I Give You The Next Cubs Manager: Lou Pinella

I have no idea exactly what to think of this except that he'll be much more entertaining than Dusty Baker.

Please Leave Mr. Hendry.

As of today, Dusty Baker and team president Andy McPhail are no longer Chicago Cubs. That's two of the top three orchestrators of this Cubs debacle. The only one left is GM Jim Hendry. Apparently, he's staying.

Even though he left Baker hanging for over a month in the infamous Chicago wind, while trying to decide to fire Baker or not. Hendry eventually decided to let Baker stay through the rest of the year. I'm sure Baker is so thankful right now. I'm sure these last few months have been blissful for Baker. Baker has taken the brunt of the fan and media criticism. He does deserve some of it. He can handle players egos, but he can't count pitches. He thinks walks are overrated. Walks overrated? In this day and age? He loves giving washed up veterans like Nefi Perez everyday jobs. There are numerous other things he does wrong. Still, it's not all his fault.

Hendry's the one that has given multi-year contracts to these mediocre veterans with the hope of catching lightning in a bottle. He's the one that kept assuming Wood and Prior would be back. 10 year old Cub fans knew better than that. He's the one involved with stocking our farm season. So, who should get the blame that there was not a single first basemen to call up when Derek Lee went down with an injury? Hendry. The Cubs were left with putting a 2nd basemen at first, then a pinch hitter, and finally our second string catcher. Hendry is the one that keeps rolling the dice to try to when one year, rather than plan out an extensive plan in which the Cubs could contend for years. Hendry is the one that has given Baker the players. Andy McPhail fell on his sword after twelve years with the organization. Baker is going to go somewhere and probably win. Mr. Hendry please follow suit, and stop screwing up this organization while you try to save your job. Please leave.

I'd also like to point out that the new team president is the former head of marketing. Marketing! Here's one of the quotes from his introduction:

"Realistically, you want to go into every season thinking you're going to win the World Series," McDonough said. "Our goal is to win the World Series next year and the year after that."

Sigh. How about a five year plan to build from the ground up? How about we build a team rather than the bunch of forced together puzzle pieces? Here's to another 98 years.

Can I say how awful I feel as a Cubs fan right now? I would say I feel even worse now than after Gamer 6. Sure, the 2003 NL Championship series tore my heart out, but it still gave you hope for next year. Now? We just lost 96 games to have the worst record in the National League. Our only reliable pitcher is Zambrano, who's been worked so hard it's only a matter of time till he breaks down. When Pierre leaves, we will once again have no lead-off man. We have no closer. We have a third basemen who only plays well once the games don't matter anymore. Now it seems the Cubs are looking at Lou Pinella for our new manager. Lou Pinella?! Finally, Wrigley Field showcased the wave this year. Ugh. I think I'm going to call in sick.

Ramblings

First things first, I got back from seeing the Black Dahlia. Please avoid this movie. De Palma should be blamed for most of it, but I think some of the blame for this crapfest falls on the guy who adapted a great book into an incoherent mess of a movie. Twice a friend called during the movie and both times I considered walking out and taking the call.

For the last two weeks work has kicked my ass to the curb. I'm exhausted and all I've done is sit at a computer and make phone calls. Usually, it averages out to a few questions a day. Some days will be a little heavy on the research, and some days I won't have a single question. These two weeks it's been research question after research question. It's been so constant I've actually had to delegate some of it out to others. It's been not only pain in the ass hypothetical research, but the kind that gets you entered into the FBI watch list. When I cold call five companies asking how you would siphon jet fuel from a pipeline, I wouldn't be surprised if I was reported to some FBI database. I don't even know why I thought I could sweet talk one of them into giving me an answer. Do the FBI offer bail?

I also had to do a little research on lowriders. After the "Esez!" script, I thought I was finished with lowriders. I was embarrassed I knew most of the answers off the top of my head. That information is taking up some valuable real estate in my memory banks.

Mr. Petty was right. The waiting is the hardest part. Like waiting to see if you get the apartment that is only five minutes from work.

One of the things that irks me about the whole getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden is that we have to wear clothes. Because if I didn't have to wear clothes than I wouldn't have to always do laundry.

There is a report that the Florida Marlins are going to fire their manager, Joe Girardi, after this season is up. I don't know why since he took a bunch of rookies, and had them playing above their heads the last half of the season. I don't want to go into why the Marlins would fire a Manager of the Year candidate. I want to talk about Girardi possibly being hired by the Cubs for next season. Baker's gone on Oct. 2nd, and there's going to be ton of pressure by Chicagoans for the Cubs to hire Girardi. He's a Chicagoan himself and had two stints playing for the Cubs. I have no doubt that Girardi is a fine manager. My point is the players coming up in the Marlins system are clearly better players and better prepared to make the jump to the big leagues than the Cubs young players. Girardi deserves some of that credit, but doesn't the scouts and those who develop the players in the minor leagues deserve a lot of the credit. I think the Cubs problems is deeper than the manager and a couple pitchers who can't stay healthy. The Cubs have drafted top tier talent. They apparently can't develop them like the Marlins can.

It's taken awhile but there are more and more hacks becoming available for the Blogger Beta. One of them is employed above as I've moved my labels up to the top in the form of tabs. You can find the hack here. I suggest using the tweak at the end of the post too if you have a lot of labels. The tweak allows you to select which labels you want to show. Unfortunately, this requires going back and adding a period after every label you don't want to use. My first time through I thought the period was for the ones you wanted to include, so I had to go back and redo everything. Those with a site tracker might have noticed that every time you post you get two to three people trying to put spam in your comments. That's what the word verification is for. Well, reposting all 395 posts twice has rocketed my visit count. I apparently now average 48 visits a day rather than the previous 18.

I've also tried to find a decent "recent comments" hack that doesn't require me going through another blog and a second e-mail address. So I'm stuck just using the consistently inconsistent blogger comments feed. That's why the first comment is from a post back in August. If anyone finds a decent hack let me know.

