Rob

Cedeno just missed that one...

6 groundouts 2 flyouts In this game Sweet. Thanks.

ARAMABOMB!!!

Hey Fred, do you happen to know what Z's groundball rate is?

Z is getting a little amped.

Ri-freaking-diculous

Another walk for Aramis. He's seeing the ball real well so far this season.

Damnit Lou...

DePo, Antonetti, or White

Neat debate tactic you've got there. Mind if I try using it against you? ...ahem "My experiences say the exact opposite of the crap you're espousing. And, since I have no need of any data to back up my claim, don't even bother trying to contradict me." Not sure what to tell you. If you want to start documenting the incidents, be my guest. It's not a tactic - it's all I've got. Apparently, I'm not the only one noticing these things, am I? FergieJ31 pointed out that he's been going to games for 25 years and that he's noticed more incidents in the past 5 years by far. Care to call his point crap as well? I'm saying that our memories are far too tainted by selective perception or even just the passing of time to believe in anything so subjective as how fans behave in certain places... especially considering the small sample sizes involved. I mean, what are we talking about here? The 20 fans closest to you in a couple dozen ballgames spread out over 5 different parks? Let's be serious... that tells us absolutely nothing. If you chose to sit in the upper decks at wrigley, the bleachers, or those posh seats directly behind home plate, you'd come away with entirely different experiences. You, Fergie, myself, and even Marty simply aren't equipped to make very good judgments based on such random information.

Neat debate tactic you've got there. Mind if I try using it against you? ...ahem "My experiences say the exact opposite of the crap you're espousing. And, since I have no need of any data to back up my claim, don't even bother trying to contradict me."

Isn't that the exact same argument that people use defending this small-ball crap? "They wouldn't do it if it didn't work." Puhleaze.

I'd be looking to trade Hamilton if I were you, but I'd shop him around a bit and see if you can't do better than Verlander.

Oh, I keep forgetting to mention this every time somebody starts spouting off about muscle gains in a year or two... In high school, I had lifted weights for football for a few years, and while I worked hard, it wasn't anything special. After my junior year, I was benching 205 and squatting 315. At that point, I began to work out fanatically, lifting for 2-3 hours or so a day, 4 days a week. In a mere 9 months, I increased my bench press to 320 pounds and my squat to 585. (not a typo) All of this was done without the use of steroids, or even the use of supplements or protein shakes. So if I, as an amateur, with no help from personal trainers, nutritionists, etc... can increase my muscle mass by such a huge extent in 9 months, how is it that a man like Sammy Sosa, who is obviously more athletic than I ever was, can't increase his muscle mass by a smaller amount even with access to amenities that I didn't have available?

which translated to a 4.7 warp. i'm not trying to be contrarian i just think thats interesting. WARP incorporates defense, and Neifi was one of the best defensive SS in baseball in 2005. Not to mention that a 4.7 warp isn't really 4.7 wins above a replacement level player. You'd be hard pressed to find anybody that actually matches their definition of replacement level.

I'm not sure how I said anything that was overly negative... I thought I was complimenting Piniella.

1.) Sammy has never been implicated by any factual evidence. 2.) Following public opinion would be a lot more acceptable if the public weren't complete morons. See Also: "NASA faked the moon landing!", The Salem Witch Trials, Viva La Bam

Lou is not a horrible manager. Talk about hyperbole. Horrible is simply a relative term. You two are probably just looking at it different ways. Relative to the moves a manager should make, Lou is horrible. Relative to other managers, not so much.

It would be flat out stupid to wait that long. Get our better hitters more AB's, ASAP. Dude, they're winning and scoring runs right now. Additionally, both guys are in a comfort zone where they are at. Leave them be for now. If the cubs go into a drought then they should think about re-doing the lineup. I know you want to be proactive, but lets remember that both of the guys you want to move around are rookies and thus should be left alone when comfortable. Ideally, though, eventually the high on base guy fuk should move to 2nd with the rbi guy soto at 5 protecting Ram. Free piece of advice... Never, ever start off your argument with "Dude," if you're looking for anybody to take it seriously. After being subjected to hearing Dusty starting off every asinine thing he said with that, it's become a signal for those on this board to realize "hey, nobody should take this seriously" And now to dissect your post... Fukudome != rookie. "RBI guy" = meaningless lineup protection = myth

This is the Cubs.com article from when Gerald Perry was hired. It's a very good read. Click me!

So far, Ryan Theriot is hitting .302/.371/.429 in 63 AB. Guess which player hit .371/.400/.548 in his first 62 AB with the Cubs? That'd be Neifi Perez. He'd go on to post a .274/.298/.383 the next year. The lesson? Pay very close attention to the sample size. Anybody can hit very well for a month... even the worst hitter in history.

Fukudome works another 3-1 count... I love this guy.

I was going to post that, but I wasn't sure about it. Might just have been a similar looking guy... he's been at Cubs games before though. I was going to post it too, but I figured that if it wasn't him, I'd open myself up for all sorts of "oh, so all black people look alike?" jokes.

I have no doubt. What I don't like is his K's, which are unusual for him. If turning a few groundouts or flyouts into strikeouts is the price we pay for his newfound patience, it is a price I would pay gladly. If he starts hitting like the old Aramis, but keeps his new walk rate, he's a much better player.

The Riot has actually been pretty decent lately. Great. He'll manage another good month that'll inflate his season stats and blind the management to how badly he stinks the rest of the season. Way to be a fan. He's rooting for the success of the team over the course of a long season instead of a player for a couple good weeks. I'd say he's being an excellent fan.