Iowa
Did not play. Probably because of Obama.
Smokies
Also did not play. This only proves that Barack Hussein Obama will stop at NOTHING to keep the white man from playing baseball. Tradition means nothing to this socialist Nazi.
Daytona
Postponed. Can America really afford 4 more years of canceled minor league games? This kind of shit wouldn't happen under Mitt Romney.
Peoria
Michael Jensen worked 5 innings and gave up 4 runs but they were all unearned. Kind of like a certain President who hasn't earned shit his entire life. Zeke DeVoss must adhere to liberation theology because he decided to liberate himself from the responsibility of hitting and went 0-3.
The Sox are going to play Dunn in LF when they come to Wrigley. That should be LULZy
I’m not sure there’s enough dogwhistle racism coming out of Papa Ricketts’ PAC. Maybe they should hire a BBWAA member to give them some pointers.
How does the Wrigley/Cubs Ricketts trust fund work? Is it just like a huge endowment earning interest that the Ricketts kids can tap into whenever they want without interference from Papa Ricketts? Do they have to campaign for Papa Ricketts if they want another advance on their allowance?
Rice Cube wrote:
(titter)
i dont think we should have any black presidents since Buck O Neil wasn’t elected
@ Marilyn Hagerty:
You should also be old enough to remember the cast of Leave it Beaver, starring HUGhE Beaumont and Tony enDOWment.
THE POLITICAL TALK WILL STOP NOW
I’m sure Zeke DeVoss figured that in a sociolist baseball world he’d just go 0-3 and let hits get redistributed to him later.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/things-that-will-make-you-feel-old
im just waiting for Rahm to go Mafia style on the Ricketts clan over this PAC. You want a new stadium!? Fuck you!
@ dylanj:
I think instead of stonewalling them, he’ll just bleed them for cash. I think the Cubs are going to find out very soon that they are going to pay the asshole tax on any piece of land they buy, any street permits they request, etc.
Apparently this guy just got called up:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=parker003ric
@ Rice Cube:
I’m guessing it’s either Coleman to Iowa or Wood back to the DL
@ Mish:
Thanks Mish. I was having a good today up until I read that list.
@ Berselius:
Could be Maine.
I think Joe Ricketts super PAC will have no impact on the Cubs whatsoever. Joe isn’t even involved with the Cubs and he doesn’t give a shit about them anyway. If the Cubs threatened to move away from Wrigley Rahm would donate money to that super PAC to keep them at Wrigley. They just need to have the balls to make that threat. The Cubs have all the leverage here.
@ mb21:
They do, but I think Ricketts has zero interest in threatening to move. There’s a much bigger chance that if Rahm makes things tough for them, they’ll just wait him out until there’s someone else calling the shots.
@ mb21:
I think they keep him around to do LOOGY things, especially since Russell is pretty much the setup/closer now.
@ Berselius:
I agree but there’s always a point at whIch you’ll do what you have to in a business like that. It’s clear they want to stay at Wrigley but I have no doubt that family lets people push them without pushing back. The bottom line is the leverage is there for thm to use and at some point they will.
@ Mish:
whoa, look at hillary banks in #10 (the “now” version). she looks horrible.
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Yeah she does. She was smoking hot though back in the day.
i disagree totally with MD concerning leverage. Ricketts has wrapped himself in the Cub flag so firmly that threatening to move the team would be a joke. There are few franchises so meshed with the city they play in than the cubs. Its not going to happen. And having your dad form a racist PAC against the mayors former boss & close friend is probably not a great idea when you want the mayors help
@ dylanj:
What could the Cubs threaten? Moving out of Wrigley, or moving out of the city into a suburb like Schaumburg or something? I could understand them having leverage if they choose to move to a suburb but I guess I don’t understand how they would have any leverage if they leave Wrigley but stay in the City.
@ EnricoPallazzo:
She really let herself go. Meryl Streep, on the other hand…that’s some good lighting she got in the 30-years-later pic.
MLB.com has Cubs taking Albert Almora in their mock.
lots of chatter that Almora is the guy
Amaya returned to AZ instructs yesterday
@ dylanj:
Joe Ricketts doesn’t give a shit if the Cubs stay at Wrigley or move to Spain. Joe Ricketts owns the team.
