Cubs Lose Finale, But Baseball Wins On Amazing Night Of Glory
by Al Yellon on Sep 29, 2011 7:30 AM CDT
in Chicago Cubs Recaps
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The Cubs lost to the Padres 9-2 Wednesday night, ending their season at 71-91.
Truth be told, I didn't watch much of that game after Will Venable's grand slam (and you probably don't want or need to hear much more than that), because four other baseball games were far more compelling.
I have seen a lot of baseball; much of it bad, some of it good, a little of it great. Wednesday night was the most incredible night of baseball I have ever seen -- and I don't think any other single day is even close. Seriously. It's one of those scenarios where you say, "If you submitted this as a Hollywood script, they'd laugh you out of their office." And even that doesn't come close to the improbability of so many of the events of Wednesday night:
- The Rays being within one strike of losing, then tying the game on a home run by a man who came into the game hitting .108/.178/.157, with no home runs since April -- and that after they were down by seven runs going into the bottom of the eighth.
- The Red Sox being within one strike of winning -- after a rain delay of almost an hour and a half, fitting in this season of storms and rainouts -- then losing when their closer, who has closed so many wins for them, gave up three straight hits and two runs.
- The Rays pushing the Yankees to use 11 pitchers in a marathon that lasted 12 innings and almost five hours (at last, a long game that was more than compelling to watch), before Evan Longoria ended it and sent the Rays to the playoffs with a home run that just barely made it over the left field wall, curling just next to the foul pole -- and within minutes of the Red Sox' implosion.
- The Braves' Craig Kimbrel blowing a save when Atlanta was two outs away from a date with the Cardinals Thursday evening (after St. Louis crushed the Astros in a game that was over in the first inning), and then Atlanta having the winning run on second base with one out in the 12th inning and failing to score, finally losing on a double play in the 13th.
I could go on and on and on; there's far, far more that happened last night than I can possibly put in a single post. There were multiple heroes for the winners Wednesday night and enough excitement for us to talk about for years to come. I've had people ask me, both here and elsewhere, what I do when there's no baseball. You all know the old Rogers Hornsby quote:
People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
It's not quite that simple, of course. Sure, there are other sports to watch while I wait for spring training to begin with the promise of better times ahead. But to me, absolutely nothing is as compelling as the drama that baseball can give. Wednesday night, the sport was in its glory. The Cubs stuck around the visiting clubhouse in San Diego to watch. It nearly brought down SB Nation servers, as you might have noticed at times Wednesday night; it kept me up far later than I thought I'd stay up, watching the aftermath of the Rays' incredible win. Listening to Evan Longoria describe how he was feeling after he hit the walkoff homer, you could hear the disbelief in his voice. Even the man who did it couldn't quite process what had happened.
I love this game. Wednesday night was a reminder of why. The game in Tampa didn't win the pennant or World Series, but I couldn't help thinking as I watched the Rays' celebration: "Someday, I want that to be us."
We came to within a pitch, an out, a hit of having two tiebreaker games today; instead, it's a day to catch our breath before the postseason begins on Friday. In a way, that's fitting; I don't believe that any tiebreaker games could have given us any better, more exciting, or more dramatic baseball than we saw Wednesday night. So take that deep breath, and await what we hope is a postseason half as compelling.
In the meantime, BCB will be here all winter; I'll open threads each day to discuss the postseason games, so you can always come here to share thoughts about the playoffs all through October. And soon, very soon, we all hope, there will be a new Cubs general manager (and, presumably, manager) in place and then the new administration can get to the business of building the World Series winner we all dream of.
I'll also have other features here through the winter. Stick around; it'll be fun. In connection with that, if anyone has access to computer software that can run game simulations, please email me. I've got an offseason idea I want to talk to you about.
As I always do, I'll conclude this final recap of the 2011 season with this quote from the late commissioner Bart Giamatti. For me, it reflects the sadness of the ending of one baseball season, with hope filling us up for the next.
It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.
This year, I have one thing to add to Giamatti's beautiful words. Before regular season baseball stopped Wednesday night, it showed us the beauty of the sport with memories that, even for those of us who aren't fans of the teams involved, will last forever.
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What a beautiful, beautiful game.
I’ll be here in the offseason with all of you. Rough season for our Cubs, but I wanted to thank all of you, especially you, Al, for another season of baseball on BCB.
Here’s to 2012.
BEAR DOWN!
by mikegncb34 on Sep 29, 2011 7:38 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Yup.
I’m glad I got to spend the last day of this wretched season watching some interesting baseball. Thanks Al and all of BCB.
p.s. can we get a pitchers and catchers report countdown?
i was disgusted last night with the Cards post-game
Al Hrabosky asked Ryan Theriot "Do you now see the difference between St. Louis and Chicago" during the post-game celebration.
posted it last night but figured not everyone read it
Ugh.
Go Phillies.
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by Al Yellon on Sep 29, 2011 7:43 AM CDT up reply actions 6 recs
Theriot just
laughed and said “well i made two of them in Chicago, but i see why this is a special place”
He's a one-tool player
And that tool is his mouth
"Wait, are you saying I'm a sunshine-pumping, koolaid-drinking, Soriano-loving, rainbow-rising, unicorn-riding, double-clutching, Sweet Lou-backing, Hendry-supporting, hey hey whaddya saying, Cubs are going all the waying, glass is overflowing, Rothschild is all-knowing, Cubs fan? - ballhawk
It's still a dumb question.
Theriot went through two clinching celebrations with the Cubs. So how exactly is that “different”?
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His original statement about the atmosphere between the two teams is correct.
The Cardinals expect to win. The Cubs hope to compete.
Cards fan here
I wish this was true. Yeah we played well down the stretch and looked nigh invincible last night (I for one wasn’t worried about a one game playoff), but it’s not like there’s some “culture of winning” in St. Louis that goes beyond the talent of the players on the field. We have a good team this year but if you had looked at us a month ago nobody would say we expected to win. In fact we looked pretty crappy for most of the season. Our run was as much about luck and good timing as it was about anything else.
And I didn’t watch the post game celebration but that’s a really stupid question to ask. Al Hrabosky is a moron. I don’t know any Cardinals fans who like him.
by jibbers on Sep 29, 2011 8:56 AM CDT up reply actions 4 recs
Don't sell your team short – the Cards have a legacy second only to the Yankees.
Although Hrabosky may be jerk for taking a shot at the Cubs with his question, the fact remains that the Cards have almost always been competitive for 85 years, while the Cubs have been mired in mediocrity for the past 70.
These legacies endure, and have as much to do with the success of the 2006 Cards as they do with the failure of the 2003 Cubs. Branch Rickey was the architect of your great tradition, just as the Wrigleys locked the Cubs into perpetual mediocrity.
"Elder White! Look at the talent on those Cubs!" Harry Caray, KMOX Radio, 4/22/62
"And you have to wonder – What's the matter with Broglio?" Harry, KMOX, 5/24/64
Thank you for the compliments
I guess what I was really trying to communicate is that the entitled, “we’re better than everyone because we’re the Cardinals” attitude communicated by stupid people like Hrabosky isn’t indicative of most of our fanbase. I’m proud of the Cardinals’ history, but I think they’ve been successful because they’ve been fortunate enough to have some great talent over the years, not because there’s a specific St. Louis mentality that infects every Tom, Dick and Theriot who comes to town, making them better than they otherwise would be.
It was a dumb question that lacked fact
TJ11, you can say what you want about atmosphere but comparing a Cardinals team that took care of business TO GET INTO THE PLAYOFFS to the Cubs would be a welcome comparison. Playing well when it matters TO GET INTO THE PLAYOFFS has not been our problem. The Cubs have been pretty dang clutch down the stretch in the years when it mattered. 2007, 2003, 1998 all involved needing to play well in Aug/Sept to get into the playoffs. Now, I’m not ignoring 2004, that was a terrible epic collapse. But you get my point
by BeltwayCubsFan on Sep 29, 2011 10:07 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
The guy who asked it is literally the dumbest broadcaster I have ever listened to.
Please do not judge us by Al Hrabosky. He makes Joe Morgan sound like Vin Scully.
"I kinda like the Wong" -Aranathor
::shudders::
"Stuff like this is why they should shut off the internet."
by Orval Overall on Dec 17, 2010 1:19 PM CST
You mean he's like Tim McCarver?
Minor League Contributing Writer, Athletics Nation.
State high point count: 4/50
If you are grouchy, irritable, or just plain mean, there will be a $10 charge for putting up with you.
by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 29, 2011 12:21 PM CDT up reply actions
I can tolerate McCarver most of the time.
Hrabosky makes my skin crawl on a daily basis.
Johnny Gomes could not be reached for comment
"There is not a better feeling in the whole world than knowing that you are the best team in both leagues."- Bob Forsch on winning the 1982 World Series.
by MaytheForschbewithyou on Sep 29, 2011 2:59 PM CDT up reply actions
Morgan has a radio show that I can hear out here in LA
almost drove into the wall trying to switch it off quickly
"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Cubs win....what a lucky break!!" ---Harry
:: ducks and covers ::
If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.
by eths on Sep 29, 2011 2:30 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
It's not different, Hrabosky is an ass
He was an ass as a player, he’s even more of an ass as a “broadcaster”.
Just win the next game...!
i was disgusted lat night with the Cards post-game
when that screwdriver jammed itself into my ear. stupid screwdriver.
The world overflows with idiot sportscasters of every stripe. You want to subject yourself to the Cards postgame show, no sympathy from me. Nor shock that a moran would ask a moranic question.
WWOZ.org - New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Station
by Gibbon Jockey on Sep 29, 2011 8:49 AM CDT up reply actions
trust me
We are disgusted by Al, ourselves. The guy is a waste of a good broadcaster spot.
Johnny Gomes could not be reached for comment
"There is not a better feeling in the whole world than knowing that you are the best team in both leagues."- Bob Forsch on winning the 1982 World Series.
by MaytheForschbewithyou on Sep 29, 2011 9:57 AM CDT up reply actions
thanks. I'll take the awesome.
But the ‘mean’ comes from having to put up with him and/or Rick Horton for 150+games. Danny Mc would be fine by himself and jut allowed to call the game without all the stupid sidebar comments by the Wonder Twins. We at the VEB, make as much fun of those two as anybody from other teams could.
Johnny Gomes could not be reached for comment
"There is not a better feeling in the whole world than knowing that you are the best team in both leagues."- Bob Forsch on winning the 1982 World Series.
by MaytheForschbewithyou on Sep 29, 2011 10:16 AM CDT up reply actions
sorry, it had nothing to do with "your" Al
and out of context was referring to “our” Al….i guess if you have to explain the joke it wasnt funny…
So i you can give you can take it.
ah. I gotcha.
guess I should thought it out before I said “Al”. Wouldn’t dream of coming in here and bashing one of your guys. I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t catch what you meant.lol
Johnny Gomes could not be reached for comment
"There is not a better feeling in the whole world than knowing that you are the best team in both leagues."- Bob Forsch on winning the 1982 World Series.
by MaytheForschbewithyou on Sep 29, 2011 2:57 PM CDT up reply actions
Give credit to Theriot
He didn’t take the bait.
Hrabosky is a jerk.
by Not Bruce Froemming on Sep 29, 2011 2:59 PM CDT up reply actions
glad to hear that
It sounded, above, like he did, but I am skimming through here…
"Wait, are you saying I'm a sunshine-pumping, koolaid-drinking, Soriano-loving, rainbow-rising, unicorn-riding, double-clutching, Sweet Lou-backing, Hendry-supporting, hey hey whaddya saying, Cubs are going all the waying, glass is overflowing, Rothschild is all-knowing, Cubs fan? - ballhawk
C'mon.
Let the beauty of last night wash over you for a while. The Cubs don’t need a new manager today.
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You're right
However, has there been any reports on what exactly Ricketts was "addressing’ the team about?
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 7:48 AM CDT up reply actions
I haven't heard anything.
Probably, it was along the lines of “thanks, and we’ll see you next year”, something pretty generic.
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how about this....
you give it up until they RETAIN said coaching staff and GM…we all know your stance. pretty much all of us agree with your stance.
So i you can give you can take it.
TJ, I'm going to ask you publicly..
… and in a nice way, to let it go for now. The season is over. Right now the Cubs are 0-0 going into 2012.
Why don’t you let it go until we see what happens?
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by Al Yellon on Sep 29, 2011 8:09 AM CDT up reply actions 2 recs
TJ, please.
The Cubs game last night was way off my radar screen. They got beat badly. I was on to more exciting things.
I’m asking you again to let it go.
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Um, other exciting baseball.
Of which, hopefully, there is another month’s worth.
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Who cares about last night's game?
Did you actually watch it so you could bore us today?
John Grabow: $4.8 million in 2011.
I doubt Ricketts trust you either
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 10:18 AM CDT up reply actions
No you won't
You’ll be happy for a while. Then you’ll be mad at the next coaches, the next manager, and the next GM. It’s your nature. Don’t deny it.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 10:17 AM CDT up reply actions
Why is everyone...
…so worried about the manager, when the club doesn’t even have a GM yet?
To me, that is a problem with how a lot of people seem to view the Cubs; fire the manager and we will be better. Hire this manager and we will be better.
