Chicago, IL

Although the Chicago Cubs did not have the post-season that fans would have liked, it should not be overlooked that they did manage to win the National League central division. True Cubs fans likely purchased various memorabilia to remember the event, like T-shirts and hats. However, soon to be available at auction is a spectacular souvenir: The banners that hung throughout the city following their victory (see photo).

The City of Chicago’s “Sharing It” Banner Auction will take place November 14th and 15th in the east lobby of the Daley Center from 12:00 p.m.-1:30 p.m. on both days.

In addition to the Cubs banners, fans can bid on banners from the Chicago Bears NFC Championship, the Chicago Marathon, and the Chicago White Sox World Series, as well as two autographed Gibson guitars from the Los Lonely Boys and the Black Crowes.

The auction is sponsored by Mayor Daley’s “Sharing It” program which raises money for the underprivileged. Specifically, proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Chicago Anti-Hunger Federation and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Last year’s auction raised over $13,000.

I think that some of the items would be fun to own, although I think that I would pass on Chicago marathon banners, given my experience with it this year. Now that I think about it, I don’t even remember seeing Chicago marathon banners this year. Most of the usual locations were filled with the Cubs banners this year. Perhaps the banners are from previous years, since it seems like they are auctioning off older things, like the White Sox banners.

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The Chicago Cubs are in desperate need of a win after losing their second game in a row to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division series last night. Starter Ted Lilly got shelled early and the Cubs lost 8-4.

Although there were some good offensive highlights, like the two-run homer by rookie catcher Geovany Soto, the veteran players did not come through at crunch time. The Cubs left an unacceptable 9 men on base, which shows that they are not getting hits and driving in runs when they need to.

Lilly, who is normally a steady pitcher out on the mound and can be relied on to pitch well following a Cubs loss, lost his composure early after giving up a home run to the D-backs. Lilly threw his mitt to the ground in a show of anger and frustration. After that he never really got back on track and was taken out later in the game after giving up a two-run triple.

What I think is wrong with the Cubs is all mental. They obviously have strong enough pitching and hitting to have won at least won out of two from the D-Backs. I think what is happening is that the Cubs are over-thinking, over-trying, and putting too much pressure on themselves.

One look at the box scores of the first two games shows that players like Soto, Matt Murton, and Ryan Theriot are getting hits, while stars Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee have not been very successful. I think it is because Theriot and the others do not feel that they have pressure on them to hit homeruns and drive in a lot of runs, so they are more relaxed at the plate.

It could also be that the more veteran players realize the significance of the play-offs more and what it means for the Cubs to be in the play-offs and all of the history and years of anguish that are on their shoulders. This is preventing them from relaxing at the plate and causing them to swing at bad pitches. The rookies on the other hand appear to be playing it like it is any other game. Maybe that is the right mentality.

The Cubs play for their right to stay in the play-offs this Saturday at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Game time is 5:00 p.m. central time.

Photo: Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Cubs, Ted Lilly, Geovany Soto, Arizona Diamondbacks, NLDS

The Chicago Cubs play game two of their series with the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight in Phoenix. Last night’s game resulted in a 3-1 Cubs loss. The Cubs bats were mostly silent, with only four hits, including one coming from starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano. Zambrano left the game in the seventh with a 1-1 tie, but reliever Carlos Marmol could not keep the Diamondback scoreless.

While I expected a good outing from Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb, I really expected the Cubs to be able to get something going offensively. The power that they showed in the month of September was non-existent and the Cubs must realize that they need to put more than one run on the board to be successful in the playoffs.
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The city of Chicago held a rally yesterday at Daley Plaza to celebrate the Chicago Cubs winning the National League central and making it to the playoffs. It is the first time that the team has made the post season since 2003.

The rally was attended by Governor Rod Blagojevich, White Sox fan Mayor Daley, former Cubs players, and other city officials. Large video screen displayed messages from the Cubs players and radio announcers were unable to attend the rally. Cheers went up in the crowd as each player gave a message to the fans, often to the point of drowning out what the players were actually saying.

As is typical in nationally-spotlighted games, Mayor Daley has made a wager with mayor of Phoenix, with the losing team having to send a variety of local food items to the winning city. Among the local companies making donations are Harry Carey’s restaurant, Fisher, and Connie’s Pizza. Daley joked that after Cubs manager Lou Pinella wins the World Series, he should go down to Springfield to help the governor out. Daley even donned a Cubs hat, if only for about 15 seconds.

The Cubs will first be up against the Arizona Diamondbacks who won the National League West. The series starts tomorrow and game one is expected to start at 9:00 p.m. central time on TBS. Game two will be at the same time on Thursday night. I am sure that there will be plenty of tired people at work or school Thursday and Friday mornings.

On Saturday, the Cubs come home to Chicago and the expected start at 5:00 p.m. at Wrigley Field.

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Chicago Cubs, playoffs, National League Divisional Series, baseball, Chicago, Mayor Daley, Lou Pinella

In addition to doing his part to try to ensure that the Chicago Cubs have a place in the post-season, Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee is also trying his hand at acting.

The slugger filmed a cameo for the television show ER last Thursday in Chicago. He will play himself and reportedly appears on the camera for less than a minute as he signs an autograph for a fan.

Lee agreed to do the cameo after learning that ER will have an episode later this season which features a story about a young girl stricken with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, the rare eye disease Derrek’s daughter Jada also struggles with. The disease causes blindness and Jada is blind in one eye.

Derrek has founded Project 3000, an organization which helps to bring awareness to Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis and help find a cure.

The Derrek Lee episode of ER is scheduled to air on October 18th on NBC.

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Chicago Cubs, Derrek Lee, ER, Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, Project 3000