Bleed Cubbie Blue

Second post!

The excitement has worn off.

You could have made it a third.

And two of them without a photo. You’re slipping.

Bad things come in 3's Al...

I thought you knew that!

Three BUNNIES?

LMAO

Well, they’re no ordinary bunnies. They’re the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodents you ever set eyes on! Those Bunnies have got a vicious streak a mile wide! They’re killers!

With big sharp pointy teeth!

n/t

You git! I soiled my armor, I was so scared.

gary varsho - April 22, 2008 reply

Speaking of 3 bad things.....

I have a question about Fukudome. There were 3 balls within his reach I thought today that he gave up on or could have laid out for. Does he not dive for bloops? Ok the second one that was arouind the 4th or 5th he let drop was ok becuase if that ball gets past a few runs score. But the 1st one and last one I thought he had a shot at and let up.

Indisputable proof...

that you can’t please all the people all the time.

I guess

It was a close game early on and I realize his bat is on fire but I couldnt believe he didnt get dirty for a few of those balls coming his way today. And I wasnt drinking today so I know what I saw.

Maybe he didn't think he could get to the balls...

...and decided he wasn’t going to dive just to be a showboat about how scrappy he is.

Too soon?

LMAO

In at least one of those cases, I think had he dived and missed, the ball would have rolled to the wall. Better to give up one base than three.

damn it

whatever. FINE! Reed Johnson or DeRo would have caught 2 of the 3.

Dont get me wrong.

I realize Fukudome is the real deal. I’ll be the 1st to admit I wasn’t on his bandwagon at the end of ST.

I just wondered if anyone else though the same about todays game. I didnt know if he might have a minor injury or if he misjudged or what. After one of them he walked back to his spot shaking his head like he thought he should have had it. One had some heat but the other 2 were one hop bloops.

Either way I don’t want to come off like I’m trashing the guy.

lol at showboating scrappy

I agree with you that possibly 2 of the three he could have had with a dive but

it’s a risk.

Ilan - April 22, 2008 reply

I agree

With alot you say keystone and i honestly think i sat next to you one game lol.

But anyway yea he hasnt made to many big attempts at some plays in right but i dont find much to complain about with the cubs anymore.

No kidding?

I’ve been in the bleachers and in sec 509 the past 2 games. I bought the wifey a 9 game ticket pack in section 509 and I’ve been using all the tickets haha

Anyway, I guess it’s not that big a deal then. I’ll take power over finesse any day so as long as he’s working his magic at the plate then I have no complaints.

i was in the 400s for a couple games so i gues it coulndt be u

Sweet

Spelling btw

I'm the werts spuller on the site

I’m laying on a couch with a laptop on my belly. My spelling will be D- at best. Even when I see errors I’m too lazy to correct them.

well here's one that if you correct, it'll be like correcting a thousand more

I don’t think you need that apostrophe in your signature – I’m pretty sure the “friends” reference in those Dos Equis commercials is plural, not possessive.

And with that correction, given your propensity for prolific posting, just think how many future errors you’ve eliminated. You’ll be a BCB Gold Glover for sure… ;-)

Mercy me!

You’re right!

No, you're the

WUERTZ

speller on the site!

Ha ha, I made a funny.

HAHAHAHA

For sure!

And I need to defend myself a little. 90% of these errors are typing errors…not spelling errors. But I understand either way it annoying and entertaining.

Then again....

if all I can come up with to b!tch about is Fukudome’s effort on a few bloops then things are going good.

Hehe

Dont worry no one is jumping on you, you have a right to question his D since thats pretty much we can have any question about anymore.

Coming into the year i was expecting a mediocre batter maybe .275/ .330 obp? But hes proved me wrong thus far.

AWW MAN!!

you beat me!

Very well said

I’m so happy at this point….Bring on the ROCKIES!

akbeck98 - April 22, 2008 reply

Man of the hour!

Love it!

n/t

Yes, very appropriate.

Awesome!!!

Cubs are on a tear. 1 deck is finally playing like we thought he could and Pie is having some good at bats. I like it.

McRipper - April 22, 2008 reply

My head is

spinning from the great play of this team. It will seem like years waiting for the game tomorrow night.

It is so much fun to be able to share all of this with all of you great Cub fans in here.

Here here!!

Just watched Dome highlight reel on NHK News

All 3 hits are great, and great base running and scoring.
It was the headline of NHK sports this morning!

I am here in Nagasaki to watch high school baseball (the team which my friend is managing went semi final in West Japan spring tournament), but it looks like raining out today….

dragonsfanatic - April 22, 2008 reply

Forgot a link

The team is those kids

dragonsfanatic - April 22, 2008 reply

Props to Al

For using the word ‘Penultimate’ in his recap

berselius - April 22, 2008 reply

Hey Al (or anyone), a question

I’ve been trying to remember who used to make the schedule for MLB. Wasn’t it a husband and wife couple? Can you shed some light on the circumstances of the change? I think there was an ESPN.com article on the former schedulemakers but I didn’t have luck finding it the last time I looked. Does anyone remember their names?

The reason for the change???

Isn’t it obvious? Because computers can do things so much faster, better and with more precision than silly humans can! How do you think we got the BCS and Diebold Voting Machines?

