I've only read the accounts of what happened last night, but that probably is best. Based on what has been said since the events of last night's Cubs @ Walgreens game, Jamie Quirk should be fired immediately and Steve Clevenger should be optioned off the team. The actions by both were ridiculous. Ever since Lou left this team has been a bunch of crybabies. Last year we had Quade complaining about teams running up the score when the other team led by 4 or 5 fucking runs. It's rubbed off on the players too. Steve Clevengers thinks a batter shouldn't be swinging 3-0 when their team leads by 5 in the middle of the fucking game. Unbelievable. Who taught these guys how to play baseball?
That is all.
I agree that the Cubs were acting like a bunch of little leaguers last night, but I’m surprised that no one has mentioned that the Cubs were about to be swept in four games and had been outscored approximately 142-7 in the previous three games of the series. So it’s understandable that they’re frustrated. They just need to channel that frustration into actually scoring some runs instead of whining.
Nice summary (dying laughing)
I don’t usually self-promote but I wrote up something about this…
http://worldseriesdreaming.com/2012/09/07/so-about-last-night/
I would’ve posted it last night but it was late and I was playing Angry Birds after a long day at lab.
That’s a good point about Lou. It’s funny, I didn’t realize how good he was until he was gone. I think in a lot of ways, the Lou Pineilla era was probably the most professional this team has seemed. It doesn’t hurt that he got us to the post season a couple of times, and I’m willing to admit that fact may be biasing my recollection.
@ Berselius:
Yes, that.
This incident screams for a Josh comic. With the Hope Monster laughing maniacally as it feeds off the “passion” brought forth by the team “coming together” in the face of adversity. By brawling.
@ Rice Cube:
Unfortunately, I’m lazy.
Obviously this is going to be the brouhaha that turns this season around.
@ AndCounting:
It’s gonna happen!
http://aeryssports.com/a-league-of-her-own/cubs-friday-headlines-well-that-was-lame/
(dying laughing)
@ Berselius:
Not yet. The Bears LB aren’t great blitzers, so age-based declines of Briggs and Urlacher will be felt more in the run game and on intermediate passing routes to TE and RB with top-end speed. Peppers is held on every passing play, and can still go get it. It’s with the other three positions on the line that the Bears have a problem. They’ve never been able to replace Tommie Harris since his injury, and a true 3-technique is vital to the the scheme. In place of a true 3T tackle, they’ve just put a bunch of high motor guys in the rotation (Adams, Melton, Paea, Okoye) and then rotated Toeaina and Idonije at the nose. Lovie basically tries to make up for the loss of a the 3-technique by keeping a set of fresh legs in there as much as possible. Melton was dominant at times, but he’s still learning the position. Paea can’t stay healthy, Okoye has a balky knee and is pretty inconsistent in his gap discipline, Adams is gone and replaced by Collins, but he’s suspended for the first 3 games for violating the drug policy.
Agreed, MB. I can even understand the relentless desire to throw things at Brycebag, but this was just unprofessional as hell. Sick of this unwritten rules bullshit. And this is all not to mention that the Cubs got mad about this on the same night a 5-run lead got blown in the BAL-NYY game. Fucking dumbassed Cubs.
I think this just goes to show that it’s finally become apparent to the Cubs how shitty they actually are. It’s got to be hard to go out there everyday and get your ass kicked and continue to have faith in yourself and team. I think anybody watching the Cubs this year knows that being down by one run, let alone five, means game over. These players are probably so fed up with losing that anytime they get behind, they figure there’s no way they are coming back. Kind of sad really.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I agree MO. The Bears defense is about turnovers. They give up entirely too many yards between the 20s and are constantly looking for the INT or forcing a fumble. They can play that game against shitty offenses but when they play the Packers, Lions, Saints, etc., that shit will end up biting them in the ass.
@ Mucker:
I did like that the Nats kept pouring it on. I probably would not have liked it as much in the bottom of the 8th, but I’d never expect a team to just lay down and cruise because of some imaginary mercy rule.
Steve Holt’s son is leading off for the Pirates these days.
