CP_414

Nothing but speculation really. A couple weeks ago there was a rumor (that had some real steam) that it was a done deal but that fizzled out. The consensus is that IU would have to make him their top and only real candidate and offer him the job without any interview process. In that case I think he would take it, but I just don't think IU is sold on him enough to handle it that way. . This may or may not make you happy, but I was at a meeting with some guys from Indianapolis last week and they seem to believe Randy Wittman will be the next Indiana coach. The Randy Wittman bandwagon is gaining steam. I still think it's 50-50 on Alford being the next coach. If not him I suspect Wittman, Crean, Majerus, Dakich, and Keith Smart will be considered heavily. Man, it's amazing to me that people still throw out Majerus' name. Some crazy Mizzou alumni friends of mine want him to be their head coach. I would have to have him go through at minimum 50 physicals before I would even interview him let alone hire him. His weight is obviously the issue. He is a great basketball coach and a very good recruiter. It would be interesting to see what he could do at a big time program. I think IU needs a coach who can right the ship and get us back to the elite level. We don't necessarily ned a coach who will be at IU for more than 4 or 5 years. We need to hire someone to get us back to the point where it is a top 5 job nationally, and then we can bring in an elite coach to get back to the days of winning National Titles. Majerus might be a perfect fit for IU for the next 4-5 years.

Nothing but speculation really. A couple weeks ago there was a rumor (that had some real steam) that it was a done deal but that fizzled out. The consensus is that IU would have to make him their top and only real candidate and offer him the job without any interview process. In that case I think he would take it, but I just don't think IU is sold on him enough to handle it that way. . This may or may not make you happy, but I was at a meeting with some guys from Indianapolis last week and they seem to believe Randy Wittman will be the next Indiana coach. The Randy Wittman bandwagon is gaining steam. I still think it's 50-50 on Alford being the next coach. If not him I suspect Wittman, Crean, Majerus, Dakich, and Keith Smart will be considered heavily.

Brian Griese was cut by the Bucs tonight. If he would accept a #2 role I would love to have him backing up Rex. Griese is far from excellent, but he limits his turnovers, has a decent arm, and for the most part he wins. He had the Bucs 5-1 last year before his season-ending injury.

I think a win Saturday and IU is no worse than a 7 seed. Win Sunday and make that a 6. I like our chances against the Buckeyes. I think whoever wins the Killingsworth-Dials match-up wins the game. GO IU! I am not a Mike Davis fan, and I'm glad we will have a new coach next season, but I'm pleasently surprised with the way the team has played since he resigned. Haven't they said that the Championship game doesn't impact the seeding? Not sure. I can't see how it wouldn't though. I know the game an hour or two before the selection show, but you would thing they would have multiple brackets ready. Every game should impact the seedings, including the last one. IIRC, they've said that it's too close to the release of the brackets, and the only way that it matters is if there is a team in the final that wouldn't be in the tourney otherwise(say if Penn State made the final this year). Not 100% sure though. I don't see how they can do that. If that is the case both teams in this years BTT final should play the walk-ons to avoid injury. There are no bubble teams left in the BTT, and it's not like winning that tournament means anything if it won't impact your seed.

I think a win Saturday and IU is no worse than a 7 seed. Win Sunday and make that a 6. I like our chances against the Buckeyes. I think whoever wins the Killingsworth-Dials match-up wins the game. GO IU! I am not a Mike Davis fan, and I'm glad we will have a new coach next season, but I'm pleasently surprised with the way the team has played since he resigned. Haven't they said that the Championship game doesn't impact the seeding? Not sure. I can't see how it wouldn't though. I know the game an hour or two before the selection show, but you would thing they would have multiple brackets ready. Every game should impact the seedings, including the last one.

I think a win Saturday and IU is no worse than a 7 seed. Win Sunday and make that a 6. I like our chances against the Buckeyes. I think whoever wins the Killingsworth-Dials match-up wins the game. GO IU! I am not a Mike Davis fan, and I'm glad we will have a new coach next season, but I'm pleasently surprised with the way the team has played since he resigned.

IU looks slow and uninspired. Wisconsin on a 10-0 run to take a 14-10 lead. IU needs to get Marco the ball inside since the refs feel the need to call a foul on every possession. Time for the Hoosiers to turn it up.

IU would have to get ripped apart tomorrow to miss the tourney. Michigan should be worried if they don't come back and beat Minny.

Per Mike and Mike in the Morning, Peter Gammons will be in the booth with Miller and Morgan all season long on Sunday Night Baseball.

No.... you can always turn the sound down and tune your AM to Pat & Ron !! :wink: Not all of us can. http://www.elementshotel.com/facilities_photo/internet.jpg http://www.finpipe.com/money.gif

Not bad picks. I'm really intrested in Jeremy Bloom as a punt/kick returner in the 4th round (if he is still there). If they get Randel El, there really isn't as much of a need for Bloom, but I think he'll have a productive "Tim Dwight" type of career.

Pretty cheap technical, IMO. I didn't see the end after that play, but looking at the replay it didn't really look like a thrown elbow. He earned the technical. He threw the elbow twice at the GW player.

