Hello friends. I hope that you had a good weekend. My weekend consisted of watching a movie and exercising more in two days than I probably have in the last two months combined. T'was a good couple of days for me.
As far as the exercising went, I'm not big into lifting weights, jogging (or is it yogging?), or any kind of calisthenics for that matter. I find going to the gym to be about as boring as any activity that there is out there. I seem to get very little out of it, and I absolutely dread the idea of consistently doing these activities multiple times per week. That being said, I'm getting to the age where if I decide to not do anything active at all for long periods of time, I'll slowly (but surely) turn into a lard ass. Probably not the greatest idea (you know, if you're into the whole dating members of the opposite sex thing, and living past the age of 50). So I guess that you just have to find alternative methods of getting your exercise. For me...sports.
I played about 10 games of basketball this weekend, 3 games of softball and I swam a bit as well. It felt good to be active, and I'm hoping that my shot slowly begins to come back on the court, because my outside shooting performance was pretty embarrassing out there. Hopefully it's like riding a bike, because I shot about 20% from outside, when I used to be a fairly consistent shooter as a youngster. We'll see. Hopefully basketball is not like golf where the more you practice, the worse you get (maybe that's just me?)
For as fun as playing softball under the lights or getting a bunch of hoops in over the weekend was for me, seeing Quentin Tarantino's new movie "Inglourious Basterds" absolutely took the cake. Wow. What a masterpiece. It's very rare that I go into something with the kind of expectations that I had and walk away completely satisfied like I did on Friday night. For me, it was one of those movies that I wanted to see again immediately after leaving the theater. I ended up going to this as kind of a "man-date" with four of my buddies (never cool under ANY circumstance, true...BUT, "Inglourious Basterds" probably isn't the type of movie that you take your girlfriend to either). Anyway, when we left the theater, three of us loved the movie (me included), one of us fell asleep but said that he liked what he saw (I'll give him a pass because the movie didn't start until 1AM, and it was a long one), and the other one of us said that he "didn't understand the message that Tarantino was trying to send." This last comment pissed me off.
The next day I still had the movie fresh on my mind and when I saw one of my buddies that had seen it as well, we were reciting our favorite lines and putting the movie up on the pedestal that it so richly deserves. He then told me that a Jewish friend of ours said that he will NOT see the movie because "He simply doesn't watch "Jewish Fantasies." What!!! Now I'm finding myself being really disgusted with some of the people that I know.
Don't get me wrong...everyone has the right to their opinion. If you don't like something, that's fine. I'm not going to judge you for it. We all have different tastes and that's what makes this world of ours so interesting at times. Not everyone is the exact same. My problem is simply this: For example...if you watched "Inglourious Basterds" and then told me that you just really didn't like the movie...cool. I'm not going to agree with you, but hey...that's your opinion. I can live with that. Not everyone likes everything that I like, and that's fine. Just don't tell me, "I won't even give it a chance because I don't watch Jewish Fantasies." By saying that, you're an idiot. First of all, this is NOT a "Jewish Fantasy" (You wouldn't know that, because you HAVEN'T seen it!) But even if it was, why would you deprive yourself of the possibility of enjoying something just to live by your stupid ideals that are meaningless and serve absolutely NO purpose? It's idiotic.
A good example of this is the fact that I don't like tomatoes. I don't. I think that tomatoes are disgusting. A lot of people would disagree with me, but that's my opinion. What if I was like the asshole that didn't like "Jewish Fantasies" and said something like "Since I don't like tomatoes, then I'm NOT going to ever try pizza?" First of all, I'd be an idiot (not unlike our "Jewish Fantasy Hater") but I'd also not knowingly deprive myself of my favorite food, simply because I was trying to impress you by being some sort of righteous individual when in reality, I'm just being a moron. For some reason everyone has to be "Mr. Contrarian" to everything these days instead of actually giving something a chance and then giving an INFORMED opinion about the matter. It's stupid, and it's completely backwards.
I mentioned earlier that one of my friends that saw the movie with me said that he "Just didn't understand the message that Tarantino was trying to send." This is ALMOST as stupid as the "I don't watch Jewish Fantasies" comment. Who cares what Tarantino's message was!!! This isn't the "Cosby show." You shouldn't need a message and you shouldn't need everything to be wrapped up into a bow either. It's a MOVIE. It's made to entertain us. Watch the movie, and then either love it, hate it, or consider it to be average and then move on with your day. Good God. Let's stop trying to be "Captain Philosopher" and start enjoying our lives a little bit.
I know that 99% of the people that saw "Inglourious Basterds" will, even though it was just a stupid "Jewish Fantasy." Moron.
Hit me up on facebook. www.myspace.com/theskyfall or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Having a Party" by Sam Cooke. You probably love this song unless you won't listen to "party fantasies from the early sixties." Drinks of Choice: vodka lemonades to refresh my mind until this evening.
Peace the F.
Webby
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
I will Strike Down upon Thee with Great Vengeance and Furious Anger, and You will know My Name is the Lord when I Lay My Vengeance upon Thee!
Hey, hey. The Cubs won a ball game last night! Yay!!! They improved their record to (1-5) at San Diego this year (a last place team that traded away their top pitcher, while their second best pitcher, Chris Young, is out for the season due to injury). The White Sox came back after losing game 2 to the Royals (they probably should have lost game 1 as well to this particular last place team) and won yesterday at The Cell, taking two out of three in the series. So at least our two under-achieving baseball teams were on the winning side of the equation together for one day. We shall see if that continues tonight. My guess...it won't.
Don't you just love it when people act surprised about something negative that happens to someone who has a "checkered past" when EVERYONE knew that it was going to happen at some point simply because of that person's track record? There are many examples of this. I'm reading today that the Memphis college basketball team will have it's 38 win season and Final Four berth back in 2007-08 erased from the record books due to NCAA violations (Derrick Rose). Not only are the people of Memphis devastated/shocked with this news, the people of Kentucky, who just hired Coach Calipari, are scratching their heads as well. What??? You knew that that man was cheating at Memphis, but you sold your soul anyway and now you're going to have to deal with it! Not only did you know (University of Kentucky), the University of Memphis knew exactly what they were dealing with as well. You all remember Coach Cal's UMass team back in 1996 led by All-American Marcus Camby don't you? Their Final Four run has been erased from the record books as well (let's be honest, we ALL knew something was up when under any circumstance you can convince the top high school recruit in the country to come to the University of Massachusetts...not Duke, UNC, UCLA, UConn, etc....but UMass). I can't wait for the first round of sanctions that come down on the Wildcats. My guess, within three seasons. It's going to be great.
How about the Milton Bradley signing? I know that the subject has been beaten to death, but again...EVERYONE knew that this was a bad signing. EVERYONE knew that this guy was a bad teammate, and came with a ton of baggage. We also knew that he was coming off of a career year that would be extremely unlikely for him to duplicate, but instead of taking all of these facts into consideration and pursuing other avenues (Ibanez, Dunn, Abreu), Bradley's entire track record was completely IGNORED by Jim Hendry. Don't you dare tell me that we're losing because of the fact that some of our players (Milton Bradley) just aren't putting up the type of numbers that they were expected to put up. Just deal with your powerless .260 hitting right fielder who happens to make $10 million a season for the next three years just like the rest of us have to. We ALL saw this coming, where were you? Wow.
