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TCR Friday Notes
Looks like the cellphone minutes that have been accumulating between Orioles GM Jim Duquette and Jim Hendry will finally payoff. It probably won't land us Miguel Tejada, but it does look like we'll rid ourselves of Corey Patterson. Rumor has is that the 2 teams are close to a trade sending Patterson for a mid-level prospect. If the Cubs can just rid themselves of Patterson's salary, I'll consider it a good trade no matter who we get in return. It should free up a 40-man roster spot as well so that we can welcome in the Marquis Grissom era.
Nice Guys Finish Last
ìNice guys finish lastî ñ Leo "The Lip" Durocher
The 1965 season closed with the Cubs mired in 8th place in the National League, with a 72-90 record, 25 games behind the N. L. pennant-winning Dodgers.
1965 was the fifth year for the College of Coaches, and the experiment wasnít working. After the season, Cubs Athletic Director Col. Robert Whitlow (USAF ñ RET.) resigned, and there was some question about who P. K. Wrigley would hire to replace him.
Two Ton Baker?
Bozo the Clown?
The Doublemint Twins?
Garfield Goose, perhaps?
Half-Hearted Victory
Well thanks to everyone who responded to my call for action last week.
The Road through Holland
I grew up as a Cubs fan in the 1960ís. My first memories of the Cubs were from 1960, but I didnít go to my first game at Wrigley Field until 1961. I learned to read in the Fall of 1960, so 1961 was my first year for sports sections (and there were FOUR newspapers in Chicago back then), box scores, baseball cards, and batting averages. The 1961 Cubs will always be near and dear to my heart. The College of Coaches! Brilliant! A ìrotatingî Head Coach! Ingenuius! An Athletic Director? OK. Whatever you say, P. K.
Unfortunately, the College of Coaches didnít help make the Cubs a better team. If anything, it made them worse. There were too many cooks in the kitchen, no strong leader, and if there was ever a team that was defined by its wallow, it was the Cubs of 1961-65.
But then in 1967, the Cubs suddenly got good. This Grand Improvement all seemed to coincide with the arrival of Leo ìThe Lipî Durocher as the Cubs manager in 1966. Leo was a complete jag-off, but was also a man who would not tolerate failure or accept excuses for losing. You got a losing team? Leoís answer was simple. ìBack Up the Truck.î Leo also grasped the basic premise that the most important element of a winning team is spelled ìP-I-T-C-H-I-N-G,î and for Leo, that meant four stud horses in the starting rotation.
As important as Leo Durocherís presence and personality might have been in turning around ìthe program,î the foundation for the success of the Cubs after Leo arrived was actually laid over the previous ten years or so, going back to when John Holland was appointed General Manager of the Cubs, on October 11, 1956...
PTBNL Named in Van Buren Deal
The Cubs apparently acquired OF Matt Ciaramella from the Boston Red Sox to complete the Jermain Van Buren deal from a few weeks back. He was a 13th round pick in 2004 who went to the University of Utah, 23 years old, throws lefty, hits from both sides of the plate, can play both corner outfield positions. Put up a line of .302/.360/.422 in A ball last year in 222 at-bats.
Open Thread
Just going to roll the discussion over here for you guys. Not much to report other than a Paul Sullivan article in the Trib today.
TCR Friday Notes
Well, it's nice to see you guys get in the spirit and put us ton top of the voting going on at Red Reporter for best baseball blog of 2005. We appreciate the support and it's as much a vote for you guys as it is for us writers. Voting goes through the end of the year I believe.
- So we've heard some inklings of the Cubs pursuing Preston Wilson and/or Marquis Grissom. I suppose this is Hendry's plan to fill that righty bat on the bench or potential platoon-mate for Jones. I'd prefer a good player like Craig Wilson, but there is another FA out there who could fill the bill for both Dusty and Hendry. He's a vet (37 next season), can mash lefties,
3 year splits versus lefties: .293/.403/.497
2005 versus lefties: .288/.370/.471
and he's very familiar with Wrigley Field and day games.
A little help….
We don't ask for much around here, but they're running this little contest for the best sports blog of 2005 at Red Reporter. We're currently in 4th place with a paltry 175 votes from a readership of 4000+ and growing. You folks can do better. I think it's a small price to pay, 300+ days of great baseball content versus 30 seconds of your time to go and vote for us. Seems fair!!
He Blinded Me With Science
Compare
If your body pH is alkaline, you can not get cancer. ... If itís acid, you can get cancer. In ourómy personal observations, every single person who has cancer has an acidic body, acid pH.with-Kevin Trudeau, from the infomercial designed to sell the book Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About
There was only one guy in the history of baseball who could pitch every day without discomfort, and that was me. People said I was a freak, but it was how I threw. Give me Kerry Wood and Mark Prior and, after I train them, they will be unhittable forever. Nobody will worry how many pitches they throw. ... [Larry Rothschild and Tom House]sure as heck don't know how to apply Newton's first, second and third laws to the pitching motion. They don't know Isaac Newton from the Fig Newton.The Daily Southtown's Paul Ladewski wrote a doe-eyed piece about Mike Marshall and his criticisms of Mark Prior's pitching mechanics. With all the hemming and hawing about Prior's health, it's irresponsible articles like this one where we need to keep our sense of perspective and skepticism.-Mike Marshall, Ph.D. (first quotation from 6/24/05 Tribune, second from article linked below)
Recent comments
crunch (view)
bleh.
at least MIL has lost the past 2 nights, too.
crunch (view)
madrigal pinch hitting for matt mervis vs jansen?
okay.
crunch (view)
surprising amount of cubs fans at the park, too. HR really brought them out.
Cubster (view)
hmmmm...
4-4
beisbol can be fun
crunch (view)
4 singles and 0 walks (1 HBP) through 7 innings for cubs batters...amazing they even have 1 run.
crunch (view)
nico gets his 5th error on the year...damn.
Childersb3 (view)
Folks, I've known Richard Lovelady since he was an 18 yr old Freshman at East Ga State College in Swainsboro, Ga.
I was the WBB Coach at EGSC and Richard was their prize recruit from outside of Hinesville, Ga.
My roommate was the Pitching Coach there.
Richard showed up a skinny, loose lipped, 83mph Lefty. Pretty good basketball player actually.
My roommate became the head coach.
Richard came back from a minor injury for his Sophmore year a more serious man. He hit 90mph and started mowing GA JUCO hitters down. It was really fun to watch.
He was the first D1 signee for EGSC baseball (school had only had athletics for five yrs at that point). He went to Kennesaw St and became their closer. One yr later, he hit 100mph and KC drafted him in the 10th Rd.
He lost the high velo with a surgery a while back.
It's so cool to see him in MLB. And now he's a Cub!! It's crazy to realize I actually "know" a Cub.
He's a legit good guy.
Easy to root for!!!
Cubster (view)
Tim. Thanks for remembering Lee Elia Day. It will always be one of the most epic rants in all sports. It took about 3 seconds to recognize him from your picture but I did get it right.
Now that Les Grobstein is no longer with us, that might contribute to this grand piece of Cubbery fading.
Just like fine wine, it should be savored...unedited. 40 years, wow.
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
Does he have any options left, Phil?
crunch (view)
morel in the lineup and playing 3rd.