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No Joy In Wrigleyville
Carlos Zambrano is nuts. Everyone knows it. We’ve seen him attack his own teammates physically in anger when they blow games, tear into them for their poor play. At any moment, he is ready to blow up. And on Sunday, after the Cubs flubbed up another game in St. Louis, he said this: “We’re playing like a Triple-A team.” And this: “This is embarrassing.” And this: “We stink.”
Just a few days earlier, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts was at the MLB game, in the bleachers talking to fans, shaking hands and thanking them for coming. What’s wrong with the team, reporters asked?
“Nothing,” he said. “Just a lot of injuries.”
Well, the call now, the push in the papers and talk radio, is to just get rid of Zambrano. He is destructive and distracting. How can anyone argue with that? “Time for Cubs to cut ties with Zambrano,” read a Chicago Tribune headline.
Wait. What? Zambrano? No, no, no.
Don’t dump Zambrano. It’s time to cut ties with Ricketts. Zambrano is right. The Cubs do stink. Everyone knows it.
It has been more than 100 years of losing, and we’re supposed to care that Zambrano, pitching well, doing his job and telling the truth, might have hurt some of his teammates’ little feelings? No.
He is doing exactly what Mike Ditka did to lead the Bears to a Super Bowl title. It’s the same thing Ozzie Guillen did to lead the White Sox to the World Series title. Those two are legendary figures in Chicago, and always will be, because they did one thing: Kick butt.
A better idea is to see if Zambrano can afford to buy the Cubs. It doesn’t seem that the current owner can afford them. The Cubs need an owner with passion for a change. Zambrano-like passion. Mark Cuban-like passion.
Slow Start? What Slow Start?
OK, time to stop the MLB nonsense about whether the Indians are for real.
They’re as real as Justin Masterson’s sinker, Shin-Soo Choo’s right arm, Carlos Santana’s batting eye, Orlando Cabrera’s experience and Asdrubal Cabrera’s talent.
Try this for real: The Indians own a majors-best 66 run differential and an MLB best 18-4 home record. They’ve scored the second-most runs in the A.L. and have the fourth-best ERA. They’re 7-2 against the A.L. East with the revived Red Sox returning to Cleveland looking for revenge after that three-game sweep they absorbed in the season’s first week.
Ron Washington knows they’re for real. Asked if he knew the Indians would be in first place when in spring training he asked Manny Acta to be an MLB All-Star coach, the Rangers managed replied, “I knew the Indians would be tough. They have some talent.”
Washington might have been one of the few to believe that two months ago. But he’s no longer alone. The Indians sit atop the MLB Power Poll for the fourth consecutive week. The Poll is convinced.
1. Indians (1). You can ask the Reds if the Tribe is for real. The Indians’ weekend sweep was first over Reds since 2004.
2. Cardinals (14). When talking about N.L. MVP candidates, Matt Holliday would be the place to start. Unless you started with Lance Berkman.
3. Red Sox (13). About that 2-10 start, perhaps the Red Sox just wanted to play fair and give the rest of the league a head start.
Adrian Gonzalez has provided the offensive punch the Red Sox were hoping for when they traded for him this offseason. (AP Photo)
4. Giants (6). Latest wrist injury to Mark DeRosa could be the end, making his the saddest in a season that has seen more than its share of injuries.
5. Phillies (4). Chase Utley is back in time for rematch of last year’s divisional series against the Reds. Time for the rest of the Phillies’ offense to return, too.
6. Yankees (15). What a debut: Right-hander Hector Noesi gives Yankees four scoreless innings to win 15-inning marathon in Baltimore, providing the difference between a so-so and a good week for the club.
Lovable Losers or Fierce Contenders
The Chicago Cubs’ streak of three consecutive winning seasons ended in 2010, when they never held the NL Central lead or climbed above .500.
The fifth-place Cubs lost 87 games and manager Lou Piniella, who resigned in August. Chicago had 11 streaks of at least three losses under Piniella and didn’t have a five-game winning streak until mid-September under successor Mike Quade. But the Cubs finished 24-13, earning Quade the full-time job.
A team once able to bludgeon its opponents finished in the bottom half of the majors in runs, homers and OPS last season and has an MLB-worst 111 stolen bases over the past two seasons. No Cub scored or drove in 85 runs in 2010.
Left fielder Alfonso Soriano averaged 108 runs, 37 homers and 97 RBIs in five seasons before signing an eight-year, $136 million deal with Chicago prior to the 2007 season. Since then, he has failed to score 100 runs or drive in 80 runs in a single season and has managed just one 30-homer campaign.
Oft-injured third baseman Aramis Ramirez was hitting .168 with five homers when he went on the disabled list with an injured thumb in June. He finished with 25 homers and 83 RBIs but has played in only 206 games over the past two seasons.
This offseason, the Cubs added first baseman Carlos Pena, who tied for the AL lead with 39 homers in 2009. Like many of his new teammates, however, Pena is prone to massive strikeout totals. Second base remains a riddle. Blake DeWitt projects as the starter, with utilityman Jeff Baker providing depth. The Cubs received the league’s fewest RBIs and third-lowest on-base percentage at the position last season.
On the bright side, catcher Geovany Soto bounced back well in 2010 after a disappointing 2009. And youth provides another reason for optimism. Shortstop Starlin Castro, 20, debuted last May and finished with a .300 average. Tyler Colvin, 25, hit 20 homers in 358 at-bats and played all three outfield positions.
The outfield remains deep with Soriano, Colvin, Kosuke Fukudome and Marlon Byrd. On a team rife with underachievers last season, Byrd offered a semblance of value and reliability. Fukudome, who has struggled mightily since arriving from Japan, is the front-runner to lead off.
