The View From The Bleachers

Get your pick in for the big competition. Just leave you full name and e-mail and your pick for the day in the comment section. You are allowed to pick the same player as someone else. Valuable Prizes for the winner. Entries so far are as follows:

Joe: Moises Alou
Dave: Aramis Ramirez
Shaun: Corey Patterson
Sloth: Sammy Sosa
D-Trick: Derrek Lee
James Crockett: Kerry Wood
Mike D (94YAC): Todd Walker
Brian Hipp: Moises Alou

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 2:21 AM

Thursday, April 29, 2004
Southpaw Swap

The Cubs acquired Jon Connolly from Detroit in exchange for Felix Sanchez.

At first I thought they traded Jesus Sanchez and I was dancing the Marimba. I thought Hendry had polished a turd and traded it for a big fat gold nugget. The fact that they gave up Felix Sanchez made me explore it further. Looks like they traded big fat gold nugget-like objects which could still turn out to be pyrite. They're both young lefties who were highly regarded in their systems.
Sanchez is 22, Connolly is 20.
Ted Nye ranks Sanchez #369 (#15 on the Cubs' list). He puts Connolly at 116 overall, 3rd on the Tigers' list.
TigersCentral has this to say of Connolly:
"Great Control. Led all minors in ERA (in 2003, 1.41)...can't break glass with his fastball...more like Jamie Moyer than Jamie Walker."

He K'd 104 in 166 innings in '03, 50 in 85 1/3 in '02, both A ball.
After looking at all that I'd say we made a lateral move. Younger, but with lower strikeout numbers, and minor league K numbers are a pretty good indication of whether a guy's going to have success in the majors. If he improves his K rate this year, I will make a smiley face. If the numbers go down, I will make a sad face.

Written by David M. Beyer @ 5:09 PM

Pick to click contest starts tomorrow

Get your picks in now for the contest that starts with Friday's game against the evil redbirds. There are prizes for the winner so make sure you get your picks in each day. If will just leave your full name and e-mail address in the comment section along with your pick for that day before gametime and I will make sure it gets entered into the contest. You cannot pick the same player twice and the winner will be the player of the game for that day. Good luck all. Get those pick in and go cubbies. In the event that my comment section fails when you try to get your pick in, just e-mail me.

Prizes
The first place winner will have his choice of the following: Autograph from Ernie Banks (Not in mint condition, but it's the sentimental value that counts), Cubs Wrigley field plaque, or a $15 gift certificate to MLB.com shops. 2nd and 3rd place winners will pick in order from the remaining prizes.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 10:41 AM

Pole 1-0 as Cubs Manager

The Cubs avoided an embarassing sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks with a 4-3 win.

On the plus side, Alex Gonzalez continued his mystifying ability to hit clutch home runs, Greg Maddux pitched six solid innings, leadoff man Todd Walker got on base three times and scored twice, and Joe Borowski got a Mitch Williams-esque save.

On the minus side, Steve Finley somehow hit three home runs, one of which was served up by LaTroy Hawkins in the 8th, the Cubs managed all of six hits, and Maddux allowed 8 baserunners and 2 homers.

Interim manager Dick Pole served in Baker's stead while the latter served the suspension he received during the altercation with CB Bucknor. Does anyone know if that's Pole's first game as manager?

Written by David M. Beyer @ 1:11 AM

Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Reflections of a tattered soul

The last two games the Cubs "played" have resulted in two losses and a run differential of -18. Both the offense and the pitching staff have struggled. Not too many good things happened (besides Hollandsworth upping his slugging percentage to 1.000).
The six game winning streak the Cubs rattled off just prior to--wait a minute, let me rephrase that--just before these last two games lulled me into a place where naked ladies floated by on pillowy clouds and cars never broke down. Suddenly, the naked ladies turned into harpies, the clouds turned dark and stormy, and all the cars were Edsels.
This morning I recognized the melancholia with which I was stricken; it was the feeling a puppy must have when a kindly new owner, pockets bulging with Snausages, takes it home from the pound, only to be stolen from its backyard the next day and sold to Mike Tyson. Hopes risen, hopes dashed. It was the same feeling I had last year after the Marlins series, and in 1998 after Trachsel's departure in his best start in memory against the Braves in the playoffs. It was the feeling of hopelessness.
The circumstances were different this time, though; this kind of shoulder-sloper shouldn't hit until the playoffs, right? If this is what being a Red Sox fan is like, I'll take the Cubs.
Tonight, even if the Cubs lose 6-3, I expect I'll go back to the feeling of cautious optimism I had entering the season. The Johnson/Webb games have ripped away my giddy euphoria, my hubris, and and replaced it with a grim realism not unlike a hangover. Hangovers go away with time, and so will my irrational fear that my unbridled JOY in watching the Cubs will be punished tenfold.

No stats on these last two games. They were played in Arizona; I'm going to pretend they were poorly scheduled spring training games and stare at this awful picture of Tuffy Rhodes.

Written by David M. Beyer @ 5:28 PM

Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Death of a Hero

By now you've probably all heard about the death in combat of former Arizona Cardinal Pat Tillman. Half a year after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, he joined the Army to defend his country. He was killed in action in Afghanistan last Thursday.

SI.com ran this story on Tillman. It has a nice picture of Tillman in uniform.

This guy gave up one of the coolest gigs in the world--one that pays millions, to boot--to defend his country. He sought no publicity and didn't duck combat like prior celebrities (including one of my favorites, Elvis). He joined the army because he felt it was the best way to keep his family and country safe. He did something I didn't have the guts to do, and he left behind a salary several orders of magnitude greater than mine.

The NFL ought to retire this guy's number.

Others have said it better than me, so I won't go on any longer. I tip my hat to a hero.

Written by David M. Beyer @ 6:39 PM

Thursday, April 22, 2004
Barry Bonds, Steroids, Etc.

For the past few years all the buzz around the Major League Baseball and sports in general has been surrounding steroids. Players like Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa have had their names thrown into the mix of the talks. Everyone looks at them when they first began playing and them now. They say that, "Oh, they are just so much bigger now." As a result, they must be on steroids. I think that is just stupid. How can we as Americans treat people that way? It goes against everything that this country is founded on. People can work out and get the same size Bonds and Sosa are, the only thing steroids do is make the process easier and faster. From everything I hear, Bonds is a gym nut and works out all the time. He also has developed as a hitter over time. Players grow into HR power. Young kids tend to not reach their power potential until later. This could also be evidence in favor of Bonds. Now as far as if he is on steroids or not, I have no clue. I will make that accusation when I see his test results. Until then, my mouth is closed on the issue and others should be too.

Recently I posted a response to the Uncouth Sloth's article about Bonds. Brian Hipp also chimed in on the comment section and on his own site with some great things to say. I was ridiculed in the comment section of that post for saying that someone should be considered innocent until proven guilty. I think this should apply to sports as well as the court of law. After all, sports take place in this country, so the same principles should apply. Hear me out now; I am not saying that I don't think athletes--and specifically Barry Bonds--are not using or have never used steroids. No one is naive enough to believe that. What I am saying is that we cannot and should not base our opinion on nothing other than speculation and rumors. The only way it should happen is after a player has failed the drug test. To speculate on the idea discredits potentially innocent peoples' accomplishments and brings negative press and publicity to a sport that we all love and enjoy very much. We must if we are writing about it and reading about it.

MLB tested players last year "anonymously." The results of those tests revealed that steroid and drug use was a growing problem in baseball. I feel that this is a problem that needs to be dealt with quickly and strictly. The current policy for baseball is merely a slap on the hand for offenders. I wouldn't be afraid if I was a player. You can cheat 5 times before you're suspended for 1 year. What kind of punishment is that? Hopefully the results of the tests last year will make baseball understand that something needs to be done. Selig, who I happen to think is an alright commish, wants to implement mandatory drug tests for the players. There are two problems, however. The first of these is the players' union. They are such bloodthirsty, money hungry pigs that they will not even dream about discussing anything that might infringe on "The players' rights." Screw that!!! What about players' health? What about the employers' rights to maintain a drug-free environment? What about the paying customers that want to see drug-free baseball? Do our opinions not matter? The fact of the matter is this: in life, a lot of times when you are in the application process for a job, that job requires a drug test as a condition of employment. Even more often than not, employers may at times test their employees periodically. Baseball is a job. There should be no exceptions to this fact. Owners should have the right to test their employees.

