In game five of the World Series, the Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Ray's tonight, 4-3. This was the first World Series win by the Phillies since 1980. Lefty pitcher Cole Hamel was named series MVP. This is the second World Series win for the Phillies in 125 years.
Blog more about the World Series soon, Congratulations to the Phillies!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Top Ten Most Publicized Athletes in the past 10 Years
The life of a professional athlete always receives a wide-range of media attention. From gold medal wins to Superbowls, athletic performance is always widely publicized. But when is media coverage too much? Often the private lives of athletes are splashed across the pages of the latest gossip publication. The athlete’s featured below are just as likely to make an appearance in US Weekly as they are to be featured on the front page of Sports Illustrated.
After searching popular celebrity gossip magazines and Web sites, these ten athletes were the most common to appear.
1) Tom Brady
2) Michael Phelps
3) Brett Farve
4) Tiger Woods
5) LeBron James
6) Venus/ Serena Williams
7) Kobe Bryant
8) Tony Romo
9) Manny Ramirez
10) Alex Rodriguez
My question to you all is:
How do you feel about the personal lives of professional athletes being publicized in the media? Does the media pay too much attention to who is dating whom, or what outfit they wore to the latest movie premiere? Are there any athletes that are missing off the list?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Cubs Announce GM Jim Hendry's 4-Year Extention
BREAKING CUBS NEWS:
This morning,ESPN.com and MLB.com reported that the Cubs have agreed to a four-year contract extension for general manager Jim Hendry.
According to ESPN.com, the move to extend his contract through the 2012 season is a direct result of the Cubs regular season performance. Following Hendry's promotion in 2002, the Cubs record is 537-513 and have won four of six seasons. Congratulations Hendry, here is to more good seasons.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Soto: Rookie of the Year
After a phenomenal season with the Chicago Cubs, catcher Geovanny Soto, who won Rookie of the Month in September, is in the running for NL Rookie of the 2008 season. Soto will find out on November 10th if he will receive this honor.
MLB.com reported that Geo is currently making his case to the Baseball Writers Association of America. Cubs fans stand by Soto and his remarkable season in Chicago.
Things are look quite prosperous for Soto, I think he has a good shot at winning Rookie of the Year. Soto is the leading rookie in RBIs and a .285 batting average. His biggest competitors are Cincinnati's Edinson Volquez and Los Angeles' Hiroki Kuroda. If we compare the stats of these players, Soto is the leading contender.
Edinson Volquez:
The Red's pitcher went 17-6 with a 3.21 ERA in 33 games. He struck out 206 in over 196 innings. At the end of the 2008 season he was batting .232. He was traded from the Rangers in 2007.
Hiroki Kuroda:
Kuroda's pitching was strong as the Dodgers entered the postseason. During the regular season Kuroda went 9-10 with a 3.73 ERA. During the postseason he went 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA. Most of us can recall his brief pitch during game 3, which led to a brief fight on the field with the Phillies. Kuroda was fined after the fight,along with fellow teammate Manny Ramirez.
Geovanny Soto:
Soto's performance in the NL this year was impressive, he was ranked seven overall. Not only were his offensive skills impressive, he could actually hit the ball.During the 2008 season, Soto threw out 18 of 87 base runners.
Based on his performance in the 2008 season, I think Geo has a good chance at winning NL Rookie of the Year. Although LA's Kuroda did perform well in the postseason, the Dodgers lost to the Phillies. Soto carried the Cubs into the postseason, which was sadly cut short---we won't discuss this. Good luck Soto, I will keep you all posted if any new updates arrive.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Step it up Fukudome
It's no big secret to Cubs fans that Fukudome needs to improve his hitting going into the 2009 season. He is one of the best right fielders we have seen in some time, but it's not enough. When he started out with the Cubs last April, he was batting .326. Going into August his average had significantly dropped and he was left with an embarrassing .125 average. Things looked up slightly for Fukudome, he finished the 2008 year batting .257. Not GOOD, but it isn't .125.
The problem is, the guy is stuck in a four year, 48 million dollar contract. He needs to step up his performance in the batters box. Pitchers have figured the guy out. He can't hit the outside pitches. This off season, he needs to be sent to winter ball to learn how to hit low outside pitches.
Like I said, Fukudome is an excellent right fielder and has the potential to be a strong asset to the Cubs ball club. When he started out in Chicago, the amount of support he received was tremendous. He needs to gain back the respect of Cubs fans by showing he is working hard during the off season. Winter ball will be a good chance for Fukudome to show Lou and his team is working to improve his hitting.
He better step it up, or else I'm throwing away my Fukudome headband.
The problem is, the guy is stuck in a four year, 48 million dollar contract. He needs to step up his performance in the batters box. Pitchers have figured the guy out. He can't hit the outside pitches. This off season, he needs to be sent to winter ball to learn how to hit low outside pitches.
Like I said, Fukudome is an excellent right fielder and has the potential to be a strong asset to the Cubs ball club. When he started out in Chicago, the amount of support he received was tremendous. He needs to gain back the respect of Cubs fans by showing he is working hard during the off season. Winter ball will be a good chance for Fukudome to show Lou and his team is working to improve his hitting.
He better step it up, or else I'm throwing away my Fukudome headband.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Cubs Off Season..Dodgers holding on...Manny, Manny, Manny...
After the Cubs early exit, there has been a lot of talk on how the Cubs plan to improve before heading into next season. Although it does seem a while off, there are several things the Cubs are considering.
What will be done for pitching come the upcoming 2009 season. Several of our pitchers, Dempster and Wood are both free agents and it is yet to be determined if they will be signed for long term contracts. We all know Dempster had an amazing season, especially at home. Well...let's not count his performance in game one. The Cubs are in search of more left handed hitters and also how to improve hitting, especially Fukudome.
Although the Cubs did make their exit, there has been a lot of talk about the team who removed the Cubs from the playoffs. The Dodgers who lost their first two games to the Phillies are now coming back. In tonight's game, the Dodgers won 7-2 in game 3.
Manny Ramirez. One of the hottest players in the MLB. There has been a lot of talk about Manny lately and his attitude. I figured we could continue this night talking about what happened during tonight's game.
In the third inning, Hiroki Kuroda's pitch flew past Shane Victorino's head. Victorino had a few choice words for Kuroda when he was on first. Both teams ran out to the field--and here comes Manny. Of course the media would choose to focus on Manny. I mean I'm not doubting that he did look like he was ready to fight in Victorino's defense, in a later interview on ESPN.com, Ramirez explained that he wasn't there to fight, he wanted to defend his team mate, but he's a lover, not a fighter. Did anyone else find this funny? If you didn't see it, I suggest you check out the game highlights.
Tomorrow is a big day for the Dodgers, this is their opportunity to tie with it up with the Phillies, or else face elimination. The dodgers, the hottest team in the MLB right now in my opinion have to win. They beat the Cubs. I am not going to argue for the Cubbie curse. The Dodgers are a fun team to watch and they have a really strong pitching staff. Kuroda had a great game tonight. He held the Phillies at two runs and pitched through the seventh inning.
My question to you all, Manny Ramirez. What are your thoughts? If the Dodgers do make it to the World Series, what do you expect from him?
---Talk tomorrow
What will be done for pitching come the upcoming 2009 season. Several of our pitchers, Dempster and Wood are both free agents and it is yet to be determined if they will be signed for long term contracts. We all know Dempster had an amazing season, especially at home. Well...let's not count his performance in game one. The Cubs are in search of more left handed hitters and also how to improve hitting, especially Fukudome.
Although the Cubs did make their exit, there has been a lot of talk about the team who removed the Cubs from the playoffs. The Dodgers who lost their first two games to the Phillies are now coming back. In tonight's game, the Dodgers won 7-2 in game 3.
Manny Ramirez. One of the hottest players in the MLB. There has been a lot of talk about Manny lately and his attitude. I figured we could continue this night talking about what happened during tonight's game.
In the third inning, Hiroki Kuroda's pitch flew past Shane Victorino's head. Victorino had a few choice words for Kuroda when he was on first. Both teams ran out to the field--and here comes Manny. Of course the media would choose to focus on Manny. I mean I'm not doubting that he did look like he was ready to fight in Victorino's defense, in a later interview on ESPN.com, Ramirez explained that he wasn't there to fight, he wanted to defend his team mate, but he's a lover, not a fighter. Did anyone else find this funny? If you didn't see it, I suggest you check out the game highlights.
Tomorrow is a big day for the Dodgers, this is their opportunity to tie with it up with the Phillies, or else face elimination. The dodgers, the hottest team in the MLB right now in my opinion have to win. They beat the Cubs. I am not going to argue for the Cubbie curse. The Dodgers are a fun team to watch and they have a really strong pitching staff. Kuroda had a great game tonight. He held the Phillies at two runs and pitched through the seventh inning.
My question to you all, Manny Ramirez. What are your thoughts? If the Dodgers do make it to the World Series, what do you expect from him?
---Talk tomorrow
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
They just can't come through when it counts...
I apologize for not posting for a while, I had to collect my thoughts on the upsetting news.The Chicago Cubs have been eliminated from the playoffs after being swept by the Dodgers.
Many people like to point the finger at the '100 Year Curse.'Plain and simple, when the Cubs are in a crisis, they just can't come through. EVER.
