Misc Sports Shit Running Thru My Head

Cubs are Chicago’s Team Again

Don’t get me wrong, the Chicago White Sox are still my favorite team in town, and if I could choose a franchise and a franchise model to embrace I would still take the SOX over the cubs any day

…and I will still mock the cubs for 100 years of fuckery if they are eliminated from playoff contention this year….

But after the great run my beloved SOX had in 2005 & 2006, the Cubs have recaptured the baseball stage in Chicago and should be considered the city’s #1 franchise once again. Yeah the Bears unite the city but their only accomplishment last year was beating the Pack twice. The Bears have no offensive line and that is tantamount to saying the team has no heart. Call me when they get one and I will say they are in better shape than the cub.

The Bulls are a joke and I am not going to waste another sentence on them.

My beloved WhiteSOX, the season will be considered a success if the SOX finish in 2nd place. I will say more about my hopes and dreams for the SOX season later.

Sure the cubs have some roadblocks and weaknesses, but in the wake of the Bedard trade (I am not spellchecking the name of an Oriole, like the O’s ownership I can’t afford the time or expense)…if the cubs get Roberts I will cheer if for no other reason than to say “Hah hah you fucking fuck Soriano. Move down in the lineup and try to do something there”

Some would argue that the cubs do not have a pitching staff that can take them to the World Series. That may be true, but they have enough pitching and a diverse enough lineup (different types of hitters who can do different things, esp now with Fukudome) that they should make the regular season interesting and play competitive baseball. In a shocking turn, I will agree with Devin here that the cubs as constituted would play compelling ball in any division not just in the NL Central. Has it gotten weaker with the collapse of the Cards and Dusty managing the Reds? Maybe. But you play who you play and there are many guys on the cubs team who could adapt and flourish playing against any competition (even the mentally weak Z and Wood, Z acquitted himself well against a good D-backs team who were playing as good of a brand of baseball as the Yankees, Indians and almost any of the superior franchises in the AL)

I guess my thought here is we should all enjoy whatever the cubs can accomplish this year. The spotlight should be squarely on them for doing, mostly, the right things compared to the other clubs in town.

Relative to my team (the SOX) I am not down on Kenny for failing to get Hunter and Rowand and I've explained before why I was cool with Swisher rather than the dumptrucks of money for these other guys...but for all the good Kenny did the team his behavior with the press and even certain fan groups has been erratic at best and downright rude at other times. Come on Kenny. You did the impossible. You brought a World Series to Chicago. Don't be such a dick about it. The cubs are dealing with a far different sort of pressure than payroll and perception and Hendry doesn't look like he is about to crack. He already had one physical breakdown two years ago (?) in FL and I think he learned something from it. You, Kenny Williams, could learn something from the demeanor of the guy who generally manages the cub.

Other random Sunday baseball thoughts…

U-ribe not My-ribe

I love Juan Uribe. He completed the greatest sports season in my lifetime when he made the last two outs in the WhiteSOX World Series. I hope he plays well at 2nd this year. But I will not cry if the SOX make a deal for him in the middle of he season. I can see it play out…a contender loses a shortstop and needs someone and has young pitching to trade. Deal - and SOX fans will say goodbye to Uribe who was sometimes selfish at the plate but will always have a special place in the history of Chicago baseball.

Don’t get me wrong, my dream for this season is that everything clicks for the SOX and Uribe/Cabrera become a great middle infield tandem, Danny Richard (sp, Jeanz? Ozzie? Someone?)…D.R. becomes a super-sub but I live in the real world most of the time.

Mostly I am so fucking happy that pitchers and catchers are reporting and the sooner the miserable fucking thing known as February is over, the better as far as I am concerned.