Conservative Donnybrook

The struggling Chicago Cubs won two out of three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers this week but not without cheating.  Dodgers third-baseman Casey Blake complained to an official but no action was taken.   ”I know the guy doesn’t have the fastest fastball and he’s trying to get any edge he can, but the guy is just cheating,” said Blake.

The controversy erupted after Cubs starting pitcher, Ted Lilly, threw several pitches from in front of the rubber.  After the game the Cubs pitcher admitted to cheating, stating “There were a couple times I would get it and throw it. I think I was a little bit ahead of the rubber…. I was just trying to get good footing.”

So there we have it, more disgrace upon Chicago baseball.

It is with a heavy heart that today I officially admit to myself that a great hope has vanished from the face of this earth. Along with its demise go the hopes and dreams of millions of Americans and others around the world. Many recognized months ago that their dreams would end without fulfillment. For others, like me, we clung to our dreams in the faith that they could still be fulfilled. Of course, I am talking about the dream, shared by untold millions of people, that the Chicago Cubs would finally win a World Series.

Wrigley Field, to many of us, has always been hallowed ground – a place of tradition, inspiration and beer-soaked, sun-drenched joy. Today it stands as a crypt where our crushed hopes and dreams are interred beneath its cold soil. As in past seasons, the outfield ivy will turn red and nobody will be there to see it. Today Wrigley Field stands only to remind us of what has not been for more than a century, what will not be this year, and what will likely continue to be withheld from its hope-filled visitors. Wrigley Field, it seems, is infertile ground whose grounds are incapable of bearing championship fruits.

Year after year, the faithful turn out to fill the stands in the hope that, finally, this is THE YEAR. Each year, however, there comes a point where each fan realizes that THE YEAR belongs to the future. Each year bitterness, disappointment and heartbreak descends one-by-one into the hearts and minds of those faithful dupes who never seem to learn. For some the moment comes in May or June. For the more masochistic among us, we hold on until August or even September where we calculate and recalculate Magic Numbers and watch the Wild Card chase. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, we continue to repose our hope in a team that consistently disappoints us. In psychology they call it codependence.

I sat at a minor league stadium on Tuesday as the Cubs prepared to begin a home series against the worst team in baseball, the Washington Nationals. I remarked to my friend, who had been asking me for weeks if I had given up on the Cubs yet, that they really needed to sweep the Nationals. Throughout the course of the game, I watched the out-of-town scoreboard with growing dismay as the Nationals mounted a huge lead. I began to think, “Well, maybe if they take two out of three…” realizing even then that I was in denial. Wednesday came and the Cubs roundly defeated the Nats. I thought maybe they had turned a corner; maybe the lightbulb had gone on. And then yesterday’s game. Yesterday the Cubs showed the world that they lack the heart of contenders – that they are content with the “Lovable Losers” moniker. They showed the world that this was certainly not THE YEAR.

And so we look forward to football season, putting another baseball season behind us, our dreams unfulfilled. But, this year we would do well to consider whether it is healthy year after year to set ourselves up for yet another disappointment. When April rolls around and we look out at another baseball season, will we be telling one another, “This is THE YEAR?” I hope not. And yet, I know that I will likely be lured into the recurring dream. And all of us know how that dream ends – with bitterness, disappointment and heartbreak. Maybe next year.

2009 CUBS, R.I.P.

I agree with Hank Aaron. Let Pete Rose back in, Bud Selig. There is no consistent reason not to. I hate that he sullied his name and the game by betting on it while he was a player and a manager. I hate it. Pete Rose was a childhood hero. I supported the ban when it was imposed. But time and events have conspired to make me change my mind.

Unbelievable. Hall of Fame material in anyone’s reckoning. Show leniency, Commissioner Selig. With DuRocher, Sutton, Ford, Molitor and other cheaters or druggies in the Hall, and then Clemens (you broke my heart), Canseco, McGwire, Bonds, Rodriguez, and the rest of the steroid and HGH crowd not banned, it seems absurd to keep the ban on Rose in place.