Don't Anger the Board!

1. Dominic (Dodger Fan) puts a Cubs cursed picture on the board - The Dodgers lose after the Cubs give them a seven run cushion.

2. Dominic removes picture - Dodgers win

3. Dominic puts the 1969 picture of the black cat at Shea Stadium - Dodgers lose again in late innings.

4. Dominic puts a picture of his Miami Dolphins on the board - My Bills shut out his Dolphins at Miami.

5. Dominic removes picture - Dodgers beat Padres by hitting back to back to back to back home runs in the ninth.

Don't Anger the Board.

Ramblings

This is what happens when I read: nothing. I don't play video games. I don't blog. Nothing. A book tends to take over my life when I read it. I honestly considered calling in sick today so I could finish the book. This is one of the reasons I don't read books often. The other is that I read so much during work that I get a little exhausted putting letters together to form words which then form sentences. Anyway, I highly recommend The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno. It's a little mix of Encyclopedia Brown, Royal Tenenbaums, and Eternal Sunshine. It even has a cutout decoder so you can help the boy detective.

I wish some people at work would realize there is a difference between fear and respect when it comes to how you treat someone.

Speaking of work, I'm often asked what my educational background is that prepared me to be a researcher for TV. Here's what you need to do: Barely pass high school chemistry, study up to Algebra II in high school and no higher, get a D in Biology at the college of your choice, and take basic Algebra at the same college. If you can somehow manage all that, you too can research such things as atomic absorption spectrology of tannins in leather. Clearly, I've been bluffing my way through three years on this job.

My fantasy baseball team's lead has dropped from 20 to 6.5. I hope I pull a '05 White Sox and not a '69 Cubs.

On the other hand, the Cubs are currently 58-88. They have to lose 12 of the last 16 games to reach 100 losses. It's completely possible the Cubs could pull that off. I'm almost hoping they do. The Cubs committed 6 errors last night and were down 7 runs and still won the game. That clearly wasted any good karma the Cubs had left this season.

I have been slightly tempted by the 8GB Nano.

I'm very hesitantly excited about the movie "The Black Dahlia." It's adapted from a James Ellroy novel that is definitely in my Top Ten all time favorite books. Ellroy is also in my Top Five of authors. It has a solid cast. I don't even mind Josh Hartnett because he kind of fits the character he plays. Visually it looks good. Then you get to the director, De Palma. When the commercials advertise that this movie is from the director that brought you "Scarface," that's not a good sign. That movie is 23 years old, and you haven't done anything else of note? Please don't suck. Please don't suck.

Who knew Star Wars and Legos would make such an enjoyable video game?

Is it completely absurd that I've seriously considered hiring a maid to clean my studio apartment once a month? Yes, I believe it is.

It turns out the HBO documentary on the Cubs woes is going to be narrated by Dennis Farina. That is so much better than the Red Sox doc being narrated by Ben Affleck, isn't it? Come on! Crime Story, Midnight Run, Out of Sight, etc. The guy was even a real Chicago cop before he became an actor.

It's recently come to my attention that I have cornered the market on slightly inebriated and desperate women in their mid-thirties. One other stipulation is that it must be the first time we've met. From college on the women the meet that criteria have been drawn to me much like a moth to a flame. Unfortunately, they are usually sober the second time I meet them.

A little over fifteen years ago, I once sneezed, belched, and passed gas at the exact same time. It's the most harrowing experience in my life. I'm amazed to this day that I'm still alive.

This seems like a good time to stop.

Ramblings

You may have noticed I changed the template...again. I don't know how long this will last. It will probably change once Blogger has it so you can alter the html on the new Blogger beta. I'm intrigued by the tags you can add, and other things that won't fit in this template. Till Blogger makes html editing available there's this.

This blog has recently passed the 7,000 hit mark. I want to do something for all you regular readers out there, but don't know what. I'm taking any suggestions.

The next book I'm going to read: The Boy Detective Fails.

Why hasn't Rhymefest's debut album "Blue Collar" become a hit? There are at least 4 radio hits on that record. It's received solid reviews. It has Kanye West collaborations. Yet, I still haven't seen a video. The album isn't in the Billboard Top 100. There's been absolutely no radio play. I'm completely baffled by this. Has it simply not been promoted well? It's the second best hip-hop album of the year behind Ghostface Killah's "Fishscale."

Rhymefest - "Devil's Pie"

This past Saturday I woke up at 7:00 am to watch my Tottenham Hotspurs take on Everton. 7:00 am! On a Saturday! Spurs lost 2-0, and yet it still seemed worth it. It's scary how well I've taken to this whole soccer thing. I'm actually bummed that I have to wait two weeks till the next match. I also got my official jersey in the mail today. It's just sheer enough to show off my nipples. Begin your taunts...now.

When I was kid, I once went to a petting zoo or something in South Carolina. It might have been simply a farm that let you pet dirty animals. The point is that there was a goat who clearly didn't like me. Every time I turned my back on him he tried to ram me (mark it). Twice he got me. Once he actually sent me to the ground. I kept trying to avoid him but he'd always find me. I'd go to the other side of the lake thinking I'd lost him, and then "baaaa!" I'd turn around to see that stupid goat charging straight toward me. I've never wanted to kill an animal more in my life, well except for the dog that attacked Anne Marie.

Have you experienced The Sound and The Fury yet? I highly suggest you look, listen, and read.

I was easily persuaded to join some friends for a little fantasy football. I of course missed the draft because of work. It's one of the problems you have when everyone else lives on the east coast. The fantasy football gods shined down on me though. For missing the draft my team isn't that bad...as long as nobody gets hurt.

I saw Invincible, and enjoyed it. It's another solid sports movie. I thinks it's more of an accomplishment to screw up a sports movie. You hear me Oliver Stone?

