Cubs Held Hostage- Day 14

Things to remember:
1- The wind was blowing out so hard Henry Blanco could've hit one out.
2- Wait, Henry Blanco did hit one out.
3- The only reason we were down 8-0 in the first place was Edmonds two-run-causing blunder in the third.
4- Even after today, he's still behind 3 of our 4 regular starting pitchers in OPS. And closer to the 4th (Dempster) than the 3rd (Marquis).

I'm happy- no, ecstatic- that we have the best record in baseball. Its just that our lead is less than it would be if Edmonds weren't around, and he can't be trusted to have anything to do with protecting/extending it.

Cubs Held Hostage, Day 12 & 13

Cubs play two, Edmonds doesn't, Cubs win both, Cubs best team in baseball. Under the circumstances, its as much as I could ask for, shy of, you know, cutting Jim Edmonds...

Cubs Held Hostage, Day 11

We should just rename this blog "We told you so." Here's Jim Edmonds' gory performance last night:

Bottom 2nd- Still hitting sixth, works the count to 2-2 before tapping to third.
Bottom 4th- With Fukudome on first, Edmonds goes in the hole 0-2, battles back to 3-2 in an eight pitch at-bat before... popping out to center.
Bottom 6th- Two on, one out. Jimmy pops out to center on a 1-1 pitch.
Bottom 7th- The Cubs rally, plating two runs before Fukudome bats with runners on first and third. With Edmonds decomposing on deck, the Dodgers pitch to Fukudome, who doubles in another run. Edmonds steps up, takes three pitches to go down 1-2, and then rolls one to the first baseman to end the inning.

And now, here's a quick list of selected Cubs, ranked by OPS:

Carlos Zambrano- .829
Ted Lilly- .572
Jason Marquis- .528
Ryan Dempster- .286
Jim Edmonds- .285

That's right, our starting center fielder (who is cherry-picking only PAs where he has the platoon advantage) has a .160 OBP, a .125 SLG, and is being outhit by every regular starting pitcher on the team. We told you so!

Cubs Held Hostage- Days 8-10- Wasted Weekend

The Cubs split four games over the holiday weekend. Let's review Jim Edmonds' "contributions" to the team's efforts.


Friday- Cubs 12, Pirates 3
Cubs blowout win? And Jim Edmonds seated squarely on the bench? What are the odds?? I would say "seated squarely on the bench where he belongs, but of course, he doesn't belong anywhere near a major league team's bench. Let's move on.

Saturday- Pirates 5, Cubs 4
Jim Edmonds gets one plate appearance. In a 4-4 game, he leads off the top of the eleventh pinch-hitting for Kerry Wood. If he homers, the Cubs win the game. If he doubles or triples, he probably scores when Ronny Cedeno singles two batters later and the Cubs win the game. If he at least reaches base, its first-and-third with one down for Soriano after Cedeno's single. But no... he pops out to center. Cubs lose in 14.

Sunday- Pirates 6, Cubs 5
Deja vu. This time, Edmonds pinch-hits for Reed Johnson in the tenth. He somehow gets ahead in the count 3-0, and manages to turn it into a popout to right field. The inning ends, and the Cubs lose in 11. (Note: the game would have never reached extra-innings if Soriano had caught a routine fly ball. There's no way to know if Pinella might have used a defensive replacement, had our best defensive outfielder not been demoted to make room for Jim Edmonds decaying corpse, but I can't say it didn't come to mind.)

Monday- Cubs 3, Pirates 1
Jim Edmonds gets the start, presumably as a reward for his clutch performance over the weekend. With one out and none on in the second, he pops out to center on the first pitch. With one out and none on in the fifth, he gets ahead 2-1 before whiffing on the next two pitches from Chad Billingsley for the K. In the 7th, Chan Ho Park enters the game, and Edmonds manages to scratch out a single, his third total base in 20 AB since joining the Cubs (that's a .150 SLG if you're keeping score at home.) He ends up stranded. Geovanny Soto, recognizing that reaching base would only mean another painful Edmonds at-bat, selflessly strikes out to end the eighth and keep Edmonds from doing any more damage.

So for the weekend, its 1-5, .200 AVG, .200 OBP, .200 SLG, .400 OPS, no runs, no RBI, two chances to win games for the Cubs squandered. This Sun-Times article on the Edmonds situation
suggests that he will get to start the two remaining games in the Dodgers series as well. Let's hope the rest of the team runs up the score enough that he can't find a way to give the game away.

Finally, a sad farewell to Geremi Gonzalez, who was struck by lightning and killed this weekend. I'm sure that was Edmonds fault too, somehow.

Music to My Ears

I jut happened across this little nugget at the Chicago Tribune

It says that Edmonds needs to start hitting or he will be hitting the road. I hate to see our blog be so short-lived. Hell, who are we are kidding, of course we would love to end the blog. I hope it happens real soon.

Cubs Held Hostage: Days 6 & 7

Two days, two losses and too much Jim Edmonds. Folks, I hate to be say "I told you so", but I told you he was done. Look at his lines.

2-for-15, 1 BB

The Cubs are now 4-3 under Emonds and it will only get worse.

