Old Style to exit Wrigley Field following 2011 season

In Unobstructed Views by Obstructed View Staff11 Comments

(I apologize if I don’t do this right. I didn’t pay attention when Al wrote the post about diary posts, or fan shots, or rim shots or whatever the hell they’re called.) Old Style beer and the Chicago Cubs have been intertwined as long as I can remember. When I was a kid listening to Vinny and Lou call the …

Joe Posnanski on Barry Bonds

In Unobstructed Views by Obstructed View Staff6 Comments

One of the best sportswriters, Joe Posnanski, recently got into a debate with Bob Costas about Barry Bonds as one of the best players of all time.  As a Bay Area native I followed the Giants and A’s after the whole steroid-fueled home run chase of 1998 (Sammy Sosa being the definitive reason why I’m a Cubs fan, bad choice, …

Anatomy of a Rebound – 2006-2007 vs 2011

In Unobstructed Views by Obstructed View Staff172 Comments

One thing that hasn’t been discussed much is how the Cubs went from a similarly unwatchable team in 2006 to the playoffs in 2007.  Just like the 2011 Cubs, the 2006 Cubs had some major black holes on their roster, trotted out numerous awful pitchers in the 5th starter spot, and were completely unwatchable and awful. Somehow they managed to …

African-Americans in baseball

In Unobstructed Views by Obstructed View Staff223 Comments

This Texas newspaper story has been circulating around the blogosphere for a while so I thought it deserved a bit of attention.   I think most everyone is aware that the number of star-quality or even major league-caliber African-American players in MLB has dwindled in recent years.  The article does mention how the population of African-Americans in basketball and American …

Can Rosenbloom out-stupid Rosenbloom?

In Unobstructed Views by Obstructed View Staff107 Comments

Steve Rosenbloom’s streak of semi-reasonable articles came to a screeching halt yesterday (we’re all regression fans here, so we saw this coming) with his “thrashing” of the Cubs’ Carlos Zambrano and his decision to go adopt a child during the All-Star break.  Cue Rosenbloom: Latest cases in point began when Zambrano went on the disabled list with a bad back …

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Tom Ricketts and Player Acquisition

In Unobstructed Views by GW83 Comments

Tom Ricketts has been vocal since buying the Cubs about the need to strengthen the minor league system.  It’s getting harder to doubt his sincerity given the construction of a new facility in the Dominican Republic, the increased number of overslot draftees in 2011, and the newly competitive nature of the organization in plucking sixteen year-olds out of foreign countries. …

Cubs sign Enrique Acosta for $1.1 million

In Unobstructed Views by dmick894 Comments

It’s always nice to see the Cubs make a splash in the Dominican or Venezuela. They signed Enrique Acosta for $1.1 million. The full scouting report is here (subscribers only). He’s ranked 9th. Acosta, who is represented by Rob Plummer, has one of the best bats in the Dominican Republic. Acosta, 16, has a short load and gets his hands …

A look back at “Major League”

In Unobstructed Views by Obstructed View Staff4 Comments

Sports Illustrated has a lengthy interview with the minds behind “Major League,” one of the greatest sports comedies of all time in my humble opinion.  It’s probably worth a half hour of your time to skim through it.  Hopefully Bob Uecker is still kicking around when they finally decide to make a good sequel; Major League II and III never …