Thoughts on the Chicago Cubs and other topics in baseball. E-mail Tom at: tomsmithcubs@ hotmail.com

 
EVERYBODY CAME TO WATCH DIAZ UMPIRE: Home plate umpire Laz Diaz would not give Alfonseca strikes on the outside corner in the ninth inning. After Antonio showed he was a little upset about the bad calls he immediately turned around and walked away from Diaz. But did Diaz stay behind the plate? No. Diaz walked out to the mound to argue with Alfonseca who did not want to argue with him. What a disgraceful act on Diaz's part. Nobody came to see Laz Diaz umpire the game. When a player, manager, or coach walks away from an umpire and does not want to argue the umpire should let it go. After getting thumped by Major League Baseball back in 1999 the umpires have toned down these acts. Let us hope Diaz is told to mind his own business by someone at MLB's offices.
posted by Thomas at 2:10 PM

 
THURSDAY'S GAME: Dodged a few bullets late as the Cubs hold on to win 6-4.
posted by Thomas at 1:48 PM

 
IVYGATE UPDATE: Ron Rapoport says a e-mailer named Jim Donahue doubts a White Sox fan poisoned the ivy and believes it was done by the grounds crew by mistake. I have my doubts about Mr. Donahue's theory. If it was the grounds crew who misapplied a substance then the whole ivy should be dying not just in one patch. I would say that White Sox fans should still be suspected.
posted by Thomas at 8:52 AM

 
THE LAST TIME WE MET... During the game Pat Hughes was reading a list of players on the Cubs the last time the Cubs played the Phillies in April 2001. The list included such notables as Gary Matthews Jr., Damon Buford, Rondell White, Augie Ojeda, Ricky Guiterrez, Eric Young, Matt Stairs, Ron Coomer, Mike Fyrie, Kevin Tapani, and Todd Van Poppel. Then Ron Santo asked Pat of those who would he like to still have on the team. Pat said Rondell White but added that the probelm with Rondell was that he was always hurt (we did not have to be reminded of that). Ron agreed with Pat. Then they added how much they liked Ron Coomer. My pick from that list of players who I would still want on the Cubs? NOBODY!
posted by Thomas at 8:32 AM

 
WEDNESDAY'S GAME: Hundley with a home run. Cubs get two gift runs when Pat Burrell loses the ball in the lights twice. Cubs have a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth but Alfonseca blows the save and Bellhorn screws up in the 10th to help cost us the game as Philadelphia wins 4-3 in 10 innings. Proving once again Rick Schwab author of Stuck On The Cubs was right when he said of Philadelphia, "Team that scares us even when we have the lead at the end of nine innings." The Phillies always seem to find a way to come back and beat the Cubs.
posted by Thomas at 8:22 AM

 
IVYGATE: Not content with destroying old Comiskey Park on Disco Demolition Night back in 1979 it appears some White Sox fan or fans have decided to branch out by poisoning the ivy at Wrigley Field during the White Sox-Cubs series at Wrigley Field. A White Sox fan was upset that a Sox fan is being suspected of killing the ivy. This White Sox fan thought it was outrageous to suspect a White Sox fan may have killed the ivy and compared suspecting a White Sox fan killed the ivy to racial profiling. Let us see now. Ivy starts to die after the White Sox series. Should White Sox fans be considered potential suspects? According to this individual the answer is nooooooooooo. Calling FBI Director Robert Mueller and Underperformin' Norman at the Transportation Department: I think we have someone here who will fit in real well.
posted by Thomas at 3:40 PM

 
TUESDAY'S GAME: The offense was just shut down by Millwood and Smoltz. Lieber looked ok. Kimm started Delino DeShields at 2nd base and Roosevelt Brown in left field because, "we needed to give them some at bats." No we did not!
posted by Thomas at 6:55 AM

 
MONDAY'S GAME: Carlos Zambrano looked good. Hundley's defense was terrible until the 9th. Kimm's double switch mistake did not cost us. If Baylor was still the manager and he had done that it would have cost us.


CUP OF JOE: After Chip informed us lots of tickets were still available for the upcoming series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Joe Carter said, "It is really going to be a big series." Yes Joe a four game series between the last place 42-49 Philadelphia Phillies and the second to last 39-51 Chicago Cubs are what pennant races are made of.


CHIPMUNK AND CUP OF JOE: Chip and Joe started discussing the movie Airplane last night. Joe said that it came out in 1979. Wrong Joe. Airplane was released on July 2, 1980. Chip then added that he and his dad watched the movie when Chip was 12 years old. Chip was born in February 1965 so he would have been 15 years old at the time of the movie's release.
posted by Thomas at 11:09 AM

 
SUNDAY'S GAME: Mark Prior pitched well. Sammy with bomb to dead center that was predicted by Paul Hornung. Flash Gordon (Yikes!) looked terrible.

CHIPMUNK 1: On Sunday Chip said that Todd Hundley had caught 24 innings straight. Hundley caught 16 innings on Friday and 9 innings on Saturday. 16 innings +9 innings = 25 innings Chip.

CHIPMUNK 2: Chip stated that the attendance in Montreal on Sunday was over 25,000 but then added that "it was only 13,000 American." Lame Chip.
posted by Thomas at 8:27 AM

 
SATURDAY'S GAME: Another great outing by Matt Clement. Florida looked like many previous Cubs teams.
posted by Thomas at 8:21 AM