cubs find left handed bp pitcher

[abuck1220]

taking neifi's spot as the team savior?

 

The Cubs' search for a left-handed batting practice pitcher may be over. Mike Higgason, a 35-year-old who played high school ball at Loyola Academy, threw in the batting cage and off the mound Tuesday and received the seal of approval from coach Gary Matthews. Higgason said he was nervous but credited Michael Barrett with calming him down.

 

what a stupid organization.

[soccer10k]

It's about time.

[erik316wttn]

Maybe it's just me, but was it REALLY that hard to find a guy who can lob meatballs lefthanded? How many ex-high school and college players are there in the greater Chicago area? And how many of them would love to throw to Aramis Ramirez, Todd Walker, etc?

 

Was this REALLY that difficult?

[Jon]

So Dave Otto didn't impress?

[sunnydoo]

Jeff Fassero still thinks he has a career?

[cubfan1955]

The guy will probably throw a shutout in his first BP session....

 

Why couldn't they just let Hill do it like he does to the rest of the NL?

[CubfaninCA]

The guy will probably throw a shutout in his first BP session....

 

Why couldn't they just let Hill do it like he does to the rest of the NL?

 

whoa nelly!

[E.J.]

This organization baffles me sometimes.

[JakeSlater]

This organization baffles me sometimes.

 

Why? I don't find it bad news unless they use him in the rotation.

 

And as long as he can throw more than a fastball.

[Lefty]

Darn. I hope he knew somebody.

 

Edit: Pitching coach at Loyola Academy in Wilmette. I guess I can't compete with his credentials. Go get 'em Mike!

Edited May 17, 2006 by Lefty

[goonys evil twin]

This organization baffles me sometimes.

 

Why? I don't find it bad news unless they use him in the rotation.

 

And as long as he can throw more than a fastball.

 

Well, it's May 15, 2006. They've been struggling against LHP for years, and have talked about the lack of a LH batting practice pitcher many times during that stretch. They went through a horrendous stretch against lefties earlier this year, and partially blamed it on the lack of a LH bullpen pitcher. And now, on May 15, they think they found their guy.

 

It's not bad news that they found a guy, it's bad news that they used it as an excuse for so long and waited until May 15 to do something about it.

[bring stone back]

Maybe it's just me, but was it REALLY that hard to find a guy who can lob meatballs lefthanded? How many ex-high school and college players are there in the greater Chicago area? And how many of them would love to throw to Aramis Ramirez, Todd Walker, etc?

 

Was this REALLY that difficult?

 

It's obviously a lot harder than you think. When this story came out in the Chicago media 3 weeks or so ago I believe it was Ozzie who said the White Sox are happy with their guy but wouldn't want to go through it again. I think it was Kenny Williams who added, if we opened this up to an open invite to all of Chicago, I'd guarantee we'd have 1,000 try out for the job and I guarantee we'd have 1,000 fail.

 

Think about it, if you're a guy who pitched in high school or college and you haven't stepped foot on a field and really threw in 10+ years it's not easy to consistently throw a couple hundred belt-high fastballs at 75-80 MPH. If they could, they'd probably still be playing somewhere.

 

I played the game for a while and can't imagine how nervous I'd be pitching to Walker, Lee, Ramirez, etc. It's not that easy....

[goonys evil twin]

Maybe it's just me, but was it REALLY that hard to find a guy who can lob meatballs lefthanded? How many ex-high school and college players are there in the greater Chicago area? And how many of them would love to throw to Aramis Ramirez, Todd Walker, etc?

 

Was this REALLY that difficult?

 

It's obviously a lot harder than you think. When this story came out in the Chicago media 3 weeks or so ago I believe it was Ozzie who said the White Sox are happy with their guy but wouldn't want to go through it again. I think it was Kenny Williams who added, if we opened this up to an open invite to all of Chicago, I'd guarantee we'd have 1,000 try out for the job and I guarantee we'd have 1,000 fail.

 

Think about it, if you're a guy who pitched in high school or college and you haven't stepped foot on a field and really threw in 10+ years it's not easy to consistently throw a couple hundred belt-high fastballs at 75-80 MPH. If they could, they'd probably still be playing somewhere.

 

I played the game for a while and can't imagine how nervous I'd be pitching to Walker, Lee, Ramirez, etc. It's not that easy....

 

And yet this was cited as an excuse for troubles against LHP years ago, not just 3 weeks ago.

[Danny82]

Do other teams have both a righty and a lefty that throw BP?

[goonys evil twin]

Do other teams have both a righty and a lefty that throw BP?

 

I'm willing to bet most don't, and they don't use it as an excuse. But the Cubs are the kings of excuses. They're either pathetic for using it as an excuse or pathetic for waiting until May 16, 2006 to solve the problem.

[thedaymen]

I played the game for a while and can't imagine how nervous I'd be pitching to Walker, Lee, Ramirez, etc. It's not that easy....

 

Steve, I'm sure they'd be over 2004 by now. They'd be happy to have you help out in bp.

[bring stone back]

Maybe it's just me, but was it REALLY that hard to find a guy who can lob meatballs lefthanded? How many ex-high school and college players are there in the greater Chicago area? And how many of them would love to throw to Aramis Ramirez, Todd Walker, etc?

 

Was this REALLY that difficult?

 

It's obviously a lot harder than you think. When this story came out in the Chicago media 3 weeks or so ago I believe it was Ozzie who said the White Sox are happy with their guy but wouldn't want to go through it again. I think it was Kenny Williams who added, if we opened this up to an open invite to all of Chicago, I'd guarantee we'd have 1,000 try out for the job and I guarantee we'd have 1,000 fail.

 

Think about it, if you're a guy who pitched in high school or college and you haven't stepped foot on a field and really threw in 10+ years it's not easy to consistently throw a couple hundred belt-high fastballs at 75-80 MPH. If they could, they'd probably still be playing somewhere.

