8/9 Reds (Harang) vs. Cubs (Prior) 1:20pm WGN-TV

[Jon]

Had to restart my computer, so this is a tad late, but obviously Corey wasn't going to improve his strike zone in a month at Iowa. Couldn't tell in that AB, but what's important right now is that his swing has improved.

[neely crenshaw]

i'm sorry, are you saying that our cheering really helps or hurts our team? if so then i guess we better pick it up because obviously it's not dusty's,hendry's or the player's fault...it's ours. we just haven't cheered enough! Edited August 9, 2005 by neely crenshaw

[dalgreen]

I like the games when Prior only has four or five K's. I give the Reds credit, when they make outs they're seeing at minimum 6-7 pitches.

[Jon]

Lee made that one look easy. Impressive.

[Coach C]

Nice save by D-Lee.

[Sarcastic]

i'm sorry, are you saying that our cheering really helps or hurts our team? if so then i guess we better pick it up becaus eobviously it's not dusty's,hendry's or the player's fault...it's ours. we just haven't cheered enough!

 

Who is this directed at?

 

Also, do you think whining is going to make them play better or get rid of Baker faster?

 

DLee with a nice scoop there.

[da bears]

I like the games when Prior only has four or five K's. I give the Reds credit, when they make outs they're seeing at minimum 6-7 pitches.

 

I agree. Most of the time when he doesnt strike out many, he is pitching quality strikes and the opponent is getting themselves out.

[JC]

 

Also, do you think whining is going to make them play better or get rid of Baker faster?

 

 

Come on. No need to characterize it is whining. Lets keep it civil.

[CuseCubFan69]

You can't spell Kearns without an E!!!!

 

Can't spell Kearns without a K either...

 

By jingles you're right!

 

Hmmm....Lawton, CPatt and Kearns in the Cub OF next year. Interesting.

[Tracer Bullet]

over 70 pitches with 1out in the fifth..i guess we will be testing our new and hopefully improved bullpen today!

 

It'd be nice if the Cubs batters would work the count and get into the other team's pen early once in a while. It's surprising that they see their pitchers go deep in counts and get taken out in the 5th or 6th, but it doesn't click that taking pitches is a good thing when they're in the box.

[dalgreen]

PLZ REDS GET SOME RUNZ

 

(so Baker gets the hook)

 

Are you kidding us? Let me guess, you'd trade a playoff appearance for a losing season just so Baker will get canned, right? Brilliant strategy.

 

when will we be making the playoffs? we are 7 back....will we continue to play for the wild card when we are 15 out with 15 to play?

 

I see absolutely no point in rooting against your team, period. And, there have been lots of teams who have come back from seven games out in August to win pennants or division titles. If the NL were stronger, than I'd be less optimistic. But it makes no sense to root against your team.

 

Dusty's regime is hurting the team. We have no realistic shot at the postseason. Losing may be only way to get Baker out. I think the logic is clear.

 

We have an awful bullpen. We have abysmal fundamentals. We have a hot and mostly-cold offense. Our key players are hobbled. Our manager can't seem to play the right players or manage the bullpen. Even if we had fundamentals, that would be something. Anything is possible as long as the mathematics allow for it, but you have to be realistic.

 

You can review my posting history and see that I have always been optimistic, but this isn't a sleeping giant. This is a sinking ship.

 

So, is it fair to say that using that logic an individual would also hope that Perez goes 0-4 if they don't like Perez? That Wood would get hurt or have a 7.00 ERA if they don't like him? See Patterson go 4-80 if they don't like him just to see these guys not play? And what happens if the Cubs go 60-102 this season and Baker is back? Did rooting for a collapse really make sense?

 

I'm not hoping the Cubs lose but what I'd like to see is that they go young all of September and rid the team of all the parts that will not be there in 2005. Maybe have a nice gar(b)age sale in front of Wrigley for other GM's.

 

Agreed. What you just stated is nowhere near the same thing as rooting for the Cubs to lose. We all know there's a big difference between being 7 games out on the loss side on August 9th and September 1st. By all means we should bench the non-2006 players. But, Cuse, how many times have you found yourself rooting against Syracuse?

[neely crenshaw]

first,that was for dalgreen, who thought you should feel bad if you cheer for the cubs to falter and they go 60-102 but dusty doesn't get fired.

 

second, i am not whining. i said i wouldn't cheer against them but that i understood why someone would feel that way.

 

third, i found it funny that someone would think how we cheer actually has an impact on our team....at least on the net

[CuseCubFan69]

Nobody answered me before but why does Walker only have 27 RBI?

[dalgreen]

Lee's gotten under two pitches today that he was crushing into the seats two months ago.

[dalgreen]

Nobody answered me before but why does Walker only have 27 RBI?

 

Nobody was in scoring position for him, and, more importantly, he missed about six weeks of the season.

[Sarcastic]

first,that was for dalgreen, who thought you should feel bad if you cheer for the cubs to falter and they go 60-102 but dusty doesn't get fired.

 

second, i am not whining. i said i wouldn't cheer against them but that i understood why someone would feel that way.

