Yesterday, the Cubs honored Kerry Wood for his years of dutiful service to the team. There was a special ceremony before game and the singing of the seventh inning stretch. But don’t expect yesterday’s gala to be his big send-off.
“We’ve kicked some ideas around, (I’ve) met with and talked to Theo about it,” Wood said about a possible role with the Cubs. “We’re all kinda on the same page and I’m sure we’ll get something done soon and work out all the details. (I) definitely want to be around and definitely want to be involved. In what aspect, we’ll figure that out probably this winter.”
He also mentioned a couple Cubs-in-exile he’d like to see come back into the fold as Cubs emeritus.
“Hopefully we’ll get Ryno back,” Wood said of Ryne Sandberg, who spent this past season managing the Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A affiliate. “Actually, it wouldn’t be bad thing to seeSammy (Sosa) come around too. He did a lot for this organization and a lot for this city. It’d be a shame for him not to come back.”
(snip)
“Certain things ended certain ways, but it’s a new group of people here,” Wood said. “It’s a new ownership, it’s a new attitude, it’d be a shame to not have those guys be a part of it. Sammy and (Mark) McGwire pretty much single-handedly brought the fans back to baseball. Sammy did tremendous things for this city. We all know how he left and how it ended with him. But ultimately, that one mistake that he made at the end shouldn’t determine his future here in Chicago.”
Hear, hear, Kerry. Dale Sveum seems excited to have him around in a role that doesn’t include bullpen pitcher.
“I think it’s very important,” Sveum said. “It’s important in spring training and throughout a season to have these great players — especially the high-character guys — be around. It’s meaningful to these guys to see these types of people. I know it was in Milwaukee whenever Robin (Yount) was around. It’s special to bring back those guys.”
Now that the feting of Kerry is through, our only reason to keep paying attention to the Cubs is to track their attempt at avoiding 100 losses.
“With nine games left we’ve got our work cut out for us,” manager Dale Sveum said. “Six are on the road and only three at home. We gotta find some way to come up with four wins. Hopefully these guys come out and understand you don’t want to be a part of that.”
The Fonz is focused on this one last moral victory for the team.
“We gotta get it going, at least play .500 on the road or more. We’ve had a (losing) season, but it can be worse if we get over 100 losses. We just want to keep fighting and not get to 100 losses because three-digit losses is too much. So far (this season has been) frustrating, but I think for the organization it can be good (to avoid 100 losses).”
And for your fans’ sanity.
Didn’t we already HAVE a big day for Kerry? Whatever
Hey–big week for me.It’s Social Media Week here in Chicago (and actually, around the world), so I’ll be in and out of touch. I’ve got a bunch of speaking engagements and networking events to attend, but I’ll be here as much as possible. Probably needs some help with the game threads, though.
Why does this sound like a montage from a movie/sitcom? Julie swanning around,making speeches,hobnobbing with the stars of social media,signing autographs,putting her hand over her face to avoid the photographers? I know, it’s more like running from meeting room to meeting room actually,but I made sound better…..
The BIG question…Is the social media ready for CubbieJulie?!
Don’t you miss the drama of the courtroom?
And did Doc turn in his application for the intern job?
I appreciate reading sound and reasoned quotes like these above from Wood, as opposed to the daily “wtf” nonsense we read from Svuem.
i’m convinced there is something wrong with Sveum.
Of course there is something wrong with him…he, by his own will, chose to manage this team. That is grounds to be committed.
Unfortunately, there is a speck of truth in that. “I WANT to manage the CUBS.” I can hear the roars of laughter.
Oh, and I will get to watch all the Kerry Wood stuff,since I set the DVR before my mom was taken to the hospital. She was there from 10:30 am to 7:30 pm;they actually checked her out,but my sister had to take her back. To top it off,the hospital had a brief power out which made everything even slower. She has somehow managed to sprain her neck,and had very painful neck spasms, which affected her blood pressure/breathing. They managed to get the spasms to stop,but she will be sore for awhile. So we will watch all the Kerry Wood Stuff tonight…
Hmm, I hope you aren’t the ‘Pain in the neck’.
Actually a lot of old ladies can sprain their neck when they tilt their head back into a shampoo bowl in the beauty salon,but she did not go there last week. I’m at work 45+ hours a week,so it would more likely be my othe sister or someone else…
I sprain my neck when I pass out in a wrong position for too long.
Haven’t passed out in a beauty salon yet…they won’t let me in.
Well, now you have a goal to work for..
Well I’m back in town and can help with the threads if you need.
OK, Doc… its a nothing doing day.
Suppose you tell us EXACTLY what you do not like about Darwin Barney?
Doc has not answered yet?
Mebbe the Boot in his mouth has swollen to where he can’t talk or type?
TOO, TOO FUNNY!!!
