By Jim Coffman

When does it become less about the goalie’s abilities and more about the shooters’ incompetence? During last night’s Hawks season finale – the utterly aggravating 4-0 loss to net-minder Mike Smith and his Phoenix Coyotes – I would say it happened at some point in the second period.
I love Pat Foley’s call of Blackhawks games and have for decades now (that’s right, the youthful Foley has been at it, with a brief break during the final years of former owner Bill Wirtz’s tragic and ridiculous reign, since 1980). I think doing hockey play-by-play is the toughest task in sports broadcasting. But good old Pat drives me a bit batty at times with his “BIG SAAAVE!!” calls on shots that settle comfortably into goalies’ mid-sections.
When the Coyotes’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson took a good pass at the end of a very good sequence during his team’s questionable second-period power play last night, he put a powerful shot on net and it went in. (The power play was questionable, by the way, because Jonathan Toews’ contact with a Coyote defender – the contact that led to an interference penalty – was incidental if not downright innocent.)

It was especially instructive to watch numerous Hawks fail to do the same during their even-up power play in the final minute and a half of the second period and the first little bit of the third – shot after shot missed the net. If you didn’t know when that power play ended that the Hawks were doomed, you were at least deeply suspicious.

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Posted on April 24, 2012

By Roger Wallenstein

Philip Humber ruined everything.
Just when I sat down to write in glowing terms how the Sox have managed to virtually stop their opponents from ever stealing a base, the guy has to go out and pitch a perfect game. That’s tough to ignore.
And it was very cool. Anyone watching this drama play out on Saturday afternoon before a national TV audience and 22,000 at Safeco Field had to experience a few heart palpitations and shallow breathing. Even A.J. Pierzynski, the consummate pro, admitted to being nervous as he took his position behind the plate for the ninth inning.
Humber’s only three-ball counts jacked up the suspense since both occurred in the bottom of the ninth. He went 3-0 on Michael Saunders before striking him out on three straight pitches for the first out, and then the now-famous 3-2 count on Brendan Ryan before umpire Brian Runge called him out as the ball squirted under Pierzynski’s mitt.
Had Ryan immediately sprinted toward first base, the play might have been close. But luck has a way of interjecting itself in these kinds of events, so Ryan opted to argue the call rather than run to first. A.J. – what was going through his mind as he cocked his arm? – threw a perfect strike to Paulie, and bedlam reigned. The only mystery remaining was whether Jake Peavy would emerge injury-free after tackling Humber as the celebration began.

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Posted on April 22, 2012

By Dan O’Shea

The current crop of fantasy relief pitchers appears to be an even sorrier lot than usual. If they are not getting benched by long-term or season-ending injuries, they are, like new (and temporary?) White Sox closer Hector Santiago, getting hammered by the opposition.
Santiago, the supposed screwball maestro, was not drafted in many fantasy leagues, but he became a hot pick-up after he earned a save in the Sox’ first victory of the season. But, he already has given up three home runs, and blew his first save Monday night against Baltimore.
He is not the only closer who is struggling. Heath Bell, RP, MIA, and Sergio Santos, RP, TOR (the Sox’ former closer) both have 12.00 ERAs. John Axford, RP, MIL, so brilliant last season, has a 10.13 ERA. You count Carlos Marmol, RP, CUBS, with an 8.76 ERA, in this group, too, though he seems to have settled down a bit in the rare occasions the Cubs have had need for him.
Unlike some of the closers who have been hit with major injuries, you may not want to drop these guys just yet. However, you may want to bench them for a while, and that begs the question of what to do with your RP slot in the meantime.

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Posted on April 17, 2012

By Jim Coffman

Ho hum, another couple last-second, game-tying three-pointers leading to scintillating overtime victories for the Bulls in the last week. When do the playoffs start again?
Oh, and the Blackhawks had some excitement at the end of regulation as the post-season began out in Arizona didn’t they? The games were pretty late though. I had a spot of trouble staying awake.
Good Lord what a week for Chicago sports. Even the baseball teams were better, although the fragile Cubs backslid over the weekend. And if we can just hang in there and continue to overcome little difficulties like late starts and impatience for the march to the NBA Eastern Conference finals, I think we might just have some similar fun in the next seven days.

