'Dome Arigato

Well, the Cubs did it again. For the second off-season in a row, the name at the top of their wish list was locked in.

Signing a four-year deal for around $50 million, Kosuke Fukudome fills a couple of needs, as a left-handed hitter with some pop and a high on-base percentage and, as a converted infielder, a strong corner-outfield arm.

The Cubs outbid the White Sox, Padres and Rangers to bring their first Japanese position player to the team (Hideo Nomo was briefly a Cub, dropped after a brief spring training stint several years ago). Apart from what he can bring to the ballclub on the field, it’s a smart move in terms of expanding the Cubs’ fan base in Japan and opening up new marketing opportunities.

Considering that it doesn’t take top-level talent to command an eight-figure salary in the majors these days, bringing in one of Japan’s best hitters for around $12m a year seems like almost a bargain.

His 2007 numbers are incomplete due to surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow, but as the 2006 Central League MVP he put up a .351-31-104 year with 47 doubles and a .438 OBP in a season 20 games shorter than MLB’s. His .305 career average is held back by a pair of .250 seasons in his first three years, and at age 30 he’s in the prime of his career. If his elbow’s 100 percent (and we’re not talking about muscle or ligament problems, just a little housekeeping), I could easily see him in the neighborhood of .315-25-90 with 100+ runs scored and leading the Cubs in walks next year with better things to come after his first few trips around the league.

We’ll have to wait and see where he winds up in the lineup next season, but it’s definitely a big step up from the production the Cubs got out of the right field position in 2007.

I tried coming up with a suggested Opening Day lineup, but it’s just too hard to tell so far. I doubt Jim Hendry doesn’t have a few more tricks up his sleeve, but even if he stands pat, things are looking very good.

Home Field Advantage

There have been some pretty weird home field advantage situations in the first round.

Midges swarmed Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain on the mound in Cleveland, leading to the game-tying run scoring on a wild pitch and an eventual Indians win. Some folks around the web are saying the Off! sprayed on Chamberlain actually attracts midges, along with bright light, perfumes and carbon dioxide emissions, like those you might find around 45,000 people at a night game.

It makes me wonder if it wouldn't be possible to pull off something like that intentionally. Put one of those ultrasonic bug repellers next to a P.A. mic, have guys on the sidewalk by the "knothole" in right field open up boxes full of things that respond to them, watch them converge where the most lights are focused, then turn on the mic at the end of the inning and make 'em go 'way. Sounds like an '80s teen flick.

Meanwhile, a 17-year-old fan in Boston plucked a foul ball away from the Angels, keeping a rally alive for the Red Sox. Nice grab by the son of one a Red Sox limited partner. If you're listening, Cubs brass, here's the idea...

Teams have a responsibility to encourage their minor leaguers to become the stars of tomorrow. So what better time than the playoffs to honor the organization's top 50 defensive prospects with a pre-game presentation of a new glove? Show those fine young men what they're playing for by giving each of them a front-row playoff ticket.

Just a few notes...

...in case any of the Cubs are reading.


Play like there's no tomorrow. Repeat as necessary.

The biggest heroes are often players the enemy overlooks.

Line drives, instead of towering drives, keep a rally going for the next guy.

Laying down a bunt or drawing a walk doesn't make you any less of a man.

If Rich Hill is in command deep into a close game, see if he can go nine.

Get something started and you may never have to pick up a check in this town again.

Monday-morning QB

I know, awful metaphor. It's neither football nor Monday. Still...

The big question after the Cubs' Game 1 loss is whether Carlos Zambrano should have stayed in the game.

I can't blame Lou Piniella for pulling someone to go on three days' rest if you have a couple-three runs' worth of lead, but that wasn't the case. And if anyone on the staff has the guts to muscle through a long outing (which 85 pitches isn't) and go again on short rest, it's Big Z.

But if you're going to hold somebody back for Game 4, you better make damned sure you get to a Game 4. And then give him an 85-pitch outing if that's what you have to do.

I have no problem with Carlos Marmol being the first call out of the bullpen if Zambrano had to come out, but I say you have to stay with a hot pitcher instead of rolling the dice. Every time you go to the bullpen you take the chance of getting someone who doesn't have his best command that day.

Hopefully Marmol won't take too much flak for the loss, but to paraphrase what Piniella said after the game, when you score a run on four hits you can't expect to win many ballgames.

One out of two in the visitor's ballpark is a successful playoff road trip, so hopefully Ted Lilly can keep doing what he's been doing all year and right the ship.

Congratulations

The Cubs lost tonight, but I have reason to celebrate.

Today is my parents' 40th anniversary, and I love them and I'm proud of them.

More on the Cubs later.

Ex-Cub Factor: Round One

With Steve Trachsel left off the postseason roster, the Cubs are the only team in the playoffs with no ex-Cubs. Boston is next, with only Eric Hinske, who was traded before making the big leagues.

Diamondbacks
Juan Cruz
Augie Ojeda

Phillies
Antonio Alfonseca
Tom Gordon
Jamie Moyer

Rockies
LaTroy Hawkins

Red Sox
Eric Hinske

Angels
Justin Speier
Gary Matthews Jr. (injured)

Yankees
Kyle Farnsworth
Jose Molina

Indians
Joe Borowski
Kenny Lofton

Instant Replay

As I mentioned, I caught last night's game on the radio, but there's a lot of buzz about an instant replay rule. Two questionable calls, one that ended the game and another that could have prevented extra innings in the first place, define the fate of the 2007 Padres and could have cost the Rockies their playoff run.

Two years ago the White Sox eked out a win against the Angels after an incorrect trapped-third-strike call, which tied the ALCS at 1 and pretty much popped the Angels' bubble for the rest of the series. Twenty years before that, Don Denkinger got hate mail and death threats for missing a call.

For all the ideas Bud Selig has taken from other sports, this is one where he really dropped the ball. They say nobody's perfect in baseball, and that includes umpires, but that's a copout. Unlike players' imperfections, those of the umpiring squad largely take place when the play is over. They're rulings that can be corrected to a high degree of accuracy with existing technology.

