Cubby-Blue

Red Sox fan turns to Cub fan to battle angst.

This actually happened a couple weeks ago, and I failed to note the significance  at the time so, here goes.
There's a Red Sox fan down the hall, lets call him "Kevin".
He's not a gloater or anything - good guy, I've been to Wrigley with him a couple times.
Anyway, so the Boston Red Sox have this horrible start, getting swept by the Rangers (understandable) and the Indians (huh?).
Their big off-season pickup, Carl Crawford, who is making more than Dustin Pedroia, John Lester, and Jacoby Ellsbury combined, has lost his way and cannot... he's got 7 hits in 55 at bats.
He's been benched, I'm sure temporarily.
I even heard they were calling for manager Terry Francona's head.

"Kevin's" been a Red Sox fan his whole life, and it's not like Boston didn't have the curse thing and the years of not winning.
But they've gone through a major change for the better and if you only paid attention to baseball in the last 10 years you'd think of Boston only as a winner.
And the people of Boston have probably gotten pretty used to that feeling - like they're gonna win the Series every year is sort of the norm way to think.

So "Kevin" comes in my office and he says, "Ouch."
"What?" I ask.
"You know, we haven't won a game yet..."
And at this point the conversation turned to specifics about the Sox and how the players are all good but they can't buy a win.
But what it was really about?
The Cubs.
He'd forgotten what losing is like, and me with my expertise in backing the biggest loser team in history could surely help him through this rough patch.
So I did.
It's a long season, Crawford's gonna come around, Francona has still got it, yada yada yada.
I said everything but, "It's gonna happen."

Anyway "Kevin", in retrospect, will you kindly bugger off?
And the next time someone comes to me to lean on when their team goes to hell?
Try this, because it's worked for over a hundred seasons: "There's always next year." 

Speaking of which, lets talk about the Cubs losing to the Rockies yesterday.
Actually, it wasn't unexpected, and after Saturday's fabulous 8-3 victory, the Sunday 8th inning meltdown starring Marcos Mateo didn't even put me in a rotten mood.
The Cubs can't finish every game with Marshall/Wood/Marmol.
Mateo and the Stevens and the Grabows, ESPECIALLY while Wells and Cashner are DLed, those guys have to step up.

And the Cubs are back in town tonight, so it was pretty appropriate when I woke up early to go walk around the park and saw this:

Snow.

Big Z is up tonight.
Lets hope he can go a little deeper and the wheels stay on...

 

 

Casey Coleman. It's pronounced CAY'-see cole-MAN'.

He's not a lantern, and he's not Vince.
He's Casey ColeMAN, with the accent on the "MAN".
Learn to pronounce that right, because even though he looks 16, this kid does not fool around when he's on the mound.
This will sound insane I know - he hasn't nearly the same stuff - but Casey Coleman seems to have the same attitude as a young Greg Maddux. 
Just a little mean.
Remember when Maddux first came up and Rick Sutcliffe let us all know that Maddux' nickname was "Mad Dog", and you thought, "THAT skinny little 155 pound kid?"
I wish I could find that interview, because Sutcliffe was a GOD then, and the way he spoke of Maddux was pure admiration, and Maddux hadn't won jack yet. 

Last night Casey Coleman took on the hottest hitting team in baseball, established his game by owning the inside corners (actually hitting both lefty Jason Giambi and righty Ty Wiggington), gave up 4 hits and 1 measly run over 5.2 innings and got his first win of 2011.
He also walked 3 when I was driving kids to the train or something, because I didn't really notice. 

Lets talk about the other kids too, because last night's game was EVERYTHING you could hope for with this team.
Namely: THE KIDS ROCKED!

Starlin Castro. 4 for 5 in the lead-off spot with the dagger 3-run homer.
He's slugging .556, just ahead of Ryan Howard!
This is what a star in the making used to look like before the steroid era, and man is he breathtaking to watch.
Darwin Barney. 2 doubles, scored 1, knocked 1 in.
Did you see him on the basepath?
How about that high floater that landed in the middle of 3 Rockies not very deep at all, and while your average guy woulda been happy with the single Barney barely broke stride after rounding the bag and just took second like it was his.
On his other double he's halfway to third before scrambling back. Bob Brenly says something like, "He's thinking triple all the way til the Rockies make him stop."
Fabulously aggressive.

