Today's Game April 30th vs Florida Marlins

Well today we should get to see a great test for the Chicago Cubs. In this game there will be a few interesting facts shown that Cub fans are asking: Was our awful road trip just a fluke? Can we pick it up when we head back to the Friendly Confines? Will our lineup stay off the DL and eventually get HEALTHY? The latter of those questions might prove to be the golden key to the Cubs success. I believe that if we can somehow become healthy everyday that the team will again fight for the lead in the NL Central Division which we now sit 4th. We may be fourth but we are definitely able to make a run at it and leave the rest of the teams in the dust since we are only 4 games back. Hovering around .500 is not an option for this team. Management says they made the right moves this offseason but did they really? Heilman was a success but could we still use DeRosa?? Or how about Wood who was clocked at 98 consistantly in a recent outing? Gregg sure hasn't picked up the slack like they had hoped but the season is very young. The signing of Bradley has been a non factor since he just isn't healthy yet but everyone said that his health problems were behind him...WRONG!! O well I still am and always will be a die hard Cub fan but the disappointment will end at some point won't it? I would like to think so and hope that it can end on this home stand which starts tonight against the Marlins at 7:05 pm CST. GO CUBS!

Cub Chumps....Part DEUCE!!

Here are the bottom ten Chumps from the Cubs in the past 10 years. It is amazing to see how bad some of the players were for the Cubs. Its almost comical.

10. Kyle FarnsworthAll I can say about Kyle Farnsworth is that he could throw the ball hard, real hard. Only problem is that the only guy I can ever remember him getting out was Albert Pujols. Too bad they only play the Cards 18 times per year, and he probably only faces him one time per game, if that. That guy had more physical talent than most people deserve, but just couldn’t get the job done. Plus if they kept stats for team brawls, Farnsworth would really boost the clubs numbers.

9. Felix PieFelix was one of the biggest prospects in the Cubs farm system, before he actually got to the big leagues. As one fellow blogger put it, “he is responsible for some of the most atrocious at bats in the 2008.” Unfortunately when you don’t put the ball in play over 25% of the time, it doesn’t really matter how good of an outfielder you are. Fortunately, ex-Cubs GM Jim Hendry still had a soft spot in his heart for Pie and actively pursuit him this off-season which sent Garrett Olson our way, who we then used to get Aaron Heilman. But, seeing the beginning of this season, it looks like Heilman could eventually end up on this list too.

8. Corey PattersonThe story of Corey Patterson is fairly similar to that of Felix Pie. The only difference is that Patterson at least had some good times in his career. He was having an All-Star year in 2003 before getting injured in a game against the hated Cardinals, and basically everything went downhill after that. Had Corey realized that he didn’t need to hit the ball out of the park to get on base, he had the talent to be a .300 hitter and no one can doubt his fielding skills.
7. Antonio AlfonsecaAntonio Alfonseca has six fingers on his throwing hand.

6. Neifi PerezOne of the biggest things that I really disliked Dusty Baker for was his tendency to play favorites. Neifi played for Dusty in San Francisco, and when the Cubbies needed a backup infielder, guess whom he went and got. There is no doubt that he was an average bench player, but there is no reason that he should have played as much as he did. We were lucky that Dusty didn’t do the same with Spring Training invitee Ray Durham, who was way beyond his prime.

5. Rich HillHere’s a case of a minor league stud that equaled a major league dud. Over the course of the 2005-2006 seasons, Hill pitched for the triple A affiliate Iowa Cubs and had a record of 13-2 with an ERA under 3 and averaging nearly 13 strikeouts per 9 innings. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to come close to these numbers at the major league level. After a slow start for the big league roster in 2008, Rich Hill found himself in extended spring training a little over a month later.

Cubs are NOT on track........UGHHHHHH!!!

Well the Cubs did it again, they went from playing great one day to absolutely doing nothing the next day as they got beat by 10-0 today by the D-backs. The winning pitcher today was Doug Davis with a record of now 2-3.....yep you just read that correct, 2-3. How does a pitcher coming in with a 1-3 record only allow two hits in seven innings?? Well the answer was he was lucky enough to catch the Cubs once again on an off day. I know I may sound like Debbie Downer but there comes a point where the Cubs got to suck it up and play ball. Sure there are lots of injuries that are nagging players but if we are a championship caliber team we should be able to fight through them. Theriot and Miles are the only Cubs that got a hit today. After today I believe we have only two or three players in the starting lineup regularly that are hitting over the .300 mark. I think that the Cardinals have about 6 or 7. Unbelievable! On the pitching side all 10 runs were earned, 5 went to Dempster, 4 to Marmol, and 1 to Gregg. I can see a starting pitcher have a bad outing and I am no tupset about that what I am OUTRAGED about is Marmol's 4 walks and 4 runs. I see a DL stint in his future because he did suffer a slight knee injury early this week so maybe his knee is killing him. Lets just hope he can get back to his last year form before its too late. I am not trying to jump off the bangwagon here but there comes a time where things got to turn around or its gonna be too late. Good thing its still April.....

Cubs Back on track????

Well the Cubs jumped all over the Diamondbacks last night. The Cubbies won the game 11-3 to give them a record of 10-9. This game was huge as it was going to show just how bad a funk the Cubs really are in. With Big Z on the mound I felt that the Cubs would be better than they have been. Big Z always seems to fire up the team. He not only fired the pitching staff up but he kick started the offense by himself. Zambrano went 3 for 4 with a homer and a double that was about 3 inches from being another home run. O yeah and he had two RBIs. All this while pitching well through 7 innings and giving up 3 earned runs. Angel Guzman came in to finish out the game and he did very well. It was nice to see a younger guy get some quality innings in there while giving the rest of the guys a break. He pitched two scoreless inning and fanned two D-backs. Koyie Hill was another big story as he went 3 for 5 with an RBI. Soto took another day off to try and get back into form so it was up to Hill to control Big Z. He exceeded my expectations in offensive production so I take my hat off to him. If this could only spark the Cubs to go on a run here I would feel a lot better about this year. Soriano and Fontenot continued their hot streak by belting a home run each. Keep it up CUBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cub Chumps...Part one

I thought I would go back in time and list five of the biggest flops or chumps the Cubs have had in recent years. Read'em and weep fellow Cub fans. I’d like to start our saying that many of these players I feel bad trashing. Some of which were personal favorites of mine throughout the years. The unfortunate and realistic part is that even though I felt this way about some of these guys, they didn’t get it done. Some of this I blame on the Cubs management/coaching staff, and some of it is probably due to professional athletes not learning to change and adjust to weaknesses that are pretty well documented. Also I would have liked to say more about some of these guys, but my disgust for some of them made it difficult to even type their name on the page.

5. Rich HillHere’s a case of a minor league stud that equaled a major league dud. Over the course of the 2005-2006 seasons, Hill pitched for the triple A affiliate Iowa Cubs and had a record of 13-2 with an ERA under 3 and averaging nearly 13 strikeouts per 9 innings. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to come close to these numbers at the major league level. After a slow start for the big league roster in 2008, Rich Hill found himself in extended spring training a little over a month later.
4. Cesar IzturisThe biggest reason that I don’t like Cesar Izturis is because the Cubs didn’t do what it took to get the best shortstop available at the time, Rafael Furcal. Other than that, he didn’t hit that great, and didn’t win any gold gloves. This isn’t acceptable when the Cubs could have a gold glove/silver slugger/all star caliber shortstop.
3. Hee-Seop ChoiThis Korean import was another one of the Cubs top prospects in the late 90s/early 2000s. Coming to the big leagues in 2002, he only hit for an average of .210 over the next two seasons. That’s really not going to cut it for a hitting / power hitting position on the field. Needless to say, after the blown playoff run of the 2003 season, the Cubs dealt his sorry behind and picked up a real first baseman, Derrek Lee.
2. Steve TrachselSteve pitched for the Cubs for 8 years throughout the 90s and in 2007, and in 1994 was fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. For as promising as things looked, he only amassed 2 winnings seasons with the north siders, with all of those seasons having an ERA over four.
1. Ronny CedenoAnother guy who unfortunately didn’t get the chance to do everyday work for the Cubs for a whole season, but his inconsistency at the plate was his demise. He batted .252 for the Cubs in his 4 seasons with the big league squad, but high totals in strikeouts and low totals in extra-base hits and RBIs were his undoing. Ronny was a solid defensive player who was often used at shortstop, 2nd base, and 3rd base when his teammates on the injury prone Cubs went down like flies.

