Results tagged “nlcentral”

Sure, it's still damn cold out. And the snow keeps coming. And coming. But spring is just around the corner. How do we know? Because Spring Training is finally upon us.

Now that baseball fans on both sides of town are officially "waiting until next year," we take great interest in Major League Baseball's tentative 2008 schedule.

The Cubs have clinched the NL Central crown -- and with two games to spare! Following a three game sweep at the hands of the Florida Marlins, things were looking sketchy, but the Brewers kept on losing, too. When the Cubs returned to the win column in Cincinnati on Friday night, and Milwaukee lost yet again, the final two games were subtracted from the magic number and the Cubs earned a berth in the postseason...

The Cubs now have fewer than ten games remaining on their schedule, and after Wednesday night's 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, they sit alone atop the NL Central — the Brewers lost to the Astros in extra innings. Lou Piniella's short-rest experiment worked Wednesday night, as Ted Lilly looked sharp, pitching seven innings while allowing two runs and striking out eight. While he didn't earn the victory, he kept the Cubs close enough that...

They're Ours! We were pleasantly surprised by signings announced on both sides of town in recent days -- the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano agreed to a five year deal worth $91.5 million on Friday, and on Saturday the White Sox announced a two year, $22 million extension for Jermaine Dye. Zambrano's signing caught us by surprise for a number of reasons -- because of the impending sale of the Cubs, because of the dollars involved...

After helping the Cubs climb back into the NL Central race by going 9-3 with a 1.98 ERA through June and July, Carlos Zambrano looks like a different pitcher in August.

If the past week is any indication, it's beginning to look like Houston could end up as the winners of the NL Central this year. While a Cubs surge through June and July allowed them to catch the Milwaukee Brewers in the standings last week, since that time neither club has looked like they want to win the division crown. Last night, Carlos Zambrano got rocked for seven runs over 5.2 innings as the Astros...

Is that a goat we hear bleating? Because no sooner do the Cubs climb into a tie with the Brewers for the NL Central lead, they lose one of their top sluggers to injury. Alfonso Soriano landed on the disabled list on Monday, after tearing his right quadriceps in Sunday night's game against the New York Mets. Attempting to run from first to third on a Ryan Theriot single in the third inning, he came...

When the Cubs hit rock bottom on June 2, they had just lost their sixth game in a row -- Lou Piniella had just thrown his on-field tantrum, and only a day earlier Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett went at it in both the dugout and the clubhouse. The Cubs sat at 22-31, nine games below .500 and 7 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central standings. Their dramatic 5-4 win over...

While our White Sox managed to tie the KC Royals in the AL Central basement earlier this week, the Cubs are quickly closing in on the other end of the standings. Ted Lilly had another strong outing for the Cubs, who beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 Wednesday night. With the win -- combined with the Milwaukee Brewers' loss -- moved the Cubs to within just two games of first in the NL Central. The...

On this -- officially the slowest sports day of the year -- we will take the opportunity to look back at the first half (or so) of the season for the Cubs and Sox. Fans of both teams entered the season with high expectations. Has either team lived up to those expectations? Cubs After spending a ton of money on free agents during the off season, the Cubs sit in second place in the NL...

The Cubs held the White Sox to just two runs over three games, as they swept this weekend's series and ended up winning five of six overall in the crosstown showdown. Carlos Zambrano out dueled Mark Buehrle in Friday's game, limiting the Sox to one run and three hits as the Cubs won 5-1. The Sox bullpen let any chance for a comeback slip away by letting up three ninth inning runs. On Saturday, the...

2006's baseball season brought disappointment to both sides of Chicago. Coming off their 2005 World Series title, the White Sox won 90 games but missed the playoffs — in spite of a number of roster upgrades during the offseason. Did Kenny Williams tinker too much with the chemistry that won them a title in '05? Last year's team never seemed to find its rhythm. On the North Side, the Cubs climbed ever closer to that...

We haven't thought much of the Cubs in recent weeks, as they fell out of contention in the NL Central race. The storylines just keep repeating themselves -- Will Wood/Prior pitch again this year? Will Dusty last until the end of the season? -- that we've just sort of ignored the North Siders.

Maybe the Cubs should have sold the naming rights to the bleachers to Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and instead of a "batters' eye" lounge, the should have installed a medical clinic. Because the Cubs just cannot seem to stay healthy. No sooner does the media report that Kerry Wood may be close to beginning his minor league rehab, the Cubs see two players injured on the same play! They didn't even run into each other, so this kind of fate takes special talent.

What a difference a year makes! Last year, as we embarked on a new baseball season, we discussed the eternal optimism of Chicago baseball fans in light of decades of futility. But in 2005 something most unexpected and most wonderful happened. Chicago won a World Series! And it wasn't even the Chicago team that many thought had a shot at the title. While the Cubs entered the season picked by many to reach the postseason,...

Chicagoist has been waiting and wondering when to declare the Cubs post-season chances officially dead. We didn't have to because Cubs management pulled the plug on the teams playoff hopes yesterday.

Like the tulips beginning to poke from the dirt and construction cones sprouting along the roads, the annual optimism of opening day symbolize the coming of spring in Chicago. The Cubs and White Sox both open their seasons today, fans hoping the substantial changes each team made during the off-season will pay off with a World Series title come October. Will they? Chicagoist will give a quick summary of the changes, some points of interest...

It's the All Star Break, but our local boys got the shaft. Where are Paul Konerko, Juan Uribe and Aramis Ramirez? Instead, Chicagoist will take a look back at the first half of the baseball season and predict what the second half will bring.