How about this example: Have you ever seen the show "Jon and Kate Plus 8?" If you haven't, you're not missing anything. The problem for me is that it happens to be my girlfriend's favorite show. Which basically means that it's my favorite show (even though I hate it...it's constantly on). It's kind of like what "Jules" says in "Pulp Fiction": "You ever tried a "Big Kahuna" burger? If you like burgers, give 'em a try sometime. I can't usually get 'em myself because my girlfriend's a vegetarian which pretty much makes me...a vegetarian." Well, my girlfriend loves "Jon and Kate Plus 8" which pretty much makes me love "Jon and Kate Plus 8." Anyway, 'ol Jon and Katey are getting a very public and messy divorce right now and are blaming the paparazzi and their lack of privacy, among other things, as the main reasons for the demise of their marriage. You can't be serious? First of all...the way I see it, they should be put in jail for taking fertility pills after they ALREADY had twins which of course, caused them to have six more babies...but that's beside the point. ANY parents that are sick enough to exploit their own children's childhoods by putting their faces on reality TV to make a few bucks, get EVERYTHING that they deserve. You sold your soul to the "TLC" channel, and it cost you your marriage. Deal with the decisions that you make. Everyone else has to, and EVERYONE else knew that ANYONE who puts their lives on television, ends up ruining their lives just as quickly as they take the money that comes with it. Quit your crying.
I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see how these kids end up turning out. I think that there's five girls and three boys in the bunch. What's the over/under on strippers that come out of this litter? It's like Chris Rock said, "A dad's #1 job is to keep his daughter OFF THE POLE!" Expose them to fame when they didn't do anything to deserve/desire it, and you're generally sending them right down the path of the wild/slutty/drug attic variety...probably NOT "off the pole" if you ask me.
Hit me up on facebook, www.myspace.com/theskyfall or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Paris in September" by Noise by Numbers. Chicago all-star band. Drinks of Choice: Starting the day with coffee, finishing with...?
Take care,
Webby
Don't you just love it when people act surprised about something negative that happens to someone who has a "checkered past" when EVERYONE knew that it was going to happen at some point simply because of that person's track record? There are many examples of this. I'm reading today that the Memphis college basketball team will have it's 38 win season and Final Four berth back in 2007-08 erased from the record books due to NCAA violations (Derrick Rose). Not only are the people of Memphis devastated/shocked with this news, the people of Kentucky, who just hired Coach Calipari, are scratching their heads as well. What??? You knew that that man was cheating at Memphis, but you sold your soul anyway and now you're going to have to deal with it! Not only did you know (University of Kentucky), the University of Memphis knew exactly what they were dealing with as well. You all remember Coach Cal's UMass team back in 1996 led by All-American Marcus Camby don't you? Their Final Four run has been erased from the record books as well (let's be honest, we ALL knew something was up when under any circumstance you can convince the top high school recruit in the country to come to the University of Massachusetts...not Duke, UNC, UCLA, UConn, etc....but UMass). I can't wait for the first round of sanctions that come down on the Wildcats. My guess, within three seasons. It's going to be great.
How about the Milton Bradley signing? I know that the subject has been beaten to death, but again...EVERYONE knew that this was a bad signing. EVERYONE knew that this guy was a bad teammate, and came with a ton of baggage. We also knew that he was coming off of a career year that would be extremely unlikely for him to duplicate, but instead of taking all of these facts into consideration and pursuing other avenues (Ibanez, Dunn, Abreu), Bradley's entire track record was completely IGNORED by Jim Hendry. Don't you dare tell me that we're losing because of the fact that some of our players (Milton Bradley) just aren't putting up the type of numbers that they were expected to put up. Just deal with your powerless .260 hitting right fielder who happens to make $10 million a season for the next three years just like the rest of us have to. We ALL saw this coming, where were you? Wow.
How about this example: Have you ever seen the show "Jon and Kate Plus 8?" If you haven't, you're not missing anything. The problem for me is that it happens to be my girlfriend's favorite show. Which basically means that it's my favorite show (even though I hate it...it's constantly on). It's kind of like what "Jules" says in "Pulp Fiction": "You ever tried a "Big Kahuna" burger? If you like burgers, give 'em a try sometime. I can't usually get 'em myself because my girlfriend's a vegetarian which pretty much makes me...a vegetarian." Well, my girlfriend loves "Jon and Kate Plus 8" which pretty much makes me love "Jon and Kate Plus 8." Anyway, 'ol Jon and Katey are getting a very public and messy divorce right now and are blaming the paparazzi and their lack of privacy, among other things, as the main reasons for the demise of their marriage. You can't be serious? First of all...the way I see it, they should be put in jail for taking fertility pills after they ALREADY had twins which of course, caused them to have six more babies...but that's beside the point. ANY parents that are sick enough to exploit their own children's childhoods by putting their faces on reality TV to make a few bucks, get EVERYTHING that they deserve. You sold your soul to the "TLC" channel, and it cost you your marriage. Deal with the decisions that you make. Everyone else has to, and EVERYONE else knew that ANYONE who puts their lives on television, ends up ruining their lives just as quickly as they take the money that comes with it. Quit your crying.
I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see how these kids end up turning out. I think that there's five girls and three boys in the bunch. What's the over/under on strippers that come out of this litter? It's like Chris Rock said, "A dad's #1 job is to keep his daughter OFF THE POLE!" Expose them to fame when they didn't do anything to deserve/desire it, and you're generally sending them right down the path of the wild/slutty/drug attic variety...probably NOT "off the pole" if you ask me.
Hit me up on facebook, www.myspace.com/theskyfall or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Paris in September" by Noise by Numbers. Chicago all-star band. Drinks of Choice: Starting the day with coffee, finishing with...?
Take care,
Webby
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Wait 'Til Next Year
Hello again. Sorry for posting so late in the day. I'm swallowed in depression right now as we inexplicably lost in our radio league championship softball game last night 8-7 in 9 innings (we normally play seven...so obviously, we went extras). It was our strangest game of the season too (of course, we pick the championship game for our weirdest performance of the year).
We were the home team due to our higher seed in the tournament, so we took the field first. They scored three runs in the inning without hitting the ball square one time (I know that I probably sound like Hawk right now, but it's the truth). We walked two batters, made two errors, and they had two bloop hits that fell in between second base and the right fielder. Not a good way to start the ball game, but we were the best hitting team in that league during the regular season/playoffs so there was NO doubt in my mind that we would bounce right back with some runs of our own...and that's exactly what we did.
We answered right back with three runs in the bottom half of the first to tie the ball game back up (not to mention, we were actually hitting line drives all over the field compared to their duck snorts). All right. Back to zero-zero. When we took the field in the 2nd inning tied up, I just knew that we were going to start putting zeros on the board defensively, and guess what? They went scoreless for the next four straight innings. We were lock down in the field. Now, holding a team to four straight scoreless innings in a baseball game is good, but it's not that big of a deal. Holding a team scoreless for four straight innings in 16" softball, is pretty unheard of. Especially when you do it against the caliber of team that would be playing in a championship game.
So, I'm sure that you're thinking...How could you lose the ball game when you were tied at 3-3 and then held them scoreless for four straight innings? Well, I'll tell you how. They held US scoreless for four straight innings as well! We couldn't believe it. They made ZERO errors in the field, and made some spectacular plays too. Not to mention, we stopped hitting with runners in scoring position (not unlike your Chicago Cubs...I wasn't going to mention them today, but what can you do?), and had some base running blunders as well. We had a base runner get hit in the leg by a ground ball between 2nd and 3rd that cost us two runs, and I got thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on a single to left field. So there you have it. A championship game in a 16" softball league is tied at 3-3 heading into the top of the 6th of Seven innings.
All of a sudden, we completely imploded. Our infield (which had been making great plays all game long) started booting the ball around the field and our pitcher started walking their girls (I know that it sounds sexist, but anyone that's ever played co-ed 16" softball knows that a girl is an easy out 100% of the time. You CAN'T walk them). So they ended up breaking the 3-3 tie with a four run 6th inning, and seemingly blowing the game wide open in the process as we had just six outs left to work with.
