CubinNY

Who's in? So far I like everything he's been saying. Maybe, just maybe our Cobs made the right decision. Also he was born in Evanston. Club rules: Anyone in said club has the right to criticize his baseball decisions but not the man himself.

He talking about the front office. Interesting comments. I wonder if they mean off the field or on the field or both. Which remaining veterans? Z, Aramis, Dempster, Soriano? Who else is left. Z has pitched poorly and made an ass of himself, but it was done out of frustration for playing poorly Aramis is an easy target, but he's been injured Dempster has pitched pretty well Soriano is as mild mannered as they come and hasn't played poorly, he's just played like he always has, inconsistently terrible with weeks of good to greatness.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1926473,CST-SPT-cub08.article No report on the number of circumcisions Big Z performed.

The Cubs off-season flirtations for some talented player often lead to passionate kissing and even sometimes heavy petting, but they ultimately never seem to finish the job. Who will this year's tease be?

Do the Cubs want him? Do they need him? How much would it cost? I'd take a look at the medical reports and try to sign him if he's healthy. That way it makes it easier to offer Harden arbitration.

As the middle of June rolls around my son will be six months old and the Cubs will be thinking about upgrading for the playoff push (hopefully). My problem is that I don't know exactly where they can make meaningful changes to the team to improve the offense. They look to me like a .500 team. I suppose getting Aramis back will be like making a trade but I think they need something more in the way of offense. Let's tick off the positions that they won't upgrade 1st- Lee isn't going anywhere 3rd- Aramis will be back, but will he be the same player? LF- Soriano's albatross contract and NTC preclude any changes there C- Soto seems to be staring to improve. I see a good second half for him SS- Theriot is hitting (with some pop), I don't see them doing anything That leaves CF- Fukudome/Johnson platoon- Would the Cubs consider pushing Bradley to the bench (and moving Fukudome to RF), or more likely the DL? Is there a player out there who would be "getable" and improve the offense? RF- Same sort of scenario- Bradley goes on the DL becomes a bench/platoon player and the Cubs upgrade. Who would be available? 2nd- This is the one position on the field where the Cubs can and should upgrade for offense but is there anyone available and at what cost? It pretty apparent to me that the Cubs have the pitching to go very far in the playoffs, but I'm becoming increasingly worried that they won't have the offense to make it there.

Oh my freaking word! I'm watching marlin v dbacks. There has to be less than 1000 people there

Has anyone noted the irony of a former steroid user who is probably famous because he used steroids calling out Selig and MLB?

It's got a freaking lake in the middle of it.

Adrian Gonzalez Hanley Ramirez I'm thinking it will either be SS, 2nd, CF or SP with the contracts the Cubs currently have. That narrows it down a bunch, I know. I think Hallady is a good guess if his arm doesn't fall off. Like it or not, the outfield is set for a few years. Not if Fukudome doesn't step up his game. Reed Johnson sucks on ice.

What do you want him to say? What could he say that could make anyone happy? This is A-Rod's mess, but the self-righteous indignation by some players, the public, and press is really annoying to me. Most everyone would do the same thing if they were in his situation. It doesn't make what he did right, it makes what he did human. There were at least 100 other guys who tested positive and probably many others who were just lucky. They should all (owners, managers, and players) get in a circle and shoot, because they are all in it together.

I don't think Bonds was in the union and he had a freaking comfy chair in the locker room. There's no big brother, there are lots of little brothers that he needs to look out for. It's pretty damn ridiculous to think that A-Rod reworking his contract and taking less money would benefit him in some way. The proposition is a lose-lose for him. He takes less money, is kicked out of the union, and is shunned by him fraternity. Edit: IRCC, Kevin Millar wasn't in the union either, he was a scab during 1994 and they wouldn't let him in.

Except the guy at the top. No, it benefits him too, at least financially.

. :-k It's mighty big of the players union to allow the CBA to be breached when it benefits their own, isn't it? I love the blurb about how the union would permit Cruz and others to waive their individual rights. I don't think the union has a say in that decision. Wasn't it the union not allowing ARod to waive his rights that prevented him from being traded to Boston and instead to NYC? I believe it was that he was willing to take a salary cut to fit in the Red Sox's payroll and the union objected. That would be correct. ARod was will to cut something like $30 million off his deal to make the trade happen, but the union wasn't having it. The union confuses me sometimes. Why won't the union allow something like that? Does the union get a portion of that money or something? If it's his money what do they care what he does with it? Precedent. And the fact that what A-Rod gets affects the everyone else. He's at the top of the food chain, what he does affects everyone below him. All unions are set up to benefit the collective that makes up the union. Sometimes that means that the needs of the guys at the top have to be subordinate to everyone else. In the end, it benefits everyone.

