500 BABY!!
Two posts in one day?! Who do I think I am, JT? Anyway, on to the baseball…
With today’s decisive win, the cubs are back to .500. If this were a red stripe commerical, I'd be yelling "HOORAY CUBS!." Now, they need to keep this kind of playing up.
This afternoon’s game was an exciting one. See the boxscore for the raw stats.
There were three lead changes throughout the game and it looked like it was going to be a battle until the end. That is, until Burnitz came up to bat in the bottom of the 6th. Burnitz went yard with a three run shot to extend the Cubs’ lead to four. It was smooth sailing from there and Todd Walker added an insurance run with a pinch hit dinger in the 7th.
Pros from this afternoon:
Our offense got off Lee’s back. Ramirez seems to be coming out of slump and went 3-5 today driving in four runs. Burnitz also brought home four runs.
The bullpen came through in a big way. The Rockies were doing well at the plate with Mitre on the mound but when our relievers came in, the Rockies' bats cooled off. No runs were allowed with our relievers on the hill (always a good thing). Novoa (I’m really liking this guy – he can definitely bring some heat) finished off the sixth, and Borowski, Wuertz and Ohman each worked a full inning. Can’t ask for much more...
As for Mitre’s performance today, I’m not going to complain or list it as a con but it could have been better. The Rockies were consistently lighting him up and if it weren’t for our smokin’ bats, we would have been in trouble.
Cons:
As I see it, not much to complain about. The only thing I can possibly bring up is Hairston getting picked off in the sixth. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: no excuse. Stay awake and don’t attempt to steal (as Hairston was) unless you’re sure that ball is heading for home.
In other, semi-cub related news, Hawkins made his San Fran debut this afternoon. He worked the 8th for the Giants striking out one and allowing no runs. Good for him. Either way…I’m glad we’re rid of him and, as our bullpen proved today, we have relievers that can get the job done.
One more thing: Cub of the week is going to be a tough pick this week. Anyone reading have a suggestion (remember, we're already honored Lee a couple of times and we need to spread the love around)?
posted by DS @ 8:18 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Can you believe the Cubbies are in second place tonight?!! Way to go rest of the division!
Okay, smart guy, what did The Hawk say to the press when the Cubs traded Rafael Palmeiro away and kept Mark Grace? And which Hall of Famer was he echoing from 1972?
Player of the week still has to be D. Lee. If he keeps going the way he has been, he has a legitimate shot at winning the triple crown. It's easier to pitch a no hitter than to do that.
What's been nice, though, is that Burny, Ramiriz and Neifi have all been heroes lately. It takes a village of ballplayers to win three in a row.
Now if they can just take six in a row on the West Coast …
By the way, it's been 38 years since Carl Yestrzemski won the triple crown, the last winner. That's one year longer than it took to break Maris's home run record. No one has done it in the National League since Joe Medwick in 1937.
Go, D. Lee! Go!
Hey Jim, LB, readers etc...
been away all weekend, enjoying the Cubs wins, will be posting sometime tomorrow morning.... apologies for "being slow" hahaha...
oh, and thanks TheHawk for your remarks, good to see you back on the posting wagon!
Oh, and also, Derrek Lee is definitely the player o' the week.
Oh, and HawkMan, I love yr use of the lingo... dinger, going yard, all that good stuff... I need to be using more of that and less of my limey vocabulary in my posts!
Jim -- I've got no idea...care to fill me in (in this case, you're obviously 'the smart guy')??
JT -- Yes, baseball is an american game, get with the lingo!
Andre "The Hawk" Dawson complained to the press that the Cubs' organization was racist when it decided to trade the young Rafael Palmeiro away and keep Mark Grace after the 1988 season. They decided to keep Grace, "The Hawk" argued, because he had the white face the organization wanted to please its fan base.
The next year, the Cubs went on to win the Division, and Palmeiro, traded to the Texas Rangers, went on to have what will undoubtedly be a Hall of Fame career. Gracie played on two Cubs teams that made the playoffs before signing with the Diamondbacks where he is now a broadcaster. He also hit a home run in the Diamondbacks only World Series appearance, which as we all know they won.
So who was "The Hawk" echoeing from 1972? Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins, who was traded from the Cubs after five straight years of twenty-game victory seasons. Fergie aslo claimed the organization was racist. He was traded to the Texas Rangers that year (oddly enough) and had his best year ever, winning 25 games for them.
At the end of his carreer, Fergie came back to the Cubs, but fell short of becoming a 300-game winner. Nevertheless, he was elected to the Hall, and deservedly so. Half the time, while he was with the Cubs, he had to face other future Hall of Fame pitchers, including Bob Gibson, Don Drysdale, and Tom Seaver. (Can you imagine being an American League All Star and having to face these guys in the mid-season classic? No wonder the National League dominated the All Star games in those years.)
By the way, Dawson went out of his way to make up with Mark Grace and reasure him that his comments were not meant as a personal criticism during spring training of 1989.
nice.
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