TruffleShuffle

i'd be content with just winning one game in this dump.

.354 is very low?

uggla has gone in the tank since the all-star game.

next time bat zambrano 3rd and lee 9th.

yeah i have mlb.tv but unfortunately my laptop is functioning as well as gameday right now, so i'm following along on my roommate's computer.

hey we're well on our way to 12, for reals

oh good theriot just singled... let's go d-lee.

Haha, we have a new Fred. except 75 years younger

oh good, we got hermida out once

Ankiel jumps back ahead of every Cub in homers with that, his 23rd And to think, I have a cloth Cards diaper with his sig on it. Do I sell it or wait until he is 38 and signs with us? have the baby poop in it, then box it up and send it to ankiel's house.

i am hoping that the pitcher gets rusty after this 15 minute layoff and throws a 1-2 meatball to soriano.

what a depressing sentence:

haha, so it's not just my computer ESPN's gamecast is done too. and yahoo is useless. this internet thing SUCKS.

go whoever's batting right now, unless it's the marlins.

either the pitcher had to go take a dump, or gameday crashed after all of four pitches.

maybe they'll rush him back so they can miss the playoffs by 4 games instead of 6.

we haven't won in florida since 2005? man why can we not beat this damn team.

that's great, two guys regarded as all-time greats (spahn and carlton) have 118 and 115 ERA+, but bert blyleven (118) would be watering down the accomplishments of everyone else in the hall.

i will rate my picks: 1. Number of Cubs wins, 2008 - 88 :oops: 2. Number of Cubs wins, Cardinals season series (15 games) 9 :?: 3. Number of runs scored, 2008 - 779 - on pace to be low by 100 runs = :x 4. Number of runs allowed, 2008 - 698 - on pace to give up 665 = :| 5. Final Placement in the NL Central Division - 2nd :-$ Player Stats & Scoring 1. Number of Aramis Ramirez Home Runs - 33 - on pace for 27 = :-& 2. Number of Soriano Stolen Bases - 24 - on pace for 17 = :-k 3. Kosuke Fukudome's OBP - .392 - current .369 and falling = :cry: 4. Derrek Lee's RBIs - 101 - on pace for 95 = :good: 5. Ted Lilly's Wins - 14 - on pace for 16 = :o 6. Carlos Zambrano's ERA - 3.78 - currently 3.22 = :-" 7. Rich Hill's Ks - 197 = ](*,) 8. Ryan Dempster's Innings Pitched - 124 = #-o 1. Which will be higher: Rich Hill's K's or Rich Hill's Innings Pitched? - IP = backdoored a win here \:D/ 2. Which will be higher: Jon Lieber's starts or Jon Lieber's relief appearances? - relief appearances = 8-) 3. Which will be higher: Felix Pie's at-bats or Reed Johnson's at-bats? - Felix Pie = :evil: 4. Who will have more HRs: Soto or Fukudome? - Soto = =D> 5. Who will have more wins: Hill or Lilly? - Lilly = :D 6. Who will have a higher SLG: Soriano or Ramirez? - aramis = :( 1. Most HRs: aramis = :-k 2. Highest OBP (min. 400 ABs): fukudome = :pig: (ryan theriot is leading?!?!?) 3. Lowest ERA (min. 150 IPs): hill = :help: 4. Most saves: wood = :stickman: The Annual Tiebreaker: Date of Lou Piniella's First Ejection (you may answer "none" to predict an ejection-free season for Lou) - april 27 = i forget when it was, but it was definitely later than that

I don't know about that. Going into the 03 NLDS, I was nervous as all hell and worried about the Braves, who looked like a powerhouse that year. I didn't feel like we were playing with house money. I thought we had a legitimate shot with our dominant pitching staff that eeked out a playoff spot in a crappy division (sound familiar?) ... In 98 I wasn't treating it that way, either. Granted, I was 15, but I was crushed when they lost, even though that team was crap compared to the Braves. Given the nature of the playoffs, I never felt that nothing to lose mentality and I don't see why other fans would either. I suppose it might be different for a Cubs fan, though, given how (at the time of those appearances) rarely we did make it to the postseason and the drought crap along with it. a lot of people were giving the cubs a good chance to win that series, because of the starting pitching. the braves' top 4 starters had an era+ of 112, 112, 108 and 107 - pretty average. the cubs' top 4 had 178, 139, 135 and 105. power pitchers who are on their game are tough to hit, no matter how good your offense is. i guess that d-bag fans would argue that their top 3 of webb, haren and a healthy randy johnson gives them a formidable front 3, but the cubs would counter with zambrano, harden and dempster, which is way better than the braves' 1-3 of russ ortiz, mike hampton and old greg maddux. Isn't that, by definition, significantly above average? no, it's a little above average. significantly above average is 178, 139, 135.

