Bruiser Chong

Aramis Ramirez has made three errors over the last three innings. And the Cubs stranded multiple runners with less than two outs for the third straight inning. Hideous game and the Cubs aren't doing anything to make those games with Milwaukee virtually meaningless.

In the most shocking development of the season, Derrek Lee hits into a doubleplay on a shitty second pitch when a flyball would've scored the go-ahead run in the eighth. This after the Cubs had drawn three straight walks to load the bases.

+ close game =

It speaks volumes about a team's success that a three-game losing streak can seem like a possible cause for concern. Thank god the Cubs don't have to face Valverde in the playoffs. Is there a relief pitcher they've fared worse against over the last five years?

One has to wonder what the NL West picture would look like had the Dodgers not been playing with their heads up their asses the last two weeks.

That's more a function of laziness than anything else. And as we both know, it periodically becomes relevant throughout the season.

How'd I know I'd come in here and see Czech bemoaning the play of a team that's 33 games over .500? I can't believe they didn't beat a guy who gave up eight runs over six starts in August. Or that they lost a game where a middle reliever made a spot start. The audacity! I wasn't happy with either game, either, but let's save all the sky is falling talk for when they're officially out. I was watching replays on ESPN News just now and heard a familiar voice I couldn't place until they cut back to the studio. It was Coach! I forgot he had moved on to ESPN.

Cubs are skipping Zambrano today. Given his recent starts and his dead arm status, I'm totally fine with this. I think he and Harden should get some starts off in the next month whenever possible.

At this point, I'm noticing the phrase "at this point" is being used pretty liberally.

People can bash 1996 WWF all they'd like, but 1995 will always stand out as the worst year of the pre-Attitude era. Diesel as the champ meant virtually no good main events, Bret Hart was stuck in several dead-end feuds, the tag team division was awful, and the mid-card talent sans a couple wrestlers, was non-existent. Some friends and I watched this show today for the lone reason of it being material ripe for all sorts of witty banter. There were actually a few points during the show where we got into side conversations with each other and then would direct our attention back to the TV and be shocked the match was still going. The main event is just a train wreck. Diesel and Bulldog don't even try anything particularly innovative and yet, there's still a ton of clearly blown spots. The commentary was pretty entertaining, though. Vince no-selling Lawler's crack about Fatu's house is a subtle classic. Lawler: Fatu's house is the only house I've been in where the cockroaches have their own names. Vince: You've been in Fatu's house? Lawler: ...yes...

How far off are we from a "Draft Draft" at TSM?

It's nice to see them keeping the pressure on Milwaukee. That they play each other in two more series before the season's over probably means the Cubs won't be able to blow one or both of them off, but the sooner they can give Harden a start or two off and get the likes of Sean Marshall and Jon Lieber into the rotation, the better.

Aramis Ramirez is easily one of the most underrated players in the NL, if not all of baseball. He consistently puts up great power numbers, gets on base, and his defense has improved tremendously since his days in a Pirates uniform.

Just imagine what the Diamondbacks' offense would be like if they could snag a player like Carlos Quentin. He'd probably carry a pretty hefty price tag, though.

The Cubs haven't been this many games over .500 since 1945.

My best friend's got fifth row seats at the Cubs game tonight. I was only able to keep tabs on this inning online, so I ran outside and called him as soon as Aramis hit the slam just so I could share part of that moment. I left for a meeting at 10 figuring this one was in the bag the way Hamels was pitching. Such a fun team to watch. //fan gushing

I'm obviously not an unbiased voice here, but I really don't understand what there is to dislike or hate about this incarnation of the Cubs. Outside of Zambrano's feisty approach (which he's tempered this season) and Soriano's boneheaded admiration of homers and balls hit off the wall, you've got a team of guys who go out there and do their job with very little glitz. I can totally empathize with those who disliked the Cubs of the Baker regime. Those clubs played fundamentally awful baseball and worried more about passing the buck than shoring up those fundamental shortcomings. I know it's probably not easy to just flip the switch on your feelings on a team from season-to-season, but I think it'd be tough to root against this team. They're just a lot of fun to watch.

The Dodgers are going to lose to the Nationals. Again.

I always have to explicitly state "extra" whenever it comes to any of the veggies. Otherwise, the alleged sandwich artist does something like lay out a single strand of green peppers across the sub. They'll give you all the damn mustard you can handle and then some, though. Yuck.

Zambrano's been mediocre to awful his last four times out, so I wouldn't take last night's game as anything too telling. I expect him to bounce back; there was no way he wasn't going to go through a phase like this after pitching so marvelously the rest of the season. I'm just glad he's getting it out of his system now.

Porter sure turned into a surly chap. This is an atrocious game between the Cubs and Pirates. Lots of errors, missed bunts, caught stealing, runners thrown out trying to take an extra base, and we're still without a clean inning from either team. On the bright side, the Cubs currently have the lead in the back-and-forth affair and Soto's got seven driven in.

My neighbor has an awful smoker's cough. It sounds like a muffled weedwhacker. She's in the room above me right now and the walls are practically shaking. She's my age, too.

This thread reminded me why I think the idea of the restaurant being a healthy option was inaccurate. No one here claimed they were eating there for the health benefits, but I've known people to get some of the sandwiches listed here and think they're going healthy. Looking at the nutritional contents of subs like the tuna and seafood were enough to talk me out of ever ordering them.

PTW was still heavily laced with MSG matches in 1992.

I don't think it was because Nash went against the plans or anything like that. I think Vince was just pissed cause it was a really shitty match. Though I wonder why that match was the one where he finally lost it and decided Diesel had to lose the title soon. It was really no worse than any of Diesel's other PPV title defenses against people not named Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels. It was sort of the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back from what I recall. Diesel was an epic failure as champion and Vince stuck with him much longer than he probably should have. I think by this point, it was clear even to Vince that Diesel's prominence in the main event scene was hurting business.