From the book True Believers by Joe Queenan.

A friend tells a story about taking his ten-year-old son to a Jets game. The game was being played during a driving rain on a freezing cold day, and the Jets lost by twenty points to a team they were supposed to beat. As they headed toward the exits, the boy looked up, with tears in his eyes, and asked, "Dad, why are we Jets fans?"

Tags: baseball, cubs, depression

Magic number down to 2...

All I have to say is:

Tags: baseball

And that's how we do it on the North Side!

(This year, at least...)

Tags: baseball, cubs

I'll have more to say later. Right now, just some quickies:

1) I have turned off my phone, and will most likely not be taking calls at least until Monday. If you really have to reach me, call Carrie.

2) I honestly can't say that I expected them to get to the NLCS, especially not after Thursday night. I did, however, expect them to pretend to fight.

3) It's a shame the June Cubs showed up and not the September Cubs.

4) This is 99% the fault of the offense. Especially the "big guns". I'd like to think they're ashamed of themselves, but I'm sure they're being comforted tonight by sleeping on a big pile of money.

Tags: baseball

Tags: baseball

Through some kind of internet magic, I somehow was able to buy two tickets to the NLCS Home Game 1 for the Cubs. They are decent seats. I tried for four (the limit per order) but there were not four available.

Here is where they are:

Tags: baseball

This is a conversation had via email between Carrie and myself this morning. I've reconstructed it in this format to make it easier to read.

Matt: Some Cubs fans in Chicago whose last name is Fields named their son "Wrigley" just now. If we have two boys, can we name the second one Ryne? I'm kind of serious.
Carrie: Maybe.........how about a middle name?
Matt: With the first name Ron?
Carrie: Ron Ryne Stratton? Ummmmm, I don't think so. How about like Robert Ryne? That sounds nice or Charles Ryne? Hmmmmm....
Matt: After Charlie Root or Bobby Dernier, right?

Tags: baseball, real world

Yesterday was a good day.

I got up early to help Carrie get stuff ready for her cousin's baby shower. Also, I figured since I was up, I would log onto Cubs.com and sit in the "virtual waiting room" to try to score playoff tickets.

I was unsuccessful, but I didn't anticipate success anyway. There were only something like 15,000 tickets on sale for BOTH games combined. They sold out in about 30 minutes. Frankly, I was surprised it took that long.

Sunday afternoon, I left the house (as I was banished due to the shower), and I went to church. Well, to MY church - the Friendly Confines. I rode my bike down to Wrigley, checked it with the free bike valet, and ascended the ramp to my perch in 525. Pretty darn good seats - of course, there was a pole, but it didn't block anything much for me. My friend Doug was meeting me at the seats, and I got there about 20 minutes before game time. Doug was a few minutes late, which normally wouldn't be a big deal, but Zambrano racked up 3 strikes so quickly it meant he missed the entire top of the 1st.

It was a great game.

Beautiful weather (72 and sunny).
Some great hitting by the Cubs.
Pirates shut-out.
Almost got a foul ball (it landed on the walkway about 8 feet behind me...where I'd just been walking. If I'd taken five seconds longer in the bathroom, I'd have it)

And possibly the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life...the entire park started doing the "Tomahawk Chop" when the scoreboard posted that the Braves had pulled ahead of Milwaukee:

Tags: baseball, cubs

Go Cubs!

Tags: baseball, beats working

My boss stopped by my desk yesterday and told me that since his wife was sick, he had an extra ticket to today's game. As he put it, since he's the one who approves my time-off requests, there was no reason for me not to go.

I went on Monday and Tuesday nights, and have tickets for Sunday as well. That's four games in seven days. I wonder if my wife will remember what I look like.

Tags: baseball

I know that some of you aren't the biggest Piniella fans in the world, but still, this song is somewhat clever (not as good as the "Hey Deliliah" spoof though).

Under Sweet Lou Piniella

Tags: baseball, cubs

Last night I went to the Cubs/Reds game with Lippy. I scored seats earlier in the day, and invited him to come along (since he's a big baseball guy, plus, he's fun). Our seats were not spectacular (upper upper deck, right field, and a handy pole blocked the view of 2nd base), but still, it was in the park, as Heather likes to say.

The game was very up and down, but I honestly think that more people were watching the scoreboard than the game on the field. The Astros were laying down for the Brewers, and every one of the 39,000 fans (plus every single Cub) were well aware of it. I counted the Cubs out several times - some really fundamental silliness on the part of Soriano (um, when the ball is hit in front of you, you don't run...I learned that in Little League) and a couple of blown DP's.

Sitting in front of us were three couples (looked to be college kids, but definitely under 21, since they were not drinking beer). The girls were all wearing Cubbie blue, but their fellas were cheering for the Reds (although clearly they didn't know much about the game, as one of them continually referred to the Reds scoring "points", and another didn't realize that the Reds were beating the Cubs at one point). It was definitely good-natured, though - one of the girls kept telling her boyfriend to quiet down when he cheered the Reds, for fear of him being "murdered". Heh.

Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs were down 4-6. Ryan Theriot (my favorite Cub of late) comes to the plate to lead off. I turn to Lippy, and said, "Here's what's going to happen. The Riot singles. D-Lee singles. Then Aramis walks off."

Theriot walks.

Derrek Lee singles.

Ramirez comes to the plate. Dave says "well, you got the first two parts right. Let's see if you predicted the third correctly."

I said "Yes, the third part is kind of the key."

I was wrong.

Ramirez did not homer.

He TRIPLED.

Tying the game.

Wrigley Field went INSANE. I started yelling at the Reds "fan" in front of me "Ninety FEET! The winning 'point' is NINETY FEET AWAY. THREE OUTS TO GO 90 FEET!"

End of story? The Reds IBB the next batter (Dave's theory was that they did it to calm down the excitement, because a DP wouldn't help them), and then DeRosa hits a little comebacker to the pitcher, who flubs it, and Ramirez scores, winning the game.

The Cubs flooded the field like they just won the pennent. It was a beautiful thing. Walking down the ramp to leave, I told Dave "I remember what this feels like". He agreed. "Yup. Cool air, Cubs winning...it feels good."

Indeed it does, Lippy.

Indeed it does.

Tags: baseball

OK, seriously, these Cubs are really giving me agita tonight.

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Dear Houston Astros,

Please stop laying down and letting yourselves get ass-rocked by the Cardinals. Seriously, not only is it making my life difficult, it's embarrassing for the five or six people who are still following you guys this season.

Thank you,

Matt Stratton

Tags: baseball

Will Ohman is the new LaTroy Hawkins.

ETA - I'm happy for Tom Glavine. 300 wins is quite an accomplishment.

But I really wanted to see the Cubs shut him down tonight because of ESPN's assumption that it was a given that tonight would be his 300th win.

ESPN.com had it posted already as of the fifth inning. And I hate Joe Morgan with the passion of a 1,000 suns.

That being said, I kind of wish this game (for the Mets) had been against the Giants. I think Joe Morgan's head would have exploded having to switch between verbally fellating Bonds and Glavine. Which is unfair, because Glavine actually *deserves* it.

Tags: baseball