NewUserName

I think he should be starting now. If the Cubs make the playoffs its not because they are good, its because the division is bad. Might as well let Pie play and develop. He is going to have a time where he doesnt do well in his adjustment to MLB. The sooner he gets past it the better.

Sacrifice bunts are good strategy in very limited circumstances -- when one run strategies maximize win expectations. Both times Kendall bunted, playing for one run made sense. I disagree. If Kendall was a poor hitter I would agree. Giving away outs is almost always a bad idea. In the case of a pitcher its understandable because most of the time a out is assumed anyway. In the case of Kendall and his .370 obp, he should be hitting. Also to send a guy who has hit like a pitcher(Fontenot) up to pinch hit after the sacrifice was just stupid. Also playing for a run on the road is not a smart move to begin with.

He has really hit the skids since the story broke. I think he has only 1 hit since Friday. Including 4 Ks today. I think it may be wrong to say he is mentally weak, but after what happened to him as a pitcher. He would seem to have a fragile psyche. Maybe this HGH allegations have hit his psyche again

It sure as heck would start a chain reaction of coaches leaving for better jobs. well, except for the part where Les Miles leaves LSU for an inferior job Well except for the 110,000 people who show up every week, a top 5 largest fan base in the country. Heck the biggest news in college football so far this year has been how bad Michigan is. LSU has look great in 2 games and it barely gets any National press. I am not so sure that Michigan is a inferior job. There team is inferior right now. Last but certainly not least, I am sure Michigan will pay A LOT. It is vitally important that the Big House is full every week. So considering Miles is an alum. I think he will certainly consider it.

Isnt there real college football going on this week? Why are we talking about Michigan and Notre Dame? Both teams well on there way to being non-bowl teams

I think the Dusty Baker "veteran-only" attitude has started to infect Lou. "We are in a playoff race and we need veteran experience to get us over the hump." Alright, Dude!! I think he was like this before he became a Cub. For some reason I think if Marshall comes back it will be to replace Hill and not Traschal.

You would have to be on some serious Bear kool aid to not see that as a offsides. It wasnt even close in real time let alone slow motion

He strikeouts too much> :wink:

I say this almost everytime the steriod topic comes up. Forfeit games. Until the league has a system in place that forfeits games this problem will not be fixed.

Your not peeing on them are you Derwood?

Strangely, I agree. Sometimes the closer might not even be the best pitcher to face the last three hitters, from a statistical point of view. And yet, teams trot them out there every time just because they are labeled "closer." I do agree with some sort of continuity though. In the Cubs case Marmol is the 7th inning guy, Howry the 8th and Dempster the 9th. I think having this kind of continuity adds comfort and builds confidence. Which is another reason in my book it would not be a good idea to change Marmol to closer just because of some silly label.

The "closer" is the most over-rated postition in all of sports. I agree the innings Marmol pitch are equalling as important as the innings Dempster pitches. Just like there is no clutch hitting, "The last 3 outs of the game are the toughest" is just some made up cliche.

I have a hard time subjectively saying that the Cubs are equal to the Brewers in talent going into the future. Most of what I am reading in this discussion is the Cubs fans pinning there hopes on pitching and defense. Most of the defensive advantage seems to be at 3rd base and 1st base. Not exactly the key defensive positions on the field. I think that Braun though can improve his defense(like ARam). The Cubs are better in CF defensively but is it really that much? Offensively the only position that the Cubs are better is LF. If the Brewers were to pick up a RHed hitting LFer better than Mench, the Brewers would probably get equal production there also. So offensively you would have to say the Brewers are quite a bit better. So pitching. I am not certain going into the future how to lineup the starters as who should be 1-5 for each team so I will just list potential obvious starters for next year. Brewers. Sheets, Guardo, Suppan, Bush, Parra, Villenuava and Capuano Cubs. Z, Lily, Hill, Marquis, Marshall and Gallagher This can change of course. Looking at the Top 6 going into next year I have a hard time saying the Cubs are significantly better here. Not nearly as easy as it is to say that the Brewers offense is better than the Cubs. Personally I would rather be in the Brewers shoes. Not only do they seem more talented. They also obviously have a better player development system. Any good team that wants to sustain success has to be good at developing players. I think by 2009 the Brewers are going to be significantly better than the Cubs, unless the Cubs significantly increase their payroll.

quick question. Did the Wild Pitch against ARam go out of play? If it did shouldnt Dero have been given 3rd? Didnt make a difference with ARams homer, just wondering though

Jack Clark and Amos Otis.

over-rated or under-rated? I always thought he was pretty under-rated. I also agree with Steve Garvey. Probably the most over-rated player in the 70s.

Good test for Michigan St this week. I was impressed with game 1. The have more talent than Bowling Green. They should win. Its still Michigan St and they will have to do well for several weeks to earn my trust.

Cal Ripken Jr.

I actually think Lance Berkman has always been underrated

Similar to Kirk Gibson in my book. Yes Walkers numbers are better but he played in a extreme hitters park in an extreme hitters era. I think Gibson was on his way to being a baseball afterthought until his HR in the WS against Eck.

Forsooth. white sox in 4th place ??? no way..... they're heading straight to first place !!! In case anybody hasn't been paying attention lately.......... Fecal League Standing Team W L Pct GB Tampa Bay 55 81 0.404 --- white sox 57 79 0.419 2.0 Washington 59 77 0.434 4.0 Florida 59 77 0.434 4.0 Pittsburgh 59 76 0.437 4.5 Baltimore 59 75 0.440 5.0 Kenny Williams is truly a genius !!! memo to Balsa...... for sooth is 2 words. Remember in the beginning of the Season when the Baseball Prospectus had the White Sox going 71-91, how all the White Sox fans and people on the Score called the Baseball Prospectus complete garbage. Well I wonder if you will hear them doing a mea culpa.

gary redus

I agree. I also enjoy seeing Michigan completely falling out of the top 25. if Michigan really kill Oregon, I can see the stupid voters bringing them right back to the low teens again Dixon is going to be even harder to handle than that dude from A State. Michigan is going down again. I am pretty sure that I seen that Michigan was favored by 8 this weekend. I may be wrong though.

I want the Cubs to make the playoffs. Just because I am a Cub fan. Truth is though I dont think they are headed in the right direction to win a WS. I think the only way they get there from where they are is by adding a crap load more payroll. Short of that I think they need to blow it up start from scratch.

Yeah they had a mediocre 8 game winning streak snapped yesterday.