BleedCubbieBlue81

Welcome back Bruce! As you can see, you've come at a very depressing time on this message board.

I think Wood might be on the market, but he'd have to waive that no trade clause, which is doubtul. And I think Maddux is untradeable in general. With his contract, and possible retirement at the end of the year (you heard it here first... well, maybe not, but i'm calling it anyway), no team will want him. My guess on guys who will not be traded under any circumstances: Prior Zambrano Lee Ramirez Cedeno Murton Pie Guzman Hill

He's already doing it to Cedeno. I wouldn't be shocked to see Murton start a game or two, then go straight to Dubois spot on the bench. I hope I'm wrong, but Dusty is as stubborn as they come. Even with his job on the line, he'll be stubborn. Have you ever tried to convince a stubborn person they're wrong? It's like trying to convince Michael Jackson that children are off limits. Or trying to convince Oprah, to shut her mouth, put the twinkie down, and get to the store on time. That's just my opinion though.

Why do you think that? Dusty never plays the kids, why would he allow his hand to be forced now? That a little unfair. The pitching staff is littered with youth and/or inexperience, and he has had no problem going with them. I have never been able to understand why Dusty can throw the pitching prospects in the fire, but ween the hitting prospects so slowly they lose rhythm. He'd allow his hand to be forced if he wants to keep his job. Baker has insisted on doing it his way, which has led to the lowest OBP out of the top 2 spots in the lineup in the majors. And now the team is sinking fast, when 8 days ago they almost took the wild card lead. What a difference a week makes huh? Dusty played young pitchers out of necessity. He had no choice. There were no other alternatives. But if people remember back at the beginning of the year, everytime Dubois started, he'd get two to three at bats, and then he'd be pulled. It didn't matter how many hits he had, or anything like that. He's also hellbent on riding the Neifi train straight to hell. When the team brings up a guy like Cedeno that has been that hot, there is no reason to stick with Perez. Now Cedeno has likely cooled off after sitting on the bench. Someone said it best earlier. He'll play Murton tonight, and he'll go 0-4 or 1-5, and Dusty will have his reason to never start him again.

Agreed.

No need to apologize. He came up and didn't produce. There's no reason the Cubs shouldn't be looking for someone to take over LF. It was a beautiful dream once. And if he can go down the Iowa and get his swing back, maybe he can claw his way back and become our leftfielder of the future. Regarding Damon, I think our money can be better spent on someone younger and cheaper. He's had a few good years, but as someone said, he thinks he's God's gift to baseball, and he's going to want a fortune. There has to be a cheaper younger version of him out there somewhere. And hopefully Hendry will find him.

Oh, I agree that if Pie didn't get hurt, he'd be in the bigs. But I also think it would be too soon to bring him up. They brought CPatt up too soon, and it hasn't worked yet, so I'd be cautious with a future star like Pie.

Let me put on my Mariotti hat and give it a go. "All is not well in Cubdom. The Rev. Johnny B. will need to hold a revival rivalling the Sermon on the Mount to get this bunch of non-believers to even show up at Chapel Wrigley, let alone try to win. Indeed, the Tribsters no doubt are fuming this morning following the Lovable Losers' eighth straight loss to a bunch of kids from AA Bravo Town. Shelling out $100M and being four games under .500 in July will do that to you. (Though, had they spent money on the numberous free agents instead of being constrained by chronic tight-fistedness, they may be in a better position than relying on Hollandsworth, an unproven Dubois, et al.) Baker and his boys will see themselves hung in effigy on Sheffield when they return to the Not So Friendly Confines. All the while, you have to wonder if they had acquired the Sheffield playing in right for the Yanks when he was ripe for the picking if they'd be in this situation. That was Cubdom's Sheffield of Dreams. Now, they are lost. Desperate to do something, the manic Jim Hendry finally dumped underachieving Corey Patterson, banishing him and Dubois to the minors late last night. The scapegoats have arrived! In their steads, youngsters Adam Greenberg and Matt Murton were summoned as personal water boys for Baker and his No So Good Pitching Coach, Larry Rothschild. Never fear, Cub fans, Kerry Wood will return to the hill and throw a gem, striking out 1 billion Marlins, and life will be good again. Cubdom will rejoice, "We've turned the corner! Woody's back!" The next day, Wood's arm will be in a cast, having torn every soft tissue structure from shoulder to little finger, and Baker will wonder why everyone is so made that Wood threw 243 pitches. Steve Stone, of course, will be smiling. Advice to Jim Hendry: Next season, look for Cub ballplayers, not Cub Scouts. Proverbial fork, meet bearhide." Wow, that definitely captures the essence of Mariotti. Any excuse to kick a Chicago team when they are down, and he's all over it.

