Chicago Sports Talk

Not that I dislike or love Barry Zito, but the guy is being demoted to the bullpen a year after signing the largest contract for a starting pitcher.

I feel bad for Zito in a way. As a pitcher, you are going to struggle and have your ups and downs. This happens regardless of the money you make. Just ask A-Rod who seems to disappear during the playoffs!

But for a pitcher, it’s even harder. You get older, you pitch every five days and most of the time, you don’t even have your best stuff.

I have little doubt that Zito will rebound from this horrible start and figure out a way to get out of the funk. Sometimes it takes a change of scenery (i.e. the dugout to the bullpen).

FYI…
Pat Misch, who will be replacing Zito, is a Chicago guy. The LHP from Northbrook went to Glenbrook North and Western Michigan. At only 26 years of age, which oddly enough is my age, makes me think what happened to my life.

i just knew that the sox were going to win yesterday no matter what! it was my first game this season, and i was set on seeing a great game! my blood was boiling with all of those yankee fans walking around with their stupid brooms as if we were going to get swept. yea, i’m not gonna lie i wanted to beat some people over the head with their cleaning supplies, but i held back. so my first game of the season was a winner, and boy was it sweet.

there were a lot of yankee fans at the game last night per usual, which is fine but really i didn’t understand why there were cub fans decked out in yankee apparel. actually according to another fan in our area decked out in fake k-mart yankee apparel. it rained a lot. i purchased a poncho. beefie bought a shirt to represent the chi-rish at the custom t-shirt shop. and i found a new stand called Comiskey Dogs that sells a real Chicago Hot Dog! it costs $5 and they do a very good job although one of the cashiers has a lazy eye and you aren’t sure when she is taking your order or the guy next to you. i got to see Bobby Jenks. i even got to see my Matt Thornton. i saw fireworks. when all was said and done it was a great day at the ballpark.

the game itself was fairly exciting too. i occasionally like the come from behind wins…although only when the White Sox win. =P i had a feeling that Gavin Floyd wasn’t going to have a spectacular game due to the conditions. but i was happy to see him come out after the rain delay. that says something about a pitcher. i think he wanted to show everyone that the picther he was in the 1st 3 innings was not a good representation of him over all. either way he did let some runs cross the plate, but he did a satisfactory job given the weather and field conditions. you also gotta give credit to the offense for getting to Ohlendorf. also very exciting was getting to joba chamberlain. joba is so dominating and i don’t think anyone wants to face him. it’s nice to win the way we did.

What a beautiful day last night for baseball!

The Yankees in town and great weather in April—what else can you ask for?Big props to my buddy Pete for heading to the game with me. Pretty much all of my other friends are Cubbie fans and hate making the trip to the South Side. Pete–I owe you one.

I got to the game late, because the baseball team I coach had a BIG win against their biggest conference rival! Even so, I asked for the best available seats and they were in section 155 down the left field line–made it hard to believe there couldn’t be something better OR that they cost $50.00.

Unfortunately, the White Sox bats just couldn’t get to Mike Mussina, who has always been a pitcher who keeps hitters off balance with his change of speed.

Joe Crede continued his hot hitting by dropping a monster bomb down the left field line. It was absolutely a no doubter, and a ball that landed not too far from us.

I was able to move to really good seats for the last couple innings…sadly just in time to see Mariano Rivera close the game. It was the first time I saw him up close. The guy has ridiculous stuff. His ball just jumps off his hand.

Couple Comiskey points:
1. $7.00 Heinekens made me think I was on State Street (That one beer could had been SEVEN at Kincades)

2. I made it to the ballpark in 25 minutes from Belmont and Pulaski–couldn’t believe it was that quick

Last Wednesday, Cincinnati’s Adam Dunn hit a home run onto Sheffield Avenue. Next, about 15 baseballs where thrown back onto the field. A Wrigley Field tradition on steroids (maybe I shouldn’t use that comparison). But it was a fun, comical moment.

