Bleed Cubbie Blue

No argument here.

Keith - July 31, 2008 reply

What no "First"?

Got to be a first. (NPI)

cubbie-swagger - August 1, 2008 reply

Great game today..

Really glad that Harden finally got his first win as a Cubbie. That trade is going to end up being huge!! Go Cubbies! Lets keep this win streak going

mkcubs21 - July 31, 2008 reply

trade

cubs can still make a trade – hendry has done waiver deals before

drodd - July 31, 2008 reply

Yes they can.. although i'm not sure what he is truely looking for..

I wouldn’t be surprised if Eyre does end up being traded somewhere.

mkcubs21 - July 31, 2008 reply

If he can clear waivers.

Someone might claim him.

I don't see that as a problem, exactly.

jbau - July 31, 2008 reply

Yes

How is that really a problem?

I’d bet Eyre sails through waivers though. But if he doesn’t, all the better for us.

Josh Timmers - July 31, 2008 reply

Great recap, as always, Al.

I’ve never understood leaving a ballgame early. Granted, Brewers fans must be a bit downtrodden after this series, but I’ve seen and been told that every game has found Milwaukee fans leaving the game prior to its completion. What’s the point of buying a ticket, going to the game, cheering your team on, only to leave early? A few less minutes in traffic? Never understood this, and frankly, in my opinion it’s a sign of a less than dedicated fanbase, no matter the sport or team.

Dan

dtpollitt - July 31, 2008 reply

As someone who has lived in LA and have seen the Dodgers play...

It is tradition in Southern California to make it to the ballpark in the bottom of the 1st, and leave by the end of the 7th. Who wants to wait in traffic? Besides, can’t miss Jay Leno’s show over seeing the 9th inning of a ballgame.

Correction: many Dodger fans show up by the 3rd inning

...and leave in the 7th.

It is disgusting.

I Can Verify

Been to tons of games in the past and that’s always been the case. Baseball out here is more of a diversion than a passion.

CaliCub - July 31, 2008 reply

Laker games are no different

I go to no games out here. I just watch on TV. The fans are worthless.

Is it because the traffic in LA sucks?

Or do LA fans suck?

Many/Most fans drive a long distance

to sporting events in LA. Just now, the downtown area is featuring residences. NOBODY lived downtown until the last few years. Unless you live in Glendale/Pasadena to the east, Echo Park , or Burbank - and other upscale ‘hoods close to Dodger Stadium - you have a long drive to Chavez Ravine, and getting out of the lot with 50K in the joint takes almost an hour.

Since the Dodgers have a large season ticket base, those people are coming back the next day. That’s a lot of time spent driving. So, if a game is out of hand—I see why they leave. It’s always funny for the TV people to comment on the brake lites in the parking lot, but if they lived there, they’d understand.

I give LA fans a pass on this topic.

Why I Don't Go to Atlanta

I’ve never been out west. The one reason I’ve never been to see the Cubs in Atlanta is because of the traffic. The public transportation with MARTA isn’t that great for a metro area with that many people. I don’t blame the people in LA for getting to the parking lot early. Of course, that doesn’t mean they are actually leaving early.

memphiscub - August 1, 2008 reply

I guess for me...

...I do not make it to professional sporting events very often. I go to Wrigley once a year if I’m lucky, and a few other teams and sports here and there. For me, it’s a special occasion, and I treat it like one; I try to savour every moment I’m there. Maybe it’s a bit different for fans that live in the same town as their favorite team, go on a regular basis, etc.

Dan

dtpollitt - July 31, 2008 reply

True

very easy to get discounted Dodgers tickets on EBay. Right before AS week, won 4 Top Deck tickets to a Marlins game with a face value of $4 for $1.50 each.

Wonder if I can get into Wrigley for $1.50 a seat?

JFCubFan - July 31, 2008 reply

Angels fans

tend to do that as well, although not as many. And the Angels fan base on average is a lot younger, so I guess some parents want their kids home early. I don’t see what there is to complain about though, you always get to move up.

rea5661 - July 31, 2008 reply

Wonder if

it’s because that’s just about the length of a movie? That may be the length of their attention span ;-}

Using the traffic

as an excuse for LA fans is weak, doesn’t Chicago have some of the worse rated traffic in th nation?

Miami is just as lame as LA.

In Chicago you can

take a train or a bus or even walk or ride your bike to the park. You can’t do any of those things in LA. You gotta drive, plus the stadium holds 25% more people than Wrigley.

Yes

but they have much more parking, don’t they? Excuses is the way I see it.

You still have to get to that parking

berselius - August 1, 2008 reply

Yeah, there's more parking

It’s like a freakin’ ocean of parking. That’s my point. Last Dodgers/Cubs game I went to on a Saturday, with over 50K—it took an hour from the end of the game to move out of the lot. I just sat there and made phone calls until the exits started to actually creep along more than 2MPH. What’s the use of sitting in gridlock?

If you haven’t been there, you might not understand. All the surface streets off the freeways, into Dodger Stadium - with one exception - are small, and empty into residential neighborhoods. Then, the outgoing traffic causes sluggish freeways.

You're right

I haven’t been there but I still think LA fans are weak, same with Miami.

LOL

That’s SO L.A.

Welllllllll

I’m not going to get on someone for leaving when it’s 11-1. I think if the team gives up, the fans have every right to as well.

large numbers of them get there late too

there were still hundreds of people streaming in during the 2nd inning.

I'm sure a lot of those people were Cubs fans as well

because it’s an hour long drive PLUS traffic going up north from Chicago.

cubsonWGN4ever - July 31, 2008 reply

What's truly odd

is of the three games I saw they regularly showed fans arriving around the third inning. Don’t know if it’s traffic, tradition, or whatnot, but I was always an arrive-an-hour-before-game-time kinda person. I just love sitting in the seats taking in everything before the first pitch.

Great sweep! I especially enjoyed seeing Yost's smiles on Monday turning into

the deer-in-the-headlights look. It was creepy seeing Prince’s temper tantrum and Yost’s unprofessionalism in calling for Edmonds to be beaned. Not a classy team.

Just wonderin'....

Gagne threw three pitches inside to Edmonds, then threw the fourth behind him. It’s possible that he was “protecting” his teammates, though the only HBPs in the game were Cubs and were certainly unintentional by Bush. It’s possible that the Brewers have something against Edmonds from last year and wanted to settle it then. It’s possible that Gagne was just expressing the Brewers’ frustrations, though one would expect a closer to maintain his cool. But…

is it possible that Gagne was P.O.ed at Yost for making him pitch in a blowout and he did that hoping to get ejected???? Charles Barkley used to do that—if he was having a bad game and the 76ers were losing, he’d get 2 Ts and exit in the third quarter.

Not sure, jus’ wonderin’.....

DeRoMyHero - July 31, 2008 reply

I dunno.

In any case, you could see the frustration in the way the Brewers carried themselves all day.

Fielder showed it during his tirade

mkcubs21 - July 31, 2008 reply

that was

impressive, in an angsty teen-ager sort of way.

They really need...

...to get rid of those maple bats. It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye… >8)

screw that

someone’s going to end up impaled.

I think guys on ESPN

said the same thing on Wednesday night. Along the lines of “those bats have got to go, but it is a shame that it will probably take a fan, ump or catcher getting seriously injured before any action is taken.” I don’t doubt that an injury is what it will take to finally get Bud off his behind, as it took former MLB players admitting to drug use and implicating other former and current players for MLB to do something about drugs.

Selig keeps blowing smoke

but so far his actions don’t match his words. I simply don’t understand how he can ignore an issue this serious.

Agreed

Just imagine the reaction

if Prince’s tantrum had resulted in a shard of the bat hitting Soto or the ump.

That's what worries me about when Zambrano

breaks the bat over his knee. A shard could lodge in his leg or hit him in the face, let alone some other kind of injury to his leg.

Yost wouldn't order Gagne to hit a batter because he knows he CAN'T

...even Yost isn’t that stupid.

What's the quote?

“You couldn’t hit water if you fell out of a f* boat.”?

sniffy the bee - July 31, 2008 reply

Let's see that million dollar arm...

...because I’ve got a pretty good idea about that five-cent head of yours….

NotSure - August 1, 2008 reply

love that movie.

Crash is one of my favorite movie characters of all time.

Desperate

seemed to be their approach today. When their biggest power threat was attempting to bunt for a base hit, it looked like they were taking advice from Coach George Costanza and trying “the opposite.”

Prince is a tubby

little brat. I still don’t believe he is a vegatarin.

Now, now...

