Bleed Cubbie Blue

what a great game!

i love these guys.

Ryno72 - August 29, 2008 reply

This reminds me of

the game in Fla were Ward hit the homer in the ninth. Until the 8th I just kind felt like it wasn’t our night, but this team never gives up and won a game they probably should have lost.

I FREAKIN LOVE THIS TEAM!!!!!

Wow

I almost missed the big inning, I was going back and forth between the DNC and the game and decided to stay put when I saw the homerun by the wonder hamster. LOL my wife couldn’t understand why I was screaming grand slam about a political speech.

carolinacub - August 29, 2008 reply

hope

Last night was awe-inspiring, giving us all hope for the future. No, not Barry’s speech. Rammy’s GS!

Al: what type of camera do you guys use for the shots from the bleachers?

thermal54 - August 29, 2008 reply

David can answer this one.

Watched the DVRed game...

after the Barry speech and at around 11pm while rocking our baby to sleep I screamed " Holy Sh@#! Grand Slam!!! My wife comes running into the room thinking somethings wrong and sees me celebrating and my dog (named Wrigley by the way) jumping around. Thank GOD for DVR!

MikeOxbyg - August 29, 2008 reply

hooray for dvr's

this is one of those games that gets burnt to a dvd and get’s added to my winter-watching collection

did you wake up the baby?

Dude...

This is not a political critique, but get your priorities staright, man. You watch the game and DVR BHO. It’s the Cubs fer cryin’ out loud!

Goodie1969 - August 29, 2008 reply

Boy am I glad I recorded this game

but, the game last one out past the allotted time so I didn’t catch the last out of the game.

How did Wood get the last out?

Hamels is a very good pitcher, he had us off balance all night long. I was in the boat with those who initially thought that this wasn’t our night. I thought we would have a chance if we could somehow get Hamels out of the game before the ninth inning (when we presumably would have seen Lidge). 108 pitches is a lot, but with the way Hamels was dominating us, I’m still not sure why Manuel pulled him, especially with as much as the bullpen apparently threw the last couple games. Nevertheless, I thank him for pulling Hamels.

This is my only concern....

The Cubs against good/solid pitching – they have not faired so well against those type of pitchers, and lets face it, that is who we will face in the next few months.

Either way – great game last night – and yes that place was really really loud!!!! i heard it from my balcony!

It's funny how we always make

that comment about hitting good pitching, but the fact is, nobody hits good pitching. Guys like Hamels, C.C. and Webb are on their game more often then not and when they are on, nobody hits them. The old saying about good pitching always stopping good hitting is really true.

The key to being successful is capitalizing on opportunities. Hamels was on and there was no way the Cubs were going to get him, but he wasn’t going to complete that game and once we got into their bullpen it was a different story. That’s why I think this team will go a long way this year, they take advantage of what’s given to them. We really could not say that of past Cub playoff teams.

I see your point....

we have not faired well at all against solid pitching this year – ie hamels in both starts, and the guy is beatable – he does have 8 losses, and yea W/L are not a stat basis, but it is not like the Phillies have a crappy offense.

While i say all of this, the big difference maker between this year and last year is our ability to take the bad pitches and take the walk if needed.

Occasionally it comes down to matchups. Hamels throws

about 50% changeups and he has a very good changeup. The Cubs don’t fare perticularly well against off-speed pitchers and he has been on his game in both instances. Sometimes you have to just tip your hat to the guy and realize that he just beat you. He’s a top of the rotation guy that can give any team fits. I know he has 8 losses this year , but I’ll bet he wasn’t blown outin many of them.

The key is to get into your opponents bullpen. The Cubs have been adept at getting starting pitchers out of games by running pitch counts. Middle relievers are there for a reason. They are not as good as starters or they would be starting. You make your bread and butter against those guys and the Cubs have made those types of pitchers pay this year.

You are right

the worst loss Hamels took was a 7-3 decision (he gave up all 7 runs, earned). He did give up 6 ERs in another game, but Philly won that one.

The fact is Philly is a damned good team. I think they are a

little thin in the managing department, but they can compete with the best of them. They field the ball well, the are probably the best power-hitting team in the league and the have speed at the top of their order. The Cubs are playing really well right now and on most night, the Phils would have taken that game.

If the Cubs perform like that in the post-season, look for good things from them.

The Original Dave - August 29, 2008 reply

Getting to the middle relief

can be tied directly to the Cubs patience and walks totals this year. That’s how we can win games against the top-shelf starting pitchers.

ChipSet - August 29, 2008 reply

Agreed.

Good starting pitching is a wonderful thing to have, but the Cubs have been so patient this year that the opposing starters are throwing a lot of pitches.

And the Cubs have some fantastic pitching as well. I’d rather see Zambrano and Dempster have bad games now than in October.

I don’t necessarily believe that all middle relievers aren’t good enough to be starters or they would be starting. Some guys just do better throwing every day, and others, ie. Kerry Wood, can’t throw more than 40 pitches in one day anymore.

On that note, throwing Wood 4 games in a row scares me right now. It’s good to know he can do it, but if he blows his arm out now, I’d be very disappointed.

i'm not worried about woody

I trust Lou to know what he’s doing.

and Marmol needed the night off.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

Yeah, it's hard not to be a little worried.

