Thursday, April 30, 2009
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!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
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.
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!
Monday, April 27, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, April 20, 2009
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.
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