Monday, June 30, 2008

State of the Sox (6/24 - 6/29)

June 24th - June 29th
Tuesday, June 24th @ LA Dodgers W 6-1
Buehrle (W, 5-6), Lowe (L, 5-7)
Wednesday, June 25th @ LA Dodgers L 5-0
Floyd (L, 8-4), Stults (W, 2-0)
Thursday, June 26th @ LA Dodgers W 2-0
Danks (W, 5-4), Kershaw (L, 0-2), Jenks (S, 17)
Friday, June 20th vs Cubs W 10-3
Contreras (W, 7-6), Dempster (L, 9-3)
Saturday, June 21 vs Cubs W 6-5
Thorton (W, 4-1), Marmol (L, 1-3), Jenks (S, 18)
Sunday, June 22nd vs Cubs W 5-1
Buehrle (W, 6-6), Marshall (L, 0-2)

Heroes - John Danks, Jermaine Dye, Carlos Quentin
Bums - Vazquez, maybe...

Dodgers are bad, which is why the Sox took 2 of 3 from them in LA. The White Sox are good at home. Hopefully the AL will win the All Star Game (because some dumbass decided that whichever league wins the All Star Game gets home field advantage in the World Series. Its the dumbest thing ever) (ever ever).

I've been thinking... if the season ended today, Carlos Quentin AL MVP? You could make a case for him, and I think Milton Bradley and Josh Hamilton take votes away from each other. But I guess you could say the same about CQ and Dye. Oh well, fun to think about.

Interleague is over, time for the Sox to start dominating their division. Hopefully the Sox will sweep the Indians so we don't have to see Sabathia for much longer. He would look nice in north side attire, wouldn't you say?

State of the Cubs (6/24 - 6/29)

Tuesday, June 24th vs Baltimore L 7-5
Guthrie (W, 1-0), Marshall (L, 0-1), Sherrill (S, 26)
Wednesday, June 25th vs Baltimore W 7-4
Albers (L, 3-3), Lilly (W, 8-5), Wood (S, 20)
Thursday, June 26th vs Baltimore L 11-4
Liz (W, 2-0), Marquis (L, 6-4)
Friday, June 27th @ Chicago White Sox L 10-3
Dempster (L, 9-3), Contreras (W, 7-6)
Saturday, June 28th @ Chicago White Sox L 6-5
Marmol (L, 1-3), Thornton (W,4-1), Jenks (S, 18)
Sunday, June 29st @ Chicago White Sox L 5-1
Marshall (L, 0-2), Buehrle (W, 6-5)

Defense: bad; pitching: bad; offense: bad; offense RISP: really really bad. Back to back really really bad blowouts on Thursday and Friday, a game that was just as unwinnable on Sunday, two games where porous defense and some shitty bullpen outings screwed the team in the middle innings on Tuesday and Saturday and a win that felt like a loss on Wednesday.

Dat' about sum dat' up.

On the bright side, the Cubs get to face Barry Zito tonight, the Giants, and hell, the NL West are a cure for what ails ya. Yes it's a road series, but the Giants blow and the Cubs should take 3 of 4. The Cubs then get 3 games against the Cardinals in St Louis. The Cubs could concieveably put the Cardinals out of the race with a torrid week this week, and we've had multiple weeks like that this season. I'm not saying it's going to happen, I'm just saying that there's really no reason to panic just because the Ebb and Flow of the baseball season gave you a low tide week these past six games.

Despite the fact that the Cubs dropped 5 of 6, they only lost two in the division, which I guess doesn't make anyone feel any better, but their post season odds only fell about 4% this team is making the playoffs, no matter how unfun this week was. If you're really upset about losing to the White Sox, 1, grow up; 2, be happy that the Sox are winning, because the more they win, the more likley the Indians are to trade CC Sabathia.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Awesome Bad Song of the Week


The Fresh Prince himself. You may ask "Why Wild Wild West, Sauce? Why not Miami, Men In Black, Black Suits Comin', Gettin' Jiggy With It, Just the Two of Us, or Will 2K?" Answer - Because all of those songs suck. Okay, thats not true, actually all of those songs are awesome/terrible. Real answer - Wild Wild West is an amazing piece of art, and I'm not embarassed to say that I know all the words to this song, and I actually own this movie on dvd.
There once was a time in this country where Will Smith ruled the world. He was in blockbuster movies, he had #1 hits, albums and videos, and I'm pretty sure he was President for like six or seven months.