@ Rice Cube:
I agree. I don’t think a team should stop just because the other team can’t stop them. It’s the same in football too. Teams stop passing after they’ve built a lead (unless you are the Patriots) and run the ball. I remember a team being mad at the Redskins for running the score up in preseason when Spurrier was coach. There’s absolutely no reason to be mad at a team for running the score up. Be mad at them because they are the Redskins.
But seriously, these unwritten rules in sports are fucking stupid.
@ Mucker:
This.
M’s ——> 7-man rotation
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/shelby-millers-debut-animated/
The Cards were ready to trade this guy a couple of months ago.
One day, when the Cubs are good again in the Thoyer regime, everyone will remember this 4 game series as the low water mark. In a very 2006 way, we’ll look at starts from Chris Rusin and appearances from Alex Hinshaw in 2012 the same way we looked at starts from Les Walrond and Ryan O’Malley in 2006 (Jae Kuk Ryu got a start in 2006?!?!). All joking aside, it would be difficult to be worse than the Cubs were against the Nationals.
Firing people and optioning people because of one meaningless event is very Fox News/MSNBC-ish. The Cubs suck and were frustrated by just how much they sucked. Doesn’t seem like something that needs to get people fired and DFA’ed.
Personally I have found this season more entertaining than 2010/2011. Those last two seasons, the Cubs were like a couple trying to hold together a bad marriage. In 2012, it’s like the Cubs finally divorced and are trying to meet a new woman. Plus, 2012 has featured A LOT less Koyie Hill. That has to count for something.
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
Clevenger noticed that last night and decided to do something about it
@ SK on the third rail:
Hopefully Clevenger stays away from table saws
@ Mucker:
Well, that’s what the scheme is designed to do: force turnovers. The Bears will always give up yards, but when there’s no pass rush, turnovers are a lot harder to come by and the coverage breaks down.
Man I have all these catepillar/cocoons on my house. This isn’t bad except after they go through the metamorphisis they “bleed” all over, leaving red streaks down the side of the house.
One catepillar decided to make his cocoon under the tire of my car. Lucky for him the wife is out of town and I am using her car, so it has until next Sunday to move or be ran over (dying laughing)
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Yeah, I know. I just think it’s very difficult to get pressure on a QB when the DBs are giving 10 yard cushions. I get so frustrated watching that shit.
@ WaLi:
Just remove it and keep it in tuperware in your fridge over the winter. Next spring, you can see what hatches.
Also, before a butterfly or moth goes into its final cocoon, it evacuates its bowels so the undigested food doesn’t rot in its belly. That’s shit on you wall, I’m saying.
@ WaLi:
There’s a Wilford Brimley joke in here somewhere
@ Mucker:
It was all right to watch back when it was working. Feels like it’s not working anymore, but they’re sticking with it. At least, that’s how it felt last season.
@ WaLi:
How big are they? What color are the cocoons? I’m curious what they might be.
http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2012/09/the-9-biggest-revelations-about-breaking-bad-we-learned-from-vince-gilligan-interviews-this-week/#more-144027
@ WaLi:
I’d look for a plant near your house with red leaves that looks defoliated, if you’re not sure what they were eating. What they were eating can tell you a lot about what they were.
@ Mucker:
If they didn’t give those cushions, they’d get roasted on the regular. The scheme isn’t the problem. Every 4-3 team in the NFL plays basically the same scheme, only they play way more Cover-2, while the Bears play more Cover-1 and a lot more Cover-3. The problem is the talent. You need 4 things to make Lovie’s defense work: a dominant pass rusher, a true 3-technique, a MLB that can play with his back to LOS, and solid safety play. The Bears only have two of those things. It’s not the scheme that’s the problem, it’s the people playing the scheme.
@ WaLi:
@ josh:
I think they are orange with hair on them. They are about the width of a pencil and about 2-3″ long. Their cocoons are white/gray. They kind of look like oleander (?) caterpillars that I used to see growing up all over Jacksonville, FL and the climate is kind of similar where I live now (southeast coastal NC).
I guess oleander catepillars grow up to be polka-dot wasp moths, so I don’t think those are them. I remember seeing those moths in Florida but not around here.
