Tracer Bullet

4 missed FGs and an INT at the 1 that was arguably not an INT. Yeah, I'm not sure LSU would win a rematch either. Agreed. But those four missed FG's were all over 45 yds. Bama would have been better to have punted and played field position in all but the missed OT FG. On the plus side of LSU, if they do rematch it would be in the Superdome which would put HFA on the side of LSU. One was 44 yards. You're not honestly suggesting that Bama should punt from the 27. I don't remember what all the yards to go situations were, but punting from the 27 is never the right answer.

4 missed FGs and an INT at the 1 that was arguably not an INT. Yeah, I'm not sure LSU would win a rematch either.

spit water on my computer screen...thanks If MSU beats Iowa at Iowa next week we should make the B1G championship game...so I am sure we will lose If Iowa wins they have a decent shot at the title game too which would be weird because we aren't that good at all. I don't want to be all anti-Big 10, but it's possible the conference is just down this year.

At least Wake Forest is excited to be here tonight. Jesus

Just bc Gary Gray didn't turn around doesn't mean you can just whip it down field against everyone. And yes ssr, I'll watch ND and record the 1/2 game.

Michigan is no Minnesota

oh for cripes sake

In 2012? No. But long term it definitely does. No It does not. It is maintaining the status quo. It may be the right decision. But it does not get the team on track. I agree it doesn't get them on track. But it does improve the team. Locking up great young players for long term deals (assuming decent rates) is a long term improvement over not having them signed for more than a year or two.

I thought Stewart was dragged down by playing OF and 2b and was much better at 3b. Maybe I'm making that up.

Ryan Theriot has a world series ring. Seriously. [expletive] that guy.

Why is Jackson being thrown into every trade? I understand good young pitching is hard to come by, but the Cubs don't have a lot of up and coming bats in the system as it is. Plus, he's a high OBP player like Theo seems to like. Seems like one of the last guys we should trade. BJax is a high OBP guy? I thought he projected to something like .350? Good but he's not JD Drew. And doesn't he strike out in 1/4 of his ABs? I don't think we need to shop him but I don't know that he's really the type of player Jebodore values highly.

To be fair, simply going from 2011 Ramirez/Castro to something like 2012 Stewart/Castro is probably a 15 run improvement. But Stewart is really good, right? What's ARam to average defensive 3b + hopeful improvement from Castro? 8-10 runs? ETA this is probably pointless. We don't know who 3/4 of our infielders will be.

I simply don't get this idea that if the Cubs sign one of Pujols/Fielder, they'll apparently only sign them to a one year deal or something. If you sign a player to an 8-10 year contract, that player will produce for you for 8-10 years (to different degrees, obviously). You don't have to be ready to win in year one of signing an elite superstar to a long term deal. I like this idea that premium talent is just kind of always out there, ready to be picked like apples off a tree. Makes you wonder how some teams have such trouble finding premium talent if it's so plentiful that you can so flippantly pass on one of the greatest players to ever step on the diamond. I'm not sure I agree with Keri, but I don't think it's quite how you're making it seem. Pujols was among the best ever. Is he still a lock to be elite? For how long? I have to say, his age + drop in production this year is a bit concerning. Would you want to be the yankees paying ARod for the rest of his contract? And elite players aren't readily available all the time, but it's not once in a lifetime either. And aging elite player + needing more than a piece or two to be a real WS contender may mean signing pujols isn't the best use of the cubs funds. I'm particularly happy we have the FO we do bc this is a huge decision and I think it's more difficult than most fans appreciate. If we don't sign pujols, I'll at least be able to trust in Jebodore than I would have trusted almost any other FO.

In 2012? No. But long term it definitely does.

1. Hire Theo to get you on track ... 5. WS

Are we in any position to trade our best SP?

What is he, ssr?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/columnist/thorne/2009-04-26-thorne-column_N.htm What a bunch of meatheads right? I mean pitch count studies were soooo conclusive, how dare they try to push forward somehow? This doesn't mean they don't take care of their pitchers either....IMO Ranger pitchers are amongst the most well conditioned in the sport...though there's no available data that readily supports that. I don't see anything there that supports your last sentence about c-words. And given that they have a great rep by PAP standards, something tells me Maddux knows how to balance his macho owner with getting the best out of his pitchers.

I think I have to join him on this dream. Mike Maddux would be such a coup for this franchise....he's arguably the best coach in baseball right now...and I absolutely love what Texas has said they're doing with their pitchers (something akin to pitch counts are for c-words). Is there actually support for this somewhere?

I think it's pretty awesome too, but I'll bet none of these "kids" were considered cool when they were in school. I'm glad we have the not "cool" kids running our team rather than the meathead athletes who would've have been "cool". Did you guys all go to high school in an 80s movie? Seriously...The 2000's have been dedicated to the nerds...all the "cool kids" nowadays try to come off as nerds... I'm honestly [expletive] stunned that nobody even mentions that the Ivy League schools invading sports is not only a waste (in brains, I know sports were highly inefficient as far as operations go and could be better run as businesses), but even a little fishy/off (ELITIST!?!?!?). I mean really...it takes an Ivy League mind (actually multiple IL minds) to figure out how to put together a baseball team? Many of these minds (including some of my favorite like Mark Schapiro and Paul DePodesta) that they weren't all that in on baseball before working in the game. Now we talk about perfectly smart human beings as [expletive] "meatheads" because they dare to not bow before the power of statistics...or state that they blend both stats and scouting....or whatever they're supposed to say to please the masses who suddenly NEED to hear that a guy respects, likes, understands, or studies the numbers side. I could get a 9 year old to expound on the virtues of the numbers side of the game in pretty much any field, and I even think it's great because kids in this country do need to understand the powers of mathematics and mathematical analysis...it wouldn't make the 9 year old some special talent or expert. That's not meant to knock any individual or play up to the role of numbers hater that I thought I was getting here a few weeks ago. It is something that kinda sorta bothers me despite the many counterpoints that can be made and that I know are perfectly rational...w/e the rant is what it is...I just think the whole thing is kind of corny and plays up to this stupid "Us vs. Them" [expletive] that Theo Epstein and the Red Sox actually made steps in eliminating after it went on for half of the last decade. The Braves and Phillies don't wax poetic on numbers, but find success anyway and I bet they really respect that side of the game and have for years. In the end, all I want is this organization to succeed, and to succeed for a long, long time. To do that they will need, and have, their fair share of "meatheads" in the organization. Larger %: People that read this post or pageviews with ads blocked?

It's a business decision too, especially for a star. Plus, he probably does some work in contracts. What? No.

Hahaha.

Using the info as one data point in the decision is clearly what Theo does and what many people here are excited to have. Your posts suggested something stronger than that, again, based in part on your reputation. I don't much care how you feel about your reputation either. But it's there so it's going to color the way people read your posts.

Probably a combination of the reputation you've worked hard to establish and the pretty strong implication from your posts that the computer is driving or guiding the decisions. Hope that helps.

Wha? We're not allowed to refer to Carmine as a computer model? What is it properly called then? Yes, the Cubs paid millions to Theo, et al to read the decisions made by a computer. That's exactly how this works.