Today is more than the wonderful holiday of Opening Day, it is also a celebration of Ernie Banks.  It is a double-header~~"Let's play two!"

Ernie is one of the best ambassadors the game has ever known.  But it is too often overlooked how great Ernie was as a player.

He began his professional career with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1950.  He became the first black player in the Cubs franchise in 1953. 

#14 quickly became one of the best players in all of baseball.  He won the NL MVP award in back to back years (1958 & 1959) although he played for dreadful Cub teams. 

In '58 he batted .313 with 47 HR and 129 RBI.  In '59 he hit .304 with 45 HR and 143 RBI.  All the while playing a wonderful shortstop.  (He won the Gold Glove in 1960.)

Many baseball "experts" claim that the power hitting shortstops began with Cal Ripken...no, no, no.  Ripken was a great player in his own right, but our Ernie Banks was the premier power hitting shortstop. 

Today is his day and his statue is going to be my first stop every time I go to Wrigley.

Go Cubs and God Bless you Ernie Banks!!!

The new season is here!  It is cold and miserable in Chicago and it is snowing here in Utah, but it is spring in my heart.

Carlos Zambrano looks primed for a huge year and our Cubs look loaded for bear. I do worry about all the distractions at Spring Training~the Brian Roberts daily discussions and the eternal lineup switches.  And I think the Brewers are better than last year, but their bullpen may again be their downfall. 

All in all I believe, once again, that this is our year!

Go Cubs!!!

I know most Cub fans are more concerned about:

• Which two starters will fill out the rotation?
• Will we get Brian Roberts?
• Who will be our closer?
• How good is Kosuke?
• What will Lou do with the lineup?
• How is Soriano's leg?
• Who will play in center?
• How will a rookie handle the pitching staff?

But what I am really concerned about is our uniforms.  There was a note on Cubs.com saying the blue jerseys are being considered again.  NO!!!

I love our uniforms as is.  I am old school I guess, but I love our white pinstripes at home and the traditional gray on the road. 

We do not need the softball jerseys back.  I don't even like our road cap; I much prefer our simple, yet classic, home cap. 

Priorities Cub fans...Priorities!

Pitchers began their workouts yesterday and these picture warmed my heart.

That is one of the most heart warming phrases ever written or uttered.  I love the sounds of spring training; and with the internet you can get video and sound from every team's camp.

The sounds of players playing catch bring back the best of memories from my youth.  I could play catch forever back then.  (Even now I drag my wife out to play catch at least once a week.)  I played catch with myself when I had to--against the front steps with a rubberized ball.  When the regular season began I would play each Cubs game every day as scheduled by throwing the ball against the steps and either getting the out or allowing base runners.  If a ball hit the corner of a step and bounded over my head, it was a home run.  When the Cubs were batting I would aim for those corners.  When the other team was up I aimed for the flat ends of each step.

The sounds of batting practice is amazing as well.  When we get a chance to attend games we always go early enough to see batting practice.  I love watching the ball flying through the sky while my wife likes the sounds as she catches up on her reading.

Every day I will check out the sounds of spring training...man, I love baseball.

Go Cubs!!!

NLCS:  Colorado - Arizona

This should be a very good series despite the lack of name "superstars".  The Rockies are on a historic run.  The D-Backs Brandon Webb is the only pitcher to beat Colorado in the last 3 weeks.  Ironically, Webb will open the series. 

I will be rooting for the Rockies for a few reasons: 

• We have been to Coors Field a lot to see the Cubs play there.  It is a great ballpark and a lot of fun to watch a game.
• I have several friends who are Rockies fans and I'd be happy for them.
• I have a great deal of respect for Clint Hurdle as a person.  He is a good baseball guy, but he is even a better person.
• I respect the Rockies organization for sticking with Hurdle even though the wins weren't there yet.

I wouldn't be too disappointed if the D-Backs won though.  I love Eric Byrnes.  And they are the team which defeated my Cubs, so it would be cool for them to win it all.

ALCS:  Cleveland - Boston

The Red Sox are my favorite AL team so I will be rooting especially hard for them.  This series will feature great starting pitching for both sides.  Sabathia and Carmona (two of the best young hurlers) against Becket and Schilling (two of the best October pitchers ever).  It should be an awesome series.

Well, the D-Backs outplayed us in every facet of the game in sweeping the series.  I wish them the best of luck the rest of the way.  They finished with the best record in the NL and proved why. 

Box:  http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/ps/y2007/boxscore.jsp?gid=2007_10_06_arimlb_chnmlb_1

The series was a huge disappointment and very frustrating, but it does not dampen my joy of winning the division.  Until we are getting into the playoffs at the rate the Braves did, or the Yankees do, then I am always going to be happy making the playoffs and hoping for a magical October run.  With the new tax system on the higher spending clubs there is more parity than ever before.  The playoffs are a roll of the dice as the last several years have proven. 

The Off-Season:  This winter is going to be very important.  If the sale of the team is transacted quickly, then the team can get to filling in holes and making the decisions necessary to improve.  If the sale drags out, then we could be frozen as far as moves go and be in big trouble. 

Make no mistake, we will have to improve next year to compete in the NL Central.  The Brewers are young and powerful.  They gained a lot of experience this season and will be better for it.  They need to improve their pitching, or get better pitching from their bullpen and a couple of their starters.  The Reds are scary good to me.  I was really impressed with their young talent.  And the Cardinals are the Cardinals. 

We could be a lot better if Soriano and ARam get healthy this winter.  Our offense underachieved big time, but that said, our starting pitching overachieved some.  I also believe that D. Lee's wrist could still use a little more down time to get fully healthy.  Soto could really help offensively and defensively.  What will happen with Pie?  Floyd?  Dempster?

We'll see.  But everything hinges on how quickly new owners can be finalized.

I will continue this blog, not that many people read it, but it is still fun for me to look back on.  I will do a review of the season within a few days and keep up with all the relevant news in the off-season.  I will also follow the rest of the October Madness.  It is great baseball and drama.  And I will report on how my other teams are doing:  the Bears, Blackhawks, and Jazz.

Go Cubs Go!!!

It looks bleak.  The D-Backs have played very good baseball and are one win away from advancing to the NLCS. 

But I'm not quiting on my Cubs.  It is not over.  Remember what the Red Sox had to overcome to break their long drought.  Maybe this will be our hill to climb.  Speaking of Hill, Rich Hill starts today's Game 3 at Wrigley Field.  If Hill and the offense can get it going today, the momentum could turn in a hurry.  And Cubs momentum could create doubt in the young D-Backs.  A lot of hope and ifs; but that is what sports, and especially being a Cubs fan, is all about.

Go Cubs Go!!!

Well, that wasn't very much fun.  Ted Lilly was knocked around and the D-Backs took a commanding lead in the series with a 8-4 win.

Box:  http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/ps/y2007/boxscore.jsp?gid=2007_10_04_chnmlb_arimlb_1