In game 1, the Cubs had everything in their favor. They had home field advantage and the best record in the NL. The Cubs showed fans all season long that they were a strong team. Our pitching was good. Our hitting was good. Our coaching was good. I just don't get it. Ryan Dempster who started in game 1, had a 17-6 record and a 2.96 ERA. He was our man at home, he kept his cool, we trusted him to keep the Cubs composed during game 1. All we saw was walk, walk, walk, grand slam, walk, walk, homerun. For those of your who saw the game..it wasn't pretty. For those of you who were lucky enough not to witness it...your lucky. I knew after the end of the first game that the Cubs weren't going to come back. I know that's a poor attitude to have, especially being a Cubs fan, but based on the past, I think it's fair to argue that game 1 was a sign that the Cubs were done.
Game 2, Zambrano's pitching wasn't the main reason for the Cubbie loss. The Cubs fielding was absolutely atrocious. There was actually a point in this game where I turned to my dad and said: I have seen little league games that are better than this.
Game 3, Rich Harden (who was resigned for the 2009 season today, congrats) was pulled in the 5th inning. Typically Harden has his ups and downs and we often have to rely on our bull pen to get us out. Well our bull pen didn't do much better than Harden. The Cubs hitting was poor through out the entire series.
The only teams I really care to watch (Cubs, W. Sox, Brewers) have all been eliminated. I will continue to blog Cubs news through out, although I will focus on the Dodgers, Phillies, Red Sox and Rays as the World Series approaches.
Many people like to point the finger at the '100 Year Curse.'Plain and simple, when the Cubs are in a crisis, they just can't come through. EVER.
In game 1, the Cubs had everything in their favor. They had home field advantage and the best record in the NL. The Cubs showed fans all season long that they were a strong team. Our pitching was good. Our hitting was good. Our coaching was good. I just don't get it. Ryan Dempster who started in game 1, had a 17-6 record and a 2.96 ERA. He was our man at home, he kept his cool, we trusted him to keep the Cubs composed during game 1. All we saw was walk, walk, walk, grand slam, walk, walk, homerun. For those of your who saw the game..it wasn't pretty. For those of you who were lucky enough not to witness it...your lucky. I knew after the end of the first game that the Cubs weren't going to come back. I know that's a poor attitude to have, especially being a Cubs fan, but based on the past, I think it's fair to argue that game 1 was a sign that the Cubs were done.
Game 2, Zambrano's pitching wasn't the main reason for the Cubbie loss. The Cubs fielding was absolutely atrocious. There was actually a point in this game where I turned to my dad and said: I have seen little league games that are better than this.
Game 3, Rich Harden (who was resigned for the 2009 season today, congrats) was pulled in the 5th inning. Typically Harden has his ups and downs and we often have to rely on our bull pen to get us out. Well our bull pen didn't do much better than Harden. The Cubs hitting was poor through out the entire series.
The only teams I really care to watch (Cubs, W. Sox, Brewers) have all been eliminated. I will continue to blog Cubs news through out, although I will focus on the Dodgers, Phillies, Red Sox and Rays as the World Series approaches.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Game 1: Short and Sweet
Last night was brutal. I actually thought that Dempster would pull through for the Cubs last night. Dempster walked seven total last night and gave up a grand slam. The Dodgers defeated the Cubs 7-2.
As I had figured, Manny hit an homer off of Sean Marshall when he came in to replace Dempster. Dempster was pulled in the 4th inning, one of the shortest games of his career.The Cubs were up 2-0 until the fifth when James Loney hit a grand slam.
I really don't have many words to describe last nights game. I was hoping that Dempster could pull through but apparently he didn't have the stuff last night. Up tonight is Zambrano... and boy do we need him.
Another thing that was shocking about last night was that the Cubs usually perform very well at home. If were heading on the road to LA on Saturday.. I hope the Cubs can perform. It's kind of a bad sign that we are already losing at Wrigley. I just hope we can hold Manny....
Tonight, Zambrano will get his turn. I hope he can deliver.
As I had figured, Manny hit an homer off of Sean Marshall when he came in to replace Dempster. Dempster was pulled in the 4th inning, one of the shortest games of his career.The Cubs were up 2-0 until the fifth when James Loney hit a grand slam.
I really don't have many words to describe last nights game. I was hoping that Dempster could pull through but apparently he didn't have the stuff last night. Up tonight is Zambrano... and boy do we need him.
Another thing that was shocking about last night was that the Cubs usually perform very well at home. If were heading on the road to LA on Saturday.. I hope the Cubs can perform. It's kind of a bad sign that we are already losing at Wrigley. I just hope we can hold Manny....
Tonight, Zambrano will get his turn. I hope he can deliver.
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