It seems to me people are mistaking what Tom has said as if it means that’s what Joe thinks. Joe doesn’t give a fuck about the Cubs, where they play, or whether or not they win.
Even if it was Tom who owned the team it’s not like businessmen (and politicians) say one thing and then always stick to their word.
Joe Ricketts is like the honey badger. (dying laughing)
ok then Joe Ricketts can take his team that he went into debt for and lose their fanbase and revenue. Because any businessman would do that right?
Apparently all the Ricketts care, MB. Even Joe:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-emanuel-antiobama-ads-would-be-insult-to-nation-20120517,0,1128323.story
Randy Wells is not happy about being at AAA: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/12556714-419/randy-wells-isnt-enjoying-stint-with-iowa.html
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7942639/new-orleans-saints-jonathan-vilma-sues-commissioner-roger-goodell-defamation
This could be interesting. I’m sure Vilma doesn’t have a chance in hell of winning a case (though they could settle), but it will be nice to see NFL labor-ish issues handled by someone other than the extremely unbiased arbitrator Roger Goodell.
Joe Rickets takes it all back, Tom and Laura say it isn’t true, and Rahm is pissed:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120517/BLOGS02/120519836?template=mobile
“A source close to the mayor confirms that that remark was indeed Freudian. Mr. Emanuel is “livid” with the family’s “blatant hypocrisy,” that source says. The Ricketts have tried to contact him, my source adds, but the mayor “does not want to talk with them today, tomorrow or anytime soon.”"
@ dylanj:
Name one team that lost fans when they built a new ballpark.
I want a Ricketts reality TV show now. This family is too precious.
@ mb21:
Brooklyn Dodgers.
Parker isn’t on the 40-man, so I guess that means someone is getting DFA’d
“Super PAC Ending Spending Fund”????
Did they let Todd Ricketts make up the name?
@ Berselius:
I thought Deadspin’s write-up hit the nail on the head – in an actual court of law, Goodell is going to have to turn up the specifics from the NFL’s investigation if they don’t settle or it doesn’t get tossed early.
Vilma’s complaint, if anyone’s interested: http://www.scribd.com/Deadspin/d/93942498-Vilma-v-Goodell
@ Rice Cube:
Good. The ‘pen needs a few more guys capable of walking a ton of batters.
Aroldis Chapman finally gave up a run. Unearned, of course.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
So whoever leaked that story just screwed up the entire Ricketts family hobby even though they’re trying to distance themselves from it?
@ GBTS:
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
Two things strike me as funny about this:
1. If he just woulda kept his mouth shut and did his dirt quietly and behind closed doors, the old man probably woulda been able to do whatever he wanted without incident. In other words, he would have been just like the other 29 rich assholes who own MLB clubs. (And, yes, Magic falls in this group.)
2. This “Ricketts Plan” sounds ingenious. Why hadn’t anyone thought of attacking Obama based on his racial/ethnic background before?
@ uncle dave:
I just think naming a organization whose sole purpose is to raise and spend massive amounts of money the “Ending Spending Action Fund” is really the height of unintentional comedy.
Pujols just hit his 3rd homer.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Well, considering that one of the PAC’s principals is currently looking for a nine-figure public subsidy, the break with reality would seem par for the course…
@ uncle dave:
I don’t see what Joe has done as any different than what other people in a similar situation have done. He wants money even though he can afford it and would prefer the government not spend money in ways he considers wasteful, which is just about any way that doesn’t result in money in his pocket. You more than likely have 25 of 30 baseball owners who would support a smaller government spending less money yet nearly every one of them has asked for public funds at one time or another. It’s nonsense, but there’s nothing special about what’s going on here. The only difference is you supposedly had an ad that was going to run that was a negative ad on someone the mayor of Chicago used to work for. Rahm may be pissed off, but it’s nothing a thousand dollar donation to his campaign can’t fix. The Cubs can also put pressure no Rahm indirectly so I don’t think this changes anything. Eventually the Cubs get their money. They know it. The city knows it. Most of the local Cubs fans probably support it even though many of them are against such funding. It’s all a bunch of nonsense. I think someone posted a link to a BCB poll from a year or so ago about it and they were overwhelmingly in favor of the city subsidizing the renovation. And we know damn well that at least half of them would complain about such silliness if it happened elsewhere. People are idiots. Always have been. Always will be.
