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Gonfalon Cubs— Cubs Baseball for Thinking Fans
Friday, October 03, 2008
Thoughts on Game 2 after a sleepless night
Ugh.
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I kinda just wanted to post that and not even talk about the details of the game. What a terrible game. What’s with everyone? Don’t they realize it’s the playoffs? I think Zambrano pitched a good game, not a great game, but the defense obviously let him down. It started with the Theriot boot that was ruled a hit (why the hell did he try to barehand that?), and went to hell after DeRosa’s and Lee’s boots of potential double plays. Aramis wanted in on the fun. Theriot made sure he got his error in the 9th. And that was that. This offense is in a huge funk right now, and we can rag on Fukudome all we want but the difference between him and say Fontenot isn’t making up the run differential in this series. The cherry on top was to see the bullpen struggle just as much.
I still feel that the Cubs can win this series. If they win in LA tomorrow, they’re going to win this series. I truly believe that. But it’s going to take everyone busting out of their slumps. DeRosa and Edmonds are the only 2 guys making good contact right now. Lee’s playing like a good leadoff hitter, which is nice but we need some more power out of him. Ramirez, Soriano, and Soto have been nearly invisible so far. The Cubs got all of the breaks from the umps last night (Blake was safe at 2nd, Zambrano got quite a few more called strikes on balls than Billingsley). The Dodgers look like a better team right now, even though they’re not. (Don’t give me this different team with Manny stuff either; since August 1st, the Cubs still had a better record, scored more runs, and had a better run differential than the Dodgers against a *much* tougher schedule.)
Lou’s gotta shake some things up for game 3, but he has to be careful not to overreact. Moving from Fukudome to Fontenot is an upgrade, but that’s the only chance in personnel worth making. He can mix the order up some, but that’s only going to do so much. Harden needs to be great, not merely good like Z last night, the offense and defense needs to play a LOT better, and the bullpen has to do their job. Otherwise, it will be another sweep and there’ll be a whole lot of questions for Hendry and Lou to answer.
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I won't be this harsh, but the second sentence is something I thought of, too. We're all upset about the Cubs laying a total dud in the playoffs and securing what looks to be another season of futility. But here's what got me through the night:
Next Friday will mark the two-year anniversary of the night I came home to find my mom lying on her bed, incomprehensible and on the verge of passing out. We later found out she had suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm during the two hours I had been gone. During her life, she had put up with far too much nonsense out of me because of the Cubs. Temper tantrums as a kid, broken things as I got older, sour moods the rest of the day after certain losses. She took it all in stride, even though she had every right to tell me off and put me in my place.
Later that night, our family gathered around her as a priest read her her last rites. A neurosurgeon performed an emergency procedure to see if there was anything he could do. There was. She lived through the night and though she remained in a medically induced coma for the next several weeks, we were told she would likely survive. Over the next several months, I had to adjust to seeing an intellectual woman I had known to read several books a week and beautifully play the piano relearn how to do things such as read and walk.
It was a taxing several months, but she continued to make great progress in her rehab. She was able to move into her own apartment in February 2007. Two months later, she was allowed to drive again. Today, she suffers from occasional short-term memory issues, but other than that, shows no ill effects of the aneurysm. She's having the time of her life now, free of work and able to do all the things she never had time to do before.
Last night, I was able to call her and tell her that the Cubs had lost. But I had realized that it meant more that I was able to call her and tell her this. I'll get as upset as anyone over Cub losses around here. But I try to never lose focus that ultimately, this is just a game. And even though it's a source of great anguish, there are things outside of baseball that are still more important and should be the source of great thanks.
We'll see what happens in Game 3. Either way, life will go on.
Harden's new to the team, so there's a faint chance he'll have escaped the hoodoo and will be able to resuscitate the Cubs, but I'm not couting on it.
I'll still root for the Cubs, though I wish there were a few fewer stomach-punch moments.
Here's what a lot of people don't realize. The 2008 group of players are of a different generation and weren't around to witness goats and blackcats and they really don't understand any of it. Even Lou Pinnella dismisses it as a bunch of bull. While nobody can accuse this years team of not trying, Fans and watchers can't expect these guys to understand any of the past events as a reason for extra motivation. All they care about is this year, this team, and themselves and you can't blame them. That was then and this is now.
To finish my point is that all that are feeling sorry for themselves and think that this current bunch of players owes them a championship should truly have their collective heads examined. My feeling is that we give our full support and understanding to this team as it exists in 2008, not to fantasyland. We should consider ourselves fortunate for having something to cheer for and not being stuck with ownership that doesn't do anything for fans and year after year laugh all the way to the bank just knowing that whatever kind of product they put out there, their fans will pay to see it. I know what I'm talking about because that was our very Chicago Cubs until the new administration changed direction and started spending money and building a team that was something to take pride in.
Lets give credit to these guys for going as far as they brought us. Teams like the Yankees and Boston took more than one year to build their legacies and conversley and coincidentley the Dodgers took years to revive themselves after years of neglecting and not paying attention to their fans and players.---------------And by the way the talk radio shows here in Chi-town land lead the world in promoting negativity and being fair weather fans when the Cubs win. Shame on them, shame on us.
Good luck Cubbies.
Oh, and chin music for Manny. Gammo sez he hates it big time--
nothing else seems to be working as far as he's concerned.
I said it in the other thread, I think Harden can win this game for the Cubs and if that happens I think Lilly can win a matchup against Maddux, I doubt it would be Lowe but if it is and he isn't tired then it would be tough. Anyway if it is Maddux I think the Cubs can win, which means game 5. Lowe vs Zambrano in Chicago.
Most of them were around for the playoff choke of last year, Lee and Ramirez and Wood and Z were around for 2003.
Who's not giving support? I have to say that I have never in my life seen a crowd try to pick up a dying team like I did in game 2. The fans at Wrigley were clapping, cheering and chanting even when the Cubs were down 7 in the bottom of the 9th with two outs. I had never been so proud to be a Cubs fan. It's the players who have let down the fans, not vice versa.
Rich Harden of the same 6.43 career postseason ERA?
If you think the Dodgers are sending Greg Maddux out there for a start you're crazy.
They going to go with Lowe on short rest? Are they going to go with Kershaw?
Lowe will go on short rest for game 4 and Billingsley would go on regular rest for game 5.
No, I didn't notice that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to stick a stethoscope up my butt to see if I need to take a dump.
Except, generally guys are terrible on short rest. Lowe doesn't have much of a track record to try and refute the sinkerballers do it better, but in 4 starts in his career he's more than a run worse starting on short rest compared to normal.
I heard this on the ESPN radio broadcast late in Gm 2.
Torre has said that he won't announce a game 4 starter until after game 3, but Lowe mentioned the other day that a decision has already been made.
So you won't find a source for what I said.
Pushing Lowe up on short rest to try and win 3-1 and risking a 4 inning 6 run outing doesn't seem worth it to me.
These are 5 game series, bud. If you pitch Lowe in Game 5, Billingsley only gets 1 start in the series. Not too hot.
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