Bruiser Chong

I'd imagine that'd be the case, since as great as Patterson has become in centerfield, Beltran is just that much better. You add Beltran, subtract Alou and ignore Sosa, and that's a damn fine outfield. I think Alou, Sosa, Mercker, Farnsworth, Remlinger, Sarge and Baker should be gone. Alou's the only one out of those I think it's going bye-bye next season, though.

At 7-0 in the 8th, this game is all but over. Yet Corey Patterson is showing he's one of the few Cubs who hustle and play hard no matter what, with an amazing diving catch in left centerfield. He looked like he slid about five feet on his face alone there.

No. Four. The next two coming courtesy of a little leaguesque play from Sammy Sosa and Corey Patterson being unable to decide on who catches a flyball that would've ended the sixth. Even Chip and Steve aren't holding their tongues about how horrible the Cubs are right now. EDIT: I guess it is only two unearned, although anyone who sees that last play will know it should've been four unearned.

Folks, the Cubs are finished. I've been a supporter for 10 years and this is honestly some of the worst ball I've ever seen them play. FOUR errors today, with four runs coming from it. In addition to that, they've made two key baserunning errors. It's sad to watch happen to a team that was pegged for the World Series, but they're so embarrassingly bad, they probably shouldn't even be in playoff contention right now.

This team has become almost comically bad lately. I'm not even upset anymore; it's just hilarious how they're making such common errors. It's even funnier that the two scrubs in this game that I said shouldn't be in there have two errors and a pickoff between them. Like with the Expos, in this game you've got the Cubs flubbing on simple plays and the other team making fantastic diving plays.

And in a shocking turn of events, the Cubs work themselves out of a run with more bad baserunning. Goodwin gets picked off of first after a false start towards second, so of course, Nomar nails a double on the next pitch. And just to keep things going, Sosa commits an error in the next inning. Sigh.

Well, damn. How long will he be out? He picked a lousy time to do this, what with my fantasy baseball playoffs and all. And if you needed further proof Baker is an idiot, he's got Alou and Ramirez benched in Game 1, not to mention, has Goodwin batting second in the lineup. This is against Carl Pavano. What the hell? Why not start Ramirez and Alou in the first game when you're facing a guy like Pavano and bench them in Game 2, which is against a SINGLE A pitcher?

Houston's getting straight-up schooled by Oliver Perez in Game 1. Twelve K's through seven innings and he's still under 100 pitches. I love how the media would've had you believe that Kris Benson was the Pirates' hottest pitching commodity before the deadline.

Like I said earlier, if nothing else, Moises' boneheaded baserunning lets Steve Stone deliver more of that biting sarcasm. It's scary though how often we're getting to hear, "Well, that's a dandy piece of baserunning," these days. But what do you expect when you've got Dusty and Sarge leading the ship? These are guys who think when you get on, you should just stand on base and wait for someone to hit it out of the park.

MiB, I agree with you completely. Years ago, it may have seemed that Sosa was the Cubs' only ticket to the postseason. Now it's clear that if they hadn't messed with their rotation and added some more potent bats they were able to get without Sosa's huge contract, their chances would've been better. I don't understand this, though, since he was god-awful the one year they didn make it to the postseason and he was just okay last year. Even if he's got another year on his contract, I'd still like to see him walk away with some semblence of dignity left. If he sticks around for another year, it's not going to happen. Like him or not, this is certainly tough to watch the guy go from being a sports icon to a true shell of his former self. But whatever, ya know. Sosa and Alou are deemed leaders of the club when they've become more like cancers. Dusty and his idiot crew of coaches will continue to make stupid decisions and then find a way to put a positive spin on it. But above all else, we know who's really to blame. Chip and Steve.

I'd like to see the Cubs reach the postseason, but perhaps not getting there would be more beneficial, as that would ensure more changes. I'd imagine that Moises is gone after this year, despite being the team's anchor earlier in the year. Even though Sosa's got another year to go, they have to find a way to get rid of him. I seem to recall him saying that once the fans let him know it was time to go, he'd go. Well, I'd say the Wrigley faithful booing you on a regular basis qualifies. Also get the feeling that they'll let Clement walk if he keeps this injury stuff up. And if he does, he'll be perfect for the Yankees.

