Cubs get help from Nevin but Albert’s back is ailing

Phil Nevin wasted no time in helping his team after coming over from the Rangers.  In his first start, he was 1 for 5 but that one hit was his 10th homer of the year.  He and Aram, who had a grand slam provided much needed offense for the Cubs as they won against the … Continue reading “Cubs get help from Nevin but Albert’s back is ailing”

Phil Nevin wasted no time in helping his team after coming over from the Rangers.  In his first start, he was 1 for 5 but that one hit was his 10th homer of the year.  He and Aram, who had a grand slam provided much needed offense for the Cubs as they won against the Cards 8-5.

But unless you’re a Cubs fan, that won’t be the big story.  The best player in baseball has been hurt and most likely be placed on the DL.  Pujols strained his right oblique chasing after a Aramis Ramirez foul ball.

pujolsdl.jpg

This, of course will put any record chase in jeopardy. Rumors are the Cards are putting him on the 15-day DL but say if they get him back by then, they’ll be lucky. 

More importantly is the effect on the Cardinals.  They sit atop of the NL Central but Cincy is only 3 games behind and Houston 7 1/2.  The dearth of the best hitter in baseball will severely affect their offense not to mention morale. 

Yesterday, Luna came in from left field to play first and John “Jrod” Rodriguez took Luna’s spot in left.  No reports on how St Louis will take care of the situation long term.

Readers of this blog know that despite being a Cub fan, I love Albert Pujols.  He’s one of the greatest hitters of our time and a pretty damn fine man, too.  I hate to see him go down during his best year. 

Other comments:

What’s with the St Louis defense?  Their fielding during this series has hurt them immensely.  Rolen’s error put the game in extras two days ago.  Yesterday, three errors in one inning?  The normally decent fielding St Louis team is slipping when it counts. 

Have to mention… Jacque Jones went 3 for 4 yesterday.  I don’t know why but he’s becoming one of my favorite Cubs.  When DLee went down, it was a favorite phrase of everyone that Aram was the power source of the Cubs.  Well, he hasn’t really come through (yesterday excluded).  JJ has quietly put forth the effort. 

I guess it helps to have parents who advocate for you.

Update:  Viva El Birdos has a lot of info re the extent of the Pujols injury and what the Cardinals options are.

 

PUT ME IN THE GAME

Brady Clark – CF Took the El to the Cell, it was an amazing night for baseball, what could be better! Waiting for the gates to open there were beautiful girls in feathers dancing. Lemme splain, it was Latin Music night, these beautifully feathered girls were hired to dance to salsa music as part of … Continue reading “PUT ME IN THE GAME”


Brady Clark – CF

Took the El to the Cell, it was an amazing night for baseball, what could be better! Waiting for the gates to open there were beautiful girls in feathers dancing. Lemme splain, it was Latin Music night, these beautifully feathered girls were hired to dance to salsa music as part of the festivities, life is good!

Met up with CLuke & his family in the CF stands, after munching down a Garden burger, fries, some corn, and washing it down with a Dew. It’s been awhile since I’ve been among the crowd at the ballpark on the Southside. It was also insurance night at the Cell, CLuke works for an insurance company, but not as a salesman, thank God! Lemme tell you from experience, having an insurance salesman as a friend just can’t happen, they have no friends, only potential clients. There was this guy sitting behind us who was eating peanuts, he chose to eat the shell (I’m a shell eater as well), his girlfriend was compelled to tell him how this wasn’t the proper way to eat peanuts, and the shells are dirty. Why do women feel compelled to control men down to how to eat their peanuts? And why do men allow women to control them, ironic that nuts would be involved, it’d be even more ironic if balls were involved, but no balls makes a statement as well. Maybe that’s why I’m not hooked up, things that make you go, HMMM.

Jon Garland was pitching a pretty good game, 3-2 lead into the 7th, brought on Jeff Nelson, and the game was tied after he faced one batter. Jim Thome was sitting this one out with a strained hammy, so now don’t only we not have a centerfielder or middle relief, we also don’t have the BIG bat we got for Aaron Rowand (still a good deal in my book). The bottom of the White Sox order was Ross Gload (.148), Juan Uribe (.208), & Brian Anderson (.164), not exactly murderers row. Why don’t they just start Anderson off with two strikes to speed the game along? With two outs, man on 1st, the game tied, and Brian at the plate, the skipper had to do something. Ozzie sent up Rob Mackowiak to pinch hit, a long flyball to center was just a little short of giving the Good Guys the lead. It didn’t take the Rangers long to realize the Sox had no centerfielder, as Rob’s effort to impersonate one just wasn’t fooling anyone. Mackowiak caught Jason Botts’ fly, Mc Carthy walked Kinsler, BIG BAD Bobby Jenks was summoned, but Gary Matthews Jr knew what to do. He hit a deep drive to, where else, CENTERFIELD! Of course it was a put them ahead for good double, 4-3 Texas. It was like deja vu all over again, as the night before any other centerfielder in baseball would have caught a ball in center that went for a triple.