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Posted on April 16, 2012

By Marty Gangler

I think we’ve learned a few things this week. First, when the Cubs score at least eight runs, they have a very good chance to win. Second, Marlon Byrd might be completely done. And third, Bruce Springsteen is coming to play at Wrigley Field this season.
With these three learned facts in mind, we here at The Cub Factor pondered just what the set list will be when Bruce and the E-Streeters come to town – and how he might tweak it to give his Wrigley show a 2012 Cubs slant:

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Posted on April 16, 2012

It might have been my 1959 replica Sox jacket and cap, but as soon as Ron Finke spotted me loitering among the Opening Day tailgaters, he invited me to join his group. Then I committed my only mistake of the day. I declined.
Finke, a resident of Lemont and a Sox fan for 27 years, may have set an Opening Day record: Most items grilled and consumed by 11 a.m.

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Posted on April 16, 2012

By Steve Rhodes

I’m not thrilled with the idea of someone being suspended from their job because of some stupid-ass thing they said. People should be able to freely express their opinions.
That’s why the five-game suspension of Ozzie Guillen rubs me the wrong way. Better his bosses should have suggested to him that now might be a good time to make a donation to the cause of freedom and find other ways to patch things up with the expat crowd in South Florida. Getting docked a week’s pay and forced to sit home accomplishes nothing.
Some members of the media, on the other hand, could stand to take some time off and reflect upon how they do their jobs. Particularly a contingent of Chicago sports journos who imbued Guillen with a sense of privilege during his years here by laughing right along with his (to put it politely) off-color patter instead of reporting it. Who wants to be the skunk at the garden party?
Unfortunately, that’s often our job.

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Posted on April 12, 2012

By Dan O’Shea

Can you imagine if the Miami Marlins had signed superstar Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes in the offseason instead of the Oakland A’s? For a long stretch, the Marlins were presumed to be the frontrunners in the race for Cespedes, and it seemed like a perfect match: A new ballpark, a new Latino manager with a World Series win on his resume, and a community full of passionate Cuban fans.
I’m not sure how it all went down for Cespedes over the winter, but right now, I bet he’s pretty happy he shocked the baseball world by signing with the bottom-feeder by the bay instead of taking his talents to South Beach. Mission to avoid a circus accomplished.
Cespedes was also “very close” to being a Cub. Our loss.

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Posted on April 11, 2012

Dateline: Idaho, Peoria, South Florida

Past, present, far, wide.
1. Beachwood Cubs correspondent Marty Gangler attended the game Monday night at Wrigley and sent us this photo of the footlong bison dog blue cheese slaw. Of course, we had to ask him if that was the bison footlong on his lap or if he was just happy to see us. He said it was the bison.

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Posted on April 10, 2012

By Roger Wallenstein

They weren’t exactly household names, those 13 original Texas Rangers, but one caught my attention immediately as I perused the team’s press release prior to Friday’s opener against the White Sox.
Jim Panther was a high school teammate of mine. We both made it to The Show – he as a right-handed pitcher (1971-73) and me as a beer vendor (1980-86). This season is the 40th in Texas Ranger history, so Jim and a dozen of his teammates from the 1972 team, which went 54-100, were honored before the sellout crowd of more than 49,000.
“They gave all [of us] a jersey with your name on it, and we threw out the first pitch,” Jim said after he returned to his home in Florida. “We threw to people who were ’72 season ticket-holders. This was by far the best one [opening day] I’ve ever seen.”
Perhaps the most familiar former Ranger in attendance was Toby Harrah, who played 17 seasons and managed the team the second half of 1992 after Bobby Valentine – yes, that Bobby Valentine – was axed. Harry Caray loved Harrah because every time he came up to bat, Harry would marvel that it didn’t matter if you spelled his name forward or backward, it still was Harrah!

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Posted on April 9, 2012