CubinNY

I'm not pulling for him, thats for sure. What a waste. [thread hijack] I agree. I'm not going to expend energy rooting for someone who has failed without the assistance of others! I don't understand why people who have abused drugs, done time, or--pick the infraction--, deserve our support. He's to blame for his problems and he has to earn some credibility. Lost in the shuffle of this "feel good story" are the guys who succeed without succumbing to pressure or those who don't get a second chance. The guy is lucky to be in this position.[/thread hijack] Yes he his, and I'm sure he knows that. If he stays straight and lives up to his potential, it's still a good story. Battling an addiction is about as difficult as anything anyone can ever do. He should not be forever condemned for making stupid mistakes with drugs at a young age. Why is this a good story? I can see someone battling back from a devastating injury, cancer, or after an unprovoked attack that took them away from the game, but this? No, using crack was his fault. BTW, I'm not advocating condemnation. If he proves he is clean there's nothing to talk about but he hasn't earned universal respect, praise, or support. There are plenty of young people who don't throw away years of their life because of drug abuse. Also, let's not characterize this as youthful transgressions, this guy was married with children. Instead of adequately supporting his family he was terrorizing them--so much so that his wife kicked him out of the house!!! I don't hear enough praise for those who do the right thing the first time around. They don't get the limelight. Now Hamilton is viewed as a symbol of strength and perseverance? Not in my world. You're not only advocating condemnation, but you are wholeheartedly engaging in it. :D I strongly disagree with his previous behavior, but I think that people can change for the better. However, I don't believe in heaping praise on someone who is finally doing what's expected of everyone. The people who need support are his family and friends for the hurt and sacrifice they endured. Judging from his comments on RealSports I think he would agree with you 100%. There is a lot ot like about the guy. We all cannot be blessed with stable home lives, wonderful parents, or a supportive environment in which to grow up. I'm not making excuses for the problems that people get themselves into, I'm trying to bring in some context.

Every infielder has played SS before, whats your point. Im talking about constantly changing his position during the season. They wont stick with him at SS. There is no way he has the range to play everyday there. If you put him at SS then you essentially have an 3 utility infielders. Rotating angles increases chance of injury. Did you watch any Dodgers games, or are you basing the sub par D on 25 games he has started in Cub colors? He has made a career showing good range and turning the DP. If he gathers form he is in the top 3 NL SSs with Everett and A Gon. Last time Izturis was truly healthy, was the front side of the 2005 season. If he can get anywhere close to that form we are in great shape. You cant pull the plug after 40 ABs. Especially considering you have zero real options at SS other then the former All Star gold glover. I'm not cathing the angles thing? What are you saying? Edit: Vilkomen!

Pretty big if, I would say. For instance, do you think that Alfonso Soriano's OBP is going to stay in the .288 range? Matt Murton's .310? Michael Barrett's .302? Granted, D-Lee will fall and so will Aramis, but probably not as much as those other three will go up. Plus we've got Ronny Cedeno and Hendry Blanco stinking up our averages. I can see your argument, but I think it's more likely that we don't have nearly as much to worry about with our offense than we do with our starting pitching. I hope you're right, but I doubt it. Soriano's career OBP is a pedestrian .325 and Matt Murton is not playing every day or even every other day. The entire point of my position on this is that, claiming that the Cubs won't be good this year becasue they "can't finish off an inning" is pretty far out there when one considers the other tell-tale signs of why the Cubs suck.

who are you agreeing with? personally, i don't give two craps about clutch hitting, and i only care slightly more about defense. What about scrap and grit and heart and fire and intensity? Scrap = .75 crap Grit = .5 crap Fire and intesity = .25 crap each All told, less than two craps.

hes looking like he can sneak back into the first or supp.Could he be there for the Cubs supplemental pick? Do they still have one?

How did you figure I ignored OBP? Simply because I'm talking pitching and not hitting? The jist I got from your post is that the Cubs are sucking becuase they "can't finish off an inning". You showed a statistic that detailed the Cubs problems in RA with two outs. That is a problem to be sure, but the problem holds very little in the way of predicting how the season shakes out. On the other hand you said you weren't worried about the offense. The Cubs offensive problems are very predictive of how the season will shake out if current trends hold.

