It's a month in a half into the 2011 baseball season and this is my first blog. I wanted to give it some time before I posted about being on the bandwagon or just rip this team to shreds. Let's see where the team is and where I am at in support at this point in the season.
The team has two bright young players who should be the heart of this team for years to come. Darwin Barney and Starlin Castro are good young players who will only get better. My problem with Castro is he needs to play better defense and can't relax on each throw. Should Castro be moved to second, maybe but let's see how it plays out over an extended period before a rash decision is made.
My problem is what they are doing with him in the lineup. Castro is being moved around like a yo yo and it is not good for his growth as a player. Castro is a good hitter but is still young. He needs to leadoff or hit lower in the order to keep the pressure off of him. When he matures a little bit and hits for more power then third will be the spot for him. But this is not the time to hit him there.
Aramis Ramirez has gone for a great clutch RBI guy to just a guy swinging out of his shoes to hit a homerun. He should no longer be the guy in the fourth spot. Move him to third to take advantage of his ability to hit for average and put less pressure on him to hit for power and RBIs.
Carlos Pena is starting to come out of his slow start. He has not been good but it is too early to tell if he can hit. I like him defensively though.
Marlon Byrd is the second to last person on the team to hit 3rd. Why? That's because he can't seem to handle it. He has done to do his best impression of Derrick Lee by hitting into double plays in key situations.
Tyler Colvin needs to get more oppurtunities or be sent to the minors. Fukudome is playing for a contract that he probably wont get from the Cubs. He got off to his usual good start but time will tell if he has figured it out and will continue to play well the whole year. Quade needs to figure out how to get Colvin more starts to get his timing back. It may be time for Quade to start giving guys days off and let Colvin move around the field so he can get some at bats. Colvin has to then take advantage of those at bats and hit. If these things don't happen then Colvin needs to be sent down to play regularly.
I am going to skip to the most disappointing part of the team and that would be the starting pitching. Who would have thought that Zambrano would be the best pitcher at this point of the season. Dempster and Garza started out awful but have gotten better recently. Who knows how Wells and Cashner would have pitched if they had not gotten injured but it couldn't be any worse than their replacements. Coleman has been ok but certainly not great. Russell should never have been given the chance to start.
This brings me to the manager Mike Quade He has been lauded for his openess and lucidness during his press conferences. Quade decisions regarding lineups has a lot to be desired. As stated above moving Castro around in the lineups is too much for that kid to handle this early. He needs one spot to thrive and he has the talent to do it. Byrd is not a three hitter and has proven it over the last month. Quade should never have started him and the fact that he continued to do it is stupid. After the first one they should have brought someone up from the minors who has been starting on a regular basis there to take the starts. I just feel that Russell is better suited for the Bullpen. He did well there last year. Failure like this can ruin one's confidence and it may not be able to be recovered.
The Cubs spent much of the first month at the .500 mark and is currently 3 under and is four games out of first. Between the lack of consistent clutch hitting and the problems with the starting rotation I think this is impressive. If the team gets better pitching and more clutch hitting I believe they can contend for the wild card or even the very average NL Central division. Only time will tell if any of this will happen but there is hope.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thoughts on Egypt
When the protests began in Egypt I wasn't sure why United States wasn't showing more support for Mubarak and his government. I looked at the situation like this; As far we know, Mubarak has been a loyal ally in the war on terror, provided support during the first Gulf War and did not impede us during the second war. Mubarak has made nice with Israel who is a major ally to the US even though that country isn't perfect either. In this case it appeared that the devil you know has to be better than the devil you don't. This is especially important in that area of the world because we are not exactly popular.
But looking at the recent developments such as pulling the police, allowing looters to roam the streets, allowing vigilantes to set up check points to fight back against the looters, and firing live ammo at the protesters has made me rethink about how that country is handling itself. Now Egypt has shut down all Internet activity which prevents it's people to get information about what is happening and let the outside world know what is happening inside the country.
