Blueheart05

Thanks. I forgot the order of their shows, but when he mentioned Pie, I figured it was him. :) Murph isn't on normally until noon but he's subbing for Mulligan (during the Mulligan and Hanley show). So, that means 4 hours of Mike Murphy today. LOL, Im not sure that's a good thing.

What's the cubs record? Last I checked, it was 9-5. I also don't understand people believing we're going to get anything out of Wood, Prior, and Miller right off the bat. Prior was healthy last year and while not horrible he was lucky to get through 5 innings in under 100 pitches. And Wood has always been that way. Losing DLee is bad but there's no reason to exaggerate the problems and prospects for improvement. Wood has not "always" had problems getting out of the 5th inning. From 2001-03 he averaged just about 200 IP. Also, Prior wasn't completely healthy last year. I don't expect that the pitchers will return with the ability to go 7 innings right away. The difference is this year's bullpen is less likely to surrender leads late. Wood, Prior, and Miller will be an improvement on the current rotation. I was referring to Woods high pitch count, not getting out of the 5th inning. It seems to me that they aren't mutually exclusive. A high pitch count would prevent a pitcher from going deep into a game. In either case, your assertion hasn't always been true for Wood. No, it means when Wood goes deep into a game he throws an excessive amount of pitches. And he throws a LOT of pitches when he doesn't go deep into a game. Check out the number one and two pitchers in pitch counts in 2003, their last healthy year. I know where he and Prior ranked. You were talking about him not getting out of the 5th inning and now you're switching it up.

That was Murph

Bruce is not for "messing with Walker too much." He feels that Todd should stay at 2B and Mabry (or Restovich) should play 1B. He likes Murton batting in the 3 hole His ideal lineup: Pierre-CF Walker-2B Murton-LF Ramirez-3B Barrett-C Jones-LF Sub-1B Cedeno-SS Pitcher Neifi in the late innings at 2B He also thinks Hendry is looking for a trade but there isn't a realistic partner. I disagree with the idea that Walker can't or shouldn't be moved to 2B but I have no problems with moving Murton to the 3 spot.

Is on The Score right now http://www.670thescore.com/index.php Listen live

What's the cubs record? Last I checked, it was 9-5. I also don't understand people believing we're going to get anything out of Wood, Prior, and Miller right off the bat. Prior was healthy last year and while not horrible he was lucky to get through 5 innings in under 100 pitches. And Wood has always been that way. Losing DLee is bad but there's no reason to exaggerate the problems and prospects for improvement. Wood has not "always" had problems getting out of the 5th inning. From 2001-03 he averaged just about 200 IP. Also, Prior wasn't completely healthy last year. I don't expect that the pitchers will return with the ability to go 7 innings right away. The difference is this year's bullpen is less likely to surrender leads late. Wood, Prior, and Miller will be an improvement on the current rotation. I was referring to Woods high pitch count, not getting out of the 5th inning. It seems to me that they aren't mutually exclusive. A high pitch count would prevent a pitcher from going deep into a game. In either case, your assertion hasn't always been true for Wood.

What's the cubs record? Last I checked, it was 9-5. I also don't understand people believing we're going to get anything out of Wood, Prior, and Miller right off the bat. Prior was healthy last year and while not horrible he was lucky to get through 5 innings in under 100 pitches. And Wood has always been that way. Losing DLee is bad but there's no reason to exaggerate the problems and prospects for improvement. Wood has not "always" had problems getting out of the 5th inning. From 2001-03 he averaged just about 200 IP. Also, Prior wasn't completely healthy last year. I don't expect that the pitchers will return with the ability to go 7 innings right away. The difference is this year's bullpen is less likely to surrender leads late. Wood, Prior, and Miller will be an improvement on the current rotation.

That's a much more optimistic report than Stone had yesterday morning before the full extent of Lee's injuries was known. He also said yesterday morning that he believed Wood would be back soon and throwing better than ever. The 'better' being due to Wood's revamped mechanics. I was surprised by his take on things but his analysis made sense to me.

