One Shining Moment (Well, Three Actually)

What, you thought I'd put a picture of the NBA's next Cherokee Parks here? Keep dreaming.

So yesterday wasn't all bad, right? Before the national nightmare came to fruition (Tyler Hansbrough: NCAA Champion), your Chicago Cubs took the field for opening day 2009 and actually managed to win for once. Will wonders never cease? The game was entertaining and gave us a glimpse at what this latest version of Lou's club will play like. There was some good, some bad and some Fuku.

The Good
Aramis and Soriano
Leadoff homers? Check. Both Ramirez and Soriano seemed to be seeing the ball rather well last night and smacked a couple of Oswalt "fastballs" into the seats in left. Good sign. Both are now on pace for 162 HRs this year, which would be a record of some sort.

Big Z
I was a shocked as anyone to see Carlos pitching well on opening day. I guess that the 5th time is the charm. Sinker wasn't really working and he ran out of petrol towards the end, but a win is a win is a win is a win.

Bullpen
Heilman (aka the guy I forgot was on the club) looked decent pitching out of a mini-jam in the 7th. Marmol did his best Scott Schields impersonation (creating drama and then getting out of it) in the 8th and Gregg closed out a shaky 9th for the W. Could have been better, but at least now we know if nothing else, it's gonna be "entertaining" to watch these guys all year.

The Bad
D-Lee
0-fer with a K, two ground outs and one warning track power shot. Is it too early to replace him with Micah? Probably, but remember where you heard it first.

"Guys in the Truck"
Replays kept running over actual live ABs last night. Come on fellas, you are better than this. (Sorry, not a lot to be mad about after a win in the first game of the year.)

The Fuku
The now "acclimated" Fukudome went 0-fer and looked lost (still) at the plate. Brenly mentioned that it would "behoove" him to get off to a hot start which is about a 1000 times nicer than what I was saying about him. He looked so bad I was actually talking myself into a lineup with Bradley in center with Micah in right...and I was sober. Not a good start.

All in all, it was just great to have baseball back. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I found myself watching eight consecutive hours yesterday. God bless you, DirecTV and your free week of MLB Extra Innings.

Go Cubs.

PS. Thanks to Rush the Court, here is last night's One Shining Moment in case you missed it.

(Sort of) Immediate Reaction, Cubs-Marlins

Ten Things I learned during tonight’s Cubs game:

1. If you miss with 18 straight sliders away, there’s only one pitch to throw…slider away.

2. Its too bad Marmol couldn’t pitch to Derrek Lee. Lee would swing at every pitch.

3. Its impossible to not chuckle when you hear Dan Uggla get booed by fans who didn’t even know his name before the All Star Game.

4. Soriano means something in the leadoff spot, even if its only an intentional walk.

5. Styx needs to realize that the seventh inning stretch won’t be the beginning of the comeback. Stop trying so hard.

6. I really like chocolate covered raisins.

7. Mark Cuban: $1.3 Billion offer to buy the Cubs. Holy. Shit. Well, this will be one more reason to hate Bud Selig when he finds a way to get Canning back in and the Cubs get sold for $700 million.

8. Someone needs to create a magical cure for blisters. Now.

9. Runs are a lot easier to come by when you don’t swing at the first pitch in every at bat.

10. It’s a lot more fun to win than to suck.

That’s Right, I’m a Hater. Pt. 1: Carlos Marmol

Maybe it’s because I have been burned so many times before the Cubs. Maybe it’s because over the years, they have broken my heart more times than that nerdy kid in class who never gets any cards on Valentine’s Day. Maybe it’s because I’m a bitter, bitter man. Whatever the case, despite their current 3-game winning streak, their first place position in the standings, their death grip on the NL’s best record and their recent “blockbuster trade,” I am not sold on this team being “championship material.” Everywhere I look I see GIANT RED FLAGS THAT DISAPPOINTMENT IS LURKING. Don't believe me? Fine, I will provide examples.

1) Carlos “one-pitch” Marmol

His stuff is “electric,” I get it. For the first two months of the season, I couldn’t wait for him to come in and make professional baseball players duck and flinch like scared little children. He has one of the nastiest sliders I have ever seen. But, as Billy Shakespeare once wrote, therein lies the rub. Along the way, the media anointed him as the next K-Rod. Problem was, he listened. So as May rolled into June, he started going for the “glamour” K’s. He wanted to make SportsCenter with nasty hooks that buckled knees of grown men. As a friend of mine put it, he went “Wuertz” on us. Basically, if you were watching the game online, this became his typical outing.

Slider (ball). Slider (ball). Slider (strike swinging). Slider (ball). Slider (foul). Slider (foul). Slider (Ball in Play, HR).

It’s gotten to the point where you can hear the anger in Brenly’s voice when he says, “Well, he’s fallen in love with his slider again.” Fallen in love with? That may be the understatement of the year. Try to picture a Marmol outing where you saw more than one fastball that wasn’t a throwaway pitch. Can’t can you? That ain’t good. I'm not the only one who notices. EVERY night, I get at least 15 texts that say the equivalent of “THROW A F#$KING FASTBALL!” Agreed, anonymous text senders, agreed.

My hope is that during the All-Star break, Larry sits him down and tells him:

“From now on, every time you shake off Soto’s fastball sign, you get kicked in the nuts. Every time you throw a slider to get a K when all we need is a ground ball or a pop-up, you get kicked in the nuts. Every time Kerry has to get loose in a hurry on his day off because you shat the bed, guess what…it will be me kicking you in the nuts.”

That may be the only way to convince him to maybe sprinkle a fast ball or two in there. If not, be prepared to see a deranged fan in a Murton t-shirt charging the mound sometime in late August. Just sayin'.

Go Cubs.