I don't think I can name any single stranger thing from the first 50 or so games of the Cubs' season than what's happened on the road against the Pirates. In their first 6 games at PNC park, they've played a total of 71 innings, as 4 games have gone into extra innings. After winning game 1 of the series over last weekend, the Cubs dropped the next two in extras after blowing 1 run leads in the 9th inning of each game. In the Sunday game, Alphonso Soriano lost a ball in the sun attempting to make what would've been the final out. He still hasn't looked 100% baserunning or playing defense.
Making up for the painfulness of the Pirates series, however, was a sweep which the Cubs just completed at the hands of the Dodgers. Every game of the series was close and low scoring, and got good performances from Ryan Dempster, Sean Gallagher, and Carlos Zambrano in their respective starts. The Cubs are now tied with the Devil Rays (!) for the best record in baseball, and are 1st in the NL in ERA, runs, and batting average. Keep up the good work, Cubs.
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And, as a side note, I decided to check out Google Analytics, which is a pretty damn cool free tool. For really the first time I can confirm that someone else out there reads this, (besides the people running scripts or whatever they are that keep leaving generic, "I like this site! Check out my site!" comments on some of my posts) as Google found at least 1 visitor from Canada, where I'm pretty sure I do not reside.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
There Will Be Blood
There Will Be Blood (***1/2)
Drainage! Drainage, Eli, you boy. Drained dry. I'm so sorry. Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, that's a straw, you see? You watching?. And my straw reaches acroooooooss the room, and starts to drink your milkshake... I... drink... your... milkshake! I drink it up!
There Will be Blood is a film that doesn't pull any punches, and frankly, to work within the same analogy, I think it keeps punching after the ref has already called for the bell. It's a gritty, bleak, nihilistic, character study of a character who seems to literally have no redeeming qualities (besides, perhaps a penchant for coming up with clever witticisms whilst verbally thrashing someone). As this essay from Alternate Takes describes more eloquently then I'll attempt to, even though the movie is a period piece and takes place over the course of almost 30 years, it doesn't really feel like an epic in that it doesn't really seem to have any grand revelations regarding the turn of the century oil industry, save the fact that a lot of people involved in it were extremely greedy. That's not to say that the movie isn't entertaining, because it is, in large part because of what Daniel Day Lewis does with his performance that, deservedly, won him an Oscar.
The film opens in 1898, with the aforementioned protagonist, Daniel Plainview, covered in soot working by himself to mine for gold and silver. The film then jumps four years ahead, where Plainview is now part of a small team working on a single oil derrick. When one of the workers is killed in an accident, Plainview takes his infant son and claims him as his own. This entire sequence probably lasts around 15 minutes and contains no dialogue whatsoever. During these scenes, the movie's score, composed by one of the members of Radiohead, begins with a grating dissonance that will continue throughout music of the film. It's the sort of music I imagine plays in Daniel Plainfield's mind constantly. The surrealist music, combined with the silent characters, and the numerous wide shots of a vast, empty, desert reminded me more of something like 2001 than any other turn of the century period piece.
After the scene in 1902, there is another time skip to 1911, a year in which the film settles in for most of its remainder. Daniel now travels throughout California with his sort-of-adopted son, H.W., giving the same sales pitch, in which he explains that he's not a contractor or a middleman, but has garnered success in the oil business because of his own individual efforts at the oil derricks: "When I say I'm an oil man, you'll agree." One night he is visited by Paul, a young man from a ranch in the middle of nowhere who claims that he's seen oil flowing up to the surface there. Plainview pays Paul for the tip, but not without threatening to do bad things to him if he's lying. Fortunately for Paul, Daniel and H.W. are able to confirm the truth of what he says, which they do by posing as quail hunters passing through the area. Plainview offers to buy the ranch from its old, world-weary owner, who is all to eager to sell the ranch, which produces nothing save a meager offering of potatoes.
A wrench is thrown in Daniel's plans, however, as Eli, son of the ranch owner and twin brother of Paul, announces that he's aware of the oil as well and warns his father of underestimating its value. A temporary truce is reached as Daniel increases his offer for the land, and throws in more money for Eli to use to build a church. Eli is in many ways the opposite of Plainview. Once he founds his church, Eli becomes a fiery faith-healer, while Plainview is an unabashed atheist, at times seemingly because he wishes he were God himself. Eli seems to be always looking for the larger meaning in something, while Plainview's focus is always "how do I make money, and how do I make it quickly?"