@ WaLi:
Yeah, most likely some kind of moth. There are about a bajillion moth species, but it could easily be something related to the Oleander caterpillar. The only way to be sure, except for certain obvious pillars (monarchs, lunas, etc) the only way to be sure is to hatch a few and see what they are as adults. Might be something cool, or you might find out what it is and learn how to spot it and prevent it from hurting your foliage next year, if that’s a problem
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I agree with everything you say. The Bears have to know that their DT and FS are less than adequate for their scheme so they should make adjustments of some kind. Because it seems like the pressure is getting there but the WRs are running short routes and the QB is getting the ball out quickly.
@ Mucker:
I think the adjustment has been the rotation on the DL and favoring Cover-1 and Cover-3 over Cover-2. That’s pretty much all Lovie can do until he has better players. A couple of no-shit safeties would make a world of difference, as would Henry Melton proving he can be consistent.
@ josh:
They don’t even name most moth species (only the big pests), they just give them numbers.
@ WaLi:
you would also have to have Oleander for that particular moth. A lot of insects are very host specific, especially ones with specific names. Monarchs, for example, exclusively eat milkweed as caterpillars.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Yeah, it does seem like the Bears have been trying to replace Harris and Mike Brown since 06. You seem to know a lot about the scheme, do you think Tillman has the skill set to be a good FS in the scheme? I always thought him to be a tad slow for CB and thought he would be good at FS.
I’m excited to see how GB’s pass rush looks with this other USC guy opposite Clay Matthews. It’s still kind of baffling how awful GB’s defense was last year compared to 2010.
Are any of these moths ever useful in the seasoning of a cast iron skillet?
I love the comments on this blog.
@ Mucker:
No.
1.) He’s not a “downhill” player. In Lovie’s scheme, the safeties have to be able to play the run. Tillman is an excellent tackler, but he is not a player who knows how to attack the LoS.
2.) He lacks top-end speed. In the Bears scheme, safeties have to be able to run with elite WR, because the corner “release” their man at a certain point, and the safety has to pick up that coverage. When Harris lost his speed, the Bears had to cut him (both times), because even when he paid attention to the fact that the WR had been released to him, he couldn’t keep up. That’s why the Bears got burned so badly by Smith in that playoff game. Harris never picked him up in Cover-1. Not once.
3.) He’s the only corner they have who can match up physically with the new brand of WR. And the replacement refs will benefit him in this respect. When Peanut can put his hands on a guy, he can be dominant. He’s very strong and knows what to to do throw a guy off his route and we saw in that NYG-DAL game that these refs are going to let DBs get physical.
So moving him to FS weakens you in two respects: you lose your best cover corner (sad, but true) and you put a player out of position at a key position in the scheme. I know it’s a faddish thing for Bears fans to say, but it’s not a wise football move.
@ Aisle424:
You can probably cook them and eat them. Although, you’d want to examine what they were eating to make sure it wasn’t noxious. I could see frying them in a little oil in a cast iron skillet, putting them on a taco.
@ Berselius:
I think GB’s defense will be a problem for them because of the secondary, but it won’t matter, because the offense is going to average 35/game (dying laughing)
@ josh:
There’s a Thai restaurant on Western and Irving that makes the Northern Thai dish made with cocooned caterpillars and it’s delicious.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Yeah, in silk production factories, after the silkworm spins its cocoon, the workers cut the silk cocoons open and extract the pupa. The silk goes into a vat to be purified and they put the pupae into hot fry oil. Supposed to be quite tasty.
Entomophagy is actually quite common in non-European countries. Native Americans used to go out cicada hunting at night. Supposedly if you get them when they are just hatching from their larval shells and fry them up quickly, they are more tender, b/c their exoskeleton hasn’t hardened. I haven’t tried it yet.
@ josh:
It’s quite good, IMO.
I’ve tried Cicadas. They taste like funky peanut butter. Not a fan.
