Hawks-n-Sox

Its statistically hard to lose 110+, so 55 wins for me. Last year I penciled them in for 65 wins, so I'm hoping for a surprise in the other direction this year.

Wednesday's game was frustrating to watch in the extreme. By design, I have watched very little Cubs baseball over the last 2 years or so, and seeing Lester's strike zone on Wednesday served as a good reminder as to one of the reasons why. They rode dominant pitching to the '16 WS, but I've always felt that some of those pitching results were driven by umpiring like we saw on Wednesday. Lester, Arrieta and to a lesser degree Hendricks were all beneficiaries of expanded strike zones then and in the case of Lester - now as well. Maybe some type of electronic override would be a good idea. If a pitch is more than in inch out of the zone, a ball is recorded regardless of the call on the field.

I was last at Wrigley for the Winter Classic between the Hawks and Detroit in 2009....my first visit there since '89. I had forgotten how cramped the seats and concourse areas are in that ballpark. Hard to get around in that place especially when there's a big crowd.

I found this on Baseball Almanac regarding Seby's 4ks yesterday. The Major League record for most strikeouts during a players first game ever is four. Those who have worn a "golden sombrero" and entered this record book during their debut are: Billy Sunday (May 22, 1883), Hercules Burnett (June 26, 1888), George Goetz (June 17, 1889), Rollie Naylor (September 14, 1917), Lee Bales (August 7, 1966), and Sam Ewing(September 11, 1973).