever had to deal with someone like that. I was picked up before he was so I was on the bus when we picked him up. I took great pleasure letting him know that the Cubs won their game the day before and he did the same when the Sox won. I would have the whole bus yelling "Cubs WON!" and he was primarily on his own countering us. Even when the Cubs lost, it was nearly as fun if the Sox lost as we would all yell "Sox LOST!" and doubly fun when both happened. I still remember his name...weird.
As I increased my base of friends, I expanded to know more Sox fans. When I was in high school, my best friend had another friend that was a Sox fan. The year was 1983 and if you know much Chicago baseball, you know the Sox crushed the competition on their way to a 20-game division victory over the Royals. At the same time, the Cubs were scuffling along to "just miss" the playoffs by 19 games. That was a long summer at my friend's house. I remember this particular kid was pretty handy (actually worked at Handy Andy - remember that store?) and he had built himself a light kind of in the shape of a wagon wheel. In each of the spaces between the spokes (there were 20), he had different White Sox pennants. It was pretty cool even though they were Sox pennants.
In high school I befriended a guy who turned out to be a Padres fan. Really? A Padres fan in the NW Chicago burbs...how does that even happen. Well, the year was 1984 which ended up not being a good time to have a friend who was a fan of the Padres. The night Sutcliffe struck out Joe Orsulak and the Cubs clinched their first playoff berth in 39 years, I wrote the names of all the Cubs' players, numbers, and a Cubs logo in permanent marker on my Levis for school the next day - I didn't care if I got a detention (which I didn't). Our Homecoming Dance was Saturday night during Game 4 of that fateful playoff series. I spent more time walking out to my car checking the score (no internet cell phones back then!) on the radio than I did with my date (don't remember her name - must not have been a baseball fan).
In college, I again expanded my friend base and ended up becoming friends with more Sox fans. They weren't fanatical and they also didn't despise the Cubs so it wasn't much of a problem. I did get to know even more Cubs fans in college too and they were fanatical - I remember their names. When the Cubs clinched the division in 1989, I remember all of us were dialing the phones like crazy trying to get tickets not that we had the money to pay for them, but what's a couple days worth of food compared to a Cubs playoff game? I picked up my girlfriend (now my wife) at the Amtrak station at school. There was a whole bank of pay phones and the TicketMaster number was toll-free so I had two phones going at the same time. No luck however and neither did my friends.
Now I get to deal with my adult friends and neighbors and their kids. Just as I was brought up as a Cubs fan thanks to my father, my friends' kids are growing up as Sox fans based on their own father. Nothing wrong with that I guess. But here's the question...how did these guys end up as Sox fans instead of Cubs fans to start with? A couple of the guys I know that are Sox fans grew up on the north side which would logically mean they "should" be Cubs fans so what happened? Either they switch alliances just to be different or they had some other reason. I have heard Sox fans argue that most of the people attending Cubs' games are not true Cubs fans...rather they are only interested in the exerience. While I agree there are plenty of people there to get the experience...particularly the Friendly Confines which many people refer to as the biggest beer garden in the US. That may be true, but most of the people in the stands do pay attention to the game as you can tell by watching the game - they know when there is a big spot in the game; when to stand up and cheer. The Cubs continue to draw more and more people each year, but where are the Sox fans? Even in their World Series season, they still hardly drew more than average and couldn't even sell out their final regular season homestand. Does anyone think that could have happened with the Cubs at Wrigley? Didn't think so.
So what about Wrigley Field? I have been visiting ballparks throughout the country over the last few years with my family. All 5 of us are headed to the Midwest ballparks this August for our 3rd annual baseball vacation. Two years ago, we visited Detroit, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. Last year, we saw the end of Shea and Yankee Stadium as well as Philadelphia and Boston. So we saw some old and saw some new parks. I know it might be blasphemy and before my visits to the new "old school" parks I would have agreed, but I think it may be time to knock down the Friendly Confines and build us a new old school park similar to those in Detroit, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. We haven't made it to Baltimore yet, but we will eventually and I know Camden Yards is where it all started back on the right track after all the lousy cookie-cutter artificial turf stadiums built in the 70s. I've also been to Turner Field in Atlanta which I also really liked. Tough to beat the locationin Wrigleyville so they'd have to tear it down and put the new park up in its place. I'd be willing to sacrifice a season of playing ball at The Cell on the southside; heck, maybe two seasons. THEN we could put to rest all the talk about how the Cubs only draw more fans than the Sox because of Wrigley. Would anyone like to make that bet if both teams played at The Cell? Didn't think so. Did you see how many butts were in the seats for that make-up game against Houston last year that was held in Miller Park in Milwaukee? The Cubs drew 25,000 there with 24-hour notice. Not bad, huh? Those are Cubs fans my friend.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
D-Lee - #3 Hitter?
