This has got to be the best stretch of Cubs baseball I have seen in my lifetime. I remember 1984 as a little boy. 1989 I have even more memories from and 1998 and 2003 are still fairly fresh in my mind. But, I can not remember such a hot stretch over such a long period as the recent run the Cubs have been on since early June. Matter of fact, it normally seems like the Cubs are the one team every year that never goes on a nice winning streak or stretch.
Honestly, I was glad to see Dusty Baker go, but in my mind I did not think he was as poor of a manager as the Cubs faithful made him out to be. But I have changed my mind. If Baker were still coaching this season, I am convinced we would never have seen the shots in the arm of guys like Theriot, Fontenot, Hill, Pie, Pagan. I can now see that Baker was stubborn and extremely reluctant to look at young guys. Lou Pinella has been amazing at that and I applaud his efforts thus far. I was an early Pinella skeptic, but I have come around on him.
Acquiring Jason Kendall seems like a good move. Just yesterday I was telling a buddy that it would be really nice to get any offensive output out of the catcher position. Both Hill and Bowen had been good defensively but doing nothing at the plate.
Hill must have heard my words or knew Kendall was coming because he smoked a HR early in the game last night. That put a smile on my face. I know Kendall is batting near .220 right now and making $13M a year, but over the years he's been both a great contact hitter and a solid defensive catcher. He has leadership and playoff experience and I think it was the right move. Bowen had no value in my mind and Blevins was probably a necessary casualty. I think Kendall will fit in nicely and a change of scenery might just be what he needs. Go Cubs Go!
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