FergieJ31

I'm so numb from this season that Saturday's loss almost didn't hurt at all... it was like "Of course AJP hit a 3-run HR with two outs in the ninth, why wouldn't he?"

The Wood jokes have just gotten stale over the years ... remember in 1998 the first one, the "We Got Wood" t-shirts - then in '99 it was the "We got .. Farnsworth?" tee Edit: apologies, now that I actually read the article I see the part of the body Neuby was referring to .. I assumed the wrong gender :lol:

That month was utterly amazing, juiced or not. I remember a picture of Sammy in the sports section around that time, tending to a wounded bird in the dugout; he became a Chicago sports god almost literally overnight. And the next month, the McDonalds commercials with a grinning Sammy telling a boy "Now ees your turn to swing de bat and hit de home run." Good times ...

The Cards also had a June to forget: 9-16, third-worst June in franchise history and their first losing month since July 2003. The NL Central looks to be at least as weak as it was in '03 -- it's really too bad the Cubs tanked so bad this year.

That's a June swoon for the ages, and it actually began in May :( Now that's old style!

Brian, I mentally "hear" your posts with Lewis Black's voice :) Imagine the rants Lewis could get into if he were a Cubs fan ... I really think he'd keel over with a heart-attack.

Well said. Couldn't possibly agree more. But I wouldn't be opposed to signing CLee (in spite of the cheap shot last year), even though I'd rather have Dunn. Beggars can't be choosers, and the FA list of outfielders is slim pickens, which bodes well for CLee. But I don't want CLee at 5/75 ... nooo way Jose. I'd offer 3/30 .. but some GM will go higher than that.

Chad does have Neifi-esque offensive numbers doesn't he ... I sure the dude can catch the ball though.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=2118859 30+ years later and that game still gives me the chills. That article captured the drama well; very few baseball writers could pull that off. Get well soon Peter!

One of the surest ways to expose yourself as a loser is to call yourself a winner. You either are or you aren't; you can't give yourself a winner label.

Me neither. I hope they win every game, but realistically, I know this team is lucky to win two games a week. I don't get upset anymore when they lose, because it's pointless. I'm completely in this camp. I'm rooting for strong individual performances by some Cubs to boost trade value, raise hopes for next year, etc.. A no-no by Z would be a nice consolation prize for this lost summer.

Tigers are going thru the NL Central like a buzzsaw, now 11-2. In 13 games they've outscored the Reds, Cubs, Cards, Brewers and Stros 85-47 :shock:

I scanned down the depressing Rank column, saw the one outlier and thought 'woohoo at least we're not striking out' :( no goony, you're completely justified

According to baseball prospectus, the odds against the Cubs making the playoffs are about 500 to 1 right now. To me it seems like it should be a lot worse - more like 1000 or 2000 to 1.

This reminds me slightly of the Cubs ad campaign going into the 2002 season: Fresh off the trade for Crime Dog in '01 and finishing 88-74, the slogan for '02 was "Forecast: High 90's". I cringed when I saw that; the baseball gods are fickle and they love irony. Sure enough, the Cubs LOST 95 games in '02.

If the Cubs wanted Carlos Beltran they shouldve just signed him in 05. Sarcasm aside, I like Pagan and I hope he's better than his numbers (not expecting Carlos Beltran numbers of course).

LOL that's rich. I especially loved this quote: Nice slap in the face for the rookie: "No, kid, your stuff wasn't all that good. They stopped stealing our signs, THAT's the only reason you almost completely shut em down."

Absolutely. I agree 100%. RISP numbers are so dodgy and non-predictive I ignore them completely. 'Clutch' batters exist, just like trends in the stock market exist, but detecting either of these things statistically is damn-near impossible.

