Tuesday Morning Relievers: Retreat, Rebuild, and Reclaim

We're back for our second edition of "TMR," where we do our best to recap the teams we love and the stories that captivated us the most in this week of baseball.

MLB 2010 Preview: Steroid Era

For our 2010 MLB preview, we're lumping teams into the eras we feel they most resemble. This will cause our rankings to look more like Power Rankings than Divisional rankings, but, like most things at LCB, I wouldn't take any of it too literally. Enjoy, comment, critique, lambast.

The number of the day is:

3, for the NL leading Dodgers current winning streak is at three games. It's also the amount of runs they have allowed in as many games, out scoring the sliding North Siders (lost 10 of last 13 games) by eight. Last night's game was won by Charlie Haeger, who pitched 7 scoreless innings while holding the Cubbies to 3 hits and 4 walks helping the Dodgers shut out the Cubbies in a 2-0 win. It was only his third career start (second this season) and his first career victory, but the knuckleballer kept the Cubbies guessing all game long, getting the Cubs to consistently overswing on pitches that clocked in the low 70s. The win lowered his ERA to a sparkling 1.93 and his WHIP to an impressive 0.86.

Haeger's effort was helped by Johnathan Broxton, and by George Sherrill who closed the game out for his first save as a Dodger, securing the shut-out. Matt Kemp hit a 449 foot blast and Casey Blake added another solo home run in the fourth, giving the Dodgers enough runs for the win . The emergence of Charlie Haeger gives the Dodgers some insurance for a pitching staff dealing with injuries and some relief for a bullpen that has been leaned on heavily all season. The Dodgers dwindling lead in the NL-West, is at 4.5 games. But if Haeger can continue to pitch like this, Dodger fans should have faith that they will keep the Rockies and Giants fighting for the wild-card.

Update: The streak is over, Cubs won 3-1. The Dodgers lead in the NL West is down to 4 games.

Mark Cuban facing charges from the SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed insider-trading charges against Mark Cuban. The charges stem from when Cuban sold his entire 6% ownership stake immediately after learning that Mamma.com was raising money through a public investment in private entity, or PIPE. (FYI: In a PIPE, shares are issued at a discount. Which shafts the investor who already owns stock in the company, because once it is officially announced the stocks take a dive due to the dilution of the shares and voting rights of pre-PIPE investors.) When the markets opened the morning of June 30, 2004 shares of the company dropped by 9%.

By selling his stake, Mr. Cuban avoided more than $750,000 in losses, the SEC alleges. price. The complaint makes clear that Cuban was furious about the planned sale and from the sound of it his legendary anger got the best of him. Which led him to a rash decision and may result in serious civil fines. At this time, there is no word if the Justice Department will seek criminal charges .

This is terrible news for Cub fans, as it could be the final nail in the coffin for his chances at buying the Cubs. Tribune Co. CEO Sam Zell is saying he'd like to have the Cubs sold by year's end. Couple that with his new legal issues, and it puts a huge obstacle for his chances to pull together the $1.3 Billion needed to buy the Cubs. Personally I think he has the ability of being a great owner. Not just for the Cubs and city of Chicago, but for MLB as well.

For the full story, check out Wall Street Journal

Link Scrap: Is it Thursday yet?

True Blue L.A. did a nice preview of the NLCS for the average Dodger fan while the 700 level did a good one for the Philly fans

The Chicago Tribune has two interesting stories: The first is how a White Sox fan finally got his revenge on a Cub fan and the second is of a Cubs fan who is selling his loyalty on Ebay.

Awful Announcing has a clip from the Big 0 and Dukes show, where they were conducting the Mike Greenberg Experiment

Neiman Marcus is set to sell Dallas Cowboys end zone in their annual Christmas Book

Dodgers win, sweep Cubs

If the Dodgers going to the NLCS feels this good, I can't even begin to imagine what eight more wins would feel like. What an amazing night. Broxton came through in the ninth, Russell Martin is cash money, the Kemp catch was bonkers, and Kuroda was simply amazing. I am still in a little bit of shock because this type of thing happens for the Lakers not the Dodgers.

