Scott held hostage, day 9

Nine days and counting since I have had a functioning home computer. You hear people brag about how amazing and wonderful their life is when they give up TV, but I can assure you that the same is not at all true when it comes to a computer. Aside from daily necessities like posting to the blog and paying bills on-line, there is the mind numbing loss of a daily influx of internet information to contend with. Who led the NL in doubles in 1995? I'll never know! (Actually, I do know that one, but you get the idea.)

Anyway, the one piece of good news is that my forced internet abstinence coincides with a slow time in Cubs news. One thing that has passed through my work-accessed webmail inbox is word from Kasey Ignarski that public voting for the Ford Frick award has begun at the Hall of Fame website. You can vote for up to three broadcasters from among anyone with ten years broadcast experience. While this does include the Chipster, it also includes guys I grew up with like Ernie Johnson and Pete Van Wieren as well as Cubs great Vince Lloyd who passed away earlier this year. You can vote once per day, so pop in and cast a few votes for your favorites this month.

As expected, the Cubs exercised their club option on Matt Clement for 2004. This is certainly a good move given his production, the promise of his strikeout rate (although it did fall a bit this year), and the cost of the option. The Cubs website has an article on Corey Patterson's rehab. It doesn't give a prognosis per se, but does say he is walking without a limp and hanging out with his brother across the interstate at my alma mater.

That's all for now. I'll be back on a more regular schedule as soon as Alienware gets my new computer out to me. See you then.

posted by Scott at 10:12 AM : |

 

Billy Wagner bids NL Central adieu

The Astros have traded Billy Wagner and his $8M contract to Philadelphia for Brandon Duckworth and minor leaguers Taylor Bucholz and Ezequiel Astacio. Octavio Dotel certainly looks able to handle closing duties for Houston, but their bullpen as a whole certainly looks much less formidable now. I'll post something on the minor leaguers when I get it, but I do like Duckworth's potential so it may not be a total loss for the Astros. They are getting out from a contract that wasn't outrageously expensive but was probably more than the current market would bear ($8M for '04, club option for $9M for '05 with a $3M buyout). Still, it has to be a postive that one of our two most formidable opponents in the central is shedding payroll and elite talent.
posted by Scott at 1:32 PM : |

 

Miscellaneous Cubs Roundup

I come to you from my 8' x 8' cubicle on the eighteenth floor of the Georgia Power building in beautiful downtown Atlanta, Georgia. I am posting from here on a Sunday afternoon in part because my computer at home is in its death throes. It is taking 15-20 minutes to start up when I turn it on or restart it, and it has somehow removed all my setup network connections and prevents me from creating any new ones. A non-internet-able computer is about as useful as Lenny Harris off a major league bench, so I guess its probably time to buy a new one. I just hope I can find a way to salvage some of the files I have on it.

At any rate, as long as I am here let's run down some Cubs news from recent days. First off, Sosa is not opting-out and will remain a Cub for the next two years. In a market where Manny Ramirez is placed on waivers and claimed by precisely noone, this was a no-brainer for Sammy. Derek of Let's Play Two has already pretty much crystallized my thoughts so read what he has to say. Sosa's still our position player and hating him for his imperfections isn't going to change anything. Try to relax and be glad that we've got Sosa for a #1 stick and not the alternative (Alou? Aramis?).

On the medical front, Ron Santo had his bladder removed and is said to be in good shape after a successful surgery. Although its tough to imagine going through life carrying an artificial urine bag on your person, they say people do it and live relatively normal lives all the time. Goodness knows if anyone has the fortitude and spirit to handle it its Ronnie. He still expects to be in the booth next year, so here's to a World Series win called by the Cub great.

On the free agency front, Eric Karros announced his free agency with a classy ad in the Trib. He joins Grudzielanek, O'Leary, Goodwin, Glanville, Womack, Veres, and Alfonseca as Cubs who have filed so far. I don't consider any of those guys as must-haves, but I could see Grudz, Karros, and Veres fitting in if the price was right.

One last tidbit to check out is the AFL diary of Cubs prospect Brendan Harris. It sounds like he is having fun down there, but I suppose that is to be expected when he is hitting two-out walkoff grand slams. Fellow Cub Jason Dubois picked up player of the week honors last week, and John Webb and Jason Szuminski are also doing fairly well. Sadly, Ben Christensen was Ankiel-wild in his only appearance so far.

