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I think with off days we will not need a 5th starter until May 1st after Sundays start. Guzman pitched 3 innings last night. He still can get 2 starts in Iowa to stretch himself out. I wouldnt be surprised if Miller doesnt improve by Sunday Guzman is the Starter on May 1st.

I'm kind of surprised that Izturis is not in the lineup today. I'm just fine with Cedeno playing a day or two, but today is the one day where Izturis had good numbers against the opposing pitcher (Izturis is 6/14 against Maddux with 1 2B and 1 BB, a .429/.467/.500 line). I would have much rather seen Cedeno play yesterday or tomorrow than today. With our worst starter going today I wish we would go with Floyd in LF and Barrett catching. I know he caught the night game last night but let Blanco catch Zambrano tomorrow. I could go either way with Izturis or Cedeno.

I think you are right. definitely. he'd have to hit the cover off the ball to bump floyd/jones/soriano/murton out of the OF rotation Hendry may really be trying to trade Jones too. He certainly showed some outfield versatility yesterday, although this is the second year in a row he's started slow offensively. I suspected something was up with the outfield flop last night. Soriano getting hurt may have just sped up the process. I think Murton is getting used in right to show he can play it so Jones can be traded and Pie will get the CF or RF spot and Murton will be able to back up RF.

I like it. You are expected to come up and perform. We are not going to treat you with kid gloves. It probably depends on the player, but with everything I have read about Pie I like taking this route.

Personally I would rather try Marmol out than Miller is one of the other guys gets hurt.

That's what a callup for an injured player is, a kick the tires situation. I don't think people are guaranteeing superstardom, rather they are expressing excitement to see a very talented player on the team. I hear the under-tone of "boy, hell come up and show himself as a wunderkind and be starting cf by the end of the month" I remember Bobby Hill and the excitement generated by his call up. I hope everyone is right and he is a great hitter and fielder. I would rather give a "wonderkid" a chance than past-prime players. I know where the past prime player is going. Also if Bobby Hill was just given the job at 2nd base he wouldnt have been much worse than the turnstile of veterans who have played there. The problem with the Cubs and their fans is they expect a player to come up and be some kind of all-star right out of the gait. If not then we will go with the past prime mediocre guy. Hill does have a career .343 obp in about a seasons worth of ABs. I would expect that he would be better if he was just given the job and allowed to develop.

Marquis has had some good movement on his pitches. This maybe why his walk total is up though. I was watching the Tribune show on Comcast last night. One of the panelist made a good point about the White Sox that may also apply to the Cubs. The Same conditions that are leading to the hitters hitting poorly may be why the pitchers are pitching well. Basically maybe the pitching isnt as good as it has appeared so far.

I'd prefer Soriano in RF because he's got a much better arm. I get the distinct sense that the sooner the Cubs put Soriano in left and leave him there for good, and quit trying to make him into something he's not, the better off everyone will be. Maybe I'm wrong (and hopefully I am), and this whole CF thing will work out, but if it doesn't, my next move is not to try him in yet another unfamiliar spot like RF. The phrase, "out of the frying pan and into the fire" races to mind. To me the issue is not what to do with Soriano, I think you have it completely right, its what to do with Jones and Floyd, how to play them where and when I mean, if we had an OF of Murton, Pie and Soriano with Soriano in Left (or right...) Murton in the other corner and Pie in C, I would be REALLY happy with that, but what to do with Floyd and Jones? To me those are 2 wasted roster spots. Especially when you have Pagan and the Riot as very capable occasional replacements. Pagan is total junk. Floyd and Jones, if used off the bench, can provide some power. Theriot should be starting in at least some games. No, going back to a wimpy, no power bench is a *terrible* idea. Allright, so bench Floyd/jones. It won't be appreciated, but who cares? I just don't see the value of those 2 on this team. Pie/Murton/Soriano OF. Let them develop, let them stick to the same position. Get the riot a few games out there and have Floyd/Jones as situational guys off the bench and against pitchers they have a proven record against. I just don't see the value of either of those players on this team. If they disappeared today, how much worse would we be? I think they are comparable but no valueless. I would be for trading Jones and bringing up Pie. I still think Floyd should be kept though. I dont want Ward playing substantial 1b time if Lee goes out. I also would still like to see Floyd get 2 starts a week in the OF against tough RHers. Actually after thinking this whole thing over, I would like to see the Cubs just cut Ward or trade him for spare change and bring up Pie. Ward is of no use whatsoever on this team.

