bukie

1st and 3rd with nobody out and a run in already in the 7th, chance to really blow this one open. EDIT: Consider it blown, with the 6th hit of the game being another longball.

That's 5 hits, and 4 of them were just destroyed.

Floyd and Green, because I like the Bears.

QB/RB/RB/WR/WR/Flex/TE/D-ST/K - 14 team no PPR QB Flacco RB Chris Johnson RB Hillis WR Maclin WR Garcon Flex Green-Ellis TE Gates K Vinatieri D Chicago BN Cassel BN Nelson BN Starks BN Hardesty BN Bennett BN Gerhart

Manningham, Skins pass defense is overrated and Eli is better than Fitzpatrick.

Joe Flacco vs. Pittsburgh or Matt Cassel vs. Buffalo?

My team name this year is the Thundercat Hoes. Yep, that's all I could come up with.

Joe Johnson Josh Byrnes would be Boozer, the guy who's nobody's first choice but is easy to talk yourself into after the a-listers are out of the picture. Rick Hahn = David Lee Brian Cashman = Amar'e Stoudemire

It's the summer of LeBron all over again. Which means the Marlins are about to land a windfall of talent, with Beane as team president, Epstein as GM and Friedman as assistant GM.

Because the only thing better than Z for one year at 18 million is Burnett for two years at 18 million.

Make that 9 now with that lazy infield single.

Ramirez has now reached base in 8 straight PAs, and 11 of his last 12.

Aramis needs to teach the rest of the lineup to hit...and pitch, apparently.

Aramis trying to tie the game the only way he knows how, by doubling and then singling in the same AB.

He had a nasty collision with Marcus Giles, and then his manager left him in the game to pitch? He took a line drive off his pitching elbow, and then his manager left him in the game to pitch?

.293 .330 .395 .725 at home. I agree he usually shouldn't hit higher than 6, but your overreaction is hysterical. He's not an everyday player because of that line? OK then. Straight out of the figures lie and liars figure handbook. Those numbers mean very little when he doesn't hit with men on base. You have to score runs to win and Byrd rarely helps that happen. How anyone can deny his lack of production is mind numbing and hysterically funny. .204/.255/.306 with runners in scoring position this year. You can have him on your team, I prefer a better player. Speaking of pots and kettles... Career overall: .283/.341/.423/.764 Career RISP: .276/.344/.418/.762

That escalated in a hurry.

He's also made the most outs, which kind of disappoints me. Very Juan Pierre-y, though he'll hopefully/probably pass him as a player. The only thing really "Pierre-y" about him is his walk rate, which I really blame organizational philosophy on more than him, specifically. The only glaring issues with Castro at this point are his walk rate and his throwing accuracy (although his range stat value fluctuated wildly this year from last...). I think both of those can be fixed with the proper coaching.

Well, the most relevant recent example I can think of was Soriano. I don't think any reduction or modification in contract resulted when they discovered he was 3 years old than he claimed.

There won't be flaws on this player in his prime in 2 years? It's unacceptable to have the highest payroll in the division (even writing off Soriano and Z's contracts, we're still right around the Cardinals) and punt 2 seasons. The Cubs have a gaping crater at 1st base at the major league level and in the farm system. There is not a more perfect scenario for Fielder and Pujols to enter the market, and people want to pass on them because we can't guarantee we'd win the division the next 2 years?? These are 2 of the best players in baseball right now, and people are so worried because a contract everyone hated at the time wound up being a contract everyone hated. What the hell is wrong with everyone? No, I'd still want to sign Pujols. Rather get him for, say, 7 years than 9, but I think it's an investment well worth it for three reasons: 1 - The Cubs have nothing at first base. No slugging offensive players that will be ready at any time in the next 4-5 years unless they somehow luck into a huge draft boon next year. 2 - The division is winnable right away with a little pitching rotation depth and a star offensive player added. The Cubs are a .500 team now if Coleman, Davis and Russell didn't have to start. 3 - Even if a Fielder-like player is available 3 years down the road, players like Pujols don't come along every 3 years. And if they do, teams keep them. And if they're somehow available, sign them too. This isn't the Rays.

I guess I kind of get Keri's point (after a couple tweets). Fielder compares too well to Mo Vaughn and Cecil Fielder (both of which were basically Carlos Pena-productive by 31). Assuming Pujols is the age he says he is, you're basically looking at a 50/50 gamble that he stays as productive as he is now (which is his worst season, but still better than any Cub recently) for 5-6 years before falling off. If you're the Cubs, do you take that gamble now and bank on the division staying weak for a while until the rest of the franchise is in order the way it should be, or do you wait a couple years and bank on a player coming into his prime years being available through trade or FA when the team is more prepared to contend on an extended basis?

I disagree with your guess at the odds. That's just my opinion vs yours though. I'm sure there's a lot of people that would agree with you. Maybe your right but I think it would be something we'd live to regret. Players break down toward the end of their careers and can become pretty much a faint shadow of the player they were when they signed, I've watched it happen to many times. People are always excited when they signed then 3 years later are asking why did we do that? But how many HOF players at Pujols' level have you seen fall off of a cliff? I'm not saying it's impossible, but it feels more like you're talking about someone like Soriano. I think after the Sosa incident (and to a lesser extent the Soriano thing, just because he wasn't near a Sosa level when people thought he would be), some fans are a little hesitant to sign a 30+ slugger under the assumption that he won't work out. Not that I agree with it, but I think that's the reasoning.

One thing I think Keri overlooks is that the Cubs can afford to give 6-7 years to Pujols/Fielder and build up from within. The truth of the matter is, the Cubs just don't currently have a Pujols anywhere in the organization now, and have nobody close to that level of production on the major league roster.

CBS Sports ranks their top 100 players, 10 per day. Today they posted 6-10, and Rose isn't there, while Durant and Kobe are. Looks like the top 5 is LeBron, Howard, Wade, Dirk and Rose.

The Road Map to a Cubs Resurgence - by Jonah Keri, the guy that wrote The Other 2%, about the Rays development into a winner. Certainly a more pessimistic view of the upcoming Cubs offseason and current outlook.