Cubs Power Past Phils
To Tase Or Not To Tase
Who could forget the Taser heard all around the world? After the University of Florida tasering incident, the world of tasering has never been the same, and now it has encroached upon the glorious world of sports. During the eighth inning of the Phillies-Cardinals game on May 3, a teenager hopped over a fence and came onto the playing field. The boy, who had apparently called and asked his father for permission in vain before running onto the field, was tasered by police and arrested thereafter.
Morning Box Score
The White Sox were off yesterday as the traveled the Left Coast from Seattle to Oakland where they begin a weekend series tonight at 9:05 p.m. (WGN). You can check our recap of yesterday's Cubs-Phillies game here and, luckily for the Cubs, the Pirates come to town for a weekend set starting today at 1:20 p.m. (WGN).
Afternoon Box Score: Phillies Upend Cubs
A day after getting walloped by the Phillies bats, the Cubs were shut down by the Phillie's recently acquired pitching ace Cliff Lee, as Philadelphia took a 6-1 win today from the Cubs. The win gave the Phillies a series sweep, a season series victory (5-1), and the Cubs have now lost 6 of their last 7. It was a pitcher's duel until the fourth inning when the Phillies finally got to Cubs starter Ryan Dempster. Slugger Ryan Howard smacked his 27th homer of the year, a 3-run shot, and Pedro Feliz followed him with a solo homer of his own to put the Phillies up 4-0. The Cubs tried to claw back into the game when Ryan Theriot singled in Jeff Baker in the bottom of the fifth, but it's all the damage the Cubs offense would inflict on Philadelphia. With two more runs scored off of Dempster in the later innings, the Phillies put the game out of reach. Dempster struck out eight over seven innings but also gave up six earned runs on eight hits in the loss. For the series, the Cubs were outscored by Philadelphia by a total of 22-9. With the loss, the Cubs find themselves 4.5 games back of idle St. Louis. Thankfully for the Cubs, the Pirates - who have struggled mightily on the road - come to town next for a three-game stand starting tomorrow afternoon.
Morning Box Score
Phils Snap Cubs Streak
Morning Box Score
Cubs, Ramirez Rally Past Phils
Elsewhere in the Ist-a-verse
As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in...
Elsewhere in the Ist-a-verse
LAist began the month with a new food series exploring the popular and unknown late night eats around town. If a Top Chef winner opened up a late night spot in Los Angeles, denizens would flock it, yet the LA Times and other media might be wary. Turning to sports, the Dodger season was quite memorable in the way that it imploded and the LA County Sheriff's Department made some games of their own...
Cubs Clinch Central
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...
3 Is the Magic Number
The Cubs couldn't help themselves Wednesday night, as they dropped their second straight game to the lowly Florida Marlins, losing 7-4 in Miami.
Wow! That Park Looks Beautiful Under the Lights
Today is a momentous occasion in Chicago Cubs history. It was on this day eighteen nineteen years ago that the Cubs recorded their first official night game at Wrigley Field, beating the New York Mets 6-4 on a national stage; the game was broadcast on NBC with Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola in the booth. Note the use of the word "official." Their first night game was actually scheduled the previous evening against the...
Tied Up
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...
Baseball Trading Deadline Looms
Baseball's non-waiver trading deadline passes this afternoon, and while both our clubs have been attached to rumored moves, little has happened yet. While the Cubs look to add any missing pieces for a playoff push, the Sox were expected to be big sellers as they remain well below .500 for the season.
Cubs & White Sox First Half Recap
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...
White Flag Time For The White Sox?
We really didn't think the White Sox would be out of the playoff hunt so early -- certainly not before the All Star Break. But Chicagoist has finally realized that this team's not going anywhere this year and GM Kenny Williams is likely laundering that white flag just about now so it's ready when needed. Which could be any day now.
Elsewhere in the Ist-a-verse
Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried...
Andrew Bird on Letterman Tonight
Andrew Bird has been garnering praise with his latest release Armchair Apocrypha, and there is no better way to target the mainstream music audience than on late-night television. It’s amazing how quickly albums fly off the shelves at discount retailers after an appearance on Letterman.
Elsewhere in the Ist-a-verse
Download the original attachment We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. Torontoist Special Report: Rosie to Trump: "Fire 300 Bicyclists for Fraud!" On DCist: Students Go Wild for Slogans, Secrets and Sexual Harassment...
Sox Extend Vasquez's Contract
Chicagoist is becoming increasingly concerned about Sox GM Kenny Williams and his mental state. Has he been overworked the past few years? Does he need a break? Is he trying to get himself fired? Does he covet some scouting job with the New York Mets? Otherwise, we're at a loss to explain his handling of the White Sox starting rotation since the end of last season. In early December, he traded Freddy Garcia, a workhorse...
Dumb and Dumber?
Both of our baseball teams made some noise involving pitching on Wednesday at MLB's Winter Meetings, with the Cubs signing a high-priced free agent, while the White Sox traded away one of their starters. The Cubs signed Ted Lilly to a 4-year, $40 million deal — with Jim Hendry in the hospital, no less! "Jim was hooked up to an EKG machine, and we got it done," Lilly's agent explained. Hendry had been admitted to...
Elsewhere in the Ist-a-verse
Torontoist visits the site of a new Frank Gehry structure, stalks "the elusive Bahamas streetcar", and watches Tom Green get surgery. Phillyist rejoices in the Phillies' wild card chances, mourns the injuries sustained by Eagles defensive end Jevon Kearse, and goes pirate on our asses. SFist notes that Guns and Roses were in town, that San Franciscans are taking over reality TV, and that the San Francisco Chronicle's skills of original nomenclature could use some...
Thome vs. Thomas
Remember back in the off-season, when the White Sox traded a gritty outfielder with a decent bat for a guy who, before injuries, had been one of the most feared sluggers in baseball? And then the White Sox cast away one of their own who, before injuries, had also been one of the great hitters in the game? The White Sox head into Oakland for a 3-game set with the A's this weekend, and both...
Elsewhere in the Ist-a-verse
The weeks starts out right when a sucker punch on the field lands Chicagoist in the middle of a Sox/Cubs throwdown and the fists continue to fly in the comments. Despite suburban resident Ms. Pinney's best little try no books will be banned anytime soon and the El is really really gross. Houstonist is there to start compiling the punditry when when the guilty, guilty Enron verdict comes down. This guy seems to be able...

