Chicago -
By Astralopry 2011
SEPARATED AT BIRTH?: Incipient New-Media phenom Stinksy The Cat today bristled at “scurrilous canards” regarding his resemblance to Carlos Zambrano, emphatically disavowing any actual Cubness personally. In point of fact, it’s crosstown colors that the cat’s sporting, as we see him here peering in at the signs being flashed and then (unlike the fast-balling “Big Z”) serving up his patented “grandfathered ‘knuckle-curve.'”
Posted on July 9, 2011
By Thomas Chambers
Being a horseplayer or even just a horse racing fan presents a real conundrum, the good angel vs. bad devil dilemma.
Toss in the “H” word, hypocrisy, when you weigh what you know about the unseen aspects of this sport versus the magnificence of these animals and pageantry of the race day.
Recent developments have us turning our heads as if at a tennis match, hoping to assuage angel and devil alike.
Posted on July 8, 2011
By Carl Mohrbacher
I don’t understand how the Cubs can lose so many games with so many talented players. What’s the deal?
-Randy, Addison IL
Just because you have something that’s mostly made of good ingredients doesn’t mean you have something good.
For instance, if you mix two tablespoons of feces into a gallon of Breyer’s Vanilla, is it ice cream?
No.
It’s frozen shit.
Posted on July 7, 2011
By Jim Coffman
Here it is for the Sox after they won on a balk a half-day after the Cubs lost on a wild pitch Saturday. Win one of the next two games against Kansas City at home and then zero in on four games with the Twins. Win four of six the rest of the week, take your All-Star break and call it a successful first half of the season.
But that won’t happen will it? This week has more frustrating .500 baseball written all over it (actually, a split with Minnesota would be a relief after that squad continued it’s near decade-long mastery of the Sox the last time the teams faced off). In general, let’s just hope for continued relevance for the South Siders. Because as much as I enjoy tracking hockey transactions, baseball is all we’ve got for a while.
Come on White Sox! Don’t suck!
Posted on July 5, 2011
By Marty Gangler
As we are pretty much at the mid-point of the 2011 season (88 games in the books), we here at The Cub Factor think it’s time to take stock.
And just like when you were in school, we thought it’d be fun to give out letter grades – cuz you remember how much fun letter grades were, right? I mean, we could just go pass/fail but what fun is that as the Cubs are surely fail.
So with that in mind, let’s take a look at some grades in different categories:
Record: F. The Cubs have 35 wins right now and only the Astros and Royals have less in all of MLB. And the Cubs lost to the Royals.
Posted on July 5, 2011
By Roger Wallenstein
“I can see why they call this place the Confines,” commented Sox fan Doc from his seat in Aisle 237 Sunday at Wrigley Field. “But I wouldn’t call it friendly.”
Doc was sitting next to Ted, a lifelong Cubs fan, and as often happens at the ballpark, the two hit it off about as well as one could expect considering their rooting interests.
“I’m friendly,” countered Ted. “What are you talking about?”
“Claustrophobia, that’s what,” said Doc. “It took me 15 minutes just to get through the gates to get in here. And the aisles and tunnels made the trip to these seats seem like one of those climbing walls at REI. And what’s that netting above me?”
Posted on July 3, 2011
By Carl Mohrbacher
It seems like when Randy Wells is off his game he gives up a lot of hits in a row. Is there a baseball term for allowing a certain number of guys to reach base consecutively?
-Mendoza, Line Store AR
That does seem to happen with Wells now and again, including Sunday when he let six consecutive Royals reach base.
Three in a row is a Turkey, borrowed from bowling vernacular.
Four in a row is a Sh*t Quatro, like the brand name razor.
Five in a row is a Pentaturd; the geometry majors in our reader base can figure that out.
Six in a row is an Alfonseca. Just Google “Alfonseca” and “six.”
Everything after that is just called a “Shower Ticket.”
Posted on June 30, 2011
By Steve Rhodes
First it’s the cold weather. Then it’s the day games. Then it’s Wrigley Field. Finally it’s injuries. The Cubs use the same excuses every year to explain their woeful performance except the obvious one staring everyone in the face: Management sucks.
Tom Ricketts hasn’t proven to be any more competent at running a baseball organization than the Tribune Company or the Wrigleys. When he said “Nothing’s wrong, just injuries” earlier this month, his delusion or disingenuousness was showing.
Worse, it’s part and parcel of the Cubs’ annual mantra, as if each year they would be a World Series contender if not for a key injury or unusual rash of injuries that mars an otherwise perfect plan put together by geniuses like Jim Hendry.
Even Mike Quade has gotten into the act, stating that in all his years in baseball,”I don’t ever remember a situation like this [with injuries].”
Really? Because I remember “situations like this” occurring every year, to nearly every team. This year is no exception. Consider what the rest of the major league baseball is facing.
Posted on June 29, 2011
Presidents, Pierogis, Condiments Join The Chase
Let’s take a look.
1. Presidents.
Posted on June 28, 2011
By Jim Coffman
Every time a Major League Soccer game ends in a scoreless tie, someone should be fired.
Do these people want fans to attend the games or not? It just isn’t that difficult to send lots of players forward to ensure exciting attacking – and counter-attacking – soccer will be played.
Take, for example, the United States team’s 4-2 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup final on Saturday evening. Surely the game was notable for the circumstances – arch-rivals facing off in the final of a big event in front of a huge crowd (about 93,000 people filled the Rose Bowl). But all those goals made it great, even if it was a wee bit disappointing that the Yanks blew a 2-0 lead.
Meanwhile, the Fire stumbled to a 0-0 draw in the middle of the week against Real Salt Lake.
Posted on June 27, 2011