Kosuke Fukudome

I like many Chicago Cubs fans look at Kosuke Fukudome and see a mystery. I think that our fan base does not know much about him and his past while he played in Japan for nine years prior to Chicago “importing” his talents. In this article I am going to try and shed some light on Fukudome's past.
Kosuke Fukudome was born on April 26th, 1977 in Osaki, Soo District, Kagoshima, Japan. He started out his baseball career attending PL Gakuen High School in Japan. There he excelled as a center fielder and quickly attached the attention of Japanese scouts. Many of these scouts projected him to go in the first round of the 1995 draft. Since the Japanese draft is much different than that of Major League Baseball, Kosuke Fukudome got drafted by seven teams. Upon drafting Fukudome these teams earn the right to negotiate with him. The Kintetsu Buffaloes ended up winning the right to negotiate a final contract with Kosuke Fukudome. Unfortunately for them Fukudome had already made his mind up as to who he would play for. He wanted the chance to play for either the Chinichi Dragons or the Yomiuri Giants. Both of these teams are somewhat familiar to baseball fans here in the states because of the 1992 movie “Mr. Baseball”. In the movie Tom Sellek actually played for the Chinichi Dragons and his team can be seen playing against the Yomiuri Giants. Since Kosuke Fukudome didn't receive an offer from his particular teams he went to play for the Nihon Seimei. The Nihon Seimei would be the equivalent of America's independent league. There he could play baseball earning more experience against decent competition.
In 1996 Kosuke Fukudome was the youngest player selected to the Japanese Olympic team. He would go on to play for Japan in Atlanta and help the Japanese team win a silver medal in baseball. He continued his progression as a player and in 1998 was drafted in the first round by the Chunichi Dragons but not as a center fielder. There he would play his days as a shortstop. Playing for the Dragons had been a dream of Fukudome's since he was a child so he did not care where he played at on the team. In his first season with the Dragons Fukudome batted .284 with 16 home runs. This was a significant contribution to the Dragons' league championship that year. The Dragons went on to the Japan Series where Fukudome would make many errors and taken out of numerous games for it. The errors also proved costly for the Dragons as they lost the Japan Series.
In his sophomore year with the Dragons Fukudome was moved over to third base. The move did not improve his fielding the way management had hoped so in his third season he was moved to right field. There he would become more comfortable and possess a good arm to keep runners from stretching their hits into extra bases. With this improved comfort in the field came more confidence at the plate. In 2002 he would stop future New York Yankee great Hideki Matsui in his run for the triple crown of Japanese baseball. Fukudome batted .343 with 19 home runs. He continued his progression the next year belting a career high 34 home runs while sustaining a .313 batting average. These are the kind of numbers that attracted the Chicago Cubs scouts to him.
In November of 2007 Kosuke Fukudome became a free agent from the Chunichi Dragons. He wanted to weigh his options and see if he had the possibility to play on the World's biggest baseball stage. He saw great players like Matsui and Matsuzaka come over sees and make big bucks playing for some of the best teams in the world. On December 11, 2007 the Chicago Cubs signed the Japanese player to a four year 48 million dollar contract. Fukudome had been quoted as saying he wanted to come to the Chicago Cubs to become their first Japanese player in hopes that more could follow. He indeed set the way for the Cubs as they invited Ken Kadokura to Spring Training. Although things did not turn out quite as well as Fukudome has so Kadokura did not make any roster spots throughout the Cubs' organization. I still believe that the Cubs have a massive presence in Japan and will continue to look for talent that may pop up there.
In Fukudome's rookie season he started off hotter than anybody on the Cubs' roster. Cubs' management looked like geniuses for getting Fukudome to come and play for the Chicago Cubs but a horrendous second half of the season killed Fukudome's hopes at acquiring a Rookie of the Year award. The award would go to his young teammate Geovany Soto instead of Fukudome. He ended up hitting a measly .257 with only 10 home runs in 150 games. Some may say that that the transition from Japan to America hurt him. While others say that the pitchers just saw a huge hole in Fukudome's swing. I say that it was probably a mix of everything. I couldn't go overseas and just perform like everyone else. Especially when you have to talk through another person to say anything.
Again in 2009 Fukudome has started off hot early. Can he put together a solid WHOLE season for the Cubbies? I sure hope so because they are going to need him.

Cubs offense struggles again

Well the Cubs lost their 5th game of the last 6 they have played. The offensive production was again not there while Lilly gave up 5 runs, two of the runs coming off a hit by pitcher Dan Haren. I can't believe what I am seeing from the Cubs right now. They are playing absolutely horrible. Lilly who had been pretty good so far this year gives up back to back two run doubles in the fourth inning to break the tie and not keep the Cubs in the ball game. Soriano once again showed his amazing ability to hit one of the first pitched thrown in the ball game by belting his 3rd 1st inning home run and 52nd of his career. Haren would go on to allow only two more hits (Fontenot, and Lilly of all people) and retire 20 of the last 21 batters. Fontenot's hit was also a home run but was not enough help. Someone has got to get Soto going!! He is batting a measily 119. Lee, Ramirez, and Bradley continue to sit on the bench from nagging injuries. Bradley at least got a pinch hit appearance last night signaling that maybe he will be back soon. But it won't do anything but hurt the Cubs since he struck out and dropped his batting average to 42....YES!! 42... COME ON CUBBIES!

Cubs-Cards series....

Well the rivalry was back in action this weekend and the Cards won the series 2-1. The Cubs lost the first two games of the series to have their first losing streak of the season. The 4 game losing streak ended yesterday when the Cubs beat up on the Cards. The first game was lost 3-4 and the second 2-8. The Cubbies just can't seem to be consistant from day to day. It is mostly due to the number of injuries. None of the injuries are really that serious but now Bradley and Lee are struggling to stay in the lineup. Both have been injury prone for the past year or so and both are vital to the Cubs' success. Fukudome took over the third spot in the batting order and drove in 5 RBIs. Fukudome, Soriano, Ramirez and Theriot are carrying the Cubs right now stats wise. With big bats like Bradley, Lee, and Soto hardly producing, the Cubs' offense has been struggling. Hopefully these guys can get back into form in the next week or two and the Cubbies can work their way back into the number spot in the division. The Cubs sit three games back from the Cards. One can only hope that the Cubs don't have another disappointing season.........

The Curse... Part 2... Are the players cursed??

Some other Major League teams believe that the players coming from the Cubs are cursed. The best example of this would have to be Bill Buckner going to the Boston Red Sox. Bill was seen as a great fielding first man but he would make one error that cost him a career. He let a slow rolling ground ball go right through his legs and help the Red Sox lose the 1986 World Series. Other players involved in cursing other teams would be Mitch Williams and Mike Krukow.

The opposite is also seen when Cub players leave the team. Many players leaving the Cubs system have won World Series victories. The last example is last year’s leaving of Scott Eyre. He was released by the Cubs and picked up by the Phillies who went on to win the World Series that year. Below is a list of names that won World Series after leaving the Chicago Cubs:

Andy Pafko Gene Baker Smoky Burgess Don Hoak

Dale Long Lou Brock Lou Johnson Jim Brewer

Moe Drabowsky Don Cardwell Ken Holtzman Billy North

Bill Madlock Manny Trillo Greg Gross Rick Monday

Burt Hooton Bruce Sutter Willie Hernandez Joe Niekro

Dennis Echersley Joe Carter Greg Maddux Joe Girardi

Glenallen Hill Luis Gonzalez Mike Morgan Mark Grace

Mark Belhorn Bill Mueller Dontrelle Willis Jamie Moyer

Jon Garland

When I looked at this list I could not believe the talent on it. You got a bunch of World Series Champions there and still the Cubs have yet to get one for themselves in 101 years. As a die hard Cub fan I have to admit that this article is hard to write and almost brakes my heart. I hope to one day see the Cubs WIN a World Series. Whether I believe in the curse or not that doesn’t matter. I just want to see the rarity of a World Series Ring on a Cubs finger. As all Cubs fans say “Maybe this is the year”.

The Curse....Part 1

The Cub’s Curse

All Chicago Cubs fan know of the dreaded curse that supposedly looms over the ball club. The curse would not even pop up in the minds of fans if the reality was not so true. The Cubs have not won a World Series in now 101 years so like any person would we try to give a reason for it. The reason many fans believe the curse is true is due to the fact that it has been SOOOOOOOO long since that last win. If the Cubs would have went and won a World Series sooner everyone would have forgotten about the curse.

The curse or also known as the curse of the billy goat, started in 1945. Billy Sianis, owner of Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago, was a die hard Cubs fan and in that year the Cubs were back in a World Series. So being the fan that Sianis was, he bought two tickets for the game at Wrigley Field. So on October 6, 1945 Sianis went to the ball game against Detriot at Wrigley Field but the second ticket went to his billy goat not a human being. He made himself a sign and was allowed on the field. The sign stated “ We Got Detriot’s Goat”. After parading on the field before the game Sianis and his goat went to sit in their assigned seats. All seemed to be going well until security came down in the seventh inning and asked Sianis and his goat to leave the stadium. He asked why and the security officer said that the people sitting around the goat were appalled by stench of the billy goat. At first Sianis resisted and said he would not leave but finally security got him to leave. This enraged Sianis and while leaving his seat screamed “Them Cubs, they aren’t gonna win now more!!!” There are varying stories on what exactly was said by Sianis but most everyone evaluates it at saying that the Cubs won’t win another World Series.

Sianis since the event on October 6, 1945 led a very quite life. The people that knew him, knew him as a great, dedicated businessman. Sianis went on the died on October 22, 1970. Many columnist have wrote about the life of Billy Sianis.

Cubs fans have tried about everything they can do to try and lift the curse of the billy goat. There has been multiple appearances by Sam Sianis and a billy goat at Wrigley Field to try and break the curse and bring back good charma to the Cubs’ side.

In 2003 some Cub fans got a hold of a goat named Virgil Homer and took a trip down to Houston’s Minute Maid Park. The fans were trying to get the curse reversed by Houston denying the entrance of a goat. It seemed to work as the Cubs won their division that year and were 5 outs away from playing in the first World Series in 95 years but then Steve Bartman stepped in to knock a foul ball out of Moises Alou’s glove. When that happened the Cubs lost that game and the following game which blew their shot at a World Series. The criticism came off of the curse for awhile and to Steve Bartman’s stupidity. Eventually, the whole scenario has been traced back to Sianis’ curse on the Cubs.

Cubs Update....

Well the Cubs lost today to the Reds 3-0. This puts them 1 game back in the division behind the rival Cardinals. Ted Lilly threw 7 great innings for the Cubs and had them within reach the entire way only giving up one run. Angel Guzman and Kevin Gregg both gave up a run after Lilly left the game. The Cubs pitching staff got absolutely no help from the hitters in tonight's game. Though Cueto threw one heck of a ball game you still got to get some production from the offense. The Cubs had 6 hits spread between 4 hitters, Lee and Soriano each had 2 hits. The Cubs left a total of 14 runners on base and the 6-9 hitters did not get a hit in the contest. Hopefully the Cubs can bounce back tomorrow for the last game of the series.