Love the precision of

a road trip with 2 in Denver and 3 in DC!!! Oh, yeah….home for 3 and off on the road again!!!!

well I really consider the DC games to be home games away from home

definately more cubs fans at those games

As with Cincy also!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1936328

Here's an ESPN article on them

Yes, it is a couple, the Stephensons.

Check out this line from the article:

“The Sports Scheduling Group won the contract in part because it did a better job of avoiding “semi-repeaters,” in which the same teams play in back-to-back series at home and then away, said Katy Feeney, MLB senior vice president of scheduling.”

There have been so many semi-repeaters last year and this year already it’s ridiculous. The schedules in general have been much stupider since the Stephensons lost the contract.

John Q Freejazz - April 22, 2008 reply

That's exactly what I was looking for!

Nice work, JQF.

Thanks for the link.

The computer can plug in city names and teams and make it logistically work. But they ignore the human factor of, say, traveling from Central time to Mountain time to Eastern time in the matter of three days. Or, say, when the Pirates were here last week, they were home, then in Los Angeles, then here.

Idiotic.

It's important to note that the computer just does math.

There are people that write programs to tell the computer what math to do. You could add those stipulations – and countless others – into the program. This is human error, not a case of our Evil Computer Overlords boning us once more.

The human error is...

... allowing the computer to do it, because it would be far too much work to, say, have a human look at all the goofy roadtrips like the Cubs’ upcoming trip to Colorado and Washington and say, “That’s stupid”, and reschedule it.

The Hendersons did a better job.

there is probably an insider story behind this quiet one behind the corner

Like the Stephenson’s were good and the thought was that how bad could the other group do, where someone inside got an influence or favor.

Selling against an artform has always been easy for those who don’t understand it when someone comes in with a new automated seemingly cheaper or better process.

When it doesn’t work because of judgment they try to tweek the automation but that is why we educate people, to make judgment. Yet management hates to be held hostage for non-management judgments.

Could it had been a penny-wise dollar foolish decision either way I have noticed that the schedule stinks.

The thing that gets me is that the cost of fatique causing serious issues with high paid players must be significant if that is considered a factor.

One possible remedy might be a time zone restriction that the Union might put in to restrict the league.

Let us look at this; Cubs travel through one time zone to CO and then two days later travel through two time zones (going backward) this will fatique any person. They should demand an off day if this happens prior to the Washington series. That would stop this abuse.

Now if they traveled to CO, then to the West Coast that would be one time zone change for each series and then home (off day) through two time zones where they get an off day.

Either way Piniella will have to manage his staff accordingly. My bet is that Piniella will rest everyone through this five game swing including Lee, Ramirez, Fukudome, and DeRosa

Ivy Walls - April 23, 2008 reply

Or...

...featuring dome teams in outdoor season opening-series…

Today's game falls into the WTF ? category...

who ever woulda thunk it…....

The effect of Kosuke's AB's on a pitcher.....

...should not be under estimated. Not only does he put himself in a position to get good pitches to hit, he frustrates the dog out of the pitcher and flat wears him down.

The next hitters in the order benefit from the frustration and mistake pitches are made.

I also can’t help but wonder if his plate discipline has had a Maddux like rub off effect on the other hitters…not to downplay the good coaching.

cubfever7 - April 22, 2008 reply

It has to....

an old adage says hitting is contagious….so it just seems that the patient AB’s would follow!!

Absolutely

One thing I’ve noticed with other patient teams, for instance last years Red Sox, is that the pitchers get worn out much sooner. There are more walks and hence longer innings and more potential for runs and thus higher stress situations. I’m hoping the Cubs’ newfound patience is here to stay, since it’s already paying huge dividends.

John Q Freejazz - April 22, 2008 reply

With the increased pitches

comes an early exit by the starter. It would seem that whenever a starter exits early, the manager cannot rely on his best bullpen arms to get the team through the game, thus increasing the potential for the Cubs to score a lot more runs. It’s all cause and effect, and taking walks and getting into the opponent’s bullpen early is always a good thing.

It is SO Trib (to coin a phrase!)

for the Tribune to use AP for the game write-up…...Does anyone else find that odd?

wow

That makes no sense, especially since the game was in CHICAGO!
Also may be because the game ended so recently, however, and the Trib hasn’t finished their story yet.

They always use

the AP write-up first. It gets the story up quickly, and then they replace it with Paul Sullivan’s (or whoever) story later.

They do that for all the games.

Josh Timmers - April 22, 2008 reply

Win #?

Was this the Cubs 9,999th win? I’m going to the game in Denver tomorrow and was wondering if I may witness history?

yep

LPLancer23 - April 22, 2008 reply

eh,

i was hoping it would be in DC, but I’m happy that the Cubs play well

I'm going to the game tonight too...

...I had no idea it could be the Cubs 10,000 win!

mrtobby - April 23, 2008 reply

I will be at both

in Denver as well….can’t wait…...

By Santo's Grace - April 22, 2008 reply

Lucky you!!

We are only about 7 hours from Denver, but both too busy to go!!! Have to watch FSRM Rockies broadcast…....but they are 500% better than ESPN!!!!!

