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"Bush League" is a general term used to describe an action or thing as being amateur, inferior or crude. In a literal sense, it refers to a low quality minor league, not associated with the major league teams. We at Bush League Times are all of the above. May 8, 2009 Bush League Times Facelift
Bush League Times, they are a changing. BLT may or may not be accessible for the next couple of days as we undergo a complete overhaul to our blog. When we return, we will be bigger and better than ever. The content will still suck but it will look a lot cooler. See you soon.
May 5, 2009 Links Edition Where's Gordon Wittenmyer on this one? Either "The Greatest Fans On Earth" are just as racist as lowly Cubs fans, or this is how Carlos Zambrano really hurt his hamstring. Stay classy White Sox. Apparently, Ryan Theriot has stolen Mike Fontenot's nickname. I guess when your last nickname was 6-5 putout, you really don't have much of a choice. How much would you pay for an eternal sky box? The bullpen sucked again and the boo birds were out in full force. While I don't agree with the booing, I wish DLee would shut the hell up. He sure does talk a lot for a guy hitting .209. I hope he wakes up soon and realizes that when Lou started his "B" team against the Giants, Lee was a part of it. If Phil Rogers is for it, I'm usually against it. Sadly, he's way off here as well. Swine flu hysteria is out of control. Even the Cubs medical staff had to take the time to educate Cubs players about swine flu and how to prevent spreading it. It's rather simple on a baseball team, just stick to ass-grabbing and everything should be ok. Maybe every member of the Cubs bullpen has the swine flu and as they get better, so will their performances. Or maybe they all die. Either way, it's win-win.
April 15, 2009 A Wrigley Tradition? Gordon Wittenmyer, in today's Chicago Sun-Times, claims that Wrigley Field has a reputation for fans who not only boo their own players, but also have a history of getting racial. I have no reason to doubt the claims of Dusty Baker, Jacque Jones or LaTroy Hawkins. All of them were criticized for their performance while they were here and I don't doubt that some people with low IQ's who don't know how to express themselves, embarrassed themselves and Cubs fans as a whole. That being said, I don't think that gives Wrigley a reputation any more than it would any other stadium in the league.
April 14, 2009 Race To Wrigley 5K Run Just wanted to remind everyone that the annual Race
to Wrigley will take place on April 25th at 8:00am. The Race to Wrigley
5K Run, which starts and finishes at Wrigley Field, helps kick off the
baseball season while benefiting a good cause. The course route proceeds
through the streets of the Lakeview neighborhood before returning to Wrigley,
where runners run through Wrigley Field's ground level concourse, finishing
under the Marquee at Clark and Addison. Come on out and join Proceeds benefit Chicago Cubs Charities.
April 13, 2009 Home Opener
Hell yeah! Another occasion for bunting today as the Cubs take on the Rockies in their home opener at 1:20pm. If you're at the game today, stop by and say hi to me in section 219.
April 12, 2009 Not Quite What You're Looking For From Your Number 3 Hitter I'm following along with the Sunday Night broadcast of Cubs and Brewers on MLB.com's Gameday. Check out the "hot/cold zone" hitting chart they have for DLee:
Apparently, if you pitch DLee anywhere but low and away you should get him out.
April 12, 2009 Dumb And Dumberer Interesting conversation taking place during the top of the 3rd during the Cubs vs. Brewers game on Sunday Night Baseball. Joe Morgan stated that he thinks it's a good idea for Alfonso Soriano to bat leadoff instead of hitting him in one of the 3-4-5 spots. I instantly began to rethink my position on this because, as I'm sure everyone knows, I too like Sori in the leadoff spot. Surely if Joe Morgan thinks this is also a good idea then I must kill myself immediately. But wait, Steve Phillips was here to save the day. Steve said that if he was managing the Cubs, he would bat Sori in the the 3-hole. Reason being, he doesn't draw walks and he doesn't run as often or as well as he used to. I slowly took the revolver out of my mouth because I was fairly certain that if Steve Phillips disagreed me with, I must be right regardless of what Joe Morgan thinks. Soriano proceeded to draw a walk and stole second base on the first pitch to K-Fuk (career SB number 250, congrats Sori), although I'm not really pointing at that to support my argument, I just thought the timing was perfect because it shut Steve Phillips up for the time being. Luckily for everyone, by the time the conversation was over, Steve and Joe were able to agree that Pete Rose was a good hitter.