Tuesday, June 24, 2008

State of the Sox (6/16 - 6/22)

June 17th - June 22nd
Tuesday, June 17th vs Pittsburgh W 16-5
Vazquez (W, 7-5), Snell (L, 3-7)
Wednesday, June 18th vs Pittsburgh W 8-2
Buehrle (W, 4-6), Gorzelany (L, 5-6)
Thursday, June 19th vs Pittsburgh W 13-8
Floyd (W, 8-3), Dumatrait (L, 3-4)
Friday, June 20th @ Cubs L 4-3
Linebrink (L, 2-2), Wood (W, 4-1)
Saturday, June 21 @ Cubs L 11-7
Contreras (L, 6-6), Marquis (W, 6-3), Wood (S, 19)
Sunday, June 22nd @ Cubs L 7-1
Vasquez (L, 7-6), Dempster (9-2)

Heros - Jermaine Dye

Bums - Everyone Else (except for maybe Buehrle)

Congratulations, you swept the Pirates. This team still can't hit. Yes, they score a ton of runs off of the Pirates, but again, they're the Pirates. The Chicago White Sox have lost 9 straight games on the road. Situational hitting always, always gets the best of this team.

Also: Jermaine Dye=On Fire. Its not even fair that pitchers have to throw to him. Hopefully he can keep this up until the rest of the team decides to hit, whenever that may be.

So next week, White Sox go to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers and then back home for the last three games against the Cubs this year, thank god. After that, interleague is over! Hooray! Back to real baseball!
But if you want to know the only good thing to come out of this year's interleague games, check out Electra's blog from Saturday.

Monday, June 23, 2008

I'd say rest in peace

But I'm pretty sure he was at his happiest when he was as far from peace as possible



Thanks George.

Thanks for being with us for a little while.



Thanks George.

State of the Cubs (6/17 - 6/22)

Tuesday, June 17th @ Tampa Bay L 3-2
Cotts (L, 0-1), Balfour (W, 1-0) Percival (S, 16)
Wednesday, June 18th @ Tampa Bay L 5-4
Zambrano (L, 8-3), Sonnanstine (W, 8-3), Percival (S, 17)
Thursday, June 19th @ Tampa Bay L 8-3
Marmol (L, 1-2), Balfour (W, 2-o)
Friday, June 19th vs Chicago White Sox W 4-3
Linebrink (L, 2-2), Wood (W, 4-1)
Saturday, June 20th vs Chicago White Sox W 11-7
Contreras (L, 6-6), Marquis (W, 6-3), Wood (S, 19)
Sunday, June 21st vs Chicago White Sox W 7-1
Vazquez (L, 7-6), Dempster (W, 9-3)

Very few answers, a few new questions. Didn't learn anything about the Cubs this week. At home they are easily the best team in baseball, and for some reason (probably still small sample size) they're not as good on the road, that or they're just unlucky, which goes back to sample size. The Cubs haven't lost in Wrigley in over a month, they're 32-8 in that stadium. Doesn't matter what happens, two home runs early, two home runs middle, 9 runs here or there, you come to Wrigley Field, you lose.

The new questions, are Zambrano and Marmol. These are scary, your best starter is hurt, and your best reliever cannot find the strike zone. Zambrano should be back in a few weeks, but injuries to your shoulder are far more significant than elbow, forearm or hand injures for a pitcher, THANK GOD Giovanni Soto showed poise and awareness far beyond his years and called the trainers when he did. The Cubs can win the division without Z, but there is no chance they win a playoff series.

Carlos Marmol's last two outings have included five walks, five earned runs, two hit batsmen, a wild pitch, and a loss. His mechanics could be off because he hasn't been used as frequently, his arm could be injured because he's been used too much overall, or he could be turning into Rick Ankiel, and no, I don't mean a power hitting outfielder. Hopefully it's the mechanics, and the injury would still be preferable to him becoming a headcase, but regardless, that's another big, big piece of the Cubs puzzle, if it's lost, it's going to need to be replaced before the playoffs.

Still, the Cubs remain in an excellent position. They have a few chips in the farm system to deal to bolster the team, and they're now 4.5 up on the division, with the best team in baseball taking the field every day. Ryan Dempster is an honest to goodness all star, even though he's probably having a (once in a) career year.

87.6% chance of winning the division, 96.2% of making the post season

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Awesome Bad Song of the Week


Now, it would be too easy to pick Stayin' Alive or Night Fever, so today I'm going with How Deep is Your Love? Released in 1977 as apart of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, it shot right up to numero uno on the charts. That album is terribly awesome, and it was hard to pick only one song off of it to be the ABSotW, but I suppose I could have picked this song instead. But I didn't.