In the bottom of the sixth, we loaded the bases with nobody out. We scored one run on an RBI ground out. Then I scored from third on a sacrifice fly cutting the lead to 7-5. That ended our scoring in that inning as we wasted a golden opportunity by only scoring two runs with the sacks packed and zero outs (White Sox style). We came back and shut them down 1-2-3 in the top of the 7th, and headed into the bottom of the inning needing two to tie, three to win. Our first batter ended up grounding out, but then the next two hitters reached base and we were able to tie the ball game on another RBI ground out sending this championship game into extras.
Again (for the sixth inning of this nine inning ball game) we shut them out in the 8th and took the field with our 6th-7th-8th hitters (all solid players) and a chance to win the championship in the bottom half. We'd come back from a 3 run deficit, and then again from a four run deficit. Now all we needed to do was scratch across ONE tally, and the trophy/money was OURS. FINALLY, it was OUR year in this league. Our lead off hitter smoked a line drive into the right field gap that I thought was at minimum a double, possibly even a triple. Then, out of nowhere (to our surprise/dismay) their right fielder makes a running/leaping catch robbing us of extra bases and probably the championship. Our next batter singled, but then we followed with two soft fly outs to end the inning. We were deflated.
In the ninth, their lead off hitter hit a sharp ground ball to our shortstop who made a nice play to field it, but rushed the throw and ended up over throwing the first baseman. This lead off error ended up scoring on a sacrifice fly and gave them the lead 8-7 heading into the bottom of the 9th. We had our 9th-10th-1st batters due up but they just couldn't get it done. We quietly went down 1-2-3 in the ninth, and The Mix celebrated with OUR trophy as we just watched from the dugout.
I know that it's just a stupid recreational softball league, and that the money would basically just cover our costs/uniforms/etc., but it still hurt losing this game. We were extremely confident coming in (having won seven games in a row, INCLUDING one against The Mix), and just couldn't imagine being held down for six of the nine innings offensively like we were (especially since we scored 22 runs the week before!) In yesterday's entry I mentioned that we were similar to the 2007 Colorado Rockies as we got off to a slow start, and then turned it on, running the gauntlet on the rest of the league and into the championship game...I had NO idea that we were running into the Red Sox.
Hit me up on facebook, www.myspace.com/theskyfall or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Fleeting Porch" by Drag the River. Good rock band out of Colorado. Drinks of Choice: MHL.
Peace the F.
Webby
We were the home team due to our higher seed in the tournament, so we took the field first. They scored three runs in the inning without hitting the ball square one time (I know that I probably sound like Hawk right now, but it's the truth). We walked two batters, made two errors, and they had two bloop hits that fell in between second base and the right fielder. Not a good way to start the ball game, but we were the best hitting team in that league during the regular season/playoffs so there was NO doubt in my mind that we would bounce right back with some runs of our own...and that's exactly what we did.
We answered right back with three runs in the bottom half of the first to tie the ball game back up (not to mention, we were actually hitting line drives all over the field compared to their duck snorts). All right. Back to zero-zero. When we took the field in the 2nd inning tied up, I just knew that we were going to start putting zeros on the board defensively, and guess what? They went scoreless for the next four straight innings. We were lock down in the field. Now, holding a team to four straight scoreless innings in a baseball game is good, but it's not that big of a deal. Holding a team scoreless for four straight innings in 16" softball, is pretty unheard of. Especially when you do it against the caliber of team that would be playing in a championship game.
So, I'm sure that you're thinking...How could you lose the ball game when you were tied at 3-3 and then held them scoreless for four straight innings? Well, I'll tell you how. They held US scoreless for four straight innings as well! We couldn't believe it. They made ZERO errors in the field, and made some spectacular plays too. Not to mention, we stopped hitting with runners in scoring position (not unlike your Chicago Cubs...I wasn't going to mention them today, but what can you do?), and had some base running blunders as well. We had a base runner get hit in the leg by a ground ball between 2nd and 3rd that cost us two runs, and I got thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on a single to left field. So there you have it. A championship game in a 16" softball league is tied at 3-3 heading into the top of the 6th of Seven innings.
All of a sudden, we completely imploded. Our infield (which had been making great plays all game long) started booting the ball around the field and our pitcher started walking their girls (I know that it sounds sexist, but anyone that's ever played co-ed 16" softball knows that a girl is an easy out 100% of the time. You CAN'T walk them). So they ended up breaking the 3-3 tie with a four run 6th inning, and seemingly blowing the game wide open in the process as we had just six outs left to work with.
In the bottom of the sixth, we loaded the bases with nobody out. We scored one run on an RBI ground out. Then I scored from third on a sacrifice fly cutting the lead to 7-5. That ended our scoring in that inning as we wasted a golden opportunity by only scoring two runs with the sacks packed and zero outs (White Sox style). We came back and shut them down 1-2-3 in the top of the 7th, and headed into the bottom of the inning needing two to tie, three to win. Our first batter ended up grounding out, but then the next two hitters reached base and we were able to tie the ball game on another RBI ground out sending this championship game into extras.
Again (for the sixth inning of this nine inning ball game) we shut them out in the 8th and took the field with our 6th-7th-8th hitters (all solid players) and a chance to win the championship in the bottom half. We'd come back from a 3 run deficit, and then again from a four run deficit. Now all we needed to do was scratch across ONE tally, and the trophy/money was OURS. FINALLY, it was OUR year in this league. Our lead off hitter smoked a line drive into the right field gap that I thought was at minimum a double, possibly even a triple. Then, out of nowhere (to our surprise/dismay) their right fielder makes a running/leaping catch robbing us of extra bases and probably the championship. Our next batter singled, but then we followed with two soft fly outs to end the inning. We were deflated.
In the ninth, their lead off hitter hit a sharp ground ball to our shortstop who made a nice play to field it, but rushed the throw and ended up over throwing the first baseman. This lead off error ended up scoring on a sacrifice fly and gave them the lead 8-7 heading into the bottom of the 9th. We had our 9th-10th-1st batters due up but they just couldn't get it done. We quietly went down 1-2-3 in the ninth, and The Mix celebrated with OUR trophy as we just watched from the dugout.
I know that it's just a stupid recreational softball league, and that the money would basically just cover our costs/uniforms/etc., but it still hurt losing this game. We were extremely confident coming in (having won seven games in a row, INCLUDING one against The Mix), and just couldn't imagine being held down for six of the nine innings offensively like we were (especially since we scored 22 runs the week before!) In yesterday's entry I mentioned that we were similar to the 2007 Colorado Rockies as we got off to a slow start, and then turned it on, running the gauntlet on the rest of the league and into the championship game...I had NO idea that we were running into the Red Sox.
Hit me up on facebook, www.myspace.com/theskyfall or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Fleeting Porch" by Drag the River. Good rock band out of Colorado. Drinks of Choice: MHL.
Peace the F.
Webby
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
I'm about to F*** Your Head up with some Truth! You're F***ing Out!
Hey, hey brothers and sisters. Hope you're enjoying the beautiful Tuesday that has been laid out before us. I just got back from dropping my girlfriend and her two friends off at Midway Airport as they are now heading to Seattle for eight days. It be just me and my cat Skiba (yes, I'm a grown man with a cat...didn't I already make fun of myself for this?). Big, BIG day for me today. Just kidding, but I do have my radio softball league championship game this evening...so there's that. We're going to try and make it nine wins in a row to close out the season/playoffs. We're like the 2007 Rockies (only hopefully with a better end result). The Mix (our opponent) ain't no Boston Red Sox either.