In other notes the Cubs called up Jeff Samardzija today to put a little life in the Cubs bullpen. Samardzija was awesome last year in his 26 outtings compiling an ERA of 2.28. He is desperately needed since Gregg and the rest of the gang just are not cutting it. Marmol has been great at times but his control has been hit or miss. I would have liked to see Samardzija get to start this year but if he can pick up the slack in the pen he might be more valuable there. He has star talent in my mind and any exposure to the Big Leagues is going to help him in the future.

Cubbies are HOTT!!!

Well we won't know till tuesday if the rain has cooled down the Cubs but so far the Cubs have been fun to watch. They are currently 7-4 and stand atop the National League's Central Division. Today (Monday April 20th) the Cubs get the day off to relish their series win against the rival St. Louis Cardinals. Many times during the series, we saw the Cubs struggle but to then wake up and beat the Cards. Though no defensive plays like we saw Reed Johnson make against the Brewers, the Cubs-Cards Rivalry is great to watch. There is nothing better than the Cubs beating up on them Cards. Through the first 11 games Soriano leads the team in bombs. He is playing amazingly well right now and I don't care how many errors he makes in the outfield as long as he hits like what we are paying for. Fukudome has started hot just like last year. Lets hope he can at least hover around the 300 average for the WHOLE year this year. Could he be the missing link the Cubs are looking for??? Who knows but all I can do is hope. Aramis continues to be the RBI guy as he leads the team with 11 right now. Theriot has been awesome hitting 400 right now with a slugging percentage right at 525, all I can say is WOW and hope he continues to tear it up. Stay tuned for my next post on a the Cubs pitching so far.

Feel Free to Leave Your Comments!!!!!!!!!!

Go Cubs Go History

History of “Go Cubs Go”
If you are a Cubs fan or even know of the Cubs, you probably have heard their “theme song” otherwise known as Go Cubs Go. This song has taken the stadium and Cubs nation by storm the past couple years because of our enthusiasm for our next World Series victory.
The song was written in 1984, which is the first time the Cubs made the post season in 40 years. The man behind the song was named Steve Goodman. He sung and wrote the song all by his lonesome right before the Cubs made it to the post season. He was so excited that his Cubs finally made it back to the post season he wrote this song that will last forever. Steve died in September of that year from leukemia.
During the recording of Go Cubs Go legend has it that players from the 1984 team sung back up or background vocals for Steve. The original recording was supposed to be sung by the Beach Boys but they did not except the offer. So they turned to Steve to was a very good singer/ songwriter of that time. Steve recruited Steve Rodby to play bass guitar, Pat Leonard to play keyboard, and John Burns to take the lead guitar role. Of course Steve Goodman was the singer and 30 people were added in a chorus. Then once the chorus was set the Cubs added Jody Davis, Gary Matthews, Keith Moreland, Thad Bosley and Jay Johnstone to “backup” the chorus. The song became WGN's theme song that year for the Chicago Cubs and currently it is the theme song for America's great team, the Chicago Cubs. Goodman's song is now a lasting tradition after every Cubs' victory. No victory would be complete without the shouting of 38,000 fans, all singing GO CUBS GOOOOOOO GO CUB GOOOOOO!!!!
Go Cubs Go is not the only song that Goodman wrote about the Chicago Cubs. He also wrote “A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request” and “When the Cubs Go Marching In”.
Goodman now has his own day in the state of Illinois called Steve Goodman Day which is on October 5th.
The song “Go Cubs Go” can be downloaded off of about any music database including the world's most popular iTunes. The song has also became quite popular as a ringtone for Cub's fans.

The Other Retired Numbers

10

The number 10 was worn by Chicago Cub great Ron Santo. He played third base for the Cubs from 1960 to 1973 and ending his career a year after leaving the Cubs. He was a nine time National League All Star for the Cubs. He holds a career batting average of .277 with 342 home runs and 1,331 runs batted in. Santo was the second third baseman to hit 300 career home runs. He was the only player to have eight consecutive seasons with 90 runs batted in and he had an average of 300 or higher with 30 homers four times. Not only was he stellar with his bat but he won five consecutive Gold Glove Awards. He set numerous records for fielding at his position including assists, putouts, and double plays. He was the great third baseman of his era.

14

Ernest “Ernie” Banks played his entire Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Cubs (1953-1971). He started out as a shortstop and later moved to first base (in 1962). He was the Cubs first black baseball player and the first number the Cubs ever retired. He earned the nickname “Mr. Cub” because of his stunning presence and loyalty to the Chicago Cubs. He was the National League Most Valuable Player twice (58 & 59). These awards gave him the record of the only shortstop to win back to back MVP awards. Banks finished his career with 512 home runs and 277 of them were at shortstop, giving him the most by a shortstop of all time. He ended his career in 1971 with a 274 career average and 1636 runs batted in. He was also a Gold Glove Winner in 1960. He was a first ballot Hall of Famer receiving 83.8 % of the vote in 1977. After his retirement the Cubs signed him as a coach. In 1973, the manager was ejected from the game and Banks had to fill in for the remainder of the game which the Cubs won. So he could be considered the first black coach to win a game in the history of the MLB.

23

Ryne Dee Sandburg was the second baseman for the Chicago Cubs from 1982-1994 and 1996-1997. He was a 10 time All Star, 9 time Gold Glove winner, and 7 time Silver Slugger Award winner. He was also the National League Most Valuable Player in 1984. Sandberg also won the Home Run Derby at the 1990 All Star game. In 1984 he led the Cubs to the National League’s Eastern Division title which was their first title since 1945. He ended his career with a 285 average hitting 282 home runs and 1,061 runs batted in. He was also the third second baseman to hit 40 home runs in a season. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005. Sandberg currently coaches the Chicago Cubs double A ball club.

26

Billy Leo Williams was the Chicago Cubs’ outfielder from 1959 to 1974. Williams received the Rookie of the Year in 1961 with the Cubs. He was the ironman of his era playing in 1,117 consecutive games. He hit more than 20 home runs and 84 runs batted in from 1961 to 1973. Williams retired with a 290 career batting average, 426 home runs, and 1,475 runs batted in. He was a six time All Star and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987 receiving 85.71 % of the vote.

42

Jackie Robinson is one of baseball’s most well known players. He never played a single game with the Cubs but still his number is retired. His number will never be seen on the field again in Major League baseball. His number was retired because Jackie was the first black baseball player in the MLB. He got his start (and finish) with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He would end his career with a 311 batting average, 1,518 hits and 137 home runs. He was a six time All Star, a World Series Champion, National League Rookie of the Year, and National League Most Valuable Player

#31 to Be Retired May 3rd 2009

The jersey 31 was worn by two great Cub pitchers: Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux. These two will become the first two Cubs pitchers to have their number retired. The official presentation will be against the Marlins May 3rd, 2009. The number would have been retired earlier but Greg Maddux wore 31 while playing with the Cubs. Each pitcher won their first Cy Young Award with the Chicago Cubs. Each player started their career with the Cubs. Then went to another ball club other to return near the end of their career. Jenkins is the Cubbies all time strike out leader with 2, 038 while Maddux is fifth with 1,305. Jenkins also holds the record for most games started by a Cub with 347. Maddux is fifth in career wins for the Cubs with 133 but won his 300th career game with the Cubs. Maddux also received his 3000th career strike out with in 2005. Jenkins was a 3 time All Star, won the 1971 Cy Young, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991. He ended his career with a 3.34 earned run average and a 284 wins. He struck out a total of 3,192 batters in 664 appearances. Maddux retired last December as the eighth winningest pitcher of all time. He accumulated a total of 355 wins and won four Cy Young Awards. He was also an 8 time All Star selection. Maddux has the record for the most career Gold Gloves with 18. He ended his career with a 355-227 record, 3.16 earned run average, and 3, 3 71 strikeouts in 744 appearances.

Gregg is the new closer....

Well the wait for the announcement for the Cubs closer in 2009 is over. Lou Piniella announced yesterday that the new Cub Kevin Gregg will take the reigns as the closer. Gregg has not allowed a single run this spring training in 8 1/3 inning. He brings experience to that bullpen position as he was the Marlins' closer in 2007 and 2008. In 2007 he took over six weeks into the season and ended up with 32 saves on t he year, that is very respectable. He added 30 more saves last year and was traded to the Cubs this offseason for a minor league prospect. Gregg, 30, should be getting into his best years as an experienced veteran that can hopefully propel the Cubs to its first World Series in 101 years.
With this announcement, Marmol takes his duties as the setup man for Gregg. I know most Cubs fans thought that Marmol would take over the closer role with Kerry Wood getting traded but he just did not perform as well as Gregg did this spring. He is still a huge part of the Cubs bullpen and I hope he can make another All Star team but I like to see Piniella sticking to his promise that there would be a battle for the closer role. I hope Marmol handles this well and can be the pitcher he was last year.

Cubs' Pitching Update...

The Cubs are currently setting up their bullpen to support the new starting rotation this year. The loss of Kerry Wood leaves a huge hole in the closer role for the ball club. The two options currently are Kevin Gregg and Carlos Marmol. Most Cubs' fans I have talked to think that Marmol is a shoe-in for the job but looking at Gregg's stats so far this spring he is right on the heels of Marmol. Gregg has pitched 8 1/3 innings this spring and has given up zero runs. Marmol on the other hand has pitched 8 innings and given up 4 runs. I don't know when Piniella plans on making the decision but I imagine it will be soon and that whoever doesn't win the closer role will be the eighth inning guy like Marmol was last year.
The rotation looks strong like last year, possibly even stronger if Marshall keeps pitching the way he has this spring. He currently has pitched 23 1/3 innings and has a 1.93 ERA. I personally picked him up in my fantasy league as I think he has the potential to be a big factor on how well the Cubs will do this year. Harden has been one set back after another. First he had some shoulder stiffness then the flu I believe and now I hear he has food poisoning. Does this guy just not take care of himself or what??? It probably just a coincidence but it still worries me on how well he will come out of the gate for the regular season.
We still have 9 days till the season opener so it should be interesting to figure out what is going to happen. If there are any of you out there wanting to comment on my blog PLEASE follow my blog and make a comment!!!!!

