Tag / Wrigley Field

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Fitbit 12 – Week 33

The good times keep rolling as I surpassed my daily goal twice and finished above 40,000 steps for the twelfth straight week.  Things got off to a nice start on Sunday thanks to a morning walk and a trip to Wrigley Field to pick up a Harry Caray bobblehead, leaving me 16 steps shy of 8800.  Thanks to an early morning eye doctor appointment on Monday, I fell back a bit, ending up 23 steps away from 5600.  A quiet Tuesday left me a mere 6 steps short of 6500.  Colonoscopy prep, and the requisite trips to the facilities, on Wednesday pushed me back over my daily goal, ending with 7900 steps.  Said colonoscopy limited me to 4400 steps on Thursday.  Friday bounced back in a big way, finishing with 7000 steps on the nose.  A return to Rate Field for my first game of September on Saturday wrapped up the week with 7200 steps.

Total steps: 47,454

Daily average: 6779.1

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150 Years Of Cubs Baseball – The Final Team

Originally founded in 1869, the Chicago Cubs became a charter member of the National League in 1876.  Over the next 150 seasons, the Cubs have played more than 22,000 games, scored over 103,000 runs and recorded more than 200,000 hits, more than any other team in baseball history.  Nearly 2,300 players have worn a Cubs uniform, earning eight division titles, 17 NL pennants, and three World Series championships.

Fans have witnessed generations of unforgettable players, from historical heroes like Joe Tinker, Gabby Hartnett, Ernie Banks, and Billy Williams to more recent stars like Ryne Sandberg, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood, and Anthony Rizzo.  The team has called Wrigley Field home for 110 of those 150 seasons.

To celebrate this milestone, the Cubs held a fan vote to select the franchise’s anniversary team, and the final results were released last week.  Let’s take a look at who the fans selected and who I thought should be selected.

Manager – Frank Chance, Leo Durocher, Joe Maddon

This pretty much lines up with what I was expecting.  Chance and Maddon are the only managers to win a World Series with the Cubs and Durocher, while more successful in other points in his career, did lead the storied 1969 club.

Catcher – Jody Davis, Gabby Hartnett, Randy Hundley

Again, this lines up pretty much with what I initially thought.  I would have gone with Willson Contreras over Jody Davis, but I guess you could make an argument either way.

First Base – Frank Chance, Mark Grace, Derrek Lee, Anthony Rizzo

This is certainly a situation where recency bias is playing a role.  Cap Anson, as one of only two Hall of Famers in the nominee list, is the only glaring omission.

Second Base – Nico Hoerner, Rogers Hornsby, Ryne Sandberg

Four of the nominees are in the Hall of Fame.  Nico Hoerner has yet to make an All-Star team or win a major award, but he is the current second baseman, so of course that has to count for something.

Third Base – Kris Bryant, Stan Hack, Aramis Ramirez, Ron Santo

It is hard to argue with any of these choices.

Shortstop – Javier Baez, Ernie Banks, Shawon Dunston, Joe Tinker

Again, no real surprises here.

Outfield – José Cardenal, Andre Dawson, Ian Happ, Andy Pafko, Hank Sauer, Sammy Sosa, Billy Williams, Hack Wilson

There’s a lot here that makes sense, but the inclusion of Cardenal, and to a lesser extent, Happ is somewhat ludicrous.

Starting Pitcher – Jake Arrieta, Mordecai Brown, Kyle Hendricks, Fergie Jenkins, Jon Lester, Greg Maddux, Rick Sutcliffe, Kerry Wood

With all due respect to Kyle Hendricks and Kerry Wood, their inclusion here owes more to popularity and overall team success rather than personal achievement.  Charlie Root is the franchise leader in Wins, and pitched in a time when that meant something, yet did not make the cut.

Relief Pitcher – Rod Beck, Ryan Dempster, Lee Smith, Pedro Strop, Bruce Sutter

Beck literally spent less than two seasons with the team. The rest seem like ok choices.