Apparently, the Afghan Whigs are getting together for four songs that will be on their upcoming retrospective released by Rhino records. I normally would be very hesitant any time a band gets back together to record songs for a "best of." Yet, I'm pretty certain it will work out this time. Why shouldn' t it? It's still Dulli writing songs in the same vein he always has. Maybe they are just reworking some old songs. I guess this means the Sept. release date has been pushed back.

In the debate (?) between loft or house, I've always voted loft. After seeing some of the writer's houses though, I've maybe changed my mind. Naah. Loft.

I saw a promo on HBO for a special about the cursed history of the Cubs. I'm so excited! Soon everyone will as sick of hearing about the Cubs woes as they were about the Red Sox. Ben Affleck narrated HBO's Red Sox special. I've been trying to think who could be Chicago's Ben Affleck. I'll watch this special, but I will feel dirty afterwards.

Are You Kidding Me? The Wave?

This afternoon while watching the Cubs go 8-3 during their homestand, I saw something I had never seen in all my years of watching the Cubs and going to Wrigley. I saw fans participating in one of the top 10 most annoying things about sports...the wave. Even the announcers couldn't recall the last time a wave broke out at Wrigley. What the hell is happening to the best park in baseball? Who is letting in these amateur hour morons into the park? I was actually embarrassed. That's not supposed to happen at Wrigley...ever. In fact "the wave" doesn't belong in baseball either. Here's more.

Ramblings

I think it's now at the point where I'm the one a little scared of the neighbor. She has that whole anger of youth going on, but it's not even that. I think she's a "black widow" in training. I think she has that power to wrap certain men around her finger and have them do her bidding. Luckily, I'm old enough not to be drawn by her web of charm. Still, if I end up on the run for "Body Heat" type crime, you know what happened.

At Bob Jones one of my favorite things was when they tried to explain that when "wine" was mentioned in the Bible it was really grape juice. So Jesus wasn't really drinking alcoholic beverages, and therefore their rules against drinking were Biblical. Did they really expect people to fall for that?

Current Man Crushes:

Denis Leary

















Buster Olney: The next Peter Gammons
















Greg Dulli














As a Cubs fan I think I can speak for all of us: Why can't we play the Cardinals all season? Seriously, how can we suck so bad yet beat the Cardinals (second best team in the NL) 10 out of 13. Also, I realize Itzuris is an upgrade on defense and has some speed, but we couldn't perhaps get a pitching prospect for Maddux? Do we need another player with a long list of injuries? We kind of need pitching. Prior is clearly done, and yes I mean career done. He's mentally shot. You can see it in his face.

For some reason I still get a kick out of this commercial. I wish they would still play this long version.






Would you say Jon Lovitz is overrated or underrated?













I got my retro Tottenham Hotspurs shirt yesterday. The problem was that I was in the shower when it came. I apologize to the old mail carrier lady. Nobody should ever have to see me with my shirt off. The shirt is pretty sweet though. 17 days till the season begins.

I saw Miami Vice over the weekend. It doesn't really come close to "Heat," but it has it's moments. The audience I saw it with clearly hated it. The second the credits rolled the audience started yelling how awful it was. I was rather surprised, and couldn't really figure out why. It was a little slow to get rolling, but it had enough action moments once it started. The story was wafer thin and cliche, but I don't think this audience hated it for that reason. It looked great. I figure they either hated Colin Farrell, or they expected a spoof on the TV show rather than a straight forward reworking. The Farrell story line was pretty awful.

The Movies I'm Looking Forward to in the Fall:

The Black Dahlia: Adapted from Ellroy novel: Plus. Directed by De Palma: ugh minus
Science of Sleep: I like the Gondry
The Departed: ditto Scorsese
The Prestige: ditto Nolan
Invincible: I'm always a sucker for a sports movie.

Ramblings

Please wait till the end of this paragraph to pass judgement.

The World Cup had left a longing in me for more soccer. I can't follow the US soccer teams because they suck. That leaves following soccer overseas. I decided on the English Premiership over the Spanish football league simply because I could understand the cheers and announcers. I also had more knowledge about the Premierships teams than the Spanish. After deciding on a league I needed to choose a team. I narrowed it down to two teams Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. I talked to my brother Sam who lives in London, and asked for any added insight into the teams. He is actually a Liverpool supporter. One of my main concerns is that I didn't want to jump onto a badnwagon. That's one of the reasons Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea were elminated. Liverpool while an underdog for awhile, actually one the cup last year. Supporting them would then be like someone coming and picking the Red Sox. This had me leaning more and more toward Tottenham Hotspur. Here are some other reasons I was leaning toward Tottenham.
1. Great name
2. I look good in navy blue and white (the team colors)
3. Their logo is called the cock and ball. Yes it's juvenile but it's also a cool logo.
4. They are a young team with promise.

The final nail in the coffin though came from Sam. "If you like to support the underdog (as I recall you support the Cubs), you may prefer to back the Hotspurs." That pretty much sealed the deal. So I have no become a Spur supporter.

Now I know what you ESPN.com readers are thinking...copycat. Yes, I realized yesterday that Bill Simmons went through the same process and even narrowed it down to the same two teams. In fact he actually picked the Hotspurs as well. After reading that, I became conflicted about my pick. I seriously considered changing to Liverpool. Eventually, I came to my senses and realized I don't care. No matter what team I picked I would percieved as a bandwagoner. That's why it's difficult to pick a team this late in life. So I'm sticking with Hotspur. Besides, I can't pull off wearing the red which is Liverpool's color. Actually, I'll probably get more flack for deciding to follow soccer.

I once burnt my nose while ironing a shirt.

I'm still leading my fantasy baseball team by double digits, but the pitching that got me there is begining to fall apart.

The Cubs still suck.

This Sunday is The Flaming Lips at the Hollywood Bowl. This will be my first trip to the Hollywood Bowl in the five plus years I've lived out here. Some things just take awhile getting to.

Remember when summer time used to be a great time for movies?

