reds 3, cubs 2

wow! it was fun while it lasted-- a whole two games in a row! oh well.

bad news: cubs lose
good news: lee gets his cast off, bad news: it's too late
good news: cubs trade hairston, bad news: cubs get phil nevin , a washed up former all-star who will provide power to our lineup (yeah, right!). well, i guess anything is better than hairston. i mean if the guy loses playing time to tony womack, how bad must he be?!?!?!?

reds 3, cubs 8

maybe aramis' head WAS the low point and now everything is going up. i don't want to get too excited since we are barely out of last place, but two wins in a row against a first place team isn't bad. especially, when everyone from cedeno to walker is contributing. but, how long can we ride this womack guy. this is not going to last long.

reds 3, cubs 7

hey, i was right it did get better. a pretty good all around game from the cubs.

most exciting, is that kerry wood got his first win of the year...actually, his first when since july of LAST year. that is too bad. this could signal the end for kerry in chicago. i know he loves it here, and i think he is a tough guy, but a tough guy that gets hurt all the time. i just don't see how the cubs can justify paying him 13 million dollars next year.

it's been nice knowing you, kerry!

braves 13, cubs 12

the cubs have officially hit rock bottom! and i was there in person to see it!

i feel bad they had to bring up a kid from triple-a. he shouldn't have to be here, but he was--and it was ugly.

the braves set a record for most home runs hit in a game. the cubs showed some life coming back in the ninth inning, but ramirez promptly reminded us what this team is made of when he let the winning run get on base by having an infield pop-up clunk him on the head.

like i said, rock bottom...it can only get better from here, right?

braves 2, cubs 1

i almost didn't go to the game today after yesterday's fiasco, but how can you pass up free tickets to wrigley field.

and what can you say, another day, another loss. again, the outfield relay does us in again. all the scoring in done in the first tow innings with atlanta's two runs coming on a double to the outfield where murton and pierre are standing there looking at each other trying to figure out whose arm is less weak before they throw it in. murton decides he has the stronger arm and promptly throws the ball straight in to the ground so ronny has no chance to handle. great job!

another hard luck outing for the kid, marshall. he better get used to it though, or just start mailing it in. the cubs won't notice anyway, since they are so used to losing.

braves 6, cubs 5

live game log today:

pregame rant: zambrano is on fire lately and i guaranteed a win to the resident braves fan in the office.

top 1:
1...2...3...4 walks in the first inning. is z feeling the pressure of trying to get the cubs a win? how do you walk jeff francouer? the guy swings at everything...it took him a month to get his first walk of the year. cubs down 1-0.

bot 1: easy 1-2-3 for time hudson. but how could it not be when you have juan pierre and neifi perez at the top of the order. what a joke of a 1-2 punch. their combined average is barely above the mendoza line (.200)

1st inning rant: for about a week now, i have had "play the riot" as my status for instant messaging. what i was hoping for was dusty to play ryan theriot at second base. they called him up a month ago, and they gave him a total of 4 AT-BATS! FOUR! i guess dusty was satisfied with his production at 2B. what an IDIOT! hairston and neifi have given us the worst production on any second basemen in the national league. someone fire this guy already! dusty needs to quit worrying about hurting players feelings and start worrying about putting players in the lineup who can help us win. well, now we will never know what ryan theriot will do since we called up tony womack today. yes, that tony womack, who wasn't good enough to play anywhere for the yankees and wasn't even good enough to be a third string infielder for the reds. but, apparently he is good enough for Dusty! whoo- hoo!

top 2: this is more like it, 6 pitches and we're out of the inning

bot 2: aramis doubles and that's about it. he is getting hot now. if he only had people on base in front of him (sigh).

2nd inning rant: why is aramis hitting 6th. he is far and away the best hitter. i can only imagine how many games dusty cost us last year by batting burnitz 4th and aramis 5th just because he likes to go righty-lefty-righty. it makes no sense. you bat your best hitters higher in the lineup to drive in runs. no wonder we are last in the majors in runs.

top 3: 1-2-3, looks like z has settled down.

bot 3: pierre gets a hit (he's up to .233!), but free swinging neifi lines out on the second pitch before pierre can try to steal a base. i hate neifi...release him and bring up theriot and let him play. he's better than perez or hairston.

