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Time to dump Barrett. He's one of the worst hitters with RISP.

Lou just said 121 pitches isn't all that many for Z. I'm glad Lou cleared that up for us, and I trust his expert opinion.

Yep...he looked like he needed an oxygen tank on the bench. That being said he was moving pretty quick around those bases. His arms started flailing a bit as he headed home, and his steps became a little choppy. He lost his form. Hopefully those extra steps he took while fatigued caused him to blow out a knee or tear a hamstring. Nope, but Mark Prior got hurt shaving today. 1) What part of his body was he shaving? 2) How do you know?

Yep...he looked like he needed an oxygen tank on the bench. That being said he was moving pretty quick around those bases. His arms started flailing a bit as he headed home, and his steps became a little choppy. He lost his form. Hopefully those extra steps he took while fatigued caused him to blow out a knee or tear a hamstring.

Neifi looked gassed by the time he was rounding third.

SPEED KILLS!

Albert Pujols is so classy.

Asking Z to bunt there - w/ 1 out - not too smart, Dusty.

Lou just called the Cubs the "Cubbies," which is reason enough why he should never manage this team.

There must be at least a fifteen second delay on my Fox affiliate, because you're giving play by play before it happens on my feed. Strange.

Lou Piniella just pointed out that Cubs OBP is last in the NL. The other guy said that OBP is a better stat than batting average. :shock:

I'd gladly move Barrett to LF if we could get our hands on a great defensive catcher like Molina. :wink:

Runners on 1st and 2nd, no outs. Will Dusty bunt?

Yeah, he's such a team player that he moved to 3B when the Yankees signed the best defensive SS in the AL...wait, that never happened. Jeter, through his service in NY, should hold the preference of position played. Again, you're making something out of nothing. You're saying that he should get to play whatever position he wants out of deference to his tenure, regardless of the fact that it's detrimental to the team? No, I'm not saying whatever position he wants. Jeter has developed as a SS and deserves to play that position until his skills dictate otherwise; another player acquisition should not be the reason of a position shift. Who says Jeter's defense is detrimental to the team anyway? He may not have A+ range but he turns the DP and fields balls that should be made. The Yankeee's infield defense is definitely not a problem of the squad. So you're telling me that if we acquired David Wright... who is a better hitter and gold glove defender... that Aramis shouldn't be the one to move to a less demanding defensive position... simply because he's been here longer? Aramis has the skill to play the position marginally well... same as Jeter at SS. But why rearrange the talent in a less beneficial manner because of tenure? I agree with your point, but David Wright is a bad example right now. He's not having a good year with the glove. Aramis has actually been the better defender in 2006.

That name makes me laugh. So we should trade Neifi for a stripper?

He's off to a good start. I think he's an adequate replacement in CF for Edmonds next season. You're forgetting how impressed Hendry is by guys that play well against the Cubs. Good. Maybe he'll drive Wilson's price up for the Cardinals.

I wouldn't say ALL ex-players. Lasorda, Cox, Torre, etc are all ex-players and they're doing pretty well, I think. Disagree on Torre and especially Lasorda. Lasorda got a good GM (Depodesta) run out of town, and Torre is far from a tactical mastermind.

Wood and Prior were hurt in 04. That's not Barrett's fault (but it may be Dusty's). Zambrano and Clement were both better in 04 than they were in 03. So who exactly was worse with Barrett than Miller?

Stone doesn't have a clue. He's exhibit A of why ex-players aren't good judges of what kind of talent wins games.

He's off to a good start. I think he's an adequate replacement in CF for Edmonds next season.

I'll be happy to sell you my Reds playoff tickets at 3x face value.

His platoon splits really aren't very dramatic over the last 3 years, and he actually has a higher OPS against righties from 2003-2005, though not by very much. However, his OBP should be decent enough against lefties, and if he were only used in that capacity, he might add some value. If I were in the Cards front office, I wouldn't care about his "veteran presence in the lineup" though. Does that mean St. Louis wants their own version of Bernie Williams? :wink:

Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez for middle relievers....GO! Okay, then. First, they're both starting to become pricey. Next, the thing that each provided best -- Lopez' leadoff skills and Kearns' defense -- was easily and cheaply replaced by Ryan Freel. Their offense hasn't suffered one bit since the trade; in fact they now have a more or less set lineup for the first time in years. The point here is that as good as the two players were, they could easily afford to give them up. And considering the fact that Krivsky has spent all season tirelessly dumpster-diving and turning over rocks to add players, it seems unlikely that he passed up Johan Santana to get Majewski and Bray. Bottom line is that it was the best he could do. I'm sure he would have liked more, but nobody was offering more. The guys he did get haven't helped much yet this year, admittedly. But they're both young and cheap and the trade was designed to help solidify the bullpen for years to come. Whether or not they will do that remains to be seen, but I do know that they see Bray as a strong closer candidate whose "makeup is off the charts", whatever that means. What I like about Krivsky is that he immediately identified his team's weakness (pitching) and is absolutely determined to improve it any way he possibly can. As a Cub fan, I would be pretty happy if Hendry started behaving that way. That's all I'm really saying. It was one of the worst trades in recent memory. In brief: Kearns was the 4th best OFFENSIVE RF at the time of the trade, nevermind his defense. Lopez, even though his numbers were down from last year, was the 6th best offensive shortstop in the NL. Neither will be a free agent until 2008. In return, the Reds get a reliever with a 4.87 ERA. And he's hurt. And a guy with a 4.12 ERA. And a defensive shortstop who's actually a below average defender. Other than that, it was peachy. If Krivsky actually had any guts, he would have tried to trade Junior Griffey instead. As someone rooting for the Reds to overtake the Cardinals, I was disgusted by the trade.

Dewan ranked him 32nd out of 35 CF's. Not too good. What kind of defensive ranking has Jim Edmonds ranked as nearly the worst defensive centerfielder in the game? I hate Edmonds, but it's pretty silly (IMO) to say that he doesn't have a good glove. John Dewan's Fielding Bible is considered pretty authoritative. Michael is the person to ask if you want an explanation for why Edmonds is ranked too low. Michael did an interview with Dewan. FWIW, other metrics (PMR, UZR, Davenport, BBTF's zone rating) rank Edmonds from pretty average to pretty good, but not superior.

I'm not saying that pressure doesn't have an effect, but he's producing almost exactly at his PECOTA projection, and that projection took last season into account - in fact, it weighted it more heavily than any other season. I think the fans would have been forgiving this year if he were in the 7 or 8 spot, where he should have been all along. And his speed would actually be useful at those spots in the order. Hendry sold Patterson when his value was at rock bottom. It would have been better to have held onto him even if he were going to be the fourth outfielder. And Hendry has a history of doing things like this. Juan Cruz was ranked higher than Carlos Zambrano and, at one time, Mark Prior, but Hendry held onto him too long and ended up getting Andy Pratt. All that to say goony's point is valid. Corey is actually producing at a level above what he is being paid, and Jacque/Juan are producing at a level below what they're being paid. And we gave up Ricky Nolasco, who would have been the Cubs 3rd best starting pitcher this year. The two pitchers directly above him in VORP rankings are Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez. And he's making league minimum. Awful, awful decisions in the offseason.