CubinNY

The Cubs make plenty of money, it just depends on the scale one wants to use. If I own a business and it makes $1,000,000 profit after paying all the bills, it doesn't matter much how much was invested to buy the business or how much was spent, a million dollars profit is a lot of money. As private owners Ricketts et al. aren't obligated to make any profit on the team so long as they can pay the bills, but they will. One more thing, baseball is very good at hiding how much money a team makes so I'd imagine the teams are making a lot more than people think.

Bruce Miles (articles in DH) kind of has me fired up about Ricketts winning the bid. Hopefully he turns his passion for the Cubs into smart baseball decisions. I like it.

perhaps with the bad economy people have decided to cut obscenely-overpriced athletic wear out of their lives. Under Armour first came out they pretty much had the "market" to themselves with that line of clothing. Now "Nike" is pretty much worn through-out the clubhouses. As previously stated by somebody else, I to had some under armour shirts and they were terrible after a few washes. How is Sean's shoulder?

No one who played for any length of time between 1988 and 2005 is above suspicion, so that's not saying much.

Does anyone know if MLB has decided to alter the arcane territorial TV rights? The latest I could find was from last August http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080813&content_id=3302623&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb But if it was approved that is good news for us all.

Weren't there some strange quotes about him wanting to leave the game or something and having his brother and/or dad talk him into staying? And wasn't there also a weight/health question about him? Or am I making this all up? He's the Hawaiian with the necklace right? No you are correct. He seems to have some mental issues.

As O_O pointed out the lack of walks are a redflag. The time to develop plate discipline is at the lower levels where pitchers don't have as much command. If he doesn't walk it doesn't mean he's a bust, but it's another issue to deal with. If his k's increase significantly (and he's not taking walks) it's probably worse than not walking much. However, the thing I want to see is good health. Good health and decent number, in that order.

I bet it's Joey Gathright. He's so cute.

That's probably why no one's ever heard of him :D

Data please.

he does? about as frequently as Corey Patterson, no? Over the course of their minor league seasons, yes. But Pie also wasn't rushed to the majors.

A low-contact center fielder with no plate discipline? That remains to be seen but his minor league numbers indicate that you are probably more wrong that right. Not really. A lot of those type hitters hit well in the minors but then get exposed in the majors Not really what? His IsoD is .054 that's not terrible and with a BA of .299 he's not a low contact hitter either. hitting for a good average means you're a good contact hitter? it doesn't mean you are a low contact hitter. He's got a a BABIP that's well with in average ranges too. All and all it kind of says that Pie is not either of those things. Adam Dunn is a low contact hitter. Dave Kingman was a low contact hitter. Mark Bellhorne was a low contact hitter. i don't know why you're talking about batting average and babip. if you strike out a lot, you're a low contact hitter. felix pie strikes out a lot. in 2006 ryan howard struck out 181 times but hit .313. low contact hitter or not? Pie's ks are not that high. they don't have to be. that wasn't the point. that was just an example of how batting average doesn't show whether or not you make a lot of contact. lots of guys hit for good average and strike out a lot and lots of guys hits for poor average and don't strike out. pie strikes out a lot. whether or not he hits for high average doesn't change that. just because he is a low contact hitter doesn't mean he can't still be successful over his minor league career Pie has k'd .21%. The average is right around 20. That's neither high nor low. The fact that he has a decent batting average also provides more evidence that you and Tyrant are wrong.

A low-contact center fielder with no plate discipline? That remains to be seen but his minor league numbers indicate that you are probably more wrong that right. Not really. A lot of those type hitters hit well in the minors but then get exposed in the majors Not really what? His IsoD is .054 that's not terrible and with a BA of .299 he's not a low contact hitter either. hitting for a good average means you're a good contact hitter? it doesn't mean you are a low contact hitter. He's got a a BABIP that's well with in average ranges too. All and all it kind of says that Pie is not either of those things. Adam Dunn is a low contact hitter. Dave Kingman was a low contact hitter. Mark Bellhorne was a low contact hitter. i don't know why you're talking about batting average and babip. if you strike out a lot, you're a low contact hitter. felix pie strikes out a lot. in 2006 ryan howard struck out 181 times but hit .313. low contact hitter or not? Pie's ks in the minors are not that high.

