Nick's Cub's 25 Man Roster

With spring training games starting tomorrow, I am as giddy as a ten year old at Farrell’s Ice Cream shop. This year unlike most the Cubs roster for the most part is set. There are a couple of battles but if everyone remains healthy here is how I see the team as they head north for the opener April 2^nd in Cincinnati. I am basing this on the assumption that they bring 12 pitchers.

Infield – Locks: Lee, DeRosa, Izturis, and Ramirez. As I see it with the bench the Cubs are going to have there is only room for one middle infielder. The competition looks to be between Ryan Theriot and Ronnie Cedeno. Theriot came up as a Shortstop and eventually moved to 2B so we know he can handle both positions. He can also play a little 3^rd if needed. The question here is what do the Cubs want on their bench, offense or defense. My gut tells me Cedeno starts the year at Iowa and Ryan makes the team.

Outfield – Locks: Murton, Soriano, Jones, Floyd, Ward. Floyd and Ward make the team as left handed power bats off the bench with Floyd getting some AB’s in Left field. Both can also play a little 1B if needed. Now, Theroit has been playing a little Center Field in Mesa but I don’t think the Cubs break camp without Angle Pagan making the team. He can play all three outfield positions and is a switch hitter. Plus he has great speed so you can pinch run him late in games. So, in my mind I can’t see Lou not bringing Pagan North.

Catcher - Locks: Barrett, Blanco. This is a no brainier as both men are locked into their
roles.

Starting Rotation- Locks: Zambrano, Lilly, Marquis, and Hill. Mark Prior seems to have a lock on the 5^th spot in the rotation. If he is healthy (let’s all hold our collective breath) there is no way he isn’t the last man to fill out the rotation. I put Hill as a lock and unless he gets absolutely hammered in Mesa he is on the team.

Bullpen – Locks: Dempster, Howry, Eyre, Wood, and Cotts. That leaves two spots by my math. Michael Wuertz should make the team. He quietly had a real nice 2^nd half last year. It would be an upset if he didn’t make it. That leaves one spot. Will Ohman would look to have that but, the question is do the Cubs need three lefties in the pen. They could keep Wade Miller as a long reliever or a Carlos Marmol, Juan Mateo or Roberto Novoa. Personally, I think the battle is between Ohman and Miller. They could trade Miller if he has a good spring as he could fill out someone’s rotation. My money says that is the case and Ohman heads North but it is a long spring and anything can happen.

Hell Here On Earth

Well, I knew it was going to suck and sadly, I was proven right. Let’s just say I no longer fear hell, because last Tuesday I experienced it right here on earth when I went into the visitor’s center at the Great Lakes Naval Base.

To get onto the base my co-worker and I needed a pass. We were going to be there three days so we needed said pass to cover us from Tuesday to Thursday. Last time I went there, I got the run around trying to get the pass so, this time I took what I thought would be the necessary precautions to avoid a repeat performance. Sadly, this time my experience would be even worse.

It started when we walked into the center to see more people waiting to be served then on a normal day at the DMV. So, we grabbed a number, it was 54. They were currently serving 29. That was a bad omen. So, knowing we were going to be waiting a while we grabbed a seat. They had two televisions in the waiting area. Unfortunately, they were both tuned to the Fox News Channel.

Now, most times I avoid that network and their hate like, Yoko Ono avoids reality. But, since I was forced to watch it, I did. My first reaction was, this is news? All they did was report on Anna Nicole Smith and a dog that rescued some lost mountain climbers. There was nothing sniffing a legitimate news story aired the entire time I was sitting there. And it was a very considerable amount of time.

You see, the Navy outsourcers it’s visitors centers staff. (Which is kind of scary in this era of homeland security and all that.) Being just lonely peons we had to wait until our number was called. All Navy personal visiting this base had preference over the rest of us. So, they could just walk up to the front of the line and get waited on.

There were three booths for one to get a pass at. Of course with all those people waiting that did not stop the attentive outsourced staff to keep taking their scheduled coffee breaks. So, we waited and then we waited some more. It was over an hour before finally our number was called. Now, I had called our contact at the base the day before to make sure a pass would be there waiting for us. We go up to the booth and the most bitter, unpleasant woman I’ve seen waits on us. I inform her there should be a pass waiting for us. She rolls her eyes and tells us there isn’t.

