Archive for the ‘Blog Entries’ Category

The first title of this post was “Glass Half Empty vs. Glass Shattered Against Wall,” but I decided that was a bit too harsh, despite yesterday’s awful Cubs loss to the D’Backs that guaranteed C.O.B.R.A. the series over the Cubs. The Cubs looked beaten on Tuesday after the first chance they had to score instead felt the inside of three infielders’ gloves. Sadly, maybe it’s exactly what we need. We who thought the Cubs had won the division in May. We who still remember how many Cubs All-Stars there were this year. We need to be pummeled by Doug Davis tonight, the latest pitcher that can join a club of growing “shoulda beat ‘em on paper” list.

Rock bottom awaits. For the 2008 Cubs it could be at 15 games over .500. In the words of Joe Mantegna…we can only hope.

I don’t care what happens tonight, which feels nice after being so angry after Monday’s loss and so confused after Tuesday’s meltdown. Rich Harden’s no-hitter plus no walks or hit batsmen (plural of Batman?) would have lasted who-knows-how-long if Mark Wegner (yes, that Mark Wegner) hadn’t taken his payback without having to lift a finger. Not lifting a finger actually was the payback, which made the only thing perfect on Monday the irony.

I’m taking some solace this morning, though, because I’m not the only one going through the ringer. That’s one of my favorite threads on our message board in awhile. It reminds me of the perfect qualities of a Cubs fan: fear, optimism, and hatred of optimism.

In today’s episode we were oddly upbeat despite talking about the 1-4 start to the 2nd half. I can’t explain that any more than I can (accurately) explain the Cubs’ troubles, other than to say that I am loosed by not caring about one game. Okay, if the Cubs win, I will definitely care and will probably run through my house singing the guitar intro to “Where the Streets Have No Name.” But we will see. In the meantime I only want to think about the Cubs playing at Wrigley, where D-Lee has 100x less chance of grounding into a 4-6-3.

UPDATE: Congrats to Brenda, the winner of our eBay auction!

Who hasn’t dreamed of hosting a podcast? A recent study showed that Podcaster ranked 4th overall among dream jobs, right between Professional Athlete and Orange County Based Reality Star D-bag, and there is a reason for this…Podcasting is awesome.

Well now you have a chance to make this once unfathomable dream come true thanks to the Cubscast Fantasy Experience! It’s simple, check out our ebay auction (ends Monday July 21), bid to your heart’s content, and you then you just might win the type of fantasy experience that before now only Menards and the Cubs Ground Crew could offer. And best of all, you won’t have to rake a thing!

The highest bidder in the Cubscast Fantasy Experience auction will win the following:

Co-Hosting Duties on an Upcoming Episode of Cubscast

A Cubscast E-mail Address to Answer Listener Mail and Talk to Your New Fans

The Honor of Picking the Winner of a Cubscast Photo Caption Contest

Your very own Cubscast Homepage Post to share your thoughts on the Cubs, and call out your Enemies

A Cubscast Prize Pack including a T-shirt and an Autographed Picture of Sheps’ Kidney Stone

Sneetch will say “Ah-Geovany!” on your Answering Machine’s Outgoing Message

The Right to Give a Nickname to a Cubs Player of your choice that will then be used on Cubscast for the rest of the Season

Money raised from the auction will not only buy you a weeks worth of podcaster fame and fun, it’ll also help support Cubscast, so bid like you mean it! Auction ends on Monday July 21st at 11:00 a.m.

UPDATE 7/8: Hendry got the message and wasted no time in trading for SP Rich Harden

After recording today’s episode of Cubscast, Sheps, Sneetch and I debated how important homefield advantage was for the World Series this year. Being the wise pessimist that he is, Sheps claimed that there was no way a National League pennant-winning Cubs team would clinch on the road — that it would take at least 6 games.

I just hope his prediction doesn’t refer to home games that ultimately get played at Miller Park.

The Brewers put the league on notice yesterday and today by swinging a deal to get the best pitcher that will be traded during this season, C.C. Sabathia. Don’t tell me his record this season is poor or that he’s having a bad season — he isn’t. Before becoming a Brewer he led the AL in K’s and was 2nd in innings pitched and complete games. Complete games are like 5 for 5 days at the plate. You don’t see it very often at all (the Cubs only had 2 last season), and for me that is the scariest proposition about our rivals landing this guy. He is going to make their bullpen that much more stronger and fresh, and in this division of equally matched teams, I have a hard time predicting that the Brewers won’t overtake the Cubs at some point.

The worst of all would be if the Brewers find a way to resign Sabathia to a long-term deal. It’s unlikely, but so were their decisions to give big payouts to Eric Gagne, Ryan Braun, Jeff Suppan, Mike Cameron, and even Jason Kendall. The Brewers payroll is quickly approaching where the Cubs were a couple seasons before shelling out $300 million after finishing last in ‘06.

This team is for real, and all my previous fantasies of the Cubs taking the division on the final day of August are dashed. Three weeks ago, on June 15th, the Cubs won on getaway day in Toronto, reaching 20 games above .500 for the first time in 2008. That same day the Brewers won, putting them 3 games above .500 but still a full 8 games out of first place.

It looked like the Cubs had the division in hand. Now that we assuredly don’t, let’s hope the Cubs can prove to the rest of the league that our hot start wasn’t a fluke, with or without the services of another starting pitcher.

It was announced this weekend that the Chicago Cubs are going to have 7 players represent the National League in this year’s All-Star Game on July 15th. Seven Cubs! By mid-July it’s normally tough to throw a dart and hit 7 of them healthy enough to take the field, let alone represent something that isn’t a pain relief spray or tablet. And while the health thing is debatable on at least one Cubs All-Star, here they are, in all their glory:

Ryan Dempster - SP
Kosuke Fukudome - OF (starter)
Aramis Ramirez - 3B
Alfonso Soriano - OF (starter)
Geovany Soto - C (starter)
Kerry Wood - RP
Carlos Zambrano - SP

Congrats to each of them, and to Cubs GM Jim Hendry, who was directly involved with bringing at least 5 of these players to the Cubs. We don’t often sing his praises, but Hendry has bolstered the club especially in the last 2 years, and has made the Cubs more competitive with his deals each year since he started. Plus, it’s no secret that the day before the 2002 trade of Todd Hundley was one of the darkest days in Cubs history, or what The Rock would call rock bottom. Whenever the Cubs GM retires or moves on, he should be given a room full of plaques for that move. Not to mention any of the other moves that happened in order to bring many of the above players to the North Side.

However, there’s a few duds in every box, so since I had some time I went back and selected a few players that Hendry helped acquire that will represent no one in any All-Star game this year or likely any year. They play the same positions as the talented Cubs players selected by fans, other players, and Rockies coach Clint Hurdle.

Cliff Bartosh - RP
Freddy Bynum - OF (starter)
Todd Dunwoody - OF
Wade Miller - SP (starter)
Josh Paul - C
Neifi Perez - 3B
Les Walrond - SP

Okay, as sad as that list is, I have to admit that I only gained more confidence in Hendry in spending a few minutes looking at the lists of transactions from 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Jim and the Cubs front office drafted both Tim Lincecum and Micah Owings in the late rounds, but they both refused to sign. If they had (especially Lincecum), maybe the Cubs could have sent 8.

Anyway, best of luck to these players at Yankees Stadium (and at the skating rink, respectively) and thanks to Jim Hendry and his staff for working to better this franchise. They unquestionably have done that.

Perhaps it was the most fitting way for a nearly 70-year tradition to end, or perhaps even God (like Lou Piniella) couldn’t stomach an exhibition game in the middle of the season, but just a few minutes ago the Hall of Fame Game at Doubleday Field was rained out. Five minutes later, though, God was removed from the equation when WGN TV returned to its program currently in progress…Maury.

Now there’s some TV you can’t ignore. Anyway, in today’s episode (mp3) we discussed some recent controversy that was stirred up by the creator of SavetheFameGame.com, Kristian Connolly, who recently called out the Cubs and specifically Lou Piniella for some of the Cubs manager’s comments on the tough travel situation the Cubs are in.

“The Hall of Fame Game is about something much bigger than the 2008 Chicago Cubs, and I hope that they understand and respect that on Monday. It is also disappointing to learn that the Cubs are intentionally making the trip to Cooperstown as logistically difficult as they possible could on themselves, and I hope that that they don’t expect sympathy from baseball fans because of their poor planning.” — Connolly

I love that this person goes out of their way to insult the Cubs’ travel plans. Were the NY Mets and their fans sending letters to the commissioner of baseball when the Cubs took an Amtrak train from Washington DC to New York two seasons ago? They could have flown, Kristian. They could have flown but they made plans that were more convenient for a major league baseball team. Big deal. I hope the next time you ask someone to pick you up from the airport (which I assume happens a lot), they arrive with a tray of pickles. Even if you like pickles that would be disconcerting.

In any case, I hope that Kristian directs some ire towards WGN. I’m not even sure if baseball fans nationwide are getting an afternoon of 14-year olds being accused of the same nasty stuff that is airing on WGN here in Chicago…but either way…couldn’t they have planned to show the Cubs Forever special again instead of this garbage? Show some respect.

First off, a big thanks to Alex Goldfayn for interviewing Cubscast host Andrew Figgins (”Lou”) on the excellent Technology Tailor show on WGN Radio this past Saturday evening. Alex is a longtime friend of the show and we very much appreciate his support and generosity! If you’d like to hear the interview, it is available here.

Also as mentioned in today’s episode, we are asking everyone that has a couple minutes to write a review of our show in iTunes. Whether it’s positive or negative, and whether you’ve been listening for years or to your first episode today, we would very much appreciate your feedback in iTunes. Our goal is to have 100 reviews by the end of June, and as of today there are just 29, so we need your help!

To write a review of the show you can visit the Cubscast page in iTunes and click on “Write a Review” or you can follow this direct link to begin writing a review of Cubscast.

Thanks for supporting the show and Go Cubs!

In yesterday’s episode I mentioned not being impressed by the latest Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was one of those rare films that is bad enough that I don’t want to dissuade anyone else from seeing it because of how satisfying it is to make fun of it. So by all means, go see it.

Before you do, though, take another look at the title of the film and decide how good you think it could be. Now take it down a couple notches and insert Ewoks and you’re getting warmer.

Anyway, I had the pleasure last night of being greeted by none other than Harrison Ford when I was searching for the start time for Friday’s game vs. the Rockies. That’s him, dressed as his most famous character, taking up more than half of the May 22nd box on the Cubs.com schedule for May.

It appears that every MLB club is in on the Indiana Jones calendar ad, an ad that is simply supposed to be a reminder that the movie was released at midnight on Thursday May 22nd. To those of us that braved those two hours of so-called filmmaking, though, the ad is more like a giant rubber snake that we irrationally fear.

Eat your heart out, George Lucas.