The Cubs played the Reds just last week, and five of the six starters from that series are pitching this series. I’m just going to make a few minor tweaks to the last preview (laughing).
Team overview
As always, these are team stats with NL ranks in parentheses.
| Reds | Cubs | |
| wOBA | .322 (4th) | .315 (8th) |
| UBR | 14.2 (1st) | -11.4 (16th) |
| UZR | 39.8 (2nd) | -9.1 (10th) |
| SP FIP | 4.49 (16th) | 4.20 (12th) |
| RP FIP | 4.02 (15th) | 3.85 (9th) |
As usual, I feel smug about my pessimism towards the Reds pitching staff turning out to be true. I had no idea that they would be this awful though. As Cubs fans well know, depth in starting pitching can disappear incredibly quickly.
Since the Reds and the Cubs are the best and worst teams in the NL in baserunning*, let’s go back to check who the biggest offenders/assets are on the teams. Drew Stubbs, Brandon Phillips, and Jay Bruce lead the way for the Reds, with plodders Ramon Hernandez and Joey Votto the only players with significant negative numbers. For the Cubs, Darwin Barney has been the only one worth a damn on the bases, while the departed Kosuke Fukudome and, unsurprisingly, Aramis Ramirez and the decaying remains of Alfonso Soriano‘s legs have been the worst offenders on an overall terrible baserunning team.
bonus fact, the Boston Red Sox, with noted baserunning whizes Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury in the lineup, are the only other team with negative double digits in UBR.
I was surprised to see the Cubs UZR numbers inching up since the last time I wrote one of these. Marlon Byrd leads the team in UZR with 5.2, but the biggest surprise is Soriano, who is somehow posting a 3.6 UZR on the year. DRS has him at -3 as opposed to the -15 or so I was expecting. Ah, defensive metrics.
Pitching matchups
Monday: Rodrigo Lopez, LOL (4.82, 5.32, 4.54, 4.94) vs Dontrelle Willis, LHP (4.21, 4.00, 3.92, 5.59), 6:10 PM CT
The projections still think he’s pitching with a giant fork in his back, but kudos to Willis for putting together a solid season. He’s still walking a lot of batters (4.10 BB/9) but at least his pitches are now closer to home plate instead of the on-deck circle. He and Cueto have been the few bright spots in the Reds pitching staff this year.
Tuesday: Ryan Dempster, RHP (4.74, 3.75, 3.53, 3.45) vs Mike Leake, RHP (4.00, 4.27, 3.64, 3.97), 7:05 PM CT
There’s little doubt that Dempster will pick up his player option next year, given his family situation and his media role as Ginger the Clown. He’s continued to post solid numbers after his disastrous April, and if we’re reading the tea leaves wrong and the Cubs go all in yet again in 2012 he’ll be a solid contributer.
Leake has had some problems with home runs (not surprising given his home park), but has otherwise had a fine season. There’s been no sophomore slump for Leake – he’s increased his strikeouts and slashed his walk rate by over a batter per nine.
Wednesday: Casey Coleman, RHP (6.65, 4.50, 4.60, 4.33) vs Johnny Cueto, RHP (2.36, 3.45, 3.86, 3.76), 7:05 PM CT
Coleman’s ERA-FIP split can be attributed to a .361 BABIP. Those peripherals are actally a bit better than I would have expected from Coleman. He’s walking far too many batters but he’s getting a decent number or strikeouts, though looking over this minor league stats his 7.30 K/9 is a bit of a mirage.
I thought Cueto’s numbers would have regressed since the last time the Cubs faced him, but he’s still carrying a .245 BABIP despite a 53.6% GB rate. Unfortunately for the Reds, Edinson Volquez has been as awful as Cueto has been good.
Prediction
Cubs win today, lose the next two. It’s too bad for the Reds that their most effective starters are lined up against such a sorry offense.
Comments
http://www.ranyontheroyals.com/2011/09/ten-years-later.html
BerseliusQuote Reply
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15014
MishQuote Reply
dj: Is it just me and my disdain for Crabtree, or does it seem like he’s trying to play as little as possible in SF before he can be a FA?
Meanwhile, Orakpo’s 19.5 sacks and 26.5 TFL over the last two years might have looked good from our WILL spot.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
Matt Moore —–> Big Leagues
MishQuote Reply
Can I read that for free Mish? Or is Baseball Prospectus as popular as the Daily Herald?
GBTSQuote Reply
[quote name=Dr. Aneus Taint]dj: Is it just me and my disdain for Crabtree, or does it seem like he’s trying to play as little as possible in SF before he can be a FA?
Meanwhile, Orakpo’s 19.5 sacks and 26.5 TFL over the last two years might have looked good from our WILL spot.[/quote]
And did Harbaugh bring in Singletary to be the OC?
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=GBTS]Can I read that for free Mish? Or is Baseball Prospectus as popular as the Daily Herald?[/quote]
I think it’s a subscriber article but if you have ESPNInsider I think it’s there too.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]http://www.ranyontheroyals.com/2011/09/ten-years-later.html[/quote]Great stuff.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15014[/quote]
Jim Bowden is contributing to BP now? What?
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]Jim Bowden is contributing to BP now? What?[/quote]
It’s an ESPN/BP crossover, like Flinstones meet the Jetsons.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]It’s an ESPN/BP crossover, like According to Jim meets The Office[/quote]
Fixed, though if someone can think of a better show that was once great and is now just kind of okay feel free to swap out The Office (dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
Oh yeah, and what a debut for Cam Newton.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
I don’t think the Rays will win the AL WC, but still, their run has made me hard.
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/16037/call-shot-rays-will-win-the-wild-card
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]I don’t think the Rays will win the AL WC, but still, their run has made me hard.
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/16037/call-shot-rays-will-win-the-wild-card%5B/quote%5DThis doesn’t feed into the theory that professional sports is a substitute for homoeroticism AT ALL.
binkyQuote Reply
Oh how the mighty have fallen. And also, the Giants.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Dr. Aneus Taint]Oh yeah, and what a debut for Cam Newton.[/quote]
On the flipside, what a debut for Tarvaris Jackson as the Seahawks starting QB (dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
Crabtree certainly has been a bust at this point. Who knows what goes on in his head.
Gore did not look great yesterday but man oh man did Ray McDonald take a big step forward.
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]On the flipside, what a debut for Tarvaris Jackson as the Seahawks starting QB (dying laughing)[/quote]
Yeah, wtf was SEA thinking?
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]Crabtree certainly has been a bust at this point. Who knows what goes on in his head.
Gore did not look great yesterday but man oh man did Ray McDonald take a big step forward.[/quote]
The six consecutive runs up the middle in the 4th made me wonder why we brought in Harbaugh. RAYEGUN!
