NFL Draft and ESPN.

A little off the beaten path. I love it anytime the Eastern Seaboard Propaganda Network takes it in the moon. How is that you ask? Well, they hyped (humped) Reggie Bush so hard, made him out to be a role model, etc. and overall darling of the draft. Tried to force Houston's hand into making this pick. Well, thank god for yahoo sports in breaking the housing scandal. They probably took 5- 10 million out of Bush's pocket. I'm not saying he is not a premiere athlete, but lets see how Bush is with humility. ESPN was reporting that Bush's "people" were screaming over the travesty of being taken by the lowly Saints, that they wanted to go to the Jets. Oh, well maybe there is still a deal in the works for the Broadway Bombers. Anytime the NY teams and ESPN gets screwed I'm all for it. Kudos to N.O. and the Texans. Tenn. taking Vince Young? Obviously, Norm Chow and Fischer have no say in the team. Lame duck coaching staff..... I still believe that a deal is in the works between da Bears and Texans. Texans still need a solid RB and I think their "guy" will be there in the 26th pick, should be fun.

Maddux, 5-0. Best start ever

Before I petition Francis George to nominate Maddog for beautification, I just have one word for the senior citizen: amazing. Sure he gave up some hits and the below one era got a bump but to pitch himself out of jams, is simply, a masterpiece. Some nice plays defensively helped a bunch. Today was all about timely hitting and heads up base running. JJ is swinging good wood, Murton got around on an inside fastball and Aramis is getting in the zone. Nice to see Cedeno and Walker get out of their O-fers. Eyre had some nasty stuff and nice to see Williamson has a bad short term memory. Was impressed that he went up the ladder for a K. Tomorrow is nagging me along with Sunday. Davis pitches well against us and Capuano with his 3/4's arm slot has owned the Cubs. I'd love to see a sweep and take the shorty with the Buccos. Then its off to the left coast.

Aramis over the Mendoza line.

He's batting over .200 now. I'm seriously beginning to believe that he should be kept out of the first 3 weeks of the season. He has some mechanical issue that is not present in ST, yet it hits like the furies when the season starts. Murton, making the adjustments that the league made on him. Once he can get on the inside pitch, he'll show power to all fields. D. Lee had a huge hole in his swing and it took six seasons to figure it out. Angel Guzman, flashes of brilliance, spotted his pitches well, slider looked devastating at times but will need to learn to change speeds. Anyone in the bigs can turn on 95mph fastball. 11 men reached base safely, 6 WERE WALKS, yet we suffer our 8th loss of the season. I'm not going to purely blame Williamson but giving up 3 walks, a balk and a bloop hit will kill you every time. Prior to this Williamson looked lights out, so he gets a pass this time. The Cubs failed to execute on many occasions and they in turn earn the loss. Well, Milwaukee and their ass-hat fans invade Wrigleyville. They're coming in w/a winning streak. Good news is Sheets will not pitch in the weekend set, bad news is Bush, Davis and Capuano. Lets see Maddux continue his fantastic start and get some runs. One final thought, an article in an Arizona paper stated Tony Clark would be willing to waive his no-trade for the Cubs if the D-backs were able to get a "suitable" replacement, is Freddie Bynum "suitable"?

Bring out the brooms.

Yes, it is the AAA Marlins but you have to put a beatdown on these teams. Olsen, a suburban native, will be pitching in Wrigley for the 1st time in his life. Grew up a cubbie fan and now has to face them. Supposedly his uncle bought 50 seats to this. Kid, good luck some other time. The MLB debut for the cubs enigma Angel Guzman. As much as the cubs need SP, could the next few starts by this kid be a showcase or is with the long term plans of the club? Guess we shall see by the ASB. Oh well, the game starts in a few, I'll get to watch an inning or two, and have to babysit in the Green. Go cubbies!

Not looking forward to this game.

