MVC: April 19-20--Pirates @ Cubs

April 19--Pirates @ Cubs: W 13-1

MVC: Jason Marquis

1. Jason Marquis-- 6 innings, 1 ER; RBI double
2. Derrek Lee-- 2 run HR in the first inning
3. Mark DeRosa-- 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored

April 20--Pirates @ Cubs: W 13-6

MVC: Aramis Ramirez

1. Aramis Ramirez-- 4 RBIs
2. Ryan Dempster-- 5 innings, 3 ER
3. Ryan Theriot-- 3 runs scored, 2 RBIs, 1 stolen base

Season Standings:

Derrek Lee +15
Kosuke Fukudome +12
Ryan Dempster +10
Carlos Zambrano +8
Aramis Ramirez +6
Jon Lieber +5
Geovany Soto +3
Mark DeRosa +3
Rich Hill +3
Jason Marquis +3
Kerry Wood +3
Reed Johnson +2
Felix Pie +2
Ryan Theriot +1
Carlos Marmol +1
Ronny Cedeno +1

Season Winners:

Lee +3
Dempster +2
Fukudome +2
Zambrano +1
Lieber +1
Soto +1
Hill +1
Marquis +1
Ramirez +1

Don't understand what "MVC" means? Click the link to find out.

The White Sox are back!

Right now, the Sox are 10-6 after 16 games and are in 1st place in the AL central. It's early but in 2005 after 16 games, the Sox were 12-4 so the records aren't that much different. As many people know, the Sox went on to win 99 games and the world series that season. The Sox are doing many things right so far. Their offense has been outstanding, their starting pitchers have been solid, and their bullpen is one of the best in the league so far. I know it's only April, but I think this team will be on top of their division at the end of the season. The Sox face the New York Yankees on Monday and that should be one of the first opportunities to see if this team is for real or just taking advantage of a weak schedule.

The Bears should give Urlacher what he wants

Recently, Brian Urlacher skipped the Chicago Bears' optional workouts because he wants more years added to his current contract. I think the Bears should just give Urlacher what he wants. In my opinion, he is still the best player on the team. The Bears should do the best they can to keep Urlacher happy. Lance Briggs is nothing without #54 standing next to him.

MVC: April 16 vs. Reds; April 18 vs. Pirates

April 16—Reds @ Cubs: W 12-3
MVC: Fukudome

Fukudome: 2 Run double in 1st inning
Zambrano: 7 innings pitched with just 2 runs allowed; RBI single in 3rd inning
Lee: Solo home run in 3rd inning began a six run inning

April 18—Pirates @ Cubs: W 3-2
MVC: Rich Hill

Rich Hill: Pitched 5 solid innings
Kosuke Fukudome: His triple in the 3rd inning set up a 3 run inning
Mark DeRosa: 3rd inning RBI single tied the game; later scored the go-ahead run

Season Standings:

Derrek Lee +13
Kosuke Fukudome +12
Ryan Dempster +8
Carlos Zambrano +8
Jon Lieber +5
Aramis Ramirez +3
Geovany Soto +3
Kerry Wood +3
Rich Hill +3
Felix Pie +2
Reed Johnson +2
Mark DeRosa +2
Carlos Marmol +1
Ronny Cedeno +1

Season Winners:

Lee +3
Dempster +2
Fukudome +2
Zambrano +1
Lieber +1
Soto +1
Hill +1

MVC: April 15- Reds @ Cubs

April 15- Reds @ Cubs: W 9-5

1. Derrek Lee--Hit game winning 3-run homer in the 5th inning. Started a inning ending double play in the 7th inning when the Reds had runners on the corners with only one out and down by one run.
2. Ryan Dempster--Pitched 6 innings and gave up only 4 earned runs.
3. Mark DeRosa--His two-run homer in the second inning gave the Cubs their first lead.

