Archive - 2006

Well we didn't get the pitching gem I was hoping for but we did get seven RBI's out of Aramis and the offensive explosion continues. And winning is always nice, even if it'll cost us a slot or two in the draft. Today it's the ageless Moyer against "Scruffy" Miller. Scruffy was pretty solid in his last outing versus the Dodgers, giving up a mere hit in his five innings of work in a game eventually won by the Cubs thanks to another three-run dinger by Aramis Ramirez. Scruffy topped out at 90 mph from what I saw, although he seemed to have trouble locating at that speed. Most of the time he was in the high 80's with his fastball and I thought his curve and change worked nicely. This spoiler role is kind of fun, so Go Cubs! One more win by the Cubs and they will avoid 100 losses this year. Little victories. GAME ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-TWO IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (62-89 (Draft) 3rd - 4.5 GB) AT PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (77-73 (WC) 2nd - 1.5 GB) Citizens Bank Park, 6:05 pm CDT Weather: Cloudy, 75 degrees, Wind from L to R @ 8 mph TV: WCIU Radio: WGN, XM 184

Jamie Moyer, LHP (NL Only) 2-2, 4.32 ERA, 33.1 IP 17 K, 3 BB, 4 HR 271/321/470 against	Wade Miller, RHP 0-1, 6.75 ERA, 8 IP 6 K, 8 BB, 3 HR 214/389/536 against
*Juan Pierre, CF Ryan Theriot, 2B Aramis Ramirez, 3B Matt Murton, LF *Jacque Jones, RF Henry Blanco, 1B Ronny Cedeno, SS Geovany Soto, C Wade Miller, P	#Jimmy Rollins, SS #Shane Victorino, CF *Chase Utley, 2B *Ryan Howard, 1B *David Dellucci, RF Pat Burrell, LF Chris Coste, C #Abraham Nunez, 3B *Jamie Moyer, P
Cubs vs. Moyer: Jacque Jones: 6-18, 333/400/389, 3 K, 1 BB, 1 2B	Phillies vs. Miller: Jose Hernandez: 6-23, 251/320/435, 1 HR David Dellucci: 6-15, 400/471/667

Two straight gems by our starting staff has been a refreshing departure and Sean Marshall has about two to three more starts this year to leave some sort of impression going into the off-season. Hopefully it's a good one. While Marshall's final numbers at the end of the year probably won't be much to talk about, I think he's shown the ability to get major leaguers out and even flat out dominate at times. I'd say not to bad for a guy with about ten starts in AA before this season. And since consistency is generally the one thing lacking of rookie players, it's one of the things you hope he'll find in the very near future. And it's not like I'm advocating that the team guarantee him a spot this off-season and ignore the opportunity to acquire more talented players, but as the adage seems to go, you can't have enough good pitching. As for the Phils, once again the Cubs get an opportunity to either play spoiler or springboard. So far it's the role of spoiler as they take an early 3-run lead on an Aramis dinger. Go Cubs! GAME ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-ONE IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (61-89 (Draft) 3rd - 3.5 GB) AT PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (77-72 (WC) 2nd - 1 GB) Citizens Bank Park, 6:05 pm CDT Weather: Partly Cloudy, 78 degrees, Wind out to CF @ 3 mph TV: CLTV Radio: WGN, XM 184

Jon Lieber, RHP 8-9, 4.87 ERA, 153.1 IP 91 K, 24 BB, 24 HR 290/320/469 against	Sean Marshall, LHP 5-9, 5.34 ERA, 116.1 IP 71 K, 54 BB, 18 HR 268/354/437 against
*Juan Pierre, CF Ryan Theriot, 2B Aramis Ramirez, 3B *Jacque Jones, RF #Angel Pagan, LF Henry Blanco, C *Scott Moore, 1B Ronny Cedeno, SS *Sean Marshall, P	#Jimmy Rollins, SS #Shane Victorino, CF *Chase Utley, 2B *Ryan Howard, 1B Jeff Conine, RF Pat Burrell, LF Chris Coste, C #Abraham Nunez, 3B *Jon Lieber, P
Cubs vs. Lieber: Aramis Ramirez: 9-27, 333/333/407, 6 K, 0 BB Juan Pierre: 7-22, 318/318/364, 2 K, 0 BB John Mabry: 3-17, 176/222/235, 6 K, 1 BB Jacque Jones: 5-16, 313 /313 /500, 1 HR, 6 K, 0 BB Henry Blanco: 5-14, 357/400 /429, 4 K, 1 BB	Phillies vs. Marshall: No Phillies have ever faced Marshall

48 Cubs prospects will soon be playing in fall leagues in Arizona and Hawaii. A number of other players from the Cubs organization (TBD) will play in Latin Winter Leagues in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.