His pitch counts have gone as follows:

8/25: 13
8/26: 25
8/27: 10
8/28: 18
—————-
Total: 66

That 8/26 game is obviously the one that sticks out. On the bright side, his arm certainly doesn’t appear to be tired. According to Gameday, his last three pitches to Ryan Howard last night were all fastballs clocked at 97, 96 and 96. Nonetheless, I’d assume that Lou will rest him tonight.

Hamels was great last night.

While he was throwing all those changeups, I kept thinking that he’s like a left-handed Rich Harden. Fortunately, the Cubs have the right-handed Rich Harden.

Hamels...

…reminds me of Santana because they are both lefties.

He is another good example of how effective a pitcher can be if you can change speeds with the same arm motion. Hitters like to be able to lock in for their timing and guys like Hamel, Harden, Santana and even Dempster don’t allow that to happen.

The last out..

… was a popup to Ramirez, who was playing near the SS position because of an extreme shift on Howard.

Thank you

I am usually good about recording whatever is immediately following the game for situations exactly like this one, but I forgot.

I was hoping Reed would have double up on the flyout to center...

because at that pint I had about 1 minute left on the DVR recording.

MikeOxbyg - August 29, 2008 reply

He probably should have

He chucked that ball right into the ground a la Jacque Jones….

salparadise23 - August 29, 2008 reply

he couldn't get anything on the throw b/c all his momentum was going forward

it was a darn good play to even have a shot at doubling up Rollins who is very fast.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

To be fair he didn't have a good grip on the ball

and it was a tough play.

But, yeah…he did.

Wood got a pop up to Rami to end it

Read somewhere in the Philly paper that Manuel said Hamels was gassed. I’ll go find the link…. but he said that he was starting to lose it.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

Watched the post game

on the Philly station ( Live in Delaware) Mitch Williams, who is never a loss for words, essentialy put the loss on Manuel. In a pennant race, have your ace on the mound, facing the best team in the NL, you ride him out. At least start the 8th. I was thrilled they took Hamels out. He is tough, with any support he should have at least 16 wins.
But just a great game. As been mentioned many times before, the key to this team this year IMO and probably others, is this team works counts. They are so much more aware of the strike zone. That is why I surprised Reed struckout twice last night on pitches way out of the zone.
Go Cubs.

Grockcubs - August 29, 2008 reply

Here we go

Could Hamels have pitched the eighth? Maybe, but manager Charlie Manuel said Hamels was “absolutely spent. Was I thinking about leaving him in? I definitely had a thought about it . . . but I knew there definitely was no sense in sending him back out.”

[source]

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

It was very humid...

…and I can’t blame him for taking him out after 7.

Amazing....

Before the 8th started I looked at my fiancé and said, “i don’t think it’s going to happen tonight”… and then when ARAM got up with bases loaded, I just knew it would… the guy is one of the BEST clutch hitters in the NL. I wasn’t necessarily thinking GS, but figured he would at minimum drive in 1 with a sac fly or find a gap to tie the game. This has been by far the most impressive Cubs team I’ve witnessed….

cubbiefanTN - August 29, 2008 reply

I had texted a cubs friend the exact same thing!

I just didn’t see us coming back and oh how wrong I was to ever doubt this team. I was so excited sitting in my chair at home I hate to think what the stadium was like. A slightly open door to this team is very, very dangerous. I just can’t even imagine all that has happened this year, it’s been a dream, a very HAPPY dream.

Like a few others have said, my only concern is being able to hit these top pitchers earlier and not wait until relievers get in. I was concerned, but I guess I shouldn’t have been.

A very valuable Fontenot gets things started, his confidence is something we’ll have to keep up the next two months. THE BIG BLUE TRAIN KEEPS ROLLIN’!

mrcubsfan - August 29, 2008 reply

my roommate (a casual fan)

saw the phils go up 4-1 and was pissed that i still wanted to watch instead of playing him in mlb ’08 for ps3

believe or leave!

’nuf staid

!@$#@ !^$^@ !$#^$@(($ @(@$&@(_ crazy!

+1

Game tracker

Al, just wanted to say thanks for keeping the game tracker on the side, I’ve enjoyed watching this cubs team climb the ladder as one of the best ever… now ranking 7th All-time!

cubbiefanTN - August 29, 2008 reply

It is amazing, isn't it?

I’ve enjoyed compiling that day to day, too.

The "small" crowd may have been Tom Skilling's fault

WGN’s forecast was calling for 80% chance of “thundershowers” last night. I debated all day yesterday whether (no pun intended) to make the trek to see the game. It sure seemed nice outside my house, and not much was on the radar, but the forecast called for doom and gloom. I’m sure other’s felt it was going to get drenched. (Or hey—-it could have been just been an early labor day thing for the smaller attendance…what do I know…)
Anyway, I’m SO glad we went. What a great time. I can still vividly recall a couple of people in CF bleachers throw full beers high into the air right after the Ramirez shot. Somehow, I don’t think those around him minded having a beer shower.

Neifi Puppy - August 29, 2008 reply

Never count this team out when trailing late

I learned my lesson.