The Arroyo deal benefitted both sides. Right now, every GM knows the Cubs plight and and deal would be made at a tremendous cost. Other teams are set at this point of the year. Other teams are not set. They have the perception of being in less of a bind than the Cubs, but they aren't set. They will all be willing to make moves. The Yankees are still desperate for both starting and relief pitching. All the teams in the west need help. Every year we hear the Cubs talk about how nobody else wants to make deals early, and every year we see other teams trade when the Cubs supposedly can't find a partner. Hendry can't panic and give up a lot out of desperation, but he can certainly take the next two weeks to start talking to teams about players that can both help now at first base and contribute if/when Lee returns. Teams aren't in a position to trade an impact player at the beginning of the season; that move is reserved for those who are out of the playoff race at the end of the year (and the teams that have no chance of being in the race from the start) Even the worst teams; Tampa, KC, etc, would want a mint for a quality player. The Cubs will solve their problem in house.

I just want 2 out of 3. My expectations are the same. Let me see them "manufacture" some runs; we've certainy been hearing about it all Spring and they've done a decent job of doing it thus far. The key will be Jerome Williams continuing his dominance over the Cardinals tonight and hopefully, Maddux continuing to hold offenses to low scores.

Restovich has been called up. I wonder how they plan to work him into the lineup?

The Arroyo deal benefitted both sides. Right now, every GM knows the Cubs plight and and deal would be made at a tremendous cost. Other teams are set at this point of the year.

You always have the option of not watching the "trainwreck."

Man I wish I drank the koolaid that you drink. It's not koolaid. I just don't think the world is about to end...

I don't feel a need to use ERA's from last year particularly because they were pitching injured and at this point,we have to figure that at least two of them had the problem corrected surgically. I'm looking for middle ground between what they've done lately and what they've exhibited career wise.

No one is suggesting the Cubs will mail it in or that they won't put up a fight. We're saying this team isn't good enough to do it effectively enough to win consistently. Pitching will be the key over the long haul. The club can thrive with less offense if it's pitchers aren't giving up too many runs (LOL, I know that's a big DUH). I'm optimistic about this team primarily because there are three good pitchers who aren't that far away from making a positive impact. You are assuming they will be making a positive impact but in reality when all three are coming off inuries and two of the pitchers have severe injuries we don't know what we will be getting. You're assuming that they won't make a positive impact. I know they can't be any worse than having Glendon, Jerome, and Sean in the rotation. At least Kerry, Mark, and Wade have the ability to overpower hitters and because of their reputations/ prior success they will give batters reason to pause instead of licking their chops at the thought of facing them. Did you not see how bad Miller was when he was with the Red SOx last year? He was throwing 86mph fastballs not fooling anybody. Thinking he will come back and have a positive impact when he looked so bad last year is a stretch. I personally think Prior will be fine if he comes back but to me Wood is also a ? mark. He had shoulder surgery and changed his mechanics. I would err on the side of caution when all these changes are taking place on a pitcher. Miller didn't have surgery to correct the problem while he was with the Red Sox... We won't know the exact impact until they return but I see no reason to be overly pessimistic. This team wasn't going anywhere with DLee and the current rotation so why should I, all of a sudden, become pessimistic about the pitching that's on the way? The fandom has been pointing to their return for weeks and there's no reason to abandon that idea. You and I simply have a different approach; I prefer to think of the upside while you're admittedly more skeptical. I'm also realistic. I don't expect that those guys will be tossing shutouts every night but if they are able to harness their potential it's certainly better than what the team is currently featuring. Saying these injured pitchers are going to come back and have a postive impact is being optimistic about the situation. All I am saying is I'm skeptical and taking a wait and see approach instead of thinking these guys are going to come back and give us the impact we need to start winning more games. Right now the starters have an ERA around 4. I don't see Wood, Miller, and Prior being worse collectively. Thus, I don't see how their return can't be viewed as a positive; both on the field and in the clubhouse.

No one is suggesting the Cubs will mail it in or that they won't put up a fight. We're saying this team isn't good enough to do it effectively enough to win consistently. Pitching will be the key over the long haul. The club can thrive with less offense if it's pitchers aren't giving up too many runs (LOL, I know that's a big DUH). I'm optimistic about this team primarily because there are three good pitchers who aren't that far away from making a positive impact. You are assuming they will be making a positive impact but in reality when all three are coming off inuries and two of the pitchers have severe injuries we don't know what we will be getting. You're assuming that they won't make a positive impact. I know they can't be any worse than having Glendon, Jerome, and Sean in the rotation. At least Kerry, Mark, and Wade have the ability to overpower hitters and because of their reputations/ prior success they will give batters reason to pause instead of licking their chops at the thought of facing them. Did you not see how bad Miller was when he was with the Red SOx last year? He was throwing 86mph fastballs not fooling anybody. Thinking he will come back and have a positive impact when he looked so bad last year is a stretch. I personally think Prior will be fine if he comes back but to me Wood is also a ? mark. He had shoulder surgery and changed his mechanics. I would err on the side of caution when all these changes are taking place on a pitcher. Miller didn't have surgery to correct the problem while he was with the Red Sox... We won't know the exact impact until they return but I see no reason to be overly pessimistic. This team wasn't going anywhere with DLee and the current rotation so why should I, all of a sudden, become pessimistic about the pitching that's on the way? The fandom has been pointing to their return for weeks and there's no reason to abandon that idea. You and I simply have a different approach; I prefer to think of the upside while you're admittedly more skeptical. I'm also realistic. I don't expect that those guys will be tossing shutouts every night but if they are able to harness their potential it's certainly better than what the team is currently featuring.

