The 2006 playoffs commenced for the Cubs with a solid victory at home on a warm Sunday night at Trum. Duke Guthrie took the hill and provided 8 solid innings, striking out 8 Vipers, while walking 2 and surrendering 3 Runs (2 Earned) on 4 hits. Tony Preteroti pitched the ninth to finish it off.

Close through the early going, the Cubs opened it up with a six spot in the fourth that brought the score to 9-0. The Vipers chipped at the margin, plating runs in the 6th, 8th and 9th but Guthrie, Preteroti and the Cubs tightened up when necessary, never yielding the big inning that would have brought the Vipers back.

A number of Cubs helped the cause offensively. Ish Laboy wielded his signed "Jeff Meyer edition" Max Bat to the tune of three hits, scored 2 runs and stole the only base of the night. (It is unknown (but doubtful) if Meyer also signed his spikes.) Bruce Anderson and Tony Preteroti scored two runs apiece and racked three knocks each. Continuing the charge, Joe Doucette had two hits and drove in three runs. Damon Smith rounded out the multi-hit brigade, one of his hits coming on a perfectly conceived and executed bunt single, laid down with no out and two on to kick the crooked fourth into high gear.

The win puts the Cubs up 1-0 in the best of three series which continues Tuesday night at Breed in Lynn at 7:00 PM.

(Game Summary by Michael Colombo)

On a thick Thursday night at Billings in West Roxbury, Duke Guthrie's electric performance guided the Cubs to victory over the Vipers. The win secured 1st place in the division and the first round playoff bye that goes with it. Duke was dealing throughout his seven inning complete game victory, commanding all of his pitches, striking out 14 Vipers while issuing just one Walk.

Staking Duke a four run lead over the first two innings, Cub bats would provide all the offense that would end up being required. Featuring a balanced attack, with their six hits coming off the bats of six different players, the Cubs were patient, working eight walks, never giving Franz Strassmann an easy inning and nary an easy at bat.

Defensive highlights included Steve Ceppi's diving stab at 1st base and Greg Elbaum's sliding catch in Right Field.

With a 16-4-2 record securing their playoff position, the Cubs enter into their final two games next week at Trum (Tuesday and Wednesday night, 7:30 starts) looking to keep the quality play rolling into the postseason. With the regular season winding down, carrying momentum into the playoffs will be critically important, as much work remains.

(Game Summary by Michael Colombo)

Game Summary in Progress

Trum Cubs
9

Joey and Ace Strateragizin'

Sunday night saw the Cubs play their second game at Trum in as many days and they pulled out a 9-7 victory. Brighton opened the scoring, plating 2 in the top of the second, but the Cubs responded back strongly with a 4 spot in the bottom of the 3^rd. The Cubs added on runs in the 4^th and 5^th innings to surge to a seemingly comfortable 9-2 lead after 5.

However, the Twins would not go gently into the Somerville night and scored 5 in the top of the sixth to raise everyone's blood pressure and make it a tight game for the rest of the way.

Jamie Waters started for the Cubs and went 5 2/3 to earn the win. He spread 9 Hits and 7 Walks over his innings and was very effective until the fateful 6^th. He was relieved by Tony Preteroti for two and a third, and Duke Guthrie threw the final inning to earn the save. Cub pitching danced out of danger throughout the evening, tightening up when it counted, stranding many Brighton base runners in scoring position.

J Dub Deals

Pitching was picked up a number of times by solid defense. Billy Burton's pick of a rocket of a ground ball at 3B to stop the bleeding in the 6^th particularly stands out. As do Damon Smith's two nice grabs in LF, and another OF assist for Bruce Andersen, this time hooking up with Chris Siggens, who bare-handed the throw and put the tag on at the plate.

