4/30

This is getting ridiculous...

First of all, I didn't see the game because I was at a wedding in Milwaukee. But friends, I am not liking the info I am getting.

If Kerry Wood has arm problems, put him on the DL for a while and let Glendon Rusch pitch. Wood is not helping the team right now and if he has arm problems, he needs to get them fixed.

This may sound blasphemous to Cubs fans, but I'm seriously wondering if we need to trade Wood for players who can actually STAY ON THE FIELD!!

And when the hell will Dusty give Jason Dubois some playing time? He's hitting a very solid .346 in 26 at bats. Hollandsworth isnt exactly lighting it up, so give Dubois a shot to see what he can do. Oh thats right, Dusty is an idiot so he's not in favor of anything that gives the team a better chance to win the game. Sorry, I forgot.

By the way, Cubs.com has a poll asking people who should be the Cubs closer.

These are the results.

LaTroy Hawkins
2782 votes (30%)

Roberto Novoa
848 votes (9%)

Mike Remlinger
908 votes (10%)

Michael Wuertz
2037 votes (22%)

Bullpen by situation
2829 votes (30%)


How anyone can vote for LaTroy Hawkins simply AMAZES me.

Astros 7 Cubs 5

Cubs, 12-11

4/29

Greg Maddux emerges victorious in the historic battle of the 300 game winners!

Maddux surrendered 2 earned runs on 7 hits over 6 innings....not exactly 'lights out' pitching but certainly a solid performance. Roger Clemens gave up 3 earned runs on 7 hits over 7 innings.

Jeromy Burnitz ("They're saying Booo-urnitz!") launched a 3-2 Clemens pitch into the right field seats in the 7th inning to give the Cubs the lead and the bullpen actually held it. Very impressive outings by Mike Wuertz, Roberto Novoa, and....::sigh::...Latroy Hawkins. He got it done tonight, but it still astounds and angers me that Dusty is letting him close. It's unbelievable.

Let's hope Kerry Wood does the job tomorrow vs. Brandon Backe.

Cubs 3 Astros 2

Cubs, 12-10

This is Beautiful...

A Sports Illustrated writer listed the 5 Worst Sports Teams to Root For and guess who's number 1?


Here's your answer...

1. The White Sox. (With apologies to SI p.r. guru Art Berke.) Though they haven't won the World Series since 1917 -- a drought almost as long as the Cubs' -- the Sox can't win for losing. The Cubs are lovable, the Sox are overlooked. The Cubs have Wrigley, the Sox have a character-less barn. The Cubs had Harry Caray, the Sox have Ken Harrelson. (He makes the Yankees' Michael Kay look like the picture of dignity and restraint.) Put it on the boarrrrrrddddd ... YESSSSSSS! Grab some bench! Come on. Every White Sox out is a screamer, every opponent's hit is a bleeder with eyes. Ken, it's not radio. We can see it. And don't get me started on the nicknames. When Sammy Sosa was with the Sox, Harrelson called him "The Panther," for crying out loud. And I don't buy this year's fast start. Their lineup just doesn't seem that good, and Ozzie Guillen looks like he needs to take a deep breath. Mitigating factor: Eight Men Out was a pretty good movie.

I love the dig at Hawk Harrelson.

4/27

Derrek Lee is the hottest hitter in Major League Baseball

Wow...what a series with the Reds!

Corey Patterson needs to stay out of the leadoff spot for the rest of his career. He can't do it. He's not that type of hitter.

Keep Hairston there.

Patterson's batting average is higher than Hairston's, .299 to .275. But Hairston's on base percentage is way above Corey's, .383 to .315.

And in 29 less plate appearances than Patterson, Hairston has more walks (5 to 2) and 10 less strikeouts (6 to 16) than Corey.

Much higher OBP, more walks, less K's, works the count much better...need I go on? It's up to Dusty to figure out a way to get Hairston in the every day lineup when Todd Walker gets back from injury. And I think you know how much faith I have in Dusty.

And what the hell has gotten into Derrek Lee?? This was supposed to be the guy who doesn't get hits in April, and he's leading the major leagues in hitting (.430) and RBI (27). He also set the Cubs franchise record for RBI in the month of April.

Not a great pitching effort today, but we'll wave the W flag and head to Houston.

Cubs 8 Reds 7

Cubs, 11-10

4/26

What the hell was that?

Z gets pounded and gets tossed for the second time already this season, the bullpen implodes, Dusty makes more brilliant managerial moves........THIS WAS FRUSTRATING.

I hate our bullpen and Dusty Baker sickens me.

I'm done writing.

Reds 11 Cubs 9

Cubs, 10-10

4/25

Another costly victory for the Cubs.

Early indications are that Chad Fox will be out for the rest of the season after he suffered an arm injury in the 9th inning of the Cubs 10-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Major Suckage.

