I admit it...

[flannj]

I will be following the women's world cup intently because if you can't root with every fiber of your being against Canada what the fuck good are you?

HAPPY FUCKING BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!!!!

Sepp Blatter can suck my vivisected balls.

[SKO]

I will be following the women's world cup intently because if you can't root with every fiber of your being against Canada what the fuck good are you?

HAPPY FUCKING BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!!!!

Sepp Blatter can suck my vivisected balls.

That game was fun as hell. Also I have paid attention to women's soccer for all of a week yet I was very happy for Wambach anyway. Also Alex Morgan is unbelievably attractive.  My God. 

[Slaky]

I'm sorry SKO. You were right. I was wrong.

I hate this team. I hate baseball.

[Eli]

I'm sorry SKO. You were right. I was wrong.

I hate this team. I hate baseball.

Anything particular about that game last night vs. the three equally horrible games last week? I thought last night was encouraging if only because Soler and Lester looked good, so at least we can take that away, result be damned.

[Slaky]

I'm sorry SKO. You were right. I was wrong.

I hate this team. I hate baseball.

Anything particular about that game last night vs. the three equally horrible games last week? I thought last night was encouraging if only because Soler and Lester looked good, so at least we can take that away, result be damned.

Kinda the straw that broke the camel's back sorta thing. Not being able to score, the Montero at bat, losing the no hitter on a play that *could* have been made followed by another play that *could* have been made, followed by rain, followed by me making the idiotic decision to tune back in when the rain stopped only to see Edwin Jackson douse the mound in gasoline...

...and it's the Cardinals. I'm just hurt, I guess. That hurt.

[Eli]

Kinda the straw that broke the camel's back sorta thing. Not being able to score, the Montero at bat, losing the no hitter on a play that *could* have been made followed by another play that *could* have been made, followed by rain, followed by me making the idiotic decision to tune back in when the rain stopped only to see Edwin Jackson douse the mound in gasoline...

...and it's the Cardinals. I'm just hurt, I guess. That hurt.

I'm really glad I just went to bed and didn't bother turning it back on. I just figured the likely outcome was a loss and if they won, it'd be a pleasant surprise after I woke up. Maybe that's how I should just treat entire games that way when they play the Cardinals.

Related or unrelated, I've been feeling pretty zen about the Cubs lately, which I think is a product of how I can relax about them catching the Cardinals (since it won't happen) and the rest of the NL outside of the Pirates being a total shitshow. I'm probably just conserving all of my nervous energy for that stupid wild-card playoff game.

[SKO]

I'm sorry SKO. You were right. I was wrong.

I hate this team. I hate baseball.

I think this is all actually my fault. If I hadn't bitched about David Ross so fucking much, God wouldn't have seen fit to punish me during Montero's first start with Lester by having Montero put together the worst at bat a Cub has had all year in a crucial spot.

I'm sorry to you all.

[Eli]

DPD, but I do have to respect how annoyingly and consistently smart the Cardinals are in every situation (#CardinalsRobotMagic?). We've mentioned the Montero/Molina at-bats, but I also think Bryant's bad defensive inning is another example in contrast. The ball that broke up the no-hitter was tough but makeable, so he was probably trying to overcompensate for missing it by making a double-play throw he's not capable of making*. If he's thinking clearly, he just sets his feet and gets the lead runner and then there's two outs and a guy on first. You rarely see the Cardinals make mistakes like that.

Some of it's probably a veteran vs. rookie thing, but I think the Cardinals are also really good at organization-wide instruction and coaching.

* If anyone's ever wondered why Bryant takes forever and double-pats all of his throws from third, there's your reason.

[Slaky]

Kinda the straw that broke the camel's back sorta thing. Not being able to score, the Montero at bat, losing the no hitter on a play that *could* have been made followed by another play that *could* have been made, followed by rain, followed by me making the idiotic decision to tune back in when the rain stopped only to see Edwin Jackson douse the mound in gasoline...

...and it's the Cardinals. I'm just hurt, I guess. That hurt.

I'm really glad I just went to bed and didn't bother turning it back on. I just figured the likely outcome was a loss and if they won, it'd be a pleasant surprise after I woke up. Maybe that's how I should just treat entire games that way when they play the Cardinals.

Related or unrelated, I've been feeling pretty zen about the Cubs lately, which I think is a product of how I can relax about them catching the Cardinals (since it won't happen) and the rest of the NL outside of the Pirates being a total shitshow. I'm probably just conserving all of my nervous energy for that stupid wild-card playoff game.

Yeah if the Pirates would lose that'd be a start. And while you can definitely say they won't catch St. Louis - because they won't - while the Cubs are slapping themselves around for last night and the next three games, the Pirates are winning. The Giants or Mets are winning. I think the good thing is as bad as the Cubs look against the Cards, they seem to be better than most of the other teams in the NL. The NL is awful. That's good.

I'm just so incredibly sick over constantly losing to the fucking Cardinals.

[InternetApex]

Related or unrelated, I've been feeling pretty zen about the Cubs lately, which I think is a product of how I can relax about them catching the Cardinals (since it won't happen) and the rest of the NL outside of the Pirates being a total shitshow. I'm probably just conserving all of my nervous energy for that stupid wild-card playoff game.

THIS. I can't imagine watching this season any other way. Perhaps they'll end up in a dogfight with some other slapdicks for the Selig Card and I'll get worked up over it in September. I'm just enjoying some SPORTZ until I'm forced to think about football again. I hope football never comes back but when it does, I'll probably watch because I'm stupid.

[InternetApex]

DPD, but I do have to respect how annoyingly and consistently smart the Cardinals are in every situation (#CardinalsRobotMagic?). We've mentioned the Montero/Molina at-bats, but I also think Bryant's bad defensive inning is another example in contrast. The ball that broke up the no-hitter was tough but makeable, so he was probably trying to overcompensate for missing it by making a double-play throw he's not capable of making*. If he's thinking clearly, he just sets his feet and gets the lead runner and then there's two outs and a guy on first. You rarely see the Cardinals make mistakes like that.

Some of it's probably a veteran vs. rookie thing, but I think the Cardinals are also really good at organization-wide instruction and coaching.

* If anyone's ever wondered why Bryant takes forever and double-pats all of his throws from third, there's your reason.

Even this doesn't *really* bother me. I can't imagine Bryant playing the majority of his games at 3B as soon as next year. I know it's possible but he looks awfully leftfieldish to me. We just need one of Baez or Alcantarra (Zobrist?) to start grabbing his ass with both hands again and we can knock this problem out of quadrant two.

[SKO]

Related or unrelated, I've been feeling pretty zen about the Cubs lately, which I think is a product of how I can relax about them catching the Cardinals (since it won't happen) and the rest of the NL outside of the Pirates being a total shitshow. I'm probably just conserving all of my nervous energy for that stupid wild-card playoff game.

THIS. I can't imagine watching this season any other way. Perhaps they'll end up in a dogfight with some other slapdicks for the Selig Card and I'll get worked up over it in September. I'm just enjoying some SPORTZ until I'm forced to think about football again. I hope football never comes back but when it does, I'll probably watch because I'm stupid.

I wish I could watch sports like this, I really do. I get invested in each game though, and baseball is a terrible sport to watch like that. Maybe if the Cubs had some kind of meaningful success in my life I'd feel differently, but frankly I do fret over stupid things like blowing a chance at the second wild card by scoring zero fucking runs for an entire month because my experience has taught me that I can't trust shit like "oh, well this is just the first year of a long run." Next year Bryant could tear his ACL running to first base.

It's a fatalistic mindset and it's irritating and Fro Doggish as hell and I hate it about myself but if they've got any shot at the playoffs at all I want them to go balls out and make it and I will worry about next year next year, but I just can't sit back and go "oh, it's fine, it's all fine, big window we're looking at, just try to enjoy the ride." I certainly get as euphoric as anyone about the wins, I really do, and rationally I am excited about what the future holds but the fear is ever present.

