SHORT & SWEET....RIGHT TO THE POINT.
as the north siders finish the month of may, consider these numbers, flub fans.
the overwhelming favorite to reach the world series is ONE game over .500 as we approach the 1/3 mark with relation to games played.
the flubs are currently behind four teams in the wild card race.
the only thing they appear to do with consistency is get hurt.
ramirez gone until august, lee over the hill and with a bad back, soto still fighting the bad shoulder, harden with his recurring bad back, soriano's knee getting worse every day and a bench that is now among the worst in the national league.
and the stat that should make you start to whistle past the graveyard......the boys in blue are 13-18 when playing teams that are .500 or better. and they haven't played the phillies or mets yet. honey, pass the cyanide.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
PROBLEMS FOR NEW OWNERS??
everyone in cub world breathed a sigh of relief back in january when the chicago based ricketts family was announced as the 'winner' in the sweepstakes to buy the sad sack north siders for a mere 900 million dollars. the asking price would be met by the billionaire family with no problem and the pressure of being 'unsettled' was now off the ball club and they could just concentrate on baseball. (like members of the cub roster read the financials....or even read).
but wait jusssssssssssssst a minute. it seems that the family has run into a bit of a stumbling block and is currently unable to raise the funds from the three institutions they were banking on to bankroll this exercise in futility. seems that something like the current economic disaster we're living in has thrown out the anchor and the lenders are less than eager to finance a virtual 'titanic' in the money world.
save your screams, cub fans. "we're worth a billion" "everyone wants to buy us" "we sell out every game" doesn't mean squat in a world dependent on EXPANDING your sources of revenue and that my friends, is what dooms any owner of the cubs.
where do you expand? how do you increase revenue? and before the bellicose north side drunks start proclaiming "just raise ticket prices" and "increase commercial rates," that ship has sailed long ago. raising advertising rates when you're already the highest in town is a recipe for disaster today and wouldn't necessarily benefit the cubs directly as WGN is not part of the tribune sale of the cubs and i think you saw what happen when the yankees tried screwing their fans with $2500 seats.....the fans screwed back and just flat out refused to buy them.
MARK CUBAN, the owner that everyone wanted said it best. "it's a losing proposition to buy the cubs and makes absolutey no sense business wise. why is that?? well, the park is ancient and has high maintenance costs. there is no room to expand because wrigley has landmark status and you can't change the structural integrity and still maintain that status which helps the cubs tax wise. the interior of wrigley is a joke and there is no more room for skyboxes, clubs, restaurants.....all the things you need in today's ownership world. the white sox did it right when they built a new stadium which gives them numerous opportunities to maximize and continue to grow. but if you buy the cubs, you better be ready to lose money every year because they will never make money in their current location."
now friends, that wasn't me talking but cub lover mark cuban. this is a situation that will rectify itself in time as far as new ownership but don't expect seashells & balloons when the new owners take over because they will constantly be strapped for cash. NOTHING will change with this team. nothing unless they tear the park down. remember where you read that.
but wait jusssssssssssssst a minute. it seems that the family has run into a bit of a stumbling block and is currently unable to raise the funds from the three institutions they were banking on to bankroll this exercise in futility. seems that something like the current economic disaster we're living in has thrown out the anchor and the lenders are less than eager to finance a virtual 'titanic' in the money world.
save your screams, cub fans. "we're worth a billion" "everyone wants to buy us" "we sell out every game" doesn't mean squat in a world dependent on EXPANDING your sources of revenue and that my friends, is what dooms any owner of the cubs.
where do you expand? how do you increase revenue? and before the bellicose north side drunks start proclaiming "just raise ticket prices" and "increase commercial rates," that ship has sailed long ago. raising advertising rates when you're already the highest in town is a recipe for disaster today and wouldn't necessarily benefit the cubs directly as WGN is not part of the tribune sale of the cubs and i think you saw what happen when the yankees tried screwing their fans with $2500 seats.....the fans screwed back and just flat out refused to buy them.