The defense looked great (hope you didn’t listen to me, gw (dying laughing)) but it was SEA with a downgrade at QB. This team will get their shit pushed in next weekend.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
i’ll take a wait and see approach. The 49er defense is legit and we didnt show much on offense but when we did pass we had open targets and Alex made good throws.
dylanjQuote Reply
also, the first seattle TD was total bullshit. That call on Williams was horrible. A clean, hard hit and we get the 15 yd pf. Fucking Goodell.
dylanjQuote Reply
Ted Ginn is fast as shit.
MuckerQuote Reply
Bears fans, what did you think of the Bears yesterday? I thought they played pretty good against a team that was supposed to whoop their ass. Why the fuck was Cutler still passing the ball that late in the game? Cutler made some bad decisions early but played really good for the most part I thought. Line looked like shit as usual. Defense played great though.
MuckerQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]i’ll take a wait and see approach. The 49er defense is legit and we didnt show much on offense but when we did pass we had open targets and Alex made good throws.[/quote]
Harbaugh’s MO has been to run to set up the pass. At least, that’s what it was at Stanford. Gore’s going to have a hell of a time running when teams are going to make us beat them with the pass, though.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=Mucker]Bears fans, what did you think of the Bears yesterday? I thought they played pretty good against a team that was supposed to whoop their ass. Why the fuck was Cutler still passing the ball that late in the game? Cutler made some bad decisions early but played really good for the most part I thought. Line looked like shit as usual. Defense played great though.[/quote]I was very pleasantly surprised with the way the Bears played. Offense and Defense both looked great. That INT of Cutler’s was a pure defensive play and I agree that he shouldn’t have been throwing that late in the game. I guess since the preseason was cut short though they were just trying to get some more practice in.
WaLiQuote Reply
well hopefully we can make some adjustments and run the ball better than yesterday vs Dallas. I think we have a shot seeing as its a home game and if you can pull that off we could be looking at a 3-0 start after the Cincy game.
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=Mucker]Bears fans, what did you think of the Bears yesterday? I thought they played pretty good against a team that was supposed to whoop their ass. Why the fuck was Cutler still passing the ball that late in the game? Cutler made some bad decisions early but played really good for the most part I thought. Line looked like shit as usual. Defense played great though.[/quote]I’m with WaLi, that seemed like the play caller’s mistake, not Cutler’s. I thought they looked good. I was happy to see some really good defense. I feel a glimmer of hope, but that could be just because of how bad the Cubs have been.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]well hopefully we can make some adjustments and run the ball better than yesterday vs Dallas. I think we have a shot seeing as its a home game and if you can pull that off we could be looking at a 3-0 start after the Cincy game.[/quote]
DAL moved the ball against a better defense than ours. They’re going to score.
And DAL’s defense is much better than SEA’s. We gained 209 yards against SEA’s defense. 209.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]I’m with WaLi, that seemed like the play caller’s mistake, not Cutler’s. I thought they looked good. I was happy to see some really good defense. I feel a glimmer of hope, but that could be just because of how bad the Cubs have been.[/quote]Yeah, I wasn’t blaming Cutler. I was more asking why he was throwing that late and what was Martz doing calling pass plays that late. I’m just pissed that Cutler threw that pick and it shouldn’t even have happened. I thought Knox played really well too. He ran some nice routes and got into the right spots. I also thought Williams played well. He was wide open a couple times and Cutler didn’t see him. Good to see.
MuckerQuote Reply
[quote name=Mucker]Bears fans, what did you think of the Bears yesterday? I thought they played pretty good against a team that was supposed to whoop their ass. Why the fuck was Cutler still passing the ball that late in the game? Cutler made some bad decisions early but played really good for the most part I thought. Line looked like shit as usual. Defense played great though.[/quote]Martz got pass happy there fore a second, btu he reigned it back in before getting Cutler killed. I thought the line settled in once Louis was replaced by Spencer. Lance Louis is terrible and Carimi was having to block two guys while he was in there.
Defense was great, but if Lance Briggs thinks performances like yesterday are going earn him big money, he better think again. That was maybe the worst game I’ve ever seen from him. Constantly out of position. I think someone has got in his head he needs to make a lot of big plays, and it’s making him freelance, and when you freelance, you get out of your gap and when you get out of your gap, you look terrible in Lovie’s scheme. Urlacher’s pick was in Briggs’ zone. Where was Lance? He needs to unfuck his head from his ass.
Henry Melton…Oh. My. God. He was unblockable. True the ATL C was fucking terrible, but Melton played like his ass was on fire. Just incredible effort every down he played. I love how deep the DL is. Lovie has a fresh pair of DT on the field almost every other down. That’s going to be a big asset, and I think Lovie is ahead of the power curve using a rotation of defensive tackles that way. Was also impressed with Nick Reed. He’s had injury issues, but has always been a good situational pass rusher. It would be nice if he came good for the Bears.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Martz got pass happy there fore a second, btu he reigned it back in before getting Cutler killed. I thought the line settled in once Louis was replaced by Spencer. Lance Louis is terrible and Carimi was having to block two guys while he was in there.
Defense was great, but if Lance Briggs thinks performances like yesterday are going earn him big money, he better think again. That was maybe the worst game I’ve ever seen from him. Constantly out of position. I think someone has got in his head he needs to make a lot of big plays, and it’s making him freelance, and when you freelance, you get out of your gap and when you get out of your gap, you look terrible in Lovie’s scheme. Urlacher’s pick was in Briggs’ zone. Where was Lance? He needs to unfuck his head from his ass.
Henry Melton…Oh. My. God. He was unblockable. True the ATL C was fucking terrible, but Melton played like his ass was on fire. Just incredible effort every down he played. I love how deep the DL is. Lovie has a fresh pair of DT on the field almost every other down. That’s going to be a big asset, and I think Lovie is ahead of the power curve using a rotation of defensive tackles that way. Was also impressed with Nick Reed. He’s had injury issues, but has always been a good situational pass rusher. It would be nice if he came good for the Bears.[/quote]Good point about Briggs. I didn’t see him involved in the play once except when he messed up. Usually he is all over the field. He only had 2.5 tackles which is really saying something. He’ll need to pick it up.
WaLiQuote Reply
Just watched a video clip on msnbc and the guy said that Obama was up from dawn until dusk yesterday. So he had a normal day? Who the fuck says someone was up from dawn until dusk? Aren’t most people?
mb21Quote Reply
I thought Tom Thayer was a little off, though. He needed a couple warmup games, I guess. He was rambling more than usual.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]Just watched a video clip on msnbc and the guy said that Obama was up from dawn until dusk yesterday. So he had a normal day? Who the fuck says someone was up from dawn until dusk? Aren’t most people?[/quote]Be journalism: make words good!