The second problem Selig has is that you can test the players all you want, but if you do not have a proper punishment in place, it does no good. Baseball and sports in general need to adopt the following policy. The first time a player is caught using, it calls for a mandatory one year absence without pay. That player is also required to undergo a drug rehab program and successfully pass that. Everyone should get the chance to be forgiven for a mistake. One time and one time only, though. None of this Dwight Gooden stuff where the guy gets busted time after time and is still let back into baseball. If you break the rule, fine, we'll forgive you. People make mistakes. If you break it again, then the sport does not mean as much to you as it should. As a result, you should not be a part of it anymore.

By talking about Bonds and Sosa and other players without actual hard core test results it does nothing but bring potentially innocent people down. It also brings the sport of baseball down. That is something that I hate to see. People may ridicule me and call me naive, but I care about this sport very much. I love it very much and want to see it continue to be "The National Pastime." So if you ask me if Bonds is using, I will say I don't know. I will never say anyone is until I see test results. Ridicule me if you want, but it's what I feel. I would love to hear your thoughts though.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 2:06 PM

Picks to click for 4/22/04

As I said in my previous post, we are going to start out on April 30th with the pick to click contest in an effort to give everyone the chance to play from the beginning. Until then, people can use these games as practice. Just post your pick in the comment section before gametime. The prize for the overall winner will recieve a nice Cubs plaque and a gift certificate to MLB.com shops. Get your practice in and have fun with this.

Joe - Kerry Wood
Dave - Todd Walker
James - Kerry Wood
Keenan - Sammy Sosa
D-Trick - Moises Alou

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 1:02 PM

Wednesday, April 21, 2004
New look and pick to click contest

So there is a new look to the site. My buddy Chris designed our new banner for the top and I changed the colors up a little. All in all, I think it looks nice. Let me know what you all think of it.

At the beginning of this season, we started a pick to click contest. It started out as a friendly competition between the staff here. However, I have decided that it would be fun to open it up to everyone that reads the site and put a prize up for the winner. So here are the specifics:

- I will post each morning at it will say pick to click for whatever date the game is
- Everyone that is interested can post their pick in the comment section up until the start of the game
- Each day I will update the standings with the winning pick getting a point for whoever picked that person.
- You can pick the same person as someone else but bear in mind that if you get a point, they also do.
- No one can pick the same person 2 games in a row.
- Winning pick will be decided by me each day. (if it is close, we go by CBSSportsline player of the game)

That's it. The contest will begin as of the game on April 30th. I figured what better place to start than the series with the Red Birds. Everyone will be at zero at that point. You're name will not be added to the standings until you get a point. The contest will run up until the last game of the season (playoffs included). The winner at the end of the competition will get a prize. The prize for 1st place will be a gift certificate to MLB.com gift shop and a Cubs plaque. So, it's a pretty good first prize. Make sure you remember to get your pick in each day or you can't get a point. May the best person win.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 11:25 PM

Pirates come back for seconds

Cubs - 12 vs. Pirates - 1

So I guess one time wasn't enough for the poor buckos. They decided that a second helping of butt kicking would be nice. So, the Cubs happily opened up another can for them. I wasn't able to see the game tonight because it wasn't on WGN, but I was listening on MLB radio. I knew it was over when we got the first inning over with. We just couldn't stop. At one point, I actually thought we may go through the order twice in one inning. That would have ruled. I am sure some other team has done it in the past, but I have never seen it.

I did feel bad for Josh Fogg. He just got rocked. The poor guy didn't even get a batter out. Nothing will kill your ERA more than that. His ERA has skyrocketed to 17.00. On top of all that, he has to wait 5 days before another shot. That's gotta suck.

The Cubs have just been plain awesome and it is gonna just keep on getting better. 4 more wins to come for my prediction to come true. I have no worries about this season at all.

Player of the Game

Can it really be anyone other than Corey Patterson? The guy had 5 hits in one game. That's just awesome. I think that will be a huge lift for him. He's now hitting over .300 and hopefully will continue the hot hitting.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 11:16 PM

The Bat Is Back

Yes, there is a relationship to the Elton John song. "I entertain by picking brains": The hitters have picked Gary Matthew's brain to the tune of 6.47 runs per game. That's good hitting for the northsiders. The K's have been down, and Corey, with his 5 hit day, may have figured out what "take a pitch" means. The Bullpen worries me still, especially that Borowski guy. However, if we score 7 runs per game, I think we can win 70% of the games we play.
Also good news. Prior threw 50+ pitches off a mound today, and will likely begin throwing to batters in extended Spring Training next week. Looks like a rehab assignment in a week or two, and then the ace could be wearing the Cubbie uniform again on the field by mid-May. Oh, how that would be nice.
On a related note, the Cubs seem to be on a team roll that they never got on last year. Hopefully, if people continue hitting, we can shop Clement and get something for the SS pos...or not.

Hopeful lineup later in the Year

2B- Todd Walker
SS- Alex Gonzalez
RF- Sammy Sosa
CF- Corey Patterson
LF- Moises Alou
1B- Derrek Lee
3B- Aramis Ramirez
C- Michael Barret
P- Mark Prior

Bench

Grudzielanek
Hollandsworth
Macias
Goodwin
Bako (does anyone else think we should see what we can get for this guy?)

Bullpen

Guzman/Mercker
Beltran/Wuertz
Hawkins
Remlinger
Farnsworth
Wellemeyer/Pratt
Borowski/Dempster

Starting Rotation

Kerry Wood
Greg Maddux
Mark Prior
Carlos Zambrano
Matt Clement/Angel Guzman

Written by Keenan @ 10:26 PM

Pick to Click - 4/21/04

Joe - Corey Patterson
Dave - Moises Alou
D-Trick - Sammy Sosa
Shaun - Sammy Sosa
Gauncous - Aramis Ramirez
James - Derrek Lee

This is the only way it should be.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 8:49 AM

Tuesday, April 20, 2004
What does it feel like to get destroyed?

Cubs - 9 vs. Pirates - 1

If you wanna know the answer to that question, just ask the members of the Pirate ballclub. You have the choice of asking them tonight after a 9-1 Cub win or you can ask them on Thursday night after they get swept at home by the Cubbies. You take your choice. I predicted yesterday that the Cubs would sweep the Pirates and the Mets. So far I am still good on that. 5 games to go.

The Cubs had this game from the very beginning, putting up 4 runs in the first inning and never looking back. It's hard not to be optimistic when you have Big Z on the mound and a 4 run lead. Zambrano went 8 strong innings and lowered his season ERA to 1.29. That's pretty sweet considering we are without Prior and the Maddux we have doesn't seem to be what we paid for. Part of me wonders if the Braves may have kept Greg and gave us an imposter.

All in all, I am starting to get excited about this team. Granted we are beating some easy teams, but I think we're pulling it together and will be ready when we face St. Louis. I was excited to see Dusty pull Zambrano after the 8th inning. There is no need to trot him out there for the ninth when he has already thrown 110 pitches. Hopefully no one will complain about that amount. If they do, they're idiots.

Player of the Game

I have to say that when I saw someone actually picked Alex Gonzalez today for the contest, I almost thought it was a joke. Now, I wish I would have had the guts to pick ole Alex. He made us proud today and earned some of that money we're paying him. Not only did he hit a HR, which he has been known to do from time to time, but he also added a double and 4 RBI's. Way to go kid!!!

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 9:32 PM

Cubs like this song

It's the top of the 5th inning and the Cubs have scored 8 runs off of Pirates pitcher Ryan Vogelsong. They've now beaten this poor guy up for 15 runs in 8 innings over a two game span.
Captain Lloyd should think about makin' that scurvy dog walk the plank.

Written by David M. Beyer @ 8:21 PM

Picks to Click

Joe - Carlos Zambrano
James - Sammy Sosa
D-Trick - Alex Gonzalez
Shaun - Todd Walker
Dave - Carlos Zambrano

Wanna get in on the game? Just leave your pick to click each day before gametime in the comment section of the pick to click post.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 9:56 AM

Monday, April 19, 2004
Cubs bust out the whoopin sticks

This is the Cubs I want to see. They have their starting pitcher come out and get a quality start. Then the offense gets the job done to support them. This team is starting to come together. I think we are just going to come out and pound the Pirates. I am going to predict that we get a 3 game sweep of the Pirates and the Mets. You heard it here first. Mark it down and take it to Vegas.

I was able to see the whole game today after I got home from work. I was a little nervous when Clement started out so shaky. We can't afford for him to be shaky. He needs to be solid for us while we are having some pitching difficulties. Clement did what he needed to do though and proceeded to get ground ball after ground ball out. He held his own against the powerful left-handed bats in the lineup, something he normally has trouble doing, and even added a hit of his own into the mix. Good job Matt!!!

