Un-Freakin'-Believable

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1453251,bradley-sick-injured-022709.article

"Bradley goes home with flu, sick and sore"

So, uh....how's half-price Bobby doing?

Manny F#$%$& Ramirez...

Ok seriously....this Manny crap has to stop. 45 million dollars for two years - and he doesn't even have to cut his hair. The Dodgers are negotiating against themselves and that never ends well (cough cough Soriano cough) so seriously, the Dodgers need to cut bait and run. "Screw you Manny. You wanna dick us around, then KMA you dread locked freak. Go ahead - see how much the Giants can throw at you with no one else bidding..."

Yes Manny is a game-changer. And yes, he automatically makes just about any team a contender. But no, Virginia, you don't get to dick around the only team that actually wants you. It's attitude and baggage like this that got Bonds out of the sport. Granted Manny's head isn't several hat sizes too big, but the relative attitude is not something that should be tolerated.

Manny shut up and sign up. You whiny freakin' baby.

Headline of the day....

"Bradley leaves with mild quad tightness"

Ok! Who had 16 minutes in the pool?

Does Bradley even deserve a full minute???

Headlines of the day

"Hoffpauir's grand slam boosts Cubs past L.A."

A mere 5 months too late...

"Soriano plans to return to steal business: targets 30"

Uh huh...

"Indians closer Wood slowed by sore back"

Good to know it's not just us...

Good times...For a minute, The Hoff shines...

Life is good.

When you have a T1 line...With my boss's permission, I ordered tickets from work today.

Opening day, 2 Sox games, and my annual bleacher game - about 500 bucks...ouch.


Like so many things in life, you need to click it to get the full effect...

Yeah...that'd be 80 browsers. That's how I roll...

It took longer to write this post...Barely a minute...

Typical stupid men vs. women argument.

So a buddy of mine at work pointed this out to me:

http://www.dennydavis.net/poemfiles/wmnmen.htm

If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there is a man on base. (Dave Barry)

This is such a stereotypical comment it makes me sick. Dave Barry should be ashamed of himself as well. I'm so sick of hearing this idiotic commentary it makes me want to puke. I mean EVERYONE knows that you have to consider not only men on base, but also how many outs there are for the infield fly to take effect.

Sheesh.

Not to mention the runner can also still advance....ok..my minute's up!

:D

Miller Park South???

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1427817,cubs-brewers-amtrak-021209.article

The first 100 Brewers fans who buy tickets to the Cubs’ Sept. 17 game at Wrigley Field will get a free, round-trip ride to Chicago on Amtrak.

The Brewers call the promotion Miller Park South.

[giggle]

You're, um, kidding right? Let's make one thing perfectly clear -

100 fans may be a significant boost to your little team's attendance up there. Down here, 100 fans is the line to the bathroom. You think you can box up 100 peons and send them COD to our town and, what, you think there will be a difference? Please. You've been drinking a bit too much of your sponsor up there kiddies.

Let us know when you wanna play with the big boys. I'll stop laughing in a minute...

P.S. Rickie Weeks is still on your payroll? Silly Beotches...

Now, let's examine this left handed obsession

So Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella, both of whom have done good jobs since coming here, we need a left handed bat. In fact, it seems we need as many as possbile - Aaron Miles - switch hitter, Milton Bradley - switch hitter, Paul Bako - left handed hitter. So we've got them. I've questioned every one of them.

Miles is NOT DeRosa.
Bradley played 20 games in the OF last year
Bako - well, he's just Paul Freakin' Bako.

Cost wasn't a factor -
Henry Blanco - 750,000
Paul Bako - 750,000
Bear in mind the 2008 stats are skewed buy Bako having 170 more AB's than Blanco - AVG/OBP/SLG -
Blanco 2008 - .292/.325/.392
Bako 2008 - .217/.299/.328
More hits, more walks, more power
Ohh but look at the career stats -
Blanco Career - .227/.289/.364
Bako Career - .231/.305/.317
A whopping .004 higher BA. Woot!
Now, here's the REALLY fun part -
Blanco vs LHP - .316/.350/.421
Bako vs LHP - .240/.240/.408
Ok makes sense - Blanco is a righty, so of course.
Blano vs RHP - .316/.350/.421
Bako vs RHP - .224/.315/.303
Holy Crap! But Bako's a LEFTY. and lefties hit righties better right??
Wrong....

Oh...one last thing.

Blanco - Mentor to the upcoming star Geovani Soto
Bako - Stands on the "correct" side of the plate.

Yeah...

First of all - let's recap what I've said...

http://oneminutecubs.blogspot.com/2008/10/more-offseason-thoughts.html

"FA's the need to be re-signed - ... Henry Blanco - A better backup catcher cannot be found."

http://oneminutecubs.blogspot.com/2008/11/tough-question.html

"Right now, the need is a bat. The Cubs will tell you they need a left handed bat. I would argue that they need a bat that can hit righties as well as lefties."

