A Punch to the Gut

This is a very difficult post to write and I wrestled with weather to post something or not. For those who do not know, we lost the pregnancy. I don’t want to get into details as that would just make us re-live the agony of the ordeal. Trust me we have both shed tears over this and grieved in our own way.

We are both obviously disappointed but, life goes on. There is no use dwelling on it because simply there was nothing we could have done any different. It just wasn’t meant to be at this point in time.

I realize a lot of people care about Joyce and me and we appreciate all the kind words and support. But, and I think I speak for Joyce as well, really we don’t need to discuss the situation anymore. It is over and done with and it is just like I said, every time someone brings it up, it is kind of like re-living the thing all over again.

So, I may take a small break from the old blog for a bit. I am sure life will come back to normal and I will be back to my old, sarcastic, pessimistic self in no time. Life can kick in the nuts when you least expect it. But, the key is to move on, gain some insight and become stronger because of it. The only good thing that I can see that came out of all of this is that Joyce and I are even more committed to each other then ever before.

Our marriage has always been solid as a rock and this had really strengthened the bond we already shared. Just knowing that I have her in my life keeps me sane. If we can get through the bad times, it just makes the good times even sweeter.

The 1977 Chicago Cubs

I was born in 1969, which as most know was a particularly cruel year for Cub fans. The 69 team has been revered and talked about a whole lot in this town. I understand why, even if I was just an infant that season. The Cubs gave the fans a magical season for the first time in a generation. That team also boasted three future Cooperstown inductees in Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams.

With all the fan fair the 69 team gets, the 1977 Cubs kind of get lost in the shuffle. On August 3^rd in 1977 the Cubs were twenty games over .500 and tied with the Phillies for first. The team would then go on a two month bender and finish at exactly break even. They ended the year a distant twenty games back. But for an eight year old kid, that team sure gave me a thrill that summer.

I guess 1977 was the first baseball season I truly remember. Sure, I have recollections of the 76 World Series between the Reds and Yankees, but in 1977 I was a kid growing up in Chicago and caught what I eventually knew to be a curse, Cubs fever. That team did not have a ton of talent but somehow, played over their heads and gave me a great summer, and an agonizing autumn.

The 77 Cubs consisted for the most part of Bill Buckner at first, Many Trillo at second, Ivan De Jesus at short, Steve Ontiverious at third, Jose Cardinal in left, Jerry Morals in center, Bobby Murcer in right and George Mitterwald catching. Rick Reuschel (A.K.A. The White Whale) led a pitching staff that included, Ray Burris, Mike Krukow, and Bill Bonham. While future Hall-of-Famer Bruce Sutter was our savior in the bullpen.

To say that team performed over its head the first four months is an overstatement. In reality it is easy to see what happened. The Cubs had Sutter and Herman Franks, the crusty old manager, pitched him almost daily until his arm finally gave out. He would sometimes come in to a game in the 7^th inning to save it. (Something that is unheard of today.)

That team was full of my early childhood hero’s. None was bigger then Bill Buckner. It is really a shame that all Buckner is remembered for is that error in the 86 World Series. Let me tell you he was Mr. Cub in the late 70’s. He was always hurt, but played through the pain. Watching him hobble around the bases you could feel the guy’s knees aching. But he still hit .284 that year through it all.

Rick Reuschel was another favorite of mine. Baseball Reference lists his playing weight at 235 lbs, and that may be being kind. He looked about as un-athletic as any athlete could, yet he still got hitters out. He would win 20 games that year, posting an ERA of 2.79 and throwing a now unheard of 252 innings. He did that pitching half of his games in Wrigley Field. On top of all that Reuschel was such a great athlete that often times he would come in to pinch hit and pinch run. He hit .207 that year which for a pitcher isn’t half bad.

Then there was Sutter. All he did that year was pitch 107 innings out of the bullpen and compile an ERA of 1.34. Sutter was the first pitcher to throw the split fingered fastball a pitch that changed the game. It was amazing to watch big league hitters who had never seen the pitch try and hit it. It would look like it was coming right into the hitting zone when at the last split second the pitch would dart down and into the dirt. I don’t remember the exact date, but there was a game in which he came in and struck out the side on nine pitches. That was how dominating he could be when he was on.

