http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/ en-us Mon, 2 Feb 2009 20:55:00 PST Mon, 2 Feb 2009 00:00:00 PST support2007@baseballtoaster.com 60 http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1205053.html It hurts, any time you lose something you care about, something that's been a part of your life for years. It hurts, any time you watch as a community you love slowly fades away, as much by your own doing as anyone else's. You flog yourself with notes of things unwritten, things unsaid, with thoughts of what could have come to pass, with dreams of success left unfulfilled, and it hurts even more. But such is the way of the world. http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1205053.html Mon, 2 Feb 2009 20:55:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1204904.html I'm not sure what to say today. This being over feels momentous, and pedestrian at the same time, because while I've been here seemingly forever, I've barely shown my shadow since mid-season 2006. The truth is, this day has been a long time coming, at least for me, and the fact that it has become official is merely ceremony: I'm retired from blogging, and have been for months, if not years. At the very least I need to thank some people: Christian, for bringing me on board way back when; Alex, for being my partner when Cub Town first was born; Phil, for propping this beast up while I did everything in my power to passive-aggressively kill it; all my Toaster-mates for being brilliant partners and just flat-out good people; and Ken, for being the most gracious of hosts, for putting his heart and soul into making this joint purr like a kitten, and for doing all the remarkably pain-in-the-ass stuff that none of us would ever want to deal with, even if we had the knowledge-base to handle it. Finally, of course, I'd like to thank anyone who ever stopped by here to read what we posted. We weren't always perfect, and we weren't always timely, but we hope we at least gave a smile and a place to share our mutual love of the game and our team. Now, since this is my last post, I'd like to share the favorite thing I ever wrote on The Toaster. Oddly, it wasn't on Cub Town, but came from a round of Humbugardy that we played during the 05-06 offseason. We were all instructed to write the first paragraph of a novel entitled 'Tim Salmon in America,' and I think my entry was the best thing I've done here, which I could choose to be depressed by, but won't. In any case, here it is, the opening paragraph to my version of 'Tim Salmon in America.' http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1204904.html Mon, 2 Feb 2009 17:51:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1202764.html "The Wrestler": One of the best films I've seen in a long, long time. There's a real truth to it that speaks to anyone who's ever grappled with a fall, however abrupt, from grace and greatness in any part of life. Some people move on, but others can do nothing but reach for the top, even until the very end. http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1202764.html Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:10:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1200788.html So: Last month I wrote a piece of fairly obvious satire. The third item in this post, it was meant to elicit a few chuckles and head shakes. The Tribune isn't too far from selling newspaper subscriptions for the opportunity to buy Cubs tickets, I suppose. http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1200788.html Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:00:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1188367.html Joey Gathright and the Chicago Cubs agreed to an $800,000, one-year contract Tuesday, three days after the outfielder became a free agent when Kansas City failed to offer a deal for 2009. [link] http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1188367.html Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:51:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1187307.html The financial woes continue: Tribune Co. files for bankruptcy protection. http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1187307.html Sat, 13 Dec 2008 09:30:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1176067.html Kerry Wood, today: http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1176067.html Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:45:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1175750.html From the Daily Herald: http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1175750.html Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:35:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1175296.html As expected, Geovany Soto was voted the NL's Rookie of the Year, nearly unanimously. I should be surprised that a BBWAA voter gave Joey Votto a first place vote over Soto, but then, this is the same group that gave fourth place to a non-rookie. http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1175296.html Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:50:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1174789.html The Sun-Times reported Thursday that Mark Cuban has "zero chance" of receiving the approval from MLB necessary to purchase the Cubs. But I'm not convinced. http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1174789.html Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:02:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1160915.html So: I've got this image bouncing around in my head of the Cubs' 2008 season. It should be a pretty picture of a remarkable season, evoking pleasure and awe. A division title, 97 wins, a no-hitter: A season for the ages, right? But that's not how we remember seasons. We remember how they end. http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1160915.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:37:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1149324.html Joe Posnanski: http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1149324.html Thu, 2 Oct 2008 12:16:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1147468.html We're going to try an experiment, folks. You see, Dodger Thoughts has, to put it conservatively, a very active comment section. Cub Town does not. I know this. http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1147468.html Wed, 1 Oct 2008 14:30:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1146949.html Several times each week, my legs grow agitated, as I suspect any anthropomorphic body part would if it too spent hours each day stored under a desk while important tasks are carried out above. "Preposterous!" my legs exclaim. "You know full well just how relative of a term 'important' is. Just think of all the 'important' things I can do!" I try to explain the valid reasoning and necessity of sitting at my desk, forcefully adding, "This is not a democracy." But legs chafe at such tyranny, it seems, and before I can muster the militia to quell the treasonous revolutionaries, I am unwillingly out of my seat, walking out of the building and into the great unknown. http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1146949.html Wed, 1 Oct 2008 06:22:00 PST http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1134948.html After one batter, the magical sheen melted away. There would be no repeat performance, perhaps not even a scoreless first frame. http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1134948.html Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:08:00 PST