Derrek Lee will miss the rest of the season to tend to his 3-year old daughter. They haven't clarified what illness she's suffering from but she has lost some vision in one eye. As Lee states, you think breaking a wrist is a big deal and then something like this happens. Our thoughts and prayers to the whole Lee family as I don't even want to imagine what his family is going through right now. Z is back on the mound today to try and give the Cubs the series win after Rich Hill's gem yesterday. Go Bears, I mean Cubs! GAME ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CINCINNATI REDS (73-75 (Div) 2nd - 6.5 GB; (WC) 5th - 4.5 GB ) AT CHICAGO CUBS (60-89 (Draft) 3rd - 2.5 GB) Wrigley Field, 1:20 pm CDT Weather: TV: WGN Radio: WGN, XM 188

Carlos Zambrano, RHP 14-6, 3.50 ERA, 193 IP 188 K, 104 BB, 19 HR 212/318/359 against	Eric Milton, LHP 8-7, 4.84 ERA, 152.1 IP 89 K, 42 BB, 27 HR 262/314/461 against
*Dewayne Wise, CF *Scott Hatteberg, 1B Rich Aurilia, SS *Adam Dunn, LF Edwin Encarnacion, 3B #Javier Valentin, C *Todd Hollandsworth, RF #Ray Olmedo, 2B *Eric Milton, P	*Juan Pierre, CF Ryan Theriot, 2B Aramis Ramirez, 3B Matt Murton, LF *Jacque Jones, RF Henry Blanco, 1B Ronny Cedeno, SS Geovany Soto, C #Carlos Zambrano, P
Reds vs. Zambrano: Adam Dunn: 7-32, 219/366/594,10 K, 8 BB, 4 HR Jason Larue: 4-24, 167/231/208, 11 K, 0 BB Royce Clayton: 3-18, 167/211/278, 5 K, 1 BB Ken Griffey Jr.: 5-16, 313/421/875, 1 HR Ryan Freel: 2-14, 143/294/143 Rich Aurilia: 3-12, 250/308/250 Scott Hatteberg: 4-11, 364/563/727, 2 K, 5 BB	Cubs vs. Milton: Aramis Ramirez: 9-27, 333/333/741, 4 K, 0 BB, 3 HR Juan Pierre: 6-22, 273/385/318 , 1 2B Derrek Lee: 4-18, 222/286/722, 3 HR Matt Murton: 6-17, 438/471/813, 1 HR Cesar Izturis: 3-11, 273/273/545, 1 HR

I imagine by the end of this series, the Reds will think they're right back in the playoff hunt. We've already given new hope to a number of teams the last month or so. Go Cubs! GAME ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-NINE IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CINCINNATI REDS (73-74 (Div) 2nd - 5.5 GB; (WC) 5th - 3.5 GB ) AT CHICAGO CUBS (59-89 (Draft) 3rd - 2 GB) Wrigley Field, 3:05 pm CDT Weather: Cloudy, 78 degrees, Wind from R to L @ 14 mph TV: CSN Radio: WGN, XM 188

Rich Hill, LHP 5-6, 4.60 ERA, 78.1 IP 63 K, 34 BB, 12 HR 243/321/438 against	Chris Michalak, LHP 1-2, 5.09 ERA, 23 IP 6 K, 10 BB, 4 HR 299/378/494 against
Ryan Freel, CF Norris Hopper, RF* Rich Aurilia, 1B Edwin Encarnacion, 3B *Adam Dunn, LF Dave Ross, C Royce Clayton, SS Brandon Phillips, 2B *Chris Michalak, P	*Juan Pierre, CF Ryan Theriot, 2B Aramis Ramirez, 3B Matt Murton, LF *Jacque Jones, RF Henry Blanco, 1B Ronny Cedeno, SS Geovany Soto, C *Rich Hill, P
Reds vs. Hill: No Reds with more than 10 AB's	Cubs vs. Michalak: No Cubs with more than 10 AB's

I assume something is wrong with Derrek Lee. We know something is wrong with Dusty Baker. Does Blanco have some incentive clause or something Baker's trying to reach for him?

