You're on notice. The Chicago Cubs are here to play this year. If your team is not the Chicago Cubs, your team will have to bring EVERYTHING they got to beat the Cubs on any given game. Losing hurts this year. You're on notice. The last time I saw this level of desire on a Chicago team was the Chicago Bulls when they won six championships. nitro
Did you happen to see Barry Bonds rip the Dodger's Greg Gagne for a 2 run homer in the ninth last night at Pac-Bell Park in San Francisco? It was one of the most "classic" showdowns between a pitcher and a batter that I can recall in sometime. In fact, Bonds took one of Gagne's 101 MPH fastballs over the roof and out of the Park "foul" only to come back 2 pitches later and take another 101 MPH fast ball "line drive style" over the wall in right-center! I don't know if I have ever seen faster hands, and a quicker bat in Major League Baseball . . . it was simply unreal!
Good thing I'm a Cubby fan and will soon be moving to Chicago. As soon as my boyfriend, Mark Prior, feels better he's gonna help kick some serious ass. I'll tell him that ETers wish him a speedy recovery.....especially Nitro.
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs are not going to rush Mark Prior back, and even acknowledged Friday that it is possible Prior could miss the entire season. Prior, who has been nursing injuries to his right Achilles tendon and to his right elbow, threw about 35 pitches on Friday, doubling the number of throws from his first mound session Wednesday. And while pitching coach Larry Rothschild was encouraged by Prior's latest outing, he told the Chicago Tribune that a "chain reaction" could occur if Prior resumed pitching before he was totally pain free. The Cubs have said they hope to have their 23-year-old star back by early to mid-May, but they certainly don't know for sure when Prior will return. "No, it's not even close," Rothschild told the Chicago Tribune. "Even if I could, I wouldn't [speculate when he might return] until he has been on the mound and is just about ready to face hitters." Manager Dusty Baker even addressed the possibility of Prior not pitching in a game this season. "Now, can we win without him over the course of the whole year? Yes, we can," Baker told the newspaper. "But the job will be a lot more difficult." Prior will probably throw off a mound again Sunday or Monday as the Cubs continue to monitor his progress. "As he feels better and better, he'll do more and more," Rothschild told the paper. "It's more important to see how he feels after today. He has to be pain free, both in his arm and his Achilles. "We have to make sure both issues are covered, because we don't want a chain reaction to happen. That's what we're guarding against." "I wasn't airing it out," Prior said. "I'm just trying to find the release point, trying to find my mechanics right now. It didn't hurt today. Hopefully it doesn't hurt tomorrow." Prior has only thrown fastballs, and he said his body will be tested more when he starts throwing curveballs and breaking balls. "I'll hopefully start moving in that direction Sunday, Monday, see how I respond to that and then go from there," he said. "He has to get his delivery where it needs to be and not put undue stress on the shoulder or arm," Rothschild told The Tribune. "As we go forward and his velocity increases, this is what we'll have to watch." Prior said that the Achilles injury was actually more his ankle. Bone scans showed problems in the ankle, and pain from that transferred to his Achilles, causing some inflammation. Prior was 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA and helped the Cubs reach the NL championship series last season.
What we need is for all of us to raid Addison and get drunk and eat some pizza... Hey no one needs to drive... There's always a cab or even the Red Line... heh???? What game?