Lets do it how good organizations do; hire a damn good GM and let him worry about this stuff.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
by MPH73 on Sep 29, 2011 9:58 AM CDT up reply actions 5 recs
But it isn't done today. It has to be done today.
Actually it should have been done as the final out was being recorded last night. Ricketts is awful. He is the worst owner in sports history (and I’m not exaggerating as we have seen numerous posts to this effect throughout the year).
John Grabow: $4.8 million in 2011.
Look at it this way...
…if he is that bad, he shouldn’t be making baseball decisions. So, let the new GM decide this stuff.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
Logic?
We can have logic. Quade needs to go now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe if extra exclamation points are added it will happen. It has to happen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ricketts is the worst owner of any thing in history.
John Grabow: $4.8 million in 2011.
You definitely need the sarcasm tags for that.
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That was just an amazing night of baseball....
For the past few seasons I’ve been watching the Rays a lot and wishing the Cubs had a team like that. Well… who knows… it could be happening. Amazing talent, amazing management, incredible resilience.
Congrats to the Cubs for letting your arch rival into the playoffs…. way to step up and blow the series when something actually mattered for the first time in months!
The Rays surge and Sox collapse = great news for the Cubs GM search.
"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)
Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
The Rays surge and Sox collapse =great news for the Cubs GM search.irrelevant to the Cubs GM search.
Fixed.
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It's not irrelevant
An epic collapse like that might stir the pot in Boston, possibly opening the door for Epstein.
"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)
Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
I suppose it COULD.
But I’m thinking it’s 99.9% certain that it WON’T.
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I don't think he's leaving the Red Sox
… regardless of their collapse.
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I've already gone on record here as wanting Billy Beane.
We’ll see what happens. There are a number of good candidates.
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No to Epstein
Personally I do not want Epstein or Cashman, or any GM who’s a “spending” GM to take over for the Cubs (that’s just my personal opinion).
Check Boston.com
They have a poll on Francona – 68% say “No, he just had a bad year.”
And none of the articles there appear to be calling for either guy’s head.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 10:33 AM CDT up reply actions
And I think they're right.
This is an epic collapse — for one season. It doesn’t mean Epstein and Francona aren’t the guys the Red Sox want going forward.
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If anything, I think this increased the odds Epstein stays rather than becoming the Cubs GM (however small those odds were)
It would look perhaps cowardly to run out to another club after such a tough finish.
No, why would they?
They have a system at 4 Yawkey Way. Much better than 1060 W. Addison St.
I’d expect that percentage to be closer to 75 when its all said and done.
Just win the next game...!
I don't think the Cardinals in the playoffs can fall all on the Cubs
The Cubs would’ve had to sweep them in St. Louis to keep them out. The Braves just shot themselves in the foot.
On another note, I turned on the Rays-Yankees game in the 7th and thought “Forget it!” but now I’m glad I watched it, of course I fell asleep after the 10th.
Ah, but don't forget...
… the two walkoff HR that Pujols hit off the Cubs in June.
If the Cubs win even one of those games, we’re looking at a tiebreaker today.
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bull...
yes that is technically true, but come on. if the cubs won 162 of their games they’d have the best record in all of baseball.
So i you can give you can take it.
That's not even close to the same thing.
Those two walkoffs in June helped the Cardinals begin to contend. Before that they were struggling. Every game is important.
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like i said Technically true.
but to go back three months and point to a game and say there, thats the reason is kinda stretching. yes a win is a win and it came down to one win.
So i you can give you can take it.
You could say the same about last saturdays game the Cubs blew.....
But then again 2 days before the Cards screwed up in NY really bad…
You could point to any game during the season
that the Cards lost, and they lost a number of games they shouldn’t have.
by Not Bruce Froemming on Sep 29, 2011 3:02 PM CDT up reply actions
The Braves fell apart
This it 100% on them. I am sure every team that faced the Cardinals had stupid plays that cost them the game.
"I am not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux" - Jim Hendry
Me either
by Doggie Stalker on Sep 29, 2011 8:46 AM CDT up reply actions
You could use that same argument almost anywhere
Look at the Rays and Red Sox, both started what 0-8? If one or the other had started 1-7 last night wouldn’t have been exciting.
The Cardinals making the playoffs was mostly about the Braves’ collapse.
Cards reaching the Playoffs:
On that alone, last night wasn’t the best night of baseball. And to me, Twins-Braves game 7 of the 1991 WS and Twins-Tigers game 163 in 2009 are still better.
"I'm not a broadcaster! I'm me!"--Ron Santo
I have great memories of the Twins-Tigers game!!
One of my favorite games of all time!
by daily2b on Sep 29, 2011 10:04 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Yeah...those were great games...
…but, what happened last night was incredible. 4 games with meaning on game 162 of the season and 3 of them being won on the winners last at bat, with 2 of them going extra innings. MLB TV Network was amazing in their coverage of it ALL last night. The only way it coulda been better would be to flip the Cards/Astros final score around.
"When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes." - Bob Uecker
i just hope
we see some roster changes. this franchise is not close to playoff contention at the moment
I think roster changes will be pretty much guaranteed.
But you likely won’t see much for a few weeks. I hope a new GM is in place soon.
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new contest....pick the day a new GM is introduced
not that it is leaked out….but the actual press conference is held. NOV 8 for me.
by cozmotaylor123 on Sep 29, 2011 9:28 AM CDT up reply actions
One more personal note.
I happen to be going to New York on business tomorrow. So, I have secured a ticket to Game 1 of the ALDS between the Yankees and Tigers.
A big thank you from me to Mike Napoli, whose homer for the Rangers clinched the #2 seed for them and set up the pitching matchup at Yankee Stadium that I really wanted to see, CC vs. Verlander.
I’ll post something here Saturday morning about the game.
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I saw a regular season CC vs Verlander in 09
At Yankee Stadium. Unbelievable 2-1 game. The intensity was unreal and it will be even more so in the playoffs. Have fun!
BEAR DOWN!
by mikegncb34 on Sep 29, 2011 9:13 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Also Randy Wells needs to lay off the twitter
PWSullivan Paul Sullivan
My apologies. RT @rdwells36 Dude that’s harsh. Tried dressing up as you but I couldn’t find enough bu**lshit to carry around with me!
If truth includes a whole heaping pile of nonsense, then... yes, he does.
"Stuff like this is why they should shut off the internet."
by Orval Overall on Dec 17, 2010 1:19 PM CST
Doubt that was actually Randy Wells
The Sun-Times reports that he “had his Twitter account hacked” this season. Or he was just screwing around with Sullivan at the end of the season.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 10:41 AM CDT up reply actions
That's not the Twitter account that Wells had hacked.
That was @rwells36bsi.
This account appears to be a new one.
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That is awesome (assuming it's real).
Maybe I should get back on Twitter, after all.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
You quit Twitter?
When? Why? You were a Twitter maven!
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I just kind of drifted away.
I’m just not spending as much time online as I used to. (Or at least not as consistently as I used to.) Plus, it was hard to tweet about the Cubs this year without succumbing to total cynicism and negativity, which isn’t really my bag. I may restart my account at some point.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
Why, he's totally dead on
Sullivan is a sorry ass excuse of a baseball guy in a big market.
If we only had more Bruce Miles types…
Just win the next game...!
by blackhawk24 on Sep 29, 2011 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions 3 recs
An amazing night of baseball......Not in SD of course....
The sad part for me was knowing in the back of my head that my team was 25 games back and run like a circus.
You know, I forgot about that for one night.
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Imagine if we had one more wild card team in each league...
last night would have been just another boring night.
Sure, THIS year.
But that would not necessarily be the case EVERY year.
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It's a good debate
I’m against the proposed addition of wild cards. My point here was that the outcry for additional wild cards got louder because there was not going to be any true playoff races in September. Instead, we got the best drama possible.
The question is...
… how many times do you think we’ll ever have races like this? This could be unique.
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There seems to almost ALWAYS be a close race for the wild card spot.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 10:57 AM CDT up reply actions
It was just a couple of years ago, that there was a pretty good chance that there was going to be a three way tie
in the AL Central.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions
Sure.
But not EVERY year. And not with a day like yesterday.
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I think it was more about
the amount TB and STL each came back in September capped off by what occurred last night. Especially in the AL, where you had a 9 inning game end 3 minutes before a 12 inning game with amazing changes of fate.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 11:14 AM CDT up reply actions
I remember back on the September 4 Chicago Cubs Recap: Cubs, Pirates Must Be Getting Paid By The Hour; Cubs Win 6-3
There was a discussion on how there seems to be no close pennant races this year.
Then I left this comment:
Pennant races: You never know with 3 and a half weeks remaining. Anything can happen.
It seemed like everybody’s response to that was: “Yeah right, like that will ever happen. A leading team would have to go into monumental collapse mode and the trailing team would have to go on a big run to catch them.”
It seemed like the very next day in baseball, all of that stuff started to gradually happen, and it all led to what happened last night in TWO separate races.
I wasn’t really being serious when I made that comment, but I was just trying to say that it could happen.
I just can’t believe that it really DID happen!
Jack Brickhouse: "Hey! Hey!" Harry Caray: "Holy Cow!"
Vince Lloyd: "The Chicago Cubs are on the Air!" Len Kasper: "Oh Baby!!!!"
Ron Santo: "YES!" "All Right! Let's do it!" "Ohhh Nooooo!" "Gee Whiz! Come on!" AND... "This Is The Year!"
by #1 iowan cubs fan on Sep 29, 2011 11:50 AM CDT up reply actions
Last night was a 1 in 20 year thing, if that
For “races” that were non-existent on Labor Day, thinking to myself, well this is going to be a boring last couple weeks, sure turned out differently.
Just win the next game...!
Last night was incredible
I believe my exact quote to my friends was “THIS IS ******* BASEBALL!” and at that point “the quote” hit me and I was kinda bummed that all this tremendous excitement hit NOW as opposed to sooner. My mind is still blown from the three games I got to watch at the same time (thanks ESPN 3!).
As for Cubs baseball, like I said before, I miss GOOD Cubs baseball, not 2009 Season Part 3. That season, and it’s sequels, are starting to get as bad as Police Academy and all its sequels :)
Ah well, season is over though, so what can you do? Time to hope that the new GM builds us instead of burying us, that the manager is the right man for the job, and that we can become a team that can be a part of something as exciting as last night again.
And Al, congratulations, this death march of a season is finally over!
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 8:07 AM CDT reply actions
I'll give you 1, MAYBE 2...
but 3 and 4 do not belong in the same sentence with the word “good”
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by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 12:04 PM CDT up reply actions
Oh come on!
You can’t argue with the line, “I used to be a real jerk, but now I’m a people guy.”
Thanks Al
Another season gone….thanks for all you do here Al. Enjoy reading your posts daily.
She said, "I know a town where real life's a game
Baseball's all that's real
At night all the faces light up
As the players take the field"
-Widespread Panic
by DallasCub on Sep 29, 2011 8:08 AM CDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs
I was glad to see Ortiz get to pitch last night. Dollis had already pitched once this season and must have been tired.
We needed to see what Ortiz, Baker, ARam, DeWitt, Hill, could do last night. It was a real eye opener!
Dempster looked good! Got to 200 innings…that was very important! Then he stayed in and got pounded and took one for the team as they saved the bullpen for today!
LOL @ the Cubs!!!!!
by TJ11 on Sep 29, 2011 8:09 AM CDT reply actions 2 recs
You have nothing to say about last night's game?
It was everything that is wrong with the Cubs……
But fine I will save it for posts that are talking about the Cubs….
nobody cared about last night's game
but I would like to see Quade fired this morning by Ricketts, you don’t need a new GM to figure that out and would be a good statement that this season was totally unacceptable. However, politically I understand why it’s not happening yet.
Oh, please.
Fire Quade less than 24 hours after the last game? Why? To satisfy your bloodlust and hatred?
Man, let it go. The changes will come soon enough.
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by Al Yellon on Sep 29, 2011 8:25 AM CDT up reply actions 2 recs
No, that has nothing to do with "showing he was serious".
Firing Quade today would do nothing but satisfy fans with torches and pitchforks.
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How do you know he doesn't?
Nothing has to be wielded on September 29. It’s 189 days until the next game.
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TJ...
he is losing the pitchfork Fans. he is not really losing fans, and there are a ton of pink hat fans out there.
So i you can give you can take it.
Sure.
But not rightfreakingnow as in TODAY.
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I really don't care WHEN it happens
as long as it happens before spring training.
Because does it matter who the Cubs manager is before then?
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Again
… most player moves aren’t made until November.
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Sure you do
You want it before the GM meetings…When’s that, first 10 days of November? Winter meetings are 1st/2nd week of December. That’s already too late.
Need a GM, need a manager….soon. Get some structure established ASAP.
Just win the next game...!
IF there is a new gm in place
and there isnt talk of interviews going on for new managers…TJ i will allow you to throw your pitchforks and burn your torches.
So i you can give you can take it.
It only matters if he's manager NEXT SEASON.
You really need to chill on this. Like, step away from the site for a few days. You’ve been shrill before, but this “MIKEQUADENEEDSTOBEFIREDRIGHTFREAKINGNOW!” kick is just plain ridiculous, immature and INCREDIBLY annoying.
