At the age of three i could name all the baseball teams by just looking at their logo. My dad would turn the ball game on, and he and I would sit at the sofa together and watch some baseball. It was a great bonding ritual that we had that I will never forget.

My dad was a Cubs fan so naturally I was one too. The only pride a Cubs fan has is Wrigley Field. Dubbed the ‘Friendly Confines” by Ernie Banks, Wrigley Field has attracted many baseball fans and tourists alike. But this article isn’t about the Cubs or their park. This article is about Comisky Park (now U.S. Cellular Field). More specifically, it’s about the team that plays in that field.

I was raised to dislike the Sox because I was a Cubs fan. (And, for the record, I never really got that you should hate a team “just because”, but it’s just the way it goes.)  I just love watching sports, and any team or person that plays with integrity, heart, and soul I like. Well, I was able to go to some Sox games this year and to tell you the truth, I never had anything against the White Sox. I was happy for them when they won the World Series in 2005. I didn’t know much about Ozzie Guillen, but I already liked him. His interviews are the best, he never says anything he wouldn’t tell his players first, and his knowledge of the game, though it might be different than others, is brilliant. He is a very underrated manager that gets his players to play their best. Nowadays that is a great achievement.

I also enjoy watching the Sox more than the Cubs.

There is something you get form the Cubs..Oh yeah! Overpriced busts. The Sox, on the other hand, just look they are having fun playing the sport they love, while the Cubs look like they know they are playing bad. The Cubs players never look like they are having fun. Maybe because this year has been one bad thing after another, but they do have a job that millions would kill to have. It looks like they don’t respect that honor.

I think the upbeat attitude of the Sox players comes from the way they are managed. I will say that Ozzie is a way better manager than Lou. Lou looks like he wants out, and has finally realized that the Cubs are just a bunch of loonies. Sox players have one thing Cubs players don’t have: respect for their manager. Sox players love Ozzie, and it shows in the way they play the game.

I am a fan of teams that play well, respect their manager and the game, have upbeat attitudes, and that give the love back to the fans. Any team that does all that, I am a fan of…and the Sox fit every category

Geovany Soto will now be on the DL due to a left oblique strain he suffered during batting practice Wednesday. Soto will be the 13th person that the Cubs have had to put on the DL this season. There are now questions about who will be the backup to Koyie Hill, who started Friday and will start most of the games while Soto is out.

Jake Fox is currently the backup, but Lou said they are looking outside the organization to add depth at the position.. Mark Johnson is the catcher in Iowa that has Major League experience, but he is on the DL so that doesn’t seem like a logical answer. Steve Clevenger is another catcher, but he is new to the job after being converted from shortstop. Chris Robinson, who they got from Detroit and is currently in Iowa, looks like to be the most logical internal answer.

The Cubs’ season has been nothing but disappointment, and they can’t seem to get away from injuries. A day after activating Aramis Ramirez, Reed Johnson, and Angel Guzman off the DL, the Cubs had to put Ryan Dempster on the 15-day DL due to a broken toe. Believe it or not, the Cubs are not totally out of the division race. Before Friday the Cubs stand just 3.5 games out of first place. Even though the Cubs are not out of it, there is no “This is the Year” feeling.

Lou Pinella said that there is really nothing you can do about injuries, and while that is true, players can still be careful what they do. The Cubs might not win the World Series this year, but this year is not a total loss. This a learning year for the Cubs and their management. The Cubs should learn from the Milton Bradley signing. Never sign a player who is not a proven player. Bradley has never played the whole season, he has had only one good year, and he has had problems with previous players and coaches.

What the Cubs have never had was a great farm system. Very rarely do the Cubs have a rising star. The only one I can think of is Randy Wells. Most of their first round draft picks have been busts (like Prior due to injury, or like Felix Pie due to lack of production), or they have never made it to the big leagues. With all these problems the Cubs need an overhaul. The only way to get better is to trade away some guys, and recruit potential All Stars. They need to stay away from players that get hurt. (Rich Harden and Bradley come to mind.)

Another huge problem are the fans. One year when Dusty Baker was managing the team the Cubs were playing the last home stand, were 20 game out of first, and they still managed to get 40,000 to show up. Even worse was when the Cubs came back to win the game in the 9th, the fans went insane like they were playing in the World Series. Cubs fans seem to be living in there own little baseball world. If no fans showed up maybe the team would do something different, but no matter how bad the Cubs do they always sell out at Wrigley.

Until things change, the Cubs will continue to go nowhere in the next few years.

* – Lou Piniella photo credit: AP Photo/Paul Connors via Sports Maven

If you just want to listen to the podcast and skip my mumbo-jumbo below, here is the link. Click it to play with your browser audio player or right-click and download the mp3. (And don’t worry, it’s free, for those of you have asked.)

• Midwest Sports Fans podcast featuring Rick Telander

Update: The Midwest Sports Fans podcast is now available via iTunes.

On Monday afternoon I had the great pleasure of conducting the first ever Midwest Sports Fans podcast, and I could not have been more excited to be joined by a guy I grew up reading and watching: Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times. With almost 40 years in sports media, plus a successful college football career and 8 books on his resume, Rick’s diverse knowledge, experience, and perspective on a wide range of sports is nearly unparalleled by anyone else in his profession.

