RynoRules

Poor management? Bad decision making? It's not like the Cubs have the market cornered on those two things. I am not saying that's not a possibility, but I think its less likely than my theory. I don't want to hijack this thread, but your argument implies that the majority of the trained pros making personnel decisions are "poor managers" and "bad decision makers". While I agree they exist, I have a hard time believing that this is true of 50% or more of them.

have seen this before. choi, jerome walton.... it's a legit question. not trying to knock the kid. The Marlins are really the only team that has allowed Choi to play regularly, and when given that opportunity, he produced. Then they traded him to the Dodgers who let him rot on the bench. perhaps i'm wrong, but didn't a bunch of teams have a chance to claim choi off waivers recently?? I believe the Red Sox have him stashed at AAA now. Doesn't change the fact that when give a chance to actually play regularly, he played well. if the guy could produce, he wouldn't be stashed in AAA. :roll: Whatever you say. I guess the fact that he actually has produced when given the chance to play regularly doesn't mean anything. No one is saying he's a star player. However, there are some AL teams that could use him as a DH, and probably a handful of teams around the majors that could use him at first base. He just happens to be in an organization that has productive players at 1B and DH already. That doesn't make a lot of sense. If he is as good as you say; was on waivers, meaning anyone could have gotten him; and there are several teams that could use him at DH or 1B, then why didn't one of those teams pick him up? I agree Choi has a good eye and decent approach, but I always thought he had a pretty slow bat. May be that's the rap on him now.

Which on of these so-called "elite guards" haven't we had already? And how many Knicks-picks are we gonna get? They can't seriously be considering Francis (ball hog who does not defend) or Richardson (ditto), can they? Skiles will implode.

So much for my proclomation that if they got swept he'd be out of job come Monday. Wishful thinking, I guess.

What's interesting about this is that no one is saying whether Dusty wil except, like its some foregone conclusion. I don't think it is.

Scott Williamson said: The context was Muskat asking whether Dusty is to blame for the team's woes. What freakin' game was he watching? This is the sort of pathetic excuse making that is permeating in that clubhouse. Dusty doesn't hold them to any standard, and they go out and sleepwalk. I don't see any other team pulling this horse-poo. If you stink, say it, and tell the fans you don't find it acceptable either. The only two Cubs who don't run right to the excuses are Maddux and Barrett. I am so freakin' sick of this. Get a manager who comes in and tells these guys what's what: "I will hold each of you accountable; I expect concentration and effort; and if I ever see a three pitch inning again, I'll bench your a**." EDIT: And please, Mr. Williamson, go the store and buy a map that shows you the way to the strike zone. What do the team's hitters have to do with the fact that you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn right now?

Then they haven't been paying attention or are loyal to their own detriment.

They have quit.

You may be right, but I'd like to see what happens. don't get me wrong, i want dusty gone the same as everyone, but hendry is still the one signing people like neifi and rusch to insane contracts. Hard to argue with you. I could have lived with those deals had he done something to bolster the rest of the team. Alas, he brought unto us a pox called Jacque.

You may be right, but I'd like to see what happens.

That is certainly the likelihood, but lets hope that JH does something to kcik these guys in the pants and make them understand that heads will roll and this nonsense will not be tolerated.

I remeber feeling more rested in the Fall of 04' than I did in the Fall of 03'. Every Fall since then has been the same. Looks like 06' will the third straight.

Good indication that hiring Brenly would be a mistake. This has been as bad a run as I have ever seen from them, and that is saying something. Fire Dusty, please.

His OBP vs. the Cubs is like .975.

not unless his contract extension is written on pink paper . . . Until I read that as confirmed, I don't believe it. I still say he does not want to be here anymore, and JH is finally seeing the light.

I think you're wrong, but I'd love to see it. Perhaps, but I have staked out the position, and I don't want to welch. :)

I posted this in the discussion section and I am sticking with it: If we lose today and thus are swept at home, Baker will see pink yet agin tomorrow around 9:00 a.m.

Why would someone do that? And why are you baiting them to do so? It seems that for the flak that our other pitchers get for their perceived inadequacies(Z's mental toughness, Wood's stubborness, Prior's pansiness), no one gets upset with Maddux when he decides not to go through the order a 4th time, or that he waited until this year to hire a trainer to get in shape, etc. I wasn't seriously asking someone to do that. I dunno. I have seen lots of folks ripping Greg for only bringing it in his contract year and referring to his current deal as an albatross.

Cheers to you. Here's hoping Dusty continues making solid game lineup decisions this season. In the end, I have no issues with dogging Dusty for placing Neifi in the two-hole last year and denying Cedeno at bats in the middle of the season. These are accurate and legitimate complaints. I'm on that bad decisions wagon. But Dusty hasn't used Neifi that way this year. Walker and Cedeno have the large majority of starts at 2B and SS respectively. Hairston and Perez have spot starts. So it seems premature for anybody to think that an injury to the starting 1B will result in the 3rd-depth-chart-2B/2nd-depth-SS suddenly gettng all the starts over the guys in front of him. OK, so back on April 20th I graciously admitted I may have been wrong about how Neifi would be used, but now it's May 14th and Neifi has started 5 of the last 7 games, so now I will ungraciously unadmit that I may have been unwrong. Its kind of like a kid who has a nightmare and goes back to sucking his thumb. As soon as things go south, Dusty runs to his security blanket.

