bc2k

WHEW! Atta boy Murt.

Santo says Z's not "on top of the ball." Could explain his lack of control.

Would JHJr have gotten to that ball?

I think I'm going to like this 1-2 top of the order. 8)

I agree. I think the Sox will see a handful of pitching injuries this season; some serious, some minor. I'm of the belief that in a pennant race season, when many of a team's pitchers log a lot of stressful innings, the following season is when the damage will appear. Like Kerry and Prior after 2003's pennant race, and Sirotka, Eldred and a couple other Sox pitchers in 2001.

Is Williamson healthy enough to start the season? I'm out of the loop about his back pain.

If the Cubs are in playoff contention--legitimate contention, not like last year when Wood was pitching out of the bullpen--then I don't think we can trade Pierre no matter how well Pie is doing in AAA. If we're not contending, and Pie is showing that he can play at the MLB level, then I'd agree to trade Pierre.

It's all dependent on the pitcher. Most of these guys are scouted by many organizations. When it's the super majority of scouts' opinions that someone is ML ready out of college, I'd go with that. Promoting someone on stats alone is absurd. Oakland doesn't do that, no matter what Moneyball implies to some people. IP is a great indicator of how resilient and healthy a pitcher is (assuming we're not comparing apples to oranges, RPs to SPs). I'm pretty sure Atlanta uses that very basic stat with a high degree of confidence and frequency, especially in regards to Smoltz and Glavine's latest contracts. Scouts take all sorts of stuff, stats, stuff, makeup, potential, etc to determine whether someone is ML ready (or just evaluating a player in general). Subjective? Yes. But you can cut down on that by using multiple independent scouts. When they overwelmingly come back with the same opinion on readiness, go with it. My distrust for Marshall's promotion has to do with our scouts and organization's success history in promoting pitchers. Prior was the only guy we promoted as quickly as Marshall (IP above A ball) that stuck. Everyone else had to do their time in the minors, working out issues as they progressed through the system. I hope that our org. is finally right about this. History isn't with them, but for Marshall's sake (and ours), I hope he dominates. Prove me wrong. I'd love it. I see your points, but keep in mind that Marshall will only be in the Cubs rotation for the short term; he will not have a roster spot for more than 4-8 weeks. I realize that even if he gets lit up, he may learn something up here that will make him a better pitcher in the future.

Coming into ST I was optimistic because I liked the lineup balance Hendry assembled. Pierre was a great acquisition and we still have two great hitters in Lee and Ramirez. Look at it this way: We are guaranteed to be better in the top 2 spots of the order this year, which is good on its own, but Lee and Ramirez will also be more productive because of the improved OBP out of the first 2 spots. Ramirez missed part of last year, and he should have a better year by default, too. Our bullpen is LIGHTS OUT. Huge asset right there. And something I've become aware of watching this team throughout ST is their new style of play. Dusty has been taking advantage of this team's speed--another asset we didn't have last year. Our defense is better, too. We're improved in many ways, and I think we'll have a better record than last year.

i really think this is going to be the year we run zambrano into the ground. there's no reason to refuse to give him extended rest in april. none. No reason? You mean outside of the most important reason: winning?

Nice move, KW. Someone refresh me on how Kerry and his wife met. I want to say Gracie had something to do with it...

You're assuming that the only way to judge how Z is hurting his team is by how often his emotional tantrums cause his ejection from games. Even if he's not ejected, Z's failure to control his emotions can hurt the team: not getting close calls from the umps; potential short- and long term relationship problems with teammates; and by overthrowing or losing focus. Correct, I have already made mention of this. I praised Z by saying his encouragement of his teammates is good for the team. The point I made was that much of Z's outward emotion is not good because many times his inability to control his negative emotions hurts himself and his team.

Yah, tell me this wont scare you. Go ahead...tell me. http://www.jonmdavis.net/zambrano30sig.jpg Thats right. you cant. Z's intimidating baserunning has nothing to do with his inability to control his emotions.

Oh for the love of all that is good please tell me that is a joke. Honestly, are you SERIOUSLY telling me that because it didnt hit him, it was okay. Are you SERIOUSLY telling me that you believe that was just a little intimidation, and it can cause better results for the team? That is possibly the most...unnerving...thing i have ever heard. Relax, friend, don't go all Zambrano on me. :) To answer your question, no, I don't think it was acceptable for Clemens to throw a broken bat near Piazza. But you haven't responded to the rest of my post that you quoted. Zambrano is flipping out during Spring Training games, and has regularly thrown public rages at umpires and teammates over his short career; Clemens had one emotional outburst over a much longer career and it was directed at an opponent during a World Series game. The comparison is flawed.

Yep. Z was out of gas at that point and the wind had gone out of the Cubs' sails. Z knew he was done for that night and Dusty for some really stupid reason did not have Remlinger warmed up at that point. So, he took a rather smart route in plunking Edmonds and getting ejected, since Remmy got all the time he needed to warm up. Please tell me you're being sarcastic. You're telling me Zambrano doesn't fire up his teammates with his emotions? That he doesn't intimidate the opposition by snapping his glove, swearing like a madman, and throwing inside? Heck, that man running the basepaths might be the single most frightening thing anyone on the opposition will likely see on that day. Plus, Roger Clemens never exactly struck me as the cerebral type. The man threw at his own kid for cripe's sake. You bring up a good point about Z's emotional outbursts inspiring and motivating better play from his teammates, and I encourage him to pat his teammates on the back and high five them in the dugout after they've made a steller defensive play. My point is that there are many times Z's emotional outbursts aren't beneficial to the team. I made this point earlier in the thread: Surely you can acknowledge the difference between celebrating your teammates' successes and verbally assaulting and mocking an umpire, right?

George Ofman said tonight, IN HIS OPINION, that Prior won't return to the Cubs until June. I highly doubt this and so did the am670 host, whose name I've forgotten.

As has been said already, there's a difference between Zambrano showing up teammates in a Spring Training game (and having done so repeatedly during regular seasons' past) and Clemens throwing a broken bat that doesn't even hit Piazza during the World Series. It's clear that Clemens's actions aren't emotional rages, but cerebral intimidation that can cause better results for him and his team while Z is responsive to and controlled by his emotions which can hurt his team.

You bring up a good point. I don't think Zambrano's lack of emotional control is a result of being of Latin descent, but probably does have something to do with being raised in Latin America. The environmental differences between there and the United States are great, and I think had Z grown up here as an American, would have much more control over his emotions, be more analytical on the mound, and possess much more poise and composure.

Running off the mound pumping your fist after striking out Pujols to end the inning of a close game is different than throwing a witch fit because your teammates made a quasi-physical error. Showing up teammates can hurt the team. Showing up umpires can hurt the team. Z letting his emotions dictate his future performance can hurt the team. Grow the heck up, Z.

What?

I do admit that Hendry hasn't done as well of a job assembling an offense as good as his pitching. I think this offseason's Neifi re-signing--at the price--was a horrible move and the years he gave to Jones was a bad move too. But with a top field manager, Hendry's teams would be perennial playoff contenders. OTOH, he deserves blame for not finding and hiring that top field manager.

If the Cubs fail to make the playoffs this year, I hope the public doesn't try to push Hendry out the door with John Baker. Without doing a thorough search, I think Hendry has provided his club with the deepest pitching in baseball, 1-14. If Prior and Wood were 100%, this would be our rotation: Zambrano Prior Wood Williams Maddux with a healthy Wade Miller available sometime in May, if someone happened to go down at that point. I can't fault Hendry for banking on Prior and Wood making it through the first 6 weeks of the season. Hendry's Miller acquisition took foresight. The bullpen would be even deeper, complete with a closer, two solid lefty relievers, three plus set up men, and not ONE guy Baker would have to hold back for junkball time. Wuertz Rusch Williamson Eyre Howry Dempster As if this assembly wasn't dominant enough, Hill and Ohman are also worthy of major league roster spots, rounding out the deep 14. These two (and Wade Miller, if not needed) are quality arms that could be used to trade for the missing offensive spare part midseason. Jim Hendry, lights out. =D>

Whatever.

What is prior's myspace page? I was joking. I think it's been deleted and Prior says he didn't create it. Here's where I originally heard about it: http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-blogcurrent,1,5529670.htmlstory?coll=cs-home-promo

The guy was drafted in 2000 and given a hefty, 5+ Million, signing bonus. They expected great things from him. He was a bust but they've known that for quite some time without any action... They moved him so that they could get something out of their investment before a team snatched him up for nothing. "The 6-foot-6 Thornton, 29, was 0-4 with a 5.21 ERA in 55 appearances for the Mariners last season. Thornton will compete for a left-handed relief spot." :lol: