As the regular season is entering its final stages, I sit back and try to take stock of the season.  I try and remember what I felt going into the season.  What were my expectations?  How did I feel about our team after the first two months?  How did my outlook change by the All Star game?  I have been taking Al's advice, and enjoying every moment.  Regardless of how things turn out, this has been an amazing year so far.  I look back, and try to relive the moments throughout the season and I can remember quite a few of them.  I know, however, that I can not remember them all.

I don’t post much, I am not sure how my company would like it if I post, but I do read this site every day at work (Not sure if that is any better).  And I, like all of you, have my preferences and biases on who should play and how much.  I would like to put all of that aside and see what positives we remember about the season.  When you look back, what sticks out in your mind?  I am hoping for a list or description of what play, what game, or what event about this years Cubs team is the most memorable for you.  I get excited to think about where we are headed, but I thought that maybe we could help each other remember what it is that got us to this point.  And by reflecting on what got us here, it will make the future all that more enjoyable.

I will start.  Its hard to narrow it down, but two plays stick out to me.  Actually, one play and one game.  First the play. With the Cubs up 1 game going into a 4 game set in Milwaukee, it was crucial that the Cubs come away with at least a split to maintain their lead in the division.  On July 28th, in the bottom of the 6th Lilly just surrendered the lead making it Brewers 3 Cubs 2.  As we move on to the top of the 7th the anxiety of Cubs fans everywhere begins to build.  We get a single from ONEDEC and a single from Dome.  Soriano then strikes out, but on strike 3, ONEDEC and Dome execute a double steal.  Reed Johnson then draws a walk.  With the bases loaded and 1 out, D. Lee is in the batters box with CC Sabathia on the mound.  D Lee grounds to the left side and it has the makings of another double play.  The throw goes to Rickie Weeks, he starts the turn and Reed Johnson blows him up!  Reed was out, but with his hustle and good jump off first, he goes hard into second base cause an absolutely horrid throw from Weeks.  ONEDEC scores, as does Dome on the error.  This puts the Cubs back in front.  I know the game gets tied later, before the Cubs eventually win.  But its plays like what Reed did that accumulate over the season to give your team a few extra wins.  I really appreciate plays like that.

And second, the game that is memorable for me.  The reason, it was the one game I have attended all year.  It was May 9th, of a chilly Friday afternoon.  Being severely hung-over, I trudge to my seats in the left field bleachers.  Its overcast, with a chance of rain.  My day is not looking good so far.  We get to our seats as Arizona is taking batting practice.  After about 30 minutes, you could tell Arizona was getting ready to pack it in and get ready for the game.  With 1 or 2 hitters left, I hear the crack of the bat and watch a ball come sailing out towards me.  It seems to have radar lock on me because it is hooking right to me.  I stand up and "THUD".  Right off my right hand.  Luckily the ball dropped straight down and I was able to recover it.  First time I ever got a ball, so that was exciting for me.  On to the game.  This was the first game of the Arizona series.  Lilly gives up a HR in the 1st to Chris Young and everyone around me groans, as if in unison we all think, "Here we go again".  Ted then settles down and only gives up 2 more hits through 7 innings.  But the best part was, down 0-1 in the bottom of the 5th, with 2 outs and no one on Derosa doubles.  Haren then walks Reed Johnson to get to Ted.  We all know that Ted should be hitting 5th (sarcasm).  Ted steps up and ropes one to center.  And by "ropes" I mean barely got it to the outfield grass.  Dero scores.  The Soriano doubles down the left field line to give the Cubs the lead for good.  D Lee hits a solo shot for a little insurance and the Cubs win!

I know this is a long post, but please share your favorite memories from this year so we can all remember how we got here!

