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 hasn't been the greatest week for Cubs manager Lou Piniella. Not only is he feeling the heat of the Chicago media with the Cubs scuffling, but he's also gotten into an argument with Milton Bradley in which he called his right fielder a "piece of [expletive]." Regardless of whether the exchange should have ever left the clubhouse or not, it's not exactly the type of thing you want the world to know about.
All of this was done after a recent poll by Sports Illustrated in which Major League players were asked anonymously which manager in baseball they would least like to play for, and which one they'd most like to play for. Guess which one Sweet Lou emerged "victorious" in.
The White Sox and Cubs finished up their three-game series at U.S. Cellular Field on Sunday with a 6-0 White Sox victory that came complete with another Carlos Zambrano meltdown to put the finishing touches on a very ugly weekend for the Cubs. Of course, never wanting to actually talk about what the real problems are with the team, when talking about the team's lackluster play as of late manager ,Lou Piniella started talking about how the Cubs are helping the economy.
He talked of the team playing in front of three sellout crowds during the week in Detroit and how they helped fill all the seats on the South Side of Chicago over the weekend. Well, you can't expect Lou to make a subtle dig at the White Sox attendance numbers without Ozzie Guillen getting in a response, can you?
The "Battle For The Best Third Place Team in Chicago," also known as the Crosstown Rivalry, will come to an end for the 2009 season on Sunday, but that doesn't mean there won't be any lingering issues between the two teams.
Though the Windy City rivals have split the first two games of this series, which has been pretty entertaining to watch, the big story was and still is the argument between Lou Piniella and Milton Bradley on Friday.
Piniella sent Bradley home early on Friday after calling him a "piece of [naughty word]" in the visitor's clubhouse. According to both of them they've hugged out their differences, and now the Cubs seem to be turning their anger towards the White Sox. Particularly Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who wants to know who's been snitching.
I guess the Milton Bradley haters are all going to be basking in all their glory now. According to a report on Chicagosports.com, Bradley was taking out some frustration on the Gatorade cooler in the Cubs dugout when approached by his manager, Lou Piniella. Apparently the two exchanged "angry words" and Bradley was removed from the game.
In news much more disconcerting, though, Bradley was seen in street clothes leaving the stadium and is now gone from the premises. You might recall Sammy Sosa left Wrigley Field during the last game of the 2004 season and it was the last time he ever played for the Cubs. The Bradley situation will obviously conclude differently, because the Cubs signed him to a three-year contract this offseason and likely can't get a good return on him via trade.
Greinke took the loss Wednesday as Kansas City fell 12-5 to Arizona, allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings.
And since Greinke went 8-1 in his first 10 starts he has gone winless in four straight starts. Over his past 26 innings, he has given up 31 hits and 20 runs (five of them unearned).
It's been an interesting week for Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano. Last we saw the volatile ace he was throwing an umpire out of a game, hurling a baseball into the outfield and absolutely obliterating a Gatorade machine in the dugout. The Gatorade machine has since been laid to rest in Chicago and Zambrano earned himself a six-game suspension and a fine for his antics.
More importantly for Zambrano, however, his latest outburst has gained him some criticism in Chicago. While his outbursts have generally been pretty entertaining over the years, the debate has now turned to whether or not Zambrano is hurting himself and his team more than he's helped them with his emotional exorcisms. So there's no doubt that his latest mistake isn't going to help matters much, as Zambrano wasn't on the team flight to Atlanta on Monday and nobody is sure why.
Rookie Randy Wells, right, held the Braves hitless for 6 2/3 innings and took a 5-0 lead into the eighth inning.
It got a little dicey after that, but with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Chicago was up 5-3 with no one on base. Then Kevin Gregg (5.24 ERA) struck out Garret Anderson -- except the third strike got past catcher Geovany Soto and to the backstop, so Anderson reached first. And two batters later, Jeff Francoeur hit his first homer since May 1 to tie the game.
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.
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. 
It hasn't been the greatest week for Cubs manager 
The White Sox and Cubs finished up their three-game series at U.S. Cellular Field on Sunday with a 6-0 White Sox victory that came complete with another 
The "Battle For The Best Third Place Team in Chicago," also known as the Crosstown Rivalry, will come to an end for the 2009 season on Sunday, but that doesn't mean there won't be any lingering issues between the two teams. 
I guess the 
Starting Five
It's been an interesting week for 
Starting Five
After the Cubs finally broke their crippling eight-game losing streak Tuesday, they made a 
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.