Player of the Game
Ramirez is who impressed me the most today though. He played a great thirdbase today. I was particularly pleased with the great stab he made to save a base hit while ranging to his left. Not only did he field the ball, but he made a perfect throw to retire the hitter. He also did his job with the bat, hitting a towering Homerun that gave the Cubs some breathing room, and then later adding a triple and a walk. Not a bad day at the plate either.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 8:48 PM

UPDATED: Twelve Men Out

I'm keeping up with the game (on company time) Via ESPN MLB GameCast. I like this service; it reminds of that scene in "Eight Men Out," when Mr. Rothstein goes into the betting parlor to find out if Cicotte beans the first batter to indicate that the fix is on. In the parlor they have a big board and, I think, little magnetic guys indicating baserunners. As a man reads the game updates from a ticker tape, another man updates the board by moving the little people around.
On GameCast, you get the same view, except the ticker tape is zeroes and ones and the little men are sets of pixels.

Some things I've noticed so far:
--Clement has thrown 71 pitches in 4 innings. By the scoreboard he appears in control, but 37 balls and 71 total pitches against 12 outs contradicts that supposition.
--Moises Alou has 6 homers!
--The middle of the Cubs lineup doesn't appear to be driving in many runs without the aid of homers, just by the numbers. Corey Patterson has 2 HR, 5 RBI. Sosa has 4 & 8. Alou 6 hr/12 rbi. Aramis 4 hr/13 rbi. Lee 1 hr/4 rbi (!). From 2-6, they have 17 HR and 42 RBI, or about 2.5 RBI/HR.
--The Cubs are 2nd in the league in homers behind St. Louis and 4th in runs, with 70. With that information in hand, it cannot be said that the Cubs OVERALL don't score without homers. But it doesn't look like the middle of the lineup is helping much with that.
And Derrek Lee had best start hittin'. They traded away my favorite new player for him.

UPDATE:
Now that's what I call "getting results!" Derrek Lee hits a grand slam!

Written by David M. Beyer @ 3:44 PM

Picks to Click for Monday

Joe - Ramirez
D-Trick - Lee

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 9:41 AM

Sunday, April 18, 2004
The Thoughts From Waveland

Since someone commented that last weeks post was hard to read, I thought that I'd completely change directions. After getting a few games out of the way, we can sit back and look at what we've seen. I think there are a few very important things that bear addressing as we progress into the next, very important stage of the season.

Before I delve into the details of the beginning of the season, I must confess that I am not old. Not at all. I apologize to those who I mislead in the previous column. Short of giving you my age (to protect the innocent, me), I cannot drink or smoke. If that gets me fired, that's too bad. Now that that's out of the way. Ahhh, much better.

The first very important thing that must be recognized is that our pitchers are not gods. I think that too many of us (including myself) came into the season thinking the staff would have a sub 3.50 ERA and just shut out the opponents. As has been shown, this is quite obviously not the case. The Cubs staff has been anything but spectacular. Carlos Zambrano and Kerry Wood have had good outings, and a great day by Sergio Mitre was spoiled by Andy Pratt and "Hit Me Out" Farnsworth. However, Mr. Expensive, Greg Maddux, has yet to impress. He is 0-2, and as I write this, he is getting hammered by the Reds. If the Cubs lose today, they could be 2.5 games out of first. That is not the start we envisioned from this team. Frankly, run support has not been a problem. The Cubs cannot keep the opposition from scoring runs. To add insult to injury, Prior will return, but that return could be delayed until the first of June. If the Cubs and Astros continue at the present pace (assuming it really does become the three team race we foresaw) the Cubs could be eight to ten games behind the front running Astros when Mark Prior returns.

The second problem that I see with the Cubs this year is the rest of the division. Now, Chicago cannot directly control this, but if they win the rest of their games, it's not an issue. However, as this is not going to happen, the situation in the NL Central is nightmarish for the Cubs. Before the season, many people said that the division would be a three-team race. Whoever said that did not look at the other teams in the division, and if the three other clubs (Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee) stay around .400 to .500, there will be no gimme games. The Cubs don't have an easy schedule for a while. They can't lounge for even one day, or it could cost them the title. If the race is as close as last year (which, I believe, is the best the Cubs can hope for), then one game will be the difference.

That's the bad news. The good news is that I fully expect the Cubs to kick it in gear and win about five in a row. I am fairly certain that, by July, it will be a three-team race in the Central, and by late August, the Cubs and Astros will be slugging it out. The key is for the Cubs to win three out of every four series with the Astros and two out of every four with the Cardinals. Plain and simple, the Cubs cannot be swept by either of these teams. Not just for the standings sake, but for morale's sake.

Before I stop, let's quickly look at positive signs coming from the Cubs. Aramis Ramirez is heating up. Sammy Sosa has crushed two dingers today and looks good. Zambrano has looked relatively stable so far. Walker has filled in nicely for the injured Grudzielanek and may have earned himself an everyday job. Gonzalez has looked acceptable at the plate. The defense has been...okay, so that's not a positive.

The bottom line is that the Cubs will begin to win regularly. They will challenge the Astros for first place in the next two to three weeks. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it...for now.

Written by Keenan @ 11:02 PM

Controversy Controversy

Well it seems that the Mark Prior saga continues day after day. Recently, ESPN published an article stating that Cub fans might need to be bracing for the possibility that Prior may not pitch at all this season. Dusty Baker reacted very angrily to the accusations and was not pleased at all.

Does ESPN not have any other better things to write about than this? I mean my god, the season is going on. Write about what is happening on the field, not off of it unless you have a REAL story to report. People are getting sick of hearing the same crap reported about Prior. I don't know how many times I have heard that he has thrown some pitches and should be back mid-May. Lodie Fricken dah. The Cubs need to worry about getting the job done on the field without Prior. He's not the messiah, and to keep talking as if he's gonna be the savior of this team is absurd. Enough is enough already. Let the man rehab already in peace. When he's ready to go, he'll be back to help up win some ball games. Until then, leave it alone already people.

In other controversy news, C & A Chronicle seems to think that the Cubs demonstration of showing fire was not done with class. Well, I'm sorry, but right now we're not winning. If it takes Dusty and Woody losing their cool to spark some emotion and drive in this team, so be it. Sometimes you just have to do it to get your team into it. It's not like it's just in baseball either. Every sport has this. In hockey, you have an enforcer. Someone who's specific job it is to get in a fight and raise hell to get his team fired up. In basketball, Coaches often take a technical foul or get themselves thrown out of a ballgame purposely to fire their team up and get a win.

So, again, I have no problem with what Woody or Dusty did the other day. It's about dang time people show an "I'm sick of losing" attitude in this city. The sports teams are a joke, and it's got to change. If this is what it takes, bring it on and lets see some more of it.

In other news today, the Cubs lost another one to the stupid Reds. Not much to say about a game where the wind blew out 30mph. It's anyone's game and the Reds managed to get one more run than us. It's hard to brag about that kind of win. It was just a matter of who could get the ball in the air the most. That's not a baseball game and I am not going to treat it as one.

Player of the Game

Sammy Sosa. It's hard to argue with 2 HR's in a loss. He did what he needed to do. Alou also played a heck of a game, falling a single short of the cycle.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 8:23 PM

Picks to Click for Sunday

Dave - Sosa
Joe - Bako if he's catching Maddux, otherwise, Barrett
Shaun - Alou
Keenan - Maddux
D-Trick - Maddux

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 10:25 AM

Saturday, April 17, 2004
You do whatcha gotta do (Part 2)

For the second straight day the Cubs showed some fire in their bellies. Also, for the second straight day, that fire got someone ejected. This time in the form of Kerry Wood. I'm not hear to recount what happened. Leave that to the news reporters. I am hear to critique, compliment, and criticize. I like this fire. I like competitive drive in players and managers. I like guys who don't like to lose. I have no problem with what Woody did today. Be the Ace of this staff and show some fire. It wasn't like he got himself kicked out of the ballgame before Dusty was ready for him to come out. He pitched until Dusty said that it was time to be done, and then Wood let the Umpire know what he thought. I give him props for holding his tongue until the right time.

I thought we had this game today, but I guess we owed the Reds one after we got a comeback yesterday. We lose a heartbreaker, but we showed heart. If this team keeps playing with this drive and heart, the pieces will begin to fall into place.