I love this feeling..

I saw this on Dodger Thoughts, and I don't think I could say it any better than this:

October losses make me feel my age. October wins make me feel like a boy again.
I like feeling like a boy.

I also want to take this time to congratulate my sister and her husband Eric. My niece Lelia Alysa was born last night in the bottom of the 7th, at 11:20 p.m.

Major League Baseball Playoffs (ramblings)

When your team finishes 72-90, the Major League Playoffs can feel more like a reminder of how bad your team is than a display of the game's best teams going against each other. One can grow jealous, frustrated, and indifferent, watching teams that stayed healthier, developed their farm systems better, and managed their money better than the team one dedicated a whole summer to supporting. One can begin to feel like the kid who missed the first word in the spelling bee and now has to watch the rest of it.

If one's own team is not in the playoffs, then one has to find other plot lines to follow; other cars to bark at and chase down the street. Here are the shiny objects that have me barking this fall:

AL Divisional Rounds
ANGELS vs. RED SOX

People keep telling me the Yankees missed the playoffs, but I swear I saw Dice K slated to pitch on Friday. Wait, what? He pitches for Boston, not New York? Those are different franchises? I thought the Rays beat the New Boston Yank Sox for the division title? Seriously, the histories of New York and Boston are so intertwined they should be contracted into one franchise. Also, that would open up a lot more games on ESPN and FOX's TV schedules.

The Angels, on the other hand, have always been a favorite of mine. I didn't like the Rally Monkey, but I love Angels in the Outfield, a film starring the most underrated actor of his generation, Tony Danza, and Adrian Brody, in a performance that trumps his Oscar-winning one in The Pianist.  Matthew McConaughey has never been this good again either.  In fact, if not for this film, I doubt the Angels even exist.  Plus, they feature Vladimir Guerrero, the Tony Danza of baseball.  Seriously, Who's the Boss should never have been green-lighted, but Tony's charisma made it happen.  Guerrero should not be a career .323 hitter, considering the pitches he chases, but somehow he does it, just like Danza somehow kept the house clean with an effortless, "Heeey!!!" 


I'm pulling for the Angels because this is their chance to show why they deserve more attention from the baseball world; it's their chance to show the baseball world "who's the boss." (insert cheesy Tony Danza grin here)

RAYS VS. WHITE SOX

A tin man would root for the Rays. Afterall, they are the underdog, and they have heart, according to Lil Wayne, who describes their blood pumping organ as amazingly unexplainable. He also adds a wow, a great, and a list of his top 15 favorite teams in every sport, all like 85 of them. I would agree with Lil' Wayne, except he has ESPN tattooed on his right arm. I still question his dedication to his picks, until he gets ESPN2 tattooed on his left arm. Let's just say I'm skeptical and pulling for the White Sox because I went to Tampa this summer, and it's filled with Yankees and Red Sox fans. The city cares more about spring training than it does its own team.

The White Sox, on the other hand, have a group of true fans, who are treated like 3/5 of a human being in their own city. Carl Sandburg once described Chicago as "the city of the broad shoulders," and the black and white uniforms of the White Sox look like they were designed for the working class. This team hits home runs like they've been lifting crates in the rail yard. The Rays may have heart, but this team has sweat, spit, and muscle. This team can't afford to have heart because their own city broke it a long time ago. The fact that there are still White Sox fans today is a testament to a minority group's perseverance in midst of an enthusiastic majority, like punk vs. disco.

Yes, the White Sox's main competition is not the team they face on the field, but the team across town they fight for headlines with. The White Sox and the Cubs is like the truth versus the fiction. In real life, players bet on games, cheat, and lose their careers. In fairy tales, gypsies cast spells because they love their goats, like Shrek loves donkey. I, for one, never understood how the gypsy and the goat got to Wrigley in the first place. Does the L pass through Transylvania?

