Currently Watching Fever Pitch (Widescreen Edition) see related

So, how about them Cubbies?

Well, apparently the 2006 Cubs are great magicians.  I mean, how else do you explain the rapid evaporation and disappearance of the Cubbie offensive attack over the last month.  Oh, that's right, you know who has been missing over at first base during that time too, I guess this magic trick's secret is out of its hat.

Anyhow, chalk the Cubs' wretched start up any way you want to, but they are simply just not getting it done right now.  Is it time to panic?  Not quite.  Is it time to give up?  No.  Is it time to sell the farm for a power hitting right-handed batter?  No.  Is it time for me to stop asking questions?  Yes.  That said, in a season that has begun with few positive answers, various questions remain in every Cub fan's mind as to how this team will fair.  I personally am not writing them off, but I can understand why some Cub fans are.  I'll begin this blog discussing a few of the main reasons that currently have some Cub fans searching for the panic/next year button.  Again, I'm only stating the reasons, not adopting them, as I still believe this can be our year...and I'll get to why it can be in a few paragraphs.

First, the thoughts of Negative Nancy:

*Derek Lee's Wrist:  Perhaps the most important wrist in all of Cubdom, the devastating injury to Derek Lee's wrist 6 Wednesdays ago certainly had some Cub fans immediately thinking that a 2006 Cub World Series title was wrist-ful thinking.  Those pessimists believe that by the time Lee comes back, it'll be too late, while optimists, by definition, differ.  Who's right?  Ask me in a couple of months.  Until then, Cub fans can only hope that the rest of the offense comes together-which leads me to my next mark...

*The Rest of the Lineup:  Much has been made recently about how Baker's Cubs are relying too heavily on small ball.  You know, stealing bases, bunting runners over, sacrifice flies, etc.  What's funny is that just last season, those same critics griped that the Cubs relied too much on the long ball...seems like they just can't win...

...Well, the Cubs haven't been doing a whole lot of that in games this season either, and it's a result of a mixed bag of problems:  1) the already discussed D. Lee injury. 2) Juan Pierre's, Aramis Ramirez's (who has recently been heating up), and Jacque Jones' slow starts.  3) a lack of clutch hitting. 

Perhaps the most crucial necessity for any success, the lack of clutch hitting this season has led to the Cubs riding 30th in the league in batting avg. with runners in scoring position.  How bad is that?  Well, that'd be 30th out of 30 teams, stellar.

*Dusty Baker-many fans are calling for this Baker to be placed in his oven and fired, though I'm not one of them.  The horrible start to the season, the overall disappointment 2006 has brought, and Baker's often times controversial/questionable managerial decisions, are the popular reasons Fire Baker! supporters believe the Cub manager should be shown the door.  However, I disagree, as I simply cannot say that the slow start and early season struggles are entirely Baker's fault.  No, not when you're missing arguably 3 of your top 4 players in the season's first month and a half.  Go out to Hollywood, and they'll write you a movie script where the team comes together and wins a championship after losing 3 team leaders, but in real life, that seldom happens.  All Cubdom can hope for is that the Cubs get back to .500 and hover there until the rest of the calvary returns, something easier said than done.

Now the thoughts of Positive Patty:

*It's a long season:  Unlike the NFL, pro baseball, and to a certain extent, pro basketball, play long seasons that allow for slow starts and early season mistakes.  That margin for error, though not 3-months wide, is something that many teams take advantage of-such as the Marlins or the Astros. 

Open your history books, and you'll discover that the aforementioned Marlins won a World Series in 2003 (at the expense of our Cubs) after starting the month of June ten games under .500.  The Astros, just last year, also started out of the gate slowly (15-30 in their first 45 games, 14 games back), only to go 74-43 the rest of the way and make the World Series.  Anyway, my point is that winning seasons can be salvaged after slow starts.  And yes, I know that any same history book will show that the Cubs haven't won anything since 1908, but if the Cubs can play their way back up to .500 (and stay there until Lee and Prior get back), I firmly believe we've got a shot-even if it's only at the Wild Card.  Plus, as the Angels and Marlins of the past have shown us, sometimes the Wild Card is the best way in anyway.

*As the weather heats up, so will the offense-Yes, I know the offense has been offense-ive for the first month and a half, but I have strong confidence in J.P., Aramis, and Jacque to turn things around. 

While I think Jacque's contract was a bit much, he's still a very capable ball player, and consequently, quite capable of warming up offensively (which he is showing signs of doing).

*We've already hit rock bottom-Folks, it doesn't get much worse than being swept by the Marlins...oh wait, yes it does, as that loss Friday to Atlanta shoveled just a little more dirt out of our hole (side note-I think we have found just about every way to lose a game this season.)

Anyway, while times are low and frustrations are high, there's only one direction to go at this point, and that's up.  Games like Friday's (where Ryan Dumpster blows another save, what happened to Mr. Automatic?) are definitely tough to swallow, but I truly believe that we can be ok.  If not, it's another lost year, we've done that song and dance before, it's nothing new.

