This Is It

Four Games left and that is it. The Cubs now are not in total control, but with 4 wins there will be at worst a playoff on Monday. Not much else to say, but go Cubs. I will miss a lot of the game today because of work, but I will be here in spirit.

Cubs Still Lead with 6 left

The Cubs got a much needed win tonight against the Reds. They now have a one game lead with 6 left. If the Cubs win 5 they at least will have a one game playoff. The Cubs will face Josh Hancock tonight. In a odd bit of trivia, he is the only major league player that I went to Church with. He went to a local High School and I doubt that he remembers me. Just in case you guys wanted to know.

Faith is still strong, but it would like a Giants and Astros loss tomorrow.

In Case You Didn't Know: Cubs Lead the Wild Card

One of the perks of working late at a newspaper is the fact I see all the late games as they finish. Tonight I saw the Giants give a game to the Astros. I was just over at The Northside Lounge and I hate to say this, but I agree with Scott Lange. I know Scott and I have not seen eye to eye in the past couple of weeks, but hey even media sellouts have to give the little people their due.

I like the fact that the Cubs are in first again. Now they do control their own fate. If they keep winning they make the playoffs. If they don't, well they need some help. The only think I did not like about today was two things.

1) It would have been nice to put the final nail in the Astros, but being in first place comes at a price. They now play at the Brewers for three games. They should win two of the games this weekend at least. So considering the Cubs win 2 of three, they would be 3 in the loss column with 7 games left. If the Astros sweep then of course you are looking at 2 games. That is a huge difference.

2) Too bad the Dodgers could not find a way to go ahead and lose tonight. It would have brought them even with the Cubs, but hey they do have the Giants this weekend.

It is a four team race with two of them going to the playoffs with about 10 games left. It should be a lot of fun, or it could be a long off season. Here is to keeping hope alive.

Walk On Home

I was sitting the newsroom watching the game, which by the way is tough when you have to get some work done. The Cubs just got by Pirates tonight, but it was one of those games where the Cubs really played their hearts out. Sammy Sosa made just a great catch to save the game in the 8th inning. Of course the biggest play of the day was by Oliver Perez when he walked Carlos Zambrano to give the Cubs the lead. The Giants beat the Astros again. So your up to minute wild card standings have the Cubs .5 games back of the Giants and 2.5 games ahead of the Astros. Also the Giants pulled to within a full game of the Dodgers. With the Dodgers and Giants playing 6 more times it looks more and more like the Cubs might just sneak in the back door. Tomorrow is a big day as the Cubs try to sneak out of town with a sweep before going to the Big Apple.

The Sign the World is Coming to an End

Shawn Estes beats Randy Johnson. I know this is crazy, but Estes picked up his 15th win last night. Also Zambrano now leads the league in ERA, but really come on Estes beats Johnson, I think the world is just messing with us Cub fans.

Please Call When Its Over

Ok, so I get off early tonight because I worked a half day on Sunday. I showed up just in time to see Aramis hit a two run HR to give the Cubs the lead. I was torn between the World Series Tournament of Champions and the Cub game, so I PIP the game. The problem was Latroy Hawkins could not hold the lead, but a gift by Jason Bay followed by a wild pitch to give the Cubs another lead 5-4. Dempster slammed the door in the 10th for the Cubs win. They are now tied with the Giants in the Wild Card, of course the Giants are still playing the Astros as I type this.

I have a feeling this in going to be a tense couple of weeks.

Edit to addOk there are 12 games left and I started to think that the Cubs at least have to win 8 of 12 to make the playoffs. Anything else and the Cubs might just have to back into the playoffs. The Giants have both the Dodgers and Astros. The Astros also have the Cardinals(even though they are playing a little rough right now). Right now if I had to pick I would say the Cubs and Giants both have a great chance of making the playoffs. The Dodgers pitching is heading down the hill and somehow the Giants keep winning. Right now the Giants are .5 back of the Dodgers and the Cubs are only 2 back of the Dodgers. If the Giants sweep the Astros, I think it will be the end of the Astros.

Game One Good, Game Two Not So Good So Far

Well, the Cubs really jumped out early in game one against Carl Pavono, but Clement was outdown by David Weathers. I know what you are thinking the same David Weathers from the pen. It is and of course the Cubs are making him look pretty good. The Cubs did what they had to do, but a comeback would be real nice.