So what do you all think of our very own Derrek Lee? Personally, I think he is ULTRA over-rated, that is if anyone thinks all that much of him these days other than Lou Piniella. But if you read the comments from The Lou blog, you already know this. Actually, if you have ever talked to me about D-Lee, you already know it too.
While he may be finally out of his DP funk from 2008, he is still just simply NOT clutch and that is a TREMENDOUS flaw for your #3 hitter. Here's a Cubs team that led the NL in runs scored last year, but the #3 hitter in a career high number of plate appearances couldn't manage even 100 RBIs. How is that possible? I'll tell you how...NO POWER! D-Lee finished with a very respectable .291 BA, but managed only 20 HRs in a hitter friendly home ball park. Hmmm. To me, BA is the most overrated stat in baseball. It is not about how many hits you get in a game; its how many runs you score. To that end, the #3, 4, and 5 hitters have the biggest responsibility to drive in those runs. Sometimes you just need a single, but a lot of times you need extra bases so while he hit a respectable .308 with RISP, he only drove in 63 runs in over 180 plate appearances. Now, I won't compare him to Albert Pujols because, as much as it pains me to say it, he's just the best ball player in the game right now although he plays for the mortal enemy (sorry White Sox, I know the Cubs are your mortal enemy, but we just really aren't that concerned about a team we play 6 times a year) Cardinals. But let's compare him to Ryan Howard, shall we? Hey, it's my blog! Ryan Howard batted a smooth .320 with RISP and drove in 90 runs in 223 PAs. For all you anti-math guys out there, that's 27 more RBIs in just 43 more PAs. Further examination shows D-Lee had only 1 HR with RISP while Howard had 12. As a matter of fact, out of D-Lee's pathetic 20 HRs in 2008, only 5 of them were NOT solo while Howard hit 26 out of his 48 HRs with runners on base.
So while Lee hit for a .291 BA, he only drove in 90 RBIs while Howard "only" hit .251 but drove in 146 RBIs. How do you like BA now for an offensive stat?
Just for Rob...since you couldn't lay off protecting your boy D-Lee in my The Lou blog, here's another stat for you...while D-Lee is "average to slightly above average in rbi opportunties", he's tied for the team lead (Ramirez has been hurt and Bradley has been AWFUL) in RBIs with the likes of little Mike Fontenot, Ryan Theriot (my personal favorite Cub), and Mr. April (a.k.a. Kosuke Fukudome). Even with Fukudome's inflated salary ($11.5 million), if you add all of them together (Theriot - $500K, Fontenot - $430K), they still don't surpass D-Lee's ($13 million).
So, is it D-Lee's fault he just isn't that good? A little, right? But what about the knucklehead that has implanted him in the #3 or #4 spot in the lineup since he's been here? Ya, you know who I'm talking about...The Lou! How long can you live off a career year that happened 4 years ago? That's ancient history at this point, isn't it?
My thanks to the Cot's Baseball Contracts blog for all the salary data - http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/chicago-cubs_112114177768677294.html.
While he may be finally out of his DP funk from 2008, he is still just simply NOT clutch and that is a TREMENDOUS flaw for your #3 hitter. Here's a Cubs team that led the NL in runs scored last year, but the #3 hitter in a career high number of plate appearances couldn't manage even 100 RBIs. How is that possible? I'll tell you how...NO POWER! D-Lee finished with a very respectable .291 BA, but managed only 20 HRs in a hitter friendly home ball park. Hmmm. To me, BA is the most overrated stat in baseball. It is not about how many hits you get in a game; its how many runs you score. To that end, the #3, 4, and 5 hitters have the biggest responsibility to drive in those runs. Sometimes you just need a single, but a lot of times you need extra bases so while he hit a respectable .308 with RISP, he only drove in 63 runs in over 180 plate appearances. Now, I won't compare him to Albert Pujols because, as much as it pains me to say it, he's just the best ball player in the game right now although he plays for the mortal enemy (sorry White Sox, I know the Cubs are your mortal enemy, but we just really aren't that concerned about a team we play 6 times a year) Cardinals. But let's compare him to Ryan Howard, shall we? Hey, it's my blog! Ryan Howard batted a smooth .320 with RISP and drove in 90 runs in 223 PAs. For all you anti-math guys out there, that's 27 more RBIs in just 43 more PAs. Further examination shows D-Lee had only 1 HR with RISP while Howard had 12. As a matter of fact, out of D-Lee's pathetic 20 HRs in 2008, only 5 of them were NOT solo while Howard hit 26 out of his 48 HRs with runners on base.
So while Lee hit for a .291 BA, he only drove in 90 RBIs while Howard "only" hit .251 but drove in 146 RBIs. How do you like BA now for an offensive stat?
