BigbadB

Has he ever spent any significant time on the injured list? Seems like he plays everyday and has at least 1 hit everyday.

I'm glad you didn't. I was shocked he was waiting for me in the 3rd round of the draft. He even called me after my second pick and expressed how badly he wanted to play on my team. How could I not pick him?

I think someone needs to go back through the box scores. What game didn't Ichiro get a hit?

I don't have a problem with Maddux requesting a certain defense if he'd do all of us fans a favor and keep the ball in the yard so the defense has something they can actually field.

I did switch out Cuddyer, but I switched him back since he is playing today. I'll just tough it out with the part timer. Thanks for honoring the request anyway.

Derrek Lee on pace to botch 81 plays this year. :D

:cheers: I'm going to do one better than that. I predict Neifi will bat 2nd AND he won't be double switched out of the game.

I had the same question about Michael Cuddyer. He's had 1 at bat so far this season in 2 games.

Of course, winning or making playoffs does solve a lot of my issues. :D

Ha ha Gooney. But the blue cool aide is still strong in my vains right now. Don't be fatalistic. It's to early for that plus the JH signing will be Staurday followed by Dusty. I can respect your opinion's Scott, but I just can't agree. I was just as excited as you were in 2003. However, it's been a slippery slope downhill ever since. I sorta gave 2004 a so/so grade, but I wasn't happy with the finished product. 2005 was a horrible season to be a Cub fan. Corey Patterson and Neifi Perez batting 1/2 practically all season long. LaTroy Hawkins bombed as a closer in 2004. Who does Dusty appoint as his closer in 2005? LaTroy. How many times did LaTroy need to prove he isn't closer material? Way too many. I watch every Cub game I can. I know you know frustration, but watching Patterson and Neifi bat 1/2 in the line up and LaTroy blow another game as the closer has been more frustrating than any Cub season I have ever encountered, including 2003. That's how bad 2005 was for me. In 2003, the Cubs had a very strong farm system. They got out of some bad contracts after that season, and they had money to spend and talent available to trade to improve the team. The 2004 team was not as good as the 2005 team. The 2005 team was not just a talented team that encountered too many injuries. They were also a very poorly managed team. You have a bunch of free swinging hackers throughout the line up and a manager encouraging them to be even more free swinging. Assembling an everyday line up was a circus. It's now 2006. The Cubs had over 40m in payroll available to spend, a roster crunch and tons of quality talent to trade. What do we have to show for it? Glendon Rusch and Neifi Perez sign 2 year deals. Jacque Jones signs a 3 year deal. They traded 3 prospects for a guy in the last year of a contract, a guy who could end up walking at the end of this season (Pierre). They've traded away guys who are absolutely at the lowest value they could possibly be (Sosa, Patterson, Mitre, Hawkins, etc...) With the horrible offseason that this team had this year, I'm not the slightest bit interested seeing any extensions given out this offseason. Hendry has made some good moves, and Hendry has made some bad moves. Dusty (and this is just my opinion) has been horrible with his in game management. And, after seeing how he operates, I'm not really sure how he developed a reputation for being a guy everyone wants to play for. I think it's probably more true that mediocre veteran players love playing for him, because he's going to give them playing time they might normally not deserve. If this team flounders offensively, I want Hendry and Baker gone. I want a management team that understands the importance of plate patience and OBP instead of a preference for an aggressive plate approach. I'm going to prefer a management team that limits starters to pitch counts, and will even consider removing a starter in a blow out game. I want a manager that makes his in game decisions based on percentages and scouting instead of hunches. I want a manager that will bench a guy who doesn't hustle, not reward him with more playing time. I want a guy who knows that sitting a guy on the bench for not hustling is teaching a valuable lesson, even if it hurts the team as a whole to sit that player on the bench for a game. There are guys who WILL hustle if your starter won't. No player is bigger than the game, and no player should be treated as if they are bigger than the game. The manager needs to instill this into each of his players and get the most out of each player everyday. Maybe that's another reason players like playing for Dusty. He doesn't make them hustle and there is no disciplinary action for not making them hustle. But, that's just me. I don't care about stability. There's hardly anyone left from the 2003 team, and the minor league teams have taken on quite a different look since then as well. Do I know who should replace Hendry and Baker, or do I know that the guys hired to replace these two will be any better. I can't answer either question. I'm not in a position to answer that question. But, as a hard core fan that watches nearly every Cubs baseball game, there are issues with this team and there are issues with this management team. And I've seen enough that I want someone gone. I wanted Dusty gone last year. If the same stupid in game decisions happen again this year, I want Hendry and Dusty gone. I've spent most of this offseason listening to how the Cubs front office wants to be rid of Todd Walker. Why? Even if it's what they really want to do, why is this public information? All he does is go out there and play his best every game and he provides plenty offensively. Sure, he runs his mouth, but I can't say I blame him. I'm running my mouth right now. I'm not happy with this organization right now, and I can see how some players who want nothing more than to win might be a little unhappy with the organization as well. How any manager could allow any player to sit on their butt in the clubhouse and watch the game on tv, and then allow them to be critical of the guys in the booth is beyond ridiculous. These guys make millions of dollars to play this game. A manager needs to remind these players that they need to respect this game a little bit more than they have. While I wanted Sammy gone just as much as the next guy after the 2004 debacle, the Cubs management team crapped all over him through the media. It didn't need to go down like that. But, to save face or to make themselves look better, they do it anyway. They drove Sammy's value down so bad, no team wanted him. While his skills were diminished to the point where he didn't have much value, not every team may have been completely convinced he was done. We should have gotten much more for Sosa than we did. I could go on and on, but I won't. I can respect your opinion, but I can't agree with it. I'm not happy with this management team and I haven't been since 2003.

