Peavy deal, dead

Just turned out to be too expensive for the Cubs.
While that caliber of pitcher would have made the Cubs rotation that much deeper, the Padres wanted to much youth in return. Talks of Pie, Marquis, Derosa abound, plus who knows how many minor leaguers too.
Also, with the Trib in BK, as well as about to be sold, Hendry couldn't pull the string on that huge contract.
Who will we get now? Randy Johnson? that's a rental at best, as he's ancient, and will draw a decent salary based on his prior stats. If they do, that would help the Cubs, since he has been dominant against them.

The Sale of the Cubs is mixed up in the Blagojevich mess

We have all heard that the governor has been arrested for various corruption charges.
Now it comes to show that the Feds claim that he has been auctioning off Obama's Senate seat while at the same time he tried to use the Cubs sale as leverage in getting positive press in the op-ed pages of the Chicago Tribune. The federal complaint alleges Blagojevich was seeking to use the Illinois Finance Authority, an Illinois state agency that provides financing for real estate deals, and grants of other state funds to persuade the Current owner of the Cubs, the Tribune Company,who actually just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, to end its editorial campaign for Blagojevich's impeachment. There are tapes of Rod & Co. trying to run the editor out of town in exchange for the funding. Bribes. Bribes. Bribes. Corruption, Corruption, Corruption. Welcome to Chicago.

Tribune files for Bankruptcy

Here is a switch, I'll be mentioning bankruptcy in my sports blog.


Tribune Co.has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware.

They have said in a news release, that the Chicago Cubs, including Wrigley Field, were not included in the bankruptcy filing. Efforts to sell the Chicago Cubs will continue, the company said.

0-1

Well, that was a letdown. The Cubs stormed to a 2-0 lead, then Dempster fell apart. Walked 7 batters in 4 1/2 innings, including the pitcher, then gave up a granny to give away the lead for good. Cubs scraped out a few more hits, Manny golfed a HR too.
Let's see what Big Z can do tonight.

When was the last time both the Cubs and the White Sox won their Divisions?

This year can be something truly amazing in sports history, at least Chicago Sports History. I'll do some research, but it was definitely a long time ago, perhaps in a galaxy far far away. This town is going to be whipped into a frenzy. Is it fate? 100 year anniversary since the last Cubs World Series victory!

CUBS' MAGIC NUMBER

Sorry I've been away, but the Cubs are in the heat of a pennant chase.
Here's a link to a very important site.

http://www.cubsmagicnumber.com/


Currently, magic # stands at lucky #13

Aramis Ramirez 2HRs Finish the sox

after getting drenched for 30min walking into Wrigley Field today, I saw the Cubs rally from a 3-1 deficit to win the opening game of the cross town classic. Double plays did the Cubs in for the first 6 innings, namely Lee grounding into a double play in the first with a man on first and third. The run scored but stymied an early rally. Danks pitched well. He was pulled in the seventh. Strangely, Ozzie let him warm up first, then pulled him at the start of the 7th before the first pitch, appearantly to let Dotel get a few more warmup pitches. He needed a few more, as Derek Lee and Ramirez went deep on him, back to back to tie the game. Kerry Wood pitched out of a self created jam, having given up a leadoff double. He pitched well, striking out AJ on an appeal to 3rd base umpire, who rung him up. Ramirez topped it off by blasting a 410 foot shot to center field. His teammates gathered at home, jumping up and down, clapping and cheering while the still packed stands, filled with throngs of wrigley faithful chanted - go cubs go, go cubs go, hey Chicago whaddya say, the Cubs are gonna win today.

For Jen...White Sox commentary

Paulie goes down, first trip to the DH. Can it affect the Crosstown classic?
Do the White Sox have a Cubs killer?
With the Cubs-Sox inter-league series set to start this weekend...will someone emerge as a Cubs killer? Previously, it was El Caballo, Carlos Lee. He would always hit the crushing HR or the double to the gap to kill any Cubs rally during inter-league play.
Perhaps another Carlos can step up, rookie phenom Carlos Quentin has been blasting them out of the park during the first half of the year. Cubs dominated last year's crosstown classic, 5 games to 1. We'll see who can pull ahead in the race. All-time, the teams are split 30-30, with each team winning 16 at home.
I'll be at the game on Friday, so I'll let you all know how it goes.

