With the addition of this thread 25 teams remain threadless.....

for once the Cubs seemed to make all the right moves in the offseason, with Maddux being the coup d'grace (at least he's not in Yankee Pinstripes). Mercker and Hawkins should be big help in the pen.

The offensive side of the ball didn't seem to make too much huge strides altho I'd take Lee over Choi in a heartbeat. And if Patterson doesn't regress coming back from his injury then I think we'll be just alright.


[Thread title modified for case. - Outsports moderator]

[ October 03, 2004, 07:02 AM: Message edited by: DeepRivers ]

Well, on to important news re: the Cubs The Bartman Ball will soon be no more:

[ February 25, 2004, 11:58 PM: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]

Well, that's why I picked the Cubbies to win it all this year.

Oh yeah, and guys named Wood, Prior, Maddux, etc.

"Healing process"?! Oh, puh-leeze! Are there still Cubs fans who really think their team lost the NLCS last year solely because of Steve Bartman's dumb mistake? And this goat thing too! I thought the Red Sox fans had their crazy superstitions about 'curses', but I see they have lots of company in Chicago!

This 'ceremony' at the restaurant with the infamous ball sounds just a tad ridiculous to me. Hasn't Bartman been vilified and humiliated enough already? However, I suppose he could bring some closure to this once and for all by accepting the invitation to this bizarre event. I hope he is still welcome at Wrigley Field this year.

If holding this "ceremony" isn't bizarre enough for you, I read that it's being televised live on MSNBC. CNN and ESPN may show it as well.

Marc, I don't the people behind it are all that serious about it. It's a publicity stunt for the restaurant and from what I've read of it, there's almost an undercurrent of mockery towards people who really DO believe that doing this will excise The Curse of The Goat.

Now that's real, said JA, whose team labored under The Indian Burial Ground Curse until 2002.

Look, you people just may not realize how obsessed Chicago Cubs fans are! They had to do this to exorcise the new curse Goatboy, aka Bartman, brought down upon Wrigley.

I'm just glad that the Cubs have such a good pitching staff that Dusty--who is best as a motivator of difficult players, but not as a tactical manager--can't screw things up. Prior's heel is messed up, but he should be fine. With Maddux. Wood, and Zambrano winning 12-13 games, they should take the division (from my Cards).

Now, will we ever find out if Sammy Sosa (aka the Dominican Lebron) was a doper, uh, I mean, a steroid afficionado, too?

Well, to the most die-harders are ducking from the falling sky. Who knows how long Prior's out, the Cubs are hovering around .500, and darn it we're losing to Cincy at home!

Between Dusty Baker and Kerry Wood, the Cubs are quite the drama queens this season.

Come on Cubs fans, lets get talking about our favorite team! Even though they aren't winning as many games I'd like, you've got to hand it to the players that have had to take over for all the ingured players. Let's go Cubbies!!!!

Well, Holle, say something! Start the fat burning!

Personally, after I heard some bozos on 670 AM talking about trading that cutie Corey Patterson, I really got mad. This is one of the cutest Cubs teams in many years, and if they trade away one of the cutest, then I'll have to root even more strongly against them. There really is a fine line between my supporting them and outright denouncing them, as I used to. Dusty, Corey, Sammy, Aramis, Moises, LaTroy, Prior, Wood--that's the line; break it, Cubs, and I hope they keep on losing--and losing badly!

Someone else called in to suggest trading the oft-injured Kerry Wood. I guess it doesn't matter that Wood probably has the best raw talent and strongest arm of anyone on their staff, but I could see the Cubs making this kind of stupid move--though I doubt they'll go so far. They're not the Red Sox....

[ May 22, 2004, 07:22 PM: Message edited by: fantomas ]

Fanthomas, I agree that the 2004 Cubs are the cutest by far! I listed 8 Cubs out of ten ball players as the "hottest" players in the Hot Jock message room. wink

Is 670AM The Score? I don't know if you live in Chicago area, but that station always has idiots on the air (my husband listens to that station). I would be very upset if they decided to trade Corey or Wood. I think they are both important to the sucsess of the team. I am, however, wavering about Grudzielanek (sp?). IMO, I would be just as happy with Walker as the starter at second. I also agree, that the Cubs have a bad record of trading rising stars. Just look at Maddux as an example.

BTW, I met Corey Patterson and he is absoultely adorable in person! And Alex Gonzalez...whew...damn!

Or the White Sox.

Go Cubbies! We just kind of have to weather this storm till Wood and Prior comesback.

What a job Glendon Rusch has done. He's 2-0 with an E.R.A in the 3's. And Farnsworth is back to pitching well. I would skip Mitre's next start since we have 2 off days coming up.

Granted this is the Cubs and I'm used to them losing but with their team batting average being so high and their e.r.a being so low they should be better than 6 above 500.