3rd inning rant: this pierre thing is looking more and more like a mistake. wouldn't we like to have ricky nolasco right now, after he beat us earlier in the week? and don't look now, but patterson's average is hovering around .300 and is stealing more bases than juan pierre.

top 4: zambrano is cruising now

bot 4: the straight hits to start the inning ending with a jacque jones double to score the cubs first run, micheal barrett scores. then our best hitter comes up and even though he grounds out, drives in the second run. that's what happens when you put your rbi guys in rbi spots, now move him up in the order! braves 1, cubs 2

4th inning rant: michael barrett got a 10 game suspension today and he appealed. i don't blame him. no way they keep it at 10 games even though i believe he deserved and he probably does too. but, i think they always make it more than they should so it can be appealed down a couple games. that way it looks like a win-win for the union and MLB.

top 5: z strikes out the side and now has 7 k's and 0 hits (but 4 walks in the 1st)

bot 5: weak ground out by pierre, weak pop up by neifi then walker smacks a single. if either of those guys has a respectable on base percentage, we could have guys at 1st and 3rd with one out. but they don't.

5th inning rant: now i see why aramis hits sixth. why waste him behind top of the order guys who can't get on base?

top 6: two more walks for zambrano (six total), but still no hits

bot 6: look out, aramis is hot! he scored on freddie bynum's second home run of his career. braves 1, cubs 4

6th inning rant: just as i was about to denounce bynum and say why not bring up felix pie he goes and hits a homerun, so he is off the hook for now. instead, i can only wonder how the cubs will screw this one up. z is already at 105 pitches going into the 7th. will he get tired or will we be suffereing in the ninth with dempster comes in?

top 7: doesn't look like z is tiring, but howry is warming up in the bullpen. i can only listen to the game on the radio, but our best fielder may be becoming our best fielder...aramis makes a web gem at 3rd with walker making a nice pick at first. but right after that jones loses a fly ball in the sun and drops it for a double--losing zambrano's no hitter! of course, zambrano can't handle it and gives up a run on the next pitch. howry gets the last out. braves 2, cubs 4

7th inning stretch rant: i like ron santo, but he sang take me out to the ballgame - again! this is like the 10th time this year! hey, if we can't find good people to do it, let's scratch it. or, at least have ronny do it all the time, or some other cubs figure, because we don't need second rate celebrities singing it or even worse high school basketball coaches.

bot 7: cubs get another run on a michael barrett double (i guess he is trying to go out on a high note). jones doesn't help the boo bird situation by striking out to end the inning. braves 2, cubs 5.

7th inning rant: i am as big a jacque jones supporter as anyone. his offense is exactly what i expected. he's hitting between .270-.280 with decent power. what i don't get is that he played for the twins, an organization known for producing players who are well-rounded; ones that do all the little things like play defense and run the bases. well, that is where jacque falls short. he has made more baserunning mistakes than i care to remember and i have seen him throw the ball straight into the ground on several occasions. then today he drops a fly ball in the sun. i know the sun is tough, but you should know how to handle it at your home park. most of the boos have stopped for jones, but if he keeps this up he better get used to them again, because even the casual fans can see those stupid mistakes.

top 8: braves get a run, but the bullpen holds again with the tying run at the plate. the really sad part of this year is that the bullpen is actually excellent. howry and eyre have been exactly as advertised. so our weakness was fixed from last year, everything else just got worse...figure. braves 3, cubs 5

bot 8: look! it's a mike remlinger sighting. remember when he was supposed to save our bullpen woes? what a catastrophe. just another guy to take the cubs money and run. of course he comes in with a guy on third and one out and the cubs new guys mabry and pierre can't get him home...pitiful. i wish we had someone to pinch-hit for pierre, there's got to be someone. he hasn't had an rbi since the cub's home opener (yep, you heard right), 44 games ago. ron santo was on the radio hoping for a wild pitch b/c he knew there was no chance pierre would get a hit. hilarious.