No one is suggesting the Cubs will mail it in or that they won't put up a fight. We're saying this team isn't good enough to do it effectively enough to win consistently. Pitching will be the key over the long haul. The club can thrive with less offense if it's pitchers aren't giving up too many runs (LOL, I know that's a big DUH). I'm optimistic about this team primarily because there are three good pitchers who aren't that far away from making a positive impact. You are assuming they will be making a positive impact but in reality when all three are coming off inuries and two of the pitchers have severe injuries we don't know what we will be getting. You're assuming that they won't make a positive impact. I know they can't be any worse than having Glendon, Jerome, and Sean in the rotation. At least Kerry, Mark, and Wade have the ability to overpower hitters and because of their reputations/ prior success they will give batters reason to pause instead of licking their chops at the thought of facing them.

No one is suggesting the Cubs will mail it in or that they won't put up a fight. We're saying this team isn't good enough to do it effectively enough to win consistently. Pitching will be the key over the long haul. The club can thrive with less offense if it's pitchers aren't giving up too many runs (LOL, I know that's a big DUH). I'm optimistic about this team primarily because there are three good pitchers who aren't that far away from making a positive impact on the. Wood takes forever to regain control after a D/L stint though. Prior hopefully can come back quicker in terms of time post-D/L before he's pitching 100%. Oddly enough, I'm intrigued most by Miller. Everyone's just hoping for a contribution of some kind, but this guy has had success in the league before. When he's right, he knows how to pitch. I'm intrigued by him as well and no one is talking about what he could provide... I'm also going to give Wood the benefit of the doubt. Stone said he saw Wood throw in LA and that he looked really good. He also said that Kerry has "totally" changed his mechanics and that Kerry would be going on a rehab assignment within a week or so (he'll probably get 2 to 3 starts).

No one is suggesting the Cubs will mail it in or that they won't put up a fight. We're saying this team isn't good enough to do it effectively enough to win consistently. Pitching will be the key over the long haul. The club can thrive with less offense if it's pitchers aren't giving up too many runs (LOL, I know that's a big DUH). I'm optimistic about this team primarily because there are three good pitchers who aren't that far away from making a positive impact.

I totally agree.

I disagree. The competition isn't that tough in the NL and this team still should be able to score 3 to 4 runs a game. Obviously, Aramis will have to start hitting but there are other useful hitters in the lineup who can contribute offensively. There will be a reduction of power over the entire period Lee is out but I still think they can score runs. With the exception of 2 or 3 games, homeruns haven't been the Cubs MO. There's no doubt that they'll have a lot more close games (than blowouts).

Stone mentioned that as well. That's just apart of the game. This situation is far from ideal but it's not something that can't be managed. The Cubs could be just fine especially if their starting rotation gets more solid.

Stone just made a special call into the "Me Show" to discuss the DLee situation. FWIW, this is the first time I've heard Stone, in recent history, make statements about the Cubs that didn't sound like he was a disgrunted former employee. As expected, he talked about how big of a loss the injury is to the team but he also said that he believes this year's team will have enough to contend as long as they continue to pitch well and don't hurt themselves with errors. He spoke glowingly about the "phenomenal" bullpen and how the Cubs will win most close games. He also mentioned that others (ARam and Barrett spefically) will have to step up and there will be a benefit to having TWalk in the lineup, and playing 1B, consistently (and that he wouldn't be surprised if Dusty has a different lineup for everyday of the week because alot of the success will be setting the lineup for specific pitchers). He also seemed encouraged that Woody would be returning soon. Surprisingly, Paul Sullivan was on earlier and even he didn't overreact and say that the "season is over."

You have to ask if you're rooting for the team?