Ozzie Gets it Right
Monday, June 23rd, 2008“They kick our butt.” - Ozzie Guillen, field manager of the Chicago White Sox following a series sweep by the Cubs 6/22/2008.
Archive for June, 2008
Let’s not get too giggly
Friday, June 20th, 2008The 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.
Shed no tears over Big-Z
Friday, June 20th, 2008With the diagnosis today of Carlos Zambrano having a minor strain of the shoulder, Cubs fans can breathe a sigh of relief. No torn labrums, no Tommy John, no rotator cuff…probably just some rest and some strength building exercises for Big Z.
Here is a comment from read Gregg, followed by my reply:
From Gregg:
I’m relieved the Cubs are out of Tampa Bay. What a mess that turned out to be. While the pitching seemed decent enough on this trip (save for last nights game), it was the lack of timely hitting that bothered me most. It’ll be interesting to see the results of Zambrano’s MRI. The way he was removed from the game the other night, and the fact that he’s missing a start worries me a little. Actually not a little, but a LOT! It seems we’ve been down this path before with Wood & Prior, and that this MRI is going to reveal some slight tear that’s going to shelve him indefinitely.
Reply from Clark Addison:
Well, this Cubs team is different than any in my memory. They are not dependent on a single player (or pitcher) as they truly are a team that seems to have a mix of contributors making it all happen. I agree that recent Cub teams were really counting on Wood & Prior and basically collapsed when they got injured. But this team feels different to me. When Soriano went down the first time and now again, it really hasn’t been such a huge loss. Same can be said for Hill going down to AAA and Marquis & Lilly starting off slowly – the team still manages to have the best record in baseball! Maybe this is Our Year??
11 out of 13 ain’t bad
Friday, June 20th, 2008With today’s spectacular win over the dreaded White Sox, the Cubs have impressively won 11 of the last 13 series-opening games. That’s an incredible stat, not unlike a pitcher getting strike one with the first pitch to a hitter. Winning the opening game of a series puts the opposing team on the defensive and slides momentum slightly in the Cubs favor. So much of this game is about trends and momentum its just great to see a stat like this.
Cubs-Sox rivalry unmatched, but some don’t get it
Friday, June 20th, 2008My wife just doesn’t get it; how can a Chicago baseball fan not support the White Sox when they win? She understands my affection (obsession?) for the game, but she cannot comprehend the Cubs versus Sox rivalry. My wife is beautiful, brilliant, insightful, charming, and in fact has a PhD in psychology, but my utter disdain for all things White Sox is baffling to her. During the 2005 playoffs and World Series, she was actually angry with me for rooting against the only Chicago team still playing at that time. Such is life as a Cubs fan.
With the first place Chicago Cubs bringing their MLB best win-loss record to Wrigley to host the first place White Sox this weekend, one of the most charged rivalries in professional sports is renewed. Some of the players involved say its just another game, but I don’t believe it as they must pick up on the energy the fans bring to the Cubs-Sox games. Cheering and booing on every pitch, mid-inning chants (some not suitable for families), crushing media coverage… it matches a playoff atmosphere usually reserved for October. There is no way the players aren’t affected by that. You can still get tickets through Stub Hub for Wrigley, or for next weekend’s series on the South Side. Or you can be like me and hang on every pitch on radio & TV, with MLB’s Gameday showing pitch by pitch location, and wish you were there to soak it all in.
Yank’s loss of Wang could cost Cubs
Monday, June 16th, 2008With Chien-Ming Wang’s foot injury likely to keep him out the remainder of the season, that could cost the Cubs in their ability to make deadline deals in July. The Yankees already had pitching problems contributing to their dismal start to the season. Granted, many franchises would be pretty happy being 4 games over .500 at this point, but the Yanks tend to have higher expectations.
With the Yankees in desperate need of starting pitching, the winning bidder will likely pay a dear price for the services of CC Sabathia and any other front line starter that may become available prior to the July 31 trading deadline. And the team the doesn’t get Sabathia might have to settle for more of a 4th or 5th caliber starter. So this injury could be very costly to our beloved Cubbies…
Stumble It!