Ramblings

First off, Happy Birthday to my family's own Irish lady, Julie. Our family is so lucky Ben K. married you. With you, some might say our family is actually civil. Thank you for being so patient with us, particularly during the holidays.

The fear of creeping out my neighbor has come to an end. Yesterday as her and her friend left her apartment building she introduced me as the one "cool" neighbor she has. That was nice. I do wonder how I beat out the Dave Baldwin look-a-like. I assume he probably hit on her when he was drunk off his ass, which seems to be every night. She then proceeded to invite me later that night to come over and "smoke a bowl" with her friends. I politely passed. I don't need to sit in a small room with strangers smoking weed.

The greatest album title of the year belongs to the Isley Brothers. They just released an album called..."Baby Makin' Music." Genius.

Earlier this week my Tivo recorded a show on ESPN Classic called Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame Steve Bartman for the Cubs Losing the 2003 NLCS. I've always held that Bartman got the short end of the stick on this matter. There were so many other factors attributing to the Cubs loss that I wish the media would leave this guy alone. It seems every week there's a Bartman reference on Sportscenter. I guess that moment is our Buckner moment, when in actuality the Buckner moment is their Leon Durham moment. Here's the real problem. I thought I could handle watching it. I thought nearly three years was enough time for me to objectively watch the Cubs fall apart. I was so wrong. Five minutes in I was completely depressed. I started fastforwarding the highlights of the game because I couldn't take it. My anger rose every time some Marlin player started talking. What a loser. How long do I have to wait till I can handle this? Will the pain always be there till the Cubs actually win a World Series? Why did I ever become a Cubs fan?

Who do we blame for the come back of the polo shirt with the collars up? Kanye West?

Sportscenter's Make a Wish series + me alone in my apartment = Brad's Bawlfest. Really it's ridiculous. It's like they know exactly what shot is going to spring the waterworks.

Why didn't the boys at 3CT form a team for VH1's World Series of Pop Culture? It would be pure domination if we had a team.

Look we all know Superman would dominate if he played football. I wonder though if he could dominate in baseball. Sure he could probably be a solid power pitcher, but could he hit his spots when he pitches? His bat speed would be phenomenal, but I don't know if he could hit a curve ball or slider. Yes, I'm questioning Superman's hand-eye coordination. I think he could be a solid power hitter in an Adam Dunn kind of way, but I wouldn't guarantee he'd be a lock for the Hall of Fame.

I've been trying to keep this a secret for some time, but I have to let it out. Over a month ago, I caved and bought the Nintendo DS Lite. Sometimes that need to play Mario Kart simply becomes too strong. I'm so weak.

Ramblings

Fourth of July makes me thankful for many things:

I still have all my fingers, both eyes, and most of my hearing.

I didn't burn down the woods or our house.

That I didn't blow off my brother's fingers, eyes, or deafen him.

So I've been getting my fill of the World Cup. It's been fantastic. My problem has been who to cheer for since the US is always out of it. I could cheer for Brazil since my grandparents and aunt and uncle were/are missionaries in Brazil. I still miss the old Brazil T-shirt I had as a kid. But Brazil is also like the Yankees of the World Cup. I can't cheer for the Yankees of the World Cup. Germany was an underdog, so I was slightly intrigued to root for them. But then it's Germany. Which brings up another question: Are there so curses in soccer? Doesn't the Holocaust beat out something like selling Babe Ruth or kicking a goat out of the stadium in things likely to curse a team? Maybe since it's not sports related it doesn't count. But these teams all represent their country. It is Germany against Italy. Maybe each country has had it's own share of atrocities that they all somehow cancel each other out. Anyway, I had a difficult time cheering for Germany. Then there's the whole France thing. There's no way I'm cheering for a France team. No way. I could've gone the Switzerland route since I'm part Swiss. But then they lost to Ukraine. This basically left me with cheering on a game by game basis. I was behind Ghana and Australia as underdogs. They both lost. I wanted Italy, the lesser of former Axis powers, and they won. If Portugal beats France then I'm kind of stuck. I don't know who I'll cheer for in the final match. I guess I'll lean toward the smaller country in terms of square kilometers. That means Portugal! For those non soccer fans, I apologize for this. At least the World Cup only comes around every four years.

Could you imagine if spiders also had wings? They would be unstoppable.

Hmm. The Cubs still suck. They perhaps suck even more than last month. Apparently, nobody on the team can hit left handers. That makes me wonder why teams don't just call up any lefthanders they have to pitch the Cubs all series. They also can't hit the cut off man, smartly run the bases in an aggressive manner, or really do anything well. It seems that Baker is on his way out. There have been some names floating around for who will replace Baker like Lou Piniella, Tom Kelly, Jimy Williams, Gene Lamont and Fredi Gonzalez. I will quit if it ends up being Jimy Williams. Jimy Williams! Are you kidding me? My vote is for Fredi Gonzalez of the Atlanta Braves. Yes, part of the reason is that we would have a manager named Fredi. At least my NL only fantasy team is kicking ass. I probably just cursed them by saying that.

I'm pretty sure that "Ghost Rider" is going to be the movie that kills comic book adaptations. At least it should be the movie that kills comic book adaptations.

Did the Wayans have to buy the story rights to the Bugs Bunny cartoon "Baby Buggy Bunny" to do their movie "Little Man?"

Can they make a First Person Shooter video game that can't be beat in a weekend? I had Call of Duty 2 sitting on my shelf while I was immersed in Oblivion. I cracked it open on Sunday and finished it last night. It's still a solid game with some great moments, but can't they make such a game last a little longer? I don't mean this as bragging. There are plenty of twelve year olds that kick my ass on Xbox live. I'm mediocre at best.

I almost wore shorts the other day, but wisely came to my senses.

To follow up on my fear of creeping out the neighbor, I offer this story. Last week, I was up late last writing till about 3am. I went out to have a cigarette before bed. Sure enough her door opens and she's standing in her underwear letting her boyfriend out. There was that awkward eye contact, and then I quickly scurried away. I can't win.

