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Analysis, News & Rumors
Archives
September 2007 Headlines
Cubs Face Arizona - 9/30/07 10:21pm
CUBS WIN NL CENTRAL! - 9/28/07 10:15pm
Depth for Playoffs and Beyond - 9/22/07 11:36am
Cubs Have Post Season Drive - 9/21/07 7:30pm
Big Z Adds More Pressure - 9/4/07 10:15pm
9/30/07 10:21pm - Cubs Face Arizona
The dates have been set. Now, the opponent has been identified. The Cubs are facing the Arizona Diamondbacks
in the National League Division Series.
The Cubs open up Tuesday night in Arizona where Carlos Zambrano will face-off against Brandon Webb. Ted Lilly
will start game 2.
Arizona may have been the best matchup for the Cubs as the Phillies are on an amazing hot streak, beating out the
Mets in the NL East.
It also may be a benefit to play the Diamondbacks since Arizona has been a second home to the Cubs, who call Scottsdale
their home during Spring Training. The Cubs can plan on their fair share of Cubs fans at Chase Field.
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9/28/07 10:15pm - CUBS WIN NL CENTRAL!
Its been a long year and the battle between the Cubs and Brewers has come to an end. THE CUBS HAVE WON THE NL CENTRAL!
With some help from San Diego, the Brewers have moved 3 games behind the Cubs, eliminating them from postseason contention. With the
Cubs win and the Brewers loss, the Cubs have won the NL Central and clinched a 2007 National League Postseason appearance.
It is still unclear who the Cubs will be playing in the National League Division Series, but it appears they will
not have home field advantage. This means the Cubs will probably open the the first two games on the road on Tuesday
and Wednesday. Game 3 and Game 4 will be held at Wrigley Field next Saturday and Sunday (October 6th and 7th). If necessary,
Game 5 will be on the road on Tuesday, October 9th.
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9/22/07 11:36am - Depth for Playoffs and Beyond
Cubs fans aren't use to this. The 2007 Cubs team, which started the season with many question marks now has depth at every position.
In the outfield, Soriano, Jones, and Floyd round out the normal starting lineup. Beyond that, the Cubs have Murton, Monroe, Pie, Ward, and Sam Fuld. They even have
Mark DeRosa if they need him.
In the infield, the Cubs have Ramirez, Theriot, DeRosa, and Lee. When the season started, Theriot was a utility player with many questions for the shortstop position. Now
Theriot is the everyday shortstop with Cedeno backing him up. Mark DeRosa covers second base, but also has the flexibility to play just about any other position. Don't forget
about Fontenot. The Cubs can easily start him at second base and move DeRosa to a different position.
Geovany Soto has given the Cubs a wonderful problem. With his exceptional play in the minors, Lou is forced to allow him to take time away from veteran, Jason Kendall. When
the season started, we still had Michael Barrett.
What about the starting rotation? The Cubs have six starters, and appear to want to enter the playoffs with four starters. Zambrano is the ace, but Lilly is the pitcher that
most fans would want to see when in a must-win situation. Zambrano, Lilly, and Marquis are already locked up to long term deals.
The bullpen is about as deep as can be. The emergence of Carlos Marmol, who is among the leaders in the NL reliever ERA category, the resurgence of Kerry Wood, and the
revival of Scott Eyre, with only a 0.95 ERA since the All Star break, has turned many question marks into a foundation for a solid bullpen. Don't forget about the other rookies such as
Hart, Gallagher, and Pignatiello, all who have contributed in the last few weeks.
The 2007 Cubs, after some tweaking, have become one of the deepest teams in the league. There aren't many holes to patch up for 2008, if any at all.
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9/21/07 7:30pm - Cubs Have Post Season Drive
If you ever wonder why in the past few years the Wild Card teams have done well, its not because they have been lucky. In the last 4 years,
at least one Wild Card team has either played in or won the World Series.
Last year it was the Tigers who won the AL Wild Card and eventually went to the World Series. In 2005, it was the Astros who won the NL
Wild Card, but eventually lost the series to the White Sox. In 2004, the Red Sox won the AL Wild Card and then won the World Series. The same
things happened in 2003, when the Florida Marlins won the NL Wild Card, eventually winning the World Series.