Player of the Game
I think Woody deserves this honor. He had only given up 1 run through 8 innings. At that point, bring in Borowski. I give him credit. He did what he needed to do. I he keeps pitching like this, we'll be fine.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 5:59 PM

Picks to Click 4/17/04

Joe - Sammy Sosa
D-Trick - Kerry Wood
Dave - Kerry Wood

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 9:29 AM

Friday, April 16, 2004
You do whatcha gotta do

Sometimes you gotta do whatcha gotta do. For Dusty Baker today it meant letting some fire show towards the umpire. With his team trailing in the 7th, Dusty exploded and lit a fire under their butts for the game. The Cubs end up coming back to win in the ninth. It is the second time this year that this team trails going into the 9th and comes back to win. Two times for a team who did not do it once all last year. That's an encouraging stat.

The game, probably one of the wildest of the year, featured both managers being ejected, a walk off homerun, and an ump who had to leave with food poisoning. To quote Sean Casey "That was one of the weirdest, coolest, craziest games that I've ever been a part of, I'll tell you that,'' Not bad for a day's work. I've been impressed with the Cubs in general these last two games. I think the bats are stating to wake up and our pitching has been solid. Now we need to keep it up and get on a nice winning streak.

Bad news for Michael Weurtz today. He got killed again today on the mound and has seen his ERA baloon to over 10. I expect the poor guy to be sent down to AAA soon. As soon as Remlinger is ready to go, Weurtz is gone.

Player of the Game

Player of the game today is Moises Alou. It's hard not to give it to Sosa who ties the game in the 9th and ties Ernie Banks, or Ramirez who goes 4-4 with 5 RBI's, but Alou had two HR's, one of them a walk off. I have to give it to him.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 9:24 PM

How about this for a TV guide preview?

This preview is for the Mariah Carey movie "Glitter"

I don't know about you, but I don't wanna miss that. I don't think the Sloth or the Fork does either.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 11:18 AM

Picks to click 4/16/04

Joe - Todd Walker
Shaun - Sammy Sosa
Keenan - Corey Patterson
Dave - Moises Alou
D-Trick - Derrek Lee

Don't forget, if you wanna get in on the competition each day, either leave your pick in the comment section of a post with the date of the game you're picking or e-mail me. I am thinking about having a prize for the end of year winner.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 11:14 AM

Cubs take batting practice

It looked as if the pirates just decided to use this game as a practice session for their pitchers and the Cubs hitters. The whole game it looked like the Cubs were just taking batting practice off the Pirates staff. Nothing was moving after it left the hands of the Pirate pitchers and the Cubs were hitting it hard. Really HARD!!! It was so nice to see the Cubs put up 10 runs and hold their opponent to 1 run through 7 innings on a day where the wind was blowing out.

There were some positives and negatives to this game.
1) Every position player in the lineup to start the game had a hit. (Positive)
2) Michael Barrett, who everyone is worried about hit two jacks and now is the team leader in RBI's (Positive)
3) Zambrano pitched awesome again but this time got a win for it. (Positive)
4) The Cubs take 2 out of 3 and win their first series (Positive)
5) Weurtz got touched up again. ERA now = 5.68 (Bad)
6) Beltran got roughed up. ERA now = 10.80 (Ouch)

Player of the game today

The player of the game today is Michael Barrett. He is continuing to hit the ball hard and drive in runs. Here's hoping he can make us forget about Pudge this year.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 11:11 AM

Thursday, April 15, 2004
Pic of the Day

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 3:39 PM

Picks to click - 4/15/04

Joe - Carlos Zambrano

Dave - Derrek Lee

If anyone else wants to get in on this, just e-mail me your picks to click each night before the game by 8pm. If you e-mail me consistently, I'll add you to the standings.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 8:34 AM

Pirates Lament about Clement

Wednesday's 8-3 drubbing of the Pirates worked as a balm on a stinging wound for me. Having seen my Cubs dismantled by a team featuing Raul Mondesi and Rob Mackowiak hitting 4-5 and Tike Redman playing center field just one day before, I needed reassurance that this team had something -- anything -- going for it.
I didn't get to watch the game, but there were a lot of interesting numbers in the box score:

Yummy:
-Todd Walker had 3 hits and drove in 3 runs, but committed a throwing error.
-Moises Alou homered, but is hitting .194 on the season.
-Aramis Ramirez hit two homers and got three hits. Can this be right -- Ramirez's 2 solo shots ran his season total to TWO RBI?
-Along with the three homers, the Cubs had four doubles.
-Matt Clement threw six solid innings. He walked three and struck out seven, with six grounders and five fly ball outs. Chicagosports.com says Clement was wild early on, but settled down. Clement's "Game Score" was a solid 72.
-LaTroy struck out two and has yet to allow a run.
-Francis "Not Pratt" Beltran made his debut, walking one and striking out one in a scoreless inning.
-Barrett had an eventful day: one run, one hit, one RBI, one intentional walk, one HBP.

Yucky:
-Corey Patterson went 0 for 5 with four strikeouts. Anybody know how many pitches he saw? Let's see, 3 strikes x 4 k's = 12, plus one other out. Minimum of 13, so I'd guess...oh...14.
-Kyle Farnsworth gave up a three run shot to Mondesi, running his ERA to 8.31.
-Jose Macias pinch-hit. It took one game for Baker to dash my hopes.
Alex Gonzalez booted a grounder.

It occurs to me:
That with Walker playing every day for Grudz, the Cubs could develop a (slightly) more balanced lefty-righty lineup that would make opposing managers' jobs more difficult:

1 Lee R
2 Walker L
3 Sosa R
4 Alou R
5 Patterson L
6 Ramirez R
7 Barrett R
8 Gonzalez R

Currently the lineup goes LLRRRRRR, and features the guy who never takes a pitch in the two hole.
Lee, with a good OBP and ability to steal the occasional base, can lead off and the Cubs still have power all the way to the sixth spot. Walker, a patient hitter who can hit behind the runner, bats second. Alou's best attribute at this point in his career is a decent batting average, so maybe he can get on for the fence-swinging Patterson and Ramirez. Barrett and Gonzalez will stink the place up no matter what you do.

Any comments?

Written by David M. Beyer @ 2:05 AM

Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Pratfall

Andy Pratt has (finally) been sent down to Iowa after recording five outs, walking seven, and hitting one batter. Francis Beltran has taken his place. I assume that Pratt was put on the roster because he throws left-handed, but it wouldn't matter if he got to face the all-Ray Oyler team; he wasn't getting ANYBODY out.

Righty reliever Francis Beltran has been called up to take his place. This makes me happy.

Juan Cruz has pitched 6.2 innings, giving up 7 hits, 4 BB, and 2 runs (1 earned) while striking out 6. It's still early, but it looks looks like we were taken.

Written by David M. Beyer @ 3:24 PM

Pick to Click for 4/14/04

Dave - Latroy Hawkins

Keenan - Moises Alou

Joe - Todd Walker

Shaun - Aramis Ramirez

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 7:28 AM

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Mark "Triple Word Score" Grudzielanek has joined Prior and Remlinger (and Ryan Dempster) on the DL. He was put on the 15-day retroactive to the 10th, so he'll be available on the 25th of April.
FORTUNATELY: That means we get to see Todd Walker hit every day for a couple of weeks.
UNFORTUNATELY: Jose Macias was activated.
Cross your fingers and hope he never has to bat...

ESPN's take: ESPN
Chicagosports:com's take: Chicagosports.com

Written by David M. Beyer @ 8:49 PM

Monday, April 12, 2004
Throw this one out

Normally I would write a whole big analysis about what the Cubs are doing wrong, but this game disgusted me. This is not the team I watched in October last year. Maddux looked awful for two starts in a row. He has just be un-Maddux like with the control. I take confidence in that fact that this was how he started last season for Atlanta and people were calling for his head. However, once he settled in, it went nuts down the stretch and was unhittable. I think it will be the same this year. I expect about 2 or 3 more bad to average starts before we get the Maddux we paid for.

This team is also not hitting. I am not as worried about this as other writers are. I really think this team WILL hit, but is just starting a little slow. I'm not worried about Lee, or Alou, or the team in general. If you remember, this team was under .500 in July last year and did what it takes down the stretch. We just need to get the bats going and the wins will begin to pile up. Stay strong Cub fans.

Player of the Game

Normally I put the picture of the player who was voted player of the game at the beginning of the post. I honestly do not feel anyone should be. I would rather vote for Bill Murray for making me laugh when the Cubs were getting killed. However, for the sake of the pick to click game, your player of the game today is Sammy Sosa.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 6:02 PM

Sunday, April 11, 2004
Picks to click for April 12th, 2004

Joe - Alex Gonzalez

Dave - Sammy Sosa

Shaun - Sammy Sosa

Keenan - Greg Maddux

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 10:00 PM

Happy Easter to All Courtesy of the CUBBIES!!!