MARK CUBAN, the owner that everyone wanted said it best. "it's a losing proposition to buy the cubs and makes absolutey no sense business wise. why is that?? well, the park is ancient and has high maintenance costs. there is no room to expand because wrigley has landmark status and you can't change the structural integrity and still maintain that status which helps the cubs tax wise. the interior of wrigley is a joke and there is no more room for skyboxes, clubs, restaurants.....all the things you need in today's ownership world. the white sox did it right when they built a new stadium which gives them numerous opportunities to maximize and continue to grow. but if you buy the cubs, you better be ready to lose money every year because they will never make money in their current location."
now friends, that wasn't me talking but cub lover mark cuban. this is a situation that will rectify itself in time as far as new ownership but don't expect seashells & balloons when the new owners take over because they will constantly be strapped for cash. NOTHING will change with this team. nothing unless they tear the park down. remember where you read that.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND THOUGHTS
a quarter of the way thru the schedule:
anyone worried that the cubs are one game under .500?
does the hair on the back of your neck stand up whenever neal cotts makes an appearance?
milton bradley says the umps are out to get him. will they also please take his .188 batting average?
soto at .202, fontenot at .208, bradley at .188. scary.
jose contreras for cotts? just a thought
alexie ramirez....sophomore slump or just a slow start?
what's REALLY wrong with carlos quentin's foot?
josh field hitting .217 with 2 homers and 14 rbi. joe crede? .240 8 & 21 you decide.
white sox in perfect position....to finish fourth.
jim thome...why do they insist on throwing him knee high fastballs? can't hit anything else.
bobby jenks has, without question, the stupidest looking baseball hat in the american league.
good to see brian anderson hitting well because his leather has always been great.
allan iverson for chauncey billips? piston GM joe dumars is still banging his head against the wall.
love him or hate him.....john daly was a class act wishing good luck to phil & amy mickleson by wearing pink.
i see where lou piniella hasn't learned his lesson. used zambrano as a pinch hitter again monday night.
fukedome not available for pinch hitting duties?
NASCAR...........so what if it rains? let them keep driving. fans are there for the crashes so bad weather can only help. cancelling the race makes no sense to me.
hawks have climbed as far as they can but all good things must come to an end.
i don't know if it was legal or not but the hit on marty havlat? wow.
a final true story: a few years ago, i was golfing with a woman who hit a shot into the water. in keeping with relaxed rules, we drove to the point where her ball entered the water. i threw a ball down and said
" you're shooting 3." she stared at me and said "why?" i explained the basic rule of 'one in and one out' so now you're shooting your third shot. her reply? "but i never took the ball out of the water so it's only 'one in.'
can't argue with that kind of logic. she made par on that hole. really a true story.
ENJOY THE WEEK!
anyone worried that the cubs are one game under .500?
does the hair on the back of your neck stand up whenever neal cotts makes an appearance?
milton bradley says the umps are out to get him. will they also please take his .188 batting average?
soto at .202, fontenot at .208, bradley at .188. scary.
jose contreras for cotts? just a thought
alexie ramirez....sophomore slump or just a slow start?
what's REALLY wrong with carlos quentin's foot?
josh field hitting .217 with 2 homers and 14 rbi. joe crede? .240 8 & 21 you decide.
white sox in perfect position....to finish fourth.
jim thome...why do they insist on throwing him knee high fastballs? can't hit anything else.
bobby jenks has, without question, the stupidest looking baseball hat in the american league.
good to see brian anderson hitting well because his leather has always been great.
allan iverson for chauncey billips? piston GM joe dumars is still banging his head against the wall.
love him or hate him.....john daly was a class act wishing good luck to phil & amy mickleson by wearing pink.
i see where lou piniella hasn't learned his lesson. used zambrano as a pinch hitter again monday night.
fukedome not available for pinch hitting duties?
NASCAR...........so what if it rains? let them keep driving. fans are there for the crashes so bad weather can only help. cancelling the race makes no sense to me.
hawks have climbed as far as they can but all good things must come to an end.
i don't know if it was legal or not but the hit on marty havlat? wow.
a final true story: a few years ago, i was golfing with a woman who hit a shot into the water. in keeping with relaxed rules, we drove to the point where her ball entered the water. i threw a ball down and said
" you're shooting 3." she stared at me and said "why?" i explained the basic rule of 'one in and one out' so now you're shooting your third shot. her reply? "but i never took the ball out of the water so it's only 'one in.'
can't argue with that kind of logic. she made par on that hole. really a true story.
ENJOY THE WEEK!
Monday, May 11, 2009
BOO-BOO LOU NOTCHES 4th LOSS
LOU PINIELLA, the worst in-game manager in baseball today, hoisted his fourth "L" flag this season in a 3-2 loss in milwaukee on friday by avoiding both his set up man and closer while holding a one run lead in the eighth inning ON THE ROAD.
boo-boo lou's reasoning of "well, you can't pitch them every day" is pure crap when you look at how he has mis-used the combo over the last week. TWICE since may 2nd, boo-boo lou used the marmol/gregg combo when the cubs had FIVE RUN LEADS IN THE EIGHTH INNING rather than using mop up guys like heilman, patton, cotts, etc., so they can get in some work as well as resting the combo.
boo-boo lou has no idea how to handle his bullpen and dime to a dollar says he doesn't even know all of their names. he is constantly exposing his lack of baseball intelligence and strategy as he slips further into senility.