In tragic news...Kevin Gregg just absolutely murdered me last night (along with the Cubs' chances in 2009). It was one of those games that I just knew that they were going to lose. It seemed like it was every inning from the 4th inning on that they were stranding the bases loaded or two guys here and two guys there. With each wasted opportunity, you just got the feeling that the baseball Gods were going to make the Cubs pay...and they did...in the form of Kevin Gregg.
I guess that Lou has finally "had it" and is going to make a change in the ninth inning spot. I haven't listened to any sports radio yet today, but I'm sure that this is the natural topic of the day (who should be the Cubs new closer down the stretch?), and I guess that it's a FAIRLY interesting discussion, but to think that it's going to make a significant difference for this average team I think is a bit of a stretch. Who do you want in there, Marmol? The fact that he has a very average WHIP (1.47), can't consistently throw strikes (52 BB's in 55 2/3 IP, which is why his WHIP is so high), and leads the Major Leagues among relievers with 11 hit batters, leads me to believe that he doesn't make for a great recipe when it comes down to closing out ball games. He's scary as hell in the 8th inning, I can't deal with that in the 9th. How about John Grabow? He's left handed (not sure if that's an advantage or a disadvantage?), his WHIP is a little bit better than Marmol's (1.44), and his ERA is much lower (2.98 compared to Marmol's 3.51). He might be a decent fit. The problem with doing that is that if you put him in the closer's role, you're now back to it just being Sean Marshall as your only left handed reliever in the pen (not to mention that Grabow has zero experience as a 9th inning guy, to go along with zero experience pitching in a high pressured playoff race...spent his entire career in Pittsburgh. Not his fault, but a fact none the less). I'd probably just leave him be. He has a lot of value in the middle innings for this team.
I guess MY pick would have to be Angel Guzman (wow, I never thought that I would make a statement like that back in spring training). Angel is pitching with a ton of confidence right now and it's showing. He has a staggering WHIP (0.98), a career best (and best of the three mentioned) ERA of 2.42, and he doesn't give up the long ball anywhere near the rate that the old "Cub Killer" himself Kevin Gregg does (Angel's given up 6 HR in 52 IP). Yes, I'm aware that he has no experience. I'm also aware that this weakens your 7th/8th innings exponentially, but you can't keep giving away ball games late, especially while the Cardinals continue to keep stealing games themselves in come from behind fashion. It's bad business.
I am glad however, that I'm NOT the one making this decision because I feel that you're almost HURTING your team as much as helping them by changing up the entire make up of a pitching staff in mid-August. I mean, let's say Lou does decide to put Guzman into the closer's role. By doing that, you're taking a kid that is tasting his first amount of success at the Big League level and throwing him into a pressure cooker situation that he's never experienced. How many chances are you willing to give him? Let's say that he goes out there and blows the save in his first chance, do you risk completely draining all of the confidence that took him so long to gain by immediately pulling him out of the spot, thus ruining him as a 7th/8th inning guy as well? OR, do you leave him in there, all while risking that he'll continue to act like a first-time closer (which he'd be) and blow his share of big ball games in the mean time? Not to mention, you'll now enjoy Kevin "Kyle Farnsworth" Gregg as your new set up/7th inning guy where he'll continue to give up a staggering amount of home runs that will probably cost you just as many games as when he was your closer (Scott Linebrink-esque). What a messy situation the Northsiders find themselves in.
What am I going to do you ask...?
Well, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to put this season completely behind me and hope that the GOD DAMNED sale of this team finally comes to fruition so WE can get back to acquiring key players at the God damned trade deadline! How embarrassing that a major market team like the Cubs had to sit and watch a little dump of a town like St. Louis acquire big name player after big name player thus, making their slightly above .500 team legitimate contenders in the National League while OUR slightly above .500 team continues to be exactly what they've been...a slightly above .500 team.
Any time now Mr. Ricketts...
Hit me up on facebook, www.myspace.com/theskyfall or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "No Exceptions" by Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves. Great band out of Gainesville, FL. Drinks of Choice: GF's gone, whiskey time.
BTW...thank you very, very much to those who took the time to check out my acoustic songs that I posted on "The Skyfall" myspace page (if you haven't, what are you waiting for?...J/K, you're not missing much). There have been nearly 1,200 plays in the short week that they've been up there, and that means a TON to me. Thanks again, and I'll be playing some shows in the very near future.
XOXO,
Webby
In tragic news...Kevin Gregg just absolutely murdered me last night (along with the Cubs' chances in 2009). It was one of those games that I just knew that they were going to lose. It seemed like it was every inning from the 4th inning on that they were stranding the bases loaded or two guys here and two guys there. With each wasted opportunity, you just got the feeling that the baseball Gods were going to make the Cubs pay...and they did...in the form of Kevin Gregg.
I guess that Lou has finally "had it" and is going to make a change in the ninth inning spot. I haven't listened to any sports radio yet today, but I'm sure that this is the natural topic of the day (who should be the Cubs new closer down the stretch?), and I guess that it's a FAIRLY interesting discussion, but to think that it's going to make a significant difference for this average team I think is a bit of a stretch. Who do you want in there, Marmol? The fact that he has a very average WHIP (1.47), can't consistently throw strikes (52 BB's in 55 2/3 IP, which is why his WHIP is so high), and leads the Major Leagues among relievers with 11 hit batters, leads me to believe that he doesn't make for a great recipe when it comes down to closing out ball games. He's scary as hell in the 8th inning, I can't deal with that in the 9th. How about John Grabow? He's left handed (not sure if that's an advantage or a disadvantage?), his WHIP is a little bit better than Marmol's (1.44), and his ERA is much lower (2.98 compared to Marmol's 3.51). He might be a decent fit. The problem with doing that is that if you put him in the closer's role, you're now back to it just being Sean Marshall as your only left handed reliever in the pen (not to mention that Grabow has zero experience as a 9th inning guy, to go along with zero experience pitching in a high pressured playoff race...spent his entire career in Pittsburgh. Not his fault, but a fact none the less). I'd probably just leave him be. He has a lot of value in the middle innings for this team.
I guess MY pick would have to be Angel Guzman (wow, I never thought that I would make a statement like that back in spring training). Angel is pitching with a ton of confidence right now and it's showing. He has a staggering WHIP (0.98), a career best (and best of the three mentioned) ERA of 2.42, and he doesn't give up the long ball anywhere near the rate that the old "Cub Killer" himself Kevin Gregg does (Angel's given up 6 HR in 52 IP). Yes, I'm aware that he has no experience. I'm also aware that this weakens your 7th/8th innings exponentially, but you can't keep giving away ball games late, especially while the Cardinals continue to keep stealing games themselves in come from behind fashion. It's bad business.
I am glad however, that I'm NOT the one making this decision because I feel that you're almost HURTING your team as much as helping them by changing up the entire make up of a pitching staff in mid-August. I mean, let's say Lou does decide to put Guzman into the closer's role. By doing that, you're taking a kid that is tasting his first amount of success at the Big League level and throwing him into a pressure cooker situation that he's never experienced. How many chances are you willing to give him? Let's say that he goes out there and blows the save in his first chance, do you risk completely draining all of the confidence that took him so long to gain by immediately pulling him out of the spot, thus ruining him as a 7th/8th inning guy as well? OR, do you leave him in there, all while risking that he'll continue to act like a first-time closer (which he'd be) and blow his share of big ball games in the mean time? Not to mention, you'll now enjoy Kevin "Kyle Farnsworth" Gregg as your new set up/7th inning guy where he'll continue to give up a staggering amount of home runs that will probably cost you just as many games as when he was your closer (Scott Linebrink-esque). What a messy situation the Northsiders find themselves in.
