Final Beers of the Week: Three Floyd's Alpha King Pale Ale & Great White

The final entries into the Beer of the Week battle come in two completely different tastes. First, Munster, Indiana's Three Floyd's Alpha King Pale Ale reminds me directly of Week 1's Mad Anthony. This is most definitely due to both being pale ales. However, Three Floyd's entry provides a very full flavored taste. Fans of a more hoppy taste will love this ale, and the light brown color makes the pour very smooth. Alpha King Pale Ale gets 3 out of 5 stars.

The second beer being reviewed today is Great White. Great White is brewed by Lost Coast Brewery in California, who definitely provides the beer with its' citrus summer flavor. The beer pours out in a light golden brown color, absolutely beautiful. The taste resembles something you would get out of a light beer, while still providing a very good taste. I sincerely enjoy the flavor, and would definitely recommend this if you plan on drinking all night. Great White gets 4 out of 5 stars, and definitely reminds me of a light calorie Blue Moon.

You may have noticed a re-design of the website today. My good friend and roommate Mike Cochran decided to play around with it, due to our craving to dive deeper into the blogging world. Our current plans are to start a new website before September 2, and to make this site much more focused. Hopefully, this can give us a solid start to a possible career in journalism or reporting.

The Cubs are flat out rolling, and our sweep of yesterday's doubleheader gives us seven straight road games won. Unfortunately, the Brewers have recovered from what may have appeared as a dagger to the heart, their four game home sweep vs. the Cubs. They have now reeled off eight straight wins and kept within three and a half games of the Cubs. It should be a blast down the stretch.

Tomorrow wraps up my final day at Bekan Insurance Group, and in all honestly I am really going to miss the people here. For four years I have had a great time working here, and tomorrow it will all be wrapped up. To all of you, thanks for helping me grow up. From a shy, clean cut kid, to the long-haired wish he was a rebel, back to the semi-older person I am now, you all have actually had a big impact on my life. Thanks a lot.

Today's song "I Want You," by Third Eye Blind. It really is an awesome song, from an even better album, their self-titled debut. The video is kind of creepy, I can't figure out why it is focused on this girl the entire time. Either way, hope you enjoy, and I'll see you soon to give you a wrap up on the winner of the Summer Beer of the Week.

Beer of the Week: Pilsner Urquell

Today's beer comes from the Czech Republic, which may be the only good thing to ever come out of this country. Pilsner Urquell is actually a pretty damn good beer. The green bottle immediately brings visions of Heineken or Beck's. The taste also resembles these beers (although much more similar to Beck's), a slightly bitter hoppy taste that manages to still be very enjoyable. Overall, I give Bruce a pat on the back, and give Pilsner Urquell with a 4 out of 5 stars. Check it out at a liquor store near you.

To keep you posted, we only have one week left in our Beer of the Week contest, as my summer work will be ending. Our beers in the running for tops of the year are Jack Whacker's Wheat Ale, Keo, Shocktop, Bad Elmer's Porter and today's beer Pilsner Urquell. A few of them didn't make the cut. Our summer winner will be announced in two weeks.

In other notes, I bought a harmonica last week for some God-forsaken reason. Well, this led my brother and me to learn "Heart of Gold" by Neil Young, which we shredded. I just learned how to play last night, and we recorded our version last night. I have to say, it wasn't half bad for a first time out. It'll be fun to see where I can take my newfound musical talent to.

Song of the day has to be Neil Young's "Heart of Gold," just because I learned it yesterday. Real cool song. Can you imagine being in the crowd here, the first time he's ever played it live? Wow!

Beer of the Week: Keo

Well folks, today we have a lot more than just beer to talk about. Trade Deadline action, Cub dominance in Milwaukee, and maybe a little music as well. However, we'll start with the Greek made Keo.

Keo is brewed on the island of Cyprus, Greece and has 4.5% alcohol. Keo has a very crisp taste, and when served ice cold is unbelievably refreshing. It was recommended by one MoPete, and it lived up to the hype. He first tried it at GreekFest in Merrillville and brought it in this week. Very good call. Keo is slightly reminscent of Heineken, in the sense of imported lagers but doesn't have the same skunky taste as some imports. Overall I give Keo 4 stars out of 5, but that could possibly be pushed up to 4.5 if you are very thirsty (like me today). Go out and grab yourself a six pack.

