no-hitter at Miller!

Woke up to the news this morning checking Cubs.com headlines before I even had coffee. Must have been a great game to watch, in person or on TV.

I like how Lou had the opening day lineup out there at the end of the game. I also like the Game Notes at the bottom of Yahoo’s box score:

Game Notes
 
THE HOME RUN BY CHICAGO LEFT FIELDER ALFONSO SORIANO LED OFF THE GAME.
CHICAGO PITCHER CARLOS ZAMBRANO HAS A NO-HITTER THROUGH SIX INNINGS.
CHICAGO PITCHER CARLOS ZAMBRANO HAS A NO-HITTER THROUGH SEVEN INNINGS.
CHICAGO PITCHER CARLOS ZAMBRANO HAS A NO-HITTER THROUGH EIGHT INNINGS.
CHICAGO PITCHER CARLOS ZAMBRANO HAS A NO-HITTER THROUGH EIGHT AND 1/3 INNINGS.
CHICAGO PITCHER CARLOS ZAMBRANO HAS A NO-HITTER THROUGH EIGHT AND 2/3 INNINGS.
CHICAGO PITCHER CARLOS ZAMBRANO HAS THROWN A NO-HITTER.

To let Z get the no-hitter. This should really get the team fired up for the rest of the seaaon and into the playoffs.

I’m loving that lucky number seven today.

I was listening to the game at home on the radio, since I didn’t have the game on TV last night. After the seventh inning, I decided to drive to a Cubs friendly bar near my house in Des Moines to catch the 8th and 9th on their connection.

After the final pitch by Zambrano, grown men were giving eachother hugs, buying rounds, and I even saw a few tears. I never thought I’d live to see a season like this.

I wished I had recorded the whole thing. Got the 9th, though.

In a separate thread, I bitched about the low-def broadcast. `GN missed an opportunity here.

would get a no-no and I guess the stars finally aligned so he would break through. GO CUBS!!!!!

I listened to most of the game and was happy that ESPN cut into the White Sox game to show the completion of Z’s no-hitter.

When Z threw his 7 and 2/3rds no-hit innings against the D-Backs either last year or the year before, I remember thinking that he would be next Cubs pitcher to throw a no-hitter. Man was his stuff ever electric last night. I haven’t seen his pitches move like that all year.

I cried and screamed louder than I have in a long time when the game ended last night.

I watched most of the game on the astros feed tired from driving back from San Antonio to Tulsa. In the 7th it finally clicked that this could really happen, then i got goosebumps in the 8th and 9th innings. I will never forget that I had tickets to the game the day that Z got his no hitter and that Ike was a hater-cane and the game was moved to Miller park so more Cubs fans could enjoy the moment, that I missed.

was tracking the game via my cell phone and noticed that the Cubs were leading 5-0 in the 5th or 6th. had a chance to turn on Pat and Ron around 10:15 EST but figured that it was late and the victory was clearly in hand. Never thought to look at the box score of how Z was pitching…. I’ve followed almost every game of this special season and missed one the best. congrats to Z and envy to all Cubs fans that witnessed that ball game. Let’s get ’em again today, pitch well Lilly……

According to this the Brewers were there watching the no no after losing thier DH. That’s priceless. I’m pretty ticked that it was only on WGN locally. MLB really needs to rethink that policy.

As if the sweep at the hands of the Phillies weren’t bad enough, the Brewers retreated to the visiting clubhouse and watched Chicago’s Carlos Zambrano put the finishing touches on a no-hitter against Houston at Miller Park.

“They’re probably drinking champagne and having in a beer shower right now in our locker room while we sulk about what happened here,” said Braun. "It’s ironic, where we’re at as a team and how we feel at the end of this series and see them celebrating a no-hitter on our field.

From: http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2008/09/14/braun-quot-a-complete-and-total-disaster-quot.aspx

My first Cub game of the year. I feel so blessed to be there with my Dad and to witness history. It was truly awe inspiring. The crowd was so amped and loud after that last strike out. It was probably the loudest that park has ever been and it was only 2/3 full.

Here’s a funny story. After the game a Cub fan yelled out to his friend to take a picture of him on his cell phone. His friend was decked out in Astros gear and looked and preceded to flip him off as he snapped a photo. The Cub fan then said, “That’s more hits than your team had!”

if the Cubs clinch prior to Z’s last regular season start, do you rest him… he’s looked absolutely dominant the two/three times this year that he’s had extended rest. at st. louis (after the 15day DL trip) and again last night…. just a thought.

As Al repeatedly says, this is a season to remember. Congratulations to Carlos Zambrano. He pitched a gem.

