Cubs Chase for October

Standings:
Brewers (62-56)
Cubs (60-57) 1.5 GB

Yesterday's Scoreboard:
Cubs: No Game
Brewers: No Game

Today's Schedule:
Cubs vs. Reds: 7:05
Brewers vs. Cardinals: 7:05

Tomorrow's Schedule:
Cubs vs. Reds: 7:05
Brewers vs. Cardinals: 7:05

*All times Central Standard Time

You Know What Grinds My Gears?

I think Peter Griffin said it best. When he ranted about things that angered him, he started with the line, "You know what grinds my gears?"

Well, Cubs fans, you know what grinds my gears? How about the fact that a Brewers schedule and scoreboard is not posted on the Cubs website? Com’n, I’m a Cubs fan, one who over-exaggerates everything, and scores and schedules are important at this time in the season. Sure, I could click on the link to the Brewers website or that of Major League Baseball. I could even wait for the newspaper the next day, but I’m a product of American culture, and I want my information as fast as possible with as little as work necessary.

In light of this issue and the Cubs chase of the Milwaukee Brewers, I want to give you, the red and blue bleeding fans a current schedule and scoreboard of the Cubs and Brewers. Along with scores of the teams’ games from the previous day and the schedule of the games on the current and following day, I will keep up-to-date standings between the two teams. All this in hopes that you don’t have to browse between two websites or wait for the newspaper to find out simple information.

Bear Down to Bearbonnais

Two weeks ago, my advisor at Olivet, Professor Bishop, tried to get me an internship with the Chicago Bears down in Bourbannais. Unfortnately, things fell through...until Friday. This is when he told me the NFL Network was looking for someone to intern with the Bears while the team was in Bourbannais. Saturday, Prof. B confirmed that I received the position, and within 24 hours, I arrived at Olivet Nazarene University. I started my work yesterday and will continue mostly everyday until camp breaks August 18th. During that time, I will try to write updates from here about the rest of the Chicago sports world. However, I can't promise much with a time crunch from doing many things with the Bears.

Murton Needs Consistent Playing Time

None of the Cubs recnt moves made me happier than their decision to put outfielder Matt Murton back in a Major League uniform.

The Opening Day leftfielder (and my favorite player among all Chicago sports teams) spent time in Triple-A after being demoted June 13. In 39 games with Iowa, Mutron hit .331 with six home runs and 27 RBI.

It’s obvious Murton doesn’t belong in Triple-A, but if Piniella wants Murton to have success in the Majors, he will have to give Murton more consistent playing time. Considering the depth of the Cubs in right field (they now possess Angel Pagan, Cliff Floyd, Mark DeRosa, and Matt Murton for the position) and how many times Piniella has shuffled the line-up, it seems unlikely that this will happen. But if Piniella finds a way to get Murton in the line-up more consistently, I think the team can only benefit.

With last year being another disappointment for the Cubs, I’m sure many fans didn’t bother to check individual players’ statistics. But for those who did, they might remember that Murton finished the season as the Cubs batting champ, posting a .297 average. What’s even more important about his average last season is that he did it while playing in 144 games. There’s no doubt that consistent playing time equals success for Murton.

Well, the hard-working red head will certainly not match or pass the number of games he played last season, but he still has the chance to make an impact on the team. The unlikely move remaining is for Piniella to start Murton a majority of the games for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, I don’t see this happening. My guesses only include bad options or a sad ending for Murton with the Cubs. In the worst case scenario (at least in my view), the Cubs trade Murton for a relief pitcher that they think will help down the stretch and possibly in the playoffs (and we all know how those deals work out). In the more favorable, but not best alternative, Murton returns to Triple-A when the Cubs need room for Daryle Ward (but who knows when that will be?). The best case scenario I see for Murton with the Cubs entails spot starts against lefties and a minor pinch-hitting role; neither of which will give him the consistent playing time that led to his great numbers last year. But who knows? Perhaps Murton can adapt to the more foreseeable role of coming off the bench and getting spot starts against lefties. After all, Piniella has made several big calls and changed the line-up many times during the Cubs recent surge. Anything can happen. Anything can happen.

A Scary Comparison

Welcome back to the big leagues Ronny Cedeño, I hope you’re not becoming the next Corey Patterson.