WHere exactly

are you?

I’m an hour away in FoCo!

We are in Santa Fe....

crazymountain - April 23, 2008 reply

I love that place

I make there once a year…at least.

Cubs could end up April with 19 wins at this rate!

They go out to CO and I am hoping for a good split, then off to Washington DC where the Nationals stink like the Pirates. It could be the 4th sweep of the month at this rate, then home for an off day and two games this month with the Brewers whom they need to revenge the opening series.

I could see a 6-1 finish well maybe that is too optimistic, okay a realistic 5-2 record and a 19-8 April start.

Ivy Walls - April 22, 2008 reply

they better AT LEAST win Saturday!

all this good play and I wanna see a wiN!

Man...

I should have copyrighted “Onedec” when I had the chance.

What exactly does "Onedec" mean?

I am kinda confused?
Pertaining to wins?

re-read Al's recap

He explains it.

Cedeno backwards...

He’s been the whipping boy of this team since Hawkins left. We got to the point of using his name as an exclamation of frustration when something bad happened. Cedeno! Lilly gave up a homerun! We say it backwards when something good happens. Onedec! We’re in first place!

If this keeps up we may have to change the scale to

Fontenot!

LT - April 22, 2008 reply

No doubt!

somebody mentioned this

and i have been thinking of it since ST….MICKEY MORANDINI!

CubbyBlues - April 22, 2008 reply

MORANDINI! Might be perfect. Better yet WILL OHMAN!

better yet. NEIFI!!!

gocubsgoradio720 - April 22, 2008 reply

PERFECT!

i’m glad you liked that as much as i did. say what you want about cedeno’s list of bonehead plays, for me nothing will ever top all the horrible memories i have of mr. perez. good riddance….NEIFI!!!

gocubsgoradio720 - April 22, 2008 reply

One of my Neifi favorites

It was a Saturday Fox game at Wrigley in 2006 (what a year!). He hit a grounder to third that broke his bat in half. He was holding the small end of the bat and just stood there watching the play, like he didn’t know what to do because his bat broke. He didn’t move out of the batters box. Rolen could have walked the ball over to first. A lot of weird things happened in that game. A Cardinals outfielder (Taguchi?) was doubled up for failing to retag second base on his way back to first after a fly ball out. I can’t remember who won, but I would say chances are the Cardinals.

markleonette - April 22, 2008 reply

Another suggestion

GAETTI!!

His name has already been used as a verb a few times on this site by some hoping that we don’t get “Gaettied by Johnson.” Might as well use it as an exclamation as well

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3361518

Chemistry

one of my favorites things to do when I get home and watch the replay of the game is watch how the players interact with each other after good plays….such as D. Lee and Cedeno in the 8th..

cozmotaylor123 - April 22, 2008 reply

Met fan in my office

said after the game he wanted Ronny’s head on a platter and I
am thinking 3 days ago so did most Cub fans. Great couple of games but it will take at least two more grand slams for me to forgive him for overrunning 2nd on a WALK last year and destroying a Cubs rally Vs. Cardinals in the 9th. I have a LONG memory for one the the most bone headed plays I have ever seen.

I could only follow updates on yahoo ( some of us have to work and our bosses don’t let us watch MLB or gameday while we do) until I went out 5 for coffee and decided to peek in the window to watch ONE batter at the sports bar next to the coffee place. I see the bases loaded and Ronny up and figure great another bunch of stranded runners and then WHAM. It was a beautiful day on 9th Ave & 42nd today

Doggie Stalker - April 22, 2008 reply

Hope to see.......

when Alphonso gets back he finds himself in the 5 hole because I’d love to see Fukudome hitting in front of D.Lee….

James031 - April 22, 2008 reply

Slightly OT: Brewers trade Gross to Rays

[ Not sure if this anyone mentioned this in the game thread or not…]

This should make Keystone very happy. Rays were definitely in the market for an outfielder and rumored to be a possible destination for Mad Mountain Murton. But I would guess that Gabe Gross satisfies their outfield needs for awhile, so Matty Boy should be here for awhile longer – at least until Soriano returns.

Oh, the price for a 4th outfielder these days? Minor league Class A pitcher Josh Butler, 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA in three starts so far this year.

what a steal

for the Brewers taht is

How do you figure?

I don’t see the value in this trade at all. Sounds like a dump-off for the Brewers at best. Butler could be something, but I wouldn’t exactly bet on it.

And it’s a horribly stupid move in my mind – the Brewers did it so they could make room for Tony Gwynn, who’s coming off the DL. Because the Brewers have 14 freaking pitchers and a three-man bench.

And with a 14-man pitching staff, the Brewers still have had Gagne pitch four of the past five games!

I hope they keep Gagme as their closer.....

That is a function of the ineptness of their manager...

in my expert medical opinion.

And the GM....signing him in the first place!

Every manager has a weakness or so.

Dusty’s weakness was in playing “his boys” instead of trying to get creative or utilize untested players in trying to patch holes in his lineup. Ned Yost’s big failing is his inability to manage a bullpen. (Well, that and his perpetual fondness for getaway day lineups.)