He may be a tubby brat, as you say, but let’s disspell the myth that vegetarians are lean and fit and generally model citizens. There are all kinds of reasons for people eating a vegetarian diet. Not everyone who eats vegetarian is a health nut. That said, a vegetarian diet high in pastas, breads, and dairy (if he’s not vegan) will result in someone who’s pretty damn big. Couple that with his natural body type, and you have your “tubby – albeit vegetarian – brat.”

hear hear

it’s very easy to tub out on a vegetarian diet. Potato chips, cheese (yum!), deep fried Tofu, ice cream, etc.

Deep fried tofu?

Oxymoron much?

How

is that an oxymoron?

Unhealthily deep frying a food

intended to help you lose weight.

I mentioned it in terms of vegetarianism not weight loss

Brilliant.

Got ya.

Heh

Tofu’s intentions aren’t weight loss; it’s simply a bean curd. Other cultures have eaten it for hundreds/thousands of years. In the US, it’s largely thought of as a meat substitute, but it’s much more than that.

And it appears

I’ll be dining on a meal consisting of my own foot.

No big deal

You’ve learned something

I think

there’s a great Moosewood recipe for baked or char-broiled feet. It’s a curry-based rub. A little spicy, too.

: )

Hehe. In regional Chinese cuisine

(Taiwan, ShangHai), there is a deep-fried fermented ToFu dish aptly named Stinky Tofu.

Shape it like a foot, and you’ve got the full effect. =)

Sounds excellent.

Maybe my wife will let me put it front and center this Thanksgiving!

You would think,

but no, not at all. As I said above, not all vegetarians eat that diet for health reasons. There are many factors/reasons for eating veggie, including social, industrial, political, as well as health reasons.

Guess I never considered

there’s people who (shudder) enjoy the taste of tofu. Or, when it’s deep fried at least.

Tofu is ok,

but it hardly compares to the soy-based products they have nowadays. I’m not a big fan of the ‘fu, but I’ll eat it occasionally.

I'm one of those weird people...

...who actually like the taste of tofu. It’s probably because I was a vegetarian for about six years during and after college, and I really relied on the ol’ bean curd for protein. I fell off the veggie wagon about 10 years ago, but I still like tofu to this day.

it's quite versatile

and when prepared correctly very tasty.

Yeah, it basically absorbs...

...whatever flavor you want it to. And, even when it’s not heavily spiced, I just like tofu’s “clean” flavor.

I've had some

dishes where it was pretty damn good, but I’ve never been able to duplicate that at home. Thus, I’ve generally given up on it. And it’s pretty obvious from my posts, I’m a vegetarain, but I’m by no means anti-meat eater. Nearly everyone I know enjoys meats, and I understand that. My decisions do not affect them or the way I feel about others’ not making those same choices….

Speaking of food though, I gotta get some lunch around here….

My mom

is really good at preparing it. She’s tried to explain it but my wife and I usually only have tofu in Thai restaurants.

Question:

Are you all talking about the white “silken” variety, or the drier browner variety.

I much prefer the second. Or deep-fried.

OK, a bit too much tofo excitement. =)

The 2nd

Penny’s Noodles (on Sheffield and Roscoe just South of Wrigely Field and also near the corner of Sheffield and Diversey) has an outstanding stir fried tofu with bean sprouts that I believe is silken.

Stir fried silken tofu

is actually kinda rare to find, I think. So that’s cool.

There’s actually a Korean dish that’s essentially a “hot-pot” of very spicy silken tofu. That’s a good one too.

I guess this thread indicates we’re getting hungry! Though it’s only 10:00 a.m. here on the west coast.

It basically tastes and nutritionally acts like egg whites

Maybe he was so cranky yesterday

because the broccoli and cauliflower has made him gassy. Needs some beano!
Or
He couldn’t catch CC in the locker room for a quick pregame snack and he was hungry.

I have no desire to ever been one, nor one to defend them

but I guess I don’t see whats so amusing about him being one. Yeah he incredibly fat. Kerry Wood and Geo both have been on special meal plans (granted not ones that veggie and neither are that ungodly fat but still) most everyone applauds their efforts.

I've been a vegetarian

for 18+ years so I pretty much stay out of these discussions. I hope Prince benefits from it. If he is actually eating healthy, the changes will come gradually. You’ll probably notice a difference next year. I doubt that it will help his fielding, though.

I am sure that

veggie people do live healthier, Idon’t poke fun at all vegitarians, just ones that make big asses out of themselves during a ball game on TV.

So maybe Prince's nickname...

...should be “Easy Gas”?

lol! good one.

Maybe

we should get suspicious when baserunners start passing out at first base.

I agree that there was a lot of frustration there

but do you really believe it carried over from a year ago?

rea5661 - July 31, 2008 reply

I think that was speculation

But I will say this - if Edmonds did something last year, they remember. Ballclubs have a long memory about things.

If the Cubs face Edgar Renteria next year, for example, he will most likely be hit.

Shanghai Badger - July 31, 2008 reply

Gagne was with the Red Sox last year

Who knows? I wasn't postulating it in the first place.

I was explaining. Gagne was also with the Rangers.

Shanghai Badger - July 31, 2008 reply

Gotta love when bad pitching is mistaken for retalliation

I just think

his control is THAT BAD.

Why I hate ESPN: Reasons #1204 & 1205

They have another article today about Wood pitching, and at the end of the article they kind of go on a tangent and talk about the Cubs’ relievers—as if it’s a dwindling, downward spiral ever since Wood left:

Rookie Jeff Samardzija saved his first game with two scoreless innings on Sunday, but gave up a run on Tuesday night in the ninth inning of the Cubs’ 7-1 victory. Carlos Marmol saved his fifth game on Monday night, but gave up a run on Wednesday night. The other candidate, Bob Howry, has struggled in his last six appearances.

O RLY? I could’ve sworn that Marmol has a 0.00 ERA since the ASG, with 6 IP, 9 SO, .100 opponent’s BA ~~and 6 walks.~~ And the mere fact that HE DIDN’T EVEN PITCH ON WEDNESDAY!! GAH!

The fun doesn’t stop here! They then quote Harden on their recap to say

“I felt as strong as I’ve been,” Harden said.

Which they took completely out of context. Look at what HE REALLY SAID

I don’t think I felt as strong as I’ve been. I was a little inconsistent with some of my offspeed pitches today, but I was able to get through it. There were some great defensive plays made today, and that helped me get out of some jams.

I’m 99.9% sure I’m the only one really anal about things like these, but I hate, hate, hate when these journalists are good amounts of money only to muck up statistics and completely obfuscate someone’s words to what they want them to say.

To quote Harry Potter:

I just feel so angry, all the time [AT ESPN]. What if after everything that I’ve been through [WITH THEIR IDIOCY], something’s gone wrong inside me? What if I’m becoming bad?

/end rant

Wow.

Talk about bad journalism. The Harden quote is just taken WAYYYYY out of context.

+1 for the Potter

dtpollitt - July 31, 2008 reply

perhaps even

a Pottergasm?

Word

Oh, baby

Sends little, tiny, lightning bolt-like shivers down me spines.

Don't blame ESPN

that’s an AP story. They’re just reprinting it. If you’d have read the same story on Yahoo, it would have read exactly the same.

Blame the AP.

Josh Timmers - July 31, 2008 reply

Whoops

Well damn the AP.

I blame everything on the AP

They are supposed to be objective journalists and constantly inject their opinion into news stories. Never, ever trust anything with the AP byline. Hacks…

Won't get an argument from me.

n/t

Josh Timmers - July 31, 2008 reply

I don't think AP is injecting 'opinion.'

I work with their material when I’m writing news. However, my station is also an affiliate of Fox News Radio. You ought to see the stuff THEY supply. Wow. To be ‘fair and balanced,’ you have to discard 80% of their political material, and just use the actual sound bites of the politicians. To use their lead-ins or stories, you’d think O’Reilly or Hannity wrote them.

In the case of AP, it’s just bad journalism. There are inexperienced writers everywhere now. The wire services used to pay decent bucks. They don’t anymore, so, it’s a constant turn-over of J-School grads in their first gig. Times have changed in the biz. You could make a decent living as an AP writer. Now, it would be very tough. It’s a stepping stone job.

Hey Jazz Man,

Have you ever seen the documentary, “OutFoxed”? Just wondering what you thought of it, since you work for Fox.

Bump Bailey - July 31, 2008 reply

I don't work for Fox

Perish the thought. The station I am doing some work for is a radio affiliate of Fox News Radio. We have access to their news feeds. I have seen “OutFoxed,” and it’s pretty much as it is, I have a feeling.