I really think that this is the last we'll see of Corey Patterson and Jason Dubois in Cubbie Blue. If this team is somehow in striking distance of the wild card come the trade deadline, those two will be gone. That bothers me. I might be one of the only people left that thinks Dubois will be a good major leaguer one day. Patterson's career so far is the result of bringing him up too soon. I hope Hendry thinks about that every time he hears someone mention Felix Pie. Learn from your mistakes Jim... I also think that this is Hendry's way of telling Dusty his plan didn't work. He let Dusty control this ship, and Dusty sank it. Now he has probably told him that these guys are going to play. Either Dusty can play them, or Jim will find someone else who will. I would bet we see Murton starting today.

Score reported that Dubois is joining him in AAA. Not sure if anyone touched on that yet.

:lol: Did Derrek Lee personally thank you for getting him the start in the all star game?

I remember last year when there was all that talk about him being traded for Nomar. Then the day the Nomar deal was announced, all that was said in the locker room was, "We got Nomar". I guess Clement assumed that meant he was gone, and he was extremely pissed off. (Even through some stuff if I remember correctly) But when Dusty told him he was still a Cub, he hugged Dusty and was on the verge of tears. He loved Chicago, and it's a shame we had to let him go.

I always wanted to keep Clement here too. And I predicted he'd have an all star season wherever he ended up. He's just that good and we never gave him any run support. But the Cubs were banking on Wood and Prior being healthy, and the young arms to fill in the 5 spot. They didn't think they needed Clement. Plus, he was going to get a lot of money wherever he went, and the Cubs didn't think they could match that. THe payroll is high enough. I don't like their decision, but we all have to live with it. I hope Clement turns it on even more and grabs himself a Cy Young this year though. :shock:

Agreed. Forget the Cardinals. The Braves should be the only thing the Cubs worry about. The Cards have a bunch of games remaining against NL wild card contenders and I hope the Cards win every one of them. The only 14 games I want them to lose are the ones against the Cubs. Good point. As much as I hate to see the Cardinals win, we're probably going to need their help down the line. :shudders in disgust:

Flames24Rulz: I read your sig in the paper and I wanted to puke.

Yeah, the way we're playing right now, those games frighten me. While I think this team has what it takes to right the ship and make a run at this thing, they need to do it before those Cardinal games start. Those could be devastating if we're not ready.

Not to be a suckup, but that's why this is the best baseball forum I've ever read. Your moderators do their job and actually take pride in running a great forum. Amen. I came here because it was a great place to talk baseball with knowledgable people, and no trolls. People on other boards complain that NSBB doesn't allow conflicting opinions which is completely untrue. They don't allow people who come here only to get a rise out of others. And that's what is great.

Happens to the best of us. 8-[

This is basically do or die time. Either start winning series', or start playing the rookies. It would be very tough going into the all star break down 8-10 games. We'd need one hell of a second half just to keep pace. Need to start winning now. These next 2 games in Atlanta are the most important of the season so far. If we win both we are only 4 games back in the WC race, if we lose both we are 8 back. That wouldn't be fatal but it would be very very bad. We really need a split at the least. Very true. These are almost "must wins". While being 8 back wouldn't be the deathblow, going into Florida four games under .500 to face a very strong Marlins team might do it. We cannot head into Florida down on ourselves. They will destroy whatever shred of hope we had left. We need to gain some momentum before going there, even if it's just a little bit. We've got Prior going tonight against the all star, Smoltz. This was already a tough match up before the thought of possibly not having Derrek Lee for the game. This game will test this team's toughness. And these next two games might ultimately decide if Jim Hendry sees this team as a threat this year or not. We're going to need the Mark Prior of old...

