Maybe a different colored cat.

I'm probably going to catch hell from other Cub fans for even bringing this up, but...

It has been 40 years.
2009 - 1969 = 40

Well, not exactly 40 years yet, but it seems like no one is even acknowledging this.
All I want to know is..
Has anyone... in all this time... considered...possibly... maybe...
letting a white cat roam across the field in front of Lou Piniella and then running behind whoever happens to be playing 3rd base (get well soon, Ramirez!) while he's on deck?


click on photo for Chicago Tribune article.

Everyone's been concentrating on that OTHER animal. Maybe it's time to shift gears.

OK, fine. You're not going to bother giving in to these "silly superstitions".
Then someone stop by the clubhouse and tell Lou to start giving these guys more batting practice or something! This is friggin ridiculous!!! Yes, more ridiculous than a freakin animal curse!

p.s. - Go Cubs.




Ed also contributes various rantings to his own blog , VirtualCheeseBlogger

101 Years... AND COUNTING

Here's my yearly pitch for you to buy a tee shirt.

2009 Opening Day - CUBS WIN!

Just sayin...

Wrigley Field - LIVE CAM!

Wrigley Field Live Cam - courtesy of Cubworld.com

reload this page to see the latest image, or click on the image
or the link at the top to go to the Cubworld site which refreshes automatically.

MLB Fan Value Corner

MLB has launched a section of their baseball juggernaut of team websites called "MLB Fan Value Corner".

I'd call it the "We're stuck with all those crappy, often rainy (and in the Cubs' case SNOWY) friggin April Games and we want you to feel like we really care about bilking you out of your last dollar selling you lower than half-price tickets that you probably wouldn't want to buy anyway since you just spent your last paycheck paying off the interest on your high definition tv which gets the games just fine! Corner" .
But then, I'm probably not so good at marketing.

Anyway, if somehow you didn't manage to get some decent tickets this year (i might have extras - call me) and still want to catch a game in probably less than perfect weather conditions, or are a college student not concerned about possibly having your view partially obstructed by a support beam or skybox , you might be able to get an affordable ticket to our beloved national pasttime.

Enjoy!

Ed also contributes various rantings to his own blog , VirtualCheeseBlogger

Third Sign of the Apocalypse - VWR

Virtual Waiting Room ... on an iPhone!!!

14653 Is The New Magic Number

The wrist is banded. The waiting begins...

update 2-20-09 - 6:01AM -
8396?!?!?! WTF!!!! Damn, you, Virtual Waiting Room!
__________________________
Besides contributing to Jon's Baseball Blog,
I also contribute to my own not-so-sports related blog
called Virtual Cheeseblogger , located at:
virtualcheeseburger.blogspot.com

Cubs 13-Game Presale 2009 Rant

As one of the people on the season ticket waiting list (#2684 until they update the renewals for this season),
I received an email today about a 13-game presale going on tomorrow (Jan 15).
I could rant several pages on how I think Cub fans in general are getting fleeced (yes, I get that it's a business, but you gotta wonder if any of these people ever watched "Rookie of the Year" or noticed that most of us Cub fans have become poorer and poorer by the minute.), but I digress.

I bought into this presale last season, mainly because it included the opportunity to get Cubs vs. White Sox tickets. I'm still on the fence on whether I'm even going to purchase tickets this year, as I'm beyond crushed and disappointed that a certain baseball team failed to show up during the playoffs last year and got swept (blown away?) harder than the bleachers after 70's night (hurricane force winds - boy was THAT fun!).

If I were in the unlikely mood to buy tickets, I would definitely be hesitant to buy in to this 13 game deal again.
To start with, you are required to choose from specific sets of games the Cubs generally have difficulty selling during the regular sale date. They throw in a few token "good" games to hook you in (like the crosstown game). You must buy at least 3 (probably 4) games in April. Many of the April games are night games, which is great during the summer, but not in Chicago in April. I typically have one standing rule for April games. If I must purchase a game in April (and trust me, this is a last resort), I will choose a day game on the chance that the game might get some unseasonably sunny day. It happens, but usually you're stuck with rain or wintery conditions in April. May isn't a whole lot better. Plus, if you are stuck with extra tickets, as I often am, you are pretty much stuck with the tickets as most casual fans want to go to a summer-night game or a weekend game. I haven't heavily analyzed this year's list of available games yet , but those are usually pretty rare in this package.

