This article infuriates me

[SouthSideRyan]

I hate that Pie may be low on confidence, but it happens to the best of them. It happened to Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, and countless greats (and not-so-greats) in the game.

 

Too bad Hendry and Lou weren't there to call them dogbleep players who are mentally fragile. That probably would've helped them out.

 

This is more of Hendry (and Lou's) bristling at ever being questioned on anything as Bruce alluded to elsewhere. At least Lou is a grumpy old man who has won something in his life, I don't get where Hendry gets off thinking he's the almighty word at baseball with his record.

[Tracer Bullet]

it's times like these that i turn to joe morgan for my baseball wisdom:

 

Nick (Chicago): Do you make much of a team's record away from home? The Brewers lead their division with a sub-500 road record and the Tigers also lead their division with an outstanding road record.

 

Joe Morgan: I don't as much as some people do, and that's because it depends on how you play at the time.

 

Regardless of where you're playing, if you play poorly you'll lose, and if you play well you'll win.

 

 

So there you go folks. the cubs haven't been winning on the road because they haven't been playing as well there.

 

Joe Morgan is the master at using lots of words to say absolutely nothing.

 

And yet, still being wrong. There are a lot of times you play poorly and win and vice versa. Joe's a buffoon.

[Tracer Bullet]

i'm not even gonna read that article because i guarantee i will flip the f out

 

I had the same thought, but finally read it. You should, it's actually pretty good. Murton takes a nice little shot at Hendry, though veiled (at the end of the first page, he mentions the "win now" mentality, the sale of the team, the big spending on FAs and how people are trying to keep their jobs; I took at as a bit of a shot at Hendry). It's interesting to see Von Joshua say he's never in 5 years seen Pie's confidence gone like it is now that they've messed with his swing. Even the writer acknowledges that it's never really clear what Murton's short-coming is. And when they bring up the one topic people seem to point to - the lack of power - Murton appears to know his numbers show he has power. He points to his 2nd half stats from '06 and mentions that when he actually got to play every day, he really drove the ball, which is true.

 

And Hendry's pointing to Theriot as 1 of the 2 guys (Soto the other) who have come up and produced right away to "prove they belong" is just hysterical to anyone who knows anything of Theriot's performance last year. He didn't produce right away. His OBP was ok to start the year, but slipped quickly and was horrible by June. Funny that he got over 200 pretty regular ABs of mostly absolute suck on a team trying to contend when guys like Pie get 4 games.

[Tyrant]

Why are we still complaining about Matt Murton? He's not as good as Fukudome or Soriano. There's no spot for him on the Cubs, and there won't be one for several years.

 

I'd rather have him tear up Triple A pitching and build his trade value than have him get one start a week as a fourth outfielder.

[Tracer Bullet]

Why are we still complaining about Matt Murton? He's not as good as Fukudome or Soriano. There's no spot for him on the Cubs, and there won't be one for several years.

 

I'd rather have him tear up Triple A pitching and build his trade value than have him get one start a week as a fourth outfielder.

 

A good portion of the article which is the subject of this thread discussed Matt Murton (the Cubs handling of him, his spot on this team, to the extent he has one, etc). I'm commenting on that. Why are you still complaining about people discussing Matt Murton?

 

And at this point, the Cubs are getting close to completely wasting Murton's trade value. He'll be 27 in October and the Cubs don't even view him as their 5th OF or first option in the OF when an injury occurs. If you can't get Byrd for Murton, what valuable piece is he going to bring?

[abuck1220]

it's kind of funny how murton knows his stats like that. as if he's just been waiting for someone to ask him so he can throw them out there to make hendry look stupid.

[Sammy Sofa]

Good Lord.

 

This is just...

 

It's like Hendry is swooning over Hank Steinbrenner from afar and thinking, "gee, that's how we should run things!"

 

Awful.

[Tracer Bullet]

Good Lord.

 

This is just...

 

It's like Hendry is swooning over Hank Steinbrenner from afar and thinking, "gee, that's how we should run things!"

 

Awful.

 

The whole Hendry quote is amazing. We're going to shuffle the roster all year. If you're playing well at Iowa, we'll bring you up. But you've got to produce instantly, even if over just a few ABs. Like Soto. If you don't have an OPS over a thousand like Geo, your ass is heading back to Iowa. Unless you're Ryan Theriot, then we'll take an OPS of .630 for a few months. Of course, if you're one of the 30 best pitchers in the league over a full year, we'll screw with your mechanics. If that messes you up, you're not cut out for our team. We need power out of our corner OFs. We can't have a guy hit just 1 HR a month in RF or our whole team will collapse. And we need production in CF. We can't have a struggling 22-year-old. A struggling 38-year-old we can handle, but a 22-year-old needs to rake right from the start.

[soapy]

the hendry quote is idiotic. we're not playing jacks? tell that to Marquis and Edmonds.

[Tyrant]

So why does everyone think Hendry loves Soto and Theriot, but hates Pie, Murton and Hill?

 

There's no common thread among them.

[wrigley23]

if what hendry says it true (all about performance) then when will soriano be sent to Iowa?

[Derwood]

if what hendry says it true (all about performance) then when will soriano be sent to Iowa?

 

probably when he no longer leads all Cubs OF's in HR and RBI

[cubbyvirus00]

if what hendry says it true (all about performance) then when will soriano be sent to Iowa?

 

probably when he no longer leads all Cubs OF's in HR and RBI

 

 

Zing.