Fox has a different spin on the world’s events…..don’t they? :) However, we have the ON/OFF button. I prefer off, except when I’m at work and I must try to glean news from their chaff. Actuallly, they are fine with actual news events, but the political stuff—wow.

Roger Ailes has made a lot of money for Mr. Murdoch, that’s for sure.

AP?

The AP is all about editorializing. It doesn’t surprise me that they can’t even get correct a simple quote from a pitcher.

Fox has to exist just to counter the biases of AP, NPR, CBS, BBC, etc. etc., just like Pepsi has to exist to offer those who don’t like Coca-Cola an alternative, you know, if there were a dozen competitors to Coca-Cola and they were all just Pepsi in a differently labeled bottle.

jmomls - August 1, 2008 reply

Again, see my above post

It’s really just bad writing. When you are writing nuts & bolts stories quickly, you don’t have time to think, “Hm, let’s see how I can spin this.” You have to get stories finished quickly, and out on the wire ASAP.

Stories clearly listed as OPINION/ COMMENTARY are decidedly different.

Please don't compare Fox News with NPR.

NPR actually reports real events and gives both sides of a story, while Fox News will make things up to suit their political needs and try to pass it off as “news”.

+1

+666

Just to f with’em. NPR’s supposed “liberal bias” disappears pretty quickly when you really listen to their reports. Different writers/personalities on NPR are either more right or more left, but overall, NPR is by far the most “fair and balanced” of the larger news services. And to insinuate that CBS, AP, etc. are liberally biased is laughable. BBC I don’t think quite counts, as they’re a foreign service.

Ok, I’m done and not saying anything more along these lines, lest Gagne starts tossing at my head.

I find BBC World News to be pretty unbiased myself.

But maybe I’m just distracted by their superior accents.

Totally agree.

If my wife had a British accent, I’d do everything she said, “straight away!”

My dad is British

and still has some of his accent (although it seems to have been dulled a bit by living in Chicago for the last 30+ years). I still find it cool to listen to him talk.

My mom's English...

...and her accent’s as obvious now as it was when she showed up here in the late 60’s. The funniest part is that all her relatives that still live over there think she’s now got an American accent >8)

I'm a realitvely shy person

but I’ve vowed to myself if I meet even a semiattractive English lady here in the States I’m asking her out without hesitation.

And when she says

“bugger off” in her accent it won’t hurt as much ;)

Exactly!

Ego stays intact!

+2

memphiscub - August 1, 2008 reply

I do not think you have any idea what the AP is

if you compare them to NPR, Fox, BBC, CBS, etc

rec

joeschmitt - August 1, 2008 reply

Wow, that is scary-bad sports journalism.

As if I could think any less of ESPN…

Uh, I mean the AP.

Wow great recap Al!

All I know is that I am heading to Chicago on a 6am flight on Sat. from Portland. Where my better half and I will be taking in 6 games (3 vs hou and 3 vs Stl.). With this sweep it just solidifies our chances of making a true run this year. It will be a blast. I plan on picking up my BCB shirt on Monday.

Al, where is it that you sit again? I would love to stop by and buy you a beer!

LF corner, section 301.

Stop by anytime, and thanks for getting a shirt!

Al, you're too kind

I think Gagne was indeed throwing at Edmonds. I grant he probably didn’t go up there with a plan to hit him, but once it got to 3-0, he figured he might as well finish the job.

I’d say I wish Pinella would have told Eyre to bean a Brewer, but he probably would screw it up. For all we know, Eyre WAS ordered to throw at someone, but kept missing and throwing it down the heart of the plate.

I dunno.

I thought Gagne had no command at all—the pitch was just as much out of the strike zone as the other three.

He’ll get fined, which is fine iwth me.

it's nice we can discuss this

instead of something that actually mattered :)

Think he was throwing at him, Al.

I flipped over to FSN/Wisc—they even thought that might have been the case. (”...the Brewers are frustrated, and who can blame them?”)

I dont agree with any of that.

Milwaukee is still trying to make a play off run. The best thing that happens if Gagne does hit is the benches clear. Suspensions are handed out and they are short handed. They obviously knew they were done by the time that happened and no good would come from it. Sure, intimidate them after they already swept you? Not buying it.

So why did Yost do the same thing to St. Louis last year? That was a MORE important

game.

During Last Week of Season

I couldn’t believe that last year. I believe Pujols got thrown at when the Brewers were only down 2-1 in the eighth of that September game. The Cardinals went on to win that game, while the Marlins beat the Cubs. That was a dumb move on the Brewers part.

memphiscub - August 1, 2008 reply

I'm not saying Gagne was ordered to do it

Yost might be thinking along your lines.

But Gagne could have made an executive decision to do it himself.

That's possible.

Completely possible

If anything I would side with that. But, Yost’s deal last year was in retaliation for the beaning of fielder? If mind serves me right. Completely different in this situation. Sorry Bard, I just assumed you meant that Yost ordered it.

I thought it was nice enough

to then score however many runs it was that inning. I think we had stuck it to them enough after that, and a beaning wasn’t necessary.

rea5661 - July 31, 2008 reply

Gagne threw at Edmonds

Everyone knew it, the look on Edmonds face right before he trotted down to first was priceless. No big deal they just got their brains beat in by a division rival in a big series, and threw at Edmonds for doing a little watching of his homeruns. I am glad he didn’t take the bait and charge the mound causing a brawl that would have ended in suspensions or possible injuries.

My mother told me she thought she heard Santo say “That’s Bullshit!” right after that pitch. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Imtrejo - August 1, 2008 reply

Other accounts say

he said “that’s bush”, as in, “Bush League”.

The funny thing is

even if Gagne was trying to peg Jimmy he couldn’t even do that right.

And I’m pleased as punch the Cubs didn’t lower themselves to the Brewers standards (if, indeed, Yost/Gagne did intentionally try and hit him). Four-game sweep, in their ballpark, sending em five back is a far bigger statement than a ball up Fielder’s backside.

Agreed

The biggest retribution was the 11-4 beatdown, not some beanball war.

I love the "escoba" (broom).

I spent last week on a cruise ship, unable to watch, following the Cubs on the internet. (Thanks for your recaps, AL. They were my info lifeline to the Cubs for a week.) Since I came back on Wednesday the Cubs haven’t lost and they regained first place with their biggest lead yet this season. Moreover, since I am on vacation, I’ve watched every victory. So, I can’t complain.

I will certainly remember this series as the one that established the team’s dominance. When Kerry Wood returns this team will look formidable.

Fraggin Judge - July 31, 2008 reply

it is a great time to be a cub fan

i’m all for people jumping on the bandwagon, but for those of us who have been through the worst times, this is just getting better and better…...it really does seem like a year when things are going to go our way

9-4 Atlanta

bottom 8

Employee22 - July 31, 2008 reply

reminds me of last year

when the bleachers were doing the toma hawk chop…..one of my favorite comes memories

ew...

sorry one of my favorite cubs memories…...am i drunk?!

I was at a NLDS game against the Braves in '03

We were doing that faux chop. The next day I read some Braves fans saying it was tasteless for Cubs fans to do that… oh the irony.

oooooooo ooooo ooooooo oooooooh (chopping!)

Best line in the Recap

“if the Chicago Cubs do indeed do what they seem capable of, what we have hoped and dreamed for all our collective lives”

Yes, Al, that would be something and it is something I think about – imagine – and shake my head – it would be unbelievable!

Cub Fan Mike - July 31, 2008 reply

i will cry like a baby haha

Speaking of crying like a baby.

I told my wife. When I walk up the ramp to the field on Monday to wrigley for my first time. I will probably cry. Funny thing, she said “I understand dear”. I love her :)

i get a little choked up everytime, no matter how many times i go

then my friends call me a name and i drink my beer and shut up

Agreed

everytime I get to field level, coming out of the concourse . . . just amazing

I've only been once

and i was literally awestruck by it.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

Yep

Just takes my breath away, no matter how many times I go.

Agreed.

Haven’t been to Wrigley since the late 90s, but even going to other ballparks brings a sense of childlike wonder upon seeing the field.

Who knows, though. I’m sitting on a week of vacation my boss has agreed to give me in late October if necessary. Wonder where I’d go?

I used to be a wrigley vendor

and every single time, every single day you go,

it still feels like that.

mrbubs - August 1, 2008 reply

One Old Style, please!

+1

It’s my “Field Of Dreams” everytime I go.

Every opening day

Every opening day it gets to me.

puckishcubsfan - August 1, 2008 reply

Funny story...

