Earlier this week, I joined up with Andrew Johnson and Will Brinson on the inaugural BaseCast to discuss the Cubs' unbelievably disappointing start to the 2009 season. To conclude the segment, I was asked if the Cubs can get things straightened out and win the division. I said that was an easy answer because of the word choice. Of course they can. Had the question been "will they?" I would have said no.
Just two days later, there are plenty of reasons on the horizon to believe they can head into the All-Star break not only in thick of things in the NL Central, but atop it. Wouldn't that be a weird sight -- seeing the Cubs in first place after such a disastrous first half.
It's a baseball podcast. The math is easy right? BaseCast. Let's rock.
Hey there! It's the initial MLB FanHouse BaseCast. You know you're excited, and frankly, you should be, because it's pretty freaking awesome. In this episode, host tandem Will Brinson and Andrew Johnson (Prez) welcome Matt Snyder and Ed Price into the proverbial fray.
We discuss -- with Snyder -- the Cubs' lack of success, the insane notion of cutting Carlos Zambrano and if a division title is still in the works. Then Ed joins us from Yankee Stadium where we (ironically?) talk about the banged up Mets, the NL East race and whether the Braves plan on making a deadline deal or not.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Sunday was a good day to steal home in the major leagues. With an assist from Carlos Zambrano, who airmailed a pitch to the backstop as Dewayne Wise attempted to suicide squeeze, Chris Getz was credited with a steal of home in the White Sox's 6-0 victory over the crosstown rival Cubs. Zambrano followed by plunking Wise, pushing the oft-heated interleague rivalry close to fisticuffs.
"I got a good jump and pulled it off," Matthews said. "The key was getting a big lead. They're definitely not expecting it with two strikes. If there was a right-handed hitter up there, I wouldn't have even tried."
Each year the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox play six times. Six. Out of 162 total games. Those games aren't any more relevant than six games between the Twins and Cubs or Brewers and White Sox. Of course, there are millions of misguided fans who believe there's a rivalry between the two teams, a notion that is only perpetuated when our President talks about how the White Sox play "real baseball." FanHouse's resident Cubs fan (Matt Snyder) and resident White Sox fan (Tom Fornelli) got together to discuss the aura surrounding what shouldn't be a rivalry.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That journeyman Marco Scutaro is quietly making a bid for the All-Star Game. The Blue Jays shortstop had three more hits in a 9-3 victory over the Royals on Friday. It was Scutaro's eighth multi-hit game in his last 11 games, during which he's hitting .417.
For the season, Scutaro is hitting .302 with a league-leading 45 runs. Discounting Tampa Bay's Jason Bartlett, who is injured, Scutaro is second only to Derek Jeter among AL shortstops in average, homers (five) and RBI (26). Scutaro, 33, is on pace for career highs in all three categories.
He has no chance of outpolling Jeter in fan balloting for the starting spot, so he ought to be campaigning with his fellow players. Players vote for most of the backups, with a few final spots on the teams filled out by the managers, and fans voting for the last spot.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Max Scherzer, the 24-year-old fireballer for the Diamondbacks, has worlds of talent. He also takes a step back every time you think he's finally hitting his groove. This past week, he was a two-start pitcher in the fantasy baseball world. His first start was pure gold (that's gold, Jerry!). He threw 7 shutout innings and struck out 10 before getting chased in the eighth inning -- after allowing a few earned runs. He followed that up with an absolute catastrophe on Sunday. The light-hitting Braves touched him up for 10 hits and 8 earned runs in only 3 2/3 innings.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Remember 'Five Alive,' the juicy blend with five fruits that's fun for all the family? Well, Rick Porcello is a unique blend of rookie flavor who's reeled off five straight victories. You can hardly find that syrupy drink on the shelves anymore, but you can still find Porcello in about 30 percent of Yahoo! leagues. And that's not all there is to like about Porcello. After the jump, it's fun time for all fantasy owners! (sugar rush optional)
Whether you love him or hate him -- and there's likely no middle ground since he's so polarizing -- you have to admit one thing about Carlos Zambrano: He's entertaining as all get out. Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, Zambrano was ejected after a brief stare-down with the home plate umpire, Mark Carlson. After he was tossed, though, were the true fireworks.
CHICAGO -- I'm actually a hopeful guy at heart, confident we'll one day have an economic recovery, peace on earth and better late-night TV from Jimmy Fallon. But my faith in humankind never has extended to the Cubs. Let me lay this out right here: They won't win another World Series in our lifetime or anyone's else, doomed like pork rinds, Vanilla Ice and the last U.S. president as irreversible national debacles.
On a cold, rainy Tuesday, it was Country Music Night at Wrigley Field, the perfect promotion for the saddest ongoing song in sports. Living here, I am sensing more than a smidgen of burnout in Cubdom, a world-weariness that suggests even the most loyal masochists in sports are sick of pledging their entire beings to a cursed cause -- only to be inevitably bludgeoned every autumn. The last two postseason crashes were particularly cruel, both ending in early three-game sweeps when there were legitimate dreams of breaking a championship rut that has reached 101 years and counting.
"It looked like he couldn't cut loose," the scout said.
The scout did say that Zambrano was in midseason form personality-wise, getting in two disputes with the home-plate umpire over calls and being demonstrative on the mound when his Class A teammates failed to make some plays behind him.
Earlier this week, I joined up with Andrew Johnson and Will Brinson on the inaugural BaseCast to discuss the Cubs' unbelievably disappointing start to the 2009 season. To conclude the segment, I was asked if the Cubs can get things straightened out and win the division. I said that was an easy answer because of the word choice. Of course they can. Had the question been "will they?" I would have said no. 
Starting Five
Starting Five
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
CHICAGO -- I'm actually a hopeful guy at heart, confident we'll one day have an economic recovery, peace on earth and better late-night TV from Jimmy Fallon. But my faith in humankind never has extended to the Cubs. Let me lay this out right here: They won't win another World Series in our lifetime or anyone's else, doomed like pork rinds, Vanilla Ice and the last U.S. president as irreversible national debacles.
Carlos Zambrano
