TruffleShuffle

That's what everyone said about the Cubs a few years back. Now Patterson flames out, Cruz never achieves what was expected, neither does Choi, Ben Christensen is a bust, Montanez flops, Kelton, Bobby Hill, Brownlie, Nic Jackson, Wellemeyer; Sisco goes to KC, Prior gets hurt every year, so does Guzman, etc. Out of all those top prospects, a grand total of one (Zambrano) has been consistently good every year. Funny how all those guys flopped and one of the guys they traded, Dontrelle Willis, turned out great. Ah, the joy of being a Cubs fan.

1. Number of Cubs wins, 2006 - 74 2. Number of Cubs wins, Cardinals season series (19 games) - 8 3. Number of runs scored, 2006 - 712 4. Number of runs allowed, 2006 - 765 5. Final Placement in the NL Central Division - 4th 1. Number of DLee Home Runs - 38 2. Number of Juan Pierre Stolen Bases - 52 3. Murton's Batting Average - .286 4. Aramis' RBIs - 86 5. Maddux's Wins - 11 6. Zambrano's ERA - 2.98 7. Kerry Wood's Ks - 96 8. Mark Prior's Games Started - 18 Tiebreaker: Michael Barrett’s OPS - .785 ------------------------------- ------------------------------- 1. 74 = +50 2. 8 = +50 3. 712 = +300 4. 765 = +75 5. 4th = +50 1. 38 = +0 2. 52 = +30 3. .286 = +30 4. 86 = +0 5. 11 = +10 6. 2.98 = +10 7. 96 = +10 8. 18 = +20 Tiebreaker: .813 Team Points: 525 Player Points: 110 Total Points: 635

The fact that he has been very durable in the past has no bearing this year. He's on the Cubs - expect the worst now.

I'm tired of the Cubs' ineptitude when it comes to getting on base... that's a real reason why they sucked last year and will struggle again this year.

Group A: A-Rod Group B: Dunn, Pujols Group C: Delgado, Giambi, Bay Group D: Gomes, Huff, Helton, Swisher Bonus: have to go with Thome for the 40 HR possibility.

Shaq ruins it for everybody by running defenders over. Most post players don't play that way, and actually have agility, strength and moves inside.

Not me. Teams like Illinois last year and Duke every year, they bore me. Pass around the perimeter until you get a look, or play inside outside and then always launch a three? Boring and too reliant on your outside guys being hot. The thing with teams with strong big guys like Baxter (Maryland), Okafor (UConn) and May (UNC) is that they don't have off nights. You don't need to be that accurate when you're shooting from 4 feet away or dunking on offensive rebounds. Teams with balance, those I like. And speaking of this, West Virginia might be more reliant on the 3-ball than any team I've ever seen. And they're boring.

I remember after Chris Wilcox had a huge tourney for Maryland in 2002, he shot up into the top 10 because of his athletic ability. Never mind that he couldn't shoot. He had a decent year last year, but enough to justify a top 10 pick? No way. Moral of the story - drafting on athletic ability can be high reward, but it also has higher bust potential. I didn't pick Duke because they shoot too many threes. Live by the three, die by the three. Tonight, Duke died by it, and UCLA is well on their way to dying by it.

Don't forget Shaun King!!!! :pukel:

I don't like this move Vance. It's smart on paper, but remember that these are the Cubs and Cards you are talking about. Chances are the Walker and/or Hairston will get hurt, and the Cubs will sign Macias and platoon him with Perez at 2B. Meanwhile, Spivey will stay healthy all year and put up numbers at or above his career best. Can't see you winning this one, buddy.

Don't these projections know that the Braves always win the NL East?

Yeah, I am OK with Murton in LF. He at least has the ability to get on base pretty well. Jones in RF doesn't have all that much power, and doesn't get on base well either.