That's all for now. Dennis will probably be back to breakdown Hour Two of 24, and I have a pitch count article in the works for later in the week too. Hopefully I can coax my computer into allowing one last post for old times sake before I take it out back and shoot it.

posted by Scott at 4:19 PM : |

 

California Fire

Our colleague Christian at the Cub Reporter has lost his home to the California fires. I can't imagine losing so many posessions with value both monetary and sentimental. Check in at his site and say something nice if you haven't already. We're thinking of you, Christian.
posted by Scott at 3:59 PM : |

 

Tick, tick, tick...

Last night's episode of 24 was aired commercial free thanks to the Ford and the new generation F-150. Of course got to air a 6 minute movie like advertisement that was split between the opening and closing of the show. Ford must have pay a pretty penny to the producers of the show because everyone from the terrorists to the heroes to the people they pass in traffic were driving Ford products. I was surprised the President did not claim to have survived an assassination attempt because he was built Ford tough.

All in all I liked the episode although with shows like 24 it is difficult to get a feel for the overall effect of events until they unfold. That was the major complaint of some last season that they never did really wrap up. Every week it was promised that we would learn who was behind the entire plot only to have some faceless man on a yacht call in a hit on the President after the war in the middle east fell through. Sort of left an unsavory that's in the mouths of viewers. I am sure that this story line will be picked up this season at some point.

OK, on to more specific thoughts on the show. Highlight the blank area below to read my thoughts on hour 1. This will keep the people who have not seen the show yet from seeing any details.

• I love how they have to set everything up exposition style in the beginning. Jack's first words were basically "I did not waste a the last years of my life to bring down this drug dealer who has ties to terrorist cells only to not have him tell me who they are..." Good way for the writers to say, hey stupid people, here is the story. Take notes.
  
• Tony and Michelle went out and got hitched. I suppose he got over her going behind his back to help Jack at the end of the last season. I am not sure I would want to date or be married to a government agent. Have you seen the show Cheaters on FOX where a PI follows and tapes a partner who is cheating. Imagine instead of a FOX camera crew you had Jack Bauer following you. Yikes!!
  
• The weird computer guy who had a fight with Kim and the Chloe looks like Jimmy Fallon from SNL, only evil.
  
• I think instead of saying hours, they should just say episode. Like, the virus takes 10 episodes to present itself and people infected will die in the season finale. It would save some confusion.
  
• I am not sure how I feel about Kim being at CTU this season. I guess it is better than wasting time showing her in the wilderness outrunning mountain lions. Maybe this is just a way to have her there for teenage boys, but to keep her out of the main storylines. Of course, she is dating Jack's partner, so I suppose we will see a lot of her.
  
• In the first two seasons, Kiefer as an actor only had to play three emotions: "WE HAVE NO TIME", "please, please help my daughter" and, "I am a badass get out of my way, let me run this show". This season he is adding range by saying "I need heroin!!!"
  
• Jack had to shoot heroin to get into Salazar's inner circle, which he had to do while working on a job. Do you think he should be able to deduct the expense from his taxes? I think so.
  
• I was interested to hear the President's brother state that they had caught the people who tried to kill the President. Are they just going to let this drop or did the government fall victim to the framing of another group. If they don't talk about the people who did it, does that make Season 2 a stand alone season. Seasons 1 and 2 were attached by Mandy, but what about 3. I am boggled by this.
  
• The President went out and got himself a little love interest this season. I wonder what Sherry will do to mess this up.
  

OK, that is enough for now. Overall a solid beginning. I think there is an opportunity for some twists and turns this season and cannot wait for the other 23 episodes.
posted by Dennis at 9:06 AM : |

 

Its on!!

Fear not loyal Lounge readers, I will be back this season with weekly updates and thoughts on 24. The new season begins this evening on Fox. I am sure after seeing all the advertisements during the playoff games most of the free world knows tonight is the premiere. I have not posted about pop culture in awhile because well, the Cubs went on one heck of a streak. The purpose of having pop culture references in the first place was to have something to write about in the middle of September in case the Cubs faltered. Thankfully this did not happen, so the TV stuff got pushed aside.

Well, no longer will you suffer without TV updates on some of my favorite shows. Besides, there needs to be something to fill the time before the winter hot stove gets cooking. There is no better place to begin than with the best drama on television today - 24.

When we last left Kiefer and pals, World War III had been adverted by Kiefer who discovered the plot of oil magnates to draw the US into war. He had a weak heart from dying for a few minutes and presumably bad kidneys from never going to the restroom. Kim had barely adverted cougar and horny loner attacks and the President received a handshake much worse than Brodie Bruce could ever hand out (only about three people will get that joke).

