That's what Lou Piniella and Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney (Sounds like a law firm to me) are pushing the city of Chicago to consider. With the 20th aniversary of the first night game coming up this Friday, Lou is hoping that the city will be flexible with their schedule:
"There are certain times during the course of a season where exceptions should be made for night games [on weekends]. Not all the time, but look at the schedule and there are a handful of games where you're coming in late in the morning. Like when we came in from Arizona [at 5 a.m.]. You could use a night game on Friday to get your breath a little bit.
We'll see. It makes sense to me."
Makes sense to me too, Lou. Because of the neighborhood, the Cubs are limited to 30 night games a year.
That's funny. I thought it would have been because of incidents involving violence and alcohol.
You don't really give a shit about Cubs vs. Rays or Sox vs. Pirates do you? Neither do we. So with the Sun-Times' scribe Chris De Luca releasing his all-city team, we decided to show you our picks.
I haven't been to a Cubs-Sox game, but mainly for the reason that I don't want to get arrested. I don't want to be that guy who gets in a pissing match. Don't get me wrong, I want to go sooner then later to one these crosstown rivalry games; but I just know that I'm going to go there with full intentions of just watching the baseball game. Then I'm going to be seated next to some jackass, be it a Sox or Cubs fan who feels the need to start shit with the other teams fan base in the section. A few Miller Lites later, punches start getting thrown and I end up in handcuffs.
I know this will most likely happen.
That's why I generally just watch the game at bar or with my buddies who are Cubs fans, because the only thing that eventually happens are disputes, which generally ends in accusations of being a terrorist. That's the way our friends are.
So without further adeiu, Dr. C and Noce's all-city team.
CATCHER: GEOVANNY SOTO, GEOVANNY SOTO 1ST BASE: DERREK LEE, DERREK LEE 2ND BASE: MARK DEROSA, MARK DEROSA 3RD BASE: JOE CREDE, JOE CREDE SHORTSTOP: RYAN THERIOT, ORLANDO CABRERA LEFT FIELD: CARLOS QUENTIN, CARLOS QUENTIN CENTER FIELD: REED JOHNSON, REED JOHNSON RIGHT FIELD: JERMAINE DYE, KOSUKE FUKUDOME
MIDDLE RELIEF: CARLOS MARMOL, BOONE LOGAN, MATT THORNTON / SCOTT LINEBRINK, MATT THORNTON, BOONE LOGAN SET-UP MAN: SCOTT LINEBRINK / CARLOS MARMOL CLOSER: BOBBY JENKS / BOBBY JENKS
MANAGER: LOU PINIELLA / LOU PINIELLA
As you can see, were both pretty like-minded on the infield. Soto is younger and has better power numbers, though AJ is having a good year so far batting .301. His RBI's would be higher if he didn't have to hit in the two-hole.
Despite Alexi Ramirez' hot bat recently, we both took DeRosa because we feel he's a better overall hitter. We take Crede for his defense and great April, and me personally well, I don't want the pig man on my team. Plus Noce thinks Crede is the guy you want at the plate down a run with two outs and a runner in scoring position. One word to describe him: clutch. Theriot is my pick at short, and with his average it's easy to see why. Noce went with Cabrera's defense (even though Cabrera had to call Noce to make sure no errors were in this post) and his finally coming around with the bat.
In the outfield, I'm taking Jermaine over Kosuke. I know Fukudome is quicker and plays better defense, but I think Jermaine has been in situations that Fukudome hasn't been yet in the majors, and is suitted to help in a postseason run. You can put either in there and argue.
Our pitching rotations are set 1 thru 5, with my rotation including Lilly, while Noce wants Vazquez. I picked Lilly because he's looked better then Vazquez has in last couple starts, and I like to go R-L-R-L-R as opposed to Noce's R-R-L-R-R.
The bullpens are equal; with Noce going with Marmol in the eighth. I subscribe to the Lou Piniella get Marmol in as soon as the situation is critical. Plus, Linebrink has justified his 19 million over 4 years contract, thus far.
We both go Jenks, though Noce originally had Kerry Wood. I was stunned when he typed that, but he rethought that one out.
