Ugh…..

If you are reading this blog, more than likely, you are a sports fan.  By now, I’m sure you know about the Chicago Cubs’ latest collapse, so I won’t bore you with the details (and frankly, I don’t want to re-live them).  Let’s just say, I’m glad I fell asleep last night, so I didn’t have to witness the final nail in the Cubs’ coffin or a Dodger celebration.

Here we go again…..

So, what happened to the real 2008 Chicago Cubs team?  This team that has faced the Dodgers the last two games is not the same team from the regular season.  The Cubs team from the regular season outscored their opponents by 100+ runs.  The Cubs team from the regular season took walks and had the highest on base percentage in the league.  The Cubs team from the regular season had great starting pitching and a great bullpen.  The Cubs team from the regular season had Gold Glove defense at the corner infield spots.  This is not that team.  This team has gone back to the free swinging, can’t find the strikezone, poor defensive teams of the past 2 decades.

The Cubs still have a chance if they can go back to what was working for them during the season.  If Gerald Perry or Lou Piniella don’t get on their ass about it, though, it’s gonna be over Saturday.

Great end to a great day…..

Now this is how you quell any fears about your arm.

MILWAUKEE — The Cubs were eager to get Carlos Zambrano back in the rotation. On Sunday night, he showed why.

Zambrano threw his first career no-hitter and the first by a Cubs pitcher in 36 years as Chicago beat the Houston Astros 5-0 in a makeup game played in front of a very pro-Cubs crowd of 23,441 at Miller Park.

So, with the Brewers getting SWEPT out of Philly, the magic number drops to 7.  A win tomorrow against the Astros and a sweep of the Brewers, and the Cubs could clinch the NL Central by Thursday.

GO CUBS GO!

ESPN Got it Right for Once

If you have not yet seen it, any self respecting baseball fan needs to check out the recent piece ESPN did on the Cubs 100 year drought.  It is a basically an advertisement for an “Outside the Lines” piece they are doing on Sunday.  They have interviews with people from every decade in which the Cubs have played since last winning a World Series.

Reading all of them and watching the accomponying videos, really helps you understand what it is like to be a Cub fan.  In regards to 2003, the closest the Cubs have come to a World Series in my lifetime, Billy Corgan puts it better than I’ve ever been able to explain:

“It just destroyed me,” Corgan says. “I have never been so excited in my life for my team. That postseason was the absolute peak moment of my fandom. There was this level of pure, unadulterated, childish joy. And to have taken that ride and experienced everything that happened in person … you might as well have put a gun to my head.”

If you love baseball, you owe it to yourself to check out the article.  I’m looking forward to seeing how “Outside the Lines” turns out.

It’s About Damn Time!

To add onto the post I just made, this is from today’s Chicago Tribune:

Another blown lead, another missed chance to step on an opponents throat in the middle innings and another loss on the last play of the game left the Cubs gasping again Tuesday night — their eighth loss in nine games finally igniting Lou Piniella’s fury like it hasn’t been ignited since he got to Chicago last year.

”We’re playing like we’re waiting to get beat,” Piniella said, building into a red-faced, two-minute eruption that reverberated into the hallway outside his office at Busch Stadium following a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

”We had many chances today again and we had many chances Sunday against Cincinnati, and it’s the same result!” he said. ”If we had played ball like this all year, we wouldn’t be here playing for a championship! We’d be playing a spoiler role for somebody else!

”I know we’re trying. I’ve got no complaints about with the effort. But you’ve got to get the job done! We can talk about having fun. We can talk about relaxing. But you’ve got to get your damn shirts rolled up and go out and kick somebody’s ass! That’s what you’ve got to do! Period!”

Well damn, Lou!  I’m glad to see you’re finally starting to get as fed up with this as the fans are.  I almost mistook you for Dusty out there the last week or two.  I mentioned it a few days ago, that he had the perfect opportunity to fire up his team when the ump blew a missed tag on Ronny Cedeno at home plate.  Let’s just hope this outburst does the trick, and it wasn’t too little, too late.

I Just Don’t Get It

Why, Lou, why?  Or maybe this is on Ryan Dempster, but either way, why on Earth would you pitch to Albert Pujols with a 3-0 lead late in the game with first base open?  As you can tell by my frustration, the Cubs let another win (and a chance to widen their lead on the NL Central, but I’ll get to that) slip away, by allowing a home run to Albert Pujols in the sixth to tie the game.

DO SOMETHING LOU!

OK, I’ve been a Lou supporter during his time in Chicago.  I’ve defended some of his dumb decisions.  But I can’t for the life of me figure out why he didn’t use last night as an opportunity to fire up his team and get kicked out of the game.  You have a lifeless offense out there on the field.  With the exception of Tuesday night, the bats haven’t been awake in almost a week.  Finally, there’s a close play at the plate where Ronny Cedeno appeared to get in in front of the swipe tag, and Lou does nothing but pace in the dugout?  It was the perfect chance!

Run out onto the field!  Scream and yell!  Kick some dirt!  Shit, at the very least, get the home plate umpire to ask for help!  He was clearly blocked from the play with the angle he was at.

Something needs to fire this team up, or they’re going lose sight™ and have a Mets-like collapse.  It worked in June last season.  It may not work now, but, in my opinion, you’ve got to at least try.

Riding the Pine Not Such a Bad Thing in Chicago

This is from an article in today’s Chicago Tribune.

PITTSBURGH – The Cubs’ bench doesn’t have a memorable nickname like “the Pine Brothers” from the 1977 team or “the Lemons” from 2003.

But Henry Blanco, Reed Johnson and Ronny Cedeno all played key roles in Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over the Pirates, and Daryle Ward and Mike Fontenot also have come up with big hits in recent games.

“It’s good for the guys who play every day,” Johnson said. “We can give those guys a rest, and we’re not losing a whole lot. We obviously have our best nine guys, and guys like myself and Henry who can come off the bench and do a pretty good job as well.”

Manager Lou Piniella has played Blanco more often in August after using Geovany Soto almost every day in June and July, and the added rest appears to be helping Soto’s bat. After hitting .250 in June and .258 in July, he’s batting .328 in August with three homers and 20 RBIs.

Blanco accepts the fact he won’t catch much behind Soto but is always ready to go when needed.

“That’s why you have to keep working,” he said.

This is what it’s all about….

In a day and age when athletes seem to be all about the money and fame, it’s nice to see a player like Reed Johnson still get excited like a little kid.  After all, baseball is a kids’ game.  From today’s Chicago Tribune:

Johnson burst off the bench with two outs in the eighth inning to deliver a two-run pinch homer, leading the Cubs to a zany 8-5 victory over Pittsburgh.

Pumping his fist as he ran to first and watched the ball plop into the left-field bleachers, the former Blue Jays reject felt like he was in another stratosphere for a few moments.

“It was probably the best moment for me on a baseball field,” Johnson said. “I’ve never had a curtain call before. I’ve always wondered, when I see [ Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee] go out there when they hit big home runs, what it would be like to get a curtain call.

“I was excited to get back in the dugout and celebrate with my teammates. To hear the crowd going crazy and my teammates telling me to go out there and give the crowd the acknowledgment — there’s no better feeling.”

Johnson may not be the best player on the Cubs, but he has come up with some absolutely HUGE hits for them.  Toronto’s loss was definitely the Cubs’ gain.

Steinbrenner 2?

According to this story on ESPN.com today, Mark Cuban is currently the highest bidder for the Chicago Cubs at $1.3 billion.  Personally, I would love to see him get the team.  It seems from the comments on the ESPN story, however, many people (mostly fans of other teams) would not.