To hell with George Viking Fan getting all the fun of starting the threads.

No rooting interest for me here, I just want some good baseball.

Um, Mark Prior is gorgeous.

But you forgot to start the thread with the poll, Jim--who will win the series?

(Cubs in 7)

Cubs in 5.

Cubbies in...let's see, how many games can Prior and Wood start in a week's span without throwing their arms out? I'll take Cubs in 6.

Okay, I'll be first to predict this -- Fish in six

Woops, sorry about the post above that was credited to Jim @ Outsports. I was over at his house watching the ballgame/football game last night and I forgot to change the log-in thing.

MY prediction is Cubs in 7.

Hmmm...good start for the Cubs, 3-0 in the first.

Long way to go, obviously.

Going out on a limb....Marlins in 7. Let the Cubs be "loveable losers" yet again.

~Adam

Erm, 5-4, Fish. Long way to go etc.

Pudge does it again... 3 run homer!

And why is Steve Lyons continuing to make an issue of Manny Ramirez admiring his home run last night? When Alou hit his homer tonight Lyons is going on... Look, Alou isn't showboating like Manny! But they're two different things. Manny had been a stiff the whole series, was being maligned... but then hits the game-winning shot, proving his doubters wrong. Good for him!

(Aside: I actually like Steve Lyons, I don't know why.)

My goodness... as I type this the Cubs hit 2 more home runs! What a wild game!

Um, is this a playoff game or the Home Run derby?

I think the magic carpet ride ends for the Cubs in this series. Marlins in six.

If the first four innings of Game One are any indication, this should be one hell of an exciting series....yeah, I know Cub fans, neither Prior nor Wood are starting tonight which is undoubtedly contributing to the Marlins offensive outburst but time will tell if ANY of the Chicago starters can shut down this Florida lineup completely after the way they having been hitting since mid-September....I think it will be a Marlins-Yankees World Series as the 85 and 95 year heartbreak for Red Sox and Cubs fans, respectively, goes on another year.

Btw, Al Leiter may be a decent pitcher (and not bad on the eyes either) but he needs to polish his broadcasting skills up quite a bit if he expects to have a full-time career as an analyst after his playing days are over.

[ October 07, 2003, 06:53 PM: Message edited by: gamecock ]

*doin the Sammy hop*

we're goin extra innings!!!!!!

If you figure that the Marlins are going to have trouble against Wood and Prior, this is really a game they have to win in order to increase their chances of winning the series. But they've allowed the Cubs to tie the game twice now.

Well Marlins take game 1 9-8, the Cubs better start winning some of these Zambrano/Clement starts cause Wood and Prior can't take em all the way.....

What a game! That Sammy Sosa made me cheer out loud--I love that man! Carlos Zambrano is a big old cutie but he needs to calm down! He two-hit the Marlins earlier in the season. Prior's ice will be exactly what the Cubs need to get back into it--and divert Chicagoans' attention from the increasingly stinking city (no trash pickups for big apartment buildings, skyscrapers, etc.)!

Cubs NEED a big performance from Prior tomorrow night, or else they're in some trouble. I'm not sure the Cubs can come back if they have to go to Florida down 2-0. Yes, you can throw out the records, but, including the San Francisco series, the Marlins are 18-3 in their last 21 home games, and went 30-9 at home after the All Star Break.

Anybody know if the Cubs plan to use Wood on Friday night on three days rest, or is the plan to use Clement Friday, Wood Saturday, back to Zambrano on Sunday?

Zambrano sucks-I would have put Clement in or even Prior on fewer day's rest!

Go Cubs!

Pitching Prior on short rest (or in relief) would be nuts. Nevertheless, Baker won't do it.

Fine rant against the All-Cinderella NLCS here...

"Jesus. You have got to be kidding me. I waited all year for this? I watched every game I available, poured over websites daily, dumped stats into Excel, actually computed Pythagorean records, and all for this? I spend six months priming myself for a truly magnificent showdown of 100+ win titans, Burly Barry’s Bat vs. St. Smoltz’ Slider in a beat down, drag out to end the ages, and I get this; an 88-win champion of the weakest division in baseball vs. a 91-win also-ran who finished ten games out?

That is just pathetic..."

[ October 08, 2003, 07:50 AM: Message edited by: Bill W ]

I read that link and laughed on more than one occasion. I don't know if this is just some schmuck-blogger (and ALL bloggers are worthless shit, IMHO), but his comparison on the second basemen is hilarious;

"2B: Mark Grudzielanek vs. Luis Castillo: As a weak-hitting, no-power ladybug who occasionally walks and gets on base and can run fast once he’s there, Luis Castillo is preferable, as Mark Grudzielanek is a weak-hitting, no-power ladybug who doesn’t walk or get on base and can’t run for shit. Neither player is notably interesting as a defender, either. Prediction: Grudzielanek uses the excess consonants in his name to confuse Braden Looper at least once and hit a meaningful late-game homerun. Because actual talent doesn’t really matter in these situations and God hates me."

