I was listening to Tom Waddle this morning, and they were playing back a take-off on Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck if..." jokes with "You know you're a Packer fan if..." one-liners.
Waddle got off a good one, I thought. I don't know if it's original, but I chuckled.
"Did you hear that the library in Green Bay burned down last night?"
"No, really?"
"Yeah! Both books were completely turned into ashes! (pause for effect) And one of them hadn't even been colored in yet!"
Ba-dum-bum!!!
*****
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
A look at the past
I'm a bit of a packrat, and while I was cleaning out old magazines today in my office, I came across an old SI that contained an article called "The Next Generation". The magazine is dated August 22, 2005, and the article is "SI's All-25-and-Under Team". Here's the names from the article:
Catcher Joe Mauer, age 22
1B Albert Pujols, 25 (honorable mention to Texiera, 25)
2B Rickie Weeks, 22
SS Bobby Crosby, 25
3B David Wright, 22
Utility Inf Jose Reyes, 22
OF Miguel Cabrera, 22
Grady Sizemore, 23
Carl Crawford, 24
SP's Rich Harden, 23
Jake Peavy, 24
Mark Prior, 24
Dontrelle Willis, 23
Carlos Zambrano, 24
Closer Francisco Rodriguez, 23
I thought it was sort of interesting that all of the starters have been related to Chicago teams in some way; 4 for the Cubs (two were Cubs at the time of the article) and 1 for the Sox. I thought it also interesting that not a single position player was from either organization in Chicago, and none can be associated with any of them either. FWIW...
*******
Catcher Joe Mauer, age 22
1B Albert Pujols, 25 (honorable mention to Texiera, 25)
2B Rickie Weeks, 22
SS Bobby Crosby, 25
3B David Wright, 22
Utility Inf Jose Reyes, 22
OF Miguel Cabrera, 22
Grady Sizemore, 23
Carl Crawford, 24
SP's Rich Harden, 23
Jake Peavy, 24
Mark Prior, 24
Dontrelle Willis, 23
Carlos Zambrano, 24
Closer Francisco Rodriguez, 23
I thought it was sort of interesting that all of the starters have been related to Chicago teams in some way; 4 for the Cubs (two were Cubs at the time of the article) and 1 for the Sox. I thought it also interesting that not a single position player was from either organization in Chicago, and none can be associated with any of them either. FWIW...
*******
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Cubs trade for Garza
The Cubs dealt 5 minor league prospects to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitcher Matt Garza, who went 15 and 10 last year with an ERA just under 4. He did not finish strong. I dont' have the exact numbers, but I think he was something like 2-5 with an ERA of over 5 to end the year.
Garza is a good pitcher; he will slot somewhere in that top 3 for the Cubs. The Cubs now have a pretty solid rotation with Zambrano, Garza, Dempster, Wells, and Cashner or one of the other rookies.
Is it a good move for the Cubs? I have mixed feelings. I think they are a solid enough team to compete in the NL Central for the top spot. I think they could possibly go to the playoffs with this team. But I don't know that they didn't give up far too much for Garza.
Chris Archer is/was a pitcher with a high ceiling. He could have developed into a major league pitcher as early as this season, though more likely 2012, which is apparently when the Rays expect him to arrive on the scene. Lee, the Korean shortstop, is also projected to be a major league middle infielder, with the range, speed and defensive ability to play short and play it wall. (His offense is a question.) With Castro at short, though, it seems the Cubs are set. They also have plenty of middle infield prospects, though perhaps none with as high a ceiling as him.
Brandon Guyer is a highly thought of outfielder. Of course the Cubs have Colvin in right, Byrd in CF with number 1 pick Brett Jackson coming up fast behind him, and Soriano entrenched in left for too many more years. So perhaps he was expendable, but I'd have liked to have him around for insurance in case Colvin doesn't pan out.
Chirinos, the catching prospect, had at least one other prospect (Wellington Castillo) between him and the majors, and so you don't mind his loss so much. Likewise with Sam Fuld. Fuld was a guy whose time in Chicago was past. No, the guy that I think they might live to regret losing is Archer.
Of course, all prospects are crap shoots. So I suppose you should take the chance on acquiring major league talent when it comes around.
As far as Garza, I've heard several people say that since he pitched in the AL East, he is going to a weaker league and division. But as a poster on the AOL Cubs board pointed out, he is going from a pitcher's park to a hitter's park, and he is going from a team with perhaps the best defense in baseball behind him to a team with a much more questionable defense. And yes, he did have to face the Yankees and Red Sox in his division, but the offenses in the NL Central are not terrible. The Reds and Brewers are both pretty potent and the Cardinals have the potential to be, also. Garza is also a fly ball pitcher coming to a park where some of those fly balls are going to end up in the seats.
Well, as a Cubs fan I have to hope for the best as far as results go. Garza does strengthen this team in the short run. He makes them more solid going into next season. Beyond that, we'll see if the organization regrets losing Guyer, Lee and especially Archer.
*****
Garza is a good pitcher; he will slot somewhere in that top 3 for the Cubs. The Cubs now have a pretty solid rotation with Zambrano, Garza, Dempster, Wells, and Cashner or one of the other rookies.
Is it a good move for the Cubs? I have mixed feelings. I think they are a solid enough team to compete in the NL Central for the top spot. I think they could possibly go to the playoffs with this team. But I don't know that they didn't give up far too much for Garza.
Chris Archer is/was a pitcher with a high ceiling. He could have developed into a major league pitcher as early as this season, though more likely 2012, which is apparently when the Rays expect him to arrive on the scene. Lee, the Korean shortstop, is also projected to be a major league middle infielder, with the range, speed and defensive ability to play short and play it wall. (His offense is a question.) With Castro at short, though, it seems the Cubs are set. They also have plenty of middle infield prospects, though perhaps none with as high a ceiling as him.
Brandon Guyer is a highly thought of outfielder. Of course the Cubs have Colvin in right, Byrd in CF with number 1 pick Brett Jackson coming up fast behind him, and Soriano entrenched in left for too many more years. So perhaps he was expendable, but I'd have liked to have him around for insurance in case Colvin doesn't pan out.
Chirinos, the catching prospect, had at least one other prospect (Wellington Castillo) between him and the majors, and so you don't mind his loss so much. Likewise with Sam Fuld. Fuld was a guy whose time in Chicago was past. No, the guy that I think they might live to regret losing is Archer.
Of course, all prospects are crap shoots. So I suppose you should take the chance on acquiring major league talent when it comes around.
As far as Garza, I've heard several people say that since he pitched in the AL East, he is going to a weaker league and division. But as a poster on the AOL Cubs board pointed out, he is going from a pitcher's park to a hitter's park, and he is going from a team with perhaps the best defense in baseball behind him to a team with a much more questionable defense. And yes, he did have to face the Yankees and Red Sox in his division, but the offenses in the NL Central are not terrible. The Reds and Brewers are both pretty potent and the Cardinals have the potential to be, also. Garza is also a fly ball pitcher coming to a park where some of those fly balls are going to end up in the seats.
Well, as a Cubs fan I have to hope for the best as far as results go. Garza does strengthen this team in the short run. He makes them more solid going into next season. Beyond that, we'll see if the organization regrets losing Guyer, Lee and especially Archer.
*****
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