She then asks us if our contact had faxed some official form. I have no idea. You see, I don’t have the rules and regulations to the Great Lakes Naval Base visitor’s center committed to memory. I don’t know what form needs to be submitted, all I do know is that I need to get on the base. The old hag who was waiting on us did a cursory look and did not see our name on any form so she informed us that, without the form there was nothing she could do for us and that we would have to get in touch with our contact, have her fax the form and then re-wait in line.

I called Bullshit on that. I picked up my cell and called our contact and didn’t budge from her line. My contact knew nothing about the form and had told me that she had never had to do that in the past to get visitors on the base. I was literally stuck in the middle of these two. So, I had my contact call the visitor’s center. They worked it out and my contact faxed a form. Of course, while they were waiting for the fax we had to step out of line. Eventually the form was faxed and we were on our way, or so we thought.

It seemed the form had only that day’s date on it. Since we were going to be there for three days and I had no interest in going through this again, I informed the bitch on a stick that was waiting on us that we needed a three day pass. She informed me that the form only had that days date on it and if we needed a three day pass my contact was going to have to fax in yet another form.

So, I again call my contact from my cell, have to get out of line and wait for yet another fax to get received. Eventually, it was and again it looked like we were on our way. We had rented a car and I gave the hedgehog who was waiting on us, the car rental agreement which had the make and model right on it. Still this did not prevent her from entering the wrong information on the pass.

We had a brown Volvo with Illinois plates. She put on the pass a red Nissan Altima with Wisconsin plates. I did not notice this error as I was just happy to have finally gotten the pass. So, I get the incorrect pass and give it to the guard on duty. He notices the mistake and informs me that we were going to have to go back to the visitor’s center to get it straightened out.

At this point I am beyond pissed. I am so enraged that I bypass everyone and go right up to the window. I am seeing red and this lady who fucked up when she entered the information acts as if I am the guilty one. Eventually after some back and forth she at long lasts corrects the pass so I can get onto the base.

All told I waited over two and a half hours from the time I grabbed my number until the time I got on the base. The thing is, all this static over a pass is unnecessary. There is no way to completely secure a base that size no matter what steps you take. Also, if security is that important to you then why not have actual cadets in charge of handing out the passes instead of some third party company who hires customer service people that the DMV wouldn’t touch. Needless to say I am not looking forward to my next trip there.

I Can Sail the Seven Sea's

Again, to all three people who read this, I will not be updating much this week as I am off to the Great Lakes Naval base for the next couple of days. I will be trying to help release the seaman, (beat) with their computer issues. (Sorry for the lame joke, but I have been watching a bunch of Arrested Development re-runs on G4 and that is something Tobias would say.)

In all seriousness we have a huge upgrade to perform at the base that will more then likely take up the rest of my week. The good news is that I am not staying there and am making the hour trek each way every day. I’d rather do that then be stuck in Gurnee. So, I am getting my floods and Peat coat out of the closet and will have the Village People blaring out of the car stereo to get ready for the trip. Wish me luck as last time I went there, I was forced to wait an hour in the visitors center waiting for a pass as Fox News channel was on in the waiting room. Let’s just say I no longer fear hell.

Wow, What a Difference

I have been a member of Netflix for almost six years. I am fiercely loyal to the company for any number of reasons. Blockbuster has basically stolen Netflix’s idea and is coming after them hard. By having built numerous stores, they have an advantage in that you are no longer at the mercy of the US Mail system. You can return the videos at the store location. Despite this advantage, I am never going to switch. I have always hated Blockbuster, and did do for so many reasons.

Be it their insistence that the major Hollywood studios edit out graphic scenes or their horrific treatment of employees or the killing of thousands of independent, locally owned video stores, I have made it a point to not rent movies from them for years. You saw what kind of bastards they were when before Netflix when they were essentially the only game in town they raised prices and late fees. When Netflix first came out it was like a God-send. I finally had a way to rent movies without becoming one of the sheep and giving my money to the unholy corporate entity that is Blockbuster.

With the popularity of Netflix came the ultimate slippage of Blockbuster. So, to combat this Blockbuster came up with the original idea to start offering their own mail service. Now, I have nothing against competition, but there is no way I am ever going to switch over to Blockbuster. Netflix has treated me well. Whenever I have had any issue their customer service has been extremely helpful. Now, I know Netflix is a corporation just like Blockbuster but I would much rather give them my business.

On top of all that, Netflix simply has a much better selection. If you simply want to rent mainstream tittles or new releases then Blockbuster is fine. However, if you want to rent older movies or harder to find titles then Netflix is much better. Plus, with Netflix you get movies as they were intended to be seen by the director. Blockbuster’s habit of editing certain films is big brother like.

