Excitable Boy

by Al on Apr 27, 2008 6:00 AM CDT in Recaps

Well he went down to dinner in his Sunday best
Excitable boy, they all said
And he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest
Excitable boy, they all said
Well he's just an excitable boy...
-- Warren Zevon

Those of us who have followed Carlos Zambrano's career from day one know that he's very, very excitable. Last night there were times when I thought his head was going to blow right off his shoulders when he didn't get a couple of close ball/strike calls, as plate umpire Jim Wolf's strike zone did seem a little strange last night. To Wolf's credit, it was at least consistent for both teams. He also had a very slow strike call -- don't you hate that? I know the players do -- in the fourth inning Derrek Lee started to walk to first base on a 3-2 count on a pitch that looked like ball four, only to be called out on strikes. (Speaking of umpires, umpire Kerwin Danley was injured when hit by a Brad Penny pitch in the Dodgers/Rockies game in Los Angeles last night. He was taken to a local hospital and let's hope he's OK.)

The called K was just about the only thing D-Lee did wrong in last night's 7-0 Cub shutout of the Nationals, their first shutout of the season. Lee singled, doubled, walked twice, scored twice and drove in three runs, as Z pitched his best game of the year, allowing only four singles and a double, lowering his ERA to 2.21. He did issue four walks -- nearly doubling his previous total for the entire season of five -- but was never really in trouble, and the Cubs breezed through this game, scoring three times in the first inning on a Lee RBI single and, after Kosuke Fukudome had walked to load the bases, Mark DeRosa singled for two runs. Five of the first six Cubs reached base. It was the Cubs' 16th win in April, tying the club record for wins in April, set in... 1969.

Fukudome was about the only Cub who didn't contribute much last night -- too bad, because he was celebrating his 31st birthday. Geovany Soto also had a tough night at the plate, going 0-for-5 and striking out all five times. BCB reader bluekoolaide's FanPost asks "What's wrong with Soto?" but I don't think anything's wrong other than he's having a rough patch, which can happen to anyone. He'll likely get today off, which would be expected anyway (day game after a night game) and thus can rest till Tuesday night when the Cubs come home to face the Brewers. Incidentally, the Yahoo AP recap of the game says:

Cubs C Geovany Soto struck out five times, each time against a different Washington pitcher.

That's a pretty good trick, considering the Nats used only four pitchers last night.

Other good things last night: Michael Wuertz, who has struggled, threw a scoreless inning, issuing a leadoff walk but then inducing a double-play ball; Jon Lieber threw an efficient ninth (14 pitches, making him probably available today again if needed), and ONEDEC had three more hits. When Alfonso Soriano comes off the DL and DeRosa returns to 2B, Lou will have a choice to make between ONEDEC and Ryan Theriot at SS. The logical thing would be to play ONEDEC, but Theriot has also hit. I don't want to start the Theriot firestorm again, but Lou likes playing the hot hand. There will be some choices to be made, and isn't that a nice problem to have? It's clear that Ronny Cedeno has, perhaps at last, figured out what he needs to do to be a solid regular major league player. He's earned playing time.

Once again, I commend all of you to BCB reader 08cubs' FanPost; he was at the game and has an excellent recap including photos.

Note about the Nationals: I have seen plenty of big men on a baseball field. But there is no way around this: Nats catcher Johnny Estrada is FAT. I know that's not a politically correct way of saying it... but geez, how does that guy crouch 100+ times a game? No wonder the Brewers dumped him. In 15 games he's 7-for-32, but has failed to score a run. Do you think he could go through an entire season scoreless?

So, Ted Lilly will take the mound this afternoon, trying to build on the good outing he had last Tuesday at Wrigley Field; win this game and you've had another successful road trip.

Finally, for those of you who have been so outraged about more advertising at Wrigley Field or the proposals for possible sale of the naming rights to the ballpark, during last night's game there was advertising that was genuinely annoying: during one of Fukudome's at-bats (and maybe elsewhere, too; that's the only one I actually saw) an ad for a movie opening on May 9 flashed across the CSN screen, then vanished. Unlike advertising at the ballpark, or naming rights, which can easily be ignored and don't interrupt the action, this ad DID get in the way. (And was pretty ineffective, as I can't even remember the name of the movie.) I know CSN wants to squeeze every ad dollar they can out of these telecasts, but that one was pretty ridiculous.

I'll have a game thread up later this morning. Keep the winning going.

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Good Win!

Nice to see the offense come back after a couple of less than spectacular performances over the last two games. Let’s keep up the trend of beating the “REALLY BAD” teams and get another victory today! Looking forward to seeing this game via WGN, GO CUBS!!!!

by cubbiefanTN on Apr 27, 2008 6:34 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

down the line

I was there last night, and when expressing amazement at the 5th or so perfectly executed Cub hit down the left field line, the women behind me told me that the Cubs had been working on it in batting practice. It sure paid off!

Oh and it was cold and windy in the upper deck, very unusual for DC even in April. Sure did make me homesick though.

by techne on Apr 27, 2008 7:43 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

agreed

i was talking to my dad about it, it was pretty cool

2008 Cubs: Why Beat A Team in Regulation, when you can beat them in extras?

by Chanman25 on Apr 27, 2008 7:47 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

It might snow here tomorrow...

Does that make you even more homesick? ;-)

Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."

by ballhawk on Apr 27, 2008 11:23 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Soriano took batting pratice yesterday

I’m going to upload a couple pics of batting practice, I think one is of him. He seemed great and hit a couple home runs. Zambrano hit like 5 during batting practice.

2008 Cubs: Why Beat A Team in Regulation, when you can beat them in extras?

by Chanman25 on Apr 27, 2008 7:49 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Oh and, can someone explain to me

I live in DC and don’t have cable, so I listen to games, I don’t watch them, and I hadn’t seen Z pitch this year yet. Was the gun at Nats Park slow, or was Zambrano really pitching in the 80s all night? The one fastball I noticed was hit to deep center in the first for a double. Can someone explain this to me?

by techne on Apr 27, 2008 8:10 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Z did an interview

where he said he learned from Maddux that speed isn’t the most important thing for his pitches. That he can still throw the ball in the low 90s upper 80s and get hitters out because he gets more movement on his pitches. The lower speed is actually intentional on Z’s part.

Its a good sign in that he is thinking out there on the mound and using the god given movement of his pitches instead of trying to overthrow them.

"Very adroit in the outfield." - Lou, on Dome

by gwood on Apr 27, 2008 8:36 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Well

I’ve been following all his starts on GameDay and it seems he threw harder yesterday than in previous starts. Don’t know which speed meter is wrong, but he did have more walks in this start than in previous ones and also throw a lot of pitches. Thus I’m guessing GameDay got it right and he threw mostly 94-96.

by Luis on Apr 27, 2008 8:56 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

I think what Z is actually saying is he is maturing as a pitcher

Varying speed, location and movement disrupts even HOF hitters most of the time. Using speed even overwhelming speed should be used as a tactic and eventual strategy. In Z’s case hitters come to the plate armed with these obstacles:

Heavy fastball, sometimes 95, sometimes 88. Two fastballs, a cutter and four-seamer (rising) and a solid heavy two-plain slider that can be 88 to 85 and a slow slurve that is in the 70’s. He also is a bit wild because of movement.

The more he learns to control his wildness the more he will be even more dominant is his knowledge on how to approach the game.

Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."

by Ivy Walls on Apr 27, 2008 10:35 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

No argument

That is the plan and he has pretty much executed it all year. I just wanted to point that yesterday he went a little away from that strategy and threw a lot in the 94-96 range. He didn’t give a run and still had to throw 110+ pitches to get through seven. Had he given a couple of runs he wouldn’t have gone past the 5th probably. It didn’t matter yesterday, I’m just saying that I’d like to see him mix it up a little more like he did his other starts.

by Luis on Apr 27, 2008 10:38 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

yeah

So it sounds like I was seeing maturity plus an oddly calibrated Nats Park gun. Thanks for the context.