Chris Volstad doing Chris Volstad things
@ mb21:
I’ll try not to turn this into yet another off-topic screed, but I guess I don’t totally agree with you on a couple of points here. I think we agree regarding the general behavior of most (if not all) MLB owners, but where I disagree is that I don’t believe the ads in question here are just political ads, and taking a further step back, I don’t think that the political activity that’s being sponsored by Ricketts and his buddies is just business as usual. So in terms of the supposed outrage, I think it’s a fair assumption that a lot of it is linked not just to this ad buy but to general anger surrounding the role of money in politics. Back to the ad itself, though, I think that the level of misinformation and slander being used by political campaigns and surrogates is far worse than it’s been in my lifetime, and that you can make a very compelling argument that what’s coming from the right is far worse than what’s coming from anyone else at this point. I mean, in terms of corruption and negative politics, we’re seeing shit that belongs in the late 19th century here.
So does that make Rahm a saint? Hell no. But this is more than just an ad supporting the opponent of his former boss, and you can bet that’s not lost on him. Rahm is supposedly a pretty stubborn, nasty guy, and I don’t expect this to go away anytime soon. (Or, at least, it’ll take more than a grand to make it go away (dying laughing)). He was brought in by Obama largely because of his ability to be tough and influential, and I don’t expect him to be pushed around here.
As for public support for the project, keep in mind that the sample for the poll at BCB would have a pretty severe selection bias issue, and that issues surrounding the funding of pro sports teams typically have a very vocal minority in support. That might not be enough to change the political calculus — perception is very important in politics. But I don’t see this plan having widespread support, even within the city of Chicago.
At any rate, we still have $100 for charity on this issue, so I actually have a horse in this race (dying laughing)…
mb21 wrote:
I do, however, believe this to be true.
Halliday:Godzilla::Volstad:Japan
I feel like if Billy Beane were the GM of the Cubs, Sveum would’ve been fired last inning. Tie game though.
uncle dave wrote:
I felt like this was more accurate.
@ Rice Cube:
Sure, throw that at me. (You’re right, though (dying laughing).)
@ uncle dave:
I knew what you meant (dying laughing)
Volstad sucks and has shitty luck.
@ uncle dave:
You forget: the Cubs have Halladay’s number!
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@ Rice Cube:
Actually, it’s
Halladay:Volstad::Godzilla:Bambi
Download | Convert YouTube to MP3
@ ACT:
Casey Coleman > Halladay at bat (dying laughing)
Oy TOOTBLAN…ugh
Aggressive baserunning!!!
Man, that multicam thing was sickening
josh wrote:
Yeah, I was yelling at the screen for them to stop showing that.
Castro –> HR
@ Rice Cube:
SUNFLOWER SEEDS ALL AROUND!
uncle dave wrote:
I don’t think I disagree with anything you’re saying here but I would point out that enemies do business all the time.
I think I already know that $100 to charity, don’t I? I thought we had a cutoff date, didn’t we? I thought about that recently. If so please email me or we can set it up so that I’ll make the payment to charity that you wish.
Parker tearing up the Phillies with that yakker.
That should say “owe to charity.” stupid iPhone.
I think Volstad may get DFA’d.
Surely the Cubs have the worst reliever walk rate in baseball, right?
Why can’t pitchers field?
@ ACT:
I actually startled my baby. He thought I was yelling at him.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Who takes his place? This team just sucks (dying laughing)
I think Volstad at this point would pass right through waivers.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
He looked really good on the first inning, but that defensive error hurt him in his second. He looked better, stuff-wise, than most of the current Cubs bullpen.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I see him landing back in AAA. This team sucks balls. Casey coleman did okay, let him have another shot, I guess. Ugh. Leave it to the Phillies to remind us how bad the Cubs suck.
Man, Chooch (Chuch? Tchooch?) is on a hell of a tear lately.
@ Rice Cube:
I think he would too. He’s owed $2.7 million this season. The question is, who do you call up to take his place?
