Fukudome: Time to Put Up, Or Hit the Pine

Last season the buzz around Clark and Addison consisted of whispers of a new savior patrolling the outfield grass of Wrigley Field. Unfortunately, those hopes quickly faded into the abyss as The Savior From Over Seas failed to produce. Fukudome pressed at the plate in 2008, batting .257 with 10 Homeruns and 58 RBI's.

With Reed Johnson waiting in the bullpen, or so to speak, Fukudome has increased pressure to produce before he is sent to the bench. I give him 25 games. If after that time he is not where he is expected, the Cubs need to go in another direction and look to Johnson, Hoffbauir or Miles.

Pinella has said that Fukudome will bat second to start of the year. I generally disagree with this move (but hell, who am I?) because both Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot have higher OBP's (although not by much), and both are capable of stealing more bases. I don't know if I am crazy, but I could see Derek Lee batting in the two-slot because his power numbers are decreasing and he is a solid opposite field hitter. Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain, Kosuke is on a thin leash this season with Cubs coaches and Cubs fans. Let's hope he shows us what he came here to do.

Gregg to Start Season as Closer

In a sudden turn of events, Cubs coach Lou Pinella has opted for Kevin Gregg to start the 09' campaign as the Cubs closer. Gregg, who competed with Carlos Marmol this Spring, won the job by not giving up any runs in any of his appearances in Spring Training. We will see how this pans out for the Cubs, given that Gregg has only 62 saves over the course of his career. Marmol gives the Cubs a flexible and dynamic arm in the late innings and I believe he is better suited in that role. This is a blessing in disguise for Pinella because he has multiple assets in Gregg and Marmol and down the stretch he will be able to use that to his advantage.

Can the Regular Season Please Stand Up?

With twelve days until the first pitch is thrown for the North Sider's, my anxiety is increasing quicker than the US deficit and my anticipation grows larger each day. Although I understand spring training and the necessity of the process, I really wish we could just use a fast-forward button to get right to the point.

Here are five things I would rather be doing than watching spring training games:

1. Watching the White-Sox
2. Attend dinner with my aunt Gretchen (who has fifteen cats and her house is completely purple in-and-out)
3. Getting married
4. Watch the 1990's television show "Becker"
5. Live in Canada

In a nutshell, the season needs to start, simply for my sanity.

Fifth Starter Named

Sean Marshall has claimed the 5 slot in the Cubs starting rotation, an announcement made by coach Lou Pinella last Thursday.

Marshall will join an already stellar starting rotation consisting of Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly and Rich Harden.

Marshall was competing with Aaron Heilman and Jeff Samardzija for the fifth starter job this spring, both of whom will now start the season out of the Cubs bullpen, or perhaps for Samardzija, the Cubs Triple-A Iowa club. This gives the Cubs a deep and flexible rotation for the entire season, which plays a vital role going into the stretch run.

I have said since day one that for the Cubs to win the National League Central for the third consectutive season, they must have consistency out of their #5. Marshall won the job outright this spring in Mesa, throwing consitantly in the low-90's and showing pose and accuracy around the plate.

Marshall undoubteably stood head-over-heals above his competitors, giving up one earned run on nine hits and striking out eight over 14 1/3 innings in his five spring outings.

Over the past few seasons, Marshall has failed to show that consistency and has been demoted to the minor leagues in each season. Let's hope that course of action is over and the lefty is ready for the primetime.

The Hawkeyes Aim for First-Round Tourney Win

Bob Saget is recieving more love than Iowa Hawkeye basketball [15-16, 5-13], which faces seventh-seeded Michigan [19-12, 9-9] today in the Big Ten Tournament's opening round in Indianapolis.

"Our basketball team is too inconsistent," said 22-year-old Ryan Houselog. "I would rather be chilling with Bob Saget sitting on my couch then watch this team play."

This seems to be a common theme on the UI campus this winter, as the Hawkeyes have failed to provide consistent play throughout the 2009 campaign. This inconsistency has affected local dining and drinking establishments as well.

"It is hilarious to watch fans at the bar during the games," Airliner bartender Noah Bodner said. "They do not care less about the games, they would rather be drinking and socializing and now no one even comes out for the games."

