rawaction

Holy crap. That's sweet. If you have multiple games between 297-299, doesn't that mean you are a choker? How the hell do you bowl 11 straight strikes and then screw up the last one? Just kidding, sort of, but that's a great accomplishment either way. I was ecstatic when I broke 200, the one time.

I know, I'm a dork. But what am I supposed to do at work? My job? As you can see, Dempster blows game 1 and Lou short on patience, puts Howry as the closer. The fans freak out because the least winnable game of the series on paper was blown by Dempster. The Cubs win game 2 fairly easily on the strength of 2 Aramis HRs (a 2 run shot in the first and a 3 run shot in the 7th). Howry gets the save The series shifts to Wrigley and the wind is blowing out. Rich Hill is shakey the first few innings but gets through unscathed. Cubs jump out to a quick lead with a leadoff HR by Sori and a couple of run scoring singles on Livan. Overall Livan is always in trouble. Hill explodes in the 3rd and 4th, but Lou keeps him in long ehough for the Cubs to get the win. Game 4 starts out poorly when Zambrano, on short rest is wild and erratic in the first inning, giving up 3 runs. The Cubs claw back to tie it on the DBacks vaunted bullpen in the 8th and in the 10th, Daryle Ward wins it with a series walkoff HR. Wrigley goes nuts and the Cubs advance. Wow. If even one of those comes close to being true, then you should play PowerBall ASAP.

I don't think Wilson is going to get traded. First of all, Istzirius's (sp?) option is not going to be picked up. And, as for the flirting with trading Wilson to Detroit, I'd still like to know what was going on there. Supposedly, the Pirates asked for Monroe on top of everything else offered and the Tigers said 'No'. Then, a couple of weeks later the dfa Monroe. So, why was he a sticking point? The reality is that Wilson, while not an all-star, is still a pretty darn good short stop. He hit .296 this year, and he fields the ball very well, generally has a very good glove, decent range and quick hands. He makes around 7 mill per year. Guys who do that much better are going to get 12-13 mil a year. Jack Wilson is severely overpaid and not very good. This is his 2nd year above average offensively. At 30 next year, there's a decent chance he reverts back to the low 70s OPS+ player he was for the 2 1/2 years before this July. Three of the last 5 years, his OPS+ has been in the 70s. All those years are right around his career numbers, so 2004 and the last few months of 2007 seem like the anomaly. That being said, if I were the Pirates I would keep him in hopes that he has figured something out if the only other option were to pick up some of his contract to play elsewhere. He does have a .350 OBP this year, and is one of the best defensive SS in the league. That's worth something, though not worth $7M/year and not worth paying him to play elsewhere.

If I'm the Pirates, I'd look to trade Bay to the Angels for Ervin Santana and one of their young catchers. I'd trade a couple prospects (nobody major) for Hank Blalock, who they almost got for Oliver Perez last year. I'd sign an OF who has potential to put up decent power numbers, like Mike Cameron, Milton Bradley, or Jose Guillen, if they aren't too expensive.

I've been feeling that all year, except it's not really that horrible for me. I think I actually like the Yankees now. They get such a bad rap from everyone outside of the Bronx. I do like the Indians more, but I don't mind the Yanks winning it all if the Cubs don't. I truly hate the Red Sox.

Yep. But I think that those deals didn't work because they would be taking a big salary back. I think if the Cubs offer Marshall and another pitcher close to the majors (Veal, Hart, Gallagher, Atkins, Holliman, Mateo) the deal could work. Braves would fill in the 4th spot in their rotation. Get another potential guy to compete for the 5th with Reyes, James, etc. And get out of Renteria's contract and can use that money and the Andruw Jones money to re-sign Teixeira and go out and get a #2-3 starter. Word is, they could have interest in Dontrelle in a trade. There was discussion on Renteria a while back and the rumors I read hinted that the Braves would want 2 major league ready prospects. Marshall plus one other good prospect ought to get it done. That's why I preferred the Renteria talk over the Tejada deals. I think Renteria is a much better fit. He could hit 2 or allow Derosa to be moved there and hit 6th behind Ramirez, and hopefully a legit 5-hitter in RF.