Mubarak is not coming out well in the pr fight. I think it's time for him to call for democratic elections to allow the people to decide who they want to govern them. I don't know if a new leader will cure what ails the country but it appears to be time to find out. Let's just hope the next leader will allow Egypt to continue to be a faithful ally of the United States.
But looking at the recent developments such as pulling the police, allowing looters to roam the streets, allowing vigilantes to set up check points to fight back against the looters, and firing live ammo at the protesters has made me rethink about how that country is handling itself. Now Egypt has shut down all Internet activity which prevents it's people to get information about what is happening and let the outside world know what is happening inside the country.
Mubarak is not coming out well in the pr fight. I think it's time for him to call for democratic elections to allow the people to decide who they want to govern them. I don't know if a new leader will cure what ails the country but it appears to be time to find out. Let's just hope the next leader will allow Egypt to continue to be a faithful ally of the United States.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
More difficult than I thought
When I started this blog I fully intended to keep posting on a regular basis. I didn't expect that posting regularly would be as difficult as it has been. I appreciate those of you who have inquired about when my next posts will be. I have two other posts today and will make an effort to try and post on a more frequent basis.
Thanks again for having an interest on what I have to say and will try and keep posting on this blog on a more regular basis.
Thanks again for having an interest on what I have to say and will try and keep posting on this blog on a more regular basis.
2011 Cubs season
It's been a turbulent fall and winter for the Chicago Cubs. They took a lot of hits for they way they treated Ryne Sandberg during the managerial process which eventually went to Mike Quade. The Ricketts family bungled the PR on trying to get public funding to fix up Wrigley Field.
I was not happy with how the 2010 season ended and not looking forward to the 2011 season. I believed and still feel that Jim Hendry has dropped the ball on many deals such as Soriano, Fukudome, Bradley, etc.
During the off season, the Cubs traded for Matt Garza, resigned Kerry Wood and Todd Wellenmyer for the bullpen and signed Carlos Pena to play first base. On paper these are pretty good acquisitions but only time will tell whether these acquisitions will work out or bomb like so many others that Jim Hendry brought in.
Last year I was cautiously optimistic regarding the Cubs chances for the season. I was worried about the unproven bullpen which ended up to be correct because during the beginning of the season it was awful. Once it was stabilized it still had issues. No one would have predicted Carlos Zambrano would have completely lost his mind and Aramis Ramirez would have been as awful as he was.
If Zambrano can keep his head on straight and Ramirez can stay healthy and hit the way he normally does, they will help the team be competitive. If Pena can hit .250 instead of .196 and Kerry Wood can pitch like he did with the Yankees they will help the team be competitive.
Going into the 2011 season the Cubs have a lot of questions regarding their new and old players. If all of these players can play to their potential I am cautiously optimistic that they can compete for the wild card or even the division if the Cardinals, Reds and/or Brewers falter. It will be an interesting 2011 season that I fully expected to not have any interest in at the end of the '10 season. Once again with a new season almost here hope springs eternal.
GO CUBS!!!!
I was not happy with how the 2010 season ended and not looking forward to the 2011 season. I believed and still feel that Jim Hendry has dropped the ball on many deals such as Soriano, Fukudome, Bradley, etc.
During the off season, the Cubs traded for Matt Garza, resigned Kerry Wood and Todd Wellenmyer for the bullpen and signed Carlos Pena to play first base. On paper these are pretty good acquisitions but only time will tell whether these acquisitions will work out or bomb like so many others that Jim Hendry brought in.
Last year I was cautiously optimistic regarding the Cubs chances for the season. I was worried about the unproven bullpen which ended up to be correct because during the beginning of the season it was awful. Once it was stabilized it still had issues. No one would have predicted Carlos Zambrano would have completely lost his mind and Aramis Ramirez would have been as awful as he was.
If Zambrano can keep his head on straight and Ramirez can stay healthy and hit the way he normally does, they will help the team be competitive. If Pena can hit .250 instead of .196 and Kerry Wood can pitch like he did with the Yankees they will help the team be competitive.
