The final results are in and I tested negative!  Oh, wait, this is for the fantasy baseball leagues.  Um, yeah, ignore that first sentence.  This year in a not-so-unprecedented move of not-so-unprecedented size and enormity.  We’re giving away prizes to our fantasy league winners!  Last year we gave away a hot tub, but this year we did that one better.  We one-upped a hot...

I could make a joke about how we'll all talk about and remember where we were when the Cubs finally won three games in a row in 2011. It's funny to highlight and kick around. But here's the thing...You will remember where you were.You won't forget that the Cubs took until nearly August and a home series against by far the worst team in baseball to finally crack the three-game barrier...

An optimist once said, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”  It was so inspiring that no one followed up with the relevant question, “Did life also give me sugar because, otherwise, this lemonade is going to taste like crap?” There are plenty of lemons in baseball*.  Fantasy Razzball is the sugar that helps make them as satisfying as a cool, refreshing drink. *...

An optimist once said, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”  It was so inspiring that no one followed up with the relevant question, “Did life also give me sugar because, otherwise, this lemonade is going to taste like crap?” There are plenty of lemons in baseball*.  Fantasy Razzball is the sugar that helps make them as satisfying as a cool, refreshing drink. *...

An optimist once said, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”  It was so inspiring that no one followed up with the relevant question, “Did life also give me sugar because, otherwise, this lemonade is going to taste like crap?” There are plenty of lemons in baseball*.  Fantasy Razzball is the sugar that helps make them as satisfying as a cool, refreshing drink. *...

So often in our baseball debates we’re searching for the best something: The best hitter of the 80s, the best pitcher of the pre-WWII era, etc. Yet rare is the occasion where we search out the worst player in a particular category or era. Sometimes that player jumps out at us and makes us notice; it’s the only reason that anyone knows Neifi Perez‘s name. But unless it is blatantly...

In his submission to Top of the Order, a collection of 25 tributes to 25 writers’ favorite players, former Salon and current Bleacher Report sporting columnist King Kaufman (@king_kaufman) celebrates the contributions of Neifi Perez to his (i.e. Kaufman’s) enjoyment of this great and honored game. Kaufman notes that, while he’s certainly been critical of Perez in...

Ah, who can forget 1982. The Falklands War taught a nation where the Falkland Islands are, and that there's something called the Falkland Islands. The Weather Channel premiered; lazy people haven't had to open windows to determine the temperature since. And Bobby Bonner started at shortstop in the second game of a doubleheader for Baltimore on May 29. The next day, and for a few...

As a Cub fan, I've put up with a lot of **** over the years. DustyBall, Juan Pierre, towel drills, Antonio Alfonseca, Mel ******* Rojas, watching Greg Maddux walk away, watching Mark Grace (Ron Coomer? ******* seriously?) walk away, Jim Hendry, Neifi Perez, Sosa and his expanding . . . ego (not to mention his corked bats), Moises Alou temper tantrums, Andy McFail, the Tribune ownership...

(Apologies in advance if the readings from my crystal ball prove faulty. It's something about the neighborhood. Even the cable reception is erratic around here.)   by Paul Sullivan, Tribune Reporter2:17 p.m., CDT, May 6, 2010 PITTSBURGH – If you thought that watching his team lose to the perennial doormat Pirates, 9-3, on Wednesday night and plummet into the NL Central basement...

There are times that I ask myself why the hell I'm a Cubs fan. For example: last Monday, 2005, 2006, and every goddamn September. I keep swearing I'm not going to put up with this ******** anymore. But then I end up missing baseball. I'll say I'll follow another team - some AL team that isnt' the White Sox. It never works. I just don't care about any other team. I often hate the...

In honor of King Kaufman’s tribute to Neifi Perez, I was thinking it might be fun to start our own “Bad Baseball Hall of Fame.” I think it’s important to start, though, with a few thoughts about what it means to be a bad baseball player. And, for that, I think we need to start with Gookie Dawkins. Gookie Dawkins is probably the worst hitter I have ever seen in the Major...

If you're a connoisseur of the work of Neifi Perez as I am–and as I know many longtime readers of The Cub Reporter are–you'll delight in this piece written by King Kaufman and posted at Salon.com. The story, an excerpt from "Top of the Order: 25 Writers Pick Their Favorite Baseball Player of All Time," is simply too delicious for me to recap here. I will just share this passage...

