His name was Dickie Noles, and the Cubs once traded him to the Tigers for...Dickie Noles.
That's today's Tale from a Bad Century.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The story of the man that was traded for himself
His name was Dickie Noles, and the Cubs once traded him to the Tigers for...Dickie Noles.
That's today's Tale from a Bad Century.
Monday, April 4, 2011
E-mails, we get e-mails...
"BP" writes...
"Rick, I just finished a book called Scorecasting. It’s Freakonomics for sports. They debunk a lot of sports myths like the hot shooting hand in basketball, why there is a home field advantage and why going for it on 4th down is always a good strategy. The last chapter concerns the Cubs and whether they are cursed. They go off on a tangent on ticket prices and find that while most MLB teams can track ticket sales closely to winning, the Cubs ticket sales are not related to winning. In fact, ticket sales have gone up when the Cubs were losing the most. The one factor that they found that tracks ticket sales is BEER PRICES at Wrigley. Beer goes up, people stay away. Which is why Wrigley has some of the cheapest beer in MLB."
Interesting indeed. I really never considered $7 beer cheap, but now that you mention it, I think it was $9.50 in Colorado when I went to a game there a couple of summers ago. By the way, I went to Wrigley this weekend and had a non-alcoholic beer (yes, they have them). It was only $3.50.
Interesting indeed. I really never considered $7 beer cheap, but now that you mention it, I think it was $9.50 in Colorado when I went to a game there a couple of summers ago. By the way, I went to Wrigley this weekend and had a non-alcoholic beer (yes, they have them). It was only $3.50.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Two Perfect Days at Wrigley Field
I highlighted my two most perfect days ever at my favorite place in the world.
You can read it here.
Opening Day 1973
One of the most dramatic opening days in Cubs history had an unlikely hero.
The Cubs were down a run in the bottom of the ninth.
Joe Pepitone led off the inning with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Cleo James. Ron Santo got on base thanks to an error by Expos 2B Ron Hunt, and was also replaced by a pinch runner. Glenn Beckert walked to load the bases.
The Expos brought in their closer Mike Marshall, the best closer in baseball. He promptly walked Randy Hundley to tie the game, but he buckled down and got Don Kessinger to pop out down the line, and struck out Jim Hickman.
That brought up Cubs lead off man Rick Monday. The bases were loaded. The score was tied 2-2. It was the bottom of the ninth. Marshall vs. Monday. Marshall knew he couldn't give Monday anything to hit, but he tried to be a little too fine around the plate, and eventually walked him...to bring in the winning run.
Ron Santo's pinch runner scored that winning run. He was sent to the minors after that and never again appeared in another major league game as a player.
His name was Tony LaRussa.
The Cubs were down a run in the bottom of the ninth.
Joe Pepitone led off the inning with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Cleo James. Ron Santo got on base thanks to an error by Expos 2B Ron Hunt, and was also replaced by a pinch runner. Glenn Beckert walked to load the bases.
The Expos brought in their closer Mike Marshall, the best closer in baseball. He promptly walked Randy Hundley to tie the game, but he buckled down and got Don Kessinger to pop out down the line, and struck out Jim Hickman.
That brought up Cubs lead off man Rick Monday. The bases were loaded. The score was tied 2-2. It was the bottom of the ninth. Marshall vs. Monday. Marshall knew he couldn't give Monday anything to hit, but he tried to be a little too fine around the plate, and eventually walked him...to bring in the winning run.
Ron Santo's pinch runner scored that winning run. He was sent to the minors after that and never again appeared in another major league game as a player.
His name was Tony LaRussa.
Donating Goats?
I suppose it can't hurt, but can't we all just agree that this goat curse is a bunch of a hooey?
Mike and Molly go to Wrigley
“Opening Day” — Mike breaks tradition and invites Molly to join him and Carl at opening day for the Chicago Cubs, on Mike & Molly, Monday, April 11 (9:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network."
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