VFTB

Don’t Confuse Me With The Facts!

“Don’t confuse me with the facts.” That was one of Grampa John’s favorite lines. My dad (who majored in math at IIT) would try to convince him of something or other based on flawless logic and/or a sound statistical analysis. Eventually, when he could take no more, Grampa John would erupt, barking “Don’t confuse me with the facts!” and then go off on what his gut told him was right. Facts be damned.

So here I go, celebrating Independence Day with a complete disregard for any factual reference point by spilling my guts about WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.

- Sit Alfonso Soriano down until at least the All-Star break. Start Sam Fuld in left field and bat him leadoff. Fuld provides the defensive, leadoff, and overall offensive sparks the Cubbies need right now. Alfonso is, for the moment, a dud in all those areas. Lou says he’s confident that the Fonz will pick it up. So I believe him. But for now, Fuld gives us what we need and Soriano doesn’t.

I’m reminded of the maxim: When you find yourself in a hole; stop digging!

Witnessing the difference in the Cubs’ performance yesterday with Alfonso in there, versus the two days before when Sam was playing, the solution is obvious to me. Playing Alfonso but batting him lower in the lineup doesn’t fix the problem, it only moves it around.

Meanwhile Alfonso can pinch run, pinch hit and contribute by not digging. He’s going to make 18 million dollars (or so) whether he plays or sits, so let’s stop hurting ourselves for a while, OK?

- Milton Bradley’s left handed bat doesn’t seem to be providing the boost which it was brought here to provide. So play him against left handed pitching, but let Micah play RF against RHPs.

I think the Brewer’s lost yesterday’s game by giving Milton an intentional pass. Had they pitched to him, I’m confident he would have made at least one, possibly two outs in that at bat.

- With the return of Reed Johnson, the center field platoon with Kosuke can pick up where it left off.

- Aramis is coming back, but he may well not be able to play everyday. So spell him with Jake Fox at third for a while.

- Andres Blanco has to be the second baseman on this team. I have total confidence in his defense. Total confidence. His batting is improving, and is currently no worse than any of the other 2B options.

On those occasions when Andres in needed to cover SS for TheRiot, Fontenot can play 2nd.

- DLee must continue to start at 1B.

- Geovany and Koyie are both beginning to heat up. Alternate starts and/or switch ‘em in and out in pinch hit situations.

Those are my recommendations. They will make everything better. Trust me. Just don’t confuse me with the facts.

Tags: Chicago Cubs, Sam Fuld
Posted in General | 7 Comments »

Safe At Home

I was deep into “The Bolivian Diary of Ernesto Che Guevara”, a very dark book, full of misery:

- ….We are in the jungle and it has been raining constantly forever. We all have parasites. We are swollen and our morale is low. Yesterday I drained 50 cc of pus from the abscess on my knee and I drained another 40 cc of purulent exudate today. My asthma is preventing me from breathing normally and I have no more medicine….

That kind of stuff. I decided I needed to read something a little bit lighter.

So I chose to read “Safe At Home - Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic” by Alyssa Milano. It filled the bill, and I mean that in a good way.

You may know who Alyssa Milano is, but I did not.

The short version is that she played Tony Danza’s daughter in the TV show “Who’s the Boss”.

But there’s more to it.

She was born, in Brooklyn, to a father who was a die hard Brooklyn Dodgers fan. Then Walter O’Malley took the Dodgers from Ebbets Field to the West Coast. The Milano family moved to Staten Island and became Yankees fans.

When she was ten or eleven years old Alyssa and her dad moved to LA for her TV career. Her dad reconnected with his Dodgers there. She caught the fever. She is now a rabid LA Dodgers fan. I’m not sure whether I mean that in an entirely good way. She does allow that “as much as I love the boys in blue, I love the game more.”

After reading the book I can say with confidence: Alyssa Milano knows as much about the game of baseball as I do. Probably more.

Alyssa considers the following statement to be one of the fundamental truths of the game: “No matter where you are, no matter how old you are, baseball connects you to your past.”

In the book’s forward, Joe Torre observes: “Rarely have sportswriters and historians paid attention to the ever-expanding role that female fans have played in the support and growth of this game. And rarely have the women been able to tell their stories. ‘Safe at Home’ gives a voice to these stories that have always been a part of the game but have only recently emerged to take their rightful place in its history.”

Alyssa describes early life with her parents thusly: “When I was four and crime started to rise in Brooklyn, they left the borough they grew up in and moved the family to Staten Island, where they could fulfill their American dreams of better schools and a safer neighborhood for their daughter. It was hard for both of them to leave the place where they had grown up, a place so inextricably linked to their memories of youth.
My father in particular wanted nothing more than for me to enjoy the same egg creams that he had; but that Brooklyn, the Brooklyn of his past, had long since faded, passing into New York’s history alongside Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds.”