Friday, June 20, 2008

The Chicago White Cubs

I recognize that this concept is stupid, which is why I only spent 10 minutes writing this. The following is based barely on stats and mostly on who I would rather root for/like better.

Lineup
CF - Kosuke Fukudome
SS - Orlando Cabrera
LF - Carlos Quentin
DH - Aramis Ramirez
1B - Derek Lee
RF - Jermaine Dye
C - Geovany Soto
2B - Alfonso Soriano
3B - Joe Crede

Bench
Mark DeRosa - 1B, 2B, 3B, OF
Ryan Theriot - 2B, SS
AJ Pierzynski - C
Alexei Ramirez - 2B, SS, OF

Rotation
Carlos Zambrano
Gavin Floyd
Ryan Dempster
John Danks
Jose Contreras

Bullpen
LHP - Boone Logan
LHP - Matt Thorton
RHP - Octavio Dotel
RHP - Kerry Wood
Setup - Scott Linebrink
Setup - Carlos Marmol
Closer - Bobby Jenks

Manager
Ozzie Guillen


(And yes, I know Soriano can't really play second, and Fukudome isn't a center fielder, and that the two everyday players with the highest batting averages are on the bench. Remember, there is no team called the Chicago White Cubs.)

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit...

If Ryan Theriot makes the all star game over Ramirez, Tejada, Reyes, or even Christian Fucking Guzman I think I'm going to petition MLB to not distribute ASG ballots at Wrigley.
Entering Sunday, Theriot had a .311 batting average, 41 runs scored and 13 stolen bases, so the All-Star attention is well-deserved.
Ryan Theriot also has a .760 OPS, third worst among all NL shortstops who qualify for the batting title. He's also got a sub 65% stolen base conversion percentage, anything below 70% actually hurts your team, he makes stupid outs at 3rd base, gets picked off the bases, is below average defensively, has a pop gun arm and is quite possibly the most annoying professional athlete to ever play in this city.


Of course I SHOULD just petition MLB to not let fans vote at all, because if we're going to continue this retarded crap and make the game count for something, managers should be allowed to bulid the teams however they like, and that includes leaving every single San Diego Padre off the team if they so choose.

Monday, June 16, 2008

State of the Cubs (6/10 - 6/15)

Tuesday, June 10th vs Atlanta W 10-5
Glavin (L, 2-3), Lilly (W, 6-5)
Wednesday, June 11th vs Atlanta W 7-2
Bennett (L, 2-2), Dempster (W, 8-2)
Thursday, June 12th vs Atlanta W 3-2, (11 Inn)
Acosta (L, 3-5), Wood (W, 3-1)
Friday, June 13th @ Toronto L 3-2
Gallagher (L, 3-3), Burnett (W, 6-5), Ryan (S, 14)
Saturday, June 14th @ Los Angeles W 6-2
Marquis (W, 5-3), Halladay (L, 8-6)
Sunday, June 15th @ Los Angeles W 7-4
Lilly (W, 7-5), Litsch (L, 7-3)

I don't really know what to say about this week. that was pretty much masterful baseball all around. Poor Sean Gallagher fell victim to the offense taking another Friday night off as he again goes 5 innings and gives up just three runs (which, though an inning shy of the official definition of a quality start, is about all you can ask from the kid.) The Cubs loaded the bases twice, once in the first, once in the sixth and managed to plate only one run in those two opportunities. Ryan Theriot found yet another way to generate outs when he tried to advance to third on a ground ball in the first.

The Jim Edmonds A.K.A. Jimmy Ballgame A.K.A. James Baseball signing continues to pay off way more than it has any right to, as Edmonds's batting average as a Cub is up to .309 and he currently sports a very healthy .857 OPS as a Cub. He is so much better at baseball than Reed Johnson it's not even funny, and he's a lefty to boot.

Speaking of good ole' Reed, big time props to #9 as his home run on Saturday finally propelled his offensive VORP to 2.8, and moving him ahead of Ted Lilly. Congratulations, Reed, your offensive run production is now greater than that of one of the worst hitting pitchers I've ever seen and it only took you 69 games to do it.

Edmonds is hitting, Jason Marquis has won three games in a row, and Ryan Dempster goes for his 9th win of the season tomorrow, with 6 more starts left before the all star game. Something is very, very wrong and I like it.

PECOTA as of Monday morning: 99-63, 89% chance of winning the division, 95.9% chance of making the post season

State of the Sox (6/10-6/15)

June 10rd - June 15th
Tuesday, June 10th @ Detroit L 6-4
Contreras (L, 6-4), Robertson (W, 4-6), Jones (S, 11)
Wednesday, June 11th @ Detroit L 5-1
Vazquez (L, 6-5), Verlander (W, 3-9)
Thursday, June 12th @ Detroit L 2-1
Dotel (L, 3-3), Jones (W, 2-0)
Friday, June 13th vs Colorado W 5-4
Thorton (W, 3-1), Herges (L, 2-3), Jenks (S, 16)
Saturday, June 14th vs Colorado L 2-0
Dotel (L, 3-4), Grilli (W, 2-1), Fuentes (S, 10)
Sunday, June 15th vs Colorado L 5-3
Contreras (L, 6-5), Cook (W, 10-3), Fuentes (S, 11)

Heros - Gavin Floyd? maybe. John Danks? sure.
Bums - Yes

Here's the only guess I have. I think Ozzie Guillen flips a coin to decide whether or not his team is going to perform. Or this team actually sucks. Or this team is really good. Who knows.

Also, for the record, interleague games are a waste of my time. If it's true that you lose 60 and you win 60, it matters what you do with the other 42 then none of these games are actually in that 42, whether they are wins or losses or extra inning wins or no hitters. Sure they're fun, I guess. But so are all star games, and they don't count. Oh, right.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Awesome Bad Song of the Week


Ah, Phil. I'm sure he'll be showing up in this weekly post a lot. "In The Air Tonight" was the first single of Phil Collins' solo career. Released in 1981, it reached as high as #2 on the Billboard charts. It's an (awful) anthem played in sports arenas across the country. It has also appeared in a great commercial involving a gorilla.



Tuesday, June 10, 2008

State of the Sox (6/3 - 6/9)

June 3rd - June 9th
Tuesday, June 3rd vs Kansas City W 9-5
Floyd (W, 6-3), Grienke (L, 5-3)
Wednesday, June 4th vs Kansas City W 6-4
Dotel (W, 3-2), Gobble (L, 0-1)
Thursday, June 5th vs Kansas City W 6-2
Contreras (W, 6-3), Meche (L, 3-8)
Friday, June 6th vs Minnesota W 10-6
Vazquez (W, 6-4), Blackburn (L, 4-4)
Saturday, June 7th vs Minnesota W 11-2
Buehrle (W, 3-6), Hernandez (L, 6-3)
Sunday, June 8th vs Minnesota W 12-2
Floyd (W, 7-3), Slowey (L, 2-6)
Monday, June 9th vs Minnesota W 7-5
Thorton (W, 2-1), Guerrier (L, 3-2)

Heros- White Sox

Bums - Jay Mariotti (I don't really have a reason for this, he's just a 'heiny-bird')


All I really have to say is that if this is the real White Sox, they could win the World Series (that sounds so weird to say for some reason). Yea, so uh. I don't really have a whole lot to say. White Sox Winner.
40 runs against the Twins. 61 on the homstand.
A 7 game winning streak.

So ummm, they're good, and I'm confused.


There are 3 baseball teams in town. One of them is the Cubs. The Sox are the other two.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Bears Release Cedric Benson

Old news at this point, if you want the story, you can find it in a multitude of places. That's not why I'm posting this.

Just because the Bears released Benson does not mean they're going to sign another running back.
Just because the Bears released Benson does not mean they're going to sign another running back.
Just because the Bears released Benson does not mean they're going to sign another running back.
Just because the Bears released Benson does not mean they're going to sign another running back.

Understand something. The Bears, and the vast majority of the rest of the teams in the NFL only carry THREE running backs. I
t was HIGHLY likely that the Bears were going to cut Benson anyway, the DUI just accelerated the process. There are currently three on the roster in Forte, Peterson, and Wolfe.

In order for the Bears to carry 4, the Bears need to carry one less backup at another position. It is possible that position could be wide receiver. Last year, the Bears kept six on the roster. Berrian, Muhammad, Bradley, Davis, Hester, Hass. Muhammad was cut, and replaced with Booker, Berrian was not resigned. The Bears promoted Mark Bradley into Berrian's role, and signed Brandon Lloyd to replace Bradley (ostensibly in the role of fast guy with so-so route skills who always gets hurt.) The Bears resigned Davis, Hester's not going anywhere. The Bears drafted Earl Bennett, which means that Hass will be cut.

The only other guy that might get cut among that group would be Lloyd, but it's unlikely as he's one of Turner's guys, this STILL doesn't account for Marcus Monk
, who'd probably get plucked off the practice squad. It also doesn't account for the possibility of the Bears carrying an additional offensive linemen to help compensate for the youth of the line.


Just because the Bears released Benson does not mean they're going to sign another running back.

So please don't piss and moan if they don't go out and sign Shaun Alexander, who'd almost certainly be bad.

State of the Cubs (6/2 - 6/8)

Monday, June 2nd @ San Diego W 7-6
Zambrano (W, 8-1), Baek (L, 1-2), Wood (S, 15)
Tuesday, June 3rd @ San Diego W 9-6
Marquis (W, 3-3), Corey (L, 1-1) Wood (S, 16)
Wednesday, June 4th @ San Diego L 2-1
Lilly (L, 5-5), Bell (W, 3-3), Hoffman (S, 12)
Thursday, June 5th @ Los Angeles W 5-4
Howry (W, 2-2), Saito (L, 3-2) Wood (S, 17)
Friday, June 6th @ Los Angeles L 3-0
Gallagher (L, 3-2), Kuroda (W, 3-5)
Saturday, June 7th @ Los Angeles L 7-3
Zambrano (L, 8-2), Lowe (W, 4-5)
Sunday, June 8th @ Los Angeles W 3-1
Marquis (W, 4-3), Penny (L, 5-8), Wood (S, 18)

And there you go, folks, a series win and an over .500 road trip in which the cubs managed to tally 7, 9, and 5. Hopefully that can silence some of the road trip hysteria. Looking at the 3 losses, you had a game in which Hiroki Kuroda pitched out of his damn mind, going 9 innings and allowing just 4 baserunners while striking out 11. While they're not fun, that's going to happen. You can say the same about the Maddux game (the Heath Bell W.) Then you had Saturday... well... I'll get to that in a moment.

Point is, two of your three losses this week were games in which the other teams starter just gave you an ass beating, and that's ok. The Cubs have already proven that they're one of, if not the most potent offense in major league baseball. Sometimes, you just go out and get buzz sawed. The fact that those are generally the only games they're losing right now proves that the team is just as "hot" right now on the road as it was at home.

But then you've got Saturday's game. Saturday's game reminded me of the 2004 Cubs. Zambrano was cruising, up 2-0 in the 6th when he gave up the 2 run bomb to Martin, tie game. Cubs come back and tally one in the top of the 7th. Bottom of the 7th, Z gets the first batter, Pierre gets on and is dead to rights trying to steal second, but The Scraptain, Grindy McGrinderson, Ryan Theriot can't hold onto Soto's throw, (for the second time that game, I might add) should be 2 outs. Next batter Pierre scores as Ramirez throws the ball away. It was ruled a hit and an error, but you could very well make the argument that it was E5 all the way. Either way, Pierre never should have scored.

Instead of being out of the inning, or having 2 outs and a runner on first, you now have one out, a runner on first and a run in. Z's D failed him, and at this point it was clear to apparently everyone watching the game with the exception of Lou Piniella that Z needed to come out of the game. Marmol hadn't been used in a few days, he's the best reliever in the NL, THIS IS WHY YOU HAVE HIM. Not to get 5 outs when you're up by 4 runs like Lou tried on Monday.
Howry, Weurtz, Eyre, ANYBODY would have been a better option than leaving Zambrano in at this point, and he proved it, first by giving up a 3 run bomb to Matt Kemp and then by going nuts on the water coolers in the dugout. I wish he'd stop acting like a child, cause one of these days he's going to get hurt, but I can sympathize with him. He put the Cubs in a perfect position to win the game and his defense and manager let him down big time.

If you like that old axiom "you're going to win 60 games and lose 60 games, it's what you do with the 0ther 42 that decides how your season goes" the losses on Wednesday and Friday were in the big pile of 60 losses, the Saturday game was one of the "other 42" a game right there for the taking that the team just pissed down their leg.

But... light at the end of a very short tunnel. Despite losing a game they absolutely should have won on Saturday, after being shut out on Friday, they went out on Sunday Night Baseball, with what is unquestionably their worst starter on the mound, and had him completely shut down the Dodgers to split the series, finish above .500 on the road trip, and stay out of the tailspin that would have befallen so many past Cubs teams.