Bujeff23, I agree with you about the number of games the Cubs have won (or lost if you are a pessimitic Cubs fan like me). I don't understand why we have an issue playing teams that are in last place and, like, 8 games back! We should have no problems sweeping teams like the Giants and D-Backs. I am sooooo scared about the Cubs facing the Astros. Something tells me that it will be a long time to recover from those series. I hate to say it, but the way the Astros are playing, we can only hope for a Wild Card spot in the playoffs.

As for Mitre is concerned, I have not been too happy with his performace. When Wood comes back, I'd rather see Rousch in Prior's spot.

well Houston is in a slump too but yeah we have a ton of games the next month vs Astros and Cards. And if we did get the wild card only, well their track record is pretty good the last few years.

The key is obviously to keep winning and not scoreboard watch at what the other teams are doing yet but I always look to see if the Astros or Cards or Reds win or not. NL Central is suprisingly competitive so far although I do see Pitt, Cincy, and Milwaukee eventually fading.

As long as the Cubs can keep above water right now (with Wood, Prior, and Sammy on the shelf), it'll just make it all better in the end. My Card fan friends here were saying sweep when they found out that Mitre and Rusch were scheduled to pitch in the series.

First of all, you have to believe in supernaturals especially with the Cubbies:

Goats being banned from the World Series; or
Black Cats running on the field; or blowing a series lead with a simple catch in San Diego; or
a Dorky Fan catching a foul ball in the 8th inning when your team has a 3 run advantage; or
your "Studmuffin" shortstop can't field a simple
grounder; or your "Superstuds" pitchers can't win the 6th or 7th game of the series.

However, we have the "South Side Trash" to look forward on Gay Pride Weekend.

Northsiders versus Southsiders

Excorsizing some Busch demons?

A come from behind late inning win to start the series off. The Cards tried to create some space with their hot streak, but the Cubs have answered in kind.

This Cubs/Cardinals game is great..........but this color commentator is driving me NUTS. Did they pick him up on an Arkansas farm!? My God, how does someone who can't even speak with correct grammar get a job for a national television company commentating?!

Messrs. Stone and Carey on WGN are the ONLY way to go! Can WGN radio be picked up online and then substituted for yokels like this one when "outsiders" televise the Cubs? Even though it's a clear channel station, it can only reach so far. O to be atop the Sierra with a portable tube, powerful radio and hot date on a night like this!

As much as I admire Dusty Baker from his SF Giants days, why on earth is he platooning hot bat Todd Walker with the incredibly inconsistent and undependable Mark Grudzielanek?

I now have to reserve Todd Walker in my fantasy team until Dusty comes to his senses! frown

The NL Central has become the most competitive in the league, with my Cardinals leading the pack and the Cubbies trying to hang on.

I'm sort of surprised because I'd originally thought the Cubs definitely had the stronger roster, but with Rolen turning in the best season of his career, Pujols returning to form, the other Cardinals manufacturing runs, and consistency from most of the staff, they've been able to outpace the Cubs. Were Wood not injured, though, and had Sosa not sneezed his back out (LOL), the Cubs' and Cardinals' positions might be reversed. I'm back on the East Coast now, so I no longer get to hear that wacky radio chatter about the Cubs. Holle, where did you get to meet Corey?

I do love watching Mark Prior pitch--Wood has more flash, but Prior is like Mark Mulder, a solidly outstanding hurler. I can see Seaver-type numbers from him if he can stay healthy.

Yeah -- it's really fun to follow -- every week it seems a different team is going to make a move. I wouldn't count the Astros out too, with their pitching. It'll be close up to the wire into late September.

It's broomilicious .... Todd lives up to the name and Walkers off with the bases loaded, fighting back from an 0-2 count. Rusch piched an incredible game and deserved that win ... given all the injuries this year 46-35 at the halfway point is just fine with me.

Too bad that broom didn't reach into that little corner of the world called Milwaukee. One thing I noticed about watching the game earlier today was that the Cubs' fans seemed to "outnumber and outvoice"* the Brewers' fans on their home turf. I didn't know the North Side stretched so far!
_____
*Pace, FT, Master of Syntax and Grammar! wink

Yeah, we ran into that buzzsaw called Ben Sheets, who seems to be killing enough streak, and then Kolb (the #2 closer in the NL, who is also originally from my corner of IL) stopped em. The Brewers are the team in the division right now that scare me, even more than the Cards (never thought I'd hear myself saying that).

Well, so much for that Brewer scare in the last post. Anyways today Maddux got 300 in teh 8-4 win over SF.

A first in 15 years: the Cubs moved 20 over .500 with tonight's win in New York "sixth" starter Glendon Rusch held his former team at bay, the last time they were at this spot: then end of the '89 season.

After yesterday's loss, no Cubbies in the Wild Card race, guess I'll have to focus all my energies on rooting for whoever plays the Cards.