The Teams We Love…Yet Despise

Chad: Do you want to know how much third place can cost in Major League Baseball right now?

Justin: Wow, you’re going with the digs right off the back. I don’t know, but I’m sure you are talking about the Yankees…. so enlighten me?

Chad: Ohhhh, ’bout 208 million bucks I believe. And that doesn’t even get you first place in the wild card either. Your Yanks are in third place in that race as well.

Justin: Yeah, things haven’t been that great for Yankees fans this year. I’m going to blame the new management. If baseball is all about pitching we are in trouble. Joba has that innings limit, so he can’t carry our team, and with Wang out into September… it’s not looking good. On the bright side, Jason Giambi is rocking one of the best mustaches since they were being rocked by 70’s porn stars!

Chad: And the coolest thing is that he actually subscribed to hair color for men and went darker! I thought the Yankees had a facial hair ban? Do they think by lifting it that Johnny Damon will go all Jesus again like he did in ‘04?

Justin: I’m not sure, but Damon was turning into a Jesus like figure in New York recently. He’s had a .370 batting average over the last 30 days, but of course he had to go and hurt his foot. Some Savior he is. At this point it looks like Tampa Bay is for real, and I can’t believe I’m saying that, but they have some great pitching with Kazmir, Shields and Garza and their young hitters are just freakish athletes (but we have known that for the last couple of years). I swear to God if I have to watch a Cubs/Rays World Series I’m banning baseball from my life.

Chad: Banning baseball for life? That’s some pretty serious talk, my friend. Maybe you should just give in and put on that Cubs hat you’ve been itching to wear for years. Speaking of that… I believe you have yet to pay up our March Madness bet, and I’m going to be home for the 4th of July – you best be buying that hat this week

Justin: Oh man, I forgot all about that. No, I’m not going to become a lifelong Cubs fan, but I will live up to my end of the bet. I am becoming a lifelong fan of Cubs and White Sox fans fighting at their interleague games. What’s your take on this rivalry?

Chad: I think we are seeing the peak years of it for numerous reasons. No. 1 – We’ve had interleague play for 10 years now, so there is no excuses for not knowing pitchers in the opposing league, and no reason why managers should make rookie mistakes. No. 2 – We’ve got two of the best quotable managers in the history of baseball! Does it get any better than Ozzie vs. Sweet Lou. And my God, have you seen the Comcast commercial where the two of them rap (see video below)? It’s demolishes the unintentional comedy scale.

Justin: Oh I love Sweet Lou and the Ozz both managing in the same town. Ozzy has been my favorite manager since he started with Sox, and Lou is just Lou, you have to love him. Chicago fans are some of the most passionate fans in sports, but they can also be some of the dumbest and drunkest fans in sports. Not taking anything away from Phili fans ofcourse. This Cubs team intrigues me because they don’t seem to play with that giant (we haven’t won a world series in a century) monkey on their back. It will be interesting to see if that changes as we start the second half of the season. As for the White Sox, you never know what you are going to get out of them. They have the power in their line-up to score 10 or more against any pitcher in the league, but they can also go 10 games without scoring more than 10 runs. They are just as perplexing as their manager, which is all-to-perfect.

Chad: I made a bet with a couple buddies of mine that the White Sox would not make the playoffs, and that they would finish worse than the Cubs in the standings. I’m sticking to my guns on both those bets. If you’ve read everything I’ve wrote about baseball this year, I still believe that the Tigers will take that division. The Sox young pitchers can’t keep up this torrid pace, and their big hitters are well past peak in their careers. As for the Cubs, I’ve been shocked by their play this year. Where in the hell did they all learn to take pitches?? I know Kosuke Fukudome is a guy that takes good at-bats, but did that spread like a virus? That’s why I believe the Cubs success could be long-term.

Justin: I agree on both counts. I’m still waiting for the White Sox bloody collapse which hopefully will lead to Ozzy calling multiple White Sox players pieces of shit and threatening to kill someone. That should be fantastic. I don’t know how the Cubs started taking pitches, but it probably just came down to their players realizing that they could trust the guys behind them in the line-up. And LOOK at that line-up it’s crazy good. They are playing the way that people thought the Yankees line-ups should have performed over the last few years. Unfortunately it’s starting to look like that Yankees window is closing. What has happened to this league?

Chad: Well, the league haven’t changed a whole lot, just the names within them. The AL is still the class of baseball because it has a division where two teams have the ability to spend $150 million – driving the price up for all the other teams in the league. The Cubs and the Phillies appear to be the only National League teams that could compete against the AL’s best right now, and both teams are struggling a bit.

Justin: Well until their is a salary cap in baseball (ha ha) you can’t blame the Yankees and Red Sox for spending money in order to win. It’s not as if the MLB is hurting for money, even with all of the recent steroids in baseball news we are still seeing record high profits for baseball. If teams like Kansas City and the Marlins can’t get people to show up then I have two suggestions, move or be get out of the business. I don’t think we’ll ever see a salary cap in baseball however, so don’t look their for the answer.

