Today's Chicago Cubs thread

[Seneca]

Prior pitching against Maddux today in Wrigley. A classic matchup.

Prediction: Cubs will lead series 2-1. :-)

[tekriter]

1. If there's anything I hate more than the Cubs...

it's that stupid "Tomahawk Chop"

GO CUBS - just this once!


:hurts:

[chiburb]

2. 40 Degrees, 20 mph Winds, Rain...

Hahahahahahahahaha!
Enjoy Cub fans!

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. The gods will perform a miracle.

The rains at Wrigley Field will end, while the skies continue to pour down on disgruntled White Sox fans. LOL.

[chiburb]

8. Ouch! Or "touche"...

Yeah, you're right...
We're bitter about our own blown season, but EVEN IF we'd made the playoffs we'd still hate the Cubs...
Personally, I think the gods will remind the Tribune of the mistake in letting Maddux get away: he'll no-hit the Flubs!

[Rich Hunt]

14. that's the truth!

I'm a Sox fan, and I wouldn't trade our team for anything. Just like 2000!

[Emboldened Chimp]

7. I'd hate to imagine the weather if they make it to the WS...

It'll probably snow!

[a_random_joel]

3. GO Cubbies!

eom

[VermontDem2004]

4. How good is Prior

From all the Cy Youngs and from what I heard, Greg Maddux is a pretty good pitcher.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Both Are Excellent

Pryor's mechanics are so good, there was a front page Tribune story about it today. He's the first "test tube" pitcher. Almost everything he's worked on since he was in high school was improvement of mechanics based upon biomechanical theory.

He's got excellent control and he can throw the ball through a wall. (Routinely 96mph). Nasty slider, too.

Maddux's best attribute is his control. He changes speeds better than anyone in baseball (except maybe Pedro) and he can throw the ball into a soupcan. He's sneaky fast, but can't just throw it by hitters the way Pryor can.

Pryor is the next great pitcher in MLB. Maddux is one of the greats ever. But, Pryor is on more of a roll than Maddux. Pryor has an ERA of under 1.6 since the All Star break, and i think is 10-1 in that time. Pretty good stuff there.

I would never knock Greg Maddux. He's truly great. But, i think the Cubs have the edge in this game.
The Professor

[XNASA]

5. The Cubbies will prevail today.

Maddux won't last through the 6th.

The question is, if the Cubs win, will Dusty start Wood tomorrow?

I wouldn't bet on it, but it is food for thought.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Dusty Says No

He says it's Clement. He's not changing his plan. Clement has been pitching very well of late, and it's probably a good plan.
The Professor

[VermontDem2004]

11. Dusty proved that he is a good manager

Taking Chicago to the Post Season and winning the division with the first year as their coach just proves my point.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Agreed

I know he exceeded my expectations. Also, i think Jim Hendry has proven he can be a great general manager, too!
The Professor

[chiburb]

13. You and the Prof are delusional...

Ask ANY Giants fan about Dusty's 'genius'. They had a decade to watch him, and I submit that the sample is too small to bestow that honorific.
What were the Cubs? 12 games over .500?
They were blessed by being in the weakest division in the National League, not by their fearless leader's miracles...

(And yes, I AM a Sox fan who's 2000 Manager of the Year took the hit for this year's failures. Talk about a big hurt...)

[ProfessorGAC]

16. Next!

You accuse us of being delusional, then wait until your last paragraph for the full disclosure that you're a jealous Sox fan! LOL!

Your Sox were in the weakest division in the American league and didn't win the division. So . . . . .?

Also, take a look at which team's starting pitching had the second lowest ERA in MLB. You won't like what you see, i think.

If the Cubs had a good bullpen (they were ranked 12th in the National League for ERA and BAA), they would have clinched the division in mid Sept.

If Hendry can beef up the bullpen, you just wait until next year.

Lastly, the Giants fans i know were disappointed to see Dusty go! They were the best or second best team in their division all but one year of his tenure there.

BTW: Who said anything about miracles? It would seem you're the one with delusions. You're seeing words that nobody typed.
The Professor

[XNASA]

17. Ah, let 'em go, Prof.

What would you expect from a Sox fan? Besides, even I could be an American League manager. All you have to do is fill out the line-up card and your day is done.

:crazy: :hi:

[greatauntoftriplets]

18. LOL, XNASA and The Professor.

By residency, you guys should be White Sox fans, though instead have seen the light. Let's just hope this dratted rain stops and it dries up.

:hi: to both of you.

[XNASA]

19. True, kinda.

Although I'm a native Sout' Sider, I spent most of my adult life living on the Nort' Side.

And for me, it's really more a matter of National vs. American League.

I much prefer National League baseball, so I root for the Cubs. Guess I'm just lucky to live in a town where I have a choice.

I'd hate to live in an American League only city. At least as far as cheering for the home team is concerned.

Go Cubs Go....Go Cubs Go....
Hey Chicago whaddya say,
the Cubs are gonna win today!!

[Rich Hunt]

26. ah, the arrogance

It's not about "seeing the light".

Too busy getting all of your fake "Cubs town" propaganda from the media?

For years the Sox had: better attendance, better teams. Check the facts.

It is about honor. I am a south side who will *never* root for your team. Honor and history are something most north siders are unfamiliar with, seeing as many of them are not even from Chicago.

South side and *proud*!

