Wrigley North: Alive and Well
Wow! Just got back from Milwaukee after another great outing by Dempster and hours away from a chance to get a four-game sweep on the road.
But what I was most excited about was the Cub supporters at Miller Park. Just a phenomenal atmosphere when the team gives us something to cheer for, and we let loose. W signs, jerseys everywhere (including a rare Corey Patterson replica in loge level) and all the camaraderie you’d expect to find at Wrigley. Made me wish I was down amongst them instead of up at a private Gehl Club outing where only about half of us were actually invested in the game.
Still, I had the privilege of sitting next to one of the old guard- a Cub fan since his birth in 1923. Anyone who remembers the last time the Cubs were in the World Series and whose heart still beats for a repeat trip earns my respect. We had a great time talking about the current season, past seasons, Tuesday’s minor league game at Wrigley as well as Bears football at Clark and Addison (while I am a Packer fan, the concept of that is just fascinating).
Thankfully, the walk back to the car necessitated me getting out of the club seating and mingling with the commoners… by that time, mostly Cub fans. While it seemed like we just filed out when I went in Chicago, here we were loud and boisterous, with high-fives, chants and even a lusty rendition of “Go, Cubs, Go.” While the comfort of Miller Park is no match for the raw power of Wrigley, I actually enjoyed this game more, mostly due to my fellow fans. While the Brewer faithful are at least making it fifty-fifty at the start of the game, once the Cubs start dominating, it’s clear that the concept of Wrigley North is very much alive and thriving.
Blackout?! Blackout?!
Since when have they been blacking out WGN when the Cubs and Sox play local teams? They can’t even turn to ESPNews or something.
Bet they’re getting great ratings for that. But now I’m stuck with the Brewer broadcasters again. Can we get a congressional investigation on this or something?
Cubs vs. Brewers- Game One
I’m as much of a big picture fan as you’ll find, so you know it’s a big deal when I’m falling for the hype of this series. In particular, it’s hard to convince myself that last night’s win didn’t count for more. To hell with it- it did mean something bigger. Since the break, the Brewers had set it up so that CC Sabathia would lead off the series, stymie the Cubs the way he had with St. Louis and his other victims, and get things started on a high note. And he gets out-pitched by Ted Lilly. Lilly, while holding his end of the rotation just fine for the last couple years with only momentary flashes of greatness or bar sign-itis (wherein the subject gets lit up every night), seems like yesterday’s news compared to CC, Z and Harden. For everything we did poorly yesterday, and with our bullpen still clinging together by a piece of scotch tape (fine… Irish tape), we threw out our number three pitcher and won a game against their number one.
General consensus among Milwaukee fans is that the Brewers threw the game away. Hard not to argue with that. Heck, it’s almost literal. They also question Yost sticking with Rickie Weeks over Ray Durham. I suppose that’s a legitimate gripe- not in the level of, say, playing Felix Pie over Reed Johnson or Good Jim Edmonds though. Of course, no acknowledging Soriano ripping on Sabathia in two at bats, Johnson’s great slide to break up the double play and force Weeks’s error or Lee’s clutch double in the ninth off their closer. So I suppose we have to play on and make sure there’s no doubt that the Cubs are winning these games more than the Brewers are losing them.
Getting Hot In Here
…and now Marmol’s closing. Wonderful.
So we had a little offensive slump. It happens. We’ve learned that our starting pitching is ridiculous, Kevin Hart can just stay in Iowa for good, and millions of detractors are wondering how Kerry Wood’s going to turn a blister into a two month DL stint. Other than that… whatever, right? A 2-4 road trip’s not a disaster. And hey! We actually beat Florida this year! All right!
What do you mean the Brewers are on an eight game winning streak?
*looks over shoulder* Oh crap.
I guarantee that last week’s road trip wouldn’t seem nearly as problematic if the Brewers weren’t in invincible mode right now. But the lead’s down to one game, with a huge series in Milwaukee (I’ll be lounging in Miller Park’s Gehl Club Wednesday night) and those pesky Marlins in town to serve as a trap series. Milwaukee (the team, the fans, the whole damn city) is exploding right now and it’s tough to listen to all that while setting our sights on Florida. But nothing’s more essential. Reports are that Miller Park’s going to be 50/50 again (I’m already dreading the 7th inning stretch singalong shouting match) and our best starters (everyone but Marquis) are in line to pitch. Honestly, I see the series splitting right down the middle. So while we’re at home with a 100% supportive crowd, let’s ignore the beer seeping down from upstairs and beat up on Florida. Win 3/4 or sweep and we might even get a game back or something.
