I'll bet Vineline wishes that print media had a delete button.  There's a sympathetic story about Bradley in there, citing the difficulties of first year free agents in Chicago.  It draws a parallel between Bradley's first year and that of Moises Alou, implying that Bradley would come back strong next season.

The co authors, Bruce Levine and Joel Bierig, probably will be wearing grocery sacks over their heads tonight.

Of course, this went to press just before he was fired.  Talk about bad timing.

DLee hit number 32 into the basket today, but even he probably will have to admit it was a cheap home run.  The Cinci lfer had a bead on it and probably would have caught it had the basket not been there.  Wrigley Field has among the shallowest power allies in the majors, and the basket essentially moves them in even further.

It was originally put up in the early 70s to prevent drunken bleacher bums of that era from jumping onto the field.  I think today's drunken bums would be less likely to do so, primarily because of the heavy penalties awaiting them.   The basket is an eyesore in a beautiful ballpark, and is a reminder of the days when fans could not be trusted.  

It should be relegated to the dumpster of memory. 

Was anybody else offended besides me last night, as the Padres celebrated their 1984 pennant with the Cubs in town?  I watched the fiasco on San Diego TV because I refused to go to the game.  

With their ridiculous friar mascot, scoreboard exortations to the fans to make noise (they don't know when to do it?), and the Pod Squad shooting t-shirts into the crowd between innings, the ballpark experience is arguably the most bush in the majors.

And it doesn't seem to be working, because attendance was consistently below 20,000 until the Cubs came into town.  

Below is a link to the San Diego Union Tribune's beat writer regarding the Peavy talks.  Sounds like Hendry is standing firm, and has taken Marshall off the table.  Lou agrees.  That's good news.  Also, the Padres need a shortstop.  The guy who took over after Greene was hurt isn't considered a major league starting shortstop.  Again, good news for us, and enhances the value of Cedeno.

They quote a specious article in the Sun Times that Peavy was seen shouting "Go Cubs go," in a Vegas bar.  Maybe it was a Peavy impersonator.

Here's the link:

htttp://www3.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/padres/2008/dec/09/day-two-gm-meetings/?padres

on DVD.  In honor of his leaving.  Who would have thought the highlight of his career would come in his fifth major league game?  His curveball was unhittable.  Too bad his elbow ligament was coming apart at the time.  He never threw that curve again after his rookie year.

The other factor that impressed me is how much better Bob Brenly is as an announcer than Steve Stone.  Steve was obviousman, mainly reading from the press releases.  He's nowhere near as good as in the memories of some Cubs fans.

One final note:  Aramis Ramirez would have eaten up that ground ball to third that Orie couldn't handle.  If it had occurred in the 6th instead of the second inning, Kerry would have had a no hitter.

How will the economic meltdown affect baseball and the Cubs?

We've already seen the effect on the sale of the team, with the billion dollar price tag a forgotten memory.   What about season tickets?  Will corporate bigwigs still shell out the big bucks?  What about sponsorship?  

In the depression baseball attendance tanked, despite the fact it was cheap entertainment.  The price tag has risen exponentially.  Auctions for premium seats aren't going to bring 2008 prices any more.  

Fewer tickets may end up in the hands of scalpers, and that's a good thing.

What about the free agent market?  With the specter of less income from ticket sales, advertising, and souvenir sales looming, how high are teams going to bid?  And what will Joe, the ex plumber, think about supporting multi millionaires wearing home laundry with his unemployment check?

I think Lou has brought a level of maturity to the Cubs.  They now act like they expect to win, just like the Yankees used to.  There are still joyous celebrations like after A-ram's walkoff homer, but on the whole they are acting like pros.  Contrast that with the sophomoric antics of the White Sox, typified by quotes from Guillen, Danks, and Pierzinski. Like their fans, their jealousy of all things Cub overrides their focus on playing winning baseball.

It makes quite a difference when adults are in charge.

This post contained an article completely copied/pasted from another source. There wasn't a single word written by the poster, so I deleted all of it.

This is just another reminder: you can't do that here. That's a copyright violation and can get me and BCB in legal trouble.

The usual procedure is to put a link to the source, maybe copy a paragraph or two, and write something yourself.

It was about The Former Employee's new troubles. If the original poster would like to fix this, that'd be great.

Thanks for understanding.

From the San Diego Union Tribune:

Padres C Michael Barrett, bothered by a sprained right elbow ligament, threw before the game and could go on a rehab assignment soon. ...


 Former Cubs' pitcher Mark Prior, now with the Padres, had a setback in his rehab from shoulder surgery in April 2007. When he felt discomfort in his shoulder at extended spring training in Arizona, he was sent back to San Diego for an MRI, manager Bud Black said. Prior might visit Dr. James Andrews, who performed the surgery, to be checked out.

Today's ballplayers are the most skilled ever to play the game.  So many of them, however, are spoiled kids who never grew up.  

Lou Brissie pitched 7 years in the majors, after world war II combat injuries resulted in 23 operations on his left leg.  He would have lost it but for a military doctor who he convinced to save it for a baseball career that hadn't really started at the time.

At age 83, he is connecting with today's wounded veterans.  There's a great story on him at the ESPN website.  Reading it will make you forget stock market woes and the chaotic world we live in, at least for a while.  

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3101709