Looking at the Game of Baseball from all ends of the Spectrum
The 2008 Chicago Cubs (tentative) schedule is out. Hmm.. September is full of intra-division games and we end the season with the Brewers. (hat tip to Bleed Cubbie Blue)
The 2008 Chicago Cubs (tentative) schedule is out.
Hmm.. September is full of intra-division games and we end the season with the Brewers.
Christopher Reina from RealGM wrote a decent post mortem on the Chicago Cubs, discussing their situation entering the 2008 season. That said, I hope he kidding about this: I would feel comfortable handing Milton Bradley over to Piniella. He hit .313 with 11 homeruns in 144 at-bats for the Padres before infamously blowing out his … Continue reading “What now, Cubs?”
Christopher Reina from RealGM wrote a decent post mortem on the Chicago Cubs, discussing their situation entering the 2008 season.
That said, I hope he kidding about this:
I would feel comfortable handing Milton Bradley over to Piniella. He hit .313 with 11 homeruns in 144 at-bats for the Padres before infamously blowing out his knee.
*shudder*
The TV at home bore the brunt of my frustrations tonight. I must have thrown three or four of my kids’ toys at it tonight.. starting with Chris Young’s bomb off Rich Hill. I actually turned the television off after Stephen Drew’s homer in the 9th inning. Logging on to mlb.com just now, I had … Continue reading “Wasted Opportunities ruin the Cubs”
The TV at home bore the brunt of my frustrations tonight. I must have thrown three or four of my kids’ toys at it tonight.. starting with Chris Young’s bomb off Rich Hill.
I actually turned the television off after Stephen Drew’s homer in the 9th inning. Logging on to mlb.com just now, I had my fingers crossed, of course to no avail.
The Cubs never had it. Not that they didn’t had their chances. Livian Hernandez, however, got out of every jam.
The magic number for the series is zero. That is the number of rbis by Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramirez for the series combined. Again, wasted opportunities.
I will give the Arizona Diamondbacks their due. If team loyalty wasn’t an issue, the ‘Backs are a team I might have enjoyed watching win. With players like Byrnes, Drew, and Young, they are a scrappy, hustling team with a hunger for victory.
All for now, I’m too drained and frustrated. Later, I’ll do a season wrap-up of the Cubs season.
I bring back non-Cub fan co-hosts so I can gloat
No, I don’t really :-)
Here are the show notes…
032- Pre-Postseason Roundtable
Show Notes for Episode 32:
Hosts: Tom, Chuck, Todd
Summary: After Todd tells how happy he is about the Littlefield leaving the Pirates, we discuss the upcoming postseason. We give our opinions on who will go on and who won’t.
Thanks for listening!!
Time: 46:19
Date Recorded: 9/30/07
Regular TBZ readers may have noticed the “Magic Number” widget we had on the right sidebar. It was a (free) handy little piece of code we got from MLB Magic Numbers. It simply calculated the Cubs’ magic number and updated it on the fly. After the Cubs clinched, it displayed “Clin”. Any way you spell … Continue reading “Handy Magic Number Widget Confuses Cubs with White Sox”
Regular TBZ readers may have noticed the “Magic Number” widget we had on the right sidebar. It was a (free) handy little piece of code we got from MLB Magic Numbers. It simply calculated the Cubs’ magic number and updated it on the fly.
After the Cubs clinched, it displayed “Clin”. Any way you spell it, it means Clinch!!.
However, I load up TBZ today and notice that the Cubs’ magic number has impatiently risen to 163. It’s no cruel joke… seems that their coding is ready for 2008.
Looks like at least one of my predictions will be right for the NL this year. Thank goodness it was the NL Central. Zambrano brought his A game to the mound for his last start of the season. He was in complete control for the whole game allowing six hits and no runs (and one … Continue reading “Clinch!”
Looks like at least one of my predictions will be right for the NL this year. Thank goodness it was the NL Central.
Zambrano brought his A game to the mound for his last start of the season. He was in complete control for the whole game allowing six hits and no runs (and one walk) over seven innings.
My kids stayed up with me to watch the game. My seven year old daughter even attempted to stay up to watch the end of the Pads-Brewers game to see if we would clinch. Bless her heart she dozed off by the ninth. When I roused her to tell her that the Cubs were going to the playoffs, she mumbled, “Good” then fell back asleep.
She was much more excited about the matter this morning.
One lasting image that will stick with me?? Seeing the multitude of fans rooting for the Cubs at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. When the scoreboard showed that the Padres had jumped ahead of the Brewers 4-3. it seemed the whole stadium erupted. Even through the TV, I could hear the chant, “Let’s Go Cubs! shouted in unison.
I took a day off from the Cubs today instead taking my aforementioned daughter to “A Game Plan” (actually, not a bad movie… if you have a young daughter, she will love it). I see that Rich Hill got the job done putting to rest any idea that the Cubs are backing into the playoffs.
Next up, Ted Lily on Sunday.
Finally, I leave you with this video that Tyler from Baseball Zealot Radio subjected me to. Can’t say much about the music. A college student who works for me says it’s based on song that’s popular with the kids these days. But it does has some cool Cubs imagery.
Tyler and Alex join me again this week. Here are the show notes:
031- Cubs Chat II: Keepin’ it Positive
Show Notes for Episode 31:
Hosts: Tom, Alex, Tyler
Summary: Alex Breen and Tyler Davis are back for more Cubs analysis We cover the last week’s series and look forward to the last series of the year with the Reds.
Also, we discuss which players Lou might take to the postseason.
Thanks for listening!!
Time: 31:46
Date Recorded: 9/28/07
Listen to other Baseball Zealot Radio episodes
Cub fans who are interested in getting NLDS tickets should prepare to get up early Sunday morning. The online waiting room opens at 8:30am and ticket sales begin at 9am. Here is the entry point if you’re interested. You can also phone in and try your luck with that route. Good luck and Go Cubs! … Continue reading “Cub fans, set your alarm clocks for NLDS tix Sunday am”
Cub fans who are interested in getting NLDS tickets should prepare to get up early Sunday morning. The online waiting room opens at 8:30am and ticket sales begin at 9am. Here is the entry point if you’re interested.
You can also phone in and try your luck with that route.
Good luck and Go Cubs!
BZR turns the big 3-0 (episodes) this week. I remember a poster that my cousin had up on his wall back in his rebellious days that said “Never trust anyone over 30!” Of course now he works for a defense firm so take that for what you will.
This week’s show features two Cub fans as guest hosts. I must say that provides for a different atmosphere when discussing my beloved Cubs.
We had fun doing the show and I hope you enjoy listening to it. As I say in the show notes, I think I’ll have them back again.
Without further ado, here are the show notes:
Show Notes for Episode 30:
Hosts: Tom, Alex, Tyler
Summary: It’s crunch time for the Cubs so I bring on Cub fans Alex Breen and Tyler Davis as guest hosts.
We discuss the Cubs’ improved pitching staff, Lou Piniella’s shaving habits, and decide who we would choose for this year’s Cub MVP.
We had so much fun, BZR might invite those two back again.
Links:
Here is the info you need if you’re interested in getting tix for the NLDS.
Thanks for listening!!
Time: 31:21
Date Recorded: 9/20/07
Listen to other Baseball Zealot Radio episodes
It happened to Terry Francona last week and now it’s happened to Lou. Lou Piniella was threatened with a $1000 fine for not wearing an official Cubs jersey during games. The supposed infraction during the series against the Giants in San Fran. ”It was cold, so I wore the fleece top,” Piniella said of the … Continue reading “Piniella accused of wardrobe malfuntion”
It happened to Terry Francona last week and now it’s happened to Lou.
Lou Piniella was threatened with a $1000 fine for not wearing an official Cubs jersey during games. The supposed infraction during the series against the Giants in San Fran.
”It was cold, so I wore the fleece top,” Piniella said of the pullover that is included among the uniform items. ”I had on the gray [T-shirt] underneath the fleece.”
Apparently, someone above noticed and Piniella got the letter with the threat of the fine.
As my friend, Todd V would say, “Leave it to the MLB to find a way to make money”. The issue here lies with the corporate sponsors who require all players and field personnel to wear the official uniform.
Don’t get me started on this. If it were up to me, I’d put all managers in street clothes during games.
