The official 2008 Cubs thread celebrates a century of excellence

One year after staff ace Carlos Zambrano predicted a Cy Young Award season and World Series championship -- neither of which came true -- Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster on Wednesday predicted an end to the billy goat curse.

''I think we're going to win the World Series, I really do,'' said Dempster, whose switch from closer to starter could play a major role in how quickly his new career as a swami takes off. ''The curse? It's been 100 years. I think I'm all right saying that.''

Lilly my man

any of you guys hear any new brian roberts trade scuttlebutt? seems like a pretty dead issue from what i can glean from the b'more papers/blogs.

lollll i love this thread title dogg

I haven't heard anything new about Roberts in a long time.

They're still hoping for him on "The Mike North Morning Show" -- North is an idiot and a homer but he was sounding smart this morning for asking why everyone's all hyped up on the Cubs this year when Fukudome-for-Jones is the only improvement they've made.

Don't get me wrong, I hope the Cubs are a wild-card team this year instead of the division winner. But it'd be cool if yr boys and my Brewers slugged it out all year on a pretty much equal basis...until, y'know, September.

well, i'd have to think that giving the lion's share of starts at catcher to soto will be a pretty significant improvement, but otherwise, cubs are still pretty mediocre up the middle, i guess.

(xpost)

I think Cubs fans are excited about the offseason because Hendry hasn't done any obvious damage. He lost out on Tejada and Kaz Matsui, didn't give a big name reliever a 3 year contract, and Fukudome's OBP is a great fit.

They have something like seven starting pitchers, but that'll sort itself out.

http://homerderby.com/archives/1877

"Despite being paired with the AL East, the Cubs avoid playing both the Red Sox and the Yankees in 2008. Instead they get three series with Tampa, Baltimore, and Toronto plus their rivalry home-and-home with the White Sox (who had a down year last season). Only Toronto had a winning record in 2007. Cub fans will usually complain about Interleague unfairness, but with the Booyah network’s faves absent from the sked, they should be quiet in 2008."

The Reds have to play the Red Sox, the Yankees, and have six games against the Indians. HI DERE DUSTY WELCOME BACKS>

Third baseman Aramis Ramirez (throwing shoulder) and outfielder Daryle Ward (butt muscle) are expected to be in the lineup Thursday after missing the first five Cactus League games.

uh also outfielder Felix Pie missed a couple of days early because of a twisted testicle

http://www.any-team-can-have-a-bad-century.com/images/SHIRT.gif

On the spectrum of ball injuries, it sounds like a twisted testicle is far preferable to the intrascrotal hematoma. Following this team is like getting a free subscription to Men's Health.

or a BDSM mag.

Men's Health meets Mad Magazine.
xpost

Felix and me 2 years ago:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2346/2158826119_999c7d7492.jpg?v=0

felix <3

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Pi-symbol.svg/180px-Pi-symbol.svg.png

uh also outfielder Felix Pie missed a couple of days early because of a twisted testicle

Testicular torsion is a menace.

Is This a Great Game, or What?

Scott Eyre, on shifting loads when driving an RV:

"When we first took off the first morning, my Michael Barrett bobblehead slid off the counter because I forgot to tape him down," Eyre said. "He didn't break; he just got a bruise right on his cheek."

link

so how about the cubs playing part of the season at the cell on the southside?

Why are they doing that?

I'm going to catch a Pirates game at the Ivy League Club rooftops on Sheffield in April. Who's in Chicago?

Oh right I remember

There is still netting in place in some parts of Wrigley Field, to prevent concrete from falling onto the concourse.

looks like wrigley will be sold to the illinois sports facilities authority (who also own the cell) and the deal is contingent on a $250M upgrade to wrigley.

with the state involved i don't see how this could possibly go wrong.

Good old corrupt baseballIllinois politics (at least our governors don't pay for it).

"Sianis was outraged at the ejection and allegedly placed a curse upon the Cubs that they would never win another pennant or play in a World Series at Wrigley Field again because the Cubs organization had insulted his goat'"

Maybe a second half at the Zell is a good thing? Let's think positive.

the cell is a pretty decent place to see a game as long as you're not in one of the 500 sections.

Yes, I like it. They sell a good foam finger too.

Felix Pie: (Still) Got It Twisted

(ha ha ha ha ha ha)

(ha)

BTW, I have nothing but wuv for FP, and hope he can subvert Piniella's love of shitty light-hitting CFs. (Apologies if I just confused Lou P & Dusty B.)

more on pie:

Pie is suffering from what's called testicular torsion, or, in layman's terms, a twisted testicle. It happened early in camp, but Pie had the problem reduced manually, sources said, and was able to continue playing.

if he were governor of new york they'd be calling for his resignation right now.