Remember- it’s not all bad news. I admit that I groaned when I heard about Braun’s go-ahead homer Thursday night, but then I saw it on the news and the sight of all those distraught Cardinal fans made me feel a lot better.
Marmol Aid
I swear to God, my first thought when Marmol came on in the ninth was “good call: even if he struggles again, he’s not giving up 5.” Can somebody acknowledge that Carlos Marmol is a disaster right now? He’s been having problems since the Tampa Bay series and we’re at the point where we can no longer put him in low-pressure situations to work his kinks out. This was a great place to use him and he turned this game into an Agatha Christie story: you know, where the delightful party turns into a nerve-wracking murder investigation. What made it worse was that Marshall made it look so easy in the extra frames (you sure Marshall couldn’t have relieved in the ninth? He’s been a starter, long man and lefty specalist this year- why not closer?). Hate to say it, but suddenly the best place for Marmol to right the ship might be Iowa.
That’s a bit more jarring than sending down someone like Michael Wuertz. Heck, the only thing that caught me by surprise with Wuertz’s demotion was that he still had options left. But it has to be done. It’s not like we’ll miss Marmol in his current state: Howry’s pitching well, Eyre’s coming back soon and there’s also that Gaudin guy who stowed away with Rich Harden. Between them, somebody’s bound to pick up the slack.
Incidentally, there were all sorts of bad omens in that game- Wood mysteriously unavailable, Lou using the bullpen very liberally in prior innings (presumably to get everybody some action before the break), the lack of offense after the fourth inning. Yet, once the top of the 9th did end with the score tied, did anybody think that the Cubs would actually lose that game? Drawn-out extra inning affair maybe, but lose? That’s how special this season’s been.
Quick Trade Musings Before LaRussa’s Hangover Wears Off
This is what I get for taking a day off to enjoy real life instead of posting about the Sabathia trade. Now the Cubs have Rich Harden and I have twice as much ground to cover. I’ll try to make this fast.
Honestly, I’m taking a Jayson Stark approach to this: yes, it’s exciting that the Brewers landed C.C. Sabathia. Yes, it’s a big, bold move for a franchise that had long been sellers (not that that was entirely bad; they made out like bandits on that Richie Sexson trade a few years back). Yes, most Brewer fans thinks the NL Central is theirs on a platter, even after the Cubs got Harden. But whether it’s McClung or Bush or Suppan (briefly) that gets bumped from the rotation, the big hubbub spells at most three or four extra wins. Team’s still gotta hit, team’s still gotta close games out. Three or four more wins can make the difference, but one injury can swing it back. Same goes for Harden- Brewers raised the pot, Cubs called… we still have to see the cards. And beat the Cards, for that matter. Two trades does not magically send St. Louis into last place. Cincinnati, maybe, but not St. Louis.
Haven’t gotten a whiff of reaction from the bosses on Harden (it was “NL Central on a platter” regarding CC), but general buzz seems to dismiss Harden as a sloppy copycat move. That of course is nowhere near accurate… at least the sloppy part. Hendry’s lips are sealed on the copycat part, but it was a good trade. Harden is an upgrade from Gallagher and I can’t imagine us missing Patterson a whole lot. Wish I could have seen Donaldson when I went to a Peoria game last month, but Ryno gave him the day off (incidentally, his backup, Mario Mercedes, threw out four baserunners trying to advance on a steal, wild pitch or outfielder’s throw home- kid’s got an arm).
Finally, happy trails to Matt Murton. I’ve always liked him and I’m glad to see him get the opportunity he deserves, even with another team. It’s clear that with Soraino and Fukudome locked up for a few years, there’s no room for another corner outfielder here, so we all knew Murton’s biggest function was to be trade bait to land somebody like Rich Harden. Well done, Red- with your help, we landed the big one.
Portrait of a Brewer Fan’s Anguish
It was a slow day at the office Thursday. Right before the holiday, the phones were quiet and half the staff had started the long weekend early. The boss and I were the only ones left at 5:30, and even then ready to jump the gun on closing shop. Jim’s a die-hard Brewer fan, and a good one at that. As any good fan would, he had Milwaukee’s finale against the Diamondbacks on his radio. With nothing better to do, he came in to “kindly” inform me that despite facing Brandon Webb, the Brewers led 5-0 in the 9th. Yes, Arizona was putting a few men on base, but not to worry- Salomon Torres was always available to close and Gagne was unsuccessful at ruining everything after pitching a clean eighth.
