Come here and vent

I probably shouldn’t have said the first word. Oh well. I’m sick of freaking miles and samardjiza and this crap shoot of a bullpen. I’m sick of this offense. I’m so sick of me!

I didn’t watch, so I didn’t invest time like many BCBers, but I have to say I’m not surprised. They’re back to the team that finds new ways to lose. Outhitting them by that wide a margin, yet losing. Harden’s great start wasted by another lack of offense. Sure, Happ is a good pitcher, but there were many opportunities.

At least the Cards lost…although it was a chance to gain ground.

Quick question….

WHY DIDN’T LOU BRING IN GRABOW TO FACE HOWARD INSTEAD OF WALKATHON MARMOL???

Sorry for yelling…hoped Lou would hear me :)

…that when Rollins hit the homer I just had a feeling that that was it. Call me a pessimist. The way they’ve been playing lately, I think I actually think I’m more of a realist.

I was worried going into the Rockies series that, along with the Cards easy schedule over the same period, that we’d probably be about five games out by the end of the week.

This has been a top down disappointment.

First inning Soto hits a rope right a Feliz with runners on. Second inning Theriot lines out to Rollins with runners on. And Soriano rips the shit out of the ball with the bases loaded for a sac-fly. Harden is brilliant, as for the most part starters have done well this year. Marmol sucks up the place as normal. Cubs can hit a bullpen, and Gregg gives up another long ball. game over.
 And one other thing, Aaron Miles being used again by Lou, what?
 One of those years

And if they don’t, will Cubs Nation survive sane?

has he even noticed Marmol being wild this year? Yeah, lets pull him after he walks in a batter. Geez, I don’t blame him for trying to keep throwing him out there, but after that horrid 1-2 pitch that hit the batter, that was his cue that the wildness would continue.

Lou, ever here of a short leash?

and close-minded individuals.

I go into every game with feelings of dread, as opposed to feelings of optimism like last year.

I hate that living in Lakeview near Wrigley is not nearly as fun this summer as it was last year.

I hate that I’m thinking of taking my signed Carlos Marmol hat off my wall because he PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH.

I hate that when I saw Geo buying Kraft Mac & Cheese before the playoffs it appears to have been THE ONLY THING HE ATE IN THE OFF SEASON

I hate that the Cubs have been SO MADDENINGLY INCONSISTENT that I even got the idea of plugging in our offensive production vs. temperature into a spreadsheet

I hate that I COULD HAVE A HIGHER .OPS than Aaron Miles and I play CATCHER in a KICKBALL LEAGUE

Most of all, I hate, that no matter how much they piss me off or make me cry, I will never be able to stop being a Cubs fan.

I will take up another hobby. I’ll still keep an eye on standings and such, but I don’t think I can watch game after game like I do now.

I realize Miles isn’t really the biggest problem and I also realize, bless him, that he’s trying his best.

But it’s the biggest symbol of stupidity, futility and mediocrity we have this year.

And yes, I reserve the right to jump back on. Deal with it.

The Cubs are here to entertain me. I am providing them my time, energy and in some cases, money (I rarely go to games, but buy T-shirts and jerseys and stuff)

If Aaron Miles is the best they can do, I will treat it like I treat a movie with a star I don’t like, or that looks stupid.

If someone tells me the movie is good in spite of that, I’ll give it a chance.

ADAM LIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

…so you’d think I’d have gotten used to the emotional rollercoaster that goes with living and dying with them. Still, it never gets easy. I honestly don’t think they have what it takes to get it done this year. And, no, that’s not ledge jumping or pessimism-it’s my honest assessment based on what I’ve observed all year. However, I still find myself watching every game and hoping for any kind of a sign that they’re suddenly going to “put it together” and go on a run. If they don’t (and things certainly don’t look encouraging at this point), I’ll be disappointed, angry, etc., and I’ll temporarily throw my sports passion behind the Blackhawks and Bears.

And then, come next Feb., I’ll be back again, hope at least briefly rekindled. I couldn’t stop caring about this team if I tried. Somewhere along the way, the Cubs became encoded with my DNA.

