NOLA

It was 2 and 1. He painted a fastball at 96 on the black on 2 and 0. OK, my bad on the count. But why do you go anywhere near the plate there? You put four fingers up and put him on base! Again, WTF?

Seriously, why do you pitch anywhere near the zone in that situation especially at 2-0? I do not support firing a manager halfway into his first season, but are our young guys at risk of learning bad habits at this point? We've seen terrible fundamentals all year. I love Castro but I hated his body language in that last at bat. What was Barney doing playing short? This is exactly why you intentionally pass, not this unintentional crap. ESPECIALLY at 2-0. There is a ton of season left to go. WTF?

A full list of actions at the SEC meetings: Mike Slive announced that the SEC has divided up $220 million this year with each school grabbing $18.3 million. That’s a record total. -Slive says the SEC will take five proposals for roster management to the NCAA. -The SEC will have “oversight” on medical exemptions. -The SEC did pass a 25-man cap on signing classes, summer school enrollees will count immediately toward that fall’s scholarship numbers. Unanimous vote. -Slive said that the NCAA “should and will” follow the SEC’s lead. -The SEC has also nuked the exception allowing grad students to transfer into the league with less than two years of eligibility. The new rule takes effect October 1st. (Dubbed the Jeremiah Masoli rule) How many new restrictions reference Houston Nutt? -The cowbells will get another year at MSU as the great “Cowbell Compromise” has been extended. -The SEC did officially nix the use of divisions in basketball. A decision on future scheduling models is expected later this year. -The presidents voted unanimously to ban 7-on-7 camps on SEC campuses and SEC coaches can no longer attend them.

I realize I am a bit of a homer, but c'mon man. Yes, there are scumbags in the SEC, just like there are scumbags everywhere else. I think it's really convenient to throw stones at the SEC because they are on undeniably on the top of the mountain recently. USC just got hit hard. Ohio State is about to go down, as well as Boise State and North Carolina. Oregon is getting a serious inquiry into recruiting practices. I realize it's easy to hate on the SEC but seriously.

I hope not, but I'll admit that my first reaction was that I'm glad LaMahieu is getting PT. Maybe I'm already in September call-up mode. That is until I see the Cardinals on the field. Go Cubs.

I honestly am anxious to see this lineup tonight. Not that I think the Cubs will win, but to see LaMahieu, how Soto handles cleanup, if Colvin can do anything, etc. If I watch this game with the same viewpoint that I watch a minor league game, it is more enjoyable. Sometimes stats do tell the tale.

I don't know anything about anything, but after the last few pages of this thread I think the "meanspirited teenage girls" of the world deserve a serious apology

http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/731800/252083_10150199131256898_623256897_7697829_88466_n.jpg

Trashing Ricketts for Undercover Boss.

I have been a member and followed this board since Prior and Wood were our next big thing. I've followed Bobby Hill, Choi, Brian Roberts, Shark...all that. I am a casual message board poster, but I come to this site for insight into the Cubs that I can't get on the rest of the net. I love this board. For the most part, there aren't the usual internet idiots on here that consume most of the web. My two cents... When the Cubs show some bit of hope, whether it be at the big leagues or at the minors, this board will be active. We are all a bit disillusioned right now. I have started posting more recently, half of those in the social threads. This is still one of the more intelligent sports message boards out there. I check NSBB every day, as I have for years. It will just be more fun when we have hope in our franchise. Hopefully, then we will be bitching about all the jackass new posters on the board. That would be a good thing I do, however, wish there would be some good info on the main page.

What? In what way shape or form is asking for significant changes to how the Cubs are run reactionary? How long until piling on is no longer reactionary? You're changing the argument. Asking for significant change isn't reactionary. Getting worked up over a quote on June 1st is. There are plenty of people unhappy with some decisions and the general state of the franchise who aren't overreacting to a quote in the paper. To answer your question, this next offseason will tell the tale for me, not a quote.

It doesn't matter if he said it, just as long as he's not stupid enough to believe it. Because only a complete freaking moron would think it's true. So basically you think Ricketts has done everything right the past 18 months? Good to know. The Hayden Simpson pick, retaining Hendry, completely [expletive] up the asking for public money to fix Wrigley, Todd appearing on Undercover Boss and looking like a moron, and now pretending that injuries are the only thing wrong with this awful team is OK with you? No one is saying that. Separate issues. You argued that his answer to the press showed his true feelings about the state of the team. Most fans don't take it that seriously. Really, you sound like Colin Cowherd or Skip Bayless.

If he didn't want to fuel the fire, he didn't have to entertain the question in the first place. I think this is essentially what he did. Blaming it on injuries is as thoughtless as any other vague response to a question you know you don't want to answer. The difference is that you and Rosenbloom think it is some reflection on how he will run the franchise. It was a bland response to a baited question. That's all. It's early in his ownership and Ricketts had some BS contracts that preceded him. Let's see how things play out. Piling on right now is completely reactionary. Thinking he had some grand scheme to torpedo this season is insane.