As Vin Scully once said, momentum in baseball is tomorrow's starting pitcher. "Tomorrow's Starting Pitcher" was Jason Marquis twice this week, and he found a way to win both of those games. That's the mark of a quality baseball team. 97-65, 88+% chance of making the post season

Kudos to Kerry Wood. 4 saves, 7 Ks in 3.2 IP. 0.00 ERA, 0.82 WHIP for the week.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Bellwether's Sports Philosphy, Big Brown

When it comes to sports, I'm a pretty irascible bastard. There's very little I won't hold back on, there's very little I'll hold back on in general, but with sports I take it to another level. I find it silly how far some will go to deify athletes and coaches and I LOVE tearing them down. You can rip on crook politicians and people will line up to echo your words, you can tear into members of the media or the profession in general and there will be no end to the support you receive, an entire industry exists around the building and subsequent breaking of celebrities. For some reason, however, going after pro athletes, especially successful pro athletes, with the rare exception of "public enemy number one" like Vick or to a lesser extent, Bonds turns adult males into screaming toddlers. If you don't believe me, bring up what an egomaniacal prick Jordan was and watch the fireworks, even prefacing the argument with "ignoring what he did on the court" won't garner any more of a reasonable response. In no other aspect of our society are heroes so protected from scrutiny and those who challenge the norm so consistently shunned.

One can go the other way too. Steve Bartman and Bill Buckner both received death threats. The concept "it's only a game" really doesn't seem to resonate with people, that, or they interpret this concept entirely wrong. It's more than a game, but the game aspect of things is treated way too seriously. I think the business aspect of sports and the conditions that effect sports off the field are as or at times more interesting than the games itself. I know a LOT about sports, the people that know me know I know a LOT about sports, but so often I am loathe to talk sports in mixed company. People are generally taken aback by how nonchalant I am when it comes to the one subject I'm more qualified to talk about than any other. Realize, I LOVE sports, I just don't let the on the field outcome bother other aspects of my life. The 2006 Bears meant more to me on so many levels than any other team that I've ever watched, and I wanted them to win the Super Bowl so badly, but 5 minutes after the game was over, I was cool with it. They pissed the damn game away, but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy every other game that season any less.

I'm not saying you're not allowed to enjoy watching an athlete, or you're not allowed to experience emotions of high and low, but for Christ sakes people, take a step back and evaluate the situation for a minute. Athletes may be fun to watch, but get one thing clear THEY DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOU. Athletes don't care about fans. Period. They HATE you. Every one of them. Even the one who signed the ball, even the one who shook your hand at the convention, even the guy that waved at you outside the stadium, even the one that said "we couldn't have done this without the 6th/10th/12th man", even the one that your friends sister met in a bar and went home and fucked. Athletes are a marketable commodity and they are more marketable if they're likable. Most pro athletes are too stupid (or uneducated) to realize this on a conscious level, but almost all of them, with the very clear exception of Brian Urlacher, are keenly aware of it on a subconscious level, and agents are very very much aware of this.

I'm not saying there aren't decent guys, I'm not saying they all actively brood with hate, I'm just saying that Fans:Athletes::Beggars:Normal People. Even if you're sympathetic to some bum's cause, and EVEN IF you toss them the occasional buck, you STILL find them pathetic and annoying. Fans ARE Beggers, only instead of begging for spare change, they're begging for a little slice of fame, and the 30 seconds some guy takes to shake your hand is his way of digging for a couple of nickels. Autograph seekers who are in the business of ebaying memorabilia for profit take this analogy one step further.

If you've ever worked in retail, you have contempt for the customer. To a pro athlete, every one of us is a customer. It's not a personal vendetta, it's just a blanket level of contempt that serves to partially insulate you from the rampant stupidity of the public.

Given this, there's literally no reason for fans to see all of the good and ignore all of the bad, but that's exactly what 99% of them do, I don't know why. These guys are no less in the spotlight than anyone else, information is freely available, people either don't seek it, or choose to ignore it. Of course, compounding all of these problems is ESPN, who have built a media empire off of over inflating individuals to the point of insanity. I have no doubt several thesis papers have been composed on answering this very question in sociology classes world wide, but I'm not really concerned with why. I just generally relish the opportunity to be an iconoclastic prick, so commenting on sports is just natural for me.

Josh Hancock was a drunk crackhead womanizer and it was only a matter of time before something bad happened to him, how fortunate that no one else was hurt and that Josh saved everyone the trouble of calling a for a tow. Kirby Puckett once held a gun to his wife's head while she was holding their child, and I think the world is better off without him. Drinks on me the day Bobby Knight dies, ditto Gary Barnett. Leonard Little, Tony LaRussa, Pac Man Jones... the list of guys I who I love to watch fail really doesn't end.

All of this aside, there's one thing I'm above: Rooting against a horse. Sure, Big Brown was getting pumped full of winstrol, but damn it, I wasn't alive to see Affirmed. I want to see a horse win a triple crown. It's not a human, so it's ok for me to look the other way.

