Rob

Scratch that... the Bourn at bat had him hitting 96-98 in all 4 pitches.

Gameday has Z hitting as high as 95 already.

No feed in bloomington? And for some reason, I can't even get the Brewers game on Extra Innings...

Why can't people just let lineup order debates die a slow death?

That's probably what I would do as well. I wouldn't give him more than two years guaranteed and I wouldn't want to pay him a ton right away because of his injury history. The incentives work well because it would allow him to make more money if he stays healthy. I wouldn't want to give him more than 10M/year even with incentives, though. Just not worth it for a closer. I don't think we can bring him back if we're much lower than 10M/year. And while I hesitate to pay that much to a reliever... it's Wood. I'd like to keep him in a Cubs uni his whole career.

Normally, given his price tag, injury history, and our available replacement options for a relatively unimportant position... I'd let a guy like him walk, pocket a couple draft picks, and move on with my life. But, this is Kerry Wood... and that makes things different. Two years, $15 mil total base, with an extra $10 mil in incentives and a third year vesting option at $12 mil or so.

Terrible call.

A groundball hit right at the SS and to the 3rd base side of him... He shouldn't have been running there. As soon as Lilly goes, he absolutely needs to be running. That's extremely routine Whether Izturis had the arm to get Lilly at the plate was questionable... he definitely would have been able to get Soriano going to 3rd. No, when Sori had a chance to go was after Izturis threw the ball... and lord knows that if Molina had side stepped and tagged Lilly instead of standing his ground, he still would have had the time to throw him out at 3rd. Sori played it safe... which is exactly what we need to be doing on the basepaths.

A groundball hit right at the SS and to the 3rd base side of him... He shouldn't have been running there.

... :rotfl: Go Ted!

? St. Louis is down only 4 in the WC race, I want them done with. I just want to get into the playoffs, I don't care if its the Wildcard or Divison. Well, I imagine you care about wildcard vs division... just not nearly so much as you care about playoffs vs. yost's october tee times.

It doesn't matter if you're watching Carlos Beltran and Adam Jones out there... Pie might have the best natural range in the league.

Holy hell... nice.

Real freaking smart, Lou.

That was a pitchout.

Bunting here is stupid.

I'm a little surprised not to see Colvin, Rundle, or Burke considering the paths their seasons took.

I've been a staunch Colvin supporter all season. The low BA and SLG didn't scare me when he started off terrible, and I was quite excited by the large boost in his discipline. But his splits are kinda scary. I am a bit wary of the fact that he only started having success again this season when he stopped walking, which reinforces all the wrong things. Next year is a very important year in his development... I'll be very interested to see just how patient he is next year.

I'm on an even keel... same as I have been all season.

So yeah... this sucks.

That's better than a bunt.

Brewers tie the game.

That's a perfectly valid opinion. With as hard as his arm has been worked, I'd be very worried about devoting a large chunk of the payroll to him. Still, I find myself drawn to the idea because that rotation is frighteningly good... when healthy.

Definitely let them walk: Blanco Ward Lieber Howry Fox Bring back if the price is right: Edmonds Dempster Wood Non-tender candidates: Johnson Gaudin Wuertz Cotts I don't see us as likely to non-tender Gaudin or Cotts... but I can see us non-tendering Wuertz (which would be a mistake). Johnson may be more expensive than his skill-set warrants... that'll depend on how we solve the CF situation. If Edmonds returns, or Pie gets another shot, I think we'll keep him around as a platoon-mate and backup plan. We do have some internal solutions that will help fill our roster nicely... I'd give real consideration to letting Edmonds, Dempster, and Wood all walk after this season. I'd also look into trading Lilly and Marquis for some salary relief. If we can scrounge up enough cash, our new owners can make a splash with a guy like CC Sabathia. C - Soto, K. Hill 1B - Lee, Hoffpaiur 2B - DeRosa, Fontenot SS - Theriot, Cedeno 3B - Ramirez LF - Soriano CF - Pie, Johnson RF - Fukudome SP1 - Zambrano SP2 - Sabathia SP3 - Harden SP4 - Marshall SP5 - Samardzija RP - Marmol RP - Guzman RP - Ceda RP - Gaudin RP - Wuertz RP - Cotts RP - Hart Our pitching depth would become a little bit thin... with only Ascanio ML-ready and on the 40 man in the high minors, and Hill a wild card. But we would be freeing up a few 40 man spots and could add guys like Wells and Atkins to the roster as back-end filler. And who knows? Maybe I overshot on how many players we'd really need to let walk to gain the cash necessary... maybe it could be done without trading Lilly. Either way, it's worth thinking about.

I assume you mean 60 day DL? Putting him on the 15 day does nothing. cubs.com has it as 15 day. Isn't that 41 guys on the 40 man? Or I can't count. Why bother putting Rich on the DL? http://cubs.scout.com/a.z?s=260&p=10&c=785571&refid=4781 Not sure. Could be to settle a grievance. If he feels he was injured at the major league level, that'd be worth a lot more money to him.