Friday – 1:20 p.m. Comcast SportsNet – Carlos Zambrano vs. Adam Wainwright
Saturday – 2:55 p.m. FOX – Theodore Roosevelt Lilly vs. Joel Piniero
Sunday – 1:20 p.m. Channel 9 – Ryan Dempster vs. Braden Looper
Friday – 1:20 p.m. Comcast SportsNet – Carlos Zambrano vs. Adam Wainwright
Saturday – 2:55 p.m. FOX – Theodore Roosevelt Lilly vs. Joel Piniero
Sunday – 1:20 p.m. Channel 9 – Ryan Dempster vs. Braden Looper
September 19, 2008 at 10:45 am
I see you guys were discussing the 7th inning stretch bullshit as well as the “Cubbies” thing. I hate both as well. Having people who don’t know shit about baseball singing the stretch is a shame.
I would prefer any of the announcers like Pat Hughes, Ron Santo, Len Kasper or Bob Brenly sing it. If not, then play an old tape of Harry singing it. Enough of the guest conductor crap.
September 19, 2008 at 11:21 am
“Enough of the guest conductor crap.”
Ahmen, ahmen, ahmen!!!!!!!! Play the old Harry Cary tapes!
Also, as Nemo said in the other thread, there is no reason not to substitute Cu-ubs, for Cu-bies in Take Me Out to the Ballgame. I wonder how they sang it in the 60’s and 70’s (I’m assuming this garbage started in the 80’s). Real Cub fans ought to drown out the sheepie when they’re at Wrigley (CU-UBS!!!).
It sickens me to see so many “fans” at Wrigley wearing, “We Love Our Cubbies” tee shirts, or “Cubbies Rock” or some such thing. Most of em look clueless. Like a kid with a new toy, they come to Wrigley to root for the Cubbies until something else comes along to grab their attention. I seriously doubt any of them would know Ernie Banks if he came up to them and said hi. IMO they’re the ones that encouraged this “Cubbie” crap, although Al Yellon deserves a lot of blame also. He’s got a whole freakin website dedicated to his “Cubbies.” Barf!!!!!
The only announcer I enjoy in that group is Pat Hughes. He is a true professional. Kasper is too cuddly, Brenly is too agreeable, and Santo is just plain wrong for that booth! Bless his heart, I love the guy, but get him off the air! I don’t want a guy acting like a clueless fan, “Oh, boy” “Oh, sheesh” “Oh No” “Boy oh Boy,” I want someone with knowledge of the game to tell us what’s going on out there, not breaking down like a 12 year old girl. Could you imagine him as a manager, “Oh, boy, oh shoot, what are we going to do now!!!!!”
Yes, I know, everybody says, “well Ron has been through a lot with his diabetes and such, so we can’t take him out of the booth now,” or “Santo has been the most loyal Cub fan, he deserves to be on the broadcasts.” Well, “most loyal Cub fan” goes to Ernie Banks hands down, and as far as his health problems go, I don’t see letting him stay in the booth is helping that. My suggestion, let him do the pre-game and post-game interviews. Let him be the one who sets up the game, but get someone else to do the color with Pat.
September 19, 2008 at 11:22 am
I just wish they would stop this stupid shit. I didn’t like it when Harry Carey did it (I actually didn’t care for him….period), but this whole thing has become a retarded marketing tool.
September 19, 2008 at 11:58 am
“it’s great to be here at Wrigley Stadium”…
I’m all for cancelling the ‘singing’, too…regardless all idiots and non-fans should be banned from participating in anything televised.
or, just replay the lee elia rant during the 7th inning stretch.
September 19, 2008 at 12:14 pm
…is anybody upset that the Astros have now lost 5 in a row?
I really thought they were poised for the wild card.
Maybe Ned Yost would be a good fit with the Houston owner….
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
September 19, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Mr. Genrebuster,
I thought we were going to the World Series in 1969. Life can be funny that way.
Also, it’s not nice to make fun of people who are unemployed, even if they have a lot of money.
BOO BOO BOO BOO BOO
September 19, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Why does it seem like our pitchers have rough first innings all the time? Are they not getting warmed up or focused enough. It happened yesterday. It’s happened today. It happened a lot during the losing streak. WTF?
September 19, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Time to get out the cortisone shot.
September 19, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Or go back to Miller Park.
