BigbadB

Oh, and that bunt that Lilly completely missed that allowed the runner to get to first...... The wife saw that play (and all the pitches Lilly had thrown at that point) and concluded that Lilly was purposely throwing the game (ala Black Sox. I have to admit, I can see where she's coming from.

Yep. Everyone looks like crap out there. Soto made a mental mistake as well, but I don't think it's his fault. It's kind of hard to be the only one on the field that cares.

They did the same thing against Webb. What I saw was two ineffective starters last night. One offense decided to let the ineffective starter dig his own grave. The other offense felt sorry that the starter didn't have electric stuff, and decided to swing at bad pitches all night to make him look better. In the 9th, I'm yelling at the tv at Valverde because he's throwing Soriano pitches right down the middle. I'm yelling that he must be an idiot to throw a pitch anywhere other than in the dirt. Throw it in the dirt, Soriano dares you.

This team isn't worth breaking any of my own stuff over. Feel free to ship me all of the things you all would like broken.

I saw him splash the cup of water on himself. I just assumed he was cooling himself off after a bullpen workout worked him into a lather. Interesting.

Are you saying you would like to trade Sizemore to me?

It was most likely dirt? A guy just likes touching a dirt spot on his hat for no reason in particular? I don't get it. If he really was going to his hat multiple times, and in the same spot, I have to believe that it wasn't dirt he was playing touchy feely with.

Are you serious? I'd be beyond furious if in a must win situation (win or go home until 2008) and my ace starting pitcher sat on the bench and watched the team lose. I'd bring back my ace on the same exact rest Zambrano was getting, and take my chances. Let me rephrase it. What if the role was reversed. Cubs had home field advantage and the Cubs are down 2-1 in Arizona. Arizona is going with Brandon Webb on short rest. Cubs decide to give Zambrano extra rest and go with Sean Marshall In Arizona. If Marshall loses that game to Webb, Zambrano gets way more rest than I'd like to see him get. About 4 months worth. Do you really believe Arizona would sit their ace down 2-1 on the road? Maybe they would, but I sure wouldn't. I'd like my chances much better playing at home the last game.

Hmmm. I wouldn't bet the farm on that one. If the Cubs somehow won the next two games, I doubt that the D-Backs would risk their season on a rookie pitching against Zambrano, IN Chicago. My guess is if the Cubs are up 2-1, Webb is pitching on Sunday. If Arizona is up 2-1, Webb pitches on Tuesday in Arizona. It would be real nice for the Cubs to be up 2-1 in this series rather than down 2-1 come Sunday.

I like the idea of having both.

The only way the Padres get Prior is if they pull a Marcus Giles and the Cubs fall for it by non tendering him. I'd be furious.

I'm still scratching my head over the Scott Hairston trade. First off, why trade him? He's like Mark DeRosa. Good bat off the bench, can play multiple positions, and would be a tremendous upgrade over Augie Ojeda. And they traded him to San Diego, of all places. They traded him to a team that was battling with Arizona for a playoff spot. It didn't come back to bite them, but it sure could have. Personally, I'm glad Scott Hairston isn't on their roster.

7pm is not late. In fact, I should just be finishing up dinner by the time this game starts. Go Cubs!

That's more my speed. Most of the times I've ever gone bowling, I'm lucky to clear 100, and a 125 would be a good game. However, I went bowling once for the first time in probably 10 years. Rented a ball and some shoes, started rolling balls down in the alley in my first game and proceeded to roll 8 strikes in a row. Finished with a 245. Next game, I was right back down to somewhere around 125. Haven't bowled since. I'd say my high game before that fluke 245 was maybe a 180 in approximately 100 games I've bowled? Too bad there weren't any house pros in the room when I got on my roll. It would have to just piss someone off to know a guy can walk in off the street and rent shoes and a ball, and roll 8 strikes in a row. :D Billiards is my game. I'll kick all of your asses.

What would be your reaction if the Cubs lost game 4 and the series with your best pitcher slated to pitch game 5? I'm guessing you would be mad like the rest of us for starting your best starter in game 2 instead of game 1 in hopes that your best starter would pitch game 5.

TBS went HD yesterday, just in time for the Padres/Rockies playoff game.