And contrary to what Bo Schembechler or anyone else might say, Rick is decidedly not a loser. You don’t write a seminal book about the issues plaguing major college athletics, one that was years ahead of its time, if you are a loser. You also don’t write Barack Obama’s (and many others’) favorite book about basketball, “Heaven is a Playground”, which is preparing to be re-released to celebrate its 35th anniversary, if you are a loser. And, of course, you don’t make the eminently wise choice of the White Sox having a better shot at the 2009 playoffs than the Cubs if you are loser.

Rick has always been a guy who has galvanized strong reactions on both sides of his opinions because he is not afraid to speak his mind. He certainly did not disappoint during our wide-ranging conversation in which he tackled the following subjects:

• His unnecessarily controversial (and apparently widely unread) post in which he dared to mention Ryan Theriot’s name in the same sentence as steroids. (He takes nothing back, by the way.)
• His thoughts on bloggers, the proliferation of blogs as a relevant and powerful source of information, and the effect this has had on the newspaper industry.
• Journalism, and why it is not close to being dead even if newspapers may be.
• How the picture to the right shows just how many similarities there are between bloggers and mainstream writers, all of whom must face the intimidation of the blank screen in their quest for quality.
• His book “The Hundred Yard Lie” and its relevance two decades later.
• The ups and downs of the White Sox and Cubs and the roles that Ozzie Guillen and Lou Piniella play in their respective clubhouses.
• His astute prediction (highlighted by a beautiful Hawk Harrelson interlude courtesy of KVB) on which Chicago baseball team has a better chance at making the playoffs.
• The enormous expectations being placed on new Bears QB Jay Cutler.
• The “gift from God” that was his experience immersing himself in New York City basketball to write “Heaven is a Playground” 35 years ago.
• The genesis and current status of his love affair with music and his band Del Crustaceans.

A few quick highlights:

On the reaction to his article about Ryan Theriot:

“If you are in a tainted game, there is something to be said for that. If you want be in a bar, there’s a chance you might be drunk. And that’s what baseball is, and when I spoke to Theriot about this after a lot of people misread the story, which they love to do, and started screaming all over “Rick Telander says Ryan Theriot’s using steroids,” well, come on clowns, I can’t help you read. And if you don’t get nuance, and satire, and you can’t pick out the truth in between all that stuff, well then I can’t help you. But when I did talk to Theriot, even he understood what was going on.”

On whether there is a difference in what topics are fair game between mainstream media writers who have access and bloggers who do not:

“The truth is the truth, and in this country, we write opinions, and if we can no longer write opinions, because, say, for instance, you and I interview Obama’s cabinet, so therefore if you haven’t talked to him, you can’t have an opinion about our President? Well that leads to chaos and other nonsense. On the other hand, I think we do need to be careful and we do need to realize we are dealing with human beings.

And so I didn’t catch all that much flak because, quite honestly, not too many people want to go head-to-head with me in a debate, because I’ll annihilate them and I don’t care who they are. Not many people have been writing about sports in this country for 38 years and have been to five Olympics on three different continents and countless World Series and Super Bowls and NCAA Championships and Masters and the British Open. So if they want to come at me, they better come at me with all their ammo, and they’re not going to have enough.”

In response to a quite by WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg that “journalism is not dead; newspapers are dead.”

“I would say kudos to him for understanding that, and that is absolutely true. If you can’t tell the difference between somebody writing a limerick on a bathroom door, and the poems of Emily Dickinson, well, there is no difference between journalism and just crap. But quality will win out, and true information will win out, and art, and craft. The things beyond just slanderous stuff will rise to the top; I think he’s absolutely right.”

On whether the issues he discussed in “The Hundred Yard Lie” have improved in the 20 years since the book was published:

“They’ve gotten more technological and more devious, but I guarantee you they haven’t gotten better…

…

And ESPN and the other TV networks and the NCAA and the coaches and the boosters, they just keep pushing it and pushing it and pushing it. I just can’t even write about it anymore because it’s that essential thing: people say, “We can’t pay the athletes!” and I say, “Well, why?”

That is just a small taste, and hopefully you’ll take a listen to what was certainly an entertaining discussion to take part in and one that I think you’ll all find interesting and insightful. Once again, here is the link to listen to the podcast:

• Midwest Sports Fans podcast featuring Rick Telander

• Update: The Midwest Sports Fans podcast is now available via iTunes.

We don’t have it set up on iTunes yet, but we’ll be getting it there soon. Our goal is to start bringing you a new podcast every couple of weeks starting out, and then gradually make it a weekly or even twice-weekly feature here on the site. Your comments, good or bad, are appreciated as we tweak the podcast to make them as enjoyable, compelling, and listener-friendly as possible.

I also need to give three huge shout outs.

First, to Cody Dunlap of our sister site Dallas Sports Fans for helping me transcribe the excerpts.

Second, to our very own KVB who edited the raw audio together and ingeniously added the Hawk Harrelson sound bytes to the White Sox discussion. He also made the incredible logo that you see pictured to the right, featuring my pasty whiteness, which keeps in mind an adage that is always true: cut-out heads with no necks are hilarious.