Our cerebral author observes that “Baseball is the only sport where the team with possession of the ball is actually on defense.” Think about it.

Alyssa tells people: “This chick loves the small ball”, but she doesn’t care for instant replay or Astroturf. She also doesn’t like beach balls at the ballpark. I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever been to a baseball game which featured beach balls. Ever?

At times she slams the Cubs and Wrigley Field, but she says nice things about the Cubs’ uniforms and their fashion sense. I should point out that Miss Milano founded a sports-clothing line for women featuring colors other than pink.

Alyssa has a common sense philosophy regarding circumstances similar to those of the current Sammy Sosa/ Ryne Sandberg difference of opinion: “I’m not saying we should welcome cheating or cheaters. I’m not saying we should accept it and condone it. But enough with the white-hot rage because people in a high-stakes, big-money game look for an edge, and in so doing, sometimes go over it. Punish them, yes. Make it more difficult to cheat, definitely. But spare the puritan apoplexy.”

Miss Milano includes a twelve page glossary at the back of the book. Those of you who already know it all won’t need it. But I think it’s helpful for the rest of us.

I remember once saying that Southern California is just as I had remembered it, only more so. That description extends to Miss Milano as well, who is very LA. Perhaps even more so because she’s originally from New York. I have to say she is very intelligent and very knowledgeable about baseball.

I really enjoyed this book, and I recommend it highly to any and all lovers of the game. The jacket describes this work as “a unique and unexpected book that is equal parts memoir, manifesto, and love letter to our national pastime.” I’d second that.

Oh yes, one more thing. Miss Milano opens Chapter 5 with the following Tommy Lasorda quote: “No matter how good you are, you’re going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are, you are going to win one-third of your games. It’s the other third that makes the difference.”

Tags: Alyssa Milano, Chicago Cubs, LA Dodgers
Posted in General | 4 Comments »

Cubs Sign Casey Fossum to Minor League Deal

It’s a minor signing, but Fossum could be a guy that gets the call in September and could add some Major League experience. He would also add depth in the lefty department and has the ability to work multiple innings. (Source)

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Mid-Day Notes

• Neal Cotts had Tommy John surgery, which ends his season, and I would hope, his Cub career. - (Source)
• Reed Johnson, Angel Guzman, and Aramis Ramirez are all slated to be activated from the DL on Monday. Begin speculation on who will be out to make room.
• I know this was a typo, but it accurately represents the current situation we’re in.

Hendry has come under his most intense fire as GM, but has a contract that runs through 2012. Still, with no owners coming in later this year, is Hendry feeling the heat? - (Source)

• Mike Fontenot ranks in the top 10 in the NL for pitches seen per plate appearance with 4.16
• 15.3% of Kosuke Fukudome’s plate appearances result in walks, which ranks 7th in the NL
• Carlos Zambrano ranks 2nd among starters with at least 60 innings pitched in MLB this season with just 3.88 pitches needed per at bat.
• Not only does this team not run often (27th in MLB with 31 SB), but they don’t do it well when they do. (65% success rate, which is more harm than good)

Posted in General | 2 Comments »

GirlieView (07/03/2009)

I’m an early girlie today!

Quick Weekly Wrapup

• Friday - 06/26, @ Chicago White Sox, W (5-4)
• Saturday - 06/27, @ Chicago White Sox, L (8-7)
• Sunday - 06/28,@ Chicago White Sox, L (6-0)
• Monday - 06/29, @ Pittsburgh, W (3-1)
• Tuesday - 06/30, @ Pittsburgh, L (3-0)
• Wednesday - 07/01, @ Pittsburgh, W (4-1)
• Thursday - 07/02, vs. Milwaukee, W (9-5)

Looking at the week like this, it doesn’t look too bad. 4-3 on the week, two shutouts but only one that looks really crappy. But, until Thursday’s game against Milwaukee, I was feeling about the lowest I’ve felt all year about this team. I feel a lot better now. Still only cautiously optimistic, but that is “a lot better”.

The best part of the week, for me, is that Soriano sat. As many of you have mentioned, Sam Fuld is not this team’s answer. But these days, neither is Soriano. What was the best part of the week for you? The worst?

Question of the Week

Ok guys, fess up. How many of you winced or maybe even crossed your legs when you saw that ball heading straight for Ryan Dempster’s junk after it ricocheted off his foot in the 7th? Yeow!