"can't pitch them every day" is absolutely correct, lou. but you can avoid that situation by properly handling your bullpen. or better yet, stay asleep and let bench coach alan trammel handle it. he'll wake you when the game is over. or maybe after the season.
boo-boo lou's reasoning of "well, you can't pitch them every day" is pure crap when you look at how he has mis-used the combo over the last week. TWICE since may 2nd, boo-boo lou used the marmol/gregg combo when the cubs had FIVE RUN LEADS IN THE EIGHTH INNING rather than using mop up guys like heilman, patton, cotts, etc., so they can get in some work as well as resting the combo.
boo-boo lou has no idea how to handle his bullpen and dime to a dollar says he doesn't even know all of their names. he is constantly exposing his lack of baseball intelligence and strategy as he slips further into senility.
"can't pitch them every day" is absolutely correct, lou. but you can avoid that situation by properly handling your bullpen. or better yet, stay asleep and let bench coach alan trammel handle it. he'll wake you when the game is over. or maybe after the season.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
CUB FANS CAN NOW RELAX
every season cub fans work very hard at compiling a strong list of excuses as to why the ball club once again failed to be successful but this year the list has pretty much written itself and can now be published.
why print it so early? because it will give the north siders time to memorize it and smoothly slip them into conversation rather than turning all red faced and grabbing a wrinkled piece of paper from their back pocket and blurting out something like "oh yeah??? well, our players weren't used to the new field sod this year" which was an actual one that i heard last december while discussing all the playoff errors. so here it is:
why print it so early? because it will give the north siders time to memorize it and smoothly slip them into conversation rather than turning all red faced and grabbing a wrinkled piece of paper from their back pocket and blurting out something like "oh yeah??? well, our players weren't used to the new field sod this year" which was an actual one that i heard last december while discussing all the playoff errors. so here it is:
TOP REASONS FOR 2009 CUBS FAILURE
(* denotes the excuse was used in previous years)
15) lou doesn't understand how to use the bullpen *
14) i warned you about hoffpauir's defense
13) lee's back & neck problems cost us on offense and defense
12) signing bradley was bad for the clubhouse
11) soto's shoulder was hurt all year
10) owner's money problem was a distraction to the players *
9) worst in-game manager in the game today *
8) jeff samardjia let us down
7) derrek lee still not recovered from broken wrist *
6) trading mark derosa was a mistake and we need him in the clubhouse
5) kerry wood is a warrior and we need him in the clubhouse *
4) joey gathright never got a chance
3) ryan freel says he has a voice in his head and named 'it' farney
2) aramis never got back on track after his injury *
1) i told you Z would get hurt screwing around on offense *
now don't despair if your favorite excuse didn't make the top fifteen because this list can be updated at any time and it's just a matter of time before ALL THE EXCUSES are available for memory commitment. i guarantee the list will double in size before very long.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
LOU BLOWS ANOTHER
question one on your manager's test:
your ball club has won four in a row and starting to show signs of coming out of a three week offensive slump by averaging 7 runs a game against the first place florida marlins. you're scheduled to face the reigning cy young winner with a chance to end your home stand on fire. do you:
your ball club has won four in a row and starting to show signs of coming out of a three week offensive slump by averaging 7 runs a game against the first place florida marlins. you're scheduled to face the reigning cy young winner with a chance to end your home stand on fire. do you:
a) play the 'on fire' lineup
b) make some small adjustments
c) bench FIVE STARTERS
if you answered anything but a or b, please sign up immediately for the lou piniella fan club.
lou lost his third game of the year by playing a lineup that would probably finish third in AAA. starting luminaries such as joey gathright, bobby scales (?) and aaron miles (all hitting under .200) doomed the cubs against tim lincecum and further amplified the fact that piniella is suffering the early stages of dementia amd is no longer qualified to run a major league team.
lou's reason for the minor league lineup? "the cold & the travel have been tough on us." WHAT? lou, you played AT HOME the night before and the weather was the best yesterday, with the game time temperature a very mild 56 degrees. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS GUY TALKING ABOUT?
he's now personally been responsible for 3 losses in the first 26 games and this problem will only get worse as the long season marches on and the stress further confuses this doddering fool. rest one guy if you want. maybe two if he has a negative history with lincecum...but five??