There are other events of all sorts as the film goes on that test Daniel's relationship with his son and, sometimes it seems, his very sanity. As time goes on, his business actually continues to blossom, though we never see him relish in his prosperity, instead seeing only his battles with his personal demons. While his emotional outbursts are some of the most overt you'll ever see in a movie, it is often times difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes the character tick. He admits openly that he detests most people, and seems to shy away from any close relationships that aren't for purposes of business, and yet simultaneously seems very concerned with how he is perceived by others.
Watching the character's self-destruction is incredibly gripping to watch because of how well Daniel Day Lewis embodies the character but, as I said before, it sometimes seems hard to tell what Paul Thomas Anderson wants us to take away from it all. At times, Daniel Plainview, a character which has been meticulously constructed to represent the ultimate level of contemptuousness and nihilism, doesn't seem to exist for a specific purpose, but merely seems to exist. Additionally, while I appreciate the bleak tone set by the score, which is often times allowed to take center stage as the characters remain quiet, I think the film requires you to pick up a little too much simply from context clues and brief glimpses. I like a film that's challenging, but not one that just feels like a chore to watch and understand. Like No Country for Old Men, this may be a film that requires more than one viewing to really "get" fully, but as of right now I'm calling this a not fully realized vision. We'll see.
P.S. I drink your mikshake. I drink it up.
Drainage! Drainage, Eli, you boy. Drained dry. I'm so sorry. Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, that's a straw, you see? You watching?. And my straw reaches acroooooooss the room, and starts to drink your milkshake... I... drink... your... milkshake! I drink it up!
There Will be Blood is a film that doesn't pull any punches, and frankly, to work within the same analogy, I think it keeps punching after the ref has already called for the bell. It's a gritty, bleak, nihilistic, character study of a character who seems to literally have no redeeming qualities (besides, perhaps a penchant for coming up with clever witticisms whilst verbally thrashing someone). As this essay from Alternate Takes describes more eloquently then I'll attempt to, even though the movie is a period piece and takes place over the course of almost 30 years, it doesn't really feel like an epic in that it doesn't really seem to have any grand revelations regarding the turn of the century oil industry, save the fact that a lot of people involved in it were extremely greedy. That's not to say that the movie isn't entertaining, because it is, in large part because of what Daniel Day Lewis does with his performance that, deservedly, won him an Oscar.
The film opens in 1898, with the aforementioned protagonist, Daniel Plainview, covered in soot working by himself to mine for gold and silver. The film then jumps four years ahead, where Plainview is now part of a small team working on a single oil derrick. When one of the workers is killed in an accident, Plainview takes his infant son and claims him as his own. This entire sequence probably lasts around 15 minutes and contains no dialogue whatsoever. During these scenes, the movie's score, composed by one of the members of Radiohead, begins with a grating dissonance that will continue throughout music of the film. It's the sort of music I imagine plays in Daniel Plainfield's mind constantly. The surrealist music, combined with the silent characters, and the numerous wide shots of a vast, empty, desert reminded me more of something like 2001 than any other turn of the century period piece.
After the scene in 1902, there is another time skip to 1911, a year in which the film settles in for most of its remainder. Daniel now travels throughout California with his sort-of-adopted son, H.W., giving the same sales pitch, in which he explains that he's not a contractor or a middleman, but has garnered success in the oil business because of his own individual efforts at the oil derricks: "When I say I'm an oil man, you'll agree." One night he is visited by Paul, a young man from a ranch in the middle of nowhere who claims that he's seen oil flowing up to the surface there. Plainview pays Paul for the tip, but not without threatening to do bad things to him if he's lying. Fortunately for Paul, Daniel and H.W. are able to confirm the truth of what he says, which they do by posing as quail hunters passing through the area. Plainview offers to buy the ranch from its old, world-weary owner, who is all to eager to sell the ranch, which produces nothing save a meager offering of potatoes.
A wrench is thrown in Daniel's plans, however, as Eli, son of the ranch owner and twin brother of Paul, announces that he's aware of the oil as well and warns his father of underestimating its value. A temporary truce is reached as Daniel increases his offer for the land, and throws in more money for Eli to use to build a church. Eli is in many ways the opposite of Plainview. Once he founds his church, Eli becomes a fiery faith-healer, while Plainview is an unabashed atheist, at times seemingly because he wishes he were God himself. Eli seems to be always looking for the larger meaning in something, while Plainview's focus is always "how do I make money, and how do I make it quickly?"
