With much curiosity but no ceremony, the newest Cubs, Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin arrived at Wrigley Field late yesterday afternoon to join their new team. With their gear in Oakland Athletics duffle bags, they arrived via giant SUV in time for Tuesday night’s game against the Reds of Cincinnati.
Photo of Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin arriving at Wrigley Field 7/9/08:
With Harden and Gaudin come high expectations and cautious hope. Still, many Cub fans seem reluctant to express outwardly their secret, perhaps even desperate hopes for the club’s first successful post-season in 100 years. By “successful” of course I mean to define success as bringing a World Championship to the North side of Chicago.
I was saying to a friend the other day that I want ‘the Cubs to go all the way this year, baby!’ He chided me - seriously - for saying such a thing out loud. He said that really isn’t a good idea, even not cool. Now he is a die hard fan like I am, but he feared somehow upsetting the baseball Gods, or squandering whatever karmic collateral the Cubs have built up could have an effect on the season. Sometimes its just hard to hope - out loud.
I think it would be a mistake to assign too much responsibility to Rich Harden. There has been talk the Cubs will go easy on him, letting him go an extra day this week so his Cubs debut will be Saturday. Then he will reportedly get the fourth start after the All Star Break which would put him at eight days rest. This is the right thing to do, go easy on him, keep the pressure down, cut him tons of slack… because we will need him in the playoffs, baby!
Photo of his first ever throw as a Cub, playing long toss with Larry Rothschild prior to Tuesday’s game:
Even though Jim Hendry denies it, trading for Rich Harden clearly serves the purpose of an answer to the Brewers getting CC Sabathia for the stretch run. The fans are invigorated, the team seems charged by the news, the beat writers are all over it. Not since the Cubs acquisition of Nomar Garciaparra has there been such excitement over a mid-season trade. Fun stuff.
In giving up Sean Gallagher, it figures the Cubs had to give to get. He will probably be a good pitcher for years to come, but sure worth the gamble to get 15 starts out of Harden. When the Cubs got Rick Sutcliffe in 1984 they had to give up Joe Carter and Mel Hall, a hefty price to pay. At least as of today, the Harden trade doesn’t look all that balanced. Eric Patterson has certainly showed flashes, but there really was no room for him in the Cubs infield plans. He was a butcher in the outfield so certainly worth letting go of. Matt Murton is a good role-player, but again no room for him on this Cubs team. Hendry made the statement that everyone wanted to hear: The Chicago Cubs are going for it all this year.
Soon enough, a headline somewhere is going to read “Cubs start Harden, finish with Wood”. And really, what’s not to like about that?
The Milwaukee Brewers’ acquisition of CC Sabathia is being rejoiced widely in Cheeseland. Not unlike the day the Cubs acquired Nomar Garciaparra in a trade deadline deal, the Brewers fandom is now making plans for the ticker tape parade down Suds Boulevard come the end of October. ‘Schlemiel, Schlimazel, Hasenpfeffer incorporated’, indeed.
But in reality, I don’t know how many games the brew-crew will pick up due to the Hefty Lefty. If you’re trading up your fifth starter for Sabathia, you are probably trading a guy who might go 5-10 for a beefy guy who might get you 10-5. That’s just a five game pickup. So if CC Rider is truly the difference maker, you would have had to have the Cubs winning the division by less than 6 games over the Brewers. Sure, it puts some heat on the Northsiders, and there’s a lot of PR collateral generated by a small market team landing a big (really big) fish. But Cub fans should just hold on tight and realize - all else being equal - that the Cubs will likely win the division by fewer games as a result of Milwaukee getting Sabathia.
Of course, had Jim Hendry landed CC for the Cubs, that would have been a deal-killer for the rest of the NL Central. But instead we will likely have a race to the finish line. The Cubs are presently on pace for 98 win season, which should put away the Brewers & Cardinals by plenty. Anything can happen down the stretch, but I for one am not hanging my head with the news that Prince Fielder now has a running mate at the post-game buffet.
Media types like to associate the wind or the coziness of Wrigley Field with big home run numbers. Visiting media tend to link the term “Windy City” with the weather. Actually, Chicago was first called the Windy City due to the blustery civic rhetoric used by the city fathers to promote the rebuilding of Chicago following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. As a city being rebuilt, there were lots of claims of newer, better, bigger that ruffled some feathers out East. So Chicago was dubbed the Windy City for the civic-minded propaganda, not the weather. But I digress..