Now it is three years later and Jack has been on assignment bringing in a narcotics dealer. If the dealer is not released soon, then his associates will bring a plague onto LA worse than the color commentary of Tim McCarver. The President survived his attack but is "impaired" to some degree. Kim works for CTU and hopefully will stay away from cougars. Every new season for a television program brings questions, this one just seems to bring more. Here are some quick hit thoughts from me going into the season.

• Spoiler boards say that Jack has some sort of secret that will be revealed early. It has to be the above referenced kidney failure.
  
• I wonder if Kim was in the crowd the night Roy got mauled by a tiger. She does not have much luck with animals.
  
• Will Jack's love interest from last season return for a bit?
  
• How will the assassination attempt on the President's life affect his ability to hit a curve ball?
  
• Will Jack Bauer get to Wrigley in time to stop Steve Bartman from leaning out over the railing?
  
• Will Tony finally get his girl or will be fall on hard times (he is a Cubs fan after all, he has drank from a Cubs mug during the first two seasons)?
  
• Will Jack die this season only to be brought back to life near sweeps?
  
• Will Nina come back and will we finally find out what Jack whispered to her last season outside the helicopter?
  
• Will Kim's boyfriend get maimed this season?
  
• How in the world did Kim get to work at CTU? She made more bad decisions last season that Grady Little.
  

OK, that is all I can think of for now. Make sure to watch the premiere and come here tomorrow for my random thoughts on the opener.
posted by Dennis at 10:45 AM : |

 

Sucking my will to live

Well, not to live, but to post anyway. What could it be that is making it so tough on me? Well, its a number of things. First of all, there's the World Series. I couldn't bring myself to watch much of it. It was by all accounts a great series, but with only the evil Yankees and the evil Lorias playing I had nobody to root for. I did settle in and watch some last night, only to see the guy who threw at Sammy and talked all that trash about us emerge the hero. Great.

Then there's the big layoff scheduled for Tuesday at my employer. Rumor is 55 of 183 or so in my group are going to be out the door. I think I can pick out maybe 30% who are sure to stay, so that cuts my odds to 50/50 at best. I wonder what it says about me that getting laid off on my birthday would be the second worst thing that happened to me this month.

Next, there's the refrigirator issue. Namely, each time I open mine, I see this bottle of champagne staring back at me. It doesn't seem right to throw it away. I don't feel right drinking it without possesing the NL pennant it was purchased to celebrate. Heck, drinking a $4 bottle of champagne probably wouldn't be that enjoyable anyway. I read where one Cub fan is sitting on a bottle from 1984 for just this reason. I guess I'll sit on it for now.

Perhaps Jim Hendry will announce the acquisition of Vlad and ARod tomorrow and get me going again. If not, I guess I'll just have to summon some strength and get back in the flow of things by myself.

posted by Scott at 5:36 PM : |

 

Tin Cup and the Cubs

OK, last night it finally hit me. The Cubs are not in the World Series and they really should be. It sort of reminded me of the final scenes of Tin Cup. Kevin's Costner's character seemingly has the US Open wrapped up, but he decided to try and be a hero and go for the green on a par 5 in two shots. He hits his shot in the water and proceeds to do so about 4 more times. Down to his last ball, he must get the ball over and he winds up holing out for a 12. We walks off the course in glory to the cheering of fans. About 5 minutes off the green, he stops and makes a simple painful statement, "I just the blew the US Open."

The Cubs were on their way to the Series before Dusty, much like Roy McAvoy, decided to stay with what got him to that point instead of opting for the safe, smart play (get Prior out of the game for Borowski...is there any doubt Torre would have gotten his best reliever in the game with 5 outs to go). Now, they lost their chance and although they were a great team to watch all spring, summer and fall and left many Cub fans cheering, I cannot help but think, they blew their chance at the World Series.

The good news is that with a good GM, a great motivational manager, and a staff of young arms this should not be the last taste of October baseball for another 5 seasons. Knowing that they will reload rather than rebuild helps to take the sting out of the final series a bit. Also, knowing that they were not supposed to contend for another year helps as well. Bottom line is that they got beat by a good, hot team because they had some horses run out of gas pitching in their first postseason. Right now, if you tell me that we will send Prior and Wood to the mound next season with a chance to clinch the pennant, I will take it no questions asked.

