Submitted for the Cubs’ consideration

Dear Chicago Cubs, I welcome the news that you will be turning away from random celebrities, in favor of giving the seventh-inning stretch more of a Chicago feel. To honor your decision, I want to kick off a campaign to secure myself an invite for one of the celebrity-vacated spots, for the 2013 season or whenever

Sammy Sosa and the ghosts of 2003

With Sammy Sosa on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year, the annual debates about who should be inducted–or not inducted–have commenced. The proprietor of The Hall of Very Good asked me to make a case for or against Sammy Sosa, and the piece appears here. I came out as forcefully as I

Link to a Kerry Wood piece on ChicagoSideSports

Kerry Wood got a Wrigley Field send-off yesterday, and as a long-time Cub he deserved something nice. But for all of the celebratory things that were said about him, I thought of what might have been, if only his potential had been a bit more fully realized. The piece itself appears here. It’s not really

“Next year” never came for him

Today I went to an estate sale with a friend. I’ve written about them before, and being at one is different from going to a yard sale or a garage sale. As I get older, and realize that everyone’s time on this earth is limited, I also appreciate the opportunity to take a peek into

Triple shot

My teenager had a skating lesson today, and I went out in search of some Starbucks as it was going on. It was more of a day for iced coffee, instead, but old habits are hard to break. I was on my way back to the skating rink when I saw a garage sale sign.

Thanks, Kid K

The news that Kerry Wood is retiring from baseball today comes as quite a shock. He’s been a part of my Cubs’ experience for so many years that it will be hard to imagine not seeing his familiar number 34 in the dugout. Life goes on, of course, but it’s still a startling turn of

With Dusty we Busted

Back in 2003, Dusty Baker was a hot managerial commodity. He had managed the San Francisco Giants into the 2002 World Series, where his team lost to the Rally Monkey (and the Anaheim Angels, as they were then called) in seven games. The Giants had a 5-0 lead in Game six of that series, and

Farewell to the assassin

I can’t deny the greatness of Pudge Rodriguez. He’s the Johnny Bench of his generation, the player by which future catchers will be measured against. We’ll see him again in five years when he’s inducted into Cooperstown, no doubt. But I’m going to depart from the career retrospective approach that others might take. For me,

A contrarian’s view on Kerry Wood

The annual Cubs Convention started today in Chicago, and the team made a big splash by signing (re-upping, really) Kerry Wood for a one year, $3 million deal for 2012. There’s a club option for another year, not a player option like the kind Ryan Dempster was given, so at least that’s progress. And it

A move that backfired on the Cubs

Even when Ron Santo was alive, he didn’t have the title of “Mr. Cub.” That distinction will always go to Ernie Banks, the Cubs’ Hall of Fame shortstop of the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s. His statue stands outside of the Wrigley Field ticket booth on Clark Street. His number 14 was the first one

We Got More Wood!

Ever since Kerry Wood burst onto the scene at Wrigley Field, over a decade ago, there have been t-shirts that proclaim “We Got Wood!” It’s a double entendre of the highest order, of course, but it’s an inside joke among Cub fans, as well. Without Kerry Wood, the shirt feels needlessly juvenile. With Kerry Wood,

1 shining moment

On 11/1/11, I wanted to take a look at a player who wore the number 1 for the Cubs for the past few seasons, Kosuke Fukudome. He’s possibly the best example I can think of for how the way something starts can be different from how it ends up. And I mean completely, totally, 180

The Buckner Surprise

At the end of tonight’s ESPN documentary Catching Hell, I found myself saying one simple word: No. To expand upon that, I offer the following instant analysis: No, I don’t see the connection between the Red Sox collapse in 1986 and the Cubs of 2003. For one thing, the Red Sox were at least in

Dusty left him in too long, twice

I’ll never forget the 2003 playoffs. The way it ended is something that I might never recover from. I’ve posted about that before in this space. But there are some good memories from it, too. I was scheduled to go to Atlanta on a business trip, and lo and behold, the Cubs were going to

More Topps Trickeration

Yes, this is still NOT a baseball card blog. There are other things in life to write about, too, and I don’t want to limit myself to one narrow topic. Twain’s advice to “write about what you know” hasn’t been lost on me, either. I wrote an earlier post about the games that the Topps