Cubby Broom Time in NYC!

What kind of broom should we sweep the Mets with today?  

This Old Tymey one?  Or This Broom would be fun to sweep with!  Not!!

But I'm partial to sweeping the Mets with Orlando Broom.

Whichever broom we pick, it'll be nice to finally sweep a 3 game road series.  

Now about yesterdays game....Cubs Win!  5-2!!  But...and this is a huuuuge but, the Cubs, individually speaking, left 35 men on base.  35!!!!  Starlin Castro left 9 on himself!  Though he did drive in two with a bases loaded double in the 8th.  He also struck out 3 times, thus the 9 left on base.  Wouldn't it be great if it was exciting to see Castro come up with the bases loaded?  Like it was when Aramis Ramirez or Derek Lee?  Ahh... the many faces of Starlin Castro's Strikeouts....

"The Pout"

"The Bat Break Fake Out"

"The Mic Drop"

Oh, Starlin...will you ever hit again?

The Cubs were 3-18 with runners in scoring position, so basically the final score should have been 12-2.  So great, Cubs win!  But it just didn't quite feel right.  Good thing Scott Feldman was killing it yesterday, 7 innings, 2 hits, 1 run.  The thing that gets me, is as soon as a guy is doing really well, everyone on Twitter wants to trade him for some prospects.  Do you know how many prospects end up being busts?  At least 50% of them.  Probably more.  Also, don't factor out the intangible element of playing together as a team, and just simply knowing one another over a period of time.  If you have constant roster shakeups, and trade away all your players that are having decent years, you're ensuring a lot more losses after August, and a furthering of the Cubs losing culture.  So, don't trade Feldman, or Garza.  We have a great pitching staff, and you know that at least one of them is going to get injured  and be out for the rest of the year.  Y'all ready for Brooks Raley again?  

This game also saw a crazy play in the 9th, where the Cubs almost got triple played, except for the Mets ineptitude at turning it.  The centerfielder Lagares caught the ball, but it was ruled a trap.

The Cubs runners froze, Lagares then threw to second. The umpire ruled "Safe", but there was a force out from first, so the umpire was wrong.  Again. 

 The force is now off at third and home because of the out at second.  They threw home, thought there was an out there.  There wasn't.  Then threw to third where David Wright thought he had another force out.  He didn't.  Wellington Castillo was stupidly standing off the bag at third, so if Wright tags him, it's another out, but David Price whispered in his ear to get back on the base, which he did in the nick of time.  

Why in the hell would you be standing off a base?  Ever?  Just dumb.  

So, bases loaded, no outs, and the Cubs don't score.  I saw that happen in Pittsburgh in a 1-0 loss.  That also was terrible.  I hate it.  

However, Castillo did upend Jordany Valdespin, who has a great fashion designer name if the baseball thing doesn't work out. 

Good hard clean baseball!

Let the sweeping commence!  Matt Garza pitches today, and hopefully it goes better than last time when he got shelled by the Reds for 9, count em 9 runs!

And the Cubs hitters are up against Jeremy Hefner, who is 1-6 with a 4.11 ERA.  This idiot went to Oral Roberts University, so I think I probably hate him.  I hope the Cubbies send him to kingdom come!  Which this moron probably believes he's going to when he dies.  The fool!  At least he's a righty, so we don't have to watch Scott Hairston try and hit in Dale's crappy lefty lineup.  He's been better, but still pretty awful

Tomorrow, I head to St. Louis to watch the Cubbies in enemy territory!  I'm scared.  Won't you please use the amazon search bar at http://www.sonranto.com to help me with tickets, pepper spray, gas and beer?

Also, check out my article on Bleed Cubbie Blue!

Really appreciate it!  Go Cubbies!!

Cuuuuuuuuuuubs Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

I never thought I'd have an opportunity to say "Sweeeeeeeeeeeeep" this entire year!  Things for the Cubs were looking bleak as hell after the last road trip, but we've triumphantly come home to Chicago to win 3 in a row against the hated Black Sox!  Damn, I wish I was there!  But alas, Son Ranto is in NYC where last night I did witness another Crosstown Underdog, The NY Mets sweep the hated Yankees.  It was pretty sweet.

My sis got me bleacher tix for my birthday.

But yesterday's Cubs game!  I walked from the Courthouses of lower Manhattan, where I finished my divorce paperwork, up to 54th st, all the while listening to Pat and Keith describe the Cubbies spanking of the White Sox.  I can always say I was in Times Square when pitcher Travis Wood hit a Grand Slam.  Look at that sweet swing!!!

I was in Times Square when Kurt Cobain died too, so I'm happy to have the memory replaced.  Actually, a lot of crazy stuff has happened to me in Times Square, but we won't go into that today....  But with timely hitting, aforementioned pitcher's Grand Slams and homeruns by Nate Schierholtz, and Luis Valbuena, the Cubs completely dominated the White Sox in the Three Game set, winning 8-3 in the finale, 9-3 on Wednesday, and 7-0 on Monday.  I wish Tuesday's game had been played and not rained out.  Jackson was looking good, and we were already winning 2-0.  But alas, we will just have to complete the true sweep later in the season.  

So I ask?  Who in the hell are these Chicago Cubs?  Is it just that the White Sox actually stink.  No.  I saw them beat up on the Red Sox a few weeks ago.  Is it the warmer weather?  Is it streakiness?  Confidence?  Chicago itself?  I think I may be hitting on something.  Most teams have a disparity in their road and home splits.  But I'm not talking about Wins and Losses as much as the players general  ability to play better when they sleep in their own bed.  Not in a hotel, where they get shuttled around on buses.  Eating food from new restaurants.  Trying to figure out where to buy weed.  You know, the normal every day things that are made more difficult when you don't know the area very well.  Just a theory.  Probably wrong.  But I'm going with it.  Who knows?  Maybe they just feel better in Pin Stripes.  

Now, this is not a Son Ranto column unless I complain about something right?  What in the hell is up with Welington "Beef Castle"  Castillo and Catchers interference calls.  In the 10th inning of last weeks Cincy finale, and yesterday.  Castillo's glove has gotten in the way of the bat.  Catcher's interference is not a very common thing to see in a ball game, probably less common than a balk.  So why is it happening twice in a week?  Luckily, the Cubs have won both games it's happened in.  The catching defense is pretty lack luster.  Dropped third strikes and foul tips that could have been K's.  Wild pitches and passed balls, and now, freakin' Catcher's interference!  the other big question is, why in the hell did Sveum sit Navarro the day after he hit 3 homeruns?!  Not gonna make a huge deal out of it.  For most of the games, Navarro's been frustratingly slow and fat.  I guess he know's where to eat on the road.  

Another complaint I have is the Cubs runners watch the play instead of the coaches.  They lose valuable seconds watching how far the ball went.  Especially on homerun balls that end up hitting the wall.  It's a problem, and it shows either a lack of trust in David Price, the third base coach, or a lack of fundamental coaching.  If I were manager, I'd put a stop to it.  Here's a hilarious picture of Castillo tumbling over third base....he was here....

But unfortunately, ended up here....

and then pathetically....here....

Travis Wood also bit it in the second inning, tripping over second base....

But then he hit a Grand Salami in his next at bat so as not to run the bases.  He must have learned that trick from Navarro who hates running more than MLB pee tests.....

Let's keep the train moving!! What do we have going today?!  

The Diamondbacks come to town.  Matt Garza, who was a little shaky in Cincy last week goes against Wade Miley, who looks like a total freak...

Then again...so does Garza!

Battle of the freakazoids!!!  

Let's Go Cubbies!!!

http://www.sonranto.com