How many times have you seen a really good manager tirade, the kind where he really gets his money's worth after getting the ax, when the ump really did miss the call? In that amount of time, they could have checked the replay, made sure the call was correct, corrected it if it wasn't, and gone on with the game. You shouldn't lose a manager or player or coach for the rest of the game and the length of a suspension over a ruling that either is correct or it isn't.

You can mount a camera on a golf tee these days. Networks embed cameras in the infield as it is. Put cameras with fixed angles around the bases fair and foul, on the foul poles and along the walls. Put a video engineer in a monitor room to use the TV angles too. Put a dedicated replay umpire in one of the photo wells to call for different angles and show them to the crew chief. Done. Around MLB it would cost less per year than one halfway decent free agent.

Teams could even get sponsors for replays like they do with everything else. "This instant replay brought to you by Ralph's Syrup of Ipicac. When you need an instant replay, think of Ralph's."

There's just too much at stake. When you throw a $100,000,000 roster out there to try to yourself a World Series, you deserve correct rulings. Or, for that matter, if you're a fan who has to get cable to watch the playoffs. Or if you're among the thousands of bartenders, waiters and waitresses, cab drivers, hotel employees, merchandisers, etc., who can have a really good week if their team advances another round. All on the shoulders of four people when, again, nobody's perfect.

Round one (ding!)

I followed the Rockies-Padres Wild Card playoff on the radio from KOA-Denver. My grandfather's old Panasonic portable transistor has the best antenna in the house, and I listened through 1,000 miles of wavering static and station interference, but I caught a heck of a game. Just the outcome I was looking for, a Rockies win in multiple extra innings where they used ten pitchers. For good measure, the ex-Cub factor poked the Pads in the snoot as Michael Barrett couldn't keep Matt Holliday from getting through with the winning run in the 13th.

As long as the red-hot Phillies are in the other bracket, let them face the hot team since at least one streak will be snuffed out and maybe the winner might get burned out in the process.

The Cubs and Diamondbacks open in Phoenix Wednesday night, Carlos Zambrano against Brandon Webb. Webb is 4-0 in his last five starts, Zambrano 4-1 and working on a 14-1/3 inning scoreless streak. The Cubs are coming off a pair of shutouts and a warmup game, the D-backs off the vapor trail of the Rockies' rampage to the Wild Card playoff. With Zambrano's 12-4 road record this season, I'd say the Cubs have the edge in Game 1.

A Little R&R

With the division title wrapped up, Lou Piniella trotted out the B-squad today and the Cubs still beat the Reds.

Ryan Theriot was the only regular starter in the lineup as a rested and relaxed Rich Hill powered through the Cincinnati lineup, taking a perfect game into the fifth inning and a no-hitter into the sixth as he, Sean Marshall and Scott Eyre combined on a one-hitter and a 4-0 win.

Despite the sweep at the hands of the Marlins, the Cubs have won 12 of their last 17 games.

The Cubs' opponent in the first round has yet to be determined, as four teams could wind up the regular season tomorrow with 89 wins, leaving ties for the NL East and the Wild Card. That could leave two playoff teams burned out with pitching rotations thrown out of whack. Sucks to be them, hopefully.

Part One of Four

Now we're there and we've only just begun
This will be our year, took a long time to come
-The Zombies

The Magic Number is zero.

One for the Money

The Cubs finally regained control of their destiny tonight, with Carlos Zambrano shutting down the Reds over seven innings to pick up his 18th win in a 6-0 victory and guaranteeing at least a Game 163.

The Magic Number is one.

This post is essentially just a marker, as the Padres lead the Brewers 4-3 in the 8th inning. I plan to be among Cub fans for the big moment if it comes tonight, and I only popped back home to post, so I have to cut this short.

Go Cubs!

Two for the Show

Any curse on the Cubs must be over.

There's no way a cursed team could play the kind of series they completed today, getting swept by the last-place Marlins, and still creep closer to the postseason.

The Magic Number dropped to two tonight as the Brewers continued to do their part by committing five errors and giving up a pair of four-run innings in a 9-5 loss to the Padres, who take a one-game lead in the Wild Card race with three to go.

Barring a total collapse, I think the cluster of five teams battling over the other three playoff slots - Philly and the Mets tied in the East, three teams still in the hunt in the West and all five of them in a tight Wild Card race - will benefit the North Siders. While they've managed to hold a two-game lead through a three-game losing streak, everyone else on the NL side will have spent the last week of the season going all-out, maybe burning themselves out, just to get there.

The race could be over tomorrow, folks. This year's Cubs could clinch a division title after being down farther than the '69 Mets were, and we all know how their season wound up. Keep your fingers crossed.

Three the Hard Way

It came the hard way, but the Cubs' Magic Number is down to three with four games to play.

Despite another Cub loss to Florida (nine straight over two seasons), the Cardinals pounded the Brewers for four eighth-inning runs to put the game in Milwaukee out of reach. A ninth-inning rally fell short, keeping Milwaukee two games behind the Cubs.

Tonight's Cubs looked like the Cubbies of old, sending fly balls into the vast expanse known as the Dolphins Stadium outfield. While Derrek Lee hit one that would have been out of any park in the majors, the rest of the lineup wasn't as successful.

The Cubs were also hit by poor defense at a crucial moment, as Mark DeRosa overthrew Ryan Theriot on a sure-fire double-play ball that led to a three-run Marlins rally instead of ending the second inning. Two assists from Alfonso Soriano helped keep the game from getting more out of hand as the innings went by, but the damage had been done and the three runs were the margin of victory.

In other news, Sammy Sosa homered again for Texas, giving him 21 along with 92 RBIs in only 113 games. Those ribbies would rank second on the Cubs.