Now, It's Not Even Funny.

Meet the Kansas City Royals of the National League, yooouuuuur Chicago Cubs. Wow. They really suck! In fact that might be a little harsh associating the Royals with the Cubs right now. The Cubs have lost 12 of their last 13 games. It's become utterly painful to watch them find creative ways to lose. Back in 1997 the Cubs started the season 0-14, that sucked as well but there was a certain comical nature behind it. They trotted out a goat at home games to try to end the losing streak. Back then nothing was really expected. Now? Now, the fans are waiting for something to go wrong so they can boo. The players are doing their best to make those fans happy. From three error innings to back to back wild pitches to stupid base-running blunders, the Cubs have done it all. I have yet to watch a full game since this losing started, it's become that unbearable. It's one thing to watch a team get beat, yet still enjoy watching them because they are still playing the game the right way. To watch your team lose because they don't hit the cut-off man or can't seem to take a pitch is completely different. Now I've had people say they could turn things around once they get Wood and Prior back. Those people aren't Cubs fans. They haven't previously invested their hope in those two for the past four years only to see a trainer walk them off the mound. Others have pointed out that this could get Dusty booted, which has to be a positive. Sure, that could happen, and I wouldn't be opposed to Dusty being sent packing. The problem I've had is that I don't think this is all Dusty's fault. This problem of not drawing walks, baserunning blunders, and damaged talent was a problem before Dusty. So why would it change if he leaves? I think this whole system needs to be restructured from the ground up. Changes need to be made starting at the Chicago Tribune and ending at the batboy for the Mesa Cubs. The Cubs need to stop trying to find pieces, and start building a team. For this season, I'd see if the injury riddled Yankees would like Jacque Jones and or Juan Pierre? Call up Pie. I'd see if the Mets would be interested in Prior for Milledge. See what talent you can get for Aramis Ramirez. Heck, trade Zambrano if the deal's good enough. I don't know what you could get for the three man platoon of Walker, Hairston, and Dusty's man-crush Neifi Perez. Bring up Theriot to play full time. Send Wood to anyone that will take him. Keep Lee and Maddux to show the kids how to play. In fact I'd sign Maddux for what ever contract he wants as long as he promises to become the pitching coach once he's finished pitching. I still think Terry Pendleton deserves a shot at managing. Then bring in Mark Grace as the voice of the franchise and the batting coach.

This of course means there will be a couple years of the young kids learning the ropes, which means some losing seasons. But here's part of my point. The Cubs have the money to keep the young players that play well. They don't have to trade them like the Royals or the Marlins. This will give the fans some stability, and they don't have to watch the revolving door of right fielders. It's a drastic change that will never happen, but I can dream can't I? It's better than watching the nightmare on the field.

The Lone Bright Spot

"You're a Cubs fan?"
"Yeah. That's why I don't date. I have enough pain in my life."

As predicted, the Cubs offense has vanished now that Lee is on the DL. During their last six games, do you know how many runs the Cubs have scored? Four! Four runs in the six games combined. In three of those six games the Cubs have been shutout. One of those shutouts even went to 11 innings. The most runs the Cubs have scored in one game during this six game span? Two! The miraculous thing is they won that game. Why did they win that game? Sean Marshall. Out of nowhere this season, a bit of sunshine has poked through. Marshall is a rookie who got a chance during spring training. Before then he had never pitched above AA. Now the big left hander along with old man Maddux have at least kept the Cubs in games. In Marshall's last four starts he has given up only 11 hits and 4 ER through a little over 25 innings. His ERA is a measly 1.42. He was never really touted as a top prospect, yet here he is. Why has he been successful? I think it's poise...and a really nasty curveball. Prior used to have that poise till Alou threw a tantrum in that certain playoff game in 2003. Wood has never had it, or at least never consistently had it. Now there's talk of him being the odd man out when Wood and Prior come back. Whaaat? Of course he's not going to keep up this ridiculous pace. He is still a rookie. He hasn't exactly faced power line-ups. I still think he's deserved to be locked into the rotation. Scouts often talk about players having "it." Well, Marshall has "it."

Of course I realize he's going to suck now that I posted about him.

Ramblings (Hiatus Edition)

When I agree to work over hiatus I expect it to be easy going and relaxing. This past week has proven to be anything but that. This of course means I'm now really behind on the show bible. And I mean really behind.

Hey look the Cub's hitters are pressing. That or Dusty has implemented a clubhouse rule that requires them to see only 3 pitches at the most per at bat. Where would we be without old man Maddux and the kid Marshall? I know many will say that Prior and Wood will be coming back soon, but come on. I think it's best if the Cubs look at Prior and Wood as gravy. If they come back and pitch well, great, but don't plan on it actually happening.

A couple Twilight Singers items: First of all, emusic.com has a bonus track available for free download. I really like the track. They haven't rocked this hard on a chorus in some time. In fact it's one of the few tracks that sound like their concerts. They always rock their songs a little harder live, and that's how this track sounds to me. Secondly, Youtube.com has become a daily minefield of goodness. There are 25 music videos and live performances by the Afghan Whigs/Twilight Singers on there. Some of them are even from The Afghan Whigs really early stuff that I haven't seen in ages. There's tons of other great sports and music stuff on there you just have to search for it.

Ladies, is your boyfriend/husband's birthday coming up? Perhaps your anniversary is in the near future? Maybe you are getting married soon and want something special for that special night? Let me offer this advice. All those embarrassing unmentionables your friends got you that one weekend that you still can't really remember what happened? Toss them out. That frilly and lacy crap stores keep trying to pawn off on you is worthless as well. All you need is this:
And if it's his, all the better. This came out much racier than I intended. I just wanted to say there is something very attractive about a woman in a white oxford shirt. I apologize.

For those wondering if you should buy MLB: The Show or MLB 2K6, the answer is MLB: The Show. 2K6 is awful. More on this later.