April 6, 2009 Life Is Better With Bunting
The long wait is over and the 2009 Chicago Cubs season is finally upon us. The Cubs have set their 25-man roster by sending the Samurai Ninja to AAA Iowa and by giving Chad Gaudin his outright release. Opening Day is one of the top three days of the year along with Christmas Day and March 14th. It's a new lease on life, a second chance, a new beginning. Most importantly, it's a day with bunting. The world would be a better place if there was more bunting. There would be no wars, no poverty and no hatred. Well, that's probably not true but everything would look a lot more festive. Does your home life suck? Hang some bunting on the garage door and watch your relationship immediately improve. Job got you down? How about hanging some bunting in your cubicle? Guaranteed it will lift your spirits right up. The Cubs enter 2009 as back-to-back NL Central Division champs. That really does sound impressive, until you remember that they are also back-to-back bed shitters. You know what though? None of that matters today. The rebirth is here, hang the bunting.
March 18, 2009 Cubs To Retire #31 The Cubs announced today that they plan on retiring jersey #31 in a ceremony
on May 3rd to honor both Donovan Osborne and Kevin Foster. Or maybe it's
for Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux. Either way, it will be the sixth number
retired by the Cubs joining No. 14 (Ernie Banks), No. 26 (Billy Williams),
No. 10 (Ron Santo), No. 23 (Ryne Sandberg) and No. 42 (
March 15, 2009 Did The Chicago Sports Media Drop The Ball? I'm busy filling out my brackets for March Madness and I can only assume the Chicago sports media is doing the same. Otherwise, not reporting this is inexcusable. Luckily, the folks at Another Cubs Blog made a nice catch of this gem involving Paul Bako and Bob Brenly. Apparently it does pay to watch Spring Training games. Who knew?
March 10, 2009 Derrek Lee Doesn't Make Sense Hey, did you know the Cubs stunk in the playoffs the past two years because they were too right-handed? It's true, I just read it on ESPN. You can't argue it, it's a fact! Just ask DLee, he'll tell you all about
it.
March 3, 2009 Required Reading Yet another example of Chicago media bias. Bruce Miles of The Daily Herald has a feature where he breaks down each player/position for the Chicago Cubs. In this feature, the "editor" asks Bruce some questions and he gives his opinion. Two of these really stand out to me. Here is one about Ryan Theriot Here is one about Alfonso Soriano I highly recommend that you read the articles but if you're too lazy to click the links, here is basically a breakdown of the questions. Sori question: Is Sori going to give me any reason to stop hating him and thinking he's a bitchy suckwad?
Theriot question: When will evil stat geeks finally see that Theriot
is the spawn of Jesus and Mickey Mantle?
February 22, 2009 Rick Morrissey Is Kind Of An Ass Before we begin I must warn you, no, I beg you not to read this. Go outside, spend some time with your family, there is really no reason to read another post about people hating on Alfonso Soriano. This has to be the 1,374th post on Sori bashing and even I'm tired of covering it. I've come to the conclusion that the Chicago media won't be happy until we rid ourselves of the pesky players that are actually good at baseball. Anyway, if you can stomach it, let's continue. Here is Rick Morrissey's latest attempt at journalism. Rick's subject matter, of course, is whether or not Lou should move Soriano down in the order. Don't do it, Lou. Don't offer us hope and then cruelly snatch it away. You said it, Lou Piniella. I have the quote right here. You were talking about what you might do with the middle of the Cubs' order: "You know, I'm not going to [rule] out the possibility of throwing Soriano in on that mix either. We'll see how it works out." I'm not sure if I understand what the big deal is? The way I read that quote, it looks like Lou is saying he may or may not move Sori in the lineup. Not exactly something you can hang your hat on.