Will Maddux become a pitching coach when he retires?

by techne on Apr 27, 2008 5:37 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

a few days ago

an ad like that for southwest popped up right before a pitch. It was just a plane and said “Southwest”. I was laughing because I thought some guys in the graphics department just screwed up and put it up at the wrong time…but after seeing that last night I realized it probably was supposed to be there. I’m pretty sure the Southwest ad stayed up just until, or possibly right after, the pitch was released. It was one of the most obtrusive and distracting things I’ve ever seen in a ballgame.

In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity - Einstein

by cubbieblue86 on Apr 27, 2008 8:14 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Zambrano

The result was of course excellent: 7 innings, 0 runs.

I would have liked to see more of those fastballs 89-91 though. Last night saw him revert somewhat to old Zambrano, as he was working mostly in the 94-96 range. This meant a lot of pitches, especially foul balls. And eventually those walks end up hurting you. Can’t complain with the result, just hope he will pitch more like the previous starts in the future.

by Luis on Apr 27, 2008 8:19 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

"The logical thing would be to play ONEDEC"

“but Theriot has also hit”. In fact, they both have the proverbial hot hand. Both could be a mirage, Theriot almost certainly. But he’s been the starting shortstop since forever now, and Lou isn’t going to bench him till he has an extended slump. Cedeno will still get to play when DeRosa spells A-Ram, Dome, Soriano and Lee, and I bet he features prominently in Ye Olde Double Switches.

"Is there anything he can't do?" ~Len Kasper, 4/5/08, on Kosuke Fukudome

by JohnM on Apr 27, 2008 8:27 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

I think the performance on the field will dictate how Piniella uses his versatile bench

When Soriano returns my bet is he plays 4/6 games a week, meaning that Johnson will get some games in LF at least for a while. Further you might see Johnson play 4/6 games where he probably will play 2/6 games in CF leaving Pie 4/6. My guess is that DeRosa will be used in RF 1/6 games as Fukudome probably is not used to this pace of games and that will not be dictated by Fuku’s stamina meaning that unless it is a left handed starter Fontenot gets his one-game a week to stay fresh.

That leaves the SS spot when Soriano returns. My bet is that Piniella will either go 4/6 Theriot in May but if Cedeno continues to play well and he will get in late game situations with double switches we might see 3/3 platoon keeping both fresh and hungry.

To me Cedeno is showing the promise, he is not there all the way mentally, (situationally) but he is getting there with his promise to hit for high BA that showed in AAA in ‘05 and ‘07. His range and arm is so much superior than Theriot’s so when defense is a premium I can see Cedeno at SS.

Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."

by Ivy Walls on Apr 27, 2008 10:43 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Another good win

But as Al always says, they should beat teams like the Nats.

By all accounts on TV, the new stadium in DC is beautiful. With the field below street level it will be interesting to see what happens this summer when it gets really hot in DC. it doesn’t look like there is any wind at all.

Let’s keep thing rolling today.

by AlabamaCubFan on Apr 27, 2008 8:59 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

I just want to say one thing

Teams get to the postseason with sub .600 records. Baseball is not the NBA or NFL. Beating even bad teams is not a foregone conclusion. Let’s not take credit away from any win, especially those sweeps against the Pirates. Nobody is supposed to sweep anybody in baseball, and less two times in a row. Baseball is very unpredictable even when good teams play bad teams.

by Luis on Apr 27, 2008 9:04 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Excitable Boy

Let’s hope that’s as far into the song lyrics Big Z gets. Pot roast on the chest is fine. Building a cage with her bones—a little much.

http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/warren_zevon/excitable_boy.html

(Sorry, huge Zevon fan—can’t let the post go with just one reference to Warren).

"Don't think; it can only hurt the ball club."

by Jesse Guam on Apr 27, 2008 9:13 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

well, seeing as how the Cubs are in DC...

...I’m surprised this one didn’t make the list somehow. ;-)

http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/warren_zevon/lawyers_guns_and_money.html

Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."

by ballhawk on Apr 27, 2008 11:31 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Fun game

to watch. Hope for another win today.

by sue369 on Apr 27, 2008 9:58 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Zambrano

Zambrano did just what a team should expect the ace of the staff to do. When a team loses the first two of the series or is on a little slide the ace should be the stopper and Z did that last night. He’s been my favorite player for a very long time.

