Cubby-Blue

Bye Bye Cardinals

Well, there it was in my i-phone: Cards 1 Dodgers 5.

DeRo went ofer.

Cardinals went ofer.

Dodgers went on to round 2.

I'm sooo freaking busy, and I apologize for no illustration today, but am working on one for what I thought was the most significant play of this series and the one Cardinal fans will remember forever - the error in left with 2 outs  in the bottom of the 9th. No matter what any Cardinal fan will tell you, that's this year's post-season headline.

Their GM, John Mozeliak, traded the Card's top 3 prospects to get Matt Holliday.  Read about it here.

It certainly was the move that put them over the top, but they ran into the same buzz saw the Cubs did last year, they got nothin' except first place in the NL Central, and now they're looking at perhaps losing pitching genius coach Dave Duncan, all the lost prospects, and the unenviable task of trying to sign this year's mercenaries, Holliday and DeRo, to real contracts. 

All that is good for the Cubs, of course.

And I gotta say, it's nice not being the team with a "Bartman" or a "Durham" play to remember a season by.

Matt Holliday Plays Goalie

This is pretty mean, I guess, since he said he couldn't see the ball, but the bottom line is Matt Holliday dropped it.

James Loney hit a liner out to left, and Holliday charged it, but the ball was in the black hole. 

If a ball comes at your chest, you catch it with the glove pointing up and if the ball comes at your crotch the glove points down. But if the ball is right in the middle there, the black hole, there is indecision where there is no time. Starter Adam Wainwright said Holliday "...lost the ball in 50,000 white towels shaking in front of his face." 

It looked to me that he blocked it like a goalie.

Glaring since it should have been the last out in a game the Cardinals had in the bag. Instead, the game goes on and the Dodgers win. 

And Holliday, he's been in the center of blowing it in big games before - I totally feel for the guy.

Had the game ended like it was supposed to, it woulda been Mark DeRosa with the winning run on Colby Rasmus' shot to center. 

Actually I was still at work and that was the only play I got to see live. It was awesome hearing our Bob Brenly's voice again. And this morning, I see that Bob's talking to GM's about managing again. Ouch.

Anyway, the Cards...this feels like watching the Cubs last year.

But they'll get to go home and re-group. Lets see what happens.

Go DeRo

Make no mistake, this is and will always be a Cubs blog.

But I'm gonna do something you'll gasp at: I'm pulling for the Cardinals.

Or more specifically, I'm pulling for Mark DeRosa.

You might remember him - big right handed bat, kinda clutch, and played every position but manager?

He'll be at the hot corner tonight when the Cards face the Los Angeles Dodgers, who became my second most disliked team behind the Astros when they added Manny and ended the Cubs season last year.

Anyway, it's a crazy day for baseball watching: Rockies/Phillies at 2:37 ET, Yankees/Twins at 6:07, and Cards/Dodgers at 9:37.

Also, our Derrek Lee was named player of the month for September, and all the other baseball owners approved the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family. 

Derrek TOTALLY deserved it, hitting .386 and slugging a freaking .795, and the Cubs sale should be finalized by the end of October.

I fully expect a number of you to vocalize your disappointment with the Cardinal choice, but it's the only way I could go. If you read this blog, you also know I spent some high school time across the river from St. Louis, and while I never went to the red side, I had to admire the relationship between the Cards and the city. Plus, I'll always be a DeRo guy so...Go DeRo!

Cub Fans, Go Have A Martini

Well after this last week of 2009 Cubs baseball, a week that included the double-header sweep by the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field, the D-Backs taking the last series, and even the awesome first homer by Sam Fuld, there's really only one thing to do now: have a giant martini.

Go out for it - could be Ruth's Chris, could be Jake's Pub - but make sure the place is worthy.

Don't have it on the rocks.

Don't have it silly.

"Apple", "Cran", "Dirty"...none of these modifiers should be used when ordering the martini I'm talking about.

Never order off a "martini" menu.

You can order "vodka shaken with ice and served up in a martini glass", but that's all it is and that's how you should order that drink.

A martini is made with gin.

My favorite is the original Bombay in the clear bottle with that weird woman on the label.

If you like, you can add dry vermouth, and a twist (which would be lemon), or an olive.

But that's where it stops.

There should be no toying, at all, with this drink.

Only respect.

One time I was lucky enough to have one at the bar in the Redwood Room in the Clift Hotel in San Francisco.

The bar, the paneling, the tables, everything, I was told, was made from a single giant redwood tree (of course that would have been a looong time ago).

You don't want to be a dope in here.

The bartender was very distinguished and older - a man of the world.

I asked for a Bombay up with an olive.

He shook it with dignity and reserved panache, he poured it in the properly chilled glass, he set it down in front of me and turned his back.

When he turned around, he put another napkin on the bar.

Then he put the an olive on the napkin.

You already know I'm kind of an idiot.

I said, "Hey, what's with the olive on the napkin?"

He crinkled his eyes.

"The oil from the olive. Kind of spoils the whole thing, doesn't it." 

Now, you might take that as a put-down.

I took it seriously.

I have ever since.

And you should, too.

Tonight.

A toast to the 2009 Cubs season.

And then lets be done with it.

Randy Wells is the impossible Cub

If somebody said, "Probably there's a catcher in the middle of his minor league career who can switch to pitcher and come be a starter for the Cubs", you'd give them a lollypop and a pat on the head, right?

The story of this kid Randy Wells is as cool as it is improbable, and ending his rookie season with a 10 strike-out performance at Wrigley Field just puts an exclamation point on the whole deal. 

I've been trying to think of what good happened this season, and there really isn't much there to talk about.

Derrek Lee's return to superstarstratosphere, the Bobby Scales made for tv movie thing, the Cubs finally getting a new owner...then I come to a stop. The only other good stories are really bitter: bye bye Sam Zell and Milton Bradley.

So...Randy Wells. 

When he first came up well, what can I say - I'm a trained Cub fan. I figured him for another Jae Kuk Ryu, or Ryan O'Malley. Home grown and really good and the Cubs, you don't usually hear those things together in the same sentence. (Well, there was this guy Geo last year, but you know what I mean.)

When Wells pitched like a stud early but wasn't getting the wins (shocker: lack of run support!), I figured he was just gonna be a shame, but still nothing special.

Now, wow. His whole life has changed and that's really good for you and me. 

An honest to goodness starter coming out of the blue and into Cubby blue - just the best story you could hope for.

Okay, today is the last game of the season. Ryan Dempster coming off his complete game shutout of the Pirates vs. lefty Doug Davis. 

This is always a sad day for Cub fans - you'll hear Pat and Ron and Len and Bob all say their thank yous to the crews and goodbyes til next year and all that. 

But you gotta watch, right?

And begin the next chapter.

I always think I'm gonna stop doing this, but nah - not yet.

Thank you for all the comments and connections thru the year including (and I hate doing this because surely I'll forget a number of you): Bob, Bud, Cire, DB, Donna, Flack, homeboyabroad, Jake's Pub, James Finn Garner, Jamie, J Cerebral, Jenkins, Justin, Kerry, Larry, Lizz, Maria, Mark Alan, Mark Carlson, Rich Beckman, Ryen, Sarah, Sarah Spain, Steveosama, TLFC, Rob at The Cub Reporter, and all the blogs in the blogroll to the right. I think I tried to tell her, but Cubbie Julie at LOHO was the first person in the community to sort of accept me and answer my stupid questions when I was a baby. Thank you.

Go Cubs.