Sorry to repeat this post, but we had a team drop at the last minute - we need one more ASAP!!!

This is a semi-competitive FF league made up of BCB readers and Cubs fans.  Anyone is welcome, first come first serve.  The live on-line draft is tonight at 9:30 EST. This is a fairly standard scoring PPR league with bonuses for extra yardage plays and hitting certain milestones.  If interested go to the Yahoo! link below and sign up.  Thanks.

Yahoo! Fantasy Football

League info:

A couple of years ago, I started a fantasy baseball league with other BCB readers.  The first year or two we had 12 full teams, but last year we were down to eight.  I thought I was going to like having a stacked team, but in the end I think it made the league less fun. 

Anyways, we picked up one more guy to add to the eight we had last year and now have three spots left.  I would prefer that whoever signs up be Cubs fans, but baseball enthusiasts will do.  If you want to play in a competitive, but relaxed fantasy baseball league come join us.   Our live draft is Sunday, March 29th at 9pm.

We use Yahoo! and all the info you need is below.

Good morning everyone,

We have 3 spots still open in a BCB fantasy football league that starts tonight.  The draft is live online tonight at 9:30 EST.  The league is mostly guys who got together through BCB.  We have played two seasons of baseball and this will be the second of football - you will be more than welcome to play baseball with us in the spring. 

The last three spots are first come-first serve.  The league is capped at 12 teams, so if you want to play, hurry!

Here's the league info: Yahoo! Fantasy Football

Go luck, Go Cubs!

Jamie

As the game ended and I had to figure out what to do next my mind wandered to the A. Bartlett Giamatti article Green Fields of the Mind.  I hadn't read it since high school.  What struct me is that regardless of whether or not the Cubs had won the World Series, the baseball season would have come to an end.  It breaks your heart because it was meant to break your heart.  Even if the Cubs had won the World Series, the baseball season would have come to an end and I (all of us) would have to find something else to occupy our thoughts and time with.

So the euphemism "Wait 'til Next Year" would (and hopefully someday will) apply to us after a World Series victory and we will be left with facing a winter, but we face it with the knowledge that baseball will begin again and the law of averages dictates that eventually, a team that plays on the North Side of Chicago will win the World Series.  

And when that happens I know I will have my heart broken, not because of a World Series victory to celebrate, but because I have to wait until April for baseball to resume.

The BCB Semi-Competitive Fantasy Baseball League is all set up.  Of the 13 people who initially signed up with me to play in this league, only one has not set up their team... Roach.

ROACH please sign up.

I have emailed you all the necessary info, so check there for the league ID#, name, and password.  If you don't want to play please email me so I can get a BCB reader who wants to play, set up to participate.

Sorry to bring this to the entire blog, but I had to make sure Roach got the message and I wasn't sure he is/was getting my emails.

The Semi-competive BCB Fantasy Baseball League still has room for a few more participants.  For a description of the league see cubbiejulie's diary regarding all of the leagues.

Most of the time I am not very anal.  However, I would like the final list of who is playing by the end of the weekend.

Anyone interested email tcjhawk at ateam111 (at) charter (dot) net

I just came into possession of a bottle of Chicago Cubs champagne celebrating the 1984 division championship.   It was produced and bottled by Weibel Vineyards in Mission San Jose, California.  Does anyone know/remember anything interesting or otherwise regarding the newest edition to my Cubs memorabilia collection?

I came into possession of the bottle in one of the most unique ways:  The bottle was originally my Nonie's (grandmother for those not familiar with the term).  Being a gigantic Cubs fan and one of the main factors of why I am a Cubs fan, she decided that it was time to pass the bottle on. Since there are three grandson Cubs fans in the family, she couldn't just hand the bottle over to one of us.  Instead she devised a Cubs trivia game using one of those desktop trivia-question-a-day calendars and began asking questions.  The grandson with the most correct answers won the bottle.  Needless to say, I won, but it was a heated contest and a lot of fun.

Baseball Prospectus has compiled their first power rankings for 2006.

The A's, Yankees, and Red Sox fill out the top three.  The Cubs are ranked 11th ahead of our cross town rivals, who are ranked 14th.  Also, the Cubs are the second highest NL central team behind the Cards, who a ranked 8th.  

I know these are just preseason rankings, but I think BP does a better job than most when analyzing data to come up with their predictions.

Thoughts, comments?

So much for Piazza going to the AL.  He signed a one-year, $2million contract with the Padres.   The article says that the Padres told him he could 'pretty much catch as much as he wanted to.'  He said he would shoot for as many as 90-100 games behind the plate, plus some games at first and DH during interleague play.  

Piazza always has considered himself a catcher first.  It doesn't really suprise me that he went with an NL team.  That way he controls how he goes out.  His bat is still potent and most AL teams would push him to DH (and rightly so) while this way Piazza can play the position he feels he should be playing until... next season!!

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-padres-piazza&prov=ap&type=lgns

With J. Damon pledging his allegiance to the Evil Empire, Boston is in need of a center fielder.  Buster Olney, from ESPN.com, stated that the Yankees were taking a look at Patterson recently because they did not think that Damon and Boras were going to budge from a seven year contract.  When the Yankees gave him an ultimatum, he caved and - from my point of view - sold his soul to the boss. Anyways, I digress.  What does Boston have that we could get for Patterson?  Could Boston actually be considering him.  I have not see that line of thought anywhere, but it seems logical to me.

What do you think?

I had to double take when I saw this headline: A-Rod Leaning Towards Playing for the Dominicans

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-wbc-dominican-a-rod&prov=ap&type=lgns

A-Rod was born in New York, NY July 27, 1975.  I was under the impression that players were going to play for their country of birth - but apparently not (does he have dual citizenship that I am not aware of?).  Personally I think he ought to be playing for the U.S.

Cubs 79-83
 Aside from the hobbled Dodgers, no team underachieved more relative to their PECOTA projections than the Cubs. Even at the level of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood combining for just 232 2/3 innings, Nate Silver's calibrations had them pegged for 89 wins and the wild card. Dusty Baker's brutal job of managing apparently isn't enough for Jim Hendry to send him packing, and don't shoot the messenger if Nomar Garciaparra's departure or voluntary move to left field turns into 600 plate appearances for a Neifi Perez/Jose Macias/unretired Shawon Dunston hydra while Dusty keeps the likes of Matt Murton and even Ronny Cedeno chained up in some Iowa dungeon. In any event, a tip of the cap to Derrek Lee on a fantastic season (12.9 WARP1, an MLB-leading 103.9 VORP and .349 EqA).