Meanwhile, ridiculous rumors have circulated about Alex Rodriguez's agent talking with "prospective Cub owners" (Mark Cuban?) about a ten-year deal that would include partial ownership. Apart from the obvious tampering issues, MLB rules against player-owners, the future Cubs ownership still undecided and the general silliness of signing a 32-year-old for ten years, I wouldn't mind A-Rod coming to the North Side. Yes, the Cubs have third base locked down for a few more years with Aramis Ramirez, and Ryan Theriot is doing well at Rodriguez' old shortstop position, but I think the Cubs could find a place to put A-Rod. Personally, I'd look at putting him in right field, which is a question mark with plenty of time to be answered, because he has better wheels than Ramirez. But we can start talking about that, say, five weeks from now.

Four

It may have taken the Cubs' bats a few months to warm up, but they sure got hot at the right time.

The Cubs teed off while reducing their Magic Number to fore, um, four, while completing a weekend's sweep of the Pirates with an 8-0 win. Milwaukee, meanwhile, was busy losing three of four to the Braves gives the Cubs a 3-1/2 game lead with a week to go.

Compared to playoff runs past, the Cubs are storming towards the finish this time around. One of my favorite sayings of the Wild Card era has been "get hot at the right time", and that's exactly what happened. Ten over .500 is now the team's high-water mark of the year, and their 10-2 record in their last 12 games is tops among division leaders.

Carlos Zambrano picked up his career-high 17th win, giving him 30 decisions on the season, which Cubs pitchers haven't reached in recent memory. There are still people who want to brush him aside at 13 losses, but if you have a rotation full of guys who give you 30 decisions with four more ticks in the win column, your team's going to be in good shape. As we saw with the 2005 White Sox, dominant pitching late in the year and playing your best ball when it counts the most will get you towards that ultimate goal.

The Cubs finished the home half of the schedule with a 44-37 record, respectable, but about a third of the way down the league. Three over .500 on the road with only Florida and Cincinnati left on the schedule, however, ranks them third in the league with room to move up. If there's a lesson to be learned from the Brewers, if you want to be in the right place with a week to go, you can't rely solely on dominating at home.

I can taste the postseason, and I think the Cubs can too. Even though the Brewers will now host the Cardinals, who have been in a death spiral in September, the odds of Milwaukee making up three and a half games in seven days when they close with four against the Wild Card leading Padres are pretty slim. They're just not playing the kind of ball you need to play down the stretch when you're in a race.

Next up for the Cubs, Ted Lilly vs. Dontrelle Willis Tuesday night in Florida. 15-7 and 3.78 vs. 9-15 and 5.32. Sounds good to me.

Go Braves!

I'm not used to rooting for Atlanta, but pending the outcome of the Phillies-Nationals game, the Braves' win over the Brewers today gives the Cubs... are you ready for this...

the biggest divisional lead in the National League.

The Bell Lap

This is not a drill.

The Cubs are in first place with nine games left after a stunning series win against the Reds, not exactly blowing out the competition but still taking two of three in dramatic come-from-behind fashion.

This time the Cubs have a real leader at the helm, a guy who’s been there before and won it all. Going into this season, the Cubs had been managed by a World Series winner for exactly one game in my lifetime, an interim game managed by Joe Altobelli. Jim Frey didn’t win one, losing to his future Cub boss in 1980. Don Zimmer came up empty, as did Jim Riggleman and Dusty Baker.

Even though Lou Piniella’s 116-win Mariners team didn’t take the cake, his 1990 Reds stunned Tony LaRussa’s A’s, so I figure the Cubs would be in pretty good shape as far as leadership, going into the playoffs as an underdog.

And heroes, can we get even more heroes? While everyone’s talking about Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly notched his 20th quality start last night, keeping the Cubs close enough for late-inning heroics. Mark DeRosa hit Reds pitching like it was batting practice, boosting his 2007 numbers against Cincy to 24-for-45 (.533, and that's a batting average, folks, not a slugging percentage). Matt Murton delivered a clutch RBI (and yes, despite the umpire’s ruling the ball was caught, and Ryan Theriot tagged up just to be sure anyway). More solid bullpen work, this time from Bob Howry. Geovany Soto is giving us hopefully a taste of things to come for years down the road.

So while this isn’t a team that relies solely on marquee players to get the job done, even the guys who are there for their bats are coming up with sparkling defense. For a guy who used to be known as a defensive liability, Alfonso Soriano gunned down one of the league’s fastest runners at the plate by a good 20 feet. For a guy who used to be known as a defensive liability, Aramis Ramirez leaped and stabbed a line drive in mid-flight at third last night as if he’d been studying game films of Brooks Robinson from the 1970 World Series.

When on any given day you don’t know which guy is going to come up with that game-breaking hit or game-saving play, or which bullpen pitcher is going to slam the door, the opposition is on edge for all 27 outs on both sides of the ball.

Still, it’s not going to be that simple. The Cubs have an easy remaining schedule at first glance, but against teams that have given them trouble this year. The Brewers finish the season with two series at home, where they dominate, but head to Atlanta for four this weekend – which could break the race wide open – and close against the Padres, who are fighting for a playoff spot themselves.

Like Lou says, one series at a time. Keep winning series and the rest will take care of itself. They didn't get down when Aaron Harang shut them down Tuesday, and ugly or not, the Cubs managed to win two out of three in a series when they were outplayed. In a historical context, it didn't matter that the 1960 Pirates were outscored 55-27 in seven games against the Yankees, just like it didn't matter to the 1984 Padres (yeah, I said it...) that they lost Game 1 to the Cubs 13-0. Put those losses behind you and go out there trying to win more games than the other guys, and good things happen.

After 153 games, the Cubs are going into the bell lap in first place. They don’t have the record of the other division leaders, but first place is first place and as recent history shows, it’s not just a cliché that anything can happen in the playoffs.

I don’t want to hear talk about a goal of being division champs. Division champs are footnotes. It’s time for a World Championship. And looking at this team, how many of them will be back next year, how many young players are making an impact and are still on the upswing in their careers, this is only the beginning.

Go time

My fantasy league is over, so I have more time to write. I have a post coming on tonight's huge win over the Reds, but in the meantime here's another vintage reminder of the Cubs' World Series champs. Makes a nice wallpaper.

