SB Nation User Blog: cubfever7

Am I the only one who is unable to watch the really critical game situations?

cubfever7 — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:36:41 -0000

These last few games have found me with less courage than the cowardly lion. I've had to resort to reading a book and occasionally turning on ESPN to watch the crawler for updates.

In the NLCS of 2003 I employed two different strategies. I'd sit on the floor in the bathroom and have my family occasionally tell me the count, or number of outs (it seems like I can watch when the Cubs are on offense).

OR....I'd turn down the volume and watch the reflection of the tv screen in our bedroom window. There's something about not watching it directly that makes it more bearable for me.

Yes--I'm a looney tune--hence the name cubfever....am I completely alone with this nut job behavior? Does anyone else out there have any "coping mechanisms"(or the name of a shrink)?

Ryan Dempster: my biggest surpise and our best stopper (so far)?

cubfever7 — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:22:49 -0000

Big Z proved to me last year that he was a money pitcher with back to back shutouts in his last two September starts and a gem of a post season game against the D-backs when Lou pulled him too early. Hopefully he can re-prove that again this season.

In addition, I was very dubious as to how well Ryan Dempster would fare as a starter. I really had my doubts and thought he'd end up battling Jon Lieber for the 4 or 5 spot.

WOW- was I wrong. By my count Dempster has won games EIGHT TIMES after a Cub loss. I didn't even try to figure out games that the team may have won where he got a no decision.

Maybe A-Ram, Geo or Marmol has been more valuable, but this team would be paddle-less in the proverbial creek we've all spent time on, without Ryan Dempster this season.

The Cubs Defense

cubfever7 — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:30:33 -0000

They say in sports that defense wins championships. I have to agree. We all remember the '85 Bears and people forget that the Bulls dynasty was built around two of the best defenders ever: Jordan and Pippen.

What do we agree and disagree on in regard to our favorite MLB team?

ESPN shows us at 8th overall and 21st in isolated fielding % (which has become somewhat of an archaeic stat). http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/aggregate?statType=fielding&group=9

Here's my opinion by position:

Catcher-Soto is doing a fine job at catcher in a variety of ways--he's above average in throwing out runners (and we know the pitcher has much to do with those outcomes), he's durable and seems to gain more buy in on game calling each week. He is the biggest surprise of 2008 to me, I never expected him to rise to the top so quickly.

First: DLee--we see him daily and know he's the best, regardless of stats--his value to the core of our defense is beyond measure.

2B: DeRo made a pretty play vs. LA last night and that combined with the crispness of our D prompted me to post this. He's rarely spectacular, but I'm hard pressed to think of anyone in MLB who can play RF, 3B and 2B as well as he does. His fielding % is below average, but he'll get better.

3B: Ramirez--some take him for granted--he led the NL in fielding% in 2006 (tied with Rolen). His throws can be adventuresome, but with the big guy at first, ARam just reacts now without worrying--he makes some FINE plays with little fanfare.

SS: Theriot is about a league average shortstop, Cedeno is rangier, but which of them is steadier would be an interesting debate. Riot is probably sufficient in light of the rest of the team.

OF: I never realized how good Edmonds really is until he came to our side. Aside from the hit stealing dive vs. LA last night, he also ended up grabbing a popup that DeRo probably would have had, but dude...this guy really covers the short stuff and I'm learning to accept his over the shoulder stuff partially because when you play shallow, you'll have to catch at least some balls going backward--he prefers to catch them that way it appears. I guess that's ok. He made a nice play to dead center in Petco the other night and then turned and let his back absorbe the blow to the wall, To me, he's a professional center fielder, even if Felix has a better arm.

Fukudome in my view is about the best RF in the game right now--if not he's close--he does it all out there.

Alf has pulled some boners--er--goof ups but he is an athlete and he made some tough plays on this road trip--his arm is among the best. I expect he's putting in extra work on fefense and I believe he'll be ok.

