Laura

Excellent! Thanks -- I'll PM you for more info (but probably later today ... I need to SLEEP). :)

There's a thread in the Transactions Forum about it. :)

The Predictions Contest is up in the Events Forum.

Predictions Contest is up in the Events Forum.

The Discussion/Update Thread.

ENTRY Team Stats 1. 91 wins 2. 11 games 3. 807 runs 4. 675 runs 5. 2nd Player Stats 1. 40 2. 40 3. .295 4. 105 5. 16 6. 2.97 7. 191 8. 26 Barrett's OPS: .825 ------------------------------- Team Stats 1. 91 wins = +0 2. 11 games = +150 3. 807 runs = +25 4. 675 runs = +0 5. 2nd = +0 Player Stats 1. 40 = +0 2. 40 = +10 3. .295 = +50 4. 105 = +20 5. 16 = +40 6. 2.97 = +10 7. 191 - +0 8. 26 - +05 Barrett's OPS: .825 Team Points: 175 Player Points: 135 Total Points: 310

Differences from last year: --Divison placement category added under Team Scoring --Runs Allowed category is all runs allowed -- last year it was earned runs allowed --The season series with the Cardinals is 19 games this year. --The player categories for Nomar and Patterson have been switched for Murton and Pierre. --Some category scoring points have been tweaked. 2005 Predictions Contest Final Standings: Name Score Tiebreaker Dr. Cub 720 Treebeard 580 Bob's Keeper 535 TB_11 515 UMFan83 470 Notorious 460 cubs dane 455 Chief_Cardinal 450 burnt out cubbie fan 440 USSoccer 430 Tinkers2evers 415 vance_the_cubs_fan 400 Fred Hornkohl 375 .815 Bull-Rino-Bowa-Penguin 375 .815 TrueBlueCubFan 365 DJAXXFAN 355 sandberg23 335 .789 sweetpeteman 335 .913 CT Cubs Fan 325 NCCubbieFan 320 .825 Sabermetrician 320 .803 sherwood921 315 Outshined_One 310 CubsInNC 295 brinoch 290 .810 Tim 290 .790 coldsteel 290 .780 IMB! 275 rawaction 260 Knyption 255 .820 sethuel1 255 .848 Mark Prior's Calves 250 .812 Rocket Sauce 250 .800 fortybelow16 250 .797 BigbadB 245 JC 240 Coach_C 220 CPatterson20 190 .825 RoastTheD---Goat 190 .839 10man 185 Knightlife_in_Lubbock 170 .818 mhuber92211 170 .877 Mizzou 150 Gracie's Girl 135 Congratulations to Dr. Cub, the overall winner with the amazingly coincidental score of 720! =D>

Team Stats & Scoring 1. Number of Cubs wins, 2006 - 66 Wins +350 for correct number +300 for being within 1 win +275 for being within 2 wins +250 for being within 3 wins +200 for being within 5 wins +050 for being within 10 wins 2. Number of Cubs wins, Cardinals season series (19 games) - 11 Wins +150 for correct number +100 for being within 1 win +75 for being within 2 wins +50 for being within 3 wins +25 for being within 5 wins +10 for being within 10 wins 3. Number of runs scored, 2006 - 716 Runs +300 for being within 5 runs +250 for being within 10 runs +200 for being within 20 runs +175 for being within 30 runs +150 for being within 40 runs +125 for being within 50 runs +100 for being within 60 runs +075 for being within 75 runs +025 for being within 100 runs 4. Number of runs allowed, 2006 - 834 Runs +300 for being within 5 runs +250 for being within 10 runs +200 for being within 20 runs +175 for being within 30 runs +150 for being within 40 runs +125 for being within 50 runs +100 for being within 60 runs +075 for being within 75 runs +025 for being within 100 runs 5. Final Placement in the NL Central Division - 6th Place +200 for correct place +100 for one place off +50 for two places off Total Possible Team Stat Points: 1300 Player Stats & Scoring 1. Number of DLee Home Runs - 11 Wins +50 for correct number +40 for being within 1 HR +35 for being within 2 HRs +30 for being within 3 HRs +25 for being within 4 HRs +20 for being within 5 HRs +10 for being within 10 HRs 2. Number of Juan Pierre Stolen Bases - 58 +50 for correct number +40 for being within 5 SBs +30 for being within 10 SBs +20 for being within 15 SBs +10 for being within 20 SBs 3. Murton's Batting Average - .297 +50 for being within .005 +40 for being within .010 +30 for being within .015 +20 for being within .020 +10 for being within .025 4. Aramis' RBIs - 119 +50 for being within 1 run +40 for being within 5 runs +30 for being within 10 runs +20 for being within 15 runs +10 for being within 25 runs 5. Maddux's Wins - 15 Wins +50 for correct number +40 for being within 1 win +30 for being within 2 wins +20 for being within 3 wins +10 for being within 4 wins +05 for being within 5 wins 6. Zambrano's ERA - 3.41 ERA +50 for being within .10 +40 for being within .20 +30 for being within .30 +20 for being within .40 +10 for being within .50 7. Kerry Wood's Ks - 13 Ks +50 for being within 20 +40 for being within 25 +30 for being within 50 +20 for being within 75 +10 for being within 100 8. Mark Prior's Games Started - 9 starts +50 for being within 01 game +40 for being within 03 games +30 for being within 05 games +20 for being within 10 games +10 for being within 15 games +05 for being within 20 games Tiebreaker: Michael Barrett’s OPS - .885 To be used only in the event of ties. Closest Number Wins Total Number of Possible Player Stat Points: 400 Total Possible Points: 1700 Resources To see Team Stats and Player Stats, visit the MLB.com Stats Page. You can replace the year in the url to see past years. To see player career stats, visit BaseballReference.com.

