Santo Misses Out Again

For far too long former Cub Great Third Baseman and current Cub Great Announcer, Ron Santo, has missed out on the Hall of Fame. 2008 should have marked the end of this ridiculous error in judgement and voting. It was announced this morning at Baseball’s Winter Meetings that Santo has once again been blocked from his rightful place in the Hall which is long over due. Once again Santo has been kept from joining with Hall of Famers and former teammates Billy Williams and Ernie Banks. (Pictured Below with Manager Leo Durocher)

Santo has already been historically aligned alongside other Cub Hall of Famers (Williams, Banks, and Ryne Sandeberg) for years with their numbers, the only 4, retired in the Cubs long and storied history, but apparently the Veteran’s Committee have decided that the Hall of Fame doesn’t have room for Santo just yet.

The Veteran’s Committee made the mistake in 2005 leaving Santo out (by 8 votes) and 2007 (by 5 votes) and had received much criticism for the act, but clearly has not learned from past mistakes. Santo has been widely regarded as the best player not in the Hall of Fame for a long time.
The anticipation and later agonizing realization of missing out on the Hall of Fame again, by 15 votes (in 2003), can be seen in the documentary This Old Cub by Ron’s son Jeff Santo. Well worth a couple hours.

The Nine Time All-Star played the majority of his career suffering quietly from Type 1 Diabetes that has since cost him both of his legs in 2001 and 2002. He was told at the age of 18 he would live to about 25. As mentioned in Santo’s documentary, Santo monitored his diabetes based solely on how he felt as there weren’t widely available means of testing oneself at the time. There were times where he took the plate seeing double or triple due to low blood sugar. In such instances he would just focus on “the one in the middle”.

Santo, winner of 5 Gold Gloves, was also the 1973 Lou Gherig Award winner. He finished his career with 5 seasons in the top 10 of OPS, slugging %, and extra base hits. He also finished in the top ten in Batting Avg (3 x), MVP voting (4 x), OBP (7 x), Runs (3 x), Hits (4 x), HRs (7 x), RBIs (8 x), and Walks (9 x). Offensively, he is most commonly compared to Carlton Fisk, Johnny Bench, Gary Carter, and Yogi Berra, all of whom are in the Hall of Fame.

Is is very disheartening to hear that Santo has once again been kept at bay from the Hall of Fame. No one from the post 1942 ballot received the 75% of votes to gain entrance to Cooperstown. I for one have been waiting years to hear Santo’s name mentioned as an inductee to Cooperstown, but will have to wait two more years for that to be potentially realized. Santo has referred to the process as torture and has all but given up on his induction. I guess I might just have to finally agree with Ron that it may never happen. And it’s a damn shame.

Bring on the REAL Year 100

As with most Cubfans I am the eternal pessimist. A trait that I inherited from my father (a Cubfan), and presumably his father before him (a Cubfan), and so on through the male Domschke Family History. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot this year, as with every year. Sure I get excited about the Cubs season after season and get disappointed season after season. As I so aptly described the plight of the Cubs back in July, when I wrote of the Cubfan “lump in the throat” that starts to worry us, Cubfans start worrying because they know things are going to go bad. It’s a matter of how bad and where the blame might be placed. I think I can safely say that I was right, though the Cubs turned it back around from that 6-10 slump I wrote of in early July, they still weren’t as dominant as they were in May and June. And the bats once again went quiet. No surprise here, I in no way predicted a Cub appearance in the Fall Classic.

As I told many friends in the weeks leading up to and the days following James Loney’s Grand Slam/Dempster’s eruption, or more accurately erosion, the Cubs aren’t made for a 5 game set. I’m not saying that they would have won in a 7 game set, but losing Game 1 at Home in a 5 game set pretty much says that the series is over. Where as losing Game 1 at Home in a 7 game set is much less of a death sentence. These Cubs (07-08) are a streaky, streaky team. When things are going good, they are going great, and when things are going bad they get to awful really fast. They are far too emotional for a 5 game series. Both in 2007 and 2008 game 3 didn’t even seem like it mattered to Cub player or many Cubfans. The series seemed over when Bill Buckner took over for Lee, Dan Uggla took over for DeRosa, Alex Gonzalez (2003 NLCS Gonzalez) took over for Theriot, and Aramis Ramirez was replaced by his error ridden Pirate Past in the Game 2 loss. That’s the way it goes for the Cubs, and always has. I don’t feel like posting the stats but look back at 2003′s Bartman Game/The Inning. The Cubs still had a chance to win Game 7 in ’03 but they were so deflated after after Bartman led to Gonzalez’s botch job at short which led to the Golden Boy Prior getting shelled for 8 runs. The bats didn’t show up to Arizona last year and when rookie Carlos Marmol had a rough outing in Game 1 (and the ensuing loss) the series ended, all emotion and momentum was gone. Thus the way it goes for the Cubs. But there is one redeeming thought for Cubfans, this was not the 100th season of Cub baseball without a World Series as people talked about all year long. It has been a rough century, but not a full century.

