Too Good For This Team

By now, all of you know that Greg Maddux was traded by the Cubs to the Dodgers (note to Nancy Pender of Fox Chicago, this is only the FIRST time the Cubs traded him, not the second - the first time he left as a free agent). Greg will definitely be the best pitcher the Cubs have ever drafted, even if he technically won't be the best pitcher they've ever had. Both times he was with the Cubs, they let him down, not the other way around. The first time, as is well known, he left the Cubs to go to the Atlanta Braves after the 1992 season. Though the Tribune Co. did their best to spin Greg as a traitor, the opposite was actually true. In 1991*, the Cubs and Maddux had agreed on a long-term deal, only to have Stan Cook* of the Trib spike it at the last minute, because of some technicality he imposed. After the '92 season, Maddux was reluctant to leave, and had been convinced by teammate and friend Mike Morgan to return and sign the Cubs offer, only to be told by Larry Himes the deal was now off the table. So, actually, Maddux was only 2 dickheads away from being a lifelong Cub. Instead, the Cubs showed him. They showed him that they didn't need his multiple Cy Young awards or his quality pitching.

Give Jim Hendry credit for trying to right a wrong he had no part of, even if it was several years too late. He brought Maddux back in 2004 when it looked like Maddux might be the final piece of the puzzle. Unfortuantely, that didn't work out, but not because of Greg. The real tragedy of Maddux's 2nd stint for me, is not that he didn't pitch like the Atlanta Brave Maddux, or that he didn't get the Cubs to the postseason. Though his numbers were not stellar by any means, he made every single scheduled start in his 2.5 years with the team, unlike a couple of highly heralded phenoms that we all know and don't necessarily hold in high esteem any longer. No, the real tragedy is that in Maddux, the Cubs had a pitcher the others could look to as a mentor, i.e., how to pitch economically and intelligently, and it appears that precious few took advantage of it, especially certain pitchers named Kerry and Mark. Maybe had they learn to have a few 8 pitch innings like Greg, they wouldn't have the woes they've had the last few seasons.

Farerwell, Greg. And thanks for the memories.

Dusty, it's comments like this that make us hate you

Then there was this item online today at Chicagosports.com. You've otta love this quote by Dusty:
""I'm always trying to win games," Baker said. "How many more kids do we have who deserve to be here? How many position-player kids do we have who have done well enough to deserve to be here? Or just because you heard about the kid a lot? I believe in earning it.""
Would that be earning it like Neifi has earned the 2nd spot in the batting order, Dusty? Or like how Glendone Rusch has earned repeated chances to pitch? Did you ever think if you gave a young player a chance, and supported him during his struggles,(you know, like you do with Neifi), it might actually work out well for the team? All we have left to hope for, is that Hendry decides Dusty is too much of a diva to re-hire, and lets him walk.

A Day Old But Worth Mentioning, Since I Know You All Were As Worried As I Was...

and no doubt were as relieved as me to know that Dusty will be here through the end of the season at least. As I pointed out a few days ago, I think Jim Hendry is beyond rational thinking and just won't break up with his love, because everyone else wants him to. Funny thing Jim: after last year you said "79 wins will never be acceptable as long as I'm here" or close to that. What will you have to say about this year's debacle,whhich is looking like about 65 wins?

As Ralph Kramden might say "Whoa, What a Surprise!"

Incredibly, the Cubs actually won tonight despite the best efforts of Rich Hill, who apparently could not find the strike zone as usual, seeing as every time he comes to the majors he walks a ton of batters. Ryan Dempster actually got the save though he tried to blow it by fielding a ground ball up the middle, and when he failed it went right to Neifi Perez who stepped on second and threw to first for a game ending double play. See Ryan, when you don't pitch like a spazz, Dusty won't take you out and you don't have to get pissed about not getting the save. It is frustraiting to know they are 4-0 @ home vs. St Louis this year, 7-3 overall, and about 10-40 vs. everyone else @ Wrigley.

In what bseball universe is this acceptble?
Mark Prior had a no-hitter going when he was taken out of the Cubs 1-0 loss with 2 out in the 6th inning. Big deal. At the time he had already thrown 103 pitches. If you look at most box scores on any given day, the starter is usually taken out somewhere between 85 and 105 pitches, usually somewhere in the 7th or 8th inning. It seems like the Cubs are the only team where their starters routinely hit 100 pitches in the 6th, or even 5th, inning. Yet Larry "The Teflon pitching coach" Rothschild continues to be pitching coach, for whatever reason. Also, this was in the game story:"Prior understood the rationale for removing him, despite the no-hitter, and admitted his hand was cramping up at the end." I guess we have some insight into what his "rehab" was all about.

