BigbadB

I don't see how Walker relates to those other players at all. Walker has proven himself to be a real good hitter, whereas those other guys never did anything. I am getting a little tired of him running his mouth, even though he's exactly right and should be upset. If anything, his comments are only going to piss Cubs players and management off. Pay no mind, Mizzou. oldcubsfan just likes to throw our failed minor league players in our faces every chance he gets. Walker definitely doesn't apply since he didn't play on any Cub minor league teams.

Good point. He should do a lot less talking and more hitting because, even though Jerry was forced to take a few days off following the beaning, Hairston seems be winning the all around battle on the field. According to yesterday's game notes, Jerry is hitting .444 and Todd is hitting .231 so far this Spring. Once again, judging players with a long major league history on their performance in one month of the spring is ludicrous. For anecdotal evidence, I remember that even in his all-star years, Jeff Bagwell would routinely hit in the low 200's during the spring. Bagwell? How about Sandberg? Notorious slow starter.

. That is exactly what WHIP does-there is no distinction. Interestingly enough, many of the pitchers on your all time winningest list would also be on the all time losingest list. :wink:

Competing for jobs in spring training isn't very smart baseball. And is Walker really arguing about competing? It sounds to me like he thinks he should be the starter based on his track record and the likelihood of what the candidates will bring to the table this year. That's about the mpost rational train of thought in this silly storyline. I agree. However, that's not the way Dusty thinks. I can't control how Dusty thinks and neither can Walker. All Walker can do is just go out there and prove his bat deserves to play everyday. Yapping to the press is not going to earn him the starting job. Hitting .200 in Spring Training is not going to win him the starting job. Walker's desire to speak to the press everytime he is unhappy about something is why I think Cub management wants him gone, not lack of production. dusty can't decide on whether to start a player based on what he did 10 years ago or what he does in 30 days in early spring. Dusty decided to let Neifi Perez play everyday last year based on 30 at bats in April.

That is an absurdly foolish claim. WHIP=H+BB/IP 9 singles+ 0 BB/9 IP=1.0 WHIP 9 HR + 0 BB/9 IP=1.0 WHIP Next. Next what? Next absurdly foolish claim by you? Okay, what is it? WHIP is one stat. It's one extremely helpful stat in judging pitchers, but it's still one stat. Nobody will tell you 9 singles equals 9 homeruns. To claim so is completely ignorant. The pitcher who gave up 9 home runs over the course of 9 innings got the win because his own offense scored 10 runs. He's 1-0 with a 1.00 WHIP and a complete game. What an awesome pitcher!!

Competing for jobs in spring training isn't very smart baseball. And is Walker really arguing about competing? It sounds to me like he thinks he should be the starter based on his track record and the likelihood of what the candidates will bring to the table this year. That's about the mpost rational train of thought in this silly storyline. I agree. However, that's not the way Dusty thinks. I can't control how Dusty thinks and neither can Walker. All Walker can do is just go out there and prove his bat deserves to play everyday. Yapping to the press is not going to earn him the starting job. Hitting .200 in Spring Training is not going to win him the starting job. Walker's desire to speak to the press everytime he is unhappy about something is why I think Cub management wants him gone, not lack of production.

I think in this case it's just not the bat in question, it is also the defense. His bat has done enough to give him a starting job on a major league club basically every year he's been in the majors. His defense is suspect, it's been well documented. Offense trumps defense, therefore if he just lets his bat do the talking, he will get a majority of the at bats at 2nd base. If he was just as good defensively as he is offensively, then he might have an argument about having to compete for a starting job.

Many players have to battle for a starting job in this game. The best way to go about winning that battle is to let your bat do the talking.

Actually that was Dock Ellis http://www.gettingit.com/article/691 Whoops. You are correct. I still don't remember Vida being a spit ball guy, but maybe he was.

No clue. I'm hoping he rebounds into his 2003 form though, for the Royals. 2003 .338 OBP .451 SLG .287 AVG 2004 .308 OBP .385 SLG .262 AVG 2005 .305 OBP .375 SLG .270 AVG He was also a decent base stealer in 2003, but bad in 04/05.

I'm with Goony. I don't have a whole lot of respect for the HOF. And if Ron Santo is not in the HOF before his days on this planet are over, I will never have any respect for the HOF. And I'm not just referring to his baseball playing credentials. If a guy like Ron Santo can't have his place in the HOF, who really should? The guy has overcome tremendous odds to still be among us, and he is still around the game as much as when he played.

What the heck happened to Berroa anyway?