Going into the 2011 season the Cubs have a lot of questions regarding their new and old players. If all of these players can play to their potential I am cautiously optimistic that they can compete for the wild card or even the division if the Cardinals, Reds and/or Brewers falter. It will be an interesting 2011 season that I fully expected to not have any interest in at the end of the '10 season. Once again with a new season almost here hope springs eternal.
GO CUBS!!!!
Decrease spending.
In this time of recovery from the worst recessions since the great depression, the United States has to make tough budgetary decisions in order for our government to not be overwhelmed in debt that we will never be able to get out of.
The United States government has gotten too large and expensive to continue on its current path. In order for the budget to be balanced and the national debt to start to be reduced, we Americans are going to have to make sacrifices. People are going to have to take personal responsibility for things they have come to expect the government to handle.
At this point nothing should be off limits with regards to spending cuts. This would include reductions to defense spending, foreign aid, social security etc. This country is drowning in debt and work needs to begin immediately to prevent our country from becoming a second class country.
The United States is a great country with great people. It's time to focus on ourselves to make sure we continue to be a great country otherwise we will end of like many European countries who used to be great but now rely on the United States to lead.
The United States government has gotten too large and expensive to continue on its current path. In order for the budget to be balanced and the national debt to start to be reduced, we Americans are going to have to make sacrifices. People are going to have to take personal responsibility for things they have come to expect the government to handle.
At this point nothing should be off limits with regards to spending cuts. This would include reductions to defense spending, foreign aid, social security etc. This country is drowning in debt and work needs to begin immediately to prevent our country from becoming a second class country.
The United States is a great country with great people. It's time to focus on ourselves to make sure we continue to be a great country otherwise we will end of like many European countries who used to be great but now rely on the United States to lead.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Thoughts on Steve Bartman
I get tired of hearing Bartman jokes relating to the Cubs and their supposed curse. Let's see if I can try and set the record straight about Steve Bartman.
It is possible that Moises Alou could have gotten to the foul ball but no one will ever know for sure. I think Bartman should have been called for interference on the play. Since Bartman wasn't called for interference, he did not cause the Cubs' shortstop Alex Gonzalez to commit a costly error a few minutes later. Bartman did not cause Mark Prior from losing his composure and start giving up hit after hit after hit. Bartman didn't cause the Cubs manager Dusty Baker or the pitching coach to do nothing to stop the bleeding in that inning until it was too late. Bartman didn't cause Kerry Wood from having over 100 pitches in the 5th inning in the following game or from poor managing of the pitching staff by Dusty Baker in that game as well.
I believe that a pattern developed during game 6 and 7 of the 2003 NLCS. That pattern was poor play by the players and bad managing and coaching by Dusty Baker and his staff. It's time to understand this and stop giving Steve Bartman so much grief about that game because it wasn't his fault that the Cubs lost. All of the media hacks and meatball fans who blame Bartman should stop blaming him and move on because the jokes aren't funny.
It is possible that Moises Alou could have gotten to the foul ball but no one will ever know for sure. I think Bartman should have been called for interference on the play. Since Bartman wasn't called for interference, he did not cause the Cubs' shortstop Alex Gonzalez to commit a costly error a few minutes later. Bartman did not cause Mark Prior from losing his composure and start giving up hit after hit after hit. Bartman didn't cause the Cubs manager Dusty Baker or the pitching coach to do nothing to stop the bleeding in that inning until it was too late. Bartman didn't cause Kerry Wood from having over 100 pitches in the 5th inning in the following game or from poor managing of the pitching staff by Dusty Baker in that game as well.
I believe that a pattern developed during game 6 and 7 of the 2003 NLCS. That pattern was poor play by the players and bad managing and coaching by Dusty Baker and his staff. It's time to understand this and stop giving Steve Bartman so much grief about that game because it wasn't his fault that the Cubs lost. All of the media hacks and meatball fans who blame Bartman should stop blaming him and move on because the jokes aren't funny.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Thoughts on the Sandberg decision.