Anyway, ColeMAN.
He's the Cubs newest afterthought guy.
Think Fuld (although he's gonna come back to Earth, right?), think McGehee.
Maaaybe ColeMAN's a Jamie Moyer?
I read about Casey's "batting practice" stuff online, but there's something about his attitude that you just have to love.

I've turned into a big fan.  

Chicago Cubs and Air Traffic Control don't mix.

Man was that ever a sleep-inducing Chicago Cub performance.
They managed 5 sluggish singles and 1 drowsy double off hypnotizing Colorado pitcher Jhoulys Chacin, who went all 9 innings.
This was like watching a 2 hour Lunesta commercial.
Bored umpire Jerry Layne must have been semi-dozing when Carlos Pena hit a line drive foul ball. It hit him in the ankle, one can only imagine the sound, and I almost hurled.

Matt Garza gave up a couple singles and a walk to load 'em in the 2nd, when Chris Ianetta hit one over Marlon Byrd's head. His back to the play, Starlin Castro thinks Ianetta's pulling into second. He catches Byrd's throw and in mid spin sees Ianetta's on his way to third and very gettable, but throws it over Aramis' head and into the dugout.
4-zip Rockies, and you could have hit the sack right then.

In his 3 starts, the 6-7 Cubs have scored a total of 4 runs, all in that first loss to the 6-7 Pirates.  

And I figured well, maybe the sleeping air traffic controller thing is a result of those guys watching our favorite team.

How much would it suck to be Andrew Cashner?

I still can't believe this, and I bet Andrew Cashner can't either.
Your whole life has been spent working your ass off to reach the dream.
You're finally up in the Bigs as a starting pitcher and Freddy Krueger reaches up and nicks your arm with a big knife.
Yeah, I know there's no surgery or anything like that scheduled and we all expect to see him pitch again later this year, but that totally sucked and you and I can't deny that in the backs of our minds are other pitchers who showed the gift and had it taken away.
I vividly remember the dazed look of Adam Greenburg, sitting on the ground next to home plate after getting hit in the back of the noggin during his first at bat in the Bigs by a hack Marlin named Valerio de los Santos (I had to look the name up).
Poof, Greenburg never played again. 
And that's how fragile a career in baseball can be.

Now, I don't think that about Cashner.
In fact, watching him in the dugout, still laughing and engrossed in the game, you can see he's got a good spirit and I can't wait for him to be able to throw again.

It just sucks, that's all.
And of course it does for Randy Wells also, but Cashner just got here about a minute ago.

So here's hoping they both get back on their horses after their mild strains and do what they're supposed to be doing out on the field rather than in the dugout, and management is smart enough not to rush these guys.

Now tonight, it'll be Matt Garza pitching in the high thin air waaaaay up in Colorado.
Think we'll hear about that after the game?

 

Zambrano's wheels came off.

 

Man, didn't Carlos Zambrano look cool as a cucumber through the first 5 innings last night?
Up five to nothin', having fun.
In the top of the 6th he hits a homer - now it's true joking and laughing in the dugout.

And then the bottom of the 6th.
A couple walk, a dirt clod, a dropped fly ball, 3 singles, a 3-run homer and 5 runs. All in a couple ugly minutes.
When Mike Quade came out, Z handed off the ball somewhere between the mound and his nod to god, which happens right near the foul line.
I'm sure that'll be a big story today, since I already read that Carlos didn't realize he was off the mound until Kerry Wood told him in the clubhouse, and then apologized to Quade. From Bruce:

That makes sense, since, well I don't know... has Carlos ever been pulled off the mound before?
Maybe a couple times his rookie season or something.
He probably just forgot how to do it.

Anyway, the Cubs don't just hang on, instead they pour it on and end up winning 9-5.
Carlos gets the win which Len said was "10 in a row dating back to 2010."

But I'll tell you what was nice: inning number one and being up 5-zip over Wandy Rodriguez before Carlos ever even touches the ball.
"Pitching is easy when your team puts you up by 5 in the first."
I got that from the "Pitcher's Guide To Post-Game Quotes".

Tonight the Cubs are in Colorado, and the 1st place Rockies are off to their best start ever with an 8-2 record.

And lastly, Starlin Castro.
The hits, the fielding, the range, the arm, the age.
I can't believe he's a Cub. 
He is an absolute wonder to watch.