Len & Bob's baseball blog

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOO tired of CARLOS pulling these brain cramps all the time. Then he goes out to the mound and takes his MISTAKE with him. This guy HAS TO STOP ACTING LIKE A 12 YEAR OLD. He keeps telling us how "mature" he's becoming... but it's all too apparent that this guy needs PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP.

Amazing. What should have been 2 runs in the 3rd turned out to be 1. Nobody out and the top of the order coming up; unbelievable. His arrogance alone shows why Carlos Zambrano should have been signed to a shorter contract, if at all. After completely ignoring the 3rd base coach's instructions to hold at 3rd, he then failed to even attempt a slide at home. What a prima donna! And mark my words, his ego and arrogance will pretty much insure that he falls apart for whatever part of the game he stays in for (I'm writing this as I watch the 4th inning).

Koyie Hill needs to be Zambrano's personal catcher, and this is so obvious that it hurts.

Why would we bring up Blanco, who is hitting .180 or so, when we have a catcher who hits around .180 but is spectacular at handling pitchers and is great at his postion?

There is a very good reason that we won a lot with Hill, and that is that Catcher is the most important defensive position behind Pitcher, and Koyie Hill is a great fielding catcher.

He is also good at the psychological aspects of the game, especially keeping his pitchers calm.

I am positive that Z would not have had that fourth inning breakdown if Hill was behind the plate.

BRING BACK KOYIE HILL! This is a no-brainer.

Go Cubs!

Len just asked you if there were any strange occurences with the roof while you were at Arizona. It caused me to rememeber a game I was watching on WGN with Jack Brickhouse from my home in Crystal Lake in the 1970's
The roof was actually smoldering due to a spark or something. The game continued while the Chicago Fire Department was up there trying to find the source and extinguish it. I kid you not. Maybe someone at GN remembers. I just have the memory of the CFD up there walking around while Brickhouse called the game. Arnie Harris would take a shot now and then to show the viewers what was happening. I don't remember the cause, I just have the immage of the fireman up there walking around during the game.

True Story !!!

Will you guys please tell Zambrono that he needs to throw his breaking ball alot more in every at bat. Opposing team is just sitting on his fastball that really doesnt top out all that fast. concerned fan

Big Z should hire a psychiatrist with all that money from his new contract.

Well we didn't see the real Carlos today. He blew it in a big way.

You people don't really seem to know a lot about baseball. Zambrano is doing fine. Everyone struggles from time to time. You should try going out there and pitching the ball at 90 mph and be in a game situation, yourself. Zambrano doesn't act like he's 12-years-old either. He just likes to see his team do well and he feels that if he does something wrong, it could affect the whole team. I think he's a better person after the fight with Barrett in the dugout. The Cubs CAN'T WIN every game and the fans expect too much out of the Cubs. If you were true fans, you wouldn't be booing the pitcher or any member on the team. The Cubs fans need to relax. If they are unhappy with the way the Cubs are playing, which they really shouldn't be, since the Cubs are in first place; then maybe they should go be a fan of another team. Hill is a good catcher for Zambrano, but I don't see anything wrong with Blanco as the catcher. He did throw out a guy stealing. Hopefully Zambrano just relaxes some throughout this month, and it doesn't really help him out with fans BOOING him as he walked off the mound.

GO CUBS & GO BIG Z =)

bad game today i wondr if zambrano will win any more games.got to see my first cub hero andy pafko never got to see in him in person but bert wilson made it sound like he was in the radio. ben a cubGO CUBS fan ever since

GO CUBS

BOB ALL I CAN SAY IS BBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lauren,
Carlos Zambrano gets paid a huge amount of money to be the Chicago Cubs ace. If you don't think that Cub fans have the right to boo him, then you’re the one that don't know that much about the game of baseball. Cub fans should expect a lot out of Carlos Zambrano, I'm sure that Carlos himself knows that. Booing players is part of the game. If Carlos can't straighten things out, he'll get booed again. I agree with Len and Bob about Cub fans being some of the most passionate fans around. Booing is a part of the fans showing their passion. GO CUBS GO. Let win one tomorrow.

Its Time for Lou to step up and take charge of BIG Z [ha ha] some one has to tell Z that is not the best pitcher in the league, he will not win the cy youg award, and if he keeps letting his ego control him he will not be a 500 pitcher this year. This is Lou's job, he better do it soon.

The fans only care about ourselves? Carlos needs to understand he is getting paid 95 MILLION DOLLLARS to play a game of baseball. He is getting paid 95 MILLION DOLLARS to "work" once every five days, and at the most 3 hours on that one day that he is "working".

I understand Carlos is upset that he sucked today ( and the past month ). I understand Carlos is sensitive and doesn't like to be boo'ed. No one likes to get boo'ed. However, HOW DARE HE TELL THE FANS OF THIS BALLCLUB THAT WE ONLY CARE ABOUT OURSELVES.

WE have stuck with this club long before Carlos, and we will stick with this club long after him. We've paid for our overpriced ticket with our minimum wage salary so that Carlos can make his 95 MILLION DOLLARS, while working 1 day a week.

Carlos has stepped over the line here. Carlos needs to do a huge apology or he needs to find the door and go find a new home with some fans that will only care about him, and not about themself.

Zambrano needs a big attitude adjustment right now. His actions today affected the whole team!! His arrogance clearly showed today and he had no right to ignore the third base coach. He clearly was having a temper tantrum today and I don't know what sparked it. He needs to be a team player. Whatever is bothering him needs to be left behind the minute he walks on the field. I wonder if there is a loophole in his new contract so we can say adios to him. I've had enough of him and his arrogance. He isn't worth the trouble anymore.