This is pretty much the conclusion I've reached as well. I haven't read all of this thread, but how have we faired against Webb this year? Being the Cubs like to swing at the first pitch, we should do OK against him -- at least that's my thinking. we beat him, but he went 7 innings, giving up 5 hits, a walk, 3 runs (2 earned), and 4 Ks we tacked on 3 more off Lyon in the 8th and won 6-2 that was without D Lee. Actually, the Cubs played without Lee and Floyd. Angel Pagan was the starting RF. The Cubs LHs had good days vs. Webb. Fontenot walked, singled, stole 2 bases, and scored twice against Webb. Jones had 2 RBI singles. Pagan went 1-3 also. I would run early and often on Webb. If Soriano and Theriot get on, they should go. If Lee and Jones can get good jumps, they should be on the move too. That's pretty much how you beat Webb. Not gonna hit a bunch of HRs or gappers against him, unless he is severely off his game. Gotta take extra bases and single him to death back up the middle.

Watch out for the Angels. Best pitching in the AL. Vlad is a guy that can carry that offense. And I like any team that can throw Lackey, Escobar and Weaver 5 times in a 5-game series and 5-6 in a 7-game series. My predictions. Angels over Red Sox in 4 Yankees over Indians in 5 Cubs over Dbacks in 4 Phillies over Rockies in 4 Yankees over Angels in 7 Phillies over Cubs in 7 Yankees over Phillies in 5.

This is pretty much the conclusion I've reached as well. I haven't read all of this thread, but how have we faired against Webb this year? Being the Cubs like to swing at the first pitch, we should do OK against him -- at least that's my thinking. we beat him, but he went 7 innings, giving up 5 hits, a walk, 3 runs (2 earned), and 4 Ks we tacked on 3 more off Lyon in the 8th and won 6-2 that was without D Lee.

I think it's a little of both. I think the Cubs coaching staff and catchers did a good job of keeping their pitchers on track when their control started to suffer. Not really much change on the offensive side, as far as approach goes. But I think there was a huge difference in Piniella and Baker as far as hands-on management. It seems as if Baker and Rothschild (forced by Dusty) sat on their hands way too much the last couple years.

Yep. But I think that those deals didn't work because they would be taking a big salary back. I think if the Cubs offer Marshall and another pitcher close to the majors (Veal, Hart, Gallagher, Atkins, Holliman, Mateo) the deal could work. Braves would fill in the 4th spot in their rotation. Get another potential guy to compete for the 5th with Reyes, James, etc. And get out of Renteria's contract and can use that money and the Andruw Jones money to re-sign Teixeira and go out and get a #2-3 starter. Word is, they could have interest in Dontrelle in a trade.

Arizona has the best bullpen. But yeah, starters are the best, and manager, I guess by default. Hurdle and Manuel are bad. Offense, the Cubs are a distant 3rd behind Philly and Colorado. But the Cubs' pitching is probably as far ahead of those 2 are ahead offensively, if not more.

Matchup looks a lot better for Zambrano if you take out Tracy who is on the DL, Robby Hammock and Doug Davis, who won't play.

I'd let Marquis start. This isn't a good lineup. He would be in Wrigley, and he keeps the ball down. I like him fully rested more than Zambrano on 3-days. I'd imagine he could get this young offense to bang the ball into the ground consistently.

Rockies and Phils will out hit the crap out of the Cubs. The Cubs matchup best against the DBacks and Padres, teams that won't score a whole lot and don't have any deception soft-tossing pitchers.

CUBS WIN THE NL CENTRAL! 006299

KHALIL!!!

Hell yeah, Dres! I like calling them the Dres. That sounds gangsta

If this GWRBI holds up, Khalil can do the worm around the basepaths for all I care.

ONE!

Kendall with a gritty, intangible laden 0-4 with 2 Ks.

That double play was closer than the previous.

In what world is that safe?

What happens if the Phillies and Mets tie....then the D'Backs or Rockies tie with the Padres? I'm assuming the 4 would meet for the division title going to the 2 winners and then the losers in a 1-game playoff for the wildcard. That could be fun. Rockies and DBacks can't tie.

Yeah, you're insane. Cabrera's clearly better. But Hermida would probably actually be a better fit in that he hits LH, is super cheap, and is better defensively.