First time I went to Wrigley (live in Atlanta, had never been, my wife took me for my birthday), I was almost beaned by a BP foul ball…

D-Lee hit it, it was flying towards me, and my wife said, “Honey…. honey… HONEY!” I heard the last one just in time to duck. (I did manage to track the ball down, it’s sitting on a shelf at home)... After I recovered the ball, she asked me, “What were you doing? That ball almost hit you in the head.”

My response: “I was staring at the grass, trying to figure out how I could get some to keep as a souvenir…” :)

There’s nothing like the first time you walk up the tunnel and get your first sight… it was beautiful.

Slim1256 - August 1, 2008 reply

Ron Santo called Gagne's actions "Bush League"

I called it “Washed up pitcher with control problems”

That's what I was thinking...

... what you said.

it looked very intentional to me

not tht Gagne’s control overall was very good, but that last one looked aimed at Edmond’s ribs.

halfblindcubbiegirl - July 31, 2008 reply

Quick question

How many times did Cubs pitchers hit Jimmy Ballgame when he was a Cardinal?

Remember how much WE detested him THEN?

jmomls - August 1, 2008 reply

I have no idea

but I’m not a big fan of bean ball even when we play it.

I just don’t see what it solves or helps. Retaliate by scoring runs and winning. Not by “getting even”.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

LSA

I feel the same way.

sue369 - August 1, 2008 reply

I call it ex-steroid user who has lost 12 MPH off his fastball desperately grasping at straws

MDBNIU - July 31, 2008 reply

Al: thanks for having BCB.

It is great to help keep fans like me connected to all the other great Cub fans around the world. And at times like this, it is a hell of a lot of fun!!

thanks for adding to the memories!

+1 x 20

wsj and cnnsi.com agree too

It sure is fun, isn't it?

Let’s hope our fun extends all the way through October.

5 up

Card lose

Employee22 - July 31, 2008 reply

Cardinals lose!

Cubs have a 5-game lead over both Mil & StL

c'mon baby

what a difference a week makes! i made a bet the cubs would win 3 of 4….thanks cubs for making me look good

That would be a hard bet to make a few weeks ago.

I love this place when we are winning!

i remember also saying

that the sky is not falling….we have sori coming back, etc etc etc…...i hate (love) to say i told you so, but i told you so!

I was with you.

I take great pride in being a real fan.

Sure, I will question some decisions here and there and talk about what could be and what should be. But, I have never said that we would not be sitting at the top of the heap when it is done. This is the year! just like the other 31 have been since I was alive. The glass is always half full. It has to be. We are cubs fans!

preach!

people react too quickly…..thats why i like Al’s opinions, they are level headed…...it’s a long season and there is no reason to get down (see my jason marquis arguement)

Do you owe money now because they didn’t?

15% - July 31, 2008 reply

see

now that 8 game lead doesn’t seem impossible, does it. :D

I'm with you

although I predicted a month ago that they will finish about five games up, not eight. On pace….

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080731&content_id=3232783&vkey=trade2008&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

5 on MIL 6 on STL

in the loss column!

halfblindcubbiegirl - July 31, 2008 reply

MLB.COM recaps the trades before the deadline and calls the Brewers

and Bucs the “winners”. The Brewers were the winners because they got C.C. No mention of Harden and the Cubs.

Then they go through the Astros, Yankees, Rays’, Red Sox, etc. trades and ignore Harden and the Cubs. Wonder what’s up with that? Didn’t Ms. Muskat make the deadline?

See here:

Fox calls them both winners

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8400204

you can't call them winners yet

if they make the playoffs, yes they are winners…...if they don’t, they are HUGE losers…..HUGE HUGE HUGE

+1

So does...

Yahoo

MillsChC - July 31, 2008 reply

Maybe my math is wrong....

Just adding it up in my head from the Cubs schedule page, but as bad as the month of July felt… the Cubs ended up with a better record in July (15-11) than in June (15-12).

Weird.

MillsChC - July 31, 2008 reply

Absolutely right.

Little weird to think, actually. Memory is a bad test to recount what actually transpired. Just ask this guy:

Month-to-month record:

April 17 – 9
May 18 – 11
June 15 – 12
July 15 – 11

Jeeze, they were hotter than dog shit in Las Vegas in April.

This is amazing.

they’ve NEVER been less than 3 games over .500 in any one month.

Angels? Who’re they?

Thats right

Who says games in April don’t count?

JFCubFan - July 31, 2008 reply

Lenny!

And with our home-heavy schedule for August that trend should continue.

Best movie ever, by the way.

I LOVE THAT MOVIE

i especially like some of the monologues he has in the movie. My favorite line is still: How am I supposed to heal if I can’t… feel time?

mjk83 - August 1, 2008 reply

"Okay, I'm chasing him..."

I've only seen Memento once...

Correct me if I’m wrong. Was he the one that killed his wife all along? I do need to see it again.

Yes. Via insulin injections.

The Sammy Jankis story was what he created out of his own faulty memories. Sammy Jankis essentially was him.

Watch it again.

Thanks neverAcquiesce..

I rented it once and always meant to buy it, it was so good. Just saw it on Amazon for $4. I’m all over that!

That's a bloody steal!

Watch it, love it, TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT!

Awesome flick.

I saw that movie in San Francisco while on my honeymoon. Afterward, I promised myself I’d watch it a couple more times but never did.

That is a literal must buy movie.

I put on every couple of months and still find myself pausing and going over things in my mind again. Be sure to check out Nolan’s first film Following as well.

I'd just like to say

that I’ve been a baseball fan since I was 8 years old - nearly thirty years of being a fan (egad) and today was the first time - the FIRST TIME—I’d ever actually seen a grand-slam home-run live.

oh, happy day!

can anyone answer this for me

but i believe we are up 2 games in the lose column against the brewers?

+5

in loss column

yes up 5 in the loss column to the Brewers 6 to the Cardinals

I’m just hoping there is no letdown vs the Pirates and Astros a nice winning streak would be awesome

jeff_pico - July 31, 2008 reply

there is no downplaying that

len and bob will tell you how HUGE that is

Hahahah

Nice

If I was I mathematician, like some of the people here with + and -, I would give you

(Integral from 2 to 0 of) 5 7x^2 dx

Lets at least make the plus/minus system more challenging, if you’re gonna do it.

I am a mathematician

The right way to typset that is

\int_02 \frac{15x2}{8} dx

(also, your math is wrong…)

whoops

make that

\int_0^2 \frac{15×2}{8} dx

I fail at LaTeX…

Apparently it doesn't like my ^ symbol

Oh wait, you weren't giving him +5...

you were giving him -152

Man, I am such a dork

How's my math wrong? I didn't even solve it.

I don’t know this LaTeX business in which you speak. Should’ve made it clearer:

b=2 (integral) a=0 x^ 2

57 x3/3 |2,0

57(2)3/3 – 57(0)^3/3

= 152… I really liked his post.

I thought that you were going for +5

realized later that it wasn’t

Plus usually when we say integrals we say the lower bound first, where you had it the other way around

I messed up with my context

That’s what I get for trying to type math.

that picture is so huge

i wish you had a smaller one.

halfblindcubbiegirl - July 31, 2008 reply

That is what she had once said from a similar, yet different, arrangement.

LOL

Bump Bailey - July 31, 2008 reply

Connelly is smaller than Murray.

No Bill Murray but will this work?

Hmmm...

Possibly the most beautiful woman alive.

+1

+ a great person

Agreed. She probably is.

zevkalman - August 1, 2008 reply

Tomahawk Chop!

Whoaaaa Whoa Whoaaaaa

Whoaaa, Whoa Whoaaaa

Yep! 2003 we taunted their great, “loyal fans” with this bizarre Atlantan peculiarity.

I feel the same way about the Florida State Seminole fans – same thing. “The Chop”

How absurd.

The E-Man - July 31, 2008 reply

Hey!

As a FSU fan I sort of resent that.

We’ve been doing the chop since the mid 1980s. The Braves only started doing it as an homage to Deion Sanders when he was there in the early 1990s.

It may be a bit oversued, however. A 5 yard run on first down probably doesn’t merit chop usage. But it is fantastic when everyone at Doak Campbell is chopping as one ater a huge play (rarer and rarer these days…)

I guess the chop rocks in a college setting, which is chock-full of cool traditions, but is useless in a baeball setting…

that "ater" is supposed to be "after"

I hate typing on the work keyboard.

Also, that “oversued” is “overused.” I’m not sure what oversued is suppsoed to be. Maybe a lawyer can let me know.

uhhhhhh

did I miss something on bb tonight or is it 1030 and they havent covered the cubs yet. while the nationals have been on…

ballstitch - July 31, 2008 reply

Just saw the highlights at about 10:40p

Have to spend the first 15 or so talking about Manny being Manny in LA

va cubsfan - July 31, 2008 reply

is it unsettling to anyone else?

the fact that the cubs haven’t pitched a scoreless ninth in forever… not a good omen for the next one run game… of course if the cubs keep hitting the way they did in this last series, they wont have to worry about that..

