Did that really happen? At bottom, I believe a lot of Cubs fans’ hostility – particularly in recent years – toward the Cardinals is rooted in jealousy. Sure, they’ve had their douche moments, but mostly, we hate their success because we want to experience that as fans of the Cubs. So, yeah, I really hate what happened last night. Down two runs (after being down 6-0 early) in the 9th, the Cards had a runner on and two outs when each of Yadier Molina and David Freese – down to their last strike – walked. And then, in the most Cardinal way possible, guys named Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma got the hits to tie and win the game. So, the Cardinals move on to face the Giants in the NLCS. At least now I still have something to root for in the playoffs. Freaking voodoo magic …
Oh, also, the Yankees beat the Orioles. They’ll face the Tigers in the ALCS. Bummer that both the O’s and A’s were bounced.
Patrick Mooney takes a deep look at the Cubs’ third base problem in 2012, and problem going forward. He spends a fair bit of time talking about Kevin Youkilis, which still – to me – seems like a poor fit for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is: why would Youkilis spend any of his twilight years on a team that is expected to be awful for at least the first of those years? Given the dearth of options on the free agent market for third basemen this offseason, he’ll have better options.
Doug Padilla continues his look at the positions, with second base on the slate. Obviously it’s a Barney-tastic take, which doesn’t even mention offense until the 9th paragraph. So it is with Darwin Barney.
Paul Sullivan does the Q&A thing, and among his thoughts: (1) the key difference between the A’s and O’s and the Cubs right now is young pitching – the Cubs don’t have any that is ready to step up and lead a surprisingly competitive team; (2) the Cubs can’t afford to strike out again this Winter at third base and in the rotation; (3) Paul raises the issue we’ve noted here before – why would a good free agent sign with the Cubs on a short-term deal if he strongly suspects (a) that the Cubs will be bad in 2013 and (b) that the Cubs are just signing him to try and flip him at the deadline?; (4) Paul thinks the Cubs want to keep Carlos Marmol, which just can’t possibly be true – they might end up keeping him, but it won’t be because they want to keep him; (5) Paul didn’t notice player problems with Mike Quade (Matt Garza recently suggested they had issues, and things are much better with Dale Sveum); (6) there’s an interesting exchange about the Cubs getting beat up by some fans when they ask for public funds to renovate Wrigley, but beat up by other fans when they try to, for example, add new seats to generate more revenue.
Someone at the Sun-Times (when I look at the page, the author’s name is missing, which I’m sure will be corrected in short order) didn’t care for Tom Ricketts’ essay on the Cubs’ 2012 season and the organization’s charitable efforts … which Ricketts wrote for the Sun-Times. There’s a lot of bluster about a crappy product, a really bad analogy to a grocery store, rips the Cubs for their charity work (which he calls PR crap … most corporate charity is, dude), and then grinds an ax about the Cubs dismissing traveling secretary Jimmy Bank because that wasn’t a very “charitable” thing to do.
It isn’t official yet, but Phil Rogers says the Dodgers are going to hire former Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo as their new hitting coach. I’d wish him luck, but I’m hoping the Cubs and Dodgers will be direct competitors for playoffs spots within a couple years. (Well, assuming the Dodgers haven’t fallen completely on their face.)
Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here.
Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.
With a lefty Marlins starter on the mound this afternoon, Nico Hoerner lead off today's game for the Chicago Cubs. And he did it in style, ripping a leadoff double to the left-center field wall, before coming into score a...
*The Cubs were rained out yesterday, but today? Today, we've got a Friday 1:20 start at Wrigley Field, and that means all is right in the world. Before you take a look at the Cubs lineup against Miami, check out...
Happy Friday! Well, for everyone except for the pilots who were supposed to be manning the Colorado Rockies flight last week but instead allowed a member of the Rockies coaching staff to hop in the pilot's seat for a fun...
Justin Steele, arguably the single most irreplaceable player on the Chicago Cubs 2024 roster, went down with a hamstring injury just 4.2 innings into his Opening Day start against the Rangers on March 28. In his place, the Cubs sixth...
If you do this job long enough, it's really wild to see the range of topics that can somehow become attached to sports. That is to say, I did not envision myself at some point writing about flight safety, cockpit...
