Cubby-Blue

Remember when the Cubs clinched in 2003?

Ahhh.
Remember that day?
Feels like a million years ago.
My wife had to go out of town, left me with the kids.
The rainout on Friday, the resulting Saturday doubleheader.
Cubs win game 1 with Prior on the mound striking out 10, 2nd place Houston loses to the Brewers, all the Cubs gotta do is win game 2 and the division is theirs.
The kids and I leave Sutter there to watch them clinch.
...this is all in that story in the above painting.

Anyway, I've been kind of in a funk lately, and I just realized why.
It is contained in the above painting.
Yes, I have totally bought into the Theo Re-design of the Chicago Cubs.
It's never been more obvious that something this drastic absolutely must be done.
But I also reserve the right to be a big baby and cry about not having a chance to clinch in 2012.

Probably I'm gonna be all split personality for the next year.

Remember in "Moneyball" when Brad Pitt went all in with the new system, and there's that horrible first part of the season where the Giants just can't win?
I feel like we're gonna be in that part of the movie for awhile.
Maybe not - I mean good GOD!
... pitchers and catchers haven't even reported yet and who knows what the kids can do or what Theo and Jed's moves will be.
So what am I talking about?
I guess...
I promise to be patient and I'll even try to calm you down too.
But once in awhile I probably won't be able to help but be a giant, whiny baby.
Sorry.

 

 

The Theo Epstein compensation "package" is in Bud Selig's lap.

My job is just to bring the idea to life, guys, even if it means nothing.
Which is exactly what's going on right now: nothing.
Just to prove, however, that I did not make this up, here's something I copied off MLB TRADE RUMORS:

I wonder what that compensation would be.
The Marlins took Ozzie Guillen and gave the White Sox a double A reliever named Jhan Marinez and a triple A SS named Ozzie Martinez. 
Is that a fair comparison?
Baseball America called this Ozzie thing an "exchange", which sounds like the same terminology you'd use for the Theo thing.
Well, who knows what it'll be, but I'm preparing to be shocked.
The Cubs have been stocking up on 5th starters, and the Red Sox are looking for pitchers...
But I have no idea - probably they're talking prospects, which in the case of our Cubs might be worse.
Either way, it should happen soon. 

You saw that Ryan Theriot has been reunited with his Louisiana buddy Mikey Fontenot in San Francisco.
Yep. You'd like to be an All-Star, but what an awesome gig these guys have just hanging around the Bigs even as back-ups.
Of course, if you're a Giants fan you might disagree.

Last thing.
Superbowl is coming up, and that means commercials, which is one of the things they do at my agency.
Some guys in the Cars.com group came up with a hilarious and different spot called "Confident You".
They're previewing it on You Tube, so I'm sure they don't mind me putting it up here.
Enjoy.

  

 

 

Dale Sveum, Bob Scarpelli, and leadership.

We haven't heard that much from new Cubs manager Dale Sveum since he got hired last November, have we?
(That's because the actual game part of baseball hasn't really started yet - give it a couple weeks!)
Yes, I'm picking on Soriano here, but when Sveum said those 7 little words I have up in the drawing, didn't that sound cool?
"Not running a ball out isn't okay."
Lotta weight in that sentence.
Of course every new manager says he's gonna come in and whip the team into shape, but I don't know...Sveum feels genuine.
He's got that naturally deep man-voice you used to hear in beer advertising.
His expression and demeanor convey a real sense of maturity and leadership.
I can't wait to see him once people are smacking baseballs around.

Complete change of subject.
Well, actually not since I'm talking about leadership.
I was lucky enough to be invited to Bob Scarpelli's intimate and super cool retirement party last night.
You can google him and find out all he's accomplished in advertising over his career, but simply put Bob has been the creative heart of DDB for a very long time.
In any business, there are certain guys who become giants and still never lose their sense of self.
Bob's one of those guys.
He's also a giant Cub fan, and he reads here.

Bob, I hope you set a personal record for Cub game attendance this season and who the hell knows - after a hundred some odd years maybe Cubs Time is just beginning.

Is Prince Fielder getting too big for his britches?

You may remember this drawing from a couple years back.
Not really sure why, but once in awhile I do a drawing and I make myself laugh and apparently it's not funny to anybody else.
This would be one of those.
But I put it back up just in case somebody didn't see it and uh, you know... laughs or something.

Anyway, Prince Fielder's going to DeTroit Citay with a Scott Boras mega-mondo contract.
But it's the American League, where they have designated hitters who can be fat and no longer nimble and still make more money than Wyoming.
Honestly, he's an amazing athlete, but nobody in their right National League mind would have given him 9 years. 
And I gotta say one last thing.
What a couple cowards Prince and Pujols turned out to be.
Just when the Cubs load up with Maholm and Volstad and Wood, they turn tail.
You notice that?

Oh well, it's sickeningly busy.
Gotta run. 

Billy Cundiff's new and miserable life (cartoons).

It's always horrible when this happens.
I mean, I don't really care about the Baltimore Ravens and I don't care about Billy Cundiff, but still when another man has such a colossal failure in front of the entire country it makes me feel... uneasy.  
But, he missed the field goal.
Pulled it. Shanked it. Gagged. Got the yips.
Choked.
And now poor Billy's going to have to live with the insults both real and perceived.
 

Pretty good couple games yesterday.
Niners fumble-lose to the Giants and the Ravens miss-the-kick-lose to the Pats.
Now it's Tom Brady vs Eli Manning in the Bowl.
Like an idiot, I already bought into a Superbowl pool for a twenty spot.
I might as well have cut it into confetti and had a little Jerry Angelo parade.