Clark & Addison Blog - CubHub.net

It’s Sunday morning. Grab yourself a nice cup of coffee and click here to vote for the best possible NL All Star lineup.  And do it 25 times (that’s legal). Just a few days left to vote so do not delay… As Cubs fans, we should all be very concerned about fielding the best possible NL team for the All Star game.  If the NL wins, that means home field advantage in the World Series! As Nike would say, Just Do It.

See also: http://blog.cubhub.net/2008/06/03/vote-with-your-head-not-with-your-heart/

In their past 5 games, the Cubs have left 34 runners on base, leading to losing 4 of those last 5 games. In the game they won, the stranded 4 base runners; in the losses they stranded 30.  A team can’t leave that many runners on base and expect to win very many games.

After Derrek Lee grounded into two key double plays yesterday, he redeemed himself today by going 5 for 5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBIs. Still, in the 9th inning today against a mortal looking Bobby Jenks, Lee represented the tying run at 3rd base with 1 out and we couldn’t find a way to get him home.  A decent sac-fly from Ramirez, a bloop single from Edmonds… nope, the clutch hitting just wasn’t there. 

The team is a little banged up, but we have to find a way to get runners in once they reach base if we want to get back on track. 

The Cubs were 25 games over .500 on June 28, 1977.  In an all too familiar late season collapse, the ‘77 Cubs finished at .500 (81-81), in sole possession of 4th place, 20 games back of the Phillies.  They spent 62 days in first place and simply wilted down the stretch, going 20-38 in August & September.  Ug.

Moral of the story is to not get too caught up in the “team of destiny” stuff and stay focused on the prize.  Win games one at a time and move on.  Lou does a nice job of rotating guys around so hopefully this Cubs team will have better stamina.  Certainly Alfonso Soriano should be well rested with his two trips to the DL so far this year.

Is it harder to steal on lefties?

June 27, 2008

If you ask my son Jason, it’s not just harder, it’s impossible.

I coached my son in little league throughout his grammar school years, eight years in all. I wouldn’t trade a minute of it. Here’s my favorite story:

Jason was about 11 years old. He was never a power hitter, but he was always one of my best baserunners. He stole bases pretty much at will, but on this occasion, he was on first base with a left-handed pitcher looking right at him from the mound. This was the first lefty he ever faced; it had always been right-handed pitchers on the mound who had to turn their heads to see him on first base. The pitcher made a couple of tosses over to first, and Jason shortened his normal lead to about three and a half inches off the bag. Nevertheless, I gave Jason the steal sign from the coach’s box at third base. I also gave the take sign to the batter so that Jason could steal second. Jason never missed my signs before, but this time he didn’t steal. Prior to the next pitch, I gave the sign again and, because the first pitch was a ball, I gave the take again to the batter. Once again Jason didn’t go. I called time out and waived my first base coach to talk to Jason. In the meantime, I told the batter that since the count was 2-0, to go ahead and take the next pitch so Jason could steal second.

The pitcher was oblivious to what was happening, but he made another token throw over to first to hold Jason close to the bag. I looked over to Jason at first, and I swear, I could see fear in his eyes. But I gave him the steal sign again. The pitch came in; the batter took the pitch again, but this time for a strike. And Jason was standing at first base.

Now I was flabbergasted and I decided to make my sign real clear. At the top of my lungs, I yelled across the diamond, “Jason, steal second! Jason, steal second!”, and I gave the take sign again to the batter. The pitcher looked over at me with a very surprised look on his face. And he started throwing to first over and over again. And after each throw, I yelled, “Jason, steal second!”. After about five throws to first, the pitcher finally delivered to home. The batter took the pitch, and Jason was off to the races. He slid in to second, easily beating the throw.

And the coach on the other team yelled over to me, “Hey coach, I think we know your signs!”

So, is it harder to steal on lefties in the majors? Yes. Here’s the data for the last six and a half years:

Here is the success rate for each year:

Source: Baseball Info Solutions (through games of Thursday, June 26, 2008)

Used with permission from John Dewan’s Stat of the Week™, www.statoftheweek.com.

Ok Cubs fans; we swept the White Sox in dramatic and emphatic fashion last weekend.  Now let’s get to the ‘Cell and wear our Cubbie-best to show our support in enemy territory!  If you don’t have tickets yet, go to Stub Hub and get yourself a pair! Then pull your favorite Cubs jersey, shirt, or (yeah!) tubetop out of your closet and wear it with pride on the Southsider’s home turf.  Don’t have a jersey or shirt? Go to Amazon or FansEdge and get one today! Or check get a Kosuke Fukudome head band from Bleacherband to honor the Cubs outstanding Right Fielder (don’t even think about those offensive “Horry Cow” shirts - take the high road on this one).