If your team is losing in the bottom of the ninth, the goal is to get the tying run to the plate just to give a puncher's chance of extending the game. After that, let the chips fall where they may. Well, the Cubs did that and more in the LCS, they had a chance to make it and just fell short. No shame in that.

posted by Dennis at 8:03 AM : |

 

The Sosa question

As Bill James observed long ago, a disproportionate share of credit or blame usually falls on a team's biggest star. I was reminded of that yet again when Mike Issacs pointed out this gem from the Daily Herald's Barry Rozner on a Cubs mailing list. Rozner has been making a living attacking Sosa for years now, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised to read an anonymously sourced story on Sosa that implies the rest of the team backs what Rozner's been saying all along without providing any actual evidence that that is the case. Still, something about that article compels me to provide this quick piece of investigative journalism:

---

We are family? By Scott Lange Barry Rozner trumpets his wondeful family life, but that may not be the whole story. Two separate sources say Rozner and his wife had something of a dust-up last week. Whether Rozner's conduct went beyond words and on to beating her with the heavy metal frying pan he keeps in his kitchen is open to question, and nobody is talking about it which is as you would expect. One source said the confrontation may have had something to do with Rozner having been unable to perform in bed the night before. The couple has not produced a child in some time, and Rosner's impotence would go a long way toward explaining that fact. Contrary to fictional claims made by some, Rozner and his wife don't always get along perfectly so the incident may have blown up over something else. Either way, expect the usual suspects to issue the usual denials.

---

And there you go. Assuming Rozner has a wife and a frying pan, we have an utterly unimpeachable hatchet job with all the credibility of his original piece. Enjoy, Barry.

Anyway, now that I have that off my chest, let's take a look at Sosa's season. I want to look over some or maybe all the Cubs players from this past season, and there's no better place to start than Sosa.

Sosa's 2003 in review

Despite a pair of dramatic NLCS homeruns and a respectable .262/.436/.452 playoff line, Sammy Sosa's 2003 will most likely always be remembered for the corked bat he used in a game on June 3rd. From a performance standpoint though, the more important event was probably the impact of a Salomon Torres fastball hitting Sosa in the earflap of his batting helmet on April 20. Until the beanball, Sosa had been hitting the ball as well as ever and in fact sported a gaudy 1.201 OPS when he left the game that day. Afterwards, he immediately went into a severe slump that continued through a DL trip for a toe injury, through the cork incident, and did not end until he returned from the cork suspension on June 18th.

Sosa was white-hot again for about a month after his return, peaking with a week in mid July in which he hit six homers, had eleven RBIs, and went 15-29. From then on, it was a steady slide down to a dreadful final month six weeks during which Sosa's OBP was well under .300. He did recover some in October, drawing twelve walks in twelve postseason games and managing fifteen total bases and six RBIs in the seven game series with Florida.

Overall, Sosa's OBP and SLG were down this year while his BB rate and K rate both went in the wrong direction. The question is whether this represents the decline phase of a player who turns 35 in November or whether the beanball caused an aberration in his performance that we can expect to not be repeated next year. There's no way to look at the numbers and tell for sure, but experience tells me that we can't expect a guy Sosa's age to maintain his level of performance forever. I think Sosa will remain one of the league's better hitters for at least another couple of years, but I don't expect a return to the days of the 1.000+ OPSs.

Sosa is under contract for two more years for a total of $37.5M but he has the option to opt out and become a free agent. He is reportedly talking to management about an extension. Its an understandable move for someone who has said he wants to retire as a Cub, but the Cubs wisely seem to be ready to let Sosa play out the contract as-is. An extension would come at retail price, and Sosa is much more likely to get worse over the next two years than he is to get better. There is virtually no scenario in which a third or fourth year at $15M-$18M would be a bargain, and a much better chance it would be an anchor around our necks.

Sammy Sosa remains the best offensive player we've got. He's not worth a contract extension, but he is a huge key to our efforts to repeat as division champs and perhaps win an NL pennant.

posted by Scott at 5:21 PM : |

 

Yankees vs Fish

The Red Sox stayed with their ace starter in Game Seven even when it was clear he didn't have anything left, and the result was a blown lead and a World Series berth for the opposing team. Its sort of comforting that we aren't the only group of fans that have to suffer this year. Boston fans may actually have it worse- at least we didn't lose in gutwrenching fashion to the Cardinals.