The Ryno and I Know - August 29, 2008 reply

I saw 9-1-2 due up in the inning

and all i could wonder was “hm.. wonder who its gonna be today?”

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

Words fail me...

In the sixth inning I told my wife that I thought we were in for a disappointing finish. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to be wrong.
We’re going to the game on Saturday, I hope we see more of the same.

Blue W - August 29, 2008 reply

WOW!

All I can say is do NOT sleep on the cubbies, as I did unfortunately.

With Howry warming up, I figured we had cashed in for the night and turned the tv off at the end of the 7th.

What a way to wake up this morning! Its so amazing what this team is doing, and the ultimate confidence they have. I’m sure they were saying, just wait till Hamels’ is gone, we’ll get ’em!

Hopefully, this error in judgement will be my last, but as a first-time parent with a newborn my errors in judgement are many these days….

Sing it Goodman!!!

I...have...no...words...

Okay, maybe a few.

I started doing dishes after Demp’s second run of the sixth to exercise my frustration (some metal on the radio helped, too). Then a wee visit to the men’s room was in order. Lo and behold I come out to first and third, nobody out. What?! And immediately after Lee’s walk I grabbed the nearest tape cos I knew I needed to record this.

Wow.

I’ve watched it approximately eleventy bajillion times now.

I have already

re-watched the whole bottom of the 8th inning on mlb.tv a couple of times this morning. Can’t get enough of it.

This was pretty much my reaction to last night's game, too.

Utterly speechless. This team is a force of nature. They scare me. There should be FEMA trucks parked around Wrigley Field on a nightly basis.

In place of speech

I had cheers of celebration that I’m sure my neighbors greatly appreciated.

hahaha

me too……i think it was just a bunch of "GET OUT! GET OUT!‘’s from me…..i’m sure my neighbors heard, die bitch die

it was one of those times i got done clapping, looked at my hands in pain and realized how hard i was clapping…..i love this team

Mine was Santoesque:

AHHHHH!! UH-WAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! OH MY GAHHHHHHH!!!!

Sumphin like that.

Is that a Dr. Evil laugh in there?

UH-WAHAHAHAHA?

Could have been.

The moment the ball the left the yard til the pitching change is kinda vague in my mind.

i whooped so hard i woke up the dog...

and of course she thought that meant “play time!! omgz” so the 9th inning was spent wrestling w/ a golden retriever… :-P

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

I did the same

except it meant I was spinning the border collie around the room in celebration. then we had to play for another 30 minutes or so

I did the same

except that by “play with the dog” I mean, drinking heavily in celebration…

Are you using the "hair of the dog" to get over your hangover?

Too good of a mood to be hungover...

…Cubs comeback win+coffee+trip to St Louis to watch Mizzou play this weekend + 34 games over = NO HANGOVER!

we convinced the press box attendant to let us crack a couple after the game was over

which i thought was very kind of him.

what is this "tape" you speak of?

DVR for cavemen.

WOW

didn’t get to see the game, but just reading the recap… wow! This team has pixie dust sparkling all over it. Go ARam! Go Cubs!

Emelie - August 29, 2008 reply

I'm still shaking my head in disbelief

I guess I should half expect things like this to be happening to this team, but it still feels new almost every time they rally for a win. And the crazy part is, I half expect them to, as well.

I got back from work last night at about 11:30 and instead of watching the news, I immediately turned to recording I had of the game, re-watched the 8th inning with the wife and danced with the dog in joy.

What a fun time to be a Cubs fan.

My neck is getting sore from shaking in disbelief for 5 months!

mrcubsfan - August 29, 2008 reply

This has been

the formula for the Cubs for the better part of the season. It seems like if the Cubs struggle against a starter, they just buckle down, take pitches and know that once they force the opposition to call on the ‘pen, the game is theirs for the taking. Granted, it’s not like they forced Hamels out after five innings, but they got themselves two innings against the pen and took advantage. Great game and one of the biggest wins I have witnessed in my short time as a Cubs fan.

dakoose - August 29, 2008 reply

That's a pretty good formula for success. Although Hamels has 8 losses,

he has had some bad luck. Brenly mentioned that his splits for BAA wen from .210 the first time through the order to .230 the third time through. Those are ace-like splits.

The Cubs did exactly what a good team does against a good pitcher. Their pitching was good enough to keep them close and their offense came through when the opportunity presented itself.

WHY ESPN SUCKS!

Last night, the Cubs highlight was 20 minutes in. Behind about 5 crappy college football games, Yankees/Red Sox highlight (shocker) and a piece on Pac Man being offically reinsitated (wtf)! Nice, can I have an alternate sports network.

This morning it was top story after a few college games.

I woke up, turned on SC, saw how quickly the Cublights were coming on, and took the quickest shower of my life.

My wife always gets on my case

for wanting to watch the highlights for a game that I just got done watching. She just doesn’t understand it.

Women.

(no offense, of course, to the fine ladies of BCB)

My wife

re-reads Harry Potter books and re-watches Cary Grant movies, as I often remind her, to make her understand why I feel like you do about Cubs highlights, especially of a game like last night’s.

sweetswinger - August 29, 2008 reply

Mine either.

She doesn’t understand my need to soak in the postgame coverage and highlights after the Cubs win.