There are other events of all sorts as the film goes on that test Daniel's relationship with his son and, sometimes it seems, his very sanity. As time goes on, his business actually continues to blossom, though we never see him relish in his prosperity, instead seeing only his battles with his personal demons. While his emotional outbursts are some of the most overt you'll ever see in a movie, it is often times difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes the character tick. He admits openly that he detests most people, and seems to shy away from any close relationships that aren't for purposes of business, and yet simultaneously seems very concerned with how he is perceived by others.
Watching the character's self-destruction is incredibly gripping to watch because of how well Daniel Day Lewis embodies the character but, as I said before, it sometimes seems hard to tell what Paul Thomas Anderson wants us to take away from it all. At times, Daniel Plainview, a character which has been meticulously constructed to represent the ultimate level of contemptuousness and nihilism, doesn't seem to exist for a specific purpose, but merely seems to exist. Additionally, while I appreciate the bleak tone set by the score, which is often times allowed to take center stage as the characters remain quiet, I think the film requires you to pick up a little too much simply from context clues and brief glimpses. I like a film that's challenging, but not one that just feels like a chore to watch and understand. Like No Country for Old Men, this may be a film that requires more than one viewing to really "get" fully, but as of right now I'm calling this a not fully realized vision. We'll see.
P.S. I drink your mikshake. I drink it up.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Keep Rollin' Along
Roughly 1/4 of the way through the season, the Cubs find themselves 10 games over .500 (they were 8 games over .500 for all of 2007), in first place in the NL central, and leading the NL in batting average and on-base percentage. After winning 3 of 4 against a fairly awful Padres team, the Cubs won 2 of 3 over the weekend against another bad (though recently hot) Pirates team. Both series were played at Wrigley. The question then becomes, can the Cubs keep going at this pace (if I do the math right, they're on pace to go 99-63) for the entire season, or is this record a by-product of the fact that they've played 27 of 44 games at home, 9 games against the Pirates, and 6 against the Reds? The series that starts tonight may help to answer that question, as the Cubs head down to Houston to play the Astros. Unlike the Cubs, the Astros have spent the bulk of the first 2 months of the '08 season on the road, and even though they don't appear to be as good as the Cubs on paper, their record is only 2 1/2 games worse. They're read hot at the moment, going 12-4 thus far in May. Lance Berkman is quietly (at least I haven't seen him getting that much national attention) hitting .399 with 16 HRs and 44 RBIs, which puts him extremely close to being the NL leader in all 3 triple crown stats (Chipper Jones' .410 average beats him there). Again though, the Cubs would seem to be clearly better on paper, and so a series win in Houston to assert this fact might go a long way.
Concerns about Alfonso Soriano have quieted lately, as Soriano has hit nearly .400 since coming back, is now tied for the team lead in home runs with 10, and managed to put together a 5-for-5, 2 home run performance in a LOSS on Saturday. While I have been and remain critical of Soriano's patience at the plate and still don't want him leading off, its clear that the negative sentiment piled onto him earlier in the year was overblown.
Kerry Wood picked up his 10th save yesterday, and has now appeared in 22 games, equal to the amount of games he appeared in last year. It's good to see Kerry be able to stay on the field, and be fairly effective at the same time.
Concerns about Alfonso Soriano have quieted lately, as Soriano has hit nearly .400 since coming back, is now tied for the team lead in home runs with 10, and managed to put together a 5-for-5, 2 home run performance in a LOSS on Saturday. While I have been and remain critical of Soriano's patience at the plate and still don't want him leading off, its clear that the negative sentiment piled onto him earlier in the year was overblown.