Ok, I’ll concede that Cedeño isn’t as highly touted as Patterson was, but the shortstop’s statistics and his disparity in level of play between the minors and majors bear many (scary) resemblances to the former #1 pick (3rd overall):

Statistics in last Minor League Season

	Patterson	Cedeño
Minor League Team	West Tennessee (Double A)	Iowa (Triple A)
Games	118	65
Avg.	.261	.355
HR	22	8
RBI	82	3

Major League Statistics w/ the Cubs

	Patterson	Cedeño
Seasons	5	2
Avg.	.254	.245
HR	70	9
RBI	231	51

I know Cedeño will only be playing off the bench, but if his numbers in the majors don’t get better, he could be right next to Patterson in the Minor League Hall of Fame.

It Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This

Wins like the one today are few and far between.

Perhaps the greatest significance of today’s 12-1 victory for the Cubs isn’t the win itself, but rather how they won--with ease.

In a starting line-up that featured Daryle Ward, Mark DeRosa, and Koyie Hill in place of suspended Derek Lee, and resting Aramis Ramirez and Jason Kendall, it might be expected that the offense would struggle. But the group of replacements stepped up big, accounting for eight of the team’s twelve runs and combining for half the Cub’s hits. The biggest star of the trio was none other than (yup, you guessed it) Hill, who contributed 5 RBIs and saw his batting average raise to a hefty buck seventy-nine.

And it only got better. Carlos Zambrano, who has seen his run support vary in every start (4.78 going into today), it must have felt like his birthday. Big Z only had to pitch five innings (the minimum required for a win) before exiting with a 9-0 lead. This should leave him plenty fresh for his next start.

Zambrano’s early exit plus the Cubs big lead when he left equaled another benefit for the Cubs. Rookie Sean Gallagher pitched the final four innings, gaining experience, earning his first save, and giving the rest of the bullpen their first “off day” since the All-Star break.

Yes, it was a sweet day at Wrigley. Besides the white W flag waving above the Friendly Confines, the “replacements” stepped up, Zambrano got out early, and Gallagher finished on a day when the bullpen needed rest. There's only one thing left to make today better: a Brewers loss.

Hendry Makes Something Out of Nothing

Just when I was about to write Jim Hendry off, he comes through.

Despite making a horrible trade to acquire a back-up catcher for starter Michael Barrett, Hendry signaled the end of Rob Bowen's stint with the Cubs as the team designated him for assignment earlier today.

The end finally came just minutes ago when the Cubs acquired Jason Kendall from the Oakland A's for Rob Bowen. While Kendall's numbers are down this year, with better speed and a more proven career, I'll take Kendall any day over Bowen. Plus, he should find more motivation to play with the Cubs.

The trade is not the last ingredient in a recipe that guarantees the playoffs, but if nothing else, Hendry finally received the starting catcher due in the Barrett trade.

Where's Our Peace with Pax?

Most analysts and fans believed that the Bulls biggest necessity going into the off-season was a low-post scorer. And GM John Paxson probably agreed with them.

But over the past month, Paxson has made three moves that oppose this viewpoint.

On Draft Night, he passed on 7-foot center and low-post scorer Spencer Hawes to instead select shaky shooting (and funky looking) Joakim Noah. Eight days later, Paxson reached an agreement with Andres Nocioni on a 5-year, $38 million contract, unofficially ending talks of a trade that would include the Argentinean forward for the likes of a bigger and better interior scoring Pau Gasol or Kevin Garnett. Finally reports yesterday entailed a 2-year deal with former #1 draft pick Joe Smith, who is known for his general shooting ability more than his scoring in the paint.

With these moves, skepticism has arose over Paxson’s inability to address the perceived hole left in the Bulls roster (Stephen A. Smith sure mouthed his disgust enough with Paxson’s selection of Noah). But isn’t everybody forgetting how good Paxson has been since taking over in 2003?

In his first year of management, Paxson formed the foundation, drafting Kirk Hinrich and making Scott Skiles head coach and the representative of the team’s hard-working, defensive style of play. The next year, he started his drafting and signing genius, attaining Ben Gordon, Loul Deng, Chris Duhon, and Andres Nocioni (since adding this tandem, the Bulls have made the playoffs in the last three seasons). He continued to prove his genius, giving Edy Curry to the Knicks in a trade that included many draft picks. The Bulls eventually landed Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah with two lottery picks. To add insult to injury to the Knicks, the Bulls will still get more on their end. They will receive New York’s second-round pick in 2008.