Why would someone do that? And why are you baiting them to do so?

You should read the thread before you comment. It wasn't created to praise Jones, it was created to ridicule and embarrass other members of this forum. That's troll behavior. If I were a moderator this thread would prompt a strong warning. We all skim threads now and then, or misconstrue their meaning and intent. I don't agree with the methedology here, but I don't think its a big deal. This kind of stuff goes on all the time, particularly when we are losing.

Holy cow! I am actually killing Hendry for just about evrything he has done the last two years (including much of what you cited above)!!! I just don't like the argument that what he has done well (Lee, ARam, Nomar) has been a simple product of circumstance and that he essentially "happened to be there". Why can't I be balanced in my assessment? I doesn't have to be one extreme or the other.

This post and this thread title absolutely reek of cubs.com. Classless, stupid, and juvenile. Maybe you should leave us and go to a message board where this type of thread is the norm and not the obnoxious exception. And guess what, Jones' numbers are only on the extreme low end of what's acceptable for his position for a whole season. He's also signed for 3 years. Kinda makes your thread look dumb. I don't think that is necessary, but I do think that sunny's logic is questionable. if you jump on guys for burying him before he gets the chance to prove himself, how can you now call them out b/c Jacque has been hot for what, a week and a half? Kinda' cuts both ways. Look, I hope Jacque does really well - a .900-plus OPS woud be welcome. But its hard to ignore his putrid play in RF and that bloody three-year K (which isn't his fault - its JH's). Plus this team stinks, so I don't blame people who aren't feeling the love.

Seriously, he's been phasing Murton of the lineup for some time now, pushing him lower and lower. I dont understand it. He's one of our most productive hitters and somehow in the dog house with big ol Dusty. Whatever........... What I love is how our better OBP players like Walker and Murton get benched continually, when crappy OBP hitters like Neifi, Pierre, and Jones continue to be put into the lineup whenever possible. To be fair, I don't think Walker has been subject to this philosophy.

And you'd be wrong. Look, I don't agree with his style or approach. I make no bones about that. But, I notice that you don't dispute the facts I set forth. Instead, you just want to assume I have a vendetta against him. Show me where I'm wrong and I'd be happy to discuss it. I just ask that the debate remain civil instead of foisting assumptions around. For instance, I didn't call him a fool. I gave him credit for the Hawkins deal, just not a huge amount. Show me results. He set this team up in 2004 to be succesful and they blew it, and in a big way. I don't blame him for 04'. I do agree that in 2005 and 2006 his foresight and approach have been very bad, bordering on awful. I guess I didn't like the way you approached your argument. For all intents and purposes you argued that he lucked his way into every good deal, a sort of Forest Gump among GMs. Beyond having no proof of this assertion, it also makes no sense that other GMs would be taken so easily. Your post doesn't make sense. In particular, you argue that I provide no proof of an assertion that I never made. You are either mischaracterizing or misunderstanding my points, providing little incentive for me to continue responding to you. I've pointed out facts. If you want, point to facts to the contrary, but don't veil your opinions as to my posts as contrary arguments, because they aren't. The Forest Gump thing is completely off base, and a pretty sophomoric assumption. I have given Hendry credit where credit is due for the ARam deal. He pulled the trigger. Good for him and the Cubs. The facts regarding Pittsburgh's finances and organization, team needs, and league demands remain, well, facts. Further, the sequence of events with regard to the PTBNL is accurate. With regard to Lee, I applaud Hendry for seeing getting Lee. But, circumstances again played a large part in that dea. Further, the club had glaring needs at other positions that ought to have been addressed when pertinent FA were available. If you are going to tout Lee and ARam as evidence of brilliance, explain why the team, at Hendry's control, is as terrible as it is. Explain why the team has regressed each year since he has taken over as GM for a full year. Explain why he has tabbed the bullpen as a priority need for the last three years and has been unable to properly reconstruct it. Explain why Estes got $3M; explain why Alf got a raise after 2003; explain why Hendry thought he was setting the market for lefties by paying a 37 year old Remlinger $11.65M; explain why he did not demand Wendell Kim be fired before or during 2004; explain why he paid a premium for Dusty Baker; and, explain how he has made $100M smell so bad. Sorry if you resent the fact that I have been consistent with my disapproval of Hendry, I don't know what to say. I'm certainly not going to apologize for it at this point. I just don't get your "circumstances" argument. Circumstances play a huge role in each and every deal. How do these circumstances take away from the good deal that was Lee for Choi? The ARam deal? Nomar? The argument makes no sense because context plays a role in each and every trade. And where did I tout his "brilliance"? Please show me. I believe that my position is and was that he has done a horrendous job in 2006, and the same in 2005. Just b/c I don't believe that the same was true in 2004 doesn't mean that I think he is any way brilliant. I find it interesting that you are accusing me of miscomprehension, yet you have blatently inserted words in mouth. And I really could not care less if you have been consistent in your dislike of JH. I was simply disagreeing with how you characterized what has gone on.