8th inning rant: mark prior. two words: deal him oh, wait. they tried, but no one would take him. the guy just seems to be a wimp to me. i've never heard of anyone taking 6 months to get over a muscle strain. hell, kerry wood have shoulder surgery and came back quicker than this. i guarantee that if prior comes back, he will be on the DL again before the end of the year. of course, it won't be serious enough to require surgery, but he won't be pitching again until the all-star break of 2008. what a loser. but, hey, i hope i eat my words. he is going on a rehab assignment.

top 9: here comes dempster, let's see if he can screw up again...one pitch, one hit. two hits in a row. here we go again. wild pitch, disgusting. walk. bases loaded. no outs. dempster just walked in a run. no outs. braves 4, cubs 5. strike out. sac fly, tie game...but wait, neifi drops the relay throw and then giles scores with neifi throwing the ball high, braves lead 6-5 (neifi gets two errors - good thing he can hit, right! haha!)

ok, forget this.. so much for blogging a game and so much for guaranteeing a victory. the cubs can lose anyway, anytime. they can't beat the marlins, they score fewer runs than the royals, they are quite simply the worst team in the major leagues.

i have tickets tomorrow and sunday and i guarantee you i will be booing. something i have never done in my life at wrigley field.

cubs 3, marlins 9

not even a hall of famer can help the cubs. maddux finally lost it after giving up 5 runs in the 5th inning after the cubs had given him a 3-1 lead. if you ask me, he's done. not that i don't think he can't pitch anymore, but who would want to play for the cubs? i only say that because i think he thinks he's done. did you see how he attacked the water cooler? i think he's pissed that he decided to play for the cubs, not because he gave up 5 runs in one inning.

this is the third game in a row that we have lost to a pitcher with a 6.00+ era. how can we not beat these guys? oh yeah, we have juan pierre in the leadoff spot and todd walker hitting in the 3 hole. but, of course, it is not their fault according to dusty baker. really? whose fault is it then? dusty's ? not his fault either. injuries? there has been only one injury this year. they rest they knew about. so, i guess we get to blame hendry, but didn't he just get a contract extension. i hope a condition of the contract was firing dusty baker. who's been the most successful manager over the past 15 years? bobby cox. why? b/c he doesn't let his players get away with not hustling. who was the best manager of the year last year? ozzie guillen. why? b/c when his players sucked, he told them they sucked. dusty's a hugger, these guys are butt-kickers, baseball is not a game of hugs!

by the way, i would much rather be a marlins fan than a cubs fan right now. at least they have young talent and players to go watch (cabrera, willis, ramirez). maybe the cubs should take the hint. maybe it's time they start over and stop thinking about 2003.

cubs 4, marlins 5

NOOOOOO! how can this happen?!?! this is the marlins!

looks like not even kid k can save us. what more does he need to do? he came out and pitched with a sore shoulder. the rest of the bullpen was lights out, but for some reason dempster is losing his mojo.

to get beat by the likes of wes helms, hanley ramirez, dan uggla, josh willingham and mike jacobs has just got to be embarrassing. i know i'm embarrassed for the cubs. i hope dusty is embarrassed. actually, i'm sure he is, but the sad part is he'll continue to stroke the players' egos.

cubs 1, marlins 9

oh no! do you think hitters have figured out sean marshall? doubt it. this is probably the worst team for marshall to face since they all were in the minors together last year. in fact, i think the marlins roughed him up the first time they saw each other all year.

how 'bout that cubs prospect ricky nolasco mowing down the cubs? isn't that what always seems to happen? the cubs trade away someone and no matter how good or bad they become they always haunt the cubs. this one was especially painful since we traded this kid away for the "speedy " juan pierre. what a trade that has turned out to be (for the marlins!). heck, nolasco has three wins to his credit. juan pierre has probably been a big part in about ZERO cubs wins. the sad part is, we are only using pierre for one year. next year, it's felix pie's time!

cubs 7, white sox 4

today, i am in a much better mood,

i knew it! barrett's punch did put a spark in the cubs! it looked kinda shaky there for a while, but then guess who (barrett) came up with the clutch triple to tie the game and then my favorite person not to boo for hit a rocket out to left center to put the cubs up for good. the cubs looked like they had just won the world series, but can you blame them? this is probably their biggest win of the year!

