Mark Derosa

Hi there. i'm gonna make this pretty short about myself, since this is my first blogpost and I would hate to bore you on the first time.

I have been dedicated to the Chicago Cubs since 1984 as a little 3-year-old gal. Since then, the friends I have made are either dedicated White Sox fans or former-Cubs-fans-turned-Sox-fans-cause-they-couldn't-take-losing.

Continue reading "A little about myself, What the Chicago ..."

No "Around the Horn this week".  Maybe I'm done with that, seeing as how the Cubs season is down to a one-game playoff at least 3 times in a row. 

Let's just get this out of the way: the Cubs must win.  Plain and simple.  It is not impossible for the Cubs to go into Los Angeles and take two, bring it back to Chicago, and finally win a game at home.  But there is no chance of that if the Cubs' play does not pick up.  NOW.

Continue reading "Suspending judgment until.... later...."

Let's just get this out of the way: P Carlos Zambrano's no-hitter on Sunday night at Miller Park was brilliant.  Sure, the Astros were tired, worn-down some from Hurricane Ike, and the game was a virtual home game, but you would have a great amount of difficult convincing me that Carlos couldn't do that to any other team in the majors.  His fastball was popping, he's splitter was uber-filthy, and he had every hitter off balance.  THe only time he lost his command has the pitch he plunked OF Hunter Pence with, and the walk to OF Michael Bourne was on three pitches that were extremely close but didn't go Carlos' way.  It is great to see Carlos Zambrano back on the mound, the human buzzsaw of every major league lineup.

Continue reading "A utility-man's appreciation"

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"

It has been a while since my last post, which was bitter to say the least. A month and a half later I can hardly find much to complain about when it comes to the Cubs. They look like the best baseball team in the National League right now (obviously their record doesn't disagree), and after a 7-0 homestand this week, my baseball excitement is at its peak. I can't miss a Cubs game anymore. I make a point to try to watch or listen to every game, and I went to two games during the undefeated homestand. They have just been so entertaining to watch. Their play has been solid all around, and their offense has just been hilarious. Geovany Soto has been incredible, and he looks like he is going to be a legitimate NL all star catcher for years to come in the shadow of Mike Piazza.

Continue reading "Cubs Tearing Up the National League"

I never liked the "Soriano Hop". I never thought it would actually cause him to hurt himself though. I am not a Soriano fan. He's an absolute offensive mammoth when he gets hot, but when he's not hot, he has very little value to this team. And he is a terrible leadoff hitter when he's cold. His on-base is .230. Let's face it: this is one of the worst contracts  in baseball right now, second maybe only to Barry Zito.

Continue reading "Soriano Injures Himself Hopping"

... and nothing overly exciting or positive has happened quite yet. Alfonso Soriano has a broken finger and Mark DeRosa just had heart surgery. Same old, same old.

The whole Soriano thing has been quite bothersome to me. I was jacked up beyond belief when the cubs signed him last year, but like most people, I was mostly let down by him last year. It's hard not to look at that mammoth contract he signed and to think that he is past his prime. He was playing with a bum hamstring last year and his ability to be a base stealing threat was diminished. And now this year, his hamstring supposedly is still not 100%, and now the broken finger. I hate to ask, "What's next?" but I'm sure we'll find that out eventually.

Continue reading "Cubs 2008 Preseason Begins..."

     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.

Continue reading "Soriano fractures middle finger"

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"

     Mark DeRosa, who was hospitalized over the weekend for an irregular heartbeat, may need surgery to get his heart back into rhythm. This is something that has persisted since DeRosa was sixteen. Despite occuring during games and other miscellanous activities, this is not considered life-threatening by any means.

Continue reading "DeRosa not quite in and out...."

Finally, the baseball buzz is heating up here in Chicago. I hate the time between the end of football and the beginning of baseball. Especialy this year. I stopped watching Bulls game over a month ago, for obvious reasons- like their absolute suckage causing my eyes to bleed. And as for the Blackhawks and the NHL (RIP), I have been trying to get back into them this year, and the Hawks look like they have a good future ahead of them, but I'm still not to the point of being a raging hockey follower.

Continue reading "Let Baseball Season Begin Already"