simonzelotes

I'm going to vote for whichever Presidential candidate that promises to move the Chicago Cubs to St. Louis and call them the Browns....

Tom, I could take a 100 losses a year easier than watching the "best team in the National League" get bitch-slapped around by a 10-11 pitcher...I have to wonder how in the hell the Dodgers lost 78 games this year...

LA Dodgers-Cubs is looking more and more like LAPD-Rodney King....The Cubs are a goddamn embarrassment to Major League Baseball...

suddenly the Dodgers are playing like the '27 Yankees, '76 Reds, and every other great team rolled into one.

I assure you, this is a new phenomenon.

The Cubs were especially sloppy in the field last night.

I'm torn right now. I can get tickets for Sunday-unless the Dodgers wrap it up Saturday. Am I supposed to hope for a Cub win ?

Don't get your hopes up too much...You're witnessing a baseball phenomenon known as the Chicago Cubs, who, come playoff crunch time, can make the '84 Padres, the '89 Giants, the '98 Braves, the 03 Marlins and the '07 D-Backs all look like the 1927 Yankees or the Big Red Machine...Think about it, if the last two games with the Dodgers had been minor league playoff games, and you were a scout, which of the Cub players would you have invited up to the majors to play with the big boys?...Ok, besides Mark DeRosa...

I felt bad for the announcers of yesterday's game---Dick Stockton, Tony Gwynn and that other guy...It was like they were there to provide commentary for a political debate---and one of the candidates just stood there clearing their throat when it was their turn to answer...It was a national embarrassment...The Viagra commercials showed more pop than the Cubs (if you like seeing 60 year old guys dancing and closing bedroom doors)...My brother and I were talking during the ninth inning yesterday, when a couple calls went against the Cubs, with of course, no argument at that point...You kind of felt at that point the umps, like everyone else, just wanted to end the game as quickly as possible and put the Cubs players, fans, and the tv audience mercifully out of their misery...

I do have to offer up accolades to Brett Myers of the Phillies...He practically single-handedly beat CC Sabbathia yesterday...Something you ALer's don't get to see very often is pitchers looking eachother in the eye and facing off against eachother from the batter's box...Myers looked Sabbathia in the eye from home plate and somehow communicated to him "I'm gonna beat you today"...Myers, who had only four hits all season, managed to coax a walk from Sabbathia after fouling off a half-dozen or so pitches---and later scored on a grand slammer, as well as pitching a great game---the kind of playoff baseball I don't mind watching...

Sigh....

Well, it won't be long before the Cubs hand over the Dodgers their lunch money...What is it about Manny, anyway?...I know he's a great hitter with a great career and all, but if he could have just played the Cubs in the playoffs every day in his career he'd have about two thousand homers...Don't Cub hitters know that the Dodger infielders already have old coaches to hit them infield practice?...Lou just signed a contract extension...I'm wondering if he's thinking of tearing it up about know...

Sabbathiaa is getting rocked against Philly...Five runs in three innings...Two straight starts on three days rest---last Sunday being a complete game...Milwaukee is really getting some mileage out of their rent-a -pitcher..

Well, I'm sure the switchboards are lighting up in the crisis hotlines in Wrigleyville...." Sir, don't do anything drastic...It's only one game....You wouldn't want your grandkids to grow up being Sox fans, now would you?"....I hope that old adage rings true: " 'tis better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all"....

All I could find about Dempster was that he said "it helped him with his rhythm"...

There's someone in the AL that does a weird glove thing as well... he said he does it to keep from tipping his pitches...

Here's a video I found... it's not Dempster but a kid acting like him... is it close?

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Yeah, that's what he does, Tom...Except that kid appeared to have more control and command of his pitches than Dempster did tonight...

I think Dempster started doing that twisting in his glove to avoid tipping his pitches...Yeah, you're not going to hold a lead very long when you're walking two guys an inning...

WhiteSox just won the AL Central by virtue of being the first team ever to win three straight do-or-die games to three different teams...Sunday, they had to win against Cleveland to stay within a half-game of Minnesota on the last scheduled game of the season...Monday, they won their make-up game with Detroit, putting them in a tie w/ Minnesota, forcing a one game playoff against the Twins, which the Sox won 1-0...I don't think the Sox are one of the better teams in the AL playoff hunt, but by now, I would have to say that they gotta be the least jittery...