 

 

Bottom line is even if the Cubs made a wrong decision on Pie or Rich Hill.......both of those players need to showcase themselves yet again, and put up numbers and get past the negativity and mental collapse they're currently going thru.

 

Even though it sucks they were demoted, it's going to make them better players in the long run imo if they could be positive and show the Cubs made a mistake.

[abuck1220]

if what hendry says it true (all about performance) then when will soriano be sent to Iowa?

 

you have an amazing ability to squeeze your soriano hatred into every single thread.

[Sammy Sofa]

if what hendry says it true (all about performance) then when will soriano be sent to Iowa?

 

probably when he no longer leads all Cubs OF's in HR and RBI

 

 

Zing.

 

 

Bottom line is even if the Cubs made a wrong decision on Pie or Rich Hill.......both of those players need to showcase themselves yet again, and put up numbers and get past the negativity and mental collapse they're currently going thru.

 

"Negativity and mental collapse?"

 

What?

[abuck1220]

of all the crazy posts i read on here, i think the ones where people claim to have the ability to read players' minds are my favorite.

[bukie]

"Negativity and mental collapse?"

 

What?

 

I often wonder if the Cubs management suffered a mental collapse.

[Tracer Bullet]

if what hendry says it true (all about performance) then when will soriano be sent to Iowa?

 

jeepers creepers. This may have worked several weeks ago, but the guy is SLG .710 in May. .710. Slugging. I hate his contract. I wish he weren't hitting first in the lineup this season. But a .710 slugging and you want him shipped to Iowa?

 

If what Hendry says is true, then when will Zambrano be sent to Iowa? Who's with me?

[Guest]

It bears repeating but Murton had an awesome quote in there: "There's obviously been a lot of money invested in this team where expectations are they have to win," he says. "If they don't, obviously, that comes back some way. The imminent sale of the ballclub doesn't make it easy either because people want to prove their worthiness and their ability to do their job. It places more stress on job preservation over the next year or so just to make sure they do what they're expected to do."

[carolinacubbie]

But it's okay for Johnson to be a black hole against RHP and for Edmonds to be a black hole against everybody?

They're out of options, so they get a free pass.

 

But he just signed Edmonds. And I don't mind Johnson on the roster for LHP, but it seems stupid for me to say that Pie got booted for not producing when we have gotten no production whatsoever from center field against RHP.

 

 

that's my problem as well. Pie should have gotten a month straight starting to see if he can produce. Giving him 5 games doesn't give him time to adjust to the faster pitching.

 

The Hill thing as infruiated me from the moment he was pulled. Yes he was walking people but his ERA was still 4.11. He can walk all the people he wants as long as he strikes the next guy out and doesn't allow a run. He has been our most consistent pitcher the last two years and he's yanked 2 weeks into the season when his ERA is still somewhat good??? That makes absolutely no sense.

 

 

 

Not that big of a deal, but no, Zambrano has been been our most consistent pitcher. Honestly, I think Rich Hill has been ridiculously inconsistent. He either looks unhittable and the next big thing. Or he just gets rocked, and gives up home run after home run. Either way, he should be in the rotation, and Marquis shouldn't.

[Sammy Sofa]

It bears repeating but Murton had an awesome quote in there: "There's obviously been a lot of money invested in this team where expectations are they have to win," he says. "If they don't, obviously, that comes back some way. The imminent sale of the ballclub doesn't make it easy either because people want to prove their worthiness and their ability to do their job. It places more stress on job preservation over the next year or so just to make sure they do what they're expected to do."

 

Go Big Murt.

[wrigley23]

jeepers creepers. This may have worked several weeks ago, but the guy is SLG .710 in May. .710. Slugging. I hate his contract. I wish he weren't hitting first in the lineup this season. But a .710 slugging and you want him shipped to Iowa?

 

You & several others are here must be watching a different game than the rest because Soriano clearly has blown as many games as he's won. Why does he get mentioned so often? Because he's a very easy target. He has no legs, can't play in the OF, is about the least clutch performer as it gets in baseball. Has no patience at the plate even though his spot in the lineup calls for it. Brenly is fully aware of it. Why aren't you? Lou continues to cater to this baby. It's like keeping him happy is more important than winning games. It's almost as bad as it was during the Sammy era the last 2-3 yrs. This team goes nowhere in the postseason if it thinks Soriano first, team second.

[Sammy Sofa]

I HAVE...NO LEGS.

 

I HAVE...NO LEGS.

 

I HAVE...NO LEGS.

[Derwood]

jeepers creepers. This may have worked several weeks ago, but the guy is SLG .710 in May. .710. Slugging. I hate his contract. I wish he weren't hitting first in the lineup this season. But a .710 slugging and you want him shipped to Iowa?

 

You & several others are here must be watching a different game than the rest because Soriano clearly has blown as many games as he's won. Why does he get mentioned so often? Because he's a very easy target. He has no legs, can't play in the OF, is about the least clutch performer as it gets in baseball. Has no patience at the plate even though his spot in the lineup calls for it. Brenly is fully aware of it. Why aren't you? Lou continues to cater to this baby. It's like keeping him happy is more important than winning games. It's almost as bad as it was during the Sammy era the last 2-3 yrs. This team goes nowhere in the postseason if it thinks Soriano first, team second.

 

what does that have to do with an article about Felix Pie?

[Tyrant]

He has no legs

 

No, that's Ron Santo, dummy.