the media has been giving this buffoon a pass for a couple of years but it's time for lou to be held accountable. remember, this is the same guy who benched ted lilly and reed johnson in last years playoffs, despite being the best pitcher and offensive threat the second half of the season.
the time to 'move lou' is NOW before he hallucinates the cubs out of the playoffs.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
THE SAY HEY KID
when i was a kid, my favorite team was the white sox but my favorite player was WILLIE MAYS, who i feel was not just the greatest outfielder ever but the greatest player EVER. i just heard that willie's health is not the best and i guess that's expected as you approach eighty but it caused me to reflect on his career and his statistics with the giants which i committed to memory long ago. i have always excluded his two disastrous
season with the mets when he was suffering from brett favre disease at the end of his career.
over twenty years with the giants, he averaged .304 with 3178 hits, 646 home runs, 1856 rbi and 1376 walks and a slugging % of .570.
for the mathematically challenged, that breaks down to a yearly average of:
season with the mets when he was suffering from brett favre disease at the end of his career.
over twenty years with the giants, he averaged .304 with 3178 hits, 646 home runs, 1856 rbi and 1376 walks and a slugging % of .570.
for the mathematically challenged, that breaks down to a yearly average of:
158 hits
32 home runs
92 rbi
16 stolen bases
68 walks
no too shabby, huh? imagine getting that type of production from your #3 hitter for TWENTY YEARS! when you toss in a rookie of the year award, two MVP trophys, four world series and twelve gold gloves, i think you get the idea of how great he was........oh, did i forget to mention that he made the all-star team 22 years in a row while averaging 141 games a year when they only played 154 games a season. with only eight teams in each league, you faced the best of the best day in and day out. pitchers like koufax, drysdale, law, spahn, burdette, purkey, buhl, podres, erskine, newcombe, ellsworth, haddix and a dozen more that i've forgotten.
if you get the chance, check out willie's stats and when you realize that he played throughout the 50's & 60's, known as the golden era of baseball, you'll realize what a treasure he was to the game of baseball.
stay well, willie.
Monday, May 4, 2009
THOUGHTS FROM A LONG WEEKEND
MY PERSONAL THANKS TO JOCKEY CALVIN BOREL for having the skill & guts to shoot the gap on two seperate occasions in the derby which is the only way MINE THAT BIRD was going to win that race. you have a micro second to make your decision and he was 'spot on' both times and rode the rail all the way to the bank.
THE CHICAGO BULLS gave us two weeks worth of fun & frustration and now face some decisions. john paxson is stepping aside (which is the deal they made with him back when all those rumors were flying in february) and the new gm has to decide on ben gordon and whether or not to trade a handful of players for dwayne wade. imagine rose running the floor for wade and defenses having to play honest.
the refusal of LOU PINIELLA to take control of the team and specifically CARLOS ZAMBRANO, has now jeopardized the cub season. face it, Z is a overgrown (and overweight) kid who needed to be reigned in long ago and having your pitcher running from first to third, letting him bat when he's done pitching or laying down a bunt other than a sacrifice is incompetence at it's highest level. Z has underachieved his entire career but he's the best the cubs have. or had.
THE WHITE SOX are convincing me every day that my prediction of a fourth place finish is right on the money. no 4th or 5th pitcher accelerates the fire when danks or floyd struggle.
finally, THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS are the new darlings of chicago with full houses and post season success bringing them well deserved headlines. an upset of vancouver might set up a showdown with detroit. sweet.
THE CHICAGO BULLS gave us two weeks worth of fun & frustration and now face some decisions. john paxson is stepping aside (which is the deal they made with him back when all those rumors were flying in february) and the new gm has to decide on ben gordon and whether or not to trade a handful of players for dwayne wade. imagine rose running the floor for wade and defenses having to play honest.
the refusal of LOU PINIELLA to take control of the team and specifically CARLOS ZAMBRANO, has now jeopardized the cub season. face it, Z is a overgrown (and overweight) kid who needed to be reigned in long ago and having your pitcher running from first to third, letting him bat when he's done pitching or laying down a bunt other than a sacrifice is incompetence at it's highest level. Z has underachieved his entire career but he's the best the cubs have. or had.
THE WHITE SOX are convincing me every day that my prediction of a fourth place finish is right on the money. no 4th or 5th pitcher accelerates the fire when danks or floyd struggle.
finally, THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS are the new darlings of chicago with full houses and post season success bringing them well deserved headlines. an upset of vancouver might set up a showdown with detroit. sweet.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