The Astros were no match, tired as they were, arriving from Milwaukee hours before the game. They can blame the hurricane if they want, but the real culprit was their owner, who had them endure 2 sleepless nights in Houston before the relief authorities practically forced him and MLBud to move the game out of the city. Everybody but them knew beforehand that Houston would be in no condition to host a game this weekend but the players and their families had to endure the hardships even though they could have been flown out of harm’s way in time. Instead, they had to drive out of Houston, as the airports are still closed, and hurry up to play amid physical fatigue. McLane killed his team’s momentum.

Be that as it may, it doesn’t take away from Zambrano’s performance. He would have dominated an Astros team in top form last night, as well.

What I find preposterous are Steve Phillips’ comments on ESPN’s Sportscenter. He criticized Lou for letting Zambrano go over his pitch count limit. All I can say is that Phillips is a tool.

Let’s hope the rest serves us well and cures the slump we were under. The Chokers Brewers helped us out. Thanks for lending us the ballpark and for being thrown out of the Division race for all practical purposes, on the same day!

even though it’s not casual Friday…. It’s worth the looks.

I hope this is the first of 2 on field parties this week for the Cubs.

That was truly special. I was only 4 in 1972 so I don’t remember that game.

Now let’s win today and sweep the Brewers and party on Thursday!

From his August 27th game recap as the Cubs beat the Pirates 2-0:

“Stop what you’re doing right now and look around you, remember where you are, what you are doing, because this is an historic day in Cubs history.”

How can any of us ever forget the day that Z threw a No-No at Miller Park against the Astros? Un-freaking-believeable!!!

those Cubs no-hitters.

The last time, 1972, I was 5 1/2, which is my son’s age now. I made a point of showing him the picture of Big Z in the newspaper.

Gotta remember these.

through the 8th and 9th that by the bottom of the 9th I was weeping with joy, nervousness, anticipation…the whole lot of it. When the team ran out to pummel Z with the crowd roaring…. oh my goodness. I’m still smiling. I’ll smile all day long.

And big BIG kudos to our man GEO. Wow. wow. wow…

But being a poor grad student, I just couldn’t swing it…
Thankfully we caught the whole thing on tv, we had about 10 people crammed into one room jumping up and down at every out. So thankful that WGN was able to broadcast the game! I won’t be forgetting this one!

On a whim, I suggested to my wife and two boys to take a road trip up to Milwaukee to see the game and invited my Dad and his wife also. I knew it was going to be a memorable day just driving up and as we got closer to Milwaukee half the cars it seemed were filled with Cub fans driving up as well.

As far as the game itself, I’ll never forget the stardust of camera flashes in the bottom of the 9th every time Z threw a pitch and then the burst of cheers for every strike! Wow. I will never forget this one, and my kids were witnesses to history!

Is there a separate thread where I can read impressions of MP? I’ve never been there.

More evidence of my advanced age: I saw Cubs vs. Braves the final year the Braves played at County Stadium, before they moved to Atlanta. I vaguely remember that Williams, Santo and Banks all homered.

In a season fully of wonderful Cub moments Big Z just had the biggest. I was watching the game on MLB.tv. I was on the phone with my girlfriend giving her play by play as it was happening. I told her to switch to ESPN so she could watch the end. We were both screaming our heads off. She told me she actually started to cry, she said "your girlfriend’s such a spa, I’m actually crying" I told her not worry about; I was almost in tears myself. On a side note, my girlfriend had a dream earlier in that Carlos pitched a no-hitter and that Cubs won the World Series. She has no history of history or claim of making physic predictions, but an interesting prediction no the less.

for the game, and wow. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing! I thought the fact that it was at Miller Park, for an odd game almost added something to the entire experience. It wouldn’t have been the same if it were anywhere else. Better at Wrigley, but different.

Obviously not this week at Wrigley, but I would prefer them to the Phillies (or Mets).

coming back from Detroit (Packers/Lions) game with 4 Brewers fans listening to the Browns/Steelers game because of fantasy implications and I missed the whole thing. I’ll try to capture some magic today but man 5 minutes on Sportscenter doesn’t cut what you saw yesterday.

And what a great job it was….

But lets remember this, in my opinion, second to the No-hitter has to be D-Lees OPPOSITE field double. He could be breaking out quickly and get his stroke back. That swing looked great.

Hopefully one thing that Carlos realized is that he’s most successful when he’s getting lots of ground balls in addition to the strike-outs. What made Carlos so successful early in his career was his ability to get ground balls at will. He seemed to go away from that and rely on the K’s. Last night Carlos got the K’s and the ground balls.

