By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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My birthday is on Christmas. No wise men came to see me, but I did often get more gifts than the rest of my siblings on that day, leading to ridicule. “He always gets everything he wants” my brothers would say.
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Well, I selfishly asked for a sweep before this season began — what seemed like an unlikely proposition at the time — and here the Cubs are, one game away from giving me (and the rest of us) just what we wanted.
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And for goodness sakes, they need to get it done for Rich Harden. The man has 30 strikeouts in three starts for the Cubs and is 0-1. That’s as bad as getting coal in your stocking (has anyone ever gotten that?)
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Again, though, this is the best chance for the Cubs to win — going up against one of the weaker, if not the weakest, Brewers starters in Dave Bush (5-8) — but that just makes me nervous. I’ll wait until after the game to open that long gift under the tree.
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I hope it’s a broom.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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In 2004, that headline would have still made sense… not in a good way.
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But only history’s best Cubs performance against Ben Sheets could warrant such a headline this season.
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Only one other time have the Cubs managed 11 hits against the “former” Brewers ace (pretty sure the “ace” is in the hands of CC these days) and only once before have the Cubs ever managed six runs against Sheets (in a six-inning outing).
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The Cubs scored six runs on 11 hits in 5.1 innings against Sheets Tuesday night and earned a huge victory that continued to push the NL Central runners up further back in the standings.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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I was selfishly musing the other day — how nice would a sweep be?
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I’m not holding my breath, but to beat CC Sabathia is a big boost to the NL Central-leading Cubbies. But, boy if Bobby Howry didn’t do what he could to keep that from happening.
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I think it’s safe to say that when Kerry Wood returns, Howry will be the odd man out.
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Howry was essentially the Cubs only option, I guess. They started a lefty in Ted Lilly and when it came to going to the pen, they had Sean Marshall, Neal Cotts and Scott Eyre — all lefties — to choose from. They wanted to mix it up with a right hander. Carlos Marmol needed to be reserved to close and Jeff Samardzija and Chad Gaudin had thrown the last few games. I’d bet they didn’t even want to use Gaudin.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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We all tend to overreact, right? When our team is suffering, we suffer with them, threaten to disband and become Yankees fans, like my buddy proclaimed at our baseball game Sunday.
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Of course, as he was cursing the Cubs and threatening to turn his interest towards Giambi’s mustache, he was wearing his Aramis Ramirez jersey while clutching his trusty radio blaring Pat and Ron’s broadcast and complaining that I didn’t write a blog over the weekend. (A guy needs a couple days off!)
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But after Mikey Fontenot unloaded the bases with a three-run double to give the Cubs the eventual win in the seventh, he left me a message saying, “I’m back. You know I wasn’t going anywhere.”
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We’ve all been there, and I suppose the moral of the story is that Cubs fans have evolved from taking pleasure in a simple Sammy Sosa homer, to demanding victory. It’s tough. We’re not used to actually caring about winning. It’s quite a burden.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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You can’t tell me there’s anyone better than Z.
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Carlos Zambrano brings skills to the plate almost equally clutch to his skill on the mound — seriously — and his intensity has been harnessed into positive energy (for the most part) this season.
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But as we have praised Z more than once already this season, let’s throw a bone to the three-hit day of Henry Blanco — the 36-year-old catcher that wasn’t afraid to get tattoos up and down his arm between seasons (from what I can remember. I don’t recall the tatts from last season.)
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Blanco’s name comes up when players discuss the best defensive catcher in baseball, but his anemic .167 average last season kept him on the bench more than behind the dish. An injury didn’t help either.
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But Blanco has been hitting better this year sporting a .286 average that will rise after Thursday’s success. He now has a pair of homers and helped the Cubs to a win Thursday night.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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The man has asked for nothing. He’s never whined. He’s been hurt once, but fought back quickly. He was tossed to the trash by his former team. Like Uncle Leo discovering Jerry’s watch in a New York City garbage can, “He just needed a new battery.”
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The Cubs provided that battery for Reed Johnson, and Chicago is his “Jimmy Sherman at 85th and Columbus.” Johnson’s grand slam kept alive what very easily could have been another awful day when Bob Howry was again terrible in the eighth.
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Johnson has actually had better numbers in his career — he’s hit 10 homers twice and batted .319 in 2006 — and currently has four homers with a .271 batting average with the Cubs. But for some reason, I’ve taken to him. Perhaps it’s because he wears No. 9 like I do, but I’m also pretty keen on players that display good character. He’s done that. I’m happy for him.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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Right now Brewers and Cardinals fans are laughing, and I can’t think of much to say to make them stop after Tuesday’s 9-2 loss to the Diamondbacks.
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The Cubs are on the threshold of a collapse and their anemic offense and futile bullpen has made no case for me to believe they will still be in first place by the end of the week.
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The problem is curious. A team lauded for it’s lineup is now relying on its pitching to keep them above water. Aramis Ramirez is 0-for-21 since the break. Aside from Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot, very few Cubs are producing at the plate.
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So what’s the answer?
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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A good portion of the Quad Cities is without power and the lights are dimming above the Cubs Central Division standing. The Brewers won. Randy Johnson gave up two hits and won. Rich Harden gave up one hit and lost. And Kerry Wood has his ointment.
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I don’t know how I feel today if I’m Harden. I just pitched lights out for seven innings, but was handed the loss thanks to Alex Romero, who hit his first home run off of me.
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Then again, I got no run support.
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Then again, my run support was batting against Mr. Snappy.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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It’s the ninth inning, your team is up 9-0, and your starter, who’s still in the game, has had to sit through a long inning with three pitching changes.
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The Cubs got it right when they decided to remove Ryan Dempster from the game Sunday despite the opportunity to get a complete-game shutout. I like to see good managing.
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Dempster took his at bat in the bottom of the eighth, but did not go back out on the mound in the ninth. Lou talked to him in the dugout and Dempster looked a little disappointed, but what competitor wouldn’t be?
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Still, there’s no reason to risk anything (no matter how small the risk might be) for a statistic. The Cubs went with Carlos Marmol in the ninth who worked a clean inning to help get the Cubs back on track.
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How about Mike Fontenot? He was a triple shy of the cycle Sunday. My buddy said he was actually considering a purchase of a Mike Fontenot T-shirt jersey. I wouldn’t drop the big dough on an authentic jersey, though. I still think Fontenot is only building up his trade value — if not for this season — but for next.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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Houston’s hot. I can tell you. I was there once. It’s a long drive.
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But the Astros are hot, too. Winners of five of their last six games and the Cubs just happen to be in their path.
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No offensive help. Oh, except for the guy on the mound. Carlos Zambrano plated the Cubs only run of the game with a homer. He’s pretty unbelievable. That’s his second homer of the season. But it’s a shame the middle of the order (Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Geovany Soto) goes a combined 1-12 with three strikeouts. Lee had the only hit.
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It seems the Cubs are starting out the second half much like they did the first. Though, as my brother pointed out, they are far beyond the true halfway point — over 10 games so.
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