Kerry Wood picked up his 10th save yesterday, and has now appeared in 22 games, equal to the amount of games he appeared in last year. It's good to see Kerry be able to stay on the field, and be fairly effective at the same time.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Dust off the brooms
After suffering through a 4-9 stretch, the Cubs got themselves right in a big way this weekend with a sweep, and against the Diamondbacks, who hold the best record in the NL, no less. In the process they got good outings from Ted Lilly and Ryan Dempster and a decent outing from Sean Gallagher, who pitched in place of Carlos Zambrano on Sunday because of the rain delayed start. Gallagher will apparently be moved to the rotation in place of Jon Lieber, who got absolutely rocked against the Reds last week, allowing 4 home runs in one inning, and lasting just 2 innings total. I suspect, however, that Rich Hill will be called back up before too long, as he has pitched well in his first 2 starts at AAA. Alfonso Soriano may be starting to heat up again after a 4-for-5 performance on Saturday, a game which also saw Kosuke Fukudome pick up his 2nd homer. Scott Eyre also made his '08 debut in the majors after a bunch of rehab outings, and managed to pick up the win pitching a scoreless inning.
There are a couple of things to still be concerned about. The Cubs are still running themselves out of some innings, notably on Saturday when they had two runners called out at the plate.
In one case, Reed Johnson was tagging up on a fly ball to right and was thrown out by an absolutely perfect throw from Justin Upton. With a lot of right fielders, that probably would've been a good send. Less forgivable was a gaffe by a Aramis Ramirez, who was on third when a ball was hit to short, held up initially, but then tried to make it towards home and was thrown out easily after the put-out was made at first. Failing to commit one way or the other on baserunning plays is something that has gotten the Cubs in trouble on a few occasions in recent years, and Aramis individually has not been known as a fantastic baserunner. It would be nice to see this corrected, but as long Aramis and others are swinging the bat as they are, they'll likely usually make up for it.
After a fantastic start, Reed Johnson has come back to earth somewhat, (though he hit his first home run of the year yesterday in the form of a 2-run shot that tied the game 4-4) and is now hitting .255 with an OPS of .662. Johnson has been playing almost everyday, and I think its time to start playing Felix Pie consistently against rightys and save Johnson for leftys. Pie's stats aren't anything to write home about currently, but he's currently not getting enough at-bats to get better. If Lou doesn't feel comfortable playing him more than he is now, I think he has to be sent back down to AAA where he can start every day. Next up is a 4 game set against the Padres, who have been abysmal as of late, showing almost no offense to speak of. Barring some unforeseen incident, Greg Maddux will start Thursday's game after winning his 350th career game in his last start.
Update:
Okay, the Padres offense is actually worse than I first thought it was. They're last in the league in runs, and by a pretty good margin, as well as last in average, OBP, and slugging.
There are a couple of things to still be concerned about. The Cubs are still running themselves out of some innings, notably on Saturday when they had two runners called out at the plate.
In one case, Reed Johnson was tagging up on a fly ball to right and was thrown out by an absolutely perfect throw from Justin Upton. With a lot of right fielders, that probably would've been a good send. Less forgivable was a gaffe by a Aramis Ramirez, who was on third when a ball was hit to short, held up initially, but then tried to make it towards home and was thrown out easily after the put-out was made at first. Failing to commit one way or the other on baserunning plays is something that has gotten the Cubs in trouble on a few occasions in recent years, and Aramis individually has not been known as a fantastic baserunner. It would be nice to see this corrected, but as long Aramis and others are swinging the bat as they are, they'll likely usually make up for it.
After a fantastic start, Reed Johnson has come back to earth somewhat, (though he hit his first home run of the year yesterday in the form of a 2-run shot that tied the game 4-4) and is now hitting .255 with an OPS of .662. Johnson has been playing almost everyday, and I think its time to start playing Felix Pie consistently against rightys and save Johnson for leftys. Pie's stats aren't anything to write home about currently, but he's currently not getting enough at-bats to get better. If Lou doesn't feel comfortable playing him more than he is now, I think he has to be sent back down to AAA where he can start every day. Next up is a 4 game set against the Padres, who have been abysmal as of late, showing almost no offense to speak of. Barring some unforeseen incident, Greg Maddux will start Thursday's game after winning his 350th career game in his last start.
Update:
Okay, the Padres offense is actually worse than I first thought it was. They're last in the league in runs, and by a pretty good margin, as well as last in average, OBP, and slugging.
| Stat | Cubs | Padres |
|---|---|---|
| Runs | 5.70 | 3.37 |
| Avg | .281 | .231 |
| OBP | .371 | .305 |
| Slg | .438 | .345 |
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Frustration
The Cubs have run into a rough patch, losing 6 of their last 8. What's frustrating is that none of the losses have come by margins of more than 3 runs, whereas the wins were in games with scores of 7-0 and 19-5. Overall on the season, the Cubs have an expected win-loss record of 19-10, 2 games better than in actuality. The Cubs have been getting double-digit hit totals and drawing walks consistently, the difference, for the most part, is that they've been stranding runners on base in their losses.