Cubs cut 5 players

Well the ole Cubbies are in the process of knocking down the roster in order to find the regular season players. MLB teams have both a 25 man roster and a 40 man roster. The 25 man roster is what effects the team at the beginning of the year because if a player is going to play in an offical gaem they have to be listed on the 25 man roster. This changes September 1st when teams get to use the 40 man roster. The 40 man roster is the 25 man roster plus 15 players the ball club wants eligible to play in offical games. Many young stars make their debut in September because of these roster rules.
The Cubs cutting five players brings their roster down to 37 players. This means they must cut 12 more players to get their 25 man roster. Of those 25 players 12 will be pitchers and 13 will be batters/fielders. It will be interesting to see who Lou cuts because the Cubs have had a great spring training with their young minor league prospects playing.
The five players cut were Jake Fox, Sam Fuld, Jason Waddell, Jose Ascanio, and Bobby Scales. These players being cut from the major league team now go to their respective minor league ball club to keep preparing for the upcoming season. All these guys will have to keep performing if they want a shot at the 40 man roster.

Cubs 20 Athletics 5

The Cubs absolutely destroyed the Oakland Athletics yesterday at HoHoKam. The sudden surge in runs scored is a good sign that the Cubbies are starting to gear it up for the nearing regular season. A total of eight Cubs had at least 2 two hits. Theriot started as the leadoff man in yesterday's game and went a perfect 3 for 3 with 2 runs scored 2 RBIs off of a single and the other off of a triple. Theriot also drew a walk. The next big surprise came from Paul Bako the "wanting" to be backup catcher. He went a perfect 4 for 4 with a solo home run that came in the ninth. His hit in the sixth inning gave the Cubs their ninth straight game with at least 10 hits. The only other home run in the game came from Derrek Lee who went 2 for 5 but left 5 runners on base. He has struggled this spring like he did much of last season. I don't know if his wrist is hurting him or what but if this continues we got to move him down in the lineup a few notches to give someone else a chance to step in and pick up his slack. Reed Johnson drove in 3 runs off of his 2 for 3 performance. He continues to battle hard for that center field position which I think in the end will be a platoon of him and Fukudome. Fukudome should be coming back to the Cubs sometime soon as he has been playing in the World Baseball Classic, which his home country Japan won last night. He didn't play in the game last night which makes me feel unsure on how well he will perform again this season.

Zambrano coming on strong!!

Carlos Zambrano is starting to heat up this spring and get into his regular season form. Lately while filling out my fantasy baseball roster I saw numerous posts knocking on Big Z. They say he is going down hill but Big Z is currently on a tear. His last outing he posted the longest outing for a Cubs starter in spring training. He pitched six innings and struck out six while not walking one batter. This is a great sign the the Cubs because they need a Big Z desperately to pitch liek the All Star he is. He did not disappoint at the plate either, crushing a double in the fifth inning. Then he got to third on a fly ball by Soriano and then hit in by Miles. Big Z might be the only pitcher in the game that could DH if the ball club needed him to and still produce decent numbers. He is a monster on the mound and at the plate and I don't think anyone would argue that. Zambrano has thrown 16 innings this spring and currently has a 3.53 ERA and 15 SO. I would be happy with those stats and a World Championship Ring this season.......

Recent Signee Done....

Earlier this spring as the Cubs were looking around for a backup third baseman they saw Corey Koskie sitting on the sidelines. He has suffered from a severe concussion since 2006 when he lost his balance and slipped while chasing a fly ball for the Brewers. The weird part of the story is that he never hit his head on the ground like you would think. His head jerked so violently that his brain sort of rattled in his head. Since that play Koskie was out of baseball trying to recover from the injury. This was supposedly his first concussion. Anyways, the Cubs thought they would give him a chance at playing, signing him to a minor league contract. He got his first start over the weekend and turned in his jersey saturday night. He just felt that he could not go through another injury like he had been through. What really hit home to him was his son recevied his first concussion earlier in the week while playing football with his brother. Corey stated that he still loves the game but wants to lead a normal life more. This may end up not hurting the Cubs at all this season. I got to give it to Corey for being able to give up the money and glory for his family and his own well being.

Next Project.....Center Field

Since the Cubbies decided on Marshall as the fifth starter their next project is to figure out what the heck is going to happen in center field. I have heard that a platoon is likely and thats fine as long as we can keep the hot hands(bats) in the lineup. The options are Fukudome, Johnson, and a long shot of Gathright. I really hope Fukudome can put up a whole season like his first half last year. I can't imagine the culture shock he is having playing in America but in the end we just gotta have someone in center that can perform well. Johnson is a hard nosed guy that plays great defense and if he can get hot swings a great bat with some pop (unlike Fukudome). I keep going back and forth on who is better but in the end I just want that position as a whole to bat about 280-300 and get on base to score more runs. If the Cubs don't get good production this year their outfield might be one of the most over paid in the league (Soriano, Fukudome, and Bradley). But I will remain optimistic and hope for the best.

Fifth Starter spot FILLED!!!

On thursday Lou Piniella finally declared who would be the fifth starter in the rotation for the Chicago Cubs. The battle at the start of spring training was between Marshall, Heilman, Samardzija, and Gaudin. Marshall was the front runner all spring even while Heilman stayed close behind. Marshall has only given up one run over his 14 1/3 innings of work this spring. While Heilman has given up two runs over his 13 2/3 innings of work. Obviously by now you guys must know that Lou did pick Marshall over Heilman and the rest. Heilman would be put into the bullpen for setup or long relief duty. He will be a huge asset to club if he can continue to post similar stats in the regular season. Marshall will be entering his fourth year as a Cub. Hopefully he can post a similar ERA as in his past 2 seasons (3.9ish). He should get to throw more innings then he ever has before, 125 being the most he has seen. With this declaration from Lou there are two spots remaining in the bullpen. The Cubs will be carrying 12 pitchers this year so Samardzija, Atkins, Patton, and Cotts will be battling for those last two spots. They have hinted at leaving Samardzija in AAA as a starter so his stamina won't suffer and could step in right away if someone went down. I think Samardzija needs to be on the 25 man roster because he was stellar last year in his role. What do you guys think they should do????

Spring Training Update...hitting wise

Well after the great start to spring training the Cubs have came back down to earth. They were one of the top teams in the Cactus League but after lost 12 of their last 17 games. Obviously spring training is not that important and will mean nothing come April but wouldn't a good spring training record comfort those nervous Cubs' Fans. The stars of the Chicago Cubs have yet to really go hard at it because Lou has been giving other people a chance to fight for the 25 man roster. Micah Hoffpauir and Mike Fontenot are the current spring training stars. Hoffpauir is showing Lou that he deserves to be the "DeRosa" of last year or in other words the go to utility player we need. He has played 1st and the corner outfield spots and currently has a 288 ave and 3 bombs. He has slowed down a little so for those of you who don't like the 288 ave it was quite a bit higher about 4 days ago. Fontenot has basically stapled his name to the second base slot. We have yet to really see what Miles can do but Fontenot has a 381 ave and 3 bombs. His total slugging percentage is 786. This is great to see and if he can keep this going into the regular season the Cubs will be a hard club to beat.

Cubs Sign Koskie and are still looking...

The Chicago Cubs on saturday signed possible backup Corey Koskie to a minor league deal. Corey Koskie is a 35 right hander who can play a variety of positions such as third base and first base. He has the experience to be a leader in the club house. Koskie has not been on a major league team since 2006 when he suffered a major concussion. He now has a clean bill of health and will be participating in the World Baseball Classic for his country, Canada. I think this is a pretty good pick up to ensure that we have talent available that can backup our starters if one of them good down. The Cubs every year seem to have a major injury and need to rely on a backup to become full time for awhile. The Cubs also received word that three time World Series Champion, Curt Schilling, would be interested in joining the Cubbies or Tampa Bay Rays. Curt Schilling is known for his toughness. The most recent event involving his toughness is the historic "bloody sock" incident. I could see Schilling joining the Cubs in the way that John Lieber did last year but to me would be an obvious upgrade in talent and leadership. Schilling would be able to share his knowledge and leadership with the Cubs' young talent. I love to see the Cubbies searching hard for good, cheap talent that will help boost them to a World Series Championship.

Cubs ROLL the White Sox!!

CUBS WIN!!! CUBS WIN!!! CUBS WINNNNNN!!!!

Once again the Chicago Cubs beat their opponent. This time the Chicago White Sox fell victim to the Cubs' wrath. They did so in front of a record crowd of just over 13,000 fans at HoHoKam Park. What a great thing to see in such a down economy. What a relief to see in my mind because I was worried the Cubs might hurt financially this season. I will take this as a sign that I am wrong and that we can continue to search for ways to improve the organization. Aaron Heilman was the starting pitcher and performed wonderfully. Like numerous other Cubs he is battling for that fifth starter spot. He gave up only one hit in his two innings of work. In even better news, Rich Harden was spotted throwing on the side today. The word is that he will have two more sessions of no batter throwing then will start to face live play. He progress will be slow but is a sign that the Cubs staff is taking great care of his body. He has to be healthy this year for the Cubs to make a run at that elusive World Series Ring. Micah Hoffpauir again drove in an RBI and has a league leading 8 RBIs at this point. Brad Snyder hit a grand slam in the seventh inning. The Cubs are seeing new name after new name step in and perform well. Piniella will have his hands full selecting the 25 to be on the roster. With the Cubs fourth win they become the only undefeated team in the National League.

