SB Nation User Blog: Shanghai Badger

Sale update - Piece in online Trib says Ricketts getting closer

Shanghai Badger — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:08:06 -0000

Sale update - Piece in online Trib says Ricketts getting closer

I sure hope this gets resolved soon!

Today's chuckle (because we need one) - brought to you by . . .

Shanghai Badger — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:20:35 -0000

Today's chuckle (because we need one) - brought to you by . . .

Ozzie Guillen!

Jamie Moyer - Class Act

Shanghai Badger — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:20:15 -0000

Jamie Moyer - Class Act

Always liked him; too bad he wasn't able to stick around with the Cubs longer - in either stint.

Fandom Redux

Shanghai Badger — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:30:40 -0000

This is meant as a response to a lot of the discussions that have been going on lately and not a knock on Drew’s post from last week.

A lot of the topics discussed on this board are polarizing. Maybe it’s only my perception, but it seems like it’s gotten more extreme in the past few weeks. Some people seem to have lost the ability to disagree with someone else without attacking the individual instead of responding to the comments themselves. Or worse yet, take critical opinions of others and jump to absurd conclusions about the other person’s devotion to the Cubs or accuse them of saying things that they aren’t.

With that preamble, here is the kind of fan I am:

When the Cubs stink up the joint, I acknowledge it. If I notice something about team personnel, I’ll usually file it away and look for a pattern. If I see a pattern, it becomes an opinion – one that I’m not afraid to express. I can’t read minds, but most adults can make reasonable conclusions based on observations. Yes, I can and will be critical of the Chicago National League Ballclub and members thereof. I don’t believe that makes me any less of a fan.

I also will see a pitching matchup of, say, Doug Bird vs. Steve Carlton and still watch the game fully expecting the Cubs to have a chance to somehow find a way to win. I don’t believe that makes me any more of a fan.

As I’ve move through my mid-thirties, the games no longer influence my mood the way that they did when I was in my teens or twenties. I still want the Cubs to win during every game. The tough losses still bug me, but usually not for as long as they used to – as I realize this isn’t real life. I don’t believe that makes me any less of a fan.

I’ll wear Cubs gear in Milwaukee, New York City, Cincinnati, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney or wherever the hell else I find myself. At a game or on the street, and I’ll engage anyone in conversation about the Cubs if they want – whether they’re being friendly about it or not. I don’t believe that makes me any more of a fan.

If someone else points out a flaw in something that I’ve said, I’ll listen to them as objectively as I can – assuming that it is presented in a reasonable manner. This doesn’t mean that I’ll change my mind, but I’m willing to accept that my thoughts may be incorrect. I don’t believe that makes me any more or less of a fan.

If someone says something that I think is inaccurate or unfair, I’ll usually respond. (More often than I should, really.) However, I will not take each and every comment critical of the Cubs and feel the need to ride to the defense of someone’s honor when I’ve never met that individual like I would for a personal friend or family member. I most certainly don’t believe that a player is beyond reproach – regardless of who it is. I don’t believe that makes me any less of a fan.

Finally, I won’t presume to know how much of a fan someone I’ve never met is solely based on them not agreeing with each and every opinion that I have. I do believe that makes me reasonable.

Go Cubs

Revised [Grow up, Carlos. (Zambrano misses flight)]

Shanghai Badger — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:22:10 -0000

Ok, I'm not going to delete this, because people have made good points on both sides of the argument. For as good of a job as I thought I did not getting P.O.'d during the game, I was irritated this morning.

So continue to discuss. I'll back down from the conclusions -- for now. But I'm still weary of things like this always seeming to involve Zambrano.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Apparently rumors of Zambrano's maturation have been greatly exaggerated. Carlos missed the team flight yesterday and showed up later in Atlanta. It might be the way that they lost yesterday's game, but I'm more weary than usual of the selfishness that he sometimes exhibits. The apologists that have defended or rationalized all the things that he's done like this have their work cut out for them this time -- as has been reported since late last year, the other players are indeed tired of these antics.

I defended Zambrano bunting earlier this season as someone who was trying to do whatever it takes to win, and I stand by that -- but I also stand by the earlier comments that I've made about his immaturity and selfishness.

As Sandberg said, the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back of the jersey. Pitching a no-hitter doesn't change that fact.

MKE-STL series (It's raining and people are bored)

Shanghai Badger — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:01:18 -0000

The Brewers play 3 against the Cardinals this weekend. They are tied for first; the Cards are the traditional rival and have arguably the best manager in the game, while the Brewers have finished second to the Cubs two years in a row and whine about inside pitches.

So, who ya got for these three games? The Cubs play the Cards next week, so I prefer the team that they don't see for a while to lose and then the Cubs take care of business themselves. I'm pretty sure I don't want the Cards to sweep, though.

Poll

What do you think the best outcome for the Cubs would be in the Brewer-Cardinal series?

Cardinals win 3

3 votes

Cardinals win 2

16 votes

Brewers win 2

23 votes

Brewers win 3

9 votes

The fact that I'm reading this fanpost shows how little I was planning on working this afternoon, and now am desperate to fill it with something mindless since the Cubs were rained out.