I dislike Mike Quade as much as you do. But as long as he gets fired, it doesn’t matter when. If he starts next season as the manager of this club, we will BOTH be furious. In fact, I would imagine even Al will be quite annoyed. But what the hell is with the heartburn today? Almost no one gets canned the freaking DAY after the season ends.
Settle the hell down.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 11:02 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I wouldn't have been this harsh.
But Nunya is right. Take a deep breath and give it a little time. Brush the crumbs of this awful season off of you.
I don’t want Mike Quade managing the Cubs next year. But I don’t think firing him today accomplishes a single thing.
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But Quade started Koyie Hill yesterday!
TJ11 watched the game just so he could report that inconsequential fact. Quade needs to go now! Ricketts is the worst owner in recorded mankind history! Don’t you see? It has to be now.
John Grabow: $4.8 million in 2011.
My guess about Hill, in case you care about him, is this...
… I’m guessing last night was the last game of his major league career. So they gave him a start in a meaningless game. Not a big deal, IMO.
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You could not be more wrong about that statement.
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Let's see what changes happen in the offseason before we bitch again.
Fair enough?
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At least a couple of months.
Most big moves don’t happen until after the World Series.
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Changing the rainout policy is a "big move?"
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:02 PM CDT up reply actions
For this organization?
Yes.
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by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:04 PM CDT up reply actions
The next big move after that would be winning an actual playoff game.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 2:06 PM CDT up reply actions
You're asking for too much.
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by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:06 PM CDT up reply actions
Somehow I don't think Bud considers the team changing a rainout policy
as stealing the headlines away from the World Series. This seems like another weak excuse offered up by Al
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions
I was kinda being facetious
I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, but I do think that the Cubs drag their feet on a whole number of issues (cue TJ re Quade).
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by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:08 PM CDT up reply actions
Knock off the trolling, OK?
Where did I say this was a “big move”? Where did I say they’d change the policy during the World Series as a “headline”?
You’re making stuff up to try to make me look bad. Stop it.
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I'm trying to figure out if you're actually reading what you're responding to.
Your discussion with TJ was about (because he brought them up) the rainout policy and the ticket prices.
You said to wait and see what changes are made, he said “how long do you give him” and you said " at least a couple of months, Most big moves don’t happen until after the World Series."
I’m not trolling, I’m simply calling you out when you offer up lame excuses and then apparently don’t remember you offered them up
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:13 PM CDT up reply actions
I was talking about player, coach and executive moves.
You are talking about something completely different, apparently in an attempt to make me look bad.
Stop, now.
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Then you were talking about something different from TJ
Since he was talking about rainout policies and ticket pricing.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:49 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm done discussing this topic.
Really, as I said below, I had kind of hoped people would let this bad season go, stop the sniping for a while, and just relax, revel in the great baseball from last night, and give all the bad stuff a little time to be fixed.
I guess my expectations are too high.
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Oh.
So I can’t write recaps the way I want?
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If you thought that people were going to join hands and sing kumbaya
when NOTHING has actually been changed….I don’t know what to tell you.
I don’t agree with TJ’s need to have Quade fired today, but there is plenty wrong with this organization.
It doesn’t help that you got on someone’s case for being totally wrong, when they weren’t… in fact, totally wrong.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:56 PM CDT up reply actions
"Kumbaya"?
Hardly. But man, let it go for a day.
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Sure, feel free.
I’d just think that maybe the same sniping at Cubs management that we’ve heard over and over and over and over and over and over…
… might be let go FOR ONE DAY.
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We're in a horrible position right now
and many of us have discussed ways to improve and what the roadblocks are for that. I really don’t know what else you want for us to discuss other than how crap awful management is, ESPECIALLY when we, the people who pay a lot of time, attention, and money to this team, are helpless to do anything about it.
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by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 3:06 PM CDT up reply actions
I think we were supposed to write Haikus about how awesome last night was
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 3:07 PM CDT up reply actions
Remember last night?
The Cubs sucked hard, like always.
But Tampa didn’t!
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
Last night was only awesome
because it was the final nail in the coffin of the 2011 season.
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by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 3:12 PM CDT up reply actions
And I'm sure it will. But the day after the season? When we lost 9-2 to end the year?
Also, you have a hand on this and appear to be playing like you’re the victim. You’re getting on people and sniping right along with them.
I’ll just point out one more time, that you jumped on TJ for claiming he “couldn’t be more wrong” when he wasn’t actually wrong.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 3:07 PM CDT up reply actions
and maybe i'm out of place on this.
but not everyone is as big a Baseball fan as you are Al. I’m not. I wont watch a baseball game if the cubs arent playing in it. so, its neat that those teams made it the way they did it. i really dont care about it. my sole/soul reason for watching baseball ended by being beat 9-2, in a season they lost 90 times.
So i you can give you can take it.
Well, that's pretty inconsistent Al
TJ brings up some valid points and you’re telling him how wrong he is…because Ricketts MIGHT change those policies at some undefined time in the future?
This right here, is why some consider you a kneejerk defender of Tommy boy
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 11:05 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
It's exactly the same thing that you said about Quade.
Do these policies have to change TODAY?
Let me wait and see what happens with them. If they’re not changed, you can bet I’ll say something about it.
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No it's really not.
Because TJ basically said that Ricketts had not listened in the past to the fans about things like the rainout policy. And you claimed he was wrong because at some point, maybe, things will change.
Mike Quade getting fired is as close to a foregone conclusion as you get.
The team changing their rainout policy is not.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 11:11 AM CDT up reply actions
Nevertheless
it COULD happen.
If it doesn’t, I’ll continue to hammer them on it.
Hammering them on the OBVIOUS, as you point out, firing of Mike Quade is kind of pointless.
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Yes, but it's a small track record.
I don’t think a lot of the dumb stuff Ricketts says and does is going to ruin the GM search. I do trust that Ricketts is going to let the GM do what he wants to do and get the hell out of the way.
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
Yes it could happen, but that's not what TJ said and
and it’s not what you then jumped on him about.
TJ didn’t say “the rainout policy will never change” he said that Ricketts had not listened to the fans about the rainout policy. To this point….he hasn’t.
Like I said, this is why some of us think you rush to defend Ricketts, even if there isn’t actually a defense.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:05 PM CDT up reply actions
You're not listening to me.
The rainout policy has not changed.
BUT IT COULD BEFORE ANOTHER GAME IS PLAYED!
If it’s not, I will most certainly criticize that decision, AS I HAVE DONE IN THE PAST.
I’m not sure what else you’d expect me to do.
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LWDYWMTD?
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by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:08 PM CDT up reply actions
For starters, to actually respond to what was said.
for, I think, the third time now…..
TJ said that Ricketts hasn’t listened (therefore past tense) to the fans about certain policies. You then said he “could not be more wrong” when he offered up actual examples, you proceeded to claim that he was wrong because at some point, those changes might be made.
The bottom line is Al, YOU were wrong for claiming that TJ was inaccurate
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:08 PM CDT up reply actions
So now is where I get to tell you..
… that he actually has heard me, IN PERSON, regarding the rainout policy, and I believe changes are coming.
You’re free to believe that or not, as you wish. But that is a fact.
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Are you being intentionally obtuse?
I’m just going to assume you are and surrender.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:14 PM CDT up reply actions
What?
What does the posting of a fact have to do with being obtuse?
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So far he has not been to fan friendly....MAYBE that changes in the future....
Maybe you like to hear what he tells you face to face…..
Next time that happens, ask him some baseball questions. I would love to hear the spin.
They aren't relevant to what I was saying....for one thing.
I’ve really explained this enough. You’re in one of your moods where rather than admit you may have said something inaccurate, you’re going to IGNORE anything that shows you said something inaccurate.
I surrender.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:51 PM CDT up reply actions
You were told there wouldn't be huge discounts on bleachers again too.
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
Just because things he was told did not happen, doesn’t mean they weren’t going to happen that way at the time he was told them.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 2:41 PM CDT up reply actions
1%
may actually care about it. granted there were a lot of no shows to games, but no shows still bought the ticket in the first place right?
So i you can give you can take it.
However
Many of those no-shows will turn into no-buys if there aren’t changes.
Since no tickets are on sale now, I think people will wait to see what happens.
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but that is more about the product on the field
than TOM RICKETTS “ownership style”. Imho.
So i you can give you can take it.
True.
Again, changes have to be made. BUT THEY DON’T ALL HAVE TO BE DONE TODAY!
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why let him twist for a month? plus it gives him the opportunity to get another job
what has to be now should be done now. Just fire him now, what’s the difference? As I said though, politically, i don’t think it’s gonna happen.
More than likely....
… Quade will get another job in the organization, maybe a minor league coordinator.
No one else is going to fire anyone today, either.
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But If Ricketts fires Quade now
Isn’t he a meddling owner? Isn’t that the GMs call?
Are there rules as to what Ricketts can do as owner of the team and not do? Or are we making this up as we go along?
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 11:23 AM CDT up reply actions
Bush is the one who should fire Quade.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 11:25 AM CDT up reply actions
For guys I really want fired
I wish they’d bring in Vince McMahon because no one says YOU’RE FIRED better.
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by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 1:22 PM CDT up reply actions
Which Bush?
41 or 43? End political humor.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 12:34 PM CDT up reply actions
On another note
Firing Quade now may be in Quade’s best interest. It gives him time to look for a new job, unless Ricketts thinks he might be involved in the coaching staff next year.
How in the world...
…could you leave Quade on this coaching staff?
I guess Ricketts could can him now to allow him time to find a new gig (which certainly will not be a managers job), but he is also under contract for next year, so he isn’t going to starve either.
I’ll bet, Ricketts waits for the new GM to come onboard.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
There's zero chance he gets fired as manager and reassigned as the third base coach.
Actually, less than zero
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 11:06 AM CDT up reply actions
You're missing the point of my post
What I’m saying is unless he IS being kept on the coaching staff (I’m not saying he is) that he might as well be fired now so he can start looking for a new job, whatever that job may be.
Now, with it being said he’s still under contract to the Cubs next year, maybe he can clean the toilets.
I get the "he needs to start looking for a job now!" argument
It’s just pretty silly. When he is fired, EVERYONE in the baseball universe will know he was fired. It’s not like they’ll forget he’s out there. In fact, I’m sure EVERYONE in the baseball universe knows he’s going to be fired. If a team is actually interested in him, they’ll contact him.
I would assume that once he starts getting contacts, he’ll let Tom know and if we don’t have a GM in place by then, Ricketts may allow him to “investigate other opportunities” at that time. The point is, there is literally no reason to fire him TODAY
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 1:32 PM CDT up reply actions
But it'd be so Cub-like to do so
The press conference would be an instant classic.
Just win the next game...!
No, I really don't have anything to say about last night's game.
One bad game of many. Instead I chose to write about how much I love baseball and how great last night was for the game, and instead you want to bog me down with minutiae about Koyie Hill?
Seriously, TJ. LET IT GO. This season is over for the Cubs. Better things are ahead.
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Well... it can hardly be worse.
Right?
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The only thing I have to say about last night's game is...
…Andrew Cashner looked pretty damn good again and has in general in the tiny sample of outings we saw from him at the end of the season. That and what a brutal way for Demp to end a very difficult season.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
You're right on
but since that was game 162 and they were realistically out when it seemed we were at only game 62, it doesn’t matter…..unless there’s not enough changes in the organization, philosophically as well as roster.
Just win the next game...!
might as well make a macro, Al
(!!!!) You know how stubbornly consistent TJ is when he’s on a mission (!!!!)
You stinks, Carlos Zambrano!
NICE POST TJ!!
made me laugh actually
"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Cubs win....what a lucky break!!" ---Harry
by Hammer on Sep 29, 2011 1:56 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
too much truth in there
that I can only laugh
"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Cubs win....what a lucky break!!" ---Harry
I thought this was a Cubs recap and talked about them....I must have been mistaken.
I was supposed to sing the praises of other teams today….
Geez... chill dude, chill
If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.
by eths on Sep 29, 2011 2:45 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Thank You Al
This is my first season on BCB, and I loved it. I also want to thank everyone on BCB for making me feel at home (being a Cubs fan) and I can’t wait for the spring.
About last night, I will say this: Manly T ears were shed for Tampa. Now I know who to root for this postseason (anyone that’s NOT the Yankees and Phillies)
Twitter = tpears86
Any team that has to face the Tigers has to worry.
The Yankees dragged to the finish line and have to face Verlander potentially twice in a five-game series.
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I agree, although I hope St. Louis is swept
Personally I think if the Red Sox or the Braves had made the playoffs. They would’ve been bounced quickly in the first round. Texas and Milwaukee would be booking their tickets to the LCS.
Was that Chipper Jones' last game?
Seems like it was yesterday that I was watching him as a young stud. Now he looks old and beat up. And he’s MY age. Depressing
If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base. - Dave Barry
Chipper has already said he's coming back next year.
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It was Pat Burrell's last game
They made a big deal of it in SF. He’s got a degenerative foot condition that can’t be operated on. He’s going to rest it for a month and if it magically gets better he might go to ST as a NRI. But otherwise, he’s done.
by Josh Timmers on Sep 29, 2011 9:33 AM CDT up reply actions
Just wondering who else?
Watching the O’s game, I was wondering about Vlad Guerrero. Not sure the O’s will bring him back for that salary. I wouldn’t be surprised if D-Lee calls it quits.