Cubs Stay Perfect!!!

The Chicago Cubs received their third win in three games friday when they traveled to play the Texas Rangers. Ted Lilly got his first start this spring and was impressive. In his two inning stint he gave up absolutely NO runs! What a great sign to see the middle of the rotation pitching so well so early. We can only hope to see these performances carried out the whole regular season. Lilly gave up two hits and also struck out two. The next big story of the game was Micah Hoffpauir performance. He is making a big splash this season. Not only did he hit a three run homer in the second inning but he stole a possible run scoring base hit away from Texas Ranger star Josh Hamilton. He did this at first base this time. I am starting to really become a fan of Hoffpauir and think he might be a suitable replacement for Mark DeRosa. Mike Fontenot got the nod at second base and crushed a two run homer to show Piniella that he is wanting the job and has the power to get it done. His left handed bat would be awesome to have in the lineup. The Cubs are now 3-0 in Cactus League play. Their next outting is against cross town rival the Chicago White Sox. Newbie Aaron Heilman will take the hill for the Cubbies. I sure hope that they can keep this hot streak going.

GO CUBS!!!!!!!!!

Spring Training Game 2 a Success!!!

Cubs keep their spring training going in the right direction with another win. The Cubs played divisional foe Milwaukee Brewers in game 2 of their spring training. The new faces in the club house continue to impress Cub's fans. The new speed demon on the team, Joey Gathright, went 3 for 3 in his debut as a Cubs player. Gathright's hits were all singles but he did drive in two runs to propel the Chicago Cubs to victory. The other surprise of the day came from Jake Fox who started at first base in place of Derrek Lee. Fox came up to bat in the third inning and crushed a three run home run. Fox continues to battle for a spot on the 25 man roster for the Chicago Cubs. As for pitching, Sean Marshall started the game for Cubbies. Marshall is trying to battle for the fifth spot in the rotation and did quite well in his spring debut. He gave up four hits and one run in his two innings of work. Gaudin came in after Marshall and showed why he beleives he should be a part of the rotation. He only gave up three hits and one run over his two innings of work but also crushed a double. Piniella will continue to give the new faces shots this spring and start to lengthen the pitching stints. It won't be for another few weeks till we know who gets the fifth rotation spot but I am anxious to see who gets it and beleive whoever gets it will be a HUGE part of this year's success.

Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field has been in Chicago since 1914. On that date it housed the Chicago Whales which was a baseball team that belonged to the Federal League. This team disbanded and in 1916 the Chicago Cubs became the home team for Wrigley Field. At this point in time the ball park was known as Weeghman Park. It would keep this name until 1920 when the ball park became known as Cubs Park. It wasn't until 1926 that the owner, William Wrigley Jr, changed the name of Cubs Park to Wrigley Field. This name would stick with the Cubs to this day.
William Wrigley Jr was not only the owner of the Cubs but also the owner of America's favorite chewing gum, Wrigley Company. Since the gum was so popular Mr. Wrigley thought it would be a great selling point to put the Doublemint Twins out on top of the scoreboard, one as a pitcher and the other as the batter. Mr. Wrigley was one of the first to promote ads in his ball park. The Doublemint Twins would stand atop the scoreboard until 1937 when the bleachers and scoreboard was rebuilt. It would be 45 years later until ads returned in the outfield scenery at Wrigley Field.
The name Wrigley Field is a sacred part of the Chicago Cubs. It has lasted throughout most of the Chicago Cubs history and continues to be the staple name of most major league ball park. The name Wrigley Field could have been changed at any point in time by the different owners of the Chicago Cubs. One such owner, the Chicago Tribune, became pressured to find ways to bring in more revenue to the team but refused to sell corporate naming rights which would change the name of Wrigley Field. The name Wrigley Field has been tested by time and still stands today.
Wrigley Field's history is unprecedented when compared to other ball parks. Fenway and the recently demolished Yankee Stadium are close in comparison with rich history. Wrigley Field was the place Babe Ruth called his shot. There would continue to be a sign posted at the exact spot in which he pointed for many years. They would go on to take down the sign when the bleachers where renovated. Ernie Banks hit his 500th home run at Wrigley Field. Ernie hitting his 500th at Wrigley Field was the ultimate prize as he is one of the best Cubs to ever walk on the field.
When Wrigley Field is mentioned everyone always thinks about baseball but it has been home to different sports as well. From 1920 to 1970 Wrigley Field was home to professional football. 1920 was the only year the football team was one other than the Chicago Bears. This team was known as the Chicago Tigers and would become the first NFL team to fold. The Bears even changed their name to the Bears from the Stanleys so they could be related to the Chicago Cubs. For five years ( 1977 to 1982 and 1984) Wrigley would host a scocer team. Yes that is right a soccer team played at Wrigley Field for five years. The Chicago Sting would win two Soccer Bowl Championships at Wrigley (1981 and 1984). In the most recent addition at Wrigley Field the Chicago Blackhawks played the second annual NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. This turned out to be a huge success and we might see more of this in the future.
Another unique fact about Wrigley is its White Flags that are flown there. In the 1930's the owner, P.K. Wrigley, would fly a white flag with either a W or an L to indicate the result of the days game. If it were a double header he would fly a different flag for each game. This tradition would lose its luster for a while until it would pick back up in the last 10 years. The W flag is a historic site for all Cubs fan as they love to fly it with pride when the Cubbies win. The L flag has not shown its face around Wrigley Field in recent history due to the lack of appeal to losing. Many families across the United States have purchased their own W flag and fly it just as they would at Wrigley Field.
The ivy at Wrigley Field is another history item one could see. It was started by Bill Veeck in the 1937 renovation of Wrigley Field. He planted a quick growing ivy to cover up the solid brick wall but also planted Boston Ivy which would slowly grow and eventually take over the whole wall. The ivy at Wrigley has been a pain for outfielders through the years due to balls getting stuck in it. The MLB made it a rule that when a ball gets lost in the ivy that it be ruled a ground rule double. In one incident a ball hit off the wall and two balls then fell out of the ivy. Fortunately the umpires did not penalize the Chicago Cubs outfielder for this and play resumed.
Wrigley Field has been renovated many times throughout its history in order to expand its capacity. Weeghman Field started out with a capacity of only 14,000 fans, and through numerous renovations Wrigley Field now has a capacity of 41,118 screaming fans. Wrigley Field received the nickname the Friendly Confines from Mr. Cub himself, Ernie Banks. This is due to the ball parks wonderful atmosphere that draws any baseball fan to it from near or far. Wrigley Field is one reason the Chicago Cubs have one of the biggest fan bases in the MLB.

Spring Training is here!!!!

With spring training finally arriving it is time to take a look at how the Cubs roster is shaping up, what management will be looking for, and who we should be watching this spring. Don’t be surprised if you see a totally different Cubs squad on the field throughout Spring Training. Part of this is due to key departures such as Mark Derosa, which will not only open up a competition at second base, but also make the need for solid backups at all infield positions and the corner outfields a huge need for the Cubs this season. They will almost certainly need two or three players to fill the vacancies left from the Derosa trade.
There has been a lot of talk lately of moving Alfonso Soriano out of the leadoff spot and into a spot where the Cubs could get better use of his power to drive in more runs. This seems pretty unlikely because of the addition of Milton Bradley during the off season giving the Cubs a solid left-handed hitter in the middle of the lineup to complement Lee and Ramirez and will also add power from the left side of the plate. The only other logical place to move Sori in the lineup is the two-hole, however the knocks that people have of Alf leading off, excessive strikeouts and a low on-base percentage, also make him a bad candidate for hitting second. Expect to see Soriano remain at the top of the order, but don’t be surprised if one of the big boys in the middle of the lineup takes a day off or goes down due to injury, Soriano might be asked to hit in the 3 or 4 spot to add a spark to the offense. That being said, the top of the lineup and leftfield are pretty much solidified. Micah Hoffpauir will be Sori’s backup in leftfield. The two-hole might be a two-headed monster. Look for Ryan Theriot to get the bulk of the at-bats from that spot early in the season, but his double-play mates Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles might also get a chance to hit at the top of the lineup. Theriot is a good fit for this spot because he has a high on-base percentage and does a great job spraying the ball the other way. Ryan will be the everyday started at short. He is a solid fielder, although he lacks the range and arm that most shortstops in the game today possess. Fontenot and Miles could give the Cubs another left-handed bat at the top of the lineup if needed and Fontenot could give them a hint of power as 32 of his 74 hits last season went for extra bases. In the field Fontenot and Miles will share time at 2nd, while both will be expected to back up Ramirez at 3rd base and Miles will also backup Theriot at short. Expect to see a lot of both Miles and Theriot during spring training at multiple positions. Hitting third, Pinella will probably stick with Derek Lee. Lee has spoken several times this off-season about how he knows that he needs to be more consistent this year. Don’t expect to see the Derek Lee of a few years ago that hit 47 home runs, but if he can raise his average back up it will give a huge offensive boost to a club with an already explosive offense. There is no doubt Lee is still one of the best defensive first basemen in the league. Hitting forth will probably be Milton Bradley. Putting a lefty between Lee and Ramirez, who will hit fifth, will force opposing coaches to either bring in a left hand specialist to face Bradley or take their chances and have a right handed pitcher face him. We probably won’t see much of Bradley this spring because he has been having some pain in his quad. Management is more concerned with getting him ready for the season than seeing what he can do during spring training. As I already said, Ramirez will hit fifth and look to continue giving opposing pitchers nightmares. With three players who consistently hit for a high average and on-base percentage expect Ramirez to continue to pour in the RBI’s. Ramirez had the best season of his career in the field last year and he’ll have his eyes set on a gold glove this year. Following Ramirez will be last years NL Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto. He will begin his second year as the Cubs everyday backstop and the squad expects big things from him coming off an All-Star season. He should see a lot of good pitches hitting behind the big bats in the middle of the lineup so there is a good chance his batting numbers will increase. Vying for the Soto’s backup job will be Paul Bako, who returned to the Cubs this offseason after spending last year in Cincinnati, and prospect Koyie Hill, who has spent stints in the bigs but hasn’t been able to find himself in a solid role on the major league roster. Soto will be playing in the World Baseball Classic this spring so it will give the coaching staff a chance to get a good look at the backup situation. The center fielder will most likely hit seventh, and much like second base, center field will probably be occupied by a two man team. Kosuke Fukudome and Reed Johnson are expected to split time as the commander of the outfield. Kosuke will also be participating in the WBC so we will see a lot of Johnson and also get a look at newly added Cub Joey Gathright, who will be used most likely as a pinch runner this year. The Cubs management team will be watching Fukudome close this year hoping to see the player that they signed for a big contract a year ago. Batting in front of the pitcher will probably be whoever is playing second base on that given day.
The starting rotation will probably look pretty familiar, although we won’t see much of them this spring. The ace of the staff, Carlos Zambrano, is currently recovering from lasik eye surgery. He will make his first start on Monday, but will be very limited on the hill. Rich Harden is going to be taking some more time to get ready this spring because he is suffering from some on going shoulder problems. It is most important for the Cubs to get Harden healthy and to try to keep him that way. He could be the most electrifying pitcher on our staff when healthy, but has had many injuries in the past. Ryan Dempster says that he knows his body better than anybody and that he is in shape and ready to go this spring. Dempster, who moved from the bullpen to the rotation last year, is coming off the best year of his career and hopes to improve on that by being more consistent on the road this year. Ted Lilly will throw one game this spring before leaving to represent team USA at the WBC. Finally there will be a battle going on this spring for the 5th and final spot in the rotation. Marshall looks like he will be the leading candidate for this spot, newly added Aaron Heilman and rookie Jeff Samardzija will get serious looks.
It should be exciting to see how everything plays out this spring and most importantly we hope that everybody stays healthy and is ready when the Cubs open their season at Houston on April 6th.