And third, a shout out to another of our very own, Nick Gerlach, whose band The Twin Cats (and their face-melting funk) provided the soothing, melodic saxophone tones you hear in the intro. Song credit:

• “Country Crock”
• The Twin Cats
• Album: United
• http://www.thetwincats.net/

Photo credits:

• Rick Telander headshot credit: Chicago Sun-Times
• Rick Telander sitting at desk credit: RickTelander.com

And finally, I will send you off with the YouTube video that Rick and I discuss at the end of the podcast. It features Rick’s band Del Crustaceans, and their guest soloist Bill Murray, rocking it out to “Hang On Sloopy.” Enjoy:

What this is pretty much stating is that Chicago has the 2 worst managers in the league according to the players. And you can add this to Lou Pinella’s bad week. He has been critized for having lost his “fire”, and was forced to apologize to Milton Bradley. On the other hand, Ozzie Guillen has always been a “different” manager. He has been criticized for some tactial stuff but overall it seems like his players and Sox fans both adore him.

Both teams are underplaying preseason expectation. The Cubs currently have a 36-38 record, and are 4.5 games out of first. The Sox currently have a 39-38 record, and are 4 games out of first. But records don’t seem to have swayed the players who voted. There are plenty of other teams with bad records, but their managers did not make the top 5, not even the Nationals’ manager Manny Acta!

To me this was a huge shocker. I would have never guess Chicago has the 2 least liked managers. I am sure both Cubs and Sox fans will also be shocked.

Lou Piniella told Milton Bradley to go home after Bradley threw his helmet and went after the cooler. Bradley was mad that he flew out in the 6th inning in the first game against the White Sox. Piniella told him to take off his uniform, and the two had an exchange of words in the tunnel leading to the clubhouse.

There was no sign of Bradley getting taken out of the lineup or having to deal with any consequences. Jim Hendry promised that it would never happen again. Bradley has already been suspended once this year for arguing with umpire Larry Vanover over a called strike.

Piniella has apologized for calling Bradley a “piece of expletive”. Bradley accepted the apology, and is glad that the incident is over with. Piniella told him the team can’t deal with his antics, and one day Bradley will hurt someone or himself.

Bradley is not new to getting in scuffs with mangers, umpires, and players. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in 2007 after manger Bud Black spun him to keep him away from umpire Mike Winters. Bradley was suspended twice in the 2004 season. He got a 4-game suspension for throwing balls onto the field after he got ejected. He was also suspended 5 games the same year for slamming water bottles at the feet of a fan after someone in the stands threw it on the field. He also criticized Jeff Kent, saying that Kent was not able to play with black players.

Bradley has been a big flop this year after the Cubs signed him in the offseason for $30 million dollars. Bradley has had one decent year in his career, and his trouble with umpires, mangers, and players always gets in the way of his playing. He has only been a nuisance to teams. It shows when you see that he has been with 7 different teams in 9 years. Teams have shown that they will not deal with him.

So why did the Cubs sign him? Who knows, but let me say it was a bad choice. Bradley is hitting .236 with 5 homeruns and 16 RBIs. His lack of defense has also shown. He sometimes can’t remember how many outs there are, as shown when he threw the ball into the crowd after he caught a fly ball. He thought that catch ended the inning, but it was only the 2nd out.

The Cubs don’t need stuff like this happening when they are already two games under .500, and 3.5 games out of first place. The Cubs need to get back on track if they want any chance to make it to the playoffs.

* – Milton Bradley photo credit: Chicago Sun-Times via Houston Chronicle/AP

1) Yes, I have an agenda. I hate the Chicago Cubs with every fiber of my being.

2) I’m well aware that the Cubs are actually 1/2 game better than the White Sox as I write this. (I’m also aware that the White Sox are 1/2 game closer to first place in their division, so suck it.)

3) I am fully cognizant of the fact that reveling in someone else’s misery is a really lame and pointless exercise that no doubt makes me seem like a jealous twerp with a massive chip on my shoulder.

So be it.

Now that we have that out of the way, it’s time to revel in the continued misery of the underachieving Chicago Cubs and their annoying fans.

Last night when I got home and made my now consistent first move — turning the TV on and immediately changing the channel to the MLB Network — I was met with Matt Dillon look- and sound-alike Greg Amsinger informing us that Cubs pitcher Randy Wells had a no-hitter going through the 6 innings. The Cubs led 3-0 at the time and it looked like they would cruise to a much needed victory over the Braves.

However, Chipper Jones broke up the no-no with two outs in the 7th, and then an inning later – after the Cubs had tacked on two more runs to take a seemingly commanding 5-0 lead — the Braves opened up the floodgates and scored five runs over the next two innings. A few extra innings later Chipper Jones singled home Yunel Escobar for a 6-5 victory.

“With a five-run lead in the eighth inning, it shouldn’t get away,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. “We gave that one to them, with a nice little ribbon.”

Indeed they did. And on a night when my own team was shut out at home against a rookie pitcher, the Cubs’ collapse at least provided me with something to smile about last night.

But when I woke up this morning I found out that there was more!

Not only did the Cubs give up a 5-0 lead to the Braves, but they continue to have problems with their big, raging, doofus of an ace Carlos Zambrano. Big Z, as everyone knows, is currently serving a six-game suspension for acting like a spoiled, demonstrative brat last week.