Also needing mentioning is that fellow Cub fan and Off The Wall contributor, JT, is up in Chicago for the Braves series this weekend.  Despite yesterday and Friday's depressing results, JT's going to work some magic and turn our boys around.  Call it Mission Impossible: 1908.

In other news, I was able to get over to Oxford a few weeks ago to watch my boy Alex play.  My cousin was able to snatch National Player of the Week honors twice this season, and is ready to test the MLB draft waters (in June).  However, before all that, A.P. is going to try to help take Ole Miss to the College World Series, so far so good (Ole Miss plays in the SEC championship game today at 3 PM against Vandy).

While over in Oxford to watch Alex play, I also was lucky enough to sit next to and talk with former Cub, Don Kessinger, something I thoroughly enjoyed and will never forget.  He was out at the ball field to watch the weekend's games, and for those of you not familiar with the former Cub, he was part of that legendary 1969 team. 

In his career, Kessinger also played for the Cardinals, as well as the White Sox (where he served as a player-manager), so he definitely got to see the rivalry from all the different angles.  When I asked him what it was like playing for all 3 teams, he said it was definitely an experience, but that he enjoyed his time at Wrigley the most.  One other cool thing was that my dad met Mr. Kessinger back when he lived in Chicago in the early 70s.  Like father, like son I guess.

Lastly, since I was up in Oxford, I also got a chance to head up to Memphis, TN for a couple of nights (which is about 50 min. from Oxford).  While there, I visited the Peabody Hotel, where by chance, I met Dirk Nowitzki (the Mavericks were in town to play the Grizzlies that night) in the hotel lobby.  Dirk was as nice a guy as Kessinger was, and I got a chance to talk with him as well.  Needless to say, I felt a tad bit dwarfed standing next to Dirk.

Dirk's autograph

Alright, so that's about it.  I'll have a new Off The Wall installment up very soon, so all 5 listeners out there, be sure to check that out.  I'll post the link on here when it's up.  Also, congrats to JT, Frances, and anyone else out there who graduated.

Go Cubs, let's turn this thing around.  In the mean time, all this discussing has made me thirsty, I'm going to go have some punch...

...now THAT'S a punch line.

Why, God, Why????

Currently Watching Hoosiers see related

How 'SWEEEEEP' It Is

Currently Watching Through the Fire (Director's Cut - Extended and Uncensored) see related

ZZZZzzzZZZZZzzz......Back In The Batter's Box

So my last posting was January 4th, eh...well, I guess I enjoyed my off-season a little too much and got lazy with my Xanga.  Ah, but then again, no Cubs baseball can easily bring boredom and silence, so I wouldn't of had much to say.  Call it Opening Day though, because it's time for me to open my mouth and talk Cubs.

With only a week and a half to go until the most wonderful time of the year hits (which explains why I am playing that song on my site),  I thought I'd come with a few random thoughts as Opening Day draws closer.

*Since Frank Thomas (who played for that other Chicago team) has left Chi-town, I've decided to nickname Wood (b/c of his many injuries): "Big Hurt."  ....Hey, the Sux won with a Big Hurt on their team last year---whatever it takes.

*Matt Murton is THE MAN, but for just one inning I want to see the Foreign-named OF trot out: Pierre, Pie, Jacque Jones.

*Any word on if Queen plans to do a re-make of "Another One Bites The Dust" called "Another Injury Bug Bites the Cubs?"

*Do you think the Cubs are more shocked when Prior/Wood are actually healthy as opposed to when they're hurt?

*I want Soriano!

*Sean Marshall is a machine so far...I'm hoping he sticks in the rotation while the DL Duo is down.

*Yeah, I know Spring Training is around so that the players can get ready for the upcoming season...but here's hoping that it doesn't also have another purpose of training us Cub fans for what is to come in the regular season: more injuries.

*What's the over/under on how many bases the Magic Juan steals?  I'm going with...64.

*Marquis Grissom looks like a bulldog.

*This is not Cub-related, but the Sonic commercial with the 2 guys in the car eating tator tots is hilarious: "Don't you bring that weak tot action!  You go strong to your mouth, or you don't go at all!"  Seriously, I've been saying that to everyone---very catchy.

Ok, so this was a quick post, but I'll be back for a more in-depth look at the upcoming Cub season later on.  In the meantime, I have totally re-built the Off The Wall Radio Show website, so check it out:  http://www.freewebs.com/offthewallradioshow/

There are a lot of new, cool features on the site, which I'm excited about, and it should all help make the show more entertaining and enjoyable to listen to.  I'm recording the latest installment this weekend, so it should be up by late Sunday.  With all the Cubbie news this spring, the upcoming show promises to be quite good. 

Hope everyone's doing well,

GO CUBS