Iowa has done anything to market this year's team, going as far as handing away free tickets to nationally televised games. Still, this falls short of the ultimate goal to increase student and community support for the basketball program.

When students were asked about today's first-round battle versus Michigan it was like asking Sammy Sosa if he ever used steroids: They didn't understand the question.

"I didn't even know we had a game to be honest," sophomore Meg Conzelman said. "If there were tailgating, more students would go and it would be more exciting."


In student-speak this translates to: More booze=more attendence.

Although many UI students have thrown in the towel for the 2009 season, some loyal fans refuse to give up on the Hawkeyes.

"I am skipping a quiz today to watch the Hawkeyes play," said super-senior Danny Huber. "I know we aren't very good this season, but I am a Cub fan so I am used to season-ending dissapointment."

However today's game ends for the Hawkeyes, students can be reassured of one thing: Football season is only five months away.


(Sources Interviewed: Michelle Ward, Danny Huber, Noah Bodner, Ryan Houselog, Meg Conzelmen, Jamar Normen.)

The Blogger Challenge: Most Influential Sporting Figures of All-time

Sports go as far back as the existence of human beings; from the times of "hurling" (hockey) in Ireland almost two-thousand years ago, "harpastum" (rugby) in Rome and "polo" in Persia. From the dawn of time, creatures have competed, whether to win over a young mate, conquer an empire or simply leave with a sense of pride. Sports surround our culture like flies on...well, you get it.


My challenge to you is to think of the most influential sports figures ever. No rules, no specificities, just sporting figures. Doesn't matter the sport, gender or if they were a coach, player or animal. Give me your favorite, and greatest, sporting figures of all time. Toss a picture up of the person and your reasoning behind the choice!

Here are a few of my choices (not in order or rank):

Muhammed Ali: He talked smack, said he was the greatest, and he definately was. Three time Heavyweight Champion of the world.

Michael Jeffery Jordan: Was there any doubt? MJ was high-flying, charismatic, competitive and was a true winner. He won six NBA Championships, five MVP awards, 14All-Star game appearances and had 10 scoring titles. Out of his six NBA Championships, he won the MVP in each one. Off the court, he transcended the marketable athlete, winning over NIKE and Gatorade.

Mildred Ella ("Babe") Didrikson Zaharias: You may wonder why I chose Babe. She goes down in history as one of the most all-around female athletes to ever step foot on this earth. She was a famed track and field star, where she won two gold medals and one silver medal in the 1932 Los Angelas Olympic Games. She was an All-American in basketball, played organized AAU baseball and softball, rowed, dived, bowled and then picked up golf. Her gold career began in 1935 and in 1938 she was the first woman to ever compete in a male PGA tour event, the Los Angelas Open, in which she shot a respective 81 and 84. She is the founding member of the LPGA.

Opening Day Starter

Who will start Opening Day on April sixth? For the past four seasons, it has been The Baby Bull who has trounced his way onto the bump to jump start the Cubs' season. However, after an inconsistent 08' campaign, going 14-6 with a 3.91 ERA and failing to notch 200+ innings, Pinella isn't so quick to hand the ball over to Big Z. He is leaving it up to a spring competition between Ryan Dempster, who had a great regular season in 2008, going 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA.

"I've been the Opening Day starter," Zambrano said. "Dempster had a good year last year and he deserves it."

What do you think:Is it time to pass the reins onto Dempster? Or do you think Big Z deserves to continue the tradition for the fifth straight season?

Big Z's First Outing, Marmol WBC Bound (UGH) & Other Random Notes

Carlos Zambrano looked as sharp as Steve Stone's commentary on Monday afternoon, going two innings, striking out three as the Cubs were defeated 9-1 by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Carlos Marmol, who just last week announced he would stay in Arizona to compete for the closers job, has just told coach Lou Pinella he will pitch for his home-country of the Dominican Republic. Pinella has said that it will not affect his opportunity to compete with Kevin Gregg.

Milton Bradley is being cautious with his recent leg injury. He will DH in Wednesday's game and could see action in the outfield by Friday.