I have been a subscriber to MLB.TV for five years now. As a Cubs fan, spending the money was not strictly necessary when I first signed up, because WGN was carrying almost all of their games and my cable provider includes WGN in its channel lineup. I could watch virtually every game at home. Nonetheless, I wanted to be able to watch games when I was not at home on my laptop. As soon as I signed up, I realized that half the games were blacked out. However, back then, the blackout only applied to home games, so I still received half the games. I was a little miffed, but I accepted that as part of the deal. The Cubs are not in business to give away their product. Fair enough. And, in any event, even though I am a Cubs fan, I am also a baseball fan and have been known to watch almost any team.

However, as time has gone by, the blackout restrictions have become worse. Now ALL televised games are blacked out – not just home games. Furthermore, WGN now has only about a third or less of the televised games. If I lived in Chicago or the surrounding area, I would not have much of a problem with this situation. However, I live in Indianapolis, 180 miles and three and one half hours’ drive away. I hardly live in the local area. Moreover, not only are the Cubs blacked out here, but the White Sox and Reds are as well. In other words, if you live in Indianapolis, you are credited with having THREE home teams, even though there are none in Indy. What’s more is that I cannot even tune in the WGN radio broadcasts and there does not appear to be an Indianapolis radio station that broadcasts Cubs games (Reds, yes; Cubs, no). Supposedly WNDE AM-1260 carries the games, but it seems every time I want to listen to one, they are either not broadcasting it or my reception is terrible (AM radio at night is an iffy proposition).

When I moved up to Ann Arbor, Michigan for law school, I signed up as I always do, but found myself blacked out up there even though the area in which I lived was not a blackout area. MLB explained to me that the applicable blackout area is based upon where the credit card securing the account is billed. In my case, my credit card bills were still being sent home to Indy. I suffered through my first year of law school getting only half the games. During my second year, I changed my billing address to Ann Arbor and enjoyed a summer full of Cubs baseball. However, when I graduated and moved back to Indy, I had to change my billing address and am now stuck with the blackouts. It looks as though this may have changed and is now based on the location of the server from which you are accessing the game. If so, it may be possible to access the game through a proxy. Unfortunately, this seems dishonest to me and it really should not be necessary for someone like me where MLB has denied us a local franchise.

Astoundingly, it is even worse at my father’s home in Spencer, Iowa. In Spencer, they are blacked out from the Twins (221 miles), White Sox (495 miles), Cardinals (534 miles), Royals (353 miles), Cubs (495 miles) and Brewers (453 miles)! How in the world does that make sense? If every one of those teams were broadcast on local television stations, I could understand that. But, in fact, the only “local” team (in that their games are regularly broadcast) is the Twins from what I can tell when I visit. It is as though MLB is intentionally going out of its way to make sure nobody ever purchases their product! Of course, I probably shouldn’t be surprised by the idiocy of an organization that would hire Keith Olbermann.

I am inclined to tell MLB to get bent altogether. In fact, if I could get English broadcasts of Japanese games, I’d probably just become a Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters fan and abandon MLB entirely. But, if MLB were involved in the enterprise, we would probably find that anyone who did not already have a Japanese franchise in their city would be blacked out of most of the broadcasts!

What I find completely ridiculous, as I mentioned, is that in no rational sense can I be said to be living in the local Cubs viewing area (or the Reds for that matter – it is no hardship to be blacked out of the White Sox games). Furthermore, the annual cost for MLB.TV is $109.95 so it is not exactly like I am trying to avoid paying for the product I wish to receive.

What I am saying is that I will not be signing up for another year of MLB.TV again unless they change the breadth of the areas caught up in the local blackout areas. I urge anyone considering spending money on MLB’s product to think carefully about it. If you are a Cubs fan that lives in Los Angeles and don’t care about watching Dodgers or Angels games, then you’ll be fine. But, if not, you may find yourself being screwed on the very games you most want to see.

Looking back, I note that I pretty much took March off from posting (five posts all month). I would resolve to do better, but unless I find that I have something to say in April, I’m making no promises. Sometimes it just seems like you have nothing to add. However, as a result of my relative inactivity, I have accumulated a number of miscellaneous thoughts, none of which warrant an entire post.

Dusty Baker

If you are Edison Volquez or Johnny Cueto, are you watching the calendar for the first day you are eligible to demand a trade? With Dusty’s reputation for destroying young guns’ arms, I have to think these guys are counting the days until free agency.

On the same topic, a friend recently sent the following question: “do you think Dusty favors black players?” I had to think about this for a minute. I know that Dusty has a tendency to favor players, usually for inexplicable reasons. (Can anyone give me a justification for the amount of PT Neifi Perez had under Baker?) The list of players that come to mind does nothing to dispell the question: Neifi Perez, Jose Macias, Corey Patterson, etc. Now he is all gigged about the prospect of bringing Sheffield to Cincinnati. Is there anything to this?

The Federal Reserve

The seed for a post has been floating around my head for a few days, but doesn’t seem to be developing into anything worthwhile. The seed is this: Conservatives tend to look askance at the Fed as an unaccountable (sometimes sinister) organization with an inordinate amount of power. Any number of conspiracy theories center on the Fed’s dealings and potential to make mischief. But, what is the alternative? Giving the power to regulate money to Congress? Thinking about that prospect makes my knees weak and causes me to break out in a cold sweat. Can anyone think of any organization that Congress runs well? Hell, it can’t even manage its own cafeterias profitably. Or maybe we should just kill it altogether.

Last weekend Timothy Geithner appeared on Meet the Press and George Stephanopoulos’ shows. Steph asked him if he was worried about inflation. Geithner quickly answered, “That will never happen.” He went on to add that the Federal Reserve would never allow it. That seems to me to be too glib by half. Paul Craig Roberts has a piece (not all of which I agree with) that spells out the peril that we face due to all of Obama’s (and Bush’s before him) spending. I recently finished rereading Milton and Rose Friedman’s Free to Choose, and I have to agree with Roberts that inflation is a looming spectre (although I do not share his prescription for raising tariffs) that is going to be painful to combat. Of course, that pain will occur after Obama is a mere footnote.

On a similar note, I thought George’s interview was much better than David Gregory’s. Boy, do I miss Russert.

Barack Obama and Foreign Policy

Is he really as bad or worse than Bill Clinton was? The Obama administration is now calling for “global oversight” or corporate regulation, so as to end corporate regulatory arbitrage. Does he mean that Brussels bureaucrats should have control (or even just a say) over how “American” corporations are run or how the U.S. government intends to regulate them? Yikes.

And, did Barack Obama really just supplicate to the Saudi king?

Answering my own question

It looks like the answer is that we have not yet hit the bottom. Today, the unemployment numbers jumped again to 8.5%. Do we start printing the “Obama Lied” bumper stickers yet?

Iowa? Really, Iowa?

It appears that the justices in Iowa have legislated gay marriage for Iowans, making them the third state to do so. So much for separation of powers in the Heartland. Coming to a state near you…

Andruw Jones and the Los Angeles Dodgers have parted ways!  After a dismal season in which Jones’ batting average was only slightly higher than my grandmother’s age and much lower than his weight, Jones rode a rail out of SoCal.  But it was an expensive rail.  The Dodgers will still have to pony up Jones’ salary though most of it deferred for a number of years.  After unsuccessfully shopping around for a trade, the Dodgers agreed to simply release the fat boy.  Rumors are spreading that Jones could make a return to Atlanta where over eating and low job performance are more than acceptable to the average resident.

Does anyone remember an event like this?  A complete collapse of skill and drive?  Does anyone recall a player simply being released after one year in spite of earning a franchise record salary?  Does anyone else think it suspicious that soon after baseball banned “performance enhancing drugs” that Jones could not hit, run or stay in shape?

I say good riddance, Mr. Jones, and stay out of California.

As if we needed another reason to vote for John McCain, there is this…

This is the strongest argument yet that Barack Obama is dangerous for America.

The Dodgers, after a really abysmal season, reached the post season.  They mowed down the Cubs with ease.  The Cubs “were the best team in the National league” and the Dodgers should be proud they beat them in three games.  The Dodgers, fighting hard, exceeded expectations this year.  The Dodgers played hard, played well but ultimately lost to Philadelphia in the NLCS tonight 4 games to 1.

In the spirit of brotherly love I say Congrats Philly, you deserve it.  You have my support in the Fall Classic.  Beat the tar out of the American League!

Dodgers in 3.

UPDATE: 2 Hours!

Victory!  Albeit temporary victory.  The “buy up” bill was killed in the House today.  We can thank the likes of Rep. Michele Bachmann , (R- Minn) for the death of this socialist and unnecessary bill.  “Every American who has played it safe and smart to avoid debt is being asked to spend the rest of his or her life paying off the debts of Washington and Wall Street,” Ms. Bachmann said.  And she is right. I wish you were in CA, Congresswoman, I would vote for you. 

