Electron Blue

official now? was it already? oh well, here's another link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070727/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bba_rangers_indians_trade

maybe JH will step up his interest/offer for Dunn since the Brewers and Padres are maybe/possibly/reportedly interested in him.

what a hit to the Iowa OF -- Pie, Kroeger and Murton all bailed on the team You know who'd look great in I-Cubs uniforms? Dunn and Griffey. Make it happen Jim.

Strangely anticlimactic, like that :)

For three days? This reminds me, is the deadline in the middle of the afternoon again this year? I wish they'd go back to the midnight deadline. Looks like 2pm central time. They didn't change it to the afternoon to accomodate Baseball TOnight, did they?

I'd hate to think he's so knee-jerky . . . but I do dislike our status quo, so I too hope he "fixes" what he saw last night (which, IMO, was nothing special -- the occasional, unfortunate blowout that just happens from time to time, even to the best of teams).

I really dont understand all the talk about us needing a starter. Z and Lilly are a good 1-2 combo, and Rich Hill and Marshall's numbers are better than 3/4 of the #3 starters in baseball. Marshall seems to really catch alot of the "I just dont trust him" comments and can I ask why? look at these numbers...2 2 1 1 2 4 0 6 2 2 1 You know what those numbers are? Those are the earned runs given up by Marshall in his 11 starts, seriously what more does this guy have to do to garner some faith? Rich Hills numbers put him in the top 30 pitchers in baseball, and you dont think he is good enough to be a number 3 starter? What do you expect out of a number 3, because you are going to be hard pressed to find somebody with better numbers than Hill and Marshall. I have my doubts on how well they'll pitch in a playoff push in September. Hill started out great but has been unpredictable lately. The same for Marshall. Assuming, the Cubs 5 starter rotation is set through the rest of the year, let's get together and talk at the end of September. I will gladly admit I was wrong if Marquis, Hill, and Marshall are pitching strong and consistent. All 3 have been showing signs of inconsistency. I have my doubts, however. that in a playoff race, they will be consistent enough to win. If we don't get another bat, and it's looking more and more like we won't, it's gonna be our pitching that will define whether we are a legitimate playoff team or not. What about Marshalls numbers are inconsistent? 2 2 1 1 2 4 0 6 2 2 1 If thats not consistency, then I dont know what is really? He had two bad games (only one really bad one), and has managed a quite decent ERA (3.25) and WHIP (1.26). Every pitcher is going to have a couple rough outings -- Sean has twice out of 11 starts, not bad considering his stats when they're averaged out. EDIT: haha, I'm an illiterate moran -- misread your post. sorry keener :)

very briefly met Murton before a Omaha-Iowa game. He was incredibly nice and accomodating to the fans, particularly the really young ones. He posed for some pictures, signed some things, and just made a real nice impression -- sure they all do these things, but he seemed quite genuine to me. Pie was always very indulgent to the fans hanging around pre-game. Good luck Matt, and we'll see you up in a bit, Felix!!

He wrote this at 1:15 am, well after the Iowa game was over. I take it we should probably just assume Will is mistaken here...? :) Why? Well, I was half-joking. If we take Carroll's word as truth, the thread explodes another 10 pages, whether he actually knows more than we do or not. It's a pretty bold contradiction to what the Iowa manager said, so it's probably not true... until Will updates and mentions Bailey's comment, and still claims injuries weren't behind it. Or another source picks it up. Again, I know I'm at least part of the source saying they weren't injured. I'm not sure if he looked further into it after that or not, but given his prior work on the rumor mill, I wouldn't be surprised at all if my comment alone is what he was working off of. Kinda what I'm thinking. I'll still check back at this thread later, though, since I like torturing myself like that :)

He wrote this at 1:15 am, well after the Iowa game was over. I take it we should probably just assume Will is mistaken here...? :) Why? Well, I was half-joking. If we take Carroll's word as truth, the thread explodes another 10 pages, whether he actually knows more than we do or not. It's a pretty bold contradiction to what the Iowa manager said, so it's probably not true... until Will updates and mentions Bailey's comment, and still claims injuries weren't behind it. Or another source picks it up.

He wrote this at 1:15 am, well after the Iowa game was over. I take it we should probably just assume Will is mistaken here...? :)

just wait the I Cubs manager will address that next :lol:

most likely, IMO. The 7-1 score, along with getting Craig and Simokaitis ABs makes enough sense for me to no longer be too excited.

Simokaitis is in Iowa? I assumed he was still playing in the (much) lower ranks... I missed alot, apparently. Yeah for the NU alum!!

who are you referring to? most of the speculation, as far as i can tell, is from the fact that Pie and Kroeger were pulled mid-game in Iowa. Maybe it means nothing, but it DID happen. edit: Flames already said it for me; and now I see you're talking about the BCB poster

It would have to be. Either that or Soriano goes back to CF. Honestly, if it's a trade with the Reds, Griffey makes much more sense if Pie is involved. Losing Pie for Dunn really screws us in CF. could Kroeger play CF? has he at all this year? could that be why he was pulled, as a call-up? i don't buy too much of the Dunn/Griffey talk . . . but if we're speculating, let's make it make sense. does Kroeger in CF make sense? (i know very little about him)

hopefully Pie isn't getting traded in that deal... i dunno maybe just my opinion. anyonw with me?

you know what happens when you assume . . .

Ward? if they pick him up to fill the Ward role (or possibly, Floyd-like level of PT) and we don't give up much, I quite like the deal. Of course, the "if we don't give up too much" is always a disclaimer ;)

sarcasm? i don't see anything significant about his career? sorry if I just didn't get it...

edit: nevermind. misunderstood something.

we've already had six different catchers this year. And six different combos of catchers concurrently on the roster (maybe seven after the 3-catcher period...) not saying it's bad that we're trying so many different things... but maybe we should find a reasonable option and end the tinkering at the 2-spot.

meh, you still have Hawk dragging down the broadcast, I don't care how good Stone is. I think the potential for amazingness is about the pairing of personalities in Stone with Hawk, and has little to do with how good (or not) Stone is himself. exactly. I'll be checking in for the clashes alone. Though I am in the camp of those who think pretty highly of Stone's ability

If I remember right, Dusty didn't mind Theriot. He earned his spot on this year's roster outright due to his play under Dusty. Izturis may very well still be getting PT. I honestly don't think DB could have pulled the team together after that crazy June (and other scattered problems). I'm not even a huge proponent of motivation and chemistry... but this year has been up-and-down in unbelievably wild ways, and I don't think Dusty's style or competence could handle it.

i agree that that's the way it is in sports. but i don't care -- it's not the way it should be. if one of your players is cheating, endangering his health, hurting The Game's integrity, and becoming a media slideshow/distraction, you do something about it, dammit. To say that he's not "a babysitter" is a condescending BS cop-out. You're the boss, as a manager. The team/league has rules and reputations to be upheld. In the clubhouse and on the field, YOU are the authority. Bonds' ego (or anyone else's for the matter) is no reason not to hold him to the game's standard. Do these managers, Baker in particular, really think that they are earning millions of dollars to decide what order the hitters follow, and when to steal a base? Manage the team, and have a little integrity in doing so, please.