Bases Loaded

Maybe it's just me, but lately (ala the last week or so) I've been more nervous when we've had the the sacks juiced than in any other situation. Even runners on 2nd and 3rd gets my heart pounding.

Only the Cubs can figure out how to get everyone on (most of the time with no outs) and fail do drive them in.

Yeesh.

Koyie Hill? Really?

The Cubs just lost in the 13th inning. This doesn't surprise me. What surprises me is that Lou used Koyie Hill as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded and the game on the line. I understand that it was a long game and we had already gone through 19 players, but this was a poor decision. We still had Sean Marshall, Ted Lilly, Scott Eyre, Michael Wuertz, and Jason Marquis available to hit. Of those 5, Lilly is batting .115 and Marquis is hitting an impressive .188. You may not think that is impressive, but you will once you consider that Koyie Hill was batting .067 before today. Now it's down to .063. Lou, come on, using your grandma would be a better choice than using Koyie. Marquis would have gotten the job done.

Trade talk

I'm not really sure there is any, so let's start up some rumors.

The casual observer would figure that the Cubs need to bolster their bullpen if they aim to make a run at the post-season. I concur. As much as I love every player on this team, nothing gets the heart beating faster than when Lou makes the call to the boys down the foul line.

To rectify this, I naturally look to the one area where the Cubs seem to have plenty of help: the outfield.

J. Jones (aka Mr. Rally Killer), could hold some value when it comes to picking up an extra arm in the bullpen. He has really yet to play up to his contract, so we'd probably have to take a net loss in getting rid of him, but with Floyd begging for (and deserving) more playing time, this seems like a logical choice.

I still consider Matt Murton a prospect at this point, because even though he's been playing with us for a while, he still plays like a AAA call-up. Dropping flies is just unacceptable, not to mention he isn't getting enough at-bats to get into a groove. I for one wouldn't lose sleep if we moved him.

That's all I have for now. Comments, as always, are welcome for discussion.

Watch your back Izturis.

If you haven't been keeping up with the team lately, then you haven't heard about the newest double-play combo this season.

If you bother to read the link, you'll figure out that Fontenot and Theriot have quite a bit in common (including silent "t's" at the end of their names).

Here's to more of what they achieved last night (a couple of nice double plays and half of the Cubs scoring). It's going to be tough for Lou to break this duo up when Aramis finally is ready to go. And I hope he doesn't,

Write In Game

Big Z is finally starting to pitch up to his Cy Young predictions, thank goodness. AND he and Mickey shared a heartfelt hug in the dugout after his homerun (sniff sniff).

I'm sick of everyone sticking a fork in this team. With so much time left, and the Brewers tanking, I'll take the Cubbies any day of the week.

AND With Ichiro coming to town tomorrow, I like our chances at gaining a few more games on the central lead this week.

So yeah. Go Cubs.

So About This Braves Series...

So what I missed yesterday was the big picture of how everything went down. But now that I have collected all the facts, this is what actually happened.

On Thursday, Rich Hill tore the Braves apart with his pitching. This did not make Bobby Cox happy.

On Friday, Soriano hit three home runs. That's more than you, me, and everyone I personally know will hit in a lifetime. That is a big deal.

Saturday started off with Soriano getting beaned with the first pitch of the game by Hudson. Both benches were warned. A few innings later, Sean Gallagher was beaned by Peter Moylan. The umpires did nothing.

Sunday, Ted Lilly got the first two batters out, then beaned Edgar Renteria. The benches emptied, nothing major happened, and Ted Lilly was thrown out of the game. Wait, what? The umpire tossed Ted Lilly with no warnings in the first inning? Then Edgar Renteria stole second and clotheslined Mike Fontenot.

There's a few things I notice about that picture. First of all, he's sliding and his leg is past the bag at this point. I'm sorry Mr. Renteria, I'm sure you're extremely stupid, but I don't believe that you're that bad at sliding into a base. Secondly, one of your arms is around Mike's neck, and the other is behind your back grabbing his glove. Either you are practicing your contortionist routine, or you are an enormous douchebag and I hate you. I now wish you to lay in a deep, dark hole and die, Mr. Renteria. Thank you.

Questions for Ryan Dempster

What are you doing pitching in the 8th inning? Did you ever think that maybe wild pitches are bad for you? Have you ever seen yourself in the mirror and broken down crying because even you hate Ryan Dempster? You can send your answers to these questions to the e-mail on the right. Thank you.


Alright so maybe that's a little extreme. I know it's still a early to be freaking out, and we're making progress and all that, but what the heck? Two straight come from ahead losses against the Braves? What is wrong with you people?

If we can't take the one game series from the Astros tomorrow I'm gonna have to start throwing things.