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]Aren’t most people?[/quote]
Most people don’t run marathons before dawn, MB (dying laughing).
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]I thought Tom Thayer was a little off, though. He needed a couple warmup games, I guess. He was rambling more than usual.[/quote]I still love listening to Thayer talk line play. Yesterday, Webb ole’d Abraham and let him go kill Jay, and the announcers start ripping Carimi (no idea why) and my first thought was “Damn, I miss Thayer.”
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]Just watched a video clip on msnbc and the guy said that Obama was up from dawn until dusk yesterday. So he had a normal day? Who the fuck says someone was up from dawn until dusk? Aren’t most people?[/quote]MB, those were the type of awake numbers he was putting up before he got to the White House, so I’m not surprised to see him continue to dominate consciousness.
GBTSQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]I still love listening to Thayer talk line play. Yesterday, Webb ole’d Abraham and let him go kill Jay, and the announcers start ripping Carimi (no idea why) and my first thought was “Damn, I miss Thayer.”[/quote]I’ve learned more listening to him than any other football analyst ever. He was just a little off yesterday. I didn’t listen to the whole game on the radio, though.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Henry Melton…Oh. My. God. He was unblockable.[/quote]
It seemed like it would just be a matter of time. He’s only been playing DL for about three years.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
Bears receivers seemed to be wide open a lot more than usual yesterday. Kudos to them.
GBTSQuote Reply
[quote name=GBTS]MB, those were the type of awake numbers he was putting up before he got to the White House, so I’m not surprised to see him continue to dominate consciousness.[/quote](dying laughing) I’m just baffled that some reporter would say something like that and not realize it’s fucking stupid. My first thought was he mean dusk til dawn, but then I watched it again and he specifically mentioned the numerous stops he made yesterday to honor the victims of 9/11. So he meant what he said.
I’d also like to point out there’s nothing too impressive about being awak from 6:46 am to 7:23 pm. I guess Obama turned in early yesterday. I was awake from 6:30 until 11:15 pm. How come nobody is talking about how impressive that is?
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]
Henry Melton…Oh. My. God. He was unblockable. True the ATL C was fucking terrible, but Melton played like his ass was on fire. Just incredible effort every down he played. I love how deep the DL is. Lovie has a fresh pair of DT on the field almost every other down. That’s going to be a big asset, and I think Lovie is ahead of the power curve using a rotation of defensive tackles that way. Was also impressed with Nick Reed. He’s had injury issues, but has always been a good situational pass rusher. It would be nice if he came good for the Bears.[/quote]
I didn’t see as much of the game as I would have liked, but this was my impression as well.
Lovie’s defensive line is almost what Nebraska was doing under Osborne. He just kept rotating those guys in and out and they were always fresh and they were always killing somebody. It is interesting that Lovie has made that work on the pro level with a smaller roster.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]I didn’t see as much of the game as I would have liked, but this was my impression as well.
Lovie’s defensive line is almost what Nebraska was doing under Osborne. He just kept rotating those guys in and out and they were always fresh and they were always killing somebody. It is interesting that Lovie has made that work on the pro level with a smaller roster.[/quote]Well, it’s come at the cost of depth at LB and in the secondary. But you have to gamble somewhere with the Cover-2. It’s a rosterkilling scheme.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Martz got pass happy there fore a second, btu he reigned it back in before getting Cutler killed. I thought the line settled in once Louis was replaced by Spencer. Lance Louis is terrible and Carimi was having to block two guys while he was in there.
Defense was great, but if Lance Briggs thinks performances like yesterday are going earn him big money, he better think again. That was maybe the worst game I’ve ever seen from him. Constantly out of position. I think someone has got in his head he needs to make a lot of big plays, and it’s making him freelance, and when you freelance, you get out of your gap and when you get out of your gap, you look terrible in Lovie’s scheme. Urlacher’s pick was in Briggs’ zone. Where was Lance? He needs to unfuck his head from his ass.
Henry Melton…Oh. My. God. He was unblockable. True the ATL C was fucking terrible, but Melton played like his ass was on fire. Just incredible effort every down he played. I love how deep the DL is. Lovie has a fresh pair of DT on the field almost every other down. That’s going to be a big asset, and I think Lovie is ahead of the power curve using a rotation of defensive tackles that way. Was also impressed with Nick Reed. He’s had injury issues, but has always been a good situational pass rusher. It would be nice if he came good for the Bears.[/quote]Great points MO. I too thought Melton was a monster. When you can generate that type of pressure with 4 lineman, it’s a huge advantage. I don’t really like how much yardage the defense gives up, but they prevent scoring so I can’t complain too much. The line did play well at times but they still allow entirely too much penetration. Webb was getting abused all game. He held Abraham all game long but was getting away with it. All in all, great start to the season and if the D plays like that everygame, I think the Bears are a team to beat.
MuckerQuote Reply
[quote name=Dr. Aneus Taint]It seemed like it would just be a matter of time. He’s only been playing DL for about three years.[/quote]He’s a great story. I just hope he continues to play at a high level. Seems like a really good guy, too.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mucker]Great points MO. I too thought Melton was a monster. When you can generate that type of pressure with 4 lineman, it’s a huge advantage. I don’t really like how much yardage the defense gives up, but they prevent scoring so I can’t complain too much. The line did play well at times but they still allow entirely too much penetration. Webb was getting abused all game. He held Abraham all game long but was getting away with it. All in all, great start to the season and if the D plays like that everygame, I think the Bears are a team to beat.[/quote]Carimi and Webb seem to share a common fault, which is they play too upright and they don’t get their hands on the defender quickly enough to jam him. It allows them to get turned by stronger pass-rushers, or forces them to turn in when blocking speed rushers. And Webb’s footwork is just not up to par.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Carimi and Webb seem to share a common fault, which is they play too upright and they don’t get their hands on the defender quickly enough to jam him. It allows them to get turned by stronger pass-rushers, or forces them to turn in when blocking speed rushers. And Webb’s footwork is just not up to par.[/quote]Agreed. How about Williams? I saw a couple of plays where he got manhandled but he seemed to do ok. Plus, I thought the WRs played really good too. And Kellen is a tough guy to tackle. Such an improvement over Olsen IMO.
MuckerQuote Reply
[quote name=Mucker]Agreed. How about Williams? I saw a couple of plays where he got manhandled but he seemed to do ok. Plus, I thought the WRs played really good too. And Kellen is a tough guy to tackle. Such an improvement over Olsen IMO.[/quote]ATL was playing a lot of zone and Williams and Knox seemed to be finding soft spots in the zone, but most of that, as far as I could see, was ATL not keeping in their lanes. Kudos to the Bear receivers for finding the holes, but they won’t see much zone from NO, at all. Williams has always sucked vs. press coverage because he’s fucking soft, so I’m anxious to see if his injury goves Knox a chance to show that the weightroom work he did in the offseason has made a difference.
