By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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I have a lot of problems with the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It’s a circus. I can’t believe they used to play two — a first half and a second half.
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The most ridiculous baseball concept, even more ridiculous that the AL’s designated hitter, is the fact that the All-Star Game — an exhibition that ought to remain meaningless — has something as important as World Series home-field advantage at stake. I cannot believe it has lasted this long.
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It ended in a tie in 2002 when it went into extra innings and pitching staffs were depleted. Apparently people were “outraged,” but I don’t remember caring at all. I truly believe Selig could have done nothing, and everyone would have forgotton they cared so much.
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But it doesn’t seem to me that Bud Selig even thought it through before marketing his “This time it counts” game. The reason they tied in the first place was because it was an exhibition! If the players or coaches really cared about who won, they would have thrown a position player. Wisely, they did not.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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We call it Wild Card off day, and I intend to put the “Wild” in “Wild Card” with this entry. I was perusing the ”Internets” and found this little nugget.Â
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Who is Mike Beales of Des Plaines, Illinois? One of my new heroes.
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It seems that since 2000, Mr. Beales has been hosting an RBI Baseball “Champion of the Universe Tournament” in Des Plaines, Ill. That’s right — 16 players, a written structure governing how teams are chosen (National and American outlawed, of course), and two days of tournament action.
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For anyone confused, RBI Baseball is a game for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. The rosters are from 1988, and only two players represented in RBI are still “active” — Roger Clemens (who has simply not officially retired) and Julio Franco (who is old and simply forgot he’s a Major League Baseball player).
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Being an RBI aficiando myself, I was disappointed to find out the entries are full, otherwise I’d be in Des Plaines June 20-21, playing for an $800 prize that is awarded to the Champion of the Universe.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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Busch Stadium is extremely nice. The park is clean and aesthetically pleasing. But I still felt like a visitor to a foreign land as I took in the Cardinals 5-1 win over the Astros Sunday.
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Concession stands, stores, a party deck — video boards abound — the marketing agents dub new Busch ”Baseball Heaven.” My heaven is still in Chicago, but I respect what the Cardinals have done.
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As I watched my first bench-clearing incident in person (Yadier Molina and Brandon Backe only shared words) I snuck peaks at the Busch Stadium video board that features all active games with the inning, player at bat, outs and baserunners noted. While only displayed in graphical representation, I still managed to deduce the Cubs had many opportunities in their 2-0 loss to the Nats. That includes having the bases loaded with one out, and grounding into a double play. Yuck.
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But bear with me Cubs fans, this blog is about a trip to St. Louis, and the ballpark of the future.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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I remember Carlos Zambrano when he first came to the big leagues. I wasn’t sure what to think of him. He started out average at best, and toiled as a No. 5, and then a No. 3 starter before moving into the No. 1 role.
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Now, I can’t imagine the Cubs without him. His payout was worth it.
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Z’s first season came in 2001 when he finished 1-2 in seven innings pitched and had one emergency start. He pitched primarily as a reliever in 2002, which I don’t exactly remember. Today he’s 4-1 with a 2.21 ERA after the Cubs’ 7-0 win over the Nationals Saturday night.
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And he’s still looking for that 20-win season.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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When the second-worst team in the league beats the second best team, I feel dirty. (We’re not spoiled yet, are we?) The Cubs lost 5-3 Friday night. They’ll try to rebound tonight at 6:10 p.m.
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Granted it was a walk-off homer by back-up catcher Wil “Don’t call me Will” Nieves that did Chicago in. It wasn’t as if they were beaten badly, but they had their chances, namely Reed Johnson leaving the bases loaded with a chance to break the game open in the eighth and Mark DeRosa striking out with Aramis Ramirez at third in the fifth inning.
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Johnson’s fifth-inning catch, though, was unbelievable. If you missed it it’s linked here. It was like a Jim Edmonds highlight, only he actually had to dive to make the catch. He dove toward the wall, made a back-handed grab, and slid on the warning track and into the wall. It was the top web gem on Baseball Tonight.
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The best part was the bill of his cap that had bent up and pointed toward the top of his hat. I was watching the game while out to eat, and didn’t hear the audio with Len and Bob’s commentary, but did Ryan Dempster say something to the umpire like, “Did he actually just make that catch?”
