NewUserName

I think this is a good move for Washington. There maybe some teams that are starting to get a little desperate. Red Sox, Twins, Cardinals and several other NL wild card contenders. They maybe able to get one to claim him and get a good young prospect yet or noone claims him and they can shop him around still. Even a team like Florida. Loaded system. Only have to pay for a month and a half. Why not?

Just another guy I would rather have than Juan Pierre

Is Hill still starting?

This is really ending without a bang.

Youth movement. Not enough talent there to buy a championship with what we already have.

Pierre would have to hit .330 to be an effective player. That is the reason he shouldnt be resigned. All the other things that he isnt good at are only icing on the cake.

My dad told me that story about Denny McClain at least 20 yrs ago so I would say that is the one the Bob Ryan is referring to. I was talking to my Dad the other day. He is a big time Tiger fan and is very pleased with them obviously. He was upset about the Yankees getting Abreu for nothing at the trade deadline and went on about how bad that is for baseball. He then made reference to the time that Bowie Kuhn disallowed a trade of Catfish Hunter and Joe Rudi to the Reds for nothing and some cash. I remembered it happening but at the time I thought all the Reds were giving was money and that is why Kuhn vetoed it. My dad remembered the Reds giving some class A or B minor leaguers (he thought that was when they still had aaa, aa, a then b,c and d). Anyway I know it was off topic but so was Lowells catch. I was wondering if anyone remembers the specifics. I know that Charlie Finley was involved and he made Al Davis look like an owner that got along with the commissioner. Also do you think it would be in the best interest of baseball for some of these give away star players for nothing deals were vetoed by the commissioner? I understand why the Phillies traded Abreu. I just find it sad that his salary priced him out of some teams ranges so the Yankees end up with him for nothing.

I thought it was "cents"

I am happy they are pitching. I would also like to see more of theriot and bring up Restovich and send either Mabry or Nevin on their way.

The Cubs had several hot hitters for that stretch. With what would appear to be 4 rookie starters and cooling off bats I have a hard time seeing them getting closer.

Isnt it really just personnal taste anyway. Derwood ran the show and made the matchups. I will say though that If you are going to have Pink Floyd as the #1 overall seed because they are your favorite shouldnt you also not have the Stones as a #1 seed if you dont like them? If this was taken as a World wide or National tournament I dont think a lot of what we precieve here at NSBB would be the overall answer. I dont think the Who would make any final four nor would Queen for that matter. Also sadly bands like Journey, REO Speedwagon, Kansas and Styx would be added to the tourney and doing better than most here would agree with. Lastly I dont think how Derwood had the thing seeded is going to effect who gets first. It may effect how far some band gets but it isnt going to effect the overall winner. I would like to see how some other matchups would have gone. But whoever wins would be the winner no matter the matchups.

This year is the only year since joining the Cardinals that Edmonds has had an OBP under .385. I am not saying that Edmonds would be my first choice. For the money that is going to get paid he will probably put up close the same OPS as CLee for the next couple of years and still be a solid CFer. If the Cubs are going to resign Juan Pierre they should certainly entertain Edmonds instead if he is available. Probably about the same kind of money and a declining Edmonds is going to be more productive than a really good Pierre. Defense shouldnt even have to be brought up. Also with a good manager this would make room for Pie to be worked in in 2008. I really dont want Pie to be blocked by Juan Pierre which is probably going to happen. Along this subject I was thinking of players that I really hate as a Cub fan. Guys who get under my skin or the skin of other fans for various reasons. I dislike Edmonds because he is a Cub killer and does things like outsmart Sammy. Its not because he is a me guy or supposedly gay or a clubhouse cancer. The reasons I dislike him are the reasons I would love him if he were a Cub.

I think it is amazing what the truth will do for you. Does anyone in the media even remember that Jason Giambi is a admitted user? Not publicly but to a grand jury. I really believe if McGwire came out and admitted he was on it and still did all the anti-drug stuff in a couple of years it would be forgiven and he would be put into the HOF.

I would rather have Jim Edmonds for 5-6 mill for a couple of years than CLee for 15 mill for 4 to 5 years.

I liked the interview and wish that Hendry and Baker understood baseball as much as our announcer did. I go to some A ball games in Peoria and other places. My dad is a Tiger fan so we go to some West Michigan games when they are close. I always wondered why in A ball you have like 3 coaches per team max. It would seem to me that A ball is where you would want 6 caoches and by the time they get to Major Leagues than you would only need 3 or 4. I think Kasper makes some good points about the importance of coaches and managers. Really what would some other manager done with the Cubs this year. Maybe got Rusch out to the starting rotation earlier and taken Pierre out of the lead-off role when he was sucking. This isnt a defense of Dusty because I do think he is a bad manager I just think sometimes we do overhype his importance to the grand scheme of things. He hasnt really done anything different lately, like Kasper said all of a sudden we have some hot hitters and the pitching is keeping us in ballgames.

