Cardinals vs. Chicago at Wrigley Field Weekend Thread
 

I know you Cubbie fans got a a little thread going and we(who have won 10 WS since you have even been to one) have our own thread but I thought it would be a good idea to have a thread to talk smack about the this weekends series

Cardinals vs. Chicago at Wrigley field

1:20 p.m. today FSN Midwest

Braden Looper
RH
Record 10-9
ERA 4.29

Ted Lilly
LH
Record 11-6
ERA 4.35

2:55 p.m. Saturday KTVI (Ch. 2)

Todd Wellemeyer
RH
Record 8-4
ERA 4.01

Carlos Zambrano
RH
Record 12-4
ERA 2.76

7:10 p.m. Sunday ESPN

Chris Carpenter
RH
Record 0-0
ERA 1.00

RyanDempster
RH
Record 12-5
ERA 2.93

Bad idea? Just let it fall away.

I thought the Cardinals moved to Arizona?!

Or did the manager get busted for DRUNK DRIVING on the way out so they decided to stay?

Cubs 11

Cards 3

You heard it here first

Comeon we can get better smack than this going. Jeeezz at least post the video of the arrest or the mug shot.:shake:

I'll settle for 1 W in series ....anything else is gravy.

The Cubs last won the WS in 1908, when the idea of Wrigley Field was hooted down at Planning Commission meetings for fear of the detrimental effect it would have on horse-and-buggy traffic on the North Side. Since then, the Cubs have curled up on the October stage in 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, 1945, 1984, 1989 and 1998. Idle thought: How tragic is your franchise when you lose the World Series the same year the stock market crash starts the Depression?
http://collateraldamage.files.wordpr...07/10/cubs.jpg

Really though, he could have been wearing a Hawaiain shirt and had bloodshot eyes or something....the damn Cards can't even take a good mug shot.

I bet if Pinella got busted he would have had dried puke on his bare chest and lipstick marks all over his face.

I still don't understand what kind of shots Wellemeyer took in the ass to turn into a half-decent pitcher.

Holy shit, that is ORIGINAL. I had no idea.

If that mug shot had exposed the lower half of La Ruzza,(BTW, Is he French?) you'd see exactly what kind of shot in the ass he was getting.

I can't be orignal. I suck at smack talk. Frazod is the expert at that.

It's Dave Duncan. He takes washed up, picked out of the MLB refuse cast offs and makes them good again. He's been doing it for 26 years. He's the best pitching coach ever.

He teaches them how to pitch and not worry about strikeouts. No walks, make them hit ground balls. Fixs their mechanical issues etc. They leave the Cardinals and get big time FA money and within a year they suck again.

maybe an organization with a real pitching coach. And a team that can give run support.

ST. LOUIS --It's off to Wrigley Field in Chicago for a critical three-game series against the Cubs for the St. Louis Cardinals, who hope to make a statement.

The Cardinals (64-53) fell six games behind the first-place Cubs (69-46) in the National League Central on Thursday with a 4-1 loss to rookie left-hander Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium.
"Obviously, we know Cubs-Cardinals is a big thing," Cardinals second baseman Aaron Miles said. "They're ahead of us in the standings right now. It would be a big help if we can take that series.

"They're all important at this stage of the game, with less than two months remaining and where we are at in the standings. It's play good or go home. If we play good, we're going to be right there."

The Cardinals will pitch Braden Looper (10-9, 4.29 ERA) against the Cubs' Ted Lilly (11-6, 4.35 ERA) at 1:20 p.m. today. Todd Wellemeyer (8-4, 4.01 ERA) will pitch at 2:55 p.m. Saturday against Carlos Zambrano (12-4, 2.76 ERA), and Chris Carpenter will work at 7:10 p.m. Sunday against Ryan Dempster (12-5, 2.93 ERA).