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Again. Tough to leave No. 9 out of the lineup.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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The Cubs’ bats finally went quiet Thursday in a disappointing 4-2 loss to the Rockies. I only “disappointing” because we’ve been spoiled by Cubs comebacks, and they had the bases loaded in the eighth inning with nobody out (again) and only scored once for what was the tying run (2-2) at the time.
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But the fact of the matter is getting outhit 10-4 won’t find you on the winning end of very may ball games. Jason Marquis looked OK, but didn’t get much help. He scattered five hits over seven innings.
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Scott Podsednik had three hits and continues to kill the Cubs.
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As for Felix Pie, now I don’t know what to think. He was 2-for-3 with an RBI and has been looking better over the last week since he spent a bunch of time watching hitting tapes.
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There will be a few conundrums facing Lou Piniella very shortly. I guess he’s “solved” one of them by confirming that Alfonso Soriano will bat leadoff when he returns.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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It was April 25, 1876 and Chicago was on the road to face Louisville. Al Spalding, a 25-year-old native of Byron, Ill., fielded a team of mashers that included the formidable Cap Anson, Deacon White and Ross Barnes (who hit the first home run ever). He placed himself on the mound.
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The yet unnamed Chicago squad pushed their first run across home in the sixth inning and managed to pull out a 4-0 victory.
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Win number one was in the books. Win number 10,000 was put in the books Wednesday night in Denver with a 7-6, 10-inning win over the Rockies.
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Unlike 1876, Rich Hill, Michael Wuertz and Jon Lieber were allowed to throw overhand and could locate the pitch where they pleased. In the sixth inning, though, it appeared that baseball had reverted to 1876 rules as Troy Tulowitzki announced he wished Lieber to throw the apple “low” so he could mash it over the fence that was an uncharacteristc 360 feet away. That’s but a short fly.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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Guys I didn’t realize still played baseball: Marlon Anderson, Hideo Nomo and Gregg Zaun.
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I’m sure there’s more, but those are few that I’ve seen on television lately. Marlon Anderson had another at bat for the Mets on Tuesday, which got me wondering who else was out there.
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More importantly was that he, and the Mets, could do nothing to thwart the Cubs. Chalk up another big eighth inning — this time four-runs — each one thanks to Ronny Cedeno’s first career grand slam. The Cubs won 8-1.
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When we were leaving Wrigley on Monday we saw a guy on the bus wearing a Cedeno jersey, which we thought was kind of odd. Cedeno has six eighth inning RBIs in the last two games. What do I know?
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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I was musing the other day about what it would be like if something happens during the sale of the Cubs and they land in the suburbs somewhere. Would it make me any less of a Cubs fan? Would it matter?
On Monday, I sat at Wrigley Field for the first time this season, the scent of grilling food hanging in the air, the crowd of Cubs fans enjoying a beautiful spring day, the organ music, the simplicity. It absolutely would matter. Wrigley Field is an incredible place, and until it is experienced in person, it can never be truly described, for each person’s experience is different.Â
It was a great game to be at in person. Big Z looked good and the Cubs got some clutch hits in their 7-1 win over a good team. The five-run eighth saw Kosuke Fukudome battle off several good pitches and he eventually stayed alive long enough to single and load the bases with no outs.Â
Then, in old Cubs fashion, the next two batters struck out, but in new Cubs fashion, Ronnie Cedeno came through with a two-out, two-RBI single after another great at bat. It ended with the unexpected Felix Pie three-run homer. That’s a good start to a defining stretch. Â
By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
Again the Cubs put up 13 runs. And while being six games over .500 and in first place is nice, the following two weeks will tell a lot about what this Cubs team is really about.
I’ll be at the game Monday when the Cubs open this stretch with the Mets. (I’ll be sure to write about the funny things I come across. Perhaps I’ll even post a few pictures.) After two games with the Mets, it’s Colorado, the improved-but-not-great Nationals, the Brewers and the Cardinals.
After that, it’s Arizona and San Diego. The Cubs are beating the bad teams and that’s something they haven’t always done. Staying healthy is going to be key, especially for Aramis Ramirez, who had four hits along with Ryan Theriot in Sunday’s 13-6 win.
Speaking of hurt, what do you do with Alfonso Soriano when he gets back? I think the Cubs have shown there are more capable leadoff men. I would never say “Take him out of the lineup,” but a couple of guys on sports radio made a valid point Sunday — “Lou Piniella says he plays the hot hand.” If that’s true, can he really rationalize putting Soriano at the top of the order when other guys are having more success in that spot?
