Making Sense Of Nonsense: Chicago Cubs trade Kosuke Fukudome to Cleveland Indians For Prospects
Burn, baby, burn!
The fire sale (that Jim Hendry insists isn’t a fire sale) at Wrigley Field is officially underway with the news that the Chicago Cubs have traded outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to the Cleveland Indians for a pair of prospects.
This is the second trade Hendry has put together with Indians GM Mark Shapiro. The first was the deal that sent Mark DeRosa to the Tribe in exchange for Chris Archer, James Russell and John Gaub. Turns out the trade was one of the rare deals that benefited both squads. Cleveland flipped DeRosa to the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire closer Chris Perez, while the Cubs turned Archer (and other trade chips) into Matt Garza.
So, what did Hendry get out of Shapiro this time? (more…)
The First Step Toward Rebuilding The Cubs Is Not Listening To Joe Cowley
Leave it to Joe Cowley to suggest the Cubs follow a new plan of attack and make minimal reference to said plan.
I guess that’s what it takes to be Chicago’s top columnist these days.
On Saturday, Cowley posted a column titled “Pirates on rebound, Cubs should take notes” from PNC Park as he took in the action featuring two teams headed in opposite directions.
Unfortunately, Cowley doesn’t do much to take readers through what the Pirates have done in the three years since Neal Huntington took over for Dave Littlefield. Instead, Cowley’s opening seven grafs (145 words to be preceise) are used to take us back to 1992, when Sid slid and Barry Bonds’ head didn’t require its own zip code.
(For those of you scoring at home, that’s 17 percent of the column wasted on something that happened when Starlin Castro was two years old.)
Eventually, Cowley makes his point. Then, it only takes Cowley 20 grafs Cowley gets to his real point. (more…)
Want To Tear Down Wrigley Field? Start With The Team Before You Get To The Park.
From where I stand, the Chicago Cubs are a sorry excuse of a baseball team.
They are 27-39, 10 games out of first place and 12 games under the .500 mark. If not for the always LOL-worthy Houston Astros, the Cubs wouldn’t just have the worst record in the NL Central, but they would own the worst record in the National League.
They have a Triple-A manager who seems overmatched, a Triple-A pitching coach who is understaffed and an owner who is resorting to Triple-A promotions to sell tickets.
So, naturally, the logical move is to run to Wrigley Field wielding torches and pitchforks and ask for Wrigley Field to be torn down.
Wait. What? (more…)
Of LeBron James, Juan Pierre & Hollow Numbers
LeBron James is proving that the most difficult people to please on this earth are sports fans.
In Game 5 of the 2011 NBA Finals, a game which James himself coined as the biggest game of his career, the Miami Heat star put all of his talents on display.
In the words of Ice Cube — you know, when he was a rapper and not a shell of his former self — last night LeBron messed around and got a triple double.
You want to think that 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists would be impressive in a way. Especially considering it came from a 6-foot-8-inch, 250-pound specimen of an athlete.
But really, it wasn’t. (more…)
Absolutely, Positively Nothing Wrong With Carlos Zambrano’s Honest Assessment
Move over, Jay Cutler. Carlos Zambrano has re-taken his spot at the top of the list of most polarizing Chicago athletes.
The excitable and unpredictable Big Z did so Sunday with his post-game rant after the Cubs 3-2 extra-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The loss completed a sweep of the Northsiders at Busch Stadium and sent the team to its sixth straight defeat.
Via Cubs.com beat writer, Carrie Muskat:
“The problem wasn’t Pujols,” Zambrano said. ” The problem was the previous at-bat. We should know better than this. We played like a Triple-A team. This is embarrassing, embarrassing for the team, for the owners, for the fans. Embarrassing. That’s the word for this team. We should know better than this, we should know better than we did on the field. We should know that Ryan Theriot is not a good fastball hitter. We should know that as a team. We should play better here. We stink. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
Wait, so what was so bad about that? (more…)
Happy Birthday, You Ol’ Blog!
It’s been four years since Matt Hartwig and I started this thing in hopes that we could take over the world.
Unfortunately, our attempts at global domination have fallen short. Way short. Then both of us grew up, took big boy jobs and scrapped the world domination via sports blog chit-chat.
And while Hartwig has retired from the blogosphere, I’m still chugging along. As is this blog.
With that being said, I’d like to say thanks to this blog’s fanbase. I appreciate you all the same, but bless the Saluki fans for really putting me on the map and trusting me as a source for analysis and news.
I’d also like to give a shoutout to the contributors we’ve had over the years.