A low-contact center fielder with no plate discipline? That remains to be seen but his minor league numbers indicate that you are probably more wrong that right. Not really. A lot of those type hitters hit well in the minors but then get exposed in the majors Not really what? His IsoD is .054 that's not terrible and with a BA of .299 he's not a low contact hitter either. hitting for a good average means you're a good contact hitter? it doesn't mean you are a low contact hitter. He's got a a BABIP that's well with in average ranges too. All and all it kind of says that Pie is not either of those things. Adam Dunn is a low contact hitter. Dave Kingman was a low contact hitter. Mark Bellhorne was a low contact hitter.

A low-contact center fielder with no plate discipline? That remains to be seen but his minor league numbers indicate that you are probably more wrong that right. Not really. A lot of those type hitters hit well in the minors but then get exposed in the majors Not really what? His IsoD is .054 that's not terrible and with a BA of .299 he's not a low contact hitter either.

A low-contact center fielder with no plate discipline? That remains to be seen but his minor league numbers indicate that you are probably more wrong that right.

I don't think the Cubs' flame-out in October should be used to criticize a decision that was made in April. That's a weird way to look at things. Pie was completely overmatched at the beginning of the year. He could barely make contact with the baseball; even a mediocre breaking ball was an adventure for him. Once Lou saw that -- whether it was in 40 at bats or 400 -- he needed to pull the plug. I think you're failing to draw a distinction between giving a player a chance to who looks like he could contribute, and just giving a guy a chance regardless of how he looked. Pie didn't show anything in the majors last year that indicated he should be given more at bats. I've said it before: Lou has his faults, but judging talent isn't one of them. He does a pretty good job of slotting in the right guys to play. Most guys don't come up from the minors and tear the cover off the ball. There is an adjustment period. If Lou cannot get over the adjustment period the prospect will have to be lucky to get an extended look. Lou had a problem with in Pie ST b/c he wanted to fit him into the Juan Pierre mode-slap hit-bunter-speed guy instead of letting Pie be who he is.

Why would they want to reinforce bad behavior? He's already demonstrated that he can put the bat on the ball. It seems to me that his development is at least partly contingent on his ability to swing at pitches he can drive. *Most* great hitters aren't hackers. Barry Bonds was extremely aggressive, there's a difference between being aggressive and being a hacker. An aggressive hitter to me is someone that swings at strikes and regardless of count will always swing hard even with two strikes and doesn't watch too many called 3rd strikes. I'm all for being aggressive as you have defined it, but I don't think that is the way vidographer is using it. Barry took his walks. Why the hell would the Cubs want to teach him to not have a good strike zone judgment? They want him to swing at pitches he can hit, swing hard yet mechanically fluid, I don't know how videographer defines it, but I'm sure the cubs approach is similar to the approach I mentioned as far as aggressiveness. As he matures, I'm sure they'll work more on the adjustment phase of hitting as well as the mental toughness aspect. I don't think they would or do, but within the context of this thread vidoagrapher has downplayed OBP and seemed to intimate that being aggressive will come at the expense of OBP. IMO, that's bad behavior.

I don't see any benefit in starting Vitters in Daytona. He didn't hit in Peoria last year in the short time he was there (all of 14 ABs, but still).

Why would they want to reinforce bad behavior? He's already demonstrated that he can put the bat on the ball. It seems to me that his development is at least partly contingent on his ability to swing at pitches he can drive. *Most* great hitters aren't hackers. Barry Bonds was extremely aggressive, there's a difference between being aggressive and being a hacker. An aggressive hitter to me is someone that swings at strikes and regardless of count will always swing hard even with two strikes and doesn't watch too many called 3rd strikes. I'm all for being aggressive as you have defined it, but I don't think that is the way vidographer is using it. Barry took his walks.

Why would they want to reinforce bad behavior? He's already demonstrated that he can put the bat on the ball. It seems to me that his development is at least partly contingent on his ability to swing at pitches he can drive. *Most* great hitters aren't hackers.

Maybe Hendry wanted Olsen too. He does have perceived value outside of whatever Towers might have wanted. Hendry may have traded Pie for him for reasons that have little to do with Peavy.

The Clear a synthetic substance from my understanding. That means it has no legal standing until it goes through the FDA. It's splitting hairs and a technicality though. As for the "sealed testimony" it's a matter of public record b/c Bonds is being brought up on lying.

Big Z is pimped out. Is it me or does Fotenot look like your garden variety meth user? I picture him is a character in Breaking Bad.

That will be his legacy unless he can recreate himself as a top of the line closer. For one game he was.