I know this is crazy stuff....so what actually happened -

Blanco signs with the Padres.
Paul Bako signs with the Cubs.

Blanco is right handed.
Bako bats left handed.

Peavy deal Dead. DeRosa still not here.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/rumors/post/Heilman-deal-appears-to-end-pursuit-of-Peavy-for?urn=mlb,137550

"We've had no talks about Jake Peavy since they were well-documented during the winter meetings," assistant general manager Randy Bush said. "I don't anticipate anything happening."

Ok, so I'm officially ticked. Not only, have you traded away arguably our most reliable hitter from last season, traded away a lefty from our lefty sparse bullpen, manged to hang on to Rich "out of options and out of baseball" Hill, and traded away our best extra pieces, but now you're once again killing the Peavy trade possibility.

Maybe Jim Hendry is just a baseball genius and I just don't get it. Do we have a better team than last year? I seriously doubt it. Maybe after Milt plays more than a baker's dozen games in the OF I'll change my opinion, but for now I don't think so.

And a minute later, DeRosa is still not here. Hope that World Series ring looks good on him...

Know where your checks come from.

Ryan Dempster was recently criticized by the entire nation of Canada (or at least those not watching the hockey All-Star Game) recently when he revealed he would not pitch for Oh, Canada in the upcoming WBC. Here's the thing - I think it could be argued that pitchers run the highest risk of injury during the daily execution oft heir job. Yes position players could get hurt, but it seems that pitchers are more fragile than the average shortstop. Here's a thought -

Instead of adding 1,000 more pitches to an MLB'ers season, why not use minor league pitchers for the classic? AAA type guys who are not quite ready for prime time. It gives them the opportunity to try out at the big league level, on a world stage, and frankly, it gives the fans the offense they crave. Now, I'm not saying some college hurler should go up there and throw batting practice or anything. But your Kevin Harts and Angel Guzman types.

Just a thought. and a minute. A minute-thought.

What a shame

I realized recently that I snubbed Ronny. Once again, Ron Santo failed to get into the Hall of Fame, and I was completely remiss on reporting it, cuz it's a big deal. So allow me to update this entry with a backdated minute about Ron Santo and his quest for the hall.

HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!

You wanna make the hall? Stop making everyone listen to you day after day.

HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!

Ok...Sorry for the omission folks. There's a minute in the past...

Ricks is the picks...

So all I'm hearing over the past couple of days continues to be - "Hey, this Ricketts guy's gonna be a great owner..he's a great fan and we drink beer together all the time.." Ok, so not that last part, but from what these folks are saying, it seems like that line should be in there. Seriously. "He lived across the street from Wrigley", "He met his wife in the bleachers" - hmm, makes me wonder - bikini top? - "He's a big Cubs fan."

Folks, just because he's a Cubs fan, does not mean he's a bad business man. From what I hear, it's going to cost somewhere int he neighborhood of $250 million to fix up Wrigley so it's all pretty and ready to go. He's already spent $900 million on the team. So, where exactly do you think that money's going to come from? Nostalgia? No, it's going to come from several different places, to name a few possibilities: Higher ticket prices, lower payroll, naming rights. Those are just off the top of my head.

Now this isn't anything different that what any other owner would do. But, just because Ricketts used to sit in the bleachers, contrary to popular opinion, does not make him an automatic idiot. "But no, he wouldn't do that to us, the true fans." Yes he would, and probably will, because there are other fans out there with more money than you, so be sure to pay your cable bill, and keep calling WGN for those free tickets.

Tom - wanna win my love? Bring me Peavy on a platter. And some of those kindergarteners Hendry got for DeRosa better be in the package cuz otherwise that'd just piss me off...

I'm the winning bidder for this minute...

Bye Bye Fe-Pie

Finally, we no longer have to listen to Pie this and Pie that. Great defender yes, but hasta la pasta pookie. Maybe, MAYBE if he had more options, I could see holding on to him, but no ...buh bye. So long. Next goes Rich Hill, which is by the way, a sad story, but anyway...Finally, Ronny "Squeak" Cedeno.
And we get back Garrett Olson. Lefty, with a horrid ERA. Maybe LArry can straighten him out, or maybe he too will be flipped for Peavy.

Still waiting for a good reason why D-Ro was traded. Haven't gotten one yet...

Patiently waiting Jim...

For a minute

A coupe of signings...

Just a couple of short entries - 30 second each on a couple of interesting lifers jumping ship and moving to different teams -
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/01/brewers-nearing.html
This is actually a really good signing for the Brewers. It makes their bullpen suck less and I do not look forward to ninth innings vs the Boo-Hoo Crew. What I DO look forward to is innings 1-8. :D

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ge-lowesmoltz010809&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Somltz is moving on to the Red Sox. Smoltz has been with the Braves longer than Atlanta practically, but the Red Sox topped the Braves offer by "a couple of million". Seriously? You made 14 mil last year. I said it about Dempster before we resigned - what can you do with 5.5 that you can't with 3.5, when you made 14 mil the year before? it's a difference between 19.5 and 17.5.
Seriously Smoltz. You've got like fumes left in the gas tank, and you're going to piss off an entire city for 2 mil? A-hole.