On a day where a lot of people were probably busy doing things other than watch Cubs baseball, the Cubs were busy playing their best game of the season. While most people were spending time with family or watching Phil Mickelson go for his first major ever, Kerry Wood was playing Easter bunny and dropping goose eggs on the braves scoreboard.

This is the way that most Cub fans pictured their team playing in 2004. Not only did the team break out of it's hitting funk, but it also got the 3 straight good outing by their starting pitcher. Kerry Wood, who battled a cut on his pitching hand all game, went 7 innings, giving up only 1 run and striking out 12 Braves. Seven of those K's came in a row, which tied the all time Cub record for consecutive strikeouts by a starter. The last Cub to do it was Mark Prior in 2002. The Cubs hitters also got in on the action, pounding out 10 runs on 13 hits and 4 Homeruns. All in all a great day for the team. The win also gets the Cubs back to .500 as they return home to open the season at Wrigley field on Monday.

I was very pleased with how this team looked. I thought they capitalized well on Braves mistakes and came through with clutch hits with runners in scoring position. Coming into the game, the Cubs were 0-17 in the series with runners in scoring position. They took care of that today.

The bullpen continued to look good. Hawkins pitched a perfect 8th inning, striking out 2. Wuertz pitched the 9th and gave up a run, but by that time, it didn't matter. I think this game is the turning point for good things to come this next series at Wrigley. I think the bats will begin to heat up and we'll get this season pointing where it should be.

Dave's perspective:

Don't be fooled by the ten run offensive output; it was a bad outing by Cunnane and a mistake pitch hammered by Barrett that accounted for most of the runs. They're still having trouble at the plate.

Man, Wood was awesome today. And fairly efficient, too.

We saw a Martinez-Walker-Hollandsworth double play today. I wonder if that's the only time we'll see that all season or if those guys will get to play as the second line of the infield once a week or so?

So far I have no complaints about the way Dusty is giving playing time to Grudz and Walker. Seems like he's balanced them pretty well.

Player of the Game

Boy I deliberated for a while on this one. Everyone in me wanted to give it to Kerry, mainly because he pitched like a stud through a nasty cut. However, Barrett made his case as well with a homerun and 4 RBI's. So, in the effort of being fair to our competition, we set a rule that on close calls for player of the game, we would defer to CBS Sportsline's decision. They chose Kerry Wood, so that is who will get the player of the game award. I'm happy with this because I think he pitched like an Ace today. He kept his pitch count under control and looked unhitable for a good period of the game. A well deserved 2nd win of the year.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 4:13 PM

Picks to Click for Sunday's Game

Joe - Kerry Wood

Shaun - Derrek Lee

Dave - Aramis Ramirez

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 11:13 AM

Saturday, April 10, 2004
The wheels fall off

Cubs - 2 Braves - 5

The Cubs were coming off of an emotional roller coaster of a win that took two days to play. The bullpen was spent and we had Sergio Mitre on the mound. It didn't make for a good game. Mitre looked wild in the first inning or so and gave up a run on a wild pitch. It looked like it was going to be an early night for him. Then something clicked and he just got everyone and their mother to hit the ball on the ground for outs. At one point, I swear, Bobby Cox even grounded out to the pitcher. Mitre just started cruising.

Then comes the inning the wheels fell off. Mitre trots out for the 8th and calmly gets the first two. I was sitting there thinking to myself how wonderful this was for him to do. We really needed a performance like this to give our pen a rest. Then he gives up a hit to Giles. No big deal, he'll get the next guy to hit one on the ground and we'll bring in Joe in the 9th. All of sudden Dusty comes trotting out to the mound to pull Mitre. I didn't even know that anyone was warming up in the pen. TBS never mentioned it. Ok, so Dusty is pulling Mitre. No big deal, he'll bring in Tightpants or Latroy and they'll take care of it. WRONG!!!! Who's that running out to pitch? Andy Pratt? With a 1 run lead and the heart of their lineup up? Dusty, what are you doin? Dusty apparently wanted to try the old Lefty/Righty advantage I guess. Pratt blows it and loads the bases with walks. Tightpants comes in to do the best he can to try to get it nailed down, but to no avail. Grandpa Franco made him pay. The Cubs then proceeded to go down easy in the 9th.

Here are my problems. First, the Cubs are hitting worse than a little league team. They are not getting clutch hits at all. We can't seem to string a few together and make some runs. We're scattering everything. These last two games, we have managed 4 runs. That's pathetic against the Braves # 4 and # 5 pitchers. The Cubs bats need to do a better job than this or we're not going anywhere. I think this team will hit enough to win, but it just seems like the bats are all cold in the early going. We'll get it going soon.

My player of the game today is Sergio Mitre. He did what he needed to do and got deep into the game. He looked impressive on the mound and fielded his position quite well. I was impressed. Hopefully this is what he will be able to give us next time out.

Dave's Perspective

Sergio Mitre pitched magnificently for 7 2/3 innings until Marcus Giles singled, then Dusty Baker summoned Andy Pratt from the pen. Mitre left the game up 2-1, but Pratt walked Larry Jones and Drew. Farnsworth came in and walked Andruw Jones to force home the tying run, then gave up a wall-banging double to Julio Franco, who remembers being in the stands for the Cubs' last World Series victory. At inning's end, it was 5-2, and the Cubs couldn't recover.
At least the game didn't go into extra innings...

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 10:33 PM

Understatement of the Year

I watched the game on TBS last night (WGN is only offered in the premium cable package here, and I'm thousands of dollars in debt). Ryne Sandberg was in the booth for 14 out of the 15 innings. Let me start by saying he's my favorite player of all time, but he was always a bad interview. Lots of "and, um"s and "ah"s surrounding cliches. But last night, in the tenth inning after Patterson popped up a first-pitch bunt and Sosa grounded to short on the first pitch, he said, "I'd like to see them work the count a little bit."
Tell that to Dusty, Ryno. And while you're at it, what does your old teammate Gary Matthews, he of the career .361 OBP and 103 BB in 1984, have to say about that? Isn't he the hitting coach? Is anyone listening to him or is he just playing yes man to Dusty?

Also, the Braves announcers said something funny about their new reliever, Antonio Alfonseca: "He had some problems in Chicago." Maybe Leo Mazzone figured something out. Maybe he got his sixth finger amputated. Or, maybe while El Pulpo was a Cub they forgot to scout him, making him a complete mystery to Cubs hitters.

Written by David M. Beyer @ 3:33 PM

Bud Selig would have just called it a tie

Game Recap 4/9/04: Cubs 2, Braves 1 in 15 innings

A scintillating performance by Carlos Zambrano was nearly wasted; he allowed five baserunners in seven innings and struck out seven, but left the game down one run. Though he left a few sinkers up in the strike zone throughout the game, the Braves were only able to score one run on a leadoff homer by Andruw Jones in the second inning. The score was 1-0 Braves in the top of the ninth and the Cubs faced John Smoltz. Alex Gonzalez, 0 for 3 on the day, was lifted for Todd Walker, who grounded out weakly to Smoltz. One out. Barrett, also hitless in three at-bats, smacked a grounder up the middle which caused Smoltz to hit the deck, but he got his glove up to stop the ball and threw Barrett out at first. Two down and the pitcher's spot due up.

Baker made the right move here, sending up lefty Todd Hollandsworth to pinch-hit. He sent the first pitch into the right field stands to tie the score, and that's when the real game started.