Jim Thome has indicated he wants to come back.
John Grabow: $4.8 million in 2011.
Guerrero's probably coming back
not in Baltimore, but someone will offer him a contract. He hit .290 this year and finished the season strong. Maybe the Twins.
Derrek Lee was pretty good for Pittsburgh. I don’t know if they can afford him, but I think they’d like him back.
Omar Vizquel has got to be done, doesn’t he? Cripes, he’s my age.
by Josh Timmers on Sep 29, 2011 10:36 AM CDT up reply actions
I would not be surprised if Ozzie tries to bring Vizquel to the Marlins.
The two are very close. If nothing else, Vizquel could be a player/coach type of guy, a mentor to some of the younger players.
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Omar Vizquel is so old
How old is he?
Omar Vizquel is so old he was a teammate of Steve Trout and “Hackman” Jeffrey Leonard.
by Josh Timmers on Sep 29, 2011 11:15 AM CDT up reply actions
Omar Vizquel is so old
How old is he?
Omar Vizquel is so old he got his first hit off Storm Davis.
by Josh Timmers on Sep 29, 2011 11:17 AM CDT up reply actions
Omar Vizquel is so old
How old is he?
He’s the last active player to have played games in the old Comiskey Park and Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.
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I'm sorry but....
I just can’t do it. While I love baseball, I’m a Cubs fan and I have more than a difficult time watching other teams and fans celebrate. I find it particularly hollow on nights like last night, while electricity streams through those particular cities, the Cubs are packing their gear and riding off…again.
I know, I know, I’m fortunate to have lived through five divisions titles and a wildcard playoff appearance….things generations before couldn’t even sniff. But I’m not “spoiled” enough to ignore that there is something more. Something that makes all of this agony as a Cubs fan worth it.
So baseball fan or not, incredible night or not….I can’t do it yet. I won’t watch the playoffs….I just can’t. I could care less who wins the World Series….it won’t be the Cubs….again….so why bother? Pretending to care only picks at the scab that is still there after all these years. Oh yes, I’ll have a fleeting opinion that neither Milwaukee or St. Louis wins a playoff game…but that’s merely an attempt at partially soothing an old wound.
Usually the Giamatti phrase brings me to a small minute of sorrow. I hate when baseball season ends….I’ve hated it since I was a kid. But this time, the words rang too hollow. This season caused that….a season that was over in April and was readily apparent even before that. It was such a lost season that it seemed as though it never happened. Yes, it was that bad.
And in times like these, I don’t want to watch another pitch, post-season or otherwise, until the team that I foolishly follow has rectified its numerous problems. I fear another long period of ineptitiude is more than likely ahead and for that, I’m not looking forward.
At the end of the day, I’m a Cubs fan and damnit, this Cubs fan wants to be the one with champagne bottle in hand at the end of all of this. Since that isn’t happening any time soon, nope, I won’t be tuning in. Whether its because I care too much about the Cubs or care so much less about all of the other teams, I just don’t have the heart to see the rest unfold.
Some day…..
by krummy12 on Sep 29, 2011 8:46 AM CDT reply actions 12 recs
At the end of the day, I’m a Cubs fan and damnit, this Cubs fan wants to be the one with champagne bottle in hand at the end of all of this.
Sure. But I love baseball and I’ll watch it as long as it’s here to watch.
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by Al Yellon on Sep 29, 2011 9:05 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I hear that.
Same teams every year. I guess I’ll have to root for the Brewers this fall if I keep up with the playoffs at all. Didn’t get the Cub game here (the last game of the year, thanks Mediacom!) but was perfectly content to watch the ‘Hawks beat the Wings last night instead. Thank god I’m more of a buffet-type sports fan rather than a baseball obsessive or this winter would be brutal.
Johnny Knox is so fast he lives in the future
I'm not questioning or criticizing but
this is the difference between a Cubs fan or baseball fan first. I’m baseball fan first. I’ll watch as much playoff baseball as possible. I’m actually jumping on the Brewers bandwagon for the NL playoffs.
Any baseball is still better than no baseball.
John Grabow: $4.8 million in 2011.
I'm rooting for the Brewers too
Only because I have majority of my family in Milwaukee and they’ve been so bad for so many years they need to get while the gettin’s good.
I can't cheer for the Brewers
because I grew up in Wisconsin. It’s too bad, because they’ve got a pretty appealing team.
I’m going with the Tigers. They were my grandfather’s team.
by Josh Timmers on Sep 29, 2011 11:07 AM CDT up reply actions
Agreed, but Cubs baseball is best, even at its worst
If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.
by eths on Sep 29, 2011 2:51 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
If the Cubs aren't in the playoffs
the question isn’t “who are you for?” but rather “who don’t you want to win?”
In my case the answer is easy: Yankees & Cardinals.
This is great.
Well said, krummy.
Minor League Contributing Writer, Athletics Nation.
State high point count: 4/50
If you are grouchy, irritable, or just plain mean, there will be a $10 charge for putting up with you.
by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 29, 2011 12:58 PM CDT up reply actions
October 7th... mark your calendar, a week from tomorrow night
The last team in this town to win a title (and the next one too) begins their season in Dallas.
Just win the next game...!
Well that's a first
I’ve never seen hockey described as “boring”
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by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 4:17 PM CDT up reply actions
Soccer Ice Capades
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 4:19 PM CDT up reply actions
If only there were a way to market that
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by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 4:20 PM CDT up reply actions
on a rare occasion i'll go to a Predators game.
and its neat. But watching it on television is pretty much what SWL said above. at least with Golf i can see how a golfer swings and maybe apply some knowledge.
So i you can give you can take it.
I watch golf for similar reasons
I want to learn how to improve my game, see what little things others with a similar approach to my pathetic one are doing, and see if I can then apply that to when I’m on the course. I also find it relaxing to watch.
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by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 4:25 PM CDT up reply actions
I cant watch hockey for more then a second
I could have cared less the Hawks won a few years ago. Aside from Cubs and Bears my wife and I love watching the tennis majors.
"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Cubs win....what a lucky break!!" ---Harry
I just shed a tear...
If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.
by eths on Sep 29, 2011 2:50 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Can't agree more with Krummy
I’m sick of not being involved….EVER. I don’t give a damn about a team that has fans that only show for 1 damn game, when something might happen. I’m sick of Boston. I hate the Cardinals. The D-Backs go from worst to first. The Brewers…..bunch of Packers fans. They all can pound sand. The Yankees are there every year. The damn Cubs are a franchise that SHOULD be in that position. A nationwide fanbase, money and history.
None of this interests me. It’s over for me. Hell, outside of going to Tuesday’s game I haven’t watched the Cubs since the Mets series. I get recapped here.
I’m headed toward hockey, and the Blackhawks, who I believe will win the Cup again this season.
by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Sep 29, 2011 3:32 PM CDT up reply actions
I didn't watch any games
last night and I won’t watch any playoffs either. If the Cubs aren’t playing I’m not interested.
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning the devil says, "OH CRAP, SHE'S UP"!
Too bad we can't say
This is the last time we will ever see Ryan Dumpster in Cubs uniform, what a joke. Works out and has his best year just to secure a good contract, then slowly becomes crap. I seriously am sick of him. He needs to work out hard in every offseason to be worth the money we are paying him. He can be good, but he seems to require extra effort in order to do so, and it appears he hasn’t been putting in his all the last couple offseasons, unless he is just declining.
Well, he probably is declining.
But he’s given this team four straight seasons of 200+ innings, and I’d also point out that his FIP and xFIP are both markedly lower than his admittedly garish ERA. I’m not going to sit here and say he was a great pitcher this year, but he still brings considerable value to the table.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
In the grand Karmic scale
It balanced out pretty nicely.
Call me Jim Hendry, but I’d take a Cards v. Phils matchup for the elimination of the Red Sawx and Tomahawk chop.
seems fair
WWOZ.org - New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Station
Ahem
Don’t forget Fuld’s contribution to that win. He has actually had a wrist injury for over two weeks and had not batted since Sept 14, but he still had enough plate patience to get a walk to drive in a run and later scored on the Longoria HR.
For those of us paying attention to the Rays this season Maddon and Friedman are really special in creating a real TEAM in which even a line up with half the guys batting under 250 and a couple struggling to bat .200 can win.
"I am not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux" - Jim Hendry
Me either
Not the same thing,
But I see Campana as a guy that could help in the same sort of situation, yes he needs to improve his skills of getting on base, but speed matters more than some give credit for.
It is really tragic he has such bad plate patience and has his entire career
Trust me short guys with no power ( and great speed) must be patient.
Maybe send him to Winter League to work on it.
"I am not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux" - Jim Hendry
Me either
by Doggie Stalker on Sep 29, 2011 9:23 AM CDT up reply actions
Okay Tony, you're here at Winter league to work on patience...
do not swing at anything. you are to not swing at any pitch this entire season. wait…i’m afraid what you heard was do not swing at bad pitches, what i said was do not swing at any pitch this entire winter season. not one.
So i you can give you can take it.
Well he has shown horrible plate patience in his entire career
and you can NOT steal first base. It is worth a try.
"I am not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux" - Jim Hendry
Me either
by Doggie Stalker on Sep 29, 2011 9:40 AM CDT up reply actions
Someone should tell him walking is the equivalent of stealing 1B
And bunting for a hit is really stealing the base…
I agree.
Credit to Fuld, and HUGE credit to Friedman and Maddon, after all the players who left after last year, they built another playoff team.
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Now, see, this is constructive.
Yes, that’s correct. The former team management did not recognize Fuld’s value. Presumably, the Cubs will hire someone who does understand the value of players like that.
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Fuld Value??
I gotta disagree there…Cubs have a better fuld in Tony Campana. I root for a guy like fuld, but if he’s your starter, it’s a hole in the lineup.
.240 / .313 .673 ops…yuck.
Campana is a much faster and better base stealer.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
i would say that the Rays HAD to use a guy like fuld because of their payroll...
but then i look at the Cubs payroll and roster and weep.
So i you can give you can take it.
exactly
Come on, no one wants to start Sam Fuld in the OF everyday. They won despite him. I mean, there is no statistical reasoning to say Fuld was important. I’m not going to pretend I watch every Rays game…but let’s be serious.
Solid starters (shields…WOW year, Helickson, price) and a real productive bullpen were the the main keys. Followed that by a lineup that was good enough….and a very LUCKY year by Kotchman. But Sam Fuld IS NOWHERE in the picture of why this team won the wild card.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
Nobody is saying they won because they started Fuld...But he didnt hurt them either...his fielding saved them countless runs.
i am sure the pitchers you listed enjoyed him being on the team…..So would the ones in Iowa if he was on the Cubs.
Ya but
if he was still on the Cubs, highlight catches or not, wouldn’t most everybody here be complaining about the kind of losers the management keeps around or something like that?
"Prince Fielder is too fat even for the Oakland A’s" - Billy Beane
So, who wants to start Soriano and Fukudome in the outfield every day?
Maybe Fuld isn’t so bad, especially for the money.
Which is precisely why some of these constrictive contracts have to go
It’s not just Fuld and others were not valued, it was also having to play guys who were getting paid a Kings ransom.
Just win the next game...!
Actually he would likely have done neither
Odds are he would have been with the Rays. The Rays had in fact been asking for him for over a year. He was out of options so he would not have made it to Iowa and there was no place for him on the roster because to be honest no one expected Colvin to tank and he was not going to get a spot over RJ.
However the point remains that the Rays know how to use a player like Fuld and the Cubs don’t. It was almost comic that Fuld’s skill set ( Defense, plate patience, speed) were exactly what the Cubs needed but never tried to get.
"I am not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux" - Jim Hendry
Me either
by Doggie Stalker on Sep 29, 2011 9:26 AM CDT up reply actions
Plate Patience? .313 ONB ...eh, really not that special
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
Look at PA/BB.
You can’t use OBP by itself since that includes BA. The only Cubs that matched Fuld is Pena, Soto and Fukudome.
Fuld’s patience isn’t outstanding but much better than most of the Cubs hackers.
John Grabow: $4.8 million in 2011.
Huh? Why remove OBP from equation? That makes no sense.
Why remove hits from the equation? So you celebrate a guy who walks a lot but has a terrible avg? I’ll use OBP over W/PA
Come on…the cubs are beyond “cute” players who have some success who don’t win ball games. Fuld is a 5th OF…and cubs have a better fuld …Campana. You can’t just pick bad parts of a good team and point to them as reasons for success.
The Garza trade was good for the cubs.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
I'm not defending Fuld at all.
I really don’t care about him and I care about Campana even less as Fuld has more value.
My point was just on plate patience. If you are looking at how patient someone is then you really need to focus on BB not overall OBP. For example, no one would say Castro has plate patience but his OBP is higher than a lot of people because BA is high.
John Grabow: $4.8 million in 2011.
Yeah, the Cubs hire players who aren't cute and don't win ball games
Big whoop.
The real comment is that Fuld has useful attributes as a player – good enough that used right he helped Tampa make the playoffs. No one in Chicago management was smart enough to figure out how to use him. They have a second chance with Campana. Wonder how they will do?