My next big week is the second to last week of June. Lucha Vavoom is returning to the Myan! FlavaD and I got ringside tickets this time. We are going on the 20th if you are in town, and want to see one of the greatest spectacles in your life. Also, after Nacho Libre hits the multiplexes that same month, it's gonna blow up! The next night. I have tickets for the Twilight Singers concert. I haven't had a back to back night of genius like this since…I had a girlfriend. That sounds dirty too. I didn't mean it that way.

Has anyone seen the Wes Anderson American Express commercial?

Finally, I stole this idea from Kerri. This is perhaps one of the most nerdish ways to be pompous, but screw it. I made a quiz about myself too. I also don't think its half bad. 90 percent of the answers I believe can be found in this blog, but study ahead of time people. No cheating. We are on the honor system here. Take the quiz here.

&#%&$#^*%*~#*%$@*&%!

I knew I shouldn't have gone to the game. I sat on my couch tonight and turned on ESPN. Two minutes later the ticker scrolled that Lee had fractured two bones in his wrist and will be out 8 weeks. I know people are going to try to be upbeat about this, but it's not going to work out. Lee is the heart and soul of this team. He's the MVP at the plate and on the field. What would people say about the Cardinals if Pujols went down for 8 weeks.?If it was a fractured leg or something I could see him returning and having a decent finish to the season. This is the wrist we are talking about. It might be out of a cast in 6 weeks, but how long till it completely heals. There aren't many players that have returned to form after a broken wrist. Griffey in Seattle was the only one Bob could come up with. So, that's it. I'm not saying we won't play decent, but we aren't playoff bound. Not with this lineup. Not without Lee. Even in this mediocre NL my hopes are somewhat shot. I think that's the problem. Watching the team play early in the year, got my hopes up. They were playing solid ball, and scoring runs without the HR. Now everyone is going to overcompensate. Now we have to rely on Walker as our defensive 1B. This is the same Walker we were begging for someone to take because of his shoddy defense. Man, this blows. I know you non-sports fans don't comprehend, but this sucks. I'm not the only one that feels this way.

Oh What a Night! Mid of April back in 2006.

That was perhaps one of the more interesting baseball games I've gone to. It started off innocently enough with me getting some nice seats in the Lodge level behind home plate. Cub's rookie Marshall pitched well for a rookie. He struggled with control the first few innings and gave up a two run bomb in the second. The Cubs scrapped out a run in the first. Then the whole night went kind of haywire.

The point of change all happened when a foul ball was actually hit in my direction. For the first time in my life I had a chance to catch a foul ball. The ball glanced up off a guy's hands and was heading straight at me. Sweet! I couldn't believe my luck. I dropped my pencil and scorecard in anticipation. I had flashbacks to little league, and my father yelling, "Use both hands. Both hands!" In slow motion I watched the baseball close in on my hands. Then out of nowhere the jackass in front off me throws out his arm and deflects it to my left. I say arm because he was on his cell phone. Since he didn't have a hand free, he tried to use his arm to knock it down. Moronic LA people and their cell phones. So the ball went left and down my row. I closed in on it just as another guy's hand snatched it up. I looked up into the face of a guy I'm pretty sure had never been to a baseball game in his life. He looked like some waif artist guy who smokes his Parliaments and leaves Nietzsche on his coffee table when ever dates come over to his apartment. Dammit! So close. At least I know where I'm getting tickets the next time I go. There were at least six foul balls hit to my section. Section 108 rows A through J for those who want to know. Wait for the right handed bats to foul them back about once an inning.

After the foul ball fiasco, I was graced with the sound of the moron behind me immediately grab his cell phone and call his friend to see if he was on TV. Of course he was so close to catching it. During the rest of the game he kept saying how he could've caught that foul ball or that foul bal. When he wasn't blathering on about his unfounded foul ball catching ability, he was explaining the game of baseball to his date. Of course everything he told her was wrong. I offer up two examples. First it's the top of the fourth and the Cubs have men on second and third. The Dodger pitcher doesn't give Cedeno, the number eight hitter, a pitch to hit. It is often called the unintentional intentional walk. The walk loaded the bases. The moron then proceeded to comment on how dumb the pitcher was. Now the Dodgers were in trouble because the Cubs can break this wide open. The game was tied 2-2. Now any baseball fan knows the pitcher always bats ninth in the "real" league. And anyone that was watching this game would've seen that the Cub's pitcher hasn't even come close to hitting a pitch. The pitcher promptly struck out on three pitches, and the inning was over. The second moronic moment happened at the top of the eighth. He explained that if the Cubs didn't score in this inning or the ninth that the Dodgers could score a run in the ninth and win. If nobody scored then they would go into extra innings. Which is technically correct. The problem was the Cubs were up 5 to 4. I don't know what game he was watching. Thankfully he left at the middle of the ninth.

That brings up another point. Dodger fans suck. The first wave left after the 7th. The Dodgers were up 4 to 2. The next wave left after the 8th with the Cubs up 5 to 4. They left with their team down by one run. What the hell? By the top of the ninth, the stadium was nearly all Cubs fans. The only Dodger fans left were the really drunk ones who couldn't make it up the stairs yet. My final thing for the Dodger fans: Stop bitching about Piazza. That was eight years ago! It was one trade. If you want something to bitch about, become a Cub fan.

The last crappy thing that happened was watching Derrek Lee collide with Furcal at first base. Watching your MVP collapse to the ground and grab his arm can put a scare in you. You immediately heard every Cubs fan in the stadium gasp. Then you heard the Dodger fans heckling. They have no idea what pain is.