The Cubs pulled off a nice comeback victory setting up a great NL West showdown this weekend between the Dodgers and Padres, a mere half a game separating the two. The Cubs though lost ground to the Devil Rays who are now only a half a game behind the Royals in the race for worst in baseball. Long-live the Cubs! GAME ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-EIGHT IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CINCINNATI REDS (72-74 (Div) 2nd - 5.5 GB; (WC) 5th - 4.5 GB ) AT CHICAGO CUBS (59-88 (Draft) 3rd - 2 GB) Wrigley Field, 1:20 pm CDT Weather: Sunny, 73 degrees, Wind from R to L @ 4 mph TV: CSN, DirecTV 734 Radio: WGN, XM 188

Juan Mateo, RHP 1-3, 4.75 ERA, 36 IP 27 K, 13 BB, 4 HR 306/373/472 against	Bronson Arroyo, RHP 13-9, 3.29 ERA, 213.1 IP 165 K, 52 BB, 29 HR 247/294/401 against
Ryan Freel, CF Norris Hopper, RF* *Scott Hatteberg, 1B Rich Aurilia, 3B *Adam Dunn, 1B Dave Ross, C Royce Clayton, SS Brandon Phillips, 2B Bronson Arroyo, P	*Juan Pierre, CF Ronny Cedeno, 2B Aramis Ramirez, 3B *Jacque Jones, LF Matt Murton, LF *Scott Moore, 1B #Cesar Izturis, SS Henry Blanco, C Juan Mateo, P
Reds vs. Mateo: No Reds have ever faced Mateo	Cubs vs. Arroyo: Jacque Jones: 3-16, 188/188/250,1 2B Derrek Lee: 3-11, 273/333/545, 1 HR Aramis Ramirez: 3-11, 273/273/545, 1 HR

Someone give Dusty's lineup generator a whack, I think it's broken.

The Dodgers are just piling on now. Greg Maddux was scheduled to pitch today's game but was pushed back so he can face the Padres this weekend, them being the Dodgers closest competition in the NL West race. Instead they give Hong-Chih Kuo his second major league start. Someone must have gotten the scouting report to Grady Little that the Cubs can't hit the newbies. If you have time to pick him up in your fantasy league, he's a good bet to throw a gem today. The Cubs were officially eliminated from the post-season last night. They did pick up a game on the Royals in the race for the top draft pick, trailing them by a mere 2 games with the D-Rays only a game and half behind the Royals for the top stop. Here's the schedule breakdown for the 3 teams: Royals: (Home - 9): Mariners (4), Angels (2), Tigers (3) (Away -7): Twins (4), Tigers (3) D'Rays: (Home - 7): Orioles (3), Yankees (4) (Away -10): Yankees (1), Blue Jays (3), Red Sox (2), Indians (4) Cubs: (Home - 9): Dodgers (1), Reds (3), Breweres (2), Rockies (3) (Away - 7): Phillies (3), Reds (4) Who said this September won't be exciting? Sure, I'd rather see 16 straight gems from our starting staff, but on the other hand it's pretty tough to completely screw up the first pick in the draft, Matt Bush and Brien Taylor notwithstanding. GAME ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-SEVEN IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] LOS ANGELES DODGERS (77-68 (Div) 1st - 0 GB) AT CHICAGO CUBS (58-88 (Draft) 3rd - 2 GB) Wrigley Field, 1:20 pm CDT Weather: Sunny, 71 degrees, Wind in from CF @ 9 mph TV: WGN Radio: WGN, XM 188