So, this is why I will continue with my Netflix subscription and no matter how much Blockbuster, offers Joe Consumer I won’t switch. For the same reasons, I won’t shop at Wal-Mart or buy any Disney products, I do so because I sleep better at night. I realize my one person crusade is never going to bring any of these companies down. But, at least in my own way I am fighting the power.

My Dream Police

You are not going to find a bigger fan of the Police then yours truly. I got into them in the mid 80’s thanks to a guy I worked with at White Hen, Brian. Before then my musical tastes were kind of lame. My record and tape collection consisted of Michael Schenker, Shout at the Devil and some other assorted bad metal. Then one day I was working in the store and starting talking music with my co-worker.

I had heard of the Police, I mean who hadn’t. This was right after they had released Synchronicity and it was a huge hit for them. At that point my musical palette wasn’t really refined beyond what the Loop played so, all I really knew of them was Every Breath You Take, which my newly pubed ass, wrote off as boring.

So, when Brian and I started talking music one day while, we were filling the cooler at the Hen, he mentioned that the Police was his favorite musical group. I mentioned I wasn’t a fan. He then passionately argued their case as a group that I had seriously mis-understood. He was so passionate that he offered to make me a copy of each of their albums for me.

I went into the store the next Saturday and sure enough Brian, had duped a copy of each record. I brought them home and listened to each tape with an open mind and found myself drawn to the music. It is safe to say that my musical tastes were forever changed from that point on. I was instantly converted into a Police fan and it has been a love affair that has grown each day as I got older.

I listed and re-listened to each tape over and over. I became hypnotized by what I heard. I had never heard a guitar make the sounds that Andy Summers made that instrument make. His opening riff on Synchronicity II is still one of my all time favorites. Stuart Copeland is still my favorite rock and roll drummer. Just listening to him pound the skins on Message in a Bottle, makes me want to weep they are so good. Sting, with his exceptional lyrics and unique voice, just tied it all together. A trio, whose talent in my mind has never been matched. (Please spare me all you Rush fans. Yes, I like Rush as the next guy, but I am much more of a Police fan.)

Sadly, I was finding the band about a year to late. As with many bands that are that good, when you have three egos, and three unique talents like that, friction is bound to come up. So, they disbanded and with the exception of Sting’s wedding and their induction into the rock and roll hall of fame they would not play again. That was until last night’s Grammy’s.

Over the years Sting, has really gotten on my nerves. I like the first two Sting solo albums. Dream of the Blue Turtles, while not a perfect record has enough quality to overcome its shortcomings. His second album, Nothing Like the Sun, I was really a fan of. Englishmen in New York, is just an exceptional song. Even though it sounds nothing like a Police record, it showed that the man was an exceptional talent who could do many different things. After that record, sadly he made a left turn to Easy Listening Land and would never come back.

When he put out the Soul Cages in 1991, I was excited. He had not released a solo record in five years. So, I was really anticipating it. When I heard it, I was pissed. Every song was worse then the next. I wanted to write it off as a bump in the road and then he put out, Ten Summoner’s Tales, which was even worse. With each following record he has been on a downward slope towards the Abyss.

Stuart Copeland and Andy Summers have filled the years with solo projects of their own and composing a number of soundtracks. All the while I, like many number of Police fans, have waited and waited for any word of a reunion tour. Well, after what seems like a millennium, finally the Police are touring.

Last night they played Roxanne at the Grammy’s. I taped the broadcast and saw the band perform, a somewhat lackluster rendition of the song. Still, that hasn’t tempered my enthusiasm for the upcoming tour, which is rumored to have them playing Wrigley Field in July. Needless, to say I am going. I must obtain a pair of tickets for this show. Just to be able to see these three guys play together is worth the price of a ticket. I just hope that Sting somehow reverts back to that great artist that is inside him somewhere. I want to see a Police show not an Adult Contemporary Sting show.

No Regrets

Around a year ago at this time I was writing and bitching about my job at the bank. I had just been screwed over by my then boss with concern to my review and then had to go through a downsizing where my team got whacked. Even though I survived it was still a very stressful situation. Well, what a difference a year makes, as I could not be happier with my current employment situation.