So, when do pitchers and catchers report for spring training?

I don't think they decide that until you at least suffer through the playoffs w/o the D-backs....Besides, I for one, want to enjoy at least one day where the temperature stays below 100 degrees before I'm ready to welcome back the boys of summer...

What happened with the AL central?

White Sox are a half game behind Minnesota, so, since it figures in the playoff hunt, they will play a make-up game Monday night against Detroit...If the Chisox win, the Tigers will have sole possession of last place in the AL Central (behind Kansas City :blink: ) and the Sox will end up with an identical record with the Twins, and thus will have a one game playoff with them on Tuesday...Chisox lose to the Tigers on Monday, Minnesota wins the AL Central by a full game...

Well, I'm disgusted.

In 32 years of existence, we've had precisely ONE good season. Count 'em. ONE.

Maybe I could become a Cubbies fan?

Well, George, you gotta admit, 116 wins in a season is considered by most a pretty "good" season...

I just thought of something for the woulda-coulda-shoulda department for LiftedUp...If the Injuns didn't get rid of Sabbathia to the Brewers and he had the same record to finish out the season with the Injuns (9-1, I think) as he's having with the Brew crew, and monkeys could fly and a few other variables, the Injuns would be battling the Chisox for first place today...

Right now, Sabbathia is 3-hitting the Cubs, but losing to a committee of Cub pitchers, who are currently 1-hitting the Brewers...

Boy, what a difference a start makes...After getting 27 outs and giving up no runs and no hits against Houston, today, Carlos Zambrano got only five outs and gave up eight runs and six hits...You might say he didn't have it today...

Cliff Lee is having the kind of year that Steve "Lefty" Carlton had with the '72 Phillies...

I guess Houston has no desire to play any more home games in Milwaukee....Batting totals for the two games: 1 run and 1 hit...

Interestingly, before Ted Lilly gave up his official "hit" in the seventh, an error was charged to Aramis Ramirez on the previous play that could have gone 50/50 either way...The scorekeeper said that's when the job get's real lonely,...and he went with keeping the no-hitter intact....

They were about ready to crucify Yost last year after leading the division most of the year and then flopping the last month or two of the year, so I guess they weren't going to let it happen again this year...

In the "it gets wierder" department in Milwaukee, breaking news is that manager Ned Yost just got fired, with two weeks left in the season and the Brewers tied for the wild card lead...Good thing the Milwaukee folks still have the 2-0 "Farveless" Packers to root for...

I didnt catch anything but the highlights after the fact ( one more reason I wish I had the MLB package) anytime anyone throws a no hitter its an incredible accomplishment...Zambrano's reaction afterward was great as well...good for him!

Not to take anything away from Z-nohit brano but Im hearing alot of chatter from the Astros way that arent pleased about the site selection ....moving it up to Cubs territory and especially when the Stros are in a fight against the Brewers for the WC.....not really a 'home game'

Surprising that they didnt select Arlington ...or Atlanta...or St. Louis.. or even a TripleA place somewhere in Texas to at least approximate somesort of homefield or 'neutral' field adavantage

Not a big deal (well at least to me--stros fans may differ) but not hard to see the stamp of Mr. Milwaukee Bud Selig behind it either.

Simon are you going to head to the friendly confines for the playoffs?

These (go) things (go) dont (go) happen (go) every (go) day (go) you (go) know

Did you say something about "GO"

I think one of the criteria about picking a site was the domed stadium...There were something like six or seven rainouts over the weekend---the WhiteSox doubleheader on Sunday was a scheduled day/night affair, but had to be delayed because of the rain..The ramifications of the hurricane caused a lot of bad weather throughout the midwest as well, so they didn't want to schedule the games at a neutral site, only to have them be postponed again...At least that's what they said...Plus, the D-backs were playing at home...Then again, the 'stro's mopped the floor with the Cubs at Wrigley just a couple of weeks ago, so once the game starts, you still got to get 27 outs to win the game---the 'stros just didn't manage to sandwich any hits in-between those outs...

The Chisox game on ESPN was a doozie...Reminded me of a stRangers game...Sox blew a 7-0 lead when Marcus Thames of the Tigers tied it in the top of the 8th with a grandslam, only to have DeWayne Wise hit a grand salami in the bottom of the 8th to win it 11-7...