I’m on vacation. I have a lot more time to hang around here when I’m working.
Anyway, there are 2 reasons I don’t like Darwin Barney…unfortunately, neither of them really have to do with how he plays baseball.
First, he reminds me too much of Derek Jeter. He looks a bit like him, has has some similar mannerisms (espeically when he bats) and he acts smug…just like Jeter.
Second, he reminds me of a kid I played little league with. I played 2nd base, he played shortstop. And, of course, his dad was our manager. The kid wasn’t very good, but could always tell everyone else on the team what they were doing wrong. And if he did something wrong, it was actually someone else’s fault.
So that’s why I don’t like Darwin Barney. The truth is, he has played quite a bit better this year than I would ever have expected out of him. At the beginning of the season, I thought second base was one spot where the Cubs really needed an upgrade without any players actually blocking (Soriano in left, Byrd in center, DeJesus in right, Soto at catcher and so on). I might have been wrong.
Kudos to you Doc, it takes a man to admit when he’s wrong. I stopped admitting it. Not because I’m in denial but because everyone already knows that I’m just wrong.
I’m glad I’m not the only one with baseless and silly biases.
I didn’t like Chipper Jones for the longest time because he had the ‘Danny Ainge’ scowl.
I hate some teams with a passion because of their goofy owners.
‘The Artful Dodger’ sat on my shelf for over 16 years before I read it because I can’t stand the Dodgers. And it really was a great read once I started it.
I won’t shop at Walmart because of the way they treat their employees. And sometimes I see great deals in their ads and that aggravates me even more.
Man! The list could go on.
Thank you for explaining.
This just hit me. With the ‘thumbs-down’ gone it’s safe for NYCityGuy or whatever his name was to come back.
“Are you still out there? Surely you must look at the site once in a while. Julie misses you.”
Doc, I saw your support(?) for Gary Johnson. That’s interesting because he’s the guy I tell people to vote for. He was the governor of New Mexico for 2 terms and really did a good job. He ran on the Republican ticket but I won’t hold that against him. Really, that party could use someone like him right now.
He really caused a stir when he came out for decriminilization of marijuana AND cocaine while still governor. And he still has the same stance on marijuana. I think he realizes cocaine is not feasible. But I think the official Libertarian stance is legalization of ALL drugs.
Last years he had an interview where he actually laid out in ‘brass tacks, nuts and bolts’, a plan on how to start the cleanup and repair of this country’s economic wreckheap. I had a copy on e-mail inbox but lost it when all my mail somehow got erased.
He owns and runs a million dollar construction(?) company here. An interesting person who can talk ‘normal and unassumingly’ to normal and unassuming people.
For me, it really comes down to the fact that neither the Democrats or Republicans support a significant number of the things I believe in. People say that supporting a third party candidate is throwing away your vote. The truth is that until people stop believing that, no third party candidate will be elected to a major office. The “throwing away your vote” argument is something that is promoted by the Democrats and Republicans to keep their mindless drones in line even though it’s not in many people’s best interest. I’m not saying you shouldn’t vote for Romney or Obama, but if neither of these candidates stands for many of the things you believe in or has a track record of failure or inaction, then it is the right of every voter to ensure he or she votes for the candidate they feel best represents them and not against a candidate they don’t like.
Republicans are going to vote for Romney so Obama doesn’t get re-elected…not because they think Romney stands for what they believe it, but because he has the best chance to beat Obama. Democrats, to a lesser extend but still a large number, will vote for Obama because they are scared shitless at what will happen if Romney gets elected.
Voting against candidates is how we got into this situation…a situation where our government is practically incapable of doing their job. Socially, I’m a liberal. Fiscally, I”m a conservative. I’m against Obamacare. I’m for gay marriage. Sorry…but I can’t vote for either of the two major candidates. It just ain’t happening.
And I apologize to Julie for another political discussion on her blog.
Actually there is a very practical reason to register and vote third party. I grew up in a very,very,dinky town named Temple City. Growing up, I would go with my mom when she went to vote,as it was always at the lcoal elementary school. I noticed there were 5 voting stalls,4 marked “Republican” and 1 marked “Democrat”. I stopped and asked the lady at the folding table why were there 5 stalls and only 2 partys. She laughed and said most of the town was GOP,but there were a few Democrats, and no one had ever registered third party. So,since my 18th birthday was an election year, I registered Peace and Freedom,(big surpise) and when I went to vote, sure enough there were 3 Republican stalls, 1 Democrat stall, and 1 “Peace and Freedom” stall. I was handed my ballot and after Ivoted I asked the same lady about the stall. She scowled at me, and told me several other people had registered Peace and Freedom,so they needed to create a third party voting stall. I stayed Peace and Freedom until 1980. The point is that third parties sometimes are needed to prevent small towns and states from assuming everyone thinks the same,and votes the same…