ThisIsResolute - July 31, 2008 reply

I would credit that

to the pitchers trying to pitch to contact. No point trying to be fine with your pitches when you’ve got a 6-7 run lead. Even a blind squirrel (see Brewers, Milwaukee) finds a nut now and then…

Dude,

Marmol threw a scoreless frame Monday night.

SplintChesthair - July 31, 2008 reply

Jeff Spellcheck

Threw a scoreless ninth on Sunday against the Fish as well

indeed.

I just get frustrated when i see cubs’ pitching give up a run or two in the ninth.. I’ll shut up now.. bueno.

ThisIsResolute - July 31, 2008 reply

I don't know why people have trouble with Samardzija

It’s really a pretty easy name to spell when you break it down.

It’s Sam/ Ard / Zija.

The Zija part is the only one that’s in the least bit hard if you break it down. It’s not like Mientkiewicz, which has no easy way to really break down.

He's

the Alphabet Shark

Agreed.

I’ve taught myself how to spell it by simply separating “Samard” and “zija.” The former is easy enough to remember – and spell – by itself. Then you just add “zija,” which is actually kinda fun.

I always have to pause

between the ard and the zija. Going from D to Z is a tricky affair in this sweet little mouth of mine.

TWSS?

Well, yes, she did say it.

It’s right there in her post.

egad.

going

from DeRosa to Zambrano?

Jeff Spellcheck is brilliant.

Well done, sir.

I motion to keep him as 'Spellcheck'

or ‘Jeff Spellcheck’ from here forward.

I second the motion.

Bonus: same amount of letters in Samardzija and Spellcheck.

But spell it "Spellczyk"

ChipSet - August 1, 2008 reply

Thank you

but I believe I got it from Drewish

I got it from someone else

don’t remember who. I use Spellcheck and The Shark interchangeable.

y

You know what, I think I created it.

Gagne

I went back and watched that AB. I think he was trying to hit him with all three pitches. They were all balls inside about belt high. Edmonds wasn’t very close to the plate so he was making it a little hard for Gagne to hit him without looking obvious. On the last pitch he was trying to make sure he got enough and just got too much. That was the only pitch that looked like it didn’t go where he wanted it. Also, there was no outrage on his part right away. It was almost like he had to try and be outraged. No doubter to me.

TXCub - July 31, 2008 reply

It's a sign of good things happening

for the Cubs when I actually was laughing watching Rich Harden trying to bunt. He kept looking over and smiling toward the dugout or 3rd base coach, as if to say, “Geez, I am pretty sure this is gonna be bad.” Now, there may come a game when I will be upset with his lack of bunting skill, but today all I could do was smile along with him and say, God bless him, he ain’t good at hitting, but his pitching is another matter entirely…

Yeah.

And his back-and-forth after grabbing his bat followed up by throwing his hands up as if to say, “What do you expect? I came from the AL!” was hilarious.

Cardinal fan here......I come in peace.

How about that Jimmy Ballgame? A little piece of me dies every time he does something special for the Cubs. But I just can’t help but be happy for the guy. So many Cardinal fans tell me…”well, he’s only hitting those homers becuase of Wrigley Field.” To which I say, “So What?” That means your GM is pretty shrewd-he certainly saw that Edmonds kind of power could play well there, and he was right. It’s nice to see him hit one elsewhere, though.

Take care of him. He really is a fun, neat, guy, and he’ll give you guys all of what he’s got every time he steps on the field.

Good luck to you. You have put together a great team. I figure you all are about due…...

Okay, that was hard. And I didn’t die.

welcome

we’re trying to take care of J-Ed. The first few weeks were very awkward, but he’s definitely grown on us.

Like someone else said at the Jim Edmonds Fan Club meeting: If Z can forgive him, so can I.

halfblindcubbiegirl - July 31, 2008 reply

It's awkward here too.

A lot of the Cards fans are in “hate Edmonds” mode. Me, I just can’t forget all the great baseball he gave us for years. So I can’t go into hate mode, especially since our crabby, mean manager got into a verbal pi*sing match with him when the Cubs were in town. How juvenile…...

TLR is crabby and mean... but I have a lot of respect for

the Cards and their fans.

And I’ve been more worried about you guys than the Brewers all season.

What did you think of Carpenters return? Did he look good? Will Wainwright really go back to closer?

halfblindcubbiegirl - July 31, 2008 reply

I did not get to see that game. My understanding is he wasn't real sharp

but was able to make an escape pitch each time he needed to. Everyone is pretty excited about his return-he really is an awesome pitcher. No one knows for sure what they are going to do with Wainwright yet. He’s not ready for a rehab assignment, so who knows.

jillsinmo - August 1, 2008 reply

When is the next meeting?

I thought him having 5 rbis would be enough to post when the next meeting is

Thanks for stopping by

At first I liked Edmonds in a Cub uniform just for the novelty, but that dude’s got some life left in him. I always like seeing him in the lineup. Hopefully he’ll get a blue ring to offset that nasty looking red one he’s already got!

SplintChesthair - July 31, 2008 reply

Now be nice.....he can have a red one and a blue one

Don't get me wrong

I’m not saying he can’t wear both, blue is just a better color, that’s all. :)

SplintChesthair - July 31, 2008 reply

Whatever.....

I have a question for you.

What kind of performance-enhancing drug is Russ Springer on?

Kidding aside, how the hell is he so good at this point of his career?

At 35 years old, 2004 year, he posted a 2.63 ERA coming off a 8.31 ERA-year in ‘03.
2005, 4.37 ERA—average.
2006, 3.47 ERA. Pretty good.
2007, he had a 2.18 ERA.
2008, at 38 years old, it’s at 1.85.

How the hell is he doing this?

I have no clue.

He has been really good though-and yes, I wonder what’s going on when a 39 year-old pitcher has the best year of his career. There has been no hint of PED’s in any press I’ve seen, but of course our press is afraid of the Cardinals management-both on and off the field. It’s probably his last year-maybe he’s just determined to go out on top. Who knows?

jillsinmo - August 1, 2008 reply

You should have heard

the SD sportstalkers…there’s one in the station group I work for….oh, the AGONY over the day Edmonds had today. I’ll make sure I wear a Cubs shirt to work next week.

Well, after his slow start, he didn't look too good........

I think he was a scapegoat for that bad team the Pads put together. They obviously pulled the plug too soon. Not real smart.

jillsinmo - August 1, 2008 reply

Thanks for your kind words

And don’t worry. We like Cardinal fans today. We’ve been having so many problems with Brewer fans that you guys seem great by comparison. >:-)

Welcome.

My dad is a Cards fan (yes, the apple fell faaaaaaar from the tree) and has taken to calling me regularly when Jimmy done good and says, quite simply, “You’re welcome.” My new reply, as I heard in the game thread yesterday, will be, “That’s not necessary. Ballgame was always a Cub. He just didn’t know it yet.”

And he doesn’t hit homers just cos of Wrigley. I believe he popped two somewhere else just yesterday. :D

A friend

I have a friend of about 15 years who’s not a Cubs fan. He’s not a sports fan except for the Bears. We have other interests in common.

He was telling me how much he is enjoying this season because of me and other big Cub fans in his life.

He still doesn’t know Ryan Theriot from Ryan Dempster but I’m sure he’s not the only person among close friends of BCBers who are rooting for the Cubs because they know how much it means to us.

puckishcubsfan - July 31, 2008 reply

Ironic you say that......

tonight I was out for supper with a non sports fan, and saw Lou on tv commented on how good I thought he was and he asked who he was. Next comment was how happy he was they were doing good since I am so passionate about.

Same here.

When those close to you see you so happy it makes them happy. Couple that with this season be a loooooooong time coming and it even makes my Cardinal-loving dad (almost) happy for me.

the angels

put a real spanking on the skankees 2night & prev swept the red sux (w/ manram on board). the talking heads say the angels are “the-best-team in-basebal” bs

most of the national press has completely overlooked what has been accomplished in the miller park massacre

brian custer - July 31, 2008 reply

Arrrrr

the Pirate Grey Bar makes Captain Custer walk his plank, matey

Control issues?

