The Cubs lost on Monday night to the Rockies 11-5 for the second day in a row, dropping 3 of 4 to the red-hot Rockies. I have not watched a game since last Wednesday since I went golfing in Wisconsin all weekend, and all they show up there are Brewers games. It looks as if the Cubs took the rest of the week off as well. Thanks to the complete ineptitude of the Cincinnati Reds (whom the Cardinals just played) we now stand 3 GB in the division.
Sunday I went to the Iowa Cubs game at Wrigley Field, which was a blast. Tickets were as cheap as $5, my girlfriend, her friends, and I sat in the upper deck, section 517. Seeing as the place the almost totally empty the six of us decided to just find six seats together and sit there. Sure enough, a mother and her two sons come barging into our row and say "You're in our seats" (very bitchy), so I replied "Sorry we ruined your day!" (I was not sober). So we moved up two more rows, I still do not know why that woman had to be such a bitch, she could have just politely asked us to move? Hot-Dogs were $1 at all concession stands, which was tight, I had two of them. The game itself was pretty dull however, I missed the introductions, had no scorecard, so I had no idea who anyone was unless they came up to bat. I did give Micah Hoffpauir, who I did not even know had been sent down, a standing ovation in his first at bat (he flied out). Also, So Taguchi has nothing left in the tank, too bad because he was a clutch hitter once upon a time for the Cardinals. The Cubs did go on to win the game, but we had to leave early as it was so hot. We did move all they way up in the upper deck and sat along the fence, catching a very cool breeze from the west, I have not sat in the Uecker seats in a long time. All in all, the "Road to Wrigley" was a fun time, and we plan on making it an annual tradition, if they continue to play the game attendence was down to 16,000 vs 32,000 they drew last season.
Furthermore, last night, I made my first trip to The Captain Morgan Club, and it will be my last. We went because Monday nights are 1/2 off everything there. The waitress was awful, she wanted nothing to do with us. When I ordered a 16oz can of Old Style, she looked at me like I had two heads. When we put in our food order, she turned and walked away as I was mid-order. Not knowing if she'd gotten the rest of the order, my girl had to go up and ask her (I was no longer in the mood for anymore of her bullshit by this point) to which she replied yes. The food was ok, but it was basically ballpark food, and the Italian Beef I ordered was not as good as the ones they serve inside the stadium. Fortunately the bill came out to be only $15 and I left a $3 tip, the only reason I left that much was because the bus-boys did a nice job. I could not imagine ever paying full price for any of that stuff. The only reason that place stays in business is because of all the tourists, drunks, and western-suburbs d-bags who flock to Wrigleyville on weekends.
Now back to the Cubs... They return home tonight to begin a 3-game series with the Phillies at 7:20 pm on CSN and WGN Radio. Rich Harden (7-7, 4.41 ERA) vs J.A. Happ (8-2, 2.74 ERA). If the Cubs have ever needed a big start from Harden, tonight is the night. He needs to step up and pitch like the ace he used to be and end this losing streak. Happ is having a monster season, he was 8-0 at one point and would be running away with Rookie of the Year had he not burned all of his eligibility as a reliever at the end of last season. He is a good, young, left-handed pitcher, who will apparently remain in their rotation despite the additions of Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez (the other two pitchers we are set to face in this series). Since it is a night game, I see Harden giving us a strong outing tonight and getting the victory over the Northwestern University product, Happ.
Last night as I was listening to the first two innings of the game (I turned it off once Esmalian Caridad came in to pitch) I had a feeling that the Cubs season just ended, I hope I was wrong. Apparently, Aramis Ramirez has re-injured his shoulder and two things can happend: 1) DL and 2) Cortisone Shot, where he will miss a few more games, and return this weekend. The Cubs desperately need his bat in the line-up, but if he is not healthy, maybe it would be best just to shut him down, we do not need him jeopardizing his career on this injury. Plus, as of late he has not been hitting all that well, the shoulder clearly affects his swing. Also, what is the deal with Carlos Zambrano's back? With him on the DL now we have a rotation of Harden, Randy Wells, Ryan Dempster, Tom Gorzelanny, and Jeff Samardzija. If we have to go on with this rotation, the season is over! Luckily, it looks like Ted Lilly will be back this weekend, meaning Samardzija will only make one start and then move back to the pen or to Iowa. Gorzelanny is a huge question mark, he looked awful last night. Dempster is a gamer, but he is not good, so I do not get my hopes up whenever he starts a game. Wells has logged a lot of innings this season, I hope he is not starting to fade away, the Cubs need to be careful with his arm, he needs to be included in their plans for the future. With Lilly hopefully coming back with something left in the tank (he still leads the team in wins with 9!) and Z coming back we could be ok, but for now, guys like Harden, Demp, and the entire offense (especially Milton Bradley and Alfonso Soriano) need to step up and whether the storm and keep this team in contention.
Go Cubs!
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