Posts tagged ‘derrek lee’

Yesterday Cubscast was fortunate to be invited to cover a charity event hosted by Derrek Lee and Mark Buehrle, and it was a blast. It was organized by Charity Wines, an organization that has helped raised over $1 million for charity to date by partnering with some of the best and most generous players out there.

The entire event was very relaxed, which was nice. Both D-Lee and Buehrle set the tone as they were in good spirits, so to speak, and looked like they were having a lot of fun as they joked about the Cubs/Sox series at Wrigley.

As you might have heard in our latest episode (download mp3), I was able to ask the Cubs first baseman a few quick questions about his recent hot streak at the plate and how fans can support his 1st Touch Foundation. I was a little nervous and stumbled through the first question (the audio in the episode had to be edited), but felt a bit better after D-Lee got the wine-making joke.

Speaking of, the wine was solid. The bottle itself is awesome and well-worth the $12-15 purchase price.

Please show your support for the work D-Lee is doing, and enjoy a glass of Caberlee!

Special thanks to Gabriel from Up All Day who helped us out by taking photos. Click on the photos below to see a larger version.

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.

Back in March when Spring Training was only a few weeks old, ESPN’s John Kruk (it’s weird not calling him Fried Food’s John Kruk) predicted that not only would the Chicago Cubs win the Word Series in 2008, but that Derrek Lee would be the NL MVP this season. I admit that I scoffed at the remarks. What does a guy know that only sees a handful of games and a boatload of packaged highlight clips? Something I didn’t.

Derrek Lee is all-world right now, and in a few week’s time has solidified himself as hands down the Cubs best player on both sides of the ball. He’s homered in 5 straight games at Wrigley, and in the last 10 games he’s raised his average 30 points, drove in 12 runs, scored 11 times, and has more walks than strikeouts. In those games the Cubs are 8-2, due in no small part to Lee’s prowess.

His home run stroke is back, as is his uncanny ability to come through at the most important times. It’s a shame that there’s no way to measure good momentum, because Derrek is leading every league in that category. And I haven’t even mentioned his glove.

The difference between Lee’s glove this year and last is subtle but readily apparent. And Sheps pointed out to me that D-Lee won the Gold Glove in 2007. They should give him one for both hands if he keeps up this spectacular defense. He won last Sunday’s finale in Philadelphia with his glove, making an incredible play to force extra innings by grabbing a smash by Carlos Ruiz and beating Ruiz to the bag. In Pittsburgh a few days prior Lee prevented the winning run from scoring (also in the 9th) on a surprise bunt by Jose Bautista. Brian Bixler was napping at 3rd and should have tried to score, but he had to see Derrek aggressively charging that ball, opting to stay put.

Those are two examples of game-winning defense by Lee, and his play in the 9th inning has been superb, but his play in the first 8 innings deserves praise as well. That difference between this year and last — he’s not only making the Gold Glove caliber plays…he’s making all the insane plays that even Gold Glovers have problems with. So to Derrek, a tip of the cap to you, sir, your play has reminded me why I love this game. And to Kruk…I apologize, and we’ll talk later about your other prediction.

Dear Everyone,

If I am TiVo-ing the game, leave me the hell alone.

One time Lou got really mad at me because I said “as a friend, if I know you are going to watch today’s game tonight, and I know it is a waste of time, do you want me to tell you?” A moral conundrum, I know. But the simple and obvious answer is “Hell No, Sally!”

Sister, please. If I am TiVo-ing the game, leave me the hell alone.

Here is how my day went today, Opening Day 2008:

9:00 PST – Arrive at work where boss is Cubs fan. Tell him and others in my office that I do not want to know anything about the game. Email same message to brother, dad, friends.

9:24 – receive email from my brother who says Cubs are losing 13-1.

9:27 – receive email from my father who says Cubs are losing 13-0. Original.

11:20 – PST discover there is a rain delay, close browser windows for the rest of the afternoon.

11:20-2:20 – Get bored, re-open browser, sit around trying not to go to ESPN.com, Cubs.com, Cubscast.com, blogs, etc out of sad and pathetic muscle reflex. It’s harder than you think.

2:20 – My boss comes out of his office angry. I run away shouting LALALALALA so he won’t say anything.

2:22 – receive email from friend with subject line CUBS L - ask co-worker to screen email for any game info. There is just a link to a 100 year curse article. Great.

2:23 – Receive the following text message – “I know you don’t wan’t to know anything but if someone is injured do you want to know then?”

2:24 – My boss says “Do you want to know if Zambrano leaves the game due to injury? I mean hypothetically”

2:25 – Hear the 7th inning stretch. Assume Zambrano was good enough to make it into the 7th before getting injured so the Cubs must be winning or at the very least, tied. Leave office before the end of the stretch because if I hear “Let’s get some runs” I will know they are losing.

2:55 – People start to gather in office to watch an exciting finish of some sort. I decide to use the bathroom. For an hour. Now I know there has either been another rain delay or it is extra innings. Plus, single ply toilet paper is not fun, even if your name is not Kaz Matsui.

4:00 – Some kid with a cubs hat randomly walks into my office and shakes his head at my boss and me. I assume this could have to do with Zambrano’s injury. Perhaps he is on the 240 day disabled list.

5:45 – I have made it all day! 15 minutes until the end of work, when I can go home to watch the game. I have to instant message someone for work purposes. I see the following status message on AIM (see picture above. If you can’t read it, it’s an AIM status message that says ‘effing cubs’).

So people, please. Until President Obama makes Opening Day a national holiday (paid, of course) leave me the hell alone for 24 hours. That is all I ask.