Chicago Cubs

When the 2009 MLB season comes to a close, the Chicago Cubs have announced that they will shop starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano in hopes of swinging a trade and dumping much of his monstrous contract. The question is, should the Mets be interested in the massive right-hander?

Continue reading "Cubs Say They Will Shop Zambrano"

and He Does Not Deserve Induction into the HOF

The New York Times reported last week that former Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa was on a list of 103 players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003.

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When you take a deep look at the six division leaders as of Monday, June 8, each team has had at least one key name player out of the lineup. 

Beginning in the American League, obviously, the New York Yankees had Alex Rodriguez out all of April and much of May. In the Central, Detroit’s Jeremy Bonderman has had a rough road coming back, and star player Miguel Cabrera, who I believe is a future Hall-of-Famer, is currently nursing a hamstring injury. 

Continue reading "Mets playing well despite key injuries"

The one player who I can safely say isn't juicing is Ryan Theriot of the Chicago Cubs. He's thin and French. The guy plays by hustling. He's old-school. Besides "The Riot," everyone else is injecting their buddy in the buttocks.

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(Note: originally posted on February 25.)

Each year, prior to the start of the MLB season, I use a unique mathematical system (one that I will not get into, because it's boring) to project the performance of every player and team. This season, in lieu of their significant offseason additions, I expected the Yankees to come out on top. Surprisingly, my expectations were wrong...

Continue reading "MLB Preseason Predictions: Regular ..."

young first baseman with a veteran's poise and mindset, and Blake is a versatile vet at third.

3-Chicago Cubs: 1B-Derrek Lee, 2B-Aaron Miles, 3B-Aramis Ramirez, SS-Ryan Theriot, and C-Geovany Soto.

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Infields"

With the MLB playoffs set to begin, there is a subtle difference in the air compared to start of any other postseason. In the NHL, fans can potentially look forward to a great Canadians/Bruins series that is not only exciting, but has a historical kick to it. Likewise basketball fans always have the chance to see if the Suns can finally get past the Spurs and football fans love seeing the rivalry of the Eagles Vs the City of Philadelphia when the Eagles so much as get tackled for a loss.

Continue reading "The Ups and Downs of the MLB Playoffs"

On a day when Brett Farve looked damn good in a Jets' uniform, Tom Brady may have torn his ACL, a Kyle Orton-led Chicago Bears team crushed the Colts, Kurt Warner led the Cardinals to a win, Donovon McNabb threw for 361 yards in an easy Eagles' win, and the Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills looked dominant, the Jacksonville Jaguar's preseason sluggishness was confirmed in a troubling 17-10 loss to its division rival and nemesis-in-the-making, Tennessee Titans. It was the second straight season Tennessee handed Jacksonville a season-opening loss. The effort came after former Broncos all-pro Tight End Shannon Sharp predicted the Jags would win the Super Bowl this year. Though an opening loss is no reason to panic, much work is left to be done and gaps left to be filled. 

Continue reading "Jags Lose on Eventful Opening Weekend"

I'm sorry I haven't been on here rigorously for some time. Life has caught up with me so to speak. I got a job at the local office supply store, I'm back in school, and so it pains me that my love affair with the Chicago National League Ballclub has been almost on hold.

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I know I'm supposed to blog about the Jacksonville Jaguars, but I couldn't resist on this one. 

Admit it, though: Most of you laughed when you read this title. In fact, I laughed when Ryan Dempster predicted a World Series win at the beginning of the year. Well, I assure you, he has made me a believer. 

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A few relatively minor items to cover with the moves made by a few teams recently. What might they mean in the second half? I’ll try and puzzle this out.

Tony Clark, who experienced a career resurgence the day he put on an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform back in 2005, hs returned to the cozy confines of Chase Field. Petco, where hitting a homer is as hard as hitting the lottery, wasn’t as kind to the aging Clark as Chase has been, so he’ll certainly improve on his 2008 line of .239/.374/.307. His 32:19 K:BB ratio, as well as hs 165-point difference between BA and OBP, will tell you his batting eye is fine, and some power should follow.

Continue reading "Roster Tinkering: What's it Mean?"

