Sports Notes, 8/19/07, Carlos Zambrano edition

-- Let’s see … $91 million dollars … 83 cents for an original glazed from Krispy Kreme … that buys … wow, a lot of doughnuts.

-- So, it turns out that Carlos Zambrano is worth $3.7 million a year more than Aramis Ramirez. Who would’ve thunk it?

-- Actually, it’s easy to make fun, but that number might be right on the money. This year Ramirez has been worth at least as much to the team as Zambrano, but for their careers Zambrano’s passion alone puts him over the top. This is a good deal that keep a staff ace on a playoff contender for five years.

-- After all, Zambrano is a true staff ace and an all-star who goes more than 200 innings year in and year out. A staff-ace-caliber pitcher who goes 200 innings without getting hurt every year is worth his weight in gold. (I’m talking to YOU, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior.)

-- In fact, any other staff-ace-caliber pitcher who goes 200 innings every year without getting hurt is worth Carlos Zambrano’s weight in gold.

-- Now, back to the field. Our oversized hero takes the mound tonight with a chance to prove himself worthy of his equally large contract in a pivotal series. Going into this series, the Cubs needed to win at least three of four to push back the surging Cardinals and stake themselves as a true contender for the NL Central. With a win tonight, they’ll be in line for a sweep. Zambrano is facing off against 6-13 Kip Wells, a guy who’s having a down year even by his standards. This is an absolute must-win – not for the Cubs so much as for Carlos.

-- But how do you think Michael Barret feels right now? The fallout from the fight is, he gets shipped 2,000 miles away and Zambrano gets a five-year deal. I give it about three weeks before a wily veteran like Greg Maddux starts to give Barrett wet willies in the dugout.

Sports Notes, 8/12/07

-- So, while the Brewers are getting swept at Colorado, the Cubs can’t even sniff victory in Houston, but then the Brewers go into Houston and can’t lose, and the Cubs go to Colorado and beat up on the Rockies, at least until the Cubs start losing to the Rockies, at which point the Brewers give up a four-run eighth and lose in Houston. What if we just sent out Derrek Lee and Prince Fielder to thumb-wrestle each other for the NL Central championship?

-- Rumor had it last week that the Cubs got Scott Podsednik off waivers. He was still in a White Sox uniform on Sunday, but the fact the Cubs were thinking about him shows that dumping Kenny Lofton still looks stupid four seasons later.

-- The score doesn’t matter in preseason football, but the way you get it sometimes does. The BEARS beat Houston 20-19 on a last-minute field goal capping a drive that was kept alive in part by a running-into-the-punter penalty. Bad teams make these mistakes, good teams capitalize on them

-- Garrett Wolfe, running back from Northern Illinois and my own alma mater Holy Cross High School, had a couple nice runs for the BEARS in the fourth quarter and is looking like he actually might make this team.

-- Isn’t it great that we’re back in the time of year when we talk about the BEARS in all capitals again?

-- Speaking of the BEARS, newly acquired Obafemi Ayanbadejo got busted for steroid use. He says it’s a mixup regarding an over-the-counter supplement (and he actually makes a pretty good case), but I don’t think anyone would hold it against him if he felt that he needed to strengthen his jaw to say his damn name.

-- Well, the readers may not have chimed in on what they think about Rex Grossman, but Sports Illustrated sure did. The magazine ranked him the No. 17 starting quarterback in the NFL going into 2007. That would be the top spot in the bottom half of the rankings, or just one behind Matt Leinart. In other words, a damning indictment.

-- Confidential to Jermaine D. in Bridgeport: Believe whatever you want, but you are not in a playoff race, dude.

Alfonso Sore-iano

Alfonso Soriano has been an enigma all year. Now we find out how important he really is to the Cubs.

He leads the team in home runs, but they’ve all come from the leadoff spot; in the three-hole, he hit a mere .179 with one RBI in 28 at-bats. He doesn’t seem to hit in clutch situations, as evidenced by his .234 average with runners on and two outs; but 14 of his 42 RBI – in only 64 at-bats – have come in those situations. He’s made some stellar defensive plays, but I can’t remember a single one of them at Wrigley Field, where he still looks lost in left field.

So what exactly is he to this team? A leadoff hitter with power? A power hitter who can’t produce? A defensive liability? A defensive strength? A riddle inside of a mystery all wrapped up in blue pinstripes? He does seem to be a contributor, but I just can’t figure out how.

One way or another, though, we may find out how much this team misses whatever it is that Soriano contributes, as he’ll be out two to four weeks with a strained right quadricep.

I’m not convinced his presence will be missed all that much. To be certain, this is and always has been Derrek Lee’s team, and after that Aramis Ramirez’s, and after that Carlos Zambrano’s, and after that at this point “Millionaire” Mark DeRosa’s, and then maybe Soriano’s, although I’d listen to a case for Ryan Theriot.

Furthermore, the way this team has played, someone will step up and fill whatever size hole Soriano leaves. This could mean more playing time for Jacque Jones and Cliff Floyd, or it could mean more playing time for Mike Fontenot with DeRosa in the outfield, or it could mean playing time for new Cub Eric Patterson (Corey’s little brother), who was just called up from Iowa, or it could mean everybody picks a playing and batting position at random out of an inside-out baseball cap, and having watched Lou Piniella all year, none of those scenarios would exactly surprise me.

On top of all of that, the Cubs do have a reasonably soft schedule for the next three weeks, leading into a big three-game series at home against Milwaukee. All they have to do is keep pace until then without Soriano. Which, of course, they should be able to do anyway. So maybe we never will know what Soriano means to this team.