What am I going to do you ask...?
Well, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to put this season completely behind me and hope that the GOD DAMNED sale of this team finally comes to fruition so WE can get back to acquiring key players at the God damned trade deadline! How embarrassing that a major market team like the Cubs had to sit and watch a little dump of a town like St. Louis acquire big name player after big name player thus, making their slightly above .500 team legitimate contenders in the National League while OUR slightly above .500 team continues to be exactly what they've been...a slightly above .500 team.
Any time now Mr. Ricketts...
Hit me up on facebook, www.myspace.com/theskyfall or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "No Exceptions" by Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves. Great band out of Gainesville, FL. Drinks of Choice: GF's gone, whiskey time.
BTW...thank you very, very much to those who took the time to check out my acoustic songs that I posted on "The Skyfall" myspace page (if you haven't, what are you waiting for?...J/K, you're not missing much). There have been nearly 1,200 plays in the short week that they've been up there, and that means a TON to me. Thanks again, and I'll be playing some shows in the very near future.
XOXO,
Webby
Monday, August 17, 2009
Do You Like Fish Sticks? Yes, I Love Putting Fish Sticks in My Mouth. Then You're a Gay Fish.
Ladies, gentleman and comrades alike...good morning to you. I hope that you all made it a weekend to remember. I fell a bit short, but my weekend was productive none the less. I put up a couple of new songs from my acoustic project on my website www.myspace.com/theskyfall. If you haven't checked them out yet, what are you waiting for? Just kidding. Let me know what you think though, there are now five songs up there for your listening pleasure (or to AT LEAST have a good laugh at my expense). I also wrote a new song that I completed on Friday. It's called "My September Storm" and I'm fairly proud of it. It's a lot more "folky" sounding than any of my other songs, but I think that it will compliment my little set quite nicely. Now the process of getting some shows together officially begins for me. If you need a mediocre "singer/song writer" to perform for your: party/bar mitzvah/bris/family reunion/bar/cult ritual/etc., hit me up. I'd be glad to help.
Let's see...what happened this weekend that we could rap about? The Cubs swept a rain abbreviated series against the Pirates, the White Sox went into Oakland and took two of three from the A's, and Jay Cutler had a mediocre debut at Buffalo for the Bears' first preseason game of 2009. Boring. The annual "Air & Water Show" went down at North Ave. Beach. That's always extremely distracting/annoying. We could talk about that? No? Yeah, I'm good on that one too. How about the fact that Tiger Woods did NOT win a major tournament for the first time in his career when leading after 54 holes (day 3)? Not only did he fall short yesterday, Tiger didn't win a major tournament at all this year. It's the first time that that has happened since 2004, and Y.E. Yang (your 2009 PGA Champion) won the 1st major title of his career, and was the first Asian born player to EVER win a major in professional golf. Now THAT was some entertaining stuff yesterday, but I still don't want to talk about it.
I saw "The Great Buck Howard" and "I Love You Man" over the weekend (both on DVD). They were both fairly entertaining. I preferred "The Great Buck Howard" myself, as it starred John Malkovich (one of my all-time favorite actors). Maybe you do, but I don't remember hearing ANYTHING about this movie when it came out. You would think that a movie that has John Malkovich, Tom Hanks, and Steve Zahn in it would come along with a little fan fair. This did not as far as my movie radar could pick up, but I still enjoyed it. I actually found it quite refreshing. Plus, I can relate to a movie that is about a "regular dude" who works for an eccentric (to a fault) type of guy, and all of the quirks that go into doing something like that. Believe it or not, I've been there myself.
Promise me loyal "Webby Files-ites," that when you become rich/famous/powerful in whatever it is that you're striving to do, don't EVER forget where you came from. I know that the whole "don't forget where you came from" thing is a bit tired among the entire cliche' community, but it still rings VERY true. Answer me this: Why is it that when people achieve a little bit of success, they seem to feel that every last ounce of humility that a normal human being possesses can safely go out the window? There's now NO need to be modest, humble, gracious, tactful or ANY of those stupid little traits that are instilled in us from the time that we can first comprehend anything. I'M ME!!! I don't qualify for that group of "regular individuals" anymore. I can do whatever I want!...Why does that happen?
Let's see...what happened this weekend that we could rap about? The Cubs swept a rain abbreviated series against the Pirates, the White Sox went into Oakland and took two of three from the A's, and Jay Cutler had a mediocre debut at Buffalo for the Bears' first preseason game of 2009. Boring. The annual "Air & Water Show" went down at North Ave. Beach. That's always extremely distracting/annoying. We could talk about that? No? Yeah, I'm good on that one too. How about the fact that Tiger Woods did NOT win a major tournament for the first time in his career when leading after 54 holes (day 3)? Not only did he fall short yesterday, Tiger didn't win a major tournament at all this year. It's the first time that that has happened since 2004, and Y.E. Yang (your 2009 PGA Champion) won the 1st major title of his career, and was the first Asian born player to EVER win a major in professional golf. Now THAT was some entertaining stuff yesterday, but I still don't want to talk about it.
I saw "The Great Buck Howard" and "I Love You Man" over the weekend (both on DVD). They were both fairly entertaining. I preferred "The Great Buck Howard" myself, as it starred John Malkovich (one of my all-time favorite actors). Maybe you do, but I don't remember hearing ANYTHING about this movie when it came out. You would think that a movie that has John Malkovich, Tom Hanks, and Steve Zahn in it would come along with a little fan fair. This did not as far as my movie radar could pick up, but I still enjoyed it. I actually found it quite refreshing. Plus, I can relate to a movie that is about a "regular dude" who works for an eccentric (to a fault) type of guy, and all of the quirks that go into doing something like that. Believe it or not, I've been there myself.
Promise me loyal "Webby Files-ites," that when you become rich/famous/powerful in whatever it is that you're striving to do, don't EVER forget where you came from. I know that the whole "don't forget where you came from" thing is a bit tired among the entire cliche' community, but it still rings VERY true. Answer me this: Why is it that when people achieve a little bit of success, they seem to feel that every last ounce of humility that a normal human being possesses can safely go out the window? There's now NO need to be modest, humble, gracious, tactful or ANY of those stupid little traits that are instilled in us from the time that we can first comprehend anything. I'M ME!!! I don't qualify for that group of "regular individuals" anymore. I can do whatever I want!...Why does that happen?
Another thing is, you know when Len and Bob have a special guest in the booth (usually to sing the 7th inning stretch), and the person is either a famous actor/actress, or musician, or a professional athlete from another sport, and the guy/gal actually turns out to be a decent human being. What does Len always say after that "decent human being" leaves the booth? He'll inevitably say, "Bob, no matter how big "so and so" is, he's always so down to earth when he comes by for a visit, and never seems to have forgotten where he came from." This is always said, and it always bothers the hell out of me and I'll tell you why. Behavior like that should be EXPECTED! We should never have to compliment someone for acting as civil as any other human being would naturally act. It's ridiculous. If you or I were invited into the booth, we'd be EXTRA respectful, courteous and gracious. We wouldn't even think about it, it's just the way that normal people act in those kinds of situations. Instead of complimenting "so and so" for acting like a decent person, Len should call out all of the people that act like jerks when they're in the booth (I know that in our culture, it's probably not wise for Mr. Kasper to risk his job by calling out a famous celebrity), but it doesn't make it wrong. Instead, as a society, we expect celebrities to act like jerks (because most of them do), and we're pleasantly surprised when they don't. It seems a bit backwards to me.
