What a disgrace. I'm curious what else is left to show how utterly out-franchised the Cubs were these past two games. Does anyone think it was an accident that the D-Backs knew everything Teddy was throwing last night? Or that they knew exactly how to pitch to our sluggers? Incredible to see them up there AB after AB just guessing at what they might see. I've never seen hitters more unprepared in my entire life.

 I'm glad they got their ass kicked. Maybe a little shaming will convince them to enter a playoff game prepared.

 And why is suckass ex-GM Ed Lynch an advance scout again?

Probably not a of ton interest, but figured I'd start one.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/y2007/gd.html?2007_10_01_sdnmlb_colmlb_1

On the off chance one of these two teams beats the Phillies, I think I'm rooting for the Rockies here. Still a lot of bad memories with the Padres.

And the Rockies are up 2-0, going into the top of the second.

As well as compiling my favorite Pat and Ron moments from this year, synched up to video, I'm also gonna add in a few of my favorite TV ads that I will always remember this season by. I think my two faves are the Bud Light axe/chainsaw ad, and the Mountain Dew Chuck Norris 'Chuckstrich' ad. Any other suggestions?

 Any thoughts on trying to make a trade for him? I was impressed by how he hit at Wrigley during the recent Giants series. He's a switch-hitter, and plays exceptionally well later in the season, especially the fall. I don't think we'll get Griffey, I'm not sure if Dye wants to play here, and Adam Dunn seems a little inconsistent.

I wanted to write this immediately after the to-be-mentioned game ended, but decided to wait until the ASB and see how things played out. On June 25th when the Cubs came back to win in the bottom of the ninth after giving up 6 in the top half, my mind instantly flashed back to July 25th, 2003. While it happened in a different month and was won in a different way, that game was what I believed to be the turning point for the '03 Cubs. Carlos Zambrano was on the mound that day, and gave up 3 runs in the first to immediately put the Cubs in a hole. He bore down after that, but the rest of the team looked flat against the then-still-good Wade Miller, and appeared headed for a loss that would put them 2 games under .500. Then in the 7th, Zambrano, seemingly sensing the team's listlessness, decided to carry the team on his own shoulders and hit a 2-run homer to tie the game. In the very next inning, Moises Alou followed that cue with a 2-run blast to put the Cubbies up by 2. Zambrano pitched into the 9th inning, and lunch-pail Joe Borowski got the final two batters for the save. Starting with that game, the Cubs then went 38-23 and won the division.

 Will we see another turning point game this season? Maybe/probably? I don't know. But so far, 6/25 is it for me. The Cubs had won 3 in a row, but had done that before this season, only to then lose and prevent them from going on a real streak. Which they continued after this game, winning 7 in a row, and 10 of 11.

 Thought I'd post this in case some are still wondering about the details. On Steve Stone's segment Monday on 670, he provided some details on the altercation. After Zambrano approached Barrett to berate him, Barrett wasn't pointing at the scoreboard, but at DeRosa to say "he saw the same sign I did", as Barrett was expecting a different pitch than what was thrown. And when Barrett went into the clubhouse, Stone says Barrett went in to smooth things over and Zambrano sucker punched him several times and cut up his lip.

 So there you go.

 Well, here we go. Apparently they will become majority owners if the offer is accepted.

 I have absolutely no idea what will happen to the Cubs if this deal happens.

"CHICAGO (AP) -- Tribune Co.'s largest shareholder offered to buy the struggling media conglomerate and spin off its broadcast division in a deal valued at $7.6 billion.

The bid by the Chandler family, which owns 20 percent of Tribune stock, was disclosed Thursday morning in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission."
 http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070118/tribune_sale.html?.v=8

Jim Hendry will be on Sports Central tonight with David Kaplan a little after 8 PM, WGN 720 AM. Hopefully Kaplan won't be afraid to dig deep into Hendry's decision making with regard to off-season pitching aquisitions.

 One-line diaries are prohibited on Bleed Cubbie Blue. The minimum is 300 characters.

 If you want the Cubs to win a WS.

 No other team puts it's players body clock on such a yo-yo schedule- almost half night, half day. It puts needless duress on the player and handicaps them every year before the season has even started.

 Wrigleyville and the city need to address this issue this offseason. Day games should begin at 2:05, and there absolutely need to be more night games. Also, BP should be voluntary during day home games and bullpen pitchers should be in the clubhouse until they're needed, not out cooking slowly in the sun.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-061015cubs,1,1039536.story?coll=cs-c ubs-headlines

"the announcement of Piniella as the next manager could come Monday or Tuesday, barring any last-minute snag in the process."

Well, let's hope for the best.

 We do have some things to be happy about: He isn't Dusty. I don't think he can be dumber than Dusty. He's got a WS ring as a manager, which is more than any other Cub manager has been able to say in a long, long, long time.