Chicat
06-24-2004, 05:50 PM
I just want to take a second to talk up my second favorite team. Now, I am a Yankees fan through and through (with the tattoo to prove it), but there is just something about living within spitting distance of Wrigley Field that compels you to become a Cub fan. The lure of that hallowed playground is usually enough to turn the trick, but over the past few years the Cubs have garnered quite a few fans just with the way they play the game.
First of all, in my honest opinion, there aren't many managers out there that are like Dusty Baker. He is the consumate players' manager, fans' manager, and managers' manager. Not only is he excellent at the strategy that it takes to win games, but he also seems to know how to interact with his players and with the media and fans. He is always up for giving a great quote, and I've never seen him with anything but a huge smile on his face when dealing with the fans.
Second, the leaders on this team are some of the best in all of baseball. Moises Alou is right up there at the top of the list. He has been probably the addition to this team that is most responsible for the string of winning that they have experienced over the past two years. He hustles, he takes pitches, he takes walks, he hits the ball to all fields with power, his defense is pretty good for a guy with two bum legs, and his leadership is unquestioned. If I was a young Cub, I would look to Moises as a model of how the game should be played. I would also put Kerry Wood up there as a leader. His competitive spirit has rubbed off on the other pitchers to the point where they want to go out there and mow the other team down just to show up the pitcher that threw the night before. Not only is he competitive on the mound, but he is competitive at the plate too. Wood, Prior, Zambrano, Maddux, Rusch, and Clement have to be the best hitting staff in the league. On top of that, he has really improved his overall command, his ptiching style, and his defense. Wood has really shown what it means to want to improve yourself every day, no matter how talented you are to begin with.
Third, defensively, I don't know that there is a better team in the league. Their outfield is just average, but the infield is simply amazing. Derreck Lee is a hoover at first base. I have never seen a better defensive first baseman than he is (sorry Don Mattingly, JT Snow, and Keith Hernandez). The throws aren't often off-line, but when they are, it is almost a guarantee that Lee is going to dig 'em out. Another guy who should be honored for his defense is Aramis Ramirez. I have yet to see a play this year where he should have made the catch or the throw and just didn't. He might not have the range of Rolen, but he is solid, and at the hot corner that is really all you can ask for.
Finally, I'd like to highlight the offense. The clutch hitting on this team is simply impressive, and it seems to be contagious up and down this lineup. The only two members of the club who haven't displayed much of a penchant for hitting in the clutch are Patterson and Sosa - but Patterson has been getting some big hits lately and Sosa is bound to come around sooner or later. Something else that might be overlooked is how willing everyone is to see a lot of pitches and to take a walk. In the Cubs win on Tuesday over the Cardinals, it was a Sammy Sosa walk just as much as anything that was responsible for their comeback. Also, the homers are flying out of Wrigley. Lee, Sosa, Alou, Ramirez, and Todd Walker all have double digit homers. When the air really starts to warm up and that wind starts blowing out towards the lake, watch out on Waveland and Sheffield. I could see three of those guys putting up 40 homers this season, no joke.
There is just something about this team that makes me feel that they will most certainly make it to the World Series this year, and maybe for a couple of years into the future. Yankees/Cubs would be a series for the ages, and I can't wait to see it this year. Hopefully if the Cubs win, the fans won't burn down my house in the ensuing celebration!
First of all, in my honest opinion, there aren't many managers out there that are like Dusty Baker. He is the consumate players' manager, fans' manager, and managers' manager. Not only is he excellent at the strategy that it takes to win games, but he also seems to know how to interact with his players and with the media and fans. He is always up for giving a great quote, and I've never seen him with anything but a huge smile on his face when dealing with the fans.
Second, the leaders on this team are some of the best in all of baseball. Moises Alou is right up there at the top of the list. He has been probably the addition to this team that is most responsible for the string of winning that they have experienced over the past two years. He hustles, he takes pitches, he takes walks, he hits the ball to all fields with power, his defense is pretty good for a guy with two bum legs, and his leadership is unquestioned. If I was a young Cub, I would look to Moises as a model of how the game should be played. I would also put Kerry Wood up there as a leader. His competitive spirit has rubbed off on the other pitchers to the point where they want to go out there and mow the other team down just to show up the pitcher that threw the night before. Not only is he competitive on the mound, but he is competitive at the plate too. Wood, Prior, Zambrano, Maddux, Rusch, and Clement have to be the best hitting staff in the league. On top of that, he has really improved his overall command, his ptiching style, and his defense. Wood has really shown what it means to want to improve yourself every day, no matter how talented you are to begin with.
Third, defensively, I don't know that there is a better team in the league. Their outfield is just average, but the infield is simply amazing. Derreck Lee is a hoover at first base. I have never seen a better defensive first baseman than he is (sorry Don Mattingly, JT Snow, and Keith Hernandez). The throws aren't often off-line, but when they are, it is almost a guarantee that Lee is going to dig 'em out. Another guy who should be honored for his defense is Aramis Ramirez. I have yet to see a play this year where he should have made the catch or the throw and just didn't. He might not have the range of Rolen, but he is solid, and at the hot corner that is really all you can ask for.
Finally, I'd like to highlight the offense. The clutch hitting on this team is simply impressive, and it seems to be contagious up and down this lineup. The only two members of the club who haven't displayed much of a penchant for hitting in the clutch are Patterson and Sosa - but Patterson has been getting some big hits lately and Sosa is bound to come around sooner or later. Something else that might be overlooked is how willing everyone is to see a lot of pitches and to take a walk. In the Cubs win on Tuesday over the Cardinals, it was a Sammy Sosa walk just as much as anything that was responsible for their comeback. Also, the homers are flying out of Wrigley. Lee, Sosa, Alou, Ramirez, and Todd Walker all have double digit homers. When the air really starts to warm up and that wind starts blowing out towards the lake, watch out on Waveland and Sheffield. I could see three of those guys putting up 40 homers this season, no joke.
There is just something about this team that makes me feel that they will most certainly make it to the World Series this year, and maybe for a couple of years into the future. Yankees/Cubs would be a series for the ages, and I can't wait to see it this year. Hopefully if the Cubs win, the fans won't burn down my house in the ensuing celebration!