As a whole, our culture is very enabling to this kind of behavior. We love the drama in our reality TV, we love all of the "glam" that takes place on the Red Carpet, Kanye West is NOT an ass clown for his off the wall love of himself (we'll deal with it because his music is so good), we enjoy T.O. and Chad "Ocho-Cinco" (as long as they catch Touchdowns), Russell Crowe is endeared for his acting ability (even though he's a complete phony), and Bono can do NO wrong (C'mon. You can't make fun of our Bono, he cares about kids in Africa for goodness sake!). As long as we keep supporting this kind of trash (buying their albums, jerseys, movies, etc.), they'll continue to carry themselves in this way, and will walk all over the level of decency that is expected from a normal human being. Let's reverse our expectations.
I gotta go. I'm burning my copy of "A Perfect Mind" right now. I CAN'T STAND Russell Crowe.
Hit me up on facebook, www.myspace.com/theskyfall, or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "The Ballad of Me and My Friends" by Frank Turner. I couldn't relate to this song any more if I tried. You should check it out, quality song from the U.K. Drinks of Choice: Cup o' Joe.
Peace the F.
Webby
Friday, August 14, 2009
The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep. And I have Promises to Keep, Miles to go before I Sleep. Did You Hear me Butterfly? Miles to go before I Sleep.
TGIMFF!!! My fellow Internet brethren, how are things with you? I'm a bit down myself for some reason. Yes, it's a beautiful day in Chicago. Yes, it's the beginning of a Summer weekend. Yes, I'm healthy, and have great family/friends/significant other...I guess it's just a case of the blues. I've never dealt with depression or anything like that, but can't someone just have the blues anymore? Now everything always has to have a diagnosis..."You're not just down, you suffer from: Major Depressive Disorder, Dysthymic Disorder, Manic Depression, Post Partum Depression, Atypical Depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), etc., etc." "Take this prescription, and this anti-biotic, and do this, and don't do that, and, and, and"....it's getting to be a bit ridiculous.
For me, it's all just a state of mind. I know that there are some out there who just can't escape their life of melancholia, and I feel bad for that group. For most of us however, it's good to just accept the fact that you're going to feel down every once in awhile. There's NO reason to fake being happy all of the time, because it ain't true. Everything is NOT OK sometimes...and that's...OK. I know that my particular case is a combination of things: Being low on money, short on direction, the Chicago Cubs (I know it sounds ridiculous, but I can't help it), anxious about my music, etc., etc. Everyone has their own set of problems/worries, so I'm not going to bore you completely by getting into mine, but let's just be real with each other. Life sucks sometimes. That's just the way it is.
You simply have to find your non-destructive release. When they're winning, the Cubs are a great release for me. The problem is that when they're losing (now), they're gasoline on the fire for my particular case of the blues. I also like to play music (write songs/record/shows/etc.), this is another great release for me. I wrote a song last night (3/4 of it I guess...need to finish it today). Of course, since I was feeling a bit down, guess what the song was about? You guessed it. Feeling down. It seems to just kind of add to the sadness. As most of you reading this know, I've been known to enjoy my share of drinks from time to time. Now I know that all of you mongoloids are already jumping up to cast your stones..."Webby! You S.O.B.! Drinking is NOT a NON-destructive release moron!" Well, that may be true. For you.
Drinking is a touchy subject with me (I'm well aware that that statement sounds a bit strange). I mean, if you tell someone that you like to go to bars, and when you're not out on the town, you'll tend to enjoy a couple of cold ones at the house (whether you're with others, or by your lonesome), the judging process will immediately begin. People love to judge. Along with reality TV, Judd Apatow movies, and sushi, judging is smack dab in the middle of the "team photo" of things that the average Joe loves to do on a daily basis. I guess it's human nature, but believe me. Drinking does NOT have to be a destructive activity.
Don't drink to forget, or to blackout, or to get laid. Don't drink with a vengeance, or to gain the courage to fight that guy, or kiss that girl. Don't drink to be seen, or to be the center of attention, and don't drink if you don't want to drink. These are ALL destructive methods. These people are usually drinking Bud Light's or Vodka Red Bull's (make that ANYTHING with Red Bull) and have gel in their hair and a "club shirt" on. These people pick a fight with you when you accidentally bump into them while in a crowded setting. These people smother girls, and don't tip bar tenders. We ALL know who these people are. Don't be these people. Let them fight who they need to fight outside of the bar, and then walk home by themselves to their virtual girlfriends.
Remember the scene in the movie "Death Proof" where Kurt Russell (Stuntman Mike) says: "You know a bar offers all kinds of things other than alcohol. Like women, nacho grande platters, the fellowships of fascinating individuals like Warren here...alcohol is just a lubricant for all of the individual encounters that a bar offers." This couldn't be more true. You can't achieve this feeling at a club (what you'll achieve is a ton of the individuals in the paragraph above), but at a bar, where you can sit down in the company of friends or even complete strangers and have a drink (and a nacho grande platter), my friends, there are very few better things in this life of ours. Just be sure to drink in the form of celebration. Drink to dance. Drink to sing. Drink arm in arm, hand in hand. Sit at the bar next to the oldest and crustiest guy that you can find, order a beer and a shot, and just listen. Just hunker down and listen. Within five minutes, that guy will start telling you some of the most amazing stories that you've ever heard, and he'll probably buy you a drink too. You'll learn more from that old man at the bar than you EVER did in school.
Never drink to forget, drink to remember...and just let them blues fade away. I'm on MY way right now.
Hit me up on facebook, www.myspace.com/theskyfall, or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Avoiding Catatonic Surrender" by Tim Barry. Kind of sums up how I feel right now. Drinks of Choice: PBR, shot of Rye.
Make it a weekend to REMEMBER.
Webby
For me, it's all just a state of mind. I know that there are some out there who just can't escape their life of melancholia, and I feel bad for that group. For most of us however, it's good to just accept the fact that you're going to feel down every once in awhile. There's NO reason to fake being happy all of the time, because it ain't true. Everything is NOT OK sometimes...and that's...OK. I know that my particular case is a combination of things: Being low on money, short on direction, the Chicago Cubs (I know it sounds ridiculous, but I can't help it), anxious about my music, etc., etc. Everyone has their own set of problems/worries, so I'm not going to bore you completely by getting into mine, but let's just be real with each other. Life sucks sometimes. That's just the way it is.
You simply have to find your non-destructive release. When they're winning, the Cubs are a great release for me. The problem is that when they're losing (now), they're gasoline on the fire for my particular case of the blues. I also like to play music (write songs/record/shows/etc.), this is another great release for me. I wrote a song last night (3/4 of it I guess...need to finish it today). Of course, since I was feeling a bit down, guess what the song was about? You guessed it. Feeling down. It seems to just kind of add to the sadness. As most of you reading this know, I've been known to enjoy my share of drinks from time to time. Now I know that all of you mongoloids are already jumping up to cast your stones..."Webby! You S.O.B.! Drinking is NOT a NON-destructive release moron!" Well, that may be true. For you.
Drinking is a touchy subject with me (I'm well aware that that statement sounds a bit strange). I mean, if you tell someone that you like to go to bars, and when you're not out on the town, you'll tend to enjoy a couple of cold ones at the house (whether you're with others, or by your lonesome), the judging process will immediately begin. People love to judge. Along with reality TV, Judd Apatow movies, and sushi, judging is smack dab in the middle of the "team photo" of things that the average Joe loves to do on a daily basis. I guess it's human nature, but believe me. Drinking does NOT have to be a destructive activity.