As a little kid, watching that team on WGN, with Jack Brickhouse describing the action, was magical. Going to Wrigley was something that every seven year old should experience. My Uncle’s Dan and John would take me. Or a couple of times my Grandpa even took me. (My Grandfather was born in Italy and didn’t really have a knack for the game. But, he would still bring me and sit there and have his one Old Style and fall asleep in the third inning.)

Sure, the 77 Cubs like all Cub teams of my lifetime ran out of steam in the end. And yes the 69 Cubs were much better on paper. But for people of my age that 1977 team still has a place in our hearts. Whenever, I see current White Sox outfielder Nick Swisher I am reminded of his dad Steve, a backup catcher on that team. Or when the camera flashes into the Cub dugout and I get a glance of current Cub coach Ivan De Jesus, my mind goes back to the slick fielding shortstop. Or when the Cubs play the Reds and they say the name Gene Clines who is currently the Reds hitting instructor and in 77 hit .293 in a backup role with the club, the memories of that summer come flooding back. I guess you can say that is when my love affair with the Cubs began, and I have been loyal for 30 summers and counting.

Howard and the White Boys

There is a local band here in Chicago named Howard and the White Boys and I bet I have seen them close to one hundred times. Sadly, it has been a couple of years since I last saw them live but, man back in the early to mid 1990’s my posse and I would go almost every weekend to see them play.

My friend Wally kept talking about this great local blues band he had seen a number of times called Howard and the White Boys. He kept insisting that I needed to see them live to appreciate them. For one reason or another I kept putting it off. Then one night, he called. They were playing at a small place in the Burbs called Del Rea’s Chicken Basket. He was going with a friend Don and our buddy from the Peace Frogs, Dave. With nothing else going on, I decided to tag along and see just how good these guys really were.

Simply put, I was blown away. From that first show, in like I believe 1993 I was hooked. We went the very next week and saw them at Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn and we kind of became stalkers. I have seen them at so many different places I can’t remember them all. In all that time, I have never seen them put on a bad show.

Seeing Howard live, is something you needed to experience for yourself. Words don’t do their live shows justice. They have put out some records, and while they are good, it is hard to duplicate the energy that a live performance from the Boy’s holds. If you have seen them you know what I am talking about.

I have so many great stories and memories from those times. I can’t even begin to try to catalog them all. Most of the memories are hazy simply because I usually got as drunk as a lemur at those shows. There was something about that band playing live that went hand in hand with drinking heavily.

Without a doubt my favorite place to see Howard was at Fitzgerald’s. They would usually play three sets there. The first set was usually just a warm up. The second set would be a complete mind blowing experience. The band would always end it with their fifteen minute jam of Bo Diddley. At this point many of the bar patrons would leave having seen a great show. The true diehards knew to stay as the third set at Fitzgerald’s was something you just had to see. The band would let loose, and with a couple of drinks in them, would just play music that would hit you right in the gut. The guys were just amazing rhythm and blues players. They would always end their shows playing a cover of James Brown’s Shake Your Money Maker which would rock the joint and leave the crowd screaming for an encore.

Sadly, Dan one of the original members of Howard and the White Boys had a falling out with the other guys and no longer plays with them. They are still good, but I miss Dan and his harmonica. When they would play I got My Mojo Working, there was nothing like it. Indescribable joy is the only thing I can think of.

I miss those nights. You could not, not have fun at a Howard show. As we all have gotten older and now have more responsibility nights like those have faded into the rearview mirror. Still, whenever I think back to those nights an instant smile gets glued to my face. The good times we all had listening to Howard, are what made life worth living back then. And no matter how much time passes, I will never forget those nights.

For a look at Howard and the White Boys here is a brief clip of them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3us67jn_0ao

More Ozzie Nonsense

Ozzie Gullien has made a career of feeding into the White Sox fan paranoia and stereotypes by ridiculing all things Cubs. I really don’t put much into what he says because I have enough to worry about with my own team. So, when he bashed the Chicago media and Cub fans once again after a loss, I felt at long last it was time to address it.

You see, the White Sox are the second team in this city. And, to that I say, so what? I mean really what does that have to do with anything? I have never gotten why it bothers the Sox fans so much. I guess it just feeds into the fears of inadequacy that myself and all south-siders have. Yes, this is a Cubs town and it will be one for the foreseeable future and it has nothing to do with the “Cub Bias” that Sox fans love to quote.