Bleeding Cubbie Blue since 1985.

by Bricks and Ivy on Apr 27, 2008 10:08 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

For Soto shouldn't it be called "THE PLATINUM SOMBERO?"

A sure sign of how periodic fatigue can come into play where Soto has traveled through 3 time zones and handled the catching 2 games (night/day) and then travel to WAS and then lat night.

Also Cedeno got 2 doubles and Theriot 2 hits, and both are hot. What a competition, I say Piniella will ride them to see who emerges by August/September.

Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."

by Ivy Walls on Apr 27, 2008 10:15 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

I don't know why...

But i’ve always loved the fact that striking out 4x in a game is called the Golden Sombrero. It’s just one of those unexplainable things about baseball that makes it cool. They have a nickname for everything that happens on the field.

by steinmer on Apr 27, 2008 10:41 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Golden Sombrero = Gold Record, Platinum Sombrero = Platinum Record

The Sombero comes from the dunce hat where the Sombrero was a big round hat that one could see in the locker room.

Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."

by Ivy Walls on Apr 27, 2008 10:48 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

actually the legend is here"

The term derives from “hat trick”, a hockey term for three goals that was applied to baseball as a term for three strikeouts. Since four is bigger than three, the rationale was that a four-strikeout performance should be referred to by a bigger hat, such as a sombrero.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_sombrero

The “Olympic Rings” or platinum sombrero applies to a player striking out five times in a game,[1] while a horn (after Sam Horn of the Baltimore Orioles who accomplished the feat in an extra-inning game in 1991) or titanium sombrero is bestowed upon a player who strikes out six times in a single game.[2]

Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."

by Ivy Walls on Apr 27, 2008 10:50 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

I had thought the "Horn" was a legend.

But Horn did indeed strike out six times in a 15-inning game vs. the Royals on July 17, 1991.

The most times he ever struck out in any other game in his career was three.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Apr 27, 2008 12:04 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

A side note on BB drawn

I can’t get over how good the team has looked in terms of drawing BB and working the count. I don’t know how long it will last (hopefully a LONG time) but I am going to enjoy every moment of it. For a little perspective, here are the Dusty years plus the year prior, in terms of Cubs rank in BB drawn:

2002: 9th
—-—-—-
2003: 21st
2004: 25th
2005: 28th
2006: 30th (last)
—-—-—-

by Luis on Apr 27, 2008 10:26 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

To: Johnny Estrada From: SWLGS

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.

by santoswoodenlegs on Apr 27, 2008 10:27 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

DeRosa update when Soriano comes back

Hey Al, I don’t know how reliable these National announcers are but that’s the feed last nights game had on EI. They said they asked Lou about the situation and that DeRosa would be the odd man out. Lou plans to rest someone every day to give DeRosa playing time but just in all different positions.

by ak123 on Apr 27, 2008 10:35 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

If that's true

and there will be an infield of Theriot/Cedeno, I think for defensive purposes the two should be switched (one thing is fairly certain: Cedeno is a better defensive shortstop, despite his occasional airmail-related gaffes). But I have a hard time seeing DeRosa getting pipped by one of these guys.

"Is there anything he can't do?" ~Len Kasper, 4/5/08, on Kosuke Fukudome

by JohnM on Apr 27, 2008 10:40 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Cedeno v Theriot?

I would also go with Cedeno based on two things, overall production, Theriot’s awful CS rate, and the opportunity to build confidence in Cedeno. Okay, that’s 3 things. There’s a 4th thing as well, sticking with Cedeno down in the order allows for Fukudome to bat 2nd.

I like Theriot and I have been very hard on Cedeno in posts because he’s played at a minor league level for too long. Cedeno deserves a reward for his production, but it’s only temporary, i.e., he hasn’t won the jod for the rest of the season, and a week from now he’s just one bad slump with mental mistakes in the field from being back on the bench.

Theriot’s CS rate is unacceptable, he needs to stop running if he’s going to get thrown out that much.

