Ervin Olson's Chicago Cubs fan blog

     It may have taken Bill Buckner and the Boston media and fanbase twenty-two years to reconciliate, but that does not mean it has to take that long for Steve Bartman to be welcomed into Wrigley Field again.

     Of course, the fact the Red Sox have won two World Series Title in the last four years probably has something to do with Buckner throwing out the first pitch Tuesday for Opening Day.

     Now, what people forget is that Bill Buckner came back to play for the Red Sox in 1990 and it has been known that Buckner's issue was never with the fans or vice versa but more of with the media of Boston. Buckner has always been associated with costing the Sox the World Series in 1986 with an error in Game Six. When, in fact the game was tied at the time and the Sox even had a lead in Game Seven before losing.

Continue reading "Welcome to Steve Bartman Day"

     The start of the one-hundreth anniversary of the last Cub World Series title did not resemble one of promise but maybe false hope.

     After eight scoreless innings, the game gave way to the two closers and then the bats realized that this game counted.

     There was much speculation if this game would even be played with the sporadic bouts of rain throughout the day coupled with a fog that draped itself over the Chicago skyline. After two rain delays and two ninth innings rallys, the Brewers prevailed 4-3 on a Tony Gwynn Jr. sacrafice fly in the tenth inning.

     Carlos Zambrano and Ben Sheets pitched up to their enormous potential each throwing shutouts for 6 and 2/3 and 6 1/3 respectively before giving way to their bullpens.

Continue reading "Cursed Start?"

     Bodog has set the lines on the upcoming season and there appears to be some easy money to made. Of course, when we are talking about the Cubs and the perceived high expectations....there is no such thing as easy money.

Cubs wins (88)-under

     Why, because the rotation has to many question marks surrounding it and the closer situation should be an area of concern with the uncertainty of Kerry Wood and his durability. Now, it is not to say that the Cubs will not still win the division with less than 88 wins, but that number will be difficult to attain.

Derreck Lee: HR's (32)-under, RBI (85)-over, BA (.289)-over

     The 2005 year was an aberration as far as home runs, but this does not mean that Derreck Lee is still not one of the top hitters in the National League. The past two seasons have been myriad in excuses. If it was a wrist injury or family issues, Lee's numbers have been perceived to be down. It is not out of the realm of expectations that he hits 25 home runs while driving in close to 100 runs and batting in the .310's. Those type of numbers would silence the critics for now.

Continue reading "Bodog: Buy or Sell"

     It is late August, after eight scoreless innings from Jason Marquis against the Philadelphia Phillies in what many consider to be playoff preview. Manager Lou Piniella makes the call to the bullpen and out comes Kerry Wood in a one run game. After twelve electric pitches with the Wrigley Field faithfull roaring, Kid K pumps his fist in celebration after securing the win.

     Now, this is the best case scenario for Marquis, Piniella, Wood and for every Cub fan. Is this a likely scenario that features a brittle Kerry Wood and an erratic Jason Marquis amongst other question marks.

     No, but this is the path that Piniella has taken this team in naming Kerry Wood the closer and Jason Marquis as the fifth starter.

Continue reading "The Scene is Set"

     When the ninth inning rolls around and the Cubs have a three, two or one run lead, who will Lou Piniella call upon to close the deal. There are many canidates for the job and that is not necessarily a good thing. The bullpen is the backbone of any championship team and until this current cast of characters distinguishes themselves, this team will not be any ending any streak of futility.

     Kerry Wood was the apparent leader in the clubhouse until he was scratched today with lower back spasms. This was his first opportunity this spring to pitch in back to back games  and this is example number one as to why Kerry Wood belongs in the sixth or seventh inning role because of his lack of durability. Wood will be re-evaluated on Thursday.

Continue reading "It's Closing Time"

     The dillemma that surrounds Lou Piniella does not appear to be much of a dillema at all. Alfonso Soriano does not belong in the leadoff spot and in fact the same can be said about the two hole. One would think the obvious position in the line-up for Soriano would either be clean up or five because that would open the line-up for Ryan Theriot and Kosuke Fukodome at the top. 

