Archive for August, 2008

Dunn-less Reds Have Less Bite

Dusty’s Cincinnati Reds are a mere shadow of their already meager former selves with the absence of notorious Cub killer, Adam Dunn.  The big redheaded slugger hit a whopping 38 home runs against the Cubs in his career with 7 of them coming off of Carlos Zambrano alone.  The guy just plain feasted on Cubs pitching, [...]

August 19, 2008   Posted in: observations, rivalries, stats  One Comment

Cubs 98.9% Playoff Bound

The good folks at BaseballProspectus have run a simulation to determine the statistical chances of teams making the 2008 playoffs. Running the remainder of the season one million times, they show the Cubs as 89.12% certain to win the division, with another 9.81% chance of being the Wild Card entry, if they were come in second [...]

August 19, 2008   Posted in: rivalries, standings, stats  2 Comments

Cubs Never Out of It

No matter how flat the team seems on a given day – they had just 5 hits going into the 9th inning last night – they always seem to have a good chance to win. Listening to the radio call last night, I hear Pat Hughes channeling Jack Brickhouse in trying to sell me the [...]

August 16, 2008   Posted in: game strategy, observations, oldschool, the media  5 Comments

Theriot consistently above expectations

What can you say about Ryan Theriot? The guy has been a rock solid stud all year. He’s a playmaker in the field, shows up everyday, keeps his mouth shut, steals a few bags, and how about his numbers at the plate – check these out: Past 7 days:  he’s 9 for last 21 at bats with [...]

August 15, 2008   Posted in: observations, players, stats  One Comment

Cubs getting it done on the road

A rarity. The Cubs are putting the bat on the ball – on the road. Obviously this is a good sign as this ballclub has really hit well at home, but comes dramatically down to earth on the road. The 4-game sweep of the Brewers in Milwaukee, and now a 3-game sweep in Atlanta. Over these [...]

August 14, 2008   Posted in: observations  No Comments

Go Cubs Go song at Wrigley Field

Chicago folk artist and long suffering Cub fan, Steve Goodman, was commissioned by WGN radio back in 1984 to write an up-beat Cubs song to help boost the marketing of the ’84 Cubs.  Goodman already had written and performed the acerbic “Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request” and (as I understand the story) Dan Fabian from WGN asked him [...]

August 11, 2008   Posted in: CubHub.net Site Update, game day, oldschool  One Comment

Jim Edmonds makes his bones as a Cub

Now I am willing to reconsider my position on Jim Edmonds as a Cub.  My original assertion was that he had to beat his old team, the dreaded Cardinals to ‘make his bones’ as it were, in Cubs pinstripes.  With today’s two HR day, along with a sparkling diving catch, I now finally accept Jim [...]

August 8, 2008   Posted in: Jim Hendry, observations, players, rivalries, roster  No Comments

8/8/88 revisited

Twenty years ago today was the first scheduled night game at Wrigley Field. Knowing the managers at Cubby Bear and being a totally and completely broke aspiring rock music drummer, I took a one-night only job as a bar back at Cubby for that momentous and festive evening. In the weeks leading up to 8/8/88, I saw various stages [...]

August 8, 2008   Posted in: Wrigley Field, oldschool, on this date  No Comments

John Dewan’s Stat of the Week™

Who uses their closers in tough situations? Does it seem to you, like it seems to me, that the only way managers use their closers these days is to start the ninth inning? Usually the best pitcher on the team is the closer. If I were managing, I’d use him when it matters most, whether [...]

August 4, 2008   Posted in: John Dewan, stats  No Comments