Thanks

With a little lull before game time, I thought I would bring up something I have always considered odd.  I want to talk about why certain plays don’t credit the batter with an RBI.  First and most obvious is when a run scores on a double play.  Yes, I understand the double play is bad.  I guess the idea is not to "credit" the hitter with a positive stat for doing something so negative.  I guess I just don’t agree with it and my reasoning is this:  If a batter puts the ball in play that results in a run scored, it is positive for the club.  Is a ground ball double play with the bags full ideal?  Of course not.  I mean, you do get an RBI on a Sac fly, how much better is that?  But there are multiple outcomes which could be potentially worse.  A strike out, a pop out to the in field, a double play which includes getting the runner at home.  Its not always easy to put the ball in play, so why shouldn’t the batter get an RBI? 

Secondly, and maybe a little more gray, would be a runner scoring on an error.  An example would be, in a game against the Cardinals last weekend (I think Sunday), Dome hits a ball back to the pitcher and come sprinting out of the box.  Not sure if anyone noticed it or if I have a biased that makes me feel he always runs every hit out.  Well, with a guy on second the pitcher throws the ball down the right field line and the runner from second scores.  Now, we can debate all day whether Dome running down the line had anything to do with the pitcher throwing the ball down the line, but the fact remains, Dome put the ball in play in a way that allowed a run to score.  There were a bunch of other things that could have happened where an out would have been recorded and no run scored.  So why shouldn’t he be rewarded with making contact and doing something to put the defense at risk?

I don’t have time to look it up, as I am at work and have been writing a sentence here and there as I get a chance, but maybe there is something in the rules or official scoring procedure that explains this.

I know this isn't a very intriguing topic, but I was wonder what everyone else thought. 

I know I am in the minority, but I think you trade what you can to get a proven quantity that significantly improves the chances of this team to WIN the World Series this year.  Obviously, this doesn’t mean trading Marmol or Soto because they would weaken the team and the gain would become negligible.  If we have to give up Gallagher and a couple other prospect for the services of a top tier pitcher (even a rental), I am all for it. 

I know we (I haven’t participated until now) have debated this over and over.  I want to add a slight spin to it and maybe take it in a new direction.  Here is how I see it.  This year, Gallagher is a 4/5 starter.  Z, Demp, Lilly are our top 3.  I think we all agree on this.  When it comes down to the playoffs, a team uses its top 3 pitches almost exclusively and depending on how a series goes, maybe their 4th sparingly.  If we can add to the top of our rotation by trading Gallagher, and this increases the odds of making the playoffs and winning the World Series this year then I just can’t understand not making the trade.

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to keep Gallagher on this team.  He has shown signs of being a quality pitcher and could easily fit into Dempster’s spot in the rotation if Ryan doesn’t come back next year.  With all the great pitching he has done so far, he is still not a proven commodity.  We can play the “what if” game all day, but we don’t know if he is a solid young pitcher or a slight flash in the pan.  I know I am not alone, but I was expecting Rich Hill to be our 3 or 4 pitcher this season and we all know what happened to him.

My point being, he just isn’t proven yet.  The slight spin I wanted to make was this, what if he turns out to be a 2 pitcher (I think unlikely, but not impossible)?  Then people would be upset that we traded away a superior young prospect for an equal or lesser pitcher.  And as upset as I would be along with the rest of you, a future good #2 Gallagher is not what we have now or what we need now.  The trade that would be made would be us giving up the possibility of him being a solid to good pitcher in the future, for a proven top of the rotation pitcher NOW.

Finally, I am of the opinion that world championships are hard to win in any sport.  The window to win such things is extremely small.  So many factors besides a player’s ability come into the equation.  For example, our beloved Chicago Bears.  They had a window of 2 years to win the Super Bowl.  Yes, I know there are differences in the situations.  But my point is that you never know what the future will hold.  Am I glad we got to the Super Bowl?  Of course.  Am I disappointed we didn’t try and find a better quarterback?  You betcha.  I would rather be here saying, well, management did what they could to win the Super Bowl when we had a chance.  But I can’t say that.

Next year, A Ram could get hurt, D Lee could decline, Z could have shoulder problems and Lilly loses it all together.  Then what good is Gallagher if we don’t make the playoffs?  We have to play for now; we have to play for this year.  We have to trust Hendry to make the right decisions and if that includes trading Sean Gallagher I know I wont be mad at him or mad at the results (cause I don’t think Gallagher wins or loses us a World Series this year).