The plus side of this deal is that if you have enough of a flexible work schedule and can get days off, you can obtain a handful of decent games in the middle of the week and it's one more opportunity to get tickets outside of the cluster-fudge that is the Late February Virtual Waiting Room Hell. Don't get me wrong, you will still have to deal with the dreaded VWR, but at least you have half a fighting chance to get tickets, if you for some irrational reason are still giving the Cubs a chance after 100 years of failure.
Feel free to comment on this. I'm too irritated by the Cubs to write any more about them today.

Below is a screenshot of the games they are making available for tomorrow's presale:
p.s. - Cubs Club is now 3 different payment levels and Vine Line subscribers are now getting bumped up in line on the season ticket waiting list? WTF IS THAT?!?!? Come on! It's hard enough for people to get these things!

p.p.s - Welcome Milton Bradley! Keep it Cool! You know what I mean.

Baseball Fans - Do Not Watch The Series!

Baseball fans:
DO NOT WATCH THE WORLD SERIES.

Don't turn to the channel on your DVR (on either tuner - you know who you are).
Don't switch over for a second to check the score.
Don't watch Baseball Tonight on ESPN
Don't watch any postgame analysis.

We need to send a message.
What that message is exactly, I don't know.
Wait! I know!
No, wait.. I lost it.
Oh yeah, I got it!
The message is this:

We don't wanna watch your crappy world series until the friggin Cubs play the friggin White Sox!

TV NETWORKS, ARE YOU LISTENING?
We don't care how.
Just make it happen.

p.s. - also make sure that more real fans have a reasonable chance to purchase tickets this time!
p.p.s. - TBS should not be allowed to show any more baseball games until they correctly position the cameras for proper pitch-viewing. There is no excuse!

Cubs 101

Third time's a charm.

What The Cubs Need

Nine 9th innings in a row instead of only one.

Reed Johnson (or anybody) to replace Fukudome.

Emergency life support on site for Ron Santo (and Cubs hitting).

All games going forward to be played in Milwaukee

More tickets at reasonable prices for REAL fans.

Beer in Wrigleyville in the 8th and 9th innings.

Cub Fans! It's Up To You!

To the lucky few who made it through the ticket lottery for the honor of purchasing playoff tickets (and didn't sell them to pay for rent or gasoline):

It's up to you, guys! "Root, root, root for the Cubbies!"
I know it's cold outside in October in the evenings, but we need to light a fire under the other fans in the stands. Yes, I know you're outnumbered by CEOs and celebrities and people with money who still had a few shekels left to pay those unreal prices for game tickets, but it's time...

Get up! Start the "Let's Go, Cubbies!" cheers! Clap until your hands warm up!
Scream "D - LEE!!!" and "Raaaaaammiiiirrreeezzzzz!!!" until your throat hurts!

This is the year!
Show them what home field advantage REALLY can do!

You also have my permission to wear red and blue face paint... but only this year.
And yes, it is also permissable to encourage Ronnie Woo Woo.

SO CHEER AND YELL AND SCREAM AND HECKLE THE DODGERS!
And you guys near the Cubs dugout... Don't let Lou leave the pitchers in too long!

Thank you for your time.
Go Cubs.
100yearsorbust.com

p.s. - Take a disco nap before the game. 8:30pm start time? Less beer, more caffeine!

Dear ESPN...

Dear ESPN,
PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT THE CUBS!
Lalalalalalalalalaaaaa! We're not listening to you! Lalalalalalalalalalaalalalalaaa!!!

(start humming "All the Way" by Eddie Vedder... )
Hmmm HMM hm HmmHmm hmm Hmmmmm!!!

Thank you.

p.s. - Go Cubs.
p.p.s. - ESPN, you have my permission to talk about the White Sox :-)

Red Line Series? Maybe

Will the White Sox pull it out tonight?
(UPDATE 8:58PM Tuesday - Um... Yes, White Sox pull it out. "Dogs and Cats ... Living Together... MASS HYSTERIA!" - Peter Venkman)

I want to stay positive about this baseball season for all Chicago teams and hope the Sox make it through the playoffs
as I would love to see a Crosstown Series this year,
but as a Cub fan, it's hard for me to not make a snide comment about this:

The Sox are asking all of their fans to wear black to the ballpark.
Hmm.... are they plannning a funeral? (rim shot!)