Chicago has the best home record in the baseball at 43-16. The Cardinals, by percentage points, own the best road record in the NL at 31-25.
"We've just got to go in there and play baseball, play a solid game all the way around," Miles said. "They play good there, we play good on the road, so it should be a good matchup."

The Cubs and Cardinals have split six games this season, all in St. Louis. The Cardinals won two of three in May; the Cubs won two of three in July.

"Any time you're facing a first-place team, it's going to be a tough challenge," right fielder Ryan Ludwick said. "We've just got to battle. We've got Lilly, Zambrano and Dempster. We're going to have to step in the box and grind out at-bats and try to put as many good at-bats together as we can.

"From the pitching side of things, we've got some guys going on our side who are good in my opinion, too. It will be a dogfight."

Friendly confines, my foot

I used to go watch the Cardinals play the Cubs every year. But my wife and I were harassed and threatened by drunken Cubs fans who threw beer on us then followed us for several blocks outside Wrigley Field shouting profanities about St. Louis and telling us "hillbillies" to go back to Missouri. That was the day before Darryl Kile died. When we woke up the next morning to find out what happed to the former Cardials pitcher, we left and we've never been back. Somewhere in the last 100 years, it seems that Cubs fans lost their sense of humor and, suddenly, there is more danger at Wrigley Field than a piece of concrete falling on your head.

It's not just Cardinals fans that Cubs faithful target. Here are a couple of stories from the last two weeks to illustrate my point:

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Three Chicago-area men are accused of beating up a suburban Milwaukee man who police say threw a beer at their bus after the Milwaukee Brewers’ loss to the Chicago Cubs at Miller Park.
Officers arrested the three Cubs fans Tuesday night. They’re 25, 26 and 34 years old.
Police say the three Chicago-area men got off the bus after the 24-year-old man threw the beer. The Brewers fan was cited for disorderly conduct and taken to a local hospital. Authorities say he suffered cuts to his face and had a tooth knocked out.

The 34-year-old Chicago-area man also received a municipal ticket for assault and battery after police say he punched his sister in the mouth as she tried to intervene in the fight.

Punching your sister in the face when she tries to stop you from gang beating a guy who roots for the wrong team... Classy.

Here is a little nugget from last week, according to the Associated Press:
Robert Steele, a 32-year-old Chicago White Sox fan, lost his right eye and suffered a broken nose after allegedly being attacked by three Cubs fans earlier this month. The attackers have been charged with assault and mob action.

According to McHenry County officials, the scene of this violent act was not in a back alley, some sports bar, or the bleachers of Wrigley Field. The attack occured at at a 2-year-old girl’s Sesame Street-themed birthday party, not exactly what the girl was wishing for when she blew out the candles on her Elmo cake.

Police said Monday the men were drinking alcohol at the July 19th party and taunting Steele. He stayed several days at an Elgin hospital.
Elmo says beware of Cubs fans in threes.

http://bellevillenewsdemocrat.typepa...nfin.html#more

Friday/Sunday look like our best shots at W. Zambrano on Sat will be very tough.

Because God knows the team with the best run differential in baseball and the #2 team ERA in the NL is struggling on both of those fronts.

I believe he was dissing the Royals not the Cubbies.

Duncan is like a Soviet "re-education" camp. He helps them learn that strikeouts are fascist and that the 2-seam fastball is more democratic. It also helps that he has a guy like Yadi Molina calling the game for him, and a good defense behind him so that they can maximize the "pitch to contact" philosophy. Wellemeyer always had great natural stuff, he was just wasted in the Royals organization because...well, they couldn't develop a pound of rice in a Cambodian floodplain.

– The Cardinals have played very well on the road. They’re the highest-scoring road team in the majors this season, averaging 5.32 runs per game.

– But this is a tough assignment. The Cubs are 43-16 at Wrigley so far. How good is that? Well, it’s a home winning percentage of .729. Until now, the best home winning percentage by a Cubs team since 1954 belonged to the ‘84 team (.638).

