mlarner

I really don't see why Lou or Hendry should be fired over Z pitching a fit. He's been a very good pitcher for a few years now and, while he's been overpaid, his contract didn't look very bad at all when he was signed to it. A player throwing a fit shouldn't be held against the manager or GM. I don't believe either of them will be or should be fired resulting from Z's actions today, but I really hope it plays into the decision to not bring either one back next year. Maybe I am the only one, but this seems to be a larger issue than just 1 player throwing a fit 1 time.

Why does a pitcher behaving poorly make you embarrassed to be a Cubs fan? I think the biggest reason is because this follows a pattern that has been happening for a long time now, and as an organization the Cubs have not been up to the task of dealing with it. Carlos plays with fire and intensity, and that has always been one of the things I have enjoyed about him, but he has continually called out teammates (said things to them in the dugout beytween innings, shakes his head at them and stares them down during the game) over the years and the Cubs have not been able to get it through his head that it is not acceptable. It is more than just a pitcher behaving poorly, it is a pattern of unacceptable behavior that has been allowed to continue until it inevitably blows up. Regardless, IMO showing up your teammates like that is just bush league and you don't treat your teammates like that.

I am embarrassed to be a Cubs fan right now. I can deal with them not being good and I can deal with them being a poorly run organization. This has been the reality for the vast majority of the time I have been a fan and it has been incredibly frustrating most of the time, but I don't think I have ever been this embarrassed. If this does not cement the decision to get rid of both Lou and Jim, I will be very suspicious of the decision-making capabilities of the new ownership group.

Pretty funny I don't know, seems classless to me. Not able to watch, What did Brenly say? He had a quick 4 or 5 pitch at bat and Brenly seemed like he was rushing to get in his digs. Len mentioned it was odd that he was getting more boos than cheers at home (Cubs fans booing) and Brenly said something to the effect of they haven't gotten to know him yet. Then said something about a Seattle restaurant with a special sandwich that costs whatever Bradley's average is at the time. We get it Bob, you think he is a jerk. It just seems so personal with him, like he takes pleasure in calling him out. Not professional at all IMO.

Baker with another lapse. Looked like he was assuming it was going to be foul the whole way and didn't even try to go to third after fielding the ball.

Pretty funny I don't know, seems classless to me.

http://www.examiner.com/x-1088-MLB-Examiner~y2010m6d23-Rockies-look-to-replaced-injured-Tulowitzki When Tulowitzki went down, I thought this might work for both teams. I saw them beat up on the Brew Crew last weekend and looks like they have moved Barmes over to SS and playing Herrera at 2B. I don't think Barmes can handle SS defensively over the 6-8 weeks (although that was a pretty sweet play to end the game last night) and offensively he is not going to replace Tulo either (of course that would be difficult for anyone, but Barmes is a very limited offensive player already). Their options at 2B after the switch seem pretty limited as well. Pure speculation in the article, but seems to make sense.

Marshall was nasty tonight.

On the Rockies telecast I thought they said it was #5 of career, not sure how many as a Cub though.

Psychological boost from Zambrano's impending move to the pen lifts Cubs to victory.

But wait, hes a clubhouse cancer, and all his teammates hated him I thought?................. Maybe he got along with Fox. Then again it might not look good for a fringe player to badmouth a team mate the day after being traded. Im pretty sure the majority of Bradley's ex-teammates normally have very good things to say of him as a teammate. I think he is generally very well liked in the clubhouse.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/extramustard/hotclicks/10/08/sofia-vergara-more-chip-caray-blunders/index.html Here too.

Not a big Joe Buck fan, but at least he's a technically competent broadcaster. He's still a smarmy doucherocket, though. Agree 100% on both counts.

When you consider that Miles signed his 2-year, $4.9 million contract on December 31, 2008 and Orlando Hudson signed his 1-year $3.4 million contract with the Dodgers on February 20, 2009, one could argue that his awfulness hasn't been addressed anywhere near enough. Hudson was a Type A free agent which drove down his value considerably. And Hudson would have never signed with the Cubs without the team promising him the starting job. One of the reasons the Cubs traded away their starting 2B in the first place was because they felt Fontenot was ready for more at-bats. They weren't going to trade DeRosa just to sign another starting second baseman who also would have cost them their 1st round pick. The Miles contract is bad enough on its own. There's no reason to need to make a very flawed comparison with Hudson who had different costs associated with him and was signed for a very different purpose. Wasn't Hudson recovering from an injury as well? That would drive down his value even more.

Ewwwwwwwww. Didn't watch the game yesterday, but every time I'd flip through TBS and he was doing the Saturday afternoon game this season just the sound of his voice would make me cringe. He is so over the top and tries to make every play so important/game changing that everything he says just has no meaning. Never thought he was very good, but I think when he was in Chicago it didn't affect me as much because he was announcing for the Cubs and that drowned out everything else. But listening to him announce for neutral teams now I think he is terrible. In my opinion, he would have no shot at being an MLB announcer if it wasn't for his family tree.