...And it's one, one, one strike you're out at the ol' ballgame

Carmen Pignatiello, fresh off of his Major League debut, threw a one-pitch strikeout today.

One pitch?

Yup. Thanks to the rain delay in the eighth inning, Pignatiello inherited a 1-2 count from Bobby Howry, threw a strike to Chris Duncan and was done for the day. Total line on Pignatiello, one pitch, one strike, one strikeout and 1/3 inning pitched.

The Ueck

A few weeks ago I learned I can just barely get Brewers radio from where I am. A bit static-y, occasionally fading in and out with a powerful Chicago station a few ticks away on the dial (yet WSM in Nashville is closer on the dial and comes in more clearly), but audible. I guess I could get their broadcasts all along, but this is the first year there was any point.

It's kind of neat to hear Bob Uecker call a game. I like Ueck. When he sings at Wrigley, he changes the words - "I'll root, root, root for the Brewers, you can root for the Cubs" - respectful of the hosts while not betraying his ballclub. Clever fella. And unlike a lot of funny guys with microphones, he calls it straight. While after several batters another voice chimed in, it's about 95% Uecker on the broadcast.

Tonight I caught the game with two Brewers on base in the eighth, one out, and the tying run at the plate. As Milwaukee typically chokes when I'm following the game - when I was on the press list, Sammy Sosa hit the Brewers like they were throwing batting practice - they made two quick outs. Three batters into the top 9th, Adam Dunn hit one into the third deck for a two-run homer to give the Reds a five-run lead and put the Cubs three outs away from sole possession of first place.

Of course, the real purpose of this post was the last fragment of the previous paragraph. With 6-7-8 due up against former Cub David Weathers in the 9th, a Johnny Estrada one-hopper to second, a fly ball to center by .224-hitting pinch hitter Craig Counsell and a J.J. Hardy line-out to Ken Griffey Jr. did the deed.

No ties this time, no by-percentage-points, the Cubs are all alone atop the Central. And not that we need a cherry on top, but if two scores hold up tonight, the White Sox will be tied with the Royals for last place.

Other topics

I'd like to broaden the scope of the blog here. Some readers are aware of my extensive essays on the game, and I'll be revising and adding some of those soon.

In the meantime, a couple of observations on baseball's new all-time home run king:

While five of his victims may make it someday, none of Barry Bonds' home runs were hit against a current member of the Hall of Fame. Among members who were active in the NL during Bonds' career, he was homerless against Phil Niekro, Don Sutton, Nolan Ryan, Dennis Eckersley and Bruce Sutter. He also hasn't hit one off of Roger Clemens. In seasons tracked by baseball-reference, Hank Aaron hit at least one homer a year against a future HOFer except his last half-season, when he only hit 10.

Rick Reuschel served up homers to both Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds, and unless I missed someone, he's the only one.

And how appropriate is it the Washington Nationals were the victims? Restoring last-place baseball to our nation's capitol after 35 years, and already on the wrong end of one of the biggest moments in the history of the game. It's just too bad Mike Bacsik's dad didn't serve one up to Hammerin' Hank.

Playoff bound?

By the end of the day, the Cubs could be in first place.

Let that soak in for a second.

Once as far back in the standings as the '69 Mets, the '07 Cubs rank second in the league in the loss column, ahead of first-place Milwaukee.

Here's a reminder of what they're playing for, from the last time an '07 rolled around (Chicago Daily News archive photo):


Chicks dug the dead ball, too.

Izturis is a tourist

One of the Cubs' unproductive roster spots was freed up today, as shortstop Cesar Izturis (see previous post) packs his bags and heads to the Pirates for the infamous Player to be Named Later.

More a situation of no room in a crowded infield than not giving the Cubs about what they expected, the move allows Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot more playing time in the middle infield. AA catcher Jake Fox got the call to fill Izturis' spot. The Southern League home run leader, Fox adds needed lineup muscle and can also chip in at either corner position in the infield or outfield.

For real?

The Cubs won again Wednesday. With Carlos Zambrano on the mound, even with both Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez out of the lineup, they beat the Giants 12-1.

That's 27 wins in 40 games. That's nearly a quarter of a season at a .675 clip, the best in baseball since June 3.

While they probably won't play .675 ball the rest of the way (which would give them about 96 wins), .675 won't be necessary to get to the playoffs. Not with Milwaukee losing ground rapidly even before putting their ace on the shelf until possibly September. Even with a few missing puzzle pieces the Cubs have better than .500 talent, it's just a matter of which end of that spectrum is closer to the truth and by how much.

One of those pieces has been put in place, at least. In essentially a three-way deal of Michael Barrett and a prospect for Jason Kendall and a prospect with a brief loan of Rob Bowen, Jim Hendry re-solidified the catcher position with veteran talent. I like Kendall as a ballplayer, and he'd driven in more runs at Wrigley Field than any other road park over his career.

His numbers weren't great with Oakland this year, though they've improved somewhat and he hit for higher average in interleague play than against the American League. Maybe Kendall's just a National League kind of hitter; we'll have to wait and see until he's used to the new surroundings. But at least there's one catcher on the active roster who isn't a rookie, and he's still close to a .300 career hitter.

With less than two weeks remaining before the first trade deadline, the Cubs are still looking for buyers on at least Jacque Jones and Cesar Izturis, who should be playing everyday somewhere, and there's a lot of talent out there to be had. The team I'm looking at personally, and I hope Jim Hendry is, is Texas.

Eric Gagne sure would be nice to have in a stretch run, even with Ryan Dempster, a decent closer but not in Gagne's class, soon to be activated from the DL. Factor in Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood (remember Kerry Wood?), who's also soon to be activated, that's some serious gas in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings.