How do you feel about the whole 'spitball pitchers in the Hall' argument? Obviously obtaining spit is only gross and not illegal so it's not exactly the same, but do most baseball fans resent pitchers who may or may not have cheated when they were pitching? Is that a breach of sportsmanship? I'm not even sure how I stand on the matter. Just curious what others think. (To clarify, I believe steroids = bad) Spit balls were allowed for a while. Steroids were always against the rules, they just didn't have testing. And I don't think the two are near the same category. But isn't Vida Blue, or some dude like that in the Hall and everybody is pretty sure he threw spitters when they were illegal? BBB makes a good point along with yours, in that they probably weren't thrown on every pitch, whereas steroids make you stronger all the time. Gaylord Perry comes to mind when discussing spit balls, not Vida Blue. Vida Blue is the one that supposedly threw a no hitter while on LSD. Does the MLB really need to spell out all that is illegal? Do they really need an Article 276 section F that reads "child porn is illegal in the United States, therefore illegal in MLB. Any player caught with child porn will be banned from the game." I just don't see the need for this rule. If you are doing something that is illegal in this country, then the job/company you work for should be in jeopardy. Steroids are an illegal substance, just like cocaine. How many times did Steve Howe get suspended?

How do you feel about the whole 'spitball pitchers in the Hall' argument? Obviously obtaining spit is only gross and not illegal so it's not exactly the same, but do most baseball fans resent pitchers who may or may not have cheated when they were pitching? Is that a breach of sportsmanship? I'm not even sure how I stand on the matter. Just curious what others think. (To clarify, I believe steroids = bad) Was every pitch a spit ball? Probably not. Only when they could get away with it. Occasionally, they got caught and ejected from games. Bonds was playing everyday enhanced by illegal drugs, and apparently a whole bunch of them. Add on his body armor and what pitcher stands a chance against the Incredible Hulk (minus the green skin tone)?

And, steroids has helped baseball players break long standing records that otherwise probably wouldn't be broken. Will they let the record stand when some player takes kryptonite and hits 540 HR's in a season, assuming kryptonite is an illegal drug. :D

Jim Thome can outproduce by himself the production that Big Skirt and Carl Everett provided the White Sox last year. Paul Konerko did. Frank Thomas/Carl Everett '05 XBH's= 57 Paul Konerko's '05 XBH's=64 Frank and Carl's RBI output=113 Konerko's RBI output=100 Frank and Carl's Runs scored=77 Konerko's Runs scored=98 Case closed.

Oh, and how much more of a "leader" is Carl Everett than Jim Thome?

Leader and/or leadership can never be used in the same sentence with Carl Everett.

Even if the Cubs were shopping Walker, it's rather apparent that he would not net the return he would be worth, so to me it's rather silly that he is still discussed in trade discussion. A productive, veteran, starting 2b that only makes 2.5m is worth quite a bit in trade, IMO. If you can't get quite a bit, you might as well keep him and play him. .249 .319 .438 .305 .355 .474 Which of the two above is worse? The first one, correct? The first one is Jacque Jones, the guy the Cubs just gave a 3 year deal to at twice the amount Todd Walker makes. The 2nd one is Todd Walker. End of discussion.

I'm not so willing to believe Bonds was clean prior to 1998.

Root for small ball? This isn't going to be a small ball team. Juan Pierre will slap some singles and steal some bases, but other than that this is not a small ball team. It's a baseball team. Why do people insist on trying to pretend it's one or the other. Actually I think you misunderstood my intention. I am constantly calling for a balanced team that can all styles of baseball, depending on what game situation merits it. I didn't intend to infer that the Cubs are a small ball team (if that's what you got out of it). I was strictly referring to Pierre's game. Often I find the proponents of OBP ball shun all forms of small ball, at all times, and I was making the point that with Pierre on the team, you simply can't take that stance. No, we really do not shun small ball at all times. In a tie game in the 8th or 9th, I'm fine with Pierre stealing 2nd, Walker bunting him to 3rd and giving Lee and Ramirez the opportunity to sac fly him in. I'd prefer that Walker hit the ball to the right side and hopefully through the infield, but if he lays down the bunt to make a fairly deep fly ball an RBI and a lead in the game, I'm cool with that. I don't want to see it in the 1st or the 4th, however, or whatever inning Pierre is coming up to hit. Every base running error (caught stealing, caught attempting an extra base, picked off) is one less RBI opportunity for the most productive hitters on the team.

They said he would be back on his throwing routine on Wednesday. Probably not much effort with the legs, however.

Just to back up MHuber, Lightner is an idiot. He is horrible. However, Coleman is a HOF broadcaster. Not sure if he was doing any of this particular broadcast, but the comments don't sound like anything he would say. Vasgersian and Mark Grant on the tv side are just as good if not better as our broadcast team. Vasgersian has done the last 2 Olympics besides doing Padres games. The Padres would not let Vasgersian out of his contract to interview for the Cubs job opening last year, otherwise it would probably have been Vasgersian getting the job. No disrespect to Len, as both are excellent game callers.

I can't describe how great of a time I had, especially with my nephew. But it was an unbelieveable experience, I would recommend to any BIG-TIME Baseball fan. I'm looking forward to the games I have tickets for in San Diego.

I disagree with your assessment of the pitching. In a 16 team league, that's a pretty good rotation. Coco Crisp and Mark Loretta in front of Manny this year will make Manny an RBI machine once again.