Willis is on the hill tonight. Think he may get a little more juiced playing the team that traded him. Well, I think the only way we'll win tonight is by getting a couple of runs in the 1st, because Willis will go 7-8 innings w/out a doubt and seems to love pitching here. Would love to get into that Marlin pen early tonight. Otherwise it'll be 4-1 affair, advantage the Fish. Positive: what an 8th inning. It's still nerve racking that a team thats made up of essentially an entire AAA club that they made it a nail biter. Told a guy during Murton's at bat if Thompson went away, that the game would be tied up. He'll even back me up, and he depises the Cubs. Go cubbies.

40 is just a number.

You are witnessing history folks. Greg Maddux. What else can you say about him. The guy is 40 and showing the world why he will be in the HOF. 0.99 ERA???? 4 games started and 4-0 record? Thats sick... Hey Meathead are you paying attention! The guy that's almost twice your age will start the all star game this year, watch him! Don't the next day starters chart pitches anymore? See whats working against each batter and their tendencies. Come on now, we need to go on a tear...lets hit up the Marlins for a couple of wins.

Week 3 in MLB.

My impressions of the league three weeks in. Up till tonights game there were 32 home runs hit this Sunday. For the sake of argument, lets just pretend that there are no players on the juice. Where did all the power come from? Traditionally April is not a good month for the ball to be lively. Mr. Selig can you honestly look at us fans and state before god as your witness that the balls aren't doctored? As much as I think he is a goof, Hawk Harrelson made that statement 8 games into the season. I watched a little more closely and I actually agree with him. With the newer, video game generation of fans whose attention span can be measured in moments rather then hours, the power game grabs at people. I, growing up in the 70's learned to appreciate a pitchers duel, small ball and a well timed 4 bagger. Baseball had to bring back the fans after the work stoppage, by turning their heads while players shot up performance enhancing drugs and popping reds or blues. Well, the federales get involved in the steroid issue, yet baseball needs to keep the fan base they gained with science project years. Since you cannot juice anymore, whats the easiest way to keep up the offense? Tighten up the ball. Of course no one will admit to it, yet watch the next game a little more closely and tell me I'm seeing things as you see a hot shot back up the middle. You'll see....

Cardinals = Classless?

Leave it up to Larussa to have his boys ask to check the ball Maddux was throwing. Maddog has been a pitcher for 20 seasons now, you think he may know how to pitch? Yet these classless maggots decide that since their not knocking the cover off the ball, that Maddux must be doctoring the ball. Asshat of week award: The St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs had it handed to them this weekend but will come out of the season series 4-2, and 5-4 for a nine game road trip. A little home cooking never hurts. Cedeno could be your new #2 hitter, has been handling the spot like a professional. The upcomming series: Vargas v. Meathead, Vargas nearly gives up a walk an inning against a team that doesn't take walks. We'll see who gives on this one.
Willis v. Marshall, the kid isn't gonna get much run support but hopefully Dontrelle will be human in this start. Olsen v. Guzman; Guzman's MLB debut, and will need to eat innings because if Marshall has forced Dusty to yank him in the 5th inning of each of his starts, except the one he won. The pen could be taxed a bit by Weds, game. How about 2 of 3.

The Cubs situation after reflection.

After getting past the panic mode, I had a chance to think about things and it made me realize something, they aren't as bad off as I thought. John Mabry is more then capable to taking over the position. If Larussa thought he stunk, he wouldn't of taken over Rolen's spot in the past. Restovitch will basically fill in Mabry's spot on the roster till Pagan can come back. All is not lost, long suffering ones, lets keep the faith. The new look Cubs, the station to station team, hitting 3 HR's in the last 6 games and went 4-2 on the road for that matter. They are going to need to get into the Cards bullpen early and often if they want to win the series. J. Jones is lifetime .340 BA against Mulder with a couple of extra base hits. He is starting to see the ball, and I expect a big night from him.

Wanted, 1st baseman, must bring a big bat.

Not sure how this injury will effect D. Lee. I'm talking the long term. Well, I guess the platoon of T. Walker and J. Mabry could be a lot worse. The only thing that really scares me if something were to happen to Aramis, this team would free fall. Should be an interesting few months.