Just for Rob...since you couldn't lay off protecting your boy D-Lee in my The Lou blog, here's another stat for you...while D-Lee is "average to slightly above average in rbi opportunties", he's tied for the team lead (Ramirez has been hurt and Bradley has been AWFUL) in RBIs with the likes of little Mike Fontenot, Ryan Theriot (my personal favorite Cub), and Mr. April (a.k.a. Kosuke Fukudome). Even with Fukudome's inflated salary ($11.5 million), if you add all of them together (Theriot - $500K, Fontenot - $430K), they still don't surpass D-Lee's ($13 million).
So, is it D-Lee's fault he just isn't that good? A little, right? But what about the knucklehead that has implanted him in the #3 or #4 spot in the lineup since he's been here? Ya, you know who I'm talking about...The Lou! How long can you live off a career year that happened 4 years ago? That's ancient history at this point, isn't it?
My thanks to the Cot's Baseball Contracts blog for all the salary data - http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/chicago-cubs_112114177768677294.html.
Mr. April
Most people say April showers bring May flowers... Well I say April RBIs bring May slumps for our very own Mr. April - Kosuke Fukudome. After tearing it up AGAIN in April with a .338 BA, .461 OBA, and .592 SLG, he is now 0-for-May. PLEASE do NOT tell me "it's early" because games in April/May count exactly the same as games in September.
Does anyone remember Mr. April's stats from last year? Luckily, I have them right here for you - .327, .436, .480. Very similar to this year, don't you think? And we all know what happened last season...his stats went down every month through the end and yet, what did Lou do come playoff time after a .178 BA in September? He started Fukudome and batted him #2 in Game 1. What?!?
So far, Fukudome is right on schedule...a bad schedule!
Does anyone remember Mr. April's stats from last year? Luckily, I have them right here for you - .327, .436, .480. Very similar to this year, don't you think? And we all know what happened last season...his stats went down every month through the end and yet, what did Lou do come playoff time after a .178 BA in September? He started Fukudome and batted him #2 in Game 1. What?!?
So far, Fukudome is right on schedule...a bad schedule!
The Lou
What in the world was that lineup against last year's NL Cy Young Award winner? This whole left/righty thing is killing me! Did anyone look up Lincecum's numbers against lefties and righties? Lou went with mostly lefties yesterday (forget that they were mostly AAA players for a second), yet a simple check of the stats shows righties hit .279 off him this year while lefties .197. Does Lou even have a computer? Someone should let him know about www.baseball-reference.com (THE BEST website in the history of the world, by the way) where you can check every stat imaginable. That's a HUGE disparity, don't you think? Maybe something Lou should have been aware of, right?
WHY bench Theriot when he's ON FIRE as he has been all weekend? This is just another big mistake by Lou benching a guy when he's seeing the ball so well. Dusty used to do the same thing. It's like he made a calendar last week and regardless of the situation, he's going with it. Let's see if Theriot can get it going again tonight in Houston.
WHY did Sean Marshall go out there to start the 8th inning? He had a very gutsy effort going to that point and everyone "knew" Marshall was done after finishing up the 7th; everyone apparently except Lou. So very predictably, Marshall goes out there and promptly walks the first batter and allows a single to the second batter. THEN Lou goes to the pen and sticks Samardzija in a jam instead of letting him start the inning fresh. I've got nothing else to say other than that was really STUPID Lou.
Is it me or is Derrek Lee the LEAST clutch player to ever sign a $65 million contract? I'll have another Post dealing with DP Lee as there is too much to say here.
Let's face it...Lou gave away this game. I thought it was called "get-away day" not "give-away day" referring to the fact the Cubs were traveling to Houston right after yesterday's game. Too bad the fans had to pay full price for this give-away. It was a sham from the very first pitch.
WHY bench Theriot when he's ON FIRE as he has been all weekend? This is just another big mistake by Lou benching a guy when he's seeing the ball so well. Dusty used to do the same thing. It's like he made a calendar last week and regardless of the situation, he's going with it. Let's see if Theriot can get it going again tonight in Houston.
WHY did Sean Marshall go out there to start the 8th inning? He had a very gutsy effort going to that point and everyone "knew" Marshall was done after finishing up the 7th; everyone apparently except Lou. So very predictably, Marshall goes out there and promptly walks the first batter and allows a single to the second batter. THEN Lou goes to the pen and sticks Samardzija in a jam instead of letting him start the inning fresh. I've got nothing else to say other than that was really STUPID Lou.
Is it me or is Derrek Lee the LEAST clutch player to ever sign a $65 million contract? I'll have another Post dealing with DP Lee as there is too much to say here.
Let's face it...Lou gave away this game. I thought it was called "get-away day" not "give-away day" referring to the fact the Cubs were traveling to Houston right after yesterday's game. Too bad the fans had to pay full price for this give-away. It was a sham from the very first pitch.
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