BigbadB

On the bright side, they sure caught the ball really well today, outside of the 2 errors.

When does football season start? Hopefully tomorrow.

Oh, and for those of you who do not believe in karma, there ya go. :wink: :D

Thanks for telling him he's too patient, Dusty. :roll:

Wow, this game sure is fun. :roll:

Pierre's at bat with the bases loaded was a real peach.

Glad I traded him. :D

I feel really bad for the baseball.

My DL is full. And I've combed the waiver wire for outfielders. Griffey getting no points is probably better than what I could get from any of the players left on waivers. Griffey will probably be back this coming Monday. I can wait. I'm not complaining about Griffey. I'm complaining that Brady Clark and Jose Cruz aren't getting much PT. And if Griffey isn't back by Monday, then Dmitri Young probably will be.

I don't think anyone would use the race card as the reason they don't want to see Bonds pass Ruth. Personally, I really don't care if he passes Ruth. Passing Ruth won't change how much I can't stand him. Retiring today won't change how much I can't stand him. He is what he is. Now, if he attempts to pass Henry Aaron, a classy, unselfish individual and a true ambassador to the sport of baseball, I will be angry. And the closer he gets to Aaron, I certainly hope more noise about all of Bonds records being stricken will be taken into heavy consideration.

How thoughtful of them to think of this a month into the season. :roll:

i'll probably regret this since i play you soon, but why the hell do you still have griffey in your lineup? Because I don't have anyone to replace him with.

I have good news. Sometime within the next 5 games against a lefty pitcher, Jacque Jones will likely get a hit.

Nothing angers me more than ANY player standing there admiring their work. Aramis, Sammy, Albert, Bonds, whoever. If a guy hit a home run every time they stepped to the plate, that might actually make them bigger than the game itself. Until then, they are likely to fail to get a hit 70% of the time (and currently 80% if your name happens to be Aramis). Because they will fail 70% of the time, I don't see the need to showboat if they do actually get ahold of one. I don't want to see the pitcher watch the hitter walk back to the dugout after every K and I don't want to see any other display that tells me these players think they are bigger than the game. That was one element of the WBC that I really enjoyed. The Cuba/Japan game was one that I truly enjoyed. The catcher would practically beat the runner down the first base line on a grounder and every other defender was moving on every play, knowing they could back up somebody. It's all about selfishness and poor showmanship anymore and it's quite disgusting. The part I don't understand exactly is, who exactly are they attempting to impress when they stand there to admire a home run they just hit? It's an absolute honor to be one of the few talented enough people to play baseball in MLB. Don't bring your attitude with you. That's not what got you there. Respect the fact that you are being paid very well to play this game, and give something back, even if all you really can give back is hustle and sportsmanship. If I ever wonder why some of my all time favorite baseball players are guys like Mark Loretta, Bill Mueller and Shawon Dunston, it's because these guys play the game right. They run out easy grounders, they back up their teammates, etc... If Rolen plays the game the same way, then I respect him the same way. Bottom line, what Albert did was definitely wrong, as was what Oliver Perez did. Zambrano's fist pumps are not a problem in my mind IF they are in celebration of the successes of the team and not meant to show up the opponent. I can't say that each time Zambrano has fist pumped in celebration that it wasn't to show up the opponent. He's young and he's very emotional. I'm sure everyone has their own grading curve of what constitutes poor sportsmanship. But, you better believe it that it doesn't matter whether they play for the Cubs or the Cardinals, when I see someone get ahold of one and stand there and admire it, I'll have the same reaction. I'll probably be a bit more forgiving of a Cub that does it, simply because he plays for the Cubs and I see all sides of him. The only time I'd watch a Cardinal game is if they are playing the Cubs, so I can't be as forgiving. That's a bias I'm sure a lot of us share. Are you going to think the same way of a family member who does something that offends you as you would a complete stranger? Probably not. This isn't the first time I've seen Pujols behave this way. Therefore, I don't think too highly of him. He's a great hitter, no doubt. Arguably the best in the game. Unfortunately, it's HIS own actions that I can't say the same about the way he treats the game that gives him the opportunity to show the world his talents.

