Milwaukee Brewers

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"

Cub fans, please say thank you to any Milwaukee Brewers fans you may know. Their team is struggling just as much as the Cubs right now. It could have been disastrous if Milwaukee would have gone on a winning streak this week as the Cubs were skidding against the Phillies and Astros. The Cubs still have a cushion in the NL Central, but they need to try to get Zambrano and Harden healthy before they make this final playoff push. Don't panic, the Cubs will be fine. They have a solid line-up all the way through the batting order, and even if they are sluggish, they will get enough wins to enter the 08 playoffs. Sorry this post is short and I haven't posted in a while, but I have been working on numerous websites. I will try to put the Cubs blog first from now on, and trust me, I will be much more talkative once these Cubbies get closer to the playoffs. 

Continue reading "Thanks Milwaukee"

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.

Continue reading "No, not again. Please tell me I'm ..."

(FYI -- All my times are Pacific Time) 

4:02 p.m.

It's Monday, August 4th. The Cubs and Astros are about to face off. The wind is always something to pay attention to at Wrigley....and it looks like it is blowing at around 10-15 mph from right to left field, straight across. Sweet outfits and hair on many of the fans tonight. It's 70s night...

Continue reading "LIVE game talk Cubs-Astros 8/4"

Jim Edmonds had two huge home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. The home runs just added salt to the Brewers' wounds. The Cubs beat the Brewers in games 1 through 4..... 6-4, 7-1, 7-2, and 11-4. The beating the Brewers received from the Chicago Cubs throughout the 4-game sweep hit a nerve. Frustration was obvious in the 9th inning when Eric Gagne of the Brewers threw behind Jim Edmonds on the fourth pitch of the at-bat. 

Continue reading "Brewers....Salty Finish"

it's a big series for the cubs this weeks.  Four games in Milwaukee. And what better way to see what a team is really made of than to start off facing Sabathia and Sheets.  I think it's going to be a hard fought battle on both ends.  It's still July and this series will not make or break either team but it can swing a lot of momentum in one's favor.  The Cubs will have most of there banged up team ready to play except for Kerry Wood.  But with Marmol and the newly brough up Jeff Samardzija, their bullpen should be pretty strong. 

Continue reading "Milwaukee Fest"

If ever there was a sign that the Brewers’ future is now, it’s in their recent acquisition of veteran Ray Durham, who should shore up their leadoff spot, as well as allow Rickie Weeks the time off he sometimes needs when mired in a slump. Since they’ve already gambled their future on C.C. Sabathia—who’s looked amazing so far, winning all three starts and throwing complete games in two of them—it only makes sense for them to do whatever they can to push for the pennant this year.

Continue reading "Brewers Grab Durham"

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"

And probably not your own Braves, either. I watched them boot the ball around last night with a long-time Braves fan; three first-inning errors led to three runs, and they never recovered, losing 4-3, in a game without Chipper and a host of others.

Continue reading "Not Your Daddy's Braves"

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"

     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.

Continue reading "Cursed Start?"

ng his green card in light of the federal investigation, will probably lead to another down year.

Milwaukee Brewers

Can Ben Sheets stay healthy?

Sheets always seems on the verge of becoming one of the best young pitchers in the game when he is healthy, but his seasons always end up broken up by frequent stints on the DL for one thing after another. The Brewers have some young pitchers with tons of potential in Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra as well as some serviceable veterans, but they really need Sheets to become the ace of the rotation and innings eater that he is capable of. Unfortunately it is tough to predict if he is past his injuries as they have so often been the unforeseen and freak variety. With him in the rotation, a middle of the road staff becomes one in the top third of the league, something Milwaukee will need in order to compete with the Cubs.

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: NL Central"

I am thoroughly looking forward to the Hank Steinbrenner Era. It seems he is hell-bent on replacing his father as the most obnoxious loudmouth, know-nothing owner in baseball. After watching the display he put on this winter in the Johan Santana Sweepstakes and his recent comments about the existence of Red Sox Nation, I don’t believe there is a bigger blowhard in sports today. All we need is for him to revive the Billy Martin routine with Joe Girardi, a possibility that may not be that farfetched as it appears Girardi not necessarily that easy to get along with. Little Stein seems to be unpredictable and impatient and not only expects the team to win now, but to do so in spectacular fashion. Earlier this year, Hank implied that general manager Brian Cashman would be on the hot seat if the plan to hold on to their young pitching instead of going all in for Santana didn’t pan out. If Steinbrenner allows his arrogance and impetuousness to take over the organization, I envision a return of the Yankees to the "glory" years of the 1980's when George was the show.

Continue reading "Looking Forward to the Hank Steinbrenner ..."