Cubs Could Be a Real Sleeper This Season

April 11, 2014 @ admin → No Comments

One of the joys of not working for someone else is the ability to take a break when you feel like it. And so it was Thursday. Turned on the television to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates-Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Travis Wood was pitching well and the Cubs were ahead 4-0. And by the time some of us woke up from an afternoon snooze, something else was on TV. Imagine the surprise to find out the Pirates used a five-run seventh inning for a 5-4 victory. OK, so it was minimal surprise. And a good nap.

Slightly belated birthday wishes to Playboy Playmate Jessa Hinton (July 2011).

* On the bright (?) side, shortstop Starlin Castro went 3-for-4 and drove in a run in raising his batting average to .342. Thereby keeping his marketability high.

* It was not a good day for the White Sox. Especially so for right fielder Avisail Garcia, who suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder in making a diving catch Wednesday. He will miss the rest of the season. It is a powerful loss to the team’s offense. What will concern the Sox is whether surgery and recuperation will result in a loss of power for the 23-year-old slugger.

* It was a good night for the Sox in that they defeated the visiting Cleveland Indians 6-3 — a team they had lost to 14 times in a row. Jose Abreu and Alexei Ramirez (.421 batting average, fifth in the American League each hit two home runs and drove in three runs. Just guessing the Sox will not lose a game when they have such productivity from two players in the same game this season.

* The Bulls signed guard Mike James and forward Lou Amundson for the rest of the season. They are not expected to see much playing time, but they will give the Bulls a veteran presence on the bench. Whatever that might mean.

* CBS announced Stephen Colbert will replace David Letterman next year as the host of the network’s late-night show that presumably will not be called “Late Night With David Letterman.” Meaning Northwestern University can claim two late-night hosts in Colbert and Seth Meyers. Meaning Northwestern is infinitely better at producing TV talent than NCAA basketball tournament teams.

* Ex-Cub of the day: Center fielder Sam Fuld went 2-for-5, had two runs batted in and two runs scored in Oakland’s 6-1 victory at Minnesota. His RBI came on his first home run of the season. The announced crowd (20,650) was the smallest in Target Field history. Or what most Sox fans would consider a reasonably good crowd. Announced attendance at the Sox-Indians game at U.S. Cellular Field: 11,116. Wait till the weather warms up a bit more and school is out and … . And then the crowd might even surpass 12,000.

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