TruffleShuffle

Nah, that was hit right to the pitcher, he probably would've been out. I think they're talking about the double by Burnitz... from what it sounds like it was hard to know whether the ball would drop in or not. If so, you can't fault the baserunner for holding.

Haha, well they are the Cubs... I'm sure past Cub teams have managed to do it also.

I heard it too.. :lol: Maybe he has Tourette's, like Jim Eisenreich.

I wonder if the Reds feel like Milton is earning his salary...

Maddux looks like he's trying to surpass the 4000 hits allowed barrier in this game... only 19 more to go!!!

Is that the first HR Maddux has given up since signing with the Cubs?

We've all seen the avatar with the bearded Matt Morris... compared to that, nothing is "really ugly"

I am living in State College, PA now and have attended a number of Altoona Curve games. Were you involved in the great ideas for promotions that the Curve always seemed to come up with? I read somewhere that they received an award for best promotions in the minor leagues. My favorite was Awful Night, personally. :D Also, is there much job stability in the position of minor league GM? Can you expect to be with the Diamond Jaxx for a while now? Is there much traveling during the season that keeps you away from your family?

Happens to every team. It's both a blessing and a curse to have a system stocked with great arms. A curse because naturally there will be more injuries to pitchers and therefore more attrition of prospects. But it's a blessing because having good depth there means that you're more likely to have a few guys who do stay healthy and pan out.

Ribbee, I remember hearing a talk the Phillie Phanatic... he said during day games he sweats off almost 10 lbs, especially when the weather is really hot. I remember he told us what his diet was, and he ate so much! I think something like a 6000-8000 calorie diet maybe. Do you have a big eating regimen to survive the hot Tennessee summers? And how hot does it get - you know, what with all your fur and everything. :D

When they say "tightness" what they probably mean is "structural damage."

Know why he got hurt? Because Dusty made him throw a lot of pitches in San Francisco. True story.

If Jim Hendry wouldn't trade Hill for Dunn straight up, then he isn't nearly as good a GM as I thought he was.

JRod is only batting .346. :lol: 2-3 with a home run tonight :roll: The Cards could sign Gary Scott and start him the rest of the year, and he'd have an OBP of .400 and hit 20 HRs. It's unbelieveable.

And how do you suggest that? He has a no-trade clause, and even if he were willing to waive it, who is going to want to trade for a brittle, overpaid pitcher? Releasing him is pointless and a huge waste of money. Face it, he's a Cub for the rest of this year and next... after that the Cubs can cut their ties.

Yup, an outstanding year from him once again... very similar to last season, actually. I'd like to see him in Iowa before the end of the year.

Is there some little-known rule in the Cubs' locker room that they have to swing at every 2-0 pitch?

Are you referring to our starting pitchers who have only given up a total of 15 ER in the last 9 games? :?: I'm not saying they are multiple run homers...just saying it seems like they have been giving up a lot of solo homers in the first few innings. But it may just be my short memory. Hey at least they're solo HRs... keeping guys off the basepaths otherwise.

Not as far as I can tell, but I did just doze off for a few minutes. Ron was raving about Guzman again. :) Also, Oneri in the pregame show touched on how he doesn't like moving guys up unless there's a need and having them go step by step (talking about guys like Moore, Gallagher and EPatt?). What if there's a need to get them out of playing a level that they've clearly mastered by now? How's Sing doing by the way? He's my favorite semi-sleeper. Walks and power... that's good stuff!

Where are all these questions coming from? He's made only 7 errors at 2B this year, and Baseball America said "his athleticism makes him a potential plus defender at second base." I don't think that really describes either one of those guys. Murton is 23, which isn't too old for a college guy in AA. Cedeno is 22 and actually fairly young for AAA. This was their first season at WTenn and Iowa, respectively. Your concerns about them are valid, though. I think Murton could put up numbers comparable to those of Mark Kotsay in the big leagues, with a ~.350 OBP and a little bit of pop... the problem, like you noted, is the subpar offensive ability for a corner outfielder. If the Cubs had someone like Jim Edmonds or Carlos Beltran in CF, it'd be easier to take, but the Cubs don't have that. My main worry about Cedeno is his low walk rate... I can't find his stats from this season at Iowa to know if it improved at all this year. The added power was a nice surprise, but I know the batting average down there was somewhat fluky. Part of the reason I'm saying that I don't expect Harvey and Dopirak to reach their ceiling is based the little emphasis that I feel the Cubs organization places on plate discipline. We've all seen prospects fly through the system without learning the importance of selectivity at the plate. The guys that the team goes after in free agency and in the draft also suggests to me that plate discipline is not a big deal to the current regime. The question is, what comes first, the chicken or the egg? Do teams like the A's draft guys who have good patience, or do they drill it into them after they sign? I would guess it's a combination of the two.

Patterson was first team All-ACC in each of his three years at Georgia Tech, and it's not his fault that the Cubs have him at Low A. I think he should be in Daytona by now, but all he can do is play well at the level they stick him, and so far he's been beating up on that level. His walk rate was strong all through college and has remained solid in pro ball. My concern about guys like Dopirak and Harvey has everything to do with plate discipline. I have seen what poor plate discipline can do to guys who can't figure it out. Dopirak sported a BB/K ratio of 80/226 in 229 games coming into this year... this year he's cut down on his strikeouts and has a slightly lower walk rate (26/77). The big question is, what has happened to all that power he showed last year? Harvey's numbers are even more of a problem for me. Before this season he had a BB/K of 26/98 in 72 games... the walk rate was OK but the strikeout rate was atrocious. This year he has played 77 games and his strikeout rate is a little lower, but so is his walk rate (19BB/84K). Good pitchers. I take a wary view of guys who beat up on mistake pitches at the minor league level. Big league hurlers will throw fewer hanging curves, and harder and more accurate fastballs. Guys who strike out so frequently at the minor league level clearly have a problem, either in their swing or in their approach. If Harvey doesn't learn how to make better contact or at least draw more walks, I don't see him being successful down the road. So I guess my opinion is based mostly on my bias toward guys who have better plate discipline. I believe in the long run, Eric Patterson will be a better major leaguer than either Dopirak or Harvey, but I freely admit that if either of those guys reaches their ceiling, they will be better than him. I am just guessing that they will fall well short of expectations.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=240523116 Wouldn't the best thing to do have been to ask the usher to remove the "fans" from the stadium, rather than doing something like that after the home run? I'm sure the ushers would be happy to throw people out of the game if they're personally attacking someones family.

If I were the Reds I'd ask for Williams instead of Mitre. If they want proven major leaguers... well, Williams has an above-average ERA+ the last two years as a 21/22 year old. That's a proven quality starting pitcher.

lol, I'm sorry, but this statement just made me laugh. His potential to be an "above average" second baseman (above average 2nd baseman, thats probably a step down from Todd Walker...I consider Walker "good") is what would make him our #2 prospect? I think he will turn out as good as Todd Walker. If we had someone in the minor league system who could get on base as effectively as Todd Walker, hit for just slightly less power but provide better speed and defense, I think that merits being the #2 prospect in the system. I have seen enough guys with boatloads of "potential" fall by the wayside... personally I like the guy with a polished approach at the plate and a better chance to reach his projected ceiling.

I do too, but I also believe there's a better chance Harvey washes out in the minors than Patterson. My high opinion on him is based on the chance that he reaches his potential as well, which I believe is a lot more likely than Harvey or Dopirak.