Baseball Historians

Cubs manager Lou Piniella finally heard my calls for change and started Ronny Cedeno at second base Tuesday night. Sure, Cedeno committed an error, even though he is suppposed to be much better at second base than Mark Fontenot. But not to worry Cubs nation. Cedeno is the better option at second base.
Firstly, he’s hitting […]

 
Ten years to the day Kerry Wood struck out 20 batters in a game, Carlos Zambrano was just as dominant.
Striking out three.
Zambrano came up huge for the Cubs, providing a spark that has been lacking the last couple of weeks with the exception of Zambrano starts. Big Z scattered three hits over eight innings and […]

 
Mike Fontenot looks like he’s about 16. And high. Which probably explains his decision to try and score from third base in the ninth inning with one out and the Cubs trailing 5-3.
The ball didn’t get as far away from the catcher as he thought and Fontenot was easily thrown out at home, leaving it up […]

Rich Hill we hardly knew thee. No, seriously, we hardly do know thee.
Last year Hill went 11-8 and struck out 183 batters (a team best) during his first ful season with the club. To begin this season Hill has an ERA over four and has walked 18 guys in 19-2/3 innings. So, which pitcher is […]

 
Ronny Cedeno will not be ignored.
After hitting .383 with a .473 on-base percentage in 22 games, manager Lou Piniella has to come up with a way to get Cedeno’s bat in the lineup.

 
Jason Marquis, with a chance to salvage the series and stick it to his former employer, was as effective as anger management courses for Lou Piniella during the Cubs’ 5-3 loss to St. Louis Sunday night. He allowed five runs and notched five walks over 5-1/3 innings. Fittingly, his ERA is now over five. And […]

The above picture was taken just moments before Kerry Wood threw the first pitch of the ninth inning during Thursday afternoon’s game. I bet you can guess what happened next.
No, Craig Counsell didn’t line one back up the middle, sending Wood’s glove, hat and clothing flying in all different directions. But he might as well.
Wood […]

It’s tough to think of Kosuke Fukudome as a rookie, what with the nine seasons of Japanese professional baseball under his belt and all, but the reality is that Mr. Fukudome is a rookie by Major League standards.
And what a rookie he is.

 
In my previous post I came to the defense of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. For those of you who didn’t catch the game last night, Cuban was sitting in the Tribune Co.’s primo seating for the game. Cuban has publicly expressed interest in owning the Cubs and as luck would have it the Tribune Co. […]

Alfonso Soriano is kind of like Mariah Carey: you either love him or you hate him. I’ve done both.
But regardless of how you feel about him, you have to admit that Soriano is important to this Cubs lineup. Well, Mike Downey agrees with you. And he also tries to insult the intelligence of any […]

 
Ten years ago I was just 12, smoking was banned in all California bars and restaurants, Bill Clinton emphatically promised the nation he did not have sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky and Google was founded.
It was also ten years ago that Kerry Wood exploded onto the baseball scene with his 20K performance against the Houston […]

 
Fourteen players came up to the plate, 12 of them got base hits and nine of those fellows drove in a run during the Cubs’ 19-5 whipping of Milwaukee. So how does Felix Pie manage not to get a single hit last night?
Regardless, Chicago made up for Tuesday’s lost opportunity by taking every single opportunity […]

Not satisfied with the city’s lack of sports related injuries, the fine folks of Freeport, Illinois have opened a miniature replica of Wrigley Field. The above shot is a picture of the little field not yet covered with ivy.
Nothing screams safety more than 11 and 12 years olds and brick walls. But that’s OK, once […]

 
The Cubs last four games have been less than steller, but have no fear Cubs Nation, your savior Alfonso Soriano is coming back! From the Sun Times:
How much leadoff hitter Alfonso Soriano can do fresh off the disabled list is anybody’s guess, but the $136 million man had his best, most vigorous workout since injuring […]

 
It’s clear from the photo above that Cubs rookie catcher Geovany Soto knows how to keep his eye on the ball. I mean, look at that focus. A roague catcher’s mask won’t get in the way between him and that baseball!
Unfortunately when Soto doesn’t have a large object dangling from the side of his face, […]

