Ramblings from Mid-May

It is that time of the month again, time for another edition of my ramblings, and for some of you, get your head out of the gutter. Moving on, it has been an extremely tough month and I am here to share some of my random thoughts from the past few weeks, so read it quickly and get ready to watch the our beloved Northsiders sweep the Joan Cusack Sox. And without further ado, on to my ramblings....

- Okay, so maybe I was wrong, maybe the D-Lee injury was a very bad thing

- Speaking of, can one player make THAT much of a difference

- So what kind of deal did Neifi make with Dusty, there has to be something right?

- Remember when we used to get upset that the only way the Cubs could score a run was with homers, I miss those days, I miss them a lot

- I do not care how anyone personally feels, but it is a joke that Barry Bonds does not run out pop-ups or trots down the line after a ground ball

- Watching Mr. Bonds play left field last week was fun, oh there he goes gingerly trotting and falling over the fence, good stuff

- I am still surprised that nothing has been done about first base

- How much longer will they keep Walker in the third whole, he is a great hitter, but a great number 2 hitter

- The Padres were not hot, they were just playing the Cubs seven out of ten times, we made their pitching staff look awesome

- We lost 9-0 TWICE during the losing streak

- Juan Pierre should start doing 40 pushups every time he flies out to left (note that is not my original idea, but one of my buddy's)

- The Mabry thing is not really working, I want to see them give Micah Hoffpauir a look, he already has 10 homeruns for West Tenn. in AA (Note he was moved to Iowa on Thursday)

- A-Ram needs to be up around .300 by the middle of June for this team to have a chance during the second half

- The intoxicated 'person' who threw the baseball at JJ from the bleachers the other night did not get arrested, it was not even a big national story, would this have been the same if it was a man....you know what I think

- I forgot to add the Pierre should do 20 sit-ups every time he strikes out as well, he is nothing like his former self at this time and you CANNOT blame Hendry for that

- Is anyone else angry that they gave Mabry #17, that is all Mark Grace, and should not change

- Wood did not look great, but I am definitely encouraged

- Where is Mark Prior, I thought it was just a twinge?

- Did anyone know that Bobby Howry won a National Junior College Championship, pretty cool

- Scott Eyre has really impressed me

- On the other hand Will Ohman, what happened?

- And then there is Roberto Novoa, he is a total crapshoot, it could be a six run inning or three straight strikeouts, this has to be frustrating for Dusty

- I cannot say enough about Ronny Cedeno, he has blown away my expectations

- Len Kasper makes me laugh, sometimes it is because the joke is so bad, but so be it, he is entertaining and Brenly is really growing on me, he is like a different person

- I may be deflated, and I may be down, but I am NOT out, it is not over yet

Go Cubs, let's take ALL three at the Joan this weekend. It is time to stop all that believing on the Southside!

Thanks for reading, feel free to drop me a line at brian@chicagocubsonline.com and as always....

Stay Classy Cub Fans!

Kevin

Brian, nice thoughts. Always good to see that some Cub fans refuse to go negative so early in a season. I could be wrong about this one, but maybe Barrett punching AJ in the face will help kick start the season. Pierzynski's actions after his homer off of Zambrano to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning were despicable, but we got the last laugh this time.

Steve

Trevor, I think you would definatly be safe in a fight against Prior. After he injured his punching arm. Prior would then have get back to you in 4-6 weeks, which would then turn into 3 months. Of course, he'd have to throw a few simulated punches before hand though.

nick

Very good ramblings Brain. I too am disappointed that Mabry wears #17.

I am not a huge Baker hater, I actually like the guy. I still think we can make a run at this thing, but with having said that if Baker getting fired will keep Perez the hell out of the lineup then can his but. Now if that was Pierre bunting I could understand that alittle more, but Perez come on! I wonder what my neighbors thought when the game was over. I was not quiet to say the least. I read an article in the Sun Times today and Perez said "I am not a power hitter, I wasn't going to hit the ball out of the park." WHO WAS ASKING YOU TO?!!! I just wanted him to get on base. Why couldn't he have taken a few pitches and maybe drawn a walk or wait for a good pitch to drive. But no instead he bunts right back to the pitcher, who was not pitching that great by the way. I'm sorry i just had to rant. Once again good ramblings Brian. Now lets go and sweep that team south of Wrigley.

Trevor

Is anyone else thinking how nice Tejada's bat would be right about now? We would have given up Prior, which at the time I was extremely against. But I'm starting to think he's just a big PANSY! Seriously I would not be afraid to say to his face. Before he could cross the room to deck me in the face he would come down with the flu, get food poisoning and have "twitches" in both shoulders, preventing him from throwing a punch. I of course would take the high road and not punch back. I would however challenge him to a towell throwing contest, where despite Larry R's stellar training in the lost art, I would ruthlessly display my terry cloth skills, shaming Prior off the team and earning me 5 minutes on Chicago Tribune Live.

Ryan

Brian, very good ramblings for the day although you should tell your buddy he can't take credit for the push up thing for Pierre. All fans of the movie "Major League" know that Willy Mays Hayes had to do push ups every time he popped out. Len has also been making me laugh a lot lately and as far as Brenley is concerned. I'm thinking the Tribune Comp may be grooming him for the managers spot. Ever noticed the Big Ring he wears on his pinky finger?

Mike Duncan

Brian, just wanted to let you know that I enjoy your outlook on the Cubbies, its good to see that the faithful have not all departed. I do however have to say that from this Cub fans perspective (since 1969 - first cubs game) this has got to be one of the most painful seasons I have ever watched. Perhaps contract extensions should be awarded at the end of a season rather than the beginning. Some of the players that have been given big contracts recently have been a huge disapointment. (could A-Ram be any worse?) some of the games against San Diego were extemely close to the "bad News Bears", Was that Lupas I saw in the outfield or Jones? Can that Guy actually throw a ball to the infield on the fly? Anyway, hope that the return of some of the injury boys boosts our team. keep up the good work.