Tell them that those highlights and postgame banter is like "pillow talk" atfer you-know-what.

That may put it into perspective for them.

Mine too! It is a freaking conspiracy........

but I don’t really blame her when we have to wade through stupid football highlights and all the other crap espn gets fixated on. By the way, what did Favre end up deciding on?

SWL funniest post I've read in ages.. although that might land you on the couch for a night. LMAO

As both a female and a Cubs fan, I would compare it to when she is flipping thru the channels and see the last 10 minutes of Pretty Woman or When Harry met Sally and sits and watches although she’s seen the movie tons of times.

and.....

Aramis’ Grand Slam didnt make the top 10 plays.

Unreal.

What?

It was number 1 last night on SC.

wnielsen - August 29, 2008 reply

not on Baseball Tonight...

baseball tonight

doesnt do top plays. Just web gems.

BradB311 - August 29, 2008 reply

And they do "Touch 'Em All" for home runs.

I would assume it made that segment.

It did.

not on the sportscenter this morning...

It did not even make it in the top 10. number 1 was the colts (preseason mind you) kickoff return.

At 6 am i was throwing stuff around my condo i was so pissed.

Saw it too

Number 1 on Sportscenter. How could it not?

After the Yankees-Red Sox Last Time @ Yankee Stadium retrospective, however.

JFCubFan - August 29, 2008 reply

i am telling the truth!!!!

This mornings sportscenter – 10 top plays, it came on at 5:55am, it was not in the top 10. Why would i lie!!!!!

we don't thnk you're lying

but it WAS #1 last night…

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

TWSS

OK.

Cuz there are only 2 people i lie to:

My wife and my girlfriend! TOTALLY KIDDING

Seriously though – the funning thing about this morning was that they used a clip of him swinging to introduce the top 10. Like saying this was good, but not good enough.

ESPN had their schedules delayed last night...

…for some reason. The stupid Football program was still on even though it was scheduled time to switch to baseball tonight. Even still, I think it was after the second commercial break when they got to the Cubs. But, I hate how ESPN and mlb.com are so incredibly biased toward the AL – especially anything to do with the Yankees or the Red Sox.

+1

I was very tired and ready for bed (Eastern time zone for me and I get up early for work) but couldn’t go to bed until I saw the SportCenter highlights. If this had been a game involing the red sox or yankee’s they would have had a panel dissuscion on what this means for the rest of the season, etc… but no, just a quick highlight.

Totally agree.

After the ’GN coverage ended, I flipped over to ESPN hoping to see BBTN or even Sportscenter and found only college football. Very disappointing.

ESPN's football coverage = baseball held hostage

Unfreakingbelieveable.

Remember when the NFL preseason meant absolutely nothing?

No.

Not really.

;)

NFL preseason games are meaningless

But the injuries are real!!!!!!

I'll give you that

but I’ve had to listen so often to myopics about how their team was going to dominate because of how they did in the preseason, while my teams, usually 0-3 or 1-2, ended up doing better than theirs. You couldn’t tell them “The games mean nothing”

You are correct

the Year the COLTS started 13-0 they were 0-5 in the preseason. The Colts always suck in the preseason, but when the games count the step it up. I’m a big NFL fan but the preseason bores the crap out of me. Team A’s second string players are better then Team B’s third string, who cares!!!!

It still does.

YOU CAN'T STOP US!

You can only hope to contain us!

SackMan - August 29, 2008 reply

My game story

I was IMing with my friend in Philadelphia who is coming here this weekend finalizing our plans for the game Sunday and stuff we’re doing on Monday and tonight. She is actually landing at Ohare just about right now with her husband.

Her husband was watching the game and she said “He just unleashed words he almost never uses” and said they were amazed at the atmosphere on their tv setsand even though they will root for the Phillies obviously they are looking forward to that on Sunday.

The place is rocking. Al is right. We’ve been waiting for this our entire lives. Savor this every moment. Remember this to tell your grandkids someday.

To paraphrase Green Day

So take these photographs and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good faith and in good time
Keep up the memories it’s the end of our trials
For what’s it’s worth it will be worth all the while

It was somewhat unpredictable but let’s hope it ends right
The Cubs are giving us the time of our lives.

puckishcubsfan - August 29, 2008 reply

I laughed when I heard that song...

… played at the end of the 1998 season, as if it were a song written for nostalgia and remembrance.

It’s about a guy who just got dumped by his girlfriend.

must be from our Gen-Y contingent

Me too

When I first heard the song I hadn’t heard it before and it seemed so perfect I thought it was written for the Cubs.

That’s why I changed a few words to make it more appropo.

I still say Van Morrison’s These Are the Days is the perfect song for this season.

These are the days of the endless summer
These are the days the time is now
There is no past there’s only the furure
There’s only here there’s only now

And there’s another line later “the fires of spring are kindling bright”

puckishcubsfan - August 29, 2008 reply

Wrigley was rockin'!

I didn’t think it get louder than it did when Aramis hit the walk-off against the Sox, last night definitely topped that. What an amazing game.

CubsBullsBears - August 29, 2008 reply

Someone was kind enough to post Pat Hughes' call of Ward's homer in Florida.

Anyone have Pat and Ron’s call from last night?