This topic is as stale as TTTSNBN.  We have people that will turn a blind eye to the fact that he is batting .182/ .217 /.182 in 22 AB's and discount this because he "needs" a chance to develop at the MLB level.  Then we have people that say he sucks even though he tore up the minors at every level and is still young enough to make changes and turn into a very good baseball player.  Captain obvious says he will land somewhere in between.  I am neither a Pie supporter or basher.  I root for him because if he succeeds he makes the Cubs better.  That is what is important, the Cubs being better.  If he were to "never make it" as an every MLB player, that would be unfortunate for him because there is obvious talent but I wouldn’t shed any tears. 

Right now he is absolutely lost at the plate.  That happens.  It's ok.  But am I willing to sacrifice the next 2 months of the season to his growing pains?  Something that may or may not lead to an answer.  No, I am not.  Can we win without any offensive production from his 8th spot in the line up?  Sure.  Do we really want to try it?  I say no.  I don’t think we can give up any outs in any game if at all possible.  I still think he should start 1-2 games a week for now.  Put him in high leverage/low risk situations.  Get him to bunt for hits.  Get him to practice going to left field.  Get him in pinch hitting roles and late inning defensive replacement roles.  But by no means should he get 200 uninterrupted AB's until he can prove he can hit on a consistent level. 

I like how Lou started him the night after his game winning hit.  Lou put him in a position to succeed and build on confidence earned the night before.  Unfortunately Pie wasn’t able to capitalize.  But until Reed's numbers, .389/ .500/ .444 in 18 AB's, go down (and they will) why not ride his hot bat?  I mean he has a freaking OBP of .500 right now, how can anyone say he shouldn’t be playing?!  When Reed cools off, I am fine with going to a platoon or even getting Pie in there for a majority of the games.  But until that happens or Pie is able to string together a few good plate appearances (doesn’t have to be hits, but show he is learning and trying to fix his approach), we have to play Reed.

This team is built to compete now.  This team is built to win NOW.  The window to win in the playoffs is very small.  Look at the 2003 team.  How many people thought we would make it back to the playoffs in 2004?  I know I did.  Who knows if we will be able to compete next year, or later this year for that matter.  Our division looks to be getting tougher every year and I don’t want to throw away AB's this year for the sake of developing someone for an uncertain future, this year or next.

Maybe it is time we put this argument to rest.  We let Lou do what is best for the team.  We get Pie in whenever we can and root for him to succeed.  Yes, I realize hitting against live pitching is extremely difficult and is easier with consistent AB's, but now is not the time to develop.  Now is the time to win.

(All stats courtesy of BCB stat page)

Hey guys and gals, hope everyone is as excited as I am for the upcoming season.  I read this site daily since the 2005 season, I just dont post very much.  I am not sure if this is diary worthy, but I didnt know where else to turn.  I go to Vegas every year for the second weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament, missing the Cubs games there by one week each of the last few seasons.  This year, however, the basketball tournament is one week later and I will be out there for the Cubs games.  

I was looking for some input about the game in general.  First, what are the ticket prices?  Are they in line with a regular Cubs game at Wrigley?  I went online only to find that there were 2 game packages and season game tickets but no prices associated with either choice.  Also, what is the park like (I think it is Cashman Park??)?  Are there bad seats, good seats, places to avoid?  Al, I know you usually go to Spring Training, but I cant remember if you stay with them through the Vegas trip.  I am looking for any feedback as I plan on going to at least the Friday night game.  Thanks in advance for your collective help.  And as always, Go Cubs!

I have 6 bleecher tickets to the Ryne Sandberg retirement game on Sunday 8/28/05.  I beleive the game starts at 1:20 with the gates opening at 11:20 (not sure if it will be earlier with the ceremonies).  Because of unforseen events I will be unable to attend.  I am looking to sell them for $60 for each ticket (or best offer).  If interested please email me at camorga@aol.com.

Thanks

Curt