BleedCubbieBlue81

And I love that quote. God, I can't wait to see Soriano on the field for the Cubs.

I wonder if the fickle crossover fans will come back to the Cubs if they are the ones winning? God I hope not. It's hard enough to get Cubs tickets as it is. I don't want the bandwagoners showing up to games and asking stupid questions like "Who is that number 34?", or "Why isn't Sosa starting in right field?"

Not a day off, just no Cubs pics. Ozzie looks to be checking out some ass: http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070218/capt.azmg10302181934.white_sox_spring_baseball_azmg103.jpg The White Sox go to Arizona for spring training right? Or is it Florida? I can never remember. But either way, is the heavy jacket really necessary there Ozzie?

Hendry = http://www.qpolls.com/series/terminator/images/terminator.jpg

*CONFUSED* :oops: Couldn't this be a big disadvantage for the batter? Took me a second read on the first one. The first part is meaningless since such a scenario never would have resulted the runner getting called out. The second part basically means that if the batter starts to walk back to the dugout, once they leave the dirt, they can't then start to run to first base. But that's pretty meaningless, as well, since the odds of reaching first after casually starting to walk back to the dugout aren't too great. I do believe that is how the Sox got to the World Series. Exactly, the first thing that came to mine was AJ Pierzynski juking back to the dugout, and then taking off towards first. This rule should simply be known as the Pierzynski rule. Or, if we're getting technical, the jack@$$ rule.

is that a ripoff of the "I-L-L!" chant? i don't know for sure who started it so i could be wrong. From what I remember, both schools claim that they started it first, I don't think anyone really knows. Everything I've heard says Mizzou started it, and Illinois stole it and tried to claim it as their own.

What guarantee? Some projections have Z declining this year and drastically declining of the next five years. We may choose to disregard those projections, but we can't just look at Z's numbers last year and assume he'll produce them again this year. I would trade Zambrano for Jered Weaver and Brandon Wood. Didn't those same projections once have Mark Prior steadily improving? A declining Zambrano is still better than most pitchers. I'd take that over a couple of question marks that probably won't equal his success. That's just me though. I never understood the whole trade your star player to make the team better philosophy. Yeah, he may have peaked last year, but just because he's not having as good of a year as last year doesn't mean he's still not an awesome player. Would the Chargers consider trading LaDainian Tomlinson because he probably won't equal his production from this year?

For every trade he mentions that benefits the seller, there are probably 20 that completely blow up in their face. No thank you on trading Zambrano. Why trade a guarantee for a couple of maybes?

Haha, wow, you almost jinxed them. Pulled it off, but it shouldn't have been that close.

"Hats for bats.... Keep bats warm."

some article (Daily Herald?) said Prior was ahead of Miller, who is in the long-toss phase of his rehab. didnt say where prior was, though. Well, at the very least, we've known Prior has been on the "throwing off the mound" phase since mid-January. That's definitely an improvement from past years. Prior even standing on the mound is an improvement over the past few years. I really hope those three can all come back and come close to their old form. One, it would be the best thing that could happen to the Cubs, and two, it would make all the people who said their careers are over eat crow. Let's fantasize here a moment. Let's say Wood, Prior and Miller are all 100%. We would have a rotation of: Zambrano, Prior, Hill, Miller (or switch Miller/Hill), Lilly. Bullpen of Ohman, Cotts (swingman), Wood, Howry, Dempster, Wuertz, Eyre. We could trade Marquis and pick up some of his contract to allow us to get "uneaten" sunflower seeds for him. Ahhh, if only that could actually happen. It's a beautiful dream... I think we could get more than some uneaten seeds for Marquis. I'm sure someone would be willing to throw in some extra batting practice balls. And yeah, there's a difference between having those three guys healthy, and having those three guys healthy and back to 2003 form. Now that would be the dream.

I'll edit it as soon as there really are pictures....I started this thread last year and it had over 10K hits...it may have that many before we even get a picture this year. Thanks. I keep getting crushed by the letdowns. I need my fix soon. :lol:

Probably from a White Sox fan. Just my opinion here, but anyone that hits 40 home runs is a superstar. He may not be the best player in the league, but he's a difference maker on any team you put him on.

