gflore34

Same old, same old with this team, 2 steps forward, 3 steps back.

This Cub bullpen cannot consistently throw strikes...

Dunn, Griffey and even Kearns hitting HR's is one thing but, when someone like Aurilia hits HR's its very frustrating. Aurilia at the tail end of his career and effectiveness has what? At least two HR's and 5+ RBI's this series? What a joke!

Dunn, Griffey and even Kearns hitting HR's is one thing but, when someone like Aurilia hits HR's its very frustrating. Aurilia at the tail end of his career and effectiveness has what? At least two HR's and 5+ RBI's this series? What a joke!

Not to mention Lefties that have OWNED him. Rusch seemed like the obvious choice in that situation to me. It doesn't matter how many arms are available to Dusty, he has his "boyz", stats be damned. Seven relievers gives him seven more possibities to mis-manage the pen. I would have gone with Mitre last night. On such a warm night he might have got that sinker going and would have kept the Cubs in the game.

Its a sad commentary on someone who has resort to starting rumors on the Web for what? Entertainment? Jollies? I've never really understood this troll mentality or thing to begin with, why? I just don't get it.

I look upon anything Wood can give the Cubs as an unexpected bonus - like finding $20 in your pants pocket before you put them in the wash. If some season he makes 25+ plus starts, great. If not, that's OK, wasn't expecting much to begin with.

I'm actually the source. Just ask me anything. How many Dunn heads could you fit in a Kearns head? That question cannot properly be answered. The problem being that scientists have yet to actually find a number large enough to scope the sheer hugeness of Austin Kearns' head. If Kearns was much taller would he be able to eclipse the Sun with his head? Not only that, but the sheer amount of weight of his head that far off of earth would throw it off its axis. As a result he actually can never ride on a plane. If such an event were to occur, Kevin Mench would be injected with steroids and then launched into the air in the opposite direction to hopefully save the planet. Why Kevin Mench? Why not Carlos Lee sans the steroids? He's plan B. And incase you never noticed, Mench has a HUGE head. Thanks Your plan is supreme. With Kearns putting out the Sun, all games at Wrigley Field would become night games.

I'm actually the source. Just ask me anything. How many Dunn heads could you fit in a Kearns head? That question cannot properly be answered. The problem being that scientists have yet to actually find a number large enough to scope the sheer hugeness of Austin Kearns' head. If Kearns was much taller would he be able to eclipse the Sun with his head? Not only that, but the sheer amount of weight of his head that far off of earth would throw it off its axis. As a result he actually can never ride on a plane. If such an event were to occur, Kevin Mench would be injected with steroids and then launched into the air in the opposite direction to hopefully save the planet. Why Kevin Mench? Why not Carlos Lee sans the steroids?

I'm actually the source. Just ask me anything. How many Dunn heads could you fit in a Kearns head? That question cannot properly be answered. The problem being that scientists have yet to actually find a number large enough to scope the sheer hugeness of Austin Kearns' head. If Kearns was much taller would he be able to eclipse the Sun with his head?

Don't take this the wrong way, but six commas on one sentence has gotta be some sort of record. ;) Quite a nice rate stat BK! :D In high school I had an English teacher who had us write the longest run-on sentence we possibly could as an assignment. I have no idea how many commas I used, but I do remember my particular entry clocked in at three and half pages. Ms. West was not amused. A conservative estimate of two commas per page gives you seven (2*3.5).

Hendry seems to think Garciapparra' will be effective upon his return, is this good or bad? How much more than a healthy Perez can Garciapparra give the Cubs?

Don't take this the wrong way, but six commas on one sentence has gotta be some sort of record. ;) Thanks. I'm probably guilty of a comma splice.

I think your last sentence is on to something. If the Reds can rehabilitate Corey in the second half, they might be able to flip Corey for another starting pitcher this offseason... After reading Patterson' comments regarding his long swing as the primary reason for his ineffectiveness, I don't know if he'll every get "it", he's seems rather clueless. The Reds may or may not be able to turn him around; in any case, they can have him. If this rumor is true, I believe Mitre is the kind of pitcher who can have success at Great American Ballpark, when on, that sinker is heavy. As we all know his problem is consistency, in his case, unlike Patterson', I believe Mitre, given a permanent spot in a rotation, will develop and give the Reds a very good #3 starter, possibly a #2. One thing is certain of Mitre, the Cub bullpen is not the right place for him. Hill could be another very good #3, possibly a #2 for the Reds. Hill/Mitre >>>> Claussen/Hudson of the last two nights.

BUMP Hairston, other than that grand slam, hasn't done squat as our leadoff hitter. He's been slumping for a while now. He has definitely not been the reason for our recent good offense. He may be doing a tad better than CP in the leadoff spot, but that's not saying much at all. how is an OBP of .367 batting leadoff "not doing squat." isn't it more that a "tad better" than Corey's .268 OBP in the leadoff spot? he's in a little mini-slump since the All star break. no big wup. Beyond that, Hairston will take some pitches and make the pitcher work a little, on the rare occassion Patterson attempted to work the pitcher, he'd fall right back into swing at anything mode the very next at bat.