Sorry... it was like shooting fish in a barrel. :-)

"We have to fight like a cat, paws up. If we are going to fail, fail like a man, with your belt tight." - Ozzie Guillen

"Wooooohoo o ohooooo oooohhhh !!!!" - Ron Santo

kinda sorta poll about the world series - revised

If the Cubs make it to the W.S. , who would you like them to play?

Here's my top 3 choices:

1) Red Sox
The team that used to have the second longest W.S. drought.

2) White Sox
A crosstown series? The city would probably implode. No wonder Chicago was ranked as the most stressful city.

3) Yankees
I was fortunate enough to see the Cubs play the Yankees at Wrigley. This was a sufficient surrogate W.S. for me.

3) Twins? Rays? I dunno.

Tell me your top 3 choices... POST A COMMENT BELOW :-)

Cubs - On a Mission!!! - Phase One Complete

'Nuff Said.

100yearsorbust.com

Kosuke Fukudome

The Cubs are reportedly pursuing Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. He does look like a great fit on paper; to find a left-handed hitting corner outfielder who walked 69 times in 81 games is a dream for this team, which is so short on left handed hitting and patient hitters. At $30 million over 3 years, it is well worth it if Fukudome can hit for power and walk 100 times with a .300 average on top of those.

There's only one problem I can see; it's those 81 games! Why only 81? In late July, according to Japanesebaseball.com, he had "right elbow pain." He is a left handed hitter but that is his throwing arm. If it is not healhty, that could also affect his hitting too. I'm not trying to be a naysayer; I'm also not trying to be negative just to be negative (Jay Mariotti needs to feed his family. I will find my own niche.) but this is the sort of thing that has potential to go very very wrong. If he can't throw we can't use him at first. Nothing would be a good reason for benching Derrek Lee.

Decision Due on Mark Prior

Let me weigh in on the Mark Prior situation. We all know that Prior is injury-prone, and a torn labrum is seriously bad news. But the fact is that Chris Carpenter did come back from this injury, and so potentially can Prior. This is a low-risk, high-upside situation.

Prior, if healthy, can be a key part of a great Cubs team in 2008. Prior, if sort of healthy, and a mediocre version of his former dominating self, can be a great steal at $3 million a year. Think of it this way: if someone will pay Juan Pierre $44 million, can't you justify spending $3 million on Prior just in case it works? There is no such thing as too much quality starting pitching!

The Cub rotation in 2008 looks like this:
1. Zambrano
2. Rich Hill
3. Ted Lilly
4. Ryan Dempster
5. Sean Marshall? Kevin Hart? Jason Marquis? Prior?

It is always a good sign in my experience when there are a lot of candidates, because inevitably with pitching someone gets hurt, and very often someone else goes horribly wrong (see Glendon Rusch!).
If the Cubs really want to trade, they should find a team desperate for starting pitching, and sell them on Jason Marquis. Don't expect a lot in return, because he has a big contract. It's not huge though; the main reason to move Marquis is because he is not needed in the rotation.

Kerry Wood signs, will he close this year?

Kerry Wood may be the Cubs' closer in 2008. He has agreed to take a smaller salary than he could have been paid elsewhere, in order to come back here. I love this move; it is the perfect situation for the team and for Kerry too.

I am looking forward to Wood as closer next year; in this role, he can potentially play a big role in a possible playoff run in 2008. This is a great chance for Wood to take care of unfinished business. From the Cubs' point of view, now they have shown their fans they will spend to win, and also bring back a fan favorite. Wood is respected among all Cubs fans. He has worked hard to get back in the game, even turned his back on starting just to get back to the mound any way he could.

If Wood does not work out - I could only see that happening if his arm does not hold up, or there is a different injury - Marmol has dominating stuff and would get a shot. Option number 3 would be Howry, once a Sox closer. If the sky falls, and all three of those options for closing don't work out, Dempster will be on hand to move back to the bullpen. The Cubs are set at closer now for 2008.