Jeers For Cheers

Cubs fans, you showed your class by applauding Tom Glavine on Sunday night. Now try to show some loyalty.

I understand the applause when Glavine left the game with the lead in the seventh inning en route to his 300th career win. After all, seeing someone’s 300th win is something to tell your grandkids about. I also understand the franchise sending out a message of congratulations on the scoreboard after the game. After all, we’re all professionals here.

But cheering for the visiting team in the bottom of the ninth with the Cubs down by five runs? That’s over the line. Let’s try to remember that the Cubs are in a playoff race and need every win they can get.

Furthermore, let’s try to remember that that visiting team was the New York Mets, from Chicago’s arch-rival city. Many of the current crop of out-of-town sorority-girl Cubs fans wouldn’t know this, but back in the days of the old NL East, the Mets were more reviled even than the Cardinals in Cubs Nation. Cheering for them to win at Wrigley Field is flat-out unacceptable to us lifers.

As an aside, it is pretty amazing how many Cubs fans these days didn't start out that way. I was at the Retro on Roscoe street fest last night, and when Hairbanger's Ball broke into Van Halen's "Jump," I was going to remark about how awesome it is to hear that song whenever the Cubs are doing well. But when I looked around at my group of friends, I realized virtually none of them would have caught the reference.

All of that said, let’s not take anything away from Glavine's accomplishment. After all, he’s only the 23rd player in all of baseball history to hit that mark. And while I don’t want to say “never again,” it will almost certainly be a very long time until anyone else wins 300 games.

Randy Johnson, 43 years old, is 16 wins away but just underwent back surgery and likely won’t ever pitch again. Mike Mussina, at 38 at 246 wins, would need six more this year and 12 for each of the next four years to join the club. If he can keep up the pace of his 17 years in the bigs, that would be an achieveable goal, but then again that’s a very big if. And no one else in the top 150 of active pitchers has any realistic chance of reaching 300 wins.

Still, that doesn't excuse Cubs fans' behavior. The next time someone exhorts you to "show a little class," follow their instructions exactly.

Sports Notes, 8/5/07

-- Congratulations, Barry. Go, A-Rod.

-- You can credit Ryan Theriot for Saturday’s win over the Mets. With two outs and runners on the corners in the third inning, Theriot beat out a slow grounder to drive in the first run of the game and keep the inning alive. All in all, six runs scored – more than they would need and all that they would get.

-- Or you can credit the umpire, as replays showed the throw just barely beat Theriot.

-- In a line that pretty much sums up how random that inning was, Jacque Jones was two-for-two with an RBI and a baserunning gaffe in the third inning alone.

-- Of course, when it comes to crazy innings, nothing beats Any-Eight-Runs-You-Can-Score-I-Can-Score-Better affair between the White Sox and the Yankees on Wednesday. When you go up by that much and then piss it all away, it must feel like you have to go out and re-win a game that you had won already.

-- Can you believe Jose Contreras, two years off his 15-win season, is currently 5-14? That with two more losses he will have lost as many games in 2007 as he did in 2005 and 2006 combined? Of course, after the eight-home-run onslaught on Tuesday, I can hardly believe he’s won five games.

-- Here’s another odd stat: Moises Alou hit as many home runs on Saturday as he did the entire rest of the season combined. And this brings up an ethical quandry for bleacher buttholes: Do you throw back a home run off the bat of someone who meant so much to Cubs Nation?

-- Now, the bat itself you obviously throw back; the thing’s covered in pee. But the ball? I myself might keep that one.

-- Chicago native Donovan McNabb says that at his current level of 75 percent, he’s better than most NFL quarterbacks at 100 percent. Which leads us to reflect on Rex: Would you rather have 75 percent of McNabb or 100 percent of Grossman? It’s a noodle-scratcher, but in the end I give a slight edge to the incumbent. Let’s hear what the readers have to say on that one!

Well ... Maybe It Really Could Happen

Tuesday night’s 7-3 win over Philadelphia was very telling for this Cubs team. On the heels of a loss, this team came out with the mental strength it’s shown since the blowups of early June and fought back one of its many wild-card rivals.

The loss on Monday could have been a big blow. With a chance to move into a tie for first place, on a day when the Cubs were making up one of the games-in-hand of which they seem to have an abundance, and coming off a successful road trip, they walked out onto their home field and squandered a huge opportunity.

But, unlike many of the Cubs teams I’ve watched in my nearly 30 years of fandom, they didn’t let it affect them. They came right back out and won the next night. Just like they win despite a lack of home run power, and despite constant lineup tweaks, and seemingly without a care as to who gets the big hit or makes the best play, this team can win on the heels of a bad loss.

They do it with a quiet confidence that is reflected in the “It’s Gonna Happen” slogan that is rippling through Wrigleyville. Watching this team play as solidly as it’s played since June 3, you really do get the sense that they expect good things to happen to them, and in turn the expectation leads to realization.

So instead of suffering from a bad loss, the Cubs went out and posted a good win. It prevented a losing streak. It kept pressure on the Brewers. It took a game back from a wild-card chaser. And, most importantly, it kept the Cubs tied or ahead of all their playoff rivals – including the Brewers – in the most important category, fewest losses.

The Cubs may be a game back of Milwaukee, but they also have two games in hand on the Brewers, which means the Cubs can control their own destiny and move into a first-place tie simply by winning on the days Milwaukee doesn’t play. This condition holds for as long as the Cubs can stay tied in the loss column.

There’s still a lot of baseball left to be played, and with as many strong teams as there are in the West, it’s impossible to call a playoff spot for the Cubs right now. But what is guaranteed is that this team will be very fun to watch for the next 57 games.