The Bears looked good, but I’m not read to crown their ass just yet.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Honestly, the place to beat NO is on the right. I’d look for Bennett to have a big game against Greer and Harper.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
do i start Green Ellis or Reggie Bush at RB tonight?
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]ATL was playing a lot of zone and Williams and Knox seemed to be finding soft spots in the zone, but most of that, as far as I could see, was ATL not keeping in their lanes. Kudos to the Bear receivers for finding the holes, but they won’t see much zone from NO, at all. Williams has always sucked vs. press coverage because he’s fucking soft, so I’m anxious to see if his injury goves Knox a chance to show that the weightroom work he did in the offseason has made a difference.
The Bears looked good, but I’m not read to crown their ass just yet.[/quote]IT’s weird to me that there’s this much skill talk on football, but when it comes to baseball, it’s all percentages and luck. Maybe it’s easier to see the skill come out in football, or something.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]do i start Green Ellis or Reggie Bush at RB tonight?[/quote]Why would you ever start Bush?
Both guys share carries but BJGE gets the goal line carries. Unless you’re in a PPR league, Bush isn’t a great starter, ever, IMO.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
because bush is the starter without sharing carries. for like the first time ever
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]IT’s weird to me that there’s this much skill talk on football, but when it comes to baseball, it’s all percentages and luck. Maybe it’s easier to see the skill come out in football, or something.[/quote]Perhaps. I mean we talk a fair amount around here about the routes guys take to balls, baserunning, and footwork on defense. MB and I spent a fair amount of time in 2009 and 2010 breaking down the mechanics of Theriot’s “new” swing and breaking down Bradley and Ramirez hitting mechanics…I think you’re right to a degree, but there’s certainly ample room for skill talk in baseball, too.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]because bush is the starter without sharing carries. for like the first time ever[/quote]I wouldn’t be surprised to see LJ get 10-12 carries per game and the lion’s share of the goal line carries down there.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]I wouldn’t be surprised to see LJ get 10-12 carries per game and the lion’s share of the goal line carries down there.[/quote]
MO, you’re making the mistake of assuming they’ll get anywhere near the goal line with Chad Henne as QB (dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]MO, you’re making the mistake of assuming they’ll get anywhere near the goal line with Chad Henne as QB (dying laughing)[/quote](dying laughing), too true.
Hey, b, what was the take on Carimi’s pass-blocking at UW? He seems a bit stiff and upright to me. His feet are right, but his lean is bad and he doesn’t punch quickly enough it seems.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Bobby V admits he was wrong to belabor Castro’s error, then immediately takes it back (dying laughing): http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0912-cubs-mets-chicago–20110912,0,5517472.story
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder](dying laughing), too true.
Hey, b, what was the take on Carimi’s pass-blocking at UW? He seems a bit stiff and upright to me. His feet are right, but his lean is bad and he doesn’t punch quickly enough it seems.[/quote]
No idea. All I can tell you is that Carimi dominated just about everyone in college ball. That level of scouting is far beyond my knowledge (dying laughing).
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]IT’s weird to me that there’s this much skill talk on football, but when it comes to baseball, it’s all percentages and luck. Maybe it’s easier to see the skill come out in football, or something.[/quote]I’ll repeat something I said yesterday in the comments. My brother is friends with guy who has been in the NFL for about 15 years now (since 1996 I believe). He was talking with him recently and he told my brother than the difference in talent or skill between these players is “tiny.” This was interesting to me because I’d heard similar things about baseball. I’d be lying if I said I know what it all means, but I tend to think it means we don’t or can’t recognize talent and instead rely on statistics or other people to inform us. This could just be stats or it could be the opinions of a beat writer or an announcer or a professional scout. Maybe it’s just popular opinion. I don’t know, but if the athletes have difficulty recognizing the difference in talent while on the field, I definitely don’t trust myself to recognize it on television while I’m on my couch.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]No idea. All I can tell you is that Carimi dominated just about everyone in college ball. That level of scouting is far beyond my knowledge (dying laughing).[/quote]He settled in as the game went on, so I think he’ll be fine, but that kind of thing was odd to see from a guy with his college pedigree.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
By the way, that’s the closest I’ll get to a comment about the NFL. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I’ll repeat something I said yesterday in the comments. My brother is friends with guy who has been in the NFL for about 15 years now (since 1996 I believe). He was talking with him recently and he told my brother than the difference in talent or skill between these players is “tiny.” This was interesting to me because I’d heard similar things about baseball. I’d be lying if I said I know what it all means, but I tend to think it means we don’t or can’t recognize talent and instead rely on statistics or other people to inform us. This could just be stats or it could be the opinions of a beat writer or an announcer or a professional scout. Maybe it’s just popular opinion. I don’t know, but if the athletes have difficulty recognizing the difference in talent while on the field, I definitely don’t trust myself to recognize it on television while I’m on my couch.[/quote]That’s a good point. Yet more reasons why The Cubs won’t return my inquiries on the GM job.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]By the way, that’s the closest I’ll get to a comment about the NFL. (dying laughing)[/quote]
What do you think about the Raiders?
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]He settled in as the game went on, so I think he’ll be fine, but that kind of thing was odd to see from a guy with his college pedigree.[/quote]They would have scored 4x as many TDs with Olin Kreutz — I think we can all agree on that.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]They would have scored 4x as many TDs with Olin Kreutz — I think we can all agree on that.[/quote]I never understood the backlash about Olin. He was terrible for the past 4 seasons and Garza is a huge improvement. Olin got abused by Raji and co. Thursday night. He’s done.
MuckerQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]They would have scored 4x as many TDs with Olin Kreutz — I think we can all agree on that.[/quote]Leadership and straight talk are worth 7.5 ppg.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mucker]I never understood the backlash about Olin. He was terrible for the past 4 seasons and Garza is a huge improvement. Olin got abused by Raji and co. Thursday night. He’s done.[/quote]Yeah, Raji just tossed him aside a couple times. Olin was a media darling, despite feigning a frosty relationship with them. They adored him.
I can’t imagine what will happen when the Cubs cut ties with Dempster.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Leadership and straight talk are worth 7.5 ppg.[/quote]Don’t forget teammate jaw breaking worth at least an additional 3 ppg.