Bittersweet series win.

Lee is out. If it's a broken bone in the wrist, he will not be back till September. Unfortunately, I'm being realistic. Hope it's just a sprain. I've haven't been listening to the radio, I'm boycotting most of WSCR's programming. Mike Murphy, please do yourself a favor and calm down. You are lucky Mully didn't give you the beatdown you so richly deserve. Lets get something straight, the cubs are a half game out of 1st place with a 5th place rotation. They are in right now, the toughest division in the NL. 5 of 6 teams are over .500. I think Dusty is doing one hell of a job. Quit whipping a dead horse. The real enemy of the cubs organization is ownership. Your juvenile drivel is getting old and is misplaced. I feel better.

Ronnie Cedeno, you're not gonna win a gold glove w/throws like that in the 8th. Mighty Joe Young may have been able to make a play on that ball. Calm down, good throws are just as important as flashing the glove.
Jason Repko, thanks for literally throwing away the game. This weekend will be hotter then a firecracker in hades. Cubs-Cards en San Luis. I'll be watching another great series. By the way, Houston isn't for real, they've been at home for 10 of their first 15, they haven't had a nine game road trip yet.

How not to win a game.

You have a man on third, four times and only get one run??? Lack of execution, Hey, Dusty how bout the squeeze? Meathead, his name will not be stated until he has a game where his K's equal or surpass his BB's. This game could've been an easy one to win, yet they let it slip away. Both runs by the Dodgers came from walks. Lets quit being HUA (head up a#@) and get people out for cry-sakes. Positive: Jones is looking more comfortable at the plate. Need this one tonight as we need to win series'

Can you say, Oh my god joe?

Is the 40 year old pitcher known as Greg Maddux taking the Cubs on his shoulders to contend for the division? You could say that the banged up Dodgers aren't a good club. And you'd be right. Yet, he stymied the Cards and Reds, two potent line ups. I am gonna say this now: if Maddux finishes with 20 wins this season, the Cubs are in the playoffs and a 7th Cy Young award on the mantle. I just hope meathead can mimic the performance of the master. I look for another good offensive game. Walker is hitting like Ryno right now and should be the everyday 2nd baseman. It all starts with the top two. Pitcher gets into the game w/a lead and good things will happen. Remember its all about series wins, for it tis a long season.

The Cubs invade Chavez ravine.

I've had the privlege to catch a game at historic Dodger stadium. Got to wolf down 2 dodger dogs. Had a Wrigleyesqe feel inside the concourse. The Cubs have their regular line-up available and Maddog pitches his 1st game as a 40 year old. Should be interesting.
Look at the following stats: 48AB/.362OB/.250SLG/.229BA/4E/.915FP
41AB/.341OB/.512SLG/.341BA/3E/.942FP
The 1st is Rafael Furcal's #'s at a 9 million dollar salary. The 2nd is Ronnie Cedeno, at 320 thousand. So far the Cubs are getting a better value w/ Cedeno then the Dodgers did when they trumped Hendry's offer to land Furcal. We'll see at the end of the season but I'm happy we got snubbed by the guy who stated it wasn't about the money but chose the team who gave him a little more money, less years and had no manager. Furcal and L.A. will win the division, but we are talking about the NL west. Tonight, the line up needs to be patient with Tomko, the ball doesn't carry well at night. Station to station, give Maddux a breather a few runs and he'll have career win # 321.

Mark Cuban, can you open up your checkbook?

Michael Sneed of the Sun Times, a "gossip" columnist is reporting today that the Tribune corporation is actively shopping the Cubs. Hey Mark, you stated you'd love to own the Cubs, here is your chance, this is not a losing venture and the people here will adore an active owner who wants to win, not just the bottom line. Imagine him coming to a game with wearing a "Sox Suck" tee shirt. I admit Wrigley is a 3 ring circus as it is, but with Cuban as the ringmaster, a new attitude, could a championship be far far behind? The northside and MLB could use the enthusiasm that Cuban would bring.

Missing, one brain.