The MLB Trade Deadline passed at 3 CST today, and there was a huge late splash made by the Red Sox, Dodgers and Pirates. As I'm sure you will all read the Pirates sent Jason Bay to the Red Sox, ManRam went to the Dodgers, and the Pirates got 4 minor leaguers. Good pull for all.

The Red Sox managed to rid themselves of their problem child, and in the process pick up a legitimate middle of the order hitter in the process. The Dodgers got themselves the big bat they needed to solidify the middle of their order. And to boot, the Pirates got themselves a cornerstone player in 3B Andy Laroche, a good young OF Brandon Moss, RHP Craig Hansen and another minor leaguer. This results in at least five years of a solid 3B and RF, to go along with a possible future closer. Not a bad return for any of them.

The Cubs were absolutely dominant in Milwaukee this week, thrilling fans and writers alike. This writer attended last night's game in Milwaukee, and after the four hour car ride, had a show put on for him. The Cubs completed the sweep today, giving them a 5 game lead on their toughest opponent. Keep it rolling boys.

That's all for today. I saw a quite hilarious movie the other night in Step Brothers. I'll write a review of that and The Dark Knight sometime in the next week. Hope you all have a good weekend, I have a scramble golf outing tomorrow. Maybe I'll hit 'em straight.

Song of the day - "Time to Pretend" by MGMT. Such a cool electric sound, I can't get enough of it. Listen up.

Duel Beers of the Week: Shock Top & Wild Blue

Two polar opposites show up in this week's Beer of the Week column.

Our first one is Shock Top Belgian White, which quite frankly tastes to me like Blue Moon with an orange already squeezed into it. Honestly, I can't give you a more detailed analysis unless you've tasted Blue Moon. Additionally, since I enjoy Blue Moon, Shocktop is right up my alley. The light orange finish to the crisp brew is very refreshing and worth a purchase. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

The second beer this week is Wild Blue (Blueberry Lager). At 8% alcohol and the fruitiest female taste I've had in quite some time, there is no way I can give this a positive review. The beer got some rave reviews from the ladies in the building, but most men in the office did not enjoy. When poured into a glass, the "beer" appeared to be more of a wine with its' purple-red color. If you are not a beer fan, you may enjoy this, but in my case I must give Wild Blue a 2 out of 5 stars.

For what it's worth, both of these beers are brewed by Anheuser-Busch. Interesting.

The Cubs are in a bit of trouble folks, only 1 game up on the Brewers with 4 games up in Milwaukee starting Monday. Yikes, we'll see where we can go from here.

That's all for today. Hopefully I can get into the lab again to post something else this week, but if not, I'll see you next week. Song of the day - "Free," by Donavon Frankenreiter. Real easy going song that reminds me of the summer. Have a good night and pray for the parlay.

Beer of the Week: Jack Whacker Wheat Ale

Hey hey! We have an early favorite for best beer of the summer. Tommyknocker's Jack Whacker Wheat Ale has a great taste with a lemony finish. Located in Idaho Springs, Colorado, Tommyknocker has a stable of beers to taste, although Jack Whacker Wheat Ale has been a 2000 North American Brewers Association Gold Medalist. Jack Whacker has a very smooth taste, and good flavoring that leave you with a packed finish. I finished this beer in about five minutes and didn't even realize it.

This beer is right up your alley if you enjoy some flavor in your beer, and luckily for me I do. My best comparison would be something from Leinenkugel, the flavor brewers. This beer gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from yours truly. Try it at your local liquor store.

Well, the days off from baseball have been killing me. I've rented movies, tapped into a few books, even written a few stories, but nothing can get me going like baseball does. I am patiently waiting for tomorrow to come so I can watch my Cubs again.

Going into the second half I obviously love where we are, and lots of things could help this half be even better. The main thing will be getting back a healthy Alfonso Soriano, whom I have bashed before. This will give Edmonds and Fukudome more time off in the outfield, saving them for the stretch run. Kosuke's struggles have become present lately, and some time off scattered throughout August and September could be very big for us.