Finally, it’s disappointing to me that the Cubs still appear to be under the veil of Anti-Base Clogging Ignorance, to a degree, when they are talking about how Soriano will go right back to lead off. Fukudome should be hitting first or 2nd and with Johnson’s hand of late he should have the other slot. I don’t care about upsetting Soriano, and I even read in the paper today that Andruw Jones has been benched for Juan Pierre at times and batted down to 8 and April isn’t over yet for LA. I’d like to see the Cubs take a more rational approach to leadoff, and it is disappointing to me that they won’t use this opportunity to bat Soriano down. You even have the perfect media alibi to stroke his ego “We don’t want him pushing that hamstring by batting leadoff, so we’re batting him 5th.” Ideally, Fukudome 1, Johnson 2, Soriano 5, Cedeno/Theriot 7 or 8.

by DudeVf11 on Apr 27, 2008 10:49 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

This is BIG NEWS! DeRosa moving to a floating starter

All the way back in the ‘80’s I sat with a friend of mine who is now a retired sports editor of a Midwest paper where we discussed for a long time why the Cubs were not winners since WWII. He had a historical perspective on sports and franchises and looked for anomaly’s like day baseball but more the effect on the team and how a franchise must adjust to an obstacle. The issue was that teams were built around the standard and the Cubs approached the game wrong-headed.

We finally came to a consensus.
1) Strike out pitchers and not sinker-ballers were more effective for they removed batters not hitting the ball for multiple run HR’s. Fergie Jenkins should the way giving up one-run HR’s not 2 and 3 run jack. Now look at the Cubs, Wood, Prior, Z, Sutcliffe are the successful starters, not the sinker ballers. K’s are one of the answers.
2) In reverse, for the Cubs offense OBP is the answer not HR killers. For again there is the odds to get 2 and 3 run jacks….look back in the years they led in solo HR’s.
3) A super floater starter….the final piece. This is a player who can rest every starter one game a week but who was good enough to be important starter. This would be the team’s internal MVP, one who could play 2 OF positions, and possibly 2 or 3 infield positions.

This person had be able to drive in runs, have the respect of the team. I envisioned DeRosa playing a game at LF resting Soriano (one a week, I can see Johnson getting a game also but right now he is going to get 3/6 at least in CF), a game in RF (DOME needs a rest one game a week), a game at 3B, (same for Rami) and a game at 2B and even a game at 1B once a week. With Cedeno developing it allows Piniella to play him there or even switch and move Theriot and play Fontenot more often.

Piniella then will not have a set lineup where he will move players around in a variety of roles or lineups.

Let us see:
Here is how it could evolve to (although the lineup looks better with Soriano down the order and when Pie plays he bats second and the SS bats 2nd):
Soriano LF Johnson CF Johnson CF Soriano LF Sori LF
Johnson/Pie CF Theriot/Cedeno SS Theriot/Cedeno SS Johnson/Pie CF Johnson/Pie CF
Lee 1B Lee 1B Lee 1B Lee 1B Fukudome RF
Ramirez 3B Rami 3B Rami 3B Fukudome RF Rami 3B
Fukudome RF DOME RF Soriano(?) LF DeRosa 3B DeRosa 1B
DeRosa 2B DeRosa LF DeRosa RF Soto C Soto C
Soto C Soto/Blanco C Soto/Blanco C Cedeno/Fonty 2B Cedeno/Fonty 2B
Theriot SS Fontenot/Cedeno 2B Fontenot/Cedeno 2B Theriot/Cedeno SS Theriot/Cedeno SS

Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."

by Ivy Walls on Apr 27, 2008 11:27 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Soriano and Theriot

Soriano should bat 6th.
I would leave Fukudome 5th as long as the top of the order is producing.
Did you look at Theriot’s stolen bases rate for last year?

by Luis on Apr 27, 2008 10:55 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Should have been a reply to DudeVf11 (np)

by Luis on Apr 27, 2008 10:55 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Yes, Theriot had a great rate last season...

...but at 11 attempts and 5 CS, he had better run off a string of zero CS, like 14 in a row to get it back to being worthwhile. If he can do that, then fine, he’s helping the team. However, he’s off to a very bad start on the bases and players like Theriot, who are marginal starters should not be given as much slack, i.e., you can soon be wondering why he’s on the roster if you let him dig a deep enough hole.