But now that Big Brown has lost, all I have to say is:


HAW HAW!

Fuck you, Rick Dutrow, you lying, manipulative, steroid pushing, smug, arrogant son of a bitch.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Awesome Bad Song of the Week


Released in 1977, it was the first of six number one hits for the sweet combo of Daryl Hall and John Oates. The song is about a 'rich girl' who has 'gone too far.' Everytime I hear this damn song, I think about two things: 1. the fantastic Me First and the Gimme Gimme's Cover and B. John Oates' mustache is awesome!



Thursday, June 5, 2008

Phrase of the Month

Con Sizzle
[kon - siz-
uh l] adjective, adverb, interjection

-adjective
1. wonderful; first-rate; very good: That movie was con sizzle.

2. skillful; expert: I am straight up con sizzle at this game.

-adverb
3. very well: Everything has been going con sizzle for her lately.

-interjection
4. (used to express acceptence, appreciation, approval, admiration, etc.): Con sizzle! It's nice outside

5. (used ironically or facetiously to express disapointment, annoyance, distress, etc.): Con sizzle! We just missed our bus.



Origin: Applebees; Fajitas Con Sizzle

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

State of the Sox (5/26 - 6/1)

MAY 26TH - June 1st
Monday, May 26th @ Cleveland W 6-3
Logan (W, 2-1), Elarton (L, 0-1), Jenks (S, 13)
Tuesday, May 27th @ Cleveland L 8-2
Buehrle (L, 2-6), Laffey (W, 3-3)
Wednesday, May 28th @ Cleveland W 6-5
Floyd (W, 5-3), Betancourt (L, 1-3), Jenks (14)
Thursday, May 29th @ Tampa Bay W 5-1
Danks (W, 3-3), Jackson (L, 3-4)
Friday, May 30th @ Tampa Bay L 2-1
Linebrink (L, 2-1), Wheeler (W, 1-3)
Saturday, May 31st @ Tampa Bay L 2-0
Vazquez (L, 5-4), Kazmir (W, 5-1), Balfour (S, 1)
Sunday, June 1st @ Tampa Bay L 4-3
Thorton (L, 1-1), Howell (W, 4-0)

Heros - Alexi Ramirez .391 avg; Jon Danks 6 inn, 1 ER, 8 K; Jose Contreras 5 inn, 1 Er

Bums - Everyone else

Ozzie is right. Throw the record out the window right now, and the fact that this team is in first place in the AL Central. This team is not hitting. If this is going to need to rely on a spark from Alexi Ramirez or Brian Anderson, they won't be in first for long. If Paul Konerko is hurt, put him on the DL. If Thome is struggling at the plate, sit him down, same with Nick Swisher. Start Brian Anderson, bring up Josh Fields or Jerry Owens. Start Fields at first or DH. It is an absolute shame to waste all of this good pitching. Do whatever you have to do, but to sit here and watch Thome and Swisher look like they're batting with blindfolds on is starting to wear thin. This White Sox - Tampa Bay series was the biggest for the Sox of the first third of the season. They had great starting pitching preformances, but went something like 3-30 with men in scoring position. The White Sox should have taken at least 3 of 4 from the Bay Rays on the road, but instead they lost 2 games in the tenth, and only took 1 of the 4 games in Tampa. Are the Tampa Bay Rays really better than the Chicago White Sox? I didn't think so, but apparently they are.


AND I don't think Josh Fields is the answer for ONLY the White Sox, this dude played quarterback in college for Oklahoma State. He has the record for most touchdown passes for OK State and led them to 2 bowl games, the second of which being the Cotton Bowl vs Ole Miss where he threw from a Cotton Bowl record 307 yards. And it can't really be that hard to coach a professional basketball team, right?
JOSH FIELDS! SOX, BEARS, BULLS!




Also, I'd like to nominate Josh Fields for President, Pope and Sausage King of Chicago.

Just for Historical Perspective

...and not to piss in anyone's cornflakes...


Though the Cubs have the best record in baseball at 37-21, through 58 games, they're STILL eight games off the pace of the '98 Yankees who were 45-13 after 58. They went on to win 114 and the World Series, yikes.

The 2001 Mariners were 46-12 through 58, that team won 116 games, but they lost 4-1 in the ALCS so let's not dwell on that.

And an interesting statistical quirk, both the 89 an 84 cubs, the last two cubs teams to win 90 games in a season (98 doesn't count, that 90th win came in the playoff game against the Giants for the right to be swept by the Braves.) were both 33-25 through 58. 89 team won 93 games, 84 team won 96.

