Gimme some Glendon

Man, this team sure does battle. But the biggest absence of the day had to be Glendon Rusch. Now, correct me if i"m wrong, but isn't the only reason he's not in the rotation because he's our one solid long reliever. So why, after they had to pull wood (don't even get me started on that one) didn't we see Glendon. IS this really the situation you want Bartosh in. One run down in the 4th inning. Bartosh did absolutely fabulously, but why not, instead of Remlinger- Weurtz, bring in glendon for the rest of the game. You know odds are he's not going to let in those two other runs, and clearly Dusty has no faith in him, so why put him in in a one run game. With this offense, dusty needs to play like a one run deficit is just like a one run lead. this team can come from one behind much more ably than last year's team, so why not put in the long reliever here???

Just another stereotypically poorly managed bullpen losing the game for us.... It'd be one thing if Wood Had loaded the bases and he'd asked Bartosh or Weurtz to clean up after him, but this was well after Wood's issues. We need to have a lights out reliever who can stop the bleeding, not just postpone it.... so I say it again, next time one of our pitchers gets struck down in the early innings, (and believe me, if it's not wood again, it'll be someone, don't use a rookie who you don't trust to save a game, put in someone who can win a game. Put in Glendon!

Feelin' Good

Maybe its cause the cubs have won three straight and 4 out of their last 5. Maybe its because LaTroy saved one yesterday, or cause Maddux got his first victory of the year over his toughest competition. Or maybe its cause its my birthday and I'm a little drunk right now...

either way, I'm feelin' good. Listen, the Cardinals are not going to stay this hot. Now having said that its also probably important to mention that neither are Neifi Perez or Derek Lee. But I think the cardinals lineup will get the injury bug sooner or later and that's when the cubs can make-up ground. I mean, to think that with the injury problems combined with Bullpen issues and they're still 2+ .500, we should all be feelin' pretty good. This is the kind of month that would have normally buried the cubs, but not this team. This team is finally starting to take pitches and making the opposing pitchers work, while at the same time playing decent defense to back up their own pictures. (except for that play yesterday by Ramirez on Clemens' dribbler. He so should have just picked that one up and gunned him out. I mean, last time I checked, Clemens wasn't burning anybody with his speed lately, why not try to throw him out and the upside is you're out of the inning and Tavares has to lead off the next inning. even if ramirez overthrows lee, chances are clemens is so winded after beating one out at first, he's not gonne be thinking about 2nd. Now you're in a doubel play situation sure, but you've also got one of the speediest guys batting. Tough one to double up) , but hey, if I was ever right about these things, I'd actaully have a career in baseball. For now, I can just revel in the fact that i'm a year older, and the cubs will definitley finish april above .500. I feel Wood coming on tonight, and no, i'm not being perverted, although that was a pretty funny thing to say. I say, complete game. 1 run allowed, and only 1 walk. 120 pitches.

hehe, dare to dream

Wednesday WOOHOO

You have to admire the way this offense continues to battle back even with the sorry performance of the manager and bullpen to date. Last year, with the cubs down 3 and only two innings, especially if one of those two involved the 3-4-5 slots, I would have shut the game off and added it to the loss column. I mean, sosa and alou aren't the types to be kick-starting any rallies, but today was different.

Lee seems just plain possesed and Corey is insanely better out of the lead-off spot. The best thing about today's game was the amount of pitches they took. Not to say that they walked a lot more than usual, but they ran the counts up, and that is a new development. For the longest time my biggest beef with this team is that the Pitchers were afraid to throw strikes and the hitters were afraid to make them throw strikes. My philosophy on this (and that's not to imply that I'm the only one to ever say this) is that the Batter always has the advantage, the more pitches he sees. The cubs seemed to always take the oposite approach. See as few pitches as possible before swinging, and throw as many as possible before throwing a strike. ie. Dempster's performance today w/bases loaded. Well, it seems like at least the Batters are starting to turn around. Corey seems to be shortening his swing up a bit and Hairston seems a bit more comfortable every day he's in the lineup...

