Well, this was a great weekend. On Friday, a good buddy calls me and asks if I want to accompany him to the Rangers/Yankees series opener. How could I turn that down? He sweetens the deal by saying he actually has three tickets, so Chan and my neighbor, E.J. went along. The Rangers proceeded to put the hurt on the Yankees, beating them 9-7. I will upload the pics very soon.

Saturday, Chandler finished his baseball season with a loss. It was a good game, though. We had a lot of fun this season, and I am really looking forward to the team part. I will upload the pics very soon.

ON Sunday, we went to see Shrek 2. Very funny movie, although it is really hard to duplicate the magic of the first movie. I highly recommend it.

The Cubs took two of three from the Cards over the weekend. That is the greatest sentence I have ever typed. The Cubs are being destroyed with injuries right now, and they are still playing well, and I love it! Matt Clement pitched a gem last night, and the offense scored just enough to win. Latroy and Joe finished out the game with scoreless innings, and of course, Borowski made it interesting. I can't believe this guy hasn't blown a save yet this year. It is only a matter of time!  ¶ 11:39 AM 1 comments

  Man, what a great game! The Cubs battle back to tie it up at three, LaTroy holds them in the 9th, Borowski in the 10th, and then Moises takes one yard in the bottom of the 10th! I love walk-off home runs. They are just about the most pure thing in the sport. Bam! Scoreboard! Yes!

Chandler and I went to the Rangers game last night, and it was sweeeeet. Jeremy gave us tickets and they were 16th row right behind the dugout! I have never sat so close for a real game, and Chandler was into every pitch. It was really great to see him truly excited about being at the game. He asked a lot of really good questions, and I think he is really starting to become a fan of the game, which is great! I will post most of the pictures up as soon as we get them developed, but there are a few up now. They are kind of crappy, since the digital wasn't on its top game that night. I had the SLR with the big telephoto lens going, so once I get those back from being developed, you can really see what kind of photographer I am.

Alexa woke up with a pretty good fever, so I missed half a day of work. Nothing big, and she looks to be feeling better. She is so cute when she is sick. She still motors around the house with all of the energy, but she does it at about half speed, so it is kind of like Toddler Matrix around here when she is sick.

The Timberwolves/Kings game 7 just ended. Man, do I hate the Sacramento Kings. Now Doug Christie can tell his wife he loves her to her face instead of signaling it every time someone dribbles the ball. Too bad the T-Wolves are going to get mauled in the WCF by the Lakers.  ¶ 10:11 PM 0 comments

 

Sweep! The Cubs swept the Padres this weekend to put them in a tie for first place. This comes despite the fact that the Padres tried to intimidate us by wearing their 1984 jerseys. I think it is interesting the way those jerseys look cool now. I would think that it has to do with the way they are tailored now. Even the hats look good!

I had a great time at Dena's party yesterday, even if we had to leave early. It is great to know that so many people would turn out to her 21st birthday party. I wish we could have stayed, but the demands of softball took their toll. We did win the game, though and came in second place in our league. I will be starting the Beryl softball league soon. Can you believe that there are actually people out there who think I will be too competitive? As much as I theoretically despise coed softball, I am going to have fun with my fellow employees. :)  ¶ 9:32 AM 1 comments

    ¶ 10:50 PM 0 comments

  You will notice that I have included a "subscribe" feature to the blog, so you can get an email each time it is updated. Try it out. It is pretty cool!  ¶ 12:04 PM 0 comments

  Another good, strong clean win for Carlos Zambrano yesterday. This guy is amazing. I love the fact that he could be in the Cubs rotation for years to come. The offense kind of sparked yesterday...do you think that it is a coincidence that Corey and Sammy weren't in the lineup yesterday? Now, I am not advocating that we sit Sammy and Corey every day, but it sure was nice not to have 4 automatic strikeouts in the lineup.

You sure don't hear much about the Hee Sop Choi trade anymore, do ya? Hee Sop is hitting .129 in May, and Derrek Lee is starting to really show he was worth the trade.

The Padres will be wearing their 1984 jerseys to "commemorate" their 1984 pennant. I know the players don't care about this, but as a fan, this chaps my hide. Just rub it in our face that we were that close in `84, and you had to spoil it for all of us. I know I was only 8 years old, but I remember it very well. Oh well....hopefully our bats will stay alive for the rest of the season. Go Cubbies!  ¶ 9:44 AM 0 comments

 
Look at those pretty eyes! I read about a pretty cool Photoshop technique for this, so I thought I would give it a try! What do you think?  (Click on the pic for a bigger version)  ¶ 3:49 PM 0 comments

  Notice the link to the picture albums on the top right?  ¶ 10:55 AM 0 comments

 
Alexa takes a bath! 