To make matters worse, reports surfaced late last night from the Chicago Tribune that Zambrano also missed the team flight to Atlanta. This morning in the Trib, it was reported that Piniella and Zambrano met to discuss the issue but that no reason was given for Zambrano missing the team flight. As explained by Paul Sullivan, add this to the litany of Zambrano missteps and the Cubs are beginning to grow weary of Zambrano’s petulance and apparent selfishness:

This isn’t the first time Zambrano has ignored team rules, but the Cubs appear to be wearying of his act. He’s expected to be fined for this latest incident and may be asked to apologize to his teammates.

Last Sept. 2, Zambrano left Wrigley Field during the middle of a game after a poor start and didn’t see his teammates fight back in a 9-7, 11-inning loss to Houston. Management reprimanded him afterward and he seemed contrite. Twelve days later he threw a no-hitter against the Astros at Miller Park in Milwaukee, and all was forgiven.

And that last line, of course, is the reason why the Cubs continue to put up with this nonsense from Zambrano.

Say what you will about him, but no one will dispute that he can be among the top handful of pitchers in baseball when he is focused and throwing the ball at his peak level. However, Carlos Zambrano has a 4.22 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP this season and has won only three games. And since his great four-year stretch from 2003-2006, during which he went 59-32 while never pitching less than 209.2 innings or having an ERA higher than 3.41, Zambrano has not posted an ERA better than 3.91.

The truth of the matter is that if Zambrano is taking the ball and dominating every fifth day, the Cubs have no choice but to put up with his shenanigans. If he is just an average pitcher, then he becomes increasingly detrimental to their chances with every new outburst of controversy he creates.

So, obviously, if I have my druthers, Zambrano will continue to act like a clown, keep pitching like Dave Bush, and the Cubs will stay mired in the middle of the NL Central pack.

Sadly, every story about the Cubs makes national headlines because, for some reason, our nation believes that consistent losing and a tradition of failure somehow warrants love, adoration, and attention. So, for dumbfounded and admittedly jealous White Sox fans like myself, its always nice when that national spotlight shines on the negative.

And come to think of it, with the Cubs, the national spotlight usually shines on something negative. Because, well, they are the Cubs.

What else is there?

Doing so best suits Soriano’s strengths given that he is a power hitter with a poor approach at the plate, which leads to fewer walks and a lower on-base percentage compared to most good leadoff hitters. While on paper it appears to be the best move possible, especially with someone with a higher on-base percentage like Theriot who can hit leadoff, I will do my best to explain why I don’t think this would be the right move as well as how I would construct the Cubs batting order.

Here is a list of 3 OPS listings over a career (OPS is on-base +slugging percentage). One of these is Soriano hitting leadoff, another is Soriano hitting 3rd, and another when Soriano hit 5th in the order:

• .892
• .761
• .824

The .892 is when he hits leadoff and he has over 3,000 ABs hitting leadoff, with 631 ABs hitting 3rd (.761 OPS) and 583 ABs hitting 5th (.824 OPS). He is simply more comfortable and more productive hitting at the top, for whatever reason, than at any other spot in the lineup.

Instead of shifting him down in the order to cater to his strengths, I suggest they cater to his strengths as a leadoff hitter and not chance having him struggle to find his role as a middle of the order hitter. By catering, I am talking about putting some higher on-base guys at the bottom of the order in a similar manner as Tony LaRussa does with the St. Louis Cardinals by hitting the pitcher 8th and having someone with leadoff characteristics hitting 9th (although, Izturis never had those traits for STL last year). To go along with this, I suggest they also adjust the lineup towards fully taking advantage of one of their main objectives of balancing the lineup with left and right handed batters.

This is my ideal lineup based on the current 25 man roster:

Lineup vs. RH’ers:
1 – Soriano-LF
2 – Fontenot-2B
3 – Ramirez-3B
4 – Bradley-RF
5 – Lee-1B
6 – Soto-C
7 – Fukudome-CF
8 – Staring pitcher
9 – Theriot-SS

Lineup vs. LH’ers
1 – Soriano-LF
2 – Johnson-CF
3 – Ramirez-3B
4 – Bradley-RF
5 – Lee-1B
6 – Soto-C
7 – Miles-2B
8 – Starting pitcher
9 – Theriot-SS

These lineups maximize their offensive potential. With that said, these will never be considered by Lou Piniella given that they would involve hitting the pitcher 8th, which is something he is strictly opposed to even considering. These lineups create create solid R/L alternating match-ups, put a high OBP hitter in Theriot in front of Soriano, and shifts more productive hitters like Ramirez and Bradley in more critical spots in the order and in front of less productive hitters like Lee.

The expectations of a team coming off a 97-win season, team MVP being your rookie catcher, and a giant payroll are typically reserved for realists becoming idealists all becoming optimists. Following the Cubs, optimism leads to heartbreak and after an 0-6 stretch in the post-season, there is more pessimism than anything else.

The NL Central is a miserable division as Milwaukee has regressed from a playoff contender with a legit #1 starter in Sabathia and an oft-injured but extremely effective Sheets (as of now), and STL won 86 games in what was likely LaRussa’s best coaching job in his HoF career only to be stalled by a GM/ownership unwilling to make a big splash. Pittsburgh and Cincy are rebuilding and Houston, even with two of the 3 best players in the division in Oswalt and Berkman, are stuck in mediocrity given Houston’s inability to develop from within as well overspending again on veteran FAs.

