Len & Bob's baseball blog

How are you rah-rah Cub fans feeling now? I'm still sick to my stomach, to be honest. At least I'm vindicated about this Cub team, and their lack of heart though. Small consolation, that is, though.

I also have your eagerly awaited Bonehead of the Night award. Again, there's plenty of folks to choose from. Let's start with the 0-for-'zona crowd.

How about Ramirez? He's 0-9 with 4 strike-outs and 8 runners left on. Then, there's my favorite goat: Sorry-clowno, with his tepid 2-10 with 4 strikeouts and 5 runners left on. His 2 hits were meaningless singles. Cubs' Management paid a total of $200mil for these 2 losers?

Then, there's Loser Lou 'The Lip' Pinata, the oldest goat of them all. Two nights in a row, he sent an inexperienced relief pitcher to the mound with the game on the line. Last night, it was Marmol. Tonight it was Hart. What must be going through that man's mind? Probably nothing.

But Terrible 'Teddy Bear' Lilly stole the show tonight! When we needed him the most, he served up a batting practice fastball to Young, who deposited it in the LF stands for a 3-run HR. Then, he delivered a nothing breaking ball into Drew's wheelhouse for a run-scoring triple. He fell on his face fielding a bunt. Finally, he went 0-2 with 2 strike-outs, the first of which he screwed up 3 bunt attempts. Thank Heavens, our brilliant manager pulled him before he discovered another way to screw up.

Ted, you've been our most consistent pitcher all year. But in 1 playoff game, you messed up more than most of us do in a year, buddy. Maybe you just felt left out, by not receiving my Bonehead of the Night Award this year. Well, congrats, Teddy Bear. You've more than lived up to the Cubs tradition of blowing it. Thus, you've earned the Night's Bonehead Award with interest. Way to go guy!!!!

Meanwhile, I'm feeling ill just thinking of these not-so-lovable loser. But 1 good thing about about playoff baseball: if you're lousy, you're done quickly. And this year's version of the Cubs has taken that to new lows. Now, I'm sure I'm right. These guys really are bad, aren't they folks? Let's let these losers hear about it at Wrigley! Boooooooooooo!!!!

Sincerely,

Paul from Relieved Reality

We are what we are. The champs of the WORST DIVISION IN BASEBALL. Hendry did ZERO down the stretch to improve the club. If we lose Saturday, its going to be like letting the whole country in on a family arguement. Cub fans will boooooooooo because we're tired of being mismanaged by Jim Hendry.

I agree with Paul…where was the performance?

The Cubs finished the season with a .525 average…in the other divisions including the AL that would just be 3rd place.

After one more loss, the multi-millionaires will be enjoying a nice vacation, probably cruising the Caribbean on their yachts…all paid for by the die-hard fans!

Time to rethink loyal support for such mediocre performance.

Congratulations Paul! I know how important it is for you to feel vindicated. Good for you!

Us "rah-rah fans" will keep on "rah-rahing"....since, you know that's what us "fans" do.

Let's shock the world tomorrow, guys!!!!

I AM A LONG TIME CUB FAN AND SUFFERER AS A CHILD I REMEMBER 1969 HATE DA METS EVER SINCE 1984 BULL DURHAM AND 2003 BARTMAN ALL HAD LEADS AND BLEW IT . SO I SAY WE GOT ARIZONA RIGHT WHERE WE WANT EM GO CUBS GO .

For once, I'd rather be wrong. I can only take consolation in being right. But folks like Bubba, Brad and I quote facts/stats, give examples and suggest improvement in team. Its also apparent that we know something about the game of baseball.

You 'rah-rah' Cub fans act on emotion and blind faith. Faith in what? We haven't won in 100 years Carrie, for crying out loud girl! Emotion comes and goes...and is no substitute for excellent play.

Until we hold the Cubs organization to higher standards, from top to bottom, we will continue to get mediocre results...or worse. We must demand excellence, and nothing less!

Meanwhile, these so-called ballplayers will continue to play poorly, and spending their millions -- gained at our expense -- in the Carribean, as Bubba puts it. How can you tolerate that, Carrie? I cannot tolerate it, and I won't. I'm a Cub fan like most of us on this blog, but not a foolish one. That's all.

Think about what we say Carrie, and all you rah-rah fans for that matter. There is no substitute for excellence. Don't let management or the players get away with anything less. Maybe then, and only then, will things improve.

It takes all kinds of temperaments, all kinds of personalities to make up the Cubs' fan base. From one extreme to the other, all are important and have their place. We need fans that are tough and demanding, and we also need the so-called "rah-rah fans," and everything in between.

But by no means are the tough fans disloyal, and by no means are the "rah-rah fans" fools. We all see the same games. We all recognize the well-played games as well as the bad performances. From my experience with this site, many people labeled here as a "rah-rah" fan has voiced constructive criticisms and have shared their disappointments. On the other hand, there's been times when extreme 'heckling'-type fans have also surprised readers here with high praise and an optimistic attitude.

We all feel the pride AND the disappointments; but how we deal with it or act on it is based on individual personality and the roles we usually play in life. But both extremes serve useful purposes and balance the whole thing out. We can agree to disagree and argue our points respectfully without regarding others as fools for not feeling as strongly as we do about our particular point.

We're just one big happy family here...squabbles and all!

Good luck tonight, Cubs!

OK, fair enough Rose. One big family? Yes, for sure. But happy? Ah, maybe most of the time.

I have never said that because you're a rah-rah fan that you shouldn't be a Cub fan. Its usually the other way around. I've gotten a lot of grief about folks saying that I'm not a true Cub fan unless I say nice things about them...like I'm not supportive. Nothing can be further from the truth. I jump up and down when the Cubs do something great, as much as the next guy and I want the Cubs to win very, very badly.

Its just that I don't think we're well-served by some of these guys, and they should hear about it. I was a Cub fan b4 every one of these players were born. Many of them jump from 1 team to another like vagabonds. I have not switched my loyalty. Its me who's the loyal 1, albeit a vociferous critic at times. But its only because I care, and I don't want to see them do lousy...like they did this year. LoL