Now, yes “technically” the Cubs haven’t won the World Series in 100 calendar years. But the key word there is calendar. True, in 1908 the Cubs won the World Series, and then only went back once, 1945, and lost. These are indelible truths and I won’t argue that. But, what everyone is failing to recognize, there was no World Series in 1994. Now the Cubs may have been out of contention by the time of the Strike, but the decision had been made much earlier that a strike was eminent. There was no World Series in 1994 ergo there was no World Series for the Cubs to lose in 1994. In June, had there not been a looming Strike, maybe those Cubs would have made a stronger push for the post-season and been in Wild Card contention by September. Ask the Colorado Rockies about fire headed into the post-season and double digit setbacks in August meaning nothing. I, in no way am saying the Cubs would have won, I am not suggesting or giving credence to the “what if” argument in sports, especially not when looking in the rear-view mirror. All I am saying is that there was no chance for the Cubs to do it. So I guess my point is that while it has been 100 years since the Cubs last World Series Championship, the Cubs aren’t 0/100, they’re only 0/99. So I guess it hasn’t really been 100 missed opportunities for the Cubs and their fans.

And to really stretch it, 1994′s Strike shortened season could have just restarted the clock for everyone. Maybe it was like the reset button for everyone. So Good Luck to the 2009 Cubs and Tribe as they try to break their bad luck streaks before they reach 15 seasons without a World Series win.

For More sports and life takes from Dom check him out at The Beardown.

Dom’s Words of Wisdom

Gather ’round youngsters, it’s time for some Words of Wisdom from Dom. Now I know there are probably a few of you out there who are reading this and are saying to yourselves, “I know Dom, there are no Words of Wisdom this guy can offer” or “What kind of Wisdom can a 23 year old young man who has lived in the Suburbs most of his life give me?” If that’s your attitude, stop reading. But if you have ever heard people talk about Wisdom Nuggets, they tell you to take it from someone who has been there before, and for this particular piece of Wisdom I am preparing for you, I have been there before. This past weekend. In Mid-March. In October. I have been there more than a few times. So here it is.

Proper Planning is necessary when having a kid. What kind of planning you ask? It’s simple, timing. When deciding to have a kid (if it is planned in your case) you’ve got to realize timing is going to work one of two ways. For you or against you.

Do you remember watching October Playoff Baseball last year? Fall College football season? How about the first weekend of March Madness, were those games fun to watch? The Final Four games? Did you see the upsets that Memphis and Kansas dropped on UCLA and NC respectively, and completely ruined my chances at winning any of brackets. Lastly, did you have fun watching the draft this weekend, was it a good time? Well if I were to answer those questions it would go as such:

No, I was researching new places to live and trying to find a “ladies” Doctor for my wife to get her check-ups for our future bundlle of joy. Took 2 trips to visit my wive’s parents and tell them about the kid so I missed 2 weekends worth of fun college football. March Madness was great, Thursday and Friday I watched on my computer at work, it was awesome and CBS did a great job, Thursday night I watched the UA game at the bar. What about Friday night and those Saturday and Sunday games? Nope didn’t see that Arkansas vs. Indiana game on Friday night, I was driving to Yuma, AZ. Didn’t see Duke lose to West Virginia, I was with my in-laws. Sunday? I was driving back to Tucson. I missed a good portion of the UCLA game at a baby shower at my folks house up in Phoenix. As for Rounds 1 and 2 of the Draft Saturday I was in Childbirth classes from 9-6.

I didn’t have a choice in planning most of these ocurrances. When having a kid you need to realize that Baby Showers are going to happen (we had 3) and they are going to happen on weekends. Childbirth classes, weekend errands and baby shopping, these things happen, a lot, especially in the last 3 months. They happen when sports are on and you’re going to miss them. What’s the goal? Plan ahead. If you aren’t a big baseball fan. Well aim for the last tri-mester to fall somewhere over the summer months so you won’t miss football games. If you could care less about football, then maybe plan for the November/December/January time of year for the end of the pregnancy. Trust me, it’s worth making the effort of planning to ensure that you don’t miss the things you don’t want to miss.

