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.

Opening Day Predictions (Over a Week Later)

Somehow I've let my job get in the way of posting here at RTWF.com. I promise to rectify this.

Anyway, here are my predictions for this coming season -- along with some notable predictions from last year:

Mark Prior Wins:

Last year: 15 (not even close)

This year: F*ck Mark Prior; put me down for 2.

Kerry Wood Pitches:

Last year: 15 (I actually wasn't too far off on this one)

This Year: However many it takes to get 40 saves, that seems like a good goal.

Barrett Punches Thrown:

Last Year: 2 (Does his fight with Zambrano count? Nailed it.)

This Year: F*ck Barrett too. Look for Zambrano to get his revenge in this category.

Lou Pinella Ejections:

Last Year: 7 (What did he get? 2? Maybe 3? Weak.)

This Year: 10 (Double digits guarantees us the pennant.)

Wins by the White Sox:

Last Year: 62 (73 is not that far off...)

This Year: 62 (still gunning for 100 losses in this category)

Fukudome for President

I don't care if you like Clinton or Obama, I don't care that he's not a US citizen, I don't even care that the game isn't won yet. I'm writing in Fukudome as my choice for president this year. I suggest you do the same.

This is the most excited I've been since last September.

Ernie Banks Statue Unveiling

For anyone who hasn't seen the Ernie Banks statue yet (like me), here's a youtube video someone already posted of the unveiling. Not the best quality, but you'll get the idea of what to expect next time you swing by Wrigley.

Tom Skilling to the Rescue

Well I returned to a rain delay, so I have watched zero baseball so far. Apparently Kosuke has our only hit, so he seems like a solid investment so far. Of course because the Cubs game is the only important thing going on in Chicago today, or ever, WGN has the amazing Tom Skilling standing by to update us on the weather. He says that the rain should be over soon and baseball should be happening, but then again he is a weatherman. It's hard to trust someone who makes a living being wrong 80% of the time.

Personally I hope the game gets rained out so I can quickly buy tickets to Wednesday's game and that will be the true season opener. I have a friend at today's game who is rubbing it in my face via text message so that would be some sweet sweet revenge.

WELCOME BACK BASEBALL

First, let's get something out of the way. I've completely neglected this blog ever since the Fukudome signing. My bad. Let's just pretend that didn't happen. We're going to pick things up like we've been writing consistently since the end of last season.

Really all that's important is that Cubs baseball starts in an hour. Or maybe two, as it's raining here in Chicago at the moment. Dan Roan is talking to the Cubs chairman and seems to think there will be a dry window from 2-6 PM so we'll see if it can happen.

Pretty much everyone's focus is gonna be on Kosuke Fukudome and how he handles the big leagues. First, let's get the pronunciation correct. Say it with me everybody: Kos-kay Foo-Koo-Doh-May. Good. Now that you know how to pronounce it, you should check out the shirts we have in the shop on the right. If you're sitting in the right field bleachers this year you're going to want a FU FIGHTERS shirt, because who doesn't enjoy ripping off a popular band's name? They also have a number 1 on the back, so just in case you forget Kosuke's number you can ask the guy behind you to read your shirt.

Also, today marks the triumphant return of Kerry Wood as the closer who can't possibly be worse than our last one. Maybe. I guess the only way he'll be in the game is if we have a one or two run lead in the ninth, but I'm pretty confident that will happen.

I would be liveblogging this thing, but I have certain obligations I must attend to. I'll be checking in periodically though, so stick around, leave some comments, send me harassing emails, whatever floats your boat. I've got a good feeling about this season. Go Cubbies.

What The Fukudome

In the midst of the offseason boredom the Cubs have somehow managed to snag a 30 year old Japanese man to play in the outfield. That may not sound exciting at first, but apparently he's really good and a lot of teams wanted him and he batted .351 last year in Japan. Read more here.

While this is actually huge, it's just hard for me to get excited right now. Probably because it's the middle of December and the Bears are sucking. Talk to me again in March and I'll probably be bouncing off the walls about it.

Also, we essentially traded Jock Jones for a double-A pitcher the other week. At least Fukudome makes up for that mindboggling transaction.

Breaking News: Cubs Not as Impressive as Hockey Team

John McDonough left the Cubs today to become team president of some hockey team named the Blackhawks. You can read the official press release here.

Here's what I wanna know. What kind of voodoo magic did the Hawks work to get someone to leave a team that he's worked with for 24 years and is one of the most popular sports teams in the country to go work in the stinking pile of refuse that is the Blackhawks? We almost had a World Series John, and you played a big part in that. Why the hell would you want to leave?

"...the opportunity that Rocky presented to me -- and this came together rather quickly -- was something I was quite impressed with."

More impressive than the Cubs? Whatever. We don't need you John. Lou can be the manager and the president, and then that's one less last name that I have to double check to make sure I spelled right. Good riddance.

See Ya Jacque

The Cubs traded Jacque Jones today for a utility infielder from the Detroit Tigers. No, we didn't get Neifi back. We did however obtain the services of Omar Infante, a 26 year old who hasn't had a regular starting spot since the 2004 season. His name quite literally means Baby Omar. I think. He shall be referred to as this for the rest of the season.

Baby Omar is a career .271 hitter who batted .264 with 16 homers and 55 RBIs in 2004. As much as I don't like Jacque Jones, and I rank him right up there with Neifi and Roberto Novoa, I would like to think we could have gotten a little more for an outfielder who managed to hit .285 last year. Sure his arm sucks, he whines a lot, he cries about the fans not loving him, and he couldn't hit a home run to save his life last year, but it seems like we got the raw end of the deal. Maybe we did it to save money, as Baby Omar only made $1.3 million last season compared to the $5.5 million Jones gets this year, but you don't spend $300 million one offseason and then start pinching pennies the next. Jim Hendry, you have disappointed me.

Baseball Never Sleeps

It's been a month since the crushing disappointment that was the playoff game, and something came up in the papers recently to remind me that there's always hope for next year.

Ryan Dempster will no longer be the Cubs' closer.

This news isn't quite as amazing as it sounds, as the idea is that Lou will move the Harry Caray impersonator to the starting rotation. But he can't possibly be worse as a starter than he is as a closer, so this is definitely a step in the right direction.

This means that Sean Marshall and Jason Marquis would be competing for the final spot in the rotation, which basically means either Marquis gets the spot or we trade him and Marshall gets is. Of course the three other spots in the rotation go to Zambrano, Lilly, and Hill.

As for who has to fill the abnormally small shoes that Dempster is leaving behind, Carlos Marmol would be the obvious choice, considering he only gave up 11 runs in 59 appearances last year. Bob Howry is a solid pick too, as even though his ERA is considerably higher and he only converted 8 of 12 save opportunities last year, he was still the second best relief pitcher the Cubs had last year. His added experience in save situations might mean at least a platoon between him and Marmol.

And then there is the wild card, Kerry Wood. Coming in late in the season he posted a nearly identical ERA as Bob Howry and there is speculation that the Cubs could use the lure of a closer spot to convince him to re-sign with the team. That might sound appealing to a player that is used to a high profile spot in the starting rotation.

Whatever Lou decides, I just have one request. Please, please never let Dempster pitch a complete game. I don't care what kind of lead he has in the 9th, take him out. Heart attacks kill enough Americans every year as it is.

All Others Are Just Pretenders

There is only one true curse that you need worry about, and that is this: The Cubs will always, always choke after getting your hopes up, ripping out your heart and whatever happiness you had in the process. This is the feeling I have right now. I may find time to actually recount my experience of the game sometime tomorrow, but then again I might be spending time watching yet another Chicago sports team fall far short of expectations.