If found please overnight it to the Cubs in care of, Dusty Baker. None of the 2nd base "platoon" system can hit left handed pitching, yet he sits T. Walker. Todd is hitting .462 so far.Hairston didn't do squat, yet Todd's been knocking the cover off the ball. WTF. Is it Neifi's day? The only consolation is Murton would be put in the two-hole if you bring in Perez. We need to pummel last place teams into submission because our pitching staff is ineffective. The Mets are on a roll because Willie Randolph realizes you need to put your best offense out there. That staff aren't world beaters but the offense gives them a cushion to work with. Need this win today, otherwise the Dodgers are gonna skewer the Cubs.

The good, bad and ugly against the Bucs.

I took many a deep breath watching this game. They cannot make it a laugher against the lowly Bucs. The good: Sean Marshall, looked good for the 1st four innings. Even in the 5th, he didn't buckle when the bases were loaded and gave up the 2 runs. Nice to see his family out to support him. I hope they're making good coin, because they're frequent flyer miles are getting pounded. Murton, like the fact that he goes with the pitch. This kid is gonna be an all-star soon enough. Walker, what else can you say about a true professional hitter. Cedeno, web gem material though it was against the catcher. The Bad: giving up four longballs and letting this team catch up twice in the game. The Ugly: Michael Wuertz and Dusty Baker. Normally I'm pro-Johhnie B. Baker but why did he have Wuertz up to face C, Wilson who has owned Mr. Wuertz in the past. Your gut was wrong tonight and if it wasn't for Williamson I'd been choking on my own chew for losing 2 in a row. Patience will be key tomorrow with Zach Duke on the bump. Watch, Baker will do the righties v. lefties and Hairston will start. I hope the gut feeling works out tomorrow.

Zambrano = Meathead en espanol???

Get your head out of su culo Zee! Why did you attempt to pick off Eric Milton not once but twice???? I'm going to start a player of the week, and AssHat of the week and Zambrano sure won it and the week isn't over w/yet. Congrats, start to man-up and play smart baseball. Early returns of POTW will be Barrett and they still have three left with the Buccos. Need a sweep to get that bad taste out of my mouth. Hope for better results tomorrow, Marshall shouldn't be squeezed too much this time around. Hope for the best long suffering ones, I feel your pain.

In Praise of Mad dog.

In order to keep your sanity as a life long Cubs fan you must have two things, an ability to forget things quickly and a sense of humor. I admit I did not feel too optimistic going into the season knowing our soon to be 40 year old, #2 spot in the rotation, was going to lose more velocity on his "fast" ball. Happily I can say, man can Maddux PITCH. Most guys in the bigs can throw, but few can command a game and be a pitcher. 0-2 count, most guys come near the plate, not Maddog. He'll waste 2 pitches to set up the out pitch. It's an honor as a former pitcher to see a master at his craft. What he has lost in raw ability he has gained in movement, ball "speed", placement and experience. Sure its only 6 innings but you are saving the pen a bit, might get a complete game every now and then. What you know everytime Maddog hits the bump that you'll get a complete effort on his part. If the Cubs offense can keep up the station to station offense and not rely on the solo home run, he'll reward the team for the extra breather. Today's the rubber game, if the Cubs are to contend, series' wins are key. The games are just as important in April as they are in September. Yesterday was small ball, today looks like a beautiful day for baseball and Milton will be serving at the dish, expect a thriller today at 1060 W. Addison.

Reds, Bucs redux?

The new look Cubs can only threaten to make the playoffs by beating the likes of the Reds, Bucs, Brew crew and the cellar dwellers of the east and that means the entire west. Patience in the 1st inning can win a lot of ball games. Let the other team play catch up. At least Dusty is using a two-tier bull pen right now; Eyre, Howry and Dempster for winning. Wuertz for everything else. I'm asking for a little help here, because Glendon is about to become the other bad Rusch in this town w/ a slightly different spelling. Bring up Guzman. Let him eat up some innings and put Glendon back to long relief. No, I submit to you that a division is not won in April but sure as hell can be lost then. I hope Maddux can lull the Reds offense to sleep which, so far, has been the most productive in the bigs. Let the umps squeeze Claussen today boys, he'll serve up a fat one.