Welcome to the 2006 NSBB Predictions Contest! Like last year, this contest consists of listing your predictions for Cubs team and individual players stats for the 2006 regular season. The categories and the scoring for each category are listed below. A sample entry is also included. This contest is not for the impatient – it will take the entire 2006 baseball regular season to determine the winners. All entries are due by MIDNIGHT Central Time April 5 (the midnight between April 4 / April 5). The thread will be locked at that time and no further entries will be accepted. That gives everyone a week to get entries in and one whole game on which to base all of the seasonal predictions. Contest winners will be announced shortly after the 2006 season ends. Thanks, and good luck with the contest! Please use this thread for contest entries only -- feel free to discuss the contest elsewhere in the forum. This thread will be thread that is locked on April 5. Thanks! The Fine Print The contest is open to all NSBB posters. However, premium and non-premium members will be eligible to win different prizes. The non-premium poster who finishes with the top overall score among non-premium posters will be awarded 3 months of premium service. Premium posters who finish within the top 10 overall premium member scores will choose from a list of prizes donated by other NSBB members. The prize list will be posted soon. Some preliminary prizes were posted in the Call for Donations thread in this forum, and you can look at last year's prizes in the 2005 Predictions Contest - Prizes thread in this forum. The premium posters will choose from the list in order of placement. If there's a tie between premium members even with the tiebreaker, then whoever posted the entry first wins the tie. To be considered a premium member for purposes of this contest, a poster must maintain premium membership by any means (yearly or monthly subscription, etc.) from April 1 through October 30. Tim will determine whether that requirement has been met, and his determination is final. If you are interested in bartering goods and services for premium membership, please contact Tim directly. The MLB.com stats page will be used to determine the final correct numbers for each category. Feel free to edit your entries as many times as you wish up to the contest deadline. Please don't submit more than one entry -- just edit your previous one if you want to change it. Winners will be notified via PM and the standings being posted here and need to respond within a reasonable time frame to claim their prizes. Good luck! :D

Honestly? I don't know. As I've said in the other thread, I don't have much free time right now. The easiest way to update it would be to get it into spreadsheet format and perhaps even have it available on line with the date last updated. I don't know when I'll have time to do that. If I can short term, I will. If not, then maybe someone can crank it out in his or her spare time.

Maddux continues to be the least of this team's problems. If I pity anyone in the 3-year-scenario, it's Maddux, not the Cobs.

