Posts Tagged ‘Chicago Cubs’
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Just when I think I’m out…June 19th, 2008
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The Cleveland Indians pull me back in.
Of course, then I head screaming for the hills after witnessing this game.
And then: somehow, some way, they pluck me from the mountain top and I’m right back where I started.
I’m not trying to be cliche, but where do I begin? Is it with the Tribe winning 5 of their last 7 (by an average of 2.5 runs per game, which is pretty amazing because that’s about the average offensive output per week of this team over the first few months of the season)? Or, is it with the losses of Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, and Josh Barfield (i.e. a combined 30% of the team’s payroll) to injury? Read more
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Julio Lugo: Another Sunk Cost At Short?May 14th, 2008
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Ever since the eleventh-hour deadline deal that shipped Nomar Garciaparra off to the Cubbies as part of a three-way trade machination and, along with it, sent a Red Sox fandom into knee-jerk hysteria—then eventual baseball ecstasy three months later—general manager Theo Epstein has aggressively engaged in a seasonal pursuit for Boston’s next long-term shortstop.
But for the past four winters—each filled and followed by one fruitless search after another—Epstein’s hunt has seemingly mirrored the life and times of Elmer Fudd. Far too elusive to nab, that wascawly shortstop has evaded the grasp of the Sox GM at every turn—only self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the form of failed signings left in all the aftermath.
So, to say the shortstop position under the Epstein-era has seen more ups, downs and (public relations) spin than a merry-go-round wouldn’t be much of an understatement. In fact, by now, some Red Sox supporters might prefer a daintily handcrafted carousel horse to the club’s incumbent shortstop, one Julio Lugo.
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Nats to begin May with three-game win streakMay 1st, 2008
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The Washington Nationals stylishly finished April by taking a two-game set against the Atlanta Braves, their division rival whom they now trail by only 1.5 games.
The team that endured a nine-game losing streak through April 13 now has won six of its last eight games and is riding a three-game winning streak as the Pittsburgh Pirates come to town for both teams’ first four-game set this season.
Several obvious positives have emerged and they are impossible to ignore.
They have solid starting pitchers, one of whom is working on a scoreless inning streak. They have stumbled upon a solid closer who notched his fifth save Tuesday night when the Nats beat the Braves 6-3. Their lineup has some potent bats that can turn on the ball with ease. And the whole team how shown it can excel when playing late- and extra-inning ball.
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The Homestand: Everything Old is New AgainApril 25th, 2008
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Okay, for a few days there, I was officially in Joker-land.
When the Phillies and the Cubbies both came to Coors Field, I was sure the Rocks would take at least three of four (a sweep of the Phillies and a split with the Cubs). The offense was clicking, the starting pitching was holding up, and the bullpen was — as usual — awesome. Sure, there was that minor, little “hiccup” in Houston on Sunday when the bullpen gave up a lead late, but that was just a fluke, right? That couldn’t be the start of a trend, right?
“BZZZZZZ. Thanks for playing. Let’s see what your lovely parting gifts are . . .”
I was so, so wrong. At first, though, I was right. In the two home games against the Phillies, the Rockies were playing great. On Monday, the offense was putting runs up on the board (including hitting a couple of home runs into god-awful wind), and Mark Redman, if not exactly pitching like Cy Young, was still giving his club a chance to win the game and was eating up innings. With a guy like Redman — the 5th starter — you really can’t ask for too much more.
That’s not a knock, by the way. It’s just that a 5th starter in baseball is kind of like a blind date. You don’t expect too much, and you may suffer through a few really bad ones, but every once in a while you find yourself sitting across from a person you really, really like. You’re pleasantly surprised. You’re even glad you’re on the date. You even start thinking that maybe this will lead to something later on that night . . .
Dirty old man.
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A Few, Good Baseball-Minded Men: Recent Battlefield Successes Could Be Foiled by Generalissimo Samuel Zell’s Continued OwnershipApril 22nd, 2008
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When local Real Estate Magnate Samuel Zell acquired the Tribune Company (and the Chicago Cubs) at the insistence of the Chandler Family, many thought Zell’s overly cozy relationship to the financiers of the deal, Merrill Lynch and CitiGroup, was a bad omen of things to come on Wall Street. Both Citi and Merrill were advising the Tribune Company on the viability of the prospective bidders, termed “staple financing”, as in Staples, “we got that, too.” (In actuality it is called staple financing because paperwork is often stapled onto the deal’s term sheet to help a seller develop a robust auction by offering on-the-spot financing to all “potential” suitors. Wall Street speak…)
The fact Zell (above) had Merrill Lynch represent him in a $39 billion sale of Equity Office Properties to the Blackstone Group likely meant that any bid made on the Tribune Company by Zell was going to be promoted over the other candidates. (Viagranaires Eli Broad and Ronald W. Burkle also submitted an exact dollar amount bid of $8.2 billion.)
So, in April 2007, Zell became commander-in-chief of the most woe-begotten baseball franchise, the lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs in the 2006-2007 Hot Stove cooked up an entire pot of free agents signings to the tune of “Hey, Hey, Holy Mackerel!”, posting over $300 million in contracts. The Cubs replaced two-fifths of their starting rotation, signed the premier LF on the market in Alfonso Soriano to a eight-year, $136-million contract and resigned 3B Aramis Ramirez for over $70 million. With additional backup players, the money spent amounted to three seasons worth of salaries for a “Top Ten” payroll in the 2007 season. (But barely more than A-Rod’s contract.)
Primarily, this was due to the expectant sale of the Tribune Company, with the new owners on the hook for the ballplayer’s salaries. Long-time marketing guru John McDonough acquired the reins from ex-team president Andy MacPhail, who had not spent with the dangerous abandon of a drunken sailor on liberty in Thailand. (Is there any other kind…of sailor?) McDonough would resign his commission after only one season at the top, heading to the moribund Chicago Blackhawks as their new field commander.
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Some Relief On The Way For BostonApril 11th, 2008
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A bullpen that has already seen its share of April struggles outside of Jonathan Papelbon, Hideki Okajima, and Manny Delcarmen (when not facing Frank Thomas, that is) will receive a much-needed boost when the Red Sox activate veteran reliever Mike Timlin (lacerated ring finger on his pitching hand) from the disabled list after finishing up a short rehab stint with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket this week.
Likely to return on Friday prior to the beginning of a weekend tilt against the Yankees, the 42-year-old Timlin completed his second and almost certainly final rehab appearance for the PawSox on Wednesday night by retiring the side in order on just ten pitches, seven for strikes.
Despite declining peripherals, a sinker that no longer seems to sink (as seen in his GB/FB rates), and a rough ‘06 campaign, the ageless wonder and master marksman (in more ways than one) provided stability in the Boston bullpen last season, posting a 139 ERA+ and a 1.08 WHIP while holding opponents to a .232 batting average.
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The Problem with PredictionsApril 7th, 2008
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Every year, sports broadcasters - regardless of the sport - begin that particular sports’ season with a series of predictions. These predictions range from individual player predictions and team predictions, to division predictions and even championship predictions… you name it, they’re already thinking about it before the professionals step on the court/field/rink/whatever. Broadcasters will proceed to tell you, with their own mystic authority, exactly who will be good, who will be a waste of paycheck, who will be undervalued, who will be the best and worst teams, and which two teams will make the championships. Many will even go as far as to claim, with conviction and fervor, that they “know” who is going to win it this year (despite the team’s hundred year dry spell, and all those curses that have been plaguing that team for decades). Read more