If people want to give Gagne the benefit of the doubt with his control. (It was intentional) then why were the first couple pitches inside and after he got tossed did McClungs first pitch end up where Geos head was? It was classless and a terrible way for th eBrewers to end a series where they got abused 4 games.
And for good fun try reading a Brewers fan blog, they have officially lost it.
Go Cubs and awesome sweep

Grizzley13 - July 31, 2008 reply

How good is this Cubs team

compared to the last few playoff teams?

1984: The only Cubs who could make the starting lineup this year would be Sutcliffe, Sandberg, and Lee Smith.
1989: Sandberg and Maddux (Dawson’s gimpy knees are no match for Fukudome.)
1998: Sammy
2003: Prior and Ramirez

Clark Addison - July 31, 2008 reply

I'd add Wood

to 1998 and 2003, and Zambrano from 2003 too. I know you said “starting lineup” but if we take Prior we can take Wood and Z.

You take Theriot over a 1984 Larry Bowa? (Maybe.)

Maybe Moises Alou makes the team ahead of RJ or Edmonds.

But overall your point is well taken. I’m looking at the lineup from the 2003 NLDS and position by position I like what we have in 2008.

ChipSet - August 1, 2008 reply

I don't know..

1984: Bob Dernier would be better than Reed Johnson and the Sarge would sure look good somewhere.
1989: Mitch Williams would be on my team.
1998: Agree, except maybe for the Shooter, Rod Beck.
2003: I’m pretty sure I’d rather have Matt Clement than Marquis.

This is

the best Cubs team since the 1930s, probably.

Position by position comparisons aren’t always the most informative, but they can be the most fun. So lets look at 1969:

As great as Ramirez is, Santo was even better. So take Santo at third.

Shockingly, Soriano has a higher OPS+ than Billy Williams had that year. You’d probably take Williams for his durability and defense, but it’s really close. A tossup, I guess. Williams really didn’t have a good year in 1969 by Billy Williams standards.

You’d take Ferguson Jenkins of course, and probably Bill Hands. Holtzman wasn’t all that great.

So Jenkins, Hands and Santo for sure. Maybe Billy Williams.

Agreed.

Position by position comparisons, as you say, aren’t usually the best way to compare teams. The most important thing is, the 2008 Cubs are far deeper than the 1969 team was and have a better bullpen and bench.

The 1969 Cubs may have had better starters at several positions—but the 2008 Cubs are a better TEAM.

And the '08 team has been better rested as well, of course.

Al I would like to point out that I did not go "ledge-jumping"

on Saturday after the lost.

I waited until the 4th inning on Sunday and we were down 5 with Marquis pitching like crap and the Brewers were up two against the Stros. :)

LOL

You’re off the ledge now, I trust.

Thanks for the awesome post, Al

Even better to read knowing you’re so often the realist among us.

My dear old dad watched the Cubbies every day for most of his 69 years. We lost him a few weeks ago.

“Each day, remember where you were, what you were doing, who you were with, when you remember each of these wins… because if the Cubs do reach the Promised Land, you will want to remember these moments forever.”

Damn right.

hipster17 - July 31, 2008 reply

I'm sorry for your loss

I’m sure your Dad continues to watch right along side you.

Rich Harden is everything promised

Just milk him along for the next two months and stomp on his accelerator come playoff time.

MDBNIU - July 31, 2008 reply

Say whatever you want about MDBNIU

But his passion to get Rich Harden and his prediction about how amazing he would was spot on.

Mr. MDBNIU I give you real credit there man. Folks may flick you waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much crap (some you bring upon yourself) but no can take your call of Harden away from you.

+100

bluekoolaide - August 1, 2008 reply

Exactly

Plus, if I remember right, there are a bunch of off days in the playoffs (I know there’s a day off for travel every time the teams switch ballparks in a given series).

That means Harden could pitch a few games on 5 or more day’s rest, which is always good.

What We Did This Week to the Brewers...

We drove up there, we broke into their house, we smashed the China, we stole the Silverware, we cleaned out their refrigerator, we spray painted the walls, we slept in their beds, we drank their last beers, and then we spun out and did donuts on the lawn and plowed up their rose garden as we drove away back to Chicago!

sorry, little carried away!!! :)

nervousCUBlover - August 1, 2008 reply

We also almost used up all their milk

and then put the milk carton back with just a few drops left back in the fridge.

But, at least we didn't knock up their daughters!

Slim1256 - August 1, 2008 reply

With backwash.

Cubs Sweep!

LOL!

The grater worked!

LOL..

Excellent!

wow i'm slow

that took me a long time to figure out.

Well done, my friend!

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

Nothing like some shredded Bernie!

The wild card may not come out of the central

Wild Card Standings:

Cubs 65-44(leading the Central)
Milwuakee 60-49
St. Lious 61-50
Philly 59-49(leading the East)
Mets 58-50
Florida 58-51

Only three of these teams goes to the playoffs, and it’s no lock it’s coming out of the cental. I believe the Brewers and Cubs have the superior teams, but remember how the Brewers fell apart at the end of the year last season. They seemed to show some similar qualities in this series.

Imtrejo - August 1, 2008 reply

Al...I know most of this thread is going to be deleted...

but don’t berate me too much for having fun at the fool’s expense.

GET'UM!

wait... what?

Did I miss a fun thread?

Darn.

me too...

Damn this human body and it’s need for sleep!

Blue W - August 1, 2008 reply

you missed a doozy

king troll

I only saw the beginning

wish I had stuck around a little longer. Darn!!

Wow, sorry I missed it.

Fun?

Depends on what you’re in to. Definitely NSFW.

Soooo

is this Gay Jesus A-hole a pissed off Brewer fan? Perhaps that gocubs jerk back to be an idiot again? What is going on here lately? I just don’t get it.

No I think he's just a guy with an ax to grind

boredom + ax + blog + bloggers = fun for idiots

I think hes a cubs fan though

misguided as he is.

nah

his profile page says most of his posts were on the Reds blog.

i think he’s just a troll bored on a fri morning.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

Reds?

wow, maybe if he is mad about Griffey coming to Chicago, he should figure out which team he iwll be playing for.

Doesn't mean he's a Reds fan...

just means that’s the 1st blog he chose to deface.

This has been taken care of.

You won’t see that again.

Thank you, Al!

bjs - August 1, 2008 reply

Thanks Al

sorry your time is wasted on jerks like that

Ugh

He must be the one that all the fans of other teams complain about.

Back to what's important

I got booted towards the end of the 1st over flow thread and couldn’t get back in for a couple hours. I have a new fast computer and never have problems, but this game must’ve clogged the blog plumbing to much! Kinda upset I didn’t get to go crazy with everyone on here. Wondering if anyone else had this happen.

SBN had some pretty major issues

Almost everyone was having some kind of issue. Lots of freezes and double posts for me.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

Yes, and now when I click on 'actions' it won't respond

so I can’t flag. It’s very annoying and it created yet ANOTHER double post for me. I hope they fix this soon because it makes participation very difficult.

There were server problems yesterday all across SBN...

... we think it’s primarily because of a lot of activity due to the trades yesterday. Even the non-baseball blogs were slow.

It should be better today.

I did. A lot.

but i persevered and just reloaded repeatedly. We really may have crashed the BCB servers.

You must..

Endeavor to persevere..

I think it was SBNation. Everyone was having problems posting.

I got onto the

evil BCB a couple times, but I wasn’t going to dare ask them if there were problem. Didn’t want it taken as an attempt to ruffle feathers.

I think they are having a very bad night

But they are a good team and they will start winning games again very soon.

Oh yeah

every team has a melt down here or there

I feel bad for their fans

I remember that feeling of being embarassed about your team by a rival… I don’t wish on anyone.

Well. Other than the Mets of course. That was actually kind of sweet.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

Yankee Fans, too.

I actually have no real problem w/ Yankees fans

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

my wife is a diehard yankees fan

makes for some interesting conversations :)

mrbubs - August 1, 2008 reply

No, just some feek and a great post of

Jennifer Connelly riding a horse.

love jennifer connely!

Look just above the two dudes kissing

This is the first time that sentence has ever been typed on this blog.

just sayin’

its been a weird night

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

Pretty entertaining, I must say.

If it wasn't so well, disturbing,

it would get a TWSS

haha

LMAO!

Well despite everything...

Can I just say what a huge sigh of relief I let out when we finished this series? It wasn’t just an everyday series but a HUGELY hyped matchup of the top two NL teams and we steamrolled the brewers.

Hats off to the brewers but we dominated. Feels GOOD.

I'm just hoping we avoid the

“emotional letdown” game tomorrow.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

agreed

but when the game was winding down and all that drama with gagne and fielder was going down they kept looking at the cubs bullpen and they were all business as usual. Which to me is amazing because I think they’re going to keep an even keel and produce consistently.

