Uh Oh
Cubs shortstop Ronny Cedeno is coming to Toys "R" Us!
Saturday, April 8
6:30 - 8 p.m.
Toys "R" Us Niles
9555 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Niles, IL 60714
To attend this rare personal appearance, visit the Major League Baseball™ feature shop at
Toys "R" Us. Simply make a purchase of $30 or more and receive a ticket to meet this Major League star!
ACT NOW! Tickets are available now through the event date or while supplies last. Only 225 tickets are available for each event and there is a limit of one ticket and one autograph per purchase, per customer. Players will autograph baseballs and MLB provided photos only. No other memorabilia will be signed.
Please call or visit the designated Toys "R" Us store for more details. For a complete listing of all the upcoming MLB player appearances at Toys "R" Us log on to www.Toysrusinc.com/MLB or call 1-800-TOYSRUS.Please note: A $30 or more Major League Baseball merchandise purchase from the designated Toys "R" Us store is required to participate in this event. Events are subject to change or cancellation.
2. So yes, I have a lot of catching up to do, as well as plenty to say about what has already been said. However, in the spirit of Buddhist philosophy, fuck it, because I'm living in the moment. Let's see what shall become of it.
3. I received this hogwash in my inbox this morning. So the deal is - spend 30 bucks on baseball caps and gloves and then you get a ticket that means you should hopefully meet a rookie shortstop and get an "MLB provided photo" signed by him? I don't know what MLB's marketing wing is doing [I mean after all, we know their steroid fact-finding commission ain't doing shit, wah wah hit me with your best shot], but this might be one I choose not to attend. If I were in Niles, IL, I might choose to spend my 30 dollars more wisely, perhaps a case of OM Light, a gallon jug of Fleischmann's Bourbon, and some fireworks.
4. Damn you St. Louis for snapping the Rollins streak. He is a good SS, but this was his chance for true immortality, and that chubby Jason Marquis went and ruined it. Not only was his run at history closed, but our run of "less stories about Barry Bonds from Pedro Gomez" on SportsCenter has just ended too.
5. Did anyone see Bonds on Bonds? From my uncomfortable hospital bed, I popped a couple of Vicodin and sat back to enjoy his tearful theatrics over the half-hour span. It actually wasn't a bad show, far better than I had been expecting, and I felt that I did learn something new and more genuine about BB himself. However, there was so much staging! Sure, the scene with him sitting on a sunny spring day next to his dad's gravestone was a little heartfelt, but we don't need it to be forced on us by some unscrupulous producer.
I'm not BB's biggest fan by any means, and there's little he could do to make me think otherwise on the juice issue, but the show did give him another angle, one different from the ornery, smug shit approach he normally takes with the press. I don't know how much of the show is "genuine" Barry talking and how much is set-up for him, but I will be tuning in next week to see where they take it.
posted by Jim Hendry @ 1:39 PM
14 comments
14 Comments:
WTF, why the hell is Neifi starting at 2b today??? Dusty......
What a way to start the season series! What to say about this game? Great job Maddux, very nice hitting and fielding by Cedeno, Murt' with the assist, D-Lee with the blast through the wind, and did anyone else see the suicide squeeze? Too bad it went foul, but Pierre came through with the RBI single anyway. Not much to complain about in this game. Except Jones's continued offensive trouble, but he's forgiven because we won, it's only the third game, and he made two very good catches in right.
And the Neifi moved really worked out, since he went 3-4 and did play good defense (which is why he was put in).
Gosh, darn, JT, I missed the B & B special! Afraid I was all wrapped up in a History Channel special on WWII. Did you know Germany lost that one? Thank goodness for TV specials.
You know the most fun part of Bonds' reality TV show? It's fun to come up with opinions about it without watching it. I'm in the process of doing that, because I refuse to watch reality TV about sports, since when you televise sports, isn't THAT reality TV?
Jim -- I had no clue ze germans lost. TV is a wonderful gift that we're lucky to have.
As for BB, you should check it out. The 30 minutes spent forming yet more heavy opinions against him, because the odds are that the damn editors of the show have sculpted and crafted every single little bit of it, including leading him into certain soundbites, so that BB comes off as the hard done-to guy.
However, even I have a hard time being that cynical to think that it's all a bullshit facade, and that none of it comes from a genuine place.
Note: Do you think Dusty will pitch the rook on sunday night nationally-televised baseball? I'm wondering if he rushes through to get a vet starter on tv, just due to the pressure factor alone.
I think he did that last year, mid-season, or I could be wrong.
That being said, I remember seeing both Koronka and Mitre get big starts on ESPN, and Hill also had his coming-out party [in 6th inning relief vs. the Marlins] on the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
Yeah, I wouldnt be surprised one bit if he starts the rook on TV.