[VermontDem2004]

29. Much more complex then that

You have to decide what batting order will effect the outcome, you like to open up the game with your power hitters, you also have to evaluate the each pitcher and decide what rotation the starters go into and which are your relievers and closers. You also have to decide when to bunt, when to pull out a pitcher, when to pinch run, and when to pinch hit. Not everygame is 10-1, alot of games are decided in the 9th or extra innings.

[Cocoa]

35. Sox fans...

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,211586,00.jpg

:-)

[chiburb]

20. Sigh...

1. Actually, I disclosed my allegience in an earlier post in this thread.

2. Yep, my Sox were exactly TWO games worse than your Cubs.

3. I love it when Cub fans are already saying " you just wait until next year."

4. Casual, Cub-type Giant fans may have been sorry to see Dusty go. Those that know baseball woulda bought him his ticket to Chicago.

You're right, you didn't use the word 'miracles', I did. And it IS a miracle that the Cubs won their division...

(re #4... wanna start a thread asking Giants fans to assess Dusty's skills?)

Anyway, enjoy what's left of the season!

[ProfessorGAC]

22. These Casual Cub Type Giants Fans. . .

. . .live in Monterey County, have since the late 60's, and originally grew up in Westchester. Their dad was a Giant fan when they were still in New York.

Next time criticize based upon knowledge, and don't try to read my mind.


Next: Like a typical Sox fan, who thinks you know about baseball while Cub fans are all yuppie twits, i notice you didn't address the issues about their starting pitching. Hmmmm. That's curious, indeed.

You also ignored the fact that the Sox played in the American League's weakest division. Why didn't playing in the weakest division help them? Once again, most curious that you ignored that fact.

Also, could you please explain why the Cubs had winning records against the National League West and East? One would think a team from the weakest division would have been pummelled by the teams from the "stronger" divisions. One more curiosity.

Lastly, i don't have to wait until next year, now do i? My team is in the playoffs. My point was that the team needs only an effective bullpen to be even better than they were this year. I'm surprised you failed to grasp that simple concept.

I will enjoy the rest of the season. In the meantime, you may wait until next year.
The Professor

[Cadfael]

24. I don't agree with anything you said, but....

I respect a bitter Sox fan a lot more than those new "converts" to Cubfandom in White Sox hats. A true Sox fan HATES the Cubs and vice versa. and I think I kinda agree that Jerry shouldn't have been the goat for this year, but then I only watch Sox games to root against them,:evilgrin: so my opinion may be distorted.
:hi:



GO CUBBIES!
:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[Rich Hunt]

27. Also

...didn't the Flubbies have a losing home record for most of the season? How embarrassing.

Maybe if their fans weren't too busy getting tans, getting drunk and ogling women, they would have boosted their team at home.

Speaking of "knowledge", looks like some people have forgotten who won the city series. Ouch.

[Cadfael]

28. Cubs had the second best road record in the NL

we didn't go to our rivals' parks and CHOKE...or lose a bunch to the pathetic Tigers...

Secondly...I've been a Cubs fan all my life (well except for the one year I was a Sox fan to piss off my parents when I was 8)...I don't tan at games, I don't get drunk, and I don't ogle women...my husband would get mad (your sexism is showing in that statement)...

And speaking of boosting our team, the only time the Sox can sell out their park is when they're playing the Cubs....Ouch.

[Rich Hunt]

31. attendance

Sox have sold more than the Cubs for most of their mutual history - check the facts. They also outsold them in the early nineties. Of course the media have nothing to do with the marketing hype, oh no.

But as a true Democrat, I don't adopt the dittohead practice of just repeating everything the media (in this case, the owners) tell me.

Fact is, there are as many true, diehard fans of both teams. Marketing takes care of the rest. But go ahead and believe that baseball is a clean, wholesome game and that business has nothing to do with it. South siders like all of my relatives who worked at Wisconsin Steel know otherwise.

My statement wasn't directed at you specifically, so you have no basis for calling me "sexist".

As for sexism, I lived three blocks from your park for five years. I know how despicable those entitled frat boy fans behave - I was chased down the street by them. The area is avoided by the neighbors because of the bad behavior by the fans - bad behavior which is never reported in the corporate media, who just happen to own your team.

How dare you call me sexist. Anything to score a point, eh?

[greatauntoftriplets]

30. Excuse me, I was born on the North Side and still live on the North Side

a shade over 3 miles north of Wrigley Field. Please do not lecture me.

Nor do I "ogle women". Do you dymaxia?

[Rich Hunt]

25. Sox fans are not "jealous"

We've been through this before - some years, we've won the division, some years you have. It's no big deal to us. You Cub fans are "delusional" that we are "jealous". We have regional pride - we don't want to be north siders and we don't want to be Cub fans. We're disappointed, but that has nothing to do with the Cubs.

I respect Dusty Baker, but I do lurk on Cubs forums where people complain about Baker a *lot*.

[Emboldened Chimp]

15. I'd like to see the Cubbies win today

I hate that damned Tomahawk chop, too. :grr:

[pmbryant]

21. I hope the Cubs win 1-0

Huge Cubs fan. But Greg Maddux is my favorite player.

:scared:

:bounce:

--Peter

[greatauntoftriplets]

23. Great avatar you have there!

[Seneca]

32. CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!

As Harry Caray used to say. :D

[Seneca]

33. and my prediction came true

:-)

[HuckleB]

34. Incredible game!

Also, something for all fans to think about:

The Cubs had the best record in the NL after the all-star break.

The Twins had the best record in the AL after the all-star break.

These are genuine contenders.