I’m not one who gets full on into blogging about sports, but as a Cubs fan, it’s a little hard not to. And being all the way up in Vancouver, I think I’ve been doing a fairly good job paying attention to what’s been going on. Combining the powers of RSS feeds and podcasts, it’s easy to see that this season is turning more and more painful.
First, it was the broken wrist of Derek Lee. That should have clued all of us in as to what we were in store for. Wood and Prior have been nothing but a bag of problems, having something constantly dragging them down. I love them as pitchers, but kids, let this be a lesson to you. Being a pitcher can really mess your shoulder up, especially if you start throwing curve balls and junk at a young age.
I had a buddy growing up that could throw the most wicked curve, sinker, and slider, all at the age of fifteen. It was shortly after that age that I developed a disliking for organized sports in school, focusing more on the arts, but that other guy went on for just a few more seasons until struggles with tendinitis and reoccuring shoulder pain was common, all before we graduated high school.
When Woody and Prior are healthy, they are great, but this is another chapter in a growing list of problems for both of the guys. I’m not too sure that the Cubs should keep investing so much in the two of them if these problems keep happening. I don’t want to see them cut or traded, but at what point do you say enough is enough?
And to almost add even more crap onto what is turning into a crappy season, there’s Zambrano’s recent mishap.
In a bizarre accident, Zambrano’s right elbow was struck by the bat of a White Sox coach during the American League’s batting practice before Tuesday’s All-Star Game. […]
Zambrano was doing interviews with members of the Venezuelan media when he backed up into the swing of White Sox third base coach Joey Cora, who was hitting infield grounders.
The fungo bat slammed into Zambrano’s right elbow and he was taken to a local hospital, where X-rays were negative, according to a source close to the situation. The extent of the injury, and any effect it might have on Zambrano taking his turn in the rotation, is unknown. [mlb]
There’s talk of firing Dusty Baker, but is he really to blame? Look what they guy has to work with. People were starting to wonder about Juan Pierre and why the Cubs ever got him. Once Lee was back, he’s been producing some good numbers and the fans love him again, saying we need to sign him for next year already.
Everything is seeming to be too little, too late. When certain things are going well, others aren’t. Listening to the CubsCast not long ago, they were going through a list of players from around the league that we should be watching out for in terms of next season. Next season?! Is it time to give up already?
Well, at 34-54, fifth place in the N.L. central, and 14.5 games out of first, there is a hell of a lot that needs to start going the right way. Never try to out guess the all-star break. It can do magical things to teams, good and bad. Let’s hope for good, eh?