Awesome! Thanks.

Maybe my math is a bit fuzzy, but by my calculations, Fielder struck out zero times "BETWEEN" AAA and the majors. :D No, I believe he k'd once on the plane and twice in the cab on his way to Miller Park. I stand corrected. Fielder will be a nice pick up once he gets dropped from all those fantasy teams. Now that he's got that bad week out of the way, he'll soon be facing off against Cincinatti pitching. :wink:

Home plate was like 3 feet wider back then. :D

The bases were like 50 feet closer to each other way back then. :D

Babe Ruth used to run really fast around the bases in those old newsreels :D Yes he did. But, once again I was referring to his bat speed. I couldn't believe how quickly he got the bat through the zone on that bomb. I'd never consider Aramis quick around the bases.

Bobby Cox: 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, etc.. infinity... Baker: 1st, 3rd, 4th This isn't comparing apples with oranges, but rather grapes to watermelons.

Ugh!

:cheers: The 2002 team was bad. Very, very bad. But, Bellhorn was a stud in the lead off spot. Kimm>>>Baker for that reason alone.

Maybe my math is a bit fuzzy, but by my calculations, Fielder struck out zero times "BETWEEN" AAA and the majors. :D

Dusty stresses aggressiveness at the plate. I don't believe that changed this offseason. I think their idea of improving fundamentals is improving defense and increasing team speed.

I didn't see the game, and I'm sure it was pretty hilarious. However, many good defensive catchers who are not used to catching a knuckleballer would probably look pretty much the same given the circumstances.

Was their stress on improvement of fundamentals meant to include more patience at the plate? If so, they had no business signing guys like Neifi Perez and Jacque Jones to contracts.

In a 5 year period, a whole team's roster can turn over. How many players do the Red Sox have left from their World Series team, and that was just 2 years ago? The Cubs 2003 line up featured: Sosa, Patterson, Moises, Aramis, Gonzalez, Grudz, Karros, Miller Who is left from that Cub line up? Aramis! Who we acquired mid season that year. Not one bench player from 2003 is still on the team. Only Prior, Wood and Zambrano remain from the entire pitching staff of that year. That's 4 players out of more than 25 from just 2003 alone. What stability is necessary in the role of a manager when the roster itself is not stable?

In Varitek's defense, he hasn't had much opportunity to catch Wakefield. Mirabelli was and has been Wakefield's personal catcher. Catching a knuckleballer is no easy chore, even if you are an outstanding defensive catcher.

Hendry and MacPhail have been able to get the Tribune to open the purse strings, something no other GM's have been able to do. Because the money has been available to make improvements to the team, I can't really give Baker any credit for their back to back winning seasons. While injuries have had their impact on the last two seasons, injuries can't be used as the excuse for why you didn't win. Rewarding a manager coming off of a losing season is not my idea of good business practice. I watched Dusty manage this team all of last year, just like I've watched managers manage their teams since the early 70's. After watching last year, I'm under the impression that any clown can manage a baseball team. Maybe not well, but they could do it, and probably at least match Dusty's record of last year. I honestly felt that Dusty was attempting to get himself fired with the moves he made. I don't think he likes it here, and the feelings with me are mutual. I don't like him here. To top things off, he's one of the highest paid managers in the game today. I expect much more than what we got. A manager needs to be a leader, lead by example and make sound decisions 162+ games a year to make his team as successful as they can be. Dusty failed badly at this last year. An extension is the furthest thing from my mind at this point.