Chicago-Cubs

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Baseball is BACK!”] [/caption] Games start at 1300 today, so I’m still pre-season. This is also a much shorter prediction post than years past, but that’s what you’re getting. NL Playoffs: East: Braves Central: Reds West: Giants Wild Card: Dodgers I love Philadelphia’s rotation, but their offense has too many holes. No Utley, no RF, Ibañez is not great, Howard is getting figured out and has no protection…it just leads me to the Braves because they don’t have any huge issues, but are solid. ...

Wrigley Field is baseball. No other ballpark I’ve ever been to has exuded quite so much of that je ne sais quoi that makes baseball so great. You know, I think I do know what makes Wrigley so great for baseball. It’s the fact that no matter what year it is, no matter how many garish Toyota signs are up in the outfield, or how the game of baseball has changed since its inception, the Cubs show up in a Wrigley laid out almost identically to its opening day in 1914, complete with a manual scoreboard and ivy walls, and play ball in a park that has become one with Chicago. Wrigley Field is a constant. No matter what you do to it, watching a ball game feels like you’re back in the 1950s. Wrigley is comforting in that way. It immediately makes you feel like you’ve been watching baseball there forever, even during your first visit. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Time to check out my prediction score”] [/caption] Another season is now behind us and the playoffs begin this afternoon at 1330 EST in Tampa Bay. How did I do in my projections? Who do I predict for the World Series? Let’s check it out! ...

It’s All-Star game time again! This year the game is being played in sunny Southern California, down in Anaheim. Thanks to the peculiarities of baseball scheduling and the east coast focus of television, the game is actually being started in daylight hours, 1700 PST. The liveblogging experience of the year is about to begin yet again! Expect updates throughout the evening and night. Time: 1944 My cable woes are keeping me from watching the MLB Network this year (I hate you Comcast!), so instead I’m watching ESPN’s coverage, which has been somewhat interrupted with news about George Steinbrenner’s death by massive heart attack. It’s an odd thing to not have him around the Yankees anymore, even if he hasn’t really running things for two or three years. Despite my dislike for the Yankees, he will be missed as a figure in baseball. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“I wasn’t at the Bean, but it’s also in Chicago. My photos aren’t uploaded yet.”] [/caption] Lots of action this weekend, including a game I attended in the Friendly Confines that will not be mentioned because I don’t cover the Cubs or the Angels. 18 June NPB Yakult Swallows at Hiroshima Carp. Rain delayed. Rakuten Eagles at Chiba Lotte Marines. Rain delayed. MLB Chicago White Sox (2) at Washington Nationals (1). Strasburg went out for his second home outing and pitched another stellar game, allowing only one over seven innings and striking out another 10. This kid is insane. The game is lost on a bad throw in the 11th, and Strasburg gets his first no decision. ...

The Marlins can’t quite lock down the sweep against the Cubs, but a series win is still more than they’ve done in recent history. 12 May NPB Off Day MLB Washington Nationals (6) at New York Mets (4). Tyler Clippard wins yet another as the Nats pull ahead into sole possession of second (again) with their 19-15 record, 1.5 back behind the Phils. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“375” caption=“The Marlins put together two wins against the Cubs and Coghlan is hitting again. What else to do but celebrate?”] [/caption] I listened to about half of the Marlins at Cubs game in Spanish to get some practice. It’s surprising how much I was able to understand easily despite not really knowing much about baseball in Spanish. My favorite part: the center fielder is translated as central gardener. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“It may seem unrelated to baseball, but racing a train is a lot like stealing home…”] [/caption] Cody Ross decides to steal home right after I leave to take a shower, of course, but that’s neither here nor there. I saw the replay and it was sweet. 10 May NPB Off day MLB Washington Nationals (3) at New York Mets (2). I don’t know what to say about this Nats team. They’re really something this year. This puts them in sole possession of second place with their 18-14 record. ...

No matter how poorly my teams did or didn’t do today, nothing can match my disappointment in the Washington Capitals for losing Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs. Way to suck, guys. 28 April NPB Yokohama BayStars (2) at Hiroshima Carp (1). These close losses are the most heartbreaking ones. The Carp fall to 11-16-0 in fifth. At least the Swallows lost too. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“375” caption=“Even Domo-kun is happy that the Orioles won”] [/caption] Normally your fourth win, twenty-four games into the season, is nothing to celebrate. When you do it against the Yankees, I think you can take a minute to be proud of notching a ‘W’. 27 April NPB Yokohama BayStars (0) at Hiroshima Carp (3). Nothing like a shutout to brighten your day. The Carp are sitting on an 11-15-0 record in fourth, just half a game shy of passing the Swallows. ...