Cubs Win Fukudome!

In the Cubs Centennial year since winning a World Series they have managed to sign Kosuke Fukudome! He's a lefty, will play right field, wears jersey number "1", and has a .305 career batting average. Could this be our year?

CHICAGO -- The Cubs' patience paid off. Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome has agreed to terms on a four-year deal with the team, pending his passing a physical.

Sources confirmed the contract Tuesday night, which would run through 2011, and was believed to be worth $48 million. The highly sought outfielder had announced his intention to come to the U.S. and the Major Leagues early Tuesday, and had several teams to chose from, including the Cubs, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers.

Oh and according to bleedcubbieblue it's pronounced: "koh-skay foo-koo-DOUGH-may"

source: bleedcubbieblue; cubs; mlb

Game 3 Cubs vs. D'backs

As much as the Cub fans tried to will it to be so, it wasn't meant to be.

After having taken a day to let it all sink in, I'm willing to be happy for the little that we got. We went further than the Mets, the Padres, and the Brewers in a year that started out as one of the Cubs worst starts ever. We went from last place to first place in a single year.

This Cubs team was better than their record reflected, if you take into account their April and May results. They were also a team this year that was very streaky. They were never able to keep their offense consistent, having great series followed by dismal ones. A year of ups and downs, that progressed to more ups and less downs the further we got into the season, but could never quite figure out how to avoid the meltdowns.

I am hopeful Lou can build on this year and bring us into contention once again next year. But for Cub fans, our October has freed up whether we like it or not.

Game 2 - Cubs vs. D'backs

Ummm...NO...Lilly will NOT be pitching in Game 5 on 3 days rest. Game 5 is Tuesday. Lets see Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon is four days right? Hmmm.

I am normally not that particular about the announcers, but boy they are not prepared at all.

Well game 2 did not go as hoped. Reading up this morning on the game I 've read alot of statistics about teams down 2-0. The funny thing is the Cubs are usually on the other end of those statistics. In 1984, no team had come back from a 2-0 deficit in the then 5 game NLCS. Well, they did. MLB changed the NLCS/ALCS the next year to 7 games.

The frustrating part this morning, is that the Cubs didn't get beat, they beat themselves. If you get beat by a better team, then, well, thats the way it is. But the sloppy defense last night and the lack of offense were self destructive.

The Cubs will get a much needed boost in front of their home town fans on Saturday and should win that game. The tough game, the one I will be attending, starts 16 hours later. That should give them between 12-14 hours to shower, sleep, drive to and from the park, dress, and have batting practice. I know the Cub fans will do whatever it takes to put the Cubbies on their backs and help them through. Then it would be back to the desert for one last game. Nothing this year has been easy.

But it's not over yet.

Game 1 - Cubs vs. D'backs

Ummm guys...its not MarMOLE it's MARmol.

AND we didn't get Kendall in the Barrett trade...do your homework.

Don't give up Cub fans...we knew this was gonna be a tough one. They've got nothin else in the way of starting pitchers. We can still win this in Chicago on Sunday.

Unbeleivable the announcers talking about the crowd getting loud...ummmm...I don't think so. Wait till they come to Wrigley...

11 wins to go...keep the faith.

Take a Last Look

Only Al over at bleedcubbieblue.com would remember to take this picture. This building and these signs are visible from within Wrigley Field right on Sheffield...see the rooftop seating? Show him some love he has a great site for everything Cubs! Notice the date in the bottom right corner of the picture 10-01-2007. Cubbies...lets change those numbers...starting with 61.

EAMUS CATULI! - LETS GO CUBS! in Latin (I've read literal translation is LETS GO LITTLE BEARS!)

AC006198 - After Championship (AC), years since winning division (00), years since winning pennant (61), years since winning world series (98)

Rally Monday

Here are some pics from the Rally Monday for the Chicago Cubs in Daley Plaza:

source

Cubs NLDS Date and Time's Announced

Just found this posted on MLB.com, so it must be solid? We should see confirmation during tonights Padres/Rockies game. Notice the times are EST.

Cubs Locker Room Celebration Pics

source

Cubs Actober Commercial

To help get everyone in the mood!