How in the hell did you notice that? Do you just randomly add up numbers you see? rob is actually rain man

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/olympics/2008/writers/kelli_anderson/08/15/phelps.day6/index.html?eref=sircrc you'd think that people would stop giving phelps bulletin board material. he's swim 6 races and broken 6 world records; doesn't sound like someone you'd like to give extra motivation to. i'd give phelps a 60% chance of winning tonight. likely but it's certainly not stunning if he loses. his other races i would've given these chances: 400 IM - 90% 4x100 free relay - 40% 200 free - 95% 200 fly - 99% 4x200 free relay - 98% 200 IM - 90% (would've been lower if lochte didn't have the tough turnaround from 200 back) 100 fly - 60% 4x100 medley relay - 94%

well a lot of that is due to his performance in 2003, he went into a horrid slump and couldn't hit a beach ball. he struck out 20 times in 13 games and wasn't great on the rare occasion that he did hit the ball. derrek lee's postseason numbers are also some cause for concern. but yeah, it's safe to say that if all the cubs' good hitters go into a slump like they did after the all star break, the cubs will not be long for the playoffs.

I don't know about that. Going into the 03 NLDS, I was nervous as all hell and worried about the Braves, who looked like a powerhouse that year. I didn't feel like we were playing with house money. I thought we had a legitimate shot with our dominant pitching staff that eeked out a playoff spot in a crappy division (sound familiar?) ... In 98 I wasn't treating it that way, either. Granted, I was 15, but I was crushed when they lost, even though that team was crap compared to the Braves. Given the nature of the playoffs, I never felt that nothing to lose mentality and I don't see why other fans would either. I suppose it might be different for a Cubs fan, though, given how (at the time of those appearances) rarely we did make it to the postseason and the drought crap along with it. a lot of people were giving the cubs a good chance to win that series, because of the starting pitching. the braves' top 4 starters had an era+ of 112, 112, 108 and 107 - pretty average. the cubs' top 4 had 178, 139, 135 and 105. power pitchers who are on their game are tough to hit, no matter how good your offense is. i guess that d-bag fans would argue that their top 3 of webb, haren and a healthy randy johnson gives them a formidable front 3, but the cubs would counter with zambrano, harden and dempster, which is way better than the braves' 1-3 of russ ortiz, mike hampton and old greg maddux.

if the cubs keep blanco, they'd have the following players under their control for 2009: position players: soriano (lf) fukudome (rf) lee (1b) derosa (2b) ramirez (3b) fontenot (if) cedeno (if) theriot (ss) soto © blanco © johnson (cf) pitchers: zambrano (sp) lilly (sp) harden (sp) marquis (sp) gaudin (rp?) marmol (rp) samardzija (rp?) wuertz (rp) cotts (rp) roles unknown: pie (cf) hoffpauir (1b/of) hill (p) marshall (p) guzman (p) ascanio (p) i guess i have the cubs at 20 guys who are very likely to be on next year's team, barring trades. johnson, if i'm understanding correctly, is still under the cubs' control next season. the roles i don't have filled above are: another CF to start or platoon w/reed 1 starting pitcher 1/2 relief pitchers ss is a possibility for an upgrade, although theriot is giving nice production at a low price and i'm not sure that it would be worth it to upgrade to furcal, given the price he'll likely command. the cf options are lousy; kotsay isn't that good and he gets hurt all the time. personally i'd like to see pie/johnson in a platoon, but the cubs really don't seem willing to give pie a real chance. starting pitcher, the cubs have already dumped a lot of money into zambrano and lilly, plus marquis is making almost $10M next year (barf). there are obviously some very good options in the FA market, but the cubs really don't need to be spending $15-20M on another starter. probably can't afford that, either. if dempster really wants to come back and the price is right, i'd resign him. otherwise, i'd be fine with hill, marshall, samardzija and gaudin competing for the last spot. at relief pitcher, i hope they can bring wood back - he seems to be settled in the chicago area and wants to play for the cubs. just don't pay him elite closer money, because it's not worth it. i suspect that the cubs will want a more "proven" middle reliever and will go after someone who's on the market. two names on the list that i'd have some interest in: juan cruz (hahaha) and jeremy affeldt.