ROTFLMAO.

I agree--it happens, BillW...
In fact I would go as far as saying that pitching Prior (on short rest) would jeopardize the entire series.

I heard a funny comment yesterday. It's a little tacky, but what the hell? One of the sportscasters said that Jack McKeon (of the Marlins) knows the significance of the Cubs World Series drought more than anyone considering that he was probably alive the last time they won.

[ October 08, 2003, 07:58 AM: Message edited by: Cattledog ]

*Sammy hops* Well any doubt that the Cubs would come to play tonight have been erased. I just ask for one thing: something decent outta Clement or Zambrano. Any worse, I'd just as soon want Estes in the rotation

*shudder*

Perhaps that extra bounce in Sammy's hop is due to cork insoles.

I think Alex Gonzalez is using Sammy's corked bats. He's hitting them out to left, to right, and to straight away center. You go, cutie!

Great win for the Cubs tonight. Mark Prior, wow.

I wish the series format was like the old way: 2-2-1-1-1 (home and away) instead of the current 2-3-2. Not that Angels had a problem with that last year......

Yes it was a good win for the Cubs (and Red Sox too), but what I don't understand is why Dusty would let Prior throw 116 pitches, when the game was 11-0 in the 5th?
He should have removed him after 5 with a much lower pitch count, so he could have more rest for a more pivotal game 6 when he pitches again.

Josh

FISH in six.

Because he's a natural Pitcher Abuser. *ssshh, don't tell his acolytes*

I had the same thought about Prior pitching too long into last night's game myself. The announcers on TV kept yapping about he's used to it, his last three starts he pitched over 130 each time, other managers just automatically take the pitcher out when he hits 100. I'm certainly not a manager, but as vital as Prior (and Wood) are to the success of the Cubs, I'd have been very tempted to err on the side of caution. Since every arm is different, usually it's only when somebody goes too far that anybody knows about it, and by then it's either too late or the player faces a lengthy rehab. It was great to see the Cubs win game 2, but they still need three more wins to get to the World Series.

As Aaron Gleeman writes, "Already over 100 pitches in a 12-2 game, Dusty Baker felt it necessary to make his 23 year old ace throw even more pitches... if [Prior's] arm becomes completely detached from his body on a pitch at some point during the next couple years or simply explodes, no one should be surprised. Well, no one except for Dusty Baker, of course."

Pitcher in early 20s + relentlessly heavy workload = disaster.

*RANT* *FOAM AT THE MOUTH* *ETC*

Wood versus Redman starting in just a while. Let's go Cubs!

Wonder why Baker isn't starting the head case Estes in any of these playoff games? (just kidding)

heck with neither Clement or Zambrano lighing it up, it almost might be worth it for the headcase to go out one of those games ... he did have a good outing his last game of the season.

And Randall Simon, just clubbed that pitch like a Milwaukee sasuage .... a lot of people wondered about the Cubs "pennant push" (including me) but Lofton, Ramirez, Goodwin (who tripled before the Simon HR), and Simon have all came to play since their acquisition.

[ October 10, 2003, 08:10 PM: Message edited by: Breesboy ]

OK, I now admit it: The Cubs are God's chosen team this year. How else can one explain everything going their way?

Mark my word: The Cubs are going to the Series and will win it. There can be NO other outcome. frown

Which of the seals does this represent?

Baker is happy to put his pitchers' health up against any manager's in baseball. He doesn't pitch them on three-days rest, but he also doesn't want them to feel like they're on a leash. If Prior had given any inkling that he thought he was wearing even a little, I'm sure Dusty would have replaced him. But why take the chance that the Marlins, capable of scoring anywhere, might put up a 5-spot in the 7th? No lead is safe at Wrigley when the wind's blowing out. McKeon certainly wasn't taking out his regulars.

Give the guy a break! He's in two NLCS's in a row - one with the freaking Cubbies! He's gotta be doing something right!

Sigh.

As to last night's game, it was remarkable. I thought a key moment was in the bottom of the fifth. Wood had just retired 9 in a row, all on grounders or strikeouts. He had Redman down 0-2, and Redman was one of the worst hitting pitchers in baseball this year. But Redman somehow drew a walk, and then Kerry fell apart, giving up a single to Pierre & a walk to Castillo. Yes, he ended up striking out Pudge, but I think that ended up hurting him in the 7th, when he gave up those two runs.