Kenny Lofton may also be on the table, since he's a free agent after this season. Nobody's really laid claim to center field for the Cubs this year, and Lofton's developed a quirky habit of finding his way onto playoff-bound teams, five different ones in the last six years. He's still a .300 hitter and a stolen base threat (20 so far this year) even at age 40, and he was a huge part of the Cubs' division title in 2003. With Angel Pagan, Felix Pie and Jones splitting time in center, it would be nice to have a veteran hitter there to stabilize the position for the push.

Either of those potential acquisitions put more guys on the table. Between Alfonso Soriano, Felix Pie and this winter's free agent crop I don't see a starting job for Matt Murton next year and beyond, and if the Cubs pick up an everyday outfielder like Lofton, between Cliff Floyd, Mark DeRosa and Angel Pagan there won't be anywhere for him to play this year, so they might as well trade him. The Rangers could do worse than Murton, with Jerry Hairston Jr. and Frank Catalanotto both hitting under .230 in their outfield. If Gagne is added, and Kerry Wood stays off the DL for more than a week, there will be expendable veteran bullpen arms.

Whichever suitors Texas picks, I think the Cubs do have the depth of talent to step up a couple more roster spots before the deadline and make a good team better. Just a game over .500 the rest of the way, with a favorable schedule, would put the Cubs at 84 wins. It won't take many more than that to win the Central.

Crunching some numbers

I was looking at Felix Pie's game log today...

April 17 - debuts with 5-7 Cubs
May 9 - last game before demotion by 16-15 Cubs
Record: 11-8

May 10-June 2 - Chicago goes 6-16

June 3 - returns to 22-31 Cubs
July 5 - Cubs are 43-41
Record: 21-10

With Pie - 32-18, .640
Without Pie - 11-23, .324

Oddly enough, the Cubs are playing even better when he's on the bench, 6-1 in May before Pie was sent back to Iowa, and 9-2 since he lost the starting role the second time.

With a record like that, I'll forgive a .217 average.

Defining Lou Piniella's Cubs

The Lou Piniella Cub era is starting to take shape.

Moves still need to be made, and a couple of kids need to put all the pieces together consistently, but the core of the Cubs' offense for the next several years could be shaping up. And they're winning.

Without a permanent solution in right field, without a bona fide starting catcher, with up to five rookie- to rookie-plus starters on any given day including the pitcher, and before Piniella's first trade deadline as manager, they're winning. Above .500 at the halfway point and closing ground on a Brewers team that blew an opportunity to put away the division early.

It's been a good month.

The kids are getting the job done. Despite fewer than 100 career at-bats, Mike Fontenot was a sparkplug in the two-slot, where he needs to return, slugging over .600. He re-forms a double-play combination that's won before, joining his partner Ryan Theriot from Louisiana State's 2000 College World Series champs, with a coach in Alan Trammell who played next to the same guy for 19 years.

Felix Pie, even at .220, is a force to be reckoned with. Though he's been riding the bench lately, he's had enough playing time to jump to third on the team in stolen bases and a tie for second in triples, and I drool at the prospect of double-digit outfield assists and Gold Glove potential at two positions for years to come.

Carlos Marmol has also stepped up his game. Upper 90s on the speed gun, wicked movement on his slider, and in the games I've seen, he keeps the ball down. Regardless of whether he was imagined as a starter, he's doing a great job in the setup role and shows definite closer potential.

And Sean Marshall has pitched well. And when Rich Hill is on, he's on.

That's six guys making an impact at bargain-basement prices on a team that made headlines for its spending spree in the off-season.

Throw them all together, along with Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee and Alfonso Soriano, and you could be looking at six starters, possibly seven including the pitcher, on Opening Day 2010.

Even if 2007 doesn't turn out to be the year, this will be the core of a team Cub fans will talk about for a long time to come.

Pie better after first cup of coffee

I know, Alfonso Soriano hit three homers tonight and the Cubs are hot, but I couldn't pass up the headline when I thought of it.

Closer mentality

Big Cubs loss yesterday. I was on the phone with a friend discussing the game while the collapse was underway.

My comment before Ryan Dempster was removed was that you don’t bring in your closer when it’s not a save situation, and that bit of wisdom could have given the Cubs a win. Instead of bringing Scott Eyre to eat an inning with a four-run lead and then going to Dempster if he got in trouble, Unky Lou did it the other way around.

When you establish a closer mentality, you just don’t have the same fire when it’s not a tight game. You need that adrenaline rush of having the game on the line when you step on the mound, and if you don’t have it right then and there it’s hard to reacquire it mid-inning.

Oh well, it’s just one out of 162. Bring on the White Sox.

I heard on the radio that some Sox fans were outside the park with a “1908” sign. Maybe not the right thing to insult your opposition. In case they need reminding, that was the year the Cubs did two things the White Sox have never done in their history – defend their league title (for the second year in a row, mind you) and repeat as world champs.

Streaking

Just a few brief comments on Cub streaks...

The Cubs have now dropped three of four after winning seven out of eight.

Derrek Lee failed to reach by either a hit or a walk in tonight's loss at Philadelphia for the first time this season.

But while Alfonso Soriano hasn't shown much run production yet this season, tonight he extended his own hitting streak to a career-best 19 games - best in the majors this year - and hasn't gone hitless in over a month. He has at least one base hit in 26 of his 27 games as a Cub.

Pay attention: Attention doesn't always pay

Okay, one more bit on the fantasy league.

One thing I find myself paying attention to on a daily basis is my bench. I stockpiled an excess of starting pitchers so I can accumulate more stats in week-to-week competition. But yesterday I forgot to activate one of them.

...and he got racked for 11 hits and seven earned runs in five innings.

Dead ball?

Remember not too long ago when Rich Hill (1.73) was leading MLB starters in earned run average? Now he doesn't even lead the Cubs, though his numbers remain stellar.

Now at 1.70, Jason Marquis' three-hit shutout last night gives the Cubs two starting pitchers with ERAs below 1.80 (and three below 2.80 with Ted Lilly).