Friday March 26, 2010 Coming out of the University of Illinois Chris Robinson was considered the leading catcher in the Big 10 Conference. His arm graded plus and considered his best tool. He lead the league (Big 10) in throwing out base-runners (43%) and pickoffs (seven). Offensively his bat was decent with average power and he ran well for a catcher. The Detroit...

Giants beat writer Andrew Baggarly reminisced with Felipe Alou recently. They specifically talked about the regrets Alou had during his player days and those as the manager of the Giants. If you’d like to read about that, check out his blog (Extra Baggs) here. Towards the end, Baggarly says…-----I’m left with a lot of memories of that ’04 team, which was my first on the Giants...

I would say I was stunned when I saw Wandy hitting at the top of the 7th with the Astros leading by barely 1 run because Wandy looked to me as if he'd thrown his last 3 good pitches to get Phillips at the end of the sixth. And I was right - he started Rolen off with 3 balls, got a gift strike from the ump, then things went from bad to worse. Rolen walked and Gomes doubled. Gervacio...

This is just the latest in a long line of events that have made me angrier and angrier with the unruly mob that is Cubs fans: ``It's never comfortable,'' he said after going 4 for 4 with a homer in Tuesday's 15-6 loss. ``It's hard to be comfortable when you don't get a hit and get booed every time. When I go home and look in the mirror, I like what I see. My family's there. I have...

For the Rockies, a meaningful, late-season series in Denver is about as rare as a Neifi Perez home run. Come to think of it, a Neifi Perez home run is all you need to know about what the Mile High City can do to a visiting team's wild-card hopes. It was...

For the Rockies, a meaningful, late-season series in Denver is about as rare as a Neifi Perez home run. Come to think of it, a Neifi Perez home run is all you need to know about what the Mile High City can do to a visiting team's wild-card hopes. It was...

Or, THIS Is What We Do When We’re Not Writing Blog Posts I'm actually so furious with the last couple of weeks of Cubdom that I can't think straight about the Cubs. When I learned that AAron Miles' OPS+ is like 20, I had to lay down for a minute. When I learned that even Neifi Perez in 2006 had an OPS+ of 53 I almost punched a hole in the Space-Time continuum to kill Jim Hendry...

Troy Tulowitzki hit for the cycle on Monday night vs the Chicago Cubs.  I’m sure the news has trickled all the way around the country by now. It was the fifth cycle in Rockies history.  Others: Dante Bichette (1998), Neifi Perez (1998),  Todd Helton (1999), and Mike Lansing (2000). It was the sixth cycle of the 2009 season. Others:  Orlando Hudson, Ian Kinsler, Jason Kubel...

Ozzie.  Stan.  Gibby.  Lou.  Albert.  Dizzy.  Some of the most prominent figures in the century-old history of the St. Louis Cardinals franchise can be recognized with a single name.  And while the names of these legends bring with them tales of greatness, soon there may be another added to the list...but for very different reasons.  Throughout the month of July, one of the...

Team Name: Colorado Rockies Year Established: 1993 City: Denver Ballpark: Coors Field League: National League Division: NL West Number of Playoff Appearances: Two Number of Pennants:One World Series Titles: Zero   All-Time Team Catcher: Yorvit Torrealba First Base: Todd Helton Second Base: Eric Young Third Base: Vinny Castilla Shortstop: Neifi Perez Outfield: Matt Holliday, Larry...

Life is not fair; get used to it.”– Bill Gates America is a forgiving place. It’s also unpredictable, which makes for an interesting cocktail. Tonight, a sold out Petco Park will witness the return of Manny Ramirez from his 50 game suspension for being in violation of MLB’s drug program, the first time since Neifi Perez tested positive for stimulants in June and...

Posted by Lionel on May 9, 2009.IowaJake Fox-A slow week for Fox. 4 for 18, 2 runs, 1 RBI. He didn't hit any HR's, meaning his pace over 600 AB's dropped to 76. His OPS dropped to 1.348, but he still leads the PCL by over .2 points. He also leads the league in HR's, RBI's, TB's, and slugging percentage. He is third in batting average, behind recently recalled Matt Murton.Kevin...