– To this point, this could be the best offensive team the Cubs have ever put on the grass at Wrigley. The 2008 Cubs will likely set some home records (on offense) before the season is over. They are scoring 6.14 runs per game at home, the best according to STATS data dating back to 1954. The combined home onbase-slugging percentage of .875 is also the highest going back to ‘54.

– The 2008 Cubs are leading the NL in home scoring, slugging, onbase percentage and are second in homers.

– Who are the Cubs’ best hitters at home?
Many:
* Aramis Ramirez has 12 homers and 43 RBIs and an unreal .472 OBP and .607 SLG. The only NL players who have a higher home OPS this season are Chipper Jones and Matt Holliday.
* Derrek Lee has 14 homers and 36 RBIs and a .524 SLG. Lee has only three homers away from Wrigley. He has the highest percentage of HRs hit at home in the majors this season.
* Alfonso Soriano has 14 homers and 37 RBIS and a SLG of .664.
* Ramirez, Fukudome, Theriot, DeRosa and Edmonds have OBPs higher than .400 at home.
* Geovany Soto has 40 RBIs at home, and a .492 SLG.
* Six Cubs regulars are hitting higher than .300 at home.
* Old friend Edmonds has a SLG of .704 at Wrigley this season, with seven homers in 73 at-bats.

– Best of luck to Cardinals starting pitchers Braden Looper, Todd Wellemeyer and Chris Carpenter this weekend.

– Since the start of the 2002 season, Albert Pujols has the most extra-base hits in the majors, 555. But No. 2 on the list is the Cubs’ Soriano, with 552.

Enjoy the series….

Cubs fans

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For all the profanity-inducing, stomach-twisting, head-scratching consternation they've helped provoke over these last few wild and nervous weeks, maybe it's time we give the Cardinals a little credit for something besides our own rising acid reflux levels.

It's the second weekend in August, and this team is heading to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:pChicago</ST1:p</st1:City> with a chance on its bats. With nearly a third of the season remaining, there is meaningful baseball being played by these cardiac Cards, and I can say confidently that four months ago I didn't see this coming — and neither did most of the baseball world.<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

Despite a bullpen that produces more diabolical thrillers than Stephen King, the Cardinals are hitting the road for 10 games, and they have a two-dimensional playoff vision in their heads. On one side, there is the NL Central title, and the Cubbies in full control of that dimension with a five-game lead over <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:pMilwaukee</ST1:p</st1:City> with fewer than 50 games to play.
<O:p</O:p


And so for the first time since 2003, we have a rare redux of the celebrated "Three Nights in August" at Wrigley Field: a series that gives weight to the so-called Cards-Cubs "rivalry" beyond the normal amusing little civic hissing match between the dueling fan nations. For a change, this isn't just a glorified house party where one pitiful noncontender (usually the Cubs) gets to play spoiler during another's championship run (usually the Cards). It's a series with playoff implications, not just geo-municipal pride for both teams, which finally elevates it to the same competitive fever pitch of so many previous glorified Yanks vs. Red Sox duels.

<O:p</O:p

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Now That's True fan loyalty!!!!

Go CUBBIES!!!!!!

In case you cards fans want to sing a long a few times this weekend. :)
Baseball season's underway
Well you better get ready for a brand new day.
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.

They're singing ...
Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go

Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.

Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go

Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.

They got the power, they got the speed
To be the best in the National League
Well this is the year and Cubs are real
So come on down to Wrigley Field

We're singing now ...

Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.

Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.

Baseball time is here again
You can catch it all on WGN
So stamp you feet and clap your hands
Chicago Cubs got the greatest fans.

You're singing now ...

Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.

Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.