I'm pulling for the White Sox. I'm pulling for the real life madness that is Ozzie Guillen. I'm pulling for the real life pain that is the unravelling of Ken Griffey's greatness. I'm pulling for Jim Thome. I'm pulling for the story that isn't a fairy tale because midnight comes everyday of our lives.

Who didn't imitate this swing as a kid?


NL Divisional Rounds
CUBS VS. DODGERS

Okay, I went hard on the Cubs in that bit about the White Sox, but I've never understood how the popularity of these two teams became so one-sided. Both teams have had good and bad years. Both teams have had bad luck. Both teams have had charismatic and talented players, who usually did not deliver in the clutch. 2005 was an exception, so I don't get the disparity.

Is it that the White Sox's uniforms make them look like Darth Vader, while the Cubs and their stadium make America think of chewing gum? Is it Harry Cary's voice that caused this? Is it the inability to forgive a franchise for sins committed in 1919? What was it? What is it? Does anyone know? I'd like an answer.

Anyway, I'm pulling for the Cubs to beat the Dodgers. I can't pull for a team that's from L.A. I just can't.

PHILLIES VS. BREWERS

The Phillies will win this series. The Brewers lost their chance at postseason success when Ben Sheets got hurt, but I'm pulling for the Brewers because the '93 Phillies still give me nightmares, and I wake up in a cold tobacco sweat.

________

ALCS
ANGELS VS. WHITE SOX

This series comes down to one conflict. What's been more important to America: Tony Danza or trains? It's a tough call, but "Who's the Boss?" is rarely, if ever, seen in syndication these days. I saw a train last weekend, and it was moving. Trains win, which means I'll be pulling for Jermaine Dye, Griffey, Thome, and others to keep lifting crates in the rail yard.


NLCS
CUBS VS. BREWERS

This series I hope happens. Milwaukee is like the little brother to Chicago. I don't even think Chicago worries about its little brother ever even being a serious threat on the field, and I'm not sure they should; but Chicago should worry about losing its Charlie Brown factor. Charlie Brown is always lovable. Charlie Brown never wins, and that makes us like him even more because he still plays the game no matter what. The one time he was winning, the game got rained out. The Cubs losing keeps Charlie Brown alive in Chicago. I'd hate to see Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Zambrano take Charlie Brown out in the middle of the night and tie him to the rails of the L, to get run over by a train powering its way back from Transylvania full of gypsies and goats.

Keep Charlie Brown alive!

Keep throwing the high straight ball, Cubs. We love it. Some things are more important than trophies.

My second reason for hoping the Brewers make the Series is linked to Marty McFly. McFly travelled back in time to the 1950's. I would like to travel back to the 1970's. Milwaukee is trapped in the 1970's. Brewers fans still tailgate to Led Zeppelin, using tapes, not CDs. If they win, then I think somehow that will result in all of us being transported back to the 1970's, to a time when mascots were still allowed to slide into a barrel full of beer, people lived off of sausages and cheese, and mustaches did not signify a career in pornography.  It sounds magical.  It sounds like a fairy tale, until one remembers they had lines for gas in the '70s, political corruption, and disco. Then the fairy tale becomes all too real and uncomfortably familiar, like kissing your mother, or Sarah Palin running for Vice President, or ringtones being passed off as pop songs, or... standing in line for gas. Hey, Marty, we're stuck in a time warp.



WORLD SERIES

WHITE SOX VS. BREWERS

The working class vs. time travel, that's the World Series I want.  I feel like I'm already watching it in the Presidential race.  Baseball is more poetic than politics.  Give me poetry over debates. Give me something that truly wipes the slate clean because, Atlanta, next year is our year to take on the Bourgeoisie.

