I didn't know Randy Bush was still involved in baseball

And now he is the Cubs interim GM. I suspect his regime will be marked by fielding a bullpen full of lefties, since they are the most difficult, elite brand of pitchers that has ever been crafted.
Also, yes, now that I am in my 20s, the name "Randy Bush" is quite amusing.

Where the Marlins are going, they won't need roads.

The Florida Marlins, under the specter of contraction twice, have finally garnered enough support for a new stadium, to be built in Little Havana. The stadium will be ready in 2012 and it appears that the Marlins will stay put in Florida. What won't stay put, however, is the name. Instead, they will change their name to the "Miami Marlins". Now all they need to do is change to the Leagues, and then, in 2015, the Cubs will finally win the World Series. Well, that is if Marty McFly's autobiographical movie is to be believed is to be believed.

If I were the GM : Anthony Dunkel

I branched out to the rest of the Victoria Enterprises community, and Anthony Dunkel, one of the meteorologists at Victoria-Weather, agreed to submit his ideas on what his team, the Chicago Cubs. His words are below the Cubs logo.


Well considering [Ryan] Dempster and [Kerry] Wood are free agents and were 2 of our best pitchers all year, we have to resign them. I’m sure neither of them would want to go anywhere, especially Wood, so I don’t think it’ll be overly hard in getting them to resign. Otherwise, I’m not really sure I’d want to change anything from what we had last year.
I’d rather talk about why we started Fukudome in both games 1 and 2 when he’d been so awful down the stretch the last 2 months and Reed Johnson was performing very well. Need to score runs to win games, and ‘dome wasn’t going to be knocking any of them in. And also about starting Dempster over Zambrano for game 1. Granted Dempster was the more consistent pitcher during the season and excellent at home, but Zambrano has been our club ace for the last few seasons and can get up for a big game. and we needed to keep the crowd into it for Game 1, which Zambrano could do.

So not a whole lot for the Cubs to look forward to, it sounds.

Intriguing Possible World Series Matchups

So, 2 days later than expected, the field is set for the 2008 MLB playoffs. With 4 teams in each league, there are 16 possible matchups we can see in this year's World Series. Not all matchups are created equal though, so I'm going to rank all 16 matchups by level of intrigue. My apologies in advance to Phillies and Brewers fans:

1. Red Sox vs. Dodgers - Two big markets with big followings taking each other on. Joe Torre leading the Dodgers to the World Series in the same year that the Yankees miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993 will give the Steinbrenner family fits. But the biggest subplot here will be Manny Ramirez returning to Boston, who he greatly disrespected this season. This would also be Torre's first crack at Boston in the playoffs since the Yankees choked away a 3-0 lead in 2004.

2. White Sox vs. Cubs - Sure, no one may care about this outside of Chicago, but the city would literally rip apart if these 2 teams ever faced each other in a World Series again (the Sox beat the Cubs in 1906). Fans of both teams actually don't want to see this matchup happen because they don't want their team to be the team that loses to their hated cross-town rival.

3. Red Sox vs. Cubs - the two historically "cursed" teams with large national followings going at it. The funny part here is the Cubs are looking to break 100 years of losing while the Red Sox are trying to establish a dynasty by winning 3 championships in 5 years.

4. Angels vs. Dodgers - Could tear the city apart just like Chicago, but only until the 7th inning when the war gets taken to the streets....as the fans fight to get home. This matchup could lead to some negative happenings as well. Last time 2 California teams from the same metro area played, there was a gigantic earthquake. Also, we could see increased bloods vs. crips violence.

5. Angels vs. Cubs - The 2 top seeds and probably most deserving World Series teams battle things out. Add in the whole Cubs curse story, and you got yourself the #5 most interesting series.

6. Rays vs. Brewers - The ultimate low budget World Series. Two very small market teams with not all that great fan bases (sorry Brewers fans, they call your place Wrigley North for a reason) prove that you don't need to spend $100 million to win a World Series. TV ratings will be lower than the Emmys

7. Rays vs. Cubs - The gigantic underdog of 2008 vs. the gigantic underdog of the past 100 years. This would be an appropriate way for the Cubs to finally win a World Series, especially with a sweep, since with the current alignment, this is as close as we can get to the fictional 2015 World Series in Back to the Future 2.

8. White Sox vs. Phillies - These guys both like to hit a lot of home runs and play in two very homer friendly parks. If you hate pitching, this is the World Series for you.

