THROW IT BACK.....15 TIMES

The game tonight was amazing. First of all, we tore the Reds a new one. Absolutely obliterated any dignity they had tonight, and I loved every moment of it. Zambrano went 3-for-4, Derrek Lee hit yet another home run, and we scored 12 runs. Let me say that again, 12 runs. That's a one with a two after it. We weren't even trying after the 3rd inning, as we already had 10 at that point.

The weather was phenomenal, the atmosphere was great, and the insults were flowing. As I was sitting in the left field bleachers, Adam Dunn was our target of choice. As is often the case, most of the things we shouted consisted of us making sure he was aware of his level of suckiness. We were also somewhat within shouting distance of Corey Patterson, which got interesting when his younger brother Eric came up to bat. We proceeded with a chant of Corey's name, and then when Eric struck out looking someone yelled to Corey that it must run in the family. That someone might have been me. I got some laughs out of it, which is really the whole point of the heckling experience.

The best moment by far though was when Adam Dunn came up to bat in the 8th inning. He hit a solo home run, which you're probably thinking makes for a crappy best moment. The ball cleared the right field bleachers and landed on Sheffield, and the fans began the obligatory shouts to throw it back. And then something interesting happened. Not only did a ball come flying back onto the field, but two other balls came with it. Some people in the right field bleachers decided that looked like fun, so they joined in by throwing more balls onto the field. All in all, 15 baseballs found their way onto the field and play had to be stopped to remove them. I only wish my fellow left field occupants had joined in the fun, but no one seemed to have any baseballs. Probably the funniest thing I have ever seen at Wrigley, and I stood and cheered along with everyone else in the bleachers. I think our message was clear, screw you Adam Dunn. You suck. Your home runs are not welcome here.

That experience basically defined the game for me, it was fun, exciting, and a bit silly at times. Everything a good baseball game should be. If I can find any pictures or video of the baseball throwing in action I'll be sure to post them.

You can read a full recap of the game and the player's reactions to the ball throwing here.

Beautiful Day for a Ballgame

I'm off to the Cubs game tonight, and the weather couldn't be more spectacular. It's currently 70 degrees with a slight breeze, and I would guess a 95% chance of win. That's right, I am boldly predicting a win against the mighty Reds and their ace pitcher...Josh Fogg? Who the heck is that?

Ok so maybe my prediction isn't very bold, but I'm sticking to it. Hopefully I'll find time tomorrow to recap my experience at the game, but I can't promise too much. See you then.

This (Two) Week(s) in Review

So I've been terrible at posting as of late, and by terrible I mean it hasn't happened since opening day. I know there are thousands of you out there who have been enraged by my absence, and I apologize. Okay, maybe there were only hundreds of you enraged. Fine, there was probably a double-digit number of you that were mildly disappointed with me, but that's as low as I'm going. A man has to keep some of his dignity.

Bird made of fire. Not to be confused with a Pontiac.

None of that matters anymore, because today I am rising from the ashes like a phoenix. See that bird made of fire right there? You don't mess with that. If that bird wants to not write anything for a few weeks and then expect people to read his blog anyways, you better damn well be reading. Cause his feathers could burn your face off.

Also, my tears can heal anything. Take that Chuck Norris.

Anyways, back to baseball. I've decided, in the interest of forcing myself to post more often, to run a weekly review on how the Cubs fared during the previous week. This time I'm doing the previous two weeks, because conveniently that is exactly how long it has been since I last posted. Here goes.

MVP: Derrek Lee

This was a close one between Lee and Kosuke, as both have done outstanding jobs so far. Kosuke is tearing it up with a .434 OBP, courtesy of his ability to draw walks seemingly at will. Lee on the other hand has wowed us with an impressive display of power, something that was sorely missed early on last season. He not only has a team leading .346 batting average, his slugging percentage is at an awe inspiring .692. And his defense has been solid as usual, at least what I've seen of it so far. To be honest, I haven't been very diligent about watching the games, but I saw him make a great play the other day running backwards and to his left to snag a bouncing ground ball. I haven't seen any plays Fukudome has made so far but I'm sure they were just as astounding.

Cy Young Award: Ryan Dempster

Remember last year, when you hated Ryan Dempster? When you taped a picture of his face to your dartboard and suddenly hit your target every time? Well you can forget all those things, because it turns out he's not the worst pitcher in the world, he's just terrible under pressure. Admittedly, he's only played two games so far, but only giving up one run in 13 innings of work is impressive. If only the second coming of the second coming of Christ, Kerry Wood, was faring as well. He blew his first save 8 games into the season, and it took Dempster 30 games last year. I guess you don't know what you've got til' it's gone. I think that's a song, but I can't remember if that's true. Someone inform me please.

My Thoughts

I am content with where the Cubs are at right now. Twelve games into the season we're 7-5, compared to last year when we were 5-7. We're only a game and a half behind the Cards, and the Cards are supposed to suck this year. They're supposed to suck every year in my mind, but my mind tends to be heavily biased and usually wrong. This year however I have been told that the Brewers are the ones we're going to have to watch out for, and we're only a half-game behind them. With how last year went, I won't even begin to worry until we're somewhere around 10 games back.

The toothpick is coming to town.

This week we've got Dusty Baker's second attempt at destroying an NL Central team, the Cincinnati Reds, and then we get to have another go at Pittsburgh. That should be exciting. I'll be in the right field bleachers at the game Wednesday night (thank you college discount) trying to teach Kosuke some new english words. Suggestions are welcome.