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October 10, 2006
http://blogs.trb.com/sports/custom/weblog/wgnsports/
Please go to the above address and change your bookmark for Len & Bob's baseball blog. Hopefully you will find an improved look.
Sorry about any inconvenience and thank you for all your great posts.
bob v
October 09, 2006
Hey Everybody, just wanted to say hi as we look ahead to a busy week. You have the 2 League Championship Series getting underway and you probably have the start of the Cubs' manager interviews as well.
I hate to speculate because I don't really know in what direction the Cubs will go at this point, but there will some interesting dominoes that might fall here very soon. Will Lou Piniella replace Joe Torre in NY? Is Bruce Bochy staying in San Diego? There are things out there that could potentially affect what Jim Hendry wants to do. Of course, it could also be that he already knows what he wants to do and none of that other stuff might have any bearing on his decision.
As far as speculation regarding my partner is concerned, I'll say this: If somebody wants BB to manage their club and he has the desire to do it, I'll be his biggest fan, but I'd miss him dearly in the booth. My hope is that he stays with me in the booth for about...oh, 20 more years! But again, I want what's best for him, so we'll what transpires.
On the upcoming series, I think the AL series will be terrific. I'm not sad at all that the Yankees are out and would be happy to see either the Tigers or the A's make it to the World Series. Having grown up a Tiger fan, I'd love to see them get back to the Series for the first time since 1984. But having said that, if Billy Beane's club gets there, I'd be fine with that too. I have a lot of respect for what the A's have done the last several years on a limited
payroll and a trip to the Series would quiet some of their critics.
In the NL, I'd have to make the Mets the favorites. I'm really surprised the Cardinals got past the Padres as easily as they did after their near collapse down the stretch, but I think they proved (along with Detroit) that you can turn on the switch after it's been quickly flipped off in the final week of the regular season. I'm pulling for the Mets, if for no other reason than they're playing the Cardinals.
I'll say it's going to be the Mets and the Tigers prevailing. I'll give Detroit the slight edge in the ALCS because of Jim Leyland.
Your picks for the World Series???
Len
October 05, 2006
The Cubs announced their plans for this year's convention and the press release is below.
We are still working on the Len & Bob Bash, to be held at the House of Blues Thursday night, January 18. As soon as we get the musical acts confirmed, we will put out the information on them, tickets, etc.
The Chicago Cubs today announced that weekend passes for the 22nd annual Cubs Convention will go on sale Monday, November 6, at 10 a.m. CST. Passes will be exclusively available through www.cubs.com or by calling tickets.com at 1-800-THE-CUBS. Passes will cost $50 each plus convenience fees.
The 22nd annual Cubs Convention will be held at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Avenue, from Friday, January 19 through Sunday, January 21, 2007. Rooms under the Cubs Convention rate are still available and reservations can be made by calling 312-922-4400. As a reminder, fans who reserve a room under the Cubs Convention rate can purchase weekend passes for only $10 each (limit four per room).
The hours of the convention are as follows: Friday, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to midnight; and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Included with each pass is access to: all autograph/photo sessions, question and answer sessions as well as the memorabilia and vendor booths.
The 2006 Cubs Convention raised more than $400,000. Proceeds from the Cubs Convention benefit Cubs Care. Cubs Care is a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. Since 1991, Cubs Care has granted more than $10 million to support youth sports, children with special needs and domestic violence shelters for women and children in Chicago. Social service agencies in the Lakeview area also have received grants from Cubs Care.
Detroit at New York Yankees – Game 2
* The Yankees have won five of their last six Game 2s.
* Detroit will be looking to snap its six-game losing streak (including regular season). During their current losing streak, the Tigers’ starting pitchers have posted an ERA of 11.03.
* Derek Jeter went 5-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and three runs in Game 1. Jeter became the sixth player in postseason history with five hits in a game.
* The Tigers will be seeking their first postseason victory since October 10, 1987.
* Justin Verlander will be making his playoff debut. Verlander struggled in his only start against the Yankees back in June, giving up six runs and 7 hits in five innings.
* In his last five ALDS starts for the Yankees, Mike Mussina is 1-3 with a 4.78 ERA. Mussina is 17-5 with a 2.50 ERA in 29 career starts against the Tigers.
* Including Game 1, Curtis Granderson is hitting .400 (6-for-15) with two homers, a double, a triple and six RBIs in his last three road games.
* Alex Rodriguez is hitting just .129 (4-for-31) in his last 9 postseason games.
* On Friday the series moves to Detroit for Comerica Park's first-ever playoff game.
Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets – Game 2
* Including the postseason, the Dodgers are 10-7 in their last 17 games at Shea Sadium.
* The Mets are 5-0 all-time in NLDS home games, while the Dodgers are 0-7 in NLDS road games (includes 1981 strike shortened season).
* Carlos Delgado went 4-for-5 in Game 1, becoming the fourth Met to have four hits in a postseason game, joining Rusty Staub (1973), Lenny Dykstra (1986) and Kevin McReynolds (1988).
* Jeff Kent has recorded two hits in five of his last six games, hitting .550 (11-for-20) in those contests (includes postseason).
* Tom Glavine is 5-0 with a 3.23 ERA in his last five starts against the Dodgers. This is Glavine’s first playoff appearance since 2002 when he lost two starts against the Giants in the NLDS.
* Hong-Chih Kuo will be making his sixth career start and first postseason appearance. On September 9th Kuo made his first career start at New York, allowing three hits in six innings while earning the win against the Mets.
* Billy Wagner closed Game 1 for his first postseason save, striking out Nomar Garciaparra with a runner on second for the final out.
* The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Saturday.
St. Louis at San Diego – Game 2
* San Diego has lost 8 straight postseason games. Their last postseason victory came in Game 6 of the 1998 NLCS.
* The Padres have won 9 of their last 12 games, while the Cardinals have lost 9 of their last 13 (including the postseason).
* David Wells is 10-4 with a 3.15 ERA in 26 career postseason appearances. Wells was a combined 3-5 with a 4.42 ERA this year for the Red Sox and Padres.
* In his career against the Padres, including playoffs, Albert Pujols is hitting .407 with 15 homers and 46 RBIs in 41 games. He's gone 3-for-9 with no homers lifetime against David Wells.
* Jeff Weaver is 0-2 with a 9.72 ERA in four career postseason games. Weaver is 2-0 with a 1.61 ERA in his last three starts against the Padres.
* In his career against Jeff Weaver, Mike Piazza has gone 2-for-12 (.167).
* Jim Edmonds is 11-for-35 with three homers and 7 RBIs in his career against David Wells.
* The Padres No. 3-6 hitters - went 1-for-15 with six strikeouts in Game 1, while the top of the order (Dave Roberts & Brian Giles) went 5-for-7.
October 04, 2006
While Len enjoys some time off, Bob drives back to Arizona, and the rest of us watch the Cubs begin their search for a new manager, several tidbits on Wednesday:
*Chicago Cubs Vice President and General Manager Jim Hendry has notified the Major League coaching staff (Gene Clines, Sonny Jackson, Juan Lopez, Gary Matthews, Dick Pole, Larry Rothschild and Chris Speier) that the new manager will be responsible for selecting his staff. The coaches have been told that they will be considered for all available positions, but that they are free to pursue other opportunities.
*Stephen V. wondered about the last podcast of the season. It has been up on the WGN website and can be downloaded to your iPod or mp3 player in the audio format, or you can watch our the two announcers via the video version.
*Kent wondered who chooses the 7th inning singers? The Cubs marketing dept. handles that chore.
bob v
Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets – Game 1
* These teams will be meeting in the playoffs for the first time since 1988 when Los Angeles won the 7-game NLCS en route to its last World Series title.
* The Mets won the season series against the Dodgers, 4-3, with each team managing to shut out the other on one occasion.