It seems that Cub bats might be coming into their own at just the right time of the year, as they racked up 12 hits during the 8 frames required to complete this one. Leading the way, Damon Smith tossed in 3 knocks including a triple, driving in 3 Runs in the process. Chris Siggens, Michael Colombo, and Joe Doucette all had multi-hit nights at the park. Doubles from Siggens and Joe Stanton rounded out the Trum extra base hits. (Sadly for the many vocal Trum fans in attendance, no dingers were launched this evening for a change...) The hit total would have increased by at least 3 if not for the hit robbing efforts of the Twins replacement SS, called into service after the starter was ejected. (Word to the wise: evidently 'awful' has been promoted to a profanity in some circles.)

Overall, good to emerge with a victory on a night when it seemed the tying run was at second in every inning from the 6^th on. Also, good to see the offense carry the weight.

Next up is the regular season finale versus the Vipers. Sunday, August 20^th, 7:30 PM at Trum. (Odd start time must be due to ESPN picking up the game for Sunday Night Baseball or something...)

(Game Summary by Michael Colombo)

Trum Cubs
5

A rare Saturday morning game at Trum brought the Cubs their twelfth win of the year. Joe Stanton took charge on the hill and at the plate.

Joe Stanton Ready to Unload

Finding Shade in BFA

(Game Summary by Joe Doucette)

The Trum Cubs lost the third and final Medford Angels game of the season on Friday night at Trum, finishing up an odd 1-1-1. Yet another tight contest, the lead see-sawed back and forth over the 7 innings. Joe Stanton started for the Cubs and was very effective over 5 innings, striking out 8 while yielding 3 hits, 2 walks and 2 earned runs. Michael Day again went the distance for the Angels to pick up the win.

The defense started out solid, including an outfield assist from Jaime Waters in LF to Johnny Aceto. But, the game was ultimately decided in the 6^th, when the error fairy paid a visit to both squads. In the top of the inning, the Cubs took advantage of a throwing error to plate 2 unearned runs, and entered the bottom half with a 4-2 lead. That lead would not be long lasting as Medford, aided by Cub errors, scored 3 runs to take a lead that they wouldn't yield.

Johnny Aceto's RBI double was the offensive highlight of another frustrating night at the office for the Trum bats against Michael Day.

(Game Summary by Michael Colombo)

Perhaps the Cubs sister is in fact some kind of great kisser or something. Whatever the reason, on Sunday night the Trum nine racked up their 2nd tie of the year in a tightly contested affair, well played on both sides, that held drama until the final out.

The Angels opened up with 2 runs in the top of the first inning, but the Cubs answered back with 3 in their half, punctuated by Joe Stanton's two run missile, launched into the night over Cedar Street. Medford tied the game with a run in the 2^nd and the see-saw battle would continue. Billy Burton's RBI single in the bottom of the 4^th gave the Cubs a one run lead. That lead would vanish during the sixth and final inning of another solid start from Kevin McGovern, one where he pitched well enough to earn the Win. With two out, Michael Colombo let a liner whiz past him in Right Field, allowing the tying run to score. Excellent backup by Bruce Andersen resulted in a perfect relay throw (that started somewhere deep in the adjoining softball field behind RF) to Ish Laboy that cut down the second Angel runner trying to score on the play as he crashed into Johnny Aceto at the plate.

McGovern was relieved by Jaime Waters for the final three frames, and he kept the aggressive Angels in check, surrendering 1 run on two hits while striking out and walking one. In addition to deft dancing out of danger with runners on, Waters' outing also included a rare three pitch inning. His efforts were greatly assisted by Anderson, who launched a one-hopper to Johnny Ace with his mighty "left arm of justice". Aceto brought the gavel down to record the out in spite of extensive contact.

Bruce Anderson stayed in the zone with another 3 hit night and a RBI. Damon Smith started a double play of sorts of his own with a diving catch near the fence in left that was completed when an "i'm too fast for visual processing" argument fell short,resulting in a Medford runner being called out for not tagging up on his advance to third.

Dissatisfying as the tie is, solace can be found in the fact that these two squads meet again at Trum this Friday night for the finale of their regular season series.

