AcesHigh

I think Eric Gagne is a perect example of that. He came into the league and was failing as a starter and was on his way out. The Dodgers put him at closer and, poof, he became a star.

Murton is a huge improvement over whatever we had in left field last year :D .

Let the dream die, Pagen is not good. http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/P/angel-pagan.shtml Did Angel Pagen run over your dog? Here's to hoping he does turn into Carlos Beltran, but he probably won't. No he didn't run of my dog. But he is not good. All I'm trying to do is show that. Keep hope alive, keep hope alive. He's never played in the MLs so it hard to say what he is definitively. There are guy that have outstanding projections who turn out to be busts! The opposite is true as well. Completely agreed. I've learned never to trust the hype after being sold on Corey for so long. He might be a productive outfielder one day, but I'll believe it when I see it.

1. Sammy 2. Vlad Guerrero 3. Prior 4. Eric Byrnes(love the way he plays) 5. Henry Rodriguez

I think that Larry knows what he's talking about, but I figured he would leave as well. I don't put any blame on him for injuries though. It is not his call when to pull the pitchers and he has done about everything anyone can do to help out Kerry. It just hasnt worked out.

I thought that PSU played pretty well against Purdue, especially Parker, who was lights out. Purdue was way off from 3(I think they were 3-23 or something), but that's basketball. I think the road win at U of I is a huge step towards the NIT.

Everything will need to fall the wrong way for Grissom to take over. Its not going to happen. Matt will still be out there.

While I would love to have another guy who can hit HRs, I think that Pierre leading off with a decent #2 hitter will account for quite a few more runs being scored. The Cubs will be competitive if certain players can avoid the DL (Wood, Prior, Ramirez, etc.), Murton and Cedeno get to play and perform at a decent level, and DLee and ARam do their thing. Many posters (including me) think the Cubs could win 90 games. Now if the Cards would come down to that level (very possible), we have a shot. You're right, Pierre plus a solid 2 hitter(hopefully Walker) would account for a lot of runs, but I'm not sure that we are going to have that 2 hitter. Dusty will, more than likely, put Jones/Grissom/Neifi in the two spot. In order to make up for that lack of production, we need another power bat. With Walker hitting two, our offense has a chance to be okay. I'm just not so sure he'll be there.

I don't. I get the feeling he's one of the those pitchers who once he get figured out, isn't that hard to hit. I don't think its fair to say that. He's been fairly consistent the last 5 years, starting 34+ games 5 years in a row with pretty solid numbers, including a Cy Young. Factor in that he has been pitching against some formidable lienups in the AL West his whole career, I think he'd be fine. Actually, I think he would be more dominant than usual when he first comes into the NL because of the unfamiliarity.

We went into the offseason needing a big bat to compete and we're still looking. This team will not go far if it doesn't get another guy that can hit some HR's with any consistency. We need that bat, even if it means trading away prospects. That being said, I think Hendry is trying to bring in a another hitter, but he's not doing a real good job.

Um I think Juan Le Pierre is more in jeopardy than Murton. Jeopardy of what? Losing his job? He's been the centerpiece of their offsesaon. He's their ideal candidate for the much coveted speedy leadoff man. Dusty is on record stating that he will play the guy with the bigger contract because that is why the guy got the contract. Couple that with his history of favoring older players, and all the positive things he has to say about older players, and that Murton was one of the few guys who Dusty openly criticized by name in the press, and it's pretty safe to assume that Murton will be the odd man out of the current OF. Playing time. I can't see that happening. If Dusty sits anyone from the OF out, its gonna be Murton, not Pierre.

You guys are pretty dead on with the Purdue predictions. They are going to be terrible. They have started 4 freshmen in pretty much every game. They'll be good down the road, but this year will be tough to watch. Not to mention the fact that our best players(Landry and Teague) and starting PG are out for the year. Of course, I'll be at college when they finally get good and probably end up rooting for someone else... :roll:

I don't like the thought of it. The last thing we need to do is overpay for a mediocre player. I'd consider it as a safety net, but the cost is just too high.

So how long before there becomes a serious movement to get rid of Lloyd Carr at Michigan?

Am I the only one that wanted Rutgers to win last night? I thought they looked like they wanted that game badly. Their players were so fired up just to be in a bowl game. It was refreshing. The other game I saw was the Navy/CSU game. I love Navy's offense. When it is run right, it can be just as hard to stop as the spread, and just as entertaining. Anyway, Purdue is not in a bowl, so I've only been semi-watching these games.