The trade that will happen by ASB.

The Cubs will bring back Dontrelle Willis by the ASB. No, I'm not smoking crack. Why would the Marlins give up their best pitcher? He will be arbitration eligible. With incentives, this years deal can go up to 5 million, guaranteed. 7.5-9 million is not out of the realm of possibility. Salary dump on Las Vegas' part I mean, Floridas part Not a Freudian slip. I will go on record and state the Marlins will be in sin city next year. Which, like the Nats going to D.C. , the pure novelty will sustain the franchise it's 1st season w/out marquee names. They would go to the AL West, pushing Pittsburgh to the NL East. Even out the teams in both leagues. What will the Cubs give up? Felix Pie and Angel Guzman, possibly Ryan Harvey. The Cubs gave up too much for Pierre to be a 1 year rental and he's only 28. Pie is not a leadoff hitter. He's a #2, but with Murton going nowhere for a long time and Jones for two more seasons, Pie becomes bait for a SP. You'll see.

D. Lee's new paper.

I posted a few days ago about D. Lee's asking price and according to WSCR, he got that exactly plus a no-trade clause. Way to go Jim. Thats the great thing about Hendry, he keeps his players happy. Big Zee and Prior will be the next targets. Kerry Wood, if he can be effective, will be playing for new paper. I don't expect him to be back, unless he took Todd Walker money. I think Miller, if he can come back from his surgery will be Kerry's replacement and Kerry will be throwing in the Ballpark at Arlington. Tuesday's game: our hitters just saw Arroyo 6 days ago. They must get into the Reds bullpen early because you know Dunn and Griffey will have a field day. I will not be satisfied without a sweep. I'm dead serious. The Reds are doing their annual outstanding April and then Griffey goes down. I have 14 May in the Griffey DL pool, then so long Reds.

Overall, nice way to sweep the series.

Marshall looked good in spite of juice box strike zone. Overall umpiring was a C-. Nearly floored by the Cubs taking 12 straight pitches in the 8th. Barrett lucked out on the pitch just before he cranked it out. Congrats to Jacques, two hits and 3 RBI. Ronnie C, the knock on him was his bat, but he's been feasting. Rolen gets short hopped twice? Is there full moon out? Matty Murtonchops, nice diving grab, now start hitting dammit! Shout out to Tony the lawyer, another great example of how not to manage a bullpen. Loved the double switch to bring in Skippy to replace Edmunds. AssHat.

Looking to sweep the red birds.

Sydney Ponson does not scare me, nor should he scare the Cubs. What scares me is Jon Miller's pronounciation of his last name. It will grate me the entire broadcast. I'll just turn down the sound and listen to Pat and Ron. I still think D. Lee's deal will be announced tonight or Monday morning the latest. Which brings me to the last part of the equation: Juan Pierre. If the organization is looking to bring up Pie as an everyday outfielder in 07, they need to remember he does not have the patience for leadoff. If they bring him up next season, Hendry will have to work his magic to unload J. Jones to make room for Pie. Enjoy the game tonight, I'll have broom in hand and lets see the kid in action, Sean impress the fans as you did in your first 10 and 1/3 this ST.

Sign D. Lee now!

Reportedly asking for the Konerko deal, 5yr, 13 per. Why isn't he signed already? Could the hold up been the Hendry contract extension, a 2 year extension was announced @ 1203 hrs. The deadline of today for D. Lee, has been extended so I expect an announcement as soon as tomorrow's night game. While Hendry was being interviewed, he stated that him and Dusty are not as intertwined as the public thinks. Do not expect an immediate contract extension for Dusty. God forbid the Cubs were to go to the playoffs and beyond, I believe Dusty would go west.

Mixed feelings on the game.