Lots of deeper meaning in this game… in Milwaukee, though without the Brewers involvement. Against the same team that Kerry got the 20 Ks. Imagine had this game been played in Washington DC, with a crowd of 800 watching.

On a side note, I’ll be at Yankee Stadium on Saturday and Shea on Monday, but unless the Brewers get the train back on the tracks, the Cubs likely will have clinched the division by then. Interestingly, the Cubs and Mets could conceivably clinch their divisions during the same series, if not the same game.

DmL

hope cubtober is this special. I will never forget last night.

…it’s you, Al. I was glad to log on to BCB yesterday and learn that you had made the trip. Great recap. What a surreal night.

I’ve told my rather humdrum story in a couple fanposts, but a couple weird personal notes:

1. I finally bought one of those Cubs gnomes yesterday afternoon – kind of an impulse buy at a local hardware store. After throwing around a few ideas for names with my daughter, we settled on Carlos Zambragnome – this was about three or four hours before game time.

2. I could’ve watched the last few innings on TV, but I was so superstitious, I couldn’t bring myself to turn off the radio. I heard Pat and Ron’s call until that very last, glorious moment than ran to turn on the TV to view the postgame coverage. I spent about an hour and a half after the game trying to soak in the radio, TV and BCB coverage.

To think of how low many of us were during the first week to week and a half of this month, and to see how, ahem, high were are right now. It’s just amazing. Whatever the future holds, this season has been well worth the passion and energy we’ve all put into it. I BELIEVE more great times lie ahead.

I’m nowhere near 2,000+ games, but I was fortunate enough to be in Oakland on a business trip on July 14, 2005. The A’s pitcher took a perfect game into the 8th before a bloop single broke it up with 1 out. Incredibly exciting, and I can’t imagine being at a similar Cubs game (where I actually cared who won).

Odd thing about that game… Oakland’s pitcher… Rich Harden. The guy who hit the single… Alfonso Soriano. There must be a glitch in the matrix.

Ugh.

I was on my couch reading when I happened to look up and see the ticker at the bottom alert something. “Next up: H. Pence” it said. I kinda freaked and switched from ESPN 2 to ESPN to see that Z was through eight. WHAT?! Needless to say, I popped in my tape to record this. My heart skipped with every pitch (maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t watch the whole game) and the prevalent thought in the back of my mind was “Imagine what the World Series would be like.” But I pushed that aside, cos it was Z’s night.

Also, like Brenly said, I want to give major props to Geo for calling the no-hitter. Anybody know how many rookie catchers have ever done that?

I stayed up till past midnight last night, watching the Chargers/Broncos game on AFN. I thought it was worth it after the spectacle it turned out to be, and went to sleep as I had to be at work by 6am. I wake up this morning to this fabulous news, and can’t believe that I slept through the first Cubs No-Hitter in my lifetime. I am saddened beyond belief.

I did however print out a copy of the Tribune front page flag and story and hung it proudly at my cubicle where many people will see it… and my brother will be bringing me a Trib when he comes to visit next Tuesday.

They will not be heard for the rest of the season. They are mad at their owner, concerned about real issues like their family living without electricity and services.

“MILWAUKEE – The 1,000-ounce beer shower left a pair of victims in its sudsy wake. First, the poor carpet at Miller Park, which for the foreseeable future will reek of eau de frat house. And then the intended target, Carlos Zambrano, who soaked in the 3½ cases lavished on him by his Chicago Cubs teammates following the most improbable, incredible night of his life.”

Regardless of what else happens, if the Cubs go 5-10 overall and 2-4 vs. MIL, the Cubs will clinch the division.

Regardless of what else happens, if the Cubs go 7-8 overall, and split the four-game series with the Mets, then the Cubs will finish the season with the National League’s best regular season record.

1) Z fresh off an extended rest
2) “Neutral” field filled with Cub fans
3) Astros less than 100% due to travel and fatigue

Great performance, obviously, but there was a lot of help that made it possible.

We all knew Z had no-hit stuff, now we’re sure of it!

Z had command throughout the entire game; not one hit ball required a stellar defencive play…and now the magic number is down to 7 for the division and 9 for the playoffs.

It’s getting exciting as the Cubs look a lot more refreshed last night.

A tell-tale sign I hope that continues? D-Lee’s 2R 2B. He took an outside pitch, went with it and drove it with purpose. No pulling off the ball, no opening the shoulder, just a great opposite field strike.

The more and more I watch this kid, the more and more I think Geo is the real thing. He hits very well, calls a great game, keeps his composure and can control this staff well. Boy this kid is not only NL RoY but a future MVP candidate as well.