C.C.

That the teen (over eighteen) was "sexy," "tan" and "leggy" added to my interest in the story. I wish I was a major league player...

No way. Liriano didn't get dusty'd. He was averaging 93.5 pitches/game started. Which goes to show you there is no way to fully protect a pitcher...

Another nice blurb for Hill via ESPN.COM chat with Jim Callis: Charlie (Chicago): Jim, have you watched Rich Hill in his last 2 outings and do you buy into this? Or is he getting some help from the opposition? SportsNation Jim Callis: (2:14 PM ET ) Hill's stuff is for real. He has one of the best lefty curveballs in the game to go with a solid fastball, and he has killed Triple-A hitters with it. I think his past problems were mental, and perhaps he has turned the corner.

You really should qualify that better - he's 10th in the NL in OBP among qualified CF's. If he were 10th in the NL, we'd be very happy with his .398 OBP. Unfortunatley for us, ol 43 is 74th in the NL in OBP. That's simply horrific for a lead-off hitter. No he's 10th in the NL in OBP among qualified Leadoff hitters... And how many are qualified? 10? Yep! Or at least that's all espn.com lists on the batting spilts...

Who says we aren't fighting for a WC spot! We are only 9.5 games out! We are right in the thick of it. :wink:

I think his comments were taking out of context. The first and second quotes were prolly two different line of questions. Maddux wouldn't sit there and rip his teamates like that.

While I want no part of Neifi, Jones hasn't been horrible. Stats: AVG .288 | HR 18 | RBI 55 | OBP .321 | SLG .499 Sorry, but those numbers suck for a RFer in my opinion. 55rbis? Jeez that's terrible. Those numbers for Jacque aren't actually that bad so far this year. He's 17th in OBP, 4th in slg, 10th in OPS among right fielders. His RBI totals aren't that terrible-14th right now, and 4 RBI's out of 9th. He has been an average to above average right fielder this season-the trick is if he can keep up these numbers or not. Right. You can't really judge him until after the year is over.

I can agree on that...And how sad is that? We can have a batting title winner in Barrett and a Cy Young winner in Z and still not even touch .500 ball. What a waste...

I was comparing him to other leadoff hitters in the NL. Ok, he's 10th out of 16 teams in the NL. That doesn't sound any better does it? Dude, what are you talking about? I wasn't saying that 10th in the league is good, I was saying it's terrible...We are on the same page...

Very Funny and yet prolly true!

I was repsonding to this part of the post... I was comparing him to other leadoff hitters in the NL.

A stadium in the suburbs would suck to go to. And it wouldn't even come close to guaranteeing a better product on the field (how much more do you think ownership will spend on the team if they play out there?). especially if its a suburb like joliet. Cubs in the 'burbs? Don't make me puke!

Of couse not! What I meant was learning by earning wins, getting confidence, Progressing. As for over-using Zambrano? Z is hell bent on getting that Cy Young award this year. Right or wrong, the Chicago Bears as a team couldn't hold him back in trying to earn that award this year. I do agree with everything else you said.

You really should qualify that better - he's 10th in the NL in OBP among qualified CF's. If he were 10th in the NL, we'd be very happy with his .398 OBP. Unfortunatley for us, ol 43 is 74th in the NL in OBP. That's simply horrific for a lead-off hitter. No he's 10th in the NL in OBP among qualified Leadoff hitters...

It's not spin, it's reality. Winning a few games in the 2nd half will change nothing. In the short-term it's nice to see a win. In the long-term, a "respectable" 2006 is about the worst case scenario. I'm more interested in the long-term success of this team, which will require massive changes in strategy. A respectable finish will only reinforce their misguided belief that they are headed in the right direction. This arguement is a fine line. Do you just want to the Cubs to pack it in and lose and lose bad from here on out? Doesn't that reinforce our losing mentallity for the past 99 years? Why waste the year away when at least you can use this year (2nd half) as a positive learning expirence for the youth of this ballclub.

Respectable to me is a very bad goal to set. Respectable reaks of mediocrity, and appreciating respectability is akin to accepting mediocrity. Even if they finish 82-80, what would be a strong finish, this season would be a disaster. You can't just judge a season based on how you play the last two months. Games in April, May and June count, even though the Cubs often downplay the risk of losing lots of them. A "respectable" finish to 2006 is only going to mean sustained mediocrity, which is going to keep this team locked into the cycle of mediocrity that has plagued them for so many years. First off, I never set "respectable" as a goal for the Cubs season. We all wanted different, I can't stand the way the team has played the majority of they year and once again will be disappointed come October. However, given the first half of the season and literally feeling like we wouldn't score a run the entire series; it is a welcome change since the Milwaukee series just before the AS break. Outside of the Nationals series and a few loses that we should have won, I enjoy seeing the Cubs win as of late. I am not sure how you can argue wanting the Cubs win and then spin your argument into accepting mediocrity. I agree with you. I understand the whole "Respectable should not be accepted", but it's nice to see the team battling everyday and winning on a regular basis. It certainly helps players like Murton, Pagan, Cedeno, Marshall, Marmol, Hill gain confidence, and hopefully they can continue to progress into next year. I'd rather see this, then the team just packing in the season.

I tend to agree with you on Pierre. If he's asking anywhere near 7-9 million a year, then forget it. Save the cash...He's 10th in the NL in OBP.

That's pretty funny! I think it's just a force of habit to include Neifi in any positive remark Dusty makes.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz DAY!!!!! The playoff push continues!!!! :wink:

Never understood the "build a new stadium" rant? I like Wrigley just the way it is, and a stadium has nothing to do with not winning. Just ask Boston.

I was at my local pub on the north side and we all danced in the streets at that moment. Man, I just got the chills and shed a tear... I remember waking up at 5:00 (hangover)AM and read every single shred of news on it on the internet. Then walked to Wrigley to pick up my central div. winners t-shirt.

I'll even go as far as to say if the Cubs continue to win that it's more like 70-30 he comes back, Dusty has done a good job to save his arse the 2nd half. I hope to god Hendry remembers 2004-05...Or the first half of the season

whew

good ab by Murton...

Walker wasn't on the 2003 team...That was a team that was built on starting pitching.