Congrats, Adam. I agree with the Championship being 2 weeks.

Extremely nice of the Chicago Cubs organization to make sure they are scheduled at home every single year on your birthday. :P

That's good stuff right there.

I'm in San Diego, but I'm not really familiar with any actual Cub or Bears fan bars. A good friend of mine has a bar in San Diego and he's from Chicago. It's probably the most successful sports bar in San Diego. He has the Chicago Cubs on deck circle as the mat you step on when you enter his bar. The on deck circle was used in Jack Murphy (Qualcomm) Stadium. But, even his place is more of a sports bar for all sports. His partner is from Boston, so they get a big Patriots/Red Sox contingent in there as well. Newport Beach looks like a pretty nice place. Haven't spent any time there, though.

Most Cub fans (with or without the baseball package) didn't see this play. There wasn't a commercial break in the Cub game when this play happened. I had the Cubs on in front of me and the Padres game to my right. I didn't see the original play, but I saw several replays. Bud Black never came out of the dugout. I was shocked. And to me, it looked like a full step. Horrible call. The second base umpire probably could have corrected the call and I think someone should have. This was a game with playoff implications for both teams, and it did give the Brewers a runner at 1st and 2nd in a tie game. Froeming shouldn't even be working games with playoff implications at this point.

I'm a Cubs fan for many reasons. All those trips to Chicago (from Peoria) on the weekends to see my grandmother, and Cubs games were on all the time. Who did I watch play in those games? Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Rick Hundley, Fergie Jenkins, Joe Pepitone, Jim Hickman, Glenn Beckert, Don Kessinger, Ken Holtzman and the guy who really got me hooked on this team more than any other guy, Milt Pappas and his no hitter. There always seemed to be at least one guy I really enjoyed watching play baseball on the Cubs no matter what year and no matter how bad the team played. Whether that guy was Rick Rueschel, Jose Cardenal, Bill Madlock, Bruce Sutter, Shawon Dunston, Lee Smith, Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace, Sammy Sosa to Derrek Lee, WGN gave me the opportunity to watch my guys win or lose games on a regular basis. Taking in a weekend series against the Cardinals was always fun. The drive then seemed like a trip across the country, even though it was only from Peoria. I grew up in the heartland of a great rivalry between those two teams. All of my friends were either Cubs fans or Cardinals fans. Some switched their allegiances depending on who was doing better, but kids were so young that switching allegiances didn't mean much. I never swayed. I loved the boys in blue. The park, the city, the childhood memories. I will always be a Cub fan. My grandfather raised 6 kids through the depression years in central Illinois. He had to work very hard to support his family, and probably wouldn't have a clue what the fascination with baseball was. They couldn't afford to make the trip if they wanted to. When my grandfather retired (fairly well off, I might add), he broke down and got cable tv. I stopped by his house one day and he was sitting in his favorite chair watching a Cub game on WGN. I sat with him and we got to talking about why he was watching Cubs baseball. He said being retired makes it hard to keep busy and at his age, he does get tired pretty easily. When he flips channels during the day, there is never anything on worth watching. So, one day he found a Cub game and watched it from beginning to end. Now, he won't miss a Cub game. Hook, line, sinker. I wonder if WGN really knows how many fans they sucked into this team by showing them regularly? Granted, many of those people are old like me, but it puts a tear in my eye when I think about what Cubs baseball does for retired guys who refuse to sit and watch soap operas all day long. Thank you WGN. Thank you city of Chicago. Thanks to the many fans who have felt the pain but keep the faith. Thanks to the baseball package and NSBB for allowing me to feel like I'm in the locker room or in the seats with the Cubs even though I'm actually over 2000 miles away. I stay in touch with the Cubs now more than I ever did, and I was always a huge fan. This is why I am a Cubs fan. Edited to clarify that my grandfather did not raise kids during the depression, but rather during World War II. Either way, it was a tough time for a big family during those years. I'm not that old. Yeesh.

I just hope the Brewers extend him. You gotta respect a guy who protects the honor of his teammate, even if it means losing an important game. :D

I was just coming here to do just that!

Good times. Wish I didn't have to work 30 hours this weekend. At least I can drink on the job.