F My Life, Volume 75

So two nights ago was like Christmas Eve. I was so excited and keyed up about the Cubbies making the playoffs and having Home-Field that I literally couldn't sleep. I have believed all season that there was something different this year about this team, and that after 100 years without a championship, this was the season where all the stupid curses would be put to rest. Zambrano's no-hitter, along with countless other moments throughout the six month grind made me believe that this was something different. I decided to wear Cubs shirts every gameday of the playoffs. I went to Gamer's and bought a score book to commemorate every game along what I hoped would be a championship journey. I bought a 12 pack of Budweiser cans to summon the ghost of Harry Carry, knowing this was his beer of choice as he got tanked and rambled on for nine innings when I was little. It all went to shit with one pitch.


James Loney is probably a nice guy, but I honestly wouldn't have minded if he got hit by a bus after the game. That grand slam silenced the sell-out crowd and made me feel as though someone kicked me in the stomach. Dempster pitched like shit, but he somehow wiggled his way out of trouble until the 5th, where like Langston stated earlier, he tempted fate one time too often and paid the price. Despite all the gloom and doom, we can still win the series. Here are 5 things that need to happen in order for the Cubbies to get off the mat and advance.

1. Big Z needs to be a hero: Zambrano's first half was the most controlled and consistent I've ever seen him pitch. His second half was terribly inconsistent, ranging from a dominant no-hitter to getting shelled on a regular basis. He had some arm problems, but when everything is right, he is the Cubs ace. He needs to come out and dominate tonight, setting the tone and quieting all the doom and gloom that Cubs fans inevitably are feeling right now. If he gets shelled, all bets are off.

2. Soriano needs to put the team on his back: Fonz is the catalyst of the offense. We have some extremely gifted hitters, but no one who can dominate and carry the team except for Soriano. When he's hot and hitting line drives, everything else seems to flow into place. When he's swinging at bullshit pitches and chasing everything in the dirt, the life seems to drift out of everyone else's bats. He needs to get it going, and get it going quick.

3. Wrigley fans need to stop acting like they're scared: The vibe last night was one of "Oh shit, here we go again." Instead of waiting for something bad to happen, they need to be confident and raucous from the start. Stop waiting for them to F up, stop waiting for Bartman 2.0, and show that you're team had the best record in the National League and that you know they're going to keep advancing. This is the best team we've had in years, and after winning 97 in the regular season, all we have to do is win 11 more. Start acting like it.

4. Keep the webgems coming: This team has played great D all season, yet they made some boneheaded plays late in the year that can't happen. Fukudome and Soriano made great plays last night, and knowing that everybody's favorite head case is on the mound, they need to help his confidence by making plays behind him.

5. Don't let Manny hurt you: Manny's homerun last night was basically a golf swing. With the Dodgers lineup, he's the only one who scares me. He should not see anything close to the strike zone. Make the other hitters beat you, keep Furcal off base, and you're going to win game 2.

I'm still confident, but last night definitely was a stomach punch. We've comeback all season long, so we're not out of it yet. All it takes is one.

Dodgers-Cubs game 1 recap

Ryan Dempster had a rough night to say the least. He had location issues start to trouble him in the third and in the end it would end up burning him and the Cubs. Dempster entered the game untouchable at home with a 14-3 record at Wrigley. But the consistency that helped him shut down opponents in the Windy City was not there tonight as he lasted only four and two thirds, walked seven, gave up four runs on four hits, and struck out only two.

He tempted fate twice, and when you tempt fate enough it will come to haunt you. In the third he loaded up the bases by giving up two walks and a hustle single to Manny Ramirez, but fought off the Dodger bats by getting Russell Martin to fly out to left and striking out Andre Ethier.

In the fifth inning the location issues continued with Dempster, leading him to load the bases again. This time on three walks. Then came tonight's hero, James Loney, who came up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. Dempster got a quick jump on Loney, running the count to 1-2, but then lightening struck. It struck in form of a beautifully hit grand slam to center field which was helped by the wind. The grand slam put the Dodgers ahead 4-2, it was also L.A.'s first in postseason play since Dusty Baker accomplished the feat on Oct. 5, 1977.