The papers are simply giving the readers what they want. If a liquor store sells more Miller then Budweiser, what do you think they are going to stock more of? It is simple supply and demand. There are more Cub fans in Chicago then Sox fans. TV ratings and attendance tells you that. And the Chicago White Sox organization has no one to blame but themselves.

You see, it was the White Sox and Jerry Reinsdorf who fired Harry Carry. It was the White Sox, who put their games on cable before the medium was readily available in most homes. It was the White Sox who put a gun to the heads of their fans and threatened a move to Sarasota. It was the White Sox, who tore down their old ballpark and put up a generic one in its place. (I like the Cell. I think it is a great place to watch a game. Its biggest problem’s are that it was the last park built before the retro theme started and that it resides in the same town as Wrigley.)

The young fans today became Cub fans in the 80’s when all that was going on. Yes, a lot of those young Cub fans are drunken frat boys today, but they buy tickets in bunches. The White Sox organization as of late has had this huge chip on its shoulder which a World Series title should have cured. However, if anything it has worsened. Maybe it is because they expected with that title for things to change. I could have told you they wouldn’t. The Sox would need to win for a long consistent period, (and I am talking multiple playoff appearances) for things to change.

Sox management as it is currently assembled is in large part responsible for the hate that has been emanating. Kenny Williams is a know it all, not as smart as he things he is jerk. He comes off sounding so condescending when he opens his mouth. He has a big time inadequacy problem and can not handle the slightest criticism. Ozzie Guillen is much like Ditka. When things are going good, he is colorful, but as soon as things start going bad, he is like a freight train out of control. The man simply has no inner monologue and sounds like a lunatic when he starts in on his non senseical rants.

All of this has carried over to the fans. Now, when I say fans I do not mean all Sox fans. As a matter of fact, I don’t even mean most Sox fans. I am talking about the vocal minority that acts and sounds the stupidest. The voltage of hate has been jacked up the last couple of years and I truly believe it comes directly from these paranoid jerks. I guess I should also give you a little history.

I used to love going to Sox games. Sure, I am a Cub fan but I love baseball. I loved that on any given day or night one team or the other was home. I could see baseball any day I wanted living in Chicago. I actually bought into seven game ticket packages in the late 90’s for the Sox. With that said in the last four years I have gone to one Sox game.

It all changed one night I went with my wife. This was the 2004 season I believe. The Sox were playing Detroit. My wife had gotten two free tickets from work. So we went to the game. There were a couple of Tiger fans sitting near our area whose biggest crime as I saw it was wearing a Tiger hat. They were not being belligerent or acting out of line. They were simply rooting for their team. Well, the behavior I saw that night from the Sox fans was repugnant.

They first start mocking the Tiger fans appearance. Then, as they got drunker and drunker, (another mis-conception in town is that Wrigley is the biggest outdoor beer garden when in fact studies have shown more beer is sold per person at the Cell.) the fans got nastier and nastier. The low lights were when a Tiger hitter got beaned and the Sox fans cheered his injury. Then there was the drunken Sox fan teaching his son how to insult the Tiger fans in the crowd. That was it for me.

I am sure a Sox fan can tell me a story about how he witnessed some moronic behavior at Wrigley as I am the first to admit there are assholes on both sides of town. I guess being a Cub fan I recognize the douche behavior more readily on the south-side. So, why should I put myself in a situation where I have to deal with the behavior?

You see, the reality is, they hate us because they are jealous. They are jealous of our ballpark and our fandom, which is live or die. We support the team up or down and get made fun of for it when in reality it is nothing more then being faithful. Going to the park only when your team is winning is called being fair weather. I can not help it that the Cubs are on WGN and Wrigley Field is a tourist attraction. For you to hate the Cubs because of that is well, sad. And to which I say get over it.

Instead I propose Sox fans embrace their second team status. There is nothing wrong with your ball club or for that matter your ballpark and you don’t need to keep judging your lot in life based on the Cubs. For the most part, we don’t worry about you so, stop concerning yourself with us. This town is big enough for two teams.

And to Ozzie Guillen, I say this. Stop your whining about the Cubs and their fans already. They and the media have nothing to do with your team and your current five game losing streak. It is just a convenient scapegoat that deflects the attention away from the shitty play of your team. Seriously, seek counseling already because obviously you are obsessed with us. Hatred is not healthy and based on your actions and words you hate anything to do with the Cubs. Trust me Ozzie, you are going to have enough on your plate this year without having to worry about the team on the North Side.