Being 4.5 games up on the Cards, and 5 over the Brewers will be big for us. We play 10 more games against St. Louis and 9 more against Milwaukee, so these standings can change fast. I know it has been said before, but a hot start to the 2nd half could give us a huge boost in making the playoffs. Our road play will be important in doing so.

I've been listening to Coldplay's new album religiously over the past week or so, after Sev left it in my car this past weekend. I'm addicted, and my new favorite song on the album is "Lost!" Great tune. My past weekend was so ridiculous that I have written a story about it, maybe I'll get around to posting it on here sometime. But for now, it's far too inappropriate to post on here.

The song of the day comes from Bruce Carey. His choice, "Baba O'Riley" off of the Who's Next album. Maybe the Who's most popular song, I'm sure you all know this one. Enjoy.

Beer of the Week: Two Hearted Ale

The bottle has a very plain wrap around it, and with a big mouth bass in the middle one can see where the brewer is from. All in all, Three Hearts Ale did not do it for me. A pale ale, the beer was much more bitter than a previous ale examined, Mad Anthony, and left that same aftertaste in the taster's mouth for a good period of time afterwards. Many in the office did support Mr. Cruise's choice today, however, there were several who also disliked it. I guess it's just one of those love-hate relationships. Personally, I give the beer 2 stars out of 5, but others said it was the best since they had Boddington a few weeks back.

Onto more important things; I made my journey back to Wrigley last night, seeing a nice Cubs win on a beautiful night. In addition, Z looked absolutely lights out, giving up just a hit and a run with no walks over eight wonderful innings.

My trade predictions and hopefuls didn't last long. Just about 12 hours after my post, Jim Hendry had confirmed the deal to bring Rich Harden to the Cubs. This is the same guy I was a bit worried about getting, only for his durability. As I say that now, my pick Erik Bedard just went to the DL. See, what do I know anyways.

It's a short one today because I was busy at work watching the Cubs, who just got routed. So, song of the day for you all would come from Mr. Bruce Carey trying to stump me. "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," from Edie Brickell & the Bohemians doing a Bob Dylan song. It's off the Born on the 4th of July soundtrack. Have a good night all.

So Now What?

Although it was probably always a long shot that the Cubs would trade for reigning AL Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia, now their chances at doing so are over. With his move to the Brewers last night, the Cubs are in a more pressing position than ever to make a deal. The Brewers are picking up steam and are now only 3.5 games back of the Cubs, so the scare is coming back a bit.

It has been stated quite often that the Cubs need to upgrade their staff at the top, particularly if they plan on making any kind of impact down the stretch run and into October. To put things into perspective, the Cubs have one #1 starter, a possible #2 in Ryan Dempster (but more likely a #3, due to his lack of consistency away from Wrigley Field), a #3 in Ted Lilly and that's about it. Jason Marquis is as good to me as a rotting corpse, and while the Sean Marshall/Sean Gallagher 5 spot has future implications that interest me, I shutter at the thought of them pitching in a possible playoff series. So, to no further avail, who can we go after to shore up the front of our rotation?

In my opinion there are only a few names that can even possibly help our cause. We'll hear rumors of B-Level pitchers in the next few months, but they would do nothing but help mend the back end of the rotation, something that I'm confident we can do from the inside.

1. A.J. Burnett - Burnett was quoted saying that he wouldn't mind seeing a trade to Chicago. However, with his high profile arm also come problems. How could a guy with a high 90s fastball, devastating curveball, and an arsenal of other offspeed stuff have a career record of 77-74 with a 3.97 ERA and only be 8-8 with a 4.97 ERA this year? His consistency has killed the Blue Jays and fantasy owners everywhere, throwing two shutouts just a week ago, and following it up with five innings of eight run ball in his next start. Is he capable of pitching in a big time situation down the stretch? Is this the guy the Cubs really want to put their faith in? Also factor in that Burnett has an opt out clause in his contract at the end of the year. It could be just a two month rental for us. I say no.