And we get the Pirates tomorrow, thankfully,

Minus Jason Bay, too!

minus Nady

and minus Marte. I guess you could simply say we are getting the Pirates minus.

Or an exhibition game

against a AAA club.

I think thats where having Lou comes in most handy

He’s very deliberate about reminding everyone about how early it still is and keeping a balance between being emotional and reactionary.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

Post Sweep Depression?

lol

less depression and more “take the foot off the gas” itis.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

wanna hear something funny?

the FIRST person to get offended by GJ and respond was…wait for it….MDBNIU

The mans a clairvoyant

LOL!

I noticed that.

I also noticed while I was stuck at evil BCB that cwyers is there a lot. Does anyone know what happened here to make him go there?There was some insinuation that in a comment or two that it was due to something here.

There's a couple sabermagicians over there he like to chat with.

That makes sense then.

I don’t get all that jazz. basics stats and my gut and heart are good enough for me.

The guy is just a troll.

He was hanging out on the Red Reporter site. He joined here about 3 days ago and just went nuts.

Who knows why?

Cwyers? A troll?

i think he means GJ

I know.

lame attempt at a joke on my part. or something.

ahh whoops

my bad lol

sorry

was refering to cwyer. i checked out this butt wipe all ready

That might of been me...

brewfan2 I think it was, was here and mentioned how baseball smart a couple of his bloggers were, and I mentioned cwyers being one of our best. Hope he didn’t go over to the Dark Side. He belongs here!

I get that crap like what happened in this thread tonight

and in the fanpost the other night are really annoying, but other than that, I can tolerate almost everything else.

it helps a lot that we're on a winning streak

way easier to just laugh this guy off than it would’ve been a week ago.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

very true

Yes, I will laugh for now

Brett Taylor - August 1, 2008 reply

Something tells me AL won't be laughing anything off in the morning

just getting the last laugh

No.

But I emailed him and told him what this guy was up to. So at least he’ll have a warning before he gets here.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

In case you didn't see this above...

... it’s been dealt with. Thanks for the emails (there were several).

Well, I am up way too late.

Working swing throws off me sleeping normal on my nights off. But I had to see if BCB was still here after the server fart today. Have a good night/early morning everyone

nite

nite

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

g'nite

im off to bed

gnight all. you too GJ. Every story needs a villain. Or village idiot.

g'night

night!

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

g'nite. I'm going to sign off too.

yeah. me too.

night jbau!

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 1, 2008 reply

g'nite. I'm going to sign off too.

All right I have to go to bed.

SWL Keep up the great work.

AL, I am so so so so so sorry about all the mess.

Night all.

Great recap

Just wondering – if history does say that this series is “the moment’, will history also say that Lilly was the quiet hero? The Brewers would have pencilled in Sabathia – Lilly as advantage them, and when Lilly to hold his own for a good part of the game, it set them on the back foot for the series.

marvin39 - August 1, 2008 reply

Good point.

Very possibly.

The boys are back in town.

I can’t wait to welcome them back today. It should be some kind of roar when they take the field.

Rick B - August 1, 2008 reply

A long article on trolls

will be appearing in this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine.

Thanks for the link

But after getting to the bottom of what turned out to be the first page and finding there are six more pages, I might bookmark this for later….

I did say ::long:: article ;-)

I guess I missed that :-)

Wow, this does look like...

...a really interesting article. I’ll print it out and read it on the train tonight, though. Thanks!

That troll in the NYT

is a complete and total sociopath. Completely without empathy for anyone else. Even his own mother.

I’m guessing most of them are.

I don’t know, maybe we should be lucky he’s trolling. He’s got the complete profile to be a serial killer. On the other hand, maybe he’s serial killing when he’s not trolling.

That was definitely a purpose pitch

Edmonds said as much in the Trib.

Hopefully you’re not waiting any longer.

lamentir - August 1, 2008 reply

Indeed

Edmonds said it was.
Gagne wouldn’t say that it wasn’t.
Santo and Brenly both called him out.
The Brewers broadcasters said that it “very well might be”.
Lou said he had no comment on the matter.

If any of the above thought it was an accident, they would have said “I think it was an accident”.

Gagne

is just that bad, went inside, inside, and inside. He just missed and missed and missed. Bad!

Did you watch the game?

If you did, you missed it. Go back and look at it again. If you didn’t the game, go and look at it. Gagne’s arm angle was different on that pitch. Gagne most certainly threw at Edmonds. I am sure of it. Gagne may have been missing his spots, but not on that pitch, he threw right at Edmonds. Gagne is on the downside of his career, but he is not so far gone that his control is so bad that he misses the plate that far in , (behind Ed). With all that said, it was a bush league move, whether Yost ordered it, or Gagne did it on his own. Don’t think for a minute that the Cubs will forget it. Expect retribution.

Jimmyeatworld - August 1, 2008 reply

I agree with you

what I meant by my post, which I didnt make clear enough, is that he’s that bad that he missed on his intentional attempt at hitting him.

Gotcha. Sorry for the misunderstanding ton...

Jimmyeatworld - August 1, 2008 reply

Frankly...

... I hope there isn’t retribution. What’s the point of starting a beanball war? Especially since the two teams don’t face each other until there are 13 games left in the season.

They need to let it go.

I agree,

they probably should let it go. With that said, I don’t think they will. It was obvious they were throwing at Cubs batters yesterday- in a bush league manner. If they do, I expect it to be in the last series of the year at Miller Park, (when hopefully the Cubs have already clinched).

Jimmyeatworld - August 1, 2008 reply

Especially after that awful Peoria brouhaha

I hope the MLB Cubs remain above the fray

Winning the division is more than enough retribution

Just to throw (ha ha, hoo boy) my two cents in here...

...I definitely believe Gagne’s laughable behind-the-back pitch to Jedmonds was intentional. Yeah, he’s awful, but he’s not that awful. And, as lamentir pointed out, Jimbo himself said as much in this Trib article, placing responsibility (by implication) on the shoulders of none other than manager Ned Yost, a man whose eyes are somehow beady and puppy-dog-sad at the exact same time.

I see no reason to doubt Edmonds’ assessment. Yost has a history of instigating beanball wars (see: Cardinals, St. Louis, ‘07) and, honestly, Gagne has little to no purpose any more besides playing headhunter. I saw the incident coming right after Jimbo Ballgame’s grand slam. Right after thinking “YEAHHHHHH!!!”, I thought, “Well, just a matter of time before the Brewers start throwing at Cubs batters.” (I was monitoring the game on my phone, so I couldn’t do any of this out loud.)

I do hope, however, that the Cubs can continue to take the high road and not let this thing get ugly. Doing so would simply not be worth the risk. Let the Brewers melt into a pathetic puddle of their own inexperience and lack of mental fortitude – just like they did last season.

Center Field

CF working out ok I would say. Jimmy Ballgame already surpassed last years season total (12 with Cubs, 1 with SD).

Jimmy and RJ have combined for 20 HR, 74 RBI, 4 SB, (25 doubles) .282 AVG and MANY invaluable plays on defense.

Hendry did a nice job of plugging that hole when there were not many other options out there in any form.

Cool!

Thanks for putting their numbers together. I was just going to go look them up. Pretty impressive.

Fishbone2 - August 1, 2008 reply

Not quite a useful total...

... because Johnson has played several games in LF, too.

But the point is taken—they are a good platoon combination.

Platoon

exactly right because neither one of them could attain their combined totals on their own I don’t think. My idea behind this was that they’re both here because Pie is not. With this productivity we also can’t argue with Lou’s use of both of them.

You don’t know how many times I heard fellow Cubs fans up at the Roger’s Centre say to Jays fans, “he’s washed up huh?” and “thanks for RJ!”. We technically can’t do the same with Cards fans because it was actually SD that gave up on him.

Overall production from center fielders this year.

Production from center field
.285/.363 /.470 16 HR 76 RBI

I’ll take that.

I could get by position for Reed and Jimmy Ballgame but I haven’t figured out how to narrow it down to Jimmy’s time in Chicago in CF.

mjk83 - August 1, 2008 reply

I hope the knee will last

He was out for three days because it was bad, and because he got a cortizone shot. Now, the cortizone obviously has worked in the short term (see: yesterday). But who knows how it will be in a week or a month. I’d like to see him come out of games early in blow-outs for extra rest.

wow, what a series....

Now THAT is what baseball should be all about. (Of course, had the Cubs been swept or lost a game or two, I’d not likely been nearly as conciliatory…)

Going into the series on Monday, I was very apprehensive, almost terrified. I’ve seen how the Brewers play at home.) Bob B. mentioned before the Monday game that the Cubs could be as many as 5 up on the Brewers or 3 down, at the end of the 4 game set. I never imagined that had a chance at being 5 up, particularly starting out against Sabathia, and then having to deal with Sheets.

