First off, I would like to thank Tyrone for getting me some free beers yesterday. Since he doesn’t drink, I did what I could to hold up his end of the bargain as well as my own. It seems some people read this site after all.
Now, on to stuff that really means less but somehow seems to mean more.
BASEBALL!
Yes, after sweeping the last place Indians and, once again, fanning the flames of hope in the hearts of fans, the Cubs went to battle first place Detroit and embarrassed themselves. Then, just for good measure, they went and did it again last night. Today, the best they can hope for is to avoid being swept themselves.
PAUL SULLIVAN (Tribune) compares the current Cubs to sleep aids.
Some people count sheep when they have trouble getting to sleep.
But after watching the Cubs’ sleepwalking offense the last two months, Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella are counting the days until Aramis Ramirez returns from his shoulder injury.
Whether Ramirez single-handedly can revive the slumbering Cubs lineup is unknown, but his prolonged absence has removed any doubts about who’s the most valuable player on the team.
The Cubs put on another display of offensive ineptitude in Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to Detroit.
They stranded 13 baserunners and went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position after going 0-for-14 their last two games. The Cubs are the worst clutch-hitting team in the majors, ranking dead last with a .219 average with runners in scoring position.
“Maybe we’ll draw the names out of a hat,” Piniella said. “Leave a couple of guys doing the job in their positions and draw some names and see where they fall. We can’t do any worse.”
How bad was it?
Milton Bradley couldn’t even break his bat over his knee after striking out against Fernando Rodney with two on in the ninth.
Yep, that’s bad.
On the south side, things were slightly better as the Sox came up with a win and stand poised to take their third complete series in a row. The fourth one was postponed until September due to weather. Our new best friend, ADAM L. JAHNS (Sun Times) fills us in.
The Sox (34-37) hit six home runs, one shy of the club record and their most since June 8, 2004 against the Philadelphia Phillies. It was also the most homers allowed by the Dodgers since Aug. 2, 2001.
Fields, who started at first base in place of Paul Konerko and talked about being excited to get more at-bats before the game, led the charge with two homers, including a two-run shot in the fourth. Fields went 3-for-4, including a single in the second inning that ended an 0-for-16 streak.
“It was a much-needed game,” Fields said afterward. “We’ve been struggling with offense at home. To come out of it and kind of go off like that, it was a good day. Hopefully, we didn’t get rid of all of it [and] we saved some of it for [Thursday].”
So, the Sox won 10-7 and, so far, KW has avoided selling team members for hot dogs and beer. I didn’t say he has ruled that out, just that he hasn’t done it yet.
Oh, and a quick reminder for you kids at home, sleep aids and beer don’t mix.