2. Randy Wolf - A free agent signing in each of the past two years, the Cubs targeted him two years ago before he signed with the Dodgers. He reportedly has a good relationship with Jim Hendry, even explaining to him why he took less money to stay on the West Coast. With the Padres struggling, he could be a target. His record in the past two years leaves us to question if an acquisition really would be worth it though. He is only 5-8 with a 4.59 ERA, and his addition would add in another soft tossing lefty into the rotation. I say no.

3. Rich Harden - The Cubs have seen this kind of player before. A devastating talent that when healthy is a top five pitcher in the league, but that isn't quite as often as you would like. See Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, etc. This year has been no different. The 26-year old Harden is 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA, but that has come in only 13 starts due to another trip to the DL earlier in the season. Lifetime, Harden is 36-19 with a 3.42 ERA - always flashing that priceless talent. A's GM Billy Beane knows that he probably never will get full value for his oft-injured star, so prying him loose will more than likely prove to be extremely difficult. He is the biggest question mark of this market, and even more so due to the extraordinary fashion that the A's are playing right now, only four games out of the AL Wild Card in a so-called "rebuilding" season. My personal take is to stay away, because an acquisition could prove to be too costly even if he is to be had. You can't count on him to be in the rotation down the stretch, and Beane will want much more than can be given up. I say no.

4. Erik Bedard - Ah, the memories. The Cubs tried to pry him away from the O's just a few years back. The offer on the table was Mark Prior and a prospect for Miguel Tejada and Bedard. I'd gladly add to that offer now, just to get any value for the Gutless Wonder. Since then Bedard went on to have a fabulous 2007, and again the Cubs went after him this past offseason. However, he went to the Mariners in a huge package that landed the O's two lower tier prospects, a top AL closer (George Sherrill), a star pitching prospect (Chris Tillman) and their current CF and outfielder of the future (Adam Jones). However, with Bill Bavasi now out as GM in Seattle, new management is willing to sell off parts. Could Bedard be a piece? While he has struggled a bit this year (6-4 with a 3.67 ERA), he is a high power arm that went 13-5 with a 3.17 ERA and 221 K's in 182 innings. Personally, I've thought his struggles have been overblown, and even though he complained of tightness in his shoulder, it appears to be a day to day thing. If the Cubs could pry Bedard away from the Mariners with a package of prospects (something they NEED, considering their complete disregard for wins this year...and that package sent to Baltimore), this could be the ideal situation. in their prime, front of the rotation pitchers (possibly a #1) that are under contract for another year don't just grow on trees. If the Cubs are confident that the 29-year old Bedard is still that same guy they pursued for the past few years, then this is the best time to get their hands on him. I say go for it. Even though a Cubs front office source said this week that Sean Gallagher is almost untradeable, I think a deal could be made here. Throw Sean Gallagher, last year's #4 overall pick Josh Vitters, and top pitching prospect Jose Ceda together and I think you will get the Mariners attention. While the Cubs system isn't as strong as others, this offer could raise some eyebrows. All I'm asking is to make a deal, and this is the best impact move we can make. Go get him.

So there you have it, it isn't all bad. The Cubs have options, although only one can really pack the punch that is necessary to make a run in 2008. Do what you got to do boys, this year has the makings of something special.

Quick note, Rich Hill has supposedly changed his delivery down in Mesa, and after his disastrous start down there last week, his side session under a new delivery went great. Hopefully this is all he needed. It's not often I feel terribly bad for professional athletes, but when someone loses it all in this quick of a time span, it gets to me. I felt terrible for Rick Ankiel, look what that got me. He's got the chance to be an All-Star outfielder now.

By the way, I saw an awesome CSNY cover band the other night. Marrakesh Express is a predominantly Northwest Indiana band, with one of their members, Daryl Grady, coming from great Crown Point band Salamander Drake. Hopefully I'll see more of those guys in the near future. Anyway, the song of the day comes from Mr. Neil Young, however this live version has the great harmonies of CSNY. The joys of Youtube. Here is "Down by the River," courtesy of CSNY, written by Neil Young. Have fun with it, and see you all soon.