Pitchers: we have got an exceptionally athletic staff--they compete, they hit, they run and they do a decent job fielding.

We don't know where things are headed in 2008 but we've got a GOOD defense. Could it be tweaked here and there? Yes. But for some reason last night, i could almost palpably see our defense swagger a little. They knew they could make all the plays and they seemed to have a certain tempo on the field. It's fun to watch!

Tonight's AAA Iowa vs Nashville game

cubfever7 — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:54:47 -0000

First off--I'm NOT trying to steal Josh 77's thunder.

I ended up sitting with an MLB scout with 25 years of tenure. Interesting guy to say the least. Sitting behind me were Cub prospect Justin Berg (timing and charting) and a scout from the Mariners.

Cub lefty starter Randy Keisler: That had to be one of the better Houdini acts I've seen. He seemed to have a lot of high pitch counts and a ton of frozen rope outs hit all over the park. But when he really needed to get an out, he generally got it. Topped out at 87 on the gun and i noticed some lack of composure antics early in the game when calls didn't go his way..and there really was a floating zone. Don't hold your breath expecting him to be a huge contributor.

Felix Pie: the scout told me he'd swung at the first pitch in 8 of his first 11 ab's in this series. Nashville starter Richie Gardner topped out at about 88 and had what the scout called a baby slider--not really MLB caliber. But, Felix bounced 3 pitches off the top of the first base dugout in the same AB and had 1-2 other balls pulled foul. He was incapable of adjusting to inferior breaking balls and hit them fair. Later, Nashville brought in lefty reliever Ramirez who sidewinds and only gets up to about 85. I figured Felix was mince meat--but the scout busted out laughing when Felix guessed fastball, got it and got a single to left center. Ramirez had NO business throwing a fastball.

Eric Patterson still looks maddeningly inconsistent and also has a penchant for making first pitch outs.

Josh Kroeger: he has good patience at the plate and gives reason for hope. It's always nice to see a big guy with power AND patience.

Andres Blanco the Cub SS was VERY impressive. Exceptional defender who made one highlight reel play and some other solid ones. He also came to bat with the bags drunk and 2 out; base hit, 2 RBI and a tie game. His team mate told me his "D" is solid every night and he's working hard on his offense.

Murton hasn't changed one iota--every ab, every pitch--solid and fair defender in left.

McGehee, Ascanio and Dubois were singularly unimpressive.

It was fascinating to see all the notations and the amount of info the scout could observe on every pitch. Stopwatch in one hand, gun in the other and a variety of score books and notepad in his lap. He said first pitch swinging was common for Latin players because hitting is what will get them into the US....made sense. He also had a World Series ring on, which was cool.

Traditions started at Wrigley

cubfever7 — Sat, 31 May 2008 20:09:16 -0000

Milwaukee has it's sausage race and the Yankees have Frank singing New York, New York; but we have a bunch of our own.

1.) Harry used to do the 7th inning stretch while announcing for the Sox too, but it seemed to have really taken flight when he came North--yes? It seems almost every team does it now.

2.) Throwing back HR's goes back to at least the late 60's. Anyone know different?

3.) The W flag--not sure when that began.

4.) The Let's Go Cubbie's or Foo-koo-doe-may or any other four syllable chant I think may have started at Fenway--no?

5.) I've not seen any other club where the outfielders do the mid-air bump like the Cubs do. Did they start that?

6.) Taking over road team ballparks much to the chagrin of their announcers (nods to S.D and Cincy).

How many have I forgotten folks?