Snowball... How do you STOP it?
The IMPLOSION starts... STOP IT NOW !!! WE LOST THIS game.... NOT EVERYTHING. WE are still 1st.

If This continues we will.

EVERYBODY NEEDS a HUG.....especially THE FANS
&
especially CARLOS.

Wow, two extremes represented here. First off, Lauren where are you coming off telling Cubbies to go cheer for another team and that we aren't real fans if we boo the team. Yeah we are in first, and look at how good we look. You do realize we would be fourth in the West right?

You others, yeah Z tends to be a headcase. But he has passion and when he is on his game, there are hardly any better than him. Something needs to get fixed, I don't think Hill is a savior, but I do think that he is an interesting point.

Well, Carlos was right about one thing--this was all his fault. Grow up, young man. Oh, and by the way, the fans are the ones who pay your salary.

No excuse for losing this game. The Dodgers played Sunday afternoon in San Diego, probably didn't get into Chicago until the wee hours of the morning, then have to play an afternoon game, and they trounce our Ace.

If this was the other way around, and the Cubs had this travel situation, Len and Bob would have been like "Well, the Cubs didn't get in until really late, no sleep, Blah, Blah, Blah. That's why we lost. Blah, Blah, Blah." Thats the excuse we heard from the broadcast booth on the Houston-Colorado trip.

I'm tired of excuses and propoganda from the Cubs. Bring me a winner, or I'm going to boooooooooooo.

Brad is right. I get frustrated when these rah-rah boys in the booth say nice things about these bums, even when they stink.

Truth be told, I don't like these clowns in uniforms, and don't really want them. They're sloppy, lazy underachievering for'ners, who sometimes make a mockery of America's Pastime. They're the ones who care only about themselves...and their huge contracts.

Don't lecture me, Zambrano, about what I should do and not do. I was a Cub fan long b4 you and your mediocre teamates were born, and will pro'bly be foolish enough to be one after you retire.

If they win us a World Series then I will tolerate, heck, even cheer them. But as long as they're lousy, I will boo them...with gusto. They get paid 'stupid money' to play a boys' game, regardless of their mediocre contributions.

Meanwhile, most of us live in the real world, and pinch to make ends meet. So wake up Carlos, or get a real job! Meanwhile, Len and Bob, I wanna here you slam these bums when they're lousy. I think your profession demands honesty, not syruppy excuses for poor performance.

Sincerely,

Furious Phil

Terence whatever. I don't think you and anyone else should use Zambrano's paycheck as an EXCUSE or a REASON to BOO him. That's PATHETIC. At least he has emotion & it shows. He WANTS to win and do well. I don't think he acts like a 12-year-old or whatever the hell some "Cubs Fans" might think. & I think most Cubs fans are passionate, but some of them have let this FIRST PLACE thing get to their heads...quickly.

GO CUBS.

Lauren,

Thank you for supporting Big Z. I don't like that they booed him either, although I understand it. I wondered how he would react to his baserunning error, and was really dissappointed with the result, like all other Cubs fans. He is a bit of a headcase.... which is exactly why he should be teamed up with Koyie Hill.

Blanco isn't bad, but he's not as good as Hill and he doesn't work with Z as well as Hill does (look at the stats). Z almost seems afraid of throwing pitches with too much lateral movement on them these days, probably because he's seen so many of them go to the backstop off the mitts of his catchers. Hill is the only one who makes catching Zambrano on his best days look easy, and he radiates an easy confidence that is contagious. Pitchers don't have to be afraid of throwing balls in the dirt with Hill behind the plate, and most of the time Hill makes it look so easy to catch them that you hardly notice that the ball ever touched the ground (much like Lee at first base).

Yes, Blanco threw someone out, but his throw wasn't very good. It was high and to the wrong side of second base, and only got the runner out because it came on a broken up hit and run play. (Notice that I didn't say you don't know baseball and should go root for another team when I pointed this out :)).

How many of you think that Hill doesn't give us the best chance of seeing a good performance out of Z? Who thinks it's more important to have one extra good hitter rather than a good pitcher for any given game?

We have three catchers on our roster, two of whom are hitting under .200, and none of whom can field, call a game, or manage pitchers like Hill can. Also, having Hill catch Zambrano would gaurantee that the aging Kendall would have every fifth day off. Is anyone catching on to why I say this move is a no-brainer?

Piniella's "If it works, fix it" attitude on this subject is starting to grate on my nerves.

Is it my imagination or do all the Cub batters swing for the basket?
It seems to be that four clean hits over the 2nd baseman's head are as important to winning as two solo homeruns. Who is teaching these guys to think they can all hit homeruns? Lets get hits!!

Way to grab the bull by the horns!!!! Yeah!!!! Great pitching and an even better offense!!!! All at home yet!!!! 8 Double plays in 2 games baby!!!! When was the last time the Cubs stole a base....played hit and run??? 3 months ago??? Time for all you overpaid no job having BUMS to get your head out of your butts!!!!!!!!!!! This team has no heart or cahones and don't deserve to win this division. I'm also tired of hearing Len and Bob sugarcoat it all. Either tell it like it is like Harry or go find another job....oh wait....you've never had a real job. PATHETIC on all fronts!!!!!!!!!!

Clyde,

Thank you! I'm sick of hearing about how the Cubs need to hit more home runs. A 2 RBI single is worth twice as much as a solo home run. Not only that, but when hitters concentrate too much on hitting home runs they almost never hit them. Ever notice that when a player swings so hard that he falls down he never makes contact?

Wow tough loss today to the Dodgers, but you know if you throw sliders on the outside corner to three batters in arow, even major league playes will start to look for it. Thats what happen today, mix your pitches Dempster, knock em down every once in while. You have to be a smater pitcher than that.

I have been a Cub fan for 54 years. I think this is there yaer.GO CUBS.