Danger!  Russian saber-rattlers have announced tentative plans to provide Comrade Chavez and his crazy commie buddies with nuclear technology.  This follows the deployment of Russian naval vessels to the Caribbean.  While Ol’ George has apparently listen to my advice is starting to pay attention to the Western Hemisphere, the simple re-activation of the 4th Fleet will not do.  Increased trade preferences, military funding, humanitarian missions and an end to the “war” on drugs would be a nice start.

Tally-Ho!  General Petraeus has announced that NATO troops will continue to fight Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan throughout the winter.  Coalition forces have lost some ground in recent months.  It is past time for our service members to show ‘em what they are made of and expand the zone of freedom in Afghanistan. 

Yikes!  The flow of tainted products continues to flow out of China.  In addition to oodles of bad baby formula, chocolate in the Red Empire may also be poisoned.  Cadbury has announced a recall of at least 11 different types of candies made in China.  First toys, now candy.  What’s next? 

Disgusting!  Obama and McCain had very few differences of opinion during their debate.  They surely did insult each other, which is always entertaining, but their policies differed by minuscule amounts if at all.  So a vote for one of them is, essentially, a vote for either of them. 

Outstanding!  The Dodgers, having won only 84 games, will return to the post season for the first time in four years.  They play the little bears starting on Wednesday in the NLDS.  While definitely the underdogs, I predict another disappointing year for the North Side suckers.

Big news from the North Side of Chicago.  No, not that the magic number for the Cubs to clinch their division is down to two.  The iconic Budweiser ad on top of 3701 N. Kenmore is no more.  At least for the time being.  It seems that the Koning (Flemish/Dutch/Belgian for King) of Beers allowed their lease for the ad space to lapse.  Well, that’s what the new owners of the building say.  Budweiser claims that they were never given the appropriate invoice, as required by the lease agreement, by the new owners in order to renew on time.  Now don’t get me started on how a St. Louis beer company is the “official” beer of the Chicago Cubs (I still say it should be all Old Style all the time) but with the postseason coming soon (hopefully) to Wrigley it will certainly take a little bit away from the atmosphere not to have the Budweiser sign enticing Cubs fans around the world to have a cold one.

As of today, the Cubs have the best record in Major League Baseball, posting a record of 78 wins against only 49 losses. The conventional wisdom in baseball is that every team will win 50 and lose 50, it’s what you do with the other 62 games that determine who is a champ and who is a chump. As things stand, if the Cubs continue to win at teh same rate they have all year, they will finish the season at 99 victories (maybe 100, depending on how you round the numbers).

For the Cubs’ closest competitor, the Milwaukee Brewers, to equal them at the rate that the Cubs are amassing W’s, the Crew would have to win 26 of their last 34 – in other words, they would have to compile a win percentage of .765 for the rest of the season – to tie (.794 to finish a game up on the Cubs). That, my friends, is highly unlikely. Not impossible, mind you, remember the Astros’ second half run a few years back – just unlikely.

It has been a long time since the saddest of possible words to the rest of the league were “Tinker to Evers to Chance.” That refrain is a century gone, replaced by Theriot, DeRosa and Lee. A century ago the Cubs led the National League in arguably the greatest pennant chase in the history of baseball – a three-way affair involving the Cubs, John McGraw’s New York Giants, and the Pittsburgh Pirates led by the great Honus Wagner. Helped by a boneheaded play by New York’s Fred Merkle, who failed to run from first to second on Al Bridwell’s sure game-winning single at the Polo Grounds, the defending champion Cubs escaped the hostile Polo Grounds with a tie. A few weeks later, the season ended with the Cubs and Giants tied for first place and the Cubs were forced to travel back to New York to replay the game. They won 4-2 behind Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown who defeated Christy Mathewson to seize the pennant. The Cubs went on to defeat Ty Cobb’s Detroit Tigers in 5 games in the World Series.

Chicago fans all over the world are hoping for a slightly less exciting finish to the regular season. A ten-game lead at the finish line would not break our hearts. But, make no mistake, this team has rekindled the hope in the hearts of their admirers and the expectations are high.