What Lou Piniella did for Baseball Despite the Lack of A Big Win
The great one’s are great for a plethora of reasons. Lou Piniella will be remembered for a long time to come for the way he captivated the fans. In his younger years, you wouldn’t put it past the man to throw every base out of the stadium over a bad call. Lou touched our hearts in a way that may never be done for the first time ever again. He was original to say the least.
Piniella, who turns 67 next month, released a statement Tuesday announcing his intention to retire following this season — his 23rd as a big league manager. The Cubs are languishing in fourth place in the National League Central at 42-52 as they play out the string in a season marked by turmoil. Read More >>
Tribune to Sell Cubs and Wrigley
A long-time Chicago landmark is set for sale by media conglomerate Tribune Co. along with its highly under-rated team, the one-and-only Chicago Cubs. Transferring ownership from a huge corporation to the Ricketts family marks an enormous depature from the trend-setting sales of the past two decades. We’ve mostly seen major sports teams being sold to huge corporations by private owners so they can plaster their corporate logo all over everything in eyeshot.
The landmark sale is the most ever paid for a major league baseball team. However, previous deals have not included the ballpark as well. The two and a half year struggle to acquire the Cubs has finally ended in a victory for both the Ricketts family and the financially tortured Tribune Co. whose bankruptcy filing undoubtedly expedited the finalization of complex negotiations.
Initially offered $900 million by the Rickets family, the Tribune finally settled on a total vale of $845 million while still reataining a small stake in the team and the field. Citing vague “legal reasons”, the Tribune Co. has elected to include the ball club in its bankruptcy hoping it will speed the transfer process. The MLB still must approve the sale, but no one expects an objection. It’s good to see a memorable ball club like the Cubs and its historic ball park back in the hands of a private party rather than a nebulous and obnoxiously large corporation.
Onward with the MLB Steroid Saga
It is time for the Steroid scandal to be put in the past. With players Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa having been released as having tested positive for steroids 6 seasons ago it may make sense to once and for all call to light the remaining confidentially held names and move forward for the sake of the Major League Baseball.
In the best interest of baseball the MLB commissioner’s office may have to release the dirty little secret once and for all. But a contractual promise such as the confidential list retained from the 2003 season may cause a domino effect across the sport. It is a simple fact that steroids has branded the sport of baseball because of the way it has been handled.
Still fighting allegations that he had taken performance enhancing drugs, Sammy Sosa, awaits the congressional committee and its investigation into the matter of perjury.
National Baseball Hall of Fame
Rickey Henderson visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame and put on an old glove and shoe a 1981 Brooks spikes that he wore with Oakland in his third MLB season, the wings of Mercury back then. It was the first time he touched the shoe since 28 years ago.
“They don’t make ‘em like this anymore,” Henderson said Friday, clad in black slacks and a white checkered shirt, and poring over artifacts from a big league life. “It makes you sad that not many guys steal bases today. You should be able to move to the next base, to get yourself in scoring position. I used to steal to get in scoring position because I wanted to be the person to score the most runs.”
Joey Gathright Gets Knocked Around Again
Orioles and Cubs both trying to fix an organizational surplus traded Ryan Freel, utilityman, to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for outfielder Joey Gathright.
Andy MacPhail, Baltimore’s president of baseball operations said, “I think it’s the same thing on both sides of the equation,” he said. “Since we acquired Ryan, we ended up acquiring [Ty] Wigginton, who can play third base and bats right-handed. And we acquired [Robert] Andino, who can play shortstop and second base. So we didn’t get the at-bats there that we originally anticipated. It’s just one of those things that sort of evolved. I think the Cubs had the same thing on the Gathright side. [Kosuke] Fukudome got off to such a hot start that how much they envisioned using Joey initially didn’t pan out either.”
Freel had nearly $4 million remaining on his contract when he was originally traded, and Gathright was owed less than $1 million. The Baltimore Orioles apparently kicked in more than $1 million to even out the scales, which is why the trade required approval from the Commissioner’s Office before it could be approved and announced.
The Orioles gain another veteran outfield for injury insurance at Triple-A Norfolk. This 28 year old is hitting .214 this season and .262 for his career, very defensive-minded and a speedster.
Cubs Fans Can be Hot
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Hope cub fans and readers don’t unravel at the tantalizing title, but ww thought this one was worth a share and worth grabbing your attention.
Humility is a great way to live. If you got it flaunt it and at least the man below is up for showing off and facing the camera. Shameless fans bolstering their belly just may cause a ruckus in these times when indecent exposure is rampant.
Cubs Jersey 31 Retired
The Cubs number 31 jersey will be the fifth number retired by the team in honor of the two pitchers, one a Hall of Famer, the other a future Cooperstown resident Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux.
Maddux was the first to wear number 31 since Jenkins left the Cubs, pretty nice for Maddux since Fergie is one of the best pitchers to ever play for the Cubs. Maddux stated, “It was an honor to have his number.” Jenkins still holds the club’s strikeout record with 2,038 and Maddux has two milestones with the team, earning his 300th career win in a Cubs jersey on August 7th, 2004, and his career 3,000 strikeout on July 26, 2005.
“The No. 31 belongs to two of the greatest pitchers ever to wear a Cubs uniform,” team chairman Crane Kenney said. “Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux each established themselves as dominant pitchers of their era. Each won his first Cy Young Award with the Chicago Cubs and represented our team with dignity and class on and off the field.”
Maddux could be looking up the flags on the foul poles at Wrigley Field and someday see himself with Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ryne Sandberg.
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