There just is no way of hiding it any longer Mackowiak CAN’T play centerfield and Anderson CAN’T hit! Kenny Williams needs to make like Monty Hall & Let’s Make a Deal! Maybe we could get Brady Clark from the Milwaukee Brewers and they could move their centerfielder Rickie Weeks (18th error already) away from secondbase? Or possibly we could trade with the totally confused Tampa Bay Devil Rays? Could Colorado’s Cory Sullivan be had? Possibly Laynce Nix? Where is Timo Perez? Maybe I’m getting a little desperate. Maybe I didn’t realize just how good Aaron Rowand was out there. Anyway something needs to be done, ANYTHING!

The White Sox also need to address their need for middle relief, but that’s a story for another day. Can’t solve all the world’s problems in one day, then what would I do tomorrow? Seriously it’s a beautiful day for a ballgame, think I’ll take another trip to the Cell. Tell you all about it when I get back, I’m bringing my glove just in case Ozzie wants to put me in the game, I CAN PLAY CENTERFIELD!

LET’S GO WHITE SOX!!!

Mark your calendars- MLB draft is June 6

Tuesday is MLB’s annual First-Year Player Draft.  Pitchers tend to dominate the hot prospects this year so expect to see a lot of hurlers picked in the first round.  Here is the drafting order: Royals Rockies Devil Rays Pirates Mariners Tigers Dodgers Reds Orioles Giants Diamondbacks Rangers Cubs Blue Jays Nationals Brewers Padres Phillies Marlins … Continue reading “Mark your calendars- MLB draft is June 6”

Tuesday is MLB’s annual First-Year Player Draft.  Pitchers tend to dominate the hot prospects this year so expect to see a lot of hurlers picked in the first round. 

Here is the drafting order:

  1. Royals
  2. Rockies
  3. Devil Rays
  4. Pirates
  5. Mariners
  6. Tigers
  7. Dodgers
  8. Reds
  9. Orioles
  10. Giants
  11. Diamondbacks
  12. Rangers
  13. Cubs
  14. Blue Jays
  15. Nationals
  16. Brewers
  17. Padres
  18. Phillies
  19. Marlins
  20. Twins
  21. Yankees
  22. Nationals
  23. Astros
  24. Braves
  25. Angels
  26. Dodgers
  27. Red Sox
  28. Red Sox
  29. White Sox
  30. Cardinals

Who will KC’s #1 be?  Royals blog The Pinetar Rag says at this time it’s up in the air. 

Footnotes from 2005:  Justin Upton was the first player chosen in the 2005 draft.  Ryan Zimmerman, picked 4th in the 2005 draft by the Nats, was first to reach the majors from last year’s draft when he appeared in a game September 1.

Mamma would be proud

Jacque Jones had 3 hits last night including another homer.  For all the talk I hear from the broadcasters that he’s having a rough season, Jacque seems to be picking it up. Consider his stats from his last 20 games: AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB K BA Slg OBP 75 11 25 … Continue reading “Mamma would be proud”

Jacque Jones had 3 hits last night including another homer.  For all the talk I hear from the broadcasters that he’s having a rough season, Jacque seems to be picking it up. Consider his stats from his last 20 games:

AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB K BA Slg OBP
75 11 25 17 4 0 5 2 12 .333 .587 .359

 

While we’re on the topic of the Cubs game last night, was anyone else surprised by Baker’s use of Aardsma in a clutch situation in the bottom of the ninth with Eyre or Dempster available?  Was anyone even more even more surprised by Double-A’s awesome performance?  Yes, two hits but no runs in an inning and two thirds.  Nice play by Ronny C at short to close the ninth too. 

As it turns out, the Cubs needed Eyre and Demp later anyway during the 14 inning contest.  Maybe Baker knew what he was doing.

That was a joke.

6/1/06 Linescore of Day: Jermaine Dye

2 for 5, 2 HR, 2 runs, 5 rbis Jermaine Dye did everything right but the Sox lost anyway as starter Jose Contreras had his worst start of the season.  The loss was the Sox’ third in a row.

2 for 5, 2 HR, 2 runs, 5 rbis

Jermaine Dye did everything right but the Sox lost anyway as starter Jose Contreras had his worst start of the season.  The loss was the Sox’ third in a row.

MLB.TV’s Mosaic interface is really boss

Turns out the programmers at MLB Advanced Media have a sense of humor.  Who knew? The new Mosaic interface for MLB.TV which is brand new (came out May 23), has a BOSS button.  This is presumably to be used when your supervisor or nosy co-workers come by your desk to look over your shoulder while you … Continue reading “MLB.TV’s Mosaic interface is really boss”

Turns out the programmers at MLB Advanced Media have a sense of humor.  Who knew?

The new Mosaic interface for MLB.TV which is brand new (came out May 23), has a BOSS button.  This is presumably to be used when your supervisor or nosy co-workers come by your desk to look over your shoulder while you are following your favorite team.  What happens when you click the BOSS button? This pops up:

 boss.jpgclick to enlarge

Laying it on pretty thick, eh?  Still pretty funny.