9. White Sox vs. Brewers - Mike Cameron can get revenge for being traded for both Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey Jr. during his career. But in all seriousness, it would be funny in an agonizing way for Cubs fans to have 2 teams 90 miles apart playing each other in a World Series where both team busses would pass by Wrigley Field on the way to the games.

10. Red Sox vs. Phillies - This could be another offensively charged series, with Philly's left handed power trying to twist balls around Pesky's pole.

11. Rays vs. Dodgers - Joe Torre looks at Tampa in confusion, "Hey didn't I beat you guys non-stop for 10 years?" then has a chance to become the first manager to lose a World Series to 3 different 1990's expansion teams.

12. White Sox vs. Dodgers - Older White Sox fans will like this matchup, since it is a rematch of the last World Series the White Sox lost, in 1959. Hopefully no games will need to be played in the LA Colliseum this time, though a spilled beer on Ken Griffey Jr. would be pretty funny.

13. Red Sox vs. Brewers - Interesting series for really old Braves fans, since these cities were the team's first 2 homes before moving to Atlanta. C.C. Sabathia gets another crack at knocking out the Red Sox after he lost 2 games to them during last year's ALCS.

14. Angels vs. Phillies - Don't adjust the color on your TV's, there will be red everywhere. Should be a fun series to watch, just not quite as interesting.

15. Rays vs. Phillies - 1 combined World Series title in over 140 combined years of baseball, most by the Phillies. I am a little excited to see a Cliff Floyd vs. Jamie Moyer matchup in the 2008 World Series.

16. Angels vs. Brewers - The top seed in the AL vs. the bottom seed in the NL. If anything, people in LA might learn what state Milwaukee is in, and where that state is located.

How you know you have a struggling franchise

Have you heard? Anyone? Has anyone told you what Tuesday, May 6th was? No? I was. Several times, baseball fans frantically told me that 10 years ago on that date, Kerry Wood pitched his 20 strikeout game. If you know a Cub fan, I'm sure they were happy to tell you about this.
Now, I'm not usually in the business of Cub bashing (I leave that to Steve), but sweet merciful poop. How bad is your franchise if you hearken back to a regular season game 10 years ago as your gleeful memory? Also, have you no self respect? How dare you even think to hearken back to a regular season game? (And yes, to my surprise, that is how you spell 'hearken') So, Cubs fans, stop wistfully looking back at things like the Kerry Wood game, because you're depressing the world. Look instead to the future, because eventually, their is bound to be something good there.

The Red Sox are better than the Rockies

Before I tried to go to work, only to have my car not start, I caught some commentary from Fox's Ken Rosenthal while he was talking to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. They asked him why the Rockies were struggling so furiously with the Red Sox when they had just swept their way through the Cubs and Diamondbacks. Sure, there is the argument that it's the Rockies layoff, or maybe the playing conditions, but Rosenthal had a pretty solid argument as well.
The Red Sox are a lot better than the Phillies or Diamondbacks. The Rockies too, for that matter. I find it curious that so many didn't think to factor that into their World Series picks. I include my self in that group. Let's break this down. I'll even throw in the Phillies and Diamondbacks to show how clearly superior the Red Sox are. Analysis as needed.

Catcher:
Red Sox: Varitek.
Rockies: Torrealba
Diamondbacks: Snyder
Phillies: Ruiz
Advantage: Red Sox, without any argument, both behind the plate and at bat.

1b:
Red Sox: Youkilis
Rockies: Helton
Diamondbacks: Clark/Jackson
Phillies:Howard
Advantage: In most situations, the Phillies win out here, but in the postseason, Youkilis is hitting .422. .422! Oh, and when they are playing in Colorado, the Red Sox will bat this Ortiz fellow, that I hear is pretty good.

2b:
Red Sox: Pedroia
Rockies: Matsui
Diamondbacks: Ojeda
Phillies: Utley
Advantage: Rockies, in a very close battle. Ojeda had an empty batting average (all singles, no walks) this offseason and Utley hit .182, while Matsui and Pedroia have been veritable monsters for their teams. Matsui has been better in the post season by a slim margin, but Pedroia is going to be the rookie of the year. (Be careful so he doesn't sell his World Series trophy replica).