Besides, what’s the big deal about winning the World Series anyway? It’s not like it would make me love them any more.

and that’s at Lou doing his old man “What do you want me to do? Ask the players?” schtick, because you know what, you senile piece of crap, YOU MANAGE THE TEAM. For anyone that brings up the impact managers have, or anytime Lou makes it sound like the loss isn’t on him, or the team performance isn’t on him, look at the Colorado Rockies. What, all of those players finally figured out a way to win without any guidance? I’m not asking for a managerial change, but I’m asking for accountability.

Lou needs to go … he can’t get a message through to these players OMG i’m at a lost for words. I didn’t expect to sweep the Rockies or Philles, but I expected a BETTER SHOWING! I got shit

GRAAAAAHH

I’ll bet the Phillies score 10 more runs as I write this. Its a damn joke. You throw Jeff freaking Samardzija against the best offense in baseball and then just for fun Sean Marshall comes in and gives up 33 freaking runs.

To top all this off? Pedro fucking Martinez looks like he’s back in 2003 again. I would say I won’t be back, but I’ll be here bright and early tomorrow morning still cheering for this horseshit team and this horseshit season. At least in 2006 they had the dignity to suck in May so we knew it would be a lost season.

Wait until next year. Football season can’t come soon enough.

This is probably the least fun team i have ever watched in my life. They havent won a series against a team with a winning record since April. We have been decimated by injuries. We no longer can pitch. We cant hit. This team is pathetic right now and quite frankly its embarrasing to watch. We are four back now.

I cant believe that this much money has been wasted. ANd it aint getting any better. The following contracts are atrocious: Dempster, Bradley, Dome, Soriano, Miles, with the following being questionable due to injury or other situations Rammy, Z, Lee.. B lou was correct. I was hesitant to admit it at first that this team doesnt have it but it doesnt that doesnt make us bad fans it make us realists. We are probably also in the second worst postition outside the Mets. At least the Nats will most likely have Strasburg and Harper…

I really have never been this depressed watching Cubs baseball. We are officially out of our window to win.

The only way this gets better is if someone stupidly claims someof our contracts off waivers…

I had an opportunity for Dave Matthews Band or Cubs @ Nats with amazing tickets. I got my world series.. Halloween.

-Love is hell. Fuck this team

This team is just brutal to watch right now. Think I ready for some Bears preseason ball. Happy Jay Cutler day!!

…is still afraid of the wall.

If only the Monster in the Ivy was real, I could see playing everything on one hop.

can we just have enough with Shark as a reciever and let him catch passes…. PLEASE!!!!

One thing comes to mind. I remember a scene from the movie Fever Pitch. Jimmy Fallon was sitting with all of his season ticket holding Red Sox fans in the midst of a venting session like we are doing now. He said that even though the Red Sox have broken their hearts year after year he made a reference to his personal relationship to his girlfriend. Fallon said that the Red Sox or the Cubs in our case is a relationship that never ends because our team will be there for us every spring. It’s a relationship that never ends because we are always there for our team and they are always there for us, win or lose.

I am personally frustrated like all of you for the inconsistentcy the Cubs have had all year. But I always keep my head high and see the silver lining or find a meaning. I realize all of you are thinking that it looks like there is no hope for the Cubs right now or very little; and if you base it all on history you have nothing to worry about. But for me and hopefully some of you Bleed Cubbie Blue die-hards, I will say this about “basing it on history”:

Every time the Cubs have an amazing summer and all of us Believe “It’s Gonna Happen”, we get ahead of ourselves and before you know it the Cubs send us through the slaughter factory again because the players get tired and run out of gas MOST OF THE TIME (1969, 2008, etc.). Other times, yes it’s been bad luck (1984, 2003, etc.).