I was hopeing that when I looked in the post there would be a picture of thousands of people waiting in line for the bathrooms and concession stands at Wrigley and we had to find Neifi in the picture. "Just getting Dusty a dog and a beer"

A few years ago Michigan was trying to find another big time school that would give them some home and homes. They really had a hard time. If Michigan were to lose ND off their schedule I wonder if they would be able to get a quality team on their schedule every year. In the past Michigan has seemed to try to put together a non conference schedule that was at least competitive. The last couple of years it seems that ND is the only real competitive school on their non conference schedule. So maybe Michigan needs ND more than Bo thinks.

Murton is well on his way to having a OPS above .800. If he gets there in the next week or so and Pagan stays there we could have a starting outfield that everyone has an ops above.800. Of course with Dusty managing the one guy who is below .700 hasnt sat at all this year so the chances are slim

I hope the Tigers make it to the WS. I like them a lot. I am not concerned about their current records against the Yankees and Red Sox. I would be more concerned about the young pitching being worn out by then and doing future damage to their arms.

The Murton/Pagan platoon has been very effective in July. I would like to see Pagan play some CF. If he can keep his production close to what it is now and move to CF that would be better, cheaper alternative to resigning Pierre next season. I think if given the CF job the worst Pagan would be is as good as Pierre.

Wow. I am not surprised the Who are beating the Stones in this Poll. I am just shocked by the margin. I would still contend that Who only wishes they could be as good as the Stones were from '65 to '72 but like I said it all boils down to personal taste and the crowd here has certainly spoken on this one.

I say let both Cedeno and Murton stay and become starters. WE ARE NOT GOING TO WIN THE WS NEXT YEAR ANYWAY. The other options via free agency will be way overpaid for their declining production. Only a short sighted that want to contend in a lousy division would sign Carlos Lee and Juan Pierre this off season. They are both going to be over paid. Slightly better than average players in the next few years. A much better idea would be to keep the young guys let them develop and see if better options for the team come up in the next offseason. If the Cubs are serious about winning the WS next year the list of things that would have to happen are pretty long. 1. Prior returns to being stud 2. DLee returns to MVP form, which by the way he has only done once in his career. 3. Either a strong #3 starter would need to be found or one of the youngsters becomes much more consistent. 4. The bench would need major improvements. 5. The entire pitching staff would need to cut at least one walk per game. 6. Pierre would have to put up a .350 obp all season not just when it is over or Aram would have to start his season well. 7. If CLee or Soriano were added they would have to produce at the level they are now. Which is a career year for Soriano in a contract year. I predict that both of them will decline in the next couple of years. 8. 1 of Izturas or Cedeno would have to have a .330 obp or Matt Murton would need a .480 slugging percentage. I am thinking that at least 6 of these things would have to happen for the Cubs to win the WS, with number 1,2 and 3 being have to happens. Since I dont think all of 1,2 and 3 will happen. Hendry has proven not clue on what a bench is. Aram always starts slow. Pierre is probably not a .350 obp guy. The Cubs pitchers walking way to many batters has been a issue for years now. CLee and Soriano are both overrated now and are only going to be overpaid. I would just assume take my chances with Murton and Cedeno and see if they can become .480 slugging and .330 obp guys.

I have some thoughts on a lot of what is posted and of course the poll. 1. OSU lost a lot on defense and probably their best reciever. I understand Smith and Pittman are back but I do think they will have trouble this year. Not going to win NT 2. I cant wait for several Big Games early Auburn/LSU Texas/OSU ND/Mich and ND/Pennst. I really think that ND really better watch out for Mich St and Purdue also. I am going out on a limb and say that ND will only finish 2 and 2 against the Big Ten. 3. I dread saying this I just really think Mich is going to come back strong this year and win the Big Ten. I predicted that they would lose 4 games last year. Another year for Henne, Manningham becomes a starter and if Hart is more healthy with several defensive players back. I see a good year coming. As for Carr until that last couple of years he seemed to win all the big games but would blow a easy one every year. Last year was easily his worst year. Their offense and defense had become very predictable. New cooridinators this year though. I wouldnt put him in my top 5 coaches or anything but he is a big improvement over Moeller and comparable to Bo. 4. I dont know what to think of my Spartans. I think they could go 9-3 or they could go 3-9. I am interested to see if we can make it 6 in a row over ND

I really thought Whitey Herzog was a great manager. certainly wasnt a players manager. Traded Keith Hernandez because he was a drug user and didnt want him in the locker room. Trade Gary Templeton for being a dumb butt. Actually when Templeton didnt run out a ground ball and the fans were booing him Templeton gave the fans the bird and Herzog grabbed him and pulled him in the dugout. I think he was traded for Ozzie Smith the next day. At the time it looked like a very lopsided trade for the Padres. Ozzie wasnt quite the patient hitter and San Diego was notorious for having a lousy field which caused a lot of errors. I dont know if he really valued speed. He just took advantage of the hand he was dealt. Not a lot of power. Large stadium. Fast players. I dont remember him having a lot of SBs while in KC. I would rather have a senile Herzog than a rmblin Dusty

If CLee is the answer to our LF problem, than I would much rather go with Murton. He will probably be putting up higher OPS by 2008. CLee and Soriano are both going to be way overpaid and a big headache to the team that signed them in a couple of years. The Cubs are not going to win the WS next year anyway so I would just rather see young players develop more. I wouldnt waste a lot of money on CLee, Soriano or Jason Schmidt.