Wade Miller, RHP 0-1, 12.00 ERA, 3 IP 3 K, 5 BB, 2 HR 385/556/846 against	Hong-Chih Kuo, LHP 1-4, 4.46 ERA, 36.1 IP 43 K, 29 BB, 2 HR 223/366/338 against
#Rafael Furcal, SS *Kenny Lofton, CF Nomar Garciaparra, SS #J.D. Drew, RF Jeff Kent, 2B #Wilson Betemit, 3B *Marlon Anderson, LF Russ Martin, C *Hong-Chih Kuo, P	*Juan Pierre, CF Ryan Theriot, 2B Aramis Ramirez, 3B Derrek Lee, 1B Matt Murton, LF #Angel Pagan, RF Henry Blanco, C Ronny Cedeno, SS Wade Miller, P
Dodgers vs. Miller: J.D. Drew: 3-23, 130/310/261, 8 K, 6 BB, 1 HR Kenny Lofton: 8-22, 364 /440/545, 1 HR, 1 2B Marlon Anderson: 6-19, 316/364/368 Rafael Furcal: 2-14, 143 /368 /357, 3 K, 5 BB, 1 HR Jeff Kent: 5-12, 417/417/583, 2 K, 0 BB, 2 2B	Cubs vs. Kuo: No Cubs with more than 10 AB's

We can really stop giving Blanco just about every start. At least split time with Reyes and Soto.

Glendon Rusch has taken his fair share of criticism over the year for his apparent lack of off-season conditioning as well as being one of the worst pitchers in baseball. But today we learn of some very somber news, that Rusch will miss the rest of the season with a blood clot in his right lung. As Dusty points out in the Trib article, it's the second time this has happened to a Cubs player this year, the first being Freddie Bynum who missed two months of the season dealing with it. I don't know enough about blood clots to tell anyone whether one in the arm or one in the lungs is more serious than the other, but it's definitely serious business, trainer Mark O'Neal even stating that it could be life-threatening. Here's to a full and speedy recovery to Glendon and best wishes to his family. As for the Cubs, they got eliminated from the NL central crown some time over the last couple of days and a Padre win, coupled with a Cubs loss should eliminate them from the wild card. GAME ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-SIX IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] LOS ANGELES DODGERS (76-68 (Div) 1st - 0 GB) AT CHICAGO CUBS (58-87 (Draft) 3rd - 3 GB) Wrigley Field, 7:05 pm CDT Weather: Cloudy, 64 degrees, Wind from L to R @ 13 mph TV: WGN Radio: WGN, XM 188

Angel Guzman, RHP 0-5, 7.53 ERA, 49 IP 57 K, 30 BB, 8 HR 303/406/492 against	Brad Penny, RHP 15-8, 4.21 ERA, 171 IP 126 K, 48 BB, 17 HR 271/326/421 against
#Rafael Furcal, SS *Kenny Lofton, CF Nomar Garciaparra, SS #J.D. Drew, RF Jeff Kent, 2B #Wilson Betemit, 3B *Marlon Anderson, LF Russ Martin, C Brad Penny, P	*Juan Pierre, CF Ryan Theriot, 2B Aramis Ramirez, 3B *Jacque Jones, RF Matt Murton, LF *John Mabry, 1B #Cesar Izturis, SS Henry Blanco, C Angel Guzman, P
Dodgers vs. Guzman: No Dodgers have ever faced Guzman	Cubs vs. Penny: Juan Pierre: 7-19, 368/455/474, 3 K, 3 BB, 2 2B Aramis Ramirez: 7-18, 389/389/444, 1 2B

Can we make it a rule that Scott Moore gets to start at 1B on the days Lee sits?

The Dodgers have done a fine job through Paul Depodesta and Ned Colletti of acquiring a bunch of players the Cubs should have had over the last two years including: Rafael Furcal Nomar Garciaparra J.D. Drew Derek Lowe Wilson Betemit Kenny Lofton Okay, I'm stretching a bit especially on Derek Lowe since the Cubs weren't really looking to acquire a starting pitcher last year but the point remains that I like the Dodgers pickups of the past few seasons a lot more than I like the Cubs pickups. I also like the Dodgers record this year a lot more than the Cubs record. GAME ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-FIVE IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] LOS ANGELES DODGERS (76-67 (Div) 1st - 0 GB) AT CHICAGO CUBS (57-87 (Draft) 2nd - 3 GB) Wrigley Field, 7:05 pm CDT Weather: Overcast, 66 degrees, Wind From L to R @ 13 mph TV: CSN, DirecTV 742 Radio: WGN, XM 188