September 19, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I had the same thought. Zambrano’s cortisone shot might be wearing off.
September 19, 2008 at 2:48 pm
No more cortisone…if he is injured shut him down until he heals. Otherwise he’ll end up like “Marky Towel” or Kingsford.
I think this team is having trouble staying focused (?). I also think Larry Rothschild could be easily replaced.
September 19, 2008 at 2:49 pm
9 to 0
Well, so much for our so-called Ace being back. There’s obviously something wrong with this guy physically. The Cub brass may be just rolling the dice with him hoping he lasts through Oct. and then worry about his future health later.
If so, that is risky business, cf. Mark Prior.
September 19, 2008 at 2:51 pm
For those that may have missed an earlier post, I have experienced first-hand the “miracle of cortisone”. IT DOES NOT LAST. It is not the answer to a chronic problem.
September 19, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Oh, one other little tidbit:
Look how many hits the Cubs have so far…2!
This has become a pattern, and they better get out of it or it will be one and done in the playoffs.
September 19, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Check out Guzman’s era: 9.53!
That ought to give the kid a big boost of confidence. Lou’s letting him be the sacrificial lamb.
September 19, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Way to go Lou!
Putting in a kid to take this kind of beating when you should have used Howry or Cotts. Who cares about their psyche, but we are counting on Guzman for better things.
It is times like these that make me think the game as passed Piniella by.
September 19, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I’ve never had a cortisone shot, but I’ve known people who have had. They had to wait several months between shots; like 6 months. The time may vary based upon dose or body part, but I don’t think those shots can be administered one right after the other wears off. If Zambrano can’t function I also think it is better to start somebody else.
I don’t see any excuses for losing deliberately…the fans are paying to see competition (or at least some are). So, I wish the Cubs would ice the division now and do it as much as possible by the grace of their own wins; not another team’s losses.
September 19, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Well, it does look like we will drop this one, but at least we are making a game of it. 12-6 now after a few clutch hits.
September 19, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Hey, at least the fellas put up a fight, good for them.
September 19, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Don’t you worry dudes. My horses will deal with the Brewers tonight. And my hitters won’t clog the bases because OBP is overrated. Its all about batting average, dude. Damn, I need Neifi on my team so he can bunt runners over in the bottom of the 9th with two outs. They’ll never see that coming. I’ll have Corey leading off as usual, and Paul Bako behind the plate. Gotta go, I’m out of toothpicks again.
September 19, 2008 at 5:16 pm
” My horses will deal with the Brewers tonight.”
Uh, excuse me, Dusty, what horses?
September 19, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Why KKKKorey Patterson and Paul Bako and Andrew Phillips and (oh, if we could only get Neifi, dude).
September 19, 2008 at 5:52 pm
I think I just had an acid flashback!
September 19, 2008 at 6:38 pm
There are more than a few reasons why Lou is 100 times the manager Dusty will ever be. One thing is that Lou has standards and a sense of urgency. Lou actually gets pissed off after most losses and doesn’t shrug his fucking shoulders like, “Whatever, dude.”
Also, I think this team was better prepared out of spring training than any DustFuck’s teams. Every team under the Baker era got off to a poor start. That seems to indicate that he was working them hard enough.
You notice the Reds have been winning lately. That’s because they weren’t pushed as hard early, but the Reds are also more than 20 games back now.
Also, today, when Lou came to get Zambrano, and Zambrano wanted to be anywhere but on that mound and tried to walk off, Lou pointed at the mound like, “Get your ass back up there.” I thought that was one of the subtle positives.
September 19, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Don’t forget guys. The Carlos Zambrano no-hitter is going to be on WGN tonight at 10 p.m. central time. If you guys can’t get to a TV, it is on the radio at 9 p.m. on WGN Radio 720.
September 19, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Well, it’s 8-0. My horses are getting it done dude. Enjoy your magic number of 1. 🙂
September 19, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Dusty, you and your horses are making me roll over…stop it.
BOO BOO BOO
September 19, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Dusty, the way the Brewers are playing I expect you to be managing there soon.
September 20, 2008 at 1:04 am
LOL, yeah that was me again. I love the way that I can just change my name on this site like that. I was Geovanny Soto and Dusty Baker. Except being Dusty Baker made me BARF pathetically. Anyway good win for the Reds tonight and all we have to do is beat the birds later today and the division is ours. Then it don’t matter if we win or lose toward the end of the month. Just like today when Lou gave the new guys playing time in the blowout situation. Well it ended up being less of a blowout thank heavens.
September 20, 2008 at 1:52 am
I’ve never seen a pitcher reach the top of the mountain and fall to the depths of hell in five days before.
Big Z’s grandmother passed away early this week, and he has been flying back and forth to Venezuala between starts. Under the circumstances, Piniella should have skipped his start, but Zambrano insisted on pitching on Friday.
September 20, 2008 at 11:27 am
armycubsfan, This is just to help polish the act. Don’t mistake me for Mitch Cumstein (sp). Soto’s first name only has one ‘n’.
September 20, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I was at Thursday and Friday’s games and wow I definitely know what the term sheeple means now. It was pretty pathetic that half of the people had no clue that a baseball game was even going on. They were definitely there for the Wrigley ho’s and beer. Now don’t get me wrong watching Thursday’s game was definitely a highlight, but what was so funny was all the sheeple running back to their seats from the concourse when Soto hit that home run. What was even more priceless than that was the Brewers fans that had been talking crap all game just sitting there with the dumbfounded looks on their face. Definitely was a great time for a TRUE Cub fan but definitely understand the whole sheeple concept now.
I won’t even discuss the Cards game because that was a joke from the beginning. Zambrano didn’t look focused from the beginning and you knew it was going to be a short game for him after the Kennedy grand slam. Get him a shrink and not worry about the shoulder. I truly believe the only thing wrong with him is between his ears.
September 20, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Hello refugees,
I’ve been reading the posts on this site and the old FDB site since last season, but I never got around to contributing myself until now. While I don’t pretend to have the baseball savvy that some of you have, I’m definitely a long-suffering Cubs fan ever since I moved to Chi town as a kid in ’84…and learned my first painful lesson that the Cubs are capable of blowing any kind of lead at any time. Case in point: as I began to write this, the Retardinals were down 5-0 and now it’s 5-4. And since I’m living/working in Germany for a few years, it looks like it’s gonna be a late night watching this one. Anyway, love your site. Took one look at some of the other blogs (i.e., BCB) and threw up. Tone of this one is perfect…sarcastic pessimism but still hopeful!
September 20, 2008 at 4:58 pm
jesus christ the Cubs are in a hurry to get this over with. Got news for ya-you only have a one run lead. you might want to try NOT SWINGING AT EVERY SINGLE PITCH in the 8th!
September 20, 2008 at 5:12 pm
hang on, here comes Kingsford
September 20, 2008 at 5:25 pm
DIVISION CHAMPIONS!! WORLD SERIES OR BUST!!
GO CUBS GO!!
September 20, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Time to turn off the TV. Cubs win (which is good) I really don’t want to listen to that beast Jeannie Zalasko (which is BAD).
September 20, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Division Champs for second year in a row! Good job!
Get a couple of wins in these last 8 games and they will wrap up home field throughout NL playoffs.
Next:
Win round one – I’m guessing it will be the Phillies.
Next:
Win Pennant – I’m guessing it will be the Dodgers.
Next:
Win World Series – I’m guessing it will be the Angels.
11 Wins then we can tear down every watering hole in the nation!!
September 20, 2008 at 9:00 pm
our magic number is 11
is it just me did Josh Lewin call that game today like his still bitter at the franchise for letting him go after one season
September 20, 2008 at 10:15 pm
robert,
I think you are mistaken Josh Lewin for Thom Brennaman.
The division is wrapped up but business is not finished. The magic number is two for home field advantage from those fucking Mets. Then obviously the 11 wins in the post season.
All of us here and other REAL fans do not care about the division or the pennant. Anything short of holding a world championship trophy at the end of October is a dissapointment.
September 20, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Making the playoffs two year in a row is no small accomplishment for this franchise. I remember after the 2003 collapse, my wife (only in her second season as a Cub fan) says “with Wood, Prior, and Zambrano, they’ll be back next year.” I told her, “you don’t understand, the Cubs don’t get a second shot at these things. You NEVER know when they’ll be in the playoffs again.” Well, they finally fucking got a second shot. This is good. This will continue the trend to toward higher expectations. I want all Cubs fans to be upset EVERY TIME they miss the playoffs. Expect to win.