Do you think so? I haven't searched back or anything. It seems to me that it's different fans who have gripes with Z vs. past 'grievances' with CP. People seemed to be mad because Corey didn't 'improve' vs. people being mad about Z improving but not containing his emotions. But I certainly could be wrong about that. As do I. Booing the home team is not a new thing for Cubs fans. It's been going on for decades. Corey was one of the most recent targets. There are all sorts of Cubs fans. Some optimistic, some pessimistic, some love Wrigley, some want to rip it down and build a new ballpark in the burb, some go to games, some follow each game long-distance no matter what, some boo what they don't like, some cheer regardless of what happens. I didn't boo Corey, but I am glad he has a new team now and can focus on playing his game.

THANKS! I'm going to worry about the scoring ... tomorrow. Hopefully someone with spreadsheet power will volunteer. The contest will be up Monday. Sorry for the delay.

Maddux has been pitching well this spring. Maddux also screws around in spring training once he's in shape. He's not going to be throwing game pitches tomorrow. He's hopefully going to be setting up for facing them in the regular season. Because he'd older now and needs whatever edge he can get.

Happy Birthday, LB! :D

The '06 HR Derby contest is taking entries in the Events Forum (LINK). Deadline is 5pm CT on Sunday, April 2. Keep your eyes out for the Predictions Contest, which should be posted sometime tomorrow night.

The '06 HR Derby contest is taking entries in the Events Forum (LINK). Deadline is 5pm CT on Sunday, April 2. Keep your eyes out for the Predictions Contest, which should be posted sometime tomorrow night.

FYI - the HR derby is separate from the Predictions Contest. Stay tuned.

That would be great! :D Thanks! I'll PM you to work out the details. When I post it. I haven't had much time lately. If you'd like to volunteer to help out with the scoring system, that would be great. :D I'd be happy to help out, let me know what to do. Thanks! What I could use some help with is setting up a spreadsheet for the scoring. I don't have excel on the home computer right now (though that will probably change in the next couple of weeks) and I'm changing jobs and won't have time to mess around with it at work.

HR Derby - Entry 10 players A (1) - Alex Rodriguez B (2) - Albert Pujols, Aramis Ramirez C (3) - Jason Bay, David Wright, Lance Berkman D (4) - Jeromy Burnitz, Jeff Francouer, Jacque Jones, Justin Morneau Bonus: Jim Thome