Despite our season coming to an end, the fan interference story has charged ahead unabated. For me, the issue was over by the time Game Seven started. I still believe it was an idiotic and costly decision, and I still hope MLB prompts teams to start taking the issue seriously, but I have no interest in pursuing the guy any further. With luck, the media will come to the same conclusion within a month or two.

Hot Stove Philosophy

Both the Trib and the Sun-Times touch on Jim Hendry's offseason to-do list this morning. We've got four months to break down every little roster nuance, but for now its comforting to see that both papers think Hendry will look to improve the team rather than sitting still as we have done after other successful years in my lifetime. The Sun-Times specifically says "... Hendry won't stand pat like former GM Ed Lynch, who kept the 1998 playoff team almost intact." Of course, its Mike Kiley, so take it for what its worth.

Of course, there is more to getting better than just making moves. Kiley claims Hendry will be looking for a starting first baseman to replace Choi, but since he also claims that Hendry "can't afford to experiment" with Choi its hard to tell if he is reporting Hendry's desire or his own myopia. I don't want to believe they would be so stupid as to throw away a talent like Choi's, but with they way they have mishandled him so far anything is possible.

posted by Scott at 7:40 AM : |

 

The day after

"I let my teammates down. I let the organization down. I let the city down... You guys have got to understand. About 30 minutes ago, I choked. I choked, that's the bottom line. That's all I've got right now."

So said Kerry Wood, a man who gave every shred of effort someone could possibly give for our team this year. I get so emotional reading something like that. I feel proud of my guy for being such a stand up person. He doesn't alibi about throwing more pitches than anyone else in baseball. He just says he blew it, even though there are many other people to blame, few of whom did anywhere near as much to get us here. It makes me feel horrible too though. How can someone so noble and brave be left feeling the way he must feel? Where's the justice?

Like yesterday morning, the calls, e-mails, and cubicle visits have been frequent. Today people are a little kinder than yesterday. Maybe its because the season is over, or maybe its because there wasn't a crazy play like the foul ball Tuesday for them to laugh about. Maybe they just see the look on my face.

I had a realization during the Braves series. Its really difficult being a sports fan. I've played plenty of sports over the years, and experienced some truly gutwrenching defeats. At least then though, I knew that I had been able to give my best and it just wasn't enough. With the Cubs, I followed them every day of the year. I read the news reports, I poured over the matchups, I wore my lucky clothes and I ate my lucky meals. I traveled with the team when I could and followed them by TV, radio, and the internet when I couldn't. And then we lose. I knew that none of those things made a bit of difference when I was doing them, but I still felt like I should be trying to do my part. We lose, and I am faced with knowing that no matter what I did it was never going to help anything. Its bitter disappointment and its completely beyond my control to prevent.

Of course, from that it follows that no matter how much I write here or how many of my emotions I try to understand, its not going to give us another game to play. As such, I should probably wrap it up. There's an ALCS game tonight, and it looks like a great game. I should try to watch some of it, but right now I am not really in the mood. Maybe I'll cheer up some by gametime.

I am still optimistic about this team. Wood, Prior, Zambrano, Clement, Patterson, Choi, Sosa, Farnsworth, Borowski... all these guys have good years in front of them. If we make smart decisions I think we'll be pouring champagne sooner rather than later. Hang in there, everyone. Go Cubs.

posted by Scott at 10:49 AM : |

 

We'll be back

We came so close we could taste it, and had it slip through our fingers. I don't have it in me to write much about tonight's game. Suffice to say that, much like the rest of the year, this team never laid down. From Kerry's incredible home run to the spectacular at-bat Aramis had in the ninth, the whole team played their hearts out even when the odds were against them.

We have a lot of talent on this team and yet we have plenty of room for improvement. Jim Hendry will have some huge decisions to make in the coming months, and we'll be there to analyze them as best we can. One of us will probably post tomorrow when the disappointment of tonight is a little less intense.

I want to say thank you to all of you who came by this site this year. It meant a lot to me to be able to share my feelings about this team with you. I also want to thank Dennis for starting the blog and coaxing me into it over my lazy objections. Without him and all of you guys, I wouldn't have enjoyed the wonderful moments the Cubs gave us nearly as much. Just wait till next year.

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
		-- Rogers Hornsby

posted by Scott at 12:06 AM : |

 

Its time to get it on (almost)

Like a lot of other people today (judging from the number of visits to the site today and the traffic on webboards I frequent), I have been monitoring the mood of fans while trying to get ready for this evening. I am starting to see a slight shift in the demeanor of the web community.