While I’m on the topic, the new Mosaic interface for MLB.TV is very nice.  It is the newest feature available for anyone who is signed up for MLB.TV.  It has a few nice features that the web version didn’t. 

Continue reading “MLB.TV’s Mosaic interface is really boss”

BOYS OF SUMMER, INDEED

The fact the Los Angeles Dodgers are in the middle of a dogfight in the wide open Western Division of the National League shouldn’t surprise anyone. Especially considering every team in the division struggled to reach .500 last year. This season the Dodgers have a record of 31-23 and are right on the heels of … Continue reading “BOYS OF SUMMER, INDEED”

The fact the Los Angeles Dodgers are in the middle of a dogfight in the wide open Western Division of the National League shouldn’t surprise anyone. Especially considering every team in the division struggled to reach .500 last year. This season the Dodgers have a record of 31-23 and are right on the heels of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The surprise is just how well the kids have played. Since catcher Russell Martin was called up the Dodgers are 19-4 with him behind the dish. Other youngsters who’ve answered the call are outfielders Matt Kemp & Andre Ethier, and infielder Willy Aybar. And they just called up a 6’6″ 252 pound Dominican infielder/outfielder named Joel Guzman who can mash. Where are they getting them all from? It seems as though the Dodger system is back with a vengeance. This might be the best crop of Los Angeles youngsters to reach the big time since LA brought up Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, & Ron Cey. My question for you is who will be the best big leaguer among this group? Cast your vote at the opinion poll off to the left.

Russell Martin
Matt Kemp
Andre Ethier
Willy Aybar
Joel Guzman

WHY THE APOLOGY???

A couple of nights ago Scott Sauerbeck was arrested. It seems as though he was the passenger in his car, being driven by a drunken female companion, at 4:30 AM, when a police car observed the vehicle being driven erratically. They avoided the police, pulled into a driveway, got out of the car, and hid … Continue reading “WHY THE APOLOGY???”

A couple of nights ago Scott Sauerbeck was arrested. It seems as though he was the passenger in his car, being driven by a drunken female companion, at 4:30 AM, when a police car observed the vehicle being driven erratically. They avoided the police, pulled into a driveway, got out of the car, and hid in some bushes. That’s when the person who owns the bushes where they’d chosen to play hide-&-seek called the police. Sauerbeck was arrested for allowing a drunk woman to drive his car and there were a few other charges. Scott, who’s married, apologized to his Cleveland Indian teammates for his alleged wrong doings. But now for the kicker, he pleaded NOT GUILTY to the charges! Then why the apology? I guess the moral of the story is, deny, deny, deny.

1974: TURN BACK THE CLOCK

Bob Waller was Harry Caray’s first TV sidekick with the Chicago White Sox. Believe it or not Caray was just on the radio for the Sox in 1971 & 1972, Jack Drees & Bud Kelly were in the TV booth. Not only that, the White Sox flagship radio station was WTAQ out of LaGrange. The … Continue reading “1974: TURN BACK THE CLOCK”

Bob Waller was Harry Caray’s first TV sidekick with the Chicago White Sox. Believe it or not Caray was just on the radio for the Sox in 1971 & 1972, Jack Drees & Bud Kelly were in the TV booth. Not only that, the White Sox flagship radio station was WTAQ out of LaGrange. The White Sox just switched over to channel 44 in 1973, before that they were on channel 32. Both of these channels were UHF, which was a not a good thing back in the day. There were two types of UHF antenae, neither were capable of drawing in a clear signal. There was the rabbit ear and the circular antenae. You’d go up to your TV, hold the antenae just right, let go to go sitdown, and the fuzziness would return. It was maddening.

I can’t even remember my name today, let alone the details of what I’m doing day-to-day, but I still remember Bob Waller on his last broadcast at the end of the 1974 season.

Chuck Tanner had tried everything to get this ballclub to win, but in the end it just wasn’t enough as the Sox finished 4th in the Western Division with an 80-80 record. This despite the fact the White Sox got productive seasons out of Dick Allen (32 HRs), Ken Henderson (95 RBIs), rookie SS Bucky Dent, workhorse knuckleballer Wilbur Wood (42 starts, 320 IP, 20-19 record), & Jim Kaat (21-13). The White Sox also featured promising youngsters like Jorge Orta (23), Brian Downing (23), Lamar Johnson (23), 22 year old Jerry Hairston Sr, and a superstar on the horizon in 20 year old Nyls Nyman. There was also some promise out on the hill with 24 year old Bart Johnson (10-4 in 18 starts), and a 22 year old bullpen righty/lefty combo of Goose Gossage & Terry Forster. This team also featured veterans Stan Bahnsen, Ron Santo, Bill Melton, & Carlos May. My favorites were Tony Muser and Ed Herrmann.

Bill Melton and Carlos May were slackers is what Waller had to say. He went on to say they just didn’t care about winning and were content not to hustle. Bob said these two players were the reason the White Sox didn’t do better. As a fan it was refreshing to see somebody with the guts to say what was happening on the field. Of course Bob Waller’s days with the White Sox were finished, but it was nice to see him resurface with the A’s the following season.