Interested in a HR Derby? The idea is to pick 10 players from the lists below and have the most total HRs in the '06 Regular Season. Rules are simple: There are 4 groups of players. Pick 1 player from Group A, 2 players from Group B, 3 players from Group C & 4 players from Group D. Bonus: Pick one player who does not appear on any list above. His HRs will be added to your total. Tiebreaker: the winner is whoever posted his/her list first. Entries due by 5:00 pm CT on Sunday, April 2. This thread will be locked at that time. Please doublecheck your entries before the deadline. Entries that don't follow the rules will be disqualified. You can edit your entry up until the thread is locked. If you're worried about someone copying you, remember that ties go to the first person who posts the entry. The contest is open to everyone. Prize TBD -- probably one prize to the 1st place winner. The prize will depend on what is donated. ETA: Yes, "everyone" does include fans of other teams. The only caveat is that you must be in good standing at NSBB (not permanently banned) when the contest ends to win the prize. GROUP A - Pick one player Name Team '05 HRs Barry Bonds SF 5 Andruw Jones ATL 51 David Ortiz BOS 47 Manny Ramirez BOS 45 Alex Rodriguez NYY 48 GROUP B - Pick two players Name Team '05 HRs Miguel Cabrera FLA 33 Adam Dunn CIN 40 Troy Glaus ARI 37 Ken Griffey CIN 35 Vlad Guerrero LAA 32 Travis Hafner CLE 33 Ryan Howard PHI 22 Paul Konerko CWS 40 Carlos Lee MIL 32 Derrek Lee CHC 46 Albert Pujols STL 41 Aramis Ramirez CHC 31 Richie Sexson SEA 39 Gary Sheffield NYY 34 Mark Teixeira TEX 43 Group C - Pick 3 players Name Team '05 HRs Bobby Abreu PHI 24 Jason Bay PIT 32 Carlos Beltran NYM 16 Lance Berkman HOU 24 Hank Blalock TEX 25 Pat Burrell PHI 32 Jorge Cantu TB 28 Eric Chavez OAK 27 Tony Clark ARZ 30 Carlos Delgado NYM 33 David Dellucci TEX 29 Jermaine Dye CWS 31 Jim Edmonds STL 29 Morgan Ensberg HOU 36 Cliff Floyd NYM 34 Jason Giambi NYY 32 Geoff Jenkins MIL 25 Nick Johnson WSH 15 Jeff Kent LAD 29 Jason Lane HOU 26 Hideki Matsui NYY 23 Kevin Mench TEX 25 Melvin Mora BAL 27 Alfonso Soriano WSH 36 Miguel Tejada BAL 26 Chad Tracy ARZ 27 Chase Utley PHI 28 Vernon Wells TOR 28 Preston Wilson HOU 25 David Wright NYM 27 Group D - Pick 4 players Name Team '05 HRs Moises Alou SF 19 Garrett Anderson LAA 17 Rod Barajas TEX 21 Michael Barrett CHC 16 Rafael Belliard CLE 17 Craig Biggio HOU 26 Adrian Beltre SEA 19 Casey Blake CLE 23 Ben Broussard CLE 19 Emil Brown KC 17 Jeromy Burnitz PIT 24 Joe Crede CWS 22 Coco Crisp BOS 16 Jose Cruz LAD 18 JD Drew LAD 15 Carl Everett SEA 23 Pedro Feliz SF 20 Jeff Francoeur ATL 14 Nomar Garciaparra LAD 9 Jay Gibbons BAL 26 Brian Giles SD 15 Jonny Gomes TB 21 Luis Gonzalez ARZ 24 Shawn Green ARZ 22 Jose Guillen WSH 24 Bill Hall MIL 17 Todd Helton COL 20 Shea Hillenbrand TOR 18 Matt Holliday COL 19 Aubrey Huff TB 22 Raul Ibanez SEA 20 Tad Iguchi CWS 15 Derek Jeter NYY 19 Chipper Jones ATL 21 Jacque Jones CHC 23 Austin Kearns CIN 18 Ryan Klesko SD 18 Adam LaRoche ATL 20 Matt LeCroy MINN 17 Felipe Lopez CIN 23 Victor Martinez CLE 20 Craig Monroe DET 20 Justin Morneau MIN 22 Matt Murton CHC 7 Lyle Overbay MIL 19 Corey Patterson BAL 13 Jay Payton OAK 18 Jhonny Peralta CLE 24 Carlos Pena DET 18 Willy Mo Pena BOS 19 Mike Piazza SD 19 AJ Pierzynski CWS 18 Jorge Posada NYY 19 Brian Roberts BAL 18 Reggie Sanders KC 21 Chris Shelton DET 18 Grady Sizemore CLE 22 Mark Sweeney KC 21 Nick Swisher OAK 21 Frank Thomas OAK 12 Jason Varitek BOS 22 Rickie Weeks MIL 13 Brad Wilkerson TEX 11 Dimitri Young DET 21 Michael Young TEX 24

