Castro and Barney Need Our Votes!

No team in the major leagues can claim to have a more exciting, talented dynamic duo up the middle than the Chicago Cubs. Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney have proven to be strong building blocks for the franchise going forward and a solid foundation for the team to lean on this season. They both deserve All-Star recognition and you can help send them to the starting line-up by voting for them over and over again.

I received the following email a few minutes ago…feel free to use the link below to vote for Starlin Castro, Darwin Barney (write-in) and your other favorite Cubs players you feel should represent the National League and the Chicago Cubs in this year’s All-Star game!

ALL-STAR UPDATE: CASTRO AND BARNEY NEED YOUR VOTES
The National League All-Star ballot update was released today and top Cubs performers Starlin Castro, Darwin Barney and Alfonso Soriano need your help to make the squad!

Starlin Castro ranks second among MLB shortstops in hits and average entering today’s games, while write-in candidate Darwin Barney leads all MLB rookies in hits, runs and batting average. Alfonso Soriano — currently ninth among NL outfielders in All-Star voting — is tied for second in the NL with 12 home runs.

Fans can cast their votes for starters up to 25 times on cubs.com — online or via your mobile device — using the 2011 All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot Sponsored by Sprint until June 30 at 10:59 p.m. CT.

VOTE NOW >>
http://link.mlblists.com/r/XN5PM2/ORXVTJ/P6GZ4/RGOQQ6/1617OI/JS/t?a=4809036&b=205009430

AND… while you’re at it, vote for my son Rhys (shameless plug) in a contest! You can help put him on the cover of an upcoming issue of Parents Magazine. Now wouldn’t that just make your day? Ok, more accurately…now wouldn’t that just make Rhys’ family’s day?

Vote by clicking here and submit your vote in like 2 seconds! http://t.co/XYsBHG9

Do it. Vote for Castro (and Barney and Rhys) and all your wildest dreams will come true.

Go Cubs Go!

Follow @proseandivy

Preaching Patience to Patients, Simply Bad Timing

Cubs hitting coach, Rudy Jaramillo, believes that preaching patience to his hitters is what this team needs to succeed. Now, certainly a walk is better than a strike out. Heck, it’s better than just about any kind of out that doesn’t involve a sacrifice for a run. I don’t believe our problem has been getting on base any more than the rest of the league. Our problem has been getting guys around that are already on base. Timely hitting with men in scoring position, that is our problem.

I understand young players like Castro and Barney get on a roll partially because of their talent and partially because opposing pitchers haven’t seen them before and haven’t figured out their weaknesses. I understand preaching patience to the young guns and pushing the philosophy down to A ball to keep the organization’s company line on point for when the young players hit the majors. Thing is…while it may help get one of the youngsters on base once more a game, the problem may just be that Jaramillo is preaching to a bunch of injured, often on the DL players.

He is preaching patience to a bunch of patients.

What good is preaching patience to a bunch of players that can’t stay healthy? What good is it to get guys on base and then not be able to knock in the runs? Who wants to lead the league in men left on base? I’m all for a high OBP. The Cubs are third in the National League in the category. Of course it’s difficult to clear the bases when you’re not getting the hits when the bases have a no-vacancy sign over them. It’s not like we’re not hitting for average. The Cubs are in second place in the NL in AVG, only a handful of points behind the St. Louis Cardinals.

Currently, we are 7.5 games behind said Cardinals. We are getting on base and we are hitting for average. We’re not even striking out as much as you may think. Currently we are in 15th out of 16 teams in the National League in strike outs, only team striking out less than us: the Cardinals (of course).

We aren’t quick to swing at poor pitches overall. We aren’t just taking a quick lap from the dugout to the batter’s box and back again very often. We aren’t having a hard time getting on base.

Patience isn’t our problem. Timing is.

I don’t know if even Jaramillo can teach timing. Patience? Sure. Wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for it. That’s easy. Heck, when you’re batting, patience and ‘wait for it’ calls for the hitter to simply stand there and not get hit by the pitch. As long as it’s not thrown directly at me, even I could do that. Patience is easy. Timing? Timing is hard.

I’d like to hear Jaramillo start talking about timing and figuring out a magical solution to the lack there of.

While the players are injured and taking a round-robin approach to the DL, patience is arguably wearing thin. Patience at the plate isn’t the problem. Patience in the bleachers and in the standings is where the patience is becoming an issue. At the plate, Jaramillo’s forte, timing is the problem.