More Observations

Here are some more observations I have made the last couple of weeks.

Apparently Diet soda does not work. I guess when you order two Big Mac’s, a large fry, an apple pie along with the diet coke, it does not induce weight loss. I don’t drink much soda, diet or regular much anymore. Back in the day I was a Pepsi fan but, anything diet related always tasted like shit. I do see a ton of lardo’s still drinking the swill under the illusion that they are drinking something that will help them lose weight.

In truth instead of eating bigger portions along with your diet soda, eat less and exercise more. Then you can enjoy a good tasting beverage. On top of that, I don’t care what the chemical companies say, I would much rather drink something with sugar then, something some scientist developed in a lab.

Nothing says, “I’m a loser” then wearing a shirt that displays the word suck in it. This goes for Cub, Sox or Cardinal fans. If you are a fan of your team then wear your team colors. Wearing a Cubs suck or the popular SUX in stead of Sox shirt just shows what an asshole you are.

You see these people take greater satisfaction in the other team losing then in their own team winning. That is the very definition of a loser. And I am embarrassed when I see Cub fans wearing this shit. If you like the Cubs, that is great. Don’t lower yourself too the lowest common denominator by displaying a shirt mocking another team.

Also, I have never seen a shirt like that, which I thought was even the slightest bit funny or original. Really, all you are doing is advertising the fact you are a drooling idiot. So, I implore Cub nation, leave that amateurish behavior to the South Side or St. Louis. All it does is make them appear like morons, and really they don’t need much help from us in that regard.

I.T. is littered with guys who can not handle pressure. I have been in the Information Technology field since 1992. In that time I have worked with a ton of different people in a number of different companies. And one trait has been prevalent at each place of business I worked for, there were always people who would crack under pressure.

I don’t care what kind of job you have, dealing with things when shit goes bad is essential. For some reason, the dweebs littered in my field can’t handle the slightest problem without blowing a tire. I’ve seen it so many times that it becomes comical. A problem will arise that will require a calm head and instead some personality challenged dweeb will lose their shit. Knowing everything about something IT related is one thing. But, being able to handle pressure is quite another and if one does not have that ability, then they are a liability.

Just because you’re hot, doesn’t mean you are cool. Have you ever noticed that certain really attractive women have many annoying personality traits? Like they think just because God gave them the hot gene, that their opinion’s are more valid, then us mere common folk? When in reality, their simple minded feelings are as shallow as a puddle. There are a million good looking women on earth. Not of all of them but some of them know it and act like they are the end all be all. Well, I don’t have time to mess around with that attitude. Being cool accounts for so much more in my book then looks ever has. One thing I learned as time went on is that looks fade and personalities are forever. And trust me there is nothing worse then having to deal with a woman who was good looking at one time and has lost her looks.

Phil’s Pizza can suck my cock. I tired ordering a pizza yesterday from Phil’s on Ridgeland. I have ordered numerous pizza’s from them over the years. A number of months ago, I picked up my home phone to order a pie. The manager got on and told me that I was going to have to pre-pay for it because there was a problem the last time someone with my phone number ordered.

I had no idea what he was talking about. When I pressed him for information about it, he had none. So, since there are a hundred other places to get a pizza at, I said screw it. In the coming months, if I wanted to order from Phil’s I just picked up my cell phone and placed the order. (Showing how pointless his ban really was.) Well, yesterday the wife wanted Phil’s. So, without thinking about it, I picked up my home phone and attempted to place an order. Again the manager came on the phone and told me I would either have to charge it over the phone or come in first pay, and wait for the pie.

The problem is I did nothing wrong and I don’t feel the need to have to pre pay for the honor of eating a Phil’s pizza. (While, I think Phil’s is good, it is not great. I have had better.) I tried talking to the manager again about this issue and basically he was a complete dick to me on the phone. Totally accusatory again about something, that I did not do. Not that I even know what the problem is. When I asked him again, he did not have specifics. Finally after arguing with him about this, he pushed my buttons to the point where I told him to stick his fucking pizza up his Dago ass. (I can use the term Dago because I am one.) So, that is it. I am never going to eat Phil’s pizza again. I would rather starve then give that owner any of my money.