Clark & Addison Blog - CubHub.net

Ok, whether you are a ticket holder for the 9-game Cubs homestand that begins tomorrow at Wrigley or not, I have some game day tips for you…

Tickets - if you don’t tickets yet, go immediately to StubHub.com and take your pick!

Seats - whether tickets are in hand or not, check out the view from your section

Parking - see our tips page on parking and navigating Wrigleyville like a pro

Cubs Wear - get your Cubs wear from Amazon, or your Fukudome #1 headband

Dogs - if you can’t go, pick up Chicago’s finest hot dogs and tailgate in your driveway!

Where is the venom?  Where is the competitiveness?  Why aren’t these teams taking it personally? 

What’s missing from the Cubs-Brewers rivalry is some old fashioned animosity. We need some bean-balls, some hard slides, a bench clearing brawl to spice up this rivalry.  There is just too much respect and professionalism between these two ballclubs. It just doesn’t fit for how they beat each other up on the scoreboard and how they always seem to rise to meet the occasion when playing each other. 

There was another story today about arrests following a brawl in the stands during last nights game at Miller Park. The fans get it, why don’t the teams?  Its very different when the Cubs play the Cardinals or the White Sox - even the Astros. But its all niceness when they play the Brewers.  What’s up with that?  C’mon guys!

Cubs make it two in a row over the Brewers at Miller Park last night with a dominating 7-1 performance, extending their division lead to a full 3 games.  Carlos Zambrano overwhelmed the Brew Crew and their ace, Ben Sheets in convincing fashion.  With Sheets and Sabathia chalking up losses, I like our chances with remaining series match-ups of Ryan Dempster and Rich Harden facing Manny Parra and Dave Bush respectively. On paper, it all looks good but of course on any given day…

The rival Milwaukee Brewers had a brief share of first place in the NL Central over the weekend, a spot the Cubs had owned for the previous 61 days. With the Cubs 9-6 win at Wrigley yesterday and the Brewers loss to Houston, the Cubs are back in sole possession of first. Tonight’s game one of four against the Brew-crew at Miller Park could be huge if either club dominates.  Usually though, with two heavyweights pounding on each other, neither will likely manage a sweep, which may be good for the Cubs.

The Brewers have been red hot of late, winning 8 of their last 10 games. The Cubs on the other hand have been treading water winning 4 of their last 10. In spite of the surge by Milwaukee and the Cubs sagging offense, in reality the Brewers have only picked up 3.5 games on the Cubs since July 1st.  The numbers say the Brewers will cool a bit and the Cubs will pick it up a bit in the coming weeks, and that should put the Cubs back in command of the Central Divison.  The Cardinals are fading fast, and I think most baseball pundits would agree the Cards were doing it with smoke and mirrors anyway.

Tonight we see CC Sabathia against Ted Lilly and tomorrow Ben Sheets meets Carlos Zambrano.  Should be very interesting to see who steps up here and who fades back.  The Cubs need to serve notice that they are the big dogs in town - sending a message that the Cubs are here to stay this year.

Man, what more can you ask from a guy than what Rich Harden has provided since coming to the Cubs?  In three games, they guy has been ridiculous; 17.1 innings, 30 k’s, just 8 hits, a 1.04 ERA and all he has to show for it is an 0-1 record.  With the exception of two solo homer runs, Harden has been absolutely lights out as a Cub.  Its unrealistic to expect him to be this good, but if he’s anything close to this good for the remainder of the year, his wins will come in a big way.

Right now all the focus is on CC Sabathia’s three straight complete games and 4-0 record since joining the surging Brewers. But Rich Harden has been every bit as good for the slumping Cubs team. This will even out to be sure. Sabathia does have 8 losses this year, so the guy is mortal.

On a side note, Harden is batting .000 with 6 strikeouts in 6 at-bats.  CC is is 2-for-13, but has a double and a homer. He’s no Carlos Zambrano!  Big Z is hitting an astonishing .356 with 3 doubles, a triple and 2 homers. Might as well starting engraving the Silver Slugger award for Big Z!

The sale of the Chicago Cubs franchise is heating up with the inital round of 10 reported groups in the bidding now reduced to 5 for the second go-round.

Crain’s Chicago Business posted this detailed article on the bidders moving to the second round of negotiations to buy the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field, and a 25% stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago.  We’ve all see plenty of reports of Mark Cuban and John Canning’s Madison Dearborn Partners groups in on the bidding, but this article gives more names and backgrounds on those groups moving on in the process.  Canning’s group is not among them, but I do not count them out.  His is full of A-Lister Chicago moguls and Canning himself is already an approved minority shareholder in the Brewers franchise.  I still think he has the inside track, but apparently Mark Cuban won’t fail for lack of trying.  This could get very interesting…

2 more bidders make cut to buy Cubs

July 25, 2008

(Reuters) — Real estate executive Hersch Klaff and media investor Leo Hindery are among the five groups Tribune Co. approved to continue bidding on the Chicago Cubs baseball team, sources briefed on the matter said. Tribune narrowed the potential list of bidders for the Cubs and the other assets on Wednesday, eliminating any groups that had bid less than $1 billion.

