G
Guest
*WARNING*
Long post follows...which may or may NOT be completely rational. So, read this "rant" at your own risk (or is that entertainment?)....
STAGE SET:
The 2008 League Championship Series do NOT include the 2 teams with the best league records ... the Cubs with 97 wins for the NL and the Angels with 100 wins for the AL.
National=
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies
American=
Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
FOOTSTEP FOLLOWING:
I've followed my Dad's footsteps where cars are concerned; he has always owned Ch#$r%*ets of some type, having been a Chevy salesman for a spell "way back when". He has owned several red convertibles; I own several Monte Carlos.
But, when it comes to baseball, I've followed my grandmother's (Mom's mom) footsteps. You see, she was a Cubs fan...and I followed that path instead of Dad's path (Pittsburgh Pirates) or Mom's path (New York Yankees).
*sighs*
But, once again, the Tribune Company's Ch#$r%*et Cubs have managed to throw away an entirely awesome season. This means that I've been correct for 26 straight years ... Cubs cannot win with their current owner, a communications giant, and #1 sponsor, a certain auto manufacturer.
I was also proven correct in mid-April 2005 [a few months after the Boston Red Sox stunned the New York Yankees coming back to win the ALCS 4-games-to-3 from a 3-0 DEFICIT ... and SWEPT the World Series from the St Louis Cardinals] when I told a then-co-worker, a Chicago White Sox fan, to mark my words ... his team would be World Series Champs that year ... and they were. The White Sox swept the Houston Astros.
PLAYOFF PERFORMANCE:
When the NLDS began, I was frustrated that Atanta's TBS had the rights to televise the games. But, now I'm glad. Listening to the Cubs' debacle was bad enough; I can't imagine watching it unfold on TV, or in person....
The 2008 Cubs team that PARTICIPATED (not played) in the playoffs against my cousin's (Mom's side of the family) LA Dodgers is NOT the same team that PLAYED during the regular season and won 97 games. Just like in 2007, the Cubs showed NO signs of hitting or pitching at ALL in the post season.... Yet, Ozzie Guillen, White Sox manager, sent a text message to Cubs' pitcher Carlos Zambrano to "keep his head up".... Will Zambrano be in a White Sox uniform soon?
This article puts it well, imho:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3626535&sportCat=mlb
MONEY MAKER:
Were the Cubs paid to throw the series to the Dodgers?
Yes, I know that sounds "out there"...but, well, as a friend pointed out the other day, the skills shown during the regular season were obviously "forgotten" during the playoffs.... All FOUR infielders had an error in the same game, a couple in the same inning. NONE of the players showed much emotion after each loss...no true sadness, no anger, no real remorse. Heck, as she pointed out to me, even Carlos Zambrano kept his cool as his infield crumbled around him. So NOT like Zambrano; when something goes wrong, he destroys ... SOMETHING. But, not that night of Game 2 at Wrigley.
DODGING DESTINY:
If the Cubs weren't paid off to throw the series like the 1919 Black Sox, maybe a higher destiny is at work here? Wouldn't a World Series matchup between the Boston Red Sox and LA Dodgers be interesting?
While the LA Dodgers were taking 2 at Wrigley from the Cubs, the NL's best team, the Boston Red Sox grabbed 2 wins IN Anaheim against the LA Angels, who boasted the BEST record in all of baseball with 100 wins during the regular season.
If the LA Dodgers and Boston Red Sox reach the World Series, Manny Ramirez (who wanted OUT of Boston) would return to Boston...as a Dodger.
And...consider Joe Torre. Torre, now managing the Dodgers (a team that used to call Brooklyn NY home), would return to Boston, after being part of the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry for so long as the Yankee skipper....
COLOSSAL COLLAPSES:
The Cubs are not alone. They are the second team in baseball to feature a league's best record and be swept in the opening round of the playoffs. The first? The 2001 Houston Astros, which had the NL's best record and were promptly swept by the Atlanta Braves in the opening NLDS.
The aforementioned 2008 LA Angels of Anaheim almost became the third team to suffer this fate, but an extra inning win in Game 3 in Boston delayed their season end by one day. The Boston Red Sox won that ALDS in the bottom of the 9th in Game 4.
