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Funny thing is in 1984 we were just as close to getting to the World Series as we were in 2003. We had the lead in all of the games in the 1984 playoffs. The Padres bullpen was great and ours wasnt. Also Leon Durhams error in Game 5

I noticed that the Doors and Metallica are the only 2 American bands in the final 8. There really wasnt a lot of American representation in the sweet 16 either. I really liked Metallica in the 80s. Mainly because most other metal bands during that period SUCKED. I still have a hard time saying they are the greatest American band ever though. I voted Beatles in this one. I am interested to see the other elite eight matchups. I am thinking a #1 seed may go down. I am predicting the Doors pull off an upset if they go against the Stones or Pink Floyd

When I heard Hendry today on with Murph I was thinking about in 1985 when Don Mattingly was the MVP in a landslide. His numbers were .324/.371/.567 with 145 rbis. Which of course is great especially in 1985. George Brett though contributed a .335/.436/.585 but only 103 rbis. I really dont think that Mattingly hit that better with runners in scoring position. It may have been the fact that Mattingly hit behind jRickey Henderson who had a .419 obp and Brett hit behind Willie Wilson who had a .319 obp. Bruce I know you do a great job and thank you for taking time and answering questions here. I was just wondering do you ever get enough time with Hendry to sit down with a pencil and piece of paper and explain to him how having increased opportunities to hit with runners on will make how a team hits with risp not so important? Like if you have a team obp of .350 you can hit about .210 with runners on and still score the same amout amount of runs as a team that has a team obp of .310 and hits .260 with runners on. Also could you have him name a player who in his career has hit consistently better with risp. Dont let him just say big Papi, have him actually have stats to prove it. I know you really dont want to put him in a corner or anything. I was just wondering if you could in a polite manner speak with him about these things.

I dont care if the best offense in baseball doesnt make the playoffs. I care that the worst offense in baseball isnt going to make the playoffs. I am a fan of good defense and pitching, like the Cardinals. It just so happens that the Cards also have Rolen, Pujols, Edmonds and guys like Eckstein who get on base and play good defense. In comparision we are close to the Cards defensively. IF we walked the same amount of hitters that the Cards have we would have a lot better pitching than them and only .30 ERA difference as it is. Which is a run every 3 games. We have scored 75 less runs then the Cards which is about .7 runs per game difference. So for those who dont think improving the offense isnt important you are just missing the whole point. We dont need the best offense, But we certainly need one that isnt easily the worse. I predict even if we get CLee and DLee comes back and plays most of the season we will still be in the bottom 1/4 of the league in offense

The Yankees spent 50 million more than they earned last year. wow. I know they are the most valuable franchise in baseball but at some point that is really going to hurt. The Cubs were top ten in operating revenue without the luxury of a really good TV(partial schedule) and Radio deal that they could have if they bid them out. Probably no other fan base supports their team better.

Very few players do a career turn around like Omar Vizquel. Vizquel also went to an organization that valued OBP. I dont think Isturis is all of a sudden going to come to the Cubs and be taught the value of getting on base and the best way to do it. So I am more inclined to think that Christian Guzman is what we can expect.

I voted Who. I probably would have voted for several other sweet 16 bands that lost over the Who though. U2, The Kinks, either the Doors or Jimi Hendrix and maybe Black Sabbath.

Hendrix. I like the Doors but they are no Jimi

Sadly in my 40 years of following the Cubs this may be the day that I just give up. I know they are going to contend next year with a marginal team. Not contend for the WS crown but finish above .500 and maybe make the playoffs. They will then be bogged down by bad contracts and lack of minor league talent to make any progress on that and go down hill for the next 3 years. This is the cycle that is the Chicago Cubs. Never do enough to win it all. Way overpay to get mediocre and struggle after that. Worse of all never consider the fact that they are the worst organization in Pro Sports may be tied to the fact that they do not produce enough talent through their own organization.

Really hard to tell what direction the team is going. I am guessing that a LFer will be added for a very steep price and at least one starting pitcher. Also we will way overpay to have Pierre resign. It is becoming increasingly clear that Murton is not in any longterm plans. We may contend next year but not be anywhere near good enough to win the WS. Which will get Hendry extended again. Than the pitchers, LFers, Jones, pierre and Isterius contracts will start to were us down again. Big Z will leave via free agency becuase we couldnt afford him. The last couple of months of him being here the Cubs will start a pr smear campaign very similar to Sosa and Walkers so the fans wont be that upset. I am really sick about this. I hate that I care so much. I hate that the Cubs in 2003 looked to be a team in the right direction. I hate that the current management staff has been allowed to completely screw that up. I hate that I used to think Steve Stone was a smart baseball announcer. I hate Cesar Izsteius. I hate ESPN for defending Baker and Hendrys stupid trade. I hate the fact that we sweeped the Cardinals. I hate that 40,000 people show up for this every game. I hate that fact that 2/3s of the Cubs fans I know thought getting isiturius was a good idea(of course they thought the pierre thing was great and signing Maddux to that ridiculous contract in the first place was a good idea) By the way I dont mean to be sarcastic or mean. Every prediction in this post I really do believe will come true

I just got home from work and all I have to say is AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH. Somehow doing nothing seems like a big improvement over what Hendry did today. What a poopin waste. When I heard about this move and Walkers I about drove off the road. The Cubs had an opportunity to unload waste. They Kept most of it and have added more. Hendry now officially replaces Dusty in my public enemy #1. What a complete baffoon. Sadly look at what the Dodgers have done with their middle infield by giving up very little. I HATE THE CUBS

For all the people that are hoping that Carlos Lee is a potential free agent and that the Cubs go after him. A case could be made that Jim Edmonds is still a better player. I would even go as far as saying by the end of the year will have a similar ops. I dont think anyone is going to offer him 15 million a year. Carlos Lee is going to be way overpaid and someone is going to regret it in a couple of years

If you go into a rivals park with a sign like that you really deserve to get it with a water hose. I have always said if you are going to the lions den dont wear a porkchop around your neck. Have some class. Most Cardinal fans that I have seen at Wrigley are very classy and are just cheering for their team. I am glad to see that the exceptions got a little of what is coming. I would also say that if any Cub fan went to Busch and did this sort of thing they are only asking for trouble and should get what they are asking for.

If you go by the seedings we have Metallica as the greatest American band ever. I do believe that the Experience is British except for Jimi Hendrix. Even if I am wrong Metallica is a top 2 American Band ever. I would not have considered it until this tourney. I dont think they are buy I am not really argueing with their seeding

Agreed Ole Miss you summed up what I was trying to say much better than I did.

I respect your opinion and it is your taste. I would just say the end point of Great Stones is Exile on Mainstreet which is a couple of years after Brian Jones demise. I sometimes wonder if the Beatles would have kept on going or reunited what that would have been like. I think part of their greatness is that they ended. I think that Led Zeppelen and Pink Floyd were probably better for ending. One of the Stones problems to me is that they just havent evolved musically very well with the times but they do seem to try. Some of their better stuff since the late 60s early 70s has been when they just put out a good RnR song like Start Me UP. In the end most of their studio stuff does seem tired and not relivent. The Kinks did evolve very well into the 70s. Low Budget, Come Dancing, Father Christmas, Superman were all great and didnt sound old or dated at time of release. Still not as good as the Stones from 64 to 72.

I would contend that if Hill and Choi were just allowed to play in 2003 we would have productive players right now. I have said this before the last step on the development ladder is Major leagues. The Cubs and their Fans have been really quick with rookies and young players. A player needs to come to the majors and be given a opportunity to struggle. There just isnt a lot of Albert Pujols out there who just show up and are HOFers right away. I am glad that the Cubs are letting Cedeno and Murton play this year. I think both will only improve and be productive players in the next couple of years. In another post on this board a poster called Cedeno a rookie flop. Of course he is flopping that is what rookies do. Sadly if he was given more opportunities last year instead of our savior he would be past most of this by now. Look at this years All Star team, How many of these guys were All Stars when they were rookies. Most were just put on a team that gave them opportunities to grow. The Cubs through most of my life have been a lot more interested in giving guys like Bobby Murcer, Dave Kingman, Bill Buckner, Keith Moreland, Ron Cey, Juan Pierre, Jacque Jones, Eric Karros, Willie Wilson, Jerry Mumphries, Larry Bowa, Todd Zeille, Bob Dernier, Jeff Blauser, Gary Gaetti, Lenny Harris and many many more opportunities. Players that are mostly past prime and had marginal success in other places. I think in some way they do this to keep fans happy. Right now I think they are really in a good spot to pull a Florida Marlins between now and this offseason. Really they do have players that could bring back some good young value. However they are afraid they would alienate their fanbase, which isnt really true. If they put together a good young team that played like the Marlins do it would only take a little time for most fans to see the positives in this. What they are probably going to end up doing is bringing in Jason Schmidt and Carlos Lee and keep Juan Pierre. Way overpay for all of them. They will compete for the "division", maybe make the playoffs. If so get the snot beat out of them by a better NL team. If by chance the make the WS, they will really get blasted. The fans will be clamouring. Everyone will be saying "I told you we should have kept Dusty." Than the year after be close to .500 and aging and stuck with some bad contracts. Than by 2009 as bad as they are this year. This is the cycle that is the Chicago Cubs. If they would just take a chance and have a real youth movement. It may actually pay off into a World Series championship in a few years. My guess is this will not happen with the current ownership.

Really has Dusty done anything this year that is a surprise to any Cub fan that has to sit through his poop. Its not like he is managing any different now than he did in 2003. He is a bad manager, especially for this team. Hendry obviously likes him and what he does a lot and is waiting for any reason to resign him. I said it in another post. Take a well run organization and take away all reason and accountability and you have the Cubs.

I have noticed that its seems like every time the Stones are up a lot of people post that they are voting for the other band but the Stones still seem to kick butt. I disagree about Brian Jones being some sort of reason that the Stones were good. It is common knowledge that Keith Richards has always been the one who gives the final say on a song. Brian Jones was never a song writer. Brian Jones wasnt as good as a guitar player as Mick Taylor was. I would say that the Stones may miss Mick Taylor more than Jones. Brian Jones was only a marginal member of the band for Let it Bleed and Beggars Banquet. He aslo wasnt on the tour that created Get Your Yas Yas Out, which was probably the first great live album.(Midnight Rambler and Stray Cat Blues off that album are just awesome) Also Sticky Fingers and Exile on Mainstreet are both great albums. I will say after that they never did anything as good but had some moments. Saw them in the late 80s with Living Colour and GnR opening for them, just a great show. Mick Jaggar had more energy than anyone on stage that night. Mick Jaggar and Keith Richards probably did a lot to send Brian Jones into his downfall. I would just contend that Brian Jones was never anymore important to that band than Bill Wyman or Charlie Watts

I am a member of a Cardinals board. I dont post much though. About the only time I post is when a bunch of Cardinals fans say. "Dusty is the worse manager ever, I cant believe Cub fans think he is a good manager" Than I will say that most dont and they are generalizing about some drunk who called the score or something

It seems to me that noone dislikes CCR. Almost everyone I talk to said that they liked them. Maybe not loved them or owned a lot of their stuff but liked them anyway

The Kinks did my all time favorite Christmas Song. Still voting the Stones though. I like the Kinks a lot and think they are better than several of the higher seeds. Still dont touch what the Stones did up to "Exile on Main Street"

I asked around work who they would have voted for and most said CCR. I like Radiohead and voted for them I just dont think they have mass appeal. I think the Clash is one of the 5 or 6 greatest bands ever and they got knocked out. They also dont really have mass appeal. Most of this is just personnel taste. I am shocked to find out how many people dont like some bands that are in this tourney. It is their taste though.

I thought U2 was probably the best band in the 80s. Just my opinion. They havent been awful but not nearly as good since. I really go in streaks with Led Zeppelin. In the 70s I was a big fan. I went some years where if I didnt hear them on the radio I probably didnt listen to them at all. After the lawsuit and my really getting into old blues I did notice that some of their earlier stuff was probably ripped off. I wouldnt mind if they would have given credit or paid royalties. I voted Zeppelin. This is really a case where I have really enjoyed both bands though. I wasnt quite old enough to see them LZ live. I have seen U2 live a couple of times and they were really great.

I agree with Dusty on this one. Also Dusty has given Cedeno a real long rope this year. Kind of a surprise. I hope it is Theriot who gets most of the time. This would be my second surprise that Dusty has done this year though.