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Fitbit 12 – Week 31

Yet another great week, as I surpassed my daily goal twice and finished above 40,000 steps for the reached my tenth straight week.  Things got off to a nice start on Sunday thanks to a morning walk, which left me 12 steps shy of 8100.  The return of Crosstown on Monday left me needing 40 more steps to hit 7900.  An abbreviated trip to Wrigley on Tuesday to see the White Sox battle the Cubs before the bad weather arrived left me just 16 steps shy of my daily goal of 7500.  Wednesday fell down quite a bit thanks to a trip into the office, ending with 4900 steps.  A day off and another visit to the south side for exciting White Sox baseball on Thursday pushed me back up to 7300 steps.  A doctor’s appointment on Friday followed by yet another trip to Rate Field got me up to 7100 steps.  Saturday wrapped up the week needing just 11 additional steps to reach 5800.

Total steps: 48,584

Daily average: 6940.6

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Fitbit 12 – Week 29

A tremendous week thanks to my trip to Boston, notching my highest total since going to Hawaii in 2022 for the third time in the last four weeks and scoring my first 20,000 step day since 2019.  The week got off to a great start on Sunday thanks to a morning walk, which left me with 7600 steps.  Flying to Boston after work on Monday put me over goal for the second straight day, finishing with 7800 steps.  Tuesday went a little nuts, as I walked around Boston, having breakfast, going on a duck boat tour, and, eventually, meeting Angelina at Fenway Park for a horrible baseball game, ending the night back at my hotel with 20,100 steps.  Coming home Wednesday morning, I saw a big drop, falling just 7 steps shy of 5600.  A trip to Wrigley on Thursday pushed me back up to 6900 steps.  A morning walk on Friday pushed me back up over goal, hitting 7800 steps.  A longer walk on Saturday morning followed by a trip to Rate Field for Ozzie Guillen’s jersey retirement finished the week with a bang, coming just a single steps shy of 11,800.

Total steps: 67,685

Daily average: 9669.3

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Preparing For Stars

Before kicking off the second half of the season Friday night, the Cubs unveiled the logo for the 2027 All-Star Game, planned to be played at Wrigley Field next July 13.  The logo incorporates iconography of both the Wrigley Field marquee and the stars from the Chicago flag.

The game has been played at Wrigley Field three previous times, and each was honored as part of the ceremony.  Phil Cavaretta’s niece stood in for him for the 1947 game, with Billy Williams representing the 1962 game and Andre Dawson and Shawon Dunston representing the 1990 game.  Each installed a base with their game’s logo before the new one was unveiled at home plate.

Of course, the giant elephant in the room is the labor uncertainty thanks to an all-but-certain lockout coming following this season that threatens to interfere with the 2027 season.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #2

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library, featuring the songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which performers still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to artists, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2026.

Today, we have our penultimate entry with the artist I’ve listened to the second most over the last 13-ish years.  Formed in Liverpool, England in 1960, I present to you the Fab Four, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.  Collectively known as The Beatles.

#2: The Beatles
iTunes stats: 2147 plays
Previous ranking: #2

Arriving on US shores in early 1964, The Beatles put together what is today considered a catalog of thirteen studio albums and one compilation.  Those releases are the core of the 99 tracks that make up their 2147 plays, for an average of 21.7 listens per track.  Their counts would be even higher, but their totals were reset in 2009 when I replaced the original CD releases from the 1980s with a remastered box set.

While the band broke up four years before I was born following the release of 1970’s Let It Be, I have managed to see Paul McCartney in concert twice, first at Wrigley Field in 2011 and then again at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in 2017.  His touring band puts on quite a show and I’m sure I’d be interested if and when he comes back through town again, assuming the price was reasonable.

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Looking Ahead To 2027

Returning to their traditional day after the All-Star Game release, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2027 earlier this week, one which hopefully will not be impacted by a prolonged work stoppage.  For the fifth year in a row, MLB is keeping with a balanced schedule, playing 52 games against division opponents, 64 games against non-division opponents in the same league, and 46 interleague games, with series against every team in the opposite league.  With both Chicago teams heading into the second half in line for a postseason appearance for the first time since 2008 and the All-Star Game coming to Wrigley Field in July, the 2027 season looks like it could be an interesting one on both sides of town.  So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.

The White Sox open their season on the road in the Midwest on March 25, scheduled to be the earliest North American start in league history, facing the Tigers followed by a series against the Royals.  They open up their home schedule against the Brewers on April 1.

Aside from the Brewers, the interleague schedule sees the White Sox staying home to face the Marlins, Phillies, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and Padres, while travelling to see the Pirates, Reds, Dodgers, Braves, Mets, Rockies, and Nationals.  The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a three-game weekend series at Wrigley Field coming out of the All-Star break in mid-July followed by three games at Rate Field the first weekend of August.