It's already on the

recommended list

It's posted under the fanposts

cubs ftw - August 29, 2008 reply

Cheers.

I was looking in the fanshots.

Oh, What a Night!

But it’s not complete until I read Al’s entry on the game. With 100 billion media avenues to explore, I enjoy BCB’s game-after analysis the most!

What a day! First my brother and I both cash in the same no-limit hold’em tournament in Atlantic City, I come home just as the game starts, watch Hamels deal his filth and then the amazing comeback. Unreal.

kentmeister - August 29, 2008 reply

I was watching the speech but a friend sent me multiple texts ....

when I got the Cubs win text, my first thought after being happy they won was that I couldnt wait to read Al’s recap. :)

All I can say is...

…what a ballclub!!

Cool that Randy Hundley was in the booth

for the fireworks!

kentmeister - August 29, 2008 reply

Hundley...

…is a great guy as I have had the pleasure of meeting him a few times because my brother and he play a lot of golf together. You can understand why Leo leaned on him so much, as the guy knows the game inside and out.

Anyone know if there are any books written by or about Randy Hundley

I have no clue

n/t

I googled it and didnt find anything.

TWSS

So I had had tickets for last night

and traded them for this afternoon since I had a conflict last night. So I hope today can come close to the thrill it must have been last night. Though I’d be content with a non-thrilling win, of course.

ChipSet - August 29, 2008 reply

Does anyone care about the Bears right now?

I heard they won their preseason game last night. And I’m thinking “oh cool…. BUT THE CUBS WON!”

The Who?

(he said, feeling Abbott-and-Costello-ish this morning)

Guess Who?

MOCubsfan - August 29, 2008 reply

The Who's on first

opening for Zeppelin

kentmeister - August 29, 2008 reply

I just watched some Bears highlights on NFL.com.

I saw Orton throw probably the deepest pass of his career. To two Browns players. I didn’t even see any Bears in the video at all. It was fan-freaking-tastic. I want to drive hot pokers through my eyes as soon as baseball season is over.

cwyers - August 29, 2008 reply

The Bad News Bears really suck!

but hey

we beat the browns! Be proud!

Yeah, a Rex Grossman touchdown pass makes me feel fantastic right now.

cwyers - August 29, 2008 reply

Eh. By the time baseball's over

it’ll nearly be time for the superbowl, and then that dark time in american life before the preseason.

I was late turning on the game

because of men’s golf league. I turned it on right after Soriano’s double that followed the Hampster’s HR. Just in time to see Theriot’s single( seriously why dont they put all their infielders on the right side, does he ever single anywhere other than right there). After D-Lee walked my girfriend looked at the TV and said “Oh no are they down 4-2? and its already the eighth?” i said" yeah but they’re loaded and Ramirez is up, We’re gonna win."
I was that confident that it would happen. That’s just how this team is.

BradB311 - August 29, 2008 reply

actually

he’s been working on trying to pull the ball.

Note that I say “trying”.

Phillies trade for Matt Stairs?

So I hear.

The Mets are screwed now! I heard they’re looking into picking up Lenny Harris.

The Lenny Harris part was a joke, btw

Yep, Stairs is a Phil

Yep, it appears so.

Here’s Jayson Stark’s take on the trade.

The article

"says"http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3559308 that the Phillies needed a left handed bat. I am confused by that since they already have rolins, utley and howard, those are good left handed bats

this is what I meant to do

screwed that up

Beat ya by a minute.

You get

2000 BCB points, if Al sees fit to award them ;)

LOL

Of course!

Stairs a Phillie. Just where are they going to play him?

Pinch runner

Lefty bat off the bench

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

FWIW...

… Stairs homered off Sean Gallagher when the Cubs were in Toronto on June 13.

Oh yeah...I remember that.

Checkmate, Phillies.

only if they play the A's

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

SS, J-Roll is history.

The bench.

cwyers - August 29, 2008 reply

The buffet...

I guess they felt that they needed ...............

a big power bat that strikes out every other plate appearance.

where is that big SARCASM sign!

seems like a move out of despiration

Right heeya!!!

wait a second

don’t they already have that??

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

hence the sarcasm!

oh, now you're being sarcastic.................right?

Did you just call yourself sarcastic?

Was that sarcastic?

;)

Did I just call myself what?

dorksaywhat?

i just always undervalued those kind of players i guess..

lol

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

But...

that wasn’t sarcasm. I saw only truth.

I must admit.

I pretty much gave up on them last night with Hamels on the mound and started watching the DNC. I thought there was no way Hamels wouldn’t pitch the 8th inning even with his pitch count at 108. FLipped it back exactly when Theriot singled to RF.

You just can’t give up on this team, they’re unbelievable.

lemon20pie - August 29, 2008 reply

Let me ask this - how could ANYBODY be doing ANYTHING other than watching these Cubs play?

Obama, golf, work, wife, watering the lawn, yadda yadda

I'll take my 20 lashes.

My wife confiscated the remote control around the time you-know-who was taking the stage in Denver and, seeing as how Hamels was dominating and appeared to be cruising toward a complete game, I didn’t put up much of a fight. I did grab our laptop and fire up Gameday, but our wireless router crapped out at one point and I wasn’t able to check back in on the game until the top of the ninth.