Even when they have not been running on all cylinders – Soriano, Wood, Big Z, and Ramirez have all spent time on the shelf this season. Derrek Lee is leading the league in rally-killing hits into double plays. Our Japanese phenom has lost his luster with the lumber of late. And yet, behind the arms of our four aces, the Cubs are poised to take a place next to the Peerless Leader’s boys.

Cubs fans talk about curses: Billy goats and black cats. Let us not be sidetracked by fairy tales and bogeymen. This year it is about hitting and pitching, running and fielding. Do those things well and none of the other can derail this team.

This is the year.

Sit down Bartman and enjoy the game (perhaps from the third or fourth row, if you don’t mind). The 2008 Cubs will redeem your name and make us forget all about our past heartbreaks and disappointments. Because this is the year and there are no such things as curses.

After nearly destroying team harmony with derisive comments last year, Jeff Kent has once again proved he is both an idiot and an asshole.  Kent explained that he believes His Royal Highness of Baseball, Vin Scully, “talks too much.”  This, along with other ridiculous statements made by the Dodger’s second baseman, demonstrate why fans of the Blue Crew want the old man out of town. 

Only a few more months and Kent will be replaced by someone who loves the game, respects the club and admires legends and heros of the game like Vin Scully.  In the meantime, just keep your trap shut Jeff and pay respect where it is due.  Then, get you retired butt back to Texas.

For some time a minority of fans and general managers have clamored for instant replay in baseball.  A minority, that is, until the ’07 off season.  during the winter meetings a majority of GMs voted to review the possibility of imposing instant replay on America’s pastime.  The horror and disgust I feel at the very thought on instant replay  is not unlike the feelings I have concerning all the talk some years back about stationing U.N. guards at our national parks and turning them into “World Heritage Sites.”  Both concepts eviscerate the grandeurand original intent behind them, be it baseball or OUR (read American’s) national parks.

Lisa Fabrizio has an excellent article on The American Spectator website concerning the deconstruction of the umpire.  I join with Ms. Fabrizio in her call to “Save the Umpires.”

It appears that hockey will be coming to Wrigley Field in January.  Outdoor hockey is gaining steam!  See AWB’s post for more old time hockey nostalgia.

The Dodgers have made some of the worst free trade acquisitions ever. With Darren Dreifort, Jason Schmidt and Nomar Garciaparra coming on recently one would think they could not do worse. Then came Andruw Jones. It really is amazing just how horrible he is this year, not that he was much better last year.

Jones has played in 43 games and had 133 at bats with the Dodgers this year. He is batting .165 with 45 strike outs. He is an abysmal 1-32 with runners in scoring position. And still Torre insists on playing the bum. Take last night for example. The Dodgers are down 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth with one out. Matt Kemp is at the plate when a rain delay is called, leaving Kemp with a 3-2 count. When the game resumes, Kemp takes a ball and walks to first. He steals second as Blake DeWitt strikes out. Kemp took third on a ball-four wild pitch to Delwyn Young. With the pitchers spot up and the tying run 90 feet away, Torre sends Andruw Jones to the plate. The crowd sighs. Jones proceeds to strike out on a ball low and outside to end the game.

I hate Jones. I would rather have seen Lasorda at the plate.

That’s right. The Cubs are only the second team in baseball history to reach 10,000 wins. Who is the other team? The Yankees with their 26 world championships? No sir. The Giants are the only team ahead of the Cubs. At least, that is, for a few years. Go Cubs. This just might be THE YEAR.

After today’s 8-1 win over the New York Mets the Chicago Cubs have moved to a 14-6 record to start the season and they look good. Real good. I’ve was born and raised a Chicago Cubs fan and I will die a Chicago Cubs fan. But for those that know me, I have been far more negative about the Cubs these past few years than positive. I blame it on not winning a damn thing in a 100 years and more specifically (among many other specifics) the collapse of 2003. However, after the start they have had this year I am starting to feel all but forgotten pangs of hope for the team this year. Right now they look like the team to beat in the National League. Although I fully expect them, after writing this, to collapse and cause me to yell at the tv about how poor their starting rotation is, I wanted to take a minute and share with the CD crowd the return (however small) of my hope in the Chicago Cubs.

The Rockies beat the Padres 2-1 last night in 22 1/2 innings.  The game lasted 6 hours 17 minutes!  That is what I call getting you money’s worth.  One could classify this as a liberal game judging by time or a conservative contest if judging by runs…which is it?  Definitely not moderate!