Best of Game Notes Vol. 4
Well, another two weeks are behind us, the Cubs are back at .500, and they just finished a winning homestand. In case you missed them (and I know you missed them), here's another round of Game Notes highlights. (continue...)The Summer Season
There was no mistaking the smell of Lake Michigan in the air this morning as I awoke. (continue...)How Low Is Too Low?
This feels like a new low point to the season. Todd Walker got the lone RBI today, which just emphasizes how utterly poor the team is hitting collectively because Walker was supposed to be the guy coming back and providing the extra RBI. I mean, against a guy (Jennings) with an earned run average over 7 who leads the league in walks, the Cubs managed one run and only two walks -- the first walk finally coming with two outs in the seventh. (continue...)Wanting to Win
Well, we're less than a month away from the summer solstice, the weather is finally settling in, and so we're all in a bit of a holding pattern awaiting the start of summer. It's a tough week to concentrate, the week before Memorial Day, because the enthusiasm of spring lulls a bit while we anticipate the summer season kick-off. I think that's why last weekend's series felt a bit out of place -- like it came up out of nowhere -- since Rivalry Weekend had started to become a summer tradition, and it just doesn't feel like summer yet.The Cubs aren't making it any easier to get excited, either, and neither is Cubs Nation. (continue...)
Sports in the Second City
Two polls today: The Best Bar in Wrigleyville | The Worst Bar in WrigleyvilleI've been thinking a bit lately about Chicago's culture since Saul Bellow died, because Bellow lived in the old Ukranian village, just a few blocks south from where I live. I added this to the fact that Nelson Algren also lived near me, in Bucktown, just a few blocks north. I walked home from dinner the other weekend, past the Algren fountain at the intersection of Milwaukee and Ashland and Division, and I wondered what the streets must have been like 80 or 60 years ago. I never read Bellow, but Algren has influenced me a bit and when you read him you can't help but be more aware of the history and context of Chicago.
(Really, this will be about baseball.) (continue...)
On Derrek Lee
At some point, you have to stop talking about Derrek Lee's hot start and begin talking about Lee's brilliant season. I'd like to take a second to point this out. Start paying attention if you haven't been because these first seven weeks have already given us some remarkable moments from Lee. He's been good enough to deserve the kind of attention you give the superstars in the middle innings: focus on every at bat, every play in the field, every game. (continue...)Best of Game Notes Vol. 3
Two more weeks, and the Cubs are still mired in a swamp of bad luck, injuries, poor hitting and losses. What next? Well, on an off day it's time for another wrap-up of the funniest game notes from the last dozen games. (continue...)Grinding It Out
Carlos Zambrano's injury has to be the last straw. There are no gods left willing to act this cruel, piling more on a baseball team. Even if your gods are statistics, we're way out past the 99th percentile on the injury front. This means that it just cannot get any worse. The Cubs have bottomed out. Right? (continue...)Don't Panic
"Why not? Your position appears quite hopeless." (continue...)S. O. S.
It finally happened: I got so ticked off at this team that I had to resort to Pink Floyd to mellow me out before I could fall asleep. (continue...)On Kerry Wood
The news is not good in Cubdom these days. Last Saturday they had a chance to finally win three in a row, and Kerry Wood was on the mound. This was a chance to break open the series -- even to break open the season a little bit. Instead, it's Wood's shoulder that's broken. (continue...)Best of Game Notes Vol. 2
Well, it's been another 2 weeks and we're right back at .500. Wondering how it happened? There are definitely some recurring themes. Read on for the best (most humorous) game notes from the last 2 weeks. (continue...)The View From Wrigleyville
The Stages We Play On
I don’t get to follow the Cubs as closely as I’d like these days. It seems like there’s always something else going on: work, bills, cleaning, obligations, engagements, etc. (continue...) Pro's, Con's, and Observations for the Month of April
This past Saturday was an interesting one. Especially since I got up at 6:00 AM, which is when a lot of my recent Friday nights have ended. However, I had good reason to get up: good music. (continue...)
The Eye Of The Beerholder
05.31.05 Bars of Wrigleyville Poll
A public service for those to drunk to remember the bars after the game. (continue...) 05.15.05 Trip to the Southside
White Sox versus Orioles at US Cellular Field
Section 102 Row 6 Seat 8 (continue...) 05.10.05 Homerun Derby
Cubs versus Mets at Wrigley Field
Section BLCHR Row GA Seat 719 (continue...) 05.09.05 Rain Delay(s)
Cubs versus Mets at Wrigley Field
Section 528 Row 8 Seat 101 (continue...) 05.09.05 Tarping the field
Cubs versus Mets at Wrigley Field
Two rain delays (continue...) 05.07.05 Will Ferrell
Cubs versus Phillies at Wrigley Field
Section 101 Row 11 Seat 1 (continue...) 05.06.05 Offerman's Head
Cubs versus Philles at Wrigley Field
Section 213 Row 8 Seat 112 (continue...) 05.03.05 Miller Time
Cubs versus Brewers at Miller Park
Section 131 Row 22 Seat 2 (continue...) 04.26.05 My First Bleacher Experience
Cubs versus Reds at Wrigley Field
Seciton BLCHR Row GA Seat 367 (continue...) 04.25.05 First Night Game of the Year
Cubs versus Reds at Wrigley Field
Section 205 Row 2 Seat 3 (continue...) 04.09.05 Opening Weekend
Cubs versus Brewers at Wrigley Field
Section 14 Row 7 Seat 110 (continue...)
Westside Wavelength