With just as much nothing to do, I found an excuse to stroll into his office as the bases were loaded with no outs and a D-Back counter-move put a lefty specialist against Chad Tracy. Our hypothetical discussion on whether this would qualify as a save situation was interrupted by a three-run double. Suddenly, Jim was not in such a good mood. And nothing was peeling my ears from this train wreck.
Torres came in, and by now this was definitely a save situation. Then came a single to right- Tracy held at third despite Jim’s insistence that he run himself into an out. I kindly explained the Arizona Third Base Coach’s mentality- Tracy didn’t matter; the guy on first did. The fun continued with a double. By this point, the blood had drained from Jim’s face, he had tensed up and grew increasingly impatient waiting for MLB.com’s Gameday to catch up with the radio. This had now turned into an observational experiment- marveling at the sudden increase in Jim’s blood pressure… and the poise Bob Uecker kept throught it all. I’d ask if you could imagine Ron Santo covering a disaster like this, but we’ve all heard it before and it ain’t pretty.
Conor Jackson finished it off with a 2-run single and the D-Backs came back from a 5-0 deficit without recording a single out in the ninth. Jim heard it on the radio just as I did, waited for Gameday to confirm that it wasn’t just a bad dream, and I pretended to be diplomatic and reassured him that it happens to the best teams and they’ll just have to get it back the next day. And then returned to my desk, smiling in sadistic glee as the weekend started on a high note.
Please Remain Seated and Fasten Seatbelts
When historians look back on this 2008 season, they are unlikely to make much note of this series against Baltimore. In the end, Cubs lose a home series 2-1. It wasn’t a sweep, it wasn’t against a division rival, and it was in June. Not quite that dramatic five-gamer against St. Louis in September of ’03.
But after such incredible success at home, the Orioles series, even the win, is unsettling. The injuries to Johnson and Fukudome on top of Soriano’s hand. Patterson’s boneheaded play on Tuesday that gave Baltimore three runs in what proved to be a two-run game. The eerie silence after that game when we’ve gotten so accustomed to hearing our song. It’s only one game, but it felt so wrong. Even the win Wednesday was marred by a lot of men left on base. While a three-run game is hardly dramatic, it felt like it should have been a blowout and it wasn’t.
Today? It’s not a good sign when the only reason I listened to the entire game was in hope that Lou would let DeRosa pitch the ninth. You get the feeling he would have been better than Marquis. It’s a scary time of the season right now. There’s no indication that the Cubs will crash and burn- St. Louis and Milwaukee have tough interleague opponents and may not gain too much ground, even if the Cubs only go 5-5 or something on the road trip. And Zambrano and Soriano don’t look like they’ll be gone that long. But even if the dream continues and the plane lands safely into October, this kind of turbulence is not fun.
The Four Greatest Words
Since August of last year, the four greatest words for a Cubs fan to hear, besides “Cubs Win! Cubs Win!”
“Now Pitching: Scott Linebrink”
My boss, ardent Brewers fan that he is, refuses to acknowledge that he played for Milwaukee last year.
Cubbie Swagger On The Homefront
Much has been said about Lou’s efforts to instill a “Cubbie swagger” in his team- the notion that the team is here to win ballgames, will play with confidence for nine innings, to be underestimated at your peril. Clearly, he’s done that. It’s hard to make a rational argument that their success is a fluke.
I can’t speak for ‘da locals, but that swagger should extend to Cub fans living in enemy territory as well. Our love for the franchise may be unconditional, but we have the responsiblity to make clear that we expect this kind of winning baseball. Excited as we may be inside, outside we must control ourselves and pretend that these guys are just doing their jobs. Nothing more.
Such an incident came up this afternoon at the office. Early last year, our inventory manager constantly made sure I was aware of the standings, particularly Milwaukee’s place atop it. No swagger there- just all out astonishment that his team was in first and an urge to make sure everyone knew it. We all know what happened. Today, as I was walking by, he casually mentioned “Cubs doing good, huh?” Without even turning to him, I just nodded, said, “Yup,” and moved on. Swagger.
He chuckled to himself, forced to respect a calm, business-like demeanor. He’ll be getting no unbound excitement from me until the magic number is 0. At which point, of course, I’ll let it rip.
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