<div><object width="420" height="254"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/k2CZCWuUorvl3SI5KP&related=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/k2CZCWuUorvl3SI5KP&related=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="254" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object><br /><b><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x698gb_ohman-does-carey_shortfilms">Ohman Does Carey</a></b><br /><i>Uploaded by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/TheFightins">TheFightins</a></i></div>

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Nothing beats the real Harry! :clap:

Yo Ohman, you suck shit and your gelatinous face makes black baby Jesus cry. Just thought you should know.

http://i36.tinypic.com/15573w5.jpg

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Here's another awesome Elia(s) rant:

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Hey guys, Will Leitch thinks you're FULL OF SHIT:

The section from :21-:28 will go down with Cronkite telling the nation of JFK's death as the two greatest somber news deliveries of all time.

Jeff Weaver and Anthony Reyes won World Series games. Suppan had a .083 era in the playoffs.

Where are they now after signing big money FA deals?

Not to mention that pitching to contact and that D go hand-in-hand.

That's not to say that Duncan can polish every turd. It's not like he succeeded with Ponson, Clement, or some of the other reclamation projects.

I don't see today's game on my on-screen guide (TW KC). Is this only available on MLB channels?

Try WGN... you have to listen to Cubs broadcasters but surely it is on there.

Yep for us non locals its WGN on Friday and Saturday. ESPN on Sunday.

It's not on WGN or the Fox Sports Network that I get.

Its not on Today for some reason?:shake:

Saturday's game is on Fox. It's their game of the week.

Sunday's game is ESPN's game of the week.

I have no clue then. Sadly, I am at work so I dont even get an oppurtunity to watch that anyway.

Baseball tonight video preview of the series
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/...goryId=2521705

ESPN preview of the games this weekend:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/preview?gameId=280808116

$20.00 bucks a year you can watch it on your pc from mlb.com

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/subscriptions...ID=ESPN_ADTYPE

Internet wgnradio.com blocks it. MLB want's money bastards.

The ESPN gamecast can usually be viewed from work and its free. At least its real time.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gamecast?gameId=280808116

Joe Mather leading off?

No WGN, no FSN HD for those wondering... It is on Comcast HD if anyone gets it.

It' on DTV Channel 665.

I can't watch it because I'm taking off for the weekend shortly. Go Cards!

0-0 after 1

I hate ****in Edmonds.

I ****in' love Edmonds.

I bet this kid just wet his pants crying...:clap:

I see the trend of not being able to hit left handers continue. That makes no sense at all.

Well, Mather apparently doesnt have his head up his ass.

:clap:

Our beloved ol grissly ex vet tees off on us but the next inning our young gun repays the favor. Karma

FYP :D

Edmonds...EPIC FAIL.

Good dp by Albert...I liked that at bat a lot better than Jim's first :D

What's that? Edmonds got a flax seed injection in his knee?

That is definitely more like the Edmonds we all have learned to grow tired of.

ROFL

But I can't find it in myself to hate on Jimmy. Too many good memories prior to 2007.

That homerun made me dislike him a lot more... be it fair to him or not.

Nice D Cubbies.

My older sister loves Edmonds and has for years... not sure what she thinks now that he is a Cub.

I have never been a huge fan of his bat... he strikes out and grounds into DP too many times for me in key situations. I want a guy that can be more consistent.

Let's hope we can capitalize on it now.

Looper you stupid shit! Let it hit you!

Terrible.

WTF?!

What was it? A suicide squeeze?

Yeah, the pitch was thrown right at his feet...even if it hit him on the bounce Soto wouldn't have been able to recover in time to get the out.

Thanks for going to second, and thanks for loggygagging it Schumaker, you dumb fuck.

Looked like he was running hard to me...

Damn now they take the bat out of Pujols hand but you can't give up a free base if Keenedy fails

2-1 Cards...Kennedy still sucks tho.

Not until he rounded second. It shouldn't have been that close.

And Pinella is a **** for walking Pujols.

friggin knew it. Ludwick has to make them pay

sets up the double play or 3 run homer

I cant really blame them though.

Come on Ludwick

Ludwick walks too... Bases loaded for Glaus to pop out.

Ok... Come on Glaus at least get the runner on third home.

Just where he wants them.