biittner77

I can't see advertisers abandoning the Cubs for the Bears since they play most of their seasons at different times of the year. As far as the Blackhawks go, without a TV deal, how would corporate sponsors try to market hockey fans? If the Blackhawks sell out every home game and go deep into the playoffs, they've sold about 1.1 million tickets. Even when they've been pretty bad the Cubs draw 2.5 times that.

The Eulogy for the Sharks is the best one yet http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Eulogy-Remembering-the-2009-10-San-Jose-Sharks;_ylt=AraCa.4W92K.xSWVdMi_x217vLYF?urn=nhl,243341 Chock full of AD references.

I don't disagree with any of that but I think you're giving The Cubs too much credit for creative thinking. Yesterday seemed like the perfect opportunity to have Zambrano piggy back Silva. They could have easily taken Silva out after 5 then have Zambrano pitch 3 or 4 depending on the lead. INstead they're having Zambrano pitch a sim game today. I think it's more likely they are trading Lilly for an upgrade somewhere hopefully other than bullpen.

Grabow grabow grabow oh walk like an Egyptian

Ramirez turns 32 in June. He only seems older because this is his 13th season. A 3 year deal at $15 million per is unlikely but not impossible. He'd have to hit about .335 the rest of the way to get his avg up into the .270- .280 range where people think he might opt out. He's certainly capable of doing that.

I saw a blurb on MLB network that the Nats are interested in Oswalt. Crazy as it sounds the Nats could make a run this year. Their offense is pretty good when healthy. Adding Strasburg and Oswalt to their rotation would give them a boost. Meanwhile the Mets, Braves and Marlins seem to hover in mediocrity. The Nats could be the Reds of the NL East. Perhaps not this season but next year, with a full season of Strasburg and maybe adding a few more parts.

Add Scott Moore to the former prospect turned Oriole.

Which is why I'm worried that he'll be the one sent to the pen instead of Silva. . I think being LH keeps him in the rotation over Silva. Piniella and Hendry like them some LH players.

I would not be against selling high on Fukudome. I like Fukudome since he brings plus defense and obp- 2 things the Cubs always seem to lack. However, if the Cubs could get value for him then they should consider it. Hendry, who's never been a big proponent of getting on base as a skill, probably thinks that Colvin adds a little more power and is a lot less expensive as a platoon player.

Could he not start putting together some Theriot years for the Cubs starting next year as a replacement for Theriot? If it saves a few million, why not? Camp seems more Theriotesque than Barney. Can play SS or 2nd, has a little experience in CF, has no power but hits lots of singles.

Pie, Pattseron and Montanez have all been on the O's 25 roster this season.

No kidding, it doesn't make any sense at all like this. Is it possible that he's joining the team in Texas so Rothschild can do some BP sessions with him before they decide to activate him? If they do add him to the roster I would think Berg would get sent down before Stevens. Having Howry and Grabow as a 7th-8th combo will really save wear and tear on Marmol who will now pitch once a week to get work in games where the Cubs are winning or losing by 5 runs.

Nice to see Blake Parker not walk anybody

Lance Armstrong had , what, 3 different types of cancer? I don't care if he used PEDs.

You may turn out to be right but If you combined the money that they would be paying Lee with the money that they are paying Lilly, they have enough to go get a very good 1st baseman. Not that there are many good ones available in FA but they could trade for a soon to be expensive 1st baseman and then afford to extend him immediately. Much as he likes Lee, I believe Hendry would love to be able to add a LH 1st baseman to bat in the middle of the order. I think we'll see him use the same rhetoric that he used when he non tendered Kerry Wood, ie "He deserves a chance to go get that 3 year deal , blah blah blah."