I am getting really sick of the "cute" and similar things re Fuld
The inference is that people who like Fuld as a player , especially me, give a rats ass what he looks like. It is possible to be a serious female baseball fan without caring what a player looks like. It has been pointed out over and over that Fuld had the exact qualities the Cubs neither had nor valued. Having followed Fuid since his time in low minors it was particularly frustrating to see the Cubs waste him till they basically had to give him a way to a team that knew how to use those qualities.
"I am not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux" - Jim Hendry
Me either
by Doggie Stalker on Sep 30, 2011 12:14 PM CDT up reply actions
Did the Cubs play last night??
Seriously, I didn’t watch one pitch of the Cubs game. It was all about the Wild Card chase and the incredible drama.
Get 'em on, Get 'em over, Get 'em in!
Seriously, I'll say again
that was the worst lineup the cubs have trotted out there this year. To me, that was a big middle finger to the fans from Mike Quade
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
That is exactly what I thought it was.....
That alone should get Ricketts to act…..But I guess Ricketts feels the same.
Countdown
Not sure if anyone’s mentioned this yet, but the countdown to opening day on the right sidebar shows 2011 not 2012.
Clear your browser cache.
It definitely says 2012 on mine.
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Baseball Magic
Al- Good story today. I agree, couldn’t have been more exciting (unless cubs were part of it) night of baseball.
The crazy thing is that the Papelbon collapse was so close in time to the Longoria homer.
That re-amped me for the postseason…after the cubs agonizing season and lack of division races whiped me the last month.
I’m not sure of the rest of you…but I get real jelous, watching a team like the Rays have that much success with that payroll and in that tough of a division. Then, I look, and the stadium wasn’t even full!!!
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
I still can't wrap my brain around it
The fact that a major league manager even made the decision to send a .103 hitter to the plate to decide the fate of an entire season for two teams is improbable, hell, almost impossible — let alone the result of that at-bat. I could go on forever talking about all of the improbabilities. All four of those meaningful games last night ended in the opposite way I wanted to see them end – yet it was still the most compelling night of regular season baseball I’ve ever seen.
One day, the dream will come true.
I thought the same thing
The Trop wasn’t even close to capacity. Wrigley would have been jammed along with Waveland and the other streets too.
Maybe Tom can use this as part of his pitch to Friedman. Don’t you want to experience an atmosphere even mroe electric than last night? Oh, and did I mention the payroll will be significantly higher?
MAKE THE ADJUSTMENT ALREADY. THIS GAME IS ABOUT ADJUSTMENTS.
by MaTheMeatloaf on Sep 29, 2011 11:01 AM CDT up reply actions
I also could not watch
the parties in Tampa or St. Louis . Even the Baltimore Club house looked very festive . It brings back 2003, 2007 and 2008 and what went so wrong . I took the dog for a very long walk…..
I gotta say...
..I’m not sure why Al gets on you for this. This is a public forum where you can post opinions and the like, right?
Post away. I hate message board cops. Almost as bad as some tool playing the ‘spelling card’ or grammar card because they can’t refute your points.
MAKE THE ADJUSTMENT ALREADY. THIS GAME IS ABOUT ADJUSTMENTS.
by MaTheMeatloaf on Sep 29, 2011 11:04 AM CDT up reply actions
even if said opinion is stated
overandoverandoverandoverandoverandoverandoverandoverandoverandoverandoverandoverandoverandover again?
You stinks, Carlos Zambrano!
by Emelie on Sep 29, 2011 11:06 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
You know, he's quite smart.
Now that the early persona has died down and he posts real stuff, I’ve come to like him quite a bit.
"I'm not a broadcaster! I'm me!"--Ron Santo
by chilango2 on Sep 29, 2011 11:10 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Exactly.
Every single poster here knows how TJ feels. Repeating it is just annoying.
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by Al Yellon on Sep 29, 2011 11:10 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
So.....
don’t read it. Move along.
MAKE THE ADJUSTMENT ALREADY. THIS GAME IS ABOUT ADJUSTMENTS.
by MaTheMeatloaf on Sep 29, 2011 11:15 AM CDT up reply actions
They sure do...
…and it’s got to stop.
Fire Quade TODAY. NOW.
Why? To satisfy my bloodlust and anger.
MAKE THE ADJUSTMENT ALREADY. THIS GAME IS ABOUT ADJUSTMENTS.
by MaTheMeatloaf on Sep 29, 2011 11:19 AM CDT up reply actions
And also because...you know...it's the right thing to do.
Of course we’re talking about the Cubs there, so doing the right thing sometimes takes a backseat to whatever the hell they think is more important at the time.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions
I got my diabeetus testing supplies....
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State high point count: 4/50
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by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 29, 2011 11:30 AM CDT up reply actions
This type of argument always devolves into a circle jerk, but I'm going to start it anyway.
TJ is allowed to post the same crap over and over and over. We’re also “allowed” to ask him to stop, or tell him when it bugs us.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 1:34 PM CDT up reply actions
Well sure.
Part of the issue (further above) seems to be that he wants to talk about the Cubs game in a Cubs game recap. I don’t think that’s wrong.
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
I don't think that part is wrong, I think screaming for Quade's head to be lopped off TODAY has gotten tiresome though
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 1:54 PM CDT up reply actions
I can agree with that.
He’s not going anywhere until the GM is in place.
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
I disagree....why Ricketts thinks there is any chance for him to be there next year is stupid.
If he is leaving it up to the GM he is showing he would be OK with it….
That's not really the issue.
And further more you know it’s not. You’ve just got your panties in a bunch about Quade not being fired on your time table.
The MOST likely scenario is that one of the things the new GM will have to be on the same page with Ricketts about, is that the team needs a new manager. I can’t see anyone actually reviewing the job Quade did and thinking he did even a serviceable job. Beyond Not Bruce of course, who never seems to think anything is wrong, and no one is ever to blame.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:01 PM CDT up reply actions
What good will it do for you
unless getting an ulcer is a goal.
We all want the same, right? But who knows what’ll happen.
Just win the next game...!
I'm thrilled for they Rays.
How a team that spends so little money just grits it out 9 games back in September just proves one thing. 2 probably. Money doesn’t get you the grit that you need and passion. Those guys aren’t payed like their rivals Yankees and Red Sox. That was absolute passion and grit for the game during the final months of the season and that 7 run comeback with only 6 outs remaining. Unbelievable
by braziliancubsfan on Sep 29, 2011 9:40 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
As far as I can tell
the Cubs get the sixth pick in the draft next season. The order is 1) Houston 2)Minnesota 3) Seattle 4) Baltimore 5) Kansas City 6) CUBS 7) San Diego 8) Pittsburgh 9) Florida 10) Colorado.
But don’t quote me on that. I think the tiebreak order is KC, us and then SD.
05-06 or so
because we got screwed out of the first pick or something like that? I’m sure Josh’s answer will be way better than my no real information answer.
So i you can give you can take it.
I don't remember exactly when they changed it
but that sounds about right. It was a problem alternating when there were an uneven number of teams in each league.
by Josh Timmers on Sep 29, 2011 10:04 AM CDT up reply actions
I believe you are correct about the order.
Based on the records and the tiebreaker (last year’s record), that looks right.
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Last night's loss
got us two places in the standings. We win, and San Diego and Pittsburgh pick ahead of us.
by Josh Timmers on Sep 29, 2011 11:19 AM CDT up reply actions
People talke about...
…how bad the Cubs collapse was in 69? Well, what the Braves and Red Sox did, makes 69 look like childs play.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
I just wrote this article for Baseball Nation about epic collapses. Will also fanshot it.
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Good article, Al!
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
Particularly the Red Sox.
The fact that a team with so much talent isn’t going to the postseason is staggering.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
That brings things back to the chemistry-talent debate
While chemistry isn’t (yet) quantifiable, every report suggests that this bunch of Red Sox had none, led by John Lackey. Tampa, on the other hand, seems to cultivate high-chemistry clubhouses, led by Joe Maddon.
I fully expect the next Cubs GM and Manager to be able to take both into account when rebuilding the team.
Auto racing writer, SB Nation Indiana. Because in 49 other states, it's just sports!
by Bill Potter on Sep 29, 2011 11:14 AM CDT up reply actions
I hope you're right, Trey.
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State high point count: 4/50
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by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 29, 2011 11:15 AM CDT up reply actions
Y'know, I gotta admit...
…I never got a good vibe from John Lackey. (And his last name doesn’t help.) Seriously, though, you’re right — I imagine much will be written and discussed on what went wrong up there, including the team’s chemistry.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
Today's Globe has been fun to read
(and I say that as someone who lived in Boston from 2001-05). Maybe my favorite sentence of the day:
Not only is he coming off the worst season a Red Sox starting pitcher has ever submitted, but he’s a miserable finger-pointing unaccountable wretch of a teammate, and those may be his good qualities.
Now that sounds like a place with good chemistry
Auto racing writer, SB Nation Indiana. Because in 49 other states, it's just sports!
by Bill Potter on Sep 29, 2011 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions
Who is this referring to?
Holy crap.
Minor League Contributing Writer, Athletics Nation.
State high point count: 4/50
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by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 29, 2011 11:23 AM CDT up reply actions
That would be one John Lackey.
Whom I would suspect will be a trade candidate this offseason.
Auto racing writer, SB Nation Indiana. Because in 49 other states, it's just sports!
by Bill Potter on Sep 29, 2011 11:26 AM CDT up reply actions
I couldn't read the article.
That’s why I had to ask. The link sent me to a registration page.
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by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 29, 2011 11:27 AM CDT up reply actions
Lackey may not be in the best place right now
Reports are that he and his wife are getting a divorce.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 2:16 PM CDT up reply actions
Looks like Carl Crawford was a huge bust as well.
The guy went from a 7.6 WAR player in 2010 to 0.4 this year. Wow.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
He also had several Soriano-esque moments in left
Including last night’s game-ending play, when the ball somehow got between his glove and the grass.
Auto racing writer, SB Nation Indiana. Because in 49 other states, it's just sports!
by Bill Potter on Sep 29, 2011 11:27 AM CDT up reply actions
His throw was worse...
…and he wasn’t that far from the infield skin.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
He's helped put Tampa in the playoffs
3 out of the last 4 years
If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base. - Dave Barry
Doesn't the fact that they made it, in the first year without him
sort of negate that argument?
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 1:39 PM CDT up reply actions
I guess my attempt at humor went over your head
Didn’t his error “help” The Rays last night?
If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base. - Dave Barry
John Lackey...
I remember a time a few years ago, when he was still with the Angels, and Jason Kendall was batting. Kendall took a pitch, and when the catcher threw the ball back to Lackey, Lackey started yelling at Kendall. Kendall then charged the mound, setting off a bench-clearing brawl.
I remember wondering what exactly Lackey had to yell about. Even the announcers were confused about the start of this madness … the guy said something like “Whoa, what happened here?”
Minor League Contributing Writer, Athletics Nation.
State high point count: 4/50
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by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 29, 2011 11:34 AM CDT up reply actions
I think Boston's problem
was more starting pitching than chemistry. No one cares what John Lackey is doing in the clubhouse if he wasn’t having one of the worst seasons ever for a starting pitcher in Boston.
The Red Sox were seriously considering trading for Bruce Chen to start a game 163 today. Bruce Chen. That’s how bad their starting pitching problem was.
by Josh Timmers on Sep 29, 2011 11:25 AM CDT up reply actions
Maybe they'll want Dempster for 2012 then?
Oh wait…he’s shitty too.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 11:26 AM CDT up reply actions
I like what Denis Leary tweeted today
To all Red Sox fans age 33 & younger: this is what 1978 feels like. Minus the quaaludes and disco.
by Josh Timmers on Sep 29, 2011 11:20 AM CDT up reply actions
that's EXACTLY what I've been saying to all my forlorn youngster Sox fans
You stinks, Carlos Zambrano!
God bless Denis Leary
love that guy, even if he ripped off Bill Hicks early in his career.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 12:14 PM CDT up reply actions
one chance in 278 million of all these events coming together in quite this way
The following is not mathematically rigorous, since the events of yesterday evening were contingent upon one another in various ways. But just for fun, let’s put all of them together in sequence:
# The Red Sox had just a 0.3 percent chance of failing to make the playoffs on Sept. 3.
# The Rays had just a 0.3 percent chance of coming back after trailing 7-0 with two innings to play.
# The Red Sox had only about a 2 percent chance of losing their game against Baltimore, when the Orioles were down to their last strike.
# The Rays had about a 2 percent chance of winning in the bottom of the 9th, with Johnson also down to his last strike.
Multiply those four probabilities together, and you get a combined probability of about one chance in 278 million of all these events coming together in quite this way.
% from fangraphs
Source: http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/bill-buckner-strikes-again/?hp
by mph3 on Sep 29, 2011 10:07 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
i will add however
that other than that final pitch from Papelbon that was at least on the inner half i noticed that all the other key hits in the games seemed to come on fastballs grooved right down middle of plate.
by BeltwayCubsFan on Sep 29, 2011 10:18 AM CDT up reply actions
It's surreal
Yogi Berra was never more correct when he said it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.
One day, the dream will come true.
Lovely post, Al
and you reminded me we used to have a Commissioner who was as eloquent as he was intelligent.
You stinks, Carlos Zambrano!
The history of baseball over the last 20 years
… would have been far different if Bart Giamatti were still alive.
