SB Nation User Blog: Ross

Lou Loses a Little More Credibility

Ross — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:40:41 -0000

Lou Loses a Little More Credibility

"We took a chance, and it didn't work," Piniella said. "The amazing this is they took the same chance walking a hitter. They get a strikeout. We get a grand slam."

Really? The same chance. They walked a guy to get to Aaron Miles, who predictibly hit a ground ball to 2b to end the inning. The Cubs walked a guy in a horrible slump to get to a two-time all-star. Sorry, that is not the same.

Piniella and a Game of Web Telephone

Ross — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:28:21 -0000

This is a bit of a rant. I know some people don't like 'em, so I am warning you in advance. You have every right to stop reading now.

Paul Sullivan, in today's Trib., wrote a story about whether or not Lou Piniella would be fired for the Cubs recent struggles. It's a fair question, in my opinion, with new ownership and given how the game of baseball works these days. It didn't call for his firing, nor make it sound imminent.

Meanwhile, perhaps as a counterpunch, Gordon Wittenmyer reminds us that Lou is just playing the hand he was dealt.

Then this morning, on Yahoo, I see the following: Cubs getting ready to can Lou Piniella? The only cited source for these rumors? The story in the Trib.

It's sad that it has come to this. The Cubs swoon, a couple of local beat writers throw out blatant speculation that the manager could get booted after the year is out, and suddenly Yahoo is blurting out rumors to a nation-wide audience that Cubs are going to fire him, when the article that it cites doesn't even infer that it is imminent.

The thing that bothers me most is that Piniella deserves better. He deserves better luck with injuries. He deserves players hustling more for him. He deserves "superstars" playing like superstars. And when it doesn't happen, it is his fault? these guys need to motivate themselves, to have the desire and mental toughness to be champions.

Perhaps they don't have it in them. When I look at the Cubs, I see a team full of complimentary players. Guys who aren't the stars, but excel when they are a compliment to a star. But the Cubs don't seem to have that one guy that they can build around. In theory, it should be that 18-million dollar guy in LF, but that seems to have been a Rex Grossman-like misread of his personality and ability.

The thing is that changing the manager isn't likely to change anything on the field. Even if the Cubs go to the other extreme and bring in a touchy-feely, hug-it-out manager, it's not going to stop the 18-million dollar man from trying to pull outside sliders into the bleachers, get Soto into shape, heal Aramis' shoulder, make Fukudome into Ichiro, fix the problem with Marmol, make Gregg a better closer, straighten Zambrano out, or repair any of the other problems that this team has.

from failblog.org

Ross — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:46:59 -0000

from failblog.org

Astros Release Russ Ortiz

Ross — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:42:15 -0000

Astros Release Russ Ortiz

Less than 20 minutes after the game ends - and he gets the loss- Russ Ortiz is shown the door.

Great shot of some old-school Cubs uniforms and jackets, looks like circa 1940. From "When it was...

Ross — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:50:53 -0000

Great shot of some old-school Cubs uniforms and jackets, looks like circa 1940. From "When it was a game" by Larry Bodnovich. (source- uniwatchblog.com)
I so want one of those jackets.

OT: Off Day "Fun" - Take SFSU Survey in Purchasing and Happiness

Ross — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:15:08 -0000

OT: Off Day "Fun" - Take SFSU Survey in Purchasing and Happiness

(Al has given me the OK to post this here, so I am going to try for the third time to help out my friend, Professor Ryan Howell of San Francisco State University.
Kudos to the very efficient monitors who are checking the site in his absence and taking down what they perceived to be SPAM. However, he has said it is OK for me to post this. Thank you. Please don't delete it again.)

Hey Cubs fan brothers and sisters, something to do as we crawl towards the game with the Nats.

My friend is a professor of psychology at San Francisco State University and he has started a research study to understand what factors (e.g., personality, emotions, and attitudes) may influence our preferences for certain consumer goods/services. It involves taking an online survey and lasts about 20 minutes or so.

The study is anonymous. Even better, you can enter a drawing for one of 10 gift certificates at $25 each.

The survey can be found here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=h7ZJTCcvsD2TsHzN_2bJyXeQ_3d_3d

On behalf of my friend, thanks to everyone who chooses to participate.

Creative Writing: July 1, the Day that Changed Everything

Ross — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:07:54 -0000

(Please forgive this morning writing foolishness if it is not your cup of tea, or your cup of Old Style. Go Cubs).

From the World Book of History of the early 21st Century.

Looking back, it was the day that changed the world as we knew it.

It was July 1, 2009. It was Canada Day, but the happy-go-lucky celebrations sweeping across the Great White North held no sway in hardscrabble Pittsburgh, where the Chicago Cubs were playing the hometown Pirates. The favored Cubs were scrambling like a badger thrown in a pool, just trying to keep their heads above water. The Pirates had long since given up that challenge, choosing instead to sink, rock-like, towards the bottom of the standings.

There were many reasons for the Cubs troubles - age, attitude, ineptitude, a lack of appreciation for the misunderstood genius and talent of Aaron Miles - but many among the hard-core fans thought that there was just one thing that was needed to solve the problem. Manager Lou Piniella needed to have a tantrum.

The hue and cry had been tremendous. Lou isn't showing enough fire. Lou needs to get thrown out of a game. It had worked in 2007: he screamed like a child who had been told that he wasn't getting a candy and like magic, the Cubs found their feet, rocketing to the top of the division before being unceremoniously dumped back into reality by a bunch of snowbirds in Arizona in the playoffs. There were some who argued that a tantrum and ejection would do nothing to change the Cubs fortunes, but the "real" fans knew that a tantrum was just what would be needed. It would make a difference. It would solve everything.