There though some good things that happened. After the injury to Lee and pitcher Eyre, the Cubs came back to score three runs on a few two out hits and a couple errors. The Cubs of last year would've folded. Also, Amy and her boyfriend were sitting in the section next to me. Amy plays the aggressive news reporter on CSI: Miami. I actually talked to her for the first time at the wrap party last weekend. Turns out she has season tickets at Wrigley about five rows behind home plate. Her boyfriend then commented on how he could never break up with her now. I thought, "Break up? I would've married her day one. I would bust my ass to make that relationship work." Still, they are a nice couple, and it was a great coincidence.

Overall it was a nice night at the ballpark, and proves that you never know what will happen in baseball. The Cubs have yet to lose two games in a row. So, the Cubs kick ass right now too.Here's my mess of a scorecard. After the second double switch because of the injury it became almost hopeless. I'd like to point out that I took both of these picture with my cell phone's camera. My cell phone kicks ass.

Leavin' for a Cubs Game. I Don't Know If I'll Be Back Again.

Ramblings (Weekend Recap)

Saturday was one of those days. By one of those days, I mean double-feature day! Hell yeah! After getting my hairs cut, I booked it to barely make the next showing of The Inside Man.

Side Note: When you go in for a haircut, how much time must elapse between sitting in the chair and the actual haircut before you can change your mind and realize you don't want this person to cut your hair? Are you locked in once you sit down in the chair? Or is it once the apron is on? How rude is it to say you don't want this person to cut your hair? Does the conversation go like this? "Look, I'm sorry I'm just not confident with you cutting my hair. It's not you. It's me. I'm certain there will be someone else walking through your door who would love to have you cut their hair. They will probably have an even better head of hair. It's just I can't understand a single word you say." That conversation never happened. I spent half an hour hoping I understood what she asked, and she understood my answers. Luckily I always wear a hat and I don't have a whole lot of hair left. Another question, how come the population of balding people still have to pay full price for a hair cut. One third of our head you don't even need to touch, yet we still pay full price? Don't we suffer enough? You have to use less electricity for the razor. You have to use your scissors less. Our haircuts don't last as long. All I'm asking is a third off the price.

Back to the movies. I saw Inside Man first. It was fine. Nothing bad, nothing spectacular. Just a solid movie. My one question, and I don't think I'm ruining anything here. When Denzel holds up the ring to Plummer, is that the worst special effects ever in a big time motion picture? I realize Lee wanted Denzel's face and the ring to both be in focus, but did you have to make the hand out of cardboard and a popsicle stick?

Leaving the theater, I realized I didn't want to go home and listen to race cars buzzing my apartment. I also didn't want the hassle of finding a parking spot. So, I went and saw V for Vendetta. Probably not the wisest choice. After reading Jiff's 3CT post, it took a good thirty minutes till I could stop picturing V shopping at Best Buy. Once I got past that it was ok. I recommend reading the comic book instead. I wish Brick was playing closer to Long Beach.

The rest of the weekend was baseball, baseball, baseball. Here are a few things I made note of during the first week of baseball.

The Cubs will not be as bad as they were last year. That is if they keep playing like they have been. I've noticed three big differences between this year's Cubs and last year's.

1. The Cubs haven't had this strong of a bullpen in years. The Cubs might have paid a lot for Eyre and Howry, but it seems to have been the right move. I still don't feel comfortable in the late innings, but it's not a complete sense of dread. This also affects the ability for the Cubs to come back. The last few years any time the opponent had a lead you knew whoever they brought in would just give up a bigger lead. Now, the Cubs have come behind in the last two games in the eighth and ninth innings because the bullpen kept them in the game.


2. Speed and Hustle. With Cedeno, Pierre, and Jacque Jones the Cubs now have some legitimate legs to run the bases. Seeing Cedeno take an extra base last night on a single, I was bewildered. The Cubs don't hustle for extra bases. At least not the Cubs of the last few years.


3. Clutch hitting. Usually if the Cubs weren't ahead by the 6th or 7th inning they were done. It always seemed like they mailed in the last few innings or everyone tried to hit home runs. Sure in the last three games the Cubs scored all their runs via the home run. But men got on base by taking walks, and being patient. This probably won't happen the rest of the season, but it's good to see a glimpse of it in a series.

Other Non Cubs observations:

Watching the Cubs, I also realized that the Cardinals need help in the bullpen, and I still hate La Russa.

The AL is a lot stronger than the NL.

With the Brewers, Tigers, and Indians being able to build a team from within, do the Pirates, Royals, and Reds have any excuse?

Why do people keep giving Clemens standing ovations where ever he goes? Why? Is that how he's going to decide which team he goes to: the Clemens Applause-O-Meter?

Did anyone see the Darren Daulton interview last night? He had those Andy Kaufman "Who's Driving" eyes going on.

Will baseball ever see teams again like the 93 Phillies, 86 Mets, or 90 Reds? If we won't, why?

I like the new baseball card graphics of ESPN's Baseball Tonight. I still hate the Trifecta though. ESPN can give me a full hour of cheerleading, but I only get 40 minutes of Baseball Tonight?

What incriminating evidence does Stuart Scott have that ESPN allows him to do those dumb poetry readings? It was ridiculously funny at first. Now that I realize how serious he is about it, it's just sad.

I love baseball season.



Oh. I also picked up Ghostface Killah's new album, Fishscale, (Stop laughing). It's the front runner for rap album of the year.

Ramblings

I tried quitting Lost, but my Tivo won't let me. I missed a couple episodes. Or so I thought. Checking my Tivo I discover it recorded the episodes I missed. Sure, enough I'm kind of hooked again. I mean the blacklight map was a nice little gift to the viewers. I will also say I came up with the idea of there being a supply drop about a year ago. I know Brian will say he came up with it, but he's wrong.

With a crammed premiere episode, Thief hadn't exactly won me over. Mr. Braugher was dynamite as always, but there was something missing. This week's episode though got things going. You can see the conflicts more clearly, and really it's great just watching Braugher act.

I think 24 has blown it big time with their huge reveal at the end of this week's episode. Doesn't that completely negate the first half of the season? They've always been somewhat ridiculous and overboard with their twists and turns. That's part of the fun of the show. I think this is too much though. They have a crap load of explaining to do to make it even possible work.