He was already heading into the toilet in June though. The BABIP says that he was just unlucky, but I think a far more telling line is the BB and LD%. He was swinging at a lot of balls outside of the zone (low and away sliders, especially).

Depends on who wants to be the guy to caters to the needs of Ron Santo. I'll volunteer.

Is that with the platoon? If he's platooned I think that's a pretty good projection. If he's not I think he's more like .270/.350/.400. It's not just the 2-seamer that gets Fukudome, it's the low and away slider outside of the zone.

And kill people who cross him.

I'm doing Gameday Audio this year. I'm blacked out of Cubs games anyway. Why don't you watch it on TV or do you not have cable or satellite? CSNC is the RSN in this area and I am able to watch all the games (except WCIU because it's too much of a pain to switch over to an antenna to get it on channel 69). MLBTV blacks out in market subscribers which is why you cannot get the Cubs games (nor Sox, Tigers, Reds). So I am going to assume this is for when you are working. Indiana's cable companies don't carry CSN Chicago because it's not the local RSN. At the same time, it technically is inside the Cubs home territory so the games are also blacked out on MLBTV. So if you get cable for any reason, you have no way of seeing those Cub games in this market. I'm still crossing my fingers that they won't black the games out with Uverse (which actually has the channel but they blacked out Bulls games) but I'll have to wait another month to see for sure. It's the same way for my folks (who live in NIles MI, 90 miles from Chicago, 10 from IN). Last year they got a dish (up from the basic cable package, woo who!). I tried to order MLBEI for my dad but called first. He gets CSN chicago but the kicker is every single Chicago sports team is blacked out because Niles is the property of Detroit according to the NHL, NBA, and MLB. The only logical people are the NLF where he gets Bears games on the local Fox station. MLBEI won't be of any use to him b/c he's in Cubs territory too according to MLB. It's maddening.

Adrian Gonzalez Hanley Ramirez I'm thinking it will either be SS, 2nd, CF or SP with the contracts the Cubs currently have. That narrows it down a bunch, I know. I think Hallady is a good guess if his arm doesn't fall off.

I'm hoping Gathright somehow doesn't make it, as he and Johnson are completely redundant defensively. It's not worth carrying a guy just as a pinch runner when you have a 12 man pitching staff. Also, there is no one to back up Aramis on that bench. I wonder if that's why they have Jake Fox working out at 3b. I'm guessing Gathright doesn't make the team either. He brings nothing to the table that Johnson doesn't bring. Also, I'm really hoping Hill beats out Bako for the backup catcher position. Why do you hope Hill beats out Bako?

So, Greg chose working with the Padres over the Cubs.... Wasn't there some rumors that he and Larry don't exactly see eye-to-eye?

If you wanna get down, get down on the ground -- COCAINE!!!!! I'm with you with Leon. I was not happy about Grace taking over for a power hitting left handed stud like Leon Durham. I wasn't happy that he took Bill Buckner's place, I'm 40, but boy do I feel old reading this. Billy Buck was the last player from my childhood who still played for the Cubs. My fav Buckner memory was him stepping on Gary Carter's face mask and then getting into a fight with Carter. I hate Gary Carter.

So you...of all people...are saying he doesn't look like an lf. How hilarious. How many times have you railed on scouts for using phrases like that and making assumptions like that? How many are there? I get your point, but at the most basic level physical stature is important. If he's some sort of latter day Hack Wilson, he'll be the first. Dan Uggla? He's a 2B, but the point still stands. He's a short power hitter who struggles with contact sometimes. Uggla is also 6 feet tall (5'11" anyway).

So you...of all people...are saying he doesn't look like an lf. How hilarious. How many times have you railed on scouts for using phrases like that and making assumptions like that? How many are there? I get your point, but at the most basic level physical stature is important. If he's some sort of latter day Hack Wilson, he'll be the first.