Astros better get over their displeasure pretty soon...After five innings this afternoon, they still don't have a hit...

That was quite a gem by Zambrano...Nothing like a neutral site for a hurricaned-out make-up game...I don't blame Astro's manager, Cecil Cooper for voicing his displeasure at the choice of Miller Park, or "Wrigley Field North" as the neutral site of a couple of Cubs-Astros games...Even though Houston, batted last as the 'home team', about 23,000 fans showed up on less than a day's notice, most of them seemingly making the 90 mile drive up I-94 from Chicago to Milwaukee....Milwaukee was chosen because it was a domed stadium with no football or home baseball games on the schedule...

Gotta be tough on the Brewer fans...On the same day, your team is swept and tied for the NL wild card spot by Philadelphia, your despised rival team to the south comes into your park and throws a gem in front of 23,000 jubilant Cub fans---who also happen to be your worst enemies...Brewer fans should be happy, 'tho, that the Cubs cooled the 'stros a little, since they are also nipping at their heels for the NL wild card....BTW, Zambrano's no-hitter was the first one ever thrown on a neutral site by a pitcher whose last name began with the letter "Z"....

The shortest homerun I've ever seen was when Ron Fairly of the Dodgers hit a little blooper to short left and Don Kessenger and the left fielder collided full steam going after the ball...While both lay there in short left field, Fairly circled the bases for a homer...

I have to wonder about one play though. Manny hit a fly to right, that should have been an easy out. The fielder lost it in the sun and it dropped 2 feet next to him and bounced in the stands , scoring 2 runs. It was ruled an ground rule double, instead of an error. That seemed mighty generous to me, since it clearly should have been caught. I guess if his glove had touched the ball it would have been different, but I don't get it.

I have never seen a fielder charged an error on anything other than a 'physical error'...If a pitcher forgets to cover first, or if an outfielder misjudges a flyball and charges it and it sails over is head, or two infielders let a popup drop between them, or a fielder loses a ball in the sun or the Metrodome roof, the batter always seems to be credited with a hit---a cheap hit---but a hit nonetheless...

Just to show you how sensitive ballplayers were in the old days, William Hoy's nickname was "Dummy"...But the old Dummy did outlive most of them,surviving to the ripe old age of 99...

I always wondered how "strike" came to be pronounced by umpires as "eeriEEEEE!!!...Used to have an old ump in little league, never did know his name but we all called him "cherry nose"...He probably drank a lot, cantankerous old coot that he was....He would always call a batter out on strikes by yelling out "Strike Three! the batter's OUT!"...Like, it wasn't embarrassing enough to walk back to the dugout after whiffing on a ball, trying not to look ashamed,..But he had to make sure everybody in the neighborhood knew that not only did the pitcher just make you look like a fool, but you no longer belong up here---so get lost---I don't care where you go, just vacate the batter's box at once...

I never understood how the Washington Senators could move to Minneapolis and be called the Twins, and in that same year an expansion franchise is awarded to Washington and is also called the Senators...Why not just have the Twins be the expansion team?...I think the old St. Louis Browns folded at the same time the Baltimore Orioles started, but I don't think they were the same franchise...

Yea, Simon, what about that game?

Good point for argument on the Shore pitching. It was, of course, a few years before my time (I only go back to watching the Dodgers in the Coliseum and the Angels at LA Wrigley.)

I think mstar is talking about when I told him my experience of meeting my first real-live Dodger fan...A fella in the corpse with me named Mike from LA...We somehow got to talking about baseball and he told me he was at Sandy Koufax's perfect game with his dad...And of course......he and his dad got up to leave in the seventh inning to beat traffic..I guess they felt with Koufax on the mound and a 1-0 lead, the game was well in hand...And they already got to see one hit and even one run, so what else is there to hang around for...

Is 1969 being relived?...Cubs have lost five in a row and are getting hammered by Cincy...

Hadn't thought of that Lifted...I think there is a pitcher or two who have thrown no-hitters that would have been perfectos were it not for a fielding error at some point in the game...But then again, the dynamics change when the pitcher knows in the 8th or 9th inning that he's working on a no-hitter, which hundreds of pitchers have acclomplished, as opposed to a perfect game, which only about 15 pitchers have accomplished..