Chad: Well I think it’s safe to say that the Yankees will let Carl Pavano go, as he hasn’t payed for them since… well forever really. But I really don’t know what their plan is outside of getting some new starters and hopefully a new first basemen. I think the Yankees put a lot of faith in the arms of Phillip Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain. So we’ll have to see how that pans out, but your guess is as good as mine as to what they are planning to do in free-agency. Oh by the way, the White Sox/Cubs game is just starting over on the WWL, and you favorite analyst is calling the game. Why don’t you expound upon how great Joe Morgan is?

Justin: Well in the last 15 days he has 12 runs, 7 RBIs, a steal and a .327 BA, so I thik he may still have a little left in his tank. I don’t know what was going on with him getting dropped, but if I hadn’t been in my sickened state the over the last week I would have picked him up. But I’m not sure I want to talk about our fantasy league, I’m floating around .500 and in seventh place wheras you are in first place. But go ahead, I’ll give you this oppurtunity to gloat a little.

Chad: You have been gone for awhile, because I’ve sunk to second place by a game, and will be in third by the end of the night. I have some awful pitching, and that has really held me back this year. My offense is dominating, but I have a couple of guys that are injury threats everyday. Unfortunately, those guys are also the best hitters in baseball right now – I’m speaking about Chipper Jones and Josh Hamilton. Speaking of fantasy baseball…you and I haven’t discussed any trades – wanna make a deal?

Justin: Chad, we agreed when making this site to never talk about our deals in fantasy baseball. And you are using the term deal very loosely.

Chad: I never agreed to not talk about deals. You don’t wanna talk about them because I’ve damn near gutted you in the last three seasons. And I’m waiting for you to call me in a panic again. When am I gonna get my damn phone call!! Oh, and I have good news. With Mark Buehrle and Sean Marshall pitching, the game will go really fast – drastically reducing the amount of speaking Joe Morgan will be doing tonight.

Justin: The sad thing is I like my team. I just feel like they are underperforming right now. Perhaps I will try to deal some guys to get a good OF, but I’m going to hold pat until around the deadline. Sorry.

Chad: That phone call will come, I know. I’m just biding my time. Let’s get back to the real thing, though. Will the Yankees make the playoffs? And don’t give me a BS “I don’t know” answer. I want something definitive. Yes..or no?

Justin: No. They just don’t have the pitching, and their bats can be very sparatic. I don’t think the Rays are going to collapse all of a sudden and the Red Sox have become so good they are boring. Actually that’s how all of the Boston teams are these days. Alright buddy, your turn. The Cubs make the World Series this year, yes or no?

Chad: Before I answer that question, here’s my Joe Morgan update. Oh my God…is he watching the game??? Buehrle makes a kick save with two out and a runner on second, and he says, “if he doesn’t get a foot on that ball, it’s an RBI single up the middle.” Did he not see Orlando Cabrera playing 3 feet off the second base bag?? It would’ve been an easy groundout to end the inning!! Is Joe even in Chicago??

Will the Cubs make the World Series? Damn, you’re comin’ with it the heat here. All I asked of you is whether or not the Yanks would make the playoffs, but you’re going all World Series on me. If you put a gun to my head right now, I’m going to say no. The starting pitching just isn’t strong enough at the top to win a series. Carlos Zambrano is an ace, but one that can either be dominating, or head scratching – there is no middle ground with him. Ryan Dempster won’t keep up his torrid pace the entire season, either. I think you’ll hear the Cubs being highly involved in trade talks for C.C. Sabathia and Erik Bedard, but they just don’t have the bait to reel them in. None of the other “available” starters would be an upgrade over the rest of the rotation.

Justin: That is sure pesimistic for a Cubs fan? If you aren’t going to say it, I will. The Cubs will be in, and WIN, the World Series this year. That’s right, I said it. And if my Lakers prediction is any indication, you are in for the Jacobs Jinx! Muah ha ha!

Chad: You know what reverses that curse, though? It’s wearing the Cubs hat for a full day. Don’t forget about that. And I’m not pessimistic – I’m realistic. Oh my God, what an awful call. The umps have rung EVERYONE up this year when a check swing has been close. If Crede didn’t strike out later in that AB, it could’ve been a game-changing moment. Don’t worry Cub fans, he’s still managing – it’s just from his office in the clubhouse now.

Justin: Could’ve. Should’ve. Would’ve. Lou knew better than to go out and argue that call. Well, let’s wrap things up here so we can watch this game. What are your thoughts on this years All-Star game?

Chad: I HATE that it counts. It’s the sickest disrespect to the teams that play in World Series as you can get. Yes, I want Nate McLouth, and Christian Guzman being a part of the decision to whether or not the National League representative in the World Series gets homefield advantage or not. Do you want some schmuck from Seattle playing for home field on your team (although Ichiro will be the default representative – despite the fact of him not playing at an All-Star level this year). It’s despicable!

Justin: I couldn’t agree more. The team with the best record should have Home Field in the World Series. Of course this is the same game that allows the DH and allows multible different makes of bat to be used. I love this game, but sometimes I hate it.

Chad: Exactly. I know best record is a bit skewed as well – with more teams and weaker teams in the NL, but it’s a helluva lot better than letting the All-Star game deciding it. The DH sucks too, and the Players Association along with the owners are going to put a minimum on how thin the bat handles can be for maple (probably all) bats. And home run replay, here we come! The Cubs just hit into a double play – God I love this game. JJ and Chad – out!