Pitches to the Man...and BOOM goes the dynamite

From the Book of Cubinnisess, Chapter 12, Verse 3:

And on that day, the 8th of June in the year 610398 AC, in this the 59th game of the season, there shall arise one amongst you who shall do great things. Three times he shall step up to the plate, and three times he shall launch a ball over the wall. There will be much rejoicing amongst my chosen people, and much gnashing of teeth amongst the Atlantean hordes. This will be a sign to you. You shall find him in left field, wearing the number 12, and you shall call him Soriano.

Rich Hill: Fighting Political Incorrectness since 2006

Political correctness has invaded the world of sports in recent years. First, way way back in 1994, Marquette University changed its mascot from the Warriors to the much less offensive Golden Eagles. Subsequent polls showed that (surprise!) students and alumni preferred Warriors, but because the administration felt that the mascot and logos used along with the Warrior name was offensive, the name was instead changed to the Marquette Gold. This is the most retarded name in all of sports, so it went back to Golden Eagles where it currently sits today.

Then last year some shady deals were made to disband the Chief Illiniwek mascot at the University of Illinois. Many alumni pledged to withhold donations as a result of this decision. This hit close to home for me, not because I go to that school but because I live in the state. It's about three hours away from me, so literally it's fairly close. Not that I would give any money to my alma mater either way, I've already given them enough.

Personally, I think that removing a mascot because it offends an imaginary tribe is silly. And who said a warrior has to refer to an Indian warrior? If we're going to go this far, then I say everyone from Greece needs to protest the Michigan State Spartans, because they're no longer around to defend themselves (stupid Persians). And comic book fans from across the world should be knocking at Michigan's door to protest the Wolverines (I'm not a big fan of the state of Michigan, if you can't tell).

This political correctness has not made its way to the professional sports world yet, which is where Rich Hill comes in. Hill has obviously noticed how politically incorrect it is for the Atlanta Braves to exist, and for their fans to wave their tomahawks about. If no one else is going to do something about this, he will.

Over four starts against the Braves in 2006 and 2007, Hill has pitched 28 and 2/3's innings, giving up only 3 earned runs and compiling a 3-0 record. That's a 0.94 ERA over 4 starts. Now all the Cubs have to do is convince him that calling a team the Cardinals is an insult to the peacefulness of the state bird of Illinois and getting to the playoffs should be a breeze.

Watch Your Back Aramis

It was bad enough for Aramis Ramirez that he's out for at least a couple days with a strained knee, but now there's more bad news. The Cubs have taken a third baseman with the 3rd pick of the draft, a high school senior named Josh Vitters.

Vitters, who turns 18 on Aug. 27, is ranked as the top pure high school hitter by Baseball America. He batted .371 with eight homers and 25 RBIs for Cypress (Calif.) High School.

I know it's gonna be a while til this kid makes his way to the bigs, but I hope the Cubs move him along quickly. Competition is always a good thing, and we need all the help we can get. And I'm sure by the time he gets here Aramis will be burned out. If not, teach him to play shortstop. I'm getting tired of watching E5 play.

Everything is Going According to Plan

I said that the Cubs needed someone to show a little bit of emotion to get this team rolling. We were stuck in a rut and no one seemed to care enough to do anything about it. Having a team meeting shows that you're tired of losing, not that you want to win.

So when Lou got ejected, I was excited. While everyone else was calling his antics deplorable and going on and on about how the Cubs were losing control of their players, I knew exactly what Lou was doing. His ejection coupled with Zambrano attacking Barrett would light a fire under the team.

Since he was suspended, the Cubs went from a 6 game losing streak to winning 3 of their last 4 games. Felix Pie is doing very well, Soriano got five hits in one game against the Brewers, and Zambrano is pitching like, well, Zambrano. All is well with the world. I just hope the team can keep it up when Lou returns, otherwise the Cubs might need to send him on an extended vacation for the rest of the season. Somehow Lou seems to manage best when he's not in the clubhouse.

The Bench Players are Going Down Like Flies

Way back on Friday, Henry Blanco was placed on the DL with a herniated disc in his neck. This injury set off a series of events that either had a very catastrophic or enjoyable effect, depending on how you view the Cubs right now. I personally choose to laugh more than be angry, so this has been a fun weekend.

This series of events has resulted in Sweet Lou being suspended for an undetermined amount of time. Bench coach Alan Tremmel is piloting the ship today, maybe he can be the Barbosa to Lou's Captain Jack antics.

But here comes news that "where's my pinch runner?" Darryle Ward is out with a hip strain. Enter Felix Pie. I don't think my weekend could get any better. I guess maybe if the Cubs win today, but I quit paying attention to that a while ago.

Game starts in 10 minutes. Sean Marshall is pitching. Maybe he'll get some run support for once. I'm just hoping Tremmel gets ejected and Cliff Floyd has to coach the team.