Chicago Cubs

Continuing on with my series, I ranked my top ten first basemen in Cubs franchise history.

While the rankings are somewhat subjective, as they always are, I looked closely at the players 162 game average during his tenure with the Cubs, as well as whether he was a part of any Cubs playoff teams.

I hope you enjoy this, and follow the series as it continues. As always I look forward to your input.

Do they make Viagra for baseball bats? Can it improve performance? If so, the Cubs had better start taking it.

Alright, so maybe that is a bit of a cheap shot. But, after all, our Cubbies have scored just two runs in their last 27 innings against the Cardinals. Now they head to San Diego, where they expect to revive their slumping bats in a ballpark that is pitcher friendly, against a team that hasn't lost since the Cubs swept them.

Good luck with that.

Let me begin this piece by stating the obvious: I am not on the Jim Hendry Bandwagon.

Hendry is the absentee General Manager of the Chicago Cubs, who now gets the privilege of answering harder questions that end with the word "Peavy" than the those he answered in March.

He failed in an over-publicized attempt to land the ace of the San Diego Padres, and decided to instead sign or trade for a bunch of players that have successfully made the team less competitive than they've been in four seasons.

More rumors have been flying around about the 2007 Cy Young Award Winner then one person has about them at my high school. Where Peavy will end up is the question on everyone's mind.

The 2007 Cy Young Award Winner has been the talk of the town in Chicago since last December. Cubs fans need him, while Sox fans want him.

The 89 career game-winner has been the hottest ticket on the trade market as of late. Peavy could make a big impact to any team he ends up playing for.

Cubs fans know what it's like to have fear.

The fear of a playoff sweep. The fear of a fan interfering with a ball. The fear of the $6 beer spilling in the bleachers.

Some players, more than others, strike that same fear into Cubs fans every time they take the field. As they look to break the infamous 101-year curse, the Cubs are extremely thankful there is no team like this.

Starting Pitcher—Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals

Past three seasons against Cubs: 2.87 ERA, 1-2, five games

If you are anything like me, you probably cringe whenever Rich Harden throws a baseball. While I will not pretend to be a pitching coach who knows the nuances of pitching mechanics, his delivery sure seems a bit unconventional.

The power he draws from his legs is exceptional, but his arm seems to lag behind the rest of his body. This possibly causes extra torque or pull on the arm, weakening the shoulder.

At the end of April, I asked several of our top Cubs writers to give me their overall impressions of the team after about one month. I want to thank the following writers for producing this analysis: Tab Bamford, Pat De Marco, Ricky Butts, Ryan Winn, Kane Simmons, Paul Swaney, Brian Livingston, and Jacob Nitzberg.

Just a couple of short weeks ago, Cubs fans everywhere were gritting their collective teeth and wondering what was happening. The Cubs were taking a nosedive, and the season had hardly begun. This was an anomaly, because, as all true Cubs fans know, the time for failure with the Cubs is sometime in September.

But that is a story for another day.

I personally was disgusted with the Cubs failure to play good baseball. Then I woke up on Friday and glanced at their record. Guess what? The Cubbies have the same record as they did last year at this time.

Neither Hal Steinbrenner nor Randy Levine has to worry about clearing a date on their busy calendars during the off season to receive an award that Phil Wrigley received in 1957.

The New York Chapter of the Baseball Writers' of America presented Mr. Wrigley with the coveted Bill Slocum Award for long and meritorious service to the game. Bill Slocum was a former baseball writer who made many contributions to baseball.

Alright everyone, get your payroll jokes and your “Where’s your World Series Championship trophy?” jokes out of your system before you start reading.

Yes, since the Milwaukee Brewers came to be in 1969, they have not won a World Series and have won just a single pennant in that span. And, of course, living north of Chicago, we all know the Cubs are the greatest thing since sliced bread.