Take my advice, take it from someone who has been there before. If you are able to plan, this is the way to go. If necessary wait a couple more months to make sure that you don’t miss the important sporting events of the year.

For More sports and life takes from Dom check him out at The Beardown.

Tampa Bay Rays = Slap Shot?

As many of you may be aware, I love Sports Movies. One of my All Time Favorites is 1977′s Slap Shot. I don’t think I need to re-tell the plot to you. If you have seen it you know plenty about the movie and if you haven’t then go get your husband and have him explain it to you or you won’t understand most of these references. It is one of the greatest cinematic masterpieces of All-Time. And yes I do feel like James Lipton right now.

As many of you ALSO might be aware I enjoy finding comparisons between sports movies and sports further blending the confusion or should I say delusions I have between reality and “make believe”. I’ve done it on more than a few occasions most recently in comparing Nuke LaLoosh (fictional character) to John Bale (idiot pitcher). So it should come as no surprise that I have found a comparison to one of my favorite sports movies of all time, yet again.

In the movie Slap Shot they are a floundering franchise. Threat of a move to Florida and they start to play well. They do this by fighting every other player, playing as dirty as possible and bringing in the thug Hanson Brothers. Again, if you haven’t seen this movie don’t you want to now? Hear Paul Newman berate Hanrahan about Suzanne his wife. Watch the Hanson’s start a fight during the National Anthem.

Anyhow it got me thinking, this sounds oddly familiar. The aging minor league player/unsuccessful manager (Joe Maddon) firing up his young team. I’m pretty sure Upton, Longoria, and Navarro still bring their toys on Road Trips too.

Haven’t there been an interesting amount of altercations thus far. They fought the Yankees during preseason, much like the Charleston Chiefs fought the Patriots during pregame warm-ups. They fought the Red Sox after a handful of dirty plays. And most recently They fought each other in a game against Texas. I can only imagine James Shields, after intentionally hitting Crisp before the brawl, going back to Maddon seeking approval and asking to be called “Killer”.

I mean, was I the only one who saw the following picture during Spring Training?

For More sports and life takes from Dom check him out at The Beardown.

Destroying a Franchise: A How To

The Top Ten major mistakes that could be made by a GM in an effort to destroy a Franchise:
10. Hire Brian McNamee to be the teams strength and conditioning coach. He did wonders for Andy Petitte and Roger Clemens all ready.
 
 
9. Hire Isaiah Thomas as the General Manager. He couldn’t mess this up that badly, could he?
8. Give Jose Canseco a chance to run the promotions for each game. This guy could squeeze a nickel out of the most mediocre talent levels.
7. Have Latrell Sprewell handle the community relations department. I have heard he is a very hands on kind of guy.

6. Allow Kobe to handle all hotel accommodation’s. The hotel staffs rave about his generosity.

5. Tab Kenny Rogers for Media Relations. This guy loses himself in his work.

 
 
 
4. Allow Hector “Macho” Camacho to design the team uniforms.

3. Ask the 1989 Minnesota Vikings Front office for help in draft strategy and trade away 3 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks for one player.

 
 
2. Hire a former TV Color Commentator with no experience to be your GM. Then after 16 wins in 4 seasons, give him a 5 year extension.

1. Try to Drum up fans and hold a Ten Cent Beer Night Promotion. Sit back and watch the hillarity ensue (Cleveland forfeited the game after fans rioted and charged the field, not in the fun Huge Upset College Football kinda way). Even though, I would be more than happy to attend Ten Cent Beer Night.
 
 
 
For More sports and life takes from Dom check him out at The Beardown.

Men Love Numbers

Men love numbers. I’m not really trying to be overly repetitive but I want to make sure my point gets across. Men love numbers. They overlook other things based on numbers. Don’t believe me?

Women: Numbers play an important role for men when it comes to women. This comes in one of two ways. First of all, ranking systems. A large amount of men rate women on a 1-10 scale. Typically a Ten is, well she’s “A TEN” and I think you all should know what that means. Even if you are a male who does not use the ranking system personally, when another male comes up to you and points out the 7 in the corner who’s an 8 from the back or a 9 after a few drinks…you know exactly what he’s talking about. Not only do men love to break things down into a numbered rating system they use numbers another way to think of women. Quick what comes to mind if I say 36 24 34. Chances are you are aware I’m not talking lottery numbers or spouting off some weird Lost quotes. A woman’s measurements. We hear a combo of 3 double digit numbers and instantly we know what is being talked about. Men love numbers.