@ Chet Masterson:
This
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I’ve heard that they taste like almonds. Ants are supposed to be interesting. They get some flavor from the formic acid. Supposed to be kind of vinegary. I’ve eaten crickets. They weren’t bad. Good filler. I was actually investigating the possibility of raising insects for human consumption, but then I just went back to playing videogames.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/08/what-are-the-sandwich-styles-different-american-sandwiches-regional-guide.html
@ josh:
I’m a pretty adventurous eater. As far as “bugs” go, I’ve had ants (good, like eating salt and vinegar chips but less sharp) crickets (not really a lot of their own flavor but a nice salty crunch when seasoned) grasshoppers (foul, taste like bitters), cicadas, grubs (taste isn’t bad, but the texture is not pleasant), and the silkworms.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I thought it was all about losing Nick Collins last year, but I was ignoring the complete lack of pass rush. WIlliams, Woodson, and Shields are solid CBs, but teams just double teamed the shit out of Matthews and no one else could threaten the QB. I thought Cullen Jenkins was pretty mediocre until he was gone (dying laughing).
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
That’s cool. I haven’t had much opportunity, though I know a guy on Facebook who basically only eats stuff he finds on his property.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
What kind of grubs? Usually that means beetle larvae. Australian aborigines have a certain grub they seek out. I was reading a Nat Geo article where the guy said it was kind of goopy, and the texture took some getting used to. They’re basically all fat. One guy (David Gracer) called caterpillars the bacon of the entomophagy world (not very healthy, high in fat).
So, what was worse, the crashed hopes of 2009, or the horrible lack of talent of 2012?
@ josh:
I ate all of that in Australia and Thailand.
@ josh:
2009. I kind of expected this team to suck.
@ Berselius:
Yeah, I think the pass rush will be fine this year, but that secondary will have problems covering people and none of them are good tacklers.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/06/greg-jennings-says-the-lambeau-leap-has-its-hazards/
The texture of grubs is kind of like undercooked lobster.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/cubs-fans-now-too-fat-to-attend-games,29479/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=standard-post:headline:default
(dying laughing)
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Are you talking about Sticky Rice? That place is amazing
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
The only foreign country I’ve been to is South Carolina.
@ josh:
@ josh:
Jeez, are you people just hungry all the time? Yesterday it was fast food all day, and now today we’re frying up shit from the back yard? (dying laughing)
Chris Kluwe is awesome: http://deadspin.com/5941348/they-wont-magically-turn-you-into-a-lustful-cockmonster-chris-kluwe-explains-gay-marriage-to-the-politician-who-is-offended-by-an-nfl-player-supporting-it?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
Chris Kluwe is ACB Hero of the Day
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
So far my favorite line
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
Indeed. I miss it so. Thai Room at the end of the block on Western is also good.
@ josh:
(dying laughing)
I WAS trying to eat something here
*applause*
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
Another one of us that’s living in the past.
@ SK on the third rail:
ACB was a recent blog I enjoyed.
@ SK on the third rail:
I retain the right to award this award since it involves nothing more than the awarding of it.
BREAKING: Goodell Neutered: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000059459/article/vilma-hargrove-smith-fujita-suspensions-overturned-on-appeal
@ SK on the third rail:
I wouldn’t eat any of the cockroaches on the train. Not because cockroaches aren’t very fastidious (because they are), but because they may have just walked in bum piss.
@ mikeakaleroy:
Big win for NFLPA.
@ josh:
Sure but even bum piss is aseptic, i.e. free of pathogenic organisms.
.
.
.
.
According to Yahoo Answers.
@ SK on the third rail:
Piss is only sterile in the bladder.
New aside with our latest WTF:
http://www.obstructedview.net/aside/wrigley-talk-friday-omg-wtf-is-nsfw-ftw-9-7-12.html
SPOILER: AC drops a lot of f-bombs.
@ mikeakaleroy:
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Fantastic news. I hope that same judge somehow manages to leverage this opinion into strongarming the Cowboys away from assigning a nanny to Dez Bryant when he’s not at work.
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Does the splash on the 600 volt DC rail render the bum hepatitis less infectious, and if not, does the contents of the moths’ bowels have a de-contaminating impact?
New aside
http://www.obstructedview.net/aside/jonathan-mayos-top-100-prospects-and-top-20-cubs-prospects.html
@ SK on the third rail:
You’ll have to ask Former Playgirl Model Steve Stone.
Other new shit:
http://www.obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/top-ten-formerly-unwritten-rules-for-cubs.html