Inning by inning, it went as follows:
Top of 10th: Patterson pops up a bunt. Cubs see six pitches in the inning and go down 1-2-3. Cubs 1, Braves 1.
Bottom of 10th: LaTroy pitches his second inning of work on the day and gets Adam La Roche on a 4-3 grounder, strikes out De Rosa, then gives up a DEEP fly ball to Eddie Perez that's caught by Sosa on the track. Cubs 1, Braves 1.
Top of 11th: Aramis Ramirez leads off with a double. Derrek Lee walks on four pitches. Ramon Martinez comes up to pinch-hit, fouls off two bunts, then grounds into a DOUBLE PLAY. A promising inning with runners on first and second with nobody out turns into two outs, runner on third, and Michael "oh-fer" Barrett at the plate. He leaves nothing to chance and strikes out. Cubs 1, Braves 1.
Bottom of 11th: Mike Wuertz comes in to face Methuselah Franco, Freddie Garcia, and Brian Giles. 1-2-3 inning. I think the Cubs put Wuertz on the roster because a scouting report for him does not exist. Enjoy his success while it lasts. Cubs 1, Braves 1.
Top of 12th: Former Cub Juan Cruz enters the game. He gives up a single to Grudzielanek and one to Sosa, but they don't score. Cubs 1, Braves 1.
Bottom of 12th: Andy Pratt in to face Larry Jones. Jones lines one down the third base line, but Ramirez was practically standing in foul territory, guarding the line. Easy out. Pratt walks Drew & Andruw Jones, then gets La Roche to pop out to center. Dusty yanks him for Todd Wellemeyer, who promptly walks Mark De Rosa, then turns around and strikes out Eddie Perez to end the inning. Sigh of relief from me and grumblings from my wife about how her perfectly planned intimate lasagna dinner is getting cold. Cubs 1, Braves 1.
Top 13: Ramirez goes down on strikes, then Lee singles and steals second. Unfortunately, the goat of the 11th inning, Ramon Martinez, watches three strikes go by. Michael Barrett does a little better--he goes down swinging. More runners stranded, no lasagna eaten, Cubs 1, Braves 1.
Bottom 13: Juan Cruz leads the inning off with a four-pitch walk. Jesse Garcia bunts him over, Marcus Giles flies out, then Larry Jones gets a free pass. JD Drew gets first on a ball four that goes to the backstop, but Cruz can't score. Bases loaded, two out, Wellemeyer gets Andruw Jones to pop out. Whew! Lasagna gets put in refrigerator. Cubs 1, Braves 1.
Top 14: I tell my wife about the 21 inning loss to the Dodgers in '80 or '81. (When was that game? Anybody?). She groans and leaves me all alone to watch Goodwin lead off the inning with a hit, get moved to second on a Grudz bunt, then get stranded when Corey strikes out, Sosa is intentionally walked, and the last available pinch hitter, PAUL BAKO, Flies out. Sosa, standing on first, becomes the fifteenth runner stranded in the game. Cubs 1, Braves 1.
Bottom 14: Mercker takes over and strikes out some guy named Hessman, gets De Rosa on a grounder to second, gives up a single to Eddie Perez. Pinch hitter Johnny Estrada, who was miked during the game and made some pretty funny comments, flies out. Cubs 1, Braves 1.
Top of the 15th Inning (this is where it gets good): Aramis Ramirez leads off with his third double of the game. Derrek Lee singles, but Ramirez can't score. The goat of the 11th and 13th innings, Ramon Martinez, ground out to third, and they throw Ramirez out at the plate. His three at-bats actually made me pine for Alex Gonzalez. Barrett walks. Bases loaded, one out. All we need is a fly ball, and up comes..Tom Goodwin? Darn the luck! Seems like the Cubs have the wrong guy at the plate at least 3 or 4 times every game. But wait - ol' Punch & Judy hits a routine fly to right field. Lee scores! Grudz tries the old "third out sac fly" routine, and the inning's over. Cubs 2 (!), Braves 1.
Bottom of the 15th: Joe Borowski comes on. All that talk of his velocity being down is running through my head. If he gets in trouble, the only fresh pitcher who hasn't been in the game is some guy named Prior, and he's on the disabled list. Freddie Garcia says the "F" word as Joe changes speeds on him, striking him out. Marcus Giles is not fooled - he singles, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in the person of Larry Jones himself. Larry takes a big cut at a 1-2 pitch - I couldn't tell if it was a breaking ball or just a changeup - and whiffs. Then Joe, in the tradition of Mitch Williams, walks JD Drew. Two out, men on first and second, Borowski vs. Andruw Jones for all the marbles, and Jones grounds out to third. Huzzah! Final Score: Cubs 2, Braves 1. I re-heat the lasagna and we have a nice dinner anyway. All food tastes better when it's seasoned with a Cubs victory.

So what did they do right?:
-First of all, and we all knew this one, The Cubs have some lights-out pitchers. Zambrano was excellent even on a night when his slider wouldn't stay down consistently. He threw 109 pitches in 7 innings; an acceptably efficient night. The bullpen - all of it - got the job done. LaTroy Hawkins was used effectively, and Baker managed to save Borowski until he needed him.
-Secondly, Michael Barrett appeared to work well with the pitchers behind the plate and gave the rookies a pep talk when they needed it.
-Thirdly, they got 12 hits & 8 walks. They had baserunners all night.
-Grudzielanek made two nice plays in the field, and Sosa made a good running catch.

What went wrong?
-Corey Patterson batted 7 times and saw 15 pitches. And he's hitting 2nd in the lineup. If this guy would get some patience he'd be an all-star.
-Ramon Martinez was personally responsible for killing one rally and almost a second. He's the Goat of the Game. The best at-bat of the night was the time he struck out.
-Two stolen bases by the Braves and no one thrown out. Barrett has Andy Allanson's arm.
-Dusty got away with having the wrong people in the game at the wrong time. Bako, Goodwin, and Walker were all asked to do things they couldn't do, Andy Pratt had to face two righties and no lefties, and Patterson showed he's not a #2 hitter (yet?). It wasn't all bad, but it felt as if Cox had the tactical advantage throughout the extra inning ordeal.

All in all, I had a ball watching that game. Aramis Ramirez went 4-7 with three doubles, Lee had 2 hits and 3 walks, and a few guys showed some patience at the plate. And of course, the pitching was fantastic. Of course, this extra inning affair leaves the Cubs in the awkward position of having a tired bullpen for Sergio Mitre's start, but hey, if we're in trouble late in the game we'll just send Hollandsworth up to do his Reggie impersonation.

Written by David M. Beyer @ 2:38 AM

Free Baseball!

9 innings of pitchers' duel plus 6 innings of FREE BASEBALL amounted to one Cubs victory. I'll be posting the recap soon; I have to go through my scoresheets first.

Written by David M. Beyer @ 12:18 AM

Friday, April 09, 2004
Interesting Pic o' The Day

Where is this store and what do they sell?

I'm off to Atlanta today for the game but Dave will do the recap. I wil write about my time in enemy territory on saturday. Go Big Z!! Shut 'em down today!!

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 8:38 AM

Thursday, April 08, 2004
The Thoughts From Waveland

The Season: Looking Forward

Once again, we look to the upcoming season. Only this year, even more than last year, the highlight of Wrigley won't be the beer prices (though they are high on the list), the hot dogs, or the hefty, bare chested fans screaming from the outfield. This year, the highlight will be the Chicago Cubs.

In what is shaping up to be the best race in the major leagues since before I was born (don't ask. It was a heckuva long time ago), the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros are trying to pull an Atlanta and win the division with pitching. The Cubs have the best rotation in baseball with Mark Prior. There is no question about it. The only problem is that Houston is very close. And the Astros have considerably better offense. Chicago has not been known for their offense, and it is only thanks to the sacrifice of starting pitchers. They worked their butts off, and now we're paying for it with Prior on the DL. Yes, Dusty tends to leave his starters in for a long time. However, he is being compared to Jimy quick-hook Williams. The Astros manager has been notorious for impatience with his starters. Lost in the middle of all of this are Tony LaRussa, and the St. Louis Cardinals. LaRussa has been given the gift of offense, but his pitching is suspect at best. Frankly, the talent that LaRussa has on the mound is comparable to that of the little league team that practices in my backyard. Matt Morris has talent, but is more than injury prone. Woody Williams was overworked last year and Tony is struggling. Last year, in a crucial part of the stretch run, St. Louis led the Cubs in the seventh inning, but Chicago had two on and one out. Tony LaRussa went from his bullpen to one of his aces. He put Woody Williams in, and he promptly allowed three runs. The Cardinals will hang around, but they will not be close enough, young enough, or deep enough to the Cubs and the Astros to make a run at the title.

Most people have put the Cubs and the Astros interchangeably in the NL division champs and wildcard position. The fact is that Philadelphia will win a lot of games. Atlanta will still win a lot of games. San Francisco and Arizona will win quite a few games. Houston and Chicago, quite frankly will win about 90 games. I don't see either of the teams winning more than 95 games, certainly not 100, like I have heard the extremists (some people call them diehards) say. I must point out that pitching wins championships, but you have to score sometime. The biggest problem last year was that the starters felt they had to throw eight innings of shut-out ball to win. This year, they should not feel that way. The offense hasn't been revamped, but it has been improved. Houston doesn't really have many positions that they can successfully upgrade at (without sacrificing defense or leadership). The Cubs need some kind of a catalyst. Some people have said that because Dusty has not been ejected for arguing, he is not energetic and into the game. Some people are fools. The Cubs have the best manager in the business, they will win the NL Central, and they will go the extra mile and get into the World Series. The Astros will be caught on the outside looking in again. They will not win the wildcard, but several of their players will be spotted in October doing Hoveround commercials. That's my story and I'm sticking to it, for now!