Comparing the Cubs collapse this season to, say, the New England Patriots going undefeated during last season's regular football schedule and losing the Super Bowl to the NY Giants...I'd say the Cubs collapse takes the cake.
ONGOING OWNERSHIP:
Wasn't part of the Cubs season technically illegal anyway? According to baseball rules, which the Chicago media was quick and relentless in pointing out last fall, Sam Zell (owner of the Tribune Co) canNOT own part of both Chicago baseball teams...which is exactly what happened when he took over the Tribune Co. I've found references to the fact that Zell has given up his part ownership of the White Sox, but I haven't found an exact date on when that took place...hmmm....
IMHO, Mark Cuban would make an interesting owner of the Cubs. Maybe he can put together a winning team on Chicago's north side...and find another auto manufacturer to be the team's #1 sponsor. Besides, given the club's history of futility, why would Ch#$r%*et want to be associated with the Cubs?
EXPENSIVE EVALUATION:
What about the Cubs on-field personnel? Some players that I'd get rid of ... yesterday ... include, among a few others, Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Carlos Zambrano (since Ozzie Guillen seems to like him, send him to Chicago's south side ballclub) and Jim Edmonds.
Speaking of Edmonds, it's ironically humorous that Edmonds, a former St Louis Cardinals outfielder, was quoted as saying that since he has playoff experience he'd be a leader to see the Cubs through the playoffs. Uh huh. Looks like Tony L, former White Sox manager and current Cardinals leader, who, despite being Lou Piniella's friend, is a well-documented Cubs hater, got the last laugh on that one. Besides, when Tony says he doesn't want a player anymore, I don't want that player either. Tony has a good reputation for picking the best...always.
And, what about Lou? I'm not ready to fire him yet; he is the only Cubs manager in many years to lead the team to 2 straight better-than-500 records (not a "winning" season; the Tribune Co defines a "winning" season as taking the World Series) AND 2 straight NL Central Division titles. BUT...for the playoffs, why on earth did he "play" with the lineup? Why use Fukodome instead of Reed Johnson? Why plan to use Ted Lilly (who never pitched in this year's NLDS) later in Game 4, when he was the one that won his last few starts in September? The questions are endless....
Let's not forget the Cubs TV broadcast booth. [I'm fine with the radio side; I like Pat Hughes as the Voice of the Cubs. Ron Santo is a good color commentator, though he is starting to sound a bit like Harry Caray at times....] Anyway, Len Kasper and Bob Brenly are wearing on many peoples' nerves...not just mine. Get rid of them and find a way...ANY way...to hire back Dewayne Staats. I believe he is in Tampa Bay now, but holy cow...if I had to name ANY former Cubs broadcaster I wanted back, it would be Staats. When he was with the Cubs, Harry Caray was still around and doing the 1st 3 innings on TV, the middle 3 innings on radio and the last 3 innings back on TV. Staats would be over on the TV side in the middle 3. It was stunning to learn, the LAST day of the season, in the bottom of the 6th, no less, that he was leaving for the YES network in New York. Get Staats back...and find a great partner for him...and you'd have more people listening to the TV telecast, imho.
DOLLAR DEMOTIONS:
Perhaps MLB and team management [as well as the "powers that be" in other sports; NFL, NBA, NHL, etc.] should start implementing pay DEDUCTIONS for poor performance, during the regular season and especially in the playoffs. Maybe the Cubs management could get back some of the millions they've wasted on many of the Cubs players this season. Heck, if I performed THAT poorly at my job (like the Cubs players did in the 2008 NLDS), I'd likely get a paycut...or, worse yet, I'd be fired....
Rant over.
But, remember ... as White Sox fans, including a certain Presidential candidate (in an ESPN interview some time ago), have observed, Cubs fans don't know anything about baseball, are not passionate (about anything, especially baseball), and are simply beer drinking, sun loving, bleacher bums.
Oh, one more thing...for my cousin in California...GO DODGERS.
Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker
WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"All that it takes is some time" ... OAR ... 'Shattered'
Long post follows...which may or may NOT be completely rational. So, read this "rant" at your own risk (or is that entertainment?)....
STAGE SET:
The 2008 League Championship Series do NOT include the 2 teams with the best league records ... the Cubs with 97 wins for the NL and the Angels with 100 wins for the AL.
National=
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies
American=
Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
FOOTSTEP FOLLOWING:
I've followed my Dad's footsteps where cars are concerned; he has always owned Ch#$r%*ets of some type, having been a Chevy salesman for a spell "way back when". He has owned several red convertibles; I own several Monte Carlos.
But, when it comes to baseball, I've followed my grandmother's (Mom's mom) footsteps. You see, she was a Cubs fan...and I followed that path instead of Dad's path (Pittsburgh Pirates) or Mom's path (New York Yankees).
*sighs*
But, once again, the Tribune Company's Ch#$r%*et Cubs have managed to throw away an entirely awesome season. This means that I've been correct for 26 straight years ... Cubs cannot win with their current owner, a communications giant, and #1 sponsor, a certain auto manufacturer.
I was also proven correct in mid-April 2005 [a few months after the Boston Red Sox stunned the New York Yankees coming back to win the ALCS 4-games-to-3 from a 3-0 DEFICIT ... and SWEPT the World Series from the St Louis Cardinals] when I told a then-co-worker, a Chicago White Sox fan, to mark my words ... his team would be World Series Champs that year ... and they were. The White Sox swept the Houston Astros.
PLAYOFF PERFORMANCE:
When the NLDS began, I was frustrated that Atanta's TBS had the rights to televise the games. But, now I'm glad. Listening to the Cubs' debacle was bad enough; I can't imagine watching it unfold on TV, or in person....
The 2008 Cubs team that PARTICIPATED (not played) in the playoffs against my cousin's (Mom's side of the family) LA Dodgers is NOT the same team that PLAYED during the regular season and won 97 games. Just like in 2007, the Cubs showed NO signs of hitting or pitching at ALL in the post season.... Yet, Ozzie Guillen, White Sox manager, sent a text message to Cubs' pitcher Carlos Zambrano to "keep his head up".... Will Zambrano be in a White Sox uniform soon?
This article puts it well, imho:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3626535&sportCat=mlb
MONEY MAKER:
Were the Cubs paid to throw the series to the Dodgers?
Yes, I know that sounds "out there"...but, well, as a friend pointed out the other day, the skills shown during the regular season were obviously "forgotten" during the playoffs.... All FOUR infielders had an error in the same game, a couple in the same inning. NONE of the players showed much emotion after each loss...no true sadness, no anger, no real remorse. Heck, as she pointed out to me, even Carlos Zambrano kept his cool as his infield crumbled around him. So NOT like Zambrano; when something goes wrong, he destroys ... SOMETHING. But, not that night of Game 2 at Wrigley.
DODGING DESTINY:
If the Cubs weren't paid off to throw the series like the 1919 Black Sox, maybe a higher destiny is at work here? Wouldn't a World Series matchup between the Boston Red Sox and LA Dodgers be interesting?
While the LA Dodgers were taking 2 at Wrigley from the Cubs, the NL's best team, the Boston Red Sox grabbed 2 wins IN Anaheim against the LA Angels, who boasted the BEST record in all of baseball with 100 wins during the regular season.
If the LA Dodgers and Boston Red Sox reach the World Series, Manny Ramirez (who wanted OUT of Boston) would return to Boston...as a Dodger.
And...consider Joe Torre. Torre, now managing the Dodgers (a team that used to call Brooklyn NY home), would return to Boston, after being part of the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry for so long as the Yankee skipper....
COLOSSAL COLLAPSES:
The Cubs are not alone. They are the second team in baseball to feature a league's best record and be swept in the opening round of the playoffs. The first? The 2001 Houston Astros, which had the NL's best record and were promptly swept by the Atlanta Braves in the opening NLDS.
The aforementioned 2008 LA Angels of Anaheim almost became the third team to suffer this fate, but an extra inning win in Game 3 in Boston delayed their season end by one day. The Boston Red Sox won that ALDS in the bottom of the 9th in Game 4.