If anything, this article proves the point that Ricketts was wise to answer the way he did. The press is all too ready to write something to stir up controversy for all the mouthbreather fans. No need for him to fuel that fire. Damn, I'm glad Mariotti isn't around anymore.

Dude, not trying to combine this with the other thread, but what do you want from Rickett's to this point? Based on resumes, Quade was more qualified than Ryno-and I'm no Quade apologist by any means. Do you want an owner who in his first year riles the Chicago press and fires his manager midway into his first season? Are you a Redskins fan too? We're all frustrated with the state of the franchise right now, but piling on Ricketts for this mess is misguided at best.

Absolutely. And as for the post that started this thread...at least I can say that you do inspire responses with your posts. :roll:

We don't know if he truly believes it. Let's see what happens after the draft. We know he truly believed that Hendry was the right man for the job this year, long after it was pretty clear he was not. We know he's allowed every nonsensical excuse in the book to justify keeping the status quo on a failing organization. I wouldn't be surprised if he was dumb enough to think the only thing wrong with this team was injuries. Two different arguments going on here. One being his response to a loaded question in early June, the other being how he handles Quade, Hendry and the future of the franchise. As to the first, he handled it fine in basically brushing off the question. No good in throwing the media a bone to run with. As to the second, let's wait and see. I will be as angry as anyone if nothing is changed in the offseason.

Absolutely. One thing sure to make this season even more of a disaster would be some internal war waged in the media. I hate, hate, hate this type of reasoning. No offense man, but I hardly believe Ricketts bought his favorite baseball team and decided he would tank his first season all in a scheme to allow a new GM to start fresh in his second year. What's the matter with a little professionalism, or with telling his club that maybe if they start to get healthy they can put together a good run? Does everything have to be Jerry Springer-like? Not everything has to be aired in the press.

It isn't as much fun these days. Of course I was only in college back then, but even the bad 90's teams were a good way to kill an afternoon. Did Harry make bad teams watchable? Maybe so. All that said, I will be watching this board very closely around the trade deadline. If we can trade for some young talent and we really are out of it, I will actually enjoy seeing how some of our prospects handle being called up. I'm sort of excited to go see the New Orleans Zephyrs play the Iowa Cubs this summer.

I just checked out an OSU message board. Wow. Just wow. http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=145&f=3154 Here are a few of the thread titles: -Ohio State can get anyone it wants -Interesting that a President can lie and cheat under oath -Can we ban Herbstreit and ESPN from the Shoe now? -Could Tressel be hired back? -Did SI pay any of these OSU players? -Saban to OSU? -How do you explain this to an innocent child? -Why is the media out to get T and OSU? REALLY? One particular thread: Did anyone else shed a tear? Posted: Yesterday 12:19 PM Has anyone else shed a tear Not trying to sound like a wuss but my eyes were watering thinking of what Jim Tressel means to me.

=D>

Posted on another board, but I keep thinking of this guy. The similarities go on and on. http://fourhorsementattoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/warden2.jpg

Maybe at this point we all have been numbed by anything short of a dead hooker in Tressel's trunk, but that article is pretty damning. It shows a pattern of looking the other way, sometimes fascilitating direct violations. It shows OSU's inherent culture of widespread corruption, which Tressel was all too eager to continue. It shows what a slimeball he is, in the morning preaching scripture and in the evening directing cash payments to players, something he has been doing since the 1980's. This has all the ingredients of major, major violations: slimy boosters, pay for play, systematic corruption and coverup, lying directly to the NCAA, arrogantly flaunting payoffs, drugs, openly taking team gear out of the fieldhouse for money, associating with felons. This is much worse than USC--easily the worst since SMU. The only things NOT mentioned are point shaving and fixing grades. It seems Maurice Clarett=Jose Canseco. I don't care if they are THE Ohio State University. This will set them back for a decade. If I'm not mistaken, SMU players were allowed to transfer without penalty. At least the recruits should be allowed out of their LOI's. FWIW, the writer of the article was just on the Dan Patrick show and says he gave a copy of the article to OSU this past Friday, so maybe that did spur the resignation.

1993 - Rick Wilkins Personally, I don't care which side of the plate a guy is hitting 30 HRs from, I just care that he does it. Man, talk about a flash in the pan. I remember going nuts over him because of that year. Me too. Didn't we end up trading him to the Astros for Scott Servais? That was the end of a string of great catching for the Cubs. Jody Davis, of course. Joe Girardi, Damon Berryhill and Rick Wrona were all on the same team I think. Watching the Cubs was enjoyable then. That '89 team was fun. Damn you Will Clark.

Not that I want to agree with BB but that throw to 3B which allowed the runner to advance to 2B was atrocious. This is one of the worst fundamental Cubs teams I can remember. Who managed these guys down in the minors anyway? Ryno I was actually making a jab at Quade, but you're right about that.