SB Nation User Blog: ak123

Our lone All Star Game Representative

ak123 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:49:55 -0000

Well the National League All Star Game representatives have been chosen and Ted Lilly is our lone representative on the team (and only starting pitcher from NL Central I believe).

Personally, I think he has earned this selection and probably could have been on the team the last two years as well. Jason Marquis also got selected on the team this year.

Unless we're part of the fan-voting for the final player (Derrek Lee could pop up on there), Ted Lilly is our only man. Do you guys think any other of our pitchers should have made the roster? What do you all think about the team in general? I actually think the NL team seems a little weak this year actually.

Some good news - ARam to start rehab games

ak123 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:58:13 -0000

According to the Chicago Tribune Article Aramis Ramirez should start his re-hab stint this Thursday if batting practice goes well.

They state he could be back next week for the Atlanta Braves series.

So this is good news. News wanted to hear. How about winning the series (even a sweep) with the Pirate and take 2 of 3 from the Brewers and then end the All Star Break on a high note.

I think we can all agree, Ramirez is not going to be at 100%, win every game for us, etc but no one can take away the fact that his bat in the lineup is a gigantic improvement over the days of Fontenot standing there.

I guess the big question to ask is, who gets demoted to AAA or do the Cubs consider releasing someone like Ryan Freel?

Adam Greenberg resurfaces again

ak123 — Wed, 27 May 2009 04:39:16 -0000

Adam Greenberg resurfaces again

I just wanted to share this with everyone. I live in CT/NY so I don't see very many Cubs games. However I went to an Atlantic League game near me and sure enough one of the players was Adam Greenberg! I didn't have a program or anything so I did some research tonight and sure enough it's the same guy who had one at bat with the team!

I know...random, but I had no place else to share this and it's an interesting "Where are they now?".

When do we point fingers at Gerald Perry?

ak123 — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:14:57 -0000

I'm not one to complain about the teams performance, say we should bench a player, trade for a player, etc....

However, some of these batting averages are getting alarming. If it were one player such as Soto or DLee I would say that one player is struggling but look at this lineup:

-Lee .229

-Soto .198

-Bradley .188

-Miles .209

-Fontenot .207

-Johnson .236

Clearly this is a problem. On ESPN tonight they made a point that if this were April we'd say it's the beginning of the season and everyone is warming up but it's almost 2 months of baseball. These numbers are alarming.

Do we blame Gerald Perry for his work with the players this year? Who would have to accept this responsibility? Are there better options for promotions in the minor leagues?

With are starters having batting averages like they do, we're lucky to be over .500 right now. Thankfully there is room for improvement in hitting.

What are your thoughts on this?

Soriano and The Miz have confrontation.

ak123 — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:12:12 -0000

Anyone who might have been at the Allstate Arena or saw on TV witnessed ex-reality star and now WWE wrestler, The Miz confront Alfonso Soriano who was ringside for the event.

The Miz began his interview by calling the winner of the last match a "lovable loser". You know where this led to. He then called out Soriano to come into the ring and fight him.Before Soriano could Miz got a "phone call" from Lou Pinella who stated he'd rather see Soriano get his annual injury on the field instead of the ring.

Later in the show, John Cena who does the trademark "You Can't See Me" did it with Soriano after his match. I'll try to grab a still at work tomorrow and post it here for anyone who might want to see it.

Here are some photos from the Miz and Soriano: http://www.wwe.com/shows/judgmentday/photos/mizspeaks/

Also, in other observation the Bears were there and so was Rich Harden and Ryan Theriot. Theriot was on the other side of the front row about 30 seats down from Soriano and you could tell he was absolutely not enjoying himself there. They didn't put him on TV. Harden was not in the front but rather nose bleeds. He doesn't seem to get that he can get free tickets so he just purchases them day of.

So my final note from the fun Soriano/Miz incident is what do you guys think about Cubs being in other forms of media. If it's jokes on Family Guy or wrestling or whatever else. While I'm not allowed to promote looking for this on YouTube, if they post the segment with Soriano/Miz on wwe.com check it out!

Peavy vs. Harden Tuesday

ak123 — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:52:59 -0000

Peavy vs. Harden Tuesday

So Brewers/Cubs is a big series this weekend but anyone else excited to see how Peavy/Harden pitching matchup goes Tuesday?

This is my first game at Wrigley for the year and I'm personally excited.

With all the rumors on the web, do you think a majority of the Cubs fans at the game will be aware of what might have been in the offseason? Night games can get rowdy, should be interesting!

My favorite Cubs moment at Wrigley Field was September 2006 when Rich Hill through a complete game...

ak123 — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:30:51 -0000

My favorite Cubs moment at Wrigley Field was September 2006 when Rich Hill through a complete game shutout.

We were on the verge of losing 100 games that year. This happened to be the very first time I saw the Cubs win at Wrigley Field (I was 0-42 before).

I'm just bringing this up because the fans at Wrigley that day were excited and enjoyed a baseball game. We weren't winning a division, we weren't winning even 70 games that year but it was a really fun day.

I'm not saying we're doomed to fail this season. It's only April. However I just want to remind people on here that it's not the end of the world if we lose. Try to enjoy this sport.

*I know its a small sample size of fans who are frustrated right now but at the moment you're really taking up 95% of the enjoyment on this site so take a breath and perhaps choose an alternate activity than watching the Cubs tomorrow. Just a friendly suggestion.

Wrigley Field Memorablia at Target outside IL

ak123 — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 06:09:01 -0000

Wrigley Field Memorablia at Target outside IL

Just wanted to pass along to any out of staters like myself that Target seems to be selling Wrigley Field Memorabilia pretty inexpensive.

They had at my store in Stamford CT randomly a gigantic framed Wrigley Field poster for $30. I've seen similar and smaller pictures for over $100 online.

They have this matted photo of the Wrigley Field marquee that says "Cubs Win" in it for $30. It's really cool.

I linked to target.com, not sure if they're selling them online but if you're at a target I'd look for them.

New Cubs Headshots

ak123 — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 03:16:00 -0000

I noticed today on Cubs.com that all the players have their 2009 headshots up. I remember last year everyone enjoyed discussing and laughing at some of them. Chad Gaudin definitely wins craziest facial hair award.

Well take a look at http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/team/roster_active.jsp?c_id=chc to see them all! So which guys look like they were posing for a mug shot this year? And which guys pictures will never be seen on a major league website again?

Try to watch NL Best Plays on MLB Network

ak123 — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:32:31 -0000

Try to watch NL Best Plays on MLB Network

Never did a fanshot but wasn't worth a whole posting. Try to check out on MLB Network the NL Plays of the Year. They have a lot of Cubs stuff in there and a few great moments from Aaron Miles. I'm actually looking forward to him playing with us now. Check it out on replays!