And it’s one thing for a manager to have a weakness; it’s another thing for a GM to cater to that weakness instead of trying to protect the team from it. Giving Yost a 9-man pen that he has no clue how to manage (eight, I guess, with Sheets being skipped a start) isn’t helping the Brewers.

That said, I’d still rather be a Brewers fan than a Cards fan this season. [As much as it pains me to say it, LaRussa is one of the best “tactical” managers in the game, in stark contrast to Yost; the difference is that the Brewers have a good team. Good players beat good managers most of the time.]

And Dusty

is collecting his boys in Cincy…..they weren’t good when they were here, why does he still want them?? Man, I’ll never figure him out….

Because of who and what Dusty Baker is.

Dusty Baker is very gifted at getting the optimal performance out of the players assigned to him. What Dusty Baker is poor at is differentiating good players from bad – he can figure out a blue-chip prospect or a big-name free agent, but he is very poor at picking through the scrap heap and finding a diamond in the rough. So he uses “major league experience” as a proxy for talent, so he doesn’t have to bother with trying to differentiate between talented/useful minor leaguers and guys that have no business being in the majors.

I am looking at it

from a Cubs perspective :-)

This is just one of those things that drives me nuts as a fanalyst.

(That’s not a typo, just me inventing a stupid word.)

I look at the way the Brewers are handling their roster right now, and I can’t comprehend the line of thinking that’s getting them to where they are right now. It’s not even that I disagree, so much as I have no idea what their thinking is.

Yeah, I guess that the organizational gaffes of the Brewers are good for me personally as a Cubs fan, so I shouldn’t let it bother me. But it does seriously bother me when an MLB team does something so blindingly stupid as this, division rival or not.

ie

Matt Morris trade for Pitt?

VillanuevaExperience - April 22, 2008 reply

How bad is Gagne right now?

Think the Brewers should ask for a refund?

I don't think I would have payed Gange $10 million no matter how well I thought he would pitch.

But I honestly have no idea how well Gagne is pitching; I haven’t seen him pitch and relief pitcher stats in April are absolutely worthless.

just look at his Boston stats from last season

and ask why he has 10 million dollars. He cracked last summer like Lidge did in the playoffs.

That's a goofy trade, I agree.

Gross was a useful bench player. Gwynn… isn’t. Do they really have a 14-man pitching staff?

Ned Yost really is a horrid manager. And Gagne keeps blowing saves.

I couldn’t be happier.

and he is also starting Kendall in ninth

which is even wackier than LaRussa’s plan..

It makes perfect sense.

Jason Kendall’s a good bet to post an OBP over his SLG; putting him behind the pitcher is a great way to maximize his ability to get on base while masking his inability to drive in runners.

Here’s their official roster.

They really have 14 pitchers.

I read over it again and again, and I can find now sense in it.

two bench players and a back up catcher?

Yep.

Counsell and Kapler are their entire useful bench, so far as I can discern. (Tony Gwynn Jr. will be off the DL before their next game, and will probably be their “regular” center fielder from now until whenever Cameron is allowed out of detention.)

Boy, that's really, really stupid.

Ned Yost is an idiot.

Is Ned Yost the ‘Charlie Weiss’ of MLB? Another case of a coach who isn’t as good without the head hancho AKA Cox.

They somehow have a DEPLETED fourteen-man pitching staff!

Oh, apparently it gets better now.

How can you have 14 pitchers on your roster and now be thin in pitching? That’s the absurd position the Brewers find themselves in after playing extra innings for the fourth time in five days.
After running through seven relievers to cover the final seven innings, manager Ned Yost admitted that he had no idea what might happen tonight if starter Dave Bush can’t contain the powerful Philadelphia Phillies.

Perhaps a 15th pitcher will be summoned?

“I don’t think we’ll see that,” Yost said. “But I turned to (coach) Dale (Sveum) in the 12th and told him I was glad I had 14.”

Seemingly the Brewers have played three extra-inning games in a row now.

WHAT!?

HAHA how in the hell does that happen? And can you really count Sheets in all this? I mean he took himself out of the rotation when the Brewers were chasing 1st place and I guess he sat himself a few days ago.

That really is absurd.

I still don’t see why you need 14 pitchers. You shouldn’t need even 13, and I have argued that 12 is a stretch.

Once again, I think the Brewers are a poorly-run team.

I bet...

...that Craig Counsell could probably be called on to pitch. I’d hope that his windup and delivery are as weirdly unorthodox as his batting stance…

Wasn't Yost

A manager of the year candidate last year? Did his players just hide his ineptness last year or did something change in such a short time that he was good last year and stupid this year?

Josh Butler

was in the same draft (2006) as Tim Lincecum, Evan Longoria, and Tyler Colvin, to name a few. Still…if that’s the payout for Murton, I’d rather we keep him!

Forgot to add: he's 23.

Who's Josh Butler?

I don’t recall any trade rumors about Matt Murton being traded for him. What organization is he currently with?

cowsarecool220 - April 22, 2008 reply

Scroll up...

re: Brewers trade..

Thanks!

Now it makes sense…

cowsarecool220 - April 22, 2008 reply

What a great win

Cedeno has really stepped his game up to a new level. I am really happyabout this becuase he has shown flashes. With some good ABS Lou will play him and he will hit consistently. I almost think that when Soriano comes back thelineup should be as follows.