 

I played the game for a while and can't imagine how nervous I'd be pitching to Walker, Lee, Ramirez, etc. It's not that easy....

 

And yet this was cited as an excuse for troubles against LHP years ago, not just 3 weeks ago.

 

I don't doubt that....my whole point was it's not as simple as grabbing some guy who throws left-handed out of the stands and say we found the guy to throw BP.

 

On a sidenote, is there anything the Cubs organization does that brings you happiness? Has Hendry/MacPhail ever done anything you agree with? You seem to be quite the upset cynic searching for reasons to complain.

[goonys evil twin]

I don't doubt that....my whole point was it's not as simple as grabbing some guy who throws left-handed out of the stands and say we found the guy to throw BP.

 

On a sidenote, is there anything the Cubs organization does that brings you happiness? Has Hendry/MacPhail ever done anything you agree with? You seem to be quite the upset cynic searching for reasons to complain.

 

The Cubs are 16-22 right now, and have never been to the World Series in my lifetime. I don't really have to search very far to find reasons to complain.

 

But for the record, yes, they have done things that brought me happiness. Ironically enough, I was pretty happy when Hendry got the job as GM. I liked most of what he did with the minor leagues, and I thought his elevation to the top job would have cut down on all the worthless overpaid washed up veterans that were rotating in and out of the clubhouse year after year.

 

I enjoy every victory, as well as any game I get to attend, since I only get to about 6-7 Cubs games a year on average.

 

I also enjoy snide little remarks like yours about what type of fan I am.

[Jehrico]

This organization baffles me sometimes.

 

Why? I don't find it bad news unless they use him in the rotation.

 

I'm not going to hold my breath on that after our offense makes him look like another Cy Young winner in BP... :x

[bring stone back]

I don't doubt that....my whole point was it's not as simple as grabbing some guy who throws left-handed out of the stands and say we found the guy to throw BP.

 

On a sidenote, is there anything the Cubs organization does that brings you happiness? Has Hendry/MacPhail ever done anything you agree with? You seem to be quite the upset cynic searching for reasons to complain.

 

The Cubs are 16-22 right now, and have never been to the World Series in my lifetime. I don't really have to search very far to find reasons to complain.

 

But for the record, yes, they have done things that brought me happiness. Ironically enough, I was pretty happy when Hendry got the job as GM. I liked most of what he did with the minor leagues, and I thought his elevation to the top job would have cut down on all the worthless overpaid washed up veterans that were rotating in and out of the clubhouse year after year.

 

I enjoy every victory, as well as any game I get to attend, since I only get to about 6-7 Cubs games a year on average.

 

I also enjoy snide little remarks like yours about what type of fan I am.

 

I'm glad I can bring you some enjoyment during your day....you're welcome.

 

I must say however, I did not comment on the type of fan you are. I only pointed out that from your postings on this message board, you seem to be very cynical and look for every reason to complain.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I must say however, I did not comment on the type of fan you are. I only pointed out that from your postings on this message board, you seem to be very cynical and look for every reason to complain.

 

I don't think anyone's looking for reasons, they just jump out at us.

[goonys evil twin]

I only pointed out that from your postings on this message board, you seem to be very cynical and look for every reason to complain.

 

I am actually looking for reasons to be satisfied with what the Cubs are doing, and can't find any. You don't have to look for reasons to complain, unless you're happy with 16-22 and no World Series titles in your lifetime.

[SouthSideRyan]

I don't doubt that....my whole point was it's not as simple as grabbing some guy who throws left-handed out of the stands and say we found the guy to throw BP.

 

On a sidenote, is there anything the Cubs organization does that brings you happiness? Has Hendry/MacPhail ever done anything you agree with? You seem to be quite the upset cynic searching for reasons to complain.

 

The Cubs are 16-22 right now, and have never been to the World Series in my lifetime. I don't really have to search very far to find reasons to complain.

 

But for the record, yes, they have done things that brought me happiness. Ironically enough, I was pretty happy when Hendry got the job as GM. I liked most of what he did with the minor leagues, and I thought his elevation to the top job would have cut down on all the worthless overpaid washed up veterans that were rotating in and out of the clubhouse year after year.

 

I enjoy every victory, as well as any game I get to attend, since I only get to about 6-7 Cubs games a year on average.

 

I also enjoy snide little remarks like yours about what type of fan I am.

 

You also like chicken wings.

[Lefty]

I must say however, I did not comment on the type of fan you are. I only pointed out that from your postings on this message board, you seem to be very cynical and look for every reason to complain.

 

I don't think anyone's looking for reasons, they just jump out at us.

 

You're lucky. They don't just jump out at me , they kick me in the ba**s.

[goonys evil twin]

I don't doubt that....my whole point was it's not as simple as grabbing some guy who throws left-handed out of the stands and say we found the guy to throw BP.

 

On a sidenote, is there anything the Cubs organization does that brings you happiness? Has Hendry/MacPhail ever done anything you agree with? You seem to be quite the upset cynic searching for reasons to complain.

 

The Cubs are 16-22 right now, and have never been to the World Series in my lifetime. I don't really have to search very far to find reasons to complain.

 

But for the record, yes, they have done things that brought me happiness. Ironically enough, I was pretty happy when Hendry got the job as GM. I liked most of what he did with the minor leagues, and I thought his elevation to the top job would have cut down on all the worthless overpaid washed up veterans that were rotating in and out of the clubhouse year after year.

 

I enjoy every victory, as well as any game I get to attend, since I only get to about 6-7 Cubs games a year on average.

 

I also enjoy snide little remarks like yours about what type of fan I am.

 

You also like chicken wings.

 

That's true, sometimes I forget.