The other three approved bidders are Internet billionaire Mark Cuban; Tom Ricketts, chief executive of Chicago securities and investment bank Incapital LLC and son of the founder of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.; and Michael Tokarz, chairman of MVC Capital Inc., two sources said. Both requested anonymity because the sale process is ongoing.

The groups also are bidding on the Cubs’ home ballpark, Wrigley Field, and a 25 percent stake in a regional sports TV network.

Hindery runs private equity firm InterMedia Partners and previously ran Yes Network, the TV channel of the New York Yankees baseball team, and AT&T Broadband. A spokesman for him had no comment.

Klaff could not be reached. He is president of a privately held Chicago real estate investment company focused on acquiring U.S. office and distressed retail space.

Also approved, but teaming up with Tokarz, is a group led by New York City taxi tycoon Andrew Murstein, said a third source, who also requested anonymity.

The Tokarz group includes private equity investor and Republican operative Fred Malek, who previously bid on the Washington baseball team and was once part owner of the Texas Rangers club.

Murstein’s group, Sports Properties Acquisition Corp., includes former home run king Henry Aaron and Jack Kemp, a former U.S. congressman and star quarterback in the National Football League.

Tribune, which owns the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times newspapers, is selling the Cubs and the other assets to cut debt it took on when it went private in an $8.2 billion deal led by real estate magnate Sam Zell.

Tribune plans to keep a 5 percent stake in the team in a deal that could save the company millions of dollars in taxes, a source previously told Reuters.

A Tribune spokesman said the company would not comment on the sales process other than to say officials are focused on maximizing the return.

Notre Dame football phenom Jeff Samardzjia made his Cubs debut today at Wrigley Field, striking out the first major league batter he faced (Marlin pinch hitter Alfredo Amezaga) with a 97mph heater.  Welcome to the Bigs, kid.

Next batter Hanley Ramirez then singled, stole second, and Samardzjia promptly air-mailed a pitchout for a wild pitch. The rook’s probably rattled a bit which is to be understood. He gave up a single to tie the game in his first inning of work, but the kid did ok, going 1-2-3 in his second inning.  Interesting that Lou brought him in to debut in a tight game - usually a rookie debuts during ‘garbage time’ of a lopsided game.  That shows some confidence in his abilities and character.

Samardzjia was a standout on the vaunted University of Notre Dame football team and was projected as a possible first round NFL pick.  But he chose baseball instead and the Cubs got him with a 5-year, $10 million rookie deal.  He struggled in A and AA ball, but was remarkable at times for AAA Iowa so he gets the brief nod to get a taste of the big leagues in Kerry Wood’s absence.  He (like I wrote about Micah Hoffpauir) won’t be here long, as they say, he’s here for a cup of coffee.  Just a little motivation for him to see what he’s working for - to pitch in front of a packed and rockin’ Wrigley Field. 

I think Cub fans suffer some degree of post-traumatic stress when it comes to key injuries and late summer division leads. 

With the hopes of the franchise resting on the shoulders/arms of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior in the first part of this decade, it was bitterly disappointing to watch them self destruct with injury after injury. So when the news came down today that Woody would be making his 12th career trip to the Disabled List, Cub nation seemed to react some degree of doomsday feelings. In reality, Wood has been out 10 days already, so he will only miss a few more before rejoining the team as closer. GM Jim Hendry made a statement prior to today’s game that while Kerry’s blister was getting better, he is still a few days out and probably needs to throw some before he returns to live action. So he said that puts him on target for a Tuesday or Wednesday return to action.  See - not so bad.

With the surging Brewers and the Cardinals hanging around, the Cubs division lead has dwindled to just 1 game going into todays action. So the nay-sayers are coming out from under their rocks (mostly Sox fans, I would guess) with the smack talk of how the Cubbies are wilting and how they knew this team wouldn’t go all the way.  Some fans who lived through 1969 are still trying to make sense of what happened that year as well. 

The 2008 Chicago Cubs are not the 1969 Cubs, and the 2008 Kerry Wood is not necessarily the Wood-Prior of ‘04, ‘05, & ‘06.  Wood’s medical issue is not an arm or a shoulder or an elbow - its just a blister. Josh Beckett gets blisters. Heck, Big Daddy Rick Reuschel used to get blisters all the time too.

I say, cut ’em some slack, have some faith, and enjoy the ride!  All teams go through peaks and valleys throughout a long baseball season.  And during this discouraging stretch - whatta ya know - the Cubs are still in first place and starting to make some noise again!