On the bright side, Mark Prior continues to look like one of the best pitchers in baseball. Though his streak of innings without allowing an earned run ended at 16, Prior held the Reds to 2 runs over 6 innings while striking out 10. He left after the 6th because of a high pitch count....which is what happens when you strike a lot of guys out.

Here's my favorite stat of the day. I saw this on ESPN.com last night.

Since debuting in 2002, Prior is now baseball's most prolific strikeout pitcher, pushing himself past Randy Johnson with a 10-strikeout, six-inning effort on Monday night.

Strikeouts per 9 innings
Mark Prior - 10.69
Randy Johnson - 10.68
Johan Santana - 10.53
Oliver Perez - 10.26
Kerry Wood - 10.14
Pedro Martinez - 10.09

Cubs 10 Reds 6

Cubs, 10-9

Ichiro or Pujols?

Ok, so this isn't Cubs related but I'm posting it anyways.

Here's a great article debating which is the best player to build a franchise around.

I once argued that Ichiro is the best all around player in baseball in my other blog.

4/24

Jeromy Burnitz's 3-run HR was the difference in the game

You've gotta be kidding me.

Who are you and what have you done with Dusty Baker?

Dusty actually showed signs of not being an idiot today when he let Chad Fox close the game instead of LaTroy Hawkins. As a wise man once said "the sun shines on a dog's ass every now and then". I still don't know what that means.

Neifi Perez continues to look like Ted Williams in the batter's box. It baffles me. The other thing that baffles me is that Dusty actually had DLee in a good spot (3rd) in the batting order today instead of buried down in the 6 hole.

Woody still doesnt quite have his stuff. But he'll get his act together.....someday.

Now for the two nauseating stats of the day.

St. Louis Cardinals are 12-5
Chicago White Sox are 15-4

BARF.

Cubs 5 Pirates 2

Cubs, 9-9

4/23

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

DUSTY
WHAT THE HELL IS IT GOING TO TAKE FOR YOU TO REALIZE THAT LATROY HAWKINS CANT CLOSE GAMES? HOW MANY MORE SAVE CHANCES DOES HE HAVE TO BLOW FOR YOU TO TAKE HIM OUT OF THE CLOSER'S ROLE??

UN-F*CKING-BELIEVABLE.

4/21

Another strong outing by Ryan Dempster goes unrewarded. Once again, I stand by my position that Dusty Baker is an idiot. Mike Remlinger has not done well vs. lefties this year and has been killed by Larry Walker throughout his career. So, of course, Dusty brings him in to face Walker. Seconds later, Walker launches one into the right field bleachers.

Chris Carpenter pitched a complete game shutout. There was far too much swining early in the count on the part of the Cubs. There's no reason they should be shutput by a guy like Carpenter. He is a solid pitcher, nothing more. I'd also like to know why Dusty had Derrek Lee, clearly the Cubs most productive hitter this year, batting in the 6th spot.

Dusty's a moron.

Cards 4 Cubs 0

Cubs, 8-8

Nomar Update

Sounds like Nomar ruptured a tendon in the groin region. ESPN radio is reporting he'll likely be out 2-3 months. No word on whether or not he'll need surgery.

2-3 months is better than the entire year.


EDIT: There are conflicting reports coming in. Some (ESPN, WGN) are saying it's 2-3 months. Others (670 The Score) are saying he could be out for the year.


(This is from MLB.com)

ST. LOUIS -- Nomar Garciaparra now knows what's wrong. He knows it's serious. The next decision is what to do about it.

Garciaparra suffered what is technically called a left groin avulsion of the adductor longus muscle. In layman's terms, it's a torn groin muscle, and it's bad. He was hurt Wednesday night trying to run to first base in the third inning. He took two steps out of the batter's box and fell to the ground in pain.

Garciaparra underwent an MRI scan Thursday at Barnes Jewish Hospital, and was visibly hobbling in the clubhouse. It hurt to watch him walk.

"It can't be any more painful than it was yesterday," he said. "I have an avulsion of the tendon. Basically, I ruptured the tendon off the bone. There's a few tendons that go along your groin area. There's three major muscles and one of the muscles tore away from the bone. That's what the MRI showed."

Garciaparra and the Chicago Cubs refused to put a timetable on how long the shortstop will be sidelined until they decide what course of treatment to take. He was officially placed on the 15-day disabled list, but will likely be out a minimum of two to three months. Can he recover in time to play this season?

"Maybe. It's realistic," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "They're talking two, three months. Who knows how quickly it heals? There's still time for him to be a hero down the stretch. That's what I'm anticipating. May, June, July, yeah, it's realistic to think that. Especially if they choose the correct procedure to give him the best chance."