I hope these will be my final thoughts on this issue but I wont guarantee anything. I feel the Cubs made a major mistake in not retaining Ryne Sandberg in some capacity in their organization. In fact I believe that Jim Hendry really didn't take Sandberg's candidacy for the manager of the Cubs seriously and doesn't want him around.
I have been told that it's time to let it go. I am having a hard time forgiving and forgetting they way the Cubs(my all time favorite sports team) treated Ryne Sandberg(my all time favorite athlete). I feel that Jim Hendry must not like or be jealous of Sandberg to treat him with such disrespect. I get it that the current team may not be the right fit for Sandberg, The team has a lot of holes and parts that do not fit together very well. At the very least he should have been offered the bench coach position. Sandberg is a classy individual who would not be trying to back stab Quade to get the manager's job. Sandberg wants to learn and get better at being a coach and eventually a manager. If that wasn't going to be an option either the team should have at least communicated that he had an option to stay in triple A Iowa and/or be a candidate for the bench coach position when they told him that he would not be the manager of the team.
From all the reports out there, Sandberg found out that he would be welcome back to the organization through the media just like the rest of us. This is not the way to treat you hall of fame player who gave it his all day in and day out, everyday during his playing days. Sandberg has since taken a Triple A job with the Phillies organization and recently was quoted in a story by Columnist Barry Rozner that taking the job was "a lot like coming home". This breaks my heart and I am sure the hearts of many other Cubs fans. Obviously the Cubs didn't treat Sandberg with the feeling that it was home for him.
I have been a defender of Jim Hendry for awhile. He has done many good things for the team. That being said the he has made a mess of this situation as well as the rest of the team that he has built. The new owner should take notice and terminate him. The Ricketts family also should have handled this situation better but they left the baseball decision to the only baseball person on the staff and that was Jim Hendry who screwed it up.
The Cubs hall of fame icon has been treated very poorly by the team. We Cubs fans may never again see him in a Cubs uniform because of the way he was treated. I am sure I am speaking for many Cubs fans when I wish Sandberg the best of luck and he will be missed.
I have been told that it's time to let it go. I am having a hard time forgiving and forgetting they way the Cubs(my all time favorite sports team) treated Ryne Sandberg(my all time favorite athlete). I feel that Jim Hendry must not like or be jealous of Sandberg to treat him with such disrespect. I get it that the current team may not be the right fit for Sandberg, The team has a lot of holes and parts that do not fit together very well. At the very least he should have been offered the bench coach position. Sandberg is a classy individual who would not be trying to back stab Quade to get the manager's job. Sandberg wants to learn and get better at being a coach and eventually a manager. If that wasn't going to be an option either the team should have at least communicated that he had an option to stay in triple A Iowa and/or be a candidate for the bench coach position when they told him that he would not be the manager of the team.
From all the reports out there, Sandberg found out that he would be welcome back to the organization through the media just like the rest of us. This is not the way to treat you hall of fame player who gave it his all day in and day out, everyday during his playing days. Sandberg has since taken a Triple A job with the Phillies organization and recently was quoted in a story by Columnist Barry Rozner that taking the job was "a lot like coming home". This breaks my heart and I am sure the hearts of many other Cubs fans. Obviously the Cubs didn't treat Sandberg with the feeling that it was home for him.
I have been a defender of Jim Hendry for awhile. He has done many good things for the team. That being said the he has made a mess of this situation as well as the rest of the team that he has built. The new owner should take notice and terminate him. The Ricketts family also should have handled this situation better but they left the baseball decision to the only baseball person on the staff and that was Jim Hendry who screwed it up.
The Cubs hall of fame icon has been treated very poorly by the team. We Cubs fans may never again see him in a Cubs uniform because of the way he was treated. I am sure I am speaking for many Cubs fans when I wish Sandberg the best of luck and he will be missed.
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