It’s the annual midpoint of the baseball season, and for the brief span that is the All-Star break, all eyes are upon the Bronx. As everyone is well aware of, this campaign is the last go around for the world’s most famous, largest, and most prominent ballpark, Yankee Stadium. It seems hard to believe, and even more sacrilegious that this living legend’s days are numbered. Built in 1923 and christened by the greatest ballplayer to ever live, Babe Ruth, the cathedral of baseball will never truly be replaced. Although the Bombers will move a block to Yankee Stadium’s heir, the Mecca of America’s Pastime will still live on in our hearts. Whether you’re a diehard Yankee fan, or Yankee-hater, you still can respect the history and awe that the stadium brings. So when the All-Stars take the field Tuesday night, sit back on your couch, crack open a cold one and soak up the history of Yankee Stadium, as its final chapter is unveiled to all of us.

Continue reading "National League Looks to End Rut"

One of the All-Star Break traditions: Reassessing our predictions from the first half of the season. Some of mine have changed, some have stayed the same—and some were just damn wrong. Living in the West, I will take the contrarian position and roll from west to east in my choices.

Continue reading "Second Half Predictions"

The other big trade that happened recently was the Cubs’ acquisition of the oft-injured Rich Harden from Oakland. This move is typical of Oakland’s business model, which involves shedding young stars before they get too expensive, often in exchange for other young or undervalued stars. In this way, they’re similar to the Florida Marlins, except that the Marlins tend to load up for concentrated runs at the championship (they have as many championships in the last decade as big-market Boston, and more than the Cubs have in the past hundred years), while the A’s tend towards consistent competitiveness.

Continue reading "NL Central Trade Analysis, Part Two"

Still playing ketchup here, trying to make up for a four-day absence from the blog, so I want to start with the big trade of last week, the CC Sabathia swap. The usefulness of this deal to the Brewers is a little dubious, as CC is likely to be a half-season rental, but let’s break it down:

Continue reading "NL Central Trade Analysis, Part One"

It’s been three days since the Cubs acquired former Oakland ace Rich Harden, and those three days have shown a lot about the club. Harden has said he couldn’t be happier in pinstripes and has so far looked like a good fit in the clubhouse. He instantly has formed a sort of kinship with fellow British Columbian Ryan Dempster, and has received the praise of pitching coach Larry Rothschild. Like fellow former American Leaguer stud pitcher “CC” Sabathia, Harden has been place right in the middle of the Senior Circuit’s best race so far. With the Central’s big three clubs separated by less than five games, the division could go either way. For the Cubs, Rich Harden will be a key piece in taking their second consecutive title away from Sabathia’s Brewers. Sabathia was acquired a mere 24 hours before Harden, but by no means is Harden any less of a pitcher despite being the consensus second best available pitcher.

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"It's not a game, it's an arms race" - Kanye West and Fallout Boy belt this hook over and over again on a recent hit with that same title. In that context, Kanye and the Fallout Boy guys are referring to the battle of musical artists not only surviving in a competitive worldwide market, but one with hindrances around every music sharing online ripping program. While that's an issue for another day and another blogsite, it's relevance is crucial when talking about the current state of Major League baseball and the National Basketball Association.

Continue reading "From the NBA to MLB, the Arms Race Has Begun"

The Cubs wrapped up a key road trip on Sunday in St. Louis, and signs of an end to a slight June swoon may be developing. After winning the series with the arch rival Cardinals, a series that should have definitely been a sweep, the health of ballclub is rising.

Continue reading "Healthy Cubs are Dangerous Cubs"

Geovany Soto C – Chicago Cubs

Soto has shown that not only is he by far the best hitting Rookie Catcher since Mike Piazza, but a team leader as well. He catches for a club who has faced some adversity with the pitching staff, the arm troubles of ace Carlos Zambrano, the suddenly human Carlos Marmol, and the lefty without a command and a big league address, Rich Hill. But despite the strenuous measures that the Puerto Rican rookie has endured so far, his poise has kept him as a producer. He’s on pace for around 25 homers, 100 runs driven in and over 40 doubles. That is a stellar season for any catcher, not one of a 25 year old rookie.

Continue reading "Mic's National League All-Star Team"

nbsp; Those burning questions are running through minds of fans of all teams, including our beloved Chicago Cubs.

