Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Ben Johnson

Since the Brewers have entered the NL, this has turned into a nice little rivalry. I don’t hate the Brewers the way I do against the Cardinals. With both teams living in such close proximity to each other, it has been a rivalry that has been built on respect, rather than venom.

Friday’s game features Rich Harden against Braden Looper. In the early stages of the season, Lou decided that he didn’t want to start any leftys against them. Is he more concerned with what Ryan Braun could do than Fielder?

Piniella’s philosophy last year was to win series, one at a time. They got off to a good start with 2 wins in Houston. Let’s hope for two out of three in Milwaukee.

The Cubs have a very good ballclub, no doubt. But going into the season there are some holes in the bullpen, and a lack of infield depth to be concerned with. But it’s no different than any other team out there. The Cubs should be able to take the NL Central again, but they must remain relatively healthy. If they have more than one of the starting players lose significant time, they are in trouble.

What are your thoughts going in to the new season?

The Padres have managed to complete ownership roles during this off-season. This fucking Tribune motherfucking bullshit has gone on for two years. As fans, we are tired of the corporate bullshit that the Tribune has dished out for too long. Get this fucking deal done soon, and allow the new owner an oppriotunity to evaluate the team and make decisions both financally and with player personnel.

What are your wishes for the Cubs new ownership to achieve? I’m not saying a World Series in the first year, but what would you guys like to see happen in the first season with a new owner?

This fucking shit has been going on for two years, and enough is enough.

The Cubs announced that there will be a ceremony on May 3rd to jointly retire the number 31 to both Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux. There seems to be a debate on various sites that it should be reserved for Maddux only. I disagree. Most of the people that voice their opinions have never seen Fergie pitch. I’ll never forget some of those classic games with the Cardinals when Jenkins and Gibson were matched up. The game would usually wind up 1-0, or 2-1, and would be finished in less than two hours with both pitchers going the distance. You don’t see that in todays baseball. Jenkins won 20 or more games in six consecutive seasons between 67 and 72. He only reached 20 wins one more time in his career. He was traded to Texas for Bill Madlock in 73. Madlock went on to win a couple of batting titles with the Cubs. Fergie Jenkins was aquired in a trade with the Phillies in 1966.

Greg Maddux was a product of the Cubs farm system. He was called up in 86, and struggled through his first two seasons. But he started figuring it out in 88 when he went 18-8. He went 20-11 in 92 and won the first of four consecutive Cy Young Awards. This is when Larry Himes, GM at the time, disputed a 50 thousand dollar difference during negotiations, and let Maddux walk. What a fucking dumbass Himes was.

To make a long story short, Jenkins has watched teammates Banks, Williams, and Santo be retired, but understood the situation and is happy to share his number with Maddux in Cubs lore.

Let me introduce myself….

I’m ksmc2000 from the original firedustybaker site. When boddyd pulled several disappearing acts from posting new threads, I tried to contact him via e-mail to allow me to keep the old site going, but got no response. That site had a huge following and we made some great friendships along the way.

Then Fro Dog started this site to keep as many members as possible from the old site together. We all thank you for that. After the second three game sweep in the playoffs in as many years, Fro Dog has decided to follow the Cubs from a safe distance in 09. I can’t say as I blame him one bit. Even with a 97 win season in 08, I found myself getting pissed off many times last year. 2009 will be my 40th as being a Cub fan. I have too many miles on these tires to be able to give up. It’s what I’ve been doing since I was 12 years old. All I want is a Cubs World Series Championship in my lifetime. Is that too much to ask?

I will do the best I can to assist Fro Dog with the baseball side of the site. We might not agree with each other on alot of discussions, but the best part of this forum is that everyone has a right to their own opinion. We are all family here. You can say whatever the fuck you want without dealing with a moderator. It should be an exciting season, and I’m looking forward to talking Cubs baseball with you.

P.S. I’d like to give a shout-out to MadCityMac from the original site. I met him a few times, and he is a great friend.

ksmc2000