Immediately following the game last evening most were filled with feelings of gloom and doom of the impending Cubs collapse. True Prior, the golden child for generations to come, lost his command and Superman cape and let the fish off the hook. Troubling circumstances contributed to the collapse of the Cubs in a the form an eight run eighth inning. It is completely natural to feel like doom is coming.

About half way through the day people started posting their "if you would have told me...., I would be happy" posts stating with absolute correctness that fans should be pleased with the season no matter what the result this evening. This was supposed to take a few seasons. They won a weak division, slammed through the Braves and with young pitchers under contract should be an attractive landing place for free agents in the offseason. The fact that we even have a taste of the roller coaster that is postseason baseball should be enough.

Recently, as I surf the net I am starting to see some new messages. Hey, we have Kerry Wood on the mound against Mark Redman. Dusty and this team have rebounded from this sort of thing in the past. They are all professionals and to boot, we even get to play this game at home. There is a growing surge of confidence coming which I think is great because....this is a very, very winnable game. In fact, I think they are going to win it. Wood is a nasty fastball, curve ball guy against a mainly right handed lineup. Redman is a soft tossing lefty who we get a second look at in less that a week. The last time that happened we beat Hampton to get to the NLCS.

Personally, I am starting to get really excited as the day goes on and as we come up on 3.5 hours until first pitch. This could be a game for the ages and all the pieces are there to take the pennant. Make sure to come back this evening and celebrate. Keep the faith Cubs' fans.

posted by Dennis at 4:34 PM : |

 

The longest night leads to a long, long day

Last evening was one of the worst night's sleep I have had in a long time. I tossed, I turned, I left the bed and tried to sleep on the couch. Failing, I read some blogs and came back to bed for more tossing and turning. Fearing I would wake up my wife, I headed down to the couch to watch a little but of Conan O'Brien. It was one of the first times I have seen his show since my graduate school days when classes started at 3:00 in the afternoon. I finally fell asleep only to awake with a crick in my neck a few hours later. Feeling tired enough to finally go to bed, I headed upstairs and slept until my wife woke me up at 6:00.

I have never been what anyone would consider a small guy. My wife and I have bought some exercise equipment and three times a week I get up and run on a treadmill. It is a small step, but one that will hopefully lead to a healthier lifestyle. Wednesday are one of the days I run, but I usually have Sportscenter on the television. I refused to go down there this morning because I don't want to see the highlights, don't want to see Harold Reynolds break it down, don't want to hear nonsense about the goat, and don't want them to talk about Cub pressure in game 7. In fact, to this moment I have not watched or listened to a lick of sports coverage. I have read a few newspaper articles and blogs, but otherwise have avoided coverage.

After the customary 45 minute drive that should take 35 minutes down the Cincinnati "expressways" I was greeted by my supervisor with two hands held firmly over his throat. I begin my drive each morning in darkness with the sun coming up towards the end. This means that I usually have my lights on for the whole drive. I came up to my desk and honestly could not remember turning them off. On top of all the other junk in the last 12 hours, I did not want a dead battery, so I made the 4-5 minute walk back to the city lot and checked my car (lights were off).

I have been at work for about 90 minutes and all of the workers have come over with their little snide comments. Most ask, "What happened to the Cubs?" I just plainly say they lost. Not much more to say than that. They just lost and luckily they have a game 7 to make things right with the world. Of course game 7 is 8.5 hours away and I somehow have to stay focused and move a project along at work before turning my stomach in knots.

I know that we still have the advantage. I am not easily swayed by unquantifiable things like momentum and chemistry. Like people say momentum in baseball is tomorrow's starter. I know that Kerry Wood is a better pitcher than Mark Redmond. I know that although Kerry left the last game behind, he was not hit hard. I know he has proved himself to be a big game pitcher this postseason. But, these are just thoughts in a desperate person's mind attempting to bring calm to a terrible stressful situation. Like most Cub games this season, it will probably be low scoring and a break here or there will make the difference. Luckily for the Cubs they had to play this style of baseball all season and postseason long. It would nice if they could crank it up one more time for the home crowd. Go Kerry, Go Cubs, Go Pepto...Cubs in 7.

posted by Dennis at 9:41 AM : |

 

Game Seven

The Cubs lost a difficult (call it a Level 4, 2, and hopefully not 8) game tonight, and will go to a game seven with Florida. The pitching matchup will be Mark Redman against Kerry Wood. Redman has been much better against lefties this year (.582 OPS allowed versus .679), and he will face only one lefty in the Cub lineup. Kerry of course is coming off a dominant eight-inning performance in a decisive game five in Atlanta. I think we are going to win the series.