MuckerQuote Reply
[quote name=Mucker]Don’t forget teammate jaw breaking worth at least an additional 3 ppg.[/quote]Add that to the 5 ppg for sprinting to the LOS, and the Bears surrendered about eleventy dozen ppg by letting Olin walk.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
I don’t know why Chicago fans loved Olin so much. The guy was a bit of a Guido.
…I think I just answered my own question.
binkyQuote Reply
MLB.com seems to think the Cards just gave Carp a 2-year extension, but MLBTR hasn’t heard the news, I guess.
EDIT: nevermind. DIdn’t go back far enough in the archive.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]I don’t know why Chicago fans loved Olin so much. The guy was a bit of a Guido.
…I think I just answered my own question.[/quote]Because Olin “got it”. He knew what it meant to play for the Bears and he was a scrappy gritty player.
MuckerQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]I don’t know why Chicago fans loved Olin so much. The guy was a bit of a Guido.
…I think I just answered my own question.[/quote]DAT OLIN KROOZ IS A BLEW KAWLER GUY. GRABS HIS LUNCHPAIL AND GETS DA JOB DONE EVERY TIME. DAT GUYSSS A REAL LEADER OF MEN AND DA BEARSSS NEED A LEADER ON DA FIELD.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]MLB.com seems to think the Cards just gave Carp a 2-year extension, but MLBTR hasn’t heard the news, I guess.
EDIT: nevermind. DIdn’t go back far enough in the archive.[/quote]That’s an odd move.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]
I can’t imagine what will happen when the Cubs cut ties with Dempster.[/quote]
That. Will. Never. Happen.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]That. Will. Never. Happen.[/quote]I’d never feel the same way about the dugout railing if it did.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]That’s an odd move.[/quote]If MLBTR is right, then they basically are adding $4M onto his option ($15M) and buying an extra year. They save money for next year and get another year of the guy TLR loves the most.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]If MLBTR is right, then they basically are adding $4M onto his option ($15M) and buying an extra year. They save money for next year and get another year of the guy TLR loves the most.[/quote]Ah, that makes sense, then. Gearing up to throw cash at Pujols, it seems.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Ah, that makes sense, then. Gearing up to throw cash at Pujols, it seems.[/quote]That’s what I’m thinking.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]That’s an odd move.[/quote]Just as when they gave him that extension a few years ago. Very odd both times.
mb21Quote Reply
Can anyone honestly see Pujols not playing in St. Louis next year? This whole thing smacks of what happened with Jeter last year.
binkyQuote Reply
I initially didn’t think the Cardinals had a chance at Pujols, but their last offer was $195 million so I’d be shocked if they don’t reach an agreement. They can’t let Pujols go and they’re obviously willing to spend big bucks.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I initially didn’t think the Cardinals had a chance at Pujols, but their last offer was $195 million so I’d be shocked if they don’t reach an agreement. They can’t let Pujols go and they’re obviously willing to spend big bucks.[/quote]Yeah, that’s my read as well. the Cubs need to focus on Fielder.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
I think all the Cubs will be doing by bidding on Pujols is helping Pujols get a better price in St L. Any chance the Reds will look to trade Votto, with Yonder Alonso in the wings? I know there was a Votto for Bautista rumor, but I’m not sure how seriously to take it. I doubt the Cubs have the pieces the Reds would want anyway, since I’m guessing they’re going to be looking for pitching.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]I’d never feel the same way about the dugout railing if it did.[/quote]
I think that is when I kind of turned on Dempster. And it wasn’t even that I disliked Dempster more, but I just knew if Zambrano had been the one to break his toe or whatever while jumping the railing, we never would have heard the end of it.
As it was, the story was: Dempster broke his toe and will be out for a few weeks during this crucial run. How unfortunate for him and the team.
So then it just seemed that every time Dempster did something zany or crazy, he was just being a good clubhouse leader and keeping guys loose, but Zambrano was a huge distraction that made Theriot run bases poorly or some stupid shit like that. So now I think I take my anger about that out on Dempster which probably is just as unfair to him as the beat writers are to Zambrano and the other lazy Latinos, but I don’t care.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Yeah, that’s my read as well. the Cubs need to focus on LaHair and Peenya.[/quote]
.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]I think that is when I kind of turned on Dempster. And it wasn’t even that I disliked Dempster more, but I just knew if Zambrano had been the one to break his toe or whatever while jumping the railing, we never would have heard the end of it.
As it was, the story was: Dempster broke his toe and will be out for a few weeks during this crucial run. How unfortunate for him and the team.
So then it just seemed that every time Dempster did something zany or crazy, he was just being a good clubhouse leader and keeping guys loose, but Zambrano was a huge distraction that made Theriot run bases poorly or some stupid shit like that. So now I think I take my anger about that out on Dempster which probably is just as unfair to him as the beat writers are to Zambrano and the other lazy Latinos, but I don’t care.[/quote](dying laughing), pretty much the same for me. Just like when Lilly got tossed from a game in which he was not even participating. I also don’t appreciate how Dempster seems to be the first one to run his yap about clubhouse goings-on when shit goes bad with a teammate.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424].[/quote]Year Three: Let’s See What Happens.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Here’s what I’m thinking will happen, and I know it depends on the new GM, but maybe not, if they don’t get anyone in time. I think they resign Pena and put LaHair in left, contingent on a good Spring, maybe they platoon him with Sori or something.
binkyQuote Reply
It’s not what I WANT to happen, but I just see it going that way.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder](dying laughing), pretty much the same for me. Just like when Lilly got tossed from a game in which he was not even participating. I also don’t appreciate how Dempster seems to be the first one to run his yap about clubhouse goings-on when shit goes bad with a teammate.[/quote]
At this point, I think he’s the one the reporters run to. He is pretty much the team leader. Now that Z is gone, he has the most (continuous) tenure of any of the pitchers and he’s 2nd only to Ramirez by a half year.
I don’t think he goes looking for the cameras as much as Theriot did. They come to him and he obliges with an answer, which I don’t mind.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=josh]Here’s what I’m thinking will happen, and I know it depends on the new GM, but maybe not, if they don’t get anyone in time. I think they resign Pena and put LaHair in left, contingent on a good Spring, maybe they platoon him with Sori or something.[/quote]Yep. I’d actually be surprised at this point if this doesn’t happen.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]At this point, I think he’s the one the reporters run to. He is pretty much the team leader. Now that Z is gone, he has the most (continuous) tenure of any of the pitchers and he’s 2nd only to Ramirez by a half year.
I don’t think he goes looking for the cameras as much as Theriot did. They come to him and he obliges with an answer, which I don’t mind.[/quote]Same here. I don’t have any issues with Dempster and don’t fault him for the coverage when he broke his toe. That’s a complaint about the media and not Dempster in my opinion.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]At this point, I think he’s the one the reporters run to. He is pretty much the team leader. Now that Z is gone, he has the most (continuous) tenure of any of the pitchers and he’s 2nd only to Ramirez by a half year.
