The Cubs have completed a 6-1 homestand with an impressive win on Thursday by dispensing the Astros out of Chicago.
The Cubs head off to Florida to take on the Marlins to begin a 10 game road trip that includes stops in Cincinatti and Colorado. By the end of this trip, we should have a much better idea as to what this Cub team is all about. I would be satisfied with 5-5 on this trip.
The Cubs could increase their slim lead in the NL Central with at least 3 of 4. They have played the Astros well this year going 6-4. Oddly enough, the Cubs are already finished with the season series in Houston, going a respectable 5-3. The remaining 7 games will be played at Wrigley. Thursdays game will be a makeup from the 5/15 rainout.
The Cubs have played well since the All-Star break going 8-2. But the Astros have been the hottest team in the division thru the month of July. As I stated in prior threads, Houston is quietly sneaking up on everybody else in the central. They are 2 games behind the Cubs, and in 3rd place. It should be a good series. The Cubs get a break with Lance Berkman out of the lineup.
P.S. I think they’re still a little pissed off at the Cubs for Zambrano’s No-Hitter, and Lilly’s one hitter at Miller Park last September.
It must make Dustys stomach turn every time he enters “The Friendly Confines”. The last two seasons as Cub manager was a nightmare for not only him, but all of us also. It’s good that he’s only invited for a few days at a time, then he can go away for a while. It must make Dusty and that pisshead Marty Brennaman miserable to come to Chicago. Hope you enjoy your weekend, boys.
Piniella sounded off to the media after Tuesdays 4-1 loss to the Phillies. He is challenging Hendry to get him a couple of hitters by the trading deadline to replace the failed Bradley experiment. It should be interesting to see what might happen when the team returns to Chicago. Piniella is growing more frustrated by the day, and I expect him to walk away from all the bullshit soon, or be fired. I can see Hendry going with Trammel for the rest of the season.
In all honesty, it doesn’t really matter anymore. When Ricketts finally takes over, everybody in upper management will be gone anyway. Hendry has destroyed the minor league system to the point that it will take several years to repair.
Also, this question is for reader Dave: When are you coming back to Dekalb? Next time you are in town, let me know and I’ll see if I can catch up for a little bit. It’s been a while since I had a burger at Fatty’s.
This article is about two days late but I’ve been busy and I don’t make it to this place as often as I use to. I am only here every couple of days and that is to make sure things are going smoothly with the threads.
The Blackhawks fired Dale Tallon the other day and promoted Scott Bowman as the general manager. Now, Tallon wasn’t a bad general manager and that is the thing that frustrated me. Every player who was on this past year’s playoff team was drafted, traded for or signed by him. He built this team to win and win now. It just seemed odd that John McDonough and Rocky Wirtz decided to can him after the draft and free agency period. In a nutshell, it seemed like they were planning this firing but only after Tallon did the “dirty work”.
I am not saying that promoting Bowman was a good or bad decision, that will probably be decided in the next few years. As far as right now though, Dale Tallon didn’t deserve to get fired. John McDonough said at the press conference that they trust their new general manager to make decisions in the best interest of the franchise. If the Blackhawks organization have their so called “trust” in Scott Bowman, why didn’t they fire Tallon right after the season ended?
With all of this happening, Martin Havlat issued a statement on Wednesday saying that he wasn’t resigned because of McDonough and not Tallon. I believe Havlat in saying that McDonough has this ego that no one can contain. McDonough probably interfered in the decision of whether or not to resign Havlat or not. In this situation, I am going to believe the player over the organazation because I do not remember hearing anything bad from anybody about Marty.
Tallon has had his fair share of stupid decisions. Cristobal Huet is the obvious one followed by Brian Campbell. Then the crap about not turning in contract offers in time to some players was reported. Putting those decisions aside, he took this team from NHL hell to one of the elite teams in the league. If this team happens to win the Stanley Cup in the next couple of years, Dale Tallon should be the first one to get credit.
With Hendry’s fucked up off-season, this is about where I figured the Cubs would be at. I thought that you are suppose to improve over the previous season. Instead, they will finish with 16 more losses than in 2008, and no playoffs.
They will need at least 3 of 4 this weekend to continue to hang around in the division. How do you think the rest of the season will play out?
Also, a short video for your amusement. I actually saw this about a year ago and just remembered it now. Enjoy.
The Cubs ownership deal will be finalized within the next two weeks. It was announced on WGN Sports Central from Dave Kaplan. If this is true, we would have achieved 2/3 of our ultimate goal on this site, other than a World Championship. Dusty is long gone, and the Tribune will be the next to fall. The only thing left is to fire Hendrys sorry ass. He handcuffed this team with all the immovable parts due to no-trade clauses. He completely ignored the farm system, and thought he could just put a fucking band-aid on each failed season with yet more band-aids for the following season.
If the deal goes through, what do you think should be done to salvage the rest of this season and beyond?
Thanks goes out to reader Robert for letting me know the Blackhakws signed Marion Hossa from the Detroit Red Wings for 12 years and $62.4 million.
Can someone tell me with that amount of money how many hookers that would buy? I am pumped about this signing. One of the best players on the Red Wings is now a member of the Blackhawks.
In other news, Ben Gordon is probably on his way to the Pistons. The Bulls simply cannot afford the guy if they are going to try to get a post player during this off season.
There was a trade rumor I read recently about Kirk Hinrich possibly being traded in the offseason. In a way, I have a problem with that happening because he is the only guy on the team that can play defesne and play it well. Unless it is a trade for a post player like Amare Stoudemire or Chris Bosh, he should be kept on this team.
Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Matt Eberflus 