I'm trying to keep this post positive cause anyone can rip the cubs, that takes very little talent as there's a lot there to criticize, but to have had this many injuries and bullpen issues before the end of April, and still be one game over 500, we should all be counting our blessings and remember the Astros of last year and Marlins of '03 if looking for some example of a slow starter making noise, so lets all enjoy this day off, recover and get ready for a Bomb-fest in houston, it probably won't be pretty, but it should be a lotta fun... i feel like Aramis is gonna blow up down there...

Tuesday Tag-a-long

With the drama of last night firmly 24 hours behind us, we can forge ahead and watch Zambrano go for the 3 game streak...

Random thoughts.... there's not many holes in the cinci lineup, especially for the cubs pitchers who, all but Zambrano, give up lots of hard hit balls. It'd be nice to have one of those outfielders.

Top 1st- nice play by Aramis. I'm still worried about him getting lazy and unfocused after signing his contract. He still seems to be swinging and missing a lot more than he used to.

Wow....interesting play there. I don't think I've ever seen someone go from 2nd to home that often. And lees's throw was more off-line than usual. ..... let's see what carlos does here. he's really a guy that needs to settle quickly....well, like I said, we'll see...

You know what commercial doesn't get enough credit... The one where the guy working at the dry cleaner's who's riding around on the track... pure comedy

wow.. derek lee could really be the MVP for april. I think he's gotta be a lock for the gold glove, just off of some of the plays he's made already and he'd better be starting in the all star game. I know, pujols is there, but I've always thought that Pujols's defense is ovverated, I think that people look for him to have better offense than he does just to be able to call him a complete player... in other words, they call him good, but what they mean is "good for an offensive 1st baseman" I've never seen him dig so many out of the dirt. This is good though, they're not resting on their home run, but actually trying to add on.... Dusty Must be asleep or blindfolded, he wouldnt' let this go on so long....

Man, i go got get a drink from the fridge, and the score's 4-1. good thing we've got a solid bull-p.... oh..... s***t. Is rusch good to go tonite, and if he can't, who?? this could get real ugly real soon... okay, now I'm convinced, doing play by play entries is bad luck. i'm out for now.....

Monday Musings

Wow, I just turned my computer on. Did Neifi just hit another one. Has he been roid tested yet??
I think i need to go to the dentist. I have this toothache that is just kinda there, but just now, the back of my head started to hurt too. Can a toothache do that??

Well, I just sat back down to see the ball being thrown back over the wall. That's never a good sign.Wow, neifi's HR is a lot bigger now, and... fox is hurt. Man, you really gotta feel bad for the guy. After all he's come abck from. And you know dusty didn't want to use him if he didn't have to, so why did he? I guess cause Remlinger would have given up the HR to Dunn and Probably kearns after that. What about Bartosh, I've liked him when he's been in. So i guess we'll see who dusty chooses now. Another solid start from Prior is so great to see. I'm loving the Rotation right now and the box score for tonite looks good too. Hairston had a couple, neifi and lee both stayed hot.
Do we know why patterson sat for the 2nd straight day?? that doesn't make me feel good.

Does anyone know why they put so many days inbetween basketball games during the playoffs. Some of the teams thatplayed sunday won't play until Wed. No wonder they take like 5 months to finish. How come Baketball players can go Back To back on nights when they travel during the regular season but when they don't have to go anywhere during the playoffs, they get two nights off. I wish someone would explain this to me.

Well, I'm gonna pop a couple dozen advil and hope whatever this pain is goes away. Man, I hate the dentist.

Here's to hoping for 3 in a row!! (I know, I know, now I'm just getting greedy)

Final Sunday Musings

Whewww... I left the house after the Cubs Half of the 7th. I hate leaving in the middle of the game cause I can't see what's going on. Its weird, I feel more uneasy when I leave when they have the lead. (hmm, i wonder why). I've had some bad experiences with it. Last monday when It looked like they'd power ahead and stay ahead of the reds, I had to do some work stuff after like the 6th. Boom, phone buzzes on my way home, and the reds have won. DOH. The worst case of this was last may. I'm sure you all remember it. it was the double header against the pirates. I'm not sure but I believe this is the day Borrowski blew both by giving up a HR, but nevertheless, I was in the car listening to one of the two endings when it happened. I don't know why, but as much as it depresses me, i need to see these things happen, mostly because of the. "How did they....what the hell....NO!" factor.

So needless to say, today I was not in a good mood to have to be leaving. I wanted to see what happened in the ninth. Who dusty brought in, how the crowd reacted, etc...So the time between I left and when my phone finally buzzed me witht he results was not pleasant. I kept thinking, waiting for my phone to buzz, "what is taking so long. Well, the pirates must have tied it up and now they're in extras, hey maybe they'll still be playing when I get back home" Yeah, its an illness and I should seek help, but at least I always have 4 months to recover). And then finally, my phone goes off, and I see the score, 5-2 and I can rest easy again, at least for the next 24 hours or so. Of course tomorrow's their first night game, and I'm at work the whole time. What can I say, thank god for RR breaks and MLBTV.Com

I'm watching the Bulls game, haven't really been able to up till this point. Isn't it exciting to see playoff basketball on that court again. Ahh, the memories. And how could you not like this team. I'm gonna go now and watch the end of it, plus I wanna see if gammons has anything to say about the cubs. Have a good week, and Let's go for Two in a ROW!!!

Game Log +

Thought I'd just write my thoughts as they came today, rather than worry about jinxing anybody..

Top 1st- Ump looks to be squeezing wood a bit. Man Barret is good. You can go ahead and say that each runner thrown out, is like taking a run away. Even if its 1/2 a run that's still 4 "rbi's"

Does anyone like these new announcers? they sound like substitiute announcers, just kinda filling in. It doens't feel like they even like the cubs. Didn't they get rid of Stone and Carray cause they weren't "Homer" enough. These guys don't have any opinion on anything, except it seems like Brenley really likes himself.
... oh, and i noticed a typo from my posting yesterday. that's what i get for thinking about the Bears when I'm writing about the cubs...I meant that I liked the Cubs lineup and the Bears draft pick.

Bottom 1st- Interesting lineup today. I'm curious about this Cedeno kid but we'll see if he can take more pitches than Corey. Man, Neifi is hot, and look at that, the best hitter on the team not trying to pull the ball and moving the runner over. Maybe Aramis and Burny will take notice. I'm just hoping Aramis can take some pitches... and after 1 inning Runners Left ISP=1

Top 2nd- wood seems to be falling off to the left a bit. Something he was doing three years ago that got him in a major funk. Drops a double play chance, so there's another out he'll need to get.
Damnit! whenever he gets in a Jam, instead of going with a hard breaking pitch, he just grooves one middle in, and that's what happens
After 1 1/2 Innings pitt 2 cubs 0

I'm going to log off now cause I don't want t sit and write negative things for 2 straight hours, and at the rate the cubs are swinging at first pitches, 2 hours might be a generous estimate.

So, here's to hoping they'll get hot before the Pirates leave town!

Holy COW!! Neifi takes one out against the wind. What an inning! The guys locked in on William's mediocre fastball. I thought burnitz's ball had no chance, just as in Major League, "it looked too high".

So, we'll see if woody can hold on to this one, and I'm dying to see what dusty will do with a lead in the ninth. I'm hoping for Wuertz but we'll see.

Damnit this sucks, I have to go, so unless they go into WAY extra innings, I'll be getting the score on my cell phone, also a pretty cool invention, but lately its been quite depressing, almost mocking me it seems.

When It Snows, It Sucks

I'm bummed. And not just because they blew the game, but because I was really excited about how they battled, and mostly, I was really excited about posting something positive. It would have been so great. Patterson, the "goat" from the 7th inning comes through with a clutch HR when it matters most. It really would have been so refreshing after the crappy week that was. Then comes in Latroy.

I'm not going to bash him for his performance, because that's been done, but he said soemthing in Spring Training which should have tipped Hendry and Dusty off that he wasn't the guy to close. You may or may not remember it, but he said something to the extent of "I Like setting up better because there's room for error". Not only did he say what he liked doing better, but he used the Phrase "room for error". That's not something you want your closer thinking about. Honestly, you don't want really want him thinking anything except how to get three outs. I don't know what the solution is, But I know what I'll read from Dusty on cubs.com, that there is no problem.

Other thoughts: I like this Dubois kid, he seems like he could be real good sometime soon. I also liked the Bears lineup. Perez behind Barrett seemed good. Gives Barret a little bit of protection, not always being in front of the pitcher, and Perez is someone who can move a guy over, move over himself, and wreak some sort of "mini havoc" while the pitcher is up. Hairston - Patterson- Lee sems like a nice combo too. Is Ramirez swinging and missing a lot more this year than I remembered. Someone should tell him he already signed the contract and to relax. Oh wait, Baker wouldn't want to bruise his ego either would he?

In other news, I like the Bears first round pick. Benson seems like a solid Bet, but then again, so did Rashaad Salaam and Curtis Enis. Same type of backs too, which is a bit troubling. But I digress. Maybe the snow at the game was just an homage to draft day, or a predictor of the cubs season to come. We'll see.

Is It Snowing??

I just logged on to the MLBTV, which is by the way, the best invention ever. They even improved this year by not blacking out wed. games even if they're opposite the ESPN game. But I digress.
Is it really snowing there. unbelievable!!!

Well, they're up to the same old tricks. Perez just doubled er. singled into the corner because Barrett couldn't see the ball. Yeah, I understand, the ump didn't give the signal, but what was Spiers doing at third base? shouldn't he have had relatively the same view as the ump. Then maddux botches a sacrifice, can't score on Hairston's double, and boom, we're stuck with one run. Plus, since maddux didn't get the sacrifice right, he had to run the bases, instead of resting. We'll see if it disrupts him, but my money is on yuppers. And just as i type, he plugs the hitter. I wish I could say I had the power to jinx these guys, but they do enough to screw themselves than any one person could ever accomplish.

First time musings

This season is really starting to worry me. It just feels off. First of all, here's a math equation that doesn't add up.

Subtract 70 Homeruns and 160 RBI's (sosa and alou)
Subtract 15+ wins (clement)
Add- Jerry Hairston and Henry Blanco

I know that hindsight is 20/20 but I was never satisfied with nomar as the SS. it just never seemed like a good fit. He was a great aquisition last year to try to get us over the hump, but clearly he didn't give the team that lift either. I wished all winter that they would go after Cabrera or Renteria. Even Eckstein would have fit nicely and wouldn't have cost as much.

I hate being so down on a team that I had such high hopes for, but it says something to me that we have so much more talent than we did even 3 years ago, but something still doesn't feel right. I can only blame this feeling on Dusty and his shaky (at best) decisions. Hendry has surrounded him with such great talent, and he never seems to do the right thing, (or anything for that matter) I've never seen a team with fewer steals, sacrifice bunts, hit and runs, you name it, the cubs don't do it. They don't even take walks. I know dusty is known for letting the guys play, but at some point, you have to move a runner over, even if it would bruise Jeromy Burnitz's ego. And i don't think it would. But Dusty just lets them all just swing away, because I guess technically, anyone can hit a homerun on any given pitch, and runners are constantly stranded at 2nd base. Dusty's favorite saying is "putting the players in the position to succeed". But what about using the players to put the team in a position to win. And at this, he has done a piss poor job.

Well the pirates are in town, maybe we can make some headway and beat up on some of these teams not named The Cardinals.

Here's to keeping the hope alive, no matter how crappy the last game was.