The Cubs scored earlier in the second on a two-run home run by Mark DeRosa. A fly to right, also helped greatly by the prevailing winds from left field. But the grand slam by Loney, silenced the already eerily quiet Cub fans for good. The Cubs would not come close to coming back in this one.

Derek Lowe pitched consistently through 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, striking out 6, and walking one. Manny Ramirez and Russell Martin both added solo home runs. The other run was added after Blake Dewitt was singled in by Casey Blake and his awesome beard. The blast that Manny hit was his 25th postseason home run, an MLB record. He also hit it on a bad pitch, one that was at the level of his shoe laces. A pitch most hitters would pass on and it would be a good idea to do so. But Manny's mix of power, timing, and balance sent the ball to left center. Pretty impressive and yet inexplicable in my opinion.

For me the best part of this game came in the bottom of the ninth, when Greg Maddux entered the game in relief of Jonathan Broxton. The Cubs fans rose up and gave him a nice ovation. He went through the inning rather quickly in typical Maddux fashion, with two ground outs and a line out to first by Alphonso Soriano(who finished the game 0-5). It was just an inning of work, but it still gets me excited to have him on the team. It also seemed like the perfect ending to a great game one.

The Dodgers took away home field advantage tonight, winning 7-2. They now lead the series 1-0, and teams that won Game 1 of the NLDS have gone 23-3 in the Wild Card era. The next game is tomorrow at 9:30 and can be seen on TBS.

Cubs Curses

During the upcoming playoffs you will hear these following words spoken a million times; the Billy Goat, Black Cat, Bartman, Gatorade Glove, and 1908. When talking to a buddy of mine from Myrtle Beach about the upcoming series I mentioned how we will hear these words over and over again, and I was surprised to hear that he didn't know the real stories for the most of the phrases. I figured he probably wasn't the only uninformed fan out there, so here we go:

• 1908: The last year the Cubs won the World Series


• The Billy Goat Curse: Billy Sianis, a Greek immigrant (from Paleopyrgos, Greece), who owned a nearby tavern (the now-famous Billy Goat Tavern), had two $7.20 box seat tickets to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers, and decided to bring along his pet goat, Murphy (or Sinovia according to some references), which Sianis had restored to health when the goat had fallen off a truck and subsequently limped into his tavern. The goat wore a blanket with a sign pinned to it which read "We got Detroit's goat". Sianis and the goat were allowed into Wrigley Field and even paraded about on the playing field before the game before ushers intervened and led them off the field. After a heated argument, both Sianis and the goat were permitted to stay in the stadium occupying the box seat for which he had tickets. At this point, Andy Frain (head of Wrigley Field's hired security company at the time), waved the goat's box-seat ticket in the air and proclaimed "If he eats the ticket that would solve everything." However, the goat did not. Before the game was over, Sianis and the goat were ejected from the stadium at the command of Cubs owner Philip Knight Wrigley due to the animal's objectionable odor. Sianis was outraged at the ejection and allegedly placed a curse upon the Cubs that they would never win another pennant or play in a World Series at Wrigley Field again because the Cubs organization had insulted his goat, and subsequently left the U.S. to vacation in his home in Greece. The Cubs lost Game 4 and eventually the 1945 World Series, prompting Sianis to write to Wrigley from Greece, saying, "Who stinks now?" Following a third-place finish in the National League in 1946, the Cubs would finish in the league's second division for the next 20 consecutive years. This streak finally ended in 1967, the year after Leo Durocher became the club's manager. Since that time, the supposedly cursed Cubs have not won a National League pennant or played in a World Series – the longest pennant drought in Major League history. Sianis died in 1970(All information drawn from Wikipedia).