But one person didn’t find it funny. Long-time Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman launched into a tirade about Cubs fans. He called us the most obnoxious fans in baseball, and people root for the Cubs to lose.

Click here to listen to his rant

Excuse me, Mr. Brennaman. At least we have fans that come out to the park. Every day it’s a sell out. The Cubs surpass 3 million fans every season. The crowd is on its feet in the third inning cheering on the pitcher to get out of the inning.

Bad fans? Are you serious? Obnoxious? I say the most passionate in baseball.

Case in point. When the Cubs clinched the division last year IN Cincinnati, there was more blue in the stands than red — and your seats are red. Cubs fans outnumbered Reds fans 2 to 1. If it wasn’t for the Cubs, you would’ve had more vendors than paying ticket holders.

You root for the Cubs to lose? Well, get used to Cubs Nation rooting for the utter demise of the Cincinnati Reds. Chicagoans do hold a grudge.

Be careful what you say, Mr. Brennaman. You tainted a Hall of Fame career — and your son’s too.

Hey, hey! Holy Cow! And any other celebratory catch phrase you can think of. The team that hasn’t won a World Series in a 100 years became just the second team in history to win 10,000 games.

The Cubs ran their all-time record to 10,000-9,465 with a win over Colorado Wednesday. And they did it in true, heart-stopping Cubs fashion. They jumped out to a lead … lost the lead … captured the lead in the ninth with a dramatic homer … lost the lead again … then an unsung hero saved the day in the 10th.

They join the Giants as the only other team in the 10K club. The Cubs’ first win came on April 25, 1876 with a 4-0 decision against Louisville. Their first game ever played.

How does this happen? 10,000 wins and 0 titles since 1908. Maybe they peaked too early.

There are other teams that have been around just as long and don’t have as many wins — but more big wins. The Yankees have just 9,394 victories but 26 titles. Not fair. I’ll gladly trade a few thousand wins for a World Series ring.

But maybe I won’t have too. They’re looking pretty good.

so i began writing about wednesday’s game and how i just love when the sox score a bunch of runs in the first inning setting a precedent for the rest of the game. and really, while i enjoy a good nail biter i occasionally like to just see a game i know we are going to win.

i have to admit i was a little nervous about contreras starting. he has been a bit inconsistent the last couple of seasons, but i am so glad he had a good outing. i needed to see him have a good game. he had his velocity up in the mid-90s and he was making his pitches. he was also not shaking off pitches and he got in his groove.

but overall i am loving how the white sox are playing right now. i love the defense. i am extremely glad to have crede back out on 3rd. i’m telling you – it was painful to see fields and other randoms miss balls that we all knew crede woulda had. and mr. clutch has also made a huge difference on runs scored and batted in, obviously. not only that but i get to wear my pink crede shirt to the games again! bonus!

keep it up white sox! maybe we will get to see our Sox-Cubs world series yet! it’s early, i know, but anything is possible!

So back in 2005, I was lucky enough to be a Sports Editing Assistant at the Chicago Tribune, and one of the few bonuses of being one meant the ability to get free newspapers.

This is something, THANK GOD, that I took advantage of during the 2005 playoff and World Series run.

I started to go through my parents’ garage to see what exactly I had collected and how many newspapers I actually have. Turns out that I have EVERY single sports section from the entire 2005 playoffs and NUMEROUS World Series newspapers.

Since my old man has been a journalist for quite some time, I have seen how “evil” or probably more appropriate how “naive” a wife can be. What do I mean by that??? Well, my mother has tossed out tons of old newspapers that my father had collected throughout his career. Obviously, most would be hard to find at any collector’s store.

At any rate, I hope to get my framed as soon as possible so that it would be IMPOSSIBLE for a friend, a future wife or even a dog to destroy them.

Pictured are some of the front pages from the 2005 World Series Tribune Archives.

It’s April and fans are still optimistic. Both Chicago teams have winning records, as a matter of fact, they have identical records. Can they both reach the playoffs? Yes. Can they both reach the World Series? Yes. A lot has to happen, but look at how good teams do it

The recipe for winning hasn’t changed over the the years. The intangibles help, but except for good luck they’re overrated. Good cubhouse chemistry, rah-rah guys, intense personalities, are all good, if you win. The same intagibles are considered a cancer in the clubhouse if you lose. Good pitching, good defense, timely hitting and avoiding or playing through key injuries add up to championships.

Do the Cubbies have the ingredients? Starting pitching, middle relief and their new closer all look solid. Some of the pitchers are in new roles and aren’t proven. Yet. Time will tell. Defense is a little shaky at times, but can be very impressive at other times. D-Lee is great, Fukudome is solid too. Pinella is good at making a defensive move if a guy doesn’t cut it, so it might seem like someone isn’t clicking early on, but he’ll get it right in the end, guaranteed. The hitters don’t have to pound the ball like they are now, but if D-Lee is consistent, if A. Ramirez stays interested the whole year, and if Soriano goes on the DL for a long time, letting a less selfish guy play, the lineup is strong. And again, trust in Sweet Lou to get it right on offense too.

How about the Chi-Sox? Do they have what it takes? Kenny Williams did another good job in the off season. Pitching? The starters are good, and have the potential to be one of the best. Kenny’s signings of Octavio Dotel and Linebrink are excellent. And Jenks is Jenks. The infield D is one of, if not the best in the A.L.The outfield is solid too. Hitting is timely so far and the big boppers are not even rolling yet.

So let’s get World Serious, and order those World Series tickets now! And then sit back, enjoy the season and wait for the Sox-Cubs battle. We can watch the Sox sip champagne at the end of the series.

Alfonso Soriano was placed on the 15-day DL on Wednesday after straining his calf after fielding a routine fly ball with a hop. I know it’s silly and unnecessary but if it helps him concentrate I’m fine with it. It doesn’t affect his defense and doesn’t prevent him from gunning runners out. (He’s thrown out 21 runners as a Cub)

What’s funny is that Lou Pinella moved Soriano into the No. 2 spot in the lineup to help save the left fielder’s legs. But the move screwed up his swing (or mind) and the experiment lasted just two games. Back in the leadoff spot, Soriano was starting to find his swing. Then he strains his calf. My head hurts trying to figure this one out.

But the most interesting part is that the Cubs called up a middle infielder (Eric Patterson) from triple A to replace a power-hitting left fielder. What does this mean for Matt Murton? Does this spell the end for Murton and the Cubs?

I say trade him. Who needs a slow corner outfielder with average power. There are rumors the Rays are interested but the Cubs are asking too much. The Cubs have a lot of good, quality players in the pipeline. Trade him for a few more prospects and add to a growing stockpile. This will give he Cubs leverage to make a better deal in the future when a glaring hole opens up or a better player hits the market.

What are your thoughts on Murton? Trade him or keep him?

So the first two weeks of baseball are in the books, and the White Sox are in first place–long way too go!

I just saw on ESPN this morning that the Tigers literally have the worst statistics in almost every offensive and pitching category. Unbelivable for a team that was to compete for a World Series. Again, though, long season ahead of us.

Joe Crede continues to stay red hot at the plate and leades the MLB with 15 RBIs. My prediction is that if Crede can stay healthy, the White Sox should be atop the VERY competitive AL Central. To me, his glove and bat are critical to White Sox success this year.

So my first game of the year got postponed til June. Not sure if that is a good sign or a bad one.

Friends with better work schedules

So three of my really good friends all have work off today (two of which either don’t have jobs or are about to start a new one)…kinda makes me jealous and realize I might be better off in a better profession. Dave, good luck on the new job…

New lounge discovery

I am normally not a huge fan of fancy places, but I grabbed some drinks at Pops for Champagne on State Street, and I must say the place was pretty fun last Saturday night. What type of place do I normally go to, well…it’s been a couple of years, but I went to the Billy Goat on Friday night!

Paul “Moving Along”

So I have all my stuff finally settled into my new place. Couches, t.v., dishes, towels, etc. etc. etc.–it seems like so much STUFF!!!  House party soon!