3b:
Red Sox: Lowell
Rockies: Atkins
Diamondbacks: Reynolds
Phillies: Nunez/Helms/Dobbs
Advantage: Red Sox. Atkins has the second best postseason batting average for third basemen in this comparison at .194. The Phillies started three different 3rd basemen against the Rockies, and none got a hit. In the regular season, Atkins splits away from Coors are dreadful, and I couldn't pick any of the four from Arizona or Philly out of a lineup.

SS
Red Sox: Lugo
Rockies: Tulowitzki
Diamondbacks: Drew
Phillies: Rollins
Advantage: Of a good group of short stops, Stephen Drew has had the best postseason by far, and Jimmy Rollins is one of the most effective shortstops in the game, but hit .182 this post season. As I'm sure you've heard, the best hitting shortstop in the World Series is Troy Tulo-- Wait. Julio Lugo. Higher batting average, but lower slugging percentage, which is ok, because he can still score in front of the bigger bats in Boston's line up (Tulowitzki is batting .226, if you were wondering, while Lugo is at .282).

LF
Red Sox: Ramirez
Rockies: Holliday
Diamondbacks: Byrnes
Phillies: Burrell
Advantage: Red Sox. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Manny is batting .447 in the postseason, and he still finds time to befriend soup.

CF
Red Sox: Crisp
Rockies: Taveres/Spilborghs
Diamondbacks: Young
Phillies: Rowand
Advantage: Diamondbacks? Chris Young is the only player here that has done anything this postseason, and really, he had the best regular season as well. I guess he is why they made the playoffs, huh? And of the World Series teams, I have to give the Colorado platoon the nod. To say Coco Crisp has underperformed falls wildly short of the truth.

RF
Red Sox: Drew
Rockies: Hawpe
Diamondbacks: Upton/Salazar
Phillies: Victorino
Advantage: If Justin Upton could have played all the games instead of platooning with Jeff Salazar, theirs would have been the best Right Field of this group, but they didn't and the position batted .250, lower than Brad Hawpe. By the way, guess how many extra base hits Hawpe has this postseason? The same as me! So, in the end, J.D. Drew is the best of the right fielders here.

SP:
Red Sox: Beckett, Schilling, Matsuzaka
Rockies: Francis, Fogg, Jiminez
Diamondbacks: Webb, Hernandez, Davis
Phillies: Hamels, Kendrick, Moyer
Advantage: Red Sox again. Beckett has been lights out all year, Schilling pitches his best in the post season, an frankly, even if they aren't getting what they paid for yet, the Red Sox have a better pitcher with Dice-K than all of the others listed, aside from Webb, Hernandez and Hamels.

Bullpen:
Advantage: Ok. Name someone from the Diamondbacks or Phillies bullpen. Go.


Kyle Lohse? Is that it? I thought so. And the Rockies have LaTroy Hawkins and Ramon Ortiz. Generally speaking, that many former Twins in a bullpen isn't the greatest idea, especially when they are rejects from Minnesota. Jonathan Papelbon is very good in the bullpen. End of story.

So, broken down, I don't really see any way that the Rockies pull this series out. The Red Sox, out of 10 categories were the best in 7 of them. The Diamondbacks had the top shortstop and centerfielder, while the Rockies have an advantage at 2nd. Because of Kaz Matsui. The Rockies can only hope it snows in Colorado this weekend.

In Yuppies We Trust

Originally posted on "Is It Sports?" by Kevin, another friend who did a few great posts for us in the early days of the site. It's fun to have someone else attacking the Cubs besides me.

Naming your first three daughters Addison, Sheffield, and Waveland , Now that's Old Style.

Making $10 million extra dollars in revenue and not spending it, Now that's Old Style

Getting rid of Samy Sosa, Moises Alou, and 74 home runs, Now that's Old Style.

Disclaimer: I am not a Cubs fan. Just a bewildered, perplexed, and perhaps thankful Giants fan.

What do urine, sneezing, and personal feelings all have to do with baseball? Nothing. In the unbiased world of sports Moises Alou will hit at least his career average of 28 home runs next year, Sammy Sosa will hit his average of 43, and Aramis Ramirez will hit his average of 27. However, Chicago is not located in the unbiased world of sports. Instead, it truly is a world of its own, where stats are used to prop up popular Cubs players, and play down every one else. Here are three examples of crazy Cubs logic, the same logic that says they will win the World Series this year.