It is so refreshing and such a culture shock to me to be at a place where you are treated with respect and dignity. At the bank, the management focused on your negatives. Here they focus on your positives and allow you to strengthen the areas where you need improvement. At review time at the bank, it was about as much fun as an audit. I could have done 1,000 tickets the previous year and done 998 of them without incident. But, what do you think the management focused on?

Each call I did at the bank, the client would get a survey about me. I had a score of 95% positive which was the best in all of the Midwest. All I heard about in my review were the 5% of bad surveys I got. I mean it got to the point where I felt, why bother busting my ass. I don’t need to get blown but, I also don’t need to be harassed when, I was doing what most sane people would consider a great job.

Another thing at the bank that used to drive me up the wall was their personal time policy. At my current job, if I need to take a day off for some personal reason, it is never a problem. At the bank, I always got the third degree. The worst was when my Step-Dad’s Mom died and I wanted to take the day off to attend the service. I will never forget my team lead’s remark, well it wasn’t a blood relative so it doesn’t fall under the grief policy. I felt like punching this bozo in the face when he said that. He was going to make me take a vacation day, so I had to come in and work half a day so I would not use one up.

At Carlson, my boss is beyond understanding when it comes to personal matters. As long as you don’t abuse them, everything is fine. When in a hurry one morning I locked my keys in my car, I called him and he told I didn’t need to come in if I needed to call a locksmith or something. At the bank, I would have had to stay late to make up the time.

On top of all of that, I am a much happier person. My whole mind-set has changed. I no longer dread getting up in the morning and going to work. When I was at the bank, each morning felt like I was going to the dentist. I was dreading it. It would start on Sunday night before I went to bed. I would sit there and start thinking about all the nonsense and bullshit I was going to have to put up with, the next day. Be it the illogical rules, the me-first clients, my old hag of a boss, or the knowledge that I as going to be verbally assaulted at least once for something that was out of my control. It was all too much to take.

So, now I am a happier and better person. When I am at home, I never think about work. On top of all that, I would walk on hot coals for my boss. He treats me fairly and with respect. You get a lot more mileage treating people that way as opposed to slaves. I no longer work in fear wondering if my job is going to be outsourced or off-shored. I come in each day, with the knowledge, that I am valued. There is no amount of money that equals that kind of peace of mind.

Screw American Idol

With the Bears season over, it is time to get into American Idol. At least that is what the women who sit behind my cube said. Well, let me be the first to gag, if that is the case. Hasn’t the shelf life on this show expired yet? Why can’t America see this show for what it really is? A bunch of diva’s with cruise-ship show talent singing old songs so that 40 something’s can feel safe in what is basically a karaoke contest.

I can’t give one exact reason for why this show bugs me so much. I guess there are a bunch of them. Maybe it is because I take music way too seriously. I always have and it has been one of my crosses to bear. I have ended relationships with women based solely on their musical tastes. It is not that I don’t think these amateurs can’t sing, because they can, but so what? Do you think Mick Jaeger or Neil Young would win American Idol? Me either but both of those guys have more talent in their little fingers then Taylor Hicks or Carrie Underwood have in their whole body.

Reality TV as a whole is beginning to get a bit stale. Survivor was more or less the beginning of the whole craze. I admit that I watched that first season. It was different and somewhat exciting. However, after that first season the newness and originality behind it really wore off. Fast forward seven years later and TV is over-run with un-scripted shows in which we get to peer into the private lives of D-list celebrities, watch fat people try to lose weight or see Donald Trump continue to use the same catch phrase over and over to the point of nausem. Eventually, doesn’t one want to at least set the bar a little higher in being entertained?

Listen, I am no prude. I love Jackass and have admitted it on many occasions. Funny is funny. In any format you can find some quality. Airline was a reality show on A&E which was very well done. Also, I must admit that Beauty and the Geek has it’s moments as well. (When they had the guys go up and do stand-up it was a stroke of genius.) Sadly, the vast majority of this reality TV nonsense is pure crap and American Idol is its biggest offender.

I am not sure what I hate more. The smug Simon Cowell, whose whole act is becoming as fresh as a Peter Frampton concert. Or, the lame late teen’s whose life goal is to become a corporate produced shill who is forced to warble out old Aretha Franklin tunes. Or is it that every performer on that show thinks that to be a singer they needed to hit and hold a note for like ten seconds.

When the show first started, I saw it for like five minutes and turned it off. As it gained popularity, I was perplexed, but then again, I am often confused when something I think is lacking any redeeming entertaining qualities, becomes popular. All of this came to boil a couple of years ago when I was at a bar trying to watch a ballgame.