Shopping: I know I know, The BearDown already dips below the hetero line occasionally (4 Real’s Project Runway Breakdowns) but when it comes to shopping Men choose to use numbers. I don’t know about you but I’m not a huge fan of shopping or the mall. Thus I want to get out of there ASAP, no excuses. The way to get out of there the fastest is to avoid, at all costs, the dressing/fitting rooms. Women can not do this. A 4 at one place is different than another, and I’ve dated 2 fashion conscious shopaholics in my past and am married so yes I know women’s sizes but still do not understand them. Me, I go into the store if I’m looking for pants or jeans 36/34 and I’m outta there. A shirt 18.5 36/37. Shoes 12, and so one. I don’t need to try it on and see how it makes my butt look, the numbers do that for me. Men love numbers.

Booze: Men love their booze and numbers matter in all facets of the booze world. Want some beer? Grab a sixer, an 18, or a 30 rack. A College kid looking to get drunk fast? Grab a 40, specifically, like me a few years ago, chase down that Steel Reserve with the highest alcohol percentage (8.1%) yet another number. No longer a college kid and an experienced drinker? Well then you, like me, probably enjoy a good scotch. How old would you like it? 12, 18 years? Numbers matter. Not just when talking about beer and liquor, but also wine. I would love that 1998 Berringer. Not only when it comes to years but Bins and many other ways. Men love their beer, wine, and spirits, and numbers fill a good part of the picture there too. Men love numbers.

Things: This is America and a Capitalist country. Therefore we have the right to attain all sorts of fun toys and we enjoy the numbers attached to the toys. If we buy something truly expensive, we can’t help but tell someone else just how much we paid for it. And for whatever reason we also brag if we get something really cheap. I don’t know why we take such pride in the fact that we can afford expensive things AND take pride in just how much we saved or how little we paid. That part doesn’t make sense but alas it is what it is. Besides just the numbers in prices we’ve paid for things numbers are everywhere else. Check out my new phone, it’s an 8110 or an 8320. That means something to tech junkies. Or the car? It’s an 09. Is it a classic, then you’re proud to tell your friends about the ’55 Bel Air or (my favorite) the 69′ El Camino SS. If you were to come over and see the new TV you would hear two of three things: It’s a 52″ and I got it for a steal at $2,600 or I dropped $ 3,300 on that little guy. We can’t help it, numbers make sense when men talk to each other. When we buy something, one of the first things we’ll tell you about will have something to do with a number. Men love numbers.
Ok so we’ve talked about women, shopping, booze, cars, and TVs. 4 of the 5 most important things in a mans life. What’s the missing piece of a man’s life?

Sports: Quick ask me who my counselor was in college or the name of my dorm neighbor. (5 years ago) I couldn’t tell you. Ask me about Urlacher’s extention (18 mill), The Cubs score (6-4 WEAR IT CC), the start of College Football season (8-30-08 7 PM), shall I continue? And it isn’t just because it was recent happenings. Ask any Chicago fan what the number 46, 10, 1986 mean. Well in 1986 Da Bears beat the Patriots (pre video taping) 46-10 in the Super Bowl. It goes deeper though and while it’s obviously heavily overpowered by Chicago knowledge, in my case, I can tell you all about the 01 DBacks, or the 69 Mets (********). I can tell you that in Boston 2004 still brings a smile to faces as does the phrase “0-3″. The opposite can be seen in New York. We reel off salaries, stats, years, etc, etc, etc. In fact numbers are so prominent in our conversation that we just use the word numbers when referring to sports stats. How ingrained are sports stats. If 4 Real asks me how the Cubs are doing, my typical response would be something along the lines of “Well we’re 5-6 since the break, but 6 were on the road” or if he asked me about the CC trade, “I’m scared he’s 4-0 with 3 complete games and 1 shutout (prior to tonights big fat ND)” if he wanted to know about my boy Kosuke I’d tell him, “He started off strong going near .300 and almost .800 OPS but he’s been slipping and he’s hovering near 2″. Stats are everything when talking about sports. No longer are they people, much like prisoners we refer to them by number half the time.