I don’t think he goes looking for the cameras as much as Theriot did. They come to him and he obliges with an answer, which I don’t mind.[/quote]That’s probably true. I’m just sick of his one-note antics at this point.
And someone needs to tell him that while imitating Harry Caray is funny, (poorly) imitating Will Carroll imitating Harry Caray is fucking pathetic.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
What is it realistically going to take for the Cubs to contend next year?
MuckerQuote Reply
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Dr. Aneus Taint]What do you think about the Raiders?[/quote]The question seems a little off topic, but I guess they were a fine enough band. Of course, Paul Revere was a bit of a prima dona and once the power trio of Valley, Volk and Smith left, I felt the group was prevented from evolving into a more egalitarian creative team, probably because they were miffed at being replaced by studio musicians on recordings, and unhappy with a continued teen-oriented direction while a more serious rock ‘n’ roll style was emerging.
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
[quote name=Mucker]What is it realistically going to take for the Cubs to contend next year?[/quote]
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=WenningtonsGorillaCock]The question seems a little off topic, but I guess they were a fine enough band. Of course, Paul Revere was a bit of a prima dona and once the power trio of Valley, Volk and Smith left, I felt the group was prevented from evolving into a more egalitarian creative team, probably because they were miffed at being replaced by studio musicians on recordings, and unhappy with a continued teen-oriented direction while a more serious rock ‘n’ roll style was emerging.[/quote]Easily the best comment in the history of all 3 blogs.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Easily the best comment in the history of all 3 blogs.[/quote]
Obstructed View is now closed.
Thanks for reading.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Now we can finally get to work on that Jack Benny blog.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]imitating Will Carroll imitating Harry Caray is fucking pathetic.[/quote]
(dying laughing), does he drunkenly pontificate on injuries?
GWQuote Reply
So OU and OkSU to the Pac 12. At this point, I think the Texas leg. will push for Texas to go to the Pac 12 just so Tech doesn’t get left out.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=GW](dying laughing), does he drunkenly pontificate on injuries?[/quote]No. Even better, he reads the lineup card while wearing those huge plastic glasses. It’s the culmination of all of Western thought and culture to see it live.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Over at the Cubby Bear, Zambrano was using his left hand to drink an old style. He has some sort of problem with his Krushchev ligaments.
Will Harry CarrollQuote Reply
Good God, Wrigley Field is such an epic shithole: http://withleather.uproxx.com/2011/09/wrigley-field-is-gross-hosts-alien-virus
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Isn’t Pujols signing with the Cardinals actually preferred? That’s essentially going to be 20% or more of their payroll devoted to a guy on the decline. yes he’s still going to be one of the to players in the game for a few more years but STL is not NY. They don’t have the payroll to make up the difference of any future performance decline/mounting injury toll.
JManQuote Reply
More on the bacteria-infested ruin at Clark and Addison: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Black-slime-in-ice-machine-Wrigley-flunks-heal?urn=mlb-wp19153
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=JMan]Isn’t Pujols signing with the Cardinals actually preferred? That’s essentially going to be 20% or more of their payroll devoted to a guy on the decline. yes he’s still going to be one of the to players in the game for a few more years but STL is not NY. They don’t have the payroll to make up the difference of any future performance decline/mounting injury toll.[/quote]I’m fine with it. I think Pujols is a great player, probably the best we’ll ever see in our lifetimes, but I’m worried that he’s on the downslope. I’d rather see them focus on getting younger at the cost of contending next year, myself.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Good God, Wrigley Field is such an epic shithole: http://withleather.uproxx.com/2011/09/wrigley-field-is-gross-hosts-alien-virus%5B/quote%5DOh Dear God. The only strategy for is to show up drunk so you don’t notice.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Dr. Aneus Taint]So OU and OkSU to the Pac 12. At this point, I think the Texas leg. will push for Texas to go to the Pac 12 just so Tech doesn’t get left out.[/quote]Does the Texas legislature want to be seen as following OU and OkSU to the Pac?
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]Does the Texas legislature want to be seen as following OU and OkSU to the Pac?[/quote]
I don’t think they care about that one bit. They’re just looking out for the little guys.
That said, word is that Texas won’t budge an inch on the LHN. If that’s true, the Pac 12 is out.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=Dr. Aneus Taint]I don’t think they care about that one bit. They’re just looking out for the little guys.
That said, word is that Texas won’t budge an inch on the LHN. If that’s true, the Pac 12 is out.[/quote]if that’s true, every conference is out unless they want to associate themselves with the SEC and I think they’d rather burn in hell. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]More on the bacteria-infested ruin at Clark and Addison: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Black-slime-in-ice-machine-Wrigley-flunks-heal?urn=mlb-wp19153%5B/quote%5D
This is a key quote:
Wrigley was the sacrificial lamb here, but I’m betting if they had done Comiskey first, there would have been similar violations there, or Soldier Field or any of the stadiums in Chicago. The previous “inspections” were a fucking joke. Wrigley got caught and I’d expect the other stadiums’ food service providers to see that start taking steps to improve their facilities.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]if that’s true, every conference is out unless they want to associate themselves with the SEC and I think they’d rather burn in hell. (dying laughing)[/quote]
They reportedly don’t want to be independent, either. From the sound of it, they’re just going to stay in the Big 12-2-1-2 until it crumbles around them.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
That doesn’t mean I’m not glad to have been on a concessions strike since about May of last year though. That’s fucking gross.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Wrigley was the sacrificial lamb here, but I’m betting if they had done Comiskey first, there would have been similar violations there, or Soldier Field or any of the stadiums in Chicago. The previous “inspections” were a fucking joke. Wrigley got caught and I’d expect the other stadiums’ food service providers to see that start taking steps to improve their facilities.[/quote]Right. But I still bet Wrigley is at or near the bottom when all is said and done (although the United Center is rumored to be pretty foul).
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]That doesn’t mean I’m not glad to have been on a concessions strike since about May of last year though. That’s fucking gross.[/quote]My sister got tickets from her boss while we were home last week, and I had my last OS at Wrigley…and a brat. Now I wish I’d have just had one more last OS. (dying laughing)
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
I don’t know what you guys are bitching about, Wrigley is a throwback experience, and cholera comes with it.
GBTSQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Right. But I still bet Wrigley is at or near the bottom when all is said and done (although the United Center is rumored to be pretty foul).[/quote]
Probably, their food service is the worst in general, so it stands to reason the cleanliness would be worst. but I bet it isn’t as wide a gap as most people would expect.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]My sister got tickets from her boss while we were home last week, and I had my last OS at Wrigley…and a brat. Now I wish I’d have just had one more last OS. (dying laughing)[/quote]
Old Style is staying. You should have saved your money. (dying laughing)
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Wrigley was the sacrificial lamb here, but I’m betting if they had done Comiskey first, there would have been similar violations there, or Soldier Field or any of the stadiums in Chicago. The previous “inspections” were a fucking joke. Wrigley got caught and I’d expect the other stadiums’ food service providers to see that start taking steps to improve their facilities.[/quote]I’d take it a step further and say that most restaurant inspections are a joke.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I’d take it a step further and say that most restaurant inspections are a joke.[/quote]I worked at a restaurant once where the owner and I smoked cigarettes while prepping food for lunch. I don’t know if they ever got shut down or what happened.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I’d take it a step further and say that most restaurant inspections are a joke.[/quote]
On that, I defer to your knowledge, but you have to admit that inspecting when there wasn’t any actual food preparation going on is beyond ridiculous.
“Hey, we need to check your emissions to make sure your car is within the set environmental standards. No need to turn your car on.”
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Probably, their food service is the worst in general, so it stands to reason the cleanliness would be worst. but I bet it isn’t as wide a gap as most people would expect.[/quote]General cleanliness doesn’t bother me all that much to be honest. Due to Wrigley’s age it’s going to be difficult to make anything appear clean. Cleanliness in a restaurant is also related to how busy the place is. If you go into a kitchen at its busiest, it will not be clean and that’s when you want to do your inspections. I care a lot more about correctly storing, cooling, and heating products. I care more about the dumbasses who go to the bathroom and don’t wash their hands. Some of the things you can get written up on during inspections are just retarded. Some things you don’t get written up on that you should. I’d like to meet the people who write these inspections and then fire every single one of them. Then I’d hire competent people to rewrite the inspections. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=GBTS]I don’t know what you guys are bitching about, Wrigley is a throwback experience, and cholera comes with it.[/quote]Dysentery: It’s a Way of Life.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]On that, I defer to your knowledge, but you have to admit that inspecting when there wasn’t any actual food preparation going on is beyond ridiculous.
“Hey, we need to check your emissions to make sure your car is within the set environmental standards. No need to turn your car on.”[/quote]Agreed, but in a city the size of Chicago you can’t check all restaurants at 12:30 or 6:30. In a smaller sized city you can and should. In a city like Chicago that’s just not possible. It’s not fair that you’d enter one restaurant regularly at a certain time and another at a different time. The standards would be different. If they always went to Wrigley when it was busy almost any restaurant is going to look great compared to them.
When I lived in Topeka I had two part-time jobs. One of them was just a Sunday gig and during the NFL season that place would serve about 1500 people in 2 hours. If an inspector walked into that place at that moment there’s little doubt the restaurant would get a horrible grade. You’re standing on 2 feet of garbage as you’re cooking because your trash can was filled up 10 minutes after the place opened and there was no way you could take it out. You also just didn’t have time to neatly place something in a trash can so the trash went on the floor. After an hour or so you’re standing on packed trash.
That, in my opinion, is the standard to which you’d want to compare a place like Wrigley to. It’s going to be dirty. There’s nothing you can do about that because it’s so damn busy.
mb21Quote Reply
I’d also add that inspectors actually don’t want to get in the way so they’re much less likely to enter a restaurant during peak business hours. Some of them don’t care, but it is a pain in the ass for every employee if a inspector comes in when it’s busy. it’s harder for them to do their job when they’re trying to stay out of the way of those who are running around. There’s the increased risk of injury too.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Old Style is staying. You should have saved your money. (dying laughing)[/quote]What brought that about?
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
That’s true, but Wrigley got dinged on stuff that wasn’t a function of how busy they were. Or at least things that need to be attended to despite how busy it gets. Like the temperature of the food and touching the food after touching money. That is stuff that shouldn’t be happening and would never be seen on an off day.
I agree the timing factor is a hurdle, but they ALWAYS inspected on an off day and there is just no point in even doing it then. They might as well have saved the money they paid those inspectors for all the good they did by always going on an off day.
Aisle424Quote Reply
I worked as a short order cook in one of the busiest hot dog joints in the entire city. I can categorically state we did not have black slime anywhere in the place.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]What brought that about?[/quote]
Not sure what happened, but they are staying through 2013 at least. I think. I’ll find a link.
Aisle424Quote Reply
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/sports/mlb/cubs/old-style-wrigley-field-chicago-cubs-beer-deal-reached-flowing-20110908
Not much more info here, but I was right about 2013.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]That’s true, but Wrigley got dinged on stuff that wasn’t a function of how busy they were. Or at least things that need to be attended to despite how busy it gets. Like the temperature of the food and touching the food after touching money. That is stuff that shouldn’t be happening and would never be seen on an off day.
I agree the timing factor is a hurdle, but they ALWAYS inspected on an off day and there is just no point in even doing it then. They might as well have saved the money they paid those inspectors for all the good they did by always going on an off day.[/quote]In all honesty, if I was an inspector I’d just stand back and watch to see how frequently some cross contaminates something else. A little is inevitable whether people like it or not, but if it’s happening more than that, shut the place down. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Not sure what happened, but they are staying through 2013 at least. I think. I’ll find a link.[/quote]I wonder if the Cubs didn’t realize they had, like you know, a contract with Old Style and stuff. (dying laughing)
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Here’s the reality: there should not be food served at Wrigley Field. There is zero chance that place isn’t crawling with cockroaches.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]I wonder if the Cubs didn’t realize they had, like you know, a contract with Old Style and stuff. (dying laughing)[/quote]
It wasn’t the Cubs breaking the deal. It was Old Style (Pabst), supposedly.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]Here’s the reality: there should not be food served at Wrigley Field. There is zero chance that place isn’t crawling with cockroaches.[/quote]That’s probably the nicest non-human species currently residing in that heap.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
The 50,000th comment on this site was this:
DAT OLIN KROOZ IS A BLEW KAWLER GUY. GRABS HIS LUNCHPAIL AND GETS DA JOB DONE EVERY TIME. DAT GUYSSS A REAL LEADER OF MEN AND DA BEARSSS NEED A LEADER ON DA FIELD.
(dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]Here’s the reality: there should not be food served at Wrigley Field. There is zero chance that place isn’t crawling with cockroaches.[/quote]
The spiders take care of the cockroaches. It’s a delicate balance.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]That’s probably the nicest non-human species currently residing in that heap.[/quote]Probably.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]It wasn’t the Cubs breaking the deal. It was Old Style, supposedly.[/quote]Hmmmmm…that sounds suspect. Why would a company quit on the one venue where it can sell it’s most inferior product (ball park beer) for the highest markup, to the most people? I guarantee there’s no other venue where OS has that much access to customers at that price point.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]The 50,000th comment on this site was this:
DAT OLIN KROOZ IS A BLEW KAWLER GUY. GRABS HIS LUNCHPAIL AND GETS DA JOB DONE EVERY TIME. DAT GUYSSS A REAL LEADER OF MEN AND DA BEARSSS NEED A LEADER ON DA FIELD.