now, on to florida to face one of the few teams that are actually worse than us. after today i have some good feelings.

rich hill got sent down today and for good reason. i just don't understand how you can strike out almost 2 guys an inning in triple-a and then can't throw a strike from a big league mound. it's got to be something mental. is it confidence? i doubt it. i think he just may not be so bright. do you hear the comments he said about the fight? big mistake. and ozzie guillen let him have it, saying "that kid is going to cost dusty his job." well, that's if dusty doesn't lose it for himself first!

cubs 0, white sox 7

holy crap! i am so glad that barrett punched that guy. what a dick! okay, barrett was wrong, but the cubs had to show some life and barrett seems to be the only guy he cares. remember when he started shit in san francisco too? i wish the whole teamed cared as much has he did. i couldn't even watch this game after that, though. i was so worked up myself i was ready to drive down to the cell pick up barrett and wait for a.j. after the game. instead, i went outside and worked on my bike until i calmed down.

anyway, what is rich hill still doing up in the majors? if anything he should be in the bullpen for mop up duty. he has no business starting games. just look what happened. every other pitch was over the batter's head. he needs to learn how to control his emotions before they let him start another game.

i did look at the box score later and noticed the cubs had more hits than the sox. how do they not score a single run when they had 9 hits? this is just sad and it's time dusty took responsibility. i also noticed the bullpen did a nice job...remember last year "if we only had a bullpen"?

cubs 1, white sox 6

Well this ought to be a long weekend. i had to make a bet for $20 that the cubs would win this series just to show some team pride and be interested in the series. i knew it was $20 down the drain right away.

i thought today we might actually have a chance. i wish i could have seen the game, because i cannot believe that maddux walked 5 in 5+ innings. they were either squeezing the plate or he was trying to throw the game. i mean, that just doesn't happen. of course all those walks can only leave to trouble and once the cubs get down a couple runs, you know they're not coming back.

we are virtually guaranteed a loss tomorrow with rich hill pitching, so let's look forward to sunday!

nationals 5, cubs 3

kerry wood is back!!! and up to his old tricks. people may think this was just a warm-up for wood since this is his first start back from injury, but believe me get used to it. this is vintage wood. he is dominant (6 k's in 5 inn), but he is prone to trying to blow the ball by people and leaving it over the plate resulting in home runs. they hit three off him today, which is more than enough when you consider we have neifi perez AND jerry hairston in the lineup. to be honest, kerry wood might have been our biggest threat for a home run today.

nationals 0, cubs 5

wow, i guess this is what you call a winning streak!

the good news is sean marshall looked great again, allowing only one hit through six innings. this is probably the best move cubs management has made all year. they saw his poise and ran with it. this may save dusty's job (Since i doubt they will blame him for the injuries)

the bad news is aramis got hurt. i know he is only hitting in the two-teens, but he is far and away our biggest power threat. i love everything about the way aramis plays the game (Even the fact that he looks lazy sometimes), but i can't get over how often he gets hurt. and it's always something little that will nag on forever...a calf, a quad, back spasms. what is he doing in his off-season workouts?

nationals 0, cubs 4

so, this is the last of the series in which i thought the cubs actually had a chance to survive without lee. things haven't gone as planned, but at least zambrano is starting to look like the cy young candidate some people were predicting.

of course, nothing comes easy these days for the cubs. they looked like they were going to blow it open early until jacque jones got doubled off second in the fourth inning. luckily, the cubs were able to pick him up.

this led to an ugly incident of a fan throwing a ball out onto the field and almost hit jones. this leads me to reitterate a couple points. 1) that jacque jones is the least of our worries. he has been our best hitter in the month of may. (although, he does seem to screw up a lot running the base - but at least he gets on base!) 2) i wish there were more cubs fans. most of these people at the park have no clue what is going on out in the field and obviously don't care. it's time those people stopped going so the cubs can see their true fans are not happy with the product on the field which will be evident by the number of empty seats.

but that's enough negativity on a day when the cubs won.