Ok I was listening to Mac, Jurko and Harry yesterday and did get the impression that Mac doesn't care for Erstad. After Harry got done kissing Erstads backside, Mac said something along the lines of "his gritty hustling play" that sounded tongue in check. After which Harry defended Erstad some. So maybe 1 Chicago media guy has not been put into the Darin Erstad trance. Do Erstad and Neifi have the same agent?

Speculation during last night's telecast was that he has a chance of returning today, and if not likely by tomorrow night in Atlanta. He could have been used as a pinch hitter last night if needed. If Ramirez isnt playing soon though we will have 2 guys on the roster in limited roles. 1 of them will have to be DLed. If Ramirez is back sooner than Soriano must go on DL. If Ramirez can play today than I think we need to send Cedeno down and bring up Pie.

If he is going to be gone 5 to 7 days, I think it would be in the best interest of the Cubs to just DL him and bring up Pie. If he can ph than they may want to consider sending down Cedeno and bringing up Pie.

With Pie off to such a hot start in AAA, is there a chance that Jones gets traded and they are seeing if Murton can play right just in case? Nah, because Pie would be the RF between the two. I think it's for the anticipated Floyd and Murton OF. I agree, but they may just want to make sure that Murton can play right in case Pie comes up and really struggles or on days he needs off. They need to get prospects for Jones and package them with Murton and others in a deal for Cabrera so they can start Cabrera, Pie, Soriano out there. Then it won't matter if Pie struggles. I'm sold

With Pie off to such a hot start in AAA, is there a chance that Jones gets traded and they are seeing if Murton can play right just in case? Nah, because Pie would be the RF between the two. I think it's for the anticipated Floyd and Murton OF. I agree, but they may just want to make sure that Murton can play right in case Pie comes up and really struggles or on days he needs off.

Thats the E I got in spelling. I had to use it somewhere.

With Pie off to such a hot start in AAA, is there a chance that Jones gets traded and they are seeing if Murton can play right just in case?

63.56/ .980/ 97%. Compare this to his career averages which are 59.77/ .965/ 96%. Age isn't slowing this baseball player (http://www.firejoemorgan.com/2007/04/baseball-players.html) down. Not just in broadcast either. Bruce Levin, Harry Tinewitz(?). I was listening to the White Sox weekly show Saturday on the Score and their guy and some beat writer were saying how important he has been to the team so far. This is when I got home and looked up his numbers and started laughing. Holy Crap does Darin Erstad have White Sox fans and supporters fooled.

I wasn't sure where to put this so I went with rivalries. While driving I listen to a fair amount of Chicago Sports Radio. I have not yet heard one local guy say anything negative about this guy. Actually they seem to have their Lips all over his backside. I understand Brian Anderson was not good as a rookie. He also was not even close to being the major downgrade from the 2005 team as the Starting Pitching was. However Erstad will not be even as good as Aaron Rowland and they have him batting 2nd. This guy is becoming the South Side version of Neifi Perez. Glad its them and not us.

I have a question that may very well have been answered in this post but I don't want to dig through 180 pages to find it. Why are the Bull currently 2nd seed and Cavs 5th? They are 2nd and 3rd in their division and in their conference record also. Does winning a division not guarantee a top 3 spot? If not they why are the Cavs 5th?

I probably would keep Lee batting 3rd with Jones 4th. Another maybe better way to do it would be to have Theriot leading off until ARam is better and put Soriano into the middle of the lineup. Edit: The real question may be how long will Pie have to tear up AAA before he is up? I know its just a hot start but even 2/3rds of his AAA numbers would look better than our OF so far.

Wow. So the Cubs World Series hopes rest on the who wins the classic good/evil battle between Cliff Floyd and Matt Murton. Alright then! :lol: I have said if the Cubs were a legitimate WS contender this year, I would be for Murton and Floyd platoon. Since they are not playing Floyd makes no sense. If the Cubs surprise me and become a WS contender this year I will be the first to come in here and say I am wrong. This makes sense. If you believe they have no chance to win it all then it make sense to go with the better long-term option. The Cubs obviously do believe they have a WS contender here-their spending spree and their comments since then seem to back that up. Only time will tell which opinion is closer to correct. The problem of course is what is a WS contender. I would say that winning the weak central does not make the Cubs a WS contender. I am guessing this is what really is debatable?