February 17, 2009 Ryan Theriot Is A Selfish Prick
As a card-carrying member of the ASALS, I would be remiss if I failed to point out that Ryan Theriot is a selfish prick. The buzz out of Spring Training today was that Soriano may move down in the order this year and Ryan Theriot was mentioned as a possible replacement at the top of the order. To review, here is a quote from Soriano on January 27th from the Chicago Tribune: "I feel comfortable batting leadoff and any [place] in the lineup," he said recently at the Cubs Convention. "It's not about me, it's about the team and what [manager Lou Piniella] wants to do this year because, I'm 33 now and they think I can't run anymore. If I don't bat leadoff, I think I can have more RBIs, so I want to be the same guy and … I will do whatever I can do." When Theriot was asked by reporters today what his thoughts were on batting leadoff for the Cubs, he responded by saying: ''I would totally embrace it, but it's something that honestly wouldn't be that much different,'' He would totally embrace it? What a selfish cock sucker! Where is the
outrage? Isn't this how it works? I thought that as 1. Always, always, always like the back-up QB on the Bears more than the starting QB. 2. Always, always, always call the leadoff hitter for the Cubs a selfish prick. By the way, is it just me or is this poll by the Chicago Tribune just a little bit biased?
February 11, 2009 Ex-Girlfriend Claims Alomar Has Aids
According to the USA Today, a lawsuit was filed against Roberto Alomar by his ex-girlfriend that claims he insisted on having unprotected sex with her for four years despite having AIDS. The ex, Ilya Dall, filed the suit on January 30th and it was transferred to the U.S. District Court this morning. Although ESPN.com now has a denial from Alomar on their web site, one can't entirely rule out the possibility since Alomar did have two stints on the White Sox. According to Dall, she said the two began dating in spring 2002 and had unprotected sex for the next four years. She said that on several occasions during that time, Alomar refused to get tested for HIV, despite severe fatigue, sores on his mouth and throat, a constant cough and an infection of the esophagus that is associated with AIDS. Sounds fucking hot, I can see why she couldn't resist.
February 7, 2009 Check Your Local Listings
Football season has finally come to an end and we're still a week away from pitchers and catchers reporting, so how are you supposed to occupy your time this weekend? Well, at 5pm on Sunday, MLB Network will be airing Kerry Wood's 20 strikeout game from May 6, 1998. It was Kerry Wood's fifth major league start and he made the Astros look like they were trying to hit a wiffle ball on a windy day. In defense of the uninspired Astros, it's as if they almost knew that 10 years later, the city of Houston would be hit by a hurricane and Bud Selig would screw them out of a chance to make the playoffs. No, wait, that excuse is still pitifully lame. As an extra bonus, tune into the top of the 3rd inning for another chance to boo Kevin Orie.
January 30, 2009 The "I'm Lazy So Here's A Bunch Of Links" Edition
I've always hated Ronny Cedeno. In fact, if all it took to save his life was for me to blink, I would permanently staple my eyelids shut. That being said, I might actually miss him now that he's gone. It's almost kind of fun to hate somebody that much. We hear the same, unjustified crap all the time but can we finally put to bed the notion that Alfonso Soriano is selfish? Is there any chance that the Cubs will resume talks with the Padres about a possible Jake Peavy deal once the sale of the team is complete? When all of this started the Cubs were rumored to include some combination of DeRosa, Cedeno, Pie, Olson and Marshall in the deal. Only Marshall is left. The Baltimore Sun is reporting that it's a "strong possibility" that Rich Hill will end up with the Orioles. Apparently the Cubs would receive a player to be named later in return, the value of whom would hinge on Hill's success in Baltimore. Early guesses are that the player to be named later will be Billy Ripken Jr.
Ben Sheets is still unsigned and I asked Clock and Puma what they
thought about signing Sheets since the Cubs obviously hate Sean Marshall.
Clock had a very interesting idea, he suggested the "10-day rotation"
where Sheets and Harden alternate spots to avoid injury/keep them fresh
for another playoff Harden, Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster, Marshall, Sheets, Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster and Marshall. Obviously this would never happen but I found it interesting. Either Clock is ahead of his time or this explains why he sucks at fantasy sports. The Super Bowl is this weekend and if you are looking for the ultimate snack for your party, may I suggest this bad boy? Finally, I've added a new site to the Cubs Blogroll on the right hand side. Bleacher Nation is now part of the Bush League Times family and I suggest you check them out. They're smart, funny, entertaining, and well, pretty much everything we aren't. If you don't come back, I understand completely.