The Cubs have the day off and are only 1 game ahead of the Cardinals in the Central.

Cubs Held Hostage: Day 5

Another typical Jim Edmonds night. He casually goes 1-for-5, the one being a single with no pressure. Of course, he grabs some headlines with a over-the-shoulder grab on the stupid hill in Houston. All I have to say is that Felix Pie would've been camped under it and made it routine.

Some how, the Cubs fight off the bad Edmonds karma and win 7-2. A key stat coming into the game: Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez were a combined 0-for-22 for the weekend, but they broke out of the Edmonds spell and busted out tonight.

Result: 1-5 (2-9 overall)
Result: W (7-2)
Cubs Record with Edmonds: 4-1
Standings: 28-17, First Place. 2.5 Games ahead of the Cardinals (Currently ahead of the Padres as of 11:17 p.m.)

Cubs Held Hostage: Day 3

Once again Jim didn't play on Saturday, but how ironic is it that Carlos Zambrano has his worst start of the year? I'm just saying, Jim has ill effects on everybody, including our Ace. I wouldn't be surprised to see Edmonds in the lineup today against a lefty. I know it's a bad idea, but get ready people.

Result:DNP, but preformed some voo-doo on Zambrano
Cubs Result: L (7-6)
Cubs Record with Edmonds: 2-1
Standings: 26-17, First Place. 2 Games ahead of the Cardinals.

Cubs Held Hostage: Day 2

Thankfully, Jim didn't play yesterday and the Cubs won big. With another lefty on the mound, Jim should be out of the lineup once again.


Result:DNP
Cubs Result: W (7-4)
Cubs Record with Edmonds: 2-0
Standings: 25-16, First Place. 2.5 Games ahead of the Astros.

Cubs Held Hostage: Day 1

Day one of the Jim Edmonds' era started today at Wrigley Field. In an odd move, Lou batted Edmonds 6th behind Kosuke Fukudome, which I don't think is the point of signing the aging blunder.
It didn't matter as the Cubs won 4-0 thanks to a break out inning, but we're not here to talk about the Cubs. We're here to talk about Edmonds, the Cardinal spy that was sent here to ruin our run at a World Series title.

Edmonds actually got a pretty good welcome, with many fans standing up to cheer. In the second inning, Edmonds picked up his lone hit after dumping a Maddox pitch into left. That was the good, because over the next three at bats.

In the fourth inning, Edmonds bounced into a inning-ending double play.

In the fifth inning, Fukudome was walked to get to Edmonds, who promptly flew out to center. He biggest chance came with the bases loaded in the seventh in which he faced a lefty. Things didn't go well for him as he was totally fooled on two pitches and struck out.

Result: 1-4. 7 LOB. (.250 Avg.)
Cubs Result: W (4-0)
Cubs Record with Edmonds: 1-0
Standings: 25-16, First Place. 1.5 Games ahead of the Astros.

Hendry: "No negative in it"

Late last night, the Cubs signed Jim Edmonds to a contract. Of course the Cards and Padres are on the hook for most of the 7.7 Million, but the Cubs will pay him about 290,000 and some change.

I was reading the quote from the Tribune story:

"There is really no negative in it," (Jim) Hendry said. "You're not giving up
players. You're not spending a lot of dollars, so you look at things like that
and, hopefully, he'll be able to give us at least a great portion of the Jim
Edmonds we all knew and used to fear in a lot of ways."

I've always liked Hendry, but sometimes his moves just puzzle me. On one hand, he fleeced L.A. and Pittsburgh during the 2003 season after aquiring Eric Karros, Mark Grudzielanek, Aramis Ramirez and Kenny Lofton for the likes of Todd Hundley, Jose Hernandez and Bobby Hill. Those were some great deals.

But then, he doesn't give players like Matt Murton and Felix Pie chances to play. Not to mention signing Jason Marquis and J. JonesSome young players have to play to develop. Guys like Geovanny Soto are rare. Only time will tell how this turns out, but I don't see too many positives.

The Dark Days are Here

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Jim Edmonds (AKA the Anti-Christ) is now a Chicago Cubs. What started out as a nasty rumor three days ago, is now truth. I'm not sure what pictures Edmonds has on Jim Hendry and Lou Pinella, but they must be good. 

When I was asked to come on board to Cut Jim Edmonds, I jumped at the chance and quickly dropped all other responsibilities to come on board and get the news out. Edmonds Loather and I will provide you with daily status reports, while keeping a watchful eye on the latest Cardinal Spy to hit Chicago. 

Cubs Record Before Signing: 24-16. First Place, 1 game ahead of St. Louis

Cubs Record since Signing: No games played

Cub Nation Held Hostage: Day 0

This is a blog created by two Cubs fans absolutely sickened by the prospect of Jim Edmonds playing for the Cubs. News reports indicate he will be bringing his unique blend of glacial bat speed, one-dimensional outfield range, and Paul O'Neill-esque whining to the Cubs when he clears waivers tonight. We will attempt to chronicle the nightmare from the moment this nightmare begins until the moment when it finally, blissfully ends. That day can't come soon enough.