The pieces are still in place for the Cubs to win the division for a 3rd straight year but from winning, the huge expectations and bitterness are magnified when disappointment occurs. The mindset of a Cubs fan has changed and this is a positive effect of success, although I disagree with fans booing, throwing garbage on the field, racial slurs, and all the other stuff we’ve seen since 2003.

Realistically, the Cubs have the 2nd most talented team in the NL behind the Phillies, despite an off-season that is dependent on another team that will determine whether or not the Cubs will improve or regress into next year because of inflated and back-loaded contracts that have strangled the ‘09 roster.

Players I expect to improve:

Fukudome: (I expect him to hit around .270/.360/.440) 15HRs 35DBs which will suffice in a platoon role in CF.

Hart: I doubt he will end up as the #5 starter as there are several more qualified and talented pitchers ahead of him, but he was awful last year and if they don’t yo-yo him, he can carve out a role as in long-relief and save the back-end of the pen from additional usage.

Gaudin: Another reliever like Hart that will improve from his Cubs’ numbers of last year. One of Lou’s greatest strengths is maximizing bullpen production and given the Cubs’ marginal talent in half of the pen, it will be tested again. Like Hart, they both have the command that will allow them to avoid staying in Lou’s doghouse for any significant period of time

Zambrano: I expect a slight improvement and obviously more IP given that he remains healthy. I doubt we’ll see the same production of 3 years ago when he was a legit #1, and given the wear and tear at such a young age, he should be able to be around 15-16 game winner, 190-200 IP, 3.7ERA. There is a great concern from me that he doesn’t have the stuff to miss as many bats as he once did and maybe would be better off going the Webb or Lowe type of route and revert back to being mainly a heavy FB/sinker type of pitcher first with the breaking ball/splitter as something to keep hitters off-balance rather than an out-pitch.

Tomorrow, I will address which players I feel are likely to repeat what they did in 2008 as well as those who are likely to regress.

P.S. I have more likely to regress next year than improve.

Part of me wants to say that I saw this sweep coming because of the Cubs’ history.

Part of me wants to say that I think Cubs fans brought this sweep upon themselves with their pathetic display of “support” during the first two games in Wrigley.

But for the most part, I just want to say that Cubs were swept in the NLDS by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and I will be cheering and rooting and believing as much as I possibly can in hopes that the same fate does not befall the Chicago White Sox tomorrow night when they face the Rays at U.S. Cellular Field.

I really don’t feel like gloating, or rubbing it in, or publicly reveling in the misery of Cubs Nation. I feel justified in doing so, because sometimes arrogance and holier-than-thou attitudes come back to karmically bite you right in your ass. But honestly, it’s almost too easy at this point. Like I said when I started out this post, what can I say? The Cubs are cursed, their fans didn’t believe in them, and the self-fulfilling prophesy foretold by the lack of energy and support in Wrigley Field came true.

If you’re a Cubs fan, you can’t even say “Wait until next year.” Your “savior” manager Lou Piniella is 0-6 in two postseason series with the Cubs. One of your top offensive players, Alfonso Soriano, is statistically one of the worst posteason hitters in the history of baseball. Your ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano cannot control his emotions enough to deliver in key spots. Your other “great” pitcher Ryan Dempster shit the bed at Wrigley Field, where he had been light’s out all year long. Your emotional center and calm, steadying influence, first baseman Derrek Lee, was forced to express his frustration with bat tosses and helmet slams.

I checked mlb.com and the Tribune website and couldn’t find any quotes yet. Perhaps that is because it still too soon after the game. Or perhaps that is because there is really nothing to say when your franchise, your team, your manager, and your fans deliver one of the all-time postseason choke jobs I have ever witnessed.

Well, I guess you can call me a hypocrite. I started off this post by insinuating that I wouldn’t rub it in, that I didn’t know what to say. Apparently I had plenty to say. But the most significant thing I have to say is this:

The White Sox are down 0-2, the exact same position that the Cubs found themselves in today. I fully expected the Cubs to lose, and based on their actions in Wrigley this week I think the vast majority of Cubs fans expected the same thing. But when the White Sox take the field tomorrow and Monday night (and there will be a Monday night, as well as a Wednesday night) I fully expect them to come out fighting, paws up, and play like they always do when their backs are against the wall: like champions. I haven’t talked to one White Sox fan, even after we went down 0-2, that was not completely confident in the White Sox chances to win this series.

That is the difference between White Sox fans and Cubs fans; not just that we believe in our team, but that we actually have a reason to believe.

When it’s been more than 100 years since you’ve tasted a championship, it’s hard to expect a franchise and its fans to believe.

And yet, something is missing with that statement. Because in 2005, the White Sox hadn’t tasted a championship in 100 years, yet the entire theme that drove us to a World Series win was “don’t stop believing.” Faith is defined is believing without seeing. The White Sox and its fans had faith in their chances to win, without any past experience to dictate that they should to foretell a positive outcome. But faith won us a World Series, and it will take our series against Tampa Bay back to Tropicana Field. We just won three games last week without backs against the wall, and we’re about to do it again. I have faith. I know the rest of the White Sox fans have faith, and will show it tomorrow night and Monday and support their team. And I know that Ozzie Guillen has faith, and that our team has faith.