The Bucs are letting us down :wink: Just kidding ... no matter how bad things get I will never, ever root against the Cubs or hope they finish in last. I think I'm in the minority on this board in that respect... :oops:

Doubtful. Here's my scenario. Fire Baker, Rothschild, Clines, Pole and Matthews. Promote Spier to interim manager. Promote Von Joshua as interim hitting coach. See if Billy Williams will serve as third base or bench coach for the interim. Promote other guys within the organization to serve in the other capaities. At the end of the season, interview Gonzalez, Dierker, and even Spier. Hopefully, Davey Johnson will be available for an interview as well. The new manager can select his own staff. That plan works for me - I like it. Both Bruce Miles and Kiley are absolutely spot on with their respective articles today.

Who cares if there is somebody to replace him? You don't need a closer to win 70 games. At the rate he's going, you might have to replace him anyway by next season. Besides, Howry is having a much better year and could easily step into the role Howry is more affordable and has better peripherals. I'd rather keep him and deal Dempster, whose status as a "proven" closer might bring back more value in trade. I love Demp but I'm completely on-board with the idea of trading him. The market tends to overvalue closers. He has the stuff to close, but even when he's on he walks way too many guys to be dependable. I'd be comfortable seeing Howry slotted as the 2007 closer.

I find the older I get, the less I hate the Yankees, Cardinals, Astros & White Sox. Maybe I'm mellowing with age. It just seems so pointless to actually flaunt hatred that is really thinly disguised jealousy. Let's face it ... if the Yanks didn't win all the titles they have, fewer people would hate 'em. What I really hate is losing. Al Davis said it best, "Just win baby." I still despise the White Sox, but I have a weird combo of repulsion/admiration/jealousy too after winning the WS last year and 20 games over so far this year.

Yes, I couldn't agree more with the bolded part above. Someone once said (might have been Stone - I forget now) that throwing the 20k game in his fifth career MLB game might have been the worst thing that could happen to him. It seems to me he DID try to change his mechanics, several times. Every year for the past three years, the annual "Wood-Watch" has included breathless proclamations of "Wood has new mechanics! Less violent delivery! Doesn't throw across his body! Doesn't throw the arm-killing slurve anymore! etc. etc." I believe the "mechanics" thing was VASTLY overplayed in the media. It made experts out of everyone. Z's delivery is abysmal by comparison, and he's never missed a single start in his career due to a pitching-related injury. Ever watch films of Bob Gibson? The guy was practically on the first-base line by the time he delivered a pitch, and he was never injured. The truth is, part of his problem is simply genetic: he's gifted enough to throw 95-100, and throw absolutely filthy breaking balls, but the underlying infrastructure (mainly ligament resiliency) just isn't there to support that violence year after year, especially after the abuse he got in 03. Anyway, I agree there's not much new in that SunTimes article vs what was reported yesterday, but the part that really makes me think Wood is done as a Cub - and possibly as a baseball player - is the bit about him being too distraught to talk to media. Kerry has always been a stand-up guy ... I don't think I've ever heard of him begging off talking to the media. This is a guy who talked to reporters after NLCS game 7 and tearfully proclaim he choked. He doesn't shy away from the tough interview, that's what makes me worry that he's done, and he KNOWS he's done this time. I'll say this much though: there will inevitably be a team that takes a flyer on him next year, and I hope to God it's an AL team. I want to be able to root for a successful comeback for him -- he's just such a good kid (well, guess he's not a kid anymore). But if he's an Astro, for instance ... man that would suck.

Pretty much how I feel. I wish he would have rectified his problems. The future seemed so bright after 03'. Now it looks like curtains. Poor Woody. Gonna miss him. God what happened to this team...... Reading that SunTimes story this morning was the saddest news I've seen yet this season. It feels like the end of an era. Contrary to some posts I've seen in this thread, Kerry NEVER struck me as a bad attitude ... just the opposite: a very likeable, conscientious, old-school baseball player.

Whiskey or scotch? You don't drink enough. Scotch is a type of whiskey. I think you meant scotch or bourbon. After this season you should have the difference down pat. :wink: Also, it's Scotch whisky, not whiskey. The misspelling could be important: if it says Scotch whiskey on the bottle it's bogus / counterfeit. Not that I've been drinking it or anything since the beginning of the Cubs season. :wink: