Category: Cubs

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Does Anyone Really Care?

Barry BondsI guess it would be fairly incorrect to ask if anyone cares that Barry Bonds is about to surpass Babe Ruth’s home run record. It’s obvious that people around the world are paying attention. I would doubt that they are waiting on the edge of their seats though.

And obviously, I care enough to mention this. But it is such an after thought. When Ichiro was going for his record of hits in a season, I was scanning the headlines and catching all the sports highlights that I could. Sosa and McGuire? The same thing. That was exciting. Bonds isn’t.

Is it the whole steroids thing? I think that’s pretty spot on. And I can’t say thank you enough to Juan Pierre of the Cubs for snagging the homer away from him last night.  Holy crap that was awesome.  Bonds is too much of a diva for my liking.  And being that Chicago is on a losing skid as is, I’d really like to see him not hit that mark against the Cubbies.

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Len & Bob’s Weekly Podcast

I am a Cubs fan. Pure, plain, and simple. Ever since I was wee, I’ve been a fan of the biggest losers in baseball. Say what you will, but I am what I am. There is very little you can do to change that.

What has me more excited is Len & Bob’s Weekly Podcast.

Every week, WGN Sports broadcasters Len Kasper and Bob Brenly will discuss the latest happenings about the Chicago Cubs.

Freaking sweet! We get WGN on digital cable here in Vancouver, but no Comcast SportsNet unless we upgrade to a dish. I always thought that WGN should have more games than Comcast, but that reigns more true now than before.

I did get a subscription to MLB.com’s gameday audio last season, the main reason being that my office at the radio station was horrible for getting any reception. Yes, I listened to another radio station to catch Cubs games, but you do what you have to do. Plus for the price, it’s pretty hard to beat.

MLB.com is a pretty great service, and there is large part of me that is really missing the sound of Ron Santo and Pat Hughes doing the games on radio. It’s always better to watch the games on TV and listen to Ron rip on the Cubs when the games get pretty awful.

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Today It Is Summer

Reuters Photo: President Bush with the Chicago Cubs on opening day of the seasonFor some reason, even I had a little bit of opening day jitters going on. I was nervous for the sake of being excited. It’s here. Baseball is on. To me, this means that summer has officially begun.

Actually, the opening day really kicked off last yesterday. The White Sox, fitting enough, had those duties at home. They’ve bulked up their team during the off season, so we’ll see if they can hold their title. I still don’t like watching their games on TV if it’s Hawk making the calls. It’s just painful to me.

The Cubs start out in Cincinatti today, home opening at Wrigley coming up this Friday against the Cards. I’ll be heading into the interior with my wife. Will have to catch up with the scores later, or you can always check out the Cubscast. It’s not timely, but they’ll let you know who is doing what and where.

It might seem strange for me to be a hockey fan and a baseball fan. They are completely different sports, and you will never hear me trying to compare the two. Baseball is meant to be enjoyed slowly. These are the lazy days of summer. Lazy being the key word.

Edit:  Cubs win!  16-7!  Good game to start the season, but it was a strange one.

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“That Wouldn’t Be a Home Run in a Phone Booth”

I grew up watching Harry Caray. It is nearly safe to say that he was the one who made me excited about baseball while I was growing up. He slurred, didn’t always get the calls right, and had some of the strangest references about some story from out of nowhere. It was brillant. He made you want to like the Cubs. We are fans of a different breed. It’s not about next year. It’s about having a good time. And baseball, too.

The guy who lost out on the job Harry held for a number of years still holds a grudge. Milo Hamilton feels the need to tell everyone that Caray was a miserable human being, a control freak, and hard to work with. The last part I can understand because the guy was nuts. Just watching him you had to wonder how this guy could do this job every single game of the season, switching between TV and radio the whole time.

All these years and this guy is still ticked off over the fact that Harry got the job that he didn’t. Maybe the issue is deeper, but he waits eight years after Caray’s passing to whine to the world. An attack on his character? What a load of crap. It almost shames me more that Milo is originally from Iowa. Harry’s gone. Get over it and get on with you life, Mr. Hamilton.