Drop and Give Me Ten

Are the 1990’s the worst decade for the Cubs? As a follow up to the MD itemizing who has been a Cub for six years or longer, the DoorMatts had this observation:

The 1990’s must have been the WORST decade for the Cubs going back to the 1950’s because they had players like Frank Castillo, Rey Sanchez and Jose Hernandez for six years or longer.

Usually the DoorMatts are able to “eyeball” an idea and make a correct guess from his knowledge of baseball history and his experience of being a fan. Chalk this one up in the loss column for the ol’ DoorMatts.

Here’s a breakdown of each decade since the 1950’s.

1950-1959 672-866 .437 (No Winning Seasons)
1960-1969 735-868 .458 (4 Winning Seasons)
1970-1979 785-827 .487 (3 Winning Seasons)
1980-1989 735-821 .472 (2 Winning Seasons)
1990-1999 739-813 .476 (3 Winning Seasons)
2000-2008 672-694 .491 (4 Winning Seasons – not including 2008)**
** The wins/losses and percentage include games played through June 15th, 2008, but the Winning Seasons does not include the 2008 year as it is not yet complete.

Here’s what’s interesting. The Cubs had a strong core in the 1980’s with Moreland, Smith, Sandberg, Buckner/Grace, Sutcliffe, Durham, Davis and Dunston yet the Cubs had only two winning seasons – the worst effort since the 1950’s. The 1990’s (assumed to be the worst decade by the DoorMatts), actually forged three winning campaigns and the third best winning percentage.

And if the 2008 Cubs can win 22 more in a row, the Cubs will be .500 for the decade of the 2000’s.

CFCL Notes:
The Once And (he hopes) Future Champion Stones made an early move to lock up first place. They traded a bunch of the future for some present (Rausch) and even some past (Kent). This should have the other three top-five teams that haven’t made a deal, thinking about making a deal.

Our very own Red Hot is headed to Vegas to make a run at Jesus, The Mouth, The Brat, Texas Dolly and a field of 8000+. Last year the MD suggested a list of nicknames Bob could take with him to the tables. Our favorite was Double Dirty Rat Bastard. Based on Bob’s appearance at the draft, for some reason the name Kid Dynamite comes to mind. Good luck, Bob!

School’s out but it is always education time in the Rebel household. While watching the Throwback Game on Friday, WGN showed clips of Wrigley Field from the 1940’s. The clips they showed were in black and white. One of my daughters asked if it was always in black and white back then. Yes, I said when they took pictures it was black and white. “No, I mean was everything in black and white all the time,” she persisted. Pause, pause, pause . . . “Yes, it was in black and white. Color wasn’t invented until the 1950’s” “Ohh.” It’s never too early to teach our children well.

Non-CFCL Notes: I’ve been meaning to include this one for a while. During a rain delay, WGN showed the final inning of the no-hitter thrown by Don Maloney of the Reds against the Cubs. As Maloney went into the wind-up in the ninth, Jack Brickhouse said, “Maloney winds up with pitch number 170.” 170!!! I think he finished the game with 178 or so. I didn’t know Dusty Baker managed the Reds back in the 1960’s.

Eliot Asinof, author of Eight Men Out, passed away this week; as did Charlie Jones, long-time sports broadcaster for NBC.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to all you Daddyios!