Suffice to say, I was simultaneously ecstatic (about the game) and enraged (about my failure to see it). I did, however, watch the Gameday replay clips of Aramis’s grand slam and Fontenot’s blast about 10 times each. And I waited up to see the highlights on the WGN news. I’ll probably log into my mlb.tv account now and watch the eight inning in its entirety. Still, I wish I’d seen that eighth inning when it happened.

Something tells me

you’ll have plenty more opportunities to see this team do the awesome this year.

My son had a nightmare

so I was comforting him. Walked back into the room with the TV AFTER Fonty’s HR, AFTER Soriano’s double, AFTER Riot’s single, but before Lee’s walk.

Saw Lee walk, saw Rami come up to the plate… and started Hoping.

My game story

Not the same as being there, but one that I’ll remember.

I went to the Packers’ game last night (remember, no politics on the board!) with a Brewer fan friend of mine and a sorta Tiger, sorta Cub, sorta non-committal friend.

I wasn’t able to get updates on the game via the net on the cell phone in the seating area, so I called my dad. It was 1-0. I called 40 minutes later, still 1-0, with Fukudome on 1st. Dad called a few minutes later to tell me it was tied and that he wouldn’t be staying up too much longer.

At the end of the football game, he called to say it was 4-1 going into the 8th, and he’d be going to bed soon. No surprise there — he wasn’t giving up, but my parents don’t stay up all that late usually. Less than fifteen minutes later, I was in the gift shop, and he called back — “I thought you were going to bed?” Well, Fontentot homered and Soriano doubled. “Oh, okay.”

When we walked out of the stadium, I could get the updates on the phone, and the Cubs had 1st and 3rd with Lee up. The phone rang again, and I got the “live update” regarding the pitching change. Back to the net — Lee up, 3-1 count, walks. The phone rings again. “Yes, bases loaded, Ramirez due.” No, he hit a grand slam. “Oh. Okay, that’ll work.” Intentionally using a casual conversational tone so as not to tip my friends off. “Are you staying up?” I might was the reply . . .

Hung up the phone, patted the Brewer fan on the back, and said just as conversationally, “Ramirez swings, there’s a drive, way back. It might be. It could be. It is. Grand Slam.” That was more fun than yelling would have been.

Watched the end of the game at The Bar, a few Brewers fans cheered at the leadoff hit, so I made sure to clap loudly for the final out. Got a few looks, but only my friend flipped me off.

Shanghai Badger - August 29, 2008 reply

Ha ha...you are a truly a courageous operative...

…working in enemy territory! Well done!

I don't know what to say.

Been thinking of a way to sum up my feelings all morning, don’t have one.

:::SIGH::: What a game.

Is there a link to Pat’s call of Rami’s GS?

In the recommended FanPost section.

Al maybe you want to add that to your recap???

+1

nice work

BradB311 - August 29, 2008 reply

LOL

Is he looking for Ben Franklin’s glasses?

Where's Milton?

or should it be Where in the World is Milton Waddams?

imauis - August 29, 2008 reply

I saw him

He was leaving in a limo flying a blue and white “W” flag.

I think Aramis's home run ball...

…cracked that bell.

has it landed yet?

man, that was a bomb.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

and that's how i know i'm a BCB regular

i’ve been thinking about Milton and the Liberty Bell since Howard’s End last night.

How far they've come

If you guys haven’t heard Charles Tillman of the Bears has a daughter who is facing a serious health issue (she had a heart transplant on July 31st)

I posted a prayer request on a forum I’m a part of saying it puts a possible 100 win season for the Cubs and the QB controversey in perspective and it reminds me I posted about DLee’s daughter 2 years ago at the same place and how it put a possible 100 loss season in perspective.

Guys Peanut is a wonderful guy one of my favorite people in the Chicago Sports Scene. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

puckishcubsfan - August 29, 2008 reply

i knew he was missing practice

due to “personal reasons”… but i had no idea.

thanks for letting us know. peanut was doing weekly radio last year and he was great. i’ll keep her & the family in my thoughts.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

That was really sad to hear. Peanut is one

of the really good guys on that team. Sound a lot like what D-Lee went through with his daughter. hope everything works out.

Upstairs watching the game

Ramy dials up and goes deep, I ran downstairs, wife and daughters had HGTV on, told them to switch the channel and watch the replay. They also got a charge out of it. Since we went to Chicago this year my wife asks everday how the Cubs do, before the trip, nothing. She loved the City and Wrigley.
Also, I loved Victorino’s reaction in center, Didn’t even move.

Go Cubs.

Grockcubs - August 29, 2008 reply

i've said it before and i'll say it again

it doesn’t bother me when players admire their homeruns (as opposed to 400ft singles), so if aramis wants to admire his hr, let him……..after all, it wasn’t my hr or your hr, it was his hr and until i can hit a ball that like that, far be it for me to tell him how to act

and let them eat cake too

Eventual game-winner, at home, come-from-behind, no-doubter GRAND SLAM against a tough, playoff-caliber team.

The man could have popped a beer and done carthwheels for all I cared.

who complained?

Phillies Phans mostly.

Screw em. Throw the ball down the middle of the

plate to a good power hitter, you’d better expect some bad results.

