Hooray! We've all made it another year!! Now it's time to accomplish my life long dream of walking to Wrigley Field from my very own North Side apartment!!! As a child, I dreamed of living in one of the flats across the street (where the current 'rooftops' are). This was back in the 80s when I think the main people sitting up there were actual tenants, just sitting on lawn chairs. But alas, I can't afford to live closer than a neighborhood away...damned yuppies.....but still, I can walk to Wrigley in 25 minutes, and I'm freakin giddy as a japanese school girl about it. (Is that racist? make sense?) I'll be joined in the stands today at the Cubs home opener against by the Milwaukee Brewers, but we're starting out the festivities with a little Champagne Brunch at the Ranto Crib. And hopefully this morning rain will subside, and Tom Skilling's prediction of a decent afternoon will be fulfilled. Either way, I think they'll get the game in. And even though the Cubs looked horrible this weekend in Atlanta, there's nothing that can't contain my excitement about watching a game at Wrigley Field today.
OK. Enough wistful rhetoric about how awesome my life is right now. And onto how terrible the Cubs are.
Carlos Marmol. There's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said. And unfortunately, I've been saying this for two years now. Carlos Marmol is not a very good pitcher anymore. Every batter in the league played fly swatter with his slider for years, and then figured out that if they didn't swing, one of two things would happen; they would walk, or get hit by the pitch. Either way. They'd end up at first base. So then, the Cubs made him develop his fastball. So, Marmol starts throwing straight darts down the middle of the plate in addition to the slider (which was usually a ball), and it was like batting practice. His slider has or had crazy movement, his fastball has none. Whatever the pitching coaches turned Carlos Marmol into, the result is horrific. And I feel horrifically bad for the man because I used to love watching him pitch....in the 8th inning. He never should have been the closer. I've said it from the beginning. Why take him out of the 8th inning when he's doing great in that role. Don't fix it if it ain't broke. Well now it's broke, and I don't think anyone can fix it. It's over for Marmol and the Cubs. My hope is that he goes to another team....preferably in the American League, where some dynamo pitching coach can help him straighten out everything. I wish the man success, I loved watching him pitch, but I just don't want to watch it anymore. It's a train wreck.
The news then broke Sunday, that Marmol's out as closer, and Fujikawa's in. Great. Fabulous. Sound the trumpets. They finally did what I've been saying they should do for two full seasons now.
The real question about the Cubs front office when it comes to Marmol is..."why is he even on the team still?". They could have traded him for Dan Haren in the off season, and didn't because Dan Haren has a nagging hip problem. Well Carlos Marmol has a nagging pitching badly problem. And has for some time. I woulda traded Marmol for the organist for the Las Vegas Area 51's and a couple of Ho Ho Kams this off season. Seriously.
OK. Now I'm getting depressed...but today is Opening Day at Wrigley! Just checked the Sattelite, and it's looking good for weather this afternoon! Come say Hi!!!! We will be in Terrace Reserved to the third base side behind home plate. Look for two devastatingly handsome men sitting with an old lady (Mom Ranto)
In the meantime.... here's the podcast link for today!
https://soundcloud.com/danny-rockett/son-ranto-home-opener
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