I think Mark Prior and Kerry Wood just broke something in me that's going to take a lot to fix.

[Eli]

DPD, but I do have to respect how annoyingly and consistently smart the Cardinals are in every situation (#CardinalsRobotMagic?). We've mentioned the Montero/Molina at-bats, but I also think Bryant's bad defensive inning is another example in contrast. The ball that broke up the no-hitter was tough but makeable, so he was probably trying to overcompensate for missing it by making a double-play throw he's not capable of making*. If he's thinking clearly, he just sets his feet and gets the lead runner and then there's two outs and a guy on first. You rarely see the Cardinals make mistakes like that.

Some of it's probably a veteran vs. rookie thing, but I think the Cardinals are also really good at organization-wide instruction and coaching.

* If anyone's ever wondered why Bryant takes forever and double-pats all of his throws from third, there's your reason.

Even this doesn't *really* bother me. I can't imagine Bryant playing the majority of his games at 3B as soon as next year. I know it's possible but he looks awfully leftfieldish to me. We just need one of Baez or Alcantarra (Zobrist?) to start grabbing his ass with both hands again and we can knock this problem out of quadrant two.

Agreed. I was thinking of a tweet last night about how I was looking forward to Bryant's first All-Star Game appearance as an outfielder, but it sounded kind of Chuckish so I didn't bother.

He may stick there for another few years if necessary, but a lot is dependent on what happens with Schwarber and Baez. Where's Pen to tell us that Bryant will stay at third until Torres comes up at SS, Baez slides to third, Bryant moves to LF all while Schwarber catches 130 games a year?

[Tonker]

Related or unrelated, I've been feeling pretty zen about the Cubs lately, which I think is a product of how I can relax about them catching the Cardinals (since it won't happen) and the rest of the NL outside of the Pirates being a total shitshow. I'm probably just conserving all of my nervous energy for that stupid wild-card playoff game.

THIS. I can't imagine watching this season any other way. Perhaps they'll end up in a dogfight with some other slapdicks for the Selig Card and I'll get worked up over it in September. I'm just enjoying some SPORTZ until I'm forced to think about football again. I hope football never comes back but when it does, I'll probably watch because I'm stupid.

I wish I could watch sports like this, I really do. I get invested in each game though, and baseball is a terrible sport to watch like that. Maybe if the Cubs had some kind of meaningful success in my life I'd feel differently, but frankly I do fret over stupid things like blowing a chance at the second wild card by scoring zero fucking runs for an entire month because my experience has taught me that I can't trust shit like "oh, well this is just the first year of a long run." Next year Bryant could tear his ACL running to first base.

It's a fatalistic mindset and it's irritating and Fro Doggish as hell and I hate it about myself but if they've got any shot at the playoffs at all I want them to go balls out and make it and I will worry about next year next year, but I just can't sit back and go "oh, it's fine, it's all fine, big window we're looking at, just try to enjoy the ride." I certainly get as euphoric as anyone about the wins, I really do, and rationally I am excited about what the future holds but the fear is ever present.

I think Mark Prior and Kerry Wood just broke something in me that's going to take a lot to fix.

Still love this mother fucker. That's what I've got to say today. That, and only that.

[Eli]

I wish I could watch sports like this, I really do. I get invested in each game though, and baseball is a terrible sport to watch like that. Maybe if the Cubs had some kind of meaningful success in my life I'd feel differently, but frankly I do fret over stupid things like blowing a chance at the second wild card by scoring zero fucking runs for an entire month because my experience has taught me that I can't trust shit like "oh, well this is just the first year of a long run." Next year Bryant could tear his ACL running to first base.
I think Mark Prior and Kerry Wood just broke something in me that's going to take a lot to fix.

I probably hate the "relax, it's the first year of a long window" talk as much as anyone, but I think what I'm saying is even if you're just hyper-focused on this year alone, they're still set up really well.

That probably isn't helping you either, I realize.