Happy they won. The good: Maddux looked solid. Scored 4 runs w/out the long ball. No errors. Howry was lights out and Dempster faced 3 batters. Bad: wind blowing out, different outcome. Suppan will be back to being Suppan. Thank god Larry Walker retired. GIDP 3 times. Sir Albert may be human after all. Jaques Jones won't be hitting his weight by ASB. Maddux heater was gunned at 84-86 mph. Lets see if big Z can harness his emotions going up against one of NL's best starters the last few years in Carpenter. Should be an exciting game if the Cubs play like they did today.

Opening day...

...and I'm not in my usual mood. Maybe it's the weather or the fact the Cards are in town for a 3 spot. I hope Monday that I'll still find a reason to believe. Quick hitters: 1. Baseball's "independant" investigation on steroids= JOKE. The fact finder in this case has a vested interest in MLB and the Disney Corporation. Can you say conflict of interest? 2. The Comish, the third greatest snake oil salesman since PT Barnum and Mr. Montgomery Burns. But of course his daughter "owns" the Brewers. 3. Barry Bonds, you are only fooling yourself. Giambi stepped up and took his lumps, I respect that. 4. Revenue sharing. MLB rewards teams for not drawing fans and penalizes teams that show profit and pay their players. The Cubs, Mets, Yankees and Braves to an extent are reasons enough to open the books again. Worried about payroll, institute a minimum and maximum salary cap. Done venting, and a hardy hey, hey, holy mackeral. Destroy the pigeons!

Score 22 runs in two games...

...and split the series. WTF. At this rate the bullpen will be used up by the ASB. 9 innings in two games for the starters will not cut it. I'm not looking forward to this weekend. Sir Albert is knocking the cover off the ball and the Cards starters are looking great. This season could get ugly fast. They had a chance at a 2-0 start to get the ball rolling but dropped it. You give me six runs and I'll be damned sure to pitch my heart out. Maybe with their biggest rivals in town will provide the proper motivation. If the fact that the Sox won it all last season isn't enough, then I don't know what is....I know it's a marathon and not a sprint. Yet, I still need to see some things to relax. Have a good one.

OMG, 16 runs scored, 1 HR.

I saw most of the game and had to reread the box score today but 16 runs, 18 hits only 1 homerun hit???? Is this my beloved team that had over 45+% of its run production from the long ball, the last few years? Yes, he has taken his lumps but Mr. Hendry showed that he can learn from failure and put a balanced club on the field. Only one game, I know, against the Reds, but they were facing the Reds ace, who was lifetime 3-1 v. the Cubs. Fielding was crisp (I'll give D. Lee a pass, you will not see that again), heads up baserunning and patience at the plate. We, that are all things CUB , were hopefully given a preview as to how a pro ball club should look, and more importantly, play. The bad part was big Zee. Davis' strike zone was tighter then virgin on prom night yet he wouldn't conform and kudos to the Reds who were sitting back till strikes were called. Rothchild should've pounded that idea into Carlos' head. Maybe he did, if so shame on Zee. You have a five run cushion before you hit the mound, strike while the fires hot and put them down. I expect to see Rusch do well, more running, and crisp fielding so we can go home to host the red birds w/a 2-0 record.

Matt Murton is for real.

Say what you will, but Murton is for real. The kid can see the ball as well as ....ah, Grace and will develop his power. The last few great pure hitters in each of the last three decades; Rose, Gwynn, Grace were loathe for power. This kid has the potential for 25-30 hrs a year and will threaten every year for the batting title. Mark my words. You are witnessing something that only comes around once or twice every ten years. Last nights game he had a nice running catch off of Brian Giles bat. Slicing towards the left field corner off a left handed bat is awfully tough to judge but he got a nice break on the ball. His defense is steadily improving. It's a shame that he's batting 7th, but Barrett will benefit from this. Looking at the 1-7 hitters:
Cubs 1. Pierre
2. Walker
3. Lee
4. Ramirez
5. Jones
6. Barrett
7. Murton
Thats balance the cubs haven't seen since Dernier and Sandberg were were 1 and 2. Maybe this team won't be so bad after all.