You're not kidding

that ball was absolutely crushed.

Len was even caught offguard

intending to say “Did Ramirez…” only to have it come out “Damirez…!”

no kidding

i love how loud len got too. you could tell he felt like he had to yell to hear himself.

just an awesome moment.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

I love when he goes, "Oh, baby!"

TWSS

yep

my favorite part of his BIG homerun calls.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

Time to update the WGN ad.

Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino didn’t budge as the ball sailed toward the bleachers

According to the Trib...

I noticed that, too

It was two quick steps to the right and STOP.

Looked over the shoulder and that was it. Pretty amazing.

anyone w/ ears knew that one was gone

between the crowd & the sound off the bat….

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

You see the guy behind the plate

who simply pulled his hat off in stunned silence?

We've seen a bit of that from opposing catchers and pitchers this year

I like it. Better them than us.

lol

Not what I meant, but well done. :D

no

but that is a priceless reaction.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

Like Ryan Howard would have behaved differently.

Get over it.

+1

This complaining about how guys react after

they hit a home run is getting pretty ridiculous. It’s up to the pitcher to keep the batter from beating him. You got your but kicked, accept it and move on. The best way to stop a reation from a batter is to get him out!

Eh.

there is a line (and that line is harder to cross when you’re the home team), but in essence i agree.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

Of course there's a line you don't want

to cross. It’s not like he was out there moonwalking around the bases. It seems like now that you hear complaints from any reaction from a player. You can’t expect a guy to hit a grand slam to put your team ahead in the eight inning during a pennant race and put his head down and run around the bases. That’s not realistic. Get the batter out and there won’t be any reaction.

i agree

but i was saying that there is a line where admiring your HR is obnoxious…

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

That line seems to change depending on which side you are on.

yep

and depending on the result… if you cadillac it and all the wall does is bang off the wall, then you’ll be booed.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

The bottom line is anyone

from Bashful Bob to Senor McObnoxiouspants had every right to admire that shot last night.

I think there's a time and place

and when you crush a grand slam to give your team the lead, you can watch it. Now, if you’re down 5 runs and hit a solo homer, no posing please.

+1

A grand slam in your home park to take the lead against a potential playoff opponent. Yeah, I think a bit of posing is more than understandable. And it really was only a couple seconds before Aramis put his head down and ran the bases.

Nobody

but Al gets flack sometimes for only getting on certain players for watching their shots and not everyone.

gotcha - Rami's didn't seem too obnoxious to me.

I don't think anyone thought it was

given the circumstances. However, there always seems to be a nattering nabob that will come out and say something along the lines of, “Soriano would be crucified for doing that. Why don’t you criticize Aram (or DeRo or Edmonds, etc) for doing that?”

In that exact situation

no, nobody would have said a word about Fonzie.

One would certainly hope not.

In a season full of great moments, that was in the top 5.

A few years ago, when the Cubs were three or more runs down

I’d turn off the game, because I knew the Cub bats would go to sleep after that.

I know better with this team. Truly amazing, the amount of ’don’t quit’ in these guys.

They just found the baseball Aram hit

DKT - August 29, 2008 reply

hahaha

so it HAS landed!!

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

You mean

it’s still on this planet?

It's currently orbiting Earth.

It’s designation is Ramis-246.

It bounced off the Liberty Bell and landed back on Waveland.

Can never count this team out

The patient approach at the plate has been the key to the whole season. Working counts and getting ahead into hitters counts and good things will happen. Also to mention this team has no easy outs in the lineup, its a beautiful thing to see

CubsBall2202 - August 29, 2008 reply

any team that can have geo sometimes in the 8 spot

says a lot about their offense

+1

it was funny

i was looking at the philly fan reaction to the game and they couldn’t understand WHY derosa could bat 8th b/c of his numbers, like the idea of having a lineup NOT dictated by the top of the order guys was foregin to them. it was strange.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

It's like having a problem deciding

which of your three Cadillac’s to drive tonight.

Or, in Soriano's case...

…which of his Hummers. And speaking of Alfonso, did anyone else hear that he and his wife just had a baby? Yeah, Pat and Ron mentioned it in the early part of yesterday’s game. I wasn’t even sure whether he was married. But apparently he is, and Alfonso and his wife now have five kids – all of whose names start with ‘A.’

L&B mentioned it

during the first inning.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

Her name's Alfonseca I believe.

Antonia? How many fingers does she have?

that's her middle name

Her first name is like Alecia or something similar

carmen_fanzone - August 29, 2008 reply

That's right/

Reports says Fonzie’s wife admired the birth for too long before resting.

And the family waiting room...

…and nurse’s station cleared after one of the CNAs threw a gauze pad at Soriano’s wife’s head.

I think Lou...

…smells a Soriano homer binge coming, and he wants DeRosa (good OBP) in that 8th hole to be onboard if Soriano starts going off.

he's been trying to build that part of the order

so that fonzie has rbi chances all year…

i love how when our line up turns over you just dont’ get a break.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

It appears...

…as though Lou has tried to have a true leadoff type hitter in the 2 hole (ahead of Lee, Ramirez and the 5 hole) and then another one down in the order to give Soriano more RBI opportunities with his power.