Miiiiiill--toooooooooonnnn!

So it's official, the Cubs are getting a highly qualified DH. Wonderful. I find it really amazing that the number one concern I've heard expressed about this signing is his temper/personality. Don't get me wrong, if my parents named me after the Monopoly guy, I'd probably rather piss on you than look at you too.

Yes he's got good numbers. Yes he led the AL in OBP last year. Yes he'll wig out if anyone start Jaques Jonesing him. I'm totally not worried about that. Here's the little factoid I'm worried about.

He played 20 games in Right Field last year! 20 games. For the non-mathematically inclined, that's 12% of games last season. That would be 2/27ths of last season. And Wrigley Field is supposed to be one of the hardest RF's to play.

But hey. I'm sure it'll be fine. Who needs an actual right fielder who's a consistent left handed power bat (cough cough) Abreu (cough cough)...

But heck. What do I know? I was begging JH to sigh Barry Zito a couple years ago...

Welcome to Chicago Milt. Don't piss us off, or we'll never let you forget it...not even for a minute.

Something brewing....?

So it seems Mark DeRosa and Jason Marquis have left the building...I'd be remiss if I didn't express my opinion here. Aaron Miles is a bargain basement Mark DeRosa. Sadly asd in most things, you tend to get what you paid for. WEill Miles be a switch hitting DeRosa? No. He won't be bad, but he won't be DeRosa.

De-Ro is coming off a career year, and actually his numbers have only gotten better since getting here. But he is also in the lkast year of his contract, and Hendry would not be resigning him for more than he already signed for, so DeRosa was gone at the end of the year anyway. May as well get something for him now. Milers offers less field flexibility for more plate flexibility, which is where the Cubs failed 3 months ago.

Marquis was a good 5th starter. In many rotations he's a decent 3rd starter. So's Sean Marshall. We can totally live without him.

All of this though, just reeks of something bigger. Some maneuvering that will send 5 players to San Diego. Something like a Cendeno, Pie, two of the 3 prospects we just picked up and maybe a Rich Hill.

It's possbile. And it's also the only thing that will make this DeRosa crap not suck.

Following former team members in the offseason...

A scoop! Take THAT ESPN, Yahoo sports, Marty the stinking know-it-all who hangs out by the vending machines talking sports....I got it...you don't.

The complete text of Greg Maddux's retirement speech to be given tomorrow. That's right tomorrow. Don't ask how I got it. It involved bribes, a solid "second story man" and a drunken panda, but I done did got it.

And I'm gonna share it with you.

You ready? Here it is. Every eloquent word that will flow from the master's mouth in just a touch over 24 hours. I'm sure you can imagine how Grego will convey this monumental decision of his. Well, now you don't have to. Here it is.

"I've decided to retire. Thanks."

Boo-yah baby! You tell 'em Greg!

"Spin" of the day

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081206&content_id=3704406&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc&partnerId=rss_chc

Headline: Cubs freeze 33 percent of ticket prices

Umm, that means they're raising 67 percent of ticket prices. Oh and adding a new "price tier". So let's recap the price tiers:

Economy - We recognize that everyone in baseball has cheap prices every now and again, so we'll give you 3-5 games - but only when the temperature is below 50 degrees and it's so cold, your only possibility of relief is drinking yourself warm and numb.

Regular - This is our normal price structure. Yes, these games only happen before June and after August, but it's "Normal"

Premium - June - August, otherwise known as the only really great time to coem out and watch a game. There are more premium games, than normal games. Wouldn't that make this "normal" then?

New Tier - Also known as the "Second Mortgage Tier" - You didn't actually want to come see one of these games did you? No problem, just skip a car payment or two, and come on out to the old ballpark.

All White Sox games will be in this last tier BTW. Try and hide your surprise. For a minute at least...

History

So, I'm voting, lord knows why, for TYIB awards - it's actually more just an excuse to watch more Cubs highlight reels - and I come across Z's no hitter once more. And I'm watching it, and thinking about watching it live back then. And then I'm thinking about Kruk's comments about how Lou Piniella put a player before the team and let a player who was already hurt go out there repeatedly and let that player gets an accomplishment rather than putting the team first.

You know what? That no-hitter wasn't about Lou, and wasn't about the Cubs, and it wasn't about Zambrano. That no hitter, and every no hitter is about baseball. It's about the magic that happens just every so often and when it happens you have to respect it. You have to respect the game and it's moments. And then, you get to sit back and just say "Wow." THAT'S why we all watch the game. That's why it's so special. Every once in a while, we get to see history, and recognize it for what it is at that moment. Not a year later, not a decade later, but right here, right now, THIS is history. And that deserves respect.
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Screw John Kruk!