40 votes

91 votes | Poll has closed

Milton Bradley to get his hearing in Houston

Shanghai Badger — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:00:01 -0000

Milton Bradley to get his hearing in Houston

I didn't see the argument, but I did see the pitches -- bad. From what I've read, the contact was incidental and the umpire did nothing to diffuse the situation.

All-Star Voting -- Making a Joke of a Joke

Shanghai Badger — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:52:44 -0000

Ok, I'm trying this again. MLB and Fox's claim that, "This time it counts!" is pretty much embraced by no one, yet Selig insists that it's the only logical way to determine home-field advantage for the World Series. Bravo Sierra, I say.

However, since MLB continues to ignore logic on this (shocking, I know), maybe fans can take matters into their hands to show how truly stupid the idea is. As fans of a National League contender, I say we try to put the worst starting 8 for the A.L. on the field as possible. If the Cubs do happen to win the pennant, maybe that would give them home-field advantage. If not, well, maybe MLB would start to see the folly in this arrangement.

To make this work, we'd have to vote for the same team. It's very early in the season (as some on this board tend to forget), but the ballot is out, so I looked at stats, considered who is likely to come back and have a good first half. I also considered a fan favorite who probably won't be ASG worthy but has a shot to get in, anyway.

Here are my suggested picks:

1B -- Davis (TEX)

2B -- Casilla (MIN)

3B -- Beltre (SEA)

SS -- Izturis (BAL) no pun intented

OF -- Gutierrez (SEA)

OF -- Gomez (MIN)

OF -- Griffey (SEA)

C -- Zaun (BAL)

As far as the N.L. goes, I'd say vote any way at all. I'm not in favor of stuffing the ballot box to get 8 Cub starters, but then I wouldn't have been in favor of what I'm suggesting above a few years ago.

So, can we show Selig and the Fox network what happens when too much importace is given to an exhibition game?

Joe Magrane on Felix Pie

Shanghai Badger — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:49:22 -0000

Joe Magrane on Felix Pie

Joe Magrane, MLB Network analyst, during the Baltimore Orioles preview (30 teams in 30 days) commented on Felix Pie -- "He got himself a bit twisted around last year" and went on to say that it was time to move from being a prospect. I don't think that was intentional....but they did mention Izturis being an important part of the team.

Convention Leftovers

Shanghai Badger — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:18:56 -0000

For a change of pace, I'll post something that makes no reference (other than this sentence) to newly acquired relief pitchers, backup catchers or potential acquisitions.

Late last season, I made a bet with Drew over the Packers/Bears records; I have donated $20 to Project 3000 (I'll scan and post a pick of the receipt if Drew wants proof). I was going to pay Al at the convention, but only saw him for a minute during the "Meet Cubs Baseball Management" session.

Had a nice e-mail exchange with Dave Eanet of WGN about how much time the hosts took during that sesssion. Dave apologized and explained that some of it was because Piniella was late, so the session started late, and he didn't account for that. I believe him -- I know there are conspiracy theorists that will insist it's to deflect difficult questions, but think about it. If that was the goal, why would they take ANY questions? The first two or three could all be ones that Hendry & Co. don't want to answer.

After the baseball management session ended, I went up to Hendry to ask my questions. I prefaced them by saying that he may not be able to answer either, and I understood that. The first one was along the lines of, "The theme this offseason is that you needed to get more left-handed . . . yet you won 97 games. I respect that you're not resting on that -- but when people ask about leadoff, the answer is that you won 97 games." My point is that it seems to be a double standard. Hendry's response was to get aggressive and combative.

Before I could ask the question of "Did you have any organizational discussions about bringing someone in with a higher OBP?", he badgered (no pun intended) me with, "Who would you get? Who is better?", and then proceeded to put down every name that I suggested. Since I didn't want to ruin it for the others around him, I put up with more than I would have in a one-on-one setting. At one point, I suggested Furcal, and got "Are you going to trade Theriot and pay him $30M? He can't even stay on the field." -- I resisted the urge to say either, "Yeah, because Theriot sucks", or, "Bradley can't stay on the field, either, you horse's ___". Yes, I mentioned Roberts, and he muttered something about not dealing with Baltimore -- hours before he did. So, by his demeanor, Hendry pretty much answered my first question -- yes, they did want to get a better leadoff man, but they couldn't -- and now they need to publicly defend Soriano being there -- again.

The second question was along the lines of, "Why do you need to carry 12 pitchers, when 1 or 2 of them hardly ever see the mound?" Reply -- "Got to. Got to have them. Lou and Larry decide who pitches."

So, yeah, I still think Jim's a good GM -- but he can also be a defensive jerk.

Speaking of dealing with Baltimore, I missed a few posts in the Pie traded discussion, but I found a couple this morning. Looks like Ballhawk paid his debt (yes, that was me that you'd bet). Drew, assuming you've also paid $5 per our bet . . . .

Finally, I've mentioned this a couple of times, but I asked Crane Kenney about the "L" flag during his Sunday session. They are going to keep it, which I think is the right thing to do -- I think flying the "W" but not the "L" is contrived. I also asked about the "softball" jerseys -- those aren't going away, but the red-brimmed road hats are.