Thom and Steve annoyed me to no end tonight. I guess with Lyons you expect stupidity, but Thom's comment that if you are a Cub fan you must be wondering if you are cursed was impressively idiotic in its own right. I have to think that here in 2003 there might be at least a few Cub fans in teh world who don't believe in voodoo curses. I wish there was an announcer-free audio feed available on the SAP button.

Also, I was touched by Fox's decision to show Fox's own Bernie Mac sing the stretch tonight. I probably shouldn't be surprised that shamelessly promoting their own show matters while doing a good job covering the game by showing the stretch the rest of the time doesn't. I wonder if they influenced and/or dictated the decision to choose Bernie Mac for the task. Dennis suggested they get Santo on the phone to sing tomorrow night. Its a brilliant idea, but even if they did it we would get a commercial for 24 instead.

Mark Prior was up to the task for seven innings tonight, but our defense had some breakdowns. There was another ball rolling past the catcher, an easy pickup at first that got by Simon, and Alex's miscue in the eighth. We need to not make those mistakes tomorrow. Same goes for the bullpen. We have the advantage of Urbina having thrown two innings today, although we didn't really make him work much. We did have a few good at-bats during the game, notably from Sammy.

The play

I would like to say a word about the play that opened the floodgates in the eighth. The AP story states that he did not reach over the rail, although that's not the way I saw it. It appeared to me both live, in the replays, and in the picture at right that he contacted the ball just to the field side of the rail. Either way, he clearly took the ball away from Alou. I certainly don't advocate any sort of violence. It was after all a mistake, and not one that risked harming anyone else. Furthermore, this gentleman is no more of an idiot than the guy who robbed Bako of a foul pop last week. Nonetheless, when you sit in the first few rows you may find yourself involved in a play, and when that happens you have a couple responsibilities.

First, you have a legal responsibility not to interfere in play. Baseball teams don't take this seriously, and announcers routinely make it out as a big joke when fans lean out of the stands and get involved in play. What they should do is charge each person who reaches onto the field of play with trespassing. Security should come down, perp walk the person up the aisle, and book them on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. If they had been doing that all along, people would know better than to interfere in play.

Secondly, you have a responsibility to your team. The gentleman pictured at right is wearing a Cubs hat. He no doubt is listening to WGN on his little walkman. He has got to put the Cubs winning the pennant ahead of adding an item to his living room mantle on his priority list. Instead, in the heat of the moment he showed his true colors and lunged out after a ball. You ought to be focused on your team's well-being at all times, and all the more so at such a pivotal, potentially historical moment.

The play wasn't the only reason we lost the game, but its darn sure one of them. That said, what matters is that our players put it behind them and play smart tomorrow. We have every opportunity to pull this out. Go Cubs.

posted by Scott at 11:48 PM : |

 

Home

I just flew in from Miami, and boy are my arms tired! Also my legs, back, eyes, and brain. Let's just say that spending the night in a chair in the Miami International Airport isn't the most refreshing thing you can do between midnight and sunup on a Sunday night.

Obviously the outcome wasn't what we were looking for yesterday, but its tough to be upset about taking two of three in Miami and coming home with our two aces on full rest. Actually, Mark Prior will be on five days rest tomorrow or slightly more than full rest. I read somewhere over the weekend that Dusty feels Prior benefits from the extra rest more than others, and since chugging some numbers helps calm my nerves I figured I'd check it out. Prior has had one start on 24 days rest (after the concussion) this year for a 0.00 ERA. He has had one start on six days rest for a 2.25 ERA. He had nineteen starts on regular four days rest and had an ERA of 2.69. Finally, he had eleven starts on five days rest and posted a 2.18 ERA. Its not much of a difference or much of a sample size, but I certainly don't see a reson to challenge Dusty's conclusions. There, see how relaxing some nice stats can be?