Cubs athletic trainer Mark O'Neal said the medical staff was discussing the various options. If Garciaparra is to undergo surgery, a decision must be made within the next seven to 10 days.
"I didn't ask about the season," Garciaparra said. "We didn't talk about it. First step is knowing what it is. Second step is what do we do? Then we can say, how do we see how the rehab is going to go, and go from there."

LAME LAME LAME.

4/20

Ouch.

That's what you call a 'costly win'.
Nomar seems to be done for a while...but how bad is it?
I'll post the MRI results as soon as I hear anything.
Let's just hope he isn't gone for the year.

Z looked sharp as usual. Good to see him bounce back after his last start.

Cubs 3 Cards 1

Cubs, 8-7

4/19

Mark Prior has not given up an earned run in 13 IP.

Good things, good things.

It feels very good to see Mark Prior looking like his 'old self' (does a 24 year old have an 'old self'?). Even though he got tagged in the first inning, he settled in and didn't allow an earned run in 7 IP. What a stud.

I'll admit this right now...I wanted Blanco to catch Prior and I was pissed when I saw Barrett in the starting lineup. But Prior ended up tossing another great game and Barrett even broke his hitless streak.

And I could give Corey Patterson a long, uncomfortable embrace for his defense AND his HR tonight. Is it just me or does he look 10 times more comfortable when he's not in the leadoff spot? Can we just keep Hairston there? I know Walker will come back eventually but I'm still convinced Hairston needs to be playing every day.

I would like to see what this offense can do with a hot-hitting Nomar. All in due time....

Things clicked today. Now if we can get a split in StL it'll be a 4-3 road trip. And in the words of Bart Simpson, "that aint not bad".

Cubs 7 Reds 1

Cubs, 7-7

4/18

Dusty you freaking moron!!!!!

I'm not saying it's easy to manage an MLB team. But when you put in a relief pitcher and he walks the first two batters and hits the third, doesn't something in your foolish little brain go "maybe he's not the best guy to have on the mound right now"????

Jon Leicester didn't have it tonight, clearly, but Captain Moron chose to stick with him and he ended up surrendering the lead.

Dusty SUCKS. He's an awful game tactician and that's no secret around MLB. When he came to the Cubs he was known as a unifier, a guy who rallied the troops and got the best out of his guys. He's clearly not doing that.

I'm very much questioning if the Cubs can win a World Series with Dusty as their manager. I don't care how much talent they have, how good their pitching is, how many young stallions they have on the field. Dusty is not the right man for this job.

It feels odd to blow a late lead and not have to pin it on LaTroy Hawkins. I pin this one on Dusty.

Though Kerry Wood didnt exactly help the cause either, surrendering 5 earned runs on 8 hits over 6 innings. Wood has had a shaky start which is the last thing this team needs right now. But...I'm still not worried. And by the way, I'd still like to see what would happen if Blanco caught Wood. Just for kicks...

We have Prior tomorrow and Z on Wednesday vs. the Cards. If we win tomorrow and take 1 of 2 in St.Louis, it'll be a 4-3 road trip. We'll take that.

Till tomorrow....

Reds 7 Cubs 6

Cubs, 6-7

4/17

Derrek Lee continued his hot hitting in the Cubs' 4-2 victory.

Alright. Series win on the road. Back to .500. Who cares if it's the sucky Pirates? We'll take it.

Good to see Mad Dog starting to settle in. I'm not expecting the world of him this year...but an ERA of around 4.00 and 15 wins will do nicely. I think that should definitely be within reach.

I'm glad Dusty has DLee in the 5th spot with the way he's hitting. He should stay there all year to offer Ramirez more protection than Burnitz will. Lefty or no lefty.

I dont suppose I should push my luck by asking that we bat Hairston in the leadoff spot? Is that crazy talk? Hairston is clearly eager to prove what he can do. And believe it or not, unlike Corey, Hairston actually gets a walk every now and then. What a concept.

But we won today. Derrek Lee can carry us through the rest of April for all I care.

Tomorrow, Kerry Wood will look for his first win of the season. I want to see 7IP, 8K's, 1ER, 2BB, 3H.

Do it Kerry. Do it......Do it.

Cubs 4 Pirates 2

Cubs, 6-6

4/16

Aramis Ramirez hit his 2nd home run of the season

I dont understand what Neifi Perez is doing. Every time Dusty plays him instead of Jerry Hairston, I re-affirm my belief that Dusty is an idiot and that Hairston needs to play. Then Neifi goes 3-4 and it turns out Dusty was right.

He cant keep this up, right? I mean, this is Neifi Perez. He's not known for his bat. He's known for a good glove and solid fundamentals. I know it wont last forever, but it sure is nice to be getting some big production from an unexpected source.

And Ryan Demptser.....can you please ease up on the walks my friend? I just don't think you're good enough to walk guys and get away with it. You're like a poor man's Kerry Wood.

