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April 9, 2006

no disappointment this year

Because disappointment is just unfulfilled expectations. I expect very little from the Cubbies this time around.

Before I indulge myself in an embarrassingly detailed assessment of the 2006 Cubs and a terribly off-base prediction of this season's final standings, I have to offer my respect and appreciation to those who designed to bleacher expansion at Wrigley Field. Yesterday, during my first game of the year, I got to see from the inside the 1800 new seats that have been added. They look like they were always there. The "Batter's Eye Box" (a private party box in center field) is basely noticeable. Honestly, they added seats without changing a bit of the look or ambiance. Very impressive. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and ignore the fact that they're now called The Bud Light Bleachers, since no such sign is present when viewing the new seats. Now then...

The 2006 Cubs are very different from the teams of years past, including the 2003 division champs. Let's start at the beginning. Juan Pierre is a solid leadoff man. He gets on base with hits and walks. He pounds the ball into the ground. And this dude is fast. Once he's on base, everyone's uneasy, especially the opposing pitcher, which means that Todd Walker, Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramirez will get more pitches to hit. Frankly, the lineup looks great both offensively and defensively. Jacques Jones will be a weak link and should end up hitting seventh before the end of the year. He's quick and he has a good glove and arm, but hitting for average is not his strong suit. Overall, the offense is fast and active, which should produce runs fairly regularly. The defense isn't stellar, but it'll make all the plays it's supposed to make and a few extra.

The pitching is the problem. Wood and Prior are on the DL. Again. Maddux and Zambrano are the rocks of the rotation. A great one-two. Glendon Rusch is the number 3 starter. He is, at best, a number 5. He'll give up 4-5 runs a game on average. He should be the long reliever, if Dusty insists that he is on the team. Jerome Williams can't find his release point, so he'll be in the 'pen for at least a month, unless he's needed in the rotation. The X factor is a guy named Sean Marshall, who will be the 4 starter to start the season. He's never pitched above Double-A. He's a 6-foot 7-inch lefty with a good fastball and a Zito-like curve. He's making his debut tonight in ESPN's game of the week against the Cardinals. If he has a decent game tonight, he can handle any game in the pros. So, we'll see. The other big variable is Wade Miller, who was signed over the winter but is still recovering from a shoulder surgery similar to that underwent by Wood. Miller's a little behind Wood in terms of recovery, but look for him to make a spot start now and then starting in the end of May. The bullpen is much improved, with Bob Howry and Scott Eyre setting up Dempster this year. That lets Wuertz, Williamson, and Ohman pitch the 5th through 7th innings instead of the 7th and 8th. It's all about the starting pitching. If they have a collective ERA below 5.00, the Cubs should win some games.

Now, everyone else. Here's how I see the divisions shaping up, based mostly on what I saw in players and teams last year, what I've seen in the spring, and what I've read in the papers. (By "the papers" I mean the internet and Sports Illustrated)

AL East
1. New York
2. Boston
3. Toronto
4. Tampa Bay
5. Baltimore

AL Central
1. Cleveland
2. Chicago
3. Detroit
4. Minnesota
5. Kansas City

AL West
1. Oakland
2. Anaheim
3. Seattle
4. Texas

NL East
1. Philadelphia
2. Atlanta
3. New York
4. Washington
5. Florida

NL Central
1. St. Louis
2. Milwaukee
3. Houston
4. Chicago
5. Pittsburgh
6. Cincinnati

NL West
1. Los Angeles
2. San Diego
3. San Francisco
4. Arizona
5. Colorado

We'll do a progress check in a few months.

Posted by ben at 3:33 PM | Comments (0)


April 8, 2006

call me mr. hobbledehoy

In the image of the my.yahoo and my.msn custom home page services, google has launched something similar. I decided to give it a whirl, as I no longer have what I would consider to be a relevant home page for my browser. One of the widget-type boxes i decided to include is a word-of-the-day box. I really hope one or both of today's words make their way into my everyday vernacular (is that redundant?):

fustian. meaning: pompous or pretentious language. I love the irony of words about words. Especially ones like this.

hobbledehoy. meaning: an awkward, gawky young fellow. I teach a bunch of hobbledehoys. I am a hobbledehoy. Try saying it. Just rolls of the tongue, doesn't it? Hobbledehoy. Not bad to type either.

I'm going to my first Cubs game of the year, after which I will be able to provide a thorough scouting report in addition to some well-informed but ultimately incorrect predictions about how this baseball season will end up. Stay tuned.

Posted by ben at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)


April 3, 2006

the best and the worst

Opening Day: Cubs 16, Reds 7. Good omen? Not likely. Last year the Cubs scored 16 on Opening Day as well. Last year did not end well. Giving up seven runs is not good. But it isn't so bad either. Pitchers don't really hit their groove until about a month into the season. The best news is that only 3 of the Cubs' 16 runs were scored on a home run. They scored 16 runs on 18 hits. Bunts were put down. Key players got hits with two outs. That shows execution. Execution makes me happy.

Spring break is definitely over. The one day in recent memory that I haven't been able to fall asleep until after 1AM was the night before I had to go back to work. Then I woke up at 4:30 and couldn't for the life of me get back to sleep. Figures. Spring break is like a little teaser. It's like the world is saying to me: See what your life will be like in two months? Yeah, it's not yet. You still have responsibilities. GET OUT OF BED!

Posted by ben at 6:22 PM | Comments (0)


April 2, 2006

it's about time

My spring break is about to end. The most annoying part of that is that it is so soon after we've changed the clocks. I hate changing the clocks. Seems pretty archaic me. I believe it's done primarily for farmers, so they have "more time" during the day. My question is this: do those who need to "save the daylight" really care what time it is? It's not like we've added any daylight to the day.

The new Baseball Season is about to start. Excitement fills the air. At least the air surrounding me is filled with excitement. I know the Cubs will be terrible, but I just like baseball. Man, the Cubs will definitely be terrible. Don't tell me my pessimism means I'm not a fan. It just means they've hurt me too many times to rationalize prolonging my unfounded optimism. More on that later.

Did anyone else see the Simpsons live-action opening last week? It was like the old-school Simpsons opening, only the entire thing was done with real actors. A bit surreal...

Posted by ben at 7:04 PM | Comments (3)