Spring Training Opener a Success!!!!

Cubs Win!!! Cubs Win!!! Cubs WINNNN!!!

Yesterday the Chicago Cubs kicked off their spring training with a 5-3 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jeff Samardzija got the start and performed well in the first inning, retiring the side in ONE-TWO-THREE fashion. He got himself into a jam in the second inning when the Dodgers got the bases loaded. He battled until a Dodger singled and drove in 2 runs. This put the Cubs down early but in the fifth inning Micah Hoffpauir hit what would be the game winning GRAND SLAM. I love to see this as he is trying to step into DeRosa's utility role or the "I do anything for the team role". Micah hit well for the Cubs last year in 33 game (.342). He could turn out to be the difference maker in the Cubs season should someone get hurt. He can play the corner outfield spots, sub for D Lee when he needs a breather, and hit in the DH spot in interleague play. All we can hope for now is the continued progression for Hoffpauir. As for the game I am saw other positives too. Theriot started off the way he ended last year going 2 for 3 with two singles. Some may not like his lack of power but as long as he is getting on base it helps the team. Reed Johnson got the Cubs their first Top 10 Plays on ESPN. He made a driving catch to rob a Dodger of a base hit. New comer Jason Widdell struck out 2 batters in his one inning of work. While the Cubs are in search to sure up their bullpen and pitching rotation new comers/surprises like this are needed.


GO CUBS!

Spring Training Starts Tomorrow

Well the time has come for spring training games to begin. The Chicago Cubs will play their first Spring Training game tomorrow at 2:20pm ET. The Cubs will face the LA Dodgers at Ho Ho Kam Park in the warm temperatures. This game will kickoff the 2009 pursuit of a World Championship ring. The Cubbies will play just under 40 spring training games to warm up for the 162 game regular season. Jeff Samardzija will be the starting pitcher for the Cubs and I expect him to put on a show this year. I could see him blossoming like Rich Hill did in 2007. I think of our options for the fifth starter he has the most long term potential. Samardzija will obviously be limited in his pitch count and most likely not be throwing 100 percent. I am very interested to see who is going to be put at second base for the game as it could be either Aaron Miles or Mike Fontenot. In my opinion I would love to see Fontenot there but I have not see Miles play much except for the horrid Cardinals. Well hopefully I can sneak a peak and the newly revamped Cubbies tomorrow as should all you Cubs fan out there.

New Cubs Owner resigns from job

Tom Ricketts, who is the the representative of the new owners group, resigned from his job at TD Ameritrade. This comes as a huge surprise to some and may give the public more questions as to why he would do this at a time like this. Tom and his family owned the controlling stakes in TD Ameritrade. He used these funds to buy the Chicago Cubs at the beginning of this year. Though he is not the offical owner yet because the process has not been league approved. I wonder if this move will influence the decision one way or another. On one hand you will have an owner that has more time to focus on the team but in the other you have an owner who is more limited in income. I hope that Tom Ricketts will be an aggressive, successful owner much like that of George Steinbrenner. I think if you want to start a dynasty this is the only way to do it. You got to have cash flow to be able to sign the big name players just like the Yankees have done for so long. It is only as of late that their BUY BUY BUY scheme has failed and I contribute that to George's health and age. I also hope that him selling this stake doesn't later show up as a move to cover up illegal activities which in these times seems more prevalent. But only time can tell what in store for the Chicago Cubs and their new owners. I wish them the best and I will be watching.......

Lou Piniella Bio

I thought it would be nice to give some background on the man in charge of the Chicago Cubs, Lou Piniella. Louis Victor Piniella was born on August 28, 1943 in Tampa, Florida. This is where is parents immigrated to from Spain. Lou played his little league ball in the Tampa area where he faced Tony La Russa. Lou once stated that La Russa was like an older brother whose shadow he could not move out of. Lou would continue to face La Russa throughout his life and are now rivals in one of sports biggest rivalries, Cubs vs. Cardinals. Lou is married to his wife Anita. They still reside in Tampa where they both grew up and fell in love together. They both contribute a lot of time and money to charities and volunteer work. In 1990, Lou was given the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his significant contributions to America’s heritage.
Lou excelled in sports throughout his entire life and was actually an All American High School basketball player at Tampa’s Jesuit High School. In that season Lou averaged over 30 points a game and had a season high of 57 points. He chose to go to the University of Tampa and play baseball. There he received All American honors. He would go on to make his Major League debut with the Baltimore Orioles on September 4, 1964.
He continued to jump around from team to team until settling down with the Kansas City Royals in 1969. This was the Royals first season as a team in the MLB. Lou became the first player to come up to bat as a Royal. In that at bat Lou doubled off of lefty Tom Hall. He then went on to score the Royals first run in team history. This double would set the tone for the rest of his season as he received the Rookie of the Year award in 1969.
In 1974, Lou went to play for the New York Yankees. This team was the beginning of baseball’s great dynasty team. Lou would not get to play full time with the Yankees due to talent that was on hand for the Yankees until 1979 when the Yankees traded the center field in front of Lou. So Lou took over control of center field and moved to the leadoff spot in the lineup due to his quick hands and feet. He would go on the win 2 World Series with the Yankees before retiring in 1984. He played his last game for the Yankees on June 16th, 1984. He would end his career with a .291 batting average, slugging 102 home runs, and batting in 766 runners. He also excelled in the postseason with a .305 batting average.
After retiring Lou quickly became the manager of the Yankees in the 1986 season. He would then be promoted to General Manager before the 1988 season. During that season the manager, Billy Martin, was fired so Lou took the helm once again as the Yankee’s manager. Lou switched leagues in 1990 and took a managerial position with the Cincinnati Reds. In that year Lou led the Reds to the World Series and won his first ring as a skipper. In 1993, Lou took over the coaching duties with the Seattle Mariners. This would be his longest tenure as a manager. He received two AL Manager of the Year Awards. In 2002, Lou got traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a trade. This would prove to be Lou’s ultimate test of his coaching ability. The Rays were the league’s youngest team and had the lowest talent level. He had to start at ground level and build the team up from scratch. Though he was not hugely successful he kept the Rays going in the right direction to where they are today, which in 2008 the Rays made it to the World Series for the first time. Though not under Lou as he stepped down as head coach in 2005. The next stop for Lou would be in Chicago at the start of the 2006 season. There he has become loved by most fans and received the nickname, Sweet Lou. He again would have to try and build up a championship caliber team for the Chicago Cubs. By 2008 Lou had built the best team in the National League but got swept by the LA Dodgers. Lou continues to be the manager of the Chicago Cubs and is trying to earn them their first World Series title in one hundred years. The fans of Chicago keep holding their breath for the day that Sweet Lou brings Chicago back to Championship status once again.
Lou throughout his career was known for his anger and outrage towards bad calls and umpires. He even has had a few altercations with players in the locker room. If you watch Lou now you will see that he has calmed down to the point of controlling his outrage. He uses his altercations to spark the team and show his frustration. Lou has currently been ejected in 61 games but I bet he would not take back any of them. He uses these situations as a tool for winning games and with a career managerial record of 1,701-1,561 it must be working for him. With this record Lou currently ranks 14th all time in career managerial wins. He has won six Divisional Titles (National and American), and one World Series ring.

Cubs Offseason Moves Good or Bad??

Well the Chicago Cubs had another busy offseason compared to most other teams in the league. We have gotten rid of a few keys to last season's success. The trade of DeRosa for 3 minor leaguers is one that is still puzzling me to this day. Last year DeRosa was one of our best players if not the best player when you add in the veratility he gave our team. Every team has to have enough good players on the bench to pick up the slack when someone went down with an injury. DeRosa did that job by himself. We also got rid of one of our best relief pitchers Kerry Wood. Wood is a homegrown product of the Chicago Cub farm system. I can still remember him pitching his 21st K in a single game so early in his career. But what many still see are all the injuries in his past. The one two punch of Wood-Marmol was leathal last year and I am afraid that we won't have the tools for that same situation in the upcoming season. I don't understand how we can stand by Wood in the past few years when he has constantly been hurt but when he is finally coming back into his own we let him go. Granted I know the economy is down and we don't know how this is going to effect the Cubs yet but we still need to make the best moves for the ball club and I just don't know if either of these deals should have happened. O well thats the Cubs and how we do things...... I wish the Cubbies the best this season and hopefully we can get that ring put back on our finger.

Hill and Wuertz Gone!!

Well the Chicago Cubs have moved some more players around this offseason. Yesterday the Cubs traded Rich Hill to the Balitmore Orioles. Hill was looking like an All Star in 2007 but lost his command and confidence in 2008. He was then demoted to the Minor Leagues and we have not seen or heard from Rich Hill in quite awhile. I believe the Cubs are just trying to give Hill another chance with a different ball club because the Cubs just can not commit to him anymore. I would have loved to see the old Rich Hill out on the mound for Chicago this year but we can not afford to waste time and talent. The will receive a player to be named later depending on how well Hill does with Baltimore.

Michael Wuertz was the other pitcher that was dealt yesterday. He was traded to the Oakland Athletics for two minor league prospects. Wuertz has been a middle relief guy for the Cubbies since 2004. He has been solid at times and unbearable on other occasions. This move was to make room for the talent coming up from the minors and the recent acquistions. I wish Wuertz the best of luck in 2009 and beyond.

I believe these moves will free of some cash for the Cubs to possibly use later. I hope this cash can be used to acquire the domant arm of Jake Peavy but I will not hold my breath.

Lou Piniella

I thought I would give some incite on the wonderful leader of the Chicago Cubs. I am a big believer in the fact that a ball club plays as good as the man running it. In my eyes Lou Piniella is one of the top managers in the MLB. He has gotten a bad rap with his outrage at some umpires and past altercations with players and media persons. I contribute this to frustration and not being happy with where he was so like anyone he showed his emotions. He has found his element with the Cubs organization and is focused on building a World Series champion. He comes into this year with just over 1600 wins and one World Series ring. The Chicago Cubs are 5th organization that he has coached. He is nearing the end of his glorious, (maybe) Hall of Fame career. He has coached one of the best teams in MLB history as he led the Seattle Mariners to 116 wins. He also is the one who started the ball rolling in Tampa Bay, who just got to their franchises first World Series last year. I am hoping 2009 will give Sweet Lou his second World Series ring.

The Starters

Well in anticipation of the upcoming season I am going to try and figure out which lineup Lou Piniella will chose. Coming into this year we have many more left handed bats which will make our lineup more balanced. The addition of Aaron Miles, Milton Bradley, Joey Gathright, and Paul Bako may prove to be great or a huge bust. I really did not like to see Derosa traded because every team needs that guy who can do anything the manager asks him. Aaron Miles is supposed to take of this role. I hope he can pick up the role quickly. Milton Bradley is going to be a huge upgrade in right field. His left handed bat is added power to the starting lineup. The only down side to him is the worry about his attitude getting in the way. His past manager has taken his side saying that he should not be a problem in the club house. Joey Gathright is one of the fastest players in the MLB. I would love to see him come on strong and have a career year because his speed would be very helpful in center field. Below is my "probable" Cubs lineup.

1. Alfonso Soriano
2. Ryan Theriot
3. Derrek Lee
4. Aramis Ramirez
5. Milton Bradley
6. Geovany Soto
7. Aaron Miles
8. Fukudome
9. Pitcher

While this lineup seems solid I hope Lou will adjust some things to get the most out of the team. I believe Mike Fontenot is ready to be a start in the Major Leagues. I see him and Theriot being a great combination up the middle of the field since they played with each other in college. I also took a page out of our rival's playbook with moving the pitcher up to the 8th spot. I did this for one just to mix things up a little bit and two because I grew up with the mentality of the 9th hitter being a second leadoff man. I would only do this with Joey Gathright because I believe he is the only one fast enough to pull this off. Obviously you also have the option of Reed Johnson and Fukudome in CF so I would switch the lineup back to the pitcher being the 9 hitter in that case. I moved D Lee down in the order due to his lack of production last year. Below is my hopeful starting lineup.

1. Alfonso Soriano LF
2. Ryan Theriot SS
3. Milton Bradley RF
4. Aramis Ramirez 3B
5. Geovany Soto C
6. Derrek Lee 1st
7. Mike Fontenot 2ND
8. Pitcher
9. Joey Gathright CF


What do you think??

Chicago Cubs Starting Rotation

As of February 1st the Cubs have not offically set their 5 pitchers in the starting rotation. The rotation won't see many adjustments in the first four spots of the rotation are set by last years first four starters. These spots include Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster, and Rich Harden. I listed them in no particular order because I think Lou will move people around in the rotation order. Obviously Carlos Zambrano will be the Ace of the staff. He has been the staple of the cubs rotation since 2001. Rich Harden is a second year Cub coming into this year. He has had some arm trouble this offseason so I am hopeful that he can have an injury free season but it seems that Lou may need to give him more rest than usual. Ryan dempster is coming off of a career year. He lead the Cubs with the lowest ERA and was tied with the most wins. Dempster bleeds the Cubs so I expect him to have another good year and help the Cubs win some games. Next we got Ted Lilly. If we could get the Lilly from a few years ago the rotation would be the strongest in the MLB but to me it seems that we never know what we are going to get from him. The final spot in the rotation is going to be an epic battle between Sean Marshall, Jeff Samardzija, and Aaron Heilman. Marshall and Heilman seem to be the front runners for this spot as the media is giving them the most attention. I would rather like to see Samardzija in the rotation because he showed signs of greatness. Whoever gets it I hope they can keep the Cubs in games and not have that final spot in the rotation be a weak spot.

Who do you think should get the final spot?? Leave me a comment!!

Cubs Payroll

The Chicago Cubs are being looked at as a spend happy ball club lately but in all reality they are just trying to buy quality players to achieve their goals. All baseball fans know of the Yankees and how they can buy whoever they want. To me this just gets old and frankly I am sick of it. I appreciate what Cubs' management is doing because it shows me that they are trying to get that World Series ring at all costs. You don't see the Cubs going after anybody and everybody. I see them as carefully selecting the pieces to this never ending puzzle. Some of you may argue that you hear the Cubs' name everytime a big name becomes a free agent but I just see this as the Cubs looking over every possibility. At the moment the Cubs 2009 payroll is estimated to be around 138 million dollars. The only figure I could find on the Yankees is 201 million dollars and that was only for the 16 players signed on their current roster. I don't think the Cubs have over paid in many areas. The only players I could see an argument with that statement is Soriano and Fukudome. The same people wouldn't be saying that if Soriano could stay healthy and if Fukudome produced the second half of the year. All in all I hope those people are proved wrong this year when both these players come back into their own element.

Cubs' History

The Chicago Cubs have a rich history of baseball in their franchise. They are considered one of the oldest teams in Major League Baseball. The organization was started in 1870 when it joined an amateur league. The club then did not recognize a mascot and was named only the Chicago Base Ball Club. 1870 was the first and last year the Cubs were in the amateur league. In this year the Chicago Base Ball Club stop the dynasty power from Brooklyn to become the leagues last champion. In 1871 the club entered into a professional league called the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. Since it was a requirement for the teams to have a mascot or name the club took over the name of the Chicago White Stockings. In this year the White Stockings were one of the top teams all season and placed second in the league’s standings. This was the year of the Chicago Fire and it destroyed much of the teams equipment and ball field. Due to these circumstances the team had to be disbanded so the city could be rebuilt.
The White Stockings return to action in the 1874 season with the National Association and were not very successful due to the Boston Red Stockings dominating the whole league. This league was very unethical and many contracts were breached by contract jumping. The owner of the White Stockings was so outraged he went in pursuit of starting a new league with stronger restrictions on the way the league would be ran. This gave birth to the National Base Ball League and with the league change so did the name of Chicago’s team. The new name that appeared was the Chicago National League Ball Club. The owner of Chicago’s team went after some of the games biggest stars and came up big before the team ever played a single game in the first season of the league. In the next three seasons Chicago would end up being the league’s top team. Since Chicago knew of another league called the American Association so they decided to play each other in what would later become the World Series. The team that Chicago played in each one of those seasons was the St. Louis Brown Stockings. We all can see now where the St. Louis vs. Chicago rivalry was born. Chicago never won the games against St. Louis, though they tied on one occasion. Eventually the American Association disbanded and the National Base Ball League became the nation’s top league.
In the next ten years the club was led by Cap Anson. Cap is the first superstar that Chicago and the league ever saw. He would lead the club to 6 championships in those ten years. At this point in time the club had been given the name the Colts. Some referred to the Colts and Anson’s Colts because of how good he was. Anson collected 3000 hits in his career and when he retired the club changed its name to the Chicago Orphans. This is due to the fact of losing their main leader and best player.
In 1900 the American Base Ball League started up as a new type of the American Association. This league rivaled Chicago’s league for the years to come and would eventually join into what we see today as the National and American leagues. Chicago also started up a team along with the American Base Ball League and took Chicago’s old nickname the Chicago White Stockings. In the years to come the Chicago’s National and American League teams would rival each other to try and gain more popularity with fans. In 1902 the Chicago Orphans were sold to a new owner and the club became known as the Chicago Cubs. This name change would benefit the Cubs greatly and they produced many winning seasons in the future years. In 1906 the Cubs made it to the World Series where they would play their inner city rival the Chicago White Stockings. The Cubs would lose to their rival in this World Series but would eventually record more World Series victories than them.
In 1916, the Chicago Cubs received their first stadium. This field would become known as today’s modern day Wrigley Field. The name changed from Cubs Park to Weegham Park to finally settling on Wrigley Field in 1921. The name came from their new owners who produced Wrigley Bubblegum. This field was a favorite for millions of fans over the years but has never seen a World Series victory made by the Cubs. This fact currently eats away at the minds of current Cubs fans as they wait for that victory to appear. One reason many think the Cubs have not won a World Series is because of the infamous CURSE. The Curse involves a man that came to the 1945 Chicago Cubs World Series appearance. This may not seem unusual at all but you must know that he brought his goat with him. This made Mr. Wrigley very mad and made the man leave the stadium because he said the goat smelled horrible. The man believed he should be able to stay because he had bought a ticket for his goat. Mr. Wrigley still insisted that the man be ejected. While leaving the game the man shouted the words, “ The Cubs ain’t going to win no more!!!” He was proved correct when the Cubs lost that game and every game after that to lose the World Series title. Since 1945 the Cubs have not made it back to the World Series. The Curse lives on to this day.

