SB Nation User Blog: mrcubsfan

Cleveland looking at trading Wood and Betancourt

mrcubsfan — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:47:12 -0000

Cleveland looking at trading Wood and Betancourt

Wood's contract is overloaded for anyone to take him. Too bad, Kerry was always a favorite.

If we were .500 on the road we would be in first place.

mrcubsfan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:32:50 -0000

If we were .500 on the road we would be in first place.

There have been so many things going on no one has mentioned the simple fact that if we were .500 on the road we would have a 1.5 game lead in the central. Without any trades, this is one area we have to improve upon.

Lee Smith Agrees Cheaters Should Not Be In HOF

mrcubsfan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:32:37 -0000

Lee Smith Agrees Cheaters Should Not Be In HOF

Lee Smith, signing autographs at AAA Iowa, chimes in following Sandberg's comments on Sosa and others being associated with steriod use. Read his comments here.

MLB Daily Dish: De Rosa Ready to Be Traded

mrcubsfan — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:11:04 -0000

MLB Daily Dish: De Rosa Ready to Be Traded

Al posted this new SB nation web site so I visited today and found this on DeRosa. Also, looks like Cleveland is ready to let their manager go. Was more surprised that the Cubs were not listed. Is the time to add DeRosa over?

What we can expect from Von Joshua's hitting style.

mrcubsfan — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:49:10 -0000

What we can expect from Von Joshua's hitting style.

Harden's I-Cubs outing

mrcubsfan — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:16:50 -0000

68 pitches must have been the number tonight. With an early class tomorrow I left when Harden got done pitching to a less than crowded night at Des Moines' Principal Park. It was upper 60's, cloudy and somewhat on the cool side and that, along with the fact over 9,000 thoughthe was pitching Sunday, held the crowd down tonight. Many season ticket holders didn't even show. I got a single seat 11 rows behind the I-Cubs batters box for $10. Good seat.

Harden left the game in the 5th inning with 2 outs and a runner on 2nd. Of his 68 pitches, 43 were strikes and he recorded 6 strikeouts, all swinging. His pitch total by inning was 14-8-20-16-10. Only two pitches topped out over 90, one exactly 90 and one at 91. Harden featured a lot of off speed breaking pitches throughout the game.

The only trouble Harden had was in the 3rd. Solid single to right; slow infield hit past Miles for another single; sac bunt; solid RBI single to left; runners on 1st and 3rd and a stolen base to put both in scoring position. Harden walks the bases full (the first of two walks). On the next pitch a high pop fly to right field was the play of the game...So Taguchi caught the ball and threw an absolute strike to home preventing any tag up. Harden got ahead 0-2 with a 90 mph fast ball and ended the inning with another pop fly to right.

In a few other game notes Miles needs to stay in Des Moines. In his first plate appearance he flew out to right in foul territory and later struck out with the bases loaded. Taguchi drove in two runs (has everyone forgot about him?) with a double down the left field line and Dubois drove in two more in the same inning with a drive off the top of the right/center wall. Haren had a nice sac bunt on the first pitch he saw in the 4th.

There were 4 radar guns behind first base, which is common at I-Cubs games. What was not so common were two Cardinal scouts charting pitches, one in full Cardinal gear. He kinda stuck out. They were about 10 rows behind the radar guns.

It was a good night for Harden. He looked smooth and strong using many off speed pitches and little full out fastballs. While it was my first I-Cubs game of the season, I always walk away saying I need to get back soon. We have a nice ballpark with good promotions (tonight was $1 general admission, $1 popcorn and $1 pop), a fun time with every seat a good one. As I finish writing, Harden is probaably on his way to Houston.

Spring Training Schedule for 2009 Cubs

mrcubsfan — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:26:45 -0000

Spring Training Schedule for 2009 Cubs

Congrats to the Phillies

mrcubsfan — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:26:14 -0000

I was surprised when I checked my favorite site at lunchtime nothing was posted about the Phillies winning it all last night. Don't call me a Phillies fan because I'm not. I'm a National League fan and I'm glad the world series winner came from the NL. If it wasn't the Cubs, at least someone in the NL won it.

Two thoughts that were going through my mind last night as I finished watching the game. First, it seemed like months ago my favorite team was beaten out. It just seemed forever ago I listened to Pat and Ron and watched games on TV. Second, what was Fox doing repeating over and over..... player by player.... running in to jump on the pile of Phillies? Ryan Howard jumping on your back was bad enough. But they showed each player over and over running in. Now I want to win the series as much as anyone here, but I just couldn't imagine the Cubs with this celebration. I hope it was just me, but I couldn't get that picture in my head.

The best moment was the interview with Jamie Moyer. He's been around longer, seen more, probably has more stories than anyone. Nice touch at the end of a "serviceable" career.

Did anyone else think the season is long past and any thought on the Phillies Pile?

Advanced Scouting on Display vs. Brewers

mrcubsfan — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:35:54 -0000

During this three game series against the Brewers we are likely to get a preview of our advance scouting team. In previous years, the Cubs budget was woefully weak in scouting. This came to a head in the NLDS last year when we were totally overmatched.

Since September 1 (or earlier) I think everyone pointed to this series as possibly for the division title. While today it may look like a formality, you can bet for the past two or three weeks our advance scouts have been focusing on the Brewers and the potential ramifications. While the front office may say all series are important, for the past few weeks this series was the most important (and the last Brewers series at the end of the month). I think it’s safe to say that the last six Brewers games have been circled in red by everyone in the Cubs organization for a long time.

What we should be able to witness is our hitters approach at the plate vs. particular pitchers, our pitchers and catchers pitch choice/location and who we may be willing to take an extra base on and test the arm of some outfielders. These will be the most obvious but there will be others. There are two variables though. The firing of Yost and what that does to the Brewers psyche and also the losing that has plagued their team.

I am going to watch this series as a preview of our ability to take our scouting departments reports and implement them into the game. I think it will give us an idea of what to expect during the NLDS and beyond. If we are to get to the promised land, advanced scouting and the implementation of the approach will be crucial.

I’m curious to read your thoughts on the series, scouting and our preparation for the Brewers and beyond. Sweep and it’s over. Go Cubs Go!

The addiction known as "Go Cubs Go"

mrcubsfan — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:24:02 -0000

A recent chance encounter got me thinking of our tradition of singing at the end of the home game wins. I was in the dentist office waiting for a 6 month check up. My cell phone, which rings with "that song" goes off. A 75 year old lady looks at me (the dentist office is in Des Moines) and I say "Sorry, I'm a big Cubs fan". She smiles, looks back and says, "I love that song, I watch all the games too"!

It's addictive isn't it. We're hooked to waiting for the end of the game to see everyone stay and sing. On our recent trip to Wrigley we all agreed we had to win so we could stay and sing. That little Steve Goodman jingle has turned into a huge marketing tool by keeping fans in the seats a little longer, contributing to the cash cow. Viewers never switch the channel until we've sung.

And, could this be a subtle reason why we've been so successful at home? The players should absolutely love this. Wouldn't you like to hear the fans sing about you and your team if you were on the field. A sister of a friend who lives in Lincoln Park says after a cubs win she can hear the song outside. Pretty impressive.

Here's the finish. Share any end of the game story you have about singing. Also, does anyone know the first time last year it played, who is responsible for choosing to play the song? Was it played, stopped and started again? Steve Goodman would be very proud right now, just like we are because if we win, we sing! And, that addictive song gets stuck in my head and I'm hearing it all day after a win. Go Cubs Go!