(dying laughing)[/quote]
Turn it green. 111 LSA rec’d NAMBLA
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]The spiders take care of the cockroaches. It’s a delicate balance.[/quote](dying laughing) as old as that place is there’s really just no cleaning it up unless they renovate. You could make small and mostly irrelevant improvements to the food quality, but that’s about it.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]The 50,000th comment on this site was this:
DAT OLIN KROOZ IS A BLEW KAWLER GUY. GRABS HIS LUNCHPAIL AND GETS DA JOB DONE EVERY TIME. DAT GUYSSS A REAL LEADER OF MEN AND DA BEARSSS NEED A LEADER ON DA FIELD.
(dying laughing)[/quote]
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Hmmmmm…that sounds suspect. Why would a company quit on the one venue where it can sell it’s most inferior product (ball park beer) for the highest markup, to the most people? I guarantee there’s no other venue where OS has that much access to customers at that price point.[/quote]
I honestly don’t know the true reason, but Crain’s had this:
Aisle424Quote Reply
Doesn’t make a ton of sense to me at face value.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Jeebus, this Old Style deal is a contest of which corporate stuffed shirt can out-stupid one another.
Pabst: “Let’s fuck up our best market to put more money behind a product so shitty even those who drink our shitty product won’t drink it!”
Cubs: “Oh yeah? Well, we’ll just hire Coors Light.”
Coors Light: “Hey, leave us out of this.”
Cubs Fan: “Is there supposed to be black sludge in my beer?”
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Doesn’t make a ton of sense to me at face value.[/quote]Yeah, this smacks of a lot of corporate ass-covering.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
I’m pretty sure at this point that when Crane Kenney was promoted, the Cubs hire Lionel Hutz as corporate counsel.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]The spiders take care of the cockroaches. It’s a delicate balance.[/quote]
Stage 45 – ROBOT CHICKENS
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Obstructed View is now closed.
Thanks for reading.[/quote]
I ended blog history. And since Al already ended sports history, what’s left?
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
[quote name=WenningtonsGorillaCock]I ended blog history. And since Al already ended sports history, what’s left?[/quote]Figuring out what happened to the Silva money and finding out who owns the Cubs.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]The spiders take care of the cockroaches. It’s a delicate balance.[/quote]There are two predators who really love cockroaches: ensign wasps and house centipedes. Neither one is harmful to humans, unless getting the bejesus scared out of you or having a heart attack is considered the bug’s fault. What’s funny is that you’re more likely to beat a house centipede to oblivion than the cockroach, because of looks alone, even though the HC is your ally. The question is though, in any stadium, what are the chances that you’re not getting at least some cockroaches and rodents? There are lots of nooks and crannies and open air entrance points for roaches and other crawlies. Either you just drink a beer and shrug it off or don’t eat at a stadium.
binkyQuote Reply
Come check out our new blog:
whoownsthecubs.net/whathappenedtothatsilvamoney.html
Aisle424Quote Reply
Holy. Shrieking. Eagle. Shit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EChnZTJicw&feature=player_embedded
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Come check out our new blog:
whoownsthecubs.net/whathappenedtothatsilvamoney.html[/quote]Can we have a 9-part series about Aramis’ option?
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
My cat seemed to like cockroaches. When we first got him, we would quite often wake up in the morning to a dead cockroach or two in the hallway that Schultz had killed and left for us as presents. After a few months, we never saw another cockroach ever again in that same apartment (and that apartment was a shithole).
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=WenningtonsGorillaCock]Can we have a 9-part series about Aramis’ option?[/quote]
We’ll probably alternate between that and how Lucas continues to fuck up Star Wars.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]My cat seemed to like cockroaches. When we first got him, we would quite often wake up in the morning to a dead cockroach or two in the hallway that Schultz had killed and left for us as presents. After a few months, we never saw another cockroach ever again in that same apartment (and that apartment was a shithole).[/quote]
So I guess what I’m saying is that Wrigley needs to have a few cats running around.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]So I guess what I’m saying is that Wrigley needs to have a few cats running around.[/quote]Not according the football coach in the video I posted.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]My cat seemed to like cockroaches. When we first got him, we would quite often wake up in the morning to a dead cockroach or two in the hallway that Schultz had killed and left for us as presents. After a few months, we never saw another cockroach ever again in that same apartment (and that apartment was a shithole).[/quote]Probably you kept the place cleaner than it was when you moved in, and the lack of easy food encouraged the roaches to move on to your neighbors. Although, I could see a cockroach being a fun toy for a cat, because they move so fast.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]So I guess what I’m saying is that Wrigley needs to have a few cats running around.[/quote]Hell, cats would be too busy killing rats and mice. Actually, yeah, the cats are a good idea.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]So I guess what I’m saying is that Wrigley needs to have a few cats running around.[/quote]
It already smells like piss anyway
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]Probably you kept the place cleaner than it was when you moved in, and the lack of easy food encouraged the roaches to move on to your neighbors. Although, I could see a cockroach being a fun toy for a cat, because they move so fast.[/quote]
We had lived there for about a year before we got the cat. We never saw roaches ourselves, but when the cat moved in, they started turning up dead as little examples to what would happen to the rest of the roaches if they didn’t clear out. Then they disappeared completely.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Not according the football coach in the video I posted.[/quote]
Obviously we’d have to get a few dogs to keep the cats in line. Like I said, it’s a delicate balance.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]We had lived there for about a year before we got the cat. We never saw roaches ourselves, but when the cat moved in, they started turning up dead as little examples to what would happen to the rest of the roaches if they didn’t clear out. Then they disappeared completely.[/quote]Or the cat got bored with them and went back to its old hobby of peeing in your slippers, giving the roaches free reign again.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]Dysentery: It’s a Way of Life.[/quote]
I’ll have to find an Oregon Trail gif to demotivatize this quote.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]Or the cat got bored with them and went back to its old hobby of peeing in your slippers, giving the roaches free reign again.[/quote]
He is the only cat I’ve ever known to get bored with one of the laser pointers.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]He is the only cat I’ve ever known to get bored with one of the laser pointers.[/quote]He just needs to realize he should be having more fun out there.
Bobby ValentineQuote Reply
new shit: http://obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/articles/the-hunt-for-a-new-gm.html
mb21Quote Reply