They didn't know how right they were.

And by now, you know the history. The Cubs tenuously holding on to a lead in the later innings. Runners in scoring position. A rookie pitcher named Randy Wells at the plate, who had been turned from a catcher into a pitcher because of an inability to make bat contact ball. The ball slapped back to the mound. The Pirates' pitcher, a man whose name is lost to time and legend, fumbles the ball and throws late to first. Wells was safe, but the umpire, known historically by the nickname "Voldemort," ruled him out. No run scored. Once again, the Cubs denied.

There was a buzzing across the stadium, a rumble, like that split second before an earthquake or an explosion, where the subconscious minds of all those in attendance freeze for a moment in fear and anticipation of what they know is to come, what they know they cannot stop. Lou Piniella strode from the dugout like an angry panda bear. Each step moved him, and the world, closer to fate.

The argument, the famous hat throw, have been so ingrained into polite society through repeated viewings that there is no need to rehash the particulars here.

And when it was over, the fans in Pittsburgh, the television audience across the world, knew that they had seen a transformitive moment in history.

And of course, the tantrum was just what the Cubs needed. The slumbering bats came alive, the pitchers regained their collective confidence and the Cubs did begin to win, and would go on to win the World Series that year. But that accomplishment was dwarfed by the magnitude of other events caused, both directly and indirectly, by the actions of the day. To document them all would take 100 pages, but here are the most significant.

The Israelis and Palestinians, seeing the essence of futility of their battle captured perfectly in the tantrum, finding common ground and agreeing to peace.
A scientist, distracted by the tantrum during the midst of a critical experiment, discovered the basics of a cold fusion generator solving the world's energy issues.
Then-Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley, witnessing the event, has an epiphany and renounces all forms of violence and takes a vow of silence. He goes on to become the first man to hit .400, and later became commissioner of baseball.
"Director/Producer" Michael Bay, seeing that all his cinematic efforts paled in comparison to the angst captured in the tantrum, leaves Hollywood and enters a Buddhist monastery. The world is spared from a dozen planned Transformers sequels.
The alien race, the Squq8qst, who were planning to commence an invasion of our Earth with an ultimate goal of stealing the planet's supply of horseradish, immediately gave up on their plans of conquest and immediately surrendered without a shot being fired.
In the next two years, Piniella becomes one of the most popular names for children, both boys and girls. Over 240,000 children. Tragically, over half are spelled incorrectly by parents who don't realize that Piniella has two "I"s.
The Piniella-inspired two-day growth of beard look becomes the newest fashion statement. This results in a economic boom in the electric razor/clipper industry. The rally buoys the stock market to levels that allow the US economy to flourish for over two decades, until the unfortunate "St. Louis Incident".
Ronnie "Woo-Woo" Wickers, an obnoxious alleged Cubs "fan" who made a living by being famous for making a sound akin to an air raid siren, is in fact identified as being James J. Bulger, a Boston-based mafioso and a Red Sox fan who had been on the FBI's 10-most-wanted list since the 1980's. His siren-like wail was all part of a master plan to get people to not notice his true identity.

Why Gerald Perry Must be the Fall Guy

Ross — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 22:37:53 -0000

Several years ago I had the opportunity to talk to Jeff Pentland, the former Cubs hitting coach. He had been lauded for helping to change some of the Cubs approaches at the plate, getting them to work the count more, etc. Yet just a short time later he was gone, fired. I asked him what the difference had been, and he simply said that the players just stopped listening. He said that they still tried the approaches he recommended, but they just didn't execute as well.

The Cubs can't fire 25 players, but they still need a shock to the system. They need a new approach at the plate, a refined focus and a different attitude. And, unfortunately, the best shock to the system is to let Gerald Perry go and bring Von Joshua up. Joshua already has a working relationship with several players - like Theriot - which leads me to believe that Perry has lost some credibility with the team. At a minimum, the guilt felt by the players at the demise of a trusted coach might be enough to shake things up.

Just my two cents.

Saturday night SD Observations

Ross — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:22:44 -0000

Some observations from the stands...

Scales took about 60 grounders at 3b before the game. He was really working hard down there.

Wells pitched outstandingly well. He certainly doesn't have the best stuff on the staff, but he may have the potential to be the best pitcher.. He really pitched well, though the runs scored on mistakes/problems that he brought on himself. If he can get over letting the one or two big mistakes hurt him, he could go a long way. His fastball was consistantly in the 90's and the scoreboard had his slider in the high 80's...

Padres fans can still be obnoxious, and those that overdid the 1984 mentions shut up quickly when asked how they did in the WS...

DeJesus coached 1b for Sinatro (I don't know if it was for the whole game, or just a portion of it...

Bradley was uppercutting the ball in BP. He hit some bombs, but he was really getting underneath the ball...

It was probably a 60-40 ratio of Padres to Cubs fans... The park was not even close to sold out... pretty sad that they could not fill up the building on a holiday weekend in recognition of their greatest "triumph".

Only about a dozen or so of the team was there, and some notable names were missing. Gwynn was busy coaching, no Gossage, no Carmelo Martinez or Graig Nettles. (Wiggins and Show, of course, are both deceased).

All in all, the team just looked listless. The only one who seemed to have any energy out there was Hoffpauir. I know they can't be rah-rah every day, but they all just looked anemic.

My shots from San Diego

Ross — Sun, 24 May 2009 16:21:11 -0000

My shots from San Diego

In celebration of my dad coming to visit, I splurged on some dugout seats for Saturday's game. Here are the photos from warmups, and a few more from throughout the game.