Comparing the Cubs collapse this season to, say, the New England Patriots going undefeated during last season's regular football schedule and losing the Super Bowl to the NY Giants...I'd say the Cubs collapse takes the cake.
ONGOING OWNERSHIP:
Wasn't part of the Cubs season technically illegal anyway? According to baseball rules, which the Chicago media was quick and relentless in pointing out last fall, Sam Zell (owner of the Tribune Co) canNOT own part of both Chicago baseball teams...which is exactly what happened when he took over the Tribune Co. I've found references to the fact that Zell has given up his part ownership of the White Sox, but I haven't found an exact date on when that took place...hmmm....
IMHO, Mark Cuban would make an interesting owner of the Cubs. Maybe he can put together a winning team on Chicago's north side...and find another auto manufacturer to be the team's #1 sponsor. Besides, given the club's history of futility, why would Ch#$r%*et want to be associated with the Cubs?
EXPENSIVE EVALUATION:
What about the Cubs on-field personnel? Some players that I'd get rid of ... yesterday ... include, among a few others, Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Carlos Zambrano (since Ozzie Guillen seems to like him, send him to Chicago's south side ballclub) and Jim Edmonds.
Speaking of Edmonds, it's ironically humorous that Edmonds, a former St Louis Cardinals outfielder, was quoted as saying that since he has playoff experience he'd be a leader to see the Cubs through the playoffs. Uh huh. Looks like Tony L, former White Sox manager and current Cardinals leader, who, despite being Lou Piniella's friend, is a well-documented Cubs hater, got the last laugh on that one. Besides, when Tony says he doesn't want a player anymore, I don't want that player either. Tony has a good reputation for picking the best...always.
And, what about Lou? I'm not ready to fire him yet; he is the only Cubs manager in many years to lead the team to 2 straight better-than-500 records (not a "winning" season; the Tribune Co defines a "winning" season as taking the World Series) AND 2 straight NL Central Division titles. BUT...for the playoffs, why on earth did he "play" with the lineup? Why use Fukodome instead of Reed Johnson? Why plan to use Ted Lilly (who never pitched in this year's NLDS) later in Game 4, when he was the one that won his last few starts in September? The questions are endless....
Let's not forget the Cubs TV broadcast booth. [I'm fine with the radio side; I like Pat Hughes as the Voice of the Cubs. Ron Santo is a good color commentator, though he is starting to sound a bit like Harry Caray at times....] Anyway, Len Kasper and Bob Brenly are wearing on many peoples' nerves...not just mine. Get rid of them and find a way...ANY way...to hire back Dewayne Staats. I believe he is in Tampa Bay now, but holy cow...if I had to name ANY former Cubs broadcaster I wanted back, it would be Staats. When he was with the Cubs, Harry Caray was still around and doing the 1st 3 innings on TV, the middle 3 innings on radio and the last 3 innings back on TV. Staats would be over on the TV side in the middle 3. It was stunning to learn, the LAST day of the season, in the bottom of the 6th, no less, that he was leaving for the YES network in New York. Get Staats back...and find a great partner for him...and you'd have more people listening to the TV telecast, imho.
DOLLAR DEMOTIONS:
Perhaps MLB and team management [as well as the "powers that be" in other sports; NFL, NBA, NHL, etc.] should start implementing pay DEDUCTIONS for poor performance, during the regular season and especially in the playoffs. Maybe the Cubs management could get back some of the millions they've wasted on many of the Cubs players this season. Heck, if I performed THAT poorly at my job (like the Cubs players did in the 2008 NLDS), I'd likely get a paycut...or, worse yet, I'd be fired....
Rant over.
But, remember ... as White Sox fans, including a certain Presidential candidate (in an ESPN interview some time ago), have observed, Cubs fans don't know anything about baseball, are not passionate (about anything, especially baseball), and are simply beer drinking, sun loving, bleacher bums.
Oh, one more thing...for my cousin in California...GO DODGERS.
Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker
WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"All that it takes is some time" ... OAR ... 'Shattered'
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