Season Standings:

Derrek Lee +12
Ryan Dempster +8
Kosuke Fukudome +7
Carlos Zambrano +6
Jon Lieber +5
Aramis Ramirez +3
Geovany Soto +3
Kerry Wood +3
Felix Pie +2
Reed Johnson +2
Carlos Marmol +1
Ronny Cedeno +1
Mark DeRosa +1

Season Winners:

Lee +3
Dempster +2
Fukudome +1
Zambrano +1
Lieber +1
Soto +1

MVC: April 13th- Cubs @ Phillies

April 13th- Cubs @ Phillies: W 6-5

1. Derrek Lee- 2 RBIs; Nice defensive stop in the 9th inning which prevented the Phillies from scoring the winning run.
2. Kerry Wood- Pitched a scoreless 8th and 9th inning with the game tied.
3. Carlos Zambrano- Ran hard after hitting a groundball; forced Phillies IF. Chase Utley to rush his throw resulting in an error that allowed the go-ahead run to score in the 10th inning.

Season Standings:

Derrek Lee +9
Kosuke Fukudome +7
Ryan Dempster +6
Carlos Zambrano +6
Jon Lieber +5
Aramis Ramirez +3
Geovany Soto +3
Kerry Wood +3
Felix Pie +2
Reed Johnson +2
Carlos Marmol +1
Ronny Cedeno +1

Season Winners:

Dempster +2
Lee +2
Fukudome +1
Zambrano +1
Lieber +1
Soto +1

MVC--April 9-10: Cubs @ Pirates

April 9-- Cubs @ Pirates: W 6-4

1. Ryan Dempster--Pitched 7 innings and only allowed one hit. Very good performance.
2. Felix Pie--hit game winning RBI single in the 15th inning.
3. Reed Johnson--RBI single in the 3rd gave the Cubs an early 1-0 lead.

April 10-- Cubs @ Pirates: W 7-3

1. Geovany Soto--Game winning 2 run home run in the 6th.
2. Jon Lieber-- 4.1 shutout innings.
3. Derrek Lee--2 RBIs

Scoring: 3 points for game’s MVC, 2 points for 2nd best impact, and 1 point for 3rd best impact.

Season Standings:

Kosuke Fukudome +7
Derrek Lee +6
Ryan Dempster +6
Carlos Zambrano +5
Jon Lieber +5
Aramis Ramirez +3
Geovany Soto +3
Felix Pie +2
Reed Johnson +2
Carlos Marmol +1
Kerry Wood +1
Ronny Cedeno +1

Season Winners:

Dempster +2
Fukudome +1
Lee +1
Zambrano +1
Lieber +1
Soto +1

Most Valuable Cub!

For the 2008 season, I decided to come up with a way to decide who will be the Most Valuable Chicago Cub or MVC. Being the most valuable player is different from being the best player. You have play great in key situations and be one of the main reasons your team won that day. The player with the best stats is not always MVP. For example, say Player A goes 3 for 4 with 2 doubles. Pretty good right? But what if he got all 3 hits with the bases empty and he never scored? Those 3 hits were a waste. Now how about Player B who goes 1 for 4 with a single but that single scores the final two runs and the team wins by one run? Player B in my mind is the MVP because his single won the game for the team.

What I have done so far is pick a MVC for each Cubs game that the Cubs win. I'll do it sometimes for extra innings losses too. If the Cubs lose by 7 runs, obviously it is gonna be hard to pick a MVC so there will be game in which I don't pick a MVC. Because baseball is a team sport, here is how I will award points to players:

3 points for game’s MVC, 2 points for 2nd best impact, and 1 point for 3rd best impact.

I've already started this and I'll try to update the standing every week.

Season Standings:

Fukudome +7
Lee +5
Zambrano +5
Ramirez +3
Dempster +3
Lieber +3
Johnson +1
Marmol +1
Wood +1

Season Winners:

Fukudome +1
Dempster +1
Lee +1
Zambrano +1
Lieber +1

March 31, 2008- Brewers @ Cubs: L 3-4
MVC of the game: Fukudome
Fukudome +3
Zambrano +2
Marmol +1

April 3, 2008- Brewers @ Cubs: W 6-3
MVC of the game: Ryan Dempster
Dempster +3Fukudome +2Ramirez +1

April 5th, 2008- Astros @ Cubs: W 9-7
MVC of the game: Derrek Lee
Lee +3
Fukudome +2
Johnson +1

April 6th, 2008 – Astros @ Cubs: W 3-2
MVC: Carlos Zambrano

Zambrano +3
Lee +2
Wood +1


April 7th, 2008 – Cubs @ Pirates: W 10-8
MVC: Jon Lieber

Lieber +3
Ramirez +2
Cedeno +1