Interested in a HR Derby? The idea is to pick 10 players from the lists below and have the most total HRs in the '06 Regular Season. Rules are simple: There are 4 groups of players. Pick 1 player from Group A, 2 players from Group B, 3 players from Group C & 4 players from Group D. Bonus: Pick one player who does not appear on any list above. His HRs will be added to your total. Tiebreaker: the winner is whoever posted his/her list first. Entries due by 5:00 pm CT on Sunday, April 5. This thread will be locked at that time. Please doublecheck your entries before the deadline. Entries that don't follow the rules will be disqualified. You can edit your entry up until the thread is locked. If you're worried about someone copying you, remember that ties go to the first person who posts the entry. The contest is open to everyone. Prize TBD -- probably one prize to the 1st place winner. The prize will depend on what is donated. GROUP A - Pick one player Name Team '05 HRs Barry Bonds SF 5 Andruw Jones ATL 51 David Ortiz BOS 47 Manny Ramirez BOS 45 Alex Rodriguez NYY 48 GROUP B - Pick two players Name Team '05 HRs Miguel Cabrera FLA 33 Adam Dunn CIN 40 Troy Glaus ARI 37 Ken Griffey CIN 35 Vlad Guerrero LAA 32 Travis Hafner CLE 33 Ryan Howard PHI 22 Paul Konerko CWS 40 Carlos Lee MIL 32 Derrek Lee CHC 46 Albert Pujols STL 41 Aramis Ramirez CHC 31 Richie Sexson SEA 39 Gary Sheffield NYY 34 Mark Teixeira TEX 43 Group C - Pick 3 players Name Team '05 HRs Bobby Abreu PHI 24 Jason Bay PIT 32 Carlos Beltran NYM 16 Lance Berkman HOU 24 Hank Blalock TEX 25 Pat Burrell PHI 32 Jorge Cantu TB 28 Eric Chavez OAK 27 Tony Clark ARZ 30 Carlos Delgado NYM 33 David Dellucci TEX 29 Jermaine Dye CWS 31 Jim Edmonds STL 29 Morgan Ensberg HOU 36 Cliff Floyd NYM 34 Jason Giambi NYY 32 Geoff Jenkins MIL 25 Nick Johnson WSH 15 Jeff Kent LAD 29 Jason Lane HOU 26 Hideki Matsui NYY 23 Kevin Mench TEX 25 Melvin Mora BAL 27 Alfonso Soriano WSH 36 Miguel Tejada BAL 26 Chad Tracy ARZ 27 Chase Utley PHI 28 Vernon Wells TOR 28 Preston Wilson HOU 25 David Wright NYM 27 Group D - Pick 4 players Name Team '05 HRs Moises Alou SF 19 Garrett Anderson LAA 17 Rod Barajas TEX 21 Michael Barrett CHC 16 Rafael Belliard CLE 17 Craig Biggio HOU 26 Adrian Beltre SEA 19 Casey Blake CLE 23 Ben Broussard CLE 19 Emil Brown KC 17 Jeromy Burnitz PIT 24 Joe Crede CWS 22 Coco Crisp BOS 16 Jose Cruz LAD 18 JD Drew LAD 15 Carl Everett SEA 23 Pedro Feliz SF 20 Jeff Francoeur ATL 14 Nomar Garciaparra LAD 9 Jay Gibbons BAL 26 Brian Giles SD 15 Jonny Gomes TB 21 Luis Gonzalez ARZ 24 Shawn Green ARZ 22 Jose Guillen WSH 24 Bill Hall MIL 17 Todd Helton COL 20 Shea Hillenbrand TOR 18 Matt Holliday COL 19 Aubrey Huff TB 22 Raul Ibanez SEA 20 Tad Iguchi CWS 15 Derek Jeter NYY 19 Chipper Jones ATL 21 Jacque Jones CHC 23 Austin Kearns CIN 18 Ryan Klesko SD 18 Adam LaRoche ATL 20 Matt LeCroy MINN 17 Felipe Lopez CIN 23 Victor Martinez CLE 20 Craig Monroe DET 20 Justin Morneau MIN 22 Matt Murton CHC 7 Lyle Overbay MIL 19 Corey Patterson BAL 13 Jay Payton OAK 18 Jhonny Peralta CLE 24 Carlos Pena DET 18 Willy Mo Pena BOS 19 Mike Piazza SD 19 AJ Pierzynski CWS 18 Jorge Posada NYY 19 Brian Roberts BAL 18 Reggie Sanders STL 21 Chris Shelton DET 18 Grady Sizemore CLE 22 Mark Sweeney KC 21 Nick Swisher OAK 21 Frank Thomas OAK 12 Jason Varitek BOS 22 Rickie Weeks MIL 13 Brad Wilkerson TEX 11 Dimitri Young DET 21 Michael Young TEX 24

HR Derby - Entry 10 players A (1) - Alex Rodriguez B (2) - Albert Pujols, Aramis Ramirez C (3) - Jason Bay, David Wright, Kevin Mench D (4) - Jeromy Burnitz, Jeff Francouer, Jacque Jones, Justin Morneau Bonus: Jeremy Hermida