Cubs Best record in baseball

This is the first time since 1908 that the Chicago Cubs have had the best record in baseball on June 1. Last time they were, they won the World Series. It is a long way till October, Cubs fans know this well. I refer you to my earlier post about the skewed home game schedule for the first half of the year.

Wow! Cubs make comeback from 8 runs down

I had the pleasure to enjoy the Cubs miraculous comeback today at Wrigley field against the Colorado Rockies. The day started out gloomy, with drizzling rain all morning which delayed the start of the game by 22 minutes. Then, Ted Lilly quickly gave up 4 runs in the top of the first inning, which could have been more, if it weren't for one of today's stars Mark DeRosa. Lou Piniella decided to sit some of the starters, Theriot, Ramirez, etc. DeRosa made a leaping grab of a line shot down third base, reaching up over his head and grabbed a shot that was destined for the corner and a 3 bagger for sure.

Lilly then gave up 3 runs in the 3rd, and one each in the 4th and 5th. The ball was flying out of Wrigley left and right (mostly to left!) Colorado had 2 shots off the ivy, and one off the basket as well. If any of those left, the game may have been over. Leiber soon replaced Lilly.

The Cubs, down 8-1 in the 6th inning, scraped back, with a double into the ivy by Micah Hoffpauir, followed by home runs by Fukudome and Edmonds. In the 7th, the Cubs rallied and put up 6 runs on home runs by defensive replacement Henry Blanco, then DeRosa blasted one to left to put the Cubs up for good, 10-9. Kerry Wood closed it out in the 9th for his 13th save of the year.

What a rally! The crowd, happy they waited out the weather, enjoyed a great comeback, on what turned out to be a gorgeous day..the sun came out and was shining.
What a great win for the Cubs, their 5th in a row to keep them on top of MLB, with the best record in baseball.

Cubs Sweep, First place, going after a Cub Killer?

The Chicago Cubs came from behind on a rain soaked Mothers day to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 and move into a first-place tie in the National League Central Division on Sunday. They won the game on Daryle Ward's two-run, pinch-hit double with the bases loaded in the eighth inning. This completed a three-game sweep of the D-Backs. This is not much saving grace from the sweep in the NLDS last fall, but it's something. Neither scheduled starter got the start- Zambrano and Randy Johnson, which was good news for the Cubs, as Johnson was 12-0 in 13 starts lifetime against the Cubs.

Speaking of Cubs killers, Rumor has it that the Cubs are looking into acquiring Veteran outfielder Jim Edmonds, who has faired well against the Cubs and is on the list of Cub Killers---those who always find a way to get the clutch hit to send the Cubs to the loss column. He has slowed a step, but still has some power despite a bad back. I feel he is no better than Reed Johnson is now in center field. The Cubs are contemplating sending Pie down to the minors, but I feel they should call up Rookie Sam Fuld who played well for the team in September call-ups last season. Who could forget his catch he made as he ran face first into the ivy covered wall?

Kid-K gets the Save on his 10th Aniversary

Kerry Wood notched the save against the Cincinnati Reds tonight in a 3-0 victory for the Chicago Cubs. It was 10 years ago today that Kerry Wood struck out 20 batters against the Houston Astros. Wow how time flies bye. Kerry Wood has never lived up to expectations though, having made numerous trips to the DL, Tommy John, but he does look pretty comfortable in the closer role. Lets hope he learns how to properly strike people out, without yielding the numerous Home Runs that he has in the past. A closer doesn't have that comfort zone, and every hit, walk and home run given up can sink the team. Here's Woody's old Rookie Card as we reminisce down memory lane with that gem of a game on May 6, 1998.