Have to say, the Sox are just fun to watch right now. They're starting to remind me of last year's team. You wanted to watch them just because you knew you'd be in for a treat. It's the little things that make the difference, too. On that groundball from Bellhorn that should've been two, you saw Damon haul ass just to break it up. By putting forth a little more effort, the Sox got another run. With Pedro on the mound, I'd say this one's more or less over. In other news, Randall Simon got released...again.

Thanks to shitty defense and Mike f'n Remlinger, the Cubs are now down 6-0. The way they've been going, I'd say this one's over and the Astros will reside in first. Pathetic, simply said. I'd be pissed if I were paying hundreds of dollars to watch these embarrassing games.

Cubs can't catch a break, as they've been blanked through six against a guy with an ERA close to 7.00. He's pitched great, but yet again, they're exposed for the homerun team they are when the wind's blowing straight in. On one of the spectrum, you've got Sosa misplaying a line drive that resulted in the game's only run and on the other, you've got Expos' outfielders diving for hard-hit balls, robbing the Cubs of extra bases.

He certainly did. While not a great pitcher, he did enjoy a fairly long and successful career. He's certainly got enough knowledge of the game to have room to talk. Regardless, if you make the same mistake over and over, I think people have a right to talk, whether they're a HOFer or never served a day of service for MLB.

He didn't know what he was signing; honest!

The dynamic duds are at it again. Sosa strikes out with a runner on second and nobody out and Alou one-ups him by getting doubled off AGAIN on a FLYBALL from Aramis Ramirez. He must have a clause in his contract that says he's gotta do that at least once a week. And the top of the third gets rolling with Sosa misplaying a ball, landing a runner at second. Don't look now, but the big bad announcers, Chip and Steve are talking about how the Cubs are going to have to iron out their running game if they're going to find any success the rest of the way. Those bullies.

Hitting in a bandbox will certainly help the power numbers. This is how the team should've been hitting all season. Not to discredit the team, but when you've got the likes of Bagwell, Beltran, Biggio, Kent, Berkman and Lamb and you're not putting numbers up at home, you're simply playing way under your heads.

Yeah, it's a blessing at times, but it'll be their downfall still, if tonight wasn't evidence enough. The Yankees aren't exactly strangers to relying on the longball, either, though.

Damn I'm smart. Expos took the lead in the 12th, plating two. The real kicker: Corey Patterson homered in the bottom of the inning. Yep, good thing they can hit it out of the park when it doesn't matter. But alas, this game should've been over before extra frames were even needed. It was the Cubs' inability to score runners from second and third base that kept the game going. It's just one game, but it's more annoying to know that the team would've won were it not for little things like Remlinger walking two runs in or Lee, Ramirez and Alou all failing multiple times to score the winning run. Oh well. The Giants lost, which means they and the Stros are only a half game behind the Clutchless Cubbies.

This Cubs game shall end when the Expos score or when the Cubs homer. It's clear they have no clue how to drive in runs with runners in scoring position. They've left 15 men on tonight and have had runners in scoring position five of the last six innings and haven't been able to capitalize. There've been about six balls hit in the last few innings that would usually have a chance, but not with this howling wind blowing in. I also think this is a perfect example of how there's no such thing as a clutch hitter. Good hitters are going to come through more times than poor hitters. Everyone talks about how clutch Alou is. He's a great hitter, but if he were truly clutch, this game would be over, as he's had two realistic chances to end the game tonight and couldn't get the job done. I think it's like postseason play: the more chances you get, the more the numbers reflect your overall numbers.

Another start, six more earned runs for Schmidt. He was doing fine until the 7th, where he loaded the bases and gave up a grand slam. Giants are fucked without the Schmidt we all know.

Mike Remlinger sucks. This joke comes in with two on and one out; loads the bases and then proceeds to walk in two runs. Expos lead 5-3. If they go ahead by HITTING, I'm fine with it, but walking in two runs is embarrassing and makes me question why he has a job.

Clement just left the game hurt. This is the second straight game this has happened, so I guess we can toss Matt in the pile with Mark Prior of Cubs starters that aren't injury-free.

Don't worry, the Cubs usually seem to get owned by no-namers making their major league debuts.