World Baseball Classic 2009

2009 is a lucky year. Its lucky because its the year that baseball fans get to watch major leaguers in a different type of setting. This setting is called the World Baseball Classic. This event is one of baseball's biggest events as it is the players playing for the country's pride and not for the next paycheck. To me the World Baseball Classic is pure baseball not tainted by steroid issues or greedy players. It shows how the players can come together to fight for their country's pride. 2007 was the first year of the World Baseball Classic. It received mixed feelings from players and fans as it cuts out some of the players' spring training. Some major league clubs made statements in 2007 saying that if their players missed camp they would be fined. 2009 must be a different story as I have not seen any reports from clubs doing this. I hope that the clubs can work around this great event and let the players voluntarily play for their country.

The Chicago Cubs will be well represented in the World Baseball Classic. AS of right now they have 11 players on 6 different country's roster. This is great and I can't wait to see some of the games. I will definitely have my DVR set to record most games.

I am interested in what you guys think about the World Baseball Classic please leave me a few comments on the topic.


I will post the Cubs players and their country at a later time.

Chicago Cubs Outfield Situation

For the upcoming season the Chicago Cubs are looking to piece together their outfield. There are many different combinations that could be used. The one spot in the outfield that is solid is left field. Left field will be occupied by past All Star Alfonso Soriano. Soriano was hindered last year and the year before by injuries while still producing big numbers for the Cubs. If he can piece together 145-150 games in 2009 the sky is the limit for Soriano. His bat will be a huge part of the Cubs' success. Though one down side to Soriano is his lack of All Star fielding. I believe if he could piece together an injury free year we would see his errors go down and putouts go up.

In right field we have a new option named Milton Bradley. Bradley was signed by the Cubs this off season and should be a great improvement both in the field and at the plate for the Chicago Cubs. He just might be the left handed bat Piniella has been looking for. Bradley is also a very crafty fielder. His only down side is the mental part of the game. He has been seen as a bother in some clubhouses but Piniella usually handles these type of players well. Micah Hoffpauir will be the secondary option for both right and left field. Hoffpauir really came into his own element last year doing very well in pinch hit situations. If he continues to progress he should be a great asset for the Cubbies.

Now we come to the big battle over center field. This battle will be between newly signed Joey Gathright, Kosuke Fukudome, and Reed Johnson. Joey Gathright has all the tools to be a great player for the Cubs because of his lightning quick speed and great fielding ability. If anything he will be the Cubs best option for a pinch runner as Felix Pie is not a Cubs anymore. Reed Johnson is the hardcore player every team needs. He can play good defense and when he gets hot will be a top notch hitter. I will never forget the catch he made last year diving head first into the brick and ivy in center field. It was just incredible!! I hope he gets his shot along with the others to be the starter but in all reality it is possible for there to be a platoon of all three players. I hope that it won't be this way the whole year so that way one of them can get in a groove but its all up to who's going to be ready to play.

Like all my blog entries I hope to hear some feedback from the readers!!!

Paul Bako Returns!!

Well as of yesterday Paul Bako is back in a Chicago Cubs uniform. Bako played for the Cubs in the 2003 and 2004 season as a back up catcher. He returns to the Cubbies in the same position so he can back up Geovany Soto. The Cubs have been in pursuit of a good backup catcher all post season as they lost Henry Blanco to free agency. Paul Bako is a very good defensive catcher and will know some of the guys on the Chicago Cubs well so this signing makes sense. Even Bako is not seen as a great hitter, I could see Bako getting in some games as the starter. This is due to Bako being a left handed bat. The Cubs have been wanting to install more lefties on the roster because they were very right hand heavy last year. While Bako may not be suited to play another position full time, he can still get those big pinch hit appearances that is crucial to a World Series team. The contract between the Cubs and Bako will be in the neighborhood of half a million dollars for one year. We all know that the Cubs are desperate for that World Series ring so don't be surprised to continue to hear more acquisitions from the North Siders.

If any of you readers out there have thoughts on whether or not you like/dislike this trade please chime in as I would love to hear your opinions.

I wish Bako the best this year and hope he can help the Cubs get that World Series ring. We Cub fans need it!!!!!

Cubs Rumors!!!

A new rumor is floating around about the Cubs looking to trade Hill to the Orioles. The rumor just came to view by the public yesterday as a Baltimore newspaper published an article on the topic. After reading the article it seems that the O's are very interested in Hill and seems a good chance for him to get moved. The O's are familar with Rich Hill because two of their coaches worked with Hill in the Cubs farm system. I don't quite know what to think because Hill has been out of the Cubs rotation for awhile but when he was in it he was stellar. We really could use the Rich Hill of old in the rotation this year but it would be too big of a gamble and we would miss out on other options if he came back. So maybe its time he moved on. Please leave me some comments on what you think should be done.

The article from the Baltimore Sun can be viewed here.

Future Article Possibilities

I am trying to come up with some ideas of articles that I can post on my website and was hoping to get some feedback from some of you folks that visit my page. Here is what I got so far:

History of The Chicago Cubs- An article on the way the Chicago Cubs came to be the team they are today. This will include dates and facts on the Chicago Cubs.

History of Wrigley Field- An article that will show where the Chicago Cubs played at before Wrigley Field. It will then go on to give incite on how their current field came about. It will also show how Wrigley field evolved over time.

Information on The Ricketts Family- The Ricketts family is the new buyer of the Chicago Cubs. This article will present some information on them and their background.

Profile of Lou Piniella- The one and only LOUUU!! This article will hopefully enlighten the readers on some of Lou's life.

THE CURSE!!!- A look at the famous Curse on the Chicago Cubs. This article will summarize how the curse came about and how it has effected the Chicago Cubs.

Cubs, Cards Rivalry- One of the biggest rivalries in the MLB. I will attempt to show where this rivalry started.

Cubs Hall of Famers- In this article I will give a quick profile of all the Cubs Hall of Famers, including stats and the main reason they made the Hall of Fame. I will also try and include pictures.

100 years without a World Series- This article will focus on the 100 year drought of a championship in Chicago. I will their overall record and how close they have been to winning their next World Series.

Harry Carey's Legacy- Harry loved the Cubbies and gave everyone listening a great experience. I will highlight on how Harry Carey is still involved with the Chicago Cubs.

Player Profiles- I will give a quick profile of all the current Chicago Cubs players. This profile will include major stats and a little bit about their career.

History of Go Cubs Go!- The song everyone loves to hear while at Wrigley Field. I want to give the readers information on who wrote the song and how it came about.

Why the Cubs?- An article on why the Cubs is the mascot. There will be a brief history of the Chicago Cubs' previous mascots.

Wrigley Field Dimensions- In this article I will give the dimensions of Wrigley Field. I will then compare its dimensions against other ballparks in the MLB.

Minor League Affiliates- I will list and describe the current Minor League system for the Chicago Cubs. I will also show how the system works.

Cubs Record Holders- I will give a list of current Cubs records and who holds them. If more information is available I may go into details with the major records.

Cubs Trade Cedeno and Olson for Heilman

The latest trade by the Chicago Cubs has many fans puzzled on what is yet to come. The trade sent the Mariners, Ronny Cedeno and Garrett Olson, and received Aaron Heilman. This puzzled me because I believed that since the new owners were in place that they would go after Jake Peavy once more and the Padres had Olson on their radar. I have not heard anymore rumors of whats to come but I believe Heilman will be an asset to the Cubs. He has started and pitched in relief in the Major Leagues so either way he can help the Cubbies out. I just hope that this does not kill the Peavy trade because the Cubs would benefit far more from him than Heilman.

Tribune Sells the Cubs

Its not offical yet but the Tribune has selected the Ricketts to become the future owners of the Chicago Cubs. I see this as a HUGE step for the organization because our aggressiveness in the free agent and trade market has suffered. The Cubs are continuing to struggle to get that World Series ring on their finger and it is going to take money to do that. Now that the new owner has been tapped the Cubs will hopefully gear up their attempts to land the next big name. Which I hope is Peavy from the San Diego Padres. The addition of Peavy to the Cubs can only be done with extra money and approval from ownership.

Post #1

This blog will be dedicated to the 2009 Chicago Cubs. GO CUBBIES!!! As we have said for the past 100 years, " maybe this is the year."