Time to change the company model to reflect timing as the point of focus in the batter’s box and get away from patience. With all the patients we’ve had lately and all the youngsters getting called up to replace them, now would be the perfect time.

Go Cubs Go!

Follow @proseandivy

Prosecard From Cubs Nation – Ryan Aaron

With injuries piling up this season to multiple Cubs starters, it’s important for us Cubs fans to stick together more than ever. It’s only May 31st so there is still a lot of baseball left to play and anything can happen but we need to get healthy fast, get our guys back on the field and turn it around quickly. It takes time to make up games, especially in a division as tight as the Central. Hopefully Garza comes back on Sunday and Wells improves in his second outing since coming off the DL. Once we start to stockpile our pitchers again, I feel like we have the offense to generate the necessary support. Just a matter of getting healthy and chasing the Cardinals, Brewers, Reds and Pirates as hard as we can. It would be nice if the Astros stay in the basement of the division. We dont’ need ANOTHER team to chase at this point in the season.

I know many Cubs fans feel the frustration after a tough loss and the elation after a great win that I feel so I always find it interesting to get to know other fans, by more than their Twitter handle.

If you are interested in being interviewed for a Prosecard of your own, email me at maloney_ryan@yahoo.com and I’ll send you some questions. You submit your answers and a photo and BOOM…we have ourselves a Prosecard. Here is today’s Prosecard from Cubs Nation from Ryan Aaron. Ryan loves his Cubs and has reason for MLB to eliminate the White Sox altogether. Check it out!

Name: Ryan Aaron

Why are the Cubs your favorite baseball team? Living in Oklahoma City we do not get a lot of the teams. As a child I could always count on watching the Cubs play. Watching Sandberg and Grace on the field and Harry and Steve Stone in the booth was the best part of my baseball child hood. 

Who is your all-time favorite Cub? Ryne Sandberg

Who is your favorite Cub on the current roster? I would have to go with Starlin Castro

Best thing about having a family own the team as opposed to a giant corporation and also the worst thing: The best thing about it being owned by a family is because in most cases it will be ran like it is a family and not just everyone is a number there to make a profit. The worst thing about it is because with it being owned by a family is that the budget may not be as large and may not be able to pay the players we develop when it is time or go out and get the one or two players needed to finish the piece of puzzle during free agency.

Your favorite thing about Wrigley Field: The ivy and the old scoreboard

Player you enjoy watching the most and why: Starlin Castro because he always plays at 110 percent. He plays with a level of energy that you don’t see everyday. Whether it is in the field or at the plate he plays all out all the time.

The Cubs are still chasing their next World Series title after nearly 103 years. What is it that they are missing? Why hasn’t happened in that time frame already? This is a tough one. I don’t think the answer is talent. We have had plenty of teams talented over the years. I guess it comes down to luck. I do not think the team is cursed but we have had a lot of bad breaks over the years. If just one of those goes the other way who knows maybe we hav e1 or 2 or 3 championships in that time frame.

Who is your favorite Cubs broadcaster (radio or TV)? Len Kasper

You are asked to write a brief column in between game 6 and game 7 of the World Series. Series is tied 3-3. Cubs win game 7 and the day we’ve all waited for will finally be here. What does the beginning of your column look like? Today is the day. Will it be the day we have all been waiting on or will it be another day of heartbreak?

How will you celebrate when the Cubs finally win another World Series title? I honestly do not know. I am sure there will be a lot of happy tears and adult beverages though.

You are offered a job to design a new logo for the Cubs. What would the logo look like? I would mix in a little bit of the current with the C and bring back the original logo with the bear holding the bat.

MLB has to cut one team for financial reasons. They have narrowed it down to the Brewers, Cardinals or White Sox. Which team would you recommend they lose and why? The White Sox would be the team I would contract. Why because the Cardinals are one of the historic teams in baseball and the rivalry with the Cubs is like none other, it is known world wide. The Brewers are a team that that when we go to there park it is like another home game Wrigley North. The White Sox are like the little kid down the street to me the one that no one wants to play with. They do nothing to help us and nothing to hurt us. They are just there.

How would you describe what it is like to be a Cubs fan? It is a roller coster no one has ever rode before, we have our ups and downs every year, but they are different than any other team.

The Cubs have won the World Series. You are writing the Tribune’s headline. Give me 3 samples of how you would have it read. HOW SWEET IT IS!!!!, CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN! GO CUBS GO!

Thanks Ryan! Hope our Cubs get healthy and headed in the right direction in the standings ASAP!

Go Cubs Go!

Follow @proseandivy