• The Black Cat: In 1969 the Cubs had an amazing squad which included Ron Santo, Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins, and Billy Williams, all hall of fame talent. The Cubs were rolling on everyone that year, and at one point had amounted a 8.5 game lead in the division. The race got interesting by September though, and the Cubs went to NY for a huge series. Midway through that important game, Mets fans released a black cat, and it ran right towards Ron Santo who was waiting at the on deck circle. The black cat then just stared at Santo for a while with a haunting glare. After that it ran into the Cubs dugout, where it just stared down the Cubs players. The Cat just walked around back and forth, and in circles for a while as the whole stadium just watched in amazement. The Cubs went on to lose that game and collapse that September.



• The Gatorade Glove: In 1984 the Cubs were in the NLCS, and were up in the series 2 games to 0. They were also up 3-2 going into the bottom of the 7th in a decisive game 5. In that inning a ball rolled right under Leon Durham's glove, similar to the Bill Buckner play in the 86 WS. The runner scored and the Padres went on to win the game 6-3 and as well as the the World Series that year. That error is also known as the Gatorade Glove Play, because there was some Gatorade spilled on his glove in the dugout right before he came out to play the field. What are the odds of that happening? People believe this is another incident attributed to the curse or that this is a separate curse in itself.



• Bartman: I think it is safe to assume that anyone reading here knows the story behind Steve Bartman and Moises Alou. If not you can go here to watch the video.

You can also ready yourself to hear about how the Dodgers are 1-12 in the playoffs since winning the World Series in 1988.

It should be a fantastic series between the two clubs, with neither of the teams looking like a lock at this point to win. They match-up pretty evenly across the board.The biggest difference is how they have played all season. The Cubs have been consistent all year, but the Dodgers are the hottest team in baseball. So it really could go either way. I guess we will just have to wait and see how the series unfolds.

The series between the Dodgers and Cubs starts tonight at 6:30 and can be seen on TBS.

The number of the day is:

16, for the amount of innings the Chicago Cubs went without allowing a single hit against the Houston Astros. Yesterday Carlos Zambrano became the first pitcher to pitch a no-hitter at a neutral site. Not to be outdone,Ted Lilly did his best to match Z's no-no today. Lilly pitched seven great innings striking out 9, walking one and allowing a lone hit. The Cubs bullpen finished the game off, without allowing another hit. The 6-1 victory over the Astros moves the Cubs to a 7.5 game lead over the struggling Brewers. Also of note, the Brewers fired Ned Yost today. The Cubs magic number is now 7.

Cubs-Cards: Play of the game

At first glance, this is not that special of a play. That is, until you find out who laid out Yadier. Its Ted Lilly, and he straight-up demolishes Molina at the plate.

The knee to the thigh did the damage, forcing Yadier to leave the game along with missing a couple upcoming games. Lilly also managed to pitch eight good innings en route to a 4-3 win over the Cardinals.



For me the best part is how casually Lilly walks to the dug-out.

Link Scrap: I want that

The Bengals may think Chad Javon Ocho Cinco is nuts be they weren't about to miss an opportunity to sell a bunch of jerseys. Get your Ocho Cinco jersey for the low price of $80

Whats that you say? You have even more money to blow on terrible merchandise. Well Dennis Green has trademarked his failures and made them available online through his website. You can choose from such items as a "We let them off the hook" hat or t-shirt, "They are who we thought they were" hat or t-shirt, or a fishing dvd.

For those Redskins fans, Deuce of Davenport does a breakdown of last nights game from your perspective and it is interestingly optimistic.

Cubs fans are excited, so excited that they are celebrating the Cubbies with slam poetry and motocross??

Clip provided by Big League Stew

The number of the day is:

5, as in 5 for 5 for Mark Kotsay of the Atlanta Braves. Kotsay drove in a run with a second-inning triple, homered in the fourth and added singles in the sixth and the ninth. Kotsay's seventh-inning double off reliever Bob Howry was his 1,500th career hit. Kotsay became the second Brave ever to hit for the cycle, joining Albert Hall who accomplished the feat on September 23, 1987. But Kotsay's cycle was not enough to win the game for the Braves as the Cubbies got the victory 11 to 7, with the game they also got the series sweep. Included for Chicago a sweep of the season series. For the Cubs it is the first time they have swept the season series since the rivalry between the franchises began in 1876.