Interested in a HR Derby? The idea is to pick 10 players from the lists below and have the most total HRs in the '06 Regular Season. Rules are simple: There are 4 groups of players. Pick 1 player from Group A, 2 players from Group B, 3 players from Group C & 4 players from Group D. Bonus: Pick one player who does not appear on any list above. His HRs will be added to your total. Tiebreaker: the winner is whoever posted his/her list first. Entries due by 5:00 pm CT on Sunday, April 5. This thread will be locked at that time. Please doublecheck your entries before the deadline. Entries that don't follow the rules will be disqualified. You can edit your entry up until the thread is locked. If you're worried about someone copying you, remember that ties go to the first person who posts the entry. The contest is open to everyone. Prize TBD -- probably one prize to the 1st place winner. GROUP A - Pick one player Name Team '05 HRs Barry Bonds SF 5 Andruw Jones ATL 51 David Ortiz BOS 47 Manny Ramirez BOS 45 Alex Rodriguez NYY 48 GROUP B - Pick two players Name Team '05 HRs Miguel Cabrera FLA 33 Adam Dunn CIN 40 Troy Glaus ARI 37 Ken Griffey CIN 35 Vlad Guerrero LAA 32 Travis Hafner CLE 33 Ryan Howard PHI 22 Paul Konerko CWS 40 Carlos Lee MIL 32 Derrek Lee CHC 46 Albert Pujols STL 41 Aramis Ramirez CHC 31 Richie Sexson SEA 39 Gary Sheffield NYY 34 Mark Teixeira TEX 43 Group C - Pick 3 players Name Team '05 HRs Bobby Abreu PHI 24 Jason Bay PIT 32 Carlos Beltran NYM 16 Lance Berkman HOU 24 Hank Blalock TEX 25 Pat Burrell PHI 32 Jorge Cantu TB 28 Eric Chavez OAK 27 Tony Clark ARZ 30 Carlos Delgado NYM 33 David Dellucci TEX 29 Jermaine Dye CWS 31 Jim Edmonds STL 29 Morgan Ensberg HOU 36 Cliff Floyd NYM 34 Jason Giambi NYY 32 Geoff Jenkins MIL 25 Nick Johnson WSH 15 Jeff Kent LAD 29 Jason Lane HOU 26 Hideki Matsui NYY 23 Kevin Mench TEX 25 Melvin Mora BAL 27 Alfonso Soriano WSH 36 Miguel Tejada BAL 26 Chad Tracy ARZ 27 Chase Utley PHI 28 Vernon Wells TOR 28 Preston Wilson HOU 25 David Wright NYM 27 Group D - Pick 4 players Name Team '05 HRs Moises Alou SF 19 Garrett Anderson LAA 17 Rod Barajas TEX 21 Michael Barrett CHC 16 Rafael Belliard CLE 17 Craig Biggio HOU 26 Adrian Beltre SEA 19 Casey Blake CLE 23 Ben Broussard CLE 19 Emil Brown KC 17 Jeromy Burnitz PIT 24 Joe Crede CWS 22 Coco Crisp BOS 16 Jose Cruz LAD 18 JD Drew LAD 15 Carl Everett SEA 23 Pedro Feliz SF 20 Jeff Francoeur ATL 14 Nomar Garciaparra LAD 9 Jay Gibbons BAL 26 Brian Giles SD 15 Jonny Gomes TB 21 Luis Gonzalez ARZ 24 Shawn Green ARZ 22 Jose Guillen WSH 24 Bill Hall MIL 17 Todd Helton COL 20 Shea Hillenbrand TOR 18 Matt Holliday COL 19 Aubrey Huff TB 22 Raul Ibanez SEA 20 Tad Iguchi CWS 15 Derek Jeter NYY 19 Chipper Jones ATL 21 Jacque Jones CHC 23 Austin Kearns CIN 18 Ryan Klesko SD 18 Adam LaRoche ATL 20 Matt LeCroy MINN 17 Felipe Lopez CIN 23 Victor Martinez CLE 20 Craig Monroe DET 20 Justin Morneau MIN 22 Matt Murton CHC 7 Lyle Overbay MIL 19 Corey Patterson BAL 13 Jay Payton OAK 18 Jhonny Peralta CLE 24 Carlos Pena DET 18 Willy Mo Pena BOS 19 Mike Piazza SD 19 AJ Pierzynski CWS 18 Jorge Posada NYY 19 Brian Roberts BAL 18 Reggie Sanders STL 21 Chris Shelton DET 18 Grady Sizemore CLE 22 Mark Sweeney KC 21 Nick Swisher OAK 21 Frank Thomas OAK 12 Jason Varitek BOS 22 Rickie Weeks MIL 13 Brad Wilkerson TEX 11 Dimitri Young DET 21 Michael Young TEX 24

Thanks! :)