Cubby-Blue

They're making a Steve Bartman movie

Well, I figured this would happen some day, didn't you?

A Steve Bartman movie ("Steve Bartman Catching Hell")

Maybe one of the most agonizing moments of all time but whatever.

Here's what I drew at the time:

April 20th at the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival. 
It's a documentary, so I guess nobody'll be saying, "Why did they cast Paul Rudd to be Bartman? It shoulda been that guy who plays Freddie Krueger." 
I'm still sick of the whole deal, and I still contend that had it been me sitting in that seat on that day with the Cubs up and Prior on the mound and the World Series right over there and the gigantic party atmosphere in Chicago going on, I totally woulda reached up too.

Anyway, there's that to look forward to.

Meanwhile, back on the field Carlos Silva's stock, despite his "best" showing the last time out, seems to be falling while Andrew Cashner's seems to be going up.

By now I think we're all thinking Randy Wells is a lock, which is fabulous. 

And if you didn't read "Why are the Yankees scouting Carlos Silva?", well you should and also hope Yankee GM Brian Cashman didn't.
Wouldn't break my heart to see Silva go away and then maybe I never ever am reminded of Milton Bradley ever again.

I apologize for my tardiness of late.

It's extremely busy.

 

 

What about Wayne Messmer?

What ABOUT Wayne Messmer?

He's in Spring Training too, you know.
Probably practicing all day and night, wherever he is, doing whatever he's doing - driving, spring cleaning, takin' out the trash...
I wonder if he does that "me ME ME ME ME ME meeeeeeeeeee" thing in the shower?

Does he get tired of singing the National Anthem and sneak in a little rock or country just to switch it up.
A little Beach Boys or Kenny Rogers.
"Help Me Rhonda" or "The Coward of the County" or something.

Or who knows, maybe it's "Gin and Juice"?

Either way, I don't think there's anybody better at singing the Nat Ant at Wrigley Field.
He's got the baseball-pace down - much slower than Jim Cornelius.
Or at least a different kind of energy that's juuuuuuust right for our favorite sport. 

2 weeks, guys.

And Wayno's singing on Opening Day.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Cubs word of the day: schadenfreude.

So...schadenfreude.
Our word of the day.
Like when you see somebody trip and it's kinda...funny?
Because you're glad it wasn't you?
That's what it means.
It's pronounced [shahd-n-froi-duh], but it's far more interesting to go to Dictionary.com and push on the little speaker icon to hear your computer pronounce it.

And whether you want to admit it or not, as a Cub fan when you read a headline like this:

Well, you sort of experience a little schadenfreude, don't you?
Cueto has a little arm stiffness and Braun has a rib cage injury not unlike other Brewer Cory Hart has.
We've discussed the Cardinals injuries and Zack Grienke's cracked rib.
Seriously, what is going on?
These headlines are usually reserved the good guys, right?
The team with the little red "c" on their hats? 
Okay so everybody go knock on wood right now.

I mean it.

Find something made of real wood and knock.

 

Turns out Keith Moreland has always had a way with words.

Pretty cool story here, guys.

I have this friend Jonathan Linton who was recently married and he shared this with me.
His new brother in law, it turns out, had an experience with Keith Moreland.

Back in 1986 Tom Strauss was a 13 year old shortstop who got hit in the head with an errant throw between innings of a little league game.
He didn't know it yet, in fact he played the next inning, but he had a fractured skull that would require a couple very serious surgeries.
And it so happened that Keith Moreland lived in his hood.
A neighbor arranged to have Keith come visit Tom at home, which of course was awesome all by itself.
But Keith also gave Tom a little pep talk, and that message has stuck with Tom ever since.

If you're too young to remember watching Keith Moreland, well here's one thing I remember: On a ground ball, you know how the camera follows the ball for a second and then cuts to the play at first? 
If Moreland hit a grounder, he wouldn't even be in the picture before he got tossed out. Not alot of speed. He was a guy you'd pretty much call the definition of a Cub - not super gifted, but made up for it with a little pop and a ton of hustle which is why we loved the guy.

Keith's message to Tom went like so (Tom's words): "...he kneeled down to eye level and spoke to me about having to persevere through tough things that come up, not only in sports but in life. He said all athletes get hurt at one point or another, but what separates the good ones from the great ones are the people who put in the work and have the determination to not let anything get in the way of making a full recovery or a full comeback. He said if you see things through and have the right attitude, nothing can stand in the way of success."

Tom's doing just fine now, he's a parent himself in fact, and you can read the whole story from Miriam Romain at examiner.com here.

Jonathan shared the story with WGN, and they arranged a phone call between Keith and Tom which you can hear here.

So, pretty damn cool, and just another reason to be happy with Moreland's selection as half the voice of the Cubs on the radio.

I'm still on production and of course am completely out of touch with what's Cub-happening, but I'm well aware of the earthquake in Japan and, you know, it's just awful. So... hope Kosuke Fukudome's family and friends are okay, and same with Micah Hoffpauir and Matt Murton.

 

Ryan Dempster's flutter-glove wind-up

I can see what posts people are googling on my blog by seeing what they're searching for, and "Ryan Dempster windup" gets googled all the time.

Nobody does this flutter-glove thing but Ryan Dempster, and I have to think it does something, even if it's just a fraction of a distraction, to the batters.

In the middle of a big production trip, guys.
I'll try to keep up, but might be putting up more old favs...