And how sick was yesterday's game??? Scoring with small-ball and singles? It was absolutely awesome! 5 runs is by no means an explosion of offense, but they scored in each of the first 4 innings, just adding to the lead repeatedly. And obviously 5 was enough to get it done when Maddux looked like the incredible veteran pitcher from the days of yore! Very good game from our Cubbies, especially over the Red-Birds!
And yes, the Neifi thing worked out well, but still, Is anyone here going to be happy if Dusty splits series between Neifi and Walker? It'll be easy to get on the Neifi bandwagon if he goes 3/4 every day, but what do you guys think? Doesn't Todd deserve the starting position just ONCE in his career as a Cub??? I honestly feel bad for the guy!
Baseball is attempting to redeem B&B's reputation, 'cause his face will be the face of baseball when he breaks the homerun records.
But baseball can survive Bonds, just like it survived Cobb, Ruth, the Black Sox scandle, its own virulent racism, not to mention that creep, Rose. Personally, I'd like to see the guy go down on tax evasion. Kinda put him in a class with a certain Chicago citizen that had a predilection for paid sex partners.
Like a former Cubs' manager said, "Nice guys finish last."
But I don't have to like it.
I'm sick of everything Bonds...I would rather just not talk about BB...so I'm not going to.
As for yesterday's game...freaking awesome. I'm relieved that Maddux came out firing on all cylinders, we really him to step up and perform from day one. None of this slow start BS that he's known for.
And hypo, I agree about Walker, I'd like to see him as the regular starter. Don't get me wrong, Neifi (are we still gonna do 'Neifi!' this year? I guess we'll see if his performance necessitates it...) can be great but I'd like to see hot rod get used to playing in every game and finding a nice groove.
Now, today's matchup...can someone explain why Z is pitching and not Marshall?
Oh, and JT, about my triumphant return...I am the laziest man in blogging hisotry (for the non-believers, go look it up). I took my time on the 'posting DL' so I'd be 100%. Not trying to pull a K. Wood and rush things just to sit out another couple months.
I love all the comments. I also loved all the small ball. Anyone see how D-Lee's homerun almost dove back onto the field as the wind got hold of it?
Anyway:
Todd did have the starting role last year, except for his injury. Neifi was starting yesterday because Todd and Hairston supposedly both had weak numbers against Suppan, and because Baker wanted a stronger defensive 2B with Maddux's sinker ball. I think Todd will probably start the next two games. Either way, Neifi and Todd are both really hot offensively right now, so it should work out. In the end Todd is going to get a lot more starts at second, but he certainly is a heck of a bat to have on the bench.
Anyone else love the way Maddux combines fantastic movement on the fastball, changing speeds, and location? Seriously, Rusch, Williams, and Marshall could all learn something from him, since they lack overpowering fastballs and wicked breakers.
Finally, Zambrano is starting today because he's it's the fifth day for him. We're trying to get our number one as many starts as possible, and limit how many times our #4 and #5 (whoever tha will be) take the mound. I like the move, because I'm not so thrilled about a Marshall v. Carpenter matchup. Plus, I want to see how Marshall does on ESPN (I'm pretty sure he'll be pitching, since they've been talking about him making his Cubs debut on ESPN for the past week now).
Seriously, I don't need to see any more of Barry Bonds than is already on Sportscenter.
Thanks for the insight Lazlo...makes sense to have our #1 out there every five days instead of putting our #4 out there just because he's up in the rotation.
And yes, I love Maddux's style as well. Our younger guys really need to learn everything they can from him while he's still around.
Jim -- I definitely see what you're saying about baseball "surviving" past scandals and that it should make it through the Bonds era [whatever it may mean, for good or for bad], but the question is should it have to survive?
I wish sometimes that Selig were less handcuffed by his own image to stamp his foot on the steroids issue. Sure, he has done some largely ceremonial work [aka the commission, run by a guy who is too close to the matter due to business ties], but it's not going to solve it.
He is also not going to escape the fact that while baseball was arguably in its best shape [the HR era brought a ton of people back to the game], he had to have known there was something more to it than just the sudden appearance of extreme power hitting, and that his steroid policies in 2002 were cursory and meaningless.
Lazlo -- I only hope we can honour Maddux the best possible way this season, by not letting him fall to a mediocre record. It just about broke my heart to see him end his gigantic streak of 15-win seasons, thanks to our hopeless offense.
Hawk -- You know I jest, but yeah, until the other week, we hadn't heard from ya since mid-July! Yeah, and no K-Wood impersonations please. Don't want to see you back on the DL with a typing injury.
Also, Z is our man-child extraordinaire against opposing teams' ace pitchers. Last season, he went up against:
Ben Sheets [W, 4-0]
Dontrelle Willis [W, 4-0]
Roy Oswalt [W, 4-2]
Chris Carpenter [W, 7-4]
and didn't do so badly.
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