Chicago, IL -- The Chicago Cubs announced an endorcement deal with SC Johnson today to introduce a new club mascot, the Scrubby Bubble.

The Scrubby Bubble is a large soap bubble sporting a blue Cubs baseball cap. Scrubby will make several appearances at Wrigley Field periodically throughought the season to entertain fans and raise awareness about the importance of a clean bathroom.

Scrubby will have several catch phrases, such as:

• “Keep your bathroom sparkling as much as your playoff hopes!”
• “The scrubbing bubbles can clean away anything, even a curse!”

And, for the inevitable point in the season when all hope is gone:

• “You don't want to have germs in your bathroom when your team is in the toilet!”

Scrubby's first appearance is tentatively scheduled for October 4, but experts agree that no one's likely to be at Wrigley Field then.

A few thank yous to send out to you, my posse:

• Thanks to everyone for dropping by today. It's been great to meet you all. Don't be a stranger.
• Thanks to all the people who've sent people my way by linking and emailing to the posters. The world is a little less motivated thanks to your efforts.
• btezra's comments over at Reds and Blues remind me to thank the great men and women who took the photos in the previously mentioned posters and made them available online. We really appreciate your contribution. If you are the owner of one of said photos and would like your proper attribution, please drop me a line, and I'll get you a specific thank you above and beyond this blanket thank you that I am in the course of giving right now.
• Thanks to Bellyscratcher for agreeing to come over tonight and make fun of the Cubs online while we watch the game. Feel free to stop by if you'd like to poke Dempster in the eye for ceasing to suck as soon as he left the Reds.

Speaking of, I'd better get things ready around here. Smack-talking fake news on the Cubs coming up next.

Joel gets something like ten times the traffic that I do. Therefore, I’m guessing that most people reading this right now are already up to speed on the back story of the posters, and the rest of you will probably be on your way over there shortly, so I’ll just get right down to it.

All photographs copyright of their respective owners. Their respective owners also get a great big thank you from Red Hot Mama for taking such lovely photos and making them available online. If you are the owner of one of these photographs, drop me a line and I will make sure you get proper attribution.

Don’t see your favorite team? It’s probably over at Reds and Blues.

PS: If Reds and Blues won’t load for you, check out the remaining posters at the GARB.

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It was a tough battle, fought ferociously, but the Pirates emerged the winners in the Fight For Last Place by losing two of the three game series this weekend. Not that the Pirates were in any real danger of losing the title, but the Reds were in a position to make a real statement about their suckitude if they were swept by the only team in their division with a worse record.

I was lucky enough to see the final game of the series, live and in person, this afternoon as part of my annual Big Anniversary Trip.

I thought the Reds might have a real chance to prove themselves worse than the Pirates when they were being shut out through six innings, but Jason LaRue spoiled that when he provided the one home run I would see over the course of my two-game visit. Soon, the Reds were up 3-5, which is the score at which the game would end.

This battle is won, but the war is not over. The Reds will be visiting Pittsburgh next weekend after a stop through Chicago to take part in the Battle For Biggest Unrealized Expectations.

Go Reds!

The first game of the Big Anniversary Trip is in the books, and so far so good.

We checked into the hotel at 3 p.m., and had a little while to wait before the game started at 7:10. Soon we were bored, and decided to head over to the park early. The gates opened as we walked up to them, so we wandered the park, in eager anticipation of the thrill of the game, the energy of the crowd, and mostly the availability of the Raquel Aurilia CD single.

We wandered the park, not exactly sure where to go because we'd neglected to write down the location of where the CD would be sold, and did our best to avoid the guys trying to get us to sign up for credit cards in exchange for towels and t-shirts. We circled the main concourse a few times, and finally, on our third pass of the Reds Community Fund booth, we spied several women donning their husbands' jerseys.

I stood and watched for a while as Raquel herself was passing out the CDs. She was even making change from her own wallet. After I felt like I'd soaked enough in, I got my own copy and got on my way. On our way out to our seats, we got this picture of Gina Cruz standing in line to buy a hot dog. I feel like the freaking paparazzi over here.

Finally we found our seats. We were in the bleachers because it was cheap bleacher seat nights, and we just cannot pass up a great deal. We were in the first row of bleachers, and we were the ONLY people in our row for the longest time, so when Ryan Freel kept looking up at us, I was feeling very conspicuous. I didn't realize until later that we were sitting directly behind the board with the pitch count and speed. Duh.

The seats were uncomfortable, but it was all good since we were being treated to a the utterly unexpected complete game by Ramon Ortiz. But then, about halfway through the game, a guy showed up in the section to our left and felt the need to scream “we need a hit!” for every single Reds hitter, despite the fact that the Reds were up 6-2 by then. Of course, I felt the need to mutter to Jon “I hate that guy” every time he said it, so I was actually probably not the most annoyed person in our row.

We headed over to the Gameday Sports Cafe after the game to have a beer. There was a bachelorette party going on there, which seems like a strange location to me. Among all the televisions around showing various games there was a screen where they were projecting some slides of their own advertisements. One of the slides showed some random guy with his arm around Freel, with a caption that said “You never know who you'll see at the Gameday Sports Cafe.” Which prompted the question in my mind: what in the hell is Freel doing having his picture taken at a bar? I would think he'd be staying far, far away from any public drinking establishments, at least for the rest of the season.

Tomorrow we'll see Brandon Claussen take the mound. It'd be fantastic to see another complete game. Or at least another win. Or just to avoid the “We need a hit!” guy.

Go Reds.