Cubzfan64

But the reds are on vacation,so we'll be fine Doh - sorry, I meant the Reds :)

And if anyone things the Pirates are gonna lie down and let us win 3 games, they're nuts - if I was one of them I'd be licking my chops and saying "Let's be the ones to knock these losers out of the playoffs!!"

Qhite simply - THIS TEAM JUST ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH

If that doesn't fire up our offense to get out there and win this game, nothing will!!!!

Hey Lou - after the game, make sure to get together with your staff and figure out which veterans need a couple days off to get ready for the playoffs. :roll:

piss away another game

Brad Thompson = Jason Marquis - just watch and see how quickly he'll lose a 1 run lead

With Gallardo going tomorrow night for the Brewers and them seeming to be on an upswing here, the Cubs have NO BUSINESS messing with their rotation to set themselves up for the playoffs. Lou and the boys oughta be stepping up and GETTING THEMSELVES THERE first!! Plenty of blame to go around so far in tonights game! Definitely not playing like there's a division on the line!!

On top of the Brewer loss, it was nice to see a call go the Cubs way (even if it was the wrong call) to lead to a victory for them tonight too.

Told you I had "one of those feelings" - I get em every now and then and more often than not they end up right. Time to head to bed for a good nights sleep thankfully

I have this strange calm feeling inside that Houston is still going to win this - not sure why, just feels like it.

Its the person who is most likely to be the best in the near future. In my definition of being the ace of the staff, that statement is absolutely untrue. The ace in my book is the "go to guy" - the guy who consistently has performed in the recent past and the one guy you rely on RIGHT NOW to step up and pitch the big game when it's needed. Zambrano certainly has the potential to be the ace, but potential isn't a word used to describe an ace. The ace of your staff can change throughout the season imho - right now, Lilly deserves that tag.

There's only one way to get fans to stop booing you (which they have every right to do btw - whether anyone thinks it's a smart or stupid thing to do) - someone should let Z know that calling the fans selfish ISN"T that one way to get them to stop. Fans in Chicago have changed a bit - we've gotten a taste now and then of what it's like to play for something in September and October.... we're no longer satisfied to just spend "a lovely day at the park" regardless of the outcome.... It's been painful watching the Red Sox break their curse, see an average Cardinals team win the WS and watch the cross town White Sox win one.... We've watched this organization spend a crapload of $$ on a team in a division that is essentially the worst in baseball and we have every reason to expect the team to compete for the division title and a chance for a WS. If Z (or any other player on any team) expects their fanbase to watch a poor performance and continue cheering as if nothing is wrong and just go home with the "oh well, we'll get them tomorrow" attitude - they are deluding themselves. My guess is, with the emotions that Z can't seem to control, if he was a fan on the sidelines watching his favorite soccer team lose when it's supposed star player has sucked for a month, he'd be right there with his buddies booing right along side them. Grow a pair, step up and take responsibility for sucking and then go out and do something about it Z!!!! I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU TO DO WHAT IT TAKES TO TURN THE BOO'S INTO CHEERS!!!

I feel badly for his wife and kids (if they have any) - he's obviously a punk who can't control his temper. Even though his wife didn't file charges against him after the assault (that was witnessed by a number of people in Boston), it's a real shame the Phillies didn't release the guy. The reporter shares in the blame here, but at least he didn't try to attack Myers when he called him "[expletive]." I imagine Myers would have beaten the guy bloody if someone hadn't restrained him - would have been bad for the reporter, but at least Myers would have been done!

You'd think at this point Barry would just want to drift into oblivion and never be heard from again - at least since he claims he hates the media attention etc... Despite anything that ever happens, the "court of public opinion" will forever see his career and record as being tainted. The fact that Greg Anderson prefers prison to testifying about Bond's use or non-use of steroids imho is all the proof I need that Barry was doing something he knew was wrong - if there was nothing to hide, why sit in prison? If Bonds ever has a falling out with Anderson, that's when the full information will come out - my guess is Barry will be funding the rest of Anderson's life if not. Personally I'm tired of him and wish he would just go away.

A former ML player taking a swing with his bat at a pitcher and catcher is awesome???! :roll: Not at all humorous as far as I'm concerned.

Seems like that would have to be an assault charge imho. Time for Jose to hang it up I think.

I give Ankiel alot of credit as well. Imho he must love playing the game of baseball alot because many guys would have given up and found something else to do after the debacle that was his attempt at being a SP. Kudos to Ankiel - but I still hope he strikes out in every AB against us!

I like optimism - I don't always have it, but I like it! Thanks for the pick-me-up!

They aren't a top 4 NL team by any stretch, but they could still very easily make the playoffs. I'll accept the fact that they "could" make the playoffs, but I don't think it would be easy and if I were a betting man, I'd say they don't have the horses to do it. Outside of Lee (not having a typical year), Ramirez and Soriano (who's now out for awhile), the rest of the offense is made up mostly of retreads and "hopefuls." Just look at the lineup's each night and the number of moves up and down to the minor leagues. As someone else said, I think they're just throwing stuff at the wall hoping something sticks - that to me is not the sign of a team that will make the playoffs. That said, I hope I'm wrong and that we get in and find a way to finally get the monkey off our backs before we hit 100 years of futility.

The only way I get him is to put him in the OF like I said EVERY SINGLE DAY no matter what he does - give him the AB's and see what he can do over an extended period of time. He has a raw talent that allows him to crush the ball when he connects - his problem imho is that he doesn't have the natural baseball instincts to be able to connect with the ball often enough and he certainly doesn't have the natural instincts to be an OF. If the organization feels they can teach him those skills and accept his mistakes (which he WILL make) through the end of this year and probably all of 2008, then go get him. If the team believes he's valuable off the bench and as a 4th OF'r, don't even think of touching him.

I've altered my position. Personally I don't think the Cubs are a playoff caliber team this year - if they make it, great, but I just don't see it happening. If they can get Pena cheaply in a trade, get him and stick him out there to play EVERY day somewhere in the OF - then in the offseason, put together some kind of program with him to work with a gold glove defensive OF'r to work on his defense and a hitting instructor to teach him how to either hit a curveball or lay off them when they're out of the strikezone. I agree with all of you who say he has potential and he is definitely still young - I just don't think he ever got the chance to progress through the minor leagues like he should have been where he would have learned alot of these things. I'm not convinced he can learn how to be a good OF'r or a decent curveball hitter, but at this point I don't think we're a good enough team to do anything anyways - go ahead and give it a try.

Face it - deep down we all know this just isn't that good a ballclub. We're a .500 team at best. Anything can happen, but being Cub fans, generally we know that "anything" is something bad 99% of the time. The game was lost in the first inning.

Having watched Pena play this year and last for Boston, if the NL had a DH, I'd say go for it, but if we play him every day in the OF, he'll give up as many runs as he generates. Ok, that's probably an exxageration, but honestly, he is far and away the absolute worst OF I've ever seen play the game - BAR NONE!! He gets no jump on the ball whatsoever and bungles play after play out there. That said, I guess we're in a desparate situation for some offense, and if he can be gotten cheaply, I suppose I'd get him too. I just wouldn't expect him to be the piece that gets us to the playoffs. There's a reason Cincy gave up on him and Boston is giving up on him. Boston dearly needs more offense and you don't see them excited about the prospect of playing him very often either. It's a gamble, but I guess if we're not gonna replace Jones with Pie or someone else within our system, we may as well get him and try it.

OMG!!! Dusty Baker was right!!!! Walks DO clog the bases!!!! *sigh*