A gander through the bullpen stats shows some stellar numbers as well - Neal Cotts 0.77, Michael Wuertz 1.84, Angel Guzman 2.19, Ryan Dempster 2.50, Bobby Howry 2.60 - and Will Ohman (3.86) would be right there with them except for one ineffective mid-April outing. Despite a poor record in extra innings, you can't reach the 14th inning stretch on multiple occasions without several innings of superior clutch relief work when a single hanging breaking ball can give you the L.

Despite the league's second-best batting average to back it up, who would have figured the Cubs' problem would be scoring runs in tight games?

Slow start? Really?

While everyone's looking at his home run and stolen base totals, Alfonso Soriano has hit safely in 22 of his 23 games as a Cub. Today he extended his hitting streak to 15 games. And he has fewer hitless games than Derrek Lee.

Didn't knock on wood

Derrek Lee's doubles streak ended within hours of my comment about it.

Instead, he went 2-for-3 with a home run and raised his average to .422.

I'll take it...

Double your pleasure

Derrek Lee has at least one double in eight consecutive games. I haven't been able to find records on doubles-hitting streaks, but I'd be willing to wager it doesn't happen often.

Lee has only one home run, but 17 doubles in 26 games, reaching safely in all of them with a batting average of .415, is a pretty good tradeoff. He leads MLB in batting average by 30 points going into the weekend series against the hapless Washington Nationals, who hopefully won't find their hap in the next three days.

Clearing my conscience

Since the Cubs were off yesterday, a bit more on fantasy ball. I promise I won't keep mentioning it once I'm finally satisfied with my roster, which I'm not yet.

Still trying to void my team of NL Central rivals, unfortunately I was aced out of picking up Tom Gordon to clean the slate by someone higher up on the waiver list. I was stuck grabbing Salomon Torres in a desperation move to pick up a few more saves, and his 36.00 ERA this week must be a sign that I should stay out of the division and dump him at the first possible opportunity.

So as it stands, my list of ex-Cubs includes Juan Pierre, Kenny Lofton, Sammy Sosa, Jamie Moyer, Greg Maddux, Jon Leiber and Jon Garland (yes, he started out in the Cubs system) to go along with six current men in blue, with an ex-White Sock for good measure. The White Sox, incidentally, haven't actually worn white socks in several years, and their black socks evoke memories of the Black Sox scandal that brought us the first dictatorial a-hole of a commissioner, who enforced apartheid in MLB until his death. But I digress.

Even with an ex-Cub factor that would make any pennant-winner shudder in the Series, I moved up to third place among 14 teams as I face, and lead, the league-leader in head-to-head competition this week.

And I dumped both my Oakland A's, my weak spots at catcher and shortstop, in favor of a couple of American Leaguers, one of whom nobody's heard of (yet is batting .469 in increasing playing time) and one from a team nobody cares about (but is hitting .349).

A shoulder to cry on

Y'know how the Cubs said they didn't want to have to count on Mark Prior this year? Mission accomplished! After shoulder surgery, he's officially out for the year. Better luck in 2008, Mark...

On the plus side, Ryan Theriot will get more game time. He's been moved to shortstop, his natural position, because neither Cesar Izturis nor Ronny Cedeno are hitting their weight and they're both skinny guys. I'm all for it, because I'm getting creamed at short in my fantasy league and had trouble finding a spot for him too.

More proof

Replays showed Derrek Lee was safe in his attempt to steal third base on the pitch before Aramis Ramirez homered last night.

An instant replay rule would have meant a Cub win in regulation instead of a loss in extra innings.

Fantasy update

The more I looked at my all ex-Cubs idea, the more I thought there was no point in waiting until next year.

So today I picked up Jamie Moyer...

Get well soon, Ronnie!

Hopefully Ron Santo's irregular heartbeat wasn't caused by Ronny Cedeno getting thrown out stealing second base on ball four the other day.

Sometimes a Fantasy

I don't get many requests, and I was meaning to get to this eventually, but I joined my first fantasy league this year.

I'm having a blast so far, and not just because there's a very good chance I could emerge at the top of our 14-team league after today's games. I'm following more teams and more divisions than I have in several years, but it's kind of weird pulling for players on teams I hate, so I only have one non-Cub from the NL Central and no Mets.

It's a head-to-head league, meaning each week's stats are compared with one other team in order to determine record. Just like in the big leagues, you can have a lousy day (week, in this case), but if whomever you're facing has a lousier one you'll win the majority of the 11 weekly categories. Halfway through the first week I was down 11-0, made some quick roster changes and put an appropriate Lee Elia quote on my "smack talk" header, and wound up a respectable 5-6. Last week I went 10-1, and this week looks good with one day left - 8-2-1 with an outside chance at going 11-0 with most of my starting pitchers on the hill today.

Pitching stats include wins, saves, strikeouts, ERA and WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched). I didn't take any until the fourth round of the draft, but still wound up with Roy Halladay (4th round), Trevor Hoffman (6th), Rich Hill (8th), Jon Garland (10th), Greg Maddux (13th) and Adam Wainwright (18th).

I soon realized I needed more pitchers and needed to manipulate my lineup regularly, so I've added and dropped a few since then, with Al Reyes of Tampa Bay currently remaining as a second save-category guy. I figure even the worst teams win about 60 games a year and somebody's got to pick up those saves, but there are only so many guys who fit in that category and you need more than one to compete on a weekly basis.

Hitting is based on runs, hits, home runs, RBI and batting average. In the early rounds I thought it was best to "own" a position, so I picked up Chase Utley as a deep first-round choice at 2B. After Utley, I drafted Derrek Lee (2nd round), Aramis Ramirez (3rd), Juan Pierre (5th), Magglio Ordóñez (7th), Pat Burrell (9th), Jason Kendall (11th), Bobby Crosby (12th), Ray Durham (14th), Matt Murton (15th), Brian Giles (16th), Jacque Jones (17th), Kevin Youkilis (20th), and a few guys I've already dumped off my roster.

Sammy Sosa wasn't on the list of available players on draft day, but I kept checking until he did and added him. He generally sits on my bench, but I managed to add him for two of his three homers. I figure if he gets into a couple of those hot spells where he hits homers in bunches, he might win some categories for me.