Sean Marshall, LHP 5-9, 5.27 ERA, 112.2 IP 69 K, 50 BB, 17 HR 266/350/435 against	Derek Lowe, RHP 14-8, 3.64 ERA, 193 IP 105 K, 49 BB, 13 HR 254/304/353 against
#Rafael Furcal, SS Julio Lugo, 3B Nomar Garciaparra, SS #J.D. Drew, RF Jeff Kent, 2B *Andre Ethier, LF Matt Kemp, CF Russ Martin, C Derek Lowe, P	*Juan Pierre, CF *Freddie Bynum, 2B Derrek Lee, 1B *Jacque Jones, RF Matt Murton, LF *Scott Moore, 3B Henry Blanco, C Ronny Cedeno, SS *Sean Marshalll, P
Dodgers vs. Marshall: No Dodgers with more than 10 AB's	Cubs vs. Lowe: Jacque Jones: 8-23, 348 ./348/522, 6 K, 0 BB, 3 XBH Juan Pierre: 2-16, 125/176/125 Derrek Lee: 7-14, 500/533/714, 6 K, 1 BB, 1 HR John Mabry: 3-10, 300/364/700, 4 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 1 2B

Yeah my bad on yesterday's headline, didn't realize this was a Friday to Monday four game series. Of course the premise still applies for today. Good news is three weeks from today, you'll wake up without having to worry about how the Cubs will embarrass themselves on the field that day. Instead it will be how they'll embarrass themselves in the front office. At least we're giving Atlanta fans some hope. Go Cubs! GAME ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-FOUR IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (56-87, (Draft) 2nd, 2.5 GB) AT ATLANTA BRAVES (69-73, (WC) 7th, 5 GB) Turner Field, 6:05 pm CDT Weather: Partly Cloudy, 82 degrees, Wind from R to L @ 12 mph TV: WGN, DirecTV 737 Radio: WGN, XM 184

John Smoltz, RHP 12-8, 3.63 ERA, 201 IP 183 K, 45 BB, 20 HR 245/291/391 against	Rich Hill, LHP 4-6, 4.83 ERA, 30 IP 21 K, 11 BB, 4 HR 317/384/488 against
*Juan Pierre, CF *Freddie Bynum, 2B Aramis Ramirez, 3B Derrek Lee, 1B *Jacque Jones, RF #Angel Pagan, LF #Cesar Izturis, SS Henry Blanco, C *Rich Hill, P	Martin Prado, 3B Marcus Giles, 2B Edgar Renteria, SS Andruw Jones, CF Jeff Francoeur, RF *Brian McCann, C Matt Diaz, LF *Daryle Ward, 1B John Smoltz, P
Cubs vs. Smoltz: Juan Pierre: 6- 24, 250/250/292 John Mabry: 6-21, 286/375/429, 1 HR Derrek Lee: 3-16, 188/235/313, 7 K, 1 BB Aramis Ramirez: 4-11, 364/364/909, 2 HR	Braves vs. Hill: No Braves with more than 10 Ab's

Izturis is back and Cedeno and Theriot sit so Bynum's family can watch him play. Makes perfect sense, no?

If nothing were to change during the off-season, and if all pitchers are healthy come Spring Training, the Cubs would probably enter the 2007 season with a starting rotation consisting of Carlos Zambrano, Mark Prior, Rich Hill, Sean Marshall, and either Angel Guzman, Juan Mateo, Jae-kuk Ryu, or Ryan OíMalley. In an interview with Len Kasper on WGN-TV last week, Cubs GM Jim Hendry was talking about 2007 and mentioned the need to upgrade pitching as (obviously) something he (obviously) would be trying to do. Obviously. With Ryan Dempster, Scott Eyre, and Bob Howry signed through 2008, and with four or five younger relievers (Will Ohman, Michael Wuertz, David Aardsma, Roberto Novoa, and Carlos Marmol) already on board and another half-dozen or so possible candidates (Federico Baez, Lincoln Holdzkom, Carmen Pignatiello, Clay Rapada, Andy Shipman, and Randy Wells, plus Guzman, Mateo, Ryu, and OíMalley if they don't start) likely to compete for a spot in the pen, I would imagine when Hendry was talking about addressing pitching, he was mainly talking about adding at least one veteran established healthy starting pitcher to the rotation, or possibly two.

