Ding Dong Johnson

I really can't believe that this topic is even being debated. There are so many tangible things wrong with this organization from top to bottom that it's absurd to me for anyone to blame some sort of cosmic force or . The 2003 Cubs probably shouldn't have won the division. The Central was incredibly weak, and they played great ball in the 2nd half to get to the playoffs. They played incredibly and beat the Braves in the NLDS when they probably shouldn't have. They should have probably beat the Marlins, but they didn't. Bartman has become the scapegoat on a foul ball that may or may not have been caught by Alou. Gonzalez bobbled a DP ball, and I'm pretty sure it was not the first error in the history of MLB or the playoffs. Prior ran out of gas (big surprise). We blew a 3-run lead in the 8th inning of a game. I'm pretty sure that wasn't a first either. 2004 should have been better. Alou had a great year and Barrett contributed more than we all expected, but we lost Kenny Lofton and his 381 OBP, Sosa was in the midst of a massive decline, DLee was nowhere near the DLee we saw last year, Ramon Martinez got the bulk of the duty at SS, and Prior and Wood were both injured (again, big surprise). Borowski was horrible then injured, Sergio Mitre started too many games, Farnsworth was in every-other mode, and LaTroy was inexplicably left in to blow close games despite being a dominant setup man. Hollandsworth got hurt (same injury he had before he joined the club), Bako was our offensive wasteland of a backup catcher, and Jose Macias saw action in 98 games. Honorable mention goes to Rey rnez and 73 year old Tom Goodwin for their contributions. 2005 and 2006 have been exercises in futility with the management. Quality players have been let walk without being adequately replaced. If Prior and Wood and Lee were all at 100% this season, it's likely we'd still be a bad team overall, just not as bad as we are.

I'll take GNR here. Floyd never did it for me.

Yes, before the lock.

Dusty forgot to look at this particular stat: Neifi vs anyone -- horrible Walker vs anyone -- not too shabby

That's because you're mainly watching Cubs games. Watch more baseball, and you will see bad teams everywhere experiencing the same problems.

Maybe he sexually harassed Kruk.

Bad luck = curses -- they're both imaginary. People get hurt, it's part of life. Teams lose vital pieces all the time, yet this one is the one that can't seem to get through it. It's not luck or a curse, it's piss-poor management with the "woe is us" attitude. It's losing Derrek Lee and replacing him with Tony Womack. It's losing Mark Prior and Kerry Wood and replacing them with Glendon Rusch and a kid who had barely seen AA. Did the Cardinals regress to NL doormats when Pujols was out? How about the Yankees when they lost Matsui and Sheffield? Give it a rest with the goats and the cats and the Bartmans. This franchise is horrible because the wrong people are in charge.

All other ballparks in that division are bottom half (Fish park is last), but RFK is actually #6, right behind Wrigley. How do those stats work? Is it skewed by the fact that Soriano is producing so much in spite of the size of the ballpark? Is it based on number of HR's hit in that park? If so, that says more about the home team than the park, doesn't it? PF = ((homeRS + homeRA)/(homeG)) / ((roadRS + roadRA)/(roadG))

All other ballparks in that division are bottom half (Fish park is last), but RFK is actually #6, right behind Wrigley.

OMG< you dont' want cobs tix?!!11!?

Yankees fans are pretty much panicking with the team under .600, but management doesn't seem the least bit interested in rushing Matsui or Sheffield back to the field. They also understand how to not fold the franchise when a good player goes down. It's amazing that the Cubs seem to be the only team that can not overcome adversity.

...and lots of bad luck. I hate the word "curse" cause I think its a copout, but I can't ignore the string of bad luck with injuries. Doesn't it seem odd that everyone is always hurt? Bad luck is an acceptable reason, but curse is a copout?

It's not a curse, it's inept management.

Which one of Nevin/Walker is now off the block?

I don't want a guy who will go into a funk for a month. The guy who cannot get on base without hitting himself on. I also expect more out of my leadoff batter than stringing together a solid run to get his OBP up to 340.

You had to pick the Beatles' most mellow song to compare to About to Rock? Tell me you've heard the White Album? There's some very heavy stuff on there, especially for its time. It wasnt meant as a side to side comparison. Yesterday is one of my favorites off the top of my head. I listen to more Beatles than AC/DC, BUT... if i want to go all Dee Syder and Want To Rock, ill go with AC/DC for a couple of their better hits. Could i listen to AC/DC everyday...hell no. Revolution and Back in USSR isnt really the same thing as Highway to Hell, Shoot to Thrill, Have a Drink on Me, Hells Bells, TNT and Its A Long Way to The Top. thank Jebus for that Word.

You may want to hide, I saw the bad joke police around here earlier. :wink:

yes.. I definitely do NOT want the Pierre we saw in the first half, and what makes you say he will never start walking?? it isnt like he is striking out 50+ times a season. the most k's he had in any one season was 52 in 2002 with Colorado and he only had one other season where he k'ed more then 40 times. In the argument he doesn't get on base enough, you counter with he doesn't strike out a lot? Oh, brother.

You and Pedro are drinking from the same Kool Aid, and its apparently spiked with Angel Dust. I thought it was clear I was being facetious. It was, I was just having some fun. I see, and for what it's worth -- there was a little sumthin'-sumthin' in what I had for lunch. You had a prostitute for lunch? Shhhhhhhhhh!

Do us all a favor and find Natalee while you're there. Back to this highly anticipated matchup: Cubs suck, who cares what happens?

You and Pedro are drinking from the same Kool Aid, and its apparently spiked with Angel Dust. I thought it was clear I was being facetious. It was, I was just having some fun. I see, and for what it's worth -- there was a little sumthin'-sumthin' in what I had for lunch.

Most GM's also still think they need to stick their fastest guy in the #1 spot. It doesn't make them right.

Agreed. I'll start complaining about our defense when our pitching staff's ERA is 3 and we're losing games 11-10.

You and Pedro are drinking from the same Kool Aid, and its apparently spiked with Angel Dust. I thought it was clear I was being facetious.

Marshall has shown the ability to get people out at the ML level and has made numerous quality starts this year. Obviously not every young pitcher is going to pitch like Jered Weaver or Liriano, but I want to see some progress which is what Marshall has shown at points this year. Has he had his setbacks? Of course. Most young pitchers do. But Hill hasn't shown any progress. Like I said, I have never been a fan of Rich Hill, but I don't think he's been given a consistent shot. His one shot this year was when the team was playing arguably their worst baseball of the season. He deserves a shot to go out every fifth day for the rest of this season.