The White Sox wrap up the 2027 season in September at home, with a final series against the Tigers before ending the year with three against the Padres.

On the north side, the Cubs kick off their season at home against the Guardians and Cardinals before heading out on the road in early April.  Aside from the Guardians, the Cubs will host the Mariners, Orioles, Red Sox, and Royals while travelling to battle the Angels, Twins, A’s, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers.

The Cubs open September with eleven straight against their NL Central rivals, but finish the month, and the season, on the road to face the Phillies and the Mets.

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Fitbit 12 – Week 24

Despite the excessive heat warnings, it was another great week, finishing with my highest weekly total in nearly two years, multiple days above goal for the first time since January. and pushing my 40,000-step streak to three weeks.  Afternoon baseball at Rate Field on Sunday started the week off on a high note, finishing with 7600 steps.  Monday dropped down a bit, falling 28 steps away from 5200.  The overbearing heat arrived on Tuesday, so an early morning walk helped push me to 6200 steps.  A trip to Wrigley Field on Wednesday again pushed me over goal, ending the day with 8400 steps.  An appointment for blood work followed by a car wash left me with 5500 steps on Thursday.  A morning walk on Friday pushed me up to 6200 steps.  The week wrapped up on a high note on Saturday, using another morning walk to finish with 6700 steps.

Total steps: 45,941

Daily average: 6563

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150 Years Of Cubs Baseball – Relief Pitchers Part 2

Originally founded in 1869, the Chicago Cubs became a charter member of the National League in 1876.  Over the next 150 seasons, the Cubs have played more than 22,000 games, scored over 103,000 runs and recorded more than 200,000 hits, more than any other team in baseball history.  Nearly 2,300 players have worn a Cubs uniform, earning eight division titles, 17 NL pennants, and three World Series championships.

Fans have witnessed generations of unforgettable players, from historical heroes like Joe Tinker, Gabby Hartnett, Ernie Banks, and Billy Williams to more recent stars like Ryne Sandberg, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood, and Anthony Rizzo.  The team has called Wrigley Field home for 110 of those 150 seasons.

To celebrate this milestone, the Cubs are holding a fan vote to select the franchise’s anniversary team.  Each week, we will go through the provided options for each position and declare who should, and, if different, who will, win the fan vote.  We continue today with the final eight selections for relief pitcher.

Carlos Mármol was signed by the Cubs as a catcher/outfielder in 1999 but was converted to pitcher in 2003.  He debuted in 2006, working mostly as a starter in place of the injured Kerry Wood.  Marmol resurfaced in 2007 as a setup man and helped the Cubs capture back-to-back division titles in 2007 and 2008.  Over those two seasons, Marmol battled Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood for the closer spot, getting his opportunity in both years thanks to injury to the incumbent.  In 2009, he finally replaced an ineffective Kevin Gregg as closer, holding down that position for the remainder of his Cubs tenure.  Marmol’s strength was in his ability to strike out opposing batters, averaging 16 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, setting the record for highest K/9 ratio by a pitcher with at least 50 innings pitched.  Things started to go south in 2011, when he tied for the major league lead with ten blown saves.  The following year, he was designated for assignment in June after continuing to struggle.

Randy Myers spent just three seasons with the Cubs, from 1993-1995.  In 1993, he set a then-NL record with 53 saves.  His most infamous moment came in a late September game against the Astros in 1995, when a fan jumped onto the field and ran to the pitcher’s mound to attack Myers after he gave up a go-ahead home run.  Myers used his martial arts training to drop the attacker to the ground and then held him down until security could get there.  He led the NL in saves twice in his three years with the Cubs and was a two-time All-Star.

Phil Regan was traded to the Cubs in late April 1968.  He excelled at the back end of the Cubs bullpen, leading all of MLB with 25 saves and earning the Sporting News Reliever of the Year award.  A run-in with an umpire on August 18 in his appearance versus the Reds saw Regan accused of throwing doctored balls, with fourteen pitches deemed illegal by the home plate umpire despite no evidence of any foreign substance on the balls.  While later cleared by the NL President Warren Giles, Regan’s reputation was sullied for the remainder of his career.  Unfortunately, he was never able to repeat that dominance and found his usage decrease each season he remained with the Cubs until he left in June of 1972.

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