For manager, we'll both take the cranky old bastard. Ozzie is too much of a roller coaster, but that's not to say Lou couldn't turn that way if the Cubs lost six in a row. Having never lost more than two in a row keeps Lou docile, but he seems to have his team do exactly what he wants, while Guillen has no clue what to expect.
That's our all-city team. Feel free to put your changes on what you would put out there if you like. I was hoping there was some more fight footage in Wrigley/Comiskey, but all I could come up with was this:
And even though I'm a Sox fan, I found this on there and thought it was funny. Yes, you will have many more hot girls at a Cubs game then you will a Sox game, but I have seen hot girls at Comiskey, so don't believe this bullshit. But I still find this funny.
Move over Super Bowl Shuffle. There's a new terrible singer in town, and his name is Louis Victor Piniella. From the fingers of Tribune Cubs Beat Writer Paul Sullivan:
As they began their three-game homestand Tuesday night against Atlanta, the Cubs had the National League's top-ranked offense, its top-ranked pitching staff and its only rapping manager.
Manager Lou Piniella revealed he actually rapped while shooting a TV commercial promoting the upcoming City Series against the White Sox. Is America ready for MC Lou?
"I'm a rap star," he said with a grin
In the words of the Church Lady, well isn't that special. Lou could end up making Jim Jones sound like Jay-Z.
As of today, we're currently 25 days away and counting for the start of the Cubs 2008 season, but already the cantankerous Cubs manager is getting sick of losing after the Cubs blew a 4-1 lead in the eighth inning to lose 5-4 yesterday and drop to 2-5 in spring training...
"I'm getting tired of losing ballgames, even in spring training. I don't like the idea of our pitching staff getting hit around, whether it's spring training of playing tiddly winks"
Are you kidding, Lou? You've got 25 games left in March if you include two split-squad games left, and you're already bitching? These games are about as meaningful as a Sunday morning Hallmark movie on WE. Probably even less important then a 1st quarter of a NBA regular season game in November. No one likes to lose, but you've really got to put things in perspective, here. Are Ed Campusano and Tim Lahey going to figure in to bullpen plans anytime soon? Obviously before their shitty performances probably not, but now your decision is even easier then it was already.
You should be dwelling on the positives here, Lou. Zambrano pitched 3 innings of one hit ball while striking out 3. Hill also pitched 3 innings, only allowing 1 earned run. Fukudome's looking good. Hell, even Dempster hasn't looked bad in his starting role thus far. With the exception of minor injuries to Soriano (broken finger) and Ramirez, (sore shoulder) your team is healthy and you're in a shitty division which should be yours for the taking.
While Mully and Hanley brought up a good point I heard on 670 the Score about not assuming their going to just take the division by storm (Bears and Bulls this year), the truth is their division is weaker then their fellow city sports companions.
Someone needs to get Lou an Aquafina, quick:
While Lou's done a good job with his plate throwing, hat and dirt kicking antics, he's going to have to step his game up if he ever wants to top the greatest meltdown on the North Side:
About Dr. C: Dr. C is a graduate of Southern Illinois University. He spent 4 years there as a Sports Anchor/Director. After deciding he didn't want to cover rodeos working 50+ hours a week making 20K in Buttfuck, Montana he decided to return home to Chicago. Dr. C is a real nickname he goes by for claiming to have a Ph.D in bullshit. He can remember phone numbers from people he met 15 years yet couldn't tell you your name back to you after having been introduced. If he could be sponsored by anything in life, it would undoubtedly be Jack Daniels.
About Noce: Noce is a graduate of the University of Illinois. He was the sports editor there for the Daily Illini. As you may have guessed, he's a huge Bulls fan, and spends most of his day on Blog-A-Bull. Noce also enjoys Crab Rangoon. He will expand on this later when he's not lying in bed hungover at this moment.
About StalkingErinAndrews: Stalkingerinandrews wasted his money at the University of Illinois, attending for a few years but never earning a degree. He enjoys long tractor rides, barbecue grilling, and spending time with children. (His own brats, not someone else's.) He is a true homer, being a fan of most Chicago area teams, with the inclusion of the Illini being the obvious exception. He has to go now, his wife just said "Blah, blah, blah, get off that damn computer! I need blah, blah, blah."