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Amen to that
Instead of having a fan with a vision leading us we .inflicted with a tool. Just as in North Dallas Forty Giamatti believed baseball was a game. Selig treats it like a business.
If it wasn't for the injuries, we'd be printing WS tickets right now.
Sorry, I disagree...
Selig doesn’t treat it anything like a business. He treats it like a country club.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 11:25 AM CDT up reply actions
The country club is a boardroom for business
If it wasn't for the injuries, we'd be printing WS tickets right now.
If he were running it like a business...
he’d do things to make the product available to as many people as possible. He’d try to steer things in a direction which would INCREASE the access to the product. He’s done literally as little as possible in that regard.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 12:49 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm not suggesting that Selig
is doing a smart job achieving his business model. My contention is he’s not. However, that is his goal….. doing the owners bidding….but his goals are to protect the investors rather than support the fans interest.
If it wasn't for the injuries, we'd be printing WS tickets right now.
Well said...
…I akin Bart’s impact he would have had to baseball, to the impact Dallas Green would have had if he stayed longer with the Cubs.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
Being a good sport
The easy part is that I hope the Brewers win the WS. That franchise has never won one and it has been 54 years since the market has had a winner.
Not finding it too surprising that the NL wildcard ended up going to an NL Central team seeing as the bottom of the division was pretty bad. Congratulations to the Cardinals for doing as well as they did without their ace. I hope they lose in the first round because I want the Brewers to win.
I’m glad the Rays won the WC over Boston. The Rays are my second choice to win the WS. They haven’t won one either. That team has been hanging around and should eventually win a WS.
I’m glad there won’t have to be tie-breakers for the wildcard. No team should have to have their post season hopes hinge on any 1-game.
I’ve spent the week envious of how the Marlins, of all teams, seem to get good managers. Not over doing it about their getting Ozzie, but just saying they’ve had Girardi, Gonzalez and now Ozzie.
Judging managers is hard if you ask me, but Gonzalez running the same 3 relievers out as many times as he did seemed like a predictably bad strategy and he did just have his team collapse. I love Ozzie sound bites, but devotion to Juan Pierre at least raises a flag for me.
"Prince Fielder is too fat even for the Oakland A’s" - Billy Beane
Sorry, I just can't root for the Brewers.
Rays all the way. Or maybe the Tigers. I love watching Verlander pitch.
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THIS
Their fans don’t show up AT ALL unless they’re winning and they hate on the Cubs as much as Sox fans
Speaking of fans "not showing up"...
I watched the last couple innings of the White Sox yesterday (another 9th inning meltdown by the bullpen…must be something in the water in Chicago that causes that) and Harrelson announced that the Sox broke the 2,000,000 in attendance mark by one thousand. I thought that was kinda funny how he made such a big deal over it. The so called “dump”, Wrigley Field, STILL outdrew The Cell by over 1,000,000 fans.
"When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes." - Bob Uecker
Also, Mr. Harrelson has a new contract,
which means we get to [not] listen to him until 2015.
"I'm not a broadcaster! I'm me!"--Ron Santo
Yeah...heard that, too...
…I’m starting to believe him now when he says that “the coroner will have to carry him outta the booth”.
"When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes." - Bob Uecker
Anybody know any good coroners on the South Side?
;-)
Minor League Contributing Writer, Athletics Nation.
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by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 29, 2011 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions
GATLING CHAPEL, INC
10133 S HALSTED ST
CHICAGO, IL 60628-1814
Phone (773) 881-4111
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 12:53 PM CDT up reply actions
LOLOLOL
Minor League Contributing Writer, Athletics Nation.
State high point count: 4/50
If you are grouchy, irritable, or just plain mean, there will be a $10 charge for putting up with you.
by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 29, 2011 12:55 PM CDT up reply actions
Already did....that's a clone.
What a sorry ass excuse of a PbP for a so-called big market team.
Take a long hard look at that – if you can, I know I can’t – then thank the baseball Gods we have Len Kasper. Wow !!
Just win the next game...!
I know...
…I love baseball, and to the chagrin of my "better half’, I can watch just about any 2 teams play. Harrelson really makes that difficult.
"When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes." - Bob Uecker
C'mon, contract, STRETCH!
Git on up there.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
I was checking to see if they'd get to 2MM
I thought they needed more per game for those last 3 games – closer to 24K. And I’m surprised they did that well for a Wednesday day game to end the season.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 12:48 PM CDT up reply actions
Do you really want to rate different fanbases as to their dislike of Cubs’ fans?
"Prince Fielder is too fat even for the Oakland A’s" - Billy Beane
Nope...
got my Yankees hat sitting right here on my desk. Only time it comes out is when the Cubs season is over…because, usually the Yankees season is still going on. Going to Yankee Stadium is one of the few things left on my “Sports Bucket List”. I’m a die-hard Cubs fan, 100%, but, dig the Yankee history/tradition a bit, too.
"When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes." - Bob Uecker
Perfect headline and theme, Al.
I spent last night flipping back and forth between the Cubs game and MLB Network while I had one of the Cards/Red Sox/Rays games going on my iPhone. (Mostly the Rays.) It was crazy fun. And let me just state for the record that the Tampa Bay Rays are true baseball heroes. I really can’t believe what they did last night.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
And let me just state for the record that the Tampa Bay Rays are true baseball heroes. I really can’t believe what they did last night.
Even the Rays themselves couldn’t quite believe it.
Join us for complete MLB coverage at SB Nation's Baseball Nation
...
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 10:59 AM CDT reply actions
I can't wait to see what my co-workers are going to be like this afternoon.
Many of them are Red Sox fans.
Minor League Contributing Writer, Athletics Nation.
State high point count: 4/50
If you are grouchy, irritable, or just plain mean, there will be a $10 charge for putting up with you.
by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 29, 2011 11:12 AM CDT reply actions
even here in the wilderness...
just got my first tearful drop-by and it’s only 8 am…
You stinks, Carlos Zambrano!
I'm more curious to see
If they’re part of the torches-and-pitchforks mob, or if they just are too stunned to speak.
Minor League Contributing Writer, Athletics Nation.
State high point count: 4/50
If you are grouchy, irritable, or just plain mean, there will be a $10 charge for putting up with you.
by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 29, 2011 11:18 AM CDT up reply actions
If they've been a fan of the Red Sox for more than the last decade...
they already know how to deal with this.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 11:19 AM CDT up reply actions
Y'know what also occurred to me last night?
It’s now conceivable that Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot could wind up with World Series rings. Enjoy the postseason, Cubs fans.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
Cajun Connection DeRec
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 12:49 PM CDT up reply actions
Proof positive for a de-rec button on SB Nation.
Minor League Contributing Writer, Athletics Nation.
State high point count: 4/50
If you are grouchy, irritable, or just plain mean, there will be a $10 charge for putting up with you.
by Vermont Cubs Fan on Sep 29, 2011 1:13 PM CDT up reply actions
All this criticism...
…and not one of you worms have the guts to SWL me. BRING IT!
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
Watching STL celebrate pisses me off more than anything in baseball
It’s just sickening that they have a real manager that, no matter what the circumstance is, never let’s his team give up and is always working harder to make his team better. He’d never sit back on his ass and let the starter piss away a game like Dusty, Lou, Quade, and anyone since I’ve been watching the Cubs has. Every Cub manager acts with complacency and zero drive. Here’s what I’ve seen/heard from the past 40 years of Cub managers: I don’t have to spend time teaching these guys fundamentals, they already know them, I have faith in my veteran players, they’ve earned their place on the field, I’ve got their backs, sometimes young players can learn a lot from watching, what do you want me to do??
"Go Cubs!"
first thought
I would not imagine Sandberg having this attitude if he were punching in and out every day as skipper
One word sums up last night's pitching, the manager, and the team;
Dumpster.
But the playoffs should be fun to watch.
Just one question about the Tampa Bay Rays organization...
How can we get one?
"When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes." - Bob Uecker
All we need are Intelligence, Determination and Leadership....mixed with a bit of Luck from the top down in the Cubs Organization....
so yeah, we’re gonna be in trouble for awhile.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 12:14 PM CDT up reply actions
Helps if you suck for a decade
and get all those high draft picks. We’re off to a good start in that category.
by Josh Timmers on Sep 29, 2011 12:18 PM CDT up reply actions
Draft picks...
…are only as good as those doing the picking and the developing.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
by MPH73 on Sep 29, 2011 12:33 PM CDT up reply actions 2 recs
This organization has sucked for numerous decades...
I don’t think we should get to use Tampa Bay’s # of high draft picks as an excuse for our shortcomings.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 12:38 PM CDT up reply actions
Hello, BCBers.
I’m back from my wedding/honeymoon. I haven’t watched a Cubs game since the game against the Reds on Sept. 13. I’ve occasionally followed what has happened, and other than Garza’s complete game against the Brewers, I can’t say I’m sorry I missed anything. I honestly can’t remember a season quite like this one. Maybe the 1999-2000 teams, but that was a long time ago, I was in college, and two years of really bad baseball didn’t seem to mean as much then, at least, not to me.
I’m seriously considering cutting back on the Cubs. I don’t see much reason for optimism. Isolated examples of teams that turned around after bad years that really mean nothing. I’m tired of hearing about how the Diamondbacks bounced back this year, or how the Cubs bounced back in 2007. That proves only that a turnaround isn’t impossible, which I already knew.
That said, I have my hopes that we’ll see Billy Beane in Chicago, and that while the Cubs won’t necessarily be contenders in 2012, they’ll be interesting to watch. Other GMs might do that, too — Epstein, Friedman — but Beane seems the most likely to leave where he is and the most likely to really change the course of the Cubs.
That needs to happen so freaking much. The problem with the Cubs right now isn’t just that they’re bad, but that all signs pointing to forward momentum that started in 2003 seem gone, or, at least, a few years off from Wrigley. Starlin Castro’s is a nice player, but until the rest of the improved farm system shows up in the bigs — and performs in the bigs — he’s not enough to indicate progress. Somebody will point out Ricketts’ investment in the draft, which is a very good thing.
I guess what I’m saying is that I had three weeks away from the Cubs, and based on what they are these days, I didn’t miss them at all. I might miss baseball during blizzards in January — and I don’t think I could ever totally quit on this team — but a big Billy Beane-style move needs to happen to maintain even close to my current level of interest.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
by elgato on Sep 29, 2011 1:10 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
welcome back...
I hope you enjoyed the sex honemoon!
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 1:13 PM CDT up reply actions
Thank you.
And, I did. :)
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
First time?
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 1:24 PM CDT up reply actions
First marriage? Yes.
That’s all I’ll say. ;)
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
I hope your honeymoon lasted longer than the Red Sox hopes after losing to Baltimore
i.e 3 minutes.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 1:46 PM CDT up reply actions
Ricketts disagrees!
“One thing you’ve seen in baseball over the last few years is turnarounds can happen pretty quickly,” Ricketts said. "So I don’t think it’s meaningful to describe a year as rebuilding or reloading or any of that.
“The fact is, if you get the right players on the team and they all stay healthy and they play hard, a team can go from 70 wins to 90 wins. It happens pretty frequently. … Look at the Cubs a few years ago (in 2007).”
Also, congrats, welcome back, and all that jazz.
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
Thank you.
I actually don’t blame Ricketts for that. What can he say in such a situation — with the caveat that we know he’s not George Steinbrenner. The public doesn’t have a built-in, “Oh, that’s just George!” filter. Ricketts is reserved, so he has to say something that has a hint of optimism.
I’m more annoyed when I hear fans and posters here citing the miracle turnarounds. Again, all that proves is that such turnarounds are generally possible for baseball teams. It means nothing regarding the Cubs as they currently stand.
That said, a Billy Beane-style hire would certainly change the math in a huge way. Until then …
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
I can't blame the guy for saying what he did.
But his actions this winter will prove if he really has any idea why those teams turned it around. Citing 2007 is dumb simply because the Cubs threw around 300 million dollars worth of contracts that winter. Is he gonna do the same? I doubt it.
The D’backs turnaround is a bit more reasonable, but still not plausible. As you stated, the momentum is gone. The vets are bad and old, and there isn’t enough coming through the farm to fix this thing. That’s not his fault, but it’s a reality. So unless he’s gonna open up his checkbook, I don’t see enough improvement to make me give a shit next year, either.
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
It's laughable that Ricketts gets to say shit like this and NOT A SINGLE REPORTER has the brains, balls or desire to mention the orgasm of $ spent to do something in 2007.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 1:35 PM CDT up reply actions
The orgasm?
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Well, that's the thing.
He can keep my interest if he hires the right GM who does interesting and forward-thinking things — even if the Cubs don’t contend for another year or two.
What can’t happen is continued bad baseball in the SAME WAY.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
I feel your frustration, el...and congrats and welcome back...
…this off season is probably the most important off season that this organization has faced in the past 50 years…if not for ever. For the first time in my 53 years of life I really wasn’t sorry to see a Cubs season end. Once Hendry got canned I actually started looking forward to the end. Now, the suspense mounts. Ricketts’ next move will speak volumes.
"When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes." - Bob Uecker
Totally agree.
And this is an instance where we can’t say, “Well, he tried.”