Somebody waived Ryan Theriot, probably expecting he wouldn't get enough playing time to contribute much, and I jumped at the chance to take him too. I find myself checking pre-game rosters and activating him at the last minute, since he's good for four of the six hitting categories. As I mentioned the other day I added Félix Pié (who has no hits since I added him), and grabbed Chone Figgins when somebody didn't want a player on the DL taking up roster space. I'm willing to wait with him on my bench for a couple of weeks for the across-the-board numbers he can put up.

So obviously I'm heavy on Cubs, ex-Cubs and ex-White Sox. If Jonesy is traded (Toronto looks like a good fit), my numbers will improve with more playing time for Murton and Theriot. I'm weak at catcher and shortstop in a weak market (one guy drafted four catchers, including Joe Mauer, Ivan Rodriguez and Michael Barrett), and Maggs hasn't turned it on yet, but I'm getting production out of Youkilis, Giles and Durham as utility players (five utility players' stats count, five bench players' don't), so the roster is pretty well rounded. Guys have been making roster moves like crazy - 14 teams picking from 30 MLB teams leaves a lot of flexibility at some positions - but with a few exceptions I'm pretty much locked in for the summer.

I think I can already count on doing this every summer from now on. Next year I think I'm going to see what I can do with a team comprised entirely of ex-Cubs...

Suggestions for Unky Lou

I don't want to get into the details about today's loss because it was too stupid to believe, so just two notes:

1. When Henry Blanco is due up in the 7th with the game on the bases at any time before the All-Star break, pinch-hit for him.

2. Ronny Cedeno needs a wake-up call. Set the alarm for Iowa.

Time to change, time to re-ar-range

Yes, the Cubs' bullpen picked up its second loss in two days today, but hopefully we're seeing a bit of the future with Félix Pié in center field.

Pié got his second extra-base hit in two big-league games, a first-inning triple, and scored twice. I'm still fawning over his 10th-inning assist yesterday in his debut, a frozen rope to the plate for what, though it proved a futile gesture in the end, was a game-saver. I promptly added him to my fantasy league team in the hope that he sticks around.

I'm also hoping the Cubs will hit the trade market early this year. While there's a wealth of talent, particularly in the outfield, the bullpen has some shaky pieces. Except for Bobby Howry (not bad at 3.52), Cubs pitchers are either really getting it done or really not getting it done.

Scott Eyre was lit up tonight for the third time in six appearances and boosted his ERA up to 14.40. Will Ohman, last night's loser, is at an even 9.00. After the last couple of days it's clear Angel Guzman wasn't the reliever who needed to be sent down, and there were six guys at Iowa under 2.00 when he got there.

The Cubs need a solid setup man, a second closer-type, and there are probably several teams out there who could use a 25-30 HR/85-90 RBI guy like Jacque Jones and might want to take a chance on one of the relievers who aren't taking care of bidness. While Jones is off to a better start at the plate this year and was quietly one of the only guys to step up after Derrek Lee was injured last year, it would take an unreal amount of heroics to overcome the first half of last April in the eyes of Cubbie Nation when the Cubs have a clear need for better outfield defense. A vacancy would make room for Pié and/or Ryan Theriot, who like last year seems to do nothing but get on, over and in.

Theriot-Pié-Soriano would give the Cubs a ridiculous amount of speed both in the outfield and at the top of the order, with Cliff Floyd available when they need extra pop in the starting lineup or a spot start for Theriot at second or third.

I don't think it's ever too early to start tweaking the roster, and I'd like to believe one of the purposes of stockpiling talent in the off-season was to give the Cubs more trade bait once the holes start to identify themselves.

Meanwhile, once again White Sox fans got to see something I haven't. Sammy Sosa, of all people, was the only Ranger to reach base off Mark Buehrle - on a walk - and was promptly picked off two pitches later. No runs, no hits, none left times nine.

The Cubs are coming up on 35 years since Milt Pappas was a 3-2 pitch away from perfection back in the closing weeks of the 1972 season.

Wasted opportunity

I had my first problem with Lou Piniella's managerial style as a Cub today.

In a classic pitchers' duel, the Cubs had their only real scoring opportunity of the day opening the sixth inning. Ryan Theriot followed Alfonso Soriano's leadoff double with a single to put runners on first and third with nobody out.

With a base open, my instinct was to send Theriot on the first pitch and get out of a potential double-play situation. Maybe even try for a delayed double-steal and score Soriano in the event of a bad throw down to second.

But instead of forcing Kyle Lohse's hand and maybe inciting a walk to set up the force, Theriot sat there as Jacque Jones waved at three increasingly bad pitches and Derrek Lee looked at three straight good ones. Had either one of them hit the fly ball that Michael Barrett followed with, we'd have seen extra innings today, but with two gone it was just another out and a scoreless inning.

So where was the call? And what was Jacque Jones doing batting third in the first place when he's still sitting on a goose egg in the RBI department?

It's sad. The Cubs wasted an outstanding start from Ted Lilly and flawless bullpen work by not jumping on Lohse when he left a door open. Soriano's double that inning was the only Cub hit that didn't come off of Theriot's bat, and sometimes you're only going to get one shot against a pitcher having a good day. That's exactly what the Reds did.

In the end, the only run of the day came off a walk, a stolen base and one of only two Reds hits on the afternoon.

All you can do is chalk it up to being only 1 of 162, get ready for the Padres tomorrow and hope Cub pitching was as good as it was today.

The color barrier

With seemingly half the Major Leagues prepared to wear #42 in tribute to Jackie Robinson, here's a little history on how close we were to talking about #39...


Up in my room, Jackie was dealing the cards. We finished the first hand. I pulled out a cigar and lit it. Jackie said he didn't smoke.

"I hear you went to see Mr. Rickey last week," he said, casually.

The surprise showed on my face. "Yeah, that's right," I said after a while. "How did you know?"

"I was over there myself," he said. "What happened with you?"

