Do you believe in the Curse of the Billy Goat?

Surely you know the story. The Chicago Cubs, for more than the first half century of baseball, was a winning team. The Cubs, originally called the Chicago White Stockings, were established in 1876 as one of the eight inaugural teams of what became Major League Baseball. From 1876 to 1945, they had 51 winning seasons and won six of the first eleven National League Championship titles. They played in the World Series in 1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938 and 1945 and won in 1906 and 1908.

Then, during the 1945 World Series against the Detroit Tigers, William Siannis brought Murphy to Wrigley Field. Murphy was a billy goat, owned by Sianis, the Greek immigrant owner of the fabled Billy Goat Tavern. Sitting in his box seat, his pet goat at his side, having paraded Murphy around the field, enjoying Game 4, Siannis was approached by the ushers, who told him the goat had to leave. The orders came from Philip Knight Wrigley himself and the reason was that other fans had complained that the goat smelled.

Well, dah.

Leaving the ballpark with Murphy, Siannis proclaimed, “The Cubs will win here no more.”  And so the Cubs were cursed.

They lost the game and the World Series. And they have not made it to a World Series since. They folded in September, 1969 after they had led the Mets earlier in the season by more than eight games. They lost the National League Championship Series in 2003, when, five outs away from the World Series, they couldn’t hold it together after a fan knocked a foul ball out of Moises Alou’s grasp.

And now, 100 years after the Cubs last won a World Series, the Cubs are taking a couple of days off over the All-Star break.  At .600, they are tied for the best record in baseball.  They are in first place in the National League Central Division, a position they have held since May.  They sent eight players to the All-Star Game.  Since the White Sox are also in first place in their division, people are whispering about a subway series.

So, what now?  Will they stay healthy?  Will they stay in contention?  Will they go all the way and play in the World Series?  Will they WIN a World Series?

Or are they cursed?

I’m taking a poll. Please read the article, Chicago Cubs and the Curse of the Billy Goat, read the article. And vote. Do you believe in the Curse of the Billy Goat? Or is it just a lot of hooey?

On Monday morning, I do a round-up of the Power Rankings of some notable sports writers.

Starting with my home-town favorite, Phil Rodgers of the Chicago Tribune, the high five of the week are:

• Chicago Cubs
• Boston Red Sox
• Chicago White Sox
• Los Angeles Angels
• Tampa Bay Rays

and Phil’s bottom five:

• Pittsburgh Pirates
• San Diego Padres
• San Francisco Giants
• Seattle Mariners
• Washington Nationals.

In the course of ranking the teams, Phil also pegged the Futures Games at seven and the Home Run Derby at 28.  The former is an exhibition game for young talent.  The latter is boring.

Aram Tolegian of FOX Sports has these for his top five:

• Chicago Cubs
• Los Angeles Angels
• Boston Red Sox
• Tampa Bay Rays
• Chicago White Sox

and these as the bottom five:

• San Francisco Giants
• Colorado Rockies
• San Diego Padres
• Seattle Mariners
• Washington Nationals.

Aram doesn’t give an opinion on the Futures Game or the Home Run Derby.

And, lastly, ESPN’s top five is interesting, bumping the Red Sox out of the top five and including the Philadelphia Phillies.  Here it is:

• Chicago White Sox
• Tampa Bay Rays
• Chicago Cubs
• Los Angeles Angels
• Philadelphia Phillies

and the bottom five are:

• Kansas City Royals
• Seattle Mariners
• Cleveland Indians
• San Diego Padres
• Washington Nationals.

          How is Kerry Wood different from his seven Chicago Cubs team members who were also selected for the All-Star Team? 

          Give up?  He was born in the USA.

          The team mates who will be joining Wood in the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium were all born abroad.  Rookie catcher Geovany Soto was born in Puerto Rico.  Kosuke Fukudome is Japanese.  One pitcher, Ryan Dempster, is Canadian, another, Carlos Zambrano, is from Venezuela, and the third, Carlos Marmol, is Dominican.  The Dominican Republic is also represented by Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano.

          Now, the Cubs are unusual.  First in sheer numbers.  No other team has placed so many players on the All-Star Team.  Second in percentage of foreign imports.  Seven out of eight, or 88%, is quite a bit higher than the average. 

          But it is noteworthy that America’s Game is played so well by so many players from other parts of the world.  Twenty-three of the 65 players selected for the 2008 All-Star Team, or 35%, were born abroad.  For the American League, the numbers are ten out of 32, or 31%, and for the National League, it’s 13 out of 33, or 39%.

