The Cubbies haven't won a game in a week.  Besides bad pitching and the lack of hitting, they're not doing too bad!  I'm going to take off my blinders now and see what the sad reality has become.

It's early in the season and no reason to sweat the year yet.  The Cubbies are bring the funk back to Chi-town and Cubbie nation is feeling a bit depressed.  How about a block buster trade to liven things up and get a spark going?   Maybe a sweet trade for Peavy?  Wouldn't that just rub the White Sox fans raw?

I guy can dream right!

October dreamin! 

    

Moxie by definition means "guts" or "courage" and that is exactly the word to describe the play of those lovable Cubbies of late.  It's been great to see.  Prior to the recent wave of wins and good baseball was a lazy effort from a team seemingly happy with the central division anointing them champion.

Since St. Louis and Milwaukee are playing better than most expected, the Cubbies are having to re-focus and play with more, you know, MOXIE!  Hopefully this is something we will be seeing the rest of the season and post season.  But, let's not get too far along.  It's still only May, right?

Go Cubbies!

    

Aramis going down stings.  D Lee has a bulging (ahem) disk.  Zambrano's got a bad wheel.  It could be worse and it could be better.  Most teams will go through tough spells.  We lost Soriano for some time last couple of years and survived.  The pitching and defense need to step it up now.  Hopefully bad news Bradley will stay on the field regardless of his temper or physical ailments.  Why can't we fans have one easy year?

    

Zambrano strained his hammy this past Sunday trying to leg out a bunt.  This guy is a gamer.  In an age where pitchers are coddled and treated like glass slippers, Big Z is a throw back to the old school tough guys.

He lays down the bunt and hauls a** to first.  He must have known he tweaked it.  But, he almost had everyone convinced he was still ok.  He hates to come out of games.  I'm not sure where the line is from gutsy to stupid, but Z certainly flirts it.  I'll be the first one to tell a high priced athlete to throw some dirt on it and get back out there.  But, you have to have some common sense to say hey, maybe it's worse than I think it is and trust the trainers.

Zambrano gets paid a lot of money and I for one love to see the A+ effort.  All I ask, as I'm sure many of my fellow Cubbie faithful would reiterate, is to understand that a little twinge could be made worse if you continue to play that day.  It is only a baseball game, right?  I can't believe I just wrote that out loud.  Never mind, throw some dirt on and get back out there

Go Cubbies!

    

What to do with D Lee?  Before his wrist injury, these thoughts were unthinkable, unimaginable and downright silly to even contemplate.  He's still great in the field, but his bat is just not near the heights it once was.  In D Lee, we thought we had the answer to Albert Pujols.  At the start of 2006, it certainly looked like that with D Lee playing at MVP levels before going down with the wrist.

Are we clinging to what he was and hoping he can regain that form.  Almost certainly!  Should we think with our heads more than our hearts?  Probably.  Micah may not be the defensive wizard D Lee is, but his bat has been steady for the last couple of years.

Let's not shelve D Lee yet, but give him more days off and let Micah play the position he's most comfortable playing.  Plus, if D Lee can't get his power numbers up or his average, then it's really forcing the hand of the organization to re-think it's commitment to Lee.  He's a fantastic first basemen and a great person.  In our reality, it's what have you done for us lately and time may running out on D Lee if his bat doesn't heat up soon.  I'm hoping that it does, but my optimism has been waning.

Go Cubbies!

    

A couple of years ago, Derrek Lee was playing at an MVP level.  Really ever since the wrist injury, we've seen some small moments and stretches where he regains that form, but it seems he can't sustain it.  He's off to a bad start in 09, but that does fall more in line with his history, especially when he was younger.  He normally heats up in May and into the summer.

A consideration Lou might be thinking about is moving Aramis to the 3 hole and Derrek to the 5 hole.  Could be a temporary thing or more long term.  The 3 hitter should be hitting more home runs and typically your best hitter hits there.  Looking at the stats, an argument could be made Aramis has been that guy.  Also, Aramis has come out in 09 swinging the bat well again.

There seems to be some loyalty to Derrek which I can understand and I do believe he'll have a good year.  But, why not move him down and see what happens?  There really shouldn't be any harm and he can always be moved back up again.

Go Cubbies!

Next article will be posted April 27th.

    

What will we see in 09 from this team?  They didn't put up much of a fight in NY at the new Yankee Stadium.  Yeah, yeah it's only exhibition games.  New York looked like they wanted to win.  I certainly hope to see more fire out of this team.

It's time to put or shut up.  Let's see if this version is indeed better than the 08 version.  It's all about wins and getting to the playoffs.  Alright, I'll buy into the company line for now.  It's not how you finish spring training, it's the wins you accumulate during the regular season.

If that's the case, let 's see what you got....Cubbies!

    

Gregg gets the closer duties over Marmol.  Most Cubs fans thought Marmol would be handed the job no matter how good Gregg was or how poor Marmol pitched.  I tip my cap to Lou and his staff for making it a true competition and letting the best player at the time, win the job.  Stats-wise Gregg was superior to Marmol.  He deserves the ball in the 9th inning.

I've heard some grumblings from the Marmol camp.  In professional sports, it's what have you done for me lately.  In Marmol's case, not that great.  Some of the crap coming out also was he thought he never had a shot.  Come on!  That's ridiculous and even if he thought it was true, he should have stayed away from the classic then, and worked his ass off the entire spring training.

This decision isn't set in stone.  We all know injuries happen and Marmol is a blister away from closing which is a nice bit of insurance to have.  Marmol should understand the decision and keep working hard.  If he can continue to show the stuff he has the last couple of years, he'll get paid well, and the closer job will be all his no matter where he's playing.

Let's see if he takes the high road.

    

Having a few spare moments over the weekend, I decided to watch some of the televised Cubbie game against the Padres.  Maybe it's the fact that the team is beginning to get on the tail end of spring training, but it look pretty uninspired at the beginning.

Upon further review, there really isn't anything wrong with the team.  In my haste to make judgment, I didn't realize my own expectations were at fault.  I have a feeling I'm not alone in reacting this way.  The sense of urgency isn't strong with the team and at this point, nor should it be.  However, as a fan, my sense of urgency to see the team win a world series is blinding in some ways.

There is something about being the last one standing and not in a good way.  Maybe it's more like the last one on the bottom of a ladder.  The longest team without winning a championship.  That's our team and the team we cheer for.  It's a heavy burden on the fans to endure as we take it from other fans.  It might not have been too bad if the White Sox didn't win it 3 years ago.

For the fans, we have a strong sense of urgency and we want instant gratification.  The team is in a different place and must maintain a cool collective for the long haul of the season.  As a fan, it will be tough to hear when one of the players or Lou says don't worry, it's only 1 game again.  Or the trusty lines from the playoffs, you don't have to win the first two, just 3. 

How about just win 1 (championship that is)?

    

Interestingly, the state of Cubdom is optimistic.  But, there is a very leery air about this team.  Most fans I've talked with believe the team is destined to get to the playoffs again.  The question is whether they'll win a game or quitely bow out again?

The expectations are high and if the team gets off to a slow start, expect the boo birds to fly in early and often.  It's a bit unfair to the 09 version of the Cubs but is the reality they are faced with.  I think it's great that the team and fans have high expectations to match the Yankees and Boston in their desire to win the World Series.

If the Cubbies start hot, then all will be well in Cubdom.  If they falter out of the gate, there will be some tough questions being asked by fans and the Chicago media, as they always do.  Hopefully the fans will look more broadly at the team instead of day to day.  But, with such a passionate fan base, that isn't likely to occur.

Cubbies in 09!