I favor Fukudome at the top because it is a realistic expectation based on ability. The batting order should make some sense and the Cubs, for too long, have based the 1 & 2 spots on ignorance as to scoring runs. Soriano can be a good leadoff guy if he’s hitting 30 HRs but not if you want high OBP. Johnson, Theriot, and Cedeno are not really leadoff guys and we’re fortunate they are all hitting right now. I’d be willing to ride one of their hot hands, Johnson, in the 1 or 2 spot, but Fukudome needs to be there, I’d love to see him on base and seeing all those pitches in front of Lee.

by DudeVf11 on Apr 27, 2008 11:18 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Fukudome

Has a lot of value hitting 5th. A lot of time his BB move runners, something that would be diminished if he hits 2nd. As long as the top of the order is producing I leave him 5th. If/when they stop producing, then I think about it again.

by Luis on Apr 27, 2008 11:21 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

The outs given away by lower OBP from the 1 & 2 slots...

..cost us more in runs, in my opinion. I haven’t heard anything from Lou that makes sense to me as to why Fukudome loses ABs to the likes of Theriot & Johnson, but if the latter two regress to their means then it will be particularly costly.

by DudeVf11 on Apr 28, 2008 9:27 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

In defense

And there isn’t very much defense for Theriot being CS but two of those were bad calls as reviewed by replays. Even the Nationals announcers Friday said his first CS at 3rd base was a break for the nationals. 8SB in 11 attempts looks much better on paper.

by ak123 on Apr 27, 2008 12:04 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Yeah, tough breaks for Theriot...

...on some of those CS, I agree. I wonder though if he has lost a step from his back issues and his weight training? Just blind speculation on my part. There is a saying about “speed doesn’t slump” but i disagree. Running the bases and stealing hard takes its toll physically, all the more reason to hold the likes of Henderson, Brock and Raines in such high regard. Theriot has dug himself a hole in baser unning and hopefully he’ll run himself out of the hole. I am not a fan of stealing bases, but going from 1st to third and 2nd to home—that’s big and Theriot can be a big plus there. Cedeno has better speed imo, but I doubt that he’ll be able to harness it to be a good base runner,

by DudeVf11 on Apr 28, 2008 9:35 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Reed Johnson

What a pickup he has been.
Thank you Toronto !!

Cubspizza

by quarryfan on Apr 27, 2008 10:55 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

OT: Thanks Al!

I considered posting this in a diary but the more I thought about it the less diary-worthy it seemed so I’ll just make a slightly off-topic post instead.

I just want to thank you Al for all the hard work it must take to keep BCB as vibrant as you do. This past week when BCB was not available because of server issues/upgrades I found myself completely lost. Although I am not a frequent poster, I find myself bringing up BCB several times each day, both at home and at work.

BCB has become an integral part of my day, especially at work. It is the only way for me to know what is going on. At home, even when a game is televised on my cable system, I have BCB up and running just to see the differing viewpoints as each game progresses.

Between your job at WLS, this blog, the 2000+ Cubs games you have attended, your family, food and sleep I am completely lost as to how you keep it up. That said, please, keep it up. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Al Yellon, you are a class act. Thanks for all you do.

And so it goes.

by Luigi on Apr 27, 2008 10:59 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Re: OT: Thanks Al!

I’ve been waiting to use this one. LSA! :)

BIALIS!!!

by Modern Relic on Apr 27, 2008 11:37 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Thanks to both of you.

As you no doubt know BCB is a labor of love for me. Thank you for all your kind words. It is also because of great people like you and so many others who post here, adding their thoughts to this site, that makes BCB the great place that it is.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Apr 27, 2008 12:00 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Theriot should start/Cedeno finish

Here’s a thought. For the first 5 innings you put Theriot at SS. Then at later innings you put Cedeno there. Defense could be shaky BUT Theriot has had a knack of getting on base his first two AB and then not so much later in the game. Cedeno has had better luck with late inning hits. Problem perhaps solved?

by ak123 on Apr 27, 2008 11:55 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs