cjbucks

Not irrelevant at all - I think the award is a joke, and a bad one at that.

I kind of get a kick out of watching him throw over to first though :D

I think MLB has reached a new low. Are you like me though and you think that Neifi being traded to the Tigers is the only thing that kept him from adding some diversity to the award? I'm trying to decide if I should start stuffing the ballot box for Mabry after the fabulous year he had this year! http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/fan_forum/holiday_inn/lapy/index.jsp

pierre hustles and hustling is the most important part of the game! remember the gashouse gang? they hustled, never washed their uniforms and won the world series, hence hustling and dirty uniforms or just poor hygiene practices are necessary to build a world series team. Thats what I'm talking about! You got hustling, dirty uniforms and poor personal hygiene - thats Lenny Dykstra and he won a world series!!

If the Cardinals win the series I will puke...............seriously.

Has anybody else seen or heard any speculation on Dusty for the A's job?? I heard Charley Steiner talk about it on XM today and in the Trib today they quoted Dusty as saying he would love to talk about the job. Man would I love to hear that conversation! Billy - " Dusty what are your thoughts on OBP?' Dusty - " O B what? I played with Henry Aaron and he didn't talk about no OBwhateveryoucallit. Man don't go clogin' my brain up with that stuff! What about fishin' Billy you ever go fishin'?"

I'm sure Steve will be relieved to hear of your decision :wink: I don't care much for him as an analyst but I did hear him on Mike and Mike ( I know, I don't have much to do today) this morning and I think Fox dropped the ball also.

So 3 yrs/$10M and a club option for a fourth year at $5M according to Cubs.com. And from the Quotes You Couldn't Make Up Department. Thats our boy, concerned about his digestive system in the middle of all this.

wow, none of those things are particularly important for a 1 or 2 hitter. Are you kidding me? Have you watched the Dertroit Tigers? Granderson gets on base, then Polanco moves him over with a bunt, or the hit and run. Works out pretty well for them. Whitesox used it in 05 also. So you think their offense is based on Polanco moving Granderson over? First off, their success is based on league leading pitching. Their offensive success is based on very high HR totals. Granderson has a 335 obp - JP has as 330 obp. According to that theory we were just 1 good bunter away from the playoffs! Rats

If Theriot stepped up it would be possible. I would just be hesitant to have the 2 young guys leading off. Plus, if Soriano is comfortable in the leadoff spot he might be talked into hitting 2 but 5th might make him feel uncomfortable, but, if he likes the lineup ahead of him it may work. At least Lou would have some decent choices. I was thinking more of picking up the proverbial " proven vet " at 2b with Theriot as a util this year but I don't necessarily disagree with your post.

I'd rather have Soriano in the 5 hole to maybe keep him from stealing so much. Murton 2B ( because you gotta bat the 2b second) Lee Ramirez Soriano Jones Barrett Izturris I think Murton would be a good leadoff hitter - how cool would it be to see our leadoff man start the game with a 6 or 7 pitch at bat once?

I don't know, there's a pretty big difference between 3/24 and 5/75, and those are two of the more frequent deals I've heard for each guy. I thought I had heard more than that for Juan but I could be wrong. Given those $'s who would you prefer in cf? Soriano, easy. Pierre's upside is quite low, and downside is very low. Soriano will at least likely be a well above average CFer for a few years, and could have a great season or two. Pierre only has 2 seasons where his OPS+ was better than Soriano's worst season. Soriano has a 29 point advantage in career OPS+, and the odds are quite favorable that he would be over 110 most of the time. He'd be fantastically overpaid if he's giving you 110 and making $15m per year, but it's nothing a savvy GM wouldn't be able to work around. I'll always maintain it's better to have overpaid good players than overpaid bad ones. ^^^ Very nice :lol: Somebody should mention that to Hendry. As a matter of fact that should be his mantra for this off season. I agree with the rest also. I cannot convince myself on any level that I want any part of Pierre in cf again next year.

I don't know, there's a pretty big difference between 3/24 and 5/75, and those are two of the more frequent deals I've heard for each guy. I thought I had heard more than that for Juan but I could be wrong. Given those $'s who would you prefer in cf?

I don't think Hendry is going to improve OBP anyway. So, I'd rather he at least get some SLG, as well as guys who are above average in production for their position. Soriano in CF or 2B is almost a lock for above average production, and he'll bring SLG. Plus, if a $115m payroll is true, it'll be easier to deal with overpaying him based on hype. that's exactly why i have come around on soriano. two important components of a hitter are obp and slg. since it's become perfectly clear that hendry is not going to pay attention to obp, the best we can do is hope that he stumbles upon a guy with a good slg. i'd rather get a no obp/good slg guy than a no obp/no slg guy with speed, heart, a good glove, spirit, bunting skills, and veteran presence. I think Soriano is a much better option than Pierre in CF for probably not a whole lot more $ than what Pierre is going to go for. Having said that I would like to see him in the 5 hole as opposed to the 1 or 2 hole that he will probably end up hitting in.

I got the day off tomorrow also - but it's like a three hour drive :lol:

I think he should suggest to them that maybe they could throw a strike once in a while? The # of base on balls our staff gave up this year is hard evidence of incompetence on someone's part. So I suggest to you that A) our pitchers all suck or B) our pitching coach/pitching philosophy sucks. Id have to lean more toward A since a lot of our pitchers came from AA and probably shouldnt have even been there or never should have been resigned (like Rusch). You can try to tell someone how to throw a strike, try to show them but in the end the ball is in the pitchers hand not the pitching coach's. Rich Hill sure did make a big turn around from when he first was brought up till the end of the season, how much of that was Larry's coaching and how much of it was Hill making the proper mental adjustments on his own? Hard to say, Larry had alot of young unproven pitchers and some real big pieces of crap to work with this year, I dont blame him. Injuries happen and alot of them because of Bakers stupid desicions. Larry has been the pitching coach for 5 years now. This year's batch of AA pitchers is only a small part of that issue. Control has been an issue every year. Do you think that a new pitching coach would change that? I think throwing strikes has more to do with talent and ability than with coaching. If you didnt throw strikes in the minors your not going to be brought up and then shown by the pitching coach how to throw strikes and suddenly have pinpoint control. Control is an issue for most teams. You can be agressive in the strike zone and get the poop hammered out of you if you dont have good movement or deception with your pitches. If your pitching philosophy as a coach and as an organization was that you won't be in the majors until you can throw strikes on a semi consistent basis than yes I would expect to see more strikes. If a pitching coach can't help his pitchers learn to throw strikes then what good is he? I just dont think that a pitching coach's job is to make his pitchers throw strikes. I think there are plenty of things you can try to teach a player that migh help him with his control but in the end it comes down to having the talent and ability to make it happen. We could go on all afternoon but I think I'll just agree to disagree at this point :)

I think he should suggest to them that maybe they could throw a strike once in a while? The # of base on balls our staff gave up this year is hard evidence of incompetence on someone's part. So I suggest to you that A) our pitchers all suck or B) our pitching coach/pitching philosophy sucks. Id have to lean more toward A since a lot of our pitchers came from AA and probably shouldnt have even been there or never should have been resigned (like Rusch). You can try to tell someone how to throw a strike, try to show them but in the end the ball is in the pitchers hand not the pitching coach's. Rich Hill sure did make a big turn around from when he first was brought up till the end of the season, how much of that was Larry's coaching and how much of it was Hill making the proper mental adjustments on his own? Hard to say, Larry had alot of young unproven pitchers and some real big pieces of crap to work with this year, I dont blame him. Injuries happen and alot of them because of Bakers stupid desicions. Larry has been the pitching coach for 5 years now. This year's batch of AA pitchers is only a small part of that issue. Control has been an issue every year. Do you think that a new pitching coach would change that? I think throwing strikes has more to do with talent and ability than with coaching. If you didnt throw strikes in the minors your not going to be brought up and then shown by the pitching coach how to throw strikes and suddenly have pinpoint control. Control is an issue for most teams. You can be agressive in the strike zone and get the poop hammered out of you if you dont have good movement or deception with your pitches. If your pitching philosophy as a coach and as an organization was that you won't be in the majors until you can throw strikes on a semi consistent basis than yes I would expect to see more strikes. If a pitching coach can't help his pitchers learn to throw strikes then what good is he?

I think he should suggest to them that maybe they could throw a strike once in a while? The # of base on balls our staff gave up this year is hard evidence of incompetence on someone's part. So I suggest to you that A) our pitchers all suck or B) our pitching coach/pitching philosophy sucks. Id have to lean more toward A since a lot of our pitchers came from AA and probably shouldnt have even been there or never should have been resigned (like Rusch). You can try to tell someone how to throw a strike, try to show them but in the end the ball is in the pitchers hand not the pitching coach's. Rich Hill sure did make a big turn around from when he first was brought up till the end of the season, how much of that was Larry's coaching and how much of it was Hill making the proper mental adjustments on his own? Hard to say, Larry had alot of young unproven pitchers and some real big pieces of crap to work with this year, I dont blame him. Injuries happen and alot of them because of Bakers stupid desicions. I hope for all of our sakes those who suggest that Dusty has been overiding and flat out ignoring Rotchschild are correct.

I think he should suggest to them that maybe they could throw a strike once in a while? The # of base on balls our staff gave up this year is hard evidence of incompetence on someone's part. So I suggest to you that A) our pitchers all suck or B) our pitching coach/pitching philosophy sucks.

I think the whole "Dusty has a calming influence" thing has been debunked. The clubhouses got more chaotic the longer he stuck around. Debunked? If you say so. When was the last time the Cubs got in an in-house fight? It was all us against the world. Bradley did have problems with the fans, which Dusty wouldn't have prevented (look at Jones), but the bickering with teammates wouldn't have happened. Bradley would body slam Piniella. He ain't no Rob Dibble. Rob Dibble would crush Milton Bradley. Not if they had a debate and not a fight :wink:

Shannon just said Mike Loduca is coming to the plate. Have another beer!!

What do you get when you combine scrappy and hustle?? Thats right.................scrapple.

Mike Shannon just referred to Green as a big slugger??

Boy the National League just sucks this year. Makes the Cubs efforts this year even more frustrating.

Yeah but he's sucked since then also.