So then you take two of the major sports stories being shoved down our throats right now. Manny and Farve. Believe me, they aren’t the only ones but they are the big names. First let’s look at Manny. He’s ridiculous, he take a piss behind the monster, and then a couple years later climbs up into the monster during a bullpen call to make his own phone call. He cuts off throws from the center fielder, he pushes down 65 year old team execs, he plays when he wants, and doesn’t play when he doesn’t want to. The list goes on and on, to the point that it’s just “Manny being Manny”. Bottom line he’s a major distraction, and though the running catch followed up by high fiving a fan was fun to watch, he isn’t the greatest defensive addition. So Why would teams be considering bringing this guy onto their roster as the trade deadline closes in? ,304 20 68. (Avg/HR/RBI) His career 162 game average 40 132 .313 .409 .590 .999 (HR/RBI/Avg/OBP/SLG/OPS). And even with his price tag $20,000,000.00 teams are considering picking him up to deal with his crap.

Farve is just another example of numbers overshadowing other things.
His 442 career TDs, his 15 straight years playing all 16 regular season games (and 15 games the year before). Most importantly for Favre (despite the 38 year olds age) was last year’s 95.7 QB Rating and the 28:15 TD to INT ratio. But numbers are definitely an issue is Wisconsin. As in Aaron Rodgers is in year 4 of a 4 year contract and being the QB of their future. They lose Rodgers next year if Brett comes back this year and thus would have spent millions and a 1st round pick on a back up who played in 7 games (with 0 starts). But to Green Bay fans (and luckily for their sake not their management) numbers are all that matters and the Green Bay supporters want Rodgers back ASAP without looking at the bigger picture. The only numbers that matter to them are 4 and 2008-2009. They don’t care at all about 2009-2010, which as a Bears fan is fine with me. Bring back Brett and his 2+ turnovers a game vs. the Bears over the last 4 years ) and their 2-6 record.
Basically, Men love numbers, and in sports much like with women, the better those numbers are the more **** we’re willing to put up with.
 

For More sports and life takes from Dom check him out at The Beardown.

Top Ten: The Things we Love about Wrigley

We here at The BearDown have made many statements about Wrigley Field, specifically our love for The Museum of Sport on the Corner of Addison and Clark. Now true, Garnes and I are lifelong Cub fans born (and in her case raised) in the grand ole’ city of Chicago. But 4Real loves Wrigley and he doesn’t even like the NL, Wrigley scored at the top of his Stadium Rankings back in April. And many of you may be aware of how it affected us when we found out Wrigley’s naming rights might be Up for Sale. The outrage spread from having to rename Garnes’ Dog to being forced to come up with acceptable Alternate Options for Wrigley Field. Why do we care so much for Wrigley? Because Wrigley is unlike any other ball park in the world. Take into account the following 10 reasons (in no particular order).

10. The Architecture:
Wrigley has been in existence a very long time. It was built in 1914 and not much has been changed since then. Expansion occurred over the years. After 9 years William Wrigley doubled the seat capacity. As the decades went on, renovations were added amenities upgraded, but Wrigley Field today is nearly the same silhouette as Weeghman Park was in 1914. Things have been fixed, seats have been replaced, the bleachers are concrete instead of wood, but the bottom line is that the same field that has been used by the Cubs since 1916 is still where they play on summer afternoons. There’s no slide, no gigantic video screen (to tell the “fans” when to cheer and what to cheer), no gimmicks to bring in fans, the Cubs are the draw and the entertainment. Wrigley Field is a museum to the game what it used to be like to head out to the ballpark instead of these over the top retractable roof monstrosities that are everywhere. And because there’s no room for it anywhere else, the fact that Wrigley is constructed where it is, on the Shores of old Lake Michigan, the winds are ridiculous and they make the games interesting. When the wind is blowing out a pop up to left field is out, and when the wind is blowing in a ball destined for Sheffield or Waveland won’t even make it to the Warning Track. It’s a beautiful thing.
9. The Scoreboard:
The Scoreboard is still manually operated. In what is probably the best job in the world, there are people in the scoreboard who change the scores, pitchers, teams, etc on the board during the games. Necessary, absolutely not, but that’s the reason that it’s so amazing. Wrigley has done everything in its power to exist today the way it has for decades. Not to mention, as opposed to other ballparks that have the NL or AL scoreboard off in the upper deck corners (I’m looking at you Bank One Ballpark) this scoreboard is in DEAD CENTERFIELD instead of the video screen gimmicks.
8. The Flags:
In much the same way the scoreboard is still in existence to keep the fans informed. The Scoreboard lets people know the score, much the same way it has for a very long time (even before the Internet!) so too does Wrigley choose to keep fans, and Chicago’s passerbys informed on the baseball world. There are flags atop the scoreboard, one for each team in three separate rows. These represent the divisions and the place in the division. And as you can see in the beautiful picture at the left the Cubs flag flies highest when the Cubs are in 1st. But there are other flags that fly at Wrigley besides the team by team/division by division flags. After a Win a White flag with a Navy W flies high above Wrigley Field and after a loss the inverse (Blue with White L) flag flies high, albeit not as proudly for all in Wrigleyville to see. But there are other flags that fly in the Southwest winds. There are pinstriped 10, 14, 23, and 26 flags representing four of the greatest Cubs of all time (Santo, Banks, Sandberg, and Williams). Also atop the Crown of The Friendly Confines there are a few other flags, the Hack 191 (Hack Wilson’s 1930 RBI Record), 20 KW (Woody’s 20 K game), 66 Sammy (Sosa’s 1998 HR Total), Hawk 8 (MVP Andre Dawson), JR42 (Jackie Robinson), FJ31 (Fergie Jenkins), and Maddux 300 (300th Win) among others as well as their World Series Championships (2) and NL East, NL, and NL Central pennants are up there as well.
7. The Outfield Signs:
I know what you’re thinking, “but you keep talking about the history and the architecture and you’re saying one of your favorite things are Ads? I can’t say that I’ve been to a lot of professional ballparks (5) but one thing that (I believe) is unique to Wrigley is the Miller Lite Ad on one of the rooftops across Sheffield. Next time you watch a Cubs game look for it. Some of the time the billboard is your typical Miller Lite Baseball ad, but a good portion of the time (I believe a majority of the time) the ads are opponent focused and for your viewing pleasure:

And Obviously my favorites are the Anti-Brewers Slogans, specifically “We Prefer a Pennant Chase to a Sausage Race”. You can always tell when the sign is made for Wrigley by the distinctive Ivy lining either the bottom or sides of the ad. But it’s not just the commercial Miller Lite ads that I love of the outfield signs. It’s the distinctive Red Budweiser roof across Waveland, the Harry Caray commemorative sign on the Rooftop of Murphy’s Bleachers, The Eamus Catuli (Go Cubs) and AC count up (Division/League/World Series) signs on other rooftops. All great to see when looking out on Wrigley’s famed outfield and Rooftops. The fans out there love their Cubs, and who can blame them. Speaking of the Rooftops….
6. The Rooftops:
I figure since I spent so much time talking about the signs that appear in the outfield and on the rooftops, I might as well just put the rooftops as my next favorite thing about Wrigley, even if it’s not technically in Wrigley. It’s a beautiful thing for so many reasons, the uniqueness of it, the truly midwestern, neighborly, neighborhood feel of the rooftop fans having cookouts and watching the game that just encompasses what it is that Wrigleyville is. There are somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 different rooftops to view the game from. Some are simply a grill and some bleachers and (a surprise to many) some are really high class with nice bars on the inside, basically the best sports bar in the world. Also, because of the rooftops, a piece of baseball history happened in July of 1995 when Reds pitcher Tom Browning snuck out of Wrigley and across the street to enjoy a game from the bleachers – in full uniform. TV Cameras caught him and he was thus fined. He has said that it was one of if not The Best experiences during his career – he won a game in the World Series, won the World Series, and threw 1 (nearly 2) Perfect Games.

5. The Bleacher Bums:
No other group of individuals has been as immortalized as the Bleacher Bums. The lovable nickname for the members of*ahem* society, who grace the bleachers at Wrigley. If you ever attend a game in the bleachers, get there early. Seating is general admission and people wait for lengthy amounts of time, to get prime real estate in the concrete seats. But be forewarned, a high amount of alcohol has passed through their blood streams so not too late in the game (often before the first pitch) R-Rated curses and chants start flying. And not just at the opposing players on the field but in cases of friendly rivalry the chants are often aimed at the other Bleacher Bums. Hearing the Left Field Bums lash out against the Right Field Bums is common. The Bums are so famed that shirts can be purchased in and around Wrigley stating your alliance. The Text on the back of the shirt of course reads “Shut up and Drink your Beer”. The most ironic part of this is the fact that on most summer days, it is much more common to see the Bums not wearing their Bleachers shirts, well actually they aren’t usually wearing any shirts.
4. The Baskets:
As you should be well aware the Bleacher Bums enjoy waiting hours in line for their general admission seats in the sun, and what’s better to do whilst waiting in the sweltering Chicago heat and/or humidity than down a few frosty cold pints (cans) of Old Style. We all know midwesterners know how to drink, they have to drink to survive 3-4 months per year. We all know beer goes best with baseball. So the Bleacher Bums stand and drink all day (in the sun) then get into the park and continue to drink. Well right around the 6th inning those same Bleacher Bums have had enough cold suds to lose their balance. Thank God for the Baskets at Wrigley. It is probably one of the most unique things at Wrigley. To my knowledge it will not be found anywhere else. Not only does it save the lives of drunk Bleacher Bums but the basket counts as a home run. Though I don’t have the official stats in front of me I feel like I have praised that basket (for Cub HRs) much More often than cursed it (for opponent HRs). I would go out on a limb and say that the basket is responsible for a higher percentage of Cub HRs than opponents.

3. The Ivy:

Probably the most recognizable thing about Wrigley is the Ivy lining the back (brick) walls to “soften” the blow of diving, running outfielders. Well as you might guess it doesn’t soften anything, it’s one of the reasons teams hate to play at Wrigley. But it is a fun sight to see along the outfield walls. Not just that but it presents an interesting Home Field Advantage. If a ball goes into the Ivy and the Outfielder raises both arms in an “I surrender, I can’t find the ball” it is ruled a ground rule double. All Cubs outfielders know this. If the outfielder though decides to search through the vines to find the ball, it is no longer a Ground Rule Double. And the baserunner is free to run as fast as he can around as many bases as he can. I have seen many singles stretched into triples based on an opposing outfielder searching through the Ivy like he knows the Grail is there. (Thank you Bill Veeck).

2. Wrigleyville:

Where is Wrigley Field Located? Wrigleyville? How about the Chase Ballpark? Oh Phoenix. Um Yankee Stadium? Oh the Bronx. Fenway Park? It’s in the Fenway district of Boston (the park is named after the area, not the other way around. Wrigley Field, and The Cubs, have a certain aura around them that leads to an entire area of Chicago to become one with Wrigley Field. And of course there is (almost) nothing but bars lining Addison and Clark Streets, and also Sheffield and Waveland. The arguably most famous and popular bar in Wrigleyville is probably The Cubby Bear right across from Wrigley on the corner of Clark and Addison. The way it works in Wrigley on game day is the fans show up and begin their trek past each bar until they find one they can fit into. Everyone walks into The Cubby Bear, looks around the gigantic place, and gets to walking down Clark. Whether it’s down to Goose Island, Bernie’s, Casey Moran’s or the seemingly thousands of other bars and restaurants. These are all packed hours before the game and hours after the game. Win or Lose everyone is having fun in Wrigleyville.

1. The History:

I know non Cubfans. They all say the same things. They are sick of the Cub history being rammed down their throat, the lore of Wrigley Field and The Cubs. Well if you are one of those, then stop reading, but that’s the beautiful thing about Wrigley. Especially with Yankee Stadium set to be debris in the near future Wrigley is one of, well 2 ballparks with such history. We’re not talking about team history, the Reds can look back at their Big Red Machine team history but those guys never stepped foot on the field at the Great American Ball Park. The Dodgers may have one of the more storied franchises in sport history, but they can’t look back at the Brooklyn team and say it was the same place as this team. Cub teams since 1914 have had one thing in common, they have played at Wrigley Field. There is more than just Cub History alive in the Brick and Ivy, have you heard of the following MLB Historic Events:

  • Hall of Famer Babe Ruth’s “Called Shot”
  • Hall of Famer Gabby Hartnett’s “Homer in the Gloamin”
  • 1917′s Hippo Vaughn vs. Toney both throwing No-hitters through 9 full innings
  • Hall of Famer Mr. Cub Ernie Banks’ 500th HR
  • Pete Rose’s 4,191st hit (to tie with Ty Cobb)
  • Kerry Wood’s 20 K game (2nd ever to throw 20 Ks, and 1st not aligned to Steroids) Randy Johnson did it 3 years later but the game went extra innings so it is not an official record.
  • Sammy Sosa’s 60th HRs in 3 out of 4 seasons (98, 99, 01)
  • Hall of Famer Lou Gherig’s 1st Grand Slam, as a 17 year old for New York City Commerce High School
  • The Highest scoring game in MLB history Cubs 26, Phils 23
  • 3 All Star Games
  • Hall of Famer Stan Musial’s 3,000th hit
  • 1976′s 4 HR game for Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt
  • The 2nd Highest Scoring Game in MLB history Phils 23, Cubs 22
  • Greg Maddux’s 3000th Strikeout
  • Tom Glavine’s 300th win
  • 7 No-Hitters

