Sigh. One week.
There are two times of the year that I absolutely hate. The first is that week between Christmas and New Year. Everything is slow, no one is around, it's cold, and all you're really left to do is watch bad bowl games and reflect on a year that probably didn't live up to your expectations.
The other is this weekâthat last week of the baseball season when your playoff hopes have (often) been dashed. And you know that at this time next week, the gates at the park are shut and players will be jetting off to warmer climates.
And ...
Filed: Sept. 19, 2009
In a surprise move, the Chicago Cubs have suspended outfielder Milton Bradley for the remainder of the season over controversial comments made about the organization and its fan base to the media.
With the move, Bradley's career as a Cub has, in all likelihood, drawn to a close. Outfielder Tyler Colvin is expected to be called up from Double-A on Monday to provide outfield help.
The crux of the matter is comments made in an interview recently with Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald. In it, Bradley makes a number of negative comments about the team and its fans, ...
Filed:Sept. 16, 2009
The Chicago Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano (Cubbie Nation/file)
Stop it. Everybody.
I know playoff hopes are slim. That writers, bloggers, and editors are hard-pressed to deliver meaningful musings as the season winds down, and teams are eliminated from contention. And frankly, it understandable that fans are dreaming of big free-agents signings and resurgent teams in 2010.
But when you start—and I’m pointing a big finger at large media outlets—completely disregarding teams that are still at least technically in the playoff mix, and even worse, running players out of town, you’ve gone too far.
This trend initially caught my eye a few weeks ...
Filed: September 9th, 2009
Source: Cubbie Nation
I consider the Pittsburgh Pirates a balm. A cure-all, really. Whatever is wrong with your team, sprinkle in a series with the Pirates, and apply liberally.
Need a little offense? Try that pitching staff, with their 4.63 ERA, good for 14th in the NL.
Want to give your bullpen a rest? Your starters are practically sure to go long against an offense ranked 13th.
Hoping for a few lucky breaks to go your way? Hey man, with the worst fielding percentage in the league, you will get good bounces against that team.
As it turns out, the Cubs needed ...
Filed:September 3rd, 2009
Milton Bradley strikes out in the sixth inning to the background of cheering Sox fans (Cubbie Nation)
"When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?"—John Maynard Keynes
Shut him down.
And I think we all know who I'm referring to. You can look all over the place to find blame and fault over the Cubs 5-0 loss to the White Sox. Really. Lou Piniella. Milton Bradley. Jake Fox. Sean Marshall. Aaron Miles, who once more came up empty, this time in an eighth-inning pinch-hit appearance.
Really even the entire Cubs offense, for yet again making a previously ...
Click here for the photo gallery to Wednesday's game.
Quick. Well-played. Successful. If the Cubs are going to make up any playoff ground in September, Wednesday's 2-0 win over the Astros is going have to be the template for that success.
How quick? Unofficially, about 2:17, which is less time than it took to write this post, and edit photos from the game.
Cubs fans got treated to quite a pitching duel, as Ted Lilly face up against a surprising effective Felipe Paulino for the Astros. I like this kid. Big guy, with some major heat, a big over-the-top curveball, and you can ...
Click here for the photo gallery of Monday's game.
Well, let me give you some good news first. August is over. The Cubs can hopefully forget about their woeful 11-17 record for the month, and begin September with a clean slate, a sound head, and some respectable play on the field.
And I'm going to try to forget that the Cubs front office basically chose to stand pat, silent while the team basically imploded in front of their eyes.
The bad news? August is over. Those coming to the park last night were treated to unseasonably cool weather—that means jackets—and the first real ...
Evidently, Rich Harden.
The waiver deadline has come and gone, and Rich Harden is still a Cub. He'll make his next scheduled start tonight against the Astros.
Odd, odd move.
My biggest complaint with this Cubs team has been that they they've been happy to maintain the status-quo.
They won't go into sell mode, and start some early planning for next season. And worse, they won't upgrade a terribly flawed team, even as they hang on to some hope of a wild card berth.
So what do they do? True to form, spend a week in serious talks to move Harden, only to walk away, ...
Well, in the end the Cubs were able to salvage some semblance of dignity on this latest road trip, using seven innings of one run ball, and a 4-4 day from Jake Fox to beat the Dodgers 3-1.
Sigh. A 2-5 road trip. This is probably going to be the week that the Cubs playoff hopes for 2009 died. With the Cardinals winning 5-2 today, the Cubs are sitting eight games out with 40 to play, and there's not much to do but let the season play out. Wild card? Yeah, I don't think so. I see easily three really good-looking ...
Filed:August 22nd, 2009
I'll keep an open mind about whether they're better than the old boss. But it's official: after weeks months years of negotiations, the Tribune company has reached a definitive agreement to sell the Chicago Cubs for $845 billion to the Ricketts family, led by broker/financier Tom Ricketts.
Here's a quick snippet from the announcement:
Tom and Joe Ricketts will have management control of the joint venture as its 95 percent owner. Tribune Co. -- which owns the club, Wrigley Field and approximately a 25 percent interest in Comcast SportsNet -- will retain a five percent ownership interest.
I'm happy to see ...
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