Baker's bench was the difference last night. He brought in Simon in the seventh - who then hit a two-run homer in the eighth, after the pinch-hitter Goodwin hit a triple (if you call a triple and there's no one around to hear it, do you still get credit?). Martinez made a nice play at second that I don't think Grudz would have made. Then of course, the dude who hadn't even played in the postseason yet, our Friend Glanville, gets the key hit of the series.

My love for Borowski deepened last night. I thought the game was over in the 9th when Pierre reached on that bunt single. I'm just glad that Pierre stole third AFTER Lee flied out. Pierre on third and one out is NOT my idea of a fun situation for the Cubs. Joe is so freaking cute. He doesn't look it on the mound, but if you see an interview with him capless and smiling, and he's adorable.

The Cubs' defense was exposed a bit yesterday, particularly in the bottom of the 11th. Bako's inability to catch Strike 3 on Castillo could have been disasterous. Remlinger then bobbled Pudge's comebacker, and thus had no chance at Luis at 2nd (not that it would have been a smart move anyway). Then Ramirez gets that funky hop (not his fault) and lucks out when Castillo broke for third. I'm not an expert, but it seemed to me that Castillo probably made the right move - if Ramirez had fielded the ball cleanly, he wasn't going to try to tag out Luis - he was just going to throw out Lee. If the throw was bad, then Castillo would have scored or at LEAST been on third, which you generally want to be given Remlinger's earlier wild pitch.

Tonight's game will be fun. Willis obviously has the ability to embarrass the Cubs. The Cubbies desperately will want to protect Zambrano from being in a must-win situation on Sunday. Perversely, I think a lot of Chicago fans will want there to be a Game 6, with Prior on the mound. Not so many are rooting for a Game 7, obviously. And nobody wants them to come back down 3-2 ... just too scary. Still, Wood in Chicago on Wednesday would be among the most remarkable stories in recent baseball history.

And I can't BELIEVE somebody actually wanted to see the Braves in the NLCS. Holy yawn, batman. Nobody in ATLANTA really even wanted that. I admit that a Giant/Cubs series would have been awesome, what with Dusty & Barry. But frankly, the Braves beating the Cubs would have guaranteed that I wouldn't watch any of the NLCS. I'm sorry, but Barry v. Smoltz is ALL that series would have had going for it. Give me Pedro v. Sammy next week.

Go Cubs!! Go Red Sox!!!

I think the next two games are both must-wins for the Marlins. It's going to be very difficult if they need to win two games going back to Chicago. What are the odds that they can beat both Prior and Wood?

Whew! After the serious drama queen shit in the NY vs Boston game, this is going to be like another rerun of the Love Boat.

Go Cubs! wink

Does Matt Clement seriously think that the ridiculous BUSH on his chin is attractive in any way? :confused: eek!

A grand slam in the top of the first. What's next? Jeesh! The Spawns of Satan are having everything going their way. And all those Cubs fans--they're everywhere!!! :mad:

They're like the mass infestation of these annoying Asian ladybugs we've got here. They're all over the place and they're driving me friggin' nuts!!! :mad: eek!


Edited to update: Now it's 6 to nothin'! Oh! The humanity of it all! I can't take this. I'm going out for a drink--no, check that. I need some Oxycontin! Where the hell is Limbaugh when I need him?!?

[ October 11, 2003, 05:55 PM: Message edited by: MIB ]

Go Cubbies!

Bear Cub

That's either an afro or a Chia pet!

It's a ridiculous look no matter what! He seriously needs the Fab 5!

This is probably in the wrong thread but are there any Chicagoans out there that can tell me of a gay sports bar to watch the Cubs game tonight. I am in Chicago this weekend for the Marathon and thought some Cub fans might give me some recommendations or even meet up.

He's sort of too tall and gawky to pull it off, but I like that the Cubs have four very different and interesting young starters (along with Estes). Zambrano, however, is proving himself to be a liability despite his considerable talent.

History postponed. The Marlins stay alive. Now they just have to beat Prior and Wood.

I wouldn't mind beating Prior and Wood... wink

This could be one of the most exciting days in recent Chicago history. Being from there and having lived a block from Wrigley field for four years, I can't begin to tell you the level of excitment brewing around the Windy City as I write...my family has season tickets and are probably already on their way to the park...Many have left work to get their game parties going...Today the Cubs can give us all something to cheer about whether we're fans or not..

Erm, as a neutral in this one, I'd kind of like the Cubs to choke tonight--say, losing in the top of the 9th--just to see the city have a coronary.

But I suspect they'll be tipping over cars with people in them and lighting things on fire in Chicago tonight.