 

third, i found it funny that someone would think how we cheer actually has an impact on our team....at least on the net

 

I agree that what a bunch of people on a message board say has no affect on the franchise. I have said as much on this board before.

[neely crenshaw]

Nobody answered me before but why does Walker only have 27 RBI?

 

he was hurt for a while and then he has hit behind guys that have a sub .300 obp...and they were usually on first if they were on.

[dalgreen]

first,that was for dalgreen, who thought you should feel bad if you cheer for the cubs to falter and they go 60-102 but dusty doesn't get fired.

 

second, i am not whining. i said i wouldn't cheer against them but that i understood why someone would feel that way.

 

third, i found it funny that someone would think how we cheer actually has an impact on our team....at least on the net

 

If you don't understand a point, please ask for clarification. I can't believe we're discussing whether or not one should root for their favorite team to lose. I don't understand this cheering point you keep bringing up. If a Cub fan roots against the Cubs, what's the difference between that and being a Cardinal or White Sox fan who root against the Cubs for 162 games?

[sonofsamiam]

Nobody answered me before but why does Walker only have 27 RBI?

 

First, he missed time due to injury.

 

Second, only 56 of his 261 at-bats this year have been with RISP. He's batted .321 with a .482 Slugging in those situations (accounting for 19 of his 27 RBI). 5 of the other RBI came with a man on 1st, where he's batting a darn good .354/.415/.542. So you can't say he's bad in "clutch" situations.

 

The fact is he's had a frankly amazing 155 of those 261 AB with the bases empty.

 

That's probably a good part of the reason why.

[Sarcastic]

Damn.

[XZero771679666304]

PLZ REDS GET SOME RUNZ

 

(so Baker gets the hook)

 

Are you kidding us? Let me guess, you'd trade a playoff appearance for a losing season just so Baker will get canned, right? Brilliant strategy.

 

when will we be making the playoffs? we are 7 back....will we continue to play for the wild card when we are 15 out with 15 to play?

 

I see absolutely no point in rooting against your team, period. And, there have been lots of teams who have come back from seven games out in August to win pennants or division titles. If the NL were stronger, than I'd be less optimistic. But it makes no sense to root against your team.

 

Dusty's regime is hurting the team. We have no realistic shot at the postseason. Losing may be only way to get Baker out. I think the logic is clear.

 

We have an awful bullpen. We have abysmal fundamentals. We have a hot and mostly-cold offense. Our key players are hobbled. Our manager can't seem to play the right players or manage the bullpen. Even if we had fundamentals, that would be something. Anything is possible as long as the mathematics allow for it, but you have to be realistic.

 

You can review my posting history and see that I have always been optimistic, but this isn't a sleeping giant. This is a sinking ship.

 

So, is it fair to say that using that logic an individual would also hope that Perez goes 0-4 if they don't like Perez? That Wood would get hurt or have a 7.00 ERA if they don't like him? See Patterson go 4-80 if they don't like him just to see these guys not play? And what happens if the Cubs go 60-102 this season and Baker is back? Did rooting for a collapse really make sense?

 

If we went 60-102 we wouldn't have much more to show than with the best we can hope for at this point. If you don't make the playoffs, your record is irrelevant. And I would bet an internal organ or two that if the Cubs lose 102 games, Baker will most definitely be gone.

 

And your Perez, Wood and Patterson analogy doesn't work. Baker is one of the roots of the problem, and Perez, Patterson, etc. are mostly byproducts of his mismanagement. If you have a manager who plays bad players, do you root against the players or the manager? The manager of course, as there will always been vertran role players for the manager to force into the lineup. When something is as rotten as this, you have to get to the core of it.

 

It would be nice and PC to be able to assign equal parts of blame to every player/coach, but that just isn't reality. THere are clearly parties who deserve more blame than others, and Baker is at the top of the list. It is also obvious to anyone who has watched this team over the past couple years that the Cubs would be much better off without him. Since there is realistially nothing to lose at this point, why not get rid of him? Really?

 

I don't enjoy seeing my team lose, but since this thing is halfway down the tubes, why not salvage next year?

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

That's what I was waiting for...

[Tracer Bullet]

Had to restart my computer, so this is a tad late, but obviously Corey wasn't going to improve his strike zone in a month at Iowa. Couldn't tell in that AB, but what's important right now is that his swing has improved.

 

No, I didn't expect him to suddenly have a great eye for the zone. But I hoped he would have learned to take a pitch or 2. He's seen 4 pitches in 2 ABs and swung (or bunted) at 3 of them. The bunt on the first pitch is one thing. But the swing at the first pitch in his second AB, when the pitch wasn't really a good ball to hit, is how Corey got to be a .230 hitter (when a terrible OBP). Any pitcher that throws Corey a pitch in the zone before he takes 3 balls is crazy at this point.

[neely crenshaw]

ok, who was cheering against prior?

[JGalt73]

Nobody answered me before but why does Walker only have 27 RBI?

 

Todd's 8th on the team for having runners on while at bat. It's also rare for him to have a man on 3d (13 AB's). However, he is also 8th in RBI's per runner on base in front of him. Best for position players in plating runners - Lee, Ramirez, Barrett, Neifi!, Blanco, Hollandworth, THEN Walker).