SB Nation User Blog: CubsBullsBears

Cubs install sign boards in bleachers to block Horseshoe Casino (Budweiser) building...

CubsBullsBears — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:28:03 -0000

Cubs install sign boards in bleachers to block Horseshoe Casino (Budweiser) building...

Our Hindsight Bias

CubsBullsBears — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:52:06 -0000

I'm a little shocked by the outrage that a lot of Cubs fans are expressing on here and on the sports talk radio shows. People are bitching and moaning about Lee and Ramirez's no-trade clauses, yet when they signed, people were ecstatic.

When Ramirez re-signed in November of 2006, there were reports that teams like the Angels were prepared to offer him upwards of $90 million if he hit the market. Everyone praised Jim Hendry and Aramis for taking a "hometown discount" and wanting to win here. He was and is the most productive 3rd baseman the Cubs have had since Santo. He has put up great numbers during the regular season and proved to be the most clutch player we have, yet people want to run him out of town for pulling an A-Rod in the playoffs.

Lee was coming off his monster MVP-caliber season of '05 when he signed his 5-year $65 million extension, which was a bargain at the time for the numbers he was putting up. A Gold Glover at first, as well as being such a stand-up guy, it was a no-brainer to make him a cornerstone of our team.

How can we honestly sit here now with a straight face and say that those deals should've never been offered? If we let Ramirez and Lee go in 2006, there would've been no 2007 or 2008 playoff appearances, and we'd be all bitching and moaning about management not putting a winning team on the field. I have full confidence that Jim Hendry and Lou to go out there and get us a leadoff man (TTTSNBN), a power hitting lefty, and re-arrange the batting order. We were a 97-win team, we are not that far off from where we want to go.

Poll

If they didn't have no-trade clauses, would you trade Derrek Lee and/or Aramis Ramirez?

I would trade DP-Lee, but not Ramirez.

37 votes

I would trade "Mr. Regular Season Clutch" Ramirez, but not Lee.

2 votes

Trade them both. We will never win a World Series with them.

3 votes

Keep them both. We will win with these guys next year, 3rd times a charm!

41 votes

83 votes | Poll has closed

Where will you be tonight at 5:30pm CT?

CubsBullsBears — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:57:15 -0000

I thought I'd see what everyone is doing tonight for the game. Last year I watched the first 2 games at a local sports bar. The atmosphere was great, but the outcomes were not. For game 3 I decided to stay home, alone, and watch the disaster unfold.

So where will you be tonight when Demp throws that first pitch? At the game? Wrigleyville? At home? listening on the radio at work? Let's hear it.

Zambrano Game 3 Starter? Discuss.

CubsBullsBears — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:41:07 -0000

Phil Rogers' latest garbage column talks about how Lou is setting up the postseason rotation to go with Dempster on Game 1, Harden on Game 2, and Zambrano to pitch game 3 on the road. He also knows without a doubt speculates that Lilly will work out of the bullpen for games 1 and 2 and start a game 4.

Is it blasphemous to assume that anyone but Big Z would be your game 1 starter? For me, Big Z starts that first playoff game at home; he's your money man and your Ace. I would go:

Z
Dempster
Harden
Lilly (if necessary)

Oh no... Geo hurt?

CubsBullsBears — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:41:06 -0000

Jesse Rogers from The Score just reported that Geo Soto has left Wrigley and is having precautionary X-rays on his hand. He will not play today. Apparantly he hurt his hand yesterday and had some pain and swelling today. Hopefully this is nothing serious.

I need more words so I'll just say that the playoffs are about 2 weeks away, so anything less than a major bone break should heal by then. He has become the heart and soul of this team, and we NEED him. There, that's enough.

1969... Tell me about it.

CubsBullsBears — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:56:24 -0000

I'm in my early 20's and all I've ever heard about the '69 team was that they collapsed and lost the division to the Mets. Looking at the "best starts" section on the front page, I see that they were about 30 games over .500 around this time back then. With the great start we've had this year, I can imagine that the hopes and expectations were just as high back then.

I'd like to hear from some people who experienced that season first hand. Please share some of your memories and experiences to kind of explain to the younger generation exactly what happened and how you felt along the way. Was there a key series, or play, or anything that changed the whole feel of the season and marked the collapse so to speak? Did mid August 1969 feel any different than it does now in 2008 as far as optimism is concerned?

Andres Torres?

CubsBullsBears — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:09:51 -0000

I'm not really familiar with this OF prospect we have down in AAA Iowa, but he seems to be putting up some very solid numbers. With all this talk of Colvin and Pie, why not give this guy a shot if Edmonds is hurt? I know he's already 30 years old and isn't a future star or anything, but his numbers this year speak for themselves.

In 56 games (166 ABs) this season, he's hitting .313 with a .417 OBP and a .917 OPS. He's got 5 HRs, 20 RBI, and he's also switch hits which is a bonus. Anyone more familiar with the Iowa Cubs know anything about this guy?

Mike North is an Idiot...

CubsBullsBears — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:05:45 -0000

I'm on my way to work this morning, and I tune in to The Score to hear Mike North rambling on about how Scott Linebrink is a better reliever than Carlos Marmol. His evidence to support his argument is that Linebrink's ERA is a tad lower than Marmols (1.12 vs. 1.64).

I don't mind people having different opinions, but what happened next is just disgusting. Two Cubs fans call in to defend Marmol and to enlighten Mr. North that ERA is not the greatest tool of effectiveness for a reliever. One caller explains to him that numbers such as holds, opponents batting average, runs allowed, etc. are much more accurate gauges of a setup man's effectiveness than ERA. North then procedes to call these men "assholes" and belittles them as being "typical moron Cubs fans", trying to skew the stats to make a case for their guy.

I think Mike North needs to win today's "Just Shut Up" award.

OT: Wayne Larrivee and Tom Dore out...

CubsBullsBears — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:15:29 -0000

I figure a good majority of people here are Bulls fans as well so maybe this will interest you. It appears long time Bulls announcers Wayne Larrivee and Tom Dore are out, and Johnny Red Kerr is going to have his role reduced to only pre-game and half-time coverage. Neil Funk is supposed to switch from radio to TV.

I'm personally sad to see them go, I grew up listening to these guys back during the Jordan-era. I could understand Kerr's role reducing as he is getting older; he was basically just a bystander on the telecasts anyway the past few years.

Here's the article:

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-080506-chicago-bulls-broadcasters,1,1263760.story

Wrigley Field 16th best to see a game?

CubsBullsBears — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:04:26 -0000

I was reading Chris De Luca's article this morning and I was left a bit shocked. He ranks the top 30 stadiums in MLB to see a big-league game. He had Fenway ranked as #1, then I start scrolling through the rankings and Wrigley was allllllll the way down at #16. He had Kaufman Stadium, "The Jail Cell" (US Cellular Field), and Petco Park all ahead of our beloved Wrigley.

I know Wrigley lacks all the modern amenities that most of these newer stadiums have, but wouldn't the aura and history at Wrigley make it a top 3 destination to view a major league game? Maybe I'm just being nostalgic....

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/918492,parks042708.article#