Well, this is the info that our own vance was able to dig up for us: Assuming that is true, it wouldnt be too awful hard to one up that offer. Backe and lane are nothing special. I think Jerome Williams + Jody Gerut/Corey Patterson + Pinto(maybe rich hill) sounds like a decent package. I'd do that in a heartbeat. I'd do that as well, despite the fact the Reds are giving up a position player in Dunn, it puzzles me as to why they would require a position player in return. For, they have Kearns to call up and the primary need is pitching, pitching and more pitching. I don't care how many runs they can generate, they'll never win without pitching. Surely, the Reds GM is aware of this?

Yeah, there's a bunch of those available right now. Market's just glutted with them... Man, you guys need to lighten up. I can't believe after reading my post you'd take me seriously. I'll be sure to put a smiley face on next time when suggesting a five-tool player should be sought. I still don't want Dunn. Who out there is a better option then dunn? And why is it that people think that Dunn is actually "out there?" I think it would be foolish for the Reds to part with him when they could center their team around him. And if the Reds are going to trade Dunn to a division rival, I would think they'd be asking a whole lot for him. We think that he's Out there because the reds have, reportedly, already made an offer to the Astros for him. (that spoils the no central division rivals thing, also). And we never said his price wasnt high, but when you have the chance to get a talent like that, it'd be foolish not to pursue it. If that's true, I'd like to see the Cubs actively pursue Dunn, no way should Hendry let the Astros get the jump on him again, as they did with Beltran llast year.

I believe the Cubs can win the WC with their current make-up, the key is maintaining the rotation for the remainder of the season. A healthy trio Prior, Wood and Zambrano is very capable of winning 40 or more, second half games, this alone, represents something that only one other WC contender can match - Florida (Beckett, Burnett and Willis). Another key is finding someone to effectively bridge the gap between the starters and Dempster, be it Wuertz, Wellmeyer, Novoa, Ohlman or Remlinger, all are capable, someone has to step forward. I also believe they'll score enough runs, finally, after 84 or so, games, Baker figured out his best 1-2 combination was Hairston and Walker. It’s no coincidence that once they were inserted into the 1 and 2 slots the Cubs started to show some offensive consistency. A healthy rotation plus someone to take care of the 8th inning and the Cubs have what it takes to make the playoffs - pitching, pitching and more pitching. By the way, I was on vaction for a week and have yet to look thru the Posts but, did anyone catch the Sun-Times article stating Patterson found his problem? Apparently, Patterson found, after watching flim, his long swing to be sole problem. The article goes further on to state once Patterson observed this he quit watching film. So, a shorter swing is going to improve his pitch selection? It'll allow him to get to those outside breaking balls in the dirt? And those fastballs over his head?

A prediction : Should the Cubs put forth another lackadaisical effort while losing Game 2, Baker gets fired tonight.

Now watch Prior throw 8 pitches to the first hitter...

That isn't true. Gammons either got bad info or was just making a false assumption. First of all, I have read quotes from Von Joshua (West Tenn hitting coach) that said that Pie still has a lot to work on and that right now he could play in the majors but that rushing him would stunt his growth. Secondly, the Cubs have taken their time with Felix. They aren't going to change that now. The earliest he is going to be up is next year and I wouldn't expect him up before mid-season. Good enough reason to trade for Kotsay. :wink: TXCubsFan, I respect your opinion so could you (or anyone else who care to chime in for that matter) tell me why you think Kotsay would be the best man to acquire. He's not great at getting on base. He is not great at stealing bases. He is a good CF and is hitting better than Corey is now, but aren't there better OFers available in a trade than Mark Kotsay? When you consider what he does and can do relative to Patterson, it's a tremendous upgrade, thus far, after 80 AB, he's drawn 29 BB along with .343, admittedly, nothing spectacular, yet solid. Solid play alone, which Patterson is incapable of at this point, would be gigantic plus for the Cubs.

I believe Baker is feeling the heat for not going with Hairston and Walker as a result, to prove a point that no one tells him anything when it comes to his team we're seeing this mess of a lineup. He's so stubborn that he's willing to give away games to defend his vision or philosophy.

Thanks for clarification, I should have checked his option status, so, nuke my idea, there's no way he'll clear waivers.

Its fairly apparent Patterson is not going to contribute anything this season be starting or from the bench. How about sending him down to Iowa for the rest of the season to work on pitch selection, situational hitting, etc? Many have attributed his downslide to an unwillingness to change his batting approach. I don't believe that is true, I believe he's physically unable to recoginze a quality pitch, something that can be improved upon with practice/steady work. Nevertheless, the rest of my idea: call up Grieve, insert Hairston into CF.

I think we've got a good one in the booth. And Brenly has all but said he'd go with his best OBP options head of Lee, Burnitz and Ramirez.