January 18, 2009 Orioles Help Themselves To Some Pie
Yes, the headline sucks but so do the players involved. The Felix Pie
Olson has gone 10-13 in the majors with a 6.87 ERA but will get a chance to compete for the fifth starter spot, proving once and for all that the Cubs hate Sean Marshall.
December 31, 2008 DeRosa Traded To Tribe
The Cubs traded Mark DeRosa to the Cleveland Indians today for a pile of crap. I wonder what we would have received in the trade if DeRosa wasn't coming off of a career year? I hope everyone who was screaming that the Cubs didn't need Brian Roberts because we had DeRosa now feels like a complete ass-clown. Hopefully this move is setting up something bigger or else it appears that the Cubs have bigger financial issues than they have owned up to. Either that or they just suck. Oh yeah, the Cubs also signed Aaron Miles, a former Cardinal. You know, because rooting for Marquis and Edmonds was so much fun, why not do this again?
December 30, 2008 Weeeeeee!
Not that he's ever to be trusted, but ESPN's Steve Phillips is reporting
that the Cubs are close to sending Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies
for As for Vizcaino, well, he sucks too but at least he's cheaper. He also starts off with Eric Karros and Mark Grudzielanek status. They instantly became two of my favorite Cubs when they were acquired for Todd Hundley, one of my least favorite players of all time. Eventually the suck will shine through and I'll hate Vizcaino as well but at least he's not Jason Marquis. If we're going to hold a roster spot for someone who won't make the postseason roster, might as well save a couple of bucks throughout the season.
December 7, 2008 2009 Winter Classic
Here's hoping the Blackhawks can hit something at Wrigley...
October 7, 2008 The Seven Stages Of Grief
Today was a big day for me. I was talking to Puma via email about the seven stages of grief and I realized I was still at stage 1. 1. Shock or Disbelief Slight chance I was at stage 2 but it's tough to know when you're in
denial. He got me thinking about the
October 6, 2008 A New Low
Unfortunately, we are all familiar with the Fukudome headbands and "Horry Kow" t-shirts that are sold outside the stadium. I'm not sure when Cubs fans thought it was acceptable to be so openly ignorant and racist, but you can't go anywhere around Wrigley without seeing somebody whose sporting one. Well, imagine my surprise on Thursday night when I tuned into the Cubs game and saw that Cub fans have expanded the attack. The picture above is of some fan wearing the "Derrek Lee Watermelon Rally Cap." I feel dirty and ashamed to be a Cub fan. This needs to end now Cubs fans. We're better than this, I implore you to leave your Derrek Lee Watermelon Rally Caps at home and show some class.
October 4, 2008 Can You Be Perfect? Here's a little inspirational video for the Cubs tonight. It's Billy Bob Thorton's speech from 'Friday Night Lights.'
Let's hope they don't misinterpret the message and adopt a bunch of kids with Angelina Jolie...
October 4, 2008 Do Or Die Game 3 is tonight and Cubs fans everywhere are ready to jump off the ledge. Still, you have to feel good about having Rich Harden on the mound tonight and Lilly tomorrow (that's right, tomorrow...you heard me). There's nothing you can do about the past two games except bury them. The rest of the season starts tonight. You're either on board or you're not.
October 3, 2008 Doooooooooooom!!!!
October 2, 2008 What, Me Worry?
Yes, the Cubs lost Game 1 to the Dodgers 7-2. Yes, they looked bad. Yes, Dempster hardly resembled the pitcher that he was in the regular season and was uncharacteristically wild. Yes, the bats were silent for the most part. Am I worried? Hell no. I have to say I'm disappointed in the Wrigley "faithful" tonight as they wasted no time in breaking out the boo birds. Listen to me. Settle down, relax...we're fine. This Cubs team was dominant all season long and there is no way that you should work yourself up into a lather over this loss. The Dodgers were just six games over .500 for a reason this year. They're just not that good. Would it really surprise you if the Cubs ran the table, ripped off three straight and advanced to the next round? Me neither. I don't have the time or the patience to listen to all the "Cubbie Occurrence" or "woe is me" bullshit. Let's keep this in perspective, realize that the best team on the field resides in Chicago and let's enjoy the ride. Let's start tonight.