"Nothing much. We talked, or rather, Mr. Rickey did. Man, he's the talkingest man I ever did see."

"Did you sign?"

"You mean did I sign to play for him?"

"Yeah."

"No. I didn't. I did agree that I wouldn't sign with any other team before next season, but I let him know right quick that I didn't want to play for no Brown Dodgers. Heck, Jackie, I'm an established star in our league. I've put in a lot of years, and I'm not going to give it up to take a chance on something that's just getting started and might not last. No sir, not me."

"Did Mr. Rickey tell you he wanted you to play for the Brown Dodgers?"

"No, come to think of it," I said. "He didn't even mention them. He didn't mention signing with anybody in particular. But I told him I wasn't interested in signing. I told him I was making three thousand for six months with Baltimore and two thousand more playing winter league ball. I told him I got a bonus of two or three hundred at the end of each season, too. And Mr. Rickey said, 'that's good money,' and I told him, 'darned right it is.' And then he started talking about something else. I don't know what. He talked about everything. How about you?"

"I signed," Jackie said quietly. "But it's a secret. Mr. Rickey told me to keep it quiet, so you got to promise me not to tell anybody."

"Sure, okay, I won't say anything. It's okay for you, I guess. You've only been in the league one year. I'm a little younger than you, but I've been at it longer, and I'm established. And I've got kids to think about. You can take a chance with a new league, and it don't make much difference. But it's like I told Mr. Rickey, I can't afford to."

Jackie waited until I was finished. Then he picked up the cards from the table and shuffled them idly.

"I didn't sign with the Brown Dodgers," he said quickly. "I'm going to play for Montreal."

Jackie wasn't calm now. His voice was loud with excitement. He knew he was revealing something important, something eventful. He watched me carefully, waiting for my reaction.

"What do you mean, Montreal?" I asked.

"I'm going to be the first Negro in organized baseball," Jackie said. "I'm flying up to Montreal tomorrow for the official signing ceremony. It's going to be a big thing - cameras and everything. Mr. Rickey says that in a year or two I can make the big leagues. Do you realize what this means, Campy? It's the end of Jim Crow in baseball. I'm all excited. I'm proud, and I'm scared, too."

I sat dumbfounded. My cigar went out, but I didn't realize it and kept puffing away. For the longest while I didn't say a word. I just sat and stared at Jackie. He didn't seem to notice how I felt. His face was still all lit up. His eyes were looking past me. He was a picture of happiness. Then he grinned at me. I grinned back, and broke into a laugh.

"I'm really happy for you, Jackie," I said. I know you'll make it, and I wish you all the luck in the world. Now take a good look at yours truly. You're looking at a dumb boy. Man, you're looking at the all-time prize. So that's what it was all about. Well, I'll be darned." ...

Jackie got up to leave. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm glad for you, Jackie, real glad. Don't you be afraid of nothing. You're a good ballplayer, you'll make it. It won't be as rough as you think. I've played with white teams, lots of them - with them and against them. They're men, just like us. There's nothing to worry about."

"I hope so," he said. "I sure hope so."

-Roy Campanella, "It's Good to be Alive", 1959


For people of my race this was a heroic saga, and I was the hero. For years it was my name that was in the headlines, but the real hero of the story was Branch Rickey. It may seem like an overstatement, but I really believe that in breaking down the color barrier in baseball, our "national game," he did more for the Negroes than any other white man since Abraham Lincoln. He helped bring about a new national outlook on race relations. ...

In his crusade to smash the color barrier, Mr. Rickey needed every talent of his complex character, plus the foresight of a chess master. Long before I entered the picture, he spent $150,000 scouting the United States, Latin America, Cuba, for promising Negro players.

When he signed me to play with Brooklyn, he consulted a New York sociologist to gauge Negro reaction, and addressed a group of thirty prominent Brooklyn Negroes. "This step we have taken in organized baseball," he said to the group, "is certain to benefit greatly every Negro in the nation. But one big risk to Jackie Robinson's success is - bluntly - that the Negro people themselves could ruin it. So I'm here tonight to beg you to do what you can to see that no Negro adds to the burdens of Jackie Robinson. We don't want Negroes to strut, to hail his entrance into the Major Leagues as a victory by Negroes over white people. We don't want brawling in the stands. We don't want any premature Jackie Robinson Days or Jackie Robinson Nights - you must remember that white ballplayers are human beings, too. We don't want what can be another great milestone in the progress of American race relations turned into an ultimate tragedy."

-Jackie Robinson, from "The Most Unforgettable Character I've Met", 1961

With Robinson celebrations planned all over baseball, it's crucial to remember that Jackie wasn't the only one involved in integrating baseball. He wasn't in a position to demonstrate the initiative of Curt Flood, who battled the reserve clause all alone and sacrificed his career in the process, but he had the strength of character to handle the greatness that was thrust upon him. And if Branch Rickey and Happy Chandler aren't prominently mentioned when all the ceremonies are going on, it will be a serious disservice to the others who fought so hard to integrate the game of baseball.

It's been awhile...

I had several lengthy posts nearly completed during spring training, but the situation kept changing faster than I could post them. Before I could comment on Felix Pie and Jake Fox, they'd been sent down. Before I could say I think Mark Prior should start the year in the minors, he was sent to the minors.

And unlike the Dusty Baker regime, I don't have many beefs (beeves?) with Lou Piniella. When Rich Hill allowed a couple of baserunners on errors the other day, before I could finish shouting "Send someone out there!" at the TV, Piniella was already on his way.

I could say I'd rather have Ryan Theriot starting at second, but Mark DeRosa's producing. I might suggest popping him in for some starts in right until Jacque Jones gets hitting, but that's really about it. And as I was typing this, Piniella put Theriot in at second as part of a double-switch. It's nice to know that the first full-time Cub manager in my lifetime who's won a World Series is thinking the same things I am.

Other than that I've been busy with my first-ever fantasy team. Like Uncle Lou, I have Ramirez and Lee on the corners too.