Quick Shots: It's Cuban Sandwich Time
- With Carlos Quentin nursing a sore shoulder and unable to play until at least Friday, it's time for the Chicago White Sox to call up the Cuban Sandwich. I haven't been on the Dyan Viciedo bandwagon this year, but with the White Sox locked in a tough, uphill battle with the Tigers and less than forty games left, they need an infusion of offense. Sure, Alejando D'Aza has contributed, but lets find out what the Sandwich can do under pressure. Plus, give Quentin a couple of weeks to make sure he's absolutely ready to go instead of trying to come back too early and end his season a week early. Hey, they are still five out and a half game behind Cleveland, what do they have to lose? You can always play D'Aza in center.
- Speaking of the Sox, it's nice that they beat the Royals and Rangers two out of three, but the two losses to the Indians might have been the stake in the heart for this season. I know I've been flogged for calling them out of it on August 6, but I'm still thinking they can't make up the ground in a month unless they go on a tear. And this team is so maddeningly inconsistent, no one can predict what's going to happen.
- If you would have told me in March that on August 22 Brent Lillibridge would have as many home runs as Adam Dunn, I would have signed your commitment papers. Yet, here we are.
- The Cubs will be making some sweeping changes after Friday's dismissal of GM Jim Hendry. What the Cubs hope doesn't happen is that the heavy hitters in the Cubs scouting department don't turn tail and run. Oneri Fleita and Tim Wilken are pretty good at what they do, but they are also fiercely loyal to Hendy (Fleita played for Hendy at Creighton.) The question that they, and all Cub employees are asking themselves is does Tom Ricketts actually know what he's doing otr are they better served taking their skills to another organization.
- BTW, if I were Ricketts, I'd be having a long conversation with Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, who has turned the fortunes of his franchise around in six short years. I'd also inquire about the availability of Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash, who was a successful GM with Toronto for a long time.
- Jim Hendry showed nothing but class and character after his dismissal Friday. Hanging around almost a month after he was told he was gone is more than many of us would have done. He's sure to land a development job somewhere soon if he wants it.
- Speaking of the Brewers, they look like a team that could go deep into the playoffs, provided they stay healthy. When you consider this 21-3 run they've been on has been done mostly without their starting second baseman Rickie Weeks and one of their starters on the DL, it is pretty impressive. Gord Ash has been a big part of that.
- The Bears play the Giants tonight in New York. Remember last year, it was the Giants who sacked Bears QBs nine times. I think if the Bears really wanted to prove to Mike Martz that is offense isn't going to work, they should put him in a helmet and pads and have him line up under center. That might knock some sense into him.
- Remember when Bob Griese "retired" from ESPN last year and I said he didn't really retire as much as he was told to go away because he said something unfortunate on the air and he no longer appeals to the demographic ESPN is looking for (let's face it, if you aren't over 45, you never saw Bob play.) Well, Bob's not retired after all. He'll be doing color on Dolphins radio this year.
- I've read a few places reasons that no matter how the bad the sewage is at Miami, the NCAA will not, under any circumstances, issue the death penalty. And therein lies the root of the problem. With the money, the politics and the threatened lawsuits, the NCAA is powerless to send a message that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated and to scare schools straight. It's like saying anyone who is convicted of murder gets a suspended sentence. The schools know this, and as Alabama proved in the early part of the last decade, you can withstand the scholarship reductions and loss of income for a couple of years while you reload and come back. In order to get anyone's attention, the NCAA needs the power and the conviction to burn the program to the ground and make them start from nothing like SMU had to in the late 80's. In our society, cheaters never win, they just get slapped on the wrist and continue moving forward.
- There's a guy in Green Bay who is impersonating Brett Favre. He looks so much like him, people are approaching him and asking him for autographs. That shows you how unassuming and forgiving Packer fans are . If this was an ex-Bear who had dome Chicago like Favre did Green Bay, Bears fans would have stoned the guy.
Posted by Chip Ramsey at 8/22/2011 8:52 AM 
Categories: Pro Football, Minor League Baseball, Chicago White Sox, Media, Chicago Bears, College Football, Elderly Hillbilly, Baseball
Tags: Brent Lillibridge Cuban Sandwich Life Behind The Cheese Curtain Mike Martz The Big Donkey Wizard of De Aza
Categories: Pro Football, Minor League Baseball, Chicago White Sox, Media, Chicago Bears, College Football, Elderly Hillbilly, Baseball
Tags: Brent Lillibridge Cuban Sandwich Life Behind The Cheese Curtain Mike Martz The Big Donkey Wizard of De Aza
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