Lou letting Marmol pitch at all with a 4 run lead, let alone into a second inning, has my blood boiling right now. Rest him, rest him for when it matters.

Monday, June 2, 2008

State of the cubs (5/26 - 6/1) AKA, the team I root for is really really good at baseball

MAY 26TH - JUNE 1ST
Monday, May 26th vs Los Angeles W 3-1
Billingsly (L, 4-6), Dempster (W, 6-2), Wood (S, 11)
Tuesday, May 27th vs Los Angeles W 3-1
Kuroda (L, 2-4), Gallagher (W, 2-1), Wood (S, 12)
Wednesday, May 28th vs Los Angeles W 2-1 (10 Inn)
Park (L, 1-1), Howry (W, 1-2)
Thursday, May 29th vs Colorado W 8-4
Herges (L, 2-2), Wuertz (W, 1-1)
Friday, May 30th vs Colorado W 10-9
Corpas (L, 0-3), Eyre (W, 2-0), Wood (S, 13)
Saturday, May 31st vs Colorado W 5-4
Rusch (L, 1-3), Dempster (W, 7-2), Marmol (S, 3)
Sunday, June 1st vs Colorado W 5-3
Jimenez (L, 1-6), Gallagher (W, 3-1), Wood (S, 14)

These are the weeks you dream of. The Cubs swept the Dodgers and the Rockies to go 7-0 on the homestand, and 7-0 on the week. Overall they've gone 15-2 in their last 17 at home and 17-6 in the last three weeks. With the exception of Monday's game, the Cubs trailed in every single contest, and managed to come back and win. There's no question that the Cubs offense is what makes this team go, but this week it was the pitching staff, and especially the bullpen that secured the majority of the victories.

And then there was Friday.

Much like the Kerry Wood 20 K game, and the game against the Astros in 89' you will see this game on Rain Delay Theater for the next 20 years. In the grand scheme of things, it means way less to this team than last year's 5 run comeback against the Brewers when Aramis Ramirez hit a bomb in the bottom of the 9th. It was also less wacky than last years game against the Rockies (Cubs lead 8-3 going into the top of the 9th, won 10-9.) There was little or no intrinsic baseball value to the friday comeback, in all likelihood that game is going to be the difference between the Cubs winning the division by 7 games and the Cubs winning the division by 8 games.

But screw it's intrinsic value. Friday was one of those things that sportswriters like to call "statement games" the statement being: "Nobody's beating this team at Wrigley Field."

The Cubs were down 4-0 before they even took an AB, they were down 7-0 in the bottom of the 3rd, 8-0 in the bottom of the 4th, 9-1 by the bottom of the 5th, and that was still the score going into the bottom of the 6th. Lou Piniella pulled both Derrick Lee and Geo Soto. Edmonds and Fukudome both hit homers in the bottom of the 6th, to make it 9-4.

In the 7th inning, the Cubs scored 5 more runs to take a 10-9 lead. For it's part, the offense just kept hitting fly balls. It was the bullpen that made it stand up. The Cubs pen only allowed 2 ER in 6 innings on a day when Ted Lilly got rocked and any fly ball hit out of the infield was carried into the bleachers.

Now the Cubs have to go on the road. The next 7 games are on the west coast, the next 5 games are all late starts (including a 9:40 pm first pitch on Friday, Jesus Christ MLB.) The Cubs will play 13 of their next 16 and 26 out of their next 32 on the road, although 3 of those "road" games are at US Cellular in what is essentially a 9 game home stand.

Tonight the Cubs also begin a stretch of 29 straight games against teams out of the NL Central. This is the perfect opportunity for the Cubs to cast away any last shred of doubt about them "only beating up on the Pirates" and "not being able to win on the road." As I showed last week with the Cubs BABIP home/road splits, I'm really not worried about the team's road offense, it'll come around, it's just a fluke brought on by small sample size, that being said, though the Padres are the perfect team to get fat off of, they do play in one of the worst, if not THE worst offensive ballparks in all of baseball, and if there were ever a perfect storm for a Cubs offensive letdown, it'd be this week, cause Dodger Stadium isn't exactly hitter friendly either.

So even if the Cubs road woes continue and they go 3-4 or 2-5 this week, don't worry about it. This morning's PECOTA projections have the Cubs finishing at 96-66 with an 85% chance of making the post season.

If you're feeling it, you're right, and the hard data proves it. This is easily the best team since 84, and possibly the best since 69 or 45, enjoy it Cubs fans.