Don't drink to forget, or to blackout, or to get laid. Don't drink with a vengeance, or to gain the courage to fight that guy, or kiss that girl. Don't drink to be seen, or to be the center of attention, and don't drink if you don't want to drink. These are ALL destructive methods. These people are usually drinking Bud Light's or Vodka Red Bull's (make that ANYTHING with Red Bull) and have gel in their hair and a "club shirt" on. These people pick a fight with you when you accidentally bump into them while in a crowded setting. These people smother girls, and don't tip bar tenders. We ALL know who these people are. Don't be these people. Let them fight who they need to fight outside of the bar, and then walk home by themselves to their virtual girlfriends.
Remember the scene in the movie "Death Proof" where Kurt Russell (Stuntman Mike) says: "You know a bar offers all kinds of things other than alcohol. Like women, nacho grande platters, the fellowships of fascinating individuals like Warren here...alcohol is just a lubricant for all of the individual encounters that a bar offers." This couldn't be more true. You can't achieve this feeling at a club (what you'll achieve is a ton of the individuals in the paragraph above), but at a bar, where you can sit down in the company of friends or even complete strangers and have a drink (and a nacho grande platter), my friends, there are very few better things in this life of ours. Just be sure to drink in the form of celebration. Drink to dance. Drink to sing. Drink arm in arm, hand in hand. Sit at the bar next to the oldest and crustiest guy that you can find, order a beer and a shot, and just listen. Just hunker down and listen. Within five minutes, that guy will start telling you some of the most amazing stories that you've ever heard, and he'll probably buy you a drink too. You'll learn more from that old man at the bar than you EVER did in school.
Never drink to forget, drink to remember...and just let them blues fade away. I'm on MY way right now.
Hit me up on facebook, www.myspace.com/theskyfall, or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Avoiding Catatonic Surrender" by Tim Barry. Kind of sums up how I feel right now. Drinks of Choice: PBR, shot of Rye.
Make it a weekend to REMEMBER.
Webby
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Good Pitching will Beat Good Hitting any time, and Vice Versa.
Friends, how in the hell are you? I finally received the first three of my seven new songs that I recorded acoustically back on August 2nd. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out considering how rushed the process was, so I posted them online for you to enjoy/make fun of. I'm supposed to get the rest of them back this weekend, so that will be good. I'm definitely anxious to hear the other four, because there are at least two in that batch that I think that I'll like more than these three. We shall see.
Back in 2006 I started a little project called "the skyfall" because I felt weird just calling my acoustic stuff "Matt Weber." So I think that I'm just going to keep that name (partly because I like it, partly because no one else is using it as of now). So the songs are up on www.myspace.com/theskyfall, along with a song that I recorded back in like 2005. I guess the idea from this little seven song EP that I've done is to pick three songs that I think that other people will like the most and then send them out as a demo to try and book as many shows as possible. It might be a bit of a "pipe dream," but with the thousands and thousands of bars/venues/coffee shops in the Chicagoland area that host live music every day, I'm hoping to get to the point where I'm playing some sort of acoustic set around four to five nights a week, thus making decent money all while doing something that I thoroughly enjoy. Will it work? I know that I have my doubters out there, but even if I'm playing four to five nights a month...at least I'm playing music again.
Has anyone noticed how the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox have completely flipped? Ponder this: When you think about Sox GM Kenny Williams, what comes to your mind? Probably that he is one of the best GM's in baseball considering that he finds a way to be competitive pretty much year in and year out all while having his hands tied financially (due to a fiscally responsible owner/lack of attendance/etc.). When you think about Jim Hendry on the other hand, it's a lot different feeling. You probably consider him to be a mid-level GM (still not bad, but definitely NOT a top-5 guy), who makes some decent trades/acquisitions, but has his mistakes covered up a lot more easily due to the flexibility he possesses (high payroll/high attendance/ballpark that attracts fans even when the team's losing/etc.). Man, have those roles reversed this season.
When Jim Hendry traded Mark DeRosa, everyone (including me, and probably you) thought that he was simply piling up prospects to make a run at let's say...Brian Roberts, or Jake Peavy. We ALL knew that Soriano was a bad lead off hitter, and that Brian Roberts would be exactly what the doctor ordered in that spot. A TRUE lead off hitter, that bats left handed and possesses great speed/stolen base ability. If Hendry wasn't going to deliver on Roberts, then we at least KNEW that he'd acquire Padres' ace Jake Peavy. I mean, anyone can use a former Cy Young Award winner in their rotation, so that would have definitely worked out as well. Little did we know, Jim Hendry was NOT stocking up on prospects to make another acquisition to IMPROVE on a 97 win ball club, he was simply following orders to dump payroll after the Milton Bradley signing (which obviously turned out to be a bad one). What? The Cubs, dumping payroll? The team that outbids THEMSELVES to get the guy(s) that they want? Yes. Without an owner, the team was told that it could NOT add any payroll to improve on a division champion. So Hendry, knowing that his team needed another left handed bat, signed Milton Bradley. Since that contract added $10 million to his payroll for '09, he had to dump somewhere (funny, I know). The problem is that he was loaded with bad contracts (no body's fault but his own, but remember, he was led to believe that the bank account wouldn't run out). Obviously, NO one would take on Soriano (8 years/$136 million), or Fukudome (4 years/$48 million), or Ramirez (5 years/$75 million), or Lee (5 years/$65 million), and he wasn't going to trade any pitching. So he chose to not resign Kerry Wood, and to trade the ONLY good contract that he possessed...Mark DeRosa (who also happened to be the Cubs' MOST VALUABLE PLAYER). This, along with injuries, and under performance by key players, has led to a slightly above .500 baseball team for 2009.
Kenny Williams, however, is all of a sudden Mr. free spender! He's had no problem adding guys that make a LOT of money over the last few years. Jim Thome (7 years/$95 million), Orlando Cabrera (4 years/$32 million), Scott Linebrink (4 years/$19 million), Ken Griffey Jr. (9 years/$112 million...just payed a pro-rated amount for half of a season), and then the two big ones in the last few weeks. Jake Peavy (4 years/$63 million) and Alex Rios (6 years/$64 million). Why have the roles reversed you might ask? Well, obviously the stability of ownership is key, but I think that it has more to do with Kenny's long term plan.
Over the last few years, Williams has transformed an aging past their prime ball club, into a young vibrant team all while staying competitive in the process. Just look at that pitching staff. Gavin Floyd, John Danks, and now Jake Peavy to go along with the always reliable Mark Buehrle (Aaron Poreda possibly not too far behind). Young, good, and contractually locked up. With the steroids era seemingly in the rear view mirror, teams are putting more emphasis back on speed and athleticism as opposed to guys that just bash the ball around (Konerko, Thome, Dye, A.J., etc.) Kenny Williams seems to really be leading the charge by acquiring guys like Rios and Alexei Ramirez, and drafting and developing guys like Gordon Beckham and Chris Getz. Also, when you look ahead to Jordan Danks, Jared Mitchell, Dayan Viciedo, Tyler Flowers, etc., the sky is the limit for at least the next five years or so. I think that it's his clear-cut plan that has loosened the pockets of The Chairmen (it certainly isn't their attendance).
That is why the roles have reversed my friends. Jim Hendry was told "Win, and win now!" by his bosses heading into the 2007 season, because they knew that they could get the most possible value out of the franchise if it was a winner. So Hendry signed the big name manager that was available along with some key free agents, and turned a 66 win team into the Central Division champions. Then going into 2008, he added to that ball club with guys like Kosuke Fukudome, Jim Edmonds, Reed Johnson, the development of Geovany Soto, and made a big splash by acquiring Oakland ace Rich Harden mid-season. He put all of his eggs in 2008's basket and the team cruised to a 97 win, division championship season. They of course inexplicably flopped again in the playoffs, and then the proverbial financial clamps came down on ol' Jimmy heading into '09, thus leading us to where we are today.