SorianoLF
Pie CF
Lee 1B
A-Ram 3B
Dome RF
Soto C
DeRosa 2B
Cedeno SS

fischisgod - April 22, 2008 reply

the good thing about this is

where does that leave Theriot and Johnson. It’s a great problem to have.

Ah yes.....DEPTH!!!

What a great problem to have!! And it seems that this team thinks TEAM! I think that this is the most cohesive Cubs team that I have ever seen….And I’ve been following them for a couple Cedeno lifetimes…..Whoops!! Guess I better watch it…..gonna have to find another word for bad….

Cedeno

started his career 0-11 with the bases loaded… Hes got a 5 plate appearance streak now with the bases loaded.

LPLancer23 - April 22, 2008 reply

A little gift. ...

Check your e-mail.

Totally awesome!!

Thank you Ronny for a fun day of baseball.

Did anyone ever think they would be able to honestly say that?

Probably not.

But, I’d rather have to eat my words because someone proved themself worthy of praise instead of proving themself unworthy.

I'm just

very happy for him.

Loud, Sustained, A-frickin-pplause!

Jayo525 - April 22, 2008 reply

Oh wow, my first LSA

Now I don’t feel like a n00b!

Great picture!

However, I do not have any email from you.

I'm re-trying...

now, with a few less photos. Let me know if you haven’t gotten it in the next few minutes.

Still nothing.

Going to sleep now (as much as possible). Will look again in the AM.

Niiice shot. Could be one of a kind haha. Ronny is on fire!

Saw Al...

...in LF as Ronnie’s blast left the park.

Man, that cartoon was dead on – those are old shoes! >8)

LMAO

The shoes I was wearing yesterday ARE old!

And yes, that was me signaling “fair”.

Yes you were

i saw it 3 times on Sportscenter this morning ahah

I pointed you out to my GF

Al, I think Im obsessed. Thanks for helping the umpire with that call.

Hammer - April 23, 2008 reply

mets offense?

the holes in their rotation, their bullpen and their offense after Jose Reyes and David Wright were glaringly obvious last night and this afternoon.

Yea… that Carlos Beltran guy sucks.

And of course… Pagan and Church have been quite solid up this point in the season.

And I must say… the ridiculously large pictures in the comments? Quite annoying.

big_lowitzki - April 22, 2008 reply

I don't know if anyone keeps track of such things...

...and not that I was ever paying attention to this in the past, but I don’t ever recall seeing the Cubs load the bases so many times over a stretch of games. I went to both Mets’ games and it seemed like every time I looked up, the bags were loaded. And no, I’m not talking about that group in the front row bleachers to my left… ;-)

Now if only the Cubs had Pat Tabler on the team, they’d be scoring 13 runs every game!

Yes, people do.

Retrosheet.org keeps track of play-by-play of every game since 1956 or so – except, inexplicably, 1999. It’s something that could be checked.

Thanks for the site, cwyers!

kalamazoo_cubs_fan - April 22, 2008 reply

upon Soirano's return:

Johnson CF
Fukudome RF
Lee 1B
Ramirez 3B
Soriano LF
DeRosa 2B
Soto C
Theriot SS

that gets speed at both ends of the lineup, with heavy hitters in the middle.

discuss….

I wouldn't mess with fuk right now, just leave him where he is.

CubsBall2202 - April 22, 2008 reply

If he is getting on base more than ANYONE

than why wouldnt you want him ready to be driven in by the heart of the order?

Uh, because it might mess him up

Hence the reason to leave him where he is. If it ain’t broke, or in this case far from it, then don’t fix it.

NittanyCub - April 22, 2008 reply

He appears pretty fundamentaly sound...

...don’t think that hitting in front of Lee, one of the hottest hitters in the game, and seeing more fastballs, is going to ‘mess him up.’ Wouldn’t you want him in front of Lee and Rammy instead of the 6,7,8 rotating door?

I agree

Dome should be moved to the two hole at some point. Think of all the RBI opportunities for Lee and Ramirez.

Dome will be productive in any spot

Just a matter of preference.

I don’t know about you, but Dome’s the #1 guy on my list of who I’d like to see at bat with runners in scoring position.

kalamazoo_cubs_fan - April 23, 2008 reply

No, that is a cliche, DOME will hit anywhere the situation for him is immaterial

I am thinking when Soriano returns Piniella will platoon Pie with Johnson, Theriot with Cedeno (ONEDEC WHITE HOT) and of course Soto and Blanco.

Based on this in May Piniella I think will experiment with the lineup this way:

SS/CF: Theriot/Cedeno 4/6 or 4/7 to hot hitter, Johnson/Pie* 4/6 or 4/7 hot hitter
RF: FukuDOME
1B: Lee
3B: Ramirez
LF: Soriano
2B: DeRosa
C/CF/SS: Soto/Blanco* Soto gets 4/6 or 4/7 starts per week or Pie
SS/C/: Cedeno* or Pie
SP:

Theriot bats leadoff but not Cedeno
- When Johnson plays he bats leadoff, often against left handed starters depending on Pie’s development.
  *Soto bats 7th (where over the year he could move up to 6th displacing DeRosa to 7th making a modern day murderous row)
  - When Blanco or Cedeno play they bats 8th

Thus working backwards rarely does Cedeno play when Blanco plays.
Then Theriot plays often Pie plays where defensively middle strength is in the OF
When Cedeno plays often Johnson plays….