My question for Cubs fans is: where is your faith? If you’re always waiting to be given a reason to believe, you just may be waiting another 100 years. If you can find a way to believe without seeing, and if the loser franchise you love can do the same, perhaps some season in the future can actually fulfill the cliched prophesy of being that elusive “next year” you’re waiting for.

Otherwise, there’s a big bandwagon of faith down on the South Side with plenty of room for converts. It might be the only chance you’ll have to experience a championship in your lifetime.

(And if you think you can handle it in the early midst of your harrowing sweep hangover, this is what that experience feels like.)

[tags]chicago cubs, chicago white sox, mlb, mlb playoffs, baseball[/tags]

Carlos Zambrano, the emotional ace for the Cubs looked early on as if he was the same pitcher that shut down the Houston Astros in September for the teams’ first no-no since the blue glove of Milt Pappas. But after what would turn out to be a costly miscue from one of the most reliable second basemen in the league (Mark DeRosa’s boot of a routine grounder that kicked out of his glove forcing a wide throw to second), the Dodgers scored their first run of the night and kept rolling from there. After the miscue Zambrano was visibly shaken, jumping up and down shaking his head, and if you looked close enough you could even see his spirit being drained.

“It just got on me good,” DeRosa said of DeWitt’s ball. “He hit it good. It’s probably a play I should’ve taken a little bit more time on. I’m sure he wasn’t out of the box before that ball got to me. I should’ve backed up on it and given Ryan a nice, easy feed.

“We were the best team in a marathon,” Chicago’s Mark DeRosa said. “Now we have to win a sprint.”

The very next play on another potential double play grounder off the bat of Dodger outfielder Casey Blake was knocked down by Cub first baseman and Gold Glove candidate Derrick Lee but was unable to corral the hard hit grounder to load the bases.

“We kicked the ball all over tonight,” Lee said. “I have no explanation for it. We haven’t played well all around. Tonight, I don’t think we gave ourselves much of a chance. We shot ourselves in the foot from the get-go. Tonight was defense.

“I’m not surprised, I’m shocked,” Zambrano said. “We have a good defense.’D-Lee,’ for me, is the best first baseman. He had an error. Also Ramirez. It’s weird. I think it’s the first time you see four people in the infield make an error.

Dodger’s catcher Russell Martin emptied the bases with one of the most crowd quieting doubles that you will ever see to give the Dodgers a heart wrenching 5-0 lead rendering Zambrano to nothing but a shell on the mound.

“I don’t think you can win 97 ballgames playing that way,” said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, whose team clinched the National League Central with a 97-64 mark. “It wasn’t good baseball. In fact, the last two days, they’ve probably been the worst games we’ve played all year from a walking and errors standpoint. It wasn’t fun to watch, I can tell you that.”

The Cubs lost any hope of a comeback in the top of the fifth when Manny Ramirez cracked his second round tripper of the playoffs over Jim Edmonds head and into the basket for a 6-0 lead shattering any hopes of a rally at the friendly confines’

“I can’t explain it,” Jim Edmonds said. “I don’t know — it’s pretty embarrassing. We just haven’t been playing like we normally play. We’ve made some mistakes and when we’ve gotten a guy on, we haven’t moved him over and we haven’t driven anybody in. That’s what you have to do in the playoffs and that’s what good teams do, and we haven’t been good yet.”

After the smoke cleared, Zambrano left the game after the Ramirez homer giving up six runs (four unearned in the second) and seven strikeouts.

The Cubs are hopeful of a game three comeback behind the arm of mid season acquisition Rick Harden, who ironically the Cubs picked up to shore up their rotation for a World Series run. The Cubs are looking to try to avoid a three game sweep (AGAIN!!!!) for the second year in a row.

[tags]chicago cubs, los angeles dodgers, mlb, mlb playoffs, baseball, carlos zambrano, lou piniella[/tags]

Dodger first baseman James Loney silenced the crowd connecting on a 3-2 pitch that sailed over the center field fence for a heartbreaking Grand Slam and a 4-2 lead. The Cubs suffered their seventh straight post season loss as Chicago coach Lou Piniella’s refused to pull the plug on starter Ryan Dempster who had clearly struggled through five innings on the hill.

The Billy Goat, Black Cat, or even Bartman were no excuse for any manager to keep a struggling pitcher on the mound, hoping to dodge bullets from the bats of the lethal Dodger’s lineup. The Cubs danced around a bases loaded third inning before outfielder Andre Eithier struck out to end the threat.

Dempster was on borrowed time all night giving up seven walks through five innings of work and never looking comfortable before Loney put an end to his night, and possibly the Cubs hopes to advance in the playoffs.

“I felt like I really let the guys down today,” said a solemn Dempster in the lock room after the game.

The lone bright spot for the Cubs came with one out in the second inning when Mark DeRosa put the Cubs up with a two run blast off winning pitcher Derek Lowe.