The usual Hill line. While he does have a solid fastball for a lefty and a hammer curve, I do think that his control both in and around the strike zone needs to get better for him to be a better-than-average pitcher in the big leagues. Guys at the top level are more patient and will lay off the close ones, and I don't think his command is good enough to hit corners with any regularity.

I don't think either team would do that. No kidding, the Red Sox are too smart to make that trade, and the Cubs are too cheap/dumb.

So did I, and I'm worried that could be optimistic.

You only have 15 teams in this list. Easy to figure that one out, Gonzaga and Florida are both still in and are both 3 seeds.

Haha, now Billy [expletive] is on the mid-major bandwagon. My loathing for him continues to grow.

Haha, this is comedy at its finest from a NY Times Of all the people to try to dispel the notion that WV is populated by a bunch of hillbillies, I don't think he's the right guy.

I think we should keep a count of how many perimeter teams (Kentucky - 38% of shots from behind the arc; UConn, 22% of shots behind the arc) go to the free throw line fewer times (Kentucky - 18 FTs; UConn - 30 FTs) and then get mad about the referees.

Oh yeah, and haha, goodbye Bucknell.

Does any player look more representative of his state than Pittsnogle? White, goatee, too many tattoos, and probably bad teeth? And his name is Pittsnogle. Basically, when I think of people from WV, I think of Pittsnogle.

OK, but if you are physical on defense and not aggressive on offense (perimeter team), you run the risk of being on the losing end of the free throw margin. It reminds me of when Indiana fans were mad that Maryland was sent to the free throw line 28 times, and Indiana had only 7 free throws in the 2002 championship game. Indiana shot 23 threes and a lot more mid-range jumpers, so what did you expect? You aren't just awarded free throws because the other team is getting them.

This might be the worst myth I've ever heard. Which good Big 10 team is physical? Illinois? No, they shot more than half their shots in last year's tourney behind the arc, and shot 130 more threes than their opponents this year, and fewer free throws than their opponents. Indiana? No, I don't even remember the last good low-post presence they had. They've been very perimeter-oriented, going back to when they used Tom Coverdale's hot streak and great team 3-point shooting to run to the finals against Maryland. They shot 107 more threes than their opponents but fewer free throws. Iowa? OK, they actually shot fewer threes and had a lot more free throws than their opponents. And this held true in the first round game as well. Ohio State? Maybe, based on a big free throw differential, but they also took 40% of their shots from beyond the arc and launched more than 150 more threes than their opponents. Michigan State? Possibly, b/c they had fewer threes and more free throws than their opponents. But they were ripped all year for being soft, at least around here. Wisconsin? Their numbers are less skewed than in recent years, but I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who watched them play the last few years and consider them a physical team with a big inside presence. When I think of teams that are physical, I think of teams like UNC last year with Sean May, or Maryland with Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox, or UConn with Okafor, and Ben Gordon driving a lot, and Josh Boone and Rudy Gay. It's hard to name good big guys in the Big 10, or guys who are good slashers. Instead, you've got a lot of teams that live and die by the perimeter game. When I think of a hard-nosed conference, I probably think of the Big East first. The Big Ten doesn't seem particularly physical to me. And if it makes anyone feel better, Ohio State and Iowa had the free throw edge on their first-round opponents by a large margin.

Quick quiz... which team came closest to taking Wade and Marquette out before their eventual loss to Kansas? Answer - Holy Cross, which lost to them by 4 points in the first round. I don't know about that. Mizzou took them to overtime in the second round that year. Ah good point.... I think remembered the final score (Marquette by about 10) but forget that it went into OT. UK - Holy Cross lost to Kentucky in 2001, and the final was 72-68. Prince had a big game or else HC might have pulled it off.

Quick quiz... which team came closest to taking Wade and Marquette out before their eventual loss to Kansas? Answer - Holy Cross, which lost to them by 4 points in the first round. Holy Cross would have pulled the upset if not for bad free throw shooting and Travis Diener playing the game of his life.