padres 9, cubs 0

swept by the padres...for the entire year! how do we lose all 7 of our games to a team like the padres. i mean, we were never really in any of the games. sure yesterday was close, but you knew we were going to lose, just like today when it was 0-0 in the fifth, you knew the game was over. sure enough, next thing you know the cubs are kicking the ball all over the place and the score is 5-0. oh well, maybe it is time to give up. i wish i never started this blog now. but i will keep going just like the cubs will. even if they end up 20-142.

padres 4, cubs 3

what else can go wrong? it was cold and wet, so they let maddux blow in his hand which gives him that extra "something" to help him baffle hitters. he looked good for eight innings and then came in dempster. usually, this guy is as reliable as they come. he hadn't blown a save since july last year. but, this a year where everything has gone wrong so of course he gave up a three run homer in the ninth giving us 12 losses in our last 13 games.

it makes even more sad that maddux has to endure this. he came back to the cubs to make them a winner and not even he can help. the guy is looking like the best athlete on the team at 40. he made an unbelievable play in the field and even stole a base. what can't this guy do?

padres 10, cubs 5

why can't we beat the padres?!? this is insane! they have to be one of the worst offenses i have ever seen! who is dave roberts? has he ever been good? because he is destroying us. he must have like 10 stolen bases off us!

this is just plain sad. sad, i say. i about to do what haber has done and stop following the cubs until d-lee can come back.

guzman pitched today and displayed his stuff, but again can't stop walking people. he could only go 3 innings b/c he had already thrown 87 pitches! he somehow managed to give up only two runs but then they brought in rusch, our specialists at giving up runs, and the game was as good as over.

at least the cubs showed a little bit of fight today when barrett started jawing at roberts. hopefully, this means the players are becoming as embarrassed as the fans and may start to play with a little bit of urgency. we'll see.

cubs 3, giants 9

back to the same old, same old.

sean marshall came out and gave up more runs in the first inning than he did in any other game this year and the rest of the team looked like they were still sleeping off their hangovers after celebrating the win last night.

this game was even more disappointing since i got out of work early and it would have been nice to watch the game, but i just couldn't bring myself to watch it after the first inning.

cubs 8, giants 1

FINALLY!

the cubs finally win one. thank you carlos! it's about time you got your first win of the year. actually, i think matt cain gets most of the credit here. he has just been awful this year and is exactly what we needed to break out of our slump. at one point, it actually looked like the giants were letting the cubs win. in the 6th inning the cubs scored five mainly due to sloppy giants defense.

is dusty reading my blog? i told him to move pierre out of the leadoff spot here and here and he finally did it today. is it any coincidence that they won? i doubt it--it doesn't take a lot of smarts to get a guy with a .270 obp out of the top spot. although, i would like to see him moved down to the eight spot--c'mon dusty! trust me!

cubs 1, giants 6

ok, i get it, nobody likes barry bonds. big deal. but the guy does have 713 home runs. sure, some of those were steroid induced, but just think how many he would have hit if the steroids wouldn't have ruin his body! ok, i'm half joking there, but only half. i wish people would just drop it. especially, major league baseball. they created this mess themselves. what was canseco's/caminiti's estimate? 75% of players using 'roids. so we all hate bonds b/c he was the best hitter with the best 'roids? like i said, hate bud selig. he let it go on and now he is trying to act like he wanted to stop it this whole time. give me a break. he should have at least been smart enough to know this day was coming.

i'm also sick of seeing pierre rob bonds tonight. like it even made a difference! the cubs still lost the game, barry still has 713 home runs, and he is still hitting under .240. change. there's an idea. why don't we change the lineup and pierre in the eight hole. at least his average won't hurt us as bad down there and when (if) he gets on he can run all he wants.

cubs 3, padres 8

i thought maddux was gonna stop this streak last time he pitched. but, i think he is done for the year. in two games, his era has gone from 0.99 to 3.7-something. i guess you can only hope a 40-year-old can carry you for so long. and honestly, he should only be a number 4 pitcher right now, not your stopper. anyway, the cubs have bigger problems than maddux. we need some hitting! 2 home runs in two days is not enough from ramirez. what has happened to todd walker and michael barrett? when was the last time they had an rbi?