When Cub pictures actually are posted, can we edit the title of this thread to let everyone know? Everytime I see a new post in this thread my eyes light up and I get giddy with anticipation. Then I see that there are still no pictures, and it's such a letdown.

dream on... don't care what he or his parents are saying, he's going to the nba. Normally I'm all for guys staying all four years in college. I usually don't like when they go pro early, but for guys like Oden and Durant, they need to go as soon as they are allowed. He has a shot to be the #1 pick, or at worst, the #2 pick. If he stays in college, he could only jeopardize that ala Matt Leinart. Plus, if he gets hurt next year playing college ball, he's out of luck. If he gets hurt playing NBA ball, he'll have his millions to fall back on. The reason most people go to college is to get a good job. Some guys find a way to do that without graduating by going pro in their sports.

some article (Daily Herald?) said Prior was ahead of Miller, who is in the long-toss phase of his rehab. didnt say where prior was, though. Well, at the very least, we've known Prior has been on the "throwing off the mound" phase since mid-January. That's definitely an improvement from past years. Prior even standing on the mound is an improvement over the past few years. I really hope those three can all come back and come close to their old form. One, it would be the best thing that could happen to the Cubs, and two, it would make all the people who said their careers are over eat crow.

I'm not sure it's quite that long, but that's probably Jeff Samardzija, the pitching prospect from ND. I was thinking it might be Cotts, but Samardzija makes a lot more sense.

Ha, yeah, that is kind of funny. I guess they could always just watch over the players lot... or the bike check. :lol:

wins like this keep them on the bubble, regardless of what happens in the Big East Tourney. They're playing with confidence at the right time here What hurts them is that they already have 11 losses thanks to inconsistency, and they have a few big games coming up against good teams. (@ Notre Dame, and 2 games that can be won against South Florida. They also have Cincinnati, which has only 1 win the Big East) If they manage to win out, which would not be easy, they'd be 19-11 going into the Big East Tourney with key wins over Kansas, ND twice, and Marquette. Not looking good, but they almost need to win out, or do some damage in the Big East tourney. They need to do both, or I guess if they lose to ND, make it to the finals of the BE tourney. One of those regular season wins is agasint a non D-1 school, so they'd only be 18-11. Yeah, they probably do need to do both, there are too many bubble teams ahead of them. They have gotten hot at the right time though. If they can win the majority of their last few games (basically meaning pretty much all of them), they'd have a shot. Their strength of schedule is 11th in the country, and their RPI is one behind Notre Dame (#'s 55 and 56. Not great, but within striking distance of top 50). The committee also looks at your last ten games, in which case DePaul might stand a chance since they just started winning. They might need one more marquee win to even be considered though (Kansas was kind of early in the season, and ND has fallen to pretty much a very good bubble team), so depending on who they draw in the Big East tourney, they might have their shot to get it.

The only thing that bothers me is that the "Bud Light Bleachers" may have been the start of a very gradual selling off of everything. Now they have ads in the outfield. What's next, "Chico's Bail Bonds presents Wrigley Field"?

wins like this keep them on the bubble, regardless of what happens in the Big East Tourney. They're playing with confidence at the right time here What hurts them is that they already have 11 losses thanks to inconsistency, and they have a few big games coming up against good teams. (@ Notre Dame, and 2 games that can be won against South Florida. They also have Cincinnati, which has only 1 win the Big East) If they manage to win out, which would not be easy, they'd be 19-11 going into the Big East Tourney with key wins over Kansas, ND twice, and Marquette. Not looking good, but they almost need to win out, or do some damage in the Big East tourney.

AHH, it's days like this that make life worth living. First, DePaul beats (then) #5 Kansas. Then they knock off #21 Notre Dame. And tonight, they beat #13 Marquette. It wouldn't matter if Marquette was ranked first or last, I love beating them. Go Demons. http://www.armchairgm.com/mwiki/images/5/58/DePaul.gif

Gesundheit, Lou

I was under the impression that guys could show up as early as they wanted if they wanted to get extra work in. It's just that pitchers and catchers are required to show up today. Anyone have info on this? Cause I'd definitely like to see some of our position players out there getting some extra work in the field.

Myers car..... :shock: Look at the gut on Ryan Howard. He may be Cecil Fielder before his career is over.