September 21, 2008 Step 1: Division Title Congrats boys, you deserve it...
September 15, 2008 Zambrano-no!
Congrats to Big Z as he no-hit the Astros in a 5-0 Cubs win. Yeah, I'd say he's healthy. The Cubs immediately sent a DVD of Big Z's performance to the Commisioner's office so they could see what a no-hitter in Miller Park really looks like.
September 10, 2008 It's Almost October, Time For TBS!
That's right folks, playoff baseball is almost upon us and that means
it's time for TBS coverage. Most of us are excited that the Cubs
September 8, 2008 Weekend Wrap Up
The Cubs dropped two of three this weekend to the Cincinnati Reds. Friday night was a very forgettable 10-2 loss but the Cubs followed that up with a 14-9 shellacking on Saturday night. On Sunday, the Cubs let one get away as they blew a 3-1 lead in the ninth to drop the rubber game of the series by a score of 4-3.
September 2, 2008 Rumors, Rants and Rumblings
Everyone knows that the Baltimore Orioles are known for taking the Cubs trash. Perhaps that's why they screwed this up. It appears, according to Fred Mitchell, that Transformer was going to be a throw-in in the Sammy Sosa deal to Baltimore. Instead, Baltimore received Sosa and cash in exchange for Mike Fontenot, Jerry Hairston Jr. and David Crouthers on Feb. 2, 2005.
August 27, 2008 Jay Mariotti Leaves The Sun-Times One down, three to go. Here's hoping he takes Rozner, Rosenbloom and Murphy with him. Hey Jay, if you need a ride to the airport, let me know.
August 27, 2008 Beating A Dead Horse
I just don't understand the Alfonso Soriano bias. While I usually reserve this subject for Clock, I'm fed up with the Sori bashing by certain individuals. I'll be the first to admit that Soriano is maddening, I can live with it though because of everything else he brings to the table. He is, in my opinion, the Cubs MVP. The Cubs are 27-25 without Soriano and 54-25 when he is in the lineup going into last night's game.
August 20, 2008 Junk or Cheese? Posted By: Big Puma
Hello. The Puma Speaks. I’ve been here since BLT (that’s the BushLeagueTimes to you) was just an apple in the eye of Jay Venomous. Way back in the spring of 2008, Mr. Venomous & Mr. Clock had a dream. They dreamt of a beautiful place where people could come, from all over the world, to hear their thoughts on our beloved North-Siders. Jay ignored Desipio, HJE, Thunder Matt’s Saloon, NSBB, Bleed Cubbie Blue, etc. and soon took the fantasy and turned it into reality, improvising BushLeagueTimes.com out of nothing more than a handful of determination, a bushel of rage, & a quart of Vance Law’s sweat to make this the #1 site for all things Cubs. Over these few months, Jay has taken BLT and turned it from an FJM ripoff into something bigger, larger, better.
August 18, 2008 Running Numbers
Before I get into this, let me preface this by saying that I do like Ryan Theriot. I don't like him enough to where I would start a blog about him and call him the "heart and soul" of the Chicago Cubs, that would be stupid. But I do like him.
August 13, 2008 Theriot Pinch Hits
Paul Sullivan isn't around this week to answer his reader questions so he needed somebody to fill his shoes. Seeing how he wears a size 7, the only person available was Ryan Theriot.
August 8, 2008 Have It Your Way This should come as a surprise to nobody. Bill Plaschke likes penis in his mouth.
August 8, 2008 GFY Mike Murphy Posted By: Clock
Yesterday, Mike Murphy further went after Alfonso Soriano, his favorite topic.
First off, he was discussing MVP candidates and how Sori’s name has been mentioned nationally apparently. He then made the comment that while Sori gets the publicity, every Cubs’ fan knows that Theriot or DeRosa is the real MVP of the team. And he made the comment so matter-a-factly that only the national media hinks Sori is good and completely glossed over Aramis and Zambrano.