I know we don’t need 100 wins, and I don’t want to play guys who need a rest, but I do fucking want 100 wins. Back to back playoffs, a no-hitter, and 100 wins would be a nice trend heading into the playoffs-the trend of accomplishing many things that have not been accomplished in a long time. It could have a nice psychological boost to the team toward the idea that naturally, the World Series is next. I certainly blame poor team psychology for the meltdown in 2004-brought on by Witch Doctor Dustfuck, of course.
It is encouraging that this is the first Cub playoff team that I remember that was favored the whole year and actually won.
anyhow, good day today, and nice to not have to stress for 10 days or so.
Then, it will be time to win 11 more games. Nothing less than 11 guys.
September 20, 2008 at 11:47 pm
oh, and welcome navycubsfan!
September 21, 2008 at 3:04 am
Marty Brennaman can kiss my ass downtown, and PRINT IT!
September 21, 2008 at 1:23 pm
The Bears need a new quarterback, offensive coordinator, and head coach!
September 21, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Throw in new ownership, too, Nemo. The McCaskeys are the NFLs answer to the Tribune Co.
September 21, 2008 at 3:35 pm
oh, and they need a defense for the 4th quarter. and they need someone smart enough not to draw a personal foul when the other team is about to punt out of their own end zone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FUCK THE BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 21, 2008 at 3:39 pm
know what? do you think tampa will cut Brian Griese for taking too much credit for the comeback? I’d rather have that than a loss.
September 21, 2008 at 4:03 pm
fuck this loss. charles tillman should know better not to do dumb shit. he is a veteran and too act like a dumbass in that situation is unacceptable. lovie smith is a dumbass and needs to be fired. its fucking sad to lose a game to a shit qb like griese.
September 21, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Sad, but with this organization, I expected it.
And yes, Lovie Smith IS A FUCKING IDIOT!!!!!!
September 21, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Maybe after the baseball season ends we should start up “FireLovieSmith.com”.
September 21, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Is that eddie vedder cubs song one of the worst most depressing songs that you ever heard? Why are we having this garbage shoved down our throats? It sucks just like Pearl Jam.
September 21, 2008 at 4:39 pm
When I first heard that Eddie Vedder song, I was about to break down. So fucking depressing.
The Bears would be 3-0 if the defense would just get a breather. The offensive line is so bad that it cannot protect Orton and the running backs. If the offense was average at best, this team would be good enough to contend. The defense did all it could until they ran out of gas. When the fans boo, they are not booing the players. They are booing coaching and management.
September 21, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I see we beat the Cards today with our AAA squad. (minus Dempster of course) And finally Fukudome played well on offense. I wonder if he is comfortable in the leadoff position.
Lets win out and make 100!!
GO CUBS GO!!
September 21, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Fro Dog,
I heard that song for the first time today. It got a little dusty in here too.
September 21, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I have to disagree. I thought the song was very hopeful. One day, the day will come for all of us to celebrate.
September 21, 2008 at 9:43 pm
.. Then again so will the end of the world. It’s a race.
September 21, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Good one Al (“…it’s a race”).
I started wondering (just a little) — if Lovie was really Dusty in disguise…in the days following the Super Bowl loss…my suspicions deepened the following season…and continue to date.
September 21, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Boo Boo Boo Boo Boo
September 22, 2008 at 10:56 am
Fuck the Bears!! We all knew this season was going to be a loss. I agree Fire all the coaches except Dave Toub. He is the only coach that has a clue on that team. That team needs sold as bad as the Cubs do. But anyways, this is the Cubs time right now and the Bears are just another reason why the Cubs need to have a long playoff run and championship. To cover the pain of how bad the football season is gonna be. Btw, big ups to Derek Lee giving bottles of Champaign to the fans by the dugout to celebrate with him after clinching. Was really cool of him to do. The fact that they came out on the field and we’re spraying the fans was cool to see too. I actually do think that they get it now. That this just as much about us as it is to them winning a championship. I also heard a lot of them saying that anything less then a championship is unnacceptable. The Eddie Veddar song is depressing but how can it be anything other than that when it’s been 100 yrs. I liked it, got some chills too watching the video footage with it. Trust me that will be the song that will be played if they win it all.
September 22, 2008 at 8:27 pm
fro lewin was there in 97 says harry treated him like shit due to the fact he felt lewin was in chips chair…. steve stone tells a story where lewins grandmother died lewin was telling harry about it how much she loved harry and harry said life sucks doesnt it