Exile in goatville

The Chicago Cubs took a big step in the right direction in reshuffling their pitching staff for the 2008 baseball season. Often in years past, the Cubs have thrown money at slugger after slugger in hopes of battering away the Billy Goat curse. While homeruns put asses in the seats (chicks dig the long ball), pitching wins baseball games (especially in October) and it seems like the Cubs are finally coming to grips with that fundamental fact.

The Cubs have stated their intentions to move Ryan Dempster into the starting rotation, opening up the derby for the closer's role to Bobby Howry, Carlos Marmol, and possibly Kerry Wood. This seemingly simple shift should help the Cubs in many ways.

First, the Cubs rotation needs the help. God knows how the Jason Marquis soap opera will unfold, and Sean Marshall is no more than the poor man's Rich Hill. If the Cubs are serious about entering baseball's elite in '08, they need to upgrade their pitching… and in a thin off-season market, giving Dempster (who has had success as a starter in the past) another go in the rotation is...more

Here's a brief summary of the National League's representation in the 2007 MLB playoffs…

Sweep, Sweep, Sweep… Swept.

Thanks for keeping things exciting NL playoff teams; see ya in the spring!

As expected, pitching dominated the landscape during game one of the NLDS at Chase Field in Arizona. Reigning Cy Young award winner Brandon Webb and Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano locked into a classic pitchers duel on Wednesday night that ushered in this series with style. Sure, it would have been a lot more fun if the Cubs could have figured out how to get more than 4 hits in the 3-1 loss, but what can you do?

In Webb and Zambrano, baseball fans nationwide were treated to the pleasure of two of the elite pitchers in the game performing at their peak on the big stage. I don't want to oversell this thing here, but (other than the result) Wednesday's opener in Arizona is what playoff baseball is all about.

What separates Webb and Zambrano from their peers is the movement on their pitches. When these two guys are on top of their games, they sink, cut, and curve the ball in ways that are damn near impossible to hit; on Wednesday they were both sharp. TBS color analyst Ron Darling compared the movement on some of Webb's...more

Major League Baseball's second season is set to begin tonight for the Chicago Cubs, not to mention their nation of obsessively devoted fans. Sales on Mountain Dew and instant coffee have experienced a serious spike in the Chicagoland area as Cubs fans brace for the sleep depriving grind of west coast playoff baseball. Tensions will be high, expectations will be even higher, and more than a few Chicagoans will call into work sick on Thursday and Friday with the Blue Flu (aka Cubs Fever).

While kicking this series off in the middle of the night will be an inconvenience to a number of fans in Chicago, perhaps it will be a good thing for the Chicago Cubs. To the best of my knowledge, goats are not nocturnal creatures. Maybe the Cubs will be able to open up a commanding lead against the Diamondbacks while the Goat's eyes are shut.

Goat or no goat, the Cubs have a better team on paper than the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team that was outscored 732-712 in the regular season, yet still won 90 games. The Cubs have a more dangerous, more experienced offense...more

Fans twist in Fall pain

Pulling for the Cards, so odd

So's shot keeps me sane

I wrote this Haiku after the report of So Taguchi's ground rule double came over the wire on MLB.com on Wednesday night. His 8^th inning 2-rbi double to right-center put the Brewers away and provided me with my most peaceful moment of the day.

Losing two games in a row in the position that the Cubs are in doesn't match the tranquility of a Japanese garden, but I'll take the 2-game lead over a 1-game margin any day of the week (especially Sunday). Routing for the Cardinals was obviously unnatural to me (I took an extra long shower this morning, but just can't seem to get that clean feeling), but at this point, it had to be done.

By the way… if you can't tell from the poem, I am pretty sure that the Cubs are slowly making me insane. I just hope...more

At 3 ½ games, the Chicago Cubs have the largest lead of any divisional race in the National League. If that is not the perfect thought to ponder on an off day, I don't know what is.

Since September's stretch run began, I feel like I have had 3 coronaries, 2 grabbers, and a heart attack. Chicago Cubs fans are many things… but seasoned veterans of playoff hunts we are not. It's safe to say that the Cubs nation of invested fans is in need of Thursday's off-day as much as the players are. The Cubs are enjoying their first day off in more than three weeks today… and the Cub-less Thursday will give us all a chance to catch our breath before taking the final plunge.

As the Cubs sit on a one game lead with just nine games remaining, all that is left to do (from the fans perspective) is pray to the baseball Gods in their infinite wisdom. I am going to take this off day to pray for the holy union of Cubs lumber to horse hide. I'll pray that the back end of the bullpen remains divine, and I'll pray that Lou Piniella's heart is in better shape than my own. I'll pray...more

For whatever reason, the baseball Gods have always made it extremely difficult to sweep a double header… especially on the road. That being said, the Chicago Cubs should be very happy with the baseball they played during their long weekend in St. Louis, not to mention the position they find themselves in with two weeks left in the season. With the exception of Saturday's split, the Cubs did what they needed to do against their heated rivals, and by winning 3 out of 4 games, they may have sent the defending champs out to stud in the process.

With 12 games left in the 2007 regular season, all of the Cubs remaining games are against teams with sub-.500 records. The Milwaukee Brewers have a much more difficult road to the finish line. The Brew-Crew still has to deal with the Braves, Cards, and Padres before all is said and done.

It would appear that the deck is stacked in the favor...more

As of September 14^th, 2007, the Chicago Cubs are all alone in first place in the NL Central.  There is a chilly bite in the Chicago morning air and the Cubs are in first place, and that is a statement that can’t be made every day.  As the Cubs head for St. Louis for the critical four game weekend set, they find themselves in the driver’s seat in the NL Central; for the Chicago Cubs and their nation of fans, life has certainly been a lot worse.

The Cubs vaulted a half game in front of the idle Brewers on the strength of their win on Thursday night in Houston, a game where the Cubs flexed some much needed muscle.  The Cubs scored 4 times before recording an out, thanks to a lead-off homer from Alfonso Soriano and a 3-run bomb from the Ram.  Both Daryle Ward and Cliff Floyd added homers as the game unfolded...more

On one of the few days in recent memory that Lou Piniella showed up to the ballpark with a clean shaven mug, the play of the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night in Houston looked all too familiar. The Cubs squandered an early 4-1 lead last night over the Astros and lost another critical game to fall one game behind the first place Brewers. Once again, the Cubs could not deliver the clutch hit when they needed it most. The Cubs stranded 15 base runners (going just 1-11 w/ runners in scoring position on Tuesday), failed to score a run after the 3^rd inning, lost another one run game, and also fell to 2-8 in extra inning games on the season.

It's safe to say that the problems that killed the Cubs on Tuesday night have held this team back all year long. With 18 games remaining on the schedule, the Cubs need to follow their skipper's lead and change their look. I am not saying...more