The big story recently has been the return of Alfonso Soriano, who has not looked comfortable to say the least. Soriano couldn't get to a catchable fly ball in the series finale against the Brewers on Thursday which was part of a 9th inning Kerry Wood blown save, and then badly misplayed two balls in the same inning last night in St. Louis. He was hitless since returning until the 9th inning last night where he hit a game-tying home run off of Jason Isringhausen, which probably at least partially spared him from the wrath of the fans, which was already brewing on the sports radio airwaves after Thursdays game. Bob Brenley, whose criticisms of the team are usually pretty subtle, obviously thought Soriano had no business out there and criticized the team for not giving him some rehab starts in the minors. It'll be interesting to see if he's in the lineup today and if he gets subbed for defense late in the game if the Cubs are leading.
Despite Soriano's game tying home run, the Cubs lost 5-3 in 11 innings. The bullpen had to work 10 1/3 innings itself, as Pinella pulled Rich Hill after just 6 batters, 4 of which he walked. Taking the loss was Chad Fox, who pitched the 10th and 11th in his first appearance since he walked off the field in 2005 and was forced to undergo his 2nd Tommy John's operation. He was called up yesterday in favor of Kevin Hart, who wasn't exactly lights out, but, frankly, is probably better than Fox at this point in his career. Even in the 10th, Fox looked somewhat shaky. It was a 1-2-3 inning, but all three outs were on fairly deep fly balls to center. Fox making it back to the big leagues is a nice story, I guess, but I really don't see what he can do to help the team at this point. I don't know why he's a better option than Neal Cotts, who has a sub-2.00 ERA at AAA right now, and 28 is not going to get much of any benefit from remaining in the minors as far as development goes. Cotts would seem to be the logical option even moreso because the Cubs are currently carrying only left-hander in the form of Sean Marshall, although Scott Eyre is rehabbing as well and may return soon.
Ted Lilly takes the mound this afternoon in St. Louis, and needs to try and pitch deep into the game with a tired bullpen.
Update: So apparently Rich Hill got sent down to AAA and Sean Gallagher brought up.
The big story recently has been the return of Alfonso Soriano, who has not looked comfortable to say the least. Soriano couldn't get to a catchable fly ball in the series finale against the Brewers on Thursday which was part of a 9th inning Kerry Wood blown save, and then badly misplayed two balls in the same inning last night in St. Louis. He was hitless since returning until the 9th inning last night where he hit a game-tying home run off of Jason Isringhausen, which probably at least partially spared him from the wrath of the fans, which was already brewing on the sports radio airwaves after Thursdays game. Bob Brenley, whose criticisms of the team are usually pretty subtle, obviously thought Soriano had no business out there and criticized the team for not giving him some rehab starts in the minors. It'll be interesting to see if he's in the lineup today and if he gets subbed for defense late in the game if the Cubs are leading.
Despite Soriano's game tying home run, the Cubs lost 5-3 in 11 innings. The bullpen had to work 10 1/3 innings itself, as Pinella pulled Rich Hill after just 6 batters, 4 of which he walked. Taking the loss was Chad Fox, who pitched the 10th and 11th in his first appearance since he walked off the field in 2005 and was forced to undergo his 2nd Tommy John's operation. He was called up yesterday in favor of Kevin Hart, who wasn't exactly lights out, but, frankly, is probably better than Fox at this point in his career. Even in the 10th, Fox looked somewhat shaky. It was a 1-2-3 inning, but all three outs were on fairly deep fly balls to center. Fox making it back to the big leagues is a nice story, I guess, but I really don't see what he can do to help the team at this point. I don't know why he's a better option than Neal Cotts, who has a sub-2.00 ERA at AAA right now, and 28 is not going to get much of any benefit from remaining in the minors as far as development goes. Cotts would seem to be the logical option even moreso because the Cubs are currently carrying only left-hander in the form of Sean Marshall, although Scott Eyre is rehabbing as well and may return soon.
Ted Lilly takes the mound this afternoon in St. Louis, and needs to try and pitch deep into the game with a tired bullpen.
Update: So apparently Rich Hill got sent down to AAA and Sean Gallagher brought up.
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