Hello From El Dorado

So i got to see yesterday's game I was quite happy with Glendon. He pitched really well and the offense got started late, but did enough to win late. I have been working a ton, so I have missed about 4 of the last 5 games. Today's double header is really important. This is must split and a sweep would be really nice. Also Scott Lange of the Northside Lounge has seen it fit to drop me from the rotation, so I guess I can cross him off the list for press passes if I ever get an extra. There are advantages to working in the media and that is number one perk, but Scott you will just miss out now.

All joking aside, I am having a real good time out here and I will be in Wrigley in just a matter of time.

The Tide is Turning?

What a game, ok what a game by Corey Patterson. Patterson became a star tonight with two homeruns. The first tied the game at 2-2 and then in the bottom of the 12th he won the game with a walk off homerun. What a day, I caught the last 6 innings because I was coming back to Birmingham for the last time. Tomorrow I am off to Arkansas for good. I start work on Thursday. I hope to post something after my first Friday under the lights for some High School Football.

Also I wanted to say that Joe Aiello from View From the Bleachers moved his site to www.viewfromthebleachers.com off blogger(something I hope to do, but not right now).

His site is looking pretty good, so go check it out.

Is This a Step in the Right Direction?

On a day where it looked like the Cubs were going to mail it in, but something happened on the way to a Marlins win. The Cubs win a ball game without leaving the ballpark. The Cubs found a way to steal a win from the Marlins. A bases clearing double by Derrek Lee in the 8th was the difference in the 5-2 win. The Cubs now will at least a share of the Wild Card. The Astros and Padres are both losing right now.

On a real bright note was LaTroy Hawkins. He struck out the side to end the game. Sosa had two hits and a RBI. Also not to rain on Christian of The Cub Reporter, but Perez is putting up All-Star type numbers in the last two games. He is now 6 for 6 with a walk. I am just joking but even the sun shines on bad players I guess.

Tomorrow the Cubs send Rusch to the mound face A.J. Burnett and try to take 3 of 4 from the Marlins.

On another note: I found an apartment in El Dorado and will moving on Mondy, and starting my new job on Tuesday. I hope to update about the move later in the week. The good think about working on a Newspaper is the fact I can at least get to the interent a couple times a day.

It is Time for a New Project

This is probably the worst time to start something like this, but I am starting another blog right now. I have been thinking about it for some time and I really want to start. My second love behind sports is movies. My new site is called the Yarbage Movie Review. Check it out and leave some comments if you want. The link is over on the left and I hope you enjoy. Maybe you will find a movie that you have not seen and you will enjoy it.

Time to Break for the Weather

It is a done deal. The Cubs and Marlins entire series has been rained out due to the all the action down on South Beach. While Miami gets ready for the hurricane the Cubs may have caught a break.

The unlikely four day break gives the Cubs a couple of days to rest and get focused for the end of the season. The two biggest factors will be Nomar and Aramais getting a few more days to rest their sore legs. This may have been just what the Doctor ordered for the Cubs. Also maybe the extra rest will help Prior locate some of his pitches. At this point of the year you never see teams get this kind of rest, but for the beat up Cubs it could not have come at a better time.

There are some concerns. The offense had been going pretty well for the last couple of weeks and now the Cubs could be rusty. This could create a problem with the end of the season. The Cubs have to make up these games and the problem is when do they do that? A double-header here or end of the year series that pushes back the playoffs? These are questions that only MLB can answer, but for today the Cubs will now get ready for the Expos. On the main page it says the Greg Maddux will pitch on Monday, but we shall see.

Enjoy the weekend. I will be off to Arkansas next week to find a new place to live, so until then there will be few updates.

I am Now a Professional Sports Writer

I thought all my loyal readers out there would like to know I have a job. My new home will be in El Dorado, Arkansas as sooon as I find a place to live. I get to cover high school sports and I will be the main baseball beat writer for the paper. Thanks for everybody reading and I will continue to update as much as I can. I will also post if I think there is any talent that you should look for in the coming future.

Also my site was one of the main selling points for my job. They really liked the fact I wrote on my own, so if you want a job just get out there and write.


Thanks,
Chris