Written By: Keenen Laraway

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 10:46 PM

All in the Family

Well, I have again added another writer to The View From the Bleachers. We are all one big happy family. I am very excited about where this site is headed and I hope the readers are as well. Please feel free to let us know about what you think of all the changes here. This new writer will be writing a feature column that will be posted each Monday. I will have a link to the newest column on the sidebar that will be changed to always reflect the latest edition. The new columnist is Keenan Laraway. I think the column name will be The Thoughts From Waveland. I think you will all really enjoy it. I will even post the first installment. So, please check back every Monday for the latest edition. Also, please e-mail Keenen with topics for Articles, because he is very excited about this and would like to know what people wanna hear.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 10:37 PM

New Bum in the Bleachers

As Joe mentioned, my name is Dave Beyer. I've been reading View from the Bleachers (as well as all the other blogs in the Cubs Blog Army) for months now and I'd like to thank Joe for the opportunity to contribute!
I've been a Cubs fan for my entire thirty-two years on this earth -- my dad brought a Cubs hat and a little glove to the hospital when I was born -- and have endured trial after trial of my faith. I hope to be more insightful than when I dismissed Sammy Sosa's value until the year 2000, predicted the presence of Hee Sop Choi as a power-hitting and patient cornerstone of the imminent Cubs Dynasty (I still think he would be...), and my famous words in the spring of 1989, when I said, "This is the worst Cubs roster I've ever seen!"
Anyway, thanks to Joe and hello to all. I feel like I'm getting in on the ground floor of something good.

Written by David M. Beyer @ 4:48 PM

New Writer part II

About 2 months ago I updated saying that I had added a new writer named Matt Hollinger. Well, he didn't work out because of a lack of time. In the quest to continue to bring quality content at The View From the Bleachers, I have tried to add another writer yet again. This time his name is Dave Beyer. He is a long time reader of the Cubs Blog Army. I think he will provide fresh and insightful commentary on the Cubs and baseball in general. Please welcome Dave to the site.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 4:46 PM

The Cubs go back to back.......with losses!!!

Well the series with Cincinnati does not go as planned. The Cubs drop 2 out of 3 and now heard out to face the Braves in Atlanta. I think a lot of Cub fans are very disappointed by this latest loss. All I have been hearing is the Cubs are swinging too early in the count, they're not seeing enough pitches, etc. Well, I think that WAS true today, but not in the other two games. Now before you go arguing on that point, let me present you with some numbers to back up my case. I took a look at the Cubs avg # of pitches per batter in the last 3 games.

Series against the Reds
Game 1 - Cubs saw an average of 3.6 pitches per plate appearance (W 7-4)
Game 2 - Cubs saw an average of 3.68 pitchers per plate appearance (L 3-1)
Game 3 - Cubs saw an average of 3.1 pitches per plate appearance (L 5-3)

Al's Ramblings makes the point along with the other Cubs writers that seeing pitches leads to high offensive production. However, I am not sure that you can blame all of the troubles the Cubs are having on not taking pitches. When the Cubs had the highest total on this stat so far, they scored 1 lousy run off a Homerun. My problem with the past few games is the lack of clutch hitting in the two losses. We are leaving guys in scoring position, which is something we did not do in game 1. That's what I noticed mainly in this game.

I think the Cubs bats will wake up when they get to Atlanta. It's a big series and the Cubs seem to hit well at Turner Field. They are 4-0 when I am in attendance, which I will be for tomorrow's game. So, here's hoping they run my record to 5-0.

Player of the game today: Sammy Sosa is the man today for going 3-4 with a HR, 2 doubles, 3 RBI's and a Run scored. Not a bad days work.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 4:00 PM

A comparison of The Yankees, USSR, and the Galactic Empire

Washington Post

Written by NoLimit54 @ 12:28 PM

Interesting Pic o' The Day

We lost a good man in 1998. He will be missed.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 12:16 PM

Wednesday, April 07, 2004
The Prodigal Son Returns

Cubs - 1 Reds - 3
Greg Maddux pitched his first game back in a Cub's uniform tonight. He did not look sharp at all. He was wild and did not get ahead in the count very often. However, his final line was not all that bad. He gave the Cubs six innings, and only gave up 4 hits walking 2. The costly hits being the HR's by Dunn and Griffey. Paul Wilson on the otherhand looked like Cy Young on the mound. The Cubs couldn't seem to touch him or the rest of the Red's staff. It's hard to break down a loss, but I going to do the best I can.

The Good

Bako "threw out" a runner in the 1st (We caught a break)
Lee made a nice scoop on a Ramirez throw in the 2nd (He's gonna really help save some errors)
Grudzielanek makes a great throw to the plate in the 5th to keep the score at 3-0
Mike Wuertz got the Reds 1-2-3 in the 7th for another good outing out of the pen
Andy Pratt looked sharp in the 8th (who needs Jaun Cruz?)
Derrek Lee gets on the HR board for the Cubbies (Welcome to the Cubs Derrek)

The Bad

Patterson swung at the first pitch he saw in the 1st
Cubs left Ramirez in scoring position in the 2nd
2 long HR's against Maddux
Corey Patterson gets thrown out trying to steal after leading off with a single, down 3 runs and the heart of the order up.
Maddux did not have good control throughout the game
Sammy strikes out with 2 on and 2 outs in the 8th.

The Ugly

Maddux hit 2 batters in one inning for the first time in his career in the 1st

The Errors

Santo said that Griffey had only played in 40 games in the last 3 years.

My player of the game today is Derrek Lee. He had the Cubs lone RBI and hit his first homer of the season. Here's hoping tomorrow will bring a better result.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 10:03 PM

Interesting Pic o' the day

So I was thinking about something. Everyone seems to like the pictures I have been putting on the site. So, each day I will be adding a funny picture of the day. I hope you all enjoy.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 10:47 AM

Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Subway: Eat Fresh

These days all the rage is "low carbs" or "eat healthy". Does that apply to animals too? Apparently so, according to a deer in High Point, NC who busted through a local Subway restaurant last Saturday night. The incident took place around 9:20pm and took only a matter of minutes. However, the damage left to the store, employees, and customers could last a lifetime. The View From the Bleachers, always looking to bring the very best news stories, caught up with a few of the people involved in the incident. The night manager on duty, Laura, had this to say "I thought it was going to jump over the sneezeguard and attack us. It was foaming at the mouth like it had rabies or something." Customers in the store at the time just sat staring with bulging eyes and screaming. The whole store was in a fit of confusion. Store manager and musician Stephen Corbett had this to say "at first, we thought it was a fat lady throwing a brick through the window, since we got rid of the 3 footlongs for $10.99 deal." The local newspaper also showed up to report the story.

In the end, the deer ran around the store a few times and then scurried out the hole it made in the window when entering. No one was hurt physically, except the deer who was hit by a car after leaving the store, but the mental scars will linger for years. We wish the people involved all the best. Our prayers are with you.

Interesting Pic of the Day

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 10:54 AM

Monday, April 05, 2004
Opening Day Recap

Cubs - 7 Reds - 4

Well game one is in the books. I was able to have the privilege of watching the game on TV unlike other Cubs bloggers who were stuck at work. I took some notes on various things that I saw. I am going to highlight them in 4 categories: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Errors (being errors by Joe Morgan)

The Good

Cubs start off with a win, without Mark Prior
Michael Barrett gets 2 hits, one of them a triple, scores a run and knocks in a run. (not bad from the 8 hole)
Dusty Baker recognized that Kerry did not have it anymore and pulled him after 5 innings and 93 pitches
The Bullpen (4 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 k's)
5 out of the 7 runs scored by the Cubs were started with 2 down and no one on
Corey Patterson took a Walk
Cubs Win!!! Cubs Win!!!

The Bad

Kerry Wood gave us only 5 innings yet still pitched 93 pitches
Corey Patterson looked as if he was swinging for the fences, which could mean he is still not going to be disciplined at the plate this year.
Alou hits a single that ends up being a double play in the 9th thanks to some bad baserunning by Grudzielanek and Patterson.
Joe Borowski did not look sharp. His fastball is slower than last year and he walked 2 men before finally getting the job done.