This year, nobody seems to believe in the Cubs or any decision that has been made or hasn’t been made by Lou or Hendry and that’s understandable. But I believe that the Cubs are still in this because:
A) Later this month Z, Johnson, Lilly and Ramirez will be coming back from injury.
B) The injuries have been a blessing because we’ve gotten to see the depth of the Cubs and their farm system keep them in The Hunt in an inconsistent fashion AND an injury gives one rest time so there would be no excuse for the Cubs to get tired by the end of the season.
C) Since some Cub fans are sort of shutting down their hopes, the old adage will come true… that adage saying: everyone is afraid to jump off the bandwagon because then the team will turn around and go all the way (nobody said they’re jumping off they’re just looking forward to football).
D) What can I say, I’m a die-hard. I never stop believing until the Cubs are mathematically eliminated from contention (not mentally eliminated from contention). Even after elimination, I’m still believing, the way it should be, hence the “Blindless Optimism” that some of you may post from this novel of a tangent of venting by me (thanks for reading this far, it’s almost done!). Hey, I’ll still root root root for the Cubbies win or lose (that’s love) but I won’t say “It’s Gonna Happen” after being eliminated (that’s blindless optimism).

In conclusion, there’s 50 games left, there’s still time. The Cubs can still win, even if it’s ugly. You just never know, that’s why they play all 162 games. I know all of you are going to try and remind me about everything that has been Cubs baseball in 2009. I don’t care, I’ve read everything above. Miracles happen everyday. We can all either vent about it, or have fun with it, just believe. Also, if the Cubs can hang in there going into late September, they go up against St.Louis, Milwaukee twice (NL Central), San Francisco (NL Wild-Card) and then a couple of basement teams at home. Will you be there to root for the Cubbies in contention or not? I know I will. Play Ball!!!

because my father in law is having open heart surgery as I type. Any other day, I would be so in.

Positive…positive…

ahhhh

I seriously knew exactly what would happen today yet for some reason I still watched the game. This team is beyond frustrating to watch… First of all, can someone please tell me why Bradley was batting 3rd today and why Soriano is still in the lineup? Bradley has proved he cannot hit in the 3, 4 or 5 hole and that he CAN hit in the 2 hole. Soriano has proved he can’t hit anywhere. Does Lou not realize this? And one more thing. What the hell has happened to Dempster? This guy hasn’t been good all year. I remember last year whenever he pitched, especially at home, he was money. Near guarantee win. Now I have as much confidence in him as I did when he was our closer.

It just sucks that this team gets all of our hopes up only to not live up to the hype.

Lou needs to be fired. He has proven that he cannot take the pressure in Chicago and that he has lost nearly all of his “brillant” baseball knowledge. This team is like a hot girlfriend that keeps pissing you off: you always fight and argue and swear that you hate her, but the second you catch a glimpse of what could be, you fall in love all over again.

Sorry if this is lengthy but living in AZ i have no one to vent to other than myself so its cool to come on here and do it with fans.

Dear fighterofthenightman,

I’m in Connecticut and my beautiful wife has to watch me go through this every year. Thank the Lord for Al and this post. If you are out there Al, I do have a question. Why would Hendry take away 40% of a 97 game winning team? It was obvious to me that last year, the pressure got to them. One year of seasoning probably would have got the Cubs a WS or much closer than 2008.

Who are these people?! And by people, I mean the 25-man Active Roster for our Chicago Cubs. I over sleep, miss the game, and they put up 17-runs!?

I know it’s “just” the Pirates, but, man, that would’ve been nice to see.

C’est la guerre, mes amis. I’ll just have to go watch the A’s beat up on the Southsiders tonight.

GAAAAAAHHHHH

New pen, new manager, new general manager…

I love love LOVE when we are dominating a team the entire night and gregg sets up a fucking tee for them in the 9th. Ya we had no offense but it doesn’t help that we have the most unreliable closer in baseball. Fuck this team

Expose his true identity

This team will NOT make the playoffs with this guy as closer. Period.