I recall the Adrian Gonzalez reaction last winter. So many of us, myself included, saw that as perhaps the one move the Cubs should have made above all others. It was argued, logically, that Boston was a better match for the Padres, and that Hendry did all he could, never had a chance, etc. But Hendry needed to come up big in THAT moment, though, and he didn’t. The qualifiers don’t really matter that much.
Now, Ricketts needs to come up big, no matter what.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
What's most interesting about that one move not made is...
… do you really think getting Adrian Gonzalez would have made the 2011 Cubs a playoff team?
Especially since it would have likely meant NOT getting Matt Garza.
Join us for complete MLB coverage at SB Nation's Baseball Nation
Any scenario that involved Quade
as well as the rest of staff being employed, automatically disqualified us from even sniffing the playoffs.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:12 PM CDT up reply actions
this past offseason shouldn't have been about making this a playoff team for 2011
it should have been about getting better players at positions in which we could upgrade. Garza was an improvement, but realistically, Gonzalez would have made a bigger impact on this team than him. IMHO.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 2:16 PM CDT up reply actions
The problem with this is that
the mindset of the team since 2008 has been GO AFTER THE BIG NAME and then try and get some dudes to fill some gaps. What you said is what should have happened, which would mean that a new GM would have been needed sooner than now to actually go after players who could have actually fulfilled a useful role on the team, instead of whatever it was we got.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:21 PM CDT up reply actions
Yep...
and this only pisses me off more to think of all the opportunities we’ve missed due to Ricketts leaving Hendry at the helm since he took over the team.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 2:23 PM CDT up reply actions
Dude, are you serious?
What do you think drives this team, or rather, runs this team? There is someone to put this all together. I’m astonished that you can’t see our issue with that someone.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:30 PM CDT up reply actions
I hear ya
It’s why I expect the worst this offseason. From a business or even money managing fundamentals standpoint, keeping Hendry for longer, to then fire him, BUT KEEP IT A SECRET and keep him around longer hoping this guy is nice enough to not fuck you over was insane. This is the guy we’re relying on now to hire the right GM, who will in turn hire the right manager.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:29 PM CDT up reply actions
Why does that matter??
I thought the hiding thing was smart.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
No GM was being hired until offseason
So sign the draft picks. With all the no trade clauses…what could Randy Bush have done?
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
And...............................
While I really really really dislike Quade…what would that’ve done? I had major problems with not playing the youth…but I’m over it, looking forward to a good GM hire
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
You just pointed out one very big thing it could have done
We would, at the very least, have gotten a better look at the young players. Quade turned it into some sort of stubborn BS nonsense by sticking to his guns and playing the vets.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:53 PM CDT up reply actions
Why fire Hendry at all then?
If they weren’t doing jack squat, why even fire him if they were going to replace him anyway? It’s another example of throwing money out the window for bullshit and that’s tiring to see. Why can’t you understand that?
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:49 PM CDT up reply actions
Well...........
In baseball, the offseason usually is when thing happen….especially when GM’s get hired.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
Hence me asking why fire Hendry at all
accepting that risk, when nothing was happening until the offseason? Randy Bush literally did nothing, the same thing Hendry was doing. If Hendry was going to be replaced in the offseason, why fire him midseason? What purpose did that serve?
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:51 PM CDT up reply actions
I thought you meant keeping him through next year
Well, probably fire him to let the baseball world the cubs are looking for a GM. As stated nationally, it is a very HIGH value position, so why not get it out there.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
for what its worth,
i think firing him after the signings, and before the season was over was, maybe not smart, but acceptable, it gives all those interested GMs to sit back and ponder the situation with months to think it over instead of weeks.
So i you can give you can take it.
I think he fired him for the fans.
It was my favorite day as a Cubs fan this summer, that’s for sure.
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
...
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 3:12 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
AHAHAHAHA
Best EVER. The eagle with the transparency at 60% is especially awesome.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 3:13 PM CDT up reply actions
signed the draft picks for one.
Why fire him and then keep him on? Why fire him at all if you’re going to keep him on AFTER you’ve fired him. I honeslty don’t know what the point of firing Hendry before the season ended WAS if we weren’t going to replace him until after the season
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:52 PM CDT up reply actions
Almost certainly no.
However, Adrian Gonzalez wasn’t a 1-year rental. He would have been a marquee player to build around for several years, and he would have kept us out of the Fielder/Pujols bidding or the Pena second-tier bidding.
As I’ve said throughout this thread, I don’t like the fact that the Cubs were so bad this year, but I HATE the fact that (as yet) the direction appears to be heading straight to the floor.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Are you saying "rock-bottom" has yet to be reached, el?
If so, then that is a scary thought moving forward.
"When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes." - Bob Uecker
No, however it
leaves one less question to be answered this coming off season.
Just win the next game...!
If getting A-Gon woulda kept us from getting Garza...
…I think we coulda lived with that.
"When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes." - Bob Uecker
I hope you had a wonderful time!
If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.
by eths on Sep 29, 2011 2:59 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Welcome back and
I hope you are right about Beane.
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning the devil says, "OH CRAP, SHE'S UP"!
Easy On Ricketts
You can’t judge an owner this quickly.
This GM hire is how we can start to judge him.
You can’t blame him for Z, Sori, Bradley/Silva, Grabow, Dempster …salaries. I know we all want to blame someone…but it’s not time….YET.
He gave Hendry a shot to continue and it failed…so now it’s Ricketts time.
Besides that, he’s done the right thing investing in DR, and in draft picks.
Let’s hold off judgement and not be irrational.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
I can blame him for retaining Hendry after last year.
Lord knows I do it all the time.
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
See, I disagree
I think a smart owner gives a guy a chance for continuity. I think it was pretty clear the window was shutting, but why not assess Hendry and the organization. In fact, maybe get a little insight in the whole organization before you start taking heads off…then he should be able to make a better GM decision.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
Or he could have hired a president of baseball operations
and been AHEAD of the curve, instead of reacting.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 1:44 PM CDT up reply actions
Learning
I think you have to learn about the organization first hand. I think it was pretty clear that with the contracts already booked, he couldn’t do much anyway.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
Yeah, I just don't agree
There were plenty of decisions he could have made while still “learning”, including hiring a president.
It’s not like the guy made an offer one day, and owned the team the very next day. He had months to prepare before he ever took over.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 1:48 PM CDT up reply actions
I think you nailed it, Nunya.
The Cubs could have kept Hendry for another year, figuring not much could have been done given the bad contracts. But a new president could have started working on big picture things. Ricketts goofed big time.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Thing is though, even after two years he doesn't seem interested in hiring a president of baseball ops
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
It's less of a big deal ...
if the new GM is a big improvement.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
May Work Out Nice
Why add a prez? I really don’t get the obsession. I don’t care if there is a pres…i want a good GM.
It may work out if Andrew Friedman comes here……..since he’s a free agent.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
WHAT may work out nice?
Not going with someone above Hendry has already been shown to be a bad decision. At BEST we’re two years behind where we want to be.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:03 PM CDT up reply actions
The GM availability
Well, there’s no way to go back in time. Hendry was getting year 1, and really, going over FA’s with budget constraints, what could’ve put the cubs in the playoffs??? Now Quade decesion, ya, that was terrible.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
No, there is not way to go back in time,
But you claimed we couldn’t judge Ricketts. We can. For making a decision I don’t agree with right off the bat.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:09 PM CDT up reply actions
On what? Hendry's 2nd year??
But ok, what else could’ve even been done for them to make the playoffs in 2011??? With the contracts out there…there was no room.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
WHY?????
What does a president do????????
All I want is a great GM. I don’t need a pres. see below
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
For starters
considering Ricketts from all accounts isn’t a very good baseball guy, having a president to make baseball decisions for him probably would be a good idea. Ego is a bitch, though.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:22 PM CDT up reply actions
Who's Accounts?????
Eh, so he can hire a prez without any baseball knowledge, but not a GM? If Ricketts is that bad, why trust himself to hire a prez???
I just disagree. I think a skilled professional who knows his company or team can make a good decsion. I think this is fan garbage. I mean go team through team and see if the pres makes a difference.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
He brought back a failing GM
only to fire him mid-season, but allowed him to keep performing in the role anyway. If you can’t see the insane amount of risk involved with that, then no one can help you. Thank Christ Jimbo was a nice enough guy to not screw us over, because it easily could have happened.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:31 PM CDT up reply actions
Where was the risk in keeping Hendry on
past the date he was told he was being let go?
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 2:43 PM CDT up reply actions
THIS
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 2:47 PM CDT up reply actions
vs. completing the draft signing process
Ricketts weighed those two and decided that Hendry’s value in the draft signing process was greater.
I think if Hendry had been approached with an unbelievable offer that he would have considered it.
Look at the roster and how they performed. Tell me who there would have been an amazing offer for.
You can’t say “these guys are bad” and then expect amazing trades for them.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 2:50 PM CDT up reply actions
Well, no one asked for "amazing trades"
Just to dump the players that have no place on the team if offered.
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
And if there's a short term loss on that
Vs. the reported good draft signings on the long term, so be it.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 2:54 PM CDT up reply actions
I simply don't buy that only Hendry had the magic to sign all these guys.
These dudes wanted money. Period.
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
Especially since a TON of them were deadline deals.
It’s not like he got the contracts inked weeks ahead of schedule or something.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:57 PM CDT up reply actions
OK
Ask Dillon Maples and his dad.
Some of these guys said – “Jim sold me on the Cubs.”
Maybe it’s talk, maybe it’s real. The reports are out there. read for yourself.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 3:02 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm sure he did sell them on the Cubs.
He’s not some brilliant mind who is the only person capable of doing so.
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
He's a good salesman
And he has a lot of contacts and relationships in baseball. And you can’t just replicate that with another body.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 3:12 PM CDT up reply actions
He's such a good salesman
This is not what I think of when I think about 2009, 2010, and 2011.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 3:13 PM CDT up reply actions
He sold Tom Ricketts on the need to retain him
That’s something
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 3:14 PM CDT up reply actions
Keeping a guy in his job AFTER you've fired him?
Gee, no one EVER does anything vindictive, do they?
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:47 PM CDT up reply actions
Ricketts knew his man
Hendry’s a professional and said he’s finish up the work. Please – show me any evidence that Jim Hendry has ever been mean in a professional capacity.
It’s baseball and it’s a small world. Hendry’s not going to ruin his reputation over being fired.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 2:52 PM CDT up reply actions
Risky is right........
there is something to be said for class.
All this complaining and nitipicking about firing dates and garbage wouldn’t have changed anything. Ricketts is about to hire a GM, I would think he wants the organization to be look like it’s run by a good guy
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
So why fire him before the draft signings?
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:55 PM CDT up reply actions
Why Not??
He was being honest. I don’t get why it even MATTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
You and Risky sound like the worst businessmen ever
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:57 PM CDT up reply actions
You sound like you read gossip magazines
I care about stuff that matters.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
Ok chief.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 3:01 PM CDT up reply actions
well don't be a dbag on here
Why attack us? You have no idea who we are. I think business like continuity..don’t you??
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
Not at any cost.
And he was attacking your approach to business, which you laid out. He didn’t say you smell funny
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 3:05 PM CDT up reply actions
If you think that's attacking you
then you don’t understand what a personal attack is.
Calling me a dbag is really juvenile though, not to mention desperate because it’s your response when your position on a topic is challenged.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 3:09 PM CDT up reply actions
Eh, Called as saw
You are being non-sensical. You have no idea my biz thoughts…when you are on here just talking trash to talk trash then taking a shot at me …then I’ll say what I say.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
But...we do have an idea. Because you laid them out
in your own words.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 3:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Yes, I'm the one being non-sensical
Good grief.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 3:14 PM CDT up reply actions
Maybe didn't want him making a
bad contract of bad contract trade. The kind that lands you Alex Rios.
I doubt we’ll ever know. But the draft signings were more important than the trade deadline to Ricketts. He stuck to his stated goal.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 2:59 PM CDT up reply actions
I really don't get Jim making NO moves
That will go down as an odd decision for a LONG time
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 3:02 PM CDT up reply actions
whoa...
so let byrd go? what were the cubs getting back? I think they can trade him this offseason for something……..but I think you are seeing a pot of gold that wasn’t there. Ramirez was the big chip to trade, but he said no!
Or marmol in June…maybe
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
So Byrd will have trade value in the offseason
but not with a contender at the trade deadline?
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 3:09 PM CDT up reply actions
I could see that
But Hendry wanted to leave it to the next GM. In the long run, no big deal.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 3:06 PM CDT up reply actions
Leave it the next GM
who will more than likely be at even more of a disadvantage to move those pieces now that the opportunity has passed? What kind of logic is that?
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 3:10 PM CDT up reply actions
IT DOESN'T MATTER
details- what did you and craig in sb want done in july realistically. most important thing was done………signed the picks. Which has been nationally rated as being a very good draft…and many signings that surprised.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
Here
Shawon Dunston Jr. and Dillon Maples were among the surprise signings by the Cubs, as many expected both were strong college commits.
ESPN
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 3:17 PM CDT up reply actions
you understand he's actually saying
that others could have done the job right?
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 3:20 PM CDT up reply actions
That's interesting. I did not know that
My next question of course will be…you’re 100% sure Hendry is the only one who could have done that?