cubs 3, padres 6

holy cow! 3 runs. i guess we should be happy with that. at least it is a start! but, alas, it is yet another loss. are we actually gonna get sweeped by the wimpy padres? it looks like that. can someone please tell me why pierre is still hitting leadoff? he is now hitting under .240 and his obp is under .290. pathetic. give me corey patterson back. thank you.

good news: aramis is breaking out of it. too little. too late.

too little, too late also goes for kerry wood who stuck out 12 in five innings in class A. thanks for the effort, at least.

cubs 1, padres 2

another day, another extra inning game and even more pitiful offense. of course, the cubs came out on the short end again. i actually go to go to this game and got to sit in the "aflac" seats where i was able to see sean marshall's curveball up close. it was absolutely filthy! too bad the cubs weren't able to capitalize.

about the only joy i got tonight was watching mike piazza trying to throw out runners.

cubs 0, padres 1

i just want to throw up! i know it is cinco de mayo, but drink after the game not before it. how do these teams score only 1 run in extra innings? we watched this game from the top of the hilton. i forgot my camera at the restaurant, but take my word for it, it was a pretty sweet view. i kept joking with the padres fans that these are the two worst offenses in the league. and i think it's safe to say we know which one is actually the worst!

at least zambrano pitched strong. good for my fantasy team. if you don't know why people play fantasy, this is why. it gives you another team to root for when you are a cubs fan.

cubs 0, diamondbacks 6

ok, this was just disgusting! getting shut out by juan cruz for five innings?!?! that is just ridiculous. maybe they don't even want to hit. maybe they all want to be injured and hang out in arizona playing extending spring training games with kerry wood. speaking of, i know kerry is in arizona and is progressing towards a rehab start, but where the hell is prior?!?! that guy is a joke! he is just collecting a paycheck and everytime he has to do some work he complains of some shoulder stiffness or that he caught a virus. i wish he actually had to earn his money, but he will never have to. just look at aj burnett. he never did anything in the majors except get hurt and he signed a $55 million contract this past year. must be nice.

oh yeah, rich hill didn't look so hot, but i's still rather have him up here than glendon rusch. maybe he'll turn into the next john koronka (who needs him?).

cubs 1, diamondbacks 5

alright, i knew this was going to happen. i admit, i added to the cubs woes. how else can you explain maddux losing his touch. must be that i traded him in my fantasy league for zambrano. hopefully, this we at least get big z going.

this is starting to look really terrible. after losing two to the lowly pirates, we HAD to come out here and take both of these from the d-backs before we headed to san diego. if we don't start hitting, it is going to be a long trip playing 8-in-a-row on the road before coming home.

pirates 8, cubs 0

something must be done! what is wrong with our offense? i know derrek lee is out, but after getting shutout (again!) today, the team must be hitting under .200. the offense is absolutely unacceptable. dusty needs to have a closed-door meeting or something. he needs to guys out there who want to play. this was a critical stretch for us.

the marlins are the youngest team in baseball, the brewers are beatable, and the pirates are just plain terrible. winning half of the games was not good enough. we need to beat these teams while lee is out. we still have a couple softies on the schedule in arizona and the padres, so let's hope i can bring them some luck on my san diego trip.

angel got roughed up today, but is more rookie mistakes than anything. a couple walks and a couple wild pitches got him in trouble. you can see the stuff is there as he struck out 7 in under 6 innings. i think he is a keeper.

speaking of rookies, maybe it is time we play restovich (and maybe bring up pie). at least these guys will want to play and want to hit rather than mope around that their best player is hurt.

pirates 1, cubs 2

maybe we should start playing all rookies. sean marshall just seems to be getting better. he hasn't lost a game yet, and he deserved to win this one as well. and, of course, who came through with the game winning hit? who else? matt murton. i don't know where we'd be without him. seems like he is the only one who can come up with a clutch hit.

i just picked up corey patterson in a fantasy league. can you believe that? i'm starting to think that if the cubs fans want to boo someone they should start looking at juan pierre. he was supposed to be the spark plus to our offense. god knows we gave up enough young pitching for him. check out the comparison between pierre and patterson here.