 
It’s certainly not the end of the season, but don’t you wish Mark Grace was embracing you right now after a difficult 2-0 loss to Washington? I know Ted Lilly could use it. The guy struggles to start the season, finally puts together two consecutive quality starts and has a boring 1-1 record to show […]

Now, I’ve never been to Wrigley Field so I don’t understand the intricacies of being a bleacher bum. But I didn’t think one had to risk his own life for the opportunity to cheer on the Cubs.
The gentlemen at Awful Announcing posted this video of a hot dog-eating contest in the bleachers and the results […]

You know things are going good for your team when Felix Pie hits a three-run home run.
Pie, who is currently hitting a healthy .172, notched his first home run of the season during the Cubs’ 7-1 win over the Mets last night. That’s doubly impressive when you consider he hasn’t started since April 15, taking […]

No Fukudome? No problem for the Cubs.
Considering how bad the Pirates have been against the North Siders, Lou Piniella could have started my brother’s Little League team and still won.

Having trouble at work? You should pitch against the Pirates.
Girlfriend broke up with you? Pitch against the Pirates.
Has your house been foreclosed? Well, you should probably find the cheapest hotel in the area. Then pitch against the Pirates.
Fact of the matter is, if you’re having a tough time and you need pick-me-up, pitching against the […]

 
Ted Lilly wasn’t sharp for his third straight start and the Cubs lost their second straight game to the Phillies, 7-1.
Lilly had control problems all game and as a result he gave up five runs over 4-1/3 innings pitched. Lilly hasn’t made it past the fifth inning yet this season.
This was also the third straight […]

 
Are you a big fan of American Idol? No? Well, Mark DeRosa would be ashamed of you! Because he’s not just an avid fan of the show, he has a favorite singer: Michael Johns
And guess who was recently voted off the show. That’s right, DeRosa’s boy. But rather than keep his emotions to himself or […]

 
All it took was one misplay and a miss on a catchable foul fly to bring Carlos Zambrano back from the chilled out stupor he’d been enjoying during his first two starts. Which is a great thing for me because I was beginning to worry about blogging an entire season without a Zambrano meltdown.

 
You don’t want to admit it but at one time you loved Sammy Sosa. It’s alright, most of us did. I mean, what was not to like about him? His home runs were massive, his sprint to the outfield was cute and he had an adorably goofy smile. Unfortunately corking a bat, cutting our of […]

 
<p>I really couldn’t help myself from a pirate joke somewhere on this post and no better place to do it than right in the headline. But all kidding aside, how does a team blow a seven-run lead to the Pirates? Are you kidding me? I don’t care if this game was on the road and […]

 Forget steroids or human growth hormones, ladies and gents. If you want to succeed at the Major League level what you need is bananas. A whole lot of bananas. At least it worked for Calors Zambrano who went seven innings and scattered seven hits and gave up two runs. Oh, and he struck out seven […]

Things have come up and that’s why I’ve missed the last two wrap ups. But have no fear Cubs nation, tonight you will get not one, not two, but three wrap ups! OK, maybe not three whole wrap ups, but I will go over the Houston series, which concludes today at sunny Wrigley.
So, while I’m […]

Ryan Dempster isn’t afraid to speak his mind. Prior to Spring Training, Dempster guaranteed a World Series victory for the Cubs, a pretty big statement considering
Chicago’s 99-year title drought. And after two losses to open up the season, critics were likely ready to pounce on the No. 3 starter if he couldn’t salvage
Chicago’s opening series.Well […]

 
When I was in high school I wasn’t the healthiest kid in the world. It was common for me to throw down Mountain Dew and pizza before many a summer baseball game. I even remember a double header where I hate five White Castle burgers between games. Five! So it’s no surprise I’m not a […]

 
Despite the loss, Opening Day 2008 was a memorable one for Cubs fans. Ernie Banks was honored with a nifty trophy, albiet a grammatically incorrect one. And rookie Kosuke Fukudome said kinichwa to Major League Baseball in impressive fashion.
As for today? Um, yeah, this one was worth forgetting.
Ted Lilly gave up a home run on […]