Someone is Always The Last to Know

When I was a kid, I remember my sister dated a guy that was a real lowlife scumbag. He literally was Fonzie without the cleaaned up image. He was a greaser droupout who did time in jail, he cheated on her, treated her like shit, and was generally abusive toward her to the point my parents hated him. It took her a long time before she finally realized they were right, and ended the relationship. I'll call him Taylor.

At my last job, there was a guy that was just a total asshole. Every one who had to work with him knew what a useless piece of shit he really was, except for our boss, who thought he was the greatest. I'll call him Jeff. At my current job, there is a guy I used to work with who is not quite as bad, but is in his own right a bullying blowhard who knows far less than he pretends to, and everyone realizes that except for the woman I used to work for (his current boss). I'll call him Larry.

My daughter is just starting out in the working world, and has a coworker who is the same way - unreliable, lacking in the proper job skills, and thought of as useless by everyone except the boss. I'll call her Ramona.

What do Taylor, Jeff, Larry and Ramona have to do with a Cubs blog? Easy. They are to their situations what Dusty Baker is to us. We have all figured out that Dusty is useless, a bully (to rookies and young players), incompetent (Neifi batted 2nd once again today!), lacking in the proper job skills (can't handle pitchers, can't make out a lineup card, doesn't realize that he is in charge and can schedule infield/outfield practice because he is the boss) and probably the worst manager in baseball. However, there is one HUGE problem. The person who can do something about it is infatuated with Dusty even after the collapses of 2003-04 and the failures of the last 2 years. I think Jim Hendry probably figures that the more people say he should "break up" with Dusty, the more he's going to say "never". There really are only 2 hopes:
1) New owners come in and clean house
2) Dusty quits

Evidently there was a bit of a controversy about Baker appearing on this ESPN show. Some people feel this would have been like ambushing Dusty. That is probably true. However, I've become of the mindset, right or wrong, the only way we'll get rid of Dusty is if we boo him every chance we get, whether it be every time he sticks his head out of the dugout at Wrigley, or if we see him at Jewel or Dominick's. And while it's not fair, we probably have to boo Darren too. It seems the only way he'll leave is if he is so miserable in Chicago he won't want to come back. To me, that seems like our only chance.

Ask Paul

These columns are usually pretty ridiculous, both the person asking Paul Sullivan and Paul's response. Here are some of the "better"ones:
"I recently read The Tribune Co. was having financial problems. I have a plan that could add $85 million to the bottom line and guarantee a sellout. First, the Tribune sends Andy McPhail, Jim Hendry and Dusty Baker packing. The Tribune then holds a press conference announcing that Ronnie Woo Woo now holds all three titles--president, general manager and manager. This reduces payroll by about $6-7 million. The following week the Tribune informs Mr. Woo Woo that the 2007 Cubs will have a $15 million payroll, same as the Marlins and saving another $80 million. They'll probably lose 110 games but fans will be understanding. As an added benefit, Mr. Woo Woo will sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch and at appropriate times bring the Wrigley Field crowd to its feet as he does the famous Woo Woo cheer from the dugout steps. The tourists will love it. Do you think the Tribune Co. would consider such a suggestion?--Walter Muratori, Newport Coast, Calif."
If Walter ever comes to Chicago to watch the cubs in person, I hope someone douses him with beer for this idea -new or "used".

"You want wacky? Let's go back to Baltimore, offer them Mark Prior and Bob Brenly for Miguel Tejada and Jim Palmer. Tejada makes an instant impact and Palmer can come out of the TV booth and close. You were right, we should have shipped off Prior in the winter. --Russ Bradley, Spartanburg, S.C.Thank you, but you all need to apologize to Hendry, who might've been able to pull off a Tejada trade but was probably stunned by the backlash from Cubs fans telling him how stupid it was to trade Prior." If Hendry is making/not making trades based on fan backlash, then we definitely have the wrong person as GM.

"How about Dusty Baker for Joe Girardi and I'll even throw in Glendon Rusch at no extra cost. --Steve Fritsch, Oceanside, Calif.Well, if the Cubs want Joe Girardi, they'll have to do better than trading them Dusty. The Mariners got Randy Winn from Tampa when the Devil Rays got Lou Piniella. I'd say the better idea is Sean Marshall or Carlos Marmol for Girardi." Marmol looks like a keeper. I'd say Marshall for Girardi might be fair. We'll even throw Baker in.