VFTB Quotes of the Week

• And Soriano, of all people, calling someone out for their team play is pretty funny.
• There are other blogs? What the Gregg?
• Following a burst of inactivity by the Cubs the Cardinals have traded for former Cub favorite Mark DeRosa.
• What do the stats say about Alfonso Soriano as a fielder? I am pretty sure what I think they should say.
• Just like LaRussa likes to bat his pitcher 8th to add another lead off guy, batting Alf 1st gives us another 9th place hitter before the line up turns over.
• what would help more would be “a little less talk and a lot more action.”
• Soriano looks like he is half asleep in the field and the plate. Bradley looks like a frustrated golfer that just doesn’t know what adjustment to make to keep it in the fairway.
• Actually, it is a CHRONIC lack of ability. ACUTE would actually mean [Miles] will get better soon, that ain’t going to happen.
• We need the big bad Wookies to start driving in runs
• You have to reward little successes with praise. That’s what we’ve learned with our toddler as he’s just about done potty training. Seeing as how Milton acts similar to a toddler, we need to treat him and his situation in that way.
• Someone forget to put ipecac in the bullpen water cooler last night?
• Anybody who doesn’t want to play for Lou Piniella doesn’t have to come to the Cubs. They can play with themselves, instead.
• It’s kinda like asking my kids, “which babysitter do you least want me to get this weekend?”
• Dammit, Joe. I don’t want to read about the minors. I don’t. And yet now I click through and read it anyway. What’s happening to me?
• Hello Mr. Hendry. I wanted to write to you because I think I’ve created poop that didn’t stink as much as this Cubs team.
• So Geo and me lit up a fat boy (not him, he was skinnier then)
• Chillaxe.
• Four games against the Brewers coming up and I want 3 of them. Is that too much to ask?
• In other words, he’s also Japanese.
• Our BABIP (Bashes on Blogs in Play) for June was only .458

Here’s to a pleasant holiday weekend for all of you. And here’s to a few more Cubs wins this weekend too! Fingers crossed.

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I refuse to get excited

Since I don’t want to get excited about the fact that we’ve won 3 of 4 and saw D-Lee have almost 1/2 of Milton’s RBI total in one night, I decided to present two fun things for you to discuss this morning as we wait for the afternoon round 2 affair.

1. Brainstorm all the ways possible for a pitcher to pitch a no-hitter, and yet still lose the game.
2. Trivia Question: Name the only two active Major League players to lead their league in HR and Average (not necessarily in the same year) at some point in their career.

Posted in General | 10 Comments »

A Series Win is a Series Win

With Rammy coming back on Monday, and an important stretch of games leading into the all star break, it’s a good start to get the series win, even if it comes against the Pirates. You’ve got to start somewhere, and losing the series to them certainly is not what you need to be doing. Four games against the Brewers coming up and I want 3 of them. Is that too much to ask?

• We saw Sam Fuld leading off and Ryan Theriot hitting second. Compare that with the Soriano, Fukudome mess we saw the night before and I have to say I was much more pleased to see this lineup. I’m tired of Lou putting Sori in that top of the order spot with him struggling the way he is. If I’m in charge I sit down with Soriano, calmly, and explain to him that if he wants to hit at the top of the order he needs to earn it back. He needs to hit in the 6th or even 7th spot until he can show he’s done slumping and ready to be a productive member of the lineup again. I’d even be willing to make a statement and sit Soriano again tonight in favor of Fuld who played well. He made a nice catch in the OF, a great throw to nail a runner at the plate, and was just what the doctor ordered at the top of the plate with hitting and patience. I don’t think he’s the saviour at the leadoff spot, but if he produces, give him another game to do it again. He does seem a little twitchy in the box, which made me laugh.
• Milton Bradley was in the lineup tonight, though I thought he was supposed to be sitting for both of the remaining games in the series to work with Von. He looked OK at the plate. I did notice something when he’s hitting lefty, and this could be the result of him slumping from the side, but he looks to be relieved when he can draw a walk. He flips the bat so quickly and darts down to first as if he’s afraid they’re going to take the walk away and he’ll be forced back into hitting from that side. What I don’t understand about him is why he’s a switch hitter. His numbers are drastically different when he hits from the left side, so why not scrap that project all together?
• Everyone has been calling for fire from Lou and tonight he got ejected. What makes me laugh is that I think he was looking for a spot to do it and I would almost venture to say that he was asking the umpire to do it to take a little pressure off from the media. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went out and yelled and asked them to do it and they quickly obliged.
• Another nice start by Wells and you have to ask yourself if perhaps he deserves to be our all star rep. He would be who I vote for. You?
• Jose Ascanio pitched 4 innings for Iowa as a starter, allowing 2 hits and no runs while striking out 7

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