Johnny Sole. Jon Iaccino. Stile Smith. Brian Feldt. Jeff Engelhardt. Mike Carter.
Here’s hoping I didn’t forget anyone.
(Though I probably did.)
So, how will we celebrate another year of this blog’s existence?
Well, if it was up to me…
And if you’re note already doing so, follow this fine blog’s editor on Twitter @lcm1986.
No Better Time To Go To Wrigley Field As Attendance Issues Lurk For Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are having trouble drawing fans to an April game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
And people are surprised?
Of course they are, but they shouldn’t be.
The combination of low expectations, low temperatures and high ticket prices create an imperfect storm for stadium attendance and the perfect excuse for people not to show up.
Chicago’s North Side fans are stuck in damned if you do, damned if you don’t scenario.
For years, Cubs fans blindly showed up to Wrigley Field and the stereotype of the world’s largest outdoor beer garden emerged. They were stupid for showing up to see Sammy Sosa launch a homer or two and watch bad Cubs pitchers give ‘em right back.
Now, many are not showing up because the blinders are off and there is a segment of the fan base that is sick of throwing money into a product that isn’t worth the value.
It’s a Catch-22 that has nothing to do with seeing what Carlos Pena is doing at the plate.
(See what I did there?) (more…)
Cubs Officially Win Carlos Silva-Milton Bradley Swap
The Chicago Cubs didn’t get much out of Carlos Silva before cutting ties with him on Saturday.
His 22 starts, 10 wins, 113 innings and 4.22 earned run average weren’t really much to write home about — especially after a 9-2 start to the season that spanned 16 starts.
But the truth is, the Cubs are better without him. Hence, the declaration of the Cubs winning the trade with the Seattle Mariners that sent maligned outfielder Milton Bradley out west.
While the Cubs are on the hook for the $11.5 million owed to Silva, Mike Quade’s clubhouse is a better place without the divisive malcontent who somehow believed he had earned a roster spot this spring before even toeing the rubber.
Quade’s 25-man roster, too, is better without Silva on board.
Silva’s ouster means a younger, hungrier player with a higher upside (Read: Anyone not named “Carlos Silva”) will get a chance to fill a roster spot and round out what could be the best bullpen bunch in the National League’s Central Division.
The Cubs won’t likely win the World Series in 2011.
Heck, making a run at the NL Central seems like a long shot at times.
But there’s no doubt in my mind the Cubs are that much closer to being competitive now that Silva is no longer squeezing into Cubbie blue pinstripes.
Meanwhile, Bradley still toils away for a Seattle franchise that is likely eagerly counting down the days until it rids itself of the much-maligned outfielder and his albatross of a contract.
Have fun with that.
Dusty Baker Still Doesn’t Get It
I’ve never done a 180 on a sports figure the way I did in regard to Dusty Baker.
I was a flag-waving member of the Dusty Baker fan club back in the day, so much so that I openly rooted for the San Francisco Giants to lose the 2002 World Series in hopes it would lead for Baker to manage my beloved Chicago Cubs.
When Baker pulled Russ Ortiz and opened the flood gates for the Anaheim Angels to win the sixth and seventh games of the World Series, yours truly got his wish.
One year later, the Cubs prospered, winning 88 regular season games, a National League Central Division championship and a playoff series.
I mean, what could go wrong after that?
That’s right, an empty 89-win season that ended with the Cubs blowing a sizeable lead in the Wild Card standings and two losing seasons later, Baker was shown the door and was left a rather unique parting gift.
While much of the focus was on the crap that was near the manager’s step at Wrigley Field, we at TBDS will turn focus to the crap spewing from Dusty Baker’s mouth. (more…)
Ryan Dempster Given Ace Status By Mike Quade
Before you pop that cork on the champagne upon hearing the news that Ryan Dempster was named the Cubs’ Opening Day starter, does anyone remember the last time Dempster earned the Game 1 nod over Carlos Zambrano?
I do.
Because I was there.
Dempster’s line in Game 1 of the 2008 NLDS was a forgettable 4.2 IP 4 H 4 ER 7 BB 2 SO 1 HR in a 7-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
James Loney’s grand slam on a 3-2 pitch from Dempster is still fresh in my memory. Nothing like driving 12-plus hours round trip to get kicked in the nuts in front of a nationally televised audience.
Not like Zambrano’s Game 2 performance was any better, but it would have been much better if Mark DeRosa didn’t gag an easy double-play grounder.
(Seriously, while everyone bitches and moans about The Dreamboat’s departure, his Game 2 gaffe is grounds for pure hatred for the cat.)
So here’s hoping Dempster fares better than he did last time he got the call over Big Z.