I. What pissing on your hands can do to a man

Moises Alou could be considered a fine baseball player, the youngest of a historic baseball family. The key word their is "could." That was until he admitted to reports, for unknown reasons, that he urinates on his hands before games, as an alternative to wearing batting gloves. This was part of the reason the Cubs, and Cubs fans for that reason, didn't want him back this year. Cubs fans say Alou isn't a team player, runs slow, fields bad, the excuses will keep rolling off their yuppie tongues. But the matter of fact is that Alou has consistently been a very productive power hitter, and hit 39 home runs for the Cubs last season. Have you ever heard of a team and their fans complain about a player hitting 39 home runs? The cubs decide to get rid of him because he's "not good enough for them." The likes of Corey Patterson are often brought up in conversations with Yuppies. Cubs fans would like you to believe he's a better player than Moises Alou. Ok Corey, Ill take your average of 20 homers a season, 69 RBIs and 158 hits. But I'd rather have Alou's 28 home runs, 177 hits, and 109 RBIs. The point is that once Alou had a bad baserunning play, didn't connect well with the media, or pissed on his hands, the Cubs and their fans found a way to downplay him as a player. Their loss. Instead, the Cubs will replace Alou with Todd Hollandsworth, a former rookie of the year who has never hit more than 12 home runs a season. As one Cub fan said, "Moises Alou wont hit more than 25 home runs next year." Maybe that fan is right. But just because you don't like the guy, doesn't mean you can will him to a bad season, or that he is suddenly worse than Todd Hollandsworth. Somebody, anybody tell me why the Cubs got rid of Moises Alou.

Nobody wants to slap the Palm of that hand and A closer look at what urine does to a hand

II. Sammy Sosa: Since 39 home runs wasn't good enough for Alou, why would 35 be good enough for Sosa?

Technically Sosa is still a Chicago Cub. But not if the Cubs and Cubs fans have their way. Because Sammy didn't hit 65 home runs last year, he was considered a disappointment, so much that he should be traded. Because he got hurt for a week "sneezing" he's considered no good. And because he left the last game of the year early in frustration and disappointment, he wont produce next year. Again, Cubs fans seem to think that players will only perform as well as they are supported by the Cubs faithful. Somebody remind me how many home runs Sosa hit last year. That's right, THIRTY FIVE! And that was a down year for him. Yet 9 out of 10 yuppies would agree that Sosa will only continue downward, is struggling since he's "off the juice," and cant perform under pressure. This is the same Sosa who hit a 2 run home run in the bottom of the ninth in the NLCS to send game 1 to extra innings. The Cubs would have never made the playoffs in 2003 without Sosa. There would have been no Bartman, no playoffs, no hope. Boy do Cubs fans have short memory. And yes, Sosa will hit at least 30 home runs next year.












Sammy Sosa, taking a bad fall while sneezing

III. Aramis Ramirez: The best player baseball has ever seen

So lets make an important recap. Alou had a career year, but will definitely be bad next year. Sosa had a down year, so he will continue downward. What does all this mean? That since Aramis Ramirez had a career year last year, he unlike Alou, will continue upward and lead the Cubs to the promise land. For some reason, Cubs fans don't find anything about Ramirez distasteful or unnerving, and because of those personal feelings, he is definitely the better player. Where do Cubs fans come up with this stuff? Ramirez averages 27 home runs a year, 164 hits, and a .273 batting average. But he's better than Alou, right? Ramirez may be younger, and have more promise for the long run, but I have no reason to believe that he will continue to be one of baseballs best AND that Alou and Sosa fall off the map in this next season. Ramirez, you are a good player, but not peeing on your hands or throwing your back sneezing doesn't guarentee you another career year.

Believe the hype, the talk, the excuses, and the whining from Cubs fans if you want. But just remember, the numbers aren't on their side, history isn't on their side, and common sense isn't on their side. What is on their side is personal feelings. These feelings towards players are being mixed up with an evaluation of that players performance. This isn't just a problem with the fans, but also with the Cubs front office, since they have acted upon these fans opinions. Who knows? Maybe Cubs fans will be right next year, and everything will fall into place as expected. But I wouldn't bet on it. There is, however, only one thing we know for sure that will happen . There wont be any corked bats with urine stains sitting in the Cubs clubhouse next year.


















Ramirez welcomes the Yuppie "Love" with open arms....enjoy it while it lasts

-Kevin Grigsby (The original KGB)

P.S. Cubs fans are complaining that Dusty Baker isn't good enough either. Go figure.