I keep repeating that in my head, but it’’s not helping. My chip from 2003 is weathered, and my neighbors are starting to talk to the other neighbors about the tattered “W” flag I keep out back as a relic of game 4. My chip from 2007 is gone, I cashed it in for a “Kyle Orton is our QB” t-shit at bears camp last year… as you can see, I’m a bit of a devoted fan. My chip from 2008 is still here. I look at it from time to time, with fond memories of the regular season. I think of Mark DeRosa, and Aramis Ramirez… playing a bunch of games… I remember solid middle relief, and an 8th inning man that made the All Star team. As a matter of fact, I remember 7 or 8 All Stars, all ultimately on a winning team. I team that won, and then lost… and then as such, I cash in my 2008 chip, for a Jay Cutler jersey. I cash in my memories, on a guy that’s already thrown 5 of 10 passes for completions, and one of those an interception… because you know what? No matter how hard it gets… no matter how many games back, no matter how negative the media… I’m a god damned Chicago sports fan, and a Cubs fan to the end. And I TRUST Kevin Gregg will throw better (in another city, preferable Des Moines) and I trust Alfonso Soriano will hit for average (before the post season, of course, when he’s 0 for the century) and god damnit I trust my Cubs will make up the difference, mount a comeback, and make this one hell of a ride, hopefully to bring us to the postseason! At which time they’ll promptly lose 3 in a row, we’ll all be cheering on the Bears (as if this year never happened) and all talking about the new manager and the fantastic post season acquisitions to come!

Kidding aside, Gregg needs to go. Experiment over. I’d feel better about Marmol out there every day… at least I KNOW he’s has success with this team. I’m not giving up, Cubs fans… but my faith is wavering. Let’s get it together, here.

And truly, Monday night was like a mini-1984. Like then, I was seated in LF.

You knew it was going to happen.

It started to happen.

It happened.

I feel better already.

Now, LET’S GO CUBS!

It quickly Swooned. Only Derrek Lee didn’t break his arm this year.

Well, the law of averages, the outrages of Wild Card proximity, and the clearly turbulent waters of the league mean anything can still happen. Who knows but that another Surge might vomit upwards and turn into an epic come back ..

But I will say this. Two losses to the Pads are not exactly encouraging

Pages take FOREVER to load!!!

like nothing else for ages. It has sapped so much energy out of me.

I thought we’d get blown away from the Dodgers at the worst, but the Padres? At least it gave their suffering fans something to smile about. I really mean it, I’m glad someone enjoyed it in a postitive manner, rather than Cubs haters rejoicing at our suckiness.

Oh, no, wait, I do know…I’ll start with the handful of rotten ass posters who would rather troll than TRY to root for this team. If the Cubs get a hit, they’re trolling Drew, and if they’re losing, they’re trolling everyone else. I don’t know if I’m stepping over a line here, and if I am, this can be deleted, but for goodness sakes, get rid of these people. What, in all honesty, do they bring here that isn’t any type of trolling effort. I just don’t get.

What I also don’t get is our teams manager. Sue mentioned him being senile and getting blasted for that. I’ve been saying that for awhile now, and I agree with her completely. He is senile, he is done, I don’t care about his history, HE’S DONE. Lou, your career as a manager is over. Do the right thing and step down. At this point, I’ve now come to the conclusion we’re probably not making the post season, and it’s not because of Hendry, or even Miles, wait, it is his fault too, but mainly, we’re not making the post because of Lou. Here’s one I’ve been saving in my back pocket, Sweet Lou has gone sour. How about that? Someone, ANYONE on this team needs to be a fucking man and step up and put an end to this nonsense. I don’t care if that’s D Lee, Lilly, or anyone else, any time Lou goes to PH the wrong f’n guy, first off, that guy needs to say NO, and secondly, the rest of the team needs to say NO. This may all sound nuts, but if you can’t even stand up to the man who has steered this ship into the cliffs, then why even bother playing the rest of the games this season?

I’m still happy to be a fan, I’ll still be there in the bleachers on 9/2, I’ll still buy hats and shirts, I’ll still watch them on my TV, and I’ll still post here. None of that will ever change. What has changed though is my belief that this team still has something left. Well, unfortunately that’s not a reality because Lou has sucked the life out of this team to power his crusty old man body for another year.

But still we don’t stop believing…