Resulting that in the high energy defensive positions there is a regular platoon.

Ivy Walls - April 23, 2008 reply

Kosuke

is the real deal, he is not going to be affected by jumping up to the two spot.

It’s high time Lou took off the kid gloves with Soriano and make him realize that with higher OBP at the top, we are a dangerous team, and could get a lot more out of him deeper in the lineup. I think he hit 23 solo HR’s last year, he could easily cut that down to a dozen if he were in the 5 spot.

Well thought out--I like it!

cubfever7 - April 23, 2008 reply

We look at the Slam

but the biggest plays were Lilly and DeRo hustling and beating plays at first…I am glad to see Cedeno looking like he “gets it”...he’s always had talent but no brains…..

Watching that inning, I couldn't figure out what was more improbable...

...Lilly legging out that infield hit OR Blanco scoring from second on a well hit single to the outfield.

Quick consensus amongst the left field bleacher regulars was… Blanco!

Yeah....

and our BIG guys hit balls to the wall for outs and the little guy hits the firehouse….go figure!!!! I hope they are still playing this well in August….We will be in Chicago for a week to play and we are going to the Sunday game with the Pirates…I saw my first Cubs game in 1958 at the LA Coluseum (SP?) but have never been to Wrigley…..What a dream come true!!!

Here's Marisa Miller from earlier this homestand.

What are these three men thinking?

Emelie - April 22, 2008 reply

Double entendre alert:

What is Wood holding?

Behind her neck, that is… you pervs

NittanyCub - April 22, 2008 reply

haha

Must be. They’re out there to be found, if you want them, Nittany…

With members of the Cubs?

John Q Freejazz - April 22, 2008 reply

Why is Lilly ...

holding a bat?...err..make that two bats..

Great Day

It was great to be back in left field.
Cedeno GS capped off a super day.
Thanks again Al and looking forward
to seeing more of your pictures Damen.

John T

quarryfan - April 22, 2008 reply

BWAAAAHAHAHAHA!!!

Al! I can’t believe it. Here I am watching ONEDEC at bat with the bases loaded thinking…no way. Then the ball left his bat. The 1st thing I thought was holy _ I can’t believe I’m at the ONEDEC GS game. I knew it was gone off the bat. I just didn’t know if it was going to be fair or foul. Then I realized that ball was pretty deep and headed right for ya. I wasn’t sure if you’d try to catch it or swat it away with your blue scorecard dealio. I was laughing so hard I didn’t even notice it left the yard. Unreal.

I have a number 5 Garciaparra jersey

that i took the letters off of so its just number 5. I can wear it proud tommorrow…

LPLancer23 - April 22, 2008 reply

HAHA

Here is a shot of what looks like Al asking Damen Jackson if he just saw what he thought he saw….................a CEDENO Grand Slam.

Actually...

I was comparing score cards. I lost one of Soto’s at-bats in the vapor.

Photos of yourself on the Net, taken by someone else. Never get used to that.

Creepy isnt it....

I’ll burn the memroy stick if it makes ya feel better.

No, no...

I played Candid Camera with Al last week. Seems only fair.

Honestly

I dodnt know you were there til I read this. I just took the ‘post Cedeno GS’ pic of the BCB’ers. I didnt get a chance to look at’em til I got home.

mmmmmmhm

NittanyCub - April 22, 2008 reply

Blame CEDENO

This shot would have never been taken if he hadn’t decided to hit a freakin grand slam.

LMAO

Also, you can see my son Mark in the row in front of me.

that guy in the Mets gray shirt?

if so, he really needs to lay off the cracker jacks..

VillanuevaExperience - April 22, 2008 reply

and pork rinds

Wait, there are other people in that picture

besides the young woman sitting with her legs in the aisle?

Where?

I’ve been staring at the Mets fan just behind the foul pole for over 10 minutes.

I assumed that..

he meant the young lady to the right, in the Cubs hat.

Well the Kid Rock look-a-like is staring at her for sure. haha

I can send you the original

so you can blow it up if ya want. He looks like a handsome fella. bwahahah

hahaha

And for that matter

I can send you the orig so you can part with Miss Legs the rest of the night.

part=party

Did you get her number too?

And just to let ya know

I don’t post any of these pics anywhere but here. And if anyone in pics I post here wants them taken down I won’t be heartbroken. Not a problem.

Now if you see me posting pics of you anywhere but inside Wrigley Field…..you can start worry’n.

You think that's creepy?

About two months ago, we replaced our video editing systems with all-new machines from Grass Valley. (I work in television production, just so that makes some sense.)

So there were four or five of us in a training course with one of the company reps, and we were going through some file video from Iraq that came with the training materials provided by the company. There was a mosque that I noted that looked familiar, and I talked about it for a bit. (Used to be in the Marines, so THAT part makes sense.)

Well, we’re going through the video again, and they’re showing us how to highlight parts of the video, and so we’re supposed to highlight this guy running backwards, and as I’m scrubbing over the video looking at the guy, I realize… I’m the guy. Freaked me the hell out.

WHOA! Thats crazy!

You work in TV production?

About to graduate from Mizzou with a broadcast degree, if you have any sweet networking opportunities for me haha…

You win, cwyers...

That’s nuts.

Hang on

Onedec just hit a grand slam and you’re comparing score cards?! ;)

Al

I laughed out loud at the bar tonight watching the highlights. Cedeno’s homer goes out and there’s some guy in the last row of the bleachers in a dark blue shirt giving the home run signal.

Al letting the umpires know it was fair.

MerigoldBowling - April 22, 2008 reply

I was hoping you'd see that!

If you saw it, then the umpires surely did. Glad they realized I was right!

Just a random fact...

The last time the Cubs won 4 straight games by at least 6 runs was all the way back in 1906. I would say that is pretty darn impressive!

ugacubbie6 - April 22, 2008 reply

That IS impressive.

n/t

Someone pinch me.

I’m checking Cubs blogs, and everywhere I go I see people who aren’t me talking about Ronny Cedeno like he may not be the worst shortstop in the world. I’m dreaming, right?

For all the debate we had last week...

...I am damn happy to be agreeing with you cwyers!

I cant come up with one bad thing to say about him....this season.

Yet....

But i’d be more than happy to keep that way,

Jayo525 - April 22, 2008 reply

Agreed.

n/t

I suppose this

is why Lou gets paid as much as he does. Onedec and TheRiot are both hitting everything in sight right now, who do you start? Thankfully that is for Lou to decide and thankfully I actually trust him to make a good baseball decision (sorry Dusty)

Maybe the game

has finally slowed down for Cedeno, I don’t think we can argue he has the physical “tools” to play the game, just the mental aspect. Is it a fluke, who knows, ride it out, ans see where it goes.
The Johnson signing a great move, and Dome has to rub off on these guys, The walk he took in the eighth, ball 3 and 4 were maybe 4 inches off the plate. His discipline at the plate I can’t recall in a hitter for the Cubs, maybe Buckner.
There lineup is rolling, they will hit a bump sometime, that is why it is great to get these wins now, have a cushion when they slump a bit.
Keep it going fellas, it is fun for us fans too.

Grockcubs - April 22, 2008 reply

So guys?

Whats the new swear word?

PIE!
FONTENOT!
MARQUIS!
BLANCO!
PATTERSON!
NO NO NOT MURTON

Alot of choices.

Let's just

leave it Cedeno. I’m kind of parial to his good name Onedec…..it’s kind of catchy.

Poor Murton

I have a great shot of his FC today. His bottom hand is top hand if off the bat before he even makes contact…..never had a chance.

These are very good, Keystone.

What do you shoot with?

Thanks

This is from a Sony H7….zoomed 15X from section 509

At least he swung at a pitch

after staring at two fastballs right down the middle to start the count… IN AN RBI SITUATION!

I am convinced

that Murton doesnt take his at-bat seriously until he is down 2 strikes. He is ALWAYS down 2 stirkes at some point.

VillanuevaExperience - April 22, 2008 reply

Soriano might get some votes

i LOVE the pics.. keep them coming!!!!!

Madison Cub Fan - April 22, 2008 reply

I've got a ton

I just dont know where to post them. I dont want to clog up the threads.

Do you have a Photobucket album?

You could put em there and post a link for us…

Yea I do

Thats how I post them here. I can do that. I have flickr and fragmob and all that other fun stuff but I post all sorts of othe nonsense on those pages. I post photobucket links to a few of the better ones today.

I see...

I didn’t click on the Onedec homer photo till now….ahhh…now I see the legs in the aisle….lol..

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h258/keystone80435/cubs-mets4-22-08002.jpg

Try these.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h258/keystone80435/cubs-mets4-22-08014.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h258/keystone80435/cubs-mets4-22-08020.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h258/keystone80435/cubs-mets4-22-08021.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h258/keystone80435/cubs-mets4-22-08026.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h258/keystone80435/cubs-mets4-22-08039.jpg

Great shots!

All good…esp like the last one..

Bump Bailey - April 23, 2008 reply

Great photos.

sue369 - April 23, 2008 reply

As luck would have it

The red hot cubbies come to my town tomorrow for a chance to be the second team to win 10,000 games. Will I be there…yes! A chance to watch history in the making. I’ve been looking forward to these two (feeling short changed) games since the schedules were first posted. Now a chance at 10,000, I couldn’t be happier! I’ll be the guy holding the “10,000” sign in Japanese behind Holiday.

Lou In Blue - April 22, 2008 reply

We'll look for ya...

You should write BCB on your sign too…:)

I was thinking the same thing. Get the BCB plug.

Yeah, that'd be great if you could do that.

n/t

I've got the rooftop

directly behind you for the Sunday Cubs/White Sox game. I can be bribed for signage. Hot dogs, mexican food and beer accpeted. haaaha

Buy the new shirts....and get yourselves on camera!

santoswoodenlegs - April 23, 2008 reply

OMFG!!!!!