@ mb21:
Kasper was on the radio today saying it would be Lopez or Wells. But, yes.
This…is awesome:
BEEF CASTLE!
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Is that his first MLB hit? It can’t be.
It seems like it, though.
@ mb21:
Travis Wood started today and got the win. That might be an option.
Wondering if I should watch HBOs Veep?
New Belgium 1554.
Drinking on a Thursday night is the only way to live.
2 home runs and only 4 strikeouts for Roy. This won’t be good for his FIP.
@ Rice Cube:
I would assume it would be Wood. He’s kind of sucked though. Chris Rusin? Len just mentioned him. He’s not that great.
Who will the Hope Monster feast on after this series?
Sneaky WAG
@ Rice Cube:
Chris Volstad’s agent.
Holy crap, someone walked Campana.
Maybe Joe Mather will wake the Hope Monster.
Welington!
(dying laughing)
Hope!
Barney!
This is getting exciting.
I was hoping Reed would lean into one. It’s the only thing he’s good at.
Loving the Obligatory 9th Inning Rally. (dying laughing)
Nuts (dying laughing)
i bet $50 on the cubs tonight with my buddy who’s a phillies fan. no joke. here is the text exchange:
me: “halladay vs. chris volstad tonight. how much are we putting on this game.”
friend: “umm…fifty bucks?”
me (SARCASTICALLY, BECAUSE WHO THE FUCK WOULD MAKE THAT BET): “deal.”
(4 hours later)
friend: “wow your pitcher sucks, why the fuck would you make that bet”
me: “seriously? dude i was kidding, volstad fucking blows”
friend: “oh…i had no idea who he was, i just figured phils’d win since halladay is pitching”
me: “yeah no shit”
friend: “bet’s a bet dude”
the fact that the cubs almost came back to win made that game so much worse…fuckin’ hope monster.
@ mb21:
Good call. As of yesterday, Cubs relievers led the Majors with 67 walks allowed.
@ ACT:
It’s good to lead in something.
Right?
mb21 wrote:
Yes.
@ Berselius:
Given what Kasper was saying on the radio today, I think he may be DFA’d soon. Meanwhile, Zambrano has been worth 0.9 fWAR already.
mb21 wrote:
Fair enough. I didn’t do the best job of articulating it, but I think the #1 reason Rahm would prefer to remain enemies with Ricketts at this point would be to continue scoring political points, both for himself and the party. But, yeah, he’s probably got a price…
On the bet, I thought it was by the end of 2012. At any rate, I’m willing to say that’s the case. I’ll probably forget by then, though (dying laughing)…
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
To be fair, he probably wouldn’t be pitching so well if he were still with the Cubs. I hear it’s hard to pitch with a knife in your back. He’s pretty much the poster child of a guy who needed a change of scenery.
@ Berselius:
He’s 0-6. Doesn’t that make him as good as Dempster?
So the Cubs almost came back and then lost anyway. I’m kind of glad I turned it off as the 9th was starting. Seeing the team almost win is the most painful thing of all.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
2.0 rWAR. He’s off to a great start. I couldn’t be happier to see it.
hey GBTS – i think it was you that was talking about anthony bass the other day, right? is that guy legit? i’ve never seen him pitch but am debating whether or not to pick him up for my fantasy squad. it’s between him, jim johnson, and chris sale.
@ EnricoPallazzo:
and aroldis chapman.
Two things here. Halladay didn’t reach 58 pitches until 5.1 innings. Is there a club that swings at more pitches than the Cubs?
Also, does Volstad have a history of throwing “Beautiful games”?
WaLi wrote:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I just lost half of a fucking post I’d been writing. Fucking internet.
Bruce Levine @ESPNBruceLevine
Breaking news Kerry Wood will retire today !
Twitter blowing up over Breaking news that Kerry Wood has retired.
I would like Kerry to replace Brenly or Zonk immediately
Breaking shit: http://www.obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/kerry-wood-reportedly-to-retire.html
@ WaLi:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2012-pitches-batting.shtml
The Cubs are tied for 2nd to last with 3.71. NL average is 3.82. NYM lead with 3.99.