BigbadB

Told all of my clients I was a huge Padres fan for this weekend, and this weekend only. Guess I lied. Who cares what the Padres do this weekend?

And for the record, I did send a PM to Abuck letting him know that I can still take on points if he was willing to trade a particular player. I don't know what you have to offer right now, but I'll probably hold off on my last deal until the offseason is over and wait for the best offers.

I can undo the trade if everyone believes that trades should not be made prior to the end of the season. I thought the other trade was finished, and I just accepted an offer that was made to me. But, I did want to accept it immediately in case Tim changed his mind. :D

This sounds right up the Dodgers alley. They want to trade youth for veterans.

Jerry Coleman was riding Yost pretty hard about hitting a player in the midst of a pennant chase. I thought that was funny.

Life is good!

Exactly. Bennett isn't the best example since he's always been a back up catcher. But, the point remains that it is foolish to place more value on experience and/or leadership over production.

That is a terrible comparison. Terrible. Maybe not the best comparison, but there is nothing wrong with going with the better catcher if the production warrants it. Right, but Molina out produced Bennett last year, so it is a moot point. Molina out produced Bennett. Soto has out produced Kendall. Kendall: .244 .301 .312 Soto: .378 .431 .667 It's not even close.

That is a terrible comparison. Terrible. Maybe not the best comparison, but there is nothing wrong with going with the better catcher if the production warrants it.

Yeah, why the Cardinals went with Yadier Molina in most games last year rather than Gary Bennett during the playoffs was a foolish decision since it cost them the World Series. Oh wait...... Yadier was 24 in 2006 and hit: NLDS: .308 .308 .385 NLCS: .348 .423 .652 WS: .412 .500 .529 Gary Bennett got 1 at bat entirely during the playoffs last year. Sometimes you have to make the decision that veteran leadership doesn't hold a candle to quality production. Jason Kendall in playoffs for his career: .258 .303 .290 Ignore the fact that teams with speed can AND will run at will with Kendall behind the plate. He just doesn't provide much when comparing him to Soto. And assuming for a minute that the Cubs make the playoffs and may be contenders for playoffs in future years, wouldn't it be a good idea to get Soto some quality playoff experience now so that he can add that to his resume in coming years? I have been very pleased with Lou this year. But, just because I'm pleased with the end result, it doesn't mean I have to agree with every move he makes. And this move would be a very bad one. Actually, where I see Jason Kendall providing value to the Cubs down the stretch and in the playoffs is as a RH bat off the bench and decent back up catcher for a day game following a night game. His tendency to put the bat on the ball and strike out rarely makes him an ideal bat off the bench in a situation where you have runners in scoring position with less than 2 outs. I'm sold on Soto. I'm not sure what else a guy can really do to prove he's ready for the next step.

I don't think I understand why he threw that many. Padres had a 7 run lead after 5 innings. Could have pulled him after 5 and about 25 or so less pitches.

Might need to change the title of this thread to Pee Hands. The wife and I only refer to him by that name to this day.

California Raisin>>>>Internet Fodder>>>>>BigbadB

Better yet, thank you Ned Yost for finding it important to pay back Albert Pujols for Prince getting hit earlier in the game. You were only down by a run at the time of the Pujols beaning, and Pujols was only the first of 5 runs that scored that inning. Clearly, payback was more important than a pennant chase. No matter what anyone says about you, we think you are doing an outstanding job managing the Brew Crew. I hope you get a lifetime extension.

If this is true, do you think Jacque Jones constitutes a veteran leader? B/c I'd love to have Matt Kemp, the 23-year-old with the .873 OPS. Ah yes, veteran-ny goodness. Wow! Did these guys not watch Russell Martin, James Loney, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, etc...?

Ned did a fine job of getting himself tossed and getting McClung tossed as well in the heat of a pennant race. Of all of his bad decisions this year, tonight might be the worst one he's made yet. Throwing at guys when you are down by a run late in a game? Wow! But hey, revenging Prince's honor was of utmost importance.

I'm better than internet fodder. :wink:

He is out for 2008. I believe he's having TJS.

Yeah, that veteran leadership that Jason Kendall supplied tonight has me all giddy inside. :roll: Honestly, can we admit that Soto gives the Cubs a better chance behind the dish and at the plate than Kendall does, and quit handing out starting assignments based on games played? I like Kendall as the 4th or 5th PH off the bench and as the back up in the playoffs (assuming we make the playoffs). After that, he's outta here. Let Soto play and going into next year you have a young talented catcher with playoff experience, something even Jason Kendall knows nothing about. The Cardinals won a WS with Yadier Molina. It can be done with a young punk behind the dish.

Nope. I don't buy into it. If a team is playing better than they normally do, it is because of their abilities to perform at that higher level rather than fictitional description of the moment. I don't take issue with the use of the word momentum to describe these moments, but it isn't real. If a basketball team goes on a 12 point run after trading baskets for 5 minutes, it isn't a momentum shift. It's what you expect teams to do on occasion, because the game would be boring if both teams traded baskets an entire game. Skill, luck, focus, timing, exploiting the opposing teams weaknesses and toss in good coaching as the real reasons that teams can string together a mini-run or dominate the opposing team. Sports are a series of successes and failures. The team that succeeds more often will win more often. Momentum is just a feel good word to describe those successes.

Because momentum isn't real. It's just a word people use to define the moment.

Considering the Marlins only had 3 Marlin fans in the stands last night, you would think they would do anything possibly to please the visiting team fans. Seriously.

Momentum is just a word people like to throw out there to describe the changing of the guard. You really can't define it in baseball, because it really doesn't exist. If momentum was something that is truly real, please explain why the Mets scored 6 runs in the 9th inning, only to lose the game by 1 run. Did they somehow lose momentum? Wouldn't momentum highten as you get closer to your goal? If momentum was something that was truly real, why did Lee get stranded at 1b last night in the 9th inning? Wouldn't the Cubs currently have much more momentum pull right now than the Marlins? Why didn't someone follow up Monroe's HR with another one? Skill, luck, timing, focus and exploiting the weaknesses of the opponent are probably 5 of the biggest factors in success and failure in a baseball game or series of baseball games. Momentum is just a feel good word that play by play guys and journalists like to use for filler between pitches or games.

I'll bet Kendall gets the starts against RHP. And I'm fine with that.

Wow. End of discussion.