August 6, 2008 Bad Eyre Day
Cubs reliever Scott Eyre was DFA'd on Tuesday as the Cubs needed a roster spot for the returning Kerry Wood. Eyre was the odd man out after Neal Cotts and Sean Marshall pitched well in his absence, as well as the emergence of the Samurai Ninja. It will be interesting to see what happens when Jon Lieber is healthy enough to be activated. The same fate might very well await either Lieber or Bob Howry.
August 4, 2008 Raise Your Hand If You're Sure
I'll admit, I'm a pessimistic person by nature. There is just something hard-wired into me that doesn't allow me to enjoy myself, I am constantly waiting for the proverbial kick in the balls to come at any moment.
August 1, 2008 Brewers Left Holding Their Sausages
It was just last week that Cubs fans were asking themselves "Why is it never easy?" as the Brewers were quickly approaching in the rearview mirror. Well, the Cubs certainly made it look easy this time as they completed a four game sweep of Milwaukee while outscoring them 31-11 in the series. The Brewers and their fans came in confident and cocky. This ought to shut them up for awhile.
July 30, 2008 Mad Cheddar Posted By: Clock
The biggest series yet this season for the Cubs so far is here. That isn’t saying much given that no series before August or even September is all that important by itself. They have taken Game 1 with Lilly facing Sabathia, which was a big win. The final 3 games they appear to have the edge in the pitching match ups.
July 28, 2008 Up Against The Clock With the Cubs starting a big four game series with Milwaukee today, Bush League Times was lucky enough to get WSCR's Mike Murphy to visit with us. Murph was able to give us a couple minutes of his time and give us an expert breakdown on the state of the Cubs. BLT: Hi Murph. Thanks for taking the time to... MM: Vuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk!
July 25, 2008 Friday Roundup Last night, the Peoria Chiefs and the Dayton Dragons got together and a WNBA game broke out.
July 23, 2008 The Dark Knight Posted By: Clock
This week marks the return of the superstar the whole city loves to hate. Alfonso Soriano is set to return this week, 6 weeks after suffering a broken hand. He was projected to miss a month and a half, so if my math is correct, he is returning ignificantly ahead of schedule, as promised. I’ll figure out that crazy metric system one of these days…
July 20, 2008 Rumors, Rants and Rumblings
The chatter from Milwaukee is that the Brewers are on the verge of acquiring Ray Durham from the San Francisco Giants. I understand wanting to upgrade defensively at second base if you're Milwaukee, but they're bringing in the one guy who is quite possibly even more of a defensive liability than Rickie Weeks.
July 18, 2008 Welcome Back
Welcome back to Bush League Times. We took advantage of the All-Star break and used the time to get reacquainted with our families. Thankfully, the Cubs season resumes tonight and we are back to all things baseball. Before we put this All-Star Game to bed, I just wanted to address some things from this year's game.
July 14, 2008 Inaugural Bush League Times Awards Welcome to the 'Inaugural Bush League Times First Half Awards Show.' Tonight, we will be honoring the best and worst performances of the first half of the 2008 MLB season. All of the nominees will be vying for the coveted Bush League Times 'BLT Award.' For those of you not familiar with the BLT Award, it has a history as prestigious as Lord Stanley's Cup, except nobody's pissed in it yet. Anyway, on with the awards!
July 10, 2008 ESPN: This Is My Wish I give up, I don't know what to say anymore about ESPN. I can't quite figure out when it happened but this network is a joke. I used to always go to ESPN to get my sports information, if I was at home it was on. It didn't matter that I could watch the same episode of Sports Center from 10 p.m. until 11 a.m. the next morning, it was sports goddammit. Somewhere along the way they got sidetracked. The show is still an hour long but they only cover sports for about 20 minutes. After they spend the first 17 minutes discussing the Red Sox and Yankees, that leaves 3 minutes of coverage for the rest of the country. The rest of the show is filled with shit like this.
July 8, 2008 Class Act The Cubs start a three game series tonight with the Cincinnati Reds and it will mark the first time that Marty Brennaman comes to Wrigley since his comments back on April 18th.
July 7, 2008 The Magnificent Seven The Cubs will be well represented at this year's All-Star Game as they try to secure home-field advantage for the World Series. Kosuke Fukudome, Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano were elected starters by the fans and Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood, Carlos Zambrano and Aramis Ramirez were chosen as reserves. Seven Red Sox were also taken for the
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