Will it be a two-seam screw ball or a four-seamer?

as long as it's not a knuckleball i think it'll be ok.

Cubs play practical joke on coach
Players demolish car, buy coach new Nissan Xterra SUV

MESA, Ariz. -- When the Cubs came onto the field for pregame stretching on Tuesday, third baseman Aramis Ramirez yelled at Tim Buss, the strength and conditioning coach.

"Aramis says, 'Bussy, what's your car doing on the ramp?'" Buss said. "I said, 'That's not my car,' and then I said, 'That's my car.' I thought they'd lost their minds."

What Buss saw was his wife's car, a 1995 Nissan with 106,000 miles on it, turned to junk. It was parked on the ramp near the right field corner of HoHoKam Park and completely demolished. It had dents everywhere, courtesy of a few free-swinging Cubs, and the trunk was somehow rolled up. It was totally undriveable.

"It's a shame," Cubs pitcher Jon Lieber said, as deadpan as he could.

Of course, Buss had a list of suspects. He figured Lieber, Kerry Wood and Ryan Dempster were involved. Third-base coach Mike Quade was one because Buss said his "hands were more blistered than usual." Buss has a love-hate relationship with the players and staff.

Wood escaped this event unscathed?

Kevlar.

MLB.com - 2 hours ago
Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood, who appears to be the front-runner for the closer's job, was scratched from Wednesday's game because of lower back spasms.

Shrapnel.

I thought Marmol was the front runner!?

Omg KKerry looked supersharp at Hohokam today.

3 batters faced, top of the Sox order, 2K and a pop out.

Kerry Wood strikeout p0rn (hope these come out)

Looking

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2093/2353582108_166d5a76cc_b.jpg

Swinging (see the ball?)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2353580860_07f2efbebb_b.jpg

Falling off

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2014/2353579468_3c764da26b_b.jpg

Fukudome is going to bat second. Big Money is dropped down to the fifth spot.

Good thinking, Lou.

Ha, well, maybe not... your 2008 Cubs opening day lineup:

R. Theriot ss
A. Soriano lf
D. Lee 1b
A. Ramirez 3b
K. Fukudome rf
M. DeRosa 2b
G. Soto c
F. Pie cf
C. Zambrano p

Lou is lucky he has Dusty in same division

Nothing quite like post-Opening Day hyperbole...

It's only one game -- one loss -- into a six-month season, but Opening Day at Wrigley Field lasted long enough to reveal at least this much about this year's Cubs:

Kosuke Fukudome? The best $48 million the Cubs ever spent.

$48 million for a 3-run homer in a losing game? And people thought the Rangers / A-Rod deal was bad!

Yeah! Red Sox are historically well known for their thrift.

Aside from that how did you enjoy "No, No Nanette," Mr. Popshots?

cmon, Dave Bush is NOT this hard to hit...

HERE HE COMES TO SVEUM THE DAY

Holy shit -- Harden has 115 pitches through 5?!?!? And only allowed 1 run?

Also: WTF Morbs root against the PHILLIES!

SAMARDZIJA = BUM

holy cow, soto ties the game in the 9th

6-2 to 6-6 in the bottom of the 9th

6-2 with 2 outs i should add

And the Brewers had a guy thrown out at home AND third in the top of the inning.

SOTO FOR MVP

(if they win)

dang finally

And the Chicago Cubs, they need to worry, because we're going to get them. That's all I can say.

who said that, snidely whiplash?

With fleet-footed Jason Marquis running the bases, the Chicago Cubs don't need to worry.

Funny Ryan Dempster interview in the current ESPN magazine.

DUGOUT CHATTER WITH RYAN DEMPSTER

On Sept. 15, the Cubs righty will perform with Chicago's Second City troupe at a cancer benefit. (21) "I'm gonna be funny," he says. "I don't know about anyone else." He warms up by dishing on his teammates. Who's the funniest guy on the team? "It's not me. It's Reed Johnson. He's quick, really quick. He has refined the arts of dry humor and animated humor. He's extremely versatile."

Best dresser? "Derrek Lee. He is always wearing the nicest suit in the room. (22) I also think he knows how to cook, but he's never invited us over."

Worst dresser? "Ted Lilly. He leads the league in Magnum, P.I. shirts."

Who likes chick flicks? "Mike Fontenot. Sweet young man. Tender, even."

Anyone else you wanna embarrass? "Ryan Theriot's favorite color is pink. Geo Soto's favorite TV show is The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. (23) And Mark DeRosa wishes he had played quarterback at Florida State instead of at Penn."

