forbez18

Okayy....yeaaa....I said it wrong, I am aware that a pitcher can not have a wild pitch with no one on base. However, the ball still gets away sometimes from the catcher when no one is one base, so with out having to spell it out I used wild pitch. Anyways...How many times has the team with the best stats won the World Series. How many times has the best baseball player with the best stats won the World Series. Ohhh yea..I remember Arod and Bonds in the World Series all the time I can't believe I missed it. So I guess...maybe there is a little bit more that go into being successful then counting every stat.

I don't know how there could be no impact on the game itself. A baserunner who is a treat to steal can cause trouble a lot of different ways. The pitcher is forced to pay attention to the runner and once you get a pitcher thinking (Zambrano and Hill) it can cause a lot of trouble for them. Then there is the catcher who is forced to be anticpating a steal attempt and if there is a stat for wild pitches / pass balls with basestealers on base, I would bet that the rate is much greater then when no one is on. Then you always have the hit and run, throwing errors, elimination of double plays, forcing infielders to play out of position before the pitch, and even forcing them to move out of position on a base hit. It also can allow a someone to score from 1st base on a hit and run, or possibly get to 3rd with less then 2 outs with out another hit. I know people like to shoot stats out, but you have to be able to understand that there is a lot that goes into the game of baseball besides stats. I know that they can tell a lot, but baseball is a mental game, and even if a base runner gets thrown out trying to steal, I have seen plenty of times where the next batter hits a HR. Many say he should never have stolen, but I think a lot of pitchers have a sense of relief and then throw a pitch right down the middle. If you have been a pitcher or catcher, I would find it hard to say a good base runner has no impact.

Has anyone heard anything about Kit Kopach? I remember watching him pitch and he would be in the middle 90's consitantly. His problem was he could not control the ball. It would be interesting to hear what has happened with him?

I would think that 2004 would have to be at the top of either of these lists. After coming just a few outs from going to the World Series the year before, and everything that went on that offseason, it was impossible to get a ticket to a game or hear anything about chicago with out someone bringing up the Cubs. So my list would go: 2004 2003 2008(even with the Roberts trade) 2007 2005 2006

I would rather keep Soriano in the lead off, but then have Pie bat 9th. This way Soriono has the metal approach to leading off, and I am a big fan of it when he starts the game off with a HR. I think it destroys a pitchers confidence for the rest of the game. However, I believe that Pie needs to be protected, and if you are able to slide him in right before Soriono it would be pretty good protection. Soriono Fukudome Lee Ramierez Soto Derosa Theriot Pitcher Pie I have never been a big fan of the pitcher batting 9th because if you go 1,2,3 in the first two inning's it kills the third. Usually if one of the first two gets on it is then a double play or the pitcher is unable to move him over. With the pitcher batting 8th it gives him a much better chance to bunt a guy over, or if 7 & 8 gets out. Pie can come up get on and steal a base and give Soriono a chance to get an RBI.

Baloney. I work 10-11 hours a day at my desk with an additional 1 hour commute each day. I find time to go to the gym 3 times a week. It means I don't get home until after 9:30 PM those days, but I still do it. Oooh, 3 times a week. I guess that means you have recovery days between workouts. Funny thing about baseball is you play 6 games a week and have to be able to catch up to a 90+ mph fastball on each and every day. I used to lift like crazy and got quite big and there's no way in hell I could've swung a bat or thrown a ball at full speed on noon of the next day. I find it absolutely impossible to believe that a baseball player could do enough lifting to maintain the physique of an NFL middle linebacker without recovery days and without chemical help. Anyone who tried it would have a horrible season due to chronic post-workout stiffness/weakness. Let's not forget those days where you tweek something while lifting and need an extra day or two to recover. I have tweeked my elbow and know I would not have bben able to throw a ball for a day or two. I am not sure why this is all about Sosa, but I find this argument way out there. I played college baseball, and we were forced into the gym at 5:30 every morning okay (mon, tues, wed, thurs. and sat), but most of us went every day anyways. We would lift weight and condition for 1-2 HRS, and yes that was durring the season. If you lift properly it does not hurt your reflexes which would cause you to throw slower or swing slower. It actually increasess your ability to be faster and stronger. If my baseball team could do it, and then go out and play baseball, go to college, work, and a lot of the time go out and party at night. I do not see why a man that grew up poor would not have enough energy to do it, if he knew it could make him MILLIONS of dollars. But....this entire report is just for the media anyways. They will never be able to prove exactly who did and who did not use steroids, but it makes it look like the problem is solved and everyone is revealed. When in all, I still do not know what is the big deal if they did use steroids. They are playing a professional sport where they are making choices about their own body that they fully understand. It is a form of entertainment for everyone else. Yes, it might not be the best thing for their body, but we do not yell at professional wrestlers (more steroids) and I mean college actual wrestlers who cut weight and then gain weight which if you have gone through the process over and over, you would know that the cycling can take years off of your life. We don't yell at clowns at the circus who balance 100 ft on a rope with no net, but for some reason we have a huge problem with professional athletes all of a sudden and what they put into their bodies. It does not make sense.