Anyway, I am confident we will end it tomorrow. It would be far better to not go to game seven, both to allow Dusty to set the rotation for the World Series and because a two-game losing streak would bring up all sorts of memories of the past. McKeon has bailed on Brad Penny and will instead be going with Carl Pavano as Dennis discussed earlier today. You may remember Carl Pavano from such performances as the 5-1 loss to the Cubs on July 9, the 6-4 loss to the Cubs on April 10 of last year, and the 5-4 loss to the Cubs on July 12 of last year. I look forward to adding October 14, 2003 to that storied resume.

posted by Scott at 11:18 PM : |

 

Cubs tip their caps and head home to win pennant

Not much to say about this afternoon's 4-0 victory by the Marlins in game 5 of the NLCS. Josh Beckett was dominant striking out 11 men, walking only one and only allowing two balls to be hit hard: one foul by Ramirez and one a base hit to center field by Alou. Carlos Zambrano did not pitch badly but then again he was not his normal self. He walked a bunch of batters but managed to only be touched up for two runs on a Mike Lowell homer. Dingers by IRod and Conine off of Veres and Remlinger were the only other tallies.

If a pitcher is going to shut down the Cubs, then I say let it be in a road game with the Cubs up 3-1 in a series. There are lots of good things to take from this weekend's games in Florida. Here is a list of reasons why fans should not fear doom and gloom despite Cub history..

• In a 162 game baseball season, there are 160 separate 3 game strecthes. Of those the Cubs only lost three in a row 4 times. 4 times!! That is pretty good.
  
• The Cubs got a chance to give an extra day of rest to Borowski and Sir Tightpants.
  
• Prior was not exactly dominant in game 2 and he still only allowed 2 runs.
  
• The Marlins are not even sure who they are going to start in games 6 and 7. They could stay in rotation and pitch Penny who got torched in game 2 and also pitched in relief in game 4. They could use Redman on 3 days rest which is never a good idea. They could also use Carl Pavano and his 4.30 ERA soft tossing right arm although he pitched in relief in game 4 as well.
  
• Since Fox and MLB want to squeeze every last dime out of playoff advertisements, having the series go one extra game will not affect the World Series rotation all that much. The first game is hard scheduled for Saturday night no matter when the League Championships Series end meaning Prior could pitch tomorrow and still pitch game 2 on Sunday with full rest.
  
• Beckett is the Marlins ace. Matching up Zambrano against him was actually a good thing. It is great to steal one of these games, but if not, just win all the games with your dominant pitchers and eventually the series. Having Clement cash in is just icing on the cake.
  
• The Marlins have the third best home record in the National League this season and the Cubs were able to win 2 of 3. They were five under .500 during the regular season on the road.
  

After looking at all of these facts, if one is still more swayed by Billy Goat curses than good play, I leave you with only one more thought. Have you ever seen Mark Prior pitch? Cubs in 6.

posted by Dennis at 8:09 PM : |

 

On the brink

I had a good feeling going into the game last night. Ever since the Cubs slayed my personal demons (the Braves), my nerves have dropped from "DefCon 8, prepared to upchuck at a moment's noice" to "Terror Warning Raw Umber, a bit queasy but generally optimistic." OIf course, I wasn't the most optimistic person in the group. That honor woul have to go to Chris's friend John. We picked him up from the Ft. Lauderdae Airport and as we headed from their to the game he announced that his pick to click was Aramis Ramirez. I think he was the winner for the night.

Before the game we got to watch Pedro hammer Zim to the ground on a TV in the back of someone's SUV. I have a bit of a bias I suppose, but I thought Zim was the guilty party there. Suspensions all around would be fine though, since we may hgave to face them in a few days. We met up with Al, who was fruitlessly trying to make his money back on a few extra tickets he had. I also played washer toss with some Cub fanswho hgad driven in fronm Illinois. I don't want to brag, but I may be the greaetst washer toss player in washer toss history.,

I won't go into too may gam details since I am sure you probably saw it. We sat in the bleachers just to the fair side of the right field foul pole. Unfortunately, that put us exacty one row in front of Pudge's Posse, probably the rowdiest Marlins fans in the building. They had whistles that they blew at ear-pircing volumes throughout most of the game. They did show a bit of mercy at least- they agreed to warn Chris before blowing when he made that request late in the game. On the brigh side, I have to take issue with reports that ter are't many Cub fans here. Perhaps its just where we are stting, butthe outfield seemed to me to be at least 25% Cub fans and simillary loud as in Atlanta. If the is a difference, it is taht the Florida fans are putting up a bit more resistance than the wee little indians did.

We just realised checkout time is now, so I need to go. Not even any time to clean up the hotel-tv-internet induced typos. We are one gam away from our first NL pennant in more than two of my lifetimes. Bring it home, Cubbies!

posted by Scott at 10:36 AM : |