Chicago -
By Carl Mohrbacher
Three in a row! How ’bout them Cubbies?!
-Seymour, Hoffman Estates IL
Here are some other things that take four months to accomplish:
* A Syfy original movie can be written, cast, filmed, edited, debuted and rerun.
* Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger can have two consecutive whirlwind relationships*.
* In an effort to turn her life around, a single mother can complete a gun repair course from ICS.
Posted on July 28, 2011
By Dan O’Shea
There was a time when I would have encouraged my opponents in fantasy leagues to trade or drop the likes of Alex Rios, Adam Dunn and Gordon Beckham from their fantasy squads, the better for me to pick them up just in time for them to get hot in the second half.
But, like a lot of White Sox fans, I’ve stopped believing any of these guys will ever get going. That is not necessarily the case with everyone who had a bad first half. Some of those July cast-offs can still manage to deliver some value in August and Septembers.
Here are a handful of guys with lousy first half numbers who I would gladly scoop up from the wire or trade for if their owners have grown tired of them:
Posted on July 27, 2011
Baseball’s Black Heritage
“From the cheerful, optimistic greatness of Ernie Banks, through the quiet, ferocious intensity of Andre Dawson, to the unpredictable volatility of Milton Bradley, African-American players have helped make baseball history within the ‘Friendly Confines’ of historic Wrigley Field for nearly 60 years. Here is a retrospective of the men who have worn Cubbie Blues since 1953.”
Posted on July 26, 2011
By Jim Coffman
Remember earlier this season when various media voices declared that the Cubs were really in trouble this time, that fans had finally had enough and reduced attendance would force all sorts of changes in the way the team did business?
At the time, a few people tried to point out that the wet spring weather was the primary culprit but they were shouted down by those who were convinced Cubs fans had reached a breaking point.
Upon further review . . . it was the weather.
Posted on July 25, 2011
By Roger Wallenstein
A number of theories and suggestions have been made to explain the inconsistencies of the White Sox this season. However, as yet, I’m not aware that anyone has said that maybe our guys – with the possible exception of A.J. Pierzynski – are just too nice and friendly.
Just within the Central Division – the one that counts most for the Sox – is it unreasonable to question the goodwill and lovey-dovey exchanges between the Sox and the opposition?
It’s no secret that Ozzie and Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera, fellow countrymen, are close. In addition, the accolades and plaudits flow freely from Chicago to the Twin Cities about all the fundamentals that the Twins do better than anyone else.
Jim Thome wears a Twins uniform, but he was very popular in the White Sox clubhouse and remains pals with Paulie and others. And, of course, Gordon Beckham let the world know that he and the Royals’ Chris Getz – another former teammate – remain buddies by his infamous message scrawled in the Cell’s infield dirt a few weeks ago.
Oh, how times have changed.
Posted on July 25, 2011
By Marty Gangler
I had a conversation with a friend recently about this year’s Cubs squad and he called them unintentionally comedic. To which I responded, there is nothing funny about this team at all.
*
Then again, a lot of people find Jay Leno funny, so to each his own,
*
I’ll concede this: Maybe the Cubs are sad clown kind of funny.
Posted on July 25, 2011
By Carl Mohrbacher
How would you sum up this week’s action in a catchy marketing phrase?
-Crane, Chicago IL
It’s not the heat . . . it’s the futility.
With Marmol struggling, do you think the Cubs are going to use anybody other than Sean Marshall at closer?
-Pat, Boone IA
Paul Weaver, the Cubs’ international director of scouting, is currently working with Seal Team Six to conduct covert negotiations with former Marlins closer Ugueth Urbina inside of a Venezuelan prison.
Posted on July 20, 2011
By Jim Coffman
The members of the U.S. women’s soccer team blew an opportunity on Sunday. Some will focus on the fact that they could have struck a blow for soccer in general and others will note the marketing possibilities that were lost.
But the main thing was, the American players could have been true international champions (as opposed to, say, the winners of the “World Series”) and they came up short.
Plenty of words will be written about what Sunday’s Women’s World Cup final “really meant.” Analysts will break down the larger implications of the event. Folks on ESPN even jumped the gun during the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the tournament, promoting the idea that the U.S. team’s 1999 championship had represented Title IX coming to fruition in the U.S. and that 2011 was Title IX having an impact on world women’s sport.
Whatever it was on a larger scale – and nine times out of ten big “sports in society” declarations turn out to be vapid generalizations with little to no value – this was a great tournament capped off by a great game . . . a great game in which the U.S. choked oh so much at the very end.
Posted on July 18, 2011
By Marty Gangler
Whew. Thank goodness for that. The last thing we needed was for the Cubs to use the All-Star break as a “recharge” period.
Sure, they had a couple days off, but they picked up back exactly where they left off. Which was horrible.
Any kind of glimmer of hope could really put the kibosh on trading away a few of these bums. And yes, we could get other bums in return – we probably will – but at least they’ll be different bums and at this point of the season different is kind of okay. Or at least better than what we see every day.
After all, when your team worships Jeff Baker, it pretty much means you stinks.
Posted on July 17, 2011
By Roger Wallenstein
Former first baseman Keith Hernandez, who played 17 seasons and had a lifetime .296 batting average, wrote a book (with baseball writer Mike Bryan) 17 years ago called Pure Baseball. All Hernandez did was analyze each and every pitch of two major league games from the 1993 season – Braves vs. Phillies and Yankees vs. Tigers – one in each league taking into account the use of a DH.
The “battle of wits and balance of talent between the pitcher and the hitter is baseball,” states Hernandez at the outset. “Everything else is secondary.”
Posted on July 17, 2011