I'd be wildly disappointed if he didn't draw a single walk all year. .349/40-45 HRs/50 SB/.482 OBP Huh? Am I missing some kind of joke? What, you didn't know he's the japanese barry bonds? Who can still play great defense and steal bases. I would pay at least $15 mil. for that.

I'd be wildly disappointed if he didn't draw a single walk all year. .349/40-45 HRs/50 SB/.482 OBP Huh? Am I missing some kind of joke? I wasn't sure if he was just trying to show how bad the .280 OBP that I accidently posted was or if he thought Fukudome is going to be the greatest player to ever play the game.

Yea, thats what you get when you try and work and talk about the Cubs. But, I am expecting more of a .380 OBP then a .420 + that would be what I would want for a $15 mil player who only hits maybe 20 HRS.

I am just wondering what others are thinking Fukudome will produce next year. It is hard to tell with a player coming internationally. From everything I have read, it looks like he has some power and a good eye for taking pitches. I have heard him copared to Abreu and then to a left handed Murton. My expectation would be a .280 BA/10-15 HRS/ 18 SB/ .380 OBP Is that what everyone else is thinking or should I be expecting more or less?

It doesn't quite make sense unless Baltimore is recieving a few real good prospects. Baltimore would be trading Tejada because he does not want to play for them unless they go out and spend money, and the benefit to them is that they would be able to decrease payroll by trading him. So why would they take back Rolen so that the salaries could be a wash?

This is horrible to hear. I work with people that come to me and think they will live forever, and that nothing will ever happen to them. It is the hardest part for people to understand, that you do not control what will happen. You can try to prevent it, and take care of yourself, but an allergic reaction or cancer can come from no where and take down even the healthiest person. I wish Joe's family truly the very best, and I hope they are all doing well.

Do you use a commissioner to moderate the league? I know it is a lot of work for one guy to make decisions on what is a fair trade and what is not. Sometimes a trade can look completely uneven and then work out the other way. A few years back I traded Brandon Stokely for a #2 RB I forget who, but the league rejected the trade, and it was the best thing for me as Stokely went on to be a Great #2 WR that year and the other guy really didn't do much. However, that was in Manning's record breaking season. Now we use draft analyzer that we use on scoutfantasyfootball.com and if it shows a huge difference then we bring it up for vote.

Thanks for the info. and I may have a little more hope then I did before with Prior. That is interesting to hear, and I hope the best to you on your recovery.

Lets calm down on the white part. People love individuals that have heart and hustle and determination. They also love the underdog and him being small almost autmaticaly makes him an underdog. It doesn't matter if they are white, black, or Mexican. People seem to like Lee just fine, people seemed to like Jones just fine in the second half because he had a good two weeks. People also like Ward and correct me but they are all not white. What they have in common is that they go out there just about every day and seem like they give all they can. Now I am not saying that I want Theriot starting next year, because I would rather have DeRosa at second and a different SS. But, I do want him on the team being a swing man starting about 1 out of every 4 games somewhere in the field. He works the pitchers and can do the little things that the team does need. However, can we stop about the race stuff. I know that there are people that judge people by their skin color but lets try not to.

At least I don't have to watch any more of these Frank TV commercials wow they are getting old. I will never be able to watch that show now.

Well, it was a better season then last year. I would much rather have baseball to watch in October then not like last year. However, it was a big disapointment in the end. WELL MAYBE NEXT YEAR!!

Who?

Here come the raly...Kendall (for some reason), Ward, w. singles and then Sori will K, followed by Theriot getting a single, and Lee with a 2 rbi double. Floyd will ground out, and ARAM will come up and win the game... Well in my dreams anyways..

From first to last in the regular season from 07 to 08. Maybe they can go from first out in the playoffs to last out (or champions) from 08 to 09.

I don't blame them for stealing since they are only up 4, but I would still throw one up and in to Clark after the stolen base.

Can't even let us enjoy watching Wood pitch.

What confuses me is that the Cubs are actually better against ground ball pitchers then vs. fly ball pitchers. The way they are designed should indicate that would be opposite. They have a higher avg., Obp, and SLG vs. pitchers who are supposed to get ground balls. The stats are just difficult to understand.

The Cubs did deserve to be in the playoffs because they had more wins then anyone else in their division, but they did not deserve to win a series or a game I guess in the playoffs.

I have never seen so many ground balls for the Cubs.