And not just known for Baseball Wrigley was also the host venue for

  • The Bears 1933 victory over the Giants in the first NFL East vs. West Championship game (23-21)
  • 1937 NFL Championship Game (Bears over Skins 28-21)
  • 1949 NFL Championship Game (Bears over Giants 37-9)
  • 1943 NFL Championship Game (Bears over Skins 41-21)
  • 1963 NFL Championship Game (Bears over Giants 14-10)
  • Hall of Famer Gale Sayers’ Record 6 Touchdown Game against the 49ers in 1965
Besides just that history there is Ronnie Woo Woo parading around the field in full Cubs gear (though never playing a game for the team) as the unofficial mascot of the Cubs. There’s the organist playing “Take me out to the Ballgame” during the 7th inning made famous by the late Harry Caray (originally at Comiskey and later at Wrigley) a practice which has continued by a number of “guest conductors” over the last 10 years since Harry’s passing. Most famously Dutchie Caray to start the 1998 season (the first without Harry), as well as his grandson and former WGN commentator Chip Caray, as well as Hall of Famer broadcasters Vin Scully and Bob Uecker and many other famous Chicagoans and other national Celebs, as well as some of the more infamous like Mike Ditka (at triple speed), Jeff Gordon “Wrigley Stadium”, Ozzy Osbourne’s incoherence, and many others.
Wrigley field is a Museum to the game, a porthole to the past, the last living Federal Park, and one of the remaining 3 (2 once Yankee Stadium is dust) glances into the past. The history of not only the Cubs but baseball itself. The Friendly Confines is by far the most unique, fun, amazing Ballpark in the world.
 
For More sports and life takes from Dom check him out at The Beardown.

Why did ManRam go 99?

I may not be the world’s biggest ManRam fan but I do know that he has historically been #24. In Cleveland and Boston he wore Two Four but couldn’t upon his arrival to LA (Hall of Fame Manager Walter Alston). So after a couple different back and forths with the Dodger Higher Ups they settled on 99. An odd choice for a ball player, especially one of his Caliber. Typically guys with a 99 on their chest don’t have a name plate on the back, and it’s not because of tradition but rather because they aren’t going to make it too deep into Spring Training. Needless to say Manny doesn’t need to worry about a red tag hanging in his locker any time soon.

Typically there are reasons behind a players number. Gilbert Arenas’ critics coming into Arizona said he would get Zero minutes so he used it as a motivator. T-Mac sports number 1 in honor of Penny Hardaway. Sometimes it’s in honor of those who have come before you like the many Venezuelans who have worn Dave Concepcion’s 13. Others in honor of family as with Peyton Manning’s 18 in honor of his older brother Cooper or Jarrett Payton’s 34 in honor of father Walter. With the many great reasons why jersey numbers have been selected in the past it makes us wonder…. Manny, Why 99? So here’s a few ideas on why he settled with 99:

He recently scored a 99 on his IQ Test, a surprise to many.

Getting tried of Jersey deliberations Manny was going to take a nap. He misheard the question and, through his thick accent said “nighnigh” which Torre mistakenly thought meant 99.

Many athletes give 110%, Manny occasionally gives 99%.

In Honor of Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn .

His love for the Prince album “1999″.

His favorite fruit brandy, 99 Bananas.

His old stomping grounds. The pub themed 99 restuarants throughout New England.

His favorite song growing up, 99 Luftballons by Nena.

In honor of New York Yankee, David Cone’s perfect game in 1999.

As a political statement against the 99th Congress that operated between 1985-1987 under Ronald Reagan.

He wants to be 99% of a team’s salary in 09.

His favorite band, Pompeii 99.

In Memorium his favorite poet, Shel Silverstein who passed away in 1999.

His favorite foreign film, 99 Francs.

Or is it simply that he’s got 99 Problems but a Bitch aint one.
 
 
 
For More sports and life takes from Dom check him out at The Beardown.

Welcome to The Beardown

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Hello to all Fans and Future Fans and Welcome to The Beardown.  My name is Dom and I’ll be bringing you some Cub and other baseball blog talk over the coming weeks and months.  But first I shoud tell you that I write for another site.  Conveniently called The BearDown.  If you want to hear more from me and some friends about all levels of sports, and all sports, along with the typical rumblings, grumblings, and barstool conversations of twenty-somethings enjoying their Quarter-life Crises head on over to The BearDown. Feel free to email me with questions at any time.

 

~Dom

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