Isn't she lovely?  ¶ 10:35 AM

  Ok, I have determined that my family is a bunch of smartasses. Well, maybe just Dena.

Thanks for the comments, guys. Keep 'em coming! I like to know that people are reading it. The more you read it, the more I will post on it. I promise.  ¶ 8:42 AM 0 comments

  I don't know which is more maddening. Watching the Cubs throw the ball away consistently or watching them flounder at the plate. I read a good article the other day that called for the Cubs to expect a little more out of their hitting coach, Gary Matthews. I am beginning to agree with that article as each at bat fails. I think the most frustrating thing is how none of the Cubs' hitters EVER move closer to the plate. You know it, and I know it, that a slider low and away is coming. Yet they still swing and miss, and it is because they all stand about 6 feet from the plate. Sammy, Derrek, Aramis and Moises have some of the quickest bats I have ever seen, yet they all seem so afraid of the inside pitch.

Well, the Astros won today, putting the Cubs three back. And, Kerry went out with sore triceps. Hopefully, this is the Cubs bad stretch, and they will turn it on once they get healthy....if it ever happens.  ¶ 11:41 PM 0 comments

  My buddy E.J. and I are discussing getting a DSL connection for our houses to share. One connection, network the computers in either house, and share it. Have any of you used anything like this before? Email me and let me know how it works....  ¶ 8:13 PM 0 comments

  I have found a new source of frustration. I was listening to an interview (something about sports) on TV and the sports star in question asked the member of the media if "he had every played the game". He then went on to criticize the media member about not playing the game, and he didn't know what he was talking about because he didn't know the game, blah blah blah. My question is to the sports star: Have you ever been in the media? Then shut the hell up! I used to have a very spirited argument with a friend of mine who would tell me that I wasn't allowed to criticize smoking weed unless I had done it. That would frustrate me to no end. So, because I haven't committed murder, I can't criticize it? I hate, hate, hate that argument. Just because I haven't done something doesn't mean I can't be morally objected to it, and try to convice others of my stance. Now, I have mellowed out since then. People can do what they want, and I am usually cool with it. But if my freedom or rights have been violated, you can't do that around me.

What do you guys think about this deal in congress about making any movie that shows cigarette smoking automatically have an "R" rating? Kind of dumb, if you ask me. I do think there should be more ratings to further classify movies. I wanted to take my son to see "School of Rock", but it was rated "PG-13". After seeing it, I was kind of upset because there wasn't anything in there my 8-year old couldn't have handled. Can they make a "PG-10" rating?  ¶ 4:48 PM 2 comments

 

My review of the first big chunk of the season:

The Cubs have played well in spite of many factors. Injuries have played their part, and hopefully the Cubs will weather the storm. Houston has played really well, but I don't know how long they will be able to hold out. Here are some of my musings:

Surprises:

Michael Barrett. His defensive prowess behind the plate has been terriffic, but no one expected his bat to come alive so quickly.

Derrek Lee. We all know he is going to hit eventually, but this guy is a human vacuum cleaner at first base. I would say right now we have won two games because of his glove at first base.

Todd Walker. The guy is as gritty as it gets. I love how he has playoff stubble all year long.

Disappointments:

Ramon Martinez: There has got to be someone better than him in the minors. I cringe at the idea of him playing shortstop for the next 6 weeks while Alex Gonzalez gets healthy from a broken wrist.

Corey Patterson: This guy swings at EVERYTHING. I have kids in coach-pitch who have a better hitting eye than he does. Gary Matthews better get his act together and teach some plate discipline.

The six game win streak was a great time. Bus since then, the Cubs have seemed to be on a win one, lose one pace, and that just doesn't win the division. They start a pretty tough west-coast road trip tonight against the Dodgers and the Padres. Are the Padres that good, or does their park play a big part in their pitcher's "success"? That remains to be seen. I do like the Cubs' passion. Their heart seems to be in the right place to make the drive. I just hope that their bats are up for the challenge.

  ¶ 10:23 AM 0 comments

  Welcome to the CubsNation blog. I am going to use this as a dual blog. One part is for my ramblings on sports, with a special focus on the Chicago Cubs, but no topic is off limits. Part two will be for my family to peruse the latest news about my beautiful family. Hopefully I will keep to this blog better than my last ones, but that will remain to be seen!  ¶ 10:10 AM 0 comments