* The Dodgers went 8-30 against this year's playoff teams.
* Entering the postseason, Derek Lowe has won 7 straight decisions. Lowe is 2-2 with a 3.20 ERA in six career playoff starts.
* John Maine will be making his first career postseason appearance. The Mets have won six of Maine’s last 7 home starts.
* Rafael Furcal has 40 career RBIs against the Mets, his most against any opponent. Furcal hit .414 (12-for-29) with three homers and 7 RBIs against the Mets this season.
* In 12 career postseason games, Carlos Beltran is hitting .435 (20-for-46) with 8 homers and 14 RBIs.
* Los Angeles led the NL in hitting with a .276 batting average. They also led the league in hits (1552) and triples (58) but ranked 15th in home runs (153).
* Jose Reyes led the majors with 17 triples and 64 stolen bases this season.
October 03, 2006
St. Louis at San Diego – Game 1
* The Cardinals are making their third straight postseason appearance and sixth in the last 7 years.
* These teams will be meeting for the second consecutive postseason. They met in the 2005 NLDS with the Cardinals sweeping that series in three games.
* San Diego has won 9 of their last 11 games to make the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history.
* St. Louis closed out the regular season losing 9 of its last 12 games.
* Jake Peavy won his only start against St. Louis this season, despite allowing six runs in five innings for an ERA of 10.80. Peavy started (and lost) Game 1 of the NLDS last season against the Cardinals. He allowed 8 hits and 8 runs in 4.1 innings of work.
* The Cardinals finished with an 83-78 record this season, after consecutive 100-win seasons.
* Josh Bard hit .643 (9-for-14) against St. Louis this year with four doubles and six RBIs and two homers.
* Chris Carpenter is 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA in three career postseason starts. In his last two starts this season, Carpenter has gone 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA. St. Louis has gone 20-12 overall in his starts this year.
* In 40 career games against San Diego (including the postseason) Albert Pujols is batting .404 with 14 homers and 44 RBIs.
Detroit at New York Yankees – Game 1
* The Yankees are the AL East winners for the 9th consecutive year and are making their 12th straight trip to the postseason, but haven’t won the World Series since 2000.
* Detroit enters the postseason riding a five-game losing streak. The Tigers are making their first postseason appearance since 1987.
* New York won five of 7 from Detroit this season, and is 17-4 at Yankee Stadium against the Tigers since 2001.
* The Tigers finished the season with a 95-67 record, their best regular-season record since the 1987 club won 98 games.
* The Yankees have won 95 games or more in each of the last six seasons.
* Chien-Ming Wang went 10-2 with 3.13 ERA in 14 starts after the All-Star break. Wang is 3-0 with a 2.52 ERA in four career starts against the Tigers.
* Nate Robertson is 1-4 with a 4.46 ERA in six career starts against the Yankees. Robertson went 0-2 in two starts against them this season, allowing 8 runs and 20 hits in 15 2-3 innings.
* Magglio Ordonez hit .333 (8-for-24) with a home run and 7 RBIs against the Yanks this year. In 32 career games at Yankee Stadium, Ordonez has a slugging percentage of .628 with 8 homers and 33 RBIs.
* Since September 1, Jorge Posada has a slugging percentage of .679 with 7 homers, 8 doubles and 25 RBIs.
October 02, 2006
Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry met with the media Monday afternoon to discuss his decision to not offer a new contract to manager Dusty Baker. Hendry also talked about the search for a new Cubs manager.
Cubs manager Dusty Baker officially became former Cubs manager Dusty Baker this morning. At noon, Baker met with the media to issue a brief statement.
October 01, 2006
The Chicago Cubs today announced Andy MacPhail is resigning as president of the organization effective immediately.
John McDonough, Cubs senior vice president of marketing and broadcasting, will serve as interim president. Jim Hendry will continue as general manager, in charge of all baseball operations.
MacPhail Resigns, McDonough Named Interim President
