Josh Hancock

Condolences to the family and friends of Josh Hancock, the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans. Josh died in a car accident early Sunday morning, April 29th, 2007. Just hours earlier, he had pitched three innings in an 8-1 loss to the Cubs. This kind of tragedy really puts the game of baseball in perspective. My thoughts are with Josh's family and friends at this difficult time.

I was involved in a similar accident years ago. I was merging onto a highway at 60mph and hit a stalled car in the left lane. I never saw it or the flashing yellow emergency lights. I was concerned with merging onto the highway and wasn't expecting somebody to be stopped in the middle of the road. Fortunately, nobody was hurt in my accident.

I don't think I ever really appreciated how lucky I was that nobody was injured, and how easily I, or somebody else, could have been killed. It was literally a matter of inches, the difference between a ball and a strike. Another foot to the left and the car would have stopped my forward motion and the impact probably would have killed me as well as the person in the car I hit. I wouldn't have lived to meet and marry my wife, and my beautiful daughters never would have been born. I don't really know what else to say other than to cherish what you have and to not take anything for granted. I can't wait to go home and give them all a big hug tonight, and every night.

It's Official, Prior Done for 2007

According to MLB.com, Mark Prior is done for the entire 2007 season. According to MLB:

"Dr. James Andrews performed the procedure in Birmingham, Ala. During the arthroscopy, Andrews performed a debridement of Prior's right rotator cuff, as well as repaired the labral and capsular injuries in his right shoulder."

I'm not sure what that means other than Cubs fans and Prior can put this behind them and move on with things. For Cubs fans, we may have seen the last of what looked like a hall of fame pitcher in the making. For Prior, he can look towards a new, and hopefully healthy start in 2008.

Gone, But Not Forgotten..........

Remember this guy? Yes, it's Steve Bartman. What Cubs fan could forget this play and how it lead to the total unravelling of of the Cubs playoffs against the Marlins in 2003. Time does heal all wounds, and I really have no bad feelings towards Bartman any more. Of course there was that initial anger and frustration, but in my case it was never really towards Bartman. If anything, I felt sorry for him.

I hadn't felt this bad since Billy Buckner let the ball through his legs while playing for the Red Sox in the 1986 World Series against the hated Mets. Bill Buckner was my favorite Cub and in my mind a former great Cub, like Buckner, winning the World Series might be as close as I'd ever get. Coincidentally (or maybe not), Buckner was wearing an old Cubs batting glove under his mitt at the time (see picture on Cubbies Baseball).

Back to Bartman........I can easily imagine being in his shoes; lifelong Cubs fan, your team in the playoffs and seemingly destined for the World Series for the first time in your life (and your father's and grand father's)......and you're at the game! Can you imagine how great it would feel to have a foul ball souvenir from the playoffs that year? And then, well things went horribly, unbelievably wrong. The best day, possibly best moment, of your life turned into perhaps the worst in the blink of an eye. If by any chance you don't know about Bartman, Wikipedia has the whole story.

I hope that other die hard fans, such as myself, can see it in their hearts to forgive Bartman. If he was a Marlins fan that would be a different story, but Steve is one of us. And be honest, who wouldn't have tried to catch that ball?

Prior Has Exploratory Surgery

Mark prior had arthroscopic surgery on his pitching shoulder Tuesday, April 24th. The Cubs have not yet announced the results, but something might be released as early as Wednesday, April 25th according to an article on their website. Let's hope that one way or another Mark and all Cubs fans can get some resolution to his injury problems. It's seems like an eternity since his stellar 18-win season in 2003. I'm sure Mark and everybody else would settle for missing the entire season if it meant that he could finally put these health concerns behind him.

Santo Home from Hospital!

Finally, some good news for Cubs fans. Ron Santo has been released from the hospital and plans to return to the booth on May 4th. "This Old Cub" has more than his share of health issues and it's great to see one of baseballs legends and true good guys on the mend. Now if he could just get over the hump and get those few extra votes for the Hall of Fame!

I listen to the Cubs games over the internet while working and there's nothing like listening to Ron to brighten my otherwise boring day. Get well soon Ron!