(Game Summary by Michael Colombo)

Lynn, Lynn city of sin? Maybe so, but on a balmy July night the Cubs cashed in some sin for a win and regained the division lead by topping their nemesis Vipers in a messy and sinful battle at Breed in Lynn.

Joe Stanton took the hill for the visiting Cubs who quickly staked him to an 8-0 lead through two innings. The Cubs then chose to "sin" by handing a few runs to the home team via some sloppy fielding mixed with a few Viper hits. With the score 11-3 through 4½ the win seemed secure but, once again the Cubs began to resemble a "futbol" team more than a baseball team by kicking the ball about the field and eventually surrendering 5 to the Vipers in the fifth. Stanton gave up eight runs, although only two were earned.

Jamie Waters relieved Stanton in the 6th and recorded his third save of the season. Waters curve seemed to possess extra worldly snap as the Vipers haplessly flailed their bats and cursed the fact that they were not equipped with tennis rackets instead of Louisville Sluggers. Waters fanned three Vipers overall but did so in a clutch manner by getting the Vipers number two batter looking to end the 6th inning and then getting their 6th and 7th batters on strikes top end the game.

On the offensive side, justice once again was served as Bruce Anderson lead the attack with 3 hits 3 runs and 4 RBI. Joe Stanton helped his own cause with two doubles and three RBI. Steve Ceppi also had an RBI single to add to his three stolen bases.

(Game Summary by Joe Doucette)

On a sunny and humid Sunday morning in Winchester, the Cubs shook their 'Sunday Morning Comin' Down' blues and completed a season sweep of the Pirates. Duke Guthrie pitched like a man with someplace to be (as it turned out he was, departing after the eighth inning for a round the country junket with his slightly delayed and presumably slightly off put family). He spread 7 hits over 8 innings, racked up 15 Ks while walking ZERO to keep the Pirates to just 1 ('unearned') run.

Overnight and early morning rains delayed the start of the game by an hour and a half, but the contest played out under clear, albeit heavy, skies. The Cubs grabbed 3 runs in the 2nd and 4th innings, and added 2 more in the 7th to stake Duke a comfortable lead. Offensive standouts included Johnny Aceto, who might credit his 2 hit, 3 RBI day to his Red Bull, lawn chair and visual stimulation pre game ritual. Cub All-Star Tony "Joe" Preteroti contributed 3 hits and 3 RBI for good measure, and Chris Siggens tossed in 2 knocks, including a double.

Billy Burton worked the ninth in relief of the departed Guthrie.

In hopes of banishing the Sunday morning blues, provided below are some selected lyrics:
(Game Summary by Michael Colombo)

That ump sure looks like he is paying attention.

The Boston Mets dealt the Trum Cubs their second loss of the season on a hot Sunday afternoon at McKinney in Brighton. The game opened promisingly enough as the Cubs took an early lead, Tony Preteroti driving in Greg Elbaum. But the hits were too few and far between to carry the team to victory. Duke Guthrie went the distance on the hill, arguably pitching well enough to win, allowing 2 hits and 4 walks while striking out 6 Mets over 6 innings. A disastrous 4 run 3^rd inning that featured two errors and an outrageously blown call would prove to be the Cubs undoing.

Billy Burton picked up a knock and drove the ball hard in his return to batting. Singles from the bats of Steve Ceppi, Greg Elbaum and Damon Smith would round out the offensive production, such that it was.

Next up for the Cubs is a two game weekend series against the Cambridge Warriors, starting Saturday afternoon at Ryan in Charlestown and finishing up with a return to the friendly Sunday nighttime confines of Trum.

Cub fans enjoying the day in spite of the outcome.

Game summary in progress...

Opposing batters are cake, when your pregame meal is an infant.

Friday night featured a lively 7 inning affair between the Trum Cubs and the Winchester Pirates. Ending with a satisfying W, the game was close and tense throughout. Duke Guthrie, Jaime Waters and Tony Preteroti teamed for the first Cub shutout of the season. Guthrie took the ball to start the game and went four innings to earn the win, striking out 10, while walking 3 and surrendering 3 hits along the way. Waters threw 2 hitless innings in relief to secure the Hold. (Doesn't 400hitter track Holds? MSBL fantasy owners must be up in arms at this omission!) After Jaime put the Pirate hitters thoroughly off kilter with his changing speeds and angles, Preteroti slammed the door with a hitless 7th to notch the save.