DeRosa, making his return after a calf injury forced him to miss the Cubs final four regular season games came out in grand fashion later came to the aide of his teammate. “You’re surprised by the walks,” Chicago’s Mark DeRosa said. “When you consistently put yourself in jams with walks, eventually somebody’s going to get a knock. That’s just the way the game is. I’m hoping he gets another chance. I want to give him that chance to get on the mound and redeem himself.”

The final dagger in the backs of the Cubs faithful came in the bottom of the ninth inning as Dodger manager Joe Torre trotted out two time Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux to close out the game.

Maddux was welcomed by the still respectful crowd that had remembered Maddux’s career in Chicago, but proceeding to ignore the accolades putting down the Cubbies in order to end the night and give the Dodgers the 1-0 game lead ending the Cubs home field advantage.

Another sidelight came when Alfonso Soriano ended the night going 0 for 5 and walking back to the dugout amidst a chorus of boos. The Cubs send their Ace Carlos Zambrano to the mound tonight in what should be a do or die game for Chicago, and given the hit or miss style of Zambrano, the Cubs might be in for a long night and an even longer off season.

[tags]chicago cubs, los angeles dodgers, lou piniella, mlb, mlb playoffs[/tags]

by Mike Zink

So far the Chicago Cubs have survived the Black Cat scare of 1969, and the dreaded curse of the Billy Goat in 1945. All that is left is to banish the Bartman curse and make it farther into the playoffs then their dreaded history has allowed them since 1908. For Die Hard Cub fans (excluding bandwagon, and fair weather) this is the year (I know, every year is “the year”), but if positive history is to repeat itself
then this really is the year.

If a “died in the wool Cub” fan wanted to prove or back up the facts all he would have to do is dig deep in the history books and see that the last time the Cubs won the whole thing, the team was riding the heels of back-to-back Word Series appearances in 1907-1908 when they handled the Tigers in a five game series four games to one on October 14th 1908. This year is the second season of back-to-back playoff appearances four our beloved Cubs.

The Cubs historic (and almost forgotten) World Series runs ironically
were over the Detroit Tigers and (some guy) named Ty Cobb (ever hear of
him). That season the Cubs were led by pitcher Mordecai “Three Finger”
Brown with 29 wins (record is still untouchable today for Chicago).

Yet another oddity concerning the Billy Goat curse in 1945 was that the
goat was tossed  from a truck and had limped into a nearby
Tavern with a blanket over it with the words “We got Detroit’s Goat”
written on it. The story continues when the bar owner (a Greek
Immigrant) decided to take in a game and brought the limping goat with him.
Ironically the ticket taker told the man the goat could come in (must of
needed fans back then) but would have to buy a ticket. The irate man
turned around and took the goat back to the bar, but before he left had
put a curse on the stadium that apparently is still not broken to this
day.

Other such oddities render the facts inconclusive to this point, but for
instance the 1908 Cubs had a hard core spitting nails player manager
named Frank Chance (Tinker to Evers-to Chance), and this year they have
none other than one of the most fiery personalities since Billy Martin
and Earl Weaver were in charge in “Sweet Lou” Piniella. Another oddity
is that the Home Run Champ back then only left the yard 12 times in the
season while Ryan Howard looks to lay claim to that award this year with
47 round trippers so far (what a difference steroids makes).

Even though the Billy Goat return is probably not going to happen
(unless you buy him a ticket, but why get that started again) the black
cat has seemed to show itself at inopportune times throughout Cubs lore
and has continued to get into the heads of Cubs players as recently (if
you can call 24 years recent) as 1984 when some (we will call him
adoring for right now) crackpot threw a black cat onto the field from
the second tier (hopefully cats have 9 lives) landing in front of Cubs
ace Rick Sutcliff. Fortunately Sutcliff hadn’t hear of the Black Cat
curse (wasn’t born in ‘69) so he went out and pitched, losing his only
game of the season, ending with a 16-1 season and winning the NL Cy Young
Award; but all Cubs fans can remember is that the black cat reared it’s
ugly head again.

The Cubs seem destined to wipe out every curse that has gotten into
the heads of players and managers for the last (eternity) 100 years but still have
a long road in front of them. It looks like the possibility of meeting
the Mets (1969 is a year to forget) is on the horizon, and with pitching
ace Carlos Zambrano (never know who is going to show up) either likely
to pitch a no-hitter, or give up 10 runs the Cubs always unfortuanately
have a load of excuses to drag out, but hopefully as the saying goes
“THIS IS THE YEAR” for long awaited Cub fans who more often than not
went to thier graves uttering the immortal words “THIS IS THE YEAR”.

Here’s to all the Cubs faithful that went on to thier final resting
place in hopes of bringing home a long awaited World Series to the North
side of town. GO CUBS GO!!
-

With only a few days before the calendar turns to September, the likelihood of a White Sox-Cubs World Series is still possible. It is so rare to have both teams in contention for playoff spots this late into the season. Thus, you will have to forgive White Sox and Cubs fans if they jump ahead of themselves a bit and daydream about a Windy City Series.

Who would have the advantage in a South Side-North Side battle? Let’s go to the tale of the tape, knowing what we know right now, for a completely objective, totally unbiased, and unequivocally fair analysis:

[Update: If you do not take the following opinions expressed by our author seriously, perhaps this opinion will sway your thinking.  That's right, none other than our future President agrees wholeheartedly that the White Sox are better than the Cubs.  Just thought you should know.  Now on the with the Tale of the Tape!]