Jim Hendry's is rumored to be going after C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Coco Crisp. Those three potential tradable players are an interesting trio.  Burnett has all but courted the Cubs himself, and Coco Crisp is a moveable piece in Boston with the ability to play centerfield on the North Side. But do we need another Kerry Woodesque, injury prone, has-been in Burnett? No. Do we still need a lefthanded centerfielder in Crisp? No, Edmonds has shown that there is still plenty of tread left on the tires. So with the recent arm trouble of the heart of the ballclub, Carlos Zambrano, there is no way we should not throw everything we have at Cleveland for  pitcher C.C. Sabathia. Sabathia would be a huge acquisition for the boys in blue, and could be reminiscent of a trade that brought a certain someone from Cleveland in 1984 for Joe Carter. C.C has won the Cy Young, he's started games for the US National Team, he's won playoff games, and he's only turning 28 years old this month. He is a guy we can piece together with Zambrano, and finally give Z some protection. Lilly has been solid, but is he a cemented ace or #2 guy? No. Having Big Z and Big C.C. going back to back would be deadly. Carlos is the power throwing righty with the fierce demeanor, and C.C. is the cool, calm, competitive lefty that is as poised as anyone. It would be our own variant of Drysdale-Koufax, and Schilling-Johnson.

Continue reading "Cubs Crave Sabathia"

All right. Are you ready for this? As the All-Star break approaches, the Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in baseball. That’s right. At 49-32, they’re a half-game ahead of Boston, the Cubs, and Anaheim. Whoa. Is this one of the signs of the apocalypse?

Continue reading "Hold On To Your Hats"

How about that Jim Edmonds? Jimmy Ballgame. Jimmy Baseball. The Man, the Myth, the rival swapping Legend that is Jim Patrick Edmonds. Just a mere nine months ago he was a villain, walking through the halls of the nemesis kingdom that is St. Louis. I find it hard to believe that we've adopted him as our own, but I'm at peace with it, and you should be too.

Continue reading "It's Time to Accept Jim Edmonds"

Two huge injury developments last night--one to one of the best all-around hitters in the game, and the other to an outfielder who's been red-hot the past few weeks. Both injuries should have big implications to their teams, one likely more than the other, and to the NL Central.

Continue reading "Bittten by the Injury Bug"

One of my other writing gigs is at The Asian Reporter, where I write reviews, features, and a monthly column on Asian-American sports issues. Each spring, I write a preview about the prominent Asian major leauge baseball players, and that preview has grown considerably. This past year, I gave up trying to chronicle all of the probable Asian players and concentrated on the most prominent ones instead.

Continue reading "Japanese Rookies of the Year"

 HOUSTON DEFEATS CUBS 5-3 ON A CARLOS LEE HOME RUN AS HOUSTON TAKES SERIES

After the Cubs went 8-2 on their latest home stand which made their record at home 19-8, it seems as if they forgot how to play anywhere else.  After losing to the Astros 5-3 and losing the series, the Cubs find themselves 9-11 away from the friendly Confines.  If a team wants to find themselves in the post-season, they need to win the big games on the road.  In a series that had playoff atmosphere, both teams were out to make statements.  The Astros were louder than the Cubs according to Shawn Chaccon, who got the decision in the victory.  "One message the Cubs might get out of it is, 'We're here. We're here to compete. We're going to battle,'" Chacon said. "'It's not the team it was last year. Basically, it's going to be a tough team to beat the whole year.'"

Continue reading "After winning at home, Cubs continue ..."

The Reds went all homer-happy over the Cubs last night, and Edinson Volquez twirled a gem on the mound, leading the Reds commentators and Steve Phillips on ESPN to go all gushy on them, proclaiming the future is now and they're gonna take the NL Central. Is this the case?

Continue reading "Here Come the Reds! (Really?)"

After another game where stranding base-runners has become a common theme, what Lou Piniella had the right words to sum up the Cubs recent slide, "Like I told my guys after the ballgame, make the other team beat you, don't just give it to them," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "You play like that and you're going to lose quite a few of them, or most of them. Anyway, it's over with. Done."

Continue reading "Cubs lose 5-3 after having bases-loaded with 1 out"

After the Cubs had one of their best records in April in 1969, the start of May is starting to resemble the collapse towards of the season in 1969.  In one their toughest weeks this season, nothing looked pretty as the Cubs just won two out six against there NL Central rivals the Brewers and the Cardinals.  In a week that could have seperated them from everyone else in the divison, the Cubs are now looking up towards the Cardinals who now have a 1 1/2 lead over the Cubs.  Lets quickly recap this horrible week the Cubs have endured.