The exemplary pitching performances were as welcome as they were necessary, as the Cub offense struggled to put anything together against Pirate pitching that gave up only 5 hits through 6 innings of work. Solid defense also assisted in getting the Cubs out of a jam or two, highlighted by Ish Laboy's play from deep in the hole at SS.

Bruce Anderson drove in a run with a double, and Joe Doucette drove home a hustling Anderson with a single to highlight the night's production.

Next up for the Cubs is a Friday night rematch at Trum with the Newton Red Sox who in their previous meeting handed them their only loss of the year.

It was a hot night at Trum. Not a damp cloud could be seen on a day where the temperature rose into the mid 90's and the air was dense and chewy. The Cubs of late expect every game to be threatened with rain, but not this evening. It was a perfect night for hot summer baseball and the perfect opponent in the Vipers of North Reading. The two teams entered the night in a virtual tie for first place, the winner would hold a game in hand and possession of first place in the division.

Scoreless through the first three tense frames, despite a good number of Cub base runners, the Vipers drew first blood with runs in the top of the 4^th and 5^th, one of them on a kamikaze hit and run with the runner from 3rd base breaking towards a batter who appeared to not know the play was on. The end result was positive for North Reading, as the ground out to SS scored the runner who wasn't struck by the swung bat.

The Cubs starter Pedro Mordan was dominant through five innings giving up two runs, one earned, on a single hit while fanning eight Vipers. Duke Guthrie followed to finish the final three innings, surrendering three runs, two earned, with five strikeouts. Walks, the Cubs achilles heel of last year, once again crept into the line score to affect the outcome of the game. However, this time the Cubs pitching mixed in a few (4) hit batsmen to bring the free base total up to thirteen. The large amount of free passes might otherwise have been a recipe for disaster but, when faced with such disaster, Duke Guthrie really did do "a heck of a job" by recording the third out of the inning in the seventh and eighth by a strikeout, each time with the bases loaded. Guthrie channeled the spirit of General Grant at the battle of Shiloh and turned what might seem like bitter defeat into a possible victory.

At bat, the Cubs scattered nine hits and featured a five run fifth inning highlighted by a two run double by Ish Laboy, who then scored from second on an infield single (that's right, an INFIELD single) by Jamie Waters, to score the Cubs fourth run. Except for the fifth inning, the Cubs were unable to string hits together for runs. Give credit to Vipers pitcher Franz Strassmann tossing eight gutsy innings (rumor has it he had pitched seven the previous night) and keeping the Cubs bats and hits scattered.

At the beginning of the eighth, both teams were informed that it would be the last inning, due to the impending lights out at 11:15.

The play of the night came in that eighth inning. Rob Goldfarb of the Vipers led off the inning by being hit by a Guthrie curveball, then advanced to second on a one out single. He was replaced at second by a pinch runner. Said runner then attempted to score on a one out single to center but Bruce Anderson set precedent and pounded the gavel of justice with a laser beam one hop throw to Chris Siggens to cut down the go ahead run at the plate.

Held scoreless in their half, the Cubs walked away taking solace in the fact that a tie is certainly better than a loss. The intensity and closeness of the game bodes well for the next two contests between these two solid squads. Hopefully, the remaining two games between these teams will be as hard fought but with more decisive outcomes.

They don't end up any closer than Sunday night's time-shortened 8 inning tie. In fact, the unsatisfying result of a tie served as a good reminder as to why baseball games generally go the extra mile and continue until a winner is established. But, Bud Selig would smile to know that ties still are alive and well somewhere, in this time of All Star games that "count" and other such abominations.

Next up for the Cubs is a Friday night game against the Cambridge Warriors again at Trum.