It was a nice summer night and my friend Wally called me to go grab a drink and watch some baseball. Both the Cubs and Sox were on that night, so we went to a sports bar in the area to catch them. We didn’t realize that American Idol was on that night, but even if it was, so what. We were going to a sports bar, why would a sports bar have American Idol on?

Well, sure as shit, we walk in and the bar which had at least 20 TV’s had America Idol on 19 of them. The White Sox were on one TV in the corner, and the Cub’s weren’t on at all. I actually had to ask the bartender to put the game on and when I did she gave me a dirty look. I flet like saying for Christ’s sake, if you want to watch reality TV, then watch sports.

Sports are the ultimate reality TV. At least baseball is. There is a clear winner and loser. You can’t script it. No one is calling in to give their opinion on which country bumpkin sings better. Yet, here I was being in the vast minority at a sports bar, actually wanting to watch you know, sports.

At this point, I threw up my hands and officially gave up. It is sad when you have actual talented musicians who struggle their whole lives to find an audience when all you really need is to do is whore yourself out on American Idol and sing some covers and then put out an album that will be guaranteed to be a best seller. God bless the USA.

Nick's Playoffs

Well, even though the Bears lost it was still a hell of a run. This post season was better then most in that I had a rooting interest. Here is a brief summary of how I spent the football playoffs.

Round 1: Saturday’s games – We headed over to my friend Joe’s condo in Hickory Hills. There we watched the Colts beat the Chiefs and the Seahawks beat the Cowboys. I did ok, as I broke even on the day gambling wise. I hit one strip card so, I was happy. Besides, the White Castle, (which I brought to each place I went as it has become something of a tradition) we had some good BBQ from the Pit and some sandwich rolls. Chris had some potato chips he brought back with him from France, including a turkey and brown gravy flavor which were horrible. Gambling Line: Even

Round 1: Sunday’s games – Joyce and I had a previous engagement at her sisters house so we watched the action there. The Pat’s beat the Jet’s and the Eagles tamed the Giants. We were celebrating a late Christmas, since we were in Vegas during the actual holiday. We ate a great meal and watched the game’s with Joyce’s family. No gambling so I was still even after one round.

Round 2: Saturday’s games – I headed over to my friend Wally’s house in Bridgeport. There I saw the Colts beat the Ravens and the Saints beat the Eagles. It was a literal smorgasbord of food. Wally had, pulled pork, chicken, polish sausage, a ham, some beef brisket and other assorted sides. It was all really tasty. I left there joking that I think I ate one of each animal. I got my ass kicked gambling as I lost every strip card I played. Gambling Line: -$40

Round 2: Sunday’s games – For the Sunday games I was off to my friend Brian’s house in Willow Springs. There we watched the Bears beat the Seahawks and the Pat’s beat the Chargers. Wally grilled a turkey and Brain’s girlfriend had a ton of food, including meatballs and mini-hotdog’s (one of my favorites.) My luck would be no better there as I lost again. I was starting to go into the poor house in gambling losses. Gambling Line: -$95

Championship Sunday – For Championship Sunday we were off to Pat’s house in Alsip. Pat has been hosting Championship Sunday for years. There we watched the mighty Bears beat the Saints and the Colts topple the Pat’s. Food wise there was so much I barely remember it all. Pat’s wife made some homemade tamale’s and some other Mexican dishes. I also had a beef sandwich at some point. My luck finally changed as I hit not one, but two strip cards, bringing me back to even for the playoffs. Gambling Line: Even

Superbowl Sunday – We were off to Michael’s house in Merrionette Park. Sadly, we had to watch him celebrate a Colts victory. (I was at the one party in Chicago hosted by a Colts fan.) At least Joyce won some money as she pulled the Colts in a playoff pool at the start of the playoffs. So she won a cool $100. Food wise, I had some Chicken, beef brisket, some polish sausage and BBQ pork bun. (As well as about 5 sliders.) On the gambling side things picked up as I hit a square, a strip card and I won the first score pool. After drawing the Bears Special Teams, it looked grim but thanks to Devin Hester I was smiling big time. Gambling Line: + $165

All in all I had a good time gambling, watching football, eating bad food and drinking. I need to go into a detox program for the next month, but it was worth it. Here are some pictures of all the merriment. Please remember I am no Ansel Adams and I was drunk when I took a number of these photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43299774@N00/sets/72157594482210503/