The Ugly

Kerry Wood's ERA after one game: 1-0 with an ERA of 7.20 (Ouch)
Adam Dunn's horrible attempt at catching a fly ball in the 8th inning

The Errors

Joe Morgan choked on his tongue (or at least that's the way it sounded) in the pre-game and just went silent mid-sentence. I thought he may have died.
Said that the reason Wood's speed was a little low in the beginning of the year was because it is tough to go from pitching in Florida and then go to cold weather. (Sorry Joe, but the Cubs play in Arizona)
Said that in the NLCS, Prior pitched game 7 and Wood pitched game 6. (Wrong again Joey)

That leads me to the Player of the Game. I think there will be some people who disagree with me on this but I am sticking to my pick. I am designating Michael Barrett the player of the game in the opener, not Alou. Here is my reason. Alou had a huge double that did knock in 3 runs. However, he is expected to do that kind of thing when he is hitting in the 4 spot. Barrett came in with nothing but bad expectations and had 2 hits, one of them being a triple. He also had an RBI and scored a run. He did all of this from the 8 spot which everyone knows is a very hard place to hit because of the lack of quality pitches thrown your way. I think there will be people who disagree. If so, voice your opinion.

Finally, I am very glad I do not teach or attend this school. Poor Kids!!!

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 5:14 PM

Opening day is here (hope springs eternal)

Well after long last, Opening day is finally here. I don't think that I have ever been this excited about any upcoming sports season. So, on this opening day, I am offering up my 2004 MLB predictions.

Division Winners

AL East - NY Yankees
AL Central - Kansas City Royals
AL West - Anaheim Angels
AL Wildcard - Boston Red Sox

NL East - Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central - Chicago Cubs (I'm a homer)
NL West - San Francisco Giants
NL Wildcard - San Diego Padres

Playoffs
Round 1
Phillies over Padres in 4
Cubs over Giants in 4

Yankees over Royals in 3
Angels over Red Sox in 5

Round 2
Cubs over Phillies in 7
Angels over Yankees in 7

World Series
Cubs over Angels in 6 (Man am I a homer)

Misc Predictions

AL MVP - C. Delgado ()
NL MVP - J. Thome ()

AL Cy Young - T. Hudson ()
NL Cy Young - K. Wood ()

AL Rookie - J. Mauer ()
NL Rookie - E. Jackson ()

AL Manager - O. Guillen ()
NL Manager - B. Bochy ()

AL Comeback - J. Leiber ()
NL Comeback - P. Burrell ()

AL HR Champ - C. Delgado ()
NL HR Champ - J. Thome ()

First Big Player Traded - Ken Griffey Jr.

That's it!!! Those are the picks. Call Vegas now so when you win, you can give me my proper commission. If you want to comment and leave your picks on this post it would be appreciated because then we could go back and see who did the best. Until then, Bring on the Games!!!!

Other writer's Picks

Dave's Picks

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers

NL Central: Chicago Cubs

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies

NL Wild Card: St. Louis Cardinals

AL West: Oakland Athletics

AL Central: Minnesota Twins

AL East: New York Yankees

AL Wild Card: Boston Red Sox

NLDS Winners:

Cubs over Dodgers in 5

Phillies over Cardinals in 5

ALDS Winners:

Yankees over Twins in 4

Red Sox over Angels in 5

NLCS Winner:

Cubs over Phillies in 6

Yankees over Red Sox in 7

WORLD SERIES WINNER:

Cubs over Yankees in 6

NL Award Winners:

Cy Young: Carlos Zambrano (Yes, I said Zambrano, not Prior or Wood)

MVP: Albert Pujols

Rookie of the Year: Kaz Matsui

Manager of the Year: Magic Dusty Baker

Comeback Player of the year: Pat Burrell

HR Champion: Albert Pujols

AL Award Winners:

Cy Young: Barry Zito

MVP: Alex Rodriguez

Rookie of the Year: Bobby Crosby

Manager of the Year: Ken Macha

Comeback Player of the year: Darin Erstad

HR Champion: Manny Ramirez

First Big-Name Player Traded: Magglio Ordonez

Shaun's Picks

NL West: L.A. Dodgers

NL Central: Chicago Cubs

NL East: Florida Marlins(pickin against the Phillies to be different :p)

NL Wild Card: Houston Astros

AL West: Anaheim Angels

AL Central: K.C. Royals

AL East: New York Yankees

AL Wild Card: Boston Red Sox

NLDS Winners:

Cubs over Dodgers in 4

Astros over Marlins in 5

ALDS Winners:

Yankees over Royals in 3

Anaheim over Boston in 5

NLCS Winner:

Cubs over Astros in 7

ALCS Winner:Yankees over Anaheim in 6

WORLD SERIES WINNER:

Cubs over Yankees in 6

NL Award Winners:

Cy Young: Kerry Wood

MVP: Albert Pujols

Rookie of the Year: Kaz Matsui

Manager of the Year: Dusty Baker

Comeback Player of the year: Ken Griffey Jr.

HR Champion: Jim Thome

AL Award Winners:

Cy Young: Curt Schilling

MVP: Manny Ramirez

Rookie of the Year: Bobby Crosby

Manager of the Year: Tony Pena

Comeback Player of the year: Jermain Dye

HR Champion: Javy Lopez

First Big-Name Player Traded: Ken Griffey jr.

Keenan's Picks

AL Central-Minnesota
AL East- New York
AL West- Oakland
AL Wild Card-Boston

NL Central-Houston
NL East-Philadelphia
NL West- Arizona
NL Wild Card- Atlanta

NLDS

Philly over Houston in 4
Atlanta over Arizona in 5

ALDS

Oakland over Minnesota in 5
Boston over New York in 5

NLCS

Philly over Atlanta in 5

ALDS

Boston over Oakland in 7

World Series

Boston over Philly in 7
NL Award Winners:

Cy Young: Mark Prior

MVP: Albert Pujols

Rookie of the Year: Kaz Matsui

Manager of the Year: Bruce Bochy

Comeback Player of the year: Pat Burrell

HR Champion: Albert Pujols

AL Award Winners:

Cy Young: Barry Zito

MVP: Alex Rodriguez

Rookie of the Year: Bobby Crosby

Manager of the Year: Joe Torre

Comeback Player of the year: Darin Erstad

HR Champion: Manny Ramirez

First Big-Name Player Traded: Magglio Ordonez

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 11:33 AM

Sunday, April 04, 2004
This is wrong

If your last name is Amigone, you really shouldn't open up a funeral home.

Written by Joseph E. Aiello @ 10:06 PM

Friday, April 02, 2004
Prior reacts to steroid accusation

Thursday Jack McDowell (former Cy Young Award winnner for the White Sox) told Sporting News Radio that he thinks the reason for Priors slow recovery from his tendon injury is steroid related.
He has a tendon injury that's not healing," McDowell said. "You shouldn't have a problem like that that doesn't heal in a month. That's what happens to guys who use steroids."
McDowell claimed he wasnt "suspicious" of Prior using steroids, "but that's one of the tell-tale things. What happens with steroids is the muscles get too strong for the tendons. You have a lot of tendon blowouts or tendinitis that doesn't heal."

Prior reacted by telling MLB.com "Do I look like I'm on steroids? "That's the first I heard. Was he serious? I guess the best thing I can say is obviously I'm not, I don't know why he would say that."
"I never met the guy, I don't know the guy," he added. I don't know if he's got a beef with me because I went to (USC) and he went to Stanford. That's about the worst thing I've ever heard. It doesn't even make any sense."
"That's just a stupid comment," Prior said. "I could understand if he was making a joke but if he's dead serious, that's just stupid. I don't know why anyone would make a blanket statement like that, not knowing me, never having played with me. It's just ignorant."

Baker commented on the accusations as well telling MLB.com "How can you just say that?" "That's pitiful. I have no comment to that other than that's pitiful."

So really wtf is this about, out of nowhere Jack McDowell comes out accusing Prior of using steroids.....Any Cub fan would like to think the guy just fell off his rocker, but it kinda made me think. No one has any idea who and how many players take or have taken steroids, and its wrong to point out any single player (like Bonds).
Anyway it was no buisness of McDowell to say anything, and i think people bringing up Brady Andersons 50 HR. season and speculating on Prior are just plain idiotic, if there wasnt enough problems surrounding the steroid debate, these guys have to open there mouths and stir up more controversy.

Written by NoLimit54 @ 3:58 PM