MLB Update: Nomar lifts the Dodgers

Nomar Garciaparra's solo walk-off lifts the Dodgers to a 7-6 victory over the Phillies. The homer capped off 6 run rally,that included homers from Manny Ramirez(5th in his 12 games as a Dodger) and Andre Ethier. Winning their third straight over Philadelphia and five out of seven games overall, the Dodgers moved into a first-place tie with Arizona in the NL West. The Phillies, who have lost five straight to the Dodgers and five of seven overall, dropped into a first-place tie with the New York Mets in the East.

C.C. Sabathia keeps his record as a Brewer spotless, moving his tally to 7-0 since becoming a member of the Brew Crew. Prince Fielder helped him get there with a home run(second straight game with a HR) and Corey Hart did his part with three hits and a three-run triple. With the 7-1 victory over the woeful Padres, the Brewers have now won 8 straight since the Prince-Parra shove incident.

Rich Harden won his 7th straight road game, Kosuke Fukudome got two RBI with two hits and the Cubs beat the Bravos 8-0 to complete their first sweep of a road doubleheader since 1992.
Chicago improved to 26 games over .500 with a record of 73-47 for the first time since ending the 1984 season 96-55, and the two wins pushed their road streak to seven straight, their longest since June 12-22, 2004.

Go to Sleep Brew Crew

Well the Cubbies just once again sang the Brewers a lullaby at Wrigley North with a 7-2 victory. After the Theriot triple, I kind of stopped paying attention, both to this game and to the Brewers as a threat in the Central. Dempster got his 12th win of the year, and my fantsay team combined to go 6-7 with 3 runs, 3 RBI, and an SB. This series could not have gone any better so far, and although it is only July 30, the division is essentially over if we pull of the sweep tomorrow. The Brewers will not come back if they get swept at home. They may as well just go after the wild card and hope for a playoff rematch. At least Prince Fielder got mad at me and pulled an Arod with a meaningless 9th inning homerun. I'm be no means saying that we are going to win the world series by any stretch, I'm not that stupid. But this is the most confident I have ever been about the team I love the most out of any of my teams, so basically, right now I'm eccstatic.

Brewers-Cubs....1st 3 Innings

7:58- So baseball tonight is interviewing my new favorite Cub, my boy Jeff Samardzija. Not very often that someone plays for my favorite team, then goes to my other favorite pro team in different sports. If only Tom Zbikowski played baseball too. Favorite potential playoff subplot right now is him playing a prominent role in the playoffs.

8:05- "Technical Difficulties from a television standpoint." The bad luck is starting already.

8:07- Alright, two more Hippie Lettuce players hitting 1-2 in Soriano and Theriot (who says I'm not a homer). Big week this week playing against Marsh with my lead dwindling.

8:09- Soriano just looked terrible on the first two swings, then a rope to left field for a single. It's looking promising. And now Soriano is starting to steal bases again. Steals third after a sacrifice from the Riot. Good Start boys.

8:17- That normally does not happen. Reed Johnson and his soulpatch just struck out, but reached on a wild pitch. 1-0 Good Guys.

8:22- Marky Mark DeRosa with an RBI single. Go Dartmouth. 2-0.

8:30- So here's the backstory on the drafting of my first place fantasy team, and I highly recommend my technique.....long story short, it was the first friday of march madness, so I took off from my bartending gig to watch the games, booze, and draft my team with a little beer pong thrown in for good measure. So when draft time hits I'm already in good shape, as staff members Langston, Smitty, and I went to the great Carlos O'kelly's that has been mentioned previously during our talks about the All-Star game viewing (I manage the bar there). I literally had one list of rankings, and proceded to grab either a Cub, or the best person not crossed off. No overthinking, just simple pointing and grunting at Pat who was handling the typing duties. Then heading back to the pong table. Needless to say despite obvious criticism about me being a homer, I ended up with Zambrano, Dempster, and Soriano. And I've been in first place the whole year. So for all of the years from here on in, I will make myself stupid by killing brain cells with suds, then grunt and point my way to a championship.