(Game Summary by Joe Doucette and Michael Colombo)

Good News: Clifford Field somehow remained bone dry despite rains throughout the greater Boston area. Bad News: the rain was evidently warded off by some nefarious device fashioned by hungry mosquitoes, who feasted heartily throughout the night. Bad News: the Cubs were held to only 3 runs. Good News: Joe Stanton and Tony Preteroti combined to keep the Orioles to only 1. Bad News: the lighting was atrocious. Good News: the lights are the same for both teams, and didn't factor into the outcome of the contest. Bad News: the game was played with nary a fan in sight. Good News: no fan had to be rushed to a hospital for treatment of bug bite anemia.

Good News: this is the last Good News/Bad News pair. Bad News: it took five pairs to get here.

A taut affair throughout, with the outcome in doubt until recording of the final out, the Trum Cubs bested a solid Acton squad in a mid-week 7 inning contest that again saw the Cubs take the field without Damon Smith, presumably no Aquarian, as he was injured by an odd conspiracy of water bottles and grill tools. Bruce Anderson ably filled his spikes in Center, making an outstanding diving catch to start a double play, and not crashing into a single softball player. Defense was generally solid throughout, despite the aforementioned poor lighting but this one was won on the backs of Trum pitching.

Joe Stanton started and provided 5 innings of very effective work, striking out 5 and only walking 1, while surrendering only 1 unearned run. Command and control were on display in Tony Preteroti's first appearance of the season. He pitched the final two innings to earn the save, walking no one and striking out 4.

Offensive highlights for the Cubs included Ish Laboy and Tony Preteroti's 2 hit nights.

Next up for the Cubs is a 4-1 North Reading Vipers club on Sunday night, back home again at Trum.

The 2006 season has been slow to develop with games seemingly under the threat of rain or total washouts all together. However, this Sunday the weather Gods were finally appeased as the Cubs played a game free of rain and with only sparse bits of mud. However it seemed that the good weather granted by the same weather Gods did not come without sacrifice. The Cubs entered the night without key members of the lineup. Namely Smith (Cut hand) Elbaum (elbow) and Ceppi (flu) were unwittingly offered up to mother nature as guarantors of a rain free game.

The game itself was a typical solid outing from the Cubs with all facets of the game being represented in classic form. The pitching performed in its typical outstanding manner with KMac and Duke Guthrie combining for the nine inning three run, fourteen strikeout performance. The defense was also rock solid and was highlighted by a nifty 4-6-3 double play started by Ish Laboy and turned sharply by Tony Preteroti.

The bats seemed to spring to life as the Cubs slapped out sixteen hits and nine runs. Ish Laboy paced the Cubs out of the leadoff spot with two hits and 3RBI. His two run based loaded double in the eighth helped seal the victory for the Cubs. The night also saw the bottom of the order come to life as Mike Colombo ripped three singles and added an RBI and Johnny Aceto pitched in with two hits of his own. Preteroti and Doucette each added doubles to add to the Cubs hits totals. Chris Siggens paced the Cubs in the four run fourth igniting the home team with a clutch single to plate Bruce Anderson. Said four in the fourth would be all the Cubs needed as they secured the victory by a score of 9-3.

(Game Summary by Joe Doucette)

Despite the dismal continuation of the theme of soggy weekends, mother nature and Cub elbow grease worked together to produce a playable Trum field Sunday night. Once game time rolled around the field was ready, and so too were the Cubs. Kevin McGovern took the ball for his first start of the 2006 campaign featuring a new all stretch delivery, and was highly effective, earning the win with five shutout innings of 1 hit ball, only walking 2 while striking out 4. Jamie Waters came on in relief in the 6th, earning another of what is coming to be his signature, the extend-o save with 4 strong innings, yielding 2 hits and 1 run en route to closing it out.