I WANT IT. SERIOUSLY.

northsider - April 23, 2008 reply

Patience...

and be prepared to donate to the legal defense fund when the MLBPA files the lawsuit.

santoswoodenlegs - April 23, 2008 reply

Awesome.

Seriously.

You’ll have to make one extra for “the Bob”.

As luck would have it

Lou In Blue - April 22, 2008 reply

I really

Really! would appreciate a dedicated Cubs fan to do something i think everyone on the site would enjoy.

That is to make a Fanpost with a decent amount of info of upcoming games for tommorow.

I know Al makes them as soon as he can but I would love to start talking about tommorow’s and the next days pitching matchups, how we fair against some of these pitchers and if the cubs can keep thewins coming even till we play the nationals where they are sure to light it up :D

Thx guys, and feedback is awesome.

Ronny Cedeno has the fourth-highest OPS on the team right now.

Believe me, I never thought I’d write those words either. Only Lee, Dome and Soto are ahead of him. (Ramy trails by only two points, and obviously you’d bet on Ramy to keep this level of production before you’d bet on Cedeno.)

He's on fire

The scoreboard flashed soemthing line “Batting .385 past 8 games”. He really is playing solid.

Giggle

no kidding… sitting her and giggled @ that statment.

Madison Cub Fan - April 22, 2008 reply

I see Rick Morrissey is singin a different tune today

Ohhh… to be a sportswriter. Just flip-flop opinions every week. Aint that easy.

The ONEDEC Legend begins!

I am very happy for Ronny and I hope that he continues to play well. When do we get to see The ONEDEC on a Unicorn? If he keeps playing like this then Murton must be removed from his high horse.

On a serious note—isn’t it a blast to win your games at HOME? Isn’t it incredible to start out a season on a positive note? Isn’t it wonderful to be clogging the bases?

DudeVf11 - April 23, 2008 reply

ESPN - MLB Top Headlines at 7:40am

1. Red-hot Red Sox nip Angels | Beckett scratched
2. A-Rod out, Posada in | Abreu, Yanks slam ChiSox

... 7 more headlines, and no mention of the Cubs. Wow.

Oh... and John Smoltz joined the 3,000 K club

What a career… congrats John!

Yep, that...

East Coast ESPN bias is at it again. I’d rather the team fly under the radar…

crw89 - April 23, 2008 reply

Lilly Blooms; Cedeno Slams

Lilly had a great game on Tuesday. Keep it up, Lefty! Cedeno, who has been stuck in the twilight zone between Iowa and Chicago, surprises us with a grand slam. 14-6 is a nice start. If the Cubs go 81-61 the rest of the way, they will win the NL Central.

memphiscub - April 23, 2008 reply

It's time

20 games into the season, I think it’s pretty clear that it’s time to quit worrying about whether the Cubs are beating “good” or “bad” teams and admit that the Cubs are indeed a very good team. This hasn’t been a mirage or a few weeks worth of bloopers and bleeders finding grass (I see you Jason Kendall). This has been good hitting, good pitching, good baserunning and good defense (lately).

I know as Cubs fans we may have a tendency to wait for that thunderstorm that washes all of this good stuff away. But I’ll tell you, good health willing, this Cubs team has the very real, very distinct possibility to do things that I’ll just call “pretty damn special”. Obviously, with 140 games to go, it’s a long season so I won’t get too crazy. But at the same time, the reality is, it’s shaping up to be a pretty memorable summer.

Life is good.

krummy12 - April 23, 2008 reply

I love the fact that we're just absolutely hammering the opposition's bullpen

That’s a good sign.

We’re going to run into some great starters along the way. But, if our more patient approach at the plate keeps up, we’ll eventually get to the pen in close games.

yes..and the fact that were putting teams away in close games..

...when the oppourtunity presents iteself. Good teams always seem to be doing that.

This is about as much fun as you can have in April!

JB 23 - April 23, 2008 reply

Just watched another highlight reel of Dome on Japanese TV

Now you guys may understand the reason why I call Dome is the mistake hitter before the season here – he is usually very patient until the pitcher make mistakes.

dragonsfanatic - April 23, 2008 reply

Exactly.

It’s a pleasure to watch.

So, what does everyone think about Johan Santana's...

statement that the Cubs inquired early, he would have waived his no-trade clause for the Cubs and the Twinkies never told him? Would he have been worth what we would have had to give up?

crazymountain - April 23, 2008 reply

This was discussed at length yesterday...

... in this FanPost.

Sorry, Al....I will try to get to it today...I'm not often here!!

crazymountain - April 23, 2008 reply

In hindsight . . .

maybe. I am guessing we would have had to surrender Pie and likely Gallagher as well, in addition to some of our younger arms as well, like Ceda (and others that were suggested in TTTSNBN). Based on how well, Johnson is playing . . . I would have maybe thought twice about trading for Santana and if the Twins took Marquis in the trade I would have thought about it a little longer. We sure could have rivaled the D-Backs one-two punch with Zambrano and Santana as our top two starters.

Is 1-DEC's nickname catching on?

Is the nickname being used by people at the games? Is there any way to spread the word to the broadcasters so that they can start using it regularly?

IowaCubs- - April 23, 2008 reply

Is it DEC like deck or DEC like decent?