BleedCubbieBlue81

You're right, this is a redundant argument, so I'll say one more thing and then try (try being the key word) to leave it be. Does anyone remember who Ronnie Fields was? He was the MVP on Kevin Garnett's high school basketball team at Farragut. Can anyone tell me where he is now? Last I checked, he was bouncing around the CBA or ABA, whichever of those leagues was still around a few years ago. My point there is, potential is just a word until you prove yourself. Then it's called talent. I will take a guy who has proven himself to be effective over a guy with potential every day of the week. So a younger cheaper option might look like a great idea to some. You can sit there and HOPE the guy pans out into a great starter. Or you can take a guy like Maddux who has proven he will get you 15 wins year in and year out. That to me is worth 9 mil. There are thousands of guys with potential. There are only a few who have turned that potential into talent. Those are the guys you shoud be paying 9 million a year for.

It may just be me, but I don't see how having Greg Maddux in your rotation can be a bad thing. Yeah, there are younger, cheaper guys. But do you really feel more comfortable with Sergio Mitre on the mound than Greg Maddux?

I know wins aren't a great measure for pitchers, but they aren't completely meaningless either. If they were, no one would be talking about his 312 career wins. Kerry Woods career ERA is 3.70. He had a great year in 2003, and his ERA was 3.20, which was his career best. Maddux's career ERA is 2.99. While it's was relatively high last year (4.02), that was his highest ERA since 1988. And that's by a huge margin. Everything else was generally in the 2. range. With some years in 1., and a few in 3.. He's earned his money in my eyes. While my opinion may not matter, it is still my opinion.

Matt Clement and his 8.5 million dollars (compared to Greg's 9 million) say hi. I love Clement, but for him to put up 30-33 wins in the past two years, he'd have to win between 21-24 games this year. While it's possible, it's not likely. And he has also never won over 15 games in his career. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to keep Clement more than anyone, but paying Maddux 9 million isn't a huge catastraphe

What I find most amazing is that Maddux has a streak of what, 15 straight seasons with 15 wins or more while Kerry Wood has never won more than 14 games in a year. Not even once. And Wood is making more money than Maddux is.

I think he's well worth the 9 mill we are giving him. How many other pitchers do we have that will win 30-33 games in a two year span with this team? Who else could you get for less money that would put up those results? Yeah, he's not dominant or flashy, but I feel more comfortable with him out there than a lot of other guys.

What, they don't get WGN in Romania? Who knew? :lol: If the Cubs can stay within ten games of the Cards after that stretch, they'll be in good shape. Maybe not for the division, but they'll be right in it for the WC

I'm frustrated, but optimistic. We've been playing absolutely horrible at times, and we are still near the top of the wild card race (2 games out). We've managed to stay afloat despite losing our starting shortstop (who has won batting titles in the past), and two of our Cy Young caliber pitchers. We've won with guys like John Koronka on the mound. Lets take a look at the positives we have going for us. For one, nobody is going to run away with the wild card this year. There is no shame in not winning the division, as long as you're in the playoffs. (Although that race is far from over) And once you're in the playoffs, everyone starts from zero. Derrek Lee is having a better year than any Cub I can remember... ever. And that includes the Sosa years when he was crushing the ball, and hitting for a high average. Burnitz, while not lighting up the scoreboard, is having a pretty steady year. Aramis is starting to heat up. And if last year is any indication, his ceiling will be incredibly high. That's a one-two punch I would not want to pitch to (Lee and Aram). We're getting Mark Prior back this weekend. While he may not be 100%, he'll still be effective. I'll take an 80% Prior over three quarters of the rest of the league. Kerry Wood will soon be back, and hopefully back to the Wood of old. Those two are two of our leaders. Maddux is still Greg Maddux. He will be out there every game giving us solid innings... I could go on and on. Two weeks ago, we were all on top of the world when the Cubs got themselves back on track. This is a rough stretch, but you know they will snap out of it. I just hope it's not too late when they do.

Anyone there today? Does anyone know if the sign changed with the new series?

Here are some more old ones from the old Miller ad thread From another Houston series last season: "Everything is bigger in Texas, but everything is better in Wrigley" And from an Expos game: "Great taste and less filling, even if you use the metric system" burnt out cubbie fan posted "Who's Your Padre?" (obviously a San Diego series) Holy Cow posted one from when the A's came to town, "Hey Oakland, you're out of your league!" Banedon posted for the Milwaukee series: "Hey Milwaukee, thanks for the beer." sethuel1 posted one from an earlier St. Louis series: "Hey STL, too bad you can't brew wins". And he also posted one from the playoffs, "Spray champagne, drink beer." Sam Studebaker posted a few old ones from 2003. Against Milwaukee, "Baseball and beer. No meat races here." Against the Pirates, "Last call? Not in Wrigleyville." Cubs vs. Giants (2004), "No controversy here, just great beer." Cubs vs. Cardinals, "Wrigleyville's Cardinal Rule: Better beer for better fans." Another Milwaukee series, "Anda' one, anda' two, anda another cold one." Garwilly posted one from the Marlins series that I'm not a fan of "Eyes on the ball, HANDS on your beer" And after typing all of those out, I realized I should've just posted a link and let you all go there yourselves. But hey, live and learn...

I think they change the sign for every home series. We had a thread going in here toward the end of last season. I was trying to compile as many of the old slogans as I could. I hate Miller products, but the signs are great. Lets see if we can get them all this year.

I had three computers up for the VWR, and I got nothing. My boss at work got in at about 11 and said it was pretty hard to find any tickets. (I think he ended up with 2 seats against the Brewers. He was trying to buy 6 for pretty much any weekend game. Mostly just single seats left. They don't post that on the VWR though.