This is the Year?

On the eve of the second Cubs/Cardinals series (this time at Busch Stadium) I thought I would take a cue from Solly, and give my take on the state of the Cubs as well as the NL Central in general.

First of all, let’s take a look at the NL Central standings 16 games in:

You’re reading that right.  Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are ahead of the Cubs.  I never doubted that St. Louis would be up there.  They always find a way to stay competitive.  As much as I hate Tony LaRussa, you have to give him credit for that.  But the Reds and the Pirates?  I realize it’s early, but no one thought things would be taking shape like this.

Peavy’s Pissed!

So, it’s been forever since any of us has posted anything here at 3 Men and a Blind Guy.  With the recent Jake Peavy to the Cubs debacle, I figured now was as good a time as any.  Jon Heyman at CNNSI.com posted this today.

LAS VEGAS — Padres star pitcher Jake Peavy is “frustrated” by the team’s inability to trade him after threatening to do so for months and “shaken” over the Padres’ latest failure to deal him to the Cubs after weeks of talks, Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod said.

“We tried to cooperate as best we could,” Axelrod told SI.com in a phone interview. “Frankly, Jake is frustrated now more than ever. And I’m more frustrated than ever.”

Trade talks between the Padres and Cubs broke down with Cubs people complaining about the way San Diego was doing business. But if the Cubs are annoyed (and they are, as several Cubs officials expressed annoyance over the Padres continuing push for more players and the media leaks coming from somewhere that were revelatory about which Cubs were being included in potential deals), Peavy is almost as annoyed.

He goes on to write:

After weeks of waiting, Axelrod indicated that Peavy was becoming adjusted to the idea of moving to Chicago to become a Cub, only to have that possibility pulled out from under him in the latest Padre failure.

“It’s tough. Jake was pretty shaken by it,” Axelrod said. “He was starting to think about what life was like to be a Chicago Cub, and now that was taken from him.”

Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me like Towers really screwed this one up.  It sounded like it was a done deal several times, only to have something else come up.  It’s almost as if Towers got greedier and greedier each time a proposal was made and Jim Hendry finally told him to forget about it.

Personally, I think if Jake really is as upset as this article suggests, there is no way he can go back to the Padres.  There have been too many bridges burned.  In my opinion, if you are Towers, you have to go back to Hendry with your tail between your legs and revisit the talks.  If you don’t, you risk further alienating Peavy and, more importantly, Axelrod.  And if Towers ever wants any of Axelrod’s clients to ever sign with San Diego, he better do something to placate the two of them.

Cubs with an All-World Rotation in 2009?

I know, I know.  It’s football season.  Why are you still talking about baseball?  Well, it’s because of this little tidbit from Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that was just posted the Fox website about an hour ago:

Imagine a Cubs rotation that featured Jake Peavy, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly and Rich Harden.

The team is trying to make it happen.

The Cubs have emerged as a front-runner in the Peavy sweepstakes, perhaps even ahead of the Braves, according to major-league sources.

The club also is willing to give Dempster a four-year contract, sources say, a decision that should put them in good position to retain the free-agent right-hander.

HO-LEE-SHIT!

That would be one Hell of a rotation.  If the Cubs were somehow able to pull that off, and make the trade for Brian Roberts?  Well, as we all know from the last 2 years, a talented regular season team doesn’t mean squat, but I sure would like their chances.

Stand by Your Cubs

OK, I’ve calmed down a bit now, but something still pisses me off.  Ever since the latest Cubs’ no-show in the playoffs, several “fans” have made public displays of renouncing their fandom.  They are giving up.  A couple fans are even auctioning off their loyalty to another team on eBay.  Well, you know what I say?  Good riddance.  Don’t let the bandwagon run over you as you jump off.  That’s more tickets for the real fans.  And because I couldn’t say it any better, here is a great article by Greg Couch of the Chicago Sun-Times.

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.

Panic Room

I’ve been trying to avoid references to 2007 for as long as possible but after seeing tonight’s deflating, lifeless, lethargic 7-2 loss to the last place Nationals, I can’t help but rewind to last year when the Mets were losing the same games to the same teams in the same way.  For fuck’s sake, they got handcuffed by a team with 93 losses and we still have two more weeks to play!

I always thought what separated this bunch from last year’s was the ability to re-group after a tough loss and win a few in a row.  It happened after blowing the 5-2 lead to the Phillies at Shea and the 7-0 game in Philly and after yesterday’s horrific meltdown against the Braves, I felt going to DC was exactly what the Mets needed. Instead it seems like the team is just hell-bent on ripping off those year-old scabs and taking their fans through another September to Misremember (thanks Rog).

13 games left… 3 in Washington, 3 in Atlanta, 4 against the hopefully already clinched Cubs, and fittingly the Marlins wrap up Shea with a 3 game set, just like they did in 2007.  If these guys have any pride or balls, the results will be different.

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.

Mixed Feelings

Ok so the Phillies lost a crucial game to the Marlins last night 10-8.  That sucks, a loss always sucks.  But maybe, just maybe, there was something kind of positive in it?  The Phillies were down 9-1 after about 4 innings or so, and they fought back to make it a game.  That is some kind of plus, right? I mean, most teams would have packed it in, pulled their starters and played this one out.

But then again, it was still a loss.  And with the Mets somehow not imploding (well they did somewhat, they were up 2-0 and 5-2 and blew those leads) and holding on to beat the Nationals 10-8, that puts the Phillies 2.5 back in the division with 17 left to play.  Hey, it was 7.5 back with 17 left to play last year so anything is possible.  We are also only 3 games behind the Brewers in the Wild Card standings, and we start a 4 game series with them Thursday in Philadelphia.  I am sure the Cubs would be thrilled with a Phillies sweep, well listen up Cubbies, we’re not doing this for you!

Seriously, who would have thought that a September series would be so big?  While we are playing the Brewers, the Mets are playing the Braves, who do suck, but somehow have seemed to own the Mets this year.  If the Phillies can do well against the Brewers and the Braves continue their DOMINANCE (well, ok, it’s only 7-5, but still) we could be in good position in both the division and wild card.

Good god, I have been reduced to pulling for the Braves.  I have always liked the…………you know, no, I can’t finish that.

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.