Playing a shallow center field: Tris Speaker

cubfever7 — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:29:16 -0000

This guy in my view is one of the most oft overlooked, great all time players. Check out his career highlights here if you like: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tris_Speaker

Offensively he was awesome--but in light of the Edmonds playing shallow debate, I found this to be interesting:

"As a center fielder, Speaker played so shallowly for most hitters that he was like a fifth infielder, swift of foot, chasing down potential singles. Twice in 1914, on April 21 and August 8, he executed an unassisted double play at second base, snaring low line drives on the run and then beating base runners to the bag. He repeated this feat in 1918 with the Indians, on April 18 and April 29, and turned six of them during his career. At least once in his career he was credited as the pivot man in a routine double play. Bill Carrigan, a longtime teammate of Speaker's on the Red Sox, often would send a pickoff throw from his catcher's position to Speaker who had sneaked in on second base. In addition, as Indians' manager he insisted the team practice a play where he from center field would cover the keystone sack on bunt plays, thus freeing up his shortstop to cover third, and his third baseman to charge the bunts."

Who still thinks Edmonds has lost a step in CF.....

cubfever7 — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:04:55 -0000

....and who thinks Pie would have made that play? People were lined up around the block wringing their hands, cringing, griping and criticizing Hendry for this no risk signing and it could still backfire. BUT......that was a fine play and one of the 2 difference makers in winning the game (with speedy Geo being the other).

The ESPN guys gushed a little too much--but I personally doubt that Felix gets to that ball; not because of speed, but experience. Edmonds still gets a great jump off the bat and he turned the right way at the last second. Felix may not have.

Now if Edmonds can relax at the plate and get his timing back, we'll have something (providing his smarm doesn't pollute the clubhouse). It says here that as the weather warms and he feels more comfortable on the team and in the city, that he'll end up a .270 hitter with a decent amount of ribbies and maybe 18-20 long ones.

I think his bat speed is ok--but his timing seems way off--it'll come back.

Which matters most? The name on the front.......

cubfever7 — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:13:04 -0000

........of the jersey or the name on the back. That statement was made by Mike Golic this morning on his radio show.

When all of a sudden a fan is challenged to root for someone they've disliked intensely for years, and at the expense of a touted prospect, it can be a little bewildering.

But as Lou Gramm from Foreigner once sang, "The damage is done". In my view, we all need to hope that he is a thoroughbred champion who has another rally left in his career. That he is someone who will rise up to the challenge of winning over Cub fans and in bringing home the prize.

I think it wise to at least be open minded; once the shock wears off. :c-)

Jim Edmonds--is the tank completely empty?

cubfever7 — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:48:15 -0000

I began to harbor a lot of ill toward the Cardinals the last 7 years or so, and it was never there before (thanks to their announcer, some has shifted to Cincinnati now).

The player I loved to hate the most was their showboat center fielder, who patented running just fast enough to make as many over the shoulder catches as humanly possible. This increased his flair for the dramatic and gave the appearance of higher degree of difficulty which apparently everyone bought since he has 8 gold gloves (as I shake my head in wonder).

I prefer an Andruw Jones approach; run full blast to the right spot, stop and make it look like an easy catch.

But now that he's out there....hmmmm...left hand hitting former gold glove CF with power who made a killer throw to nail a guy at the plate a couple nights ago. Plus: he's cheap! SD's Kevin Towers and the Cards in general don't make many mistakes on players though, and this was REALLY giving up early. Is he completely done? Or is he worth a flyer on the Cub bench in place of another role player?

Many say that not playing Felix every day is a HUGE mistake; getting Edmonds would compound that mistake. It's Saturday morning and it's time for some coffee talk; discuss amongst yourselves (what was her name on SNL? Linda Richman?). She would tell you that Edmonds running in the outfield is like buttah.

How many of you saw the Cubs Forever special?

cubfever7 — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:11:31 -0000

I missed about half of it and wonder if they'll make it available on DVD--I'd buy it in a heartbeat. There was some priceless footage---in my view WGN did a superior job compiling it.

The section about the WGN/Budweiser building across the street--the firehouse--anything with Ron Santo as a player--heck, I even found myself liking Steve Stone.

It seemed like i ended up smiling thorugh the whole thing!