          By far the country most represented in the All-Star Game is the Dominican Republic.  Ten Dominican players have been selected for the team.  In addition to Ramirez, Soriano and Marmol of the Cubs, the Dominican Republic has produced all three of the shortstops selected for the National League.  Starter Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins and reserves Cristian Guzman of the Washington Nationals and Miguel Tejada of the Houston Astros are all Dominican.  The other Dominican All-Stars are Manny Ramirez, outfielder, and David Ortiz, designated hitter, both of the Boston Red Sox, pitcher Ervin Santana of the Oakland Athletics, first baseman Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals and pitcher Edinson Volquez of the Cincinnati Reds.

          Second on the list of most prolific exporters of All-Stars is Venezuela.  There are four Venezuelan All-Stars this year.  Catcher Dioner Navarro of the Tampa Bay Rays, third baseman Carlos Guillen of the Detroit Tigers, and pitchers Francisco Rodriguez of the Oakland Athletics and Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs are Venezuelan. 

          Canada is represented by first baseman Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins and catcher Russell Martin of the Los Angeles Dodgers as well as by the Cubs’ Ryan Dempster.

          Finally, in addition to Geovany Soto’s Puerto Rican home, two other countries have each produced an All-Star this year.  Mariano Rivera, the New York Yankees pitcher, is from Panama.  Joakim Soria, the Kansas City Royals pitcher, is from Mexico.

          And these are just the All-Stars.  I haven’t tried to count the total number of MLB players who were not born in the United States or the countries they come from.  But it’s nice to know that, among the many American exports, baseball has been embraced by people of other nations and some lucky ones have been able to make it their careers.  And it gives new meaning to the title “World Series.”

I just published an article on HubPages giving short profiles of each of the seven Chicago Cubs players that have been selected for the All-Star Game.  Those guys are impressive, I must say. 

You can read Chicago Cubs Land Seven Players on the All-Star Team.  If you like it, please rate it or share it.

Both Chicago teams are in first place.  The Chicago Cubs are leading the National League Central Division with an even .600 record.  They are three games ahead of the second-place St. Louis Cardinals.  A few miles south, the Chicago White Sox are leading the American League Central Division with a record of .584.  They are 2.5 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins.

Both teams won Tuesday.  It took the Sox 13 innings, but they finally pulled through and beat the Kansas City Royals 8-7.  Along the way, they did some things that first-place teams don’t do.  In the first seven innings, they went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.  After the Sox tied the game at 5-5 in the eighth, and the game went into extra innings, the Sox pulled ahead to 7-5 in the top of the eleventh.  But the Royals tied it in the bottom of the inning.  And it took a double by Orlando Cabrera that scored Alexei Ramirez in the thirteenth to take the Sox ahead again.  Then, in the bottom of the thirteenth inning, Kansas City had men on base before a double play ended the inning and the game.

The Sox, though, have lead their division for 54 days.  And though the Twins are threatening, their lead isn’t puny.  So that must be the way to win games.  Just keep on trying to win, even if you have made mistakes, or things have gone against you.  Just come back in the eleventh inning and score.  And come back again in the thirteenth inning and score again.

And the Cubs won, too.  Ryan Dempster is 10-0 at Wrigley Field.  And the Cubs are 16-2 in their last 18 home games.  The Cubs sure love Wrigley Field.

And Cubs fans are hoping that Rich Harden will love Wrigley Field, too.  And that he’ll stay healthy.  He has an average of 10 strike-outs per nine innings.  He also has an average of a trip to the disabled list per season.  He has been there six times in the six years he has been in the majors.  He was last on the DL from April 10 to May 11, so maybe he has paid this year’s dues.  But as the Milwaukee Brewers, newly reinforced by the addition of CC Sabathia, step up their challenge of the Cubs, the Cubs need an ace pitcher in the rotation. 

The Chicago Tribune ran a survey in Wednesday’s paper.  “Do you like the trade?” the survey asked.  Absolutely, said 84.7% of the respondents.

The Cubs are aching for a trip to the World Series this year.  The last time they won a World Series was in 1908.  Of course, that was 100 years ago.  In fact, there is talk about an all-Chicago World Series.  The White Sox last won in 2005.   And the Cubs and the Sox last played each other in the Series in 1906.

Six players in the majors have stolen more than 30 bases so far this season.  Willy Taveras of the Colorado Rockies has 38, followed by Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox and Juan Pierre of the Los Angeles Dodgers, both with 35, Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners with 34, Jose Reyes of the New York Mets with 32 and Michael Bourn of the Houston Astros with 31.

Have you ever noticed that three-day week-ends are shorter than two-day weekends?

Anyway, it’s Monday again.  (So soon?  Yes, I’m afraid so)  So it’s time for our weekly round-up of the Power Rankings of some of our favorite sports writers.