Current Record: Chicago White Sox 74-56 | Chicago Cubs 80-50

Advantage: White Sox.

Now, you may wonder how an analysis claiming to be objective could reach such a conclusion. It’s very simple: The AL is better than the NL. 74 wins in the American League is actually the equivalent of 82 wins in the NL. Don’t believe me? There is plenty of sabermetrics to back me up. Click here Cubs fans…it is verified fact.

Manager: Ozzie Guillen | Lou Piniella

Advantage: White Sox. This is actually pretty easy. Ozzie has won a World Series with his current team during the current decade, while Piniella’s lone title came in 1990 with the Reds. Plus, Ozzie is a much better rapper. No one can understand what the hell he is ever saying, a prerequisite for solid MC’ing.

Stadium: Comiskey Park | Wrigley Field

Follow this undeniable string of logic: Wrigley Field has ivy…the most commonly known form of ivy is poison ivy…the Cubs are cursed (synonym: poisoned) and have not won a World Series in 100 years. Hence, your overrated dump of a stadium is part of the reason for your drought. Comiskey Park (or U.S. Cellular Field, if you must) has shot off fireworks in a World Series game in the last 5 years

Advantage: White Sox…go cry in your beers you dirty Bleacher Bums. Comiskey is the clear winner. Plus, I’d much rather spend time on 35th Street than Wrigleyville, but that’s just the testosterone talking.

Out of Nowhere Star: Carlos Quentin | Geovanny Soto

Let’s see…Carlos Quentin has an OPS of .975, has hit 36 HRs, has 99 RBIs, and is hitting about .800 in clutch situations. I’m exaggerating, but he does have more game-tying or game-winning RBIs from the 7th inning on than any other hitter in baseball. Geovanny Soto has an OPS of .869, has hit 19 HRs and driven in 71 runs while playing a tougher defensive position. But while he gets extra credit for playing catcher, he loses all credit for having this picture on the Internet in which he looks like a lesbian softball player. Come to think of it, are we sure he’s not? Wrigleyville is kinda freaky like that…

Advantage: White Sox

500 Home Run Hitters on Current Roster: Ken Griffey Jr. & Jim Thome | None

Advantage: White Sox (that was easy)

The A.J. Pierzynski Factor: The White Sox have him | The Cubs don’t

Look, A.J. Pierzynski is not a “better” player than Geovanny Soto. He isn’t a great hitter, he won’t wow you with stats, and he has a pretty rag arm. But he is an absolute winner. He made a head’s up play against Tampa Bay this weekend to stay in scoring position and eventually score the winning run, and we all remember what he did against the Angels in the 2005 playoffs. And those are just two examples. A.J. makes clutch plays and is an absolutely indispensible member of the White Sox for the intangibles he brings. Oh, and suck it Michael Barrett. Are you even in the Majors anymore?

Advantage: White Sox

Greatest Player of This Era: Frank Thomas | Sammy Sosa

Another shameless plug for the unnecessarily long and in-depth analysis I did of Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa…but I started this blog so really the whole thing is just one big shameless plug for my drivel. (Writer’s Note: I actually did try to be legitimately objective in that one. Seriously. I promise, and I’m not trying to be sarcastic.) Feel free to waste an hour of your life reading it, or just look at the next line.

Advantage: White Sox

Voice of the Team: Hawk Harrelson | Harry Caray

Hawk Harrelson is the man, and even though Harry Caray is a baseball legend, the fact that Hawk knows what is going on more than 30 percent of the time gives him the tie breaker (though, admittedly, it probably is not much more than 30 percent). Plus, Hawk created the greatest home run call of all time (Yeeessss!), along with coining such incredible nicknames as The Big Hurt, El Caballo, and The Milkman. (Yes, that is actually Herbert Perry. Melvin Mora was apparently too busy thinking about his next steroid injection to help Herbert out.)

And again Cubs fans, before you start whining like you did when I dissed Wrigley Field that Harry Caray is a legend, and the voice of baseball, and blah blah frickin’ blah, remember one thing: He was with the White Sox before he was with you. Just like Sammy Sosa. Seriously, get your own heroes. Stop pilfering from the Superior Side. And Mark Grace sucked. (Thanks a lot for Jon Garland though. I hope you enjoyed Matt Karchner…I’m sure Garland enjoyed winning a World Series.)

Advantage: Way back, it could be, it is…You can put it on the board…White Sox!

World Series Titles During the Lifetime of Anyone Reading This: 1 | 0

Any explanation would just be rubbing it in. But who cares, let’s rub it in anyway. (And anytime you have a chance to diss Cubs fans by showing a World Series parade in Chicago that they will never experience, while also laughing at the cheesiness of Steve Perry, well it’s an opportunity that must be taken.)

Advantage: White Sox.

So there you have it sports fans. Nine categories. All nine in favor of the White Sox. After an unbiased analysis grounded completely in fact it is clear that the Chicago White Sox would have the upper hand in a South Side-Back Side matchup in the World Series.

Besides, it’s really a moot discussion anyway. The Cubs will never make it that far. We all know what you’ll do in the playoffs (if you can make it…)