The Iowa Cubs were rained out, but the rest of the farm was in action, and so was Kevin Alcántara, who picked up four hits and now has seven in his last three games as he breaks out of an...
Well, the rain stole one from us yesterday, which is a blessing and a curse. On the bright side, the bullpen gets an extra day of rest (on top of the day Hayden Wesneski bought them). But on the flip...
The Chicago Cubs are against theft. Of bases: https://twitter.com/codifybaseball/status/1781046629103231339 The Chicago Cubs this year have stolen just three bases, the fewest in all of baseball. Dansby Swanson has stolen two bases, Nick Madrigal has stolen one. That's it. I don't...
Even with tonight's rainout, the Chicago Cubs are still making some roster moves. When Patrick Wisdom was removed (perfectly healthy) from the I-Cubs game in the 4th inning on Wednesday, we had an idea of what was coming next. When...
The weather wasn't going to cooperate for Jameson Taillon's season debut, and tonight's Cubs-Marlins tilt has been postponed. The game will instead be part of a split-doubleheader this Saturday, with the first game at 1:20pm CT and the second at...
With a lefty Marlins starter on the mound this afternoon, Nico Hoerner lead off today's game for the Chicago Cubs. And he did it in style, ripping a leadoff double to the left-center field wall, before coming into score a...
The Toronto Blue Jays (10-9) will look to Daulton Varsho, who is coming off a two-homer game, to lead them in a matchup with the San Diego Padres (11-10) Friday at 9:40 PM ET on SDPA. The Blue Jays are...
Jung Hoo Lee will look to extend his 10-game hitting streak when the San Francisco Giants (9-11) take on the Arizona Diamondbacks (9-11). The Giants are listed as -130 favorites on the moneyline for the contest, which starts at 10:15...
The New York Mets (10-8) will vie for their fifth straight victory when they visit the Los Angeles Dodgers (12-9) on Friday at 10:10 PM ET on MLB Network. The Dodgers are listed as -200 favorites to stop the streak,...
At 9:30 PM ET on Friday, in the NBA Play-In Tournament, it'll be the New Orleans Pelicans against the Sacramento Kings -- with Jonas Valančiūnas needing to score just once from beyond the arc to beat his 3-pointer over/under.Jonas Valančiūnas'...
Brandon Ingram's New Orleans Pelicans face the Sacramento Kings on Friday at 9:30 PM ET in the NBA Play-In Tournament, and to beat his 3-point prop, he must make two from beyond the arc.Brandon Ingram's Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs. the...
CJ McCollum needs to make four 3-pointers to beat his prop when the New Orleans Pelicans face the Sacramento Kings on Friday at 9:30 PM ET, in the NBA Play-In Tournament.CJ McCollum's Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs. the KingsCJ McCollum's over/under...
The Sacramento Kings meet the New Orleans Pelicans at 9:30 PM ET on Friday, in the NBA Play-In Tournament, and one of the 3-pointer props available for this matchup requires only one make from Domantas Sabonis.Domantas Sabonis' Three-Pointer Prop Odds...
De'Aaron Fox must make three 3-pointers to beat his prop when the Sacramento Kings face the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday at 9:30 PM ET, in the NBA Play-In Tournament.De'Aaron Fox's Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs. the PelicansDe'Aaron Fox's over/under for...
Justin Steele, arguably the single most irreplaceable player on the Chicago Cubs 2024 roster, went down with a hamstring injury just 4.2 innings into his Opening Day start against the Rangers on March 28. In his place, the Cubs sixth...
NEWSLETTER
Did that really happen? At bottom, I believe a lot of Cubs fans’ hostility – particularly in recent years – toward the Cardinals is rooted in jealousy. Sure, they’ve had their douche moments, but mostly, we hate their success because we want to experience that as fans of the Cubs. So, yeah, I really hate what happened last night. Down two runs (after being down 6-0 early) in the 9th, the Cards had a runner on and two outs when each of Yadier Molina and David Freese – down to their last strike – walked. And then, in the most Cardinal way possible, guys named Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma got the hits to tie and win the game. So, the Cardinals move on to face the Giants in the NLCS. At least now I still have something to root for in the playoffs. Freaking voodoo magic …