Wow. So the Cubs World Series hopes rest on the who wins the classic good/evil battle between Cliff Floyd and Matt Murton. Alright then! :lol: Its about how the team is run. Like I said in my whole post the Cubs will always bring in a past prime veteran as "Insurance" for young players. Managers play who is best so young players sit. Murton has earned his chance to play. He may develop into a really good player. The Cubs will not win the WS in the 2 years that Floyd is here. Murton should play. Really it is just common sense. Would you invest money in a stock that will not increase value and will probably plunge in the next couple of years. Or would you invest money in a stock that is almost as valuable, may increase in value and has a lot more longterm potential. I have said if the Cubs were a legitimate WS contender this year, I would be for Murton and Floyd platoon. Since they are not playing Floyd makes no sense. If the Cubs surprise me and become a WS contender this year I will be the first to come in here and say I am wrong.

I really like Pat Hughes. I obviously dont hear a lot of different broadcast but I enjoy the Cubs more than the Cards, White Sox, Reds and Tigers. These are the ones I get around here. Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper do Giants games. I have been out there and they are pretty entertaining. Mike Krukow has 2 career homers and Kuiper had 1(off Steve Stone as Harry always liked to remind us). So that leads to some interesting stuff sometimes.

That's nice, he's still one of the better hitters on this team. Even his outs are loud. You can't say the same for no XBH Murton and his IF dribblers. Floyd hasn't cost us a run in the field and has hustled on the basepaths, beating out a DP and taking the extra base on several occaisions. Floyd's OBP is currently 50 points higher than Murton's, so I'm not sure what you're getting at with the BA argument. All I have to say is you can bring in past prime players and make excuses how they should play all you want. Keep it up and in another 100 years we will be talking about 200 years without a championship. Yeah, I'm sure the difference between Matt Murton and Cliff Floyd is that critical. :lol: Its an example of how the Cubs have been run all my life. Dont trust young players to preform. Bring in past prime players to compete with them. Past prime players play, youngsters sit. This is bigger than who should play between Floyd and Murton. Like I said, If we were legitimate WS contenders, I would be for this. Please do not compare us to last years Cardinals. Teams that outmatched winning WS only happens once every 20 years or so. PLAYING FLOYD WILL NOT HELP THE CUBS WIN A WORLD SERIES. Playing Matt Murton might. It is the same stupid Idea that our best pitcher since August of last year just got his 2nd start today. A guy with a ERA over 6 last year already has had 2 starts. Zambrano who got shelled in his first start against the Reds got moved up for his 3rd start. Why? Because even though Hill has produced he isnt trusted because he is young. Why isnt Murton playing even though he has produced? Why hasnt Soriano been benched? Why hasnt Izturis been benched? Why wasnt a RH hitting platoon partner for Jones brought in even though that would have been more beneficial to the team than a platoon partner for Murton. The reason is because Murton is young. The Cubs and their fans do not trust young players. Consistent winning teams bring up young players and play them. The Cubs look for reasons not to play them. So in 100 years my great great grandchildren will be talking about how its been 200 years, But Cliff Floyd put up a great season in 2007.

That's nice, he's still one of the better hitters on this team. Even his outs are loud. You can't say the same for no XBH Murton and his IF dribblers. Floyd hasn't cost us a run in the field and has hustled on the basepaths, beating out a DP and taking the extra base on several occaisions. Floyd's OBP is currently 50 points higher than Murton's, so I'm not sure what you're getting at with the BA argument. All I have to say is you can bring in past prime players and make excuses how they should play all you want. Keep it up and in another 100 years we will be talking about 200 years without a championship.

It is a mistake to play Floyd over Murton. The only way that it is not a mistake is if the Cubs win the WS this season. Even then I doubt that Floyd would outproduce Murton by enough to put the Cubs over the top. Last year Murton did get benched for Bynum. Luckily Bynum got hurt or I think Murton would have not gotten a lot of time after the Minnesota series. At least Floyd is a legitimate major league player.