2 more years for Baker might not be crazy, Phil, but you sure are

Phil Rogers wrote his column today in Chicagosports.com about why he thinks Dusty Baker is the best choice for manager for the next 2 years. I'll bet he got the reaction he was looking for, if the other blogs and message boards are any measure, although, only 56% of the people in the Chicagosports.com poll disagree with him. Personally, I was going to rant and rave about this myself, but I see where Phil is coming from. I think he figures that if the Trib starts firing people based on incompetence, he's following Baker, Hendry and MacPhail right out the door. In fact, if the Trib does that, they'll have to hire almost a complete newsports section staff. But seriously, Phil, why don't you follow your heart and go back to Texas, where you can spend all your time kissing Roger Clemens and Andy Pettite's butts.

Relity Check for the Donut King

If Jim Hendry harbored any delusions of this team contending for the wild card, the debacle of last night's game hopefully convinced him that that is not going to happen. It's time for him to size up the individual pieces and identify which ones will bring him top prospects, and trade accordingly. As I posted yesterday, Big Z and Derricles are the 2 players the Cubs should rebuild around. If Jim does it right, he can pick up several quality prospects for some of the more sought after players on the team, let them play out the rest of the season in Chicago, promote a few of the top prospects like Felix Pie and allow them to show what they have, and then go out in the offseason and sign some top tier free agents and give the fans, as well as Carlos and D Lee some hope for 2007. By the way Jim, doing it right includes deep-sixing Dustbag the Windbag. Which probably means that Jim won't get any of it right. He'll keep Baker, trade a few guys for minor leaguers that won't pan out, and all 2007 will mean is one more year that Lee and Zambrano won't get to the playoffs.

At least we got one player:

If Carlos Zambrano isn't the best Cub pitcher (or even all around player) ever, there haven't been too many better. What else can you say about a guy who leads the league in strikeouts, has hit 3 homers and now has stolen a base. For his and Derrek Lee's sake, I hope Hendry can figure out some way to make this team a winner next year, even if he has to spend $150 million on free agents (I know, not likely). Hendry owes it to them, if not the fans, to build a winner in 2007.

Hollywood Remake

Back in the mid '70's during the Welcome Back Kotter years and before he became a movie star with Saturday Night Fever and Grease, John Travolta made a movie about a boy who had a disease tht was similar to HIV, in that his immune system didn't work and if he was exposed to germs, he could die. The solution was that the boy had to live in a sterile environment. After seeing this in the Tribune today, I am convinced that it is time for a remake of that movie, and I know just the person who could play that role:

1976:








2006 remake:

Dangerous Times Lie Ahead

As bad as the Cubs have been this year, which is really bad, the rest of the National League has been mediocre to poor. As a result, the Cubs are "only" about 12 games back in the wild card race. Now, in the past, we've seen teams make up near that number of games in far less time than is left. In 2004, the Astros made up a 7 game deficit on the wild card leader in August, to themselves capture the wild card. Of course, it helped out that the wild card leader they made up that kind of ground on was our own dysfunctional Cubs. Nonetheless, it is possible. I just don't think it's possible for the Cubs to do so, given how they've generally ignored fundamentals and omitted things from their game like pitch selection. Unfortunately, given the 4-1 record in the 5 games right before the All Star Break, this is a dangerous time for the Cubs. You just know that Jim Hendry is looking at that, and at the mediocre records of most of the other NL teams, and is thinking that they can get back in the wild-card race. The danger, of course, is that come July 31, they will either do nothing, or make a stupid trade for a veteran so they can get back in it.

All I can say is that Jim, if you're reading this (which I doubt), before you consider standing pat or adding a player or players for the "stretch run", set some standards that the players have to play up to first. I figure the Cubs have about 15 games or so before July 31. If they don't go at least 13-2 and gain at least 4 games on the WC leader (currently the Dodgers?), there is absolutely no point in them doing anything but selling pieces to the highest bidder.

Also, are any of us fans really surprised
that Hendry said that Baker's job was never in doubt? I know I'm not surprised. For whatever reason, Jim seems to have a real attachment to Dusty. I don't get it, since Dusty has proven he was, and is, the wrong manager for the Cubs, but since Jim is the wrong GM for the Cubs, maybe they figure 2 wrongs make a right. Also, Big Z is apparently OK after the ASG mishap with the fungo bat. Prior is supposed to throw Thursday to see if he's OK. Imagine if he'd have gotten hit by the fungo bat? He probably wouldn't be able to pitch again until 2008.

Shut up, Scott

Then there was this item about Scott Eyre with this quote:
"I think if we keep playing the way we played this series, and if everyone would stop talking about Dusty's job, we could all play and relax a little more," Eyre said. "If something happens, it happens, but if everyone would stop talking about it, maybe it would take pressure off of everyone else."
Listen, jerkoff, maybe if you hadn't made this stupid, ill-advised throw and just ate the ball like you eat everything else, you wouldn't have gotten our star player and chief offensive threat hurt, and we might not be talking about your beloved manager getting fired.

Sympathy Pains?

Our favorite unhealty sick boy is at it again,, hurting his oblique muscle so he couldn't pitch today. I think its just like husbands having sympathy pains when their wives are pregnant. Prior was just having sympathy pains for Wood's injury.

Or maybe he's really pregnant? No, most pregnant women have higher pain tolerances than Prior.

"And Now, The End Is Near.."

Or so it might seem after this item about Kerry Wood having a torn rotator cuff wihch says that he is through for the season, and possibly his career, at least as a Cub. As much as many Cub fans like to blame Dusty Baker for Wood's downfall, I still can't blame Baker as much as I do a few others, including Wood himself. Dusty certainly has many faults and there are many reasons that the Cubs should get rid of him, but I don't think Kerry Wood's shoulder problems should be blamed on Baker as much as, say, Hendry, Rothschild or Wood himself. Anyway, I personally hope that the Cubs work out some kind of low-money, low-risk deal with Wood after throwing all that money his way the last few years, so that maybe he can salvage his career as a Cub, while letting Hendry have free agent money to get a good starter next offseason. He does at least seem like a good guy and a good teammate, if not always a healthy one.

Cubs Wars - Attack of the Bloggers
It looks like the blogger world of frustrated Cub fans has made its way to the mainstream media.
Some of my favorite comments are:
"From Kurtis Evans at Goatriders.org: "... People are speculating that it will either be right before or right after the All-Star break, but they are forgetting that this is Jim Hendry we're talking about. Jimbo wouldn't throw out a week-old, half-eaten donut if it had any kind of sentimental value" Good one, Kurt.

"From Mark Strickler at Viewfromthebleachers.com: "Dusty really perplexes me; I really think there had to be some brain damage at some point in his life."" True that, Mark.

Although I'm surprised he missed some of the comments from Chuck @ ivy chat, or Andy Dolan @ desipio . Both of them have been calling out Hendry and Baker for quite some time. I'm also disappointed he didn't mention me, but judging by the comments received, I think my blog right now is more of a personal diary.

Hammer, Meet Nail (Jim Hendry's Head)

Evidently, Jim Hendry had a revelation of some sort, like when Doc Brown fell and hit his head in the shower in Back To The Future. Apparently, based on how they sucked Monday.... "Hendry announced Tuesday he will use the four-day break to decide whether an overhaul is in order". My guess is if you asked 1 million fans what they thought, at least 999,999 would have come to that conclusion over a month ago. Maybe Saturday's Trashfest finally registered in his brain, 48 to 72 hours later, that "hey, this team sucks, and I should do something about it". A lot of people are excited because they figure Dusty will get the ax. For myself, I'll believe it when I see it. Let's face it, firing Baker and his coaches won't fix the problem, but hey! you gotta start somewhere.

Sheer lunacy

According to this article Jim Hendry doesn't think the Cubs as they are currently composed, need anything more than a "tweaking".

"“We need to obviously go back and look at how we might have done things that haven’t been successful and keep the parts we think are going to be successful. But if you look at it constructively, you still have a lot of people that are quality major-league players that are not old that can help you next year.”"

Well, Jim,with that crack managerial and coaching staff you put together, they won't be able to coach and manage those quality major league players any better next year than they are doing this year.

Here's a hint, Jim. If your manager refuses to play guys like Murton, Cedeno, Guzman, whoever, because "he's trying to win now" you should fire him on the spot. As you would say, obvisly, if he's been trying to win now" so far, he definitely is the worst manager in the history of baseball. In fact, he might do better if he tried to lose. I see no way this team of rejects is going to go 50 and 30 (after tonight's loss) to make it to .500, much less go 60 and 20 to get in playoff contention, so it only makes sense to play the 2nd half with next season in mind. Also, if he plays the regular losers vs. contenders because he wants to "play his best against the contenders" fire him also. His best has sucked most of this season. Otherwise, Jim, you should be the one that gets fired.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Congratultions to the fans that showered the field with trash after A J Pierzynski hit the 3 run homer with 2 out in the 9th today. If the Trib can put this garbage on the field day after day, then Cub fans should know that Wrigley is just a big garbage dump, and act accordingly.

Though I don't think Pierce would approve.