Rally Monday 07

On cubs.com:

Come party at Cubs Rally Monday at Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago, beginning at noon CT on Monday. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will attend, as well as other special guests.

Fans are asked to arrive by 11:30 a.m., and the event is scheduled to last until 12:45 p.m. The event is free and will be held rain or shine.

"We encourage all of our fans throughout the Chicagoland area to wear Cubbie blue on Monday and celebrate with us in Daley Plaza," said Jay Blunk, director of marketing for the Cubs. "This year, Cub fans have proven once again they are the most loyal in professional sports. Monday's celebration is a tribute to them and the heroics of the 2007 Chicago Cubs."

Cubs Clinch - Never A Doubt!

Some pictures captured at Wrigley Field within minutes of the Cubs Clinching!

Pictures captured here. It's a live webcam...check it out!

Magic Number 1!

Pending the outcome of the Padres / Brewers game...

On to Cincinnati

"They've got our number. What've they beat us 9-10 times in a row? If they played all teams like that they'd be World Champions." Lou Pinella to the press

On to Cincinnati, lets get her done.

Lou Pinella - on Mulligans

"We have one left, and I tell you what, I usually like to keep it on the golf course until the 18th hole," Lou Piniella said with a laugh. "But I'm not sure now. We're going to play [Thursday]. We'll beat these guys and go from there."

Lou Pinella - Quote of the Day

"We had three mulligans when we started this road trip, now we only have two" Lou Pinella to Ron Santo 09-26-07

Cubs vs. Marlins

I realize my blog is all over the place these days. Please just indulge me for a little while longer!

The Cubs are looking to exorcise one of their many demons tonight (2003) by taking on the Florida Marlins. We have Lilly at the helm and thats a good start!

This could be the first of many second chances we have against teams that have caused Cub fans a lot of pain in the past. Both the Met's (1969) and the Padre's (1984) are potentially in the Cubs path on this road to the World Series.

Let's all just take a deep breath and try and enjoy the ride!

Dancing With The Stars - Season 5 Premieres Tonight

Dancing With The Stars premieres tonight with a little different format than past years. Tonight we will see the 6 female stars with their new partners dancing, tomorrow the 6 male stars and their partners, then Wednesday night we will have the results show, where one couple will be eliminated.

As in the past, I will recap the performances and be posting video's of many of the performances! If you are a Dancing With The Stars fan bookmark this site....and stay tuned!

Here is a quick recap of the twelve couples:
Melanie Brown, singer and member of Spice Girls- partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Sabrina Bryan, actress, singer, and member of The Cheetah Girls - partner Mark Ballas Jr.
Hélio Castroneves, IndyCar Series driver -partner Julianne Hough
Mark Cuban, owner of Dallas Mavericks - partner Kym Johnson
Jennie Garth, actress - partner Derek Hough
Josie Maran, supermodel and actress - partner Alec Mazo
Cameron Mathison, actor - partner Edyta Sliwinska
Floyd Mayweather, Jr., boxer - partner Karina Smirnoff
Wayne Newton, singer - partner Cheryl Burke
Marie Osmond, singer - partner Jonathan Roberts
Albert Reed, model - partner Anna Trebunskaya
Jane Seymour, actress - partner Tony Dovolani

As my worlds collide, isn't Mark Cuban the guy who has expressed an interest in purchasing the Chicago Cubs?

NLDS Tentative Schedule

Today I spent my morning in the Cubs Virtual Waiting Room hoping to get tickets. Cubs NLDS tickets for two games went on sale today. The second game will be "if necessary". I ended up getting through at the end and got 4 standing room only tickets to the second (if necessary) game! Not the box seats I was hoping for, but I feel fortunate to have gotten anything. Looks like that game will be Sunday, October 7th (if necessary, of course).

Cubs Sweep!

Go Cubs!

Thanks to PeoriaSportsFan for the pics!

NLDS - Tickets

This sort of stinks because I am going to the game on Sunday and will be limited in the amount of time I have to attempt to get tickets! But, it's great to even see it on the Cubs website!