BigbadB

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.

Told all of my clients I was a huge Padres fan for this weekend, and this weekend only. Guess I lied. Who cares what the Padres do this weekend?

And for the record, I did send a PM to Abuck letting him know that I can still take on points if he was willing to trade a particular player. I don't know what you have to offer right now, but I'll probably hold off on my last deal until the offseason is over and wait for the best offers.

I can undo the trade if everyone believes that trades should not be made prior to the end of the season. I thought the other trade was finished, and I just accepted an offer that was made to me. But, I did want to accept it immediately in case Tim changed his mind. :D

This sounds right up the Dodgers alley. They want to trade youth for veterans.

Jerry Coleman was riding Yost pretty hard about hitting a player in the midst of a pennant chase. I thought that was funny.

Life is good!

Exactly. Bennett isn't the best example since he's always been a back up catcher. But, the point remains that it is foolish to place more value on experience and/or leadership over production.

That is a terrible comparison. Terrible. Maybe not the best comparison, but there is nothing wrong with going with the better catcher if the production warrants it. Right, but Molina out produced Bennett last year, so it is a moot point. Molina out produced Bennett. Soto has out produced Kendall. Kendall: .244 .301 .312 Soto: .378 .431 .667 It's not even close.

That is a terrible comparison. Terrible. Maybe not the best comparison, but there is nothing wrong with going with the better catcher if the production warrants it.

Yeah, why the Cardinals went with Yadier Molina in most games last year rather than Gary Bennett during the playoffs was a foolish decision since it cost them the World Series. Oh wait...... Yadier was 24 in 2006 and hit: NLDS: .308 .308 .385 NLCS: .348 .423 .652 WS: .412 .500 .529 Gary Bennett got 1 at bat entirely during the playoffs last year. Sometimes you have to make the decision that veteran leadership doesn't hold a candle to quality production. Jason Kendall in playoffs for his career: .258 .303 .290 Ignore the fact that teams with speed can AND will run at will with Kendall behind the plate. He just doesn't provide much when comparing him to Soto. And assuming for a minute that the Cubs make the playoffs and may be contenders for playoffs in future years, wouldn't it be a good idea to get Soto some quality playoff experience now so that he can add that to his resume in coming years? I have been very pleased with Lou this year. But, just because I'm pleased with the end result, it doesn't mean I have to agree with every move he makes. And this move would be a very bad one. Actually, where I see Jason Kendall providing value to the Cubs down the stretch and in the playoffs is as a RH bat off the bench and decent back up catcher for a day game following a night game. His tendency to put the bat on the ball and strike out rarely makes him an ideal bat off the bench in a situation where you have runners in scoring position with less than 2 outs. I'm sold on Soto. I'm not sure what else a guy can really do to prove he's ready for the next step.

I don't think I understand why he threw that many. Padres had a 7 run lead after 5 innings. Could have pulled him after 5 and about 25 or so less pitches.

Might need to change the title of this thread to Pee Hands. The wife and I only refer to him by that name to this day.