The Cub offense put it together for a 4 spot in the fourth frame that provided all the necessary run support. Throughout the contest, Trum bats started to show signs of shaking off the winter rust/spring mold. Liners of significant velocity were sent to the outfield by Ish LaBoy, Joe Doucette, Tony Preteroti and (of course) Damon Smith. Bruce Anderson continued his hot hitting of late with two knocks. Duke Guthrie's hit was notable as it raised questions of whether the ball is actually more deceptive out of his hand or off his bat. It seems a Guthrie hit might melt the mind of any infielder unfortunate enough to be in its path, leading him to make odd choices regarding angles, height and distance.

A solid effort in all aspects, with only one error committed by the Cub defense, and tack-on runs sprinkled throughout the later innings to keep the outcome secure.

Next up is another Sunday night tilt, on June 11th against the currently undefeated Milton Breakers.

Following an unwelcome, unappreciated and unkind twenty day rain induced layoff, baseball finally resumed for the Cubs on a Saturday that dawned 100% blue skies but saw clouds and light drizzle appropriately arriving at Dodger fan gametime. The rain left quickly, leaving a nice humidity load as a reminder, and the game was thankfully able to be completed without interruption.

Cubs bats were evidently hungry for action, drawing first blood in the top of the first frame on a "missed by that much" sac fly from Joe Stanton. But the Pirates were able to dodge the big inning that seemed to be brewing, setting an unfortunate tone of stranded runners that would continue throughout the contest, keeping the game tight until the bitter end. The absence of tack on runs rendered Joe Doucette's 2 RBI in a 2 hit day critically important. Bruce Anderson found his power stroke somewhere during the layoff, crushing a 2 RBI double deep to left that raised questions of just how close that fence at Trum might prove to be for him this season.

Duke Guthrie showed no signs of rust throwing six highly effective innings, striking out 11, walking only 2 and sprinkling 6 hits and 2 unearned runs. Joe Stanton manned up through an ear infection, throwing 3 innings of gas to close it out, racking up 4 Ks and only surrendering 1 hit and 1 walk to earn the save.

Overall, a strong return to action by the Trum nine/16 with solid defense on display throughout, especially considering the lack of recent baseball activity. The W sets the Cub's record at 2-1, into an early points tie with the Vipers and Orioles in the North division.

Next up is a return to Trum on Sunday night at 8:00 PM.

Under a perfect blue sky, at a perfect temperature, the Trum Cubs' perfect record died, as they dropped a close one to the Newton Red Sox on Sunday morning. A tight game throughout, the Cubs battled back after staking the Sox an early lead. A three run sixth put the Cubs up 5-3 but the margin would not hold, and Newton rode a three spot of their own in the seventh to take the lead for good.

Walks proved very costly, as the Red Sox were able to plate their seven runs off just four hits. Cubs pitching did their best to bring the spirit of Mark Bellhorn to the Newton Red Sox, staking them thirteen bases on balls, while mixing in sixteen Ks.

On the offensive side, Chris Siggins impressively worked a walk after having to step in at an 0-2 count to replace an injured Greg Elbaum, who bunted a ball directly into his cheek. Bruce Anderson's two hit performance paced the Cub offense but, ultimately, the hits were too few and far between to overcome a solid Red Sox squad.

Circle July 7th on your calendar for the rematch.

(Game Summary by Michael Colombo)

The Trum Cubs start off the 2006 season on a positive note with a solid 14-6 victory over the Medford Angels. The same Angels that knocked the home team out of the playoffs in 2005, not exactly sweet revenge but still a satisfying way to to start the season.

The victory marked the debut of Pedro Mordan who was solid over five innings. Mordan tallied "Doce Punchados" in five innings and also grabbed his first win in a Cubs uniform. Jamie Waters was solid in relief, posting his first save of 2006, and chipping in with two hits courtesy of a freshly turned "Funktion 3000".

Joe Stanton also made a impressive Cubs debut that featured three hits, five RBI and fortress like defense at first base. Damon Smith typically pitched in with three hits and three RBI and Tony Preteroti and Joe Doucette both contributed with two hits each.

(Game Summary by Joe Doucette)