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune ranks All-Star Arguments as number 7 and camo uniforms as number 28.  I’m inclined to rank the All-Star arguments higher.  (How can the Chicago White Sox not have gotten a pitcher on the All-Star team when they lead the league in ERA?)  And I would put the camo unis dead last.  But here are Rogers’ high five, as far as teams go:

• Tampa Bay Rays
• Boston Red Sox
• Chicago White Sox
• Chicago Cubs
• Los Angeles Angels

and his bottom five:

• San Francisco Giants
• Seattle Mariners
• Florida marlins
• San Diego Padres
• Washington Nationals

Aram Tolegian of Fox Sports has the same top five, in different order:

• Tampa Bay Rays
• Los Angeles Angels
• Chicago Cubs
• Boston Red Sox
• Chicago White Sox

and ranks these five on the bottom:

• Colorado Rockies
• Cleveland Indians
• Seattle Mariners
• San Diego Padres
• Washington Nationals

ESPN drops the Chicago Cubs down to number 8 and moves the Minnesota Twins up to number four.  Here are the top five:

• Tampa Bay Rays
• Chicago White Sox
• Los Angeles Angels
• Minnesota Twins
• Boston Red Sox

and the bottom five:

• Seattle Mariners
• Cleveland Indians
• Washington Nationals
• Colorado Rockies
• San Diego Padres

In case you missed it, here are the All-Star Teams:

American League
Starters:

Catcher Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins

First Base, Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox

Second Base, Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox

Short Stop, Derek Jeter, New York Yankees

Third Base, Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

Outfield, Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

Outfield, Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox

Outfield, Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners

Designated Hitter, David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (injured and will not play)

Designated Hitter, Milton Bradley, Texas Rangers (replacement for Ortiz)

Reserves:

Catcher, Dioner Navarro, Tampa Bay Rays

Catcher, Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox

Infield, Joe Crede, Chicago White Sox

Infield, Carlos Guillen, Detroit Tigers

Infield, Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers

Outfield, J.D. Drew, Boston Red Sox

Outfield, Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox

Outfield, Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians

Pitchers:

Justin Duchscherer, Oakland Athletics

Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays

Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays

Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians

Ervin Santana, Los Angeles Angels

Joe Saunders, Los Angeles Angels

Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins

Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox

Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees

Francisco Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels

George Sherrill, Baltimore Orioles

Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals

National League

Starters:

Catcher, Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs

First Base, Lance Berkman, Houston Astros

Second Base, Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies

Short Stop, Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins

Third Base, Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves

Outfield, Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

Outfield, Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago Cubs

Outfield, Alfonso Soriano, Chicago Cubs

Reserves:

Catcher, Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers

Catcher, Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves

Infield, Adrian Gonzales, San Diego Padres

Infield, Cristian Guzman, Washington Nationals

Infield, Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

Infield, Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs

Infield, Miguel Tejada, Houston Astros

Infield, Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins

Outfield, Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies

Outfield, Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis Cardinals

Outfield, Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh Pirates

Pitchers:

Aaron Cook, Colorado Rockies

Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs

Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks

Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

Ben Sheets, Milwaukee Brewers

Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds

Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks

Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants

Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs

Brad Lidge, Philadelphia Phillies

Billy Wagner, New York Mets

Kerry Wood, Chicago Cubs

It’s Monday, so it’s time to take a look at the Power Rankings of your favorite sports writers.

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune doesn’t seem to care that the Tampa Bay Rays have moved ahead of the Boston Red Sox into first place in the AL East. He ranks Boston #1. Here are his high fives:

• Boston Red Sox
• Chicago Cubs
• Tampa Bay Rays
• Chicago White Sox
• Los Angeles Angels

And his low fives:

• San Francisco Giants
• Cincinnati Red
• Seattle Mariners
• San Diego Padres
• Washington Nationals.

Aram Tolegian of Fox Sports puts the Rays over the Red Sox. Here are Aram’s top five:

• Tampa Bay Rays
• Boston Red Sox
• Chicago Cubs
• Los Angeles Angels
• Chicago White Sox

and his bottom five

• Cleveland Indians
• Washington Nationals
• Colorado Rockies
• San Diego Padres
• Seattle Mariners.

And ESPN ranks both the Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels ahead of the Rays. Here are the top five:

• Boston Red Sox
• Los Angeles Angels
• Tampa Bay Rays
• Chicago Cubs
• Oakland Athletics

and the bottom five:

• Colorado Rockies
• Cincinnati Red
• Seattle Mariners
• Washington Nationals
• San Diego Padres.

There are ten major league pitchers with ERA’s under 3.00:

• Justin Duchscherer, Oakland Athletics, 1.91
• Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds, 2.08
• Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians, 2.34
• Time Lincecum, San Francisco Giants, 2.38
• John Danks, Chicago White Sox, 2.62
• Shaun Marcum, Toronto Blue Jays, 2.65
• Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners, 2.83
• Ben Sheets, Milwaukee Brewers, 2.83
• Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks, 2.85
• Jair Jurrgens, Atlanta Braves, 2.94