Aramis added a 3 run dinger but one thing still bothers me about this team. When you have a runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs, YOU NEED TO SCORE HIM. They're still struggling in this area and it's driving me up the wall. Hit a sac fly for crying out loud. Poke one through the infield. Just stop wasting opportunities!

But, they won so let's be happy. Back to .500 tomorrow if Maddux can begin to find his groove.

Cubs 4 Pirates 3

Cubs, 5-6

4/15

Not a good game.

Aramis seems to be overswinging. What happened to the sweet, short swing we saw last year from the guy who hardly ever struck out? In 8 games he's already struck out 6 times...that's way more frequently than last year.

I'm not worried though. Tonight's game was probably the first of 2 times this entire season that Z will give up 5 earned runs.

Bad game....Z sucked, didnt get the big hits, blew leads. BAD.

I'm tired of the negativity though...so I'm drinking the Kool-Aid.

Pirates 8 Cubs 5

Cubs, 4-6

Click here to read a great article by Mike Downey.

4/13

Mark Prior threw 6 shutout innings in his season debut


The Bad News...

Kerry Wood got tattooed in his second start of the season as the Padres clubbed Kerry for 7 runs (6 earned) over 6 2/3 innings. I'm not worried about Wood, but theres a part of me that is frightened we will soon find out he's once again injured. That seems to be the routine of the Dusty ship. If a pitcher gets rocked, he must be hurt.

Padres 8 Cubs 3

Cubs, 3-5

The Good News...

My little Marky Prior was looking like himself today and that is good news, Cub fans. He only allowed 4 hits in 6 innings, allowed 1 walk and fanned 6. He only went 6 innings because he was on a pitch count. If Prior is back, this instantly becomes a different team.

Also nice to see Derrek Lee breaking his habit of miserable Aprils. He's hitting .364 with 2HR and 11RBI.

Also, it's interesting to see the effectiveness of Henry Blanco (Hank White as I call him) behind the plate. I'd like to see Blanco catch Wood's next start and see what happens. Just my thoughts...

Cubs 8 Padres 3

Cubs, 4-5

4/11

The Sleeping Offense.

Just a bad day at the plate for our Cubbies and not getting the offense when it was needed.

Ryan Dempster bought himself a little faith from me as he went 6IP without surrendering an earned run.

Jeromy Burnitz came crashing back to earth as he committed a costly error and struck out in 3 of his 4 plate appearances.

Dusty Baker, aka Captain Moron, started Neifi Perez over Jerry Hairston at 2B to replace the injured Todd Walker. Walker will likely be out 4-6 weeks. His bat was missed.

Six hits should usually mean at least one run.

Bad game. No offense. Too many K's. Both Aramis Ramirez and Burnitz left 5 runners on. That doesn't make me happy.

But it's April 11th and we'll see how Prior does tomorrow.

Padres 1 Cubs 0

Cubs, 3-4

p.s. the Red Sox and Yankees are both 3-4.

4/10

How much better does it feel to have Jeromy Burnitz in right field rather than Sam-me?

God bless Burnitz and his attitude. Can you picture Sosa saying this...

"When I hit the homer, I didn't know if it went far enough and I was hustling to get to second".

I love that! Are they selling "We Got Burnitz" shirts yet?

I know. He wont stay this hot all season. But still, it's great having him in right instead of #21.

Nice comeback win today. Typical Maddux April start. Hopefully, he'll settle.

Cubs 6 Brewers 5

Cubs, 3-3

4/9

I was at the game today with box seats free of charge (Thanks Penny and Julian!) and got to see the first Cubs home win of 2005.

Man, Z looked sharp today. I can't remember off the top of my head, but his stats at Wrigley during day games last year were SICK. I wanna say he had an ERA under 2.00. But he's just one part of the three headed monster that will hopefully carry us to the Promised Land.

Without a healthy Wood and Prior pitching like we all know they can, this team will not be playing postseason baseball.

p.s. It was great to see Jeromy Burnitz getting the love from the right field fans. I expected as much, but I think the more they see Burnitz's work ethic, the more they will appreciate him.

Plus, he's not a douche.

Great game today.

Cubs 4 Brewers 0

Cubs, 2-3

GOOD LORD

Can we please have someone other than LaTroy Hawkins closing games? PLEASE!!!

This is a freaking joke. He's a phenomenal set-up man, but as a closer he absolutely sucks.

Let Remlinger close. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LET REMLINGER CLOSE.

Or trade for Urbina and take a chance there.

I'm Inspired

Alright, after a very rough month of March, I'm going to try to update this blog as much as my other one. I've been inspired by seeing a link to my blog on baseballballblogs.org and thought that it would be good for my soul to jump back into baseball blogging.

Friends, I'm back and ready to talk about our 2005 Chicago Cubs.