Seriously, any ideas why Bobby Scales is starting over Fox, especially in LF? This is the perfect time to see if Fox can play out there semi-regularly next year. Between Soriano and Bradley, he will have plenty of opp's next year, so why not give him all the experience possible right now when the games are meaningless? The ONLY way Scales helps us next year is as a back-up infielder, so what is he doing out in LF while Fox is on the bench?

This post made me LOL! "Dude, you just swung at 3 straight breaking balls in the dirt in the LH batter's box. You should really get your eyes checked out..."

Sorry if the thread title offends, you. or you could just get over yourself. or not. its your choice. Never happen. The one thing that is a constant on this board are the attack poodles that come to the defense of Soriano and Bradley to no end. Let them bring it. :mrgreen: Do you have to bring this crap into every single thread? Who is defending anyone here? On topic: Soriano should have been shut down a while ago, but I think they still had a belief they could scratch out a streak and make the playoffs. At this point its pretty obvious that is not happening, and regardless this is getting to the point where it can have long-term implications for his future health. If he loses his speed, that takes away a big part of his value and his game. Im afraid this will cause him to swing for the fences even more than he already does in trying to overcompensate and become a big home run hitter rather than just a good hitter overall. It also could be an issue with playing LF. His arm and his speed in overcoming bad jumps are the only reason he can play out there at all, and if he loses the speed I dont know if he can stay out there. Like said above, Fox should be out there as much as possible the rest of the season. Either he will drive up his trade value or he will get a ton of experience in the outfield for next year. With the injuries to Soriano and Bradley that can be expected, he will get plenty of playing time if he is still in Chicago.

Caring and hustling are 2 different things. Milton may care, but he certainly doesn't hustle or stay in the game mentally. Im not sure exactly what team you are watching because Bradley hustles his ass off. X 2 Bradley can obviously be a pain in that he does wear his heart on his sleeve (as his comments here prove he can be a big distraction) but you cannot deny that he cares and plays hard. I was at all 4 of the games at Coors recently, and he was the ONLY player that stood out in terms of hustle and giving a crap that the team was playing terribly. He was visibly frustrated with their performance, and as a fan that made me love him even more because it was affecting him so much. It was painful for me to see a team with so much talent throwing it away and it was clearly painful for him too. I am not saying the other players didn't care or cared any less, but watching them I could not tell if they were feeling the same way or not. As much trouble as it gets him into, you do not have to wonder how Bradley is feeling at any given moment and for me, anyway, it makes it really easy to identify with him. I was not real excited about his signing, but at this point he is one of my favorite Cubs.

Murton sighting... He was part of the mugging after Tulo won it with a base hit in the 10th.

Media speculation and he's a Cubs legend who has worked his way through the minors to get his shot. He was on with Waddle and Silvy today and he basically said he's ready for a chance to become a big league manager. Lou's gone and the naming of Ryno as manager will create quite a buzz with the fans. The Cubs will need that going into 2010 after this wreck of a season. Or, you know, hiring a good manager that actually gets these guys to play fundamentally sound baseball and win a few games. Thats a way to create a buzz with the fans too... I didn't hear it obviously, but if Ryno was really pushing for the job as the Cubs season goes down the drain that is not very classy at all. He wasn't pushing for it, he was asked. He didn't say: "Yes, I want to manage the Cubs". However, he's managing a farm team of ours, knows the game and knows the urgency involved here. Just connect the dots. I hear you, and I could see the Cubs thinking along those lines. But hiring a manager to create a buzz is a bad, bad idea.

Media speculation and he's a Cubs legend who has worked his way through the minors to get his shot. He was on with Waddle and Silvy today and he basically said he's ready for a chance to become a big league manager. Lou's gone and the naming of Ryno as manager will create quite a buzz with the fans. The Cubs will need that going into 2010 after this wreck of a season. Or, you know, hiring a good manager that actually gets these guys to play fundamentally sound baseball and win a few games. Thats a way to create a buzz with the fans too... I didn't hear it obviously, but if Ryno was really pushing for the job as the Cubs season goes down the drain that is not very classy at all.

Do tell. I mean, I fully expect Lou to run and hide after this season, but sooner??? It was a lot of speculation, but the discussion was that Lou is very frustrated and could possibly step down as soon as the Cubs are mathematically eliminated. He said it is pretty much a foregone conclusion that he won't be back next year. Well then...who replaces him? Will they make a splash like they have the last 3 managers, or will they go in house and hire someone like Trammel? From all indications, Ryno WILL BE the next Cubs manager. Where are you getting this? What are the "indications"? Not saying I don't believe you, but haven't heard anything about that at all.

But, but, people want him to close. :-)) If he can stay healthy, I still think he will be very good. He's got great stuff and seems to have a pretty good presence on the mound. I think he generally knows what he wants to do, but as a young pitcher can't always execute. He is learning to pitch at the major league level this year, so he will get knocked around for a little while.

Yeah, thats about right.