You gotta give the players credit for performing and Lou credit for recognizing how to manipulate this thing for maximum output.

true

but Fonzie has been acting more like a true leadoff hitter of late anyway — lots of singles and a few doubles, not a lot of power.

Hope he gets it back.

can you smell what the CUBS ARE COOKIN????

isn't it illegal to eat horse?

not in France.

You know what they call a horseburger in France?

A royale with cheese?

And circle gets the square!

OK. How much does a quarter pound of horsemeat weigh in France?

Same as it weighs anywhere else.

Quarter pound.

You are just too clever for me!

Oh, you're too kind.

I surrender.

Tell me.

And there's a big difference

when a player hits a home run like that at home vs on the road. Aram wasn’t showing anyone up and the Phillies know that…

DKT - August 29, 2008 reply

Huge, and huge momentum

The adrenalin from watching that comeback and that shot last night kept me up way too late.

From the Electric Hampster, who started it off, to Aramis, who is looking MVP, it was the type of comeback that takes the wind out of an opponent. I was hoping for a split or better, but just like that first game in Milwaukee, I think that this game might just the beginning of a surge to a series sweep.

There were great moments in Pittsburgh, but against a team like the Phillies, these are sky-high, adrenalin moments.

vonde6 - August 29, 2008 reply

The Electric Hamster

starring Robert Redford, also starring Jane Fonda, John Saxon and Willie Nelson

Hrm...

Like this?

Clutch16 - August 29, 2008 reply

Wow.

I’m sitting at my desk still in awe of my Wrigley experience last night. Amazing, simply amazing.

Regarding attendance

I walked up last night and got 2 seats in section 121 right behind home plate. There were dozens of empty seats around us. Not sure if the Phillies wives/VIPs gave back a bunch of seats or what. But, it might be worth trying this tactic for the rest of the series, too. Of course, the seats were $66 or something like that, so they ain’t cheap. Box office staff said bullpen and dugout boxes were also available but those are too pricey for me.

raisin1 - August 29, 2008 reply

when did you walk up? How long before the game?

a few minutes

Like, we didn’t even make it to the seats until the game had started.

raisin1 - August 29, 2008 reply

Rami is going to be on ESPN 1000

in a few minutes. Live from Wrigley.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

Also line up is out

Fonzie
Riot
Lee
Rami
Edmonds
Derosa
Dome
Blanco
Harden

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

I bet Aramis gets a standing O

during his plate appearance

californiachicagoan - August 29, 2008 reply

A Ram's bat flip

“yes, he flipped his bat and watched the no-doubt-about-it slam. I’ve criticized others for this; for last night’s, he’s forgiven”

There is nothing to forgive. He didn’t taunt anyone. There is no reason for a ball player to pretend not to enjoy a moment. They aren’t golfers for God’s sake. If this is wrong, then the players standing around home plate to high five him are wrong. The players in the dugout cheering are wrong. The curtain call was wrong. The fans were wrong for cheering. Give me a break.

Aramis interview on ESPN 1000

right now

Rami on Fonenot:

“he’s a strong little guy”

LMAO

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

Hamsters have been known to lift 10 times their body weight.

Waddle...

“What would happen if you went up Z and said just shut up and pitch”

Rami… “I don’t want to find out.”

Priceless.

Ha!

I agree, by the way.

that was a great line

the pause…. “i don’t want to find out”

hahaha

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

Aramis:

A bit of unfinished business from playoffs, we didn’t get it done offensively.

The clubhouse is good.

You can’t calm down Zambrano and trying would probably make him pitch worse. You can try to talk to him from 3B, but thats how he pitches.

When asked about his numbers/the slam: We’ve got a good team. Everyone does their jobs. I love to be up in that spot. I love to be the hero, but you can’t try to do too much.

halfblindcubbiegirl - August 29, 2008 reply

thanks

i didn’t catch this

theriot sucks!

all he does is get singles that get him on base safely, which sets up aramis to hit a gs

DFA!

DFA! DFA! DFA!

somebody needs to fire up a fanpost regarding this

i’m absolutely amazed that so far no one on this board has said “what a great win last night, with that being said i must say……..” and then they follow it up with some complaint

i figured someone was pissed woody didn’t go 1,2,3 against the stud-filled phillies lineup

Ehhh

I’ve learned not to feed the trolls so I ignore stuff like that now.

I LOVE this team!!!

I TiVo’d the game for my son and replayed the eighth…AMAZING!

crw89 - August 29, 2008 reply

Aram slam....

that’s what it was. Never ever give up on this team.

sue369 - August 29, 2008 reply

Plus a million.

I was surprised at the number of people leaving after the 7th and the beginning of the 8th. It didn’t matter though, the people that stayed (including me and my friend) got to see something special. I’ve never been less upset to experience a beer shower, though who ever would throw a full $6.75 drink in the air is beyond me.

Wish we all could

have been there to share in all the fun. I’m so jealous.

sue369 - August 29, 2008 reply

beating hamels means....

……we ought to take 3 of 4

anything less than 5-2 on this home stretch will be disappointing

and then buckle up for a ROUGH september

Al you love stats

here’s one for ya…..the Cubs now have just as many HOME victories, as seattle does TOTAL victories