I'm going to go watch football. GAME ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-THREE IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (56-85, (Draft) 2nd, 2.5 GB) AT ATLANTA BRAVES (68-73, (WC) 7th, 5 GB) Turner Field, 12:05 pm CDT Weather: Partly Cloudy, 81 degrees, Wind from R to L @ 9 mph TV: WGN, DirecTV 734 Radio: WGN, XM 184

Lance Cormier, RHP 2-4, 5.26 ERA, 53 IP 27 K, 31 BB, 3 HR 304/394/436 against	Juan Mateo, RHP 1-2, 5.10 ERA, 30 IP 21 K, 11 BB, 4 HR 317/384/488 against
*Juan Pierre, CF *Freddie Bynum, 2B Aramis Ramirez, 3B *Jacque Jones, RF Matt Murton, LF *John Mabry, 1B Henry Blanco, C Ronny Cedeno, SS Juan Mateo, P	Willy Aybar, 3B Marcus Giles, 2B Edgar Renteria, SS *Adam LaRoche, 1B *Brian McCann, C Jeff Francoeur, RF Matt Diaz, LF *Ryan Langerhans, CF Lance Cormier, P
Cubs vs. Cormier: No Cubs with more than 10 Ab's	Braves vs. Mateo: No Braves with more than 10 Ab's

The much anticipated, season saving return of Wade Miller is tonight. Thanks for joining the club in such a timely fashion. Be sure to pitch really well so you can show off for your future employeer. Guzman once again pitched poorly last night, falling behind in the count and then laying a meatball right down the middle of the plate to avoid the walk. Sort of the anti-Marmol, but same cruddy result. Since the Cubs are playing for nothing and Guzman probably has the most talent in the Cubs farm system, you stick with him through the rest of the year and hope he can turn a corner sooner rather than later. Go Cubs! GAME ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-TWO IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (56-85, (Draft) 2nd, 3.5 GB) AT ATLANTA BRAVES (67-73, (WC) 6th, 7 GB) Turner Field, 6:05 pm CDT Weather: Partly Cloudy, 80 degrees, Wind from L to R @ 7 mph TV: CSN, DirecTV 737 Radio: WGN, XM 184

Chuck James, LHP 8-3, 3.65 ERA, 88.2 IP 60 K, 34 BB, 14 HR 232/311/423 against	Wade Miller, RHP (Guess the Year) 15-4, 3.28 ERA, 164.2 IP 144 K, 62 BB, 14 HR 249/322/387 against
*Juan Pierre, CF Ryan Theriot, 2B Aramis Ramirez, 3B Derrek Lee, 1B Matt Murton, LF *Jacque Jones, RF Henry Blanco, C Ronny Cedeno, SS Wade Miller, P	Marcus Giles, 2B Willy Aybar, 3B *Adam LaRoche, 1B Andruw Jones, CF *Brian McCann, C Jeff Francoeur, RF *Ryan Langerhans, LF Tony Pena Jr., SS *Chuck James, P
Cubs vs. James: No Cubs with more than 10 Ab's	Braves vs. Miller: Edgar Renteria: 0-22, 000/185/000 Chipper Jones: 7-16, 438/500/813 Andruw Jones: 4-15, 267/333/333

I know Renteria has had his problems with Miller but how long ago did all that happen?

Two of our minor league affiliates were enjoying the thrills of post-season baseball, here's a quick update as the playoffs began this week.

There are some around here who jokingly believe that if (and let's hope it's more like when) Dusty gets fired we won't have much to talk about around here. I'm starting to believe it myself because I just can't imagine another manager out there who could say so many non-sensical things for us to debate. Dusty's latest foray is this gem courtesy of The Daily Herald when asked about the Braves 14 year playoff run likely coming to a halt this season:

"It's more weird for me not preparing for the playoffs than the Braves. The Braves, 15 years in a row, that's a heck of a run"

As Miles points out in his article, since the Braves started racking up division titles in the early 90's, it's Braves 14 and Baker 4 in the race to the postseason. I'll miss you Dusty, kind of like missing the crazy, drunk aunt at Thanksgiving dinner.