There are a lot of people that are clamoring for the head of Jim Hendry on the Northside. I think that that's a bit premature. The guy is probably the best GM in Cubs' history (not that that's saying much). I mean think about it. He's won three division championships in six years (and is still competing in this 2009 race). By comparison, Kenny Williams has one just two division championships in his eight years of service on the Southside. Now obviously Kenny has a World Series ring, but a GM can't get blamed for what happens in the postseason. His job is to simply build a team that's good enough to make it to October, once you get there, it's a complete crap shoot based on match ups and who's the hottest team at the time. I'm not saying that Hendry is a better GM than Williams (I don't think that he is), but I'm a little disgusted with the fact that people already want him gone. Kenny has the loyalty of Jerry Reinsdorf and the entire organization almost to a fault (and probably always will), maybe Hendry would perform a little bit better if he had a little backing as well. As far as Lou goes...let's wait and see.
Hit me up on facebook, myspace.com/theskyfall, or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "The City that Day" by Matt Skiba. Drinks of Choice: A&W, a summer delight.
Thanks.
Webby
Back in 2006 I started a little project called "the skyfall" because I felt weird just calling my acoustic stuff "Matt Weber." So I think that I'm just going to keep that name (partly because I like it, partly because no one else is using it as of now). So the songs are up on www.myspace.com/theskyfall, along with a song that I recorded back in like 2005. I guess the idea from this little seven song EP that I've done is to pick three songs that I think that other people will like the most and then send them out as a demo to try and book as many shows as possible. It might be a bit of a "pipe dream," but with the thousands and thousands of bars/venues/coffee shops in the Chicagoland area that host live music every day, I'm hoping to get to the point where I'm playing some sort of acoustic set around four to five nights a week, thus making decent money all while doing something that I thoroughly enjoy. Will it work? I know that I have my doubters out there, but even if I'm playing four to five nights a month...at least I'm playing music again.
Has anyone noticed how the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox have completely flipped? Ponder this: When you think about Sox GM Kenny Williams, what comes to your mind? Probably that he is one of the best GM's in baseball considering that he finds a way to be competitive pretty much year in and year out all while having his hands tied financially (due to a fiscally responsible owner/lack of attendance/etc.). When you think about Jim Hendry on the other hand, it's a lot different feeling. You probably consider him to be a mid-level GM (still not bad, but definitely NOT a top-5 guy), who makes some decent trades/acquisitions, but has his mistakes covered up a lot more easily due to the flexibility he possesses (high payroll/high attendance/ballpark that attracts fans even when the team's losing/etc.). Man, have those roles reversed this season.
When Jim Hendry traded Mark DeRosa, everyone (including me, and probably you) thought that he was simply piling up prospects to make a run at let's say...Brian Roberts, or Jake Peavy. We ALL knew that Soriano was a bad lead off hitter, and that Brian Roberts would be exactly what the doctor ordered in that spot. A TRUE lead off hitter, that bats left handed and possesses great speed/stolen base ability. If Hendry wasn't going to deliver on Roberts, then we at least KNEW that he'd acquire Padres' ace Jake Peavy. I mean, anyone can use a former Cy Young Award winner in their rotation, so that would have definitely worked out as well. Little did we know, Jim Hendry was NOT stocking up on prospects to make another acquisition to IMPROVE on a 97 win ball club, he was simply following orders to dump payroll after the Milton Bradley signing (which obviously turned out to be a bad one). What? The Cubs, dumping payroll? The team that outbids THEMSELVES to get the guy(s) that they want? Yes. Without an owner, the team was told that it could NOT add any payroll to improve on a division champion. So Hendry, knowing that his team needed another left handed bat, signed Milton Bradley. Since that contract added $10 million to his payroll for '09, he had to dump somewhere (funny, I know). The problem is that he was loaded with bad contracts (no body's fault but his own, but remember, he was led to believe that the bank account wouldn't run out). Obviously, NO one would take on Soriano (8 years/$136 million), or Fukudome (4 years/$48 million), or Ramirez (5 years/$75 million), or Lee (5 years/$65 million), and he wasn't going to trade any pitching. So he chose to not resign Kerry Wood, and to trade the ONLY good contract that he possessed...Mark DeRosa (who also happened to be the Cubs' MOST VALUABLE PLAYER). This, along with injuries, and under performance by key players, has led to a slightly above .500 baseball team for 2009.
Kenny Williams, however, is all of a sudden Mr. free spender! He's had no problem adding guys that make a LOT of money over the last few years. Jim Thome (7 years/$95 million), Orlando Cabrera (4 years/$32 million), Scott Linebrink (4 years/$19 million), Ken Griffey Jr. (9 years/$112 million...just payed a pro-rated amount for half of a season), and then the two big ones in the last few weeks. Jake Peavy (4 years/$63 million) and Alex Rios (6 years/$64 million). Why have the roles reversed you might ask? Well, obviously the stability of ownership is key, but I think that it has more to do with Kenny's long term plan.
Over the last few years, Williams has transformed an aging past their prime ball club, into a young vibrant team all while staying competitive in the process. Just look at that pitching staff. Gavin Floyd, John Danks, and now Jake Peavy to go along with the always reliable Mark Buehrle (Aaron Poreda possibly not too far behind). Young, good, and contractually locked up. With the steroids era seemingly in the rear view mirror, teams are putting more emphasis back on speed and athleticism as opposed to guys that just bash the ball around (Konerko, Thome, Dye, A.J., etc.) Kenny Williams seems to really be leading the charge by acquiring guys like Rios and Alexei Ramirez, and drafting and developing guys like Gordon Beckham and Chris Getz. Also, when you look ahead to Jordan Danks, Jared Mitchell, Dayan Viciedo, Tyler Flowers, etc., the sky is the limit for at least the next five years or so. I think that it's his clear-cut plan that has loosened the pockets of The Chairmen (it certainly isn't their attendance).
That is why the roles have reversed my friends. Jim Hendry was told "Win, and win now!" by his bosses heading into the 2007 season, because they knew that they could get the most possible value out of the franchise if it was a winner. So Hendry signed the big name manager that was available along with some key free agents, and turned a 66 win team into the Central Division champions. Then going into 2008, he added to that ball club with guys like Kosuke Fukudome, Jim Edmonds, Reed Johnson, the development of Geovany Soto, and made a big splash by acquiring Oakland ace Rich Harden mid-season. He put all of his eggs in 2008's basket and the team cruised to a 97 win, division championship season. They of course inexplicably flopped again in the playoffs, and then the proverbial financial clamps came down on ol' Jimmy heading into '09, thus leading us to where we are today.
There are a lot of people that are clamoring for the head of Jim Hendry on the Northside. I think that that's a bit premature. The guy is probably the best GM in Cubs' history (not that that's saying much). I mean think about it. He's won three division championships in six years (and is still competing in this 2009 race). By comparison, Kenny Williams has one just two division championships in his eight years of service on the Southside. Now obviously Kenny has a World Series ring, but a GM can't get blamed for what happens in the postseason. His job is to simply build a team that's good enough to make it to October, once you get there, it's a complete crap shoot based on match ups and who's the hottest team at the time. I'm not saying that Hendry is a better GM than Williams (I don't think that he is), but I'm a little disgusted with the fact that people already want him gone. Kenny has the loyalty of Jerry Reinsdorf and the entire organization almost to a fault (and probably always will), maybe Hendry would perform a little bit better if he had a little backing as well. As far as Lou goes...let's wait and see.
Hit me up on facebook, myspace.com/theskyfall, or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "The City that Day" by Matt Skiba. Drinks of Choice: A&W, a summer delight.
Thanks.
Webby
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