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 3:19 PM CDT up reply actions
No, but Ricketts was
And he’s closer to the Cubs business than you and I are. It’s a odd move in baseball and it sounds like it paid off. If you disagree with the reports, that’s your choice.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 3:22 PM CDT up reply actions
What did we want done in July realistically?
Oh, I don’t know, cut weight with players that were claimed on waivers?
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 3:15 PM CDT up reply actions
Who???
Pena? 1 year contract (now I would’ve)…but does it matter??
No one was picking up z, sori or your guy john grabow
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
How's the neighbor girl?
I heard I’m gonna be a grandpa!
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 3:19 PM CDT up reply actions
And why is John Grabow my guy?
I’m the one speaking nonsense? Really? Whatever. Guess I know what to expect from you in the future.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 3:50 PM CDT up reply actions
You're not going to be happy
You got it in your head that Hendry is bad and could not have done anything right. Stay bitter.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 3:15 PM CDT up reply actions
We can judge him.
But … I don’t think we can totally write him off. He did dump Hendry, even if it was later than many had hoped.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
There's a long term future to think about that goes beyond making the playoffs in one year.
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
Why Pine for a PREZ?
I really don’t care. Does Ted Phillips make the bears better??
Ricketts is an active owner and will hire a GM to handle baseball personnel. I don’t get how layers help the team
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMen
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 1:43 PM CDT up reply actions
That was actually supposed to be..........
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMen!
but the men part got chopped off.
I agree with you on this.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 1:46 PM CDT up reply actions
..
but the men part got chopped off.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 2:04 PM CDT up reply actions
I've been waiting for you to comment like that
the minute I wrote that. I can’t believe it stayed out there untouched this long!
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:06 PM CDT up reply actions
...
I can’t believe it stayed out there untouched this long!
that’s what elgato said on his honeymoon.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions
He'll be saying it again a 3 months from now
OOOOOOOOHHHH!
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:09 PM CDT up reply actions
...
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 2:10 PM CDT up reply actions
You guys suck.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Ouch... :: squeezes legs together, protecting manly bits::
If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.
by eths on Sep 29, 2011 3:01 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
I saw the score of last night's loss and said:
“Thank God this season is over.”
Woke up this morning and it actually dawned upon me, the Cubs season is over. As awful as they were and as unpleasant of a season as it was… I’m going to miss every bit of Cubs baseball. A Cubs win in any season, no matter how good or bad, always brightens my day.
Here’s to 2012 coming with high expectations. Please?
"We push bunt, we squeeze bunt, we hit and run, we steal home!" - Larry Cox (I think...) on the 1989 NL East Champion Chicago Cubs
Thank you.
I’d have thought people would have taken a deep breath and let the bad season go after it was over, but apparently, people are more interested in continuing the sniping.
Kind of sad, really.
Join us for complete MLB coverage at SB Nation's Baseball Nation
Discussion is sniping?
You do realize what your comment invites, right?
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 2:53 PM CDT up reply actions
Today was a day to cut loose.....the circus season run by Ricketts is finally over....
You have to expect venting……
You should expect everyone to feel that way until the Cubs DO SOMETHING to change.
They did just about everything wrong this year top to bottom….Including your friend Ricketts.
Why should we have to bow to baseball instead of talking about the circus that is the Cubs.
Honestly.............
After this bad of a cub season and overall baseball season (besides last night), as a Cub fan, it will be finally positive to talk about offseason moves!
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
I agree, I am eager to see those moves......But as of now....we are told to wait again....
Its hard to get excited about moves made by Ricketts.
As I said.................easy on him
We will find out now what he is. GM…Budget…Wrigley Field. There could be a case in 2 years to absolutely detest him…………..or celebrate him
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
It hasn't even been 24 hours bud.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:57 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I know that, I expected nothing today......Ricketts could have made a stand but he didnt....not surprised.
But I do see a chance that the circus continues next year.
If they do not get a strong GM, which is possible, we could be heading for yet another, “Lets see what we have” time period.
If they don't get a "strong" GM
then I need to be done with the Cubs.
I don’t think telling Quade not to come back to Chicago is “taking a stand”
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 3:01 PM CDT up reply actions
TEE JAY! TEE JAY! TEE JAY!
Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!
by shoemile on Sep 29, 2011 2:58 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
It's not clear why we can't discuss how bad the Cubs were
AND celebrate yesterday as well. I loved the games last night. I was still disgusted by the 9-2 score of OUR game.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 2:59 PM CDT up reply actions
All year has been venting here.
The Cub game was a footnote in baseball yesterday. You can’t let that disgust go for one day?
Join us for complete MLB coverage at SB Nation's Baseball Nation
IT'S A CUBS BLOG
Could you inform me where I SHOULD go to discuss the Cubs?
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 3:10 PM CDT up reply actions
NO THANK YOU
That site is nothing but SenorGatos
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 6:30 PM CDT up reply actions
Cut Loose??
What, you’ve been holding back before today? You’ve been venting since spring.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
by RiskyBusiness on Sep 29, 2011 3:58 PM CDT up reply actions
Come on Al ...
Work with me on this. Come on over to United Centre.
Come see a real team, set up by a real organization (your old pal Johnny McD is there too!) Yeah, I know its not baseball. You have all winter to stare out the window and wait for spring.
As per your comment, I did take deep breath. But to be totally honest, I took that breath at United Centre last night …. We have all winter to pray for a Cubbie turn-around.
Just win the next game...!
Hockey's OK.
But it’s not baseball. It’s different. It just doesn’t have the same emotional attachment for me.
Join us for complete MLB coverage at SB Nation's Baseball Nation
I'll admit it.
I watched the end of the Cubs game last night and, when Campana made the last out, I was a little sad it was over. Of course I wanted this awful season to end, so the organization can move on and, we hope, bring us better days ahead. But the end of every Cubs season still makes me a bit melancholy. And, as far as I’m concerned, the 2011 Cubs were a fairly likable bunch once one accepted the fact that were awful and doomed to abject failure.
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
Ugh.
Dead on, but a little sickening.
And, as far as I’m concerned, the 2011 Cubs were a fairly likable bunch once one accepted the fact that were awful and doomed to abject failure.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Seriously.
A month or two ago, my wife asked me which Cubs players I hated — and I couldn’t think of a single one.
(And, hey, welcome back, e.g.)
Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.
WAIT A MINUTE....WE LOST LAST NIGHT? DAMMIT!!!!
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 3:59 PM CDT up reply actions
Optimism
Now that 2011 is over, the cubs are closer to being contenders again. Minor leagues and the draft looks very promising. New GM coming………..new manager…long contracts ending. While the window shut in 2009….there is a new window opening…so maybe we can all be a little more positive and hopeful.
"I feel great, I just wish my team played better"
Interesting thread.
To those who are annoyed that Al wants to put the 2011 Cubs in the rear view, remember that Al had to endure more of the badness (watching games, referring fights on BCB, etc.) than any of us. We could take a break for a couple games. We could switch to CSI when Rodrigo Lopez pitched or when Ramon Ortiz was warming up. We could read a book or take a walk when SenorGato went all SenorGato. Al couldn’t.
However, Al, I think you should ease off on those of us who do want to discuss Cubs issues. Just as we need to realize that you had to endure more, you should realize that we had to endure less — and that we might not be ready to forget about 2011. I know it’s in your nature to be the optimist and only really dissect the negative when you think it’s productive. But not all of us are wired that way.
Last point: Can we all agree that it’s a little goofy to be mad that Ricketts hasn’t done something big — fire Quade, hire a GM, announce the deportation of Koyie Hill and Blake DeWitt — less than 24 hours after the final out? He did fire the team’s longtime GM like six weeks ago.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
by elgato on Sep 29, 2011 3:54 PM CDT reply actions 2 recs
*refereeing fights
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Thank you, el.
A voice of reason.
I understand people want to discuss the issues facing the Cubs. So do I.
But the shrill calls for changes to happen RIGHTFREAKINGNOW, less than 24 hours after the season has ended? Not so much.
Join us for complete MLB coverage at SB Nation's Baseball Nation
Only one person was clammoring for that, though
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 4:19 PM CDT up reply actions
That was really only one person, though.
Even the people like Nunya — who was more ready to discuss the Cubs than other teams — chided TJ for being too critical too soon.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
I'm not sure who's more over the top here...
TJ with his drumbeat of FIRE QUADE YESTERDAY, or Al with his OMG EVERYONE STOP FREAKING OUT.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 5:37 PM CDT up reply actions
You're never going to get me to feel sorry that Al "had" to go to Wrigley 81 times this season
And for the record, those of us who are annoyed with Al aren’t annoyed because he wants to put the season in the rear view. We’re annoyed because he’s getting all bent out of shape because some of us want to discuss the Cubs, in a game recap thread, less than 24 hours after the season.
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 6:44 PM CDT up reply actions
Dude.
You really need to dial back the combativeness. I wasn’t trying to get you to “feel bad” for Al. And, to your second point, I did say this:
However, Al, I think you should ease off on those of us who do want to discuss Cubs issues. Just as we need to realize that you had to endure more, you should realize that we had to endure less — and that we might not be ready to forget about 2011. I know it’s in your nature to be the optimist and only really dissect the negative when you think it’s productive. But not all of us are wired that way.
In other words, I FREAKING AGREE WITH YOU.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Wasn't trying to be combative, simply trying to clarify the reason I and I think others were annoyed with Al
It wasn’t that he wanted to move on, it was that he was getting pissy that others didnt
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 7:07 PM CDT up reply actions
Oh, baloney, Nunya.
When you start out a post saying “You’re never going to get me to feel sorry for Al,” you’re not being combative?
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Well El, you started out the post with basically, "Al sure has a tough life, having to go the ballpark and blog for a living"
So no, you’ll never get me to feel sorry for him. I’d thoroughly enjoy that life.
For the record, I think Al does 99 percent of the time as well
by Nunyabidness on Sep 29, 2011 8:54 PM CDT up reply actions
Just to chime in.
Yes, I like my job and doing what I do. Sometimes, yes, it’s tough to see all these losses and write about them. I could go negative, sure. But that’s not my nature.
And all I wanted was a day where people could revel in other baseball, since the Cubs ended the 2011 season with a thud.
Not wanting to stifle discussion, only too much negativity AND the idea that changes have to come RIGHTFREAKINGNOW.
GIve it a little time. I think positive changes are on the way.
Join us for complete MLB coverage at SB Nation's Baseball Nation
Again, baloney.
I started out my post by explaining, in my judgment, why Al might be more sick of dissecting the 2011 Cubs than some others here. The rest of the original post, which you apparently ignored, was to explain why others — like you and me — might feel exactly the opposite.
Maybe you weren’t trying to be combative. I guess it just happens naturally.
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
I'm not "turning the page" on this season...
I’m ripping it out of the freaking book and using it to wipe after having 3 bowls of chili for dinner.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Sep 29, 2011 4:18 PM CDT up reply actions
Ouch
hope those pages are soft.
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Sep 29, 2011 4:20 PM CDT up reply actions
Thank you Al
I don’t post a lot on this site, but I do come back every single day to read what you wrote and read the discussions going on for that day. Thank you for being so dedicated and a skilled writer. I truly look forward every day to seeing your opinions. Have a fantastic winter!
I can't sign my name on my computer screen, so no signature!
"Amazing Night of Glory"?
This headline reads like it was translated from another language.
"Wait, are you saying I'm a sunshine-pumping, koolaid-drinking, Soriano-loving, rainbow-rising, unicorn-riding, double-clutching, Sweet Lou-backing, Hendry-supporting, hey hey whaddya saying, Cubs are going all the waying, glass is overflowing, Rothschild is all-knowing, Cubs fan? - ballhawk
Epstein and Beane said they'll probably stay where they're at. And Yankees Pres. said Cashman must stay.
That means the search for a Cubs’ GM will bring someone fresh, as it should be. But for all those who wanted one of those names, bear in mind the following. Lots of cash, more than most franchises have, the signing of a star LF, the signing of stellar starters and all those fail with an epic collapse, especially in pitching. Hendry and the Cubs? No. Epstein and the Red Sox in 2011. Meaning? There are no magic answers.
Amazing games last night. Atlanta and Boston are out. Now all that is left for me to be happy is to see the Cardinals go the same route.
With all the big names staying where they are at I am worried we will get another Hendry type.
Someone who will need more time to see what he has in Quade. More time will be wasted.
Will this happen? Maybe, maybe not….But its possible.
That iswhy I would like Ricketts to take it out of the realm of possibility.
Disagree with all of
With all the big names staying where they are at I am worried we will get another Hendry type. Someone who will need more time to see what he has in Quade. More time will be wasted.
No connection at all.
"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Cubs win....what a lucky break!!" ---Harry
Kinda OT
I don’t think it qualifies for a collapse, unless you count the head to head losses with the division leader late in the season, but the White Sux were picked by a fair amount of people to win the AL Central and only won ~1 more game per month than the Cubs.
I know, small consolation for a total shit season on the North Side, but I have something to fling back at the South Siders when they ask me how many years it’s been since the Cubs have won a WS. I also reply that, yes, in the last 93 years, they have won one more than the Cubs, whoopty-doo! lol
Fire Jim Hendry. Injuries aren't the problem.
This comment is being added...
… for the sole purpose of not having this post finish with 666 comments.
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by Al Yellon on Oct 1, 2011 7:08 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
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