It's kind of strange that you would use a statistic with almost no predictive validity and at the same time ignore others with predictive validity. BA w/RISP has almost no predictive value (i.e., gving up 2 out hits w/risp). However, The Cubs woeful OBP is predictive of a crappy baseball team.

It should not be posted or viewed by anyone other than police and psychologists. All this does is serve to fuel the delutions of other mentally ill people who also have a potential to commit harm. This kid wanted attention as do most of the people who commit these types of cirmes. It's all about them, believe it or not but in many cases suicide is the ultimate attention seeking behavior. Give him and others like him attention will only make more crimes like this more likely to happen in the future.

Are we hoping to win or expecting to lose?

I suppose that's a true statement. Some might argue that 220 IP out of one of your best pitchers is better than 70 IP, but those people aren't stupid, so Manuel isn't persuaded. On ESPN they showed the high/low lights of the argument he got into with the reporter and he said: "I done growed up a long time ago" Where is he from West Virginia?

In what world universe do the Cubs need Greg Zaun? The Cubs not built for the cold? I've heard a lot of lame excuses for the Cubs sucking but that has to be at the top.

Sure there is, we've been cursed with pathetic management and pathetic players for almost a century.

Jeff still not missing any bats.

The 2006 Cardinals were not a fluke. Here's an assignment for you before I leave 1. Go check the Cardinals record in 2006 2. Check the records for the teams in the playoffs for the last 10 years and see how many times they would have made the playoffs.

Gameday crapped out on me after the 9th. I guess it's only good for a regulation game. Stupid work I have to go teach a class in 20 min. I don't want to leave and it takes me 15 min to get to the building.

I think they'll let him walk b/c they won't get decent value for him if they trad him.

It compares a pitcher's ERA, adjusted for park effects, against other pitchers in the league. 100 is average. 150 is outstanding, 50 is terrible. Mephastopholes says that for starting pitchers the average is around 90 or so, b/c ERA+ accounts for all pitchers not just starters.

This means either one of two things will happen: 1. The Cubs offense doesn't jump all over the Padres and the Cubs lose. 2. The Cubs offense does jump all over the Padres but Marquis has a horrible performance to blow the good show by the offense and the Cubs lose. Pick your poison. I'll take what's behind door #2 please. The Cubs should win 2 out of 3 against the Padres if their offense is decent. It's only a 2 game set. Well then, I'm looking for a sweep :oops:

My Fav I don't know what he means by "instincts", but I like the other part.

This means either one of two things will happen: 1. The Cubs offense doesn't jump all over the Padres and the Cubs lose. 2. The Cubs offense does jump all over the Padres but Marquis has a horrible performance to blow the good show by the offense and the Cubs lose. Pick your poison. I'll take what's behind door #2 please. The Cubs should win 2 out of 3 against the Padres if their offense is decent.

All four articles were outstanding. This kind of got buried. Thanks 1908.

I don't agree with that. The Cubs this year are built to be a heavy slugging team that hopes to be middle of the pack in OBP. Their strength is their slugging-they just hope that their OBP is not a huge detriment. Before today's game, their OBP was 12th out of 30 teams. 12th-I know that may be hard to believe, but it's true. Obviously today's game will take that down, but I'm not sure how much. Their slugging was 15th-that is unacceptable for this team. This team is tied for 25th in home runs-this is a team that should be top 5 that is 1 home run away from being tied for last. OBP may end up being the worst area of this team, but it is not what it is right now. This team simply cannot hit home runs like they were supposed to do right now, and that is costing them. The middle of the league OBP is not. You can disagree all you want. The Cubs won't win on a consistent basis until they learn to quit swinging at junk.

I wouldn't worry about the lack of HRs, I would worry about the lack of OBP. It is once again killing the Cubs. It's particularly appearent when I watch other games during the free MLBEI week. JJ's AB with Soriano on third and Theriot on first was one of the worst ABs I've ever seen at the major league level.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Zambrano will not be pitching for the Chicago Cubs in 2008. If this happens there will only be one person to blame/credit Jim Hendry.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; Pat and Ron together are more than the sum of their parts. Pat is the best radio pbp guy in the business and Ronny makes him better. They are the most entertaining radio combo doing baseball, even if the listener doesn't know exactly what is going on all the time.