I have too many guys that just don't play. Jose Cruz Jr. has been relegated to 6th outfielder. Brady Clark gets about as much playing time as a Dusty Baker managed rookie. Ken Griffey hasn't played in weeks. Dmitri Young hasn't played in weeks, and Rocco Baldelli hasn't played in years. If Neifi Perez was eligible in the outfield, I'd really be eyeballing him right now. Yeesh!

Earl Weaver is awesome. Has Dusty ever been kicked out of a game?

I appreciate that you attempted to edit it. Unfortunately, that quote is probably impossible to edit to remove an "R" rating. :wink: The link with the discretion warning is acceptable. Thanks!

Honestly, if the Cubs traded for someone like Guillen, it's Murton that will end up getting the short stick. There is no way that Dusty would sit Jacque Jones and his big contract, a guy who has basically never been a platoon player even though he always should have been in favor of a young kid who makes league minimum. I'm thrilled that Dusty has played the kids. But, to expect him to sit a high paid veteran for a kid is asking for more than I believe he'd do. There were plenty of reasons I was upset with the Jacque Jones signing. You are now seeing one of those reasons. RF was the absolute #1 biggest need these last 2 seasons and they practically ignored that hole these past 2 years. Then, when they actually got around to filling the hole, they paid premium money for mediocre talent. If it was just one year, no big deal. Now, it's going to be at least 3 years, maybe 4.

Agreed. Walker, IMO, has always been a tell it like it is kind of guy. I think many of his comments have irked the front office. I'm sure his comments irked a few other front offices as well, which is why he has built somewhat of a reputation as a poor clubhouse guy. Personally, I think he's just passionate about the game, passionate to see everyone around him play well, and he's passionate to win. When some of those things don't happen, he speaks up. Bottom line: What he provides with his bat is worth more than twice what he makes. He never was the problem.

Would the Bears have taken Pope if Arizona didn't grab him with the pick directly in front of theirs? I'm a little bit peeved they didn't get a top TE in the draft. It's a bit odd that they are a top ranked defense and they spent most of the draft beefing up the defense. I sure hope Bradley comes back 100%, and I also hope Desmond Clark is a lot better than he appeared to be last year.

Can this week just end today? I think it's the first time I've had a lead all season.

Yeah, he did show up Murton for getting caught at the corner of the well. I didn't care for that either. Let's see, he expects Murton to be flawless, yet he can be ineffective without getting shown up.

No. If he goes to get Wilson, he doesn't get the runner at 2nd. It should have been a DP. The umps just blew it. If you make sure you get the lead runner, they can't get a cheap run. I'd rather make sure we get the runner at 3rd than take a risk at a DP and let the man at 2nd advance to 3rd. No. You have to expect the umpire will do his job. It wasn't as if Wilson took a single step outside the baseline. Aramis made the right play. You can't expect the umpires to do anything. Always get the lead runner. Our offense is brutal. I totally disagree. Exactly how far is Aramis supposed to chase the guy? The umpire failed at HIS job, not Aramis.

Lofton would have been a nice bat off the bench with the occasional spot starts, while keeping the seat warm for Pie.

Honestly, why does my response shock you? These are the same things I have screamed about since his first days as a Cub manager. That he's actually doing the things I'd like to see him do isn't going to change my views. I don't argue just for the sake of arguing. And I'll give props when I feel he's doing a good job. I can't say he's been perfect, but what manager is? I just wish he had a completely healthy team so we could see if he could work a little magic this year. Now, that also doesn't mean that I'm not still mad that Brian Giles, Aubrey Huff, Milton Bradley and/or Kenny Lofton aren't on this team, but that's not on Dusty. :D