8:39- Dempster looks a little shaky as Milwaukee scores off another wild pitch. 2-1 Cubs.

8:40: Another single for Soriano, he can single-handedly carry us when he gets hot. I hope Prince Fielder doesn't eat him. The Riot (who's jersey I just ordered) comes up with another single. Hipple Lettuce is smoking the competition.

8:42- D.Lee grounds out to short. Prince Fielder just split his pants bending over to catch the ball.

8:45- I think the Cubs and Brewers might own the rights to half of the African-Americans in baseball. Sabathia, Lee, Bill Hall and his chewing tobacco, Daryle Ward, Richie Weeks, Ray Durham. I really might sit down and calulate this later.

8:46- Oh Ryan, you and your tricky Canadian glove trick thingy. 3 K's through 1 1/3.
Also I forgot to mention Mike Cameron. That's four out of the Brewers first 7 hitters.

8:48- Is Jason Kendall black too?

Alright that's all for now, going out for a little to watch the game at the bar near my house. I'll be back later for either late inning blogging, or a post-game recap/rant if we lose. Go Cubs.

Live Blog.....Cubs-Brewers

Alright, so I'm attempting to give live reaction to the Cubs-Brewers game tonight, coming from the residence of the biggest Cubs fan in Stafford, VA. For a little background, as a fan of the team, I could not be in a better spot right now. I was extremely worried a couple of days ago as the BrewCrew closed the lead down to 1, with 4 games head to head at home. But in consectutive days, we beat their two aces, playing inspired ball along the way. That being said, I expect this writing effort to more than likely jinx the North Side boys tonight. Anyone who knows me knows I definitely have the power of bad luck on my side. (No need to go any further, like I said, if you know me, you know what I'm talking about). We also have my boy Ryan Dempster, who's been the sleeper pickup of the year for my 1st place fantasy squad, Hippie Lettuce. (About the only thing Jim Rome has ever come up with). So here goes nothing, I've got the skoal berry bend ready to go, potentially some beers later with some friends hopefully celebrating the end of the Brewers hopes for the NL Central. To get me ready, a little October foreshadowing perhaps:

Link Scrap

The value of the dollar had a lot to do to with Josh Childress' recent signing with the Greek club Olympiakos, his deal is valued at $20 million after taxes

Times-Picayune reporter Nakia Hogan, writes that several "prominent" quarterbacks are unemployed due to their race. These "prominent" quarterbacks include Aaron Brooks, Byron Leftwich, and Quinn Gray. Sorry but didn't Aaron Brooks lead the Raiders to an 0-7 record in 2006? Whenever someone uses prominent and the names of Aaron Brooks and Quinn Gray in the same sentence, their entire argument is valueless. He also fails to mention that the teams that last released Quinn Gray(Jaguars) and Aaron Brooks(Raiders) both have African-American quarterbacks.

More scrap after the jump

Adding fuel to the fire, Favre reportedly contacted Minnesota Vikings coaches. Favre tried to pull this off on the DL, but used a Packers phone to make the calls and the Packers learned of the calls when they checked the records. Meanwhile, the NFL Network reported that Green Bay is sending out feelers to assess Favre’s value on the trade market. The most likely destination for Favre is supposedly Tampa Bay and he could be there by the end of the week.

Sportsbuy.com offers Berndons arch-nemesis Steve Bartman, $25k for an autograph

Marshall Yanda of the Baltimore Ravens is bonkers, teammates bet Yanda last season that he couldn't handle getting hit by a taser gun. Not only did Yanda handle it once for three seconds, but two more times afterwards before finally collecting $1,500 from some of his teammates.

Marcus Williams traded from the Nets to the Warriors, to help fill the void left by Baron Davis' departure to the Clippers.