But, then they actually played the games, and there was a little Cubbie magic (or just luck) – Weeks making that error on the DP to get the Cubs back in it. The Cubs found a way to win that first game, when they could have found ways to lose it just as easily. A good victory in game 1. Game two, Sheets was rolling along and then the 6th inning happened, and Yost couldn’t pull the trigger on getting him out of there.

In hindsight, I think after game two, we had the Brewers, I think they were already defeated. We’d beaten their two best pitchers (well, we really didn’t beat CC as much as outlasted him and got into that ‘pen.)

By game 4, it was obvious we were in the Brewers’ collective head. If Gagne was ordered to hit Edmonds, I don’t know. I think a case can be made for either case. Prince, on the other hand, demonstrated why the Brewers are not ready for prime time, in my opinion. Prince was the only hitter really doing anything all series – he did hit a couple of homers. That man SHOULD be a team leader, regardless of his relative youth. He should be a leader on the field. instead, by the ninth inning, he chose to argue balls and strikes in a game when it really didn’t matter. It was pure frustration on his part, I guess. A leader doesn’t find a reason to get tossed out of a game.

Yost and the rest of the Brewers (I’m looking at you, Ryan) talked a lot about how they learned a lot last year from their experiences, but after watching them conduct themselves and play ball for 4 games, I’m not sure they are really ready to contend.

DWChaney - August 1, 2008 reply

To be fair to Braun

His remarks have been pretty humble all week.

Fair enough..

I was thinking of that stuff he was spouting about how the pressure was all on the Cubs, not on them, in the series between them. It became apparent that the pressure was pretty evenly split on both sides.

Braun seems like a pretty good guy, I just dislike him because he kills us (except this last series :)

DWChaney - August 1, 2008 reply

+1

Another

afternoon game today. Love it!

Lou In Blue - August 1, 2008 reply

+5 kajillion

Can't think of a better way to spend a Friday at work

than by not working, and hanging out with all you lovelys.

Word

too bad I have too much work to do and won’t be able to pay attention to the game, do my work, and play in the game thread all at the same time.

Sunny day...

...sweeping the clouds away. On my way to where the air is sweet. Can you tell me how to get to Addision Street?

Count Von Count counts ONE win against the Brewers. TWO wins against the Brewers. THREE wins against the Brewers, FOUR wins against the Brewers.

(Lighting flash and thunder) Ah, ah, ah!

FOUR!

Zeke - August 1, 2008 reply

A quick word on Pirates roster moves

the Pirates DFA’d Chris Duffy (their perenially injured CF) and Franquelis Osoria (RHP reliever), so they won’t be around today. Hansen hasn’t thrown particularly great in the Red Sox bullpen, while Moss is a decent prospect. And we’ve seen Andy LaRoche before. RHP Tyler Keppner will be making his NL debut today.

PurpleLineToWrigley - August 1, 2008 reply

To this observer...

Throwing 70% strikes, 9 strikeouts and walking no one is NOT a lower quality outing.

In fact, it would be great if he wish more pitchers had a bad day like this.

No walks was the key…I never understand why some pitchers are afraid of contact.

NotSure - August 1, 2008 reply

If it was LAST year's team...

...with JJ in right field, I could see some fear of contact…

For what it's worth...

...even as a Cub’s fan, I am still happy to see Griffey come to Chicago. I truly feel he is one of the remaining good-guys from the tarnished Steroid-era, and I have always found him to be a class act.

PurpleLineToWrigley - August 1, 2008 reply

I fell in love with Griffey

way back at the start of his career. One of my most expensive baseball cards (not that that counts for much now, but they will get hot again) is one of his rookies. I would maybe even venture to a game on the southside to see him play. I just can’t figure out for sure why they got him. For CF? But can he really play CF these days? Guess we will see!

Al

Your last little tidbit paragraph gave me chills. Its true, we do have to remember where we were and what we were doing… this is truly a special season thus far and I feel goosbumps crawling on my skin as I type this. This Brewers series has pumped me up and actually has made me even more nervous, because I can’t help thinking of the possibilities this team holds.

Where I was for this series:
G1: Yogi’s bar and grill in Bloomington, IN with about 50-75 Cubs fans screaming and yelling and concluding with the singing of “Go Cubs Go” to the small table of Brewers fans and high fiving every stranger in the bar – GOOD TIMES/
G2: Suburban Lanes bowling alley in Bloomington, IN. All the TV’s were on and I partied it up with the staff in the bar of the bowling alley till 3am after the Cubs big victory.
G3: Sitting in my living room procrastinating on a paper that was due that night… I never got it done on time, finished it the next morning… Cubs are more important this year.
G4: Sitting in my living room with townie Cubs fans, its always good to see that! Indulged ourselves in some early afternoon beverages and went out after the game to celebrate!

SouthsideCUBSfan - August 1, 2008 reply

Dumbest ESPN Cubs comment yet

First apologies if this has been posted. I had a LONG night flying in from NYC
(hey only about 2 hours late between, plane, O’‘Hare & taxi) so I can’t go through all the
thousands of posts. Anyway I get to the airport to check ESPN ( the 8 run lead in the 8th held great) hear about Manny etc and then they get to the part where commentators assess trades & teams. Gammons says Brewers ARE still better than the Cubs despite the dominating sweep and a big reason for that is that they have energized Milwaukee with CC deal etc. As proof of how they energized the Brewer fans he points out THE FOUR GAME SERIES SOLD OUT. Um hey Peter EVERY CUBS /BREWERS series has
sold out for YEARS because all the Cub fans COME AND BUY AS MANY TICKETS as they can. Now to be fair the Brewers have sold out ALL of their games recently but how dumb can you be to say that Cubs/Brewers sell outs are the proof of great & energized Brewers fans.
By the way the scary part is that the two ESPN guys who think the Cubs will win
are Phillips whom I HATE and Kruk who I do kind of like. The rest of them seem to
be waiting for the Cubs to crash because no team with CC could lose.

Doggie Stalker - August 1, 2008 reply

I heard Bob Uecker had some similar comments,

Something like wanting to congratulate the marketing department for the series sellout.
I like Bob, but that seemed kind of silly on his part.

Blue W - August 1, 2008 reply

Bob's best quote

“I’m glad this only a four-game series. I think if it was a nine-game series, the Cubs might win all nine.”

That's OK.

I think it’s better for the Cubs to fly under the radar and to NOT be the flavor of the day. At least that means less talk about 100 years/curses/goats. (Take your pick.) Since that’s all they seem to associate with the Cubs, let them hype everybody else.

They spent over 300 million dollars last year

Did you hear?

NittanyCub - August 1, 2008 reply

Yeah, I heard someone on ESPN say the other night...

...that he was picking the Brewers because of their “karma” and “overall energy.” (I’m not sure if “overall energy” were his exact words, but he said something to that effect. And he definitely used the word “karma.”) I can’t remember the guy’s name – older guy, former player (I think), long last name. Anyway, I laughed out loud after he said it.

Most Underated Cub

E D M O N D S

nimblenikelfoos - August 1, 2008 reply

First!

D’oh!

Good day, Chicago!

Enjoy the game today

I’ve got a golf outing, which means I’ll be following via cell phone. Let’s go Cubs!

Have fun!

It’ll be a bit hot but hey it’s August

http://www.galesburg.com/sports/columnists/x1370764220

Just found this at the 'other' site

http://deadspin.com/5031564/the-erin-andrews-backlash-has-officially-begun

Now, with pictures

With good ol' Bruce Miles in the background!

Meh

I can’t see having her in the clubhouse dressed like she’s on a photo shoot for maxim having a negative effect on the clubhouse. She’s an average reporter with a killer body. She uses it for her gain, good for her.

Lou In Blue - August 1, 2008 reply

Kinda figured this would come up at some point

She is around the level of meh as far as really contributing anything to sports. She is the best looking woman journalist amongst a very few. Nadel thinks she should be more credible and professional. And anyone defending her is just checking out her legs. I’d say there has to be a happy middle ground with this argument, just not sure what it is.

don't

look as far down as her legs?

Game Thread

is up!

Go Cubs!!

Just for posterity's sake...

...I want to say that I never would have dared dream the Cubs could go up to Milwaukee and sweep a four-game series – especially one with CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets pitching the first two days. I just want to take this opportunity to thank my favorite ballclub for letting me know that it’s OK to dream … and dream big.

OK, on to today’s game.