A 7 seed would be great, but I think they need to beat Wisconsin to get that high. I would rather have a 10 than an 8 or 9 this year because the #1 seeds are so much better than the #2's. I know that's getting ahead of myself, but they are starting to look like the team that was ranked #8 in the country in January. Is DJ White definitly out the rest of the way? Mike Davis should have quit a long time ago. They have been much better since the game in Illinois.

Did anyone see the end of GW-Charlotte? Completly idiotic by the kid from Charlotte.

WOO HOO! The Hoosiers are gonna be dancing after that win over Michigan. Nice save to a sinking season.

C'mon man. So if this surgery happened 2 weeks ago the Cubs wouldn't have sold 597,000 tickets? Cubs tickets will sell with or without Kerry. Maybe, just maybe, they didn't do the surgery sooner because they didn't know he needed it at that point.

Am I sure? No. Do I think it would be probable? Yes. They would have a .500 record in the conference and 17 wins overall. That resume would include several wins over ranked (at least at the time) teams and the aforementioned single-digit losses against the top two teams in the country. I strongly feel that SHOULD be enough to get them in. Whether it actually DOES is up to the committee. I agree. I think 1 more win at any point before the end of the BTT gets IU in. IU has beat Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State when they were all ranked. Two of the Hoosier losses are to #1 eams in the country (Duke and UCONN). They will finish no worse than .500 in the Big Ten, despite disappearing for 6 weeks. I think IU is looking at a 10 seed. Not to nitpick, but Michigan wasn't ranked when IU beat them. Go Blue today. I know everyone is saying that Michigan is in, but since I haven't seen them in the dance since 1998, I'd be worried if they lost today and in the first round of the tourney, something that is entirely possible given the bad karma of the team remaining since the later-90's scandals I went back and checked and you are correct. Michigan was 10-1, ranked 28th in both polls before the last game with IU. I wouldn't worry if I were you. You will probably win today. If not you will definitly beat Purdue in Indy. You guys are in.

Am I sure? No. Do I think it would be probable? Yes. They would have a .500 record in the conference and 17 wins overall. That resume would include several wins over ranked (at least at the time) teams and the aforementioned single-digit losses against the top two teams in the country. I strongly feel that SHOULD be enough to get them in. Whether it actually DOES is up to the committee. I agree. I think 1 more win at any point before the end of the BTT gets IU in. IU has beat Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State when they were all ranked. Two of the Hoosier losses are to #1 eams in the country (Duke and UCONN). They will finish no worse than .500 in the Big Ten, despite disappearing for 6 weeks. I think IU is looking at a 10 seed.

This is from Hendry: Without knowing anything about whether it could actually cause more damage or not, the logic seems about right (this time). If the surgery goes as planned, the real setback will be him losing arm strength. In theory, building it up before the surgery will mean that he has less ground to cover when he's able to get back on the mound. In theory. In theory Communism works. In theory. I acutally don't have any problem with what the Cubs are doing here.

Let's say this Kerry Wood thing is worse than the Cubs are letting on. We will certainly need another pitcher to contend for the division. Even if Wood will be back in May, we can always use another arm. Who are some guys who are/could become available? The Dream: Dontrelle Willis - Former Cub farmhand reportedly will be available as early as the deadline. It would take the farm to get him back, but it might be worth it. Other guys: Barry Zito: This is a longer shot than the D-train to acutally happen, and that is a long-shot. He is entering the final year of his contract, and the A's may not be able to resign him. The should however contend in the AL and won't trade him if they are in the hunt. Jason Schmidt - I think he will be moved if he is pitching well and the Giants fall out of contention. Without knowing what to expect from Bonds, the Giants could be the best team in the West, or the 3rd or 4th best team. Livan Hernandez - Should the Nats fall out of the race I think he could be moved. He is a big money pitcher who is gettig up there in age, and he has really been abused recently. The Nats don't look like they are going to be good at all (to me anyway) and Livan shouldn't be in their plans for restructuring the team. He would however be a nice addition to a team that thinks they can win it all this year (don't know if that is us or not). The White Sox currently have 6 starters in Buerhle, Garland, Garcia, Vasquez, Contreras, and McCarthy. I'm sure if they feel like they have to move someone they would live to move Contreras, but for the right offer we might be able to acquire Garcia. He's a Venezualian countryman of Big Z, and would look great in our rotation. I don't know if it would be worth the price though. I'm sure there are many others, but I'm trying to think about the big impact guys.

I'll take the 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005 stat line that Tony G put up. His year to year OBP numbers are interesting to look at. 1999: .364 2000: .363 2001: .370 2002: .329 2003: .331 2004: .332 2005: .366 He was a part-time player all of those seasons, so playing time can't be plamed for the huge disparity between 1999-2001 and 2002-2004. Maybe his trend will continue and we can expect 2 more seasons of .360+ coming up. To be clear though, I'd rather take my chances with Walker.

It's really the national media. I don't see Hendry, Baker, and MacPhail countering the notion though. I guess I don't expect them to. But I also think they're holding back on injuries, hoping they'll turn out O.K. What really bothers me is, even if they do so with the best of intentions, after this many years of letdowns with these two they should simply disclose all the tweaks, aches & pains and let them fall where they fall. Because right or wrong, they look like liars every time an unpleasant suprise happens. This knee injury probably started as a "tweak" and grew into a real problem (though it's not a full knee blowout obviously). They should just say it right up front. Hey, he's rehabbing from knee surgery and there's a tweak in his right knee we're looking at. And I think it's time we, as Cub fans, just accept he's not going to be that healthy horse like Zambrano. You're absolutely right: Z is the stud of this squad, and really has been since '04. I don't think Hendry, Baker, or MacPhail should care if fans think they are lying about injuries. If they realease every ache and pain Kerry and Prior have, they would REALLY create the perception that those two guys can't do anything without being hurt. Odds are that they probably disclose some of the injuries, and not most of the minor ones, but that is no different than any team. The thing I really don't understand is the anger that some Cubs fans have towards Kerry Wood (Not you, but many fans in general). I am as frustrated as anyone by the injury problems, but it's not like he wants to be hurt. He has had some really tough luck. It sucks because we have all seen what he is capable of. I believe if Wood pitches 180 innings he will be one of the 10-15 best pitchers in the league. This year that probably won't happen. Hopefully we can get 120 in 2006, and then 200 next year (for a lower salary than his option). Hell, maybe these injury problems are a blessing in disguise. This could keep his long-term salary reasonable enough to afford Prior, Z, and another pitcher. Kerry Wood is not done yet.

He was probably a top ten pitcher those seasons, but we're talking now. You think he'll ever return anywhere close to that form? I never said he sucks, but I think he's average at this point. He is at the very least above average. Last season he had the worst ERA of his career at 4.23, but look deeper into his stat line. In 66 innings he had an ERA+ of 101, his WHIP was 1.18 he had 77 K's in those 66 innings. In 2004 he had a 3.72 ERA, 122 ERA +, 1.26 WHIP, and 144 K's in 126 innings. His last 2 years havn't been as good as 2001 and 2003 because he has been constantly injured or returning from injury, but it clearly is not "average". When he is on the mound, be is a very productive pitcher, he just needs to be on the mound more.

Let's all take a leap of faith that the print reports the last few days regarding Dontrelle Willis becoming available at some point in the next year are true. With that in mind, what would it take to get him? With Wood's current situation it is even more important that we add quality starting pitching. The great part about dealing with the Marlins at this point is they won't be looking for major league talent in return so Prior, and Z are safe. Would they take Pie + Guzman + Welly for Dontrelle? Would we do that? If the Marlins are seriously going to trade Dontrelle at the break or after this season, why wouldn't they just move him now for the right deal? It's not like they have a chance in hell of making a run with him this season. It's also not like he is going to bring in fans because they will suck so bad. Because the Cubs can't let go of Wood. He's kid K. He was supposed to be the next Clemens. It's almost like the Packers & Favre (not in terms of career success. of course). Everyone always dreams of a messiah coming to save the day. Very few give any thought to what should be done when he lets everyone down. Why would we have to let go of Wood? Not at this point anyway. I assume D would be very expensive. And besides, Wood's coming back! He's always coming back. Gotta keep that seat in the rotation warm for the saviour. :roll: I'm sick of being lied to by this franchise at this point. I don't believe for one second Hendry & Baker didn't know Wood's knee was a problem. They keep selling this idea of Prior & Wood dualing for the Cy Young. It's not going to happen. And I think it's time we accept it, even if they can't. Dontrelle won't make more next year than the $9 million Maddux is making this year. I get the frustration with the Wood situation. I think all Cubs fans are frustrated. If Baker and Hendry knew about Kerry's knee why didn't he have this surgery earlier? Do they want the Cubs to lose? Is it a cover-up for a bigger issue? What would they possibly have to gain by Wood missing more time as we approach the season? How has the organization sold the idea of Prior and Wood fighting for the Cy Young? I know the national media has sold this notion, but how has the Cubs organization done that? The only reason the mational media has that perception is the 2003 playoffs, and they still don't realize how good Z is.

Let's all take a leap of faith that the print reports the last few days regarding Dontrelle Willis becoming available at some point in the next year are true. With that in mind, what would it take to get him? With Wood's current situation it is even more important that we add quality starting pitching. The great part about dealing with the Marlins at this point is they won't be looking for major league talent in return so Prior, and Z are safe. Would they take Pie + Guzman + Welly for Dontrelle? Would we do that? If the Marlins are seriously going to trade Dontrelle at the break or after this season, why wouldn't they just move him now for the right deal? It's not like they have a chance in hell of making a run with him this season. It's also not like he is going to bring in fans because they will suck so bad. Because the Cubs can't let go of Wood. He's kid K. He was supposed to be the next Clemens. It's almost like the Packers & Favre (not in terms of career success. of course). Everyone always dreams of a messiah coming to save the day. Very few give any thought to what should be done when he lets everyone down. Why would we have to let go of Wood? Not at this point anyway.