Laura

Welcome, Truffle! You're on the list.

Hmmm, this game isn't on the MLB.TV schedule. It only shows Gameday Audio (Royals broadcast). But isnt that only accessible through MLB.TV? The GameDay Audio?? You can subscribe to gameday audio separately from mlb.tv. I don't think this one is televised.

Indeed. Vance, what packet was your niece's letter in? It would be amusing if they quoted a letter they claimed they didn't count in the article about the election.

At least half the sites -- Athletics Nation, BCB, Viva El Birdos, Lookout Landing and minorleagueball (Sickels' site) -- are all part of Sports Blog Nation. According to BCB: Full disclosure: Sports Media Challenge's Director of New Media Strategy and Fan Engagement is Dexter Bustarde, the SB Nation Padres blogger at Gaslamp Ball.

I answered your question above. I put together the broadcast schedule before the season began. Because it does sometimes change, I also included links at the bottom of the schedule page for the XM schedule and the MLB broadcast schedule.

looks like the schedule changed and it's no longer listed as available today.

SAMPLE ENTRY 1. 83 wins 2. 10 wins 3. 780 runs 4. 770 runs 5. 3rd place 1. 35 2. 40 3. .302 4. 144 5. 17 6. 5.02 7. 211 8. 190 1. batting average 2. Aramis' HRs 3. DLee's ba 4. Barrett 5. Hill 6. Hill 1. Aramis 2. DLee 3. Hill 4. Howry Barrett's OPS: .888

Do you think they're pretending that he's injured when he's not?

Do you expect him to stink all year and be removed, or not stink and remain on the team? I'm hoping for the latter, but am expecting the former.

I expect Cotts to make the team out of spring training. I don't expect him to stink all year and remain on the team.

BCB says that Wood's pitch speed was way down this last outing.

Not a surprise. So it sounds as though the bullpen is pretty much set as Dempster Howry Wuertz Eyre Ohman Cotts Guzman and numerous press articles indicate that Guzman is on the bubble to be sent to Iowa if Wood rejoins the team. How Cotts pitches may affect who is sent down. I'm foreseeing a lot of innings piling up for this bullpen. Although I'd love to have the flexibility of an extra bench guy, I suspect the extra arm will be needed, especially early on.

Team Stats & Scoring 1. Number of Cubs wins, 2007 +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 (16 games) +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, 2007 +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, 2007 +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 +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 +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 Soriano Stolen Bases +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 +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 +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. Carlos Zambrano's 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. Jason Marquis' 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. Rich Hill's 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. Ted Lilly's Innings Pitched +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 +05 for being within 60 Total Number of Possible Player Stat Points: 400 Bonus Questions I (20 points each) 1. Which will be higher: Z's batting average or Z's batting average against? 2. Which will be higher: Aramis' HRs or Marquis' HRs allowed? 3. Which will be higher: Cesar's OBP or DLee's batting average? 4. Who will have more HRs: Barrett or Murton? 5. Who will have more wins: Hill or Lilly? 6. Who will have a higher K/9: Z or Hill? Total Possible MC Bonus Question Points: 180 Bonus Questions II (30 points each) 1. Most HRs: 2. Highest OBP (min. 400 ABs): 3. Lowest ERA (min. 150 IPs): 4. Most saves: Total Possible Bonus II Question Points: 120 Total Possible Points: 2000 The Annual Tiebreaker: Michael Barrett's OPS To be used only in the event of ties.

Post #9500 up next!!!

Was that someone here, or is a local getting in on the chastisement. Unfortunately, Ignatius was taken, so Ignatious had to do. O:)

Bruce wrote about the #2 batting slot in today's article.

The New York Times Magazine article on him has been posted.

Gallagher! For Truffle:

Lou said they'd build the rotation around Z, who would pitch every 5th day. He also said that they'd be flipping starts to avoid having starter #4 (Rich Hill) pitch back-to-back starts vs St. Louis. They won't be skipping #5 altogether: Whoever the fifth starter is will get four starts in the first 30 days of the season.

Welcome to the forums!

Thanks, Bruce! Floyd in RF at Wrigley is a scary thought. I like seeing Theriot get some OF reps, even though this alignment would probably only be seen during the regular season due to flukey circumstances. Probably because it's vs a LHP, Murton isn't in the lineup and Floyd = not so much a lefty killer.

The Hardball Times on speed guns & hard throwers.

XM Channel 200 will be running a 4-day Opening Day celebration next week: Play Ball! March 30 - April 4 on XM 200 » From baseball songs to baseball comedies, a four day channel dedicated to the timeless magic of Opening Day and all things baseball. Listen for songs and sketches like Right Field by Peter Paul & Mary, Centerfield by John Fogerty, The First Baseball Game by Nat King Cole, Who's On First comedy sketch by Abbott and Costello, and so much more. Play Ball!

I choo-choo-choose Lou!

I know this is probably wrong of me, but BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I think working with the facts at hand will suffice. TSG also confirms that the breathalyzer wasn't administered until he had been taken into custody.