Continue reading "Rough Week for Cubs spells Rough Road Ahead"

For many baseball fans, last night wasn't a great night to watch baseball, as blowouts predominated early on. But, because of the beautiful game that is baseball, only three of them continued in their lopsided fashion, with the best of them highlighted by a homer from Micah Owings, the best-hitting pitcher in baseball, whom teammate Conor Jackson said had the "best pop" of anyone on the team. And all of them showed something about the winning and losing teams, proving that any baseball game is worth watching, even when it doesn't seem exciting.

Continue reading "The Night of the Blowouts"

Here are the biggest questions which will play a factor in the season for each team.

Chicago Cubs

Can Kerry Wood stay healthy in the bullpen?

After watching Wood miss significant time due to injuries each of the last four seasons, it seems obvious that he is not going to make it as a full time starter and stay healthy. So now the Cubs are attempting to move him to the bullpen in an attempt to get a full season out of him. When he has been healthy, he is nothing short of dominant and pitching only one inning at a time, he should really be able to let it fly. So far in Spring Training the initial reports look good.

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: NL Central"

Time to move on from the rough and tough NL East and we head into the middle of the country and into the weakest (and saddest) division in baseball.  It should be fun though, however bad the baseball might be.  This race is wide open with four or five teams that could honestly win this division.  The NL Central has many newcomers to the division and has some very important people spread throughout the six teams.  But I will discuss that later on.  First, the team-by-team breakdowns.

Continue reading "Part II: NL Central"

  Chicago Cubs pitcher Jason Marquis is competing for the final two spots in the starting rotation.  If he does not make the rotation, he would probably end up in bullpen.  In his first start during spring training he went 2 innings, gave up 2 runs, both earned, along with 3 hits.  However, it wasn't his arm that hurt his chances of winning a spot in the rotation.  Rather it was his mouth.  Jason Marquis does not feel he should be competing for a starting job.  He said he signed as a Cub because he thought he would be guaranteed a starter every year.  "That's my ultimate goal, that's how I think I help the team the most. Obviously, we'll see what happens when it's time for them to make their decision," Marquis told reporters.  Marquis was asked how he would feel if he did not make the rotation and ended up in the bullpen. he replied, " As much as I want to be here in Chicago, and I love it, I love the fans and the stadium, I also have a family to worry about, too.  I could take my services elsewhere if that's the case, and I could help another team in that capacity as a starter. My value doesn't lie in the bullpen in my mind."

Continue reading "To Start or To Not to Start: Marquis Sounds off"

As the Cubs open up their first spring training game on Thursday against the San Francisco Giants, there are three stories we should look at while this game is going on.  These will also be the stories throughout spring training.

Continue reading "What to Watch For"

If you are reading this title, your heart probably sank and it has shattered all the chances of the Cubs making it to the World Series.  Put away those tissues and turn that frown around because good old Zambrano is not hurt, but in perfect health.  But will he stay that way?  Below, I have posted my top ten predictions on what will happen during the Cubs season.  If any of these do happen you wish would not happen, please do no send me hate mail.  Enjoy!

Continue reading "Carlos Zambrano Injured!!!"

After having 120 different lineups last season,  Sweet Lou Piniella wants to find the right combination during spring training.  His latest idea is probably one of the best he has came up with since juggling everyone around.  Lou suggested Fukudome would bat third, followed by Lee and Ramirez.  The whole lineup would probably look like this:  Soriano, Theirot, Fukudome, Lee, Ramirez, Derosa, Soto, and Pie.  It is a great combination of speed at the top and power in the middle.  "I've been thinking about our lineup and what makes sense and what we can try," Piniella said Friday. "Let me warn you, it's only Feb. 22, so there's plenty of time to adjust this thing."

Continue reading "POTENTIAL 3,4,5 HITTERS: FUKUDOME, LEE, RAMIREZ"

ona(4) LA Dodgers(5) San Francisco Giants

WILD CARD

San Diego Padres

PLAYOFF PICTURE

NLDS

Chicago Cubs defeat Colorado

Mets defeat Padres

ALDS

Cleveland defeats Boston

Detroit defats Angels

Continue reading "2008 Baseball Preview: Final Standings"

is a season where the impossible turns into the possible.  Just listen to Ryan Dempster of the Chicago Cubs make a bold prediction, “I think we are going to win the World Series. I really do.”  Great, just what a Cubs fans need to hear, another prediction. 

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