What makes the Wild Card winners successful? The fact that these teams are fighting up until the last game of the year could have something
to do with it. They play like there's no tomorrow and that mindset carries into the post season. Other teams that end up winning their divisions
by large margins may not always be ready to fight like a Wild Card team.
Applying this theory, the Cubs could end up doing very well in the post season (assuming they can stay ahead of the Brewers). As of Friday morning, the
Cubs led the Brewers by 1.5 games. The race is so tight that every game is a nail biter and the team is starting to be known as the "Cardiac" Cubs.
If you've been to Wrigley Field lately, you can feel the energy. This team is now finding ways to win rather than finding ways to lose as they did earlier this
season. This is another asset to a playoff bound team.
With 3 games against the Pirates, 3 games against the Marlins, and 3 more games against the Reds, its evident the Cubs have the easier schedule. All 3 of these
teams are out of playoff contention and many have either been depleted with injuries or are just building for 2008. The Pirates are 3-7 in the last 10 games and are sitting
in the cellar of the NL Central. The Marlins are 5-5 in the last 10 games sitting the cellar of the NL East. And the Reds, who just lost Ken Griffey Jr. are 6-4.
The Brewers, on the other hand have 3 games against the Braves, 3 against St. Louis, and 4 against the Padres. The Padres are fighting to keep the Wild Card
lead and are 8-2 in the last 10 games. The Braves are 7-3 in their last 10 games and show no signs of slowing down. St. Louis is their only opponent that is not doing
well at 2-8 in the last 10.
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9/4/07 10:15pm - Big Z Adds More Pressure
Big Z is at it again. On Monday, after being booed by the majority of the fans at Wrigley Field, Zambrano displayed his displeasure to the Wrigley Field fans by pointing to his head. It wasn't any normal point to the head. It was directed at Cubs fans, as if to let fans know he was going to remember how they disrespecting him.
After the game, Carlos said of the Cubs fans that "they just care about them" and "I don't accept that the fans were booing at me".
All true fans know that most kinds of booing shouldn't happen at your home ballpark. The only type of booing that should be allowed is when one of your players isn't hustling or giving full effort. That hasn't been the case with the 2007 Cubs and wasn't the case for Carlos Zambrano. They have been playing hard and doing well for the most part.
On the other hand, what the heck is Carlos Zambrano thinking? With his actions and comments, including the incident with Michael Barrett, he is constantly pushing fans away. Not only is he pushing fans away, but he is adding even more pressure on himself and his team.
Maybe instead of blaming the fans, Zambrano should take a look at himself. He's been stinking up the joint since late July (Zambrano has gone 0-5 in his last 5 starts) and fans have come to expect dominant performances. Some fans may even think he's turned it down a notch after signing a huge extension. On Monday, he made several selfish mistakes which irked the Wrigley faithful.
Essentially, what Carlos Zambrano has done was rip the people who eventually pay his salary. Isn't that more disrespectful than booing a baseball player for what has been a string of poor performances?
By the way, since when is it suppose to be that easy to get a professional athlete off their game? If the fans can truly effect how you play, wouldn't we have seen it by now in other sports? Professional athletes should be just that: professional athletes. They should be able to handle the criticism or they shouldn't be playing the game at a professional level.
What is interesting is that there is little margin for error at Wrigley Field as of late. Any player who makes a mistake is a candidate for the booing, whether they are Scott Eyre or Alfonso Soriano. Most fans have started to adopt this as normal behavior, whether that is right or wrong.
More than likely, most Cubs fans will quickly forgive and forget as they quickly forgot and forgave Zambrano for sending Michael Barrett to the hospital. Carlos should watch his step, however. Fans will only put up with these actions as long as the team is successful. His next start and his actions during that start may define how many fans treat him for the forseeable future.
What Carlos Zambrano doesn't understand is the bigger picture. His team has a fan base that has been waiting nearly 100 years for the Cubs to win a World Series. The sooner Zambrano understands that, the sooner he should understand that above anything else, he should show more respect for the fans and the game. Yes, even if that means booing after a string of poor performances.
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