With the three most recent moves, Paxson continues building a team that is truly unique in today’s NBA. By drafting Noah, he adds depth to the defense rather than versatility on offense. By signing Nocioni, he keeps the team chemistry intact rather than trading for a big name. And by attaining Smith, he adds veteranship to a rather 20-somethings team.

If Pax can recruit young talent like he has, make transactions like the Curry trade, and continue to win, can we at least buy in to his team philosophy of defense and hard work? Or does anyone want to go back to the team Jerry Krause assembled?

Cubs Notes: Soto will finally get his chance

Two miraculous things took place Thursday; Jim Hendry made his first smart move of the year (it didn’t even cost him any money) and Lou Piniella checked his stubbornness to play rookies at the door. These events combined meant a call-up for catcher Geovany Soto.

Not that this move was difficult to understand. The two Cubs catchers currently splitting time, Rob Bowen and Koyie Hill are a combined 11-for-88 (2-for-27 and 9-for-61 respectively) since the Michael Barrett trade on June 20. Just read my post on the JustCallMeJuice blog for other details on how senseless that trade was.

But thankfully, Soto is now in the bigs after posting a .341 average in 69 games with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs in Triple-A Iowa. How much worse can a guy really do in the majors? My bet’s on him topping the .125 average Rob Hill (or Koyie Bowen or whatever you want to call that hitless duo) is posting now. Just a guess though.

Piniella even got as bold as to declare Soto as Friday’s starter with Carlos Zambrano on the mound. Hmhh…must be something in the post All-Star Break air getting into the heads of the front office.

Imagine This: Mark Cuban, after applying last week to be a potential owner, buys the Cubs when the Chicago Tribune sells them at the end of the year and pays the big bucks for Alex Rodriguez. Not that the Cubs or the Tribune have ever been shy of spending a lot of money, but Cuban expresses a different type of interest in the guys he’s paying the salaries of than other owners. I’m not from Dallas nor do I know much about the Mavs, but I expect the interest he shows to be an attraction for a potential free agent like Alex Rodriguez.

What an infield that would be…Aramis at third, move A-Rod back to short, D-Lee at first, and ummm..urrr..Ryan Theriot at second (ok, so he’s not great, but he’s good, and a fan favorite). But let’s not get ahead of ourselves now. We have to focus on the Brewers.

This Just Makes No Sense

Since when does a 31-42-9 record and a 5-year playoff drought merit an increase of ticket prices? The Blackhawks will raise most of their seating prices by $5 to $10 for the 2007-08 season. Oh, but I forgot; the Hawks drafted great talent the last two years, picking Jonathan Toews and 5'9" Patrick Kane. So yea, come to think of it, I can't wait to buy my first tickets of the season. The increase in price is well worth it.

A Sorry Start for Osorio

An embarrassment was on display at Toyota Park last night.

The Chicago Fire dropped it’s sixth in a row, losing 4-0 to the Houston Dynamo in the head coaching debut of Juan Carlos Osorio. Even more unfortunate, my friend Matt and I were there to take it ALL in.

Playing the Western Conference-leading Dynamo was no excuse for the performance by the Fire. But I don’t place as much blame on the players as I do on new head coach Juan Carlos Osorio.

Osorio didn’t bring out the potential of his team, using a 3-4-3 rotation that was foreign to Fire players. Common logic would say that a change needs to take place when a 4-4-2 formation leads to a 4-7-4 record, but when this new Fire defense that plays a man down allows numerous breakaways and can’t keep up, a change needs to be made. But Osorio didn’t make that change; even after the Dynamo broke through on the defense numerous times and made the score 3-0 by the 62^nd minute.

But Osorio should take heart and be really thankful for Matt Pickens. The Fire goalie made an array of great saves on other breakaways to prevent an even further laughable score. None of the 4 goals could be attributed to Pickens, who will watch his 1.43 goals against average take a big hit.

Osorio will get his next chance at home against FC Celtic when Mexican star Cuauhtemoc Blanco makes his debut for the Fire.

Let’s hope Osorio will make some changes by then. If not, he might make like N’Sync’s song played over the speakers after the game (I have no idea why they played this horrific song) and say “Bye, Bye, Bye” to his job in Chicago.