Nothing tops Cubs/Sox energy

Some random thoughts before one of the best weekends of the baseball season:

-I love Cubs/Sox games, especially at Wrigley. The energy of both teams is amazing, but it’s nothing compared to the energy of the fans. Last year, when the games were played on the North Side, the Cubs were already completely done for. Because of that, the crowd was about 50/50 split between sides. This year, with each teams record about the same, I expect it to be about 65/35 Cubs. It’s a great ratio, because the crowd is active enough where there will be a reaction to every play, but it is enough in the favor of the home town that a great play by a North Sider will get a louder applause.

-Though I don’t want to see him get suspended for ten games again, I wouldn’t mind seeing Michael Barrett doing the same thing to AJ Pierzynski that he did almost exactly one year ago. (The punch was landed on May 20, 2005) Man, that was sweet.

-Before the big weekend of baseball is tonight’s Bulls-Pistons game six. Though I realize I said the Bulls were dead after game three, I admit that I was wrong. Win or lose tonight, the squad showed they had the toughness and the talent to match up with Detroit. I really like their chances in game six, for multiple reasons. One is obviously home court advantage. The Bulls have won 34 of their 45 games this season at the United Center (including the playoffs), including three versus the Pistons. If the crowd is supplying the energy, I expect the team to feed off that. Reason two is the Bulls bench. Chris Duhon, Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefelosha have all been fantastic the last two games, and their play has made life a living hell for Flip Saunders and his coaching staff. With no drop-off between the starters and the reserves, Detroit’s coach has been confused on when to sit his starting guards, Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton, and when to play them. Last game he sat Billups early, and the Bulls went on a big run. In the second half he put Hamilton on the bench, and again the Bulls reserves made him pay. Unless the Pistons plan on playing both guys all 48 minutes, they are going to have to figure out something.

-Reason three why the Bulls will win tonight, which deserves it’s own special space right here, has been the Bulls offense. In games one through three, the Bulls scored 69, 87 and 74 points. All three were losses. The last two contests, the team has put up 102 and 108. Both were double-digit victories. If the Bulls can continue shooting at a high percentage and get a balanced box score from guys like Gordon, Deng, Hinrich and Brown, I like their chances.

-Watching Phoenix and San Antonio last night, I couldn’t help but feel bad for the Suns. Down two of their best players because of the suspensions to Boris Diaw and Amare Stodumire, they tried so hard to knock off the Spurs and take the 3-2 series lead. But they probably used all their energy just keeping it close in the first 45 minutes, because it looked like Steve Nash and Co. had nothing left for the final three. And that’s when the Spurs took control of the game and the series. Just looking at the box score of the game, it shows why the Suns were so worn out. With the exception of three first quarter minutes by Pat Burke, only six Phoenix players saw the court, all of which were for 26 or more minutes. Three players, Steve Nash, Shawn Marrion and Raja Bell, played 45 or more minutes. That’s going to lead to fatigue, which showed at the end. Hopefully, and I say this as a fan of basketball, the Suns can pull out game six so that we can see one more battle between these teams when they are both at full strength.



I’ll be out of town this weekend (Yes, I’m going to miss the weekend Cubs/Sox games), but I will resume posting early next week.