     Soriano's quad injury that has apparently not healed from the end of last season has appeared to continue to hamper his ability to be a threat on the base paths. In his last year in Washington, the all star outfielder stole 41 bases compared to just 19 last year.

     Add to the fact that Soriano has never been concerned with working the count or taking on the responsibilty of a lead off hitter. He could bat one, two, four or five and he would still look for the first fast ball to be thrown his way. Despite what Jim Hendry and the Cubs promised him last year, Soriano belongs in the heart of the order where his power can be used to its full potential.

Continue reading "Moving on down...."

     It is apparent that the Cubs are set on acquiring a center outfielder before the beginning of the season. The prospect of a deal for Baltimore second baseman Brian Roberts are dwindling, so the Cubs have set their sights on another would be leadoff hitter. Boston center fielder Coco Crisp has been rumored to move since the end of last season and it is now likely the Cubs will move in that direction.

     Although Felix Pie has been driving the ball well this spring, the Cubs would still like to see him hit to the opposite field with greater frequentency. If Jim Hendry were to land Crisp, it is likely that either Pie or Sam Fuld would start the season in the minors.

     The Boston Red Sox have plenty of young arms, but the need for a veteran in their rotation could lead to the disgruntled Jason Marquis's exit. This would be a welcomed sign only if Jon Lieber steps up and wins the fifth spot on the staff. Lieber has pitched well this spring and the only question mark is his ability to make 25 to 30 starts. Of course, there is still Sean Marshall who could provide the necessary insurance to make this deal more realistic.

Continue reading "Are you Coo Coo for Coco Crisp?"

     The sixty-four year old manager declared that this would be his last job at least managerial. "Maybe a little consulting job somewhere, but outside of that, no, this will be it managing wise."

     Now, does this necessarily mean that Piniella would not be open to an option in 2010 that would be worth 10 million. "As long as I'm enjoying it, and as long as the club is playing well and ownership group and the front office is satisified, I'm open for discussion."

     This announcement was made before the Cubs played the Seattle Mariners. The vary team he had managed for ten of the more successful seasons in the franchises history.

     In a career that began in 1986 with the team that Piniella had played for in the New York Yankees, then moved on to Cincinnati where he won a World Series in 1990. Sandwiched in between Seattle and his American League record winning 116 games in 2001 to his present team were three non-eventful years in Tampa Bay.

Continue reading "Piniella,"This is my last job.....""

     Alfonso Soriano fractured his right middle finger during fly ball drills. The all star outfielder will miss up to five days while recovering. Soriano was working against the outfield wall when he reached up to make a basic two-handed catch and the ball hit the tip of his finger.

     How this will affect Soriano who was still not one-hundred percent coming into Spring Training from the strained quad that sidelined him for a month last year is unknown. Although, Soriano is not worried but he will still be limited to cardio over the five day span.

     Alfonso Soriano joined Aramis Ramirez, Mark DeRosa, Felix Pie and Jose Ascanio as Cub players who have suffered through a variety of injuries ranging from a sore shoulder, an irregular heartbeat, twisted testicle as well as a victim of a robbery attempt.

Continue reading "Soriano fractures middle finger"

     One just has to ask former Cub catcher Michael Barrett about the emotional ups and downs of Carlos Zambrano. This has been a topic amongst fans and media alike for the last couple of years.

     Some say to leave Big Z alone because it is his emotions that help him be the best he can be and then there are others that say his emotions are what is keeping him from being the best he can be. If one would ask Carlos Zambrano about the issue of his emotions he would tell there is no issue and that his teammates do not have a problem with the emotional rollercoaster that occur every fifth day.

     There is an argument that says Carlos Zambrano is not realizing his potential because of his inability to control his emtions from pitch to pitch.

Continue reading "Harnessing the Bull...."