Dom and I finally worked out a fantasy baseball trade.

The Twilight Singers announced the dates of their official tour. I put in bold the dates when they play close to most of the readers here. Now I really don't expect any of you readers to go (except Bob). I simply puts this up to make you think about it. Maybe you have nothing to do that night? Maybe you'll be in a particular mood to hear some rock n roll in the month of May or June? I'm just saying this is something you could do. The Italian rock group Afterhours and songwriter Jeff Klein will be opening up. Don't you want to hear some new music?

MAY

18 Minneapolis MN - Varsity Theatre
19 Chicago IL - Metro
20 Newport KY - Southgate House
21 Indianapolis IN - The Vogue
23 Columbus OH - Little Brothers
24 Cleveland OH - Grog Shop
25 Detroit MI - St. Andrews Hall
27 Toronto ON - Lee's Palace
28 Montreal QC - Cabaret du Musse Juste Pour Rire
29 Boston MA - Paradise Rock Club
30 Philadelphia PA - Theatre of Living Arts (TLA)

JUNE

01 New York NY - Irving Plaza
02 Washington DC - 9.30 Club
03 Carrboro NC - Cat's Cradle
05 Atlanta GA - Smith's Olde Bar
07 New Orleans LA - One Eyed Jacks
09 Austin TX - The Parish
10 Dallas TX - Gypsy Tea Room
12 Denver CO - Larimer Lounge
13 Salt Lake City UT - Club Sound
15 Portland OR - Doug Fir Lounge
17 Seattle WA - Neumo's
19 San Francisco CA - Great American Music Hall
21 Hollywood CA - Avalon

Speaking of the Twilight Singers. In case you didn't notice, the new guitarist commented on this blog. Yes, that might be the highlight of my blogging career. Yes, I'm a nerd.

PLW, have you seen Slither yet? It satisfied that "monster matinee" jones I often have.

A few people have asked me if I have high hopes for the Cubs this season. My response: Glendon Rusch is our #2 pitcher. Glendon Rusch! That means no.

Finally saw Fever Pitch on HBO. Many people have suggested it because I'm a Cub fan and I guess I'm supposed to relate. You know what? It sucked! If I was a Red Sox fan I'd dislike that movie even more. First of all, the baseball aspect wasn't even used well enough to disguise the fact that it's really a chick flick. Second, that is not a die hard fan. That's a nut.

Finally it's that time again for the Long Beach Indy car race. This means a couple things for me this weekend. First of all, there will be absolutely no parking. Second, the race will be less than a mile from my apartment. You might be thinking that could be cool. Yeah, I'm real close to an Indy car race. My problem. Have you heard these cars. It's like the Swarm is buzzing my front door every five seconds. Third, there will be no parking.

Ramblings (President’s Day Edition)

Two small baseball things:

Have you seen any superstar athlete drop as fast as Sammy Sosa? I’m not speaking of only his skills but in the opinion poll of the fans. The biggest contract he was offered was for $500,000. He's declined it and it appears he will retire. My question: Does anyone care that Sosa might retire? If this had happened two years ago there would’ve been a parade and every visiting ballpark would’ve said goodbye to Sammy. Funny what a corked bat and steroids speculation can do to a Hall of Fame career. (I feel like I've written this exact same thing before.)

For all those who were concerned that Corey Patterson might actually turn it around in Baltimore and show up the Cubs, I offer up this quote from the Tribune:

"Everyone meant well," Patterson said. "But sometimes you have to do your own thing. I don't point any fingers or say it was anybody's fault. I blame myself. You have to mentally be yourself. You have to be consistent. When you start changing, things go badly."

Sound familiar? Yes, it’s the exact same excuse he’s used the previous two years. Good riddance.

Okay let’s make it three baseball things:

The word of an “illness” during the winter keeping Prior off-track does scare the hell out of me. The Cubs say it has nothing to do with his arm. Sounds like the normal Cubs PR spin. There is something fishy going on.

With last weeks Valentine’s Day it has now been 34 years that I have yet had to celebrate Valentine’s Day. This isn’t said for sympathy or bragging it’s simply an odd occurrence. For some reason (perhaps the last couple posts?) I’ve either haven’t had a girlfriend or my girlfriend and I that time were taking a break. I’ve actually done more for my friends and their girlfriends than for my romantic interests. For example, I once dressed as Waldo and hid in the mall with flowers for one of my dorm mate’s girlfriends.

This weekend the local news had a bumper talking about the “cold hitting the south land” and how long will it last? This meant that we had rain and it hit maybe a little bit below 40 for the low. Meanwhile MOL Nation is covered in ice. How can the LA people even think of complaining?

Monday, I made the trek up to North Hollywood to see “The Matador” with Bobby. The Matador is a comedy about a sleazy facilitator (assassin) who meets a family man who has had a few bad years of luck. It’s a very enjoyable and funny film. Brosnan is wonderfully sleazy. It’s the first movie in some time that fulfilled that movie fix I keep looking for.

Speaking of movies, I finally got around to seeing “Project Grizzly.” It came recommended by We Will Eat You. It’s a doc about a guy who has spent years trying to build this Grizzly proof suit. Thing is he has no expertise in Grizzlies or anything (except maybe Bowie knives). I would say this falls along the lines of Hands on a Hard body. Not as many quotable lines, but still enjoyable. This is not to be confused with Grizzly Man. They would though make a great double feature.

Thanks to all those who either watched Goodness on iFilm or at least thought about it. Episode 3 reached over 1,000 views in about four days. Why eps 1&2 have less than that I have no idea.

Finally, to once again prove not only what kind of geek I am, but how old I am. This is one of my first TV crushes. Does anyone recognize her? Of course the dude in the picture should at least give away what show it is. Right? Ever since my George McFly reference fell on unknowing ears, I've questioned the relevance of my pop culture knowledge.