Who'll spend the rest of his life in Chicago? "Kerry Wood. He's from Texas, but this is his home. They love him here, and they should. He's done a lot of great things for this team and city. He raises huge money for children's hospitals." (24)

Biggest eater? "Well, let's have a look around. Jon Lieber is a big eater. And then there's Bob Howry, who I swear has a funnel into a bottomless pit. The guy can eat a steak dinner and wash it down with nachos and cheese and walk away with a lower body-fat percentage. It's freak genetics."

Best singer? "Jason Marquis is a closet American Idol. (25) He kills on SingStar, and man, he hits the high notes. He can sing anything: pop, rock, country, even rap, but it's rare that he'll sing for us. Henry Blanco sings on the plane, (26) and he sounds as good as Marc Anthony or Julio Iglesias. And if Bon Jovi is on, DeRo is full-on. (27) You might as well skip the concert."

Biggest misconception about the Cubs? "That we just want to make the playoffs. Everybody here wants to win a World Series. And it's not about the 100-year drought. We just want to be the 2008 Chicago Cubs. I mean, I vaguely remember 1908. I thought the next year we'd be back for sure, but we haven't won it since. It's tough. I'm getting old, and it's wearing on me. Hopefully this is the year."

fuck i was on a plane for this whole game sounds like it was good

http://blog.ning.com/files/Happy%202nd%20Birthday!.jpg

WTF zambrano

perhaps his arm ees nawt quite right after 110 peetches last time?

"I don't know man, my arm is weird, for real"

Assuming he didn't come out with an injury, a 45 pitch outing is probably the best thing to happen to him.

which Cub game at Shea are you going to, mattbot?

I'm out of town Monday and Tuesday, so I'm thinking one or both of the Weds./Thurs. games?

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

good job cub's

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080920/capt.28d392922b3f426ea6c58deeb8b312d6.cardinals_cubs_baseball_cxc112.jpg

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20080920/i/r991729101.jpg%3Fx%3D400%26y%3D266%26q%3D85%26sig%3DwBDk5koO0uPigWqS0QXmXQ--

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20080920/i/r991729101.jpg

Hey hey!

Eddie Vedder's Cubs song ("Someday we'll go all the way"). Lyrics here.

i'm confused didnt brewers lose before cubs won?

I will be at Shea tonight hoping for a "letdown" from the Marquises.

no, brewers game was still going on when cubs won

Theoretical and rules question for you, if the Cubs were to get in a game with a DH, do you go ahead and bat Zambrano? If Zambrano were to bat in the pitcher spot, are the current DH rules like most youth leagues where the DH can hit for another player in the field? When I played high school ball, a few times I would DH for someone that played center field, as like most younger teams our pitchers were also some of our better pitchers. Being that Carlos Zambrano is such a good hitting pitcher, I was wondering about how this situation might play out.

I meant to write 'our pitchers were also some of our better hitters'.

Keep Howry far, far away from the playoff roster.

really Lou, thanks so so much for your choice of Sunday relief.

Dusty Baker's 'big sympathy' for Cubs

Gee, Dusty . . . "thanks."

Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs for being PEPSICO OF NORTH AMERICA'S 2008 CLUTCH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR AWARD: ENTIRE TEAM CATEGORY, not only for hitting and pitching to the score, but also defending to the score, inducing clutch situations for which they performed successfully under pressure (at least during the regular season).

FU MLB

what's their beef with Cuban?

Too "mavericky."

Martha-y

Phi Mamma Slamma: Rolling 2009 Cubanless MLB Owners Thread

Marmol may have had the best year for a Cub reliever since '85:

Cubs Single-Season WXRL Leaders

Bruce Sutter 1977, 7.558
Lee Smith 1983, 5.501
Bruce Sutter 1979, 5.373
Lee Smith 1985, 5.261
Carlos Marmol 2008, 5.152
Ryan Dempster 2005, 5.108
Lindy McDaniel 1963, 4.953
Randy Myers 1993, 4.930
Bruce Sutter 1980, 4.764
Ted Abernathy 1965, 4.558

please explain WXRL.
sounds like a radio station.

WXRL

Expected wins added over a replacement level pitcher, adjusted for level of opposing hitters. WXRL combines the individual adjustments for replacement level (WXR) and quality of the opposing lineup (WXL) to the basic WX calculation.

lord tunderin'!

The Tribune Company filed for bankruptcy protection in a federal court in Delaware on Monday, as the owner of The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Cubs baseball team struggled to cope with mountains of debt and falling ad revenue.

Move the team to Nashville.

cubs have signed one of the all-time great baseball names

first disagreement w/ Lou should be a corker.