The facts will show the wind actually blows in a full two-thirds of the season on average, with most of the days it blows out (S-SW wind) coming in the heat of summer. The dimensions of 353′ & 355′ down the lines are actually among the longest in the majors. True to say the park holds fewer fans than most, and the seats are very close to the field, but the playing dimensions are actually pretty respectable when compared to the other major league ballparks.
So far this year, Wrigley Field ranks 9th overall in HRs (US Cellular is first), although the Cubs have played at home more than not. In 2007 Wrigley ranked 8th in HRs, in 2003 17th, and in 2001 ranked 22nd overall. And Sammy Sosa alone hit 53 home runs at Wrigley in ‘01 & ‘03. So I contend Wrigley Field isn’t such a hitters paradise as the national media might lead you to believe. (And don’t get me started again on Joe Morgan and his ineptness)
Sheffield and Waveland Home Runs in 2008
The following is a breakdown of the 8 home runs hit at Wrigley Field that have landed on the streets of Sheffield Ave. (right field) and Waveland Ave. (left field) so far this season.
Cubs: 1 on Sheffield, 1on Waveland, total: 2 Opponent: 2 on Sheffield, 4on Waveland, total: 6
Most Recent HR to reach Sheffield:
5/12/08, Jody Gerut (SD) off Carlos Zambrano
Most Recent HR to reach Waveland:
6/20/08, Jermaine Dye (CWS) off Ted Lilly
Since when did the Cubs move to Boston, NY or LA? I thought only those cities could get as many as seven of their players to the All Star Game?
Well, for better or worse, 7 Cubs are going. I’ve blogged a few times (here and here) about how important it is for Cubs fans to field a team that can win the Mid-Summer Classic for the NL to have home field advantage in the World Series. For Cub fans this year it may be especially important. The 2008 Cubs seem to be the team of destiny (I hate that phrase) to represent the National League in the World Series. So if that’s the case, and given how dominant the Cubs are this year at home, the NL must win the All Star Game to give the Cubs that much more of an edge in case they make it.
So now we have 7 Cubs in Soriano, Fukudome and Soto elected by the fans, and Zambrano, Wood, Ramirez and Dempster selected by the All Star Game manager, Clint Hurdle. Soriano is not likely to play due to injury. But the other six Cubs could be doing themselves a big favor by helping to win home field advantage.
Now as in past years MLB wants to give the fans one more shot at electing the final position player for each league. You can do so here:
I was stunned this morning to learn the biggest prize in this year’s anticipated trade deadline sweepstakes would be going to the Milwaukee Brewers. This is clearly a warning shot across Jim Hendry’s bow that the Brewers intend to challenge the Cubs for the division and perhaps more. So much for the argument that so-called small market teams can’t compete. The Brewers were able to put together a package that brings them the Hefty Lefty, CC Sabathia from Cleveland. Not good news for our beloved Northsiders.
How could Hendry have let the Hefty Lefty Land in our division?? Not only did Hendry fail to land the biggest fish, but now that CC is in our division the Cubs will likely have to face him a few times this year. This could be pivotal for the Cubs, especially if the division race comes down to just a game or two - CC Sabathia could very well be the difference maker for Milwaukee.
In my view, the pressure is on Hendry to find another legit starter for the playoff push. Not only will the Cubs be looking for the consolation prize player, but the other seven-odd teams rumored to have been wanting the Hefty Lefty will also be scrambling for whats left, even if only to save face with their fans. I mean, how can a team looking to make a serious push to October not make a July deadline deal? Doing so can be a boost in the clubhouse in sending a message they are expected to win, but the fans also expect some blockbuster deal as a sign from the font office.
Jim Hendry is now on the clock to make a move to improve his own club as well as to counter what the Brewers have done. Rumblings have Rich Harden, AJ Burnett, Randy Wolf, and Eric Bedard all on the block. Will he get one of these guys or perhaps someone else? Any way you dice it, the Hefty Lefty is far and away the best of the this bunch. And those who remain are all a distant second. Let’s hope the Cubs don’t end up a distant second come Oct 1 because of this…
Ok, we all know what a nightmare parking at Wrigley Field for a Cubs game is. As historic and charming a baseball shrine the Friendly Confines is, the reality of being located in an already congested neighborhood just adds to the frustrations of fans on game day.
Earlier this year, we added a Plan Your Game section to the main CubHub.net site featuring tips on how to get the best seats, tips on navigating Wrigleyville in the most efficient way, even some parking suggestions. But did you know you can now purchase game day parking in advance? A site just launched by one of largest parking lot management companies, Standard Parking lets you do just that. You can pre-buy your game day parking and print your dashboard parking pass at home before you leave for Wrigley! This takes a lot of the guess work out of where to put your car on game day.
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