This is basically do or die time. Either start winning series', or start playing the rookies. It would be very tough going into the all star break down 8-10 games. We'd need one hell of a second half just to keep pace. Need to start winning now.

I seriously doubt anyone thought that team had heart when they were slogging their way before turning it around in August. Well I sure hope they can pull off another second half like they did then.

So DLee has a bum shoulder... I always thought that carrying a team on your shoulders was just an expression. Apparently I was wrong. That gave me a chuckle

While I am in no way giving up on this team, I cannot call them a wild card team until they start playing like it. They can't be a wild card team if they consistently get their :!: handed to them by other wild card contenders. This team is playing with no heart right now. Someone mentioned 2003, well in 2003 that's all the team had was heart. They were not the most talented team, and they knew that. They stuck with it, and fought as long as they could. It wasn't enough, but they put themselves in position to be great. This team has no emotion anymore. A lot of people are starting to mention that we need to add a big bat. I don't buy that at all. What good is one more solo home run going to do? It was proven last year that solos don't win ballgames. We have no scrappers at all this year. No one on this team fights to get on base. No one fights to get themselves into scoring position. We rag on guys like Biggio for leaning into pitches, but at least he's doing what he can to try and help his team win. We have no one like that. The Sox have Podsednik, the ultimate table setter this year, and look at what they are accomplishing. That's the type of player we need. And that is what Jim Hendry should be looking for. A guy that is going to be a fighter. The closest thing we have in my eyes is Holly. He's the only one I see flying out of the box every time, and he's the only one who appears to be fighting and hustling no matter what. He may not have the talent, but at least he's giving his all. We have a group of starting pitchers who are incredibly talented, but also incredibly inconsistent. Not one of them has been able to put together back to back strong games in quite some time. And we have a bullpen that rivals most local high schools right now. I am actually kind of hoping Derrek Lee is out for a couple of games. This team has used him as a crutch all year. They need to learn how to all play together. You can't rely on one guy to carry you the whole way. Aramis has picked up the slack, but other than that, no one else has moved. Maybe a few games without MVLee will show these guys that he can't do it all, and they need to get in gear. But there are some positives. There are no dominating teams in the wild card race this year. And the Cardinals, while being a damn good team, have shown this year that they are in fact, human. When healthy, our arms can go up against anyone in the league. A healthy Prior showed everyone in 2003 that he could put up a better second half than almost anyone. A healthy Wood can strike out anyone... period. Greg Maddux is still Greg Maddux. He historically has a WAY better second half than first. Carlos Zambrano has shown that by simply throwing one pitch at Jim Edmonds, he can start a fire under this team. While I don't agree with it, if that's what it takes to get this team going and show some emotion, then so be it. We could be getting Nomar, a former batting champion, back soon. If he starts hitting the way he can, that'll take some stress off two big bats, and it'll put Neifi back where he belongs. So yes, there are reasons to be optimistic. One major reason there is still hope is that it's not even the all star break yet. We have half a season to go. It's not over, that's why they play the games. When backed into a corner or against a wall, most animals will fight for their survival. The Cubs backs are against the wall. Will they fight or lay down?

Cliff Floyd went to Mulder's high school, along with Eddy Curry. We almost got Floyd over the offseason. I think Hairston grew up on the south side, or close to it. His dad played for the Sox right?

I don't buy into this whole strength of schedule thing. Yeah, they have a weaker one right now, but by the end of the season, it'll be pretty close to evening out. The fact is, they are beating the teams they are supposed to be beating, and we're not. If we can't right the ship by the end of this Braves series, we'll have blown a golden opportunity to get right back in the wild card hunt. We can't worry about the Cards anymore. We need to win, plain and simple.