The Cub Fan To-Do List:

1. Get tickets to invade US Cellular this weekend from Stub Hub
2. Bust our your Cubbie blue wear or pick up a jersey from FansEdge or Amazon
3. If budget is a concern, get a $10 Fukudome head band from BleacherBand
4. Make US Cellular into a home field for the Cubs this weekend!

On the national broadcast of Sunday night’s Cubs-Sox game on ESPN, Joe Morgan did it again. It’s well discussed that he frequently makes inaccurate statements, passed off as historical truth or informed analysis, but I doubt most of them are intentional, they are simply mistakes. I know, I know, Harry Caray often called the wrong player’s name or thought he saw a routine warning track out land in the bleachers for a home run. That is different than Morgan’s tendency to fabricate elaborate stories (as he did Sunday night) that are pure fantasy.

Seems like Morgan’s Cub hating was likely born of his days with the Big Red Machine when they routinely whomped the lowly Cubs in the mid 1970’s.  But in looking it up, I was surprised (impressed?) the Cubs actually fought the Reds pretty hard in the 70’s, and with some very bad Cubs teams.  Their overall record against Cincinnati in the 1970s was 59-61, just 2 games under .500.  My memory was that it was much more lopsided and I would be correct in looking at the 1975 Cubs who were 1-11 vs the Reds.  Take that season away and the Cubs have a solid winning record against what some view as one of the better teams in baseball history, Sparky Anderson’s Cincinnati Reds.

So maybe Morgan holds a grudge because some pretty bad Cubs teams held their own against his mighty Big Red Machine.  Whatever the cause, it is indisputable the Joe Morgan despises the Chicago Cubs organization and seldom passes an opportunity to disrespect any aspect of this storied franchise. 

On Sunday night, he entertained the national TV audience with a fanciful, imaginary tale of how the basket on the top of the Wrigley outfield wall was called “Banks’ Boulevard” because Ernie hit so many of his home runs there.  Wha???  I have never in all my years heard the term “Banks’ Boulevard” and seemingly from the callers and hosts on Chicago sports radio today, no one else has either.

In fact, the record will show that PK Wrigley installed the famous basket as a deterrent to Bleacher Bums who used to hang their legs over the wall to be tempted to jump down on the field. Furthermore, the basket was installed in 1970 - after our beloved Mr. Cub had already hit 497 of his 512 career home runs!  What planet is Joe Morgan from anyway??

What are the odds Joe Morgan will “man-up” and correct his absolute fabrication of history on this week’s Sunday night national game on ESPN at US Cellular?  I would guess similar to the odds of Joe Morgan showing up to Ryne Sandberg’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2005.  As Vice Chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Mr. Joe Morgan cited a “previous commitment” preventing him from attending the annual induction ceremony of the best Second Baseman in NL history, Ryne Sandberg.  Tell me how the 2nd highest ranking HOF official, the Vice Chairman, makes a “previous commitment” on the one day a year when the nation’s attention is focused on the Hall of Fame?  I contend he boycotted because he couldn’t handle - even for just one day - his own accomplishments being over-shadowed by a Cubbie.

Joe Morgan is a putz. And he is a mean-spirited, small-minded coward if he doesn’t set the record straight for the National TV audience this coming Sunday. I challenge you Mr. Joe Morgan to tell the country you lied to disparage Ernie Banks, the Cubs fans, and the Cubs organization.

“They kick our butt.” - Ozzie Guillen, field manager of the Chicago White Sox following a series sweep by the Cubs 6/22/2008.

The Cubs win today in dramatic fashion over the Sox with an Aramis Ramirez walk-off homer.  This is a great win, in spite of a tired team that arrived back in Chicago from Florida after getting swept by the Rays at 1am, just 12 hours before the scheduled first pitch. My feeling is the electric atmosphere of rockin’ Wrigley Field propelled the Cubs to step up and beat the Sox at their own game - the long ball. How sweet it is to win in walk-off fashion but to do it over the crosstown rivals is extra good.

But this is one game, with two more sure to be draining games coming tomorrow afternoon and Sunday night. And its just one win in a 162 game season.  Long way to go, but these are the games you have to win.  They were just swept on the road by a pesky young Tampa Bay team. They got in late, there was no batting practice due to weather, they were facing the Sox, admittedly second-class citizens in this town and obviously envious of the attention paid to the Northsiders. The Sox came in hot after just sweeping the Pirates at home, hitting 10 HRs out of their 44 hits in that series. But the Cubs stepped up and made it happen. Bottom of the ninth muscle from A-Ram, his second dinger of the day to win in come from behind fashion.  This is a big, big game, but as Lou likes to say: let’s not get too giggly here. But enjoy the win nonetheless.