To be a real number 1 in a 30 team league, why must you be top 10? During the regular season it doesn't matter much. Would you want to enter the playoffs with your best starter not even among the 10 best in the league? The Atlanta Braves had 3 of the 10 best pitchers every year in the playoffs and were heroic underachievers. Why aren't you hammering somebody on the Cubs offense for not being a top 10 hitter? I'd leave that to Braves fans. But since you brought them up, they did manage to win at least 1 WS so I'd say they were more successful than whatever approach the Cubs have been using. I'm in a rweally bad mood and I'm going to leave this thread now before I say something that gets me banned.

To be a real number 1 in a 30 team league, why must you be top 10? During the regular season it doesn't matter much. Would you want to enter the playoffs with your best starter not even among the 10 best in the league? Obviously I'd like the best player possible at every single position. It would be sweet to have Schilling and Johnson atop the rotation, but that doesn't happen for most teams. Wouldn't you agree that a team with the Cubs resources should be able to afford at least one of those guys?

To be a real number 1 in a 30 team league, why must you be top 10? During the regular season it doesn't matter much. Would you want to enter the playoffs with your best starter not even among the 10 best in the league?

No, in fact I said he may be the best starting pitcher on the team. Someone said that Zambrano is a top 10 pitcher and I have a hard time buying that. If I didn't know better I'd swear you guys were [expletive] with me.

I was thinking Ryan Dempster was getting money comparable to what Zambrano got. My misstake. He is a good value at 12 million.

Thats my point, there isnt even 1 guy who consistently wins 20 games, yet everybody loves bringing it up when talking about Zambrano. Zambrano has never really been that guy(true #1)? Really? 2003 3.11 ERA 1.318 Whip 32 games started 214 innings pitched at age 22 but he only won 13 games so he sucked 2004 2.75 ERA 1.216 WHIP 31 games started 208 innings pitched at age 23, but only won 16 games so he sucked. I can keep listing his stats and they all will have an ERA under 4 and usually have 200 innings pitched along with them. Add those numbers along with his offensive production he provided Z has consistently been a top 15 pitcher in all of baseball, and in the majority of those years, hes been a top 10 pitcher since he arrived. But because Z didnt get to some magical number of 20 wins that basically every other pitcher in baseball doesnt ever get too, Z gets called an underachiever, not a true #1, etc...... I never have and never will say anything about Zambrano not winning 20 games as a reason he's not #1. I defy you to find even one post from me that suggests that wins is a useful stat in measuring a pitcher's value. What I will say is that he is not the same pitcher he was back in 2003-04. Sometimes he shows flashes. He may be the best starting pitcher on the current team. But you'll have to show me how he's still a top 10 pitcher.

Interesting. What would the low end odds of winning the WS in an 8 team field be? 1 in 64? What if they made the 1st round best of 7?

The fact that he's overpaid though is important because they are also overpaying Dempster. If they could clear Zambrano's Salary to make room for a true ace I think they'd have to do that if they want to salvage this season. On the other hand, if they replace Lilly with an in house option like Cashner or Jackson that frees up a good chunk of money too but not as much as Zambrano. I don't believe Zambrano has to go. I also believe he should be in the rotation and it's either childish or dumb or both to keep him in the pen.

I don't believe that's what he was saying. There aren't 5 guys that consistantly win 20 games. What he's talking about is a true #1 starter. Zambrano has never really been that guy. How much does Cliff Lee make? I heard some baseball talking heads say that Seattle is looking to get out from his contract. Maybe they'd take a package of Zambrano, Wells and Stevens for Lee, then they could spin Zambrano to Boston for salary relief or less than it would cost Boston in terms of prospects to just trade for Lee.

What superflous blame did I place on him? I said that he deserves blame for being bad at the things that he can control. He keeps using Grabow in close situations when he hasn't been effective all year. He hasn't dropped Ramirez to the 8th spot until he starts hitting again. He plays Hill for his "defense" even though the offense is struggling to score runs and Soto is so much better. Those are just some of things that he could control that he has done poorly. You agreed that being blamed for the other things is part of his job. So I don't see how I'm ignoring anything.