back2backjax

This was the worst team in the NL last year. Does adding Soriano suddenly make the Cubs "a winner?" John Wooden said, "Don't mistake activity for achievement." you're clearly overlooking the fact that lee played in just 50 games. if you take last year's team and add derrek lee and alfonso soriano to it, not to mention an upgrade over our 2nd baseman last season and i say that's a huge upgrade. now he just needs a pitcher or two and we should have enough pieces to compete.

guys, there is a lot of negativity about the length and money of soriano's contract, but as the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures and i can't remember an offseason like this one where cubs management was this aggressive in trying to upgrade the previous year's roster. i truly feel like they're trying to put a winner on the field in 2007. regardless of the way he's gone about doing it, hendry has obviously kept his word to lou by re-signing ramirez, wood and blanco and signing derosa and soriano. and the best part is that he may not be done. if he gets a decent pitcher or two, you have to consider the cubs on paper to be a strong contender in not only the central, but the NL. if you're not looking forward to opening day 2007, you're obviously never going to be a satisfied cubs fan.

Bruce Miles challenges your statement. paul sullivan challenges bruce miles "The Cubs plan to have Soriano play centerfield and bat lead-off, giving them three players who have hit 35 or more home runs in a season in their starting lineup. With Soriano in the fold, the Cubs will next turn towards acquiring a starting pitcher or two." so who is right btwn the two?

no way soriano plays RF. he's here for CF or LF.

guys, face it - it took what hendry offered to get the deal done and get it done quick. if he gets into a bidding war with the angels/yankees/phillies/etc. who knows how it turns out. if he doesn't sign soriano for a few million more, everyone complains. he does what it takes to bring an exciting player to wrigley and everyone complains. just sit back and enjoy having another 40-homer guy in the linup next season. maybe this shows JH learned his lesson in the beltran deal.

NOT ANOTHER WORD ABOUT HOW HENDRY/CUBS MGMT ISN'T TRYING TO WIN!

Story in the Sun Sentinel: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-spnewgirardi22sep22,0,1734031.story?coll=sfla-sports-front I've been very high on Girardi throughout the season, but that story gives me some doubt as to whether or not he's the man for the Cubs in 2007. Looks like he's made some mistakes this year that are eerily similar to those of Dusty. Maybe he was trying to get fired toward the end.

"I miss him, and I'm sure they do. He's a guy you need to have around so he can talk to the young guys and teach them a little bit." - Henry Blanco when asked about the absence of Greg Maddux Um, isn't that what a coaching staff is there for?

i'm glad we've got rusch signed thru next season. that's one offseason decision off hendry's plate!

Would you like a new thread started for everything he does right? Then perhaps you wouldn't mind a new thread for each time he screws up. not at all, but the number of "negative" posts far outweights the number of positive posts. my point is that the guy is taking far more grief than praise.

Then you aren't looking. jacque...too bad he isn't playing CF http://www.northsidebaseball.com/PremiumForum/viewtopic.php?t=32506 viewtopic.php?t=32506 Jacque Jones a potential allstar? http://www.northsidebaseball.com/PremiumForum/viewtopic.php?t=32488 viewtopic.php?t=32488 Jacque's live bat http://www.northsidebaseball.com/PremiumForum/viewtopic.php?t=32394 viewtopic.php?t=32394 Those are all just threads on the first page of the Baseball Discussions forum. Might wanna take a gander through the threads before posting stuff like this. perhaps you should re-read my post. i said "i haven't seen TOO MANY threads..." so thank you for pointing out the 6 threads among hundreds that have discussed jones' resurgence. i always hate it when people make my point by trying to counter it.

i haven't seen too many threads of late noting that jones is absolutely killing the ball and that his average is at .310. what gives...are cubs fans only good for dwelling on the negative? is his performance driving everyone crazy who made a habit of coming on here and ranting about how he was the worst signing and should be benched for pie?

1.3??? what a dooo-mahz

anyone want to take a stab at projecting guz's line: i say 5 ip, 4 K, 2 BB, 5 H, 2 R bullpen gets the win!

I disagree with booing Cubs players in general. But it has nothing to do with being early, or new to the NL. Jones is what he is, a crappy player. And by the way, if you start a thread with the purpose of telling other posters that what they choose to talk about isn't worth talking about, you're going to get a reaction. i never said this thread was aimed at silencing their talk. i hoped this thread would attract like-minded fans who were happy with the team and more focused on discussing the positives than on bashing pierre, jones, neifi, dusty, hendry, etc. there's a big difference between saying "you're wrong" and saying "i have a different opinion".

i love that someone started a realistic thread as if this one was intended to berate people for seeing fault in this cubs team. let me be clear that that was not the point. my point was that no matter what happens, some people come on here and bitch non-stop. the team overall is performing well above expectations, but instead of discussing that, many just want to come on here and harp on petty little negative stuff. i'm not saying they're perfect, but if you didn't know any better, you would think this team is 5 games under rather than over just from reading the posts. i still disagree with booing a guy new to the NL during the first few weeks of the season. if the guy is still struggling in june/july, that's one thing. but it's not very supportive - and i think that's the end goal of all cubs fans - to lay into a guy day in day out when he's busting his tail trying to help the team win.

easiest question yet...DFA for rusch.

ok, so let's discuss guzman's debut today. let's here some thoughts on the following stat lines: - innings pitched - strikeouts - walks - hits - homers - runs - wild pitches - who registers the win: guzman or bullpen? i'll go first... 5 ip; 4 K; 2 BB; 5 H; 0 HR if wind is in, 2 if out; 2 R; 0 WP; bullpen

I can't agree enough with atcfootball's viewpoint that some Cubs fans seem to relish the opportunity to bitch about this year's team. But it's getting a little old to log on each day and read nothing but slams against Dusty's strategy, Jacque's plate discipline or the fact that Neifi took the field. Seemingly no one comes on here to point out that the Cubs are 12-7 despite: - Missing 3/5 of the starting rotation; - Zambrano has yet to notch win #1; - Two guys (Williams, Rusch) we've trotted out as starters would struggle to get guys out at AAA, perhaps even AA; - Aramis is batting .180 with 9 RBIs - Pierre is batting just .266 - Having won 3 of their first 5 games without their best player; - Winning 4 games when trailing entering the 7th inning; Does none of this give you hope that if the Cubs are within striking distance of the Wild Card/Division (5-7 games back) when everyone is healthy around the All-Star break, they could be a legitimate contender? And this doesn't take into consideration moves Hendry could make to give them even more of a shot. A lot of people are eager to jump on Jones and Pierre, but both have higher BAs than Ramirez and Jones has just 1 less RBI despite playing in 2 fewer games. Few mention that Jones has played error-free defense in RF. So why is it open season on him, but Aramis gets a free pass to use the whole month of April to warm up? Could it be because not many liked the signing of Jones and will never give the guy a chance? Sure I don't like his free-swinging approach at the plate, but in one month, he's had two extremely clutch hits (3-run jobs against St. L and Fla) so I'm OK with supporting him now and allowing him time to get acclimated to NL pitching and warm up. Pierre getting bashed is even harder to figure out. The guy gets a clutch double to start a 6-run rally on Monday and because he struggles against one of the toughest lefties in baseball on Tuesday, some are on here calling him a girl. What's it like to watch a game with you people? My hope is that this thread will attract some positive thinkers who are happy with the Cubs' first 19 games and looking forward to the next 143, but if history is any indication, I'm sure it will quickly be overrun by those who aren't happy unless they're miserable.

we have 4 wins this season when trailing going into the 7th. that's pretty impressive for the first month of the season. it says a lot about the attitude of the team and the quality of the bullpen to keep the game within reach.

- if Z going crazy occasionally means he'll keep his fastball down and focus more, then i hope he gets tossed in the next game with a 5-run lead. i don't like the new, more calm z. - i really hate reading jones' quotes that fans have been all over him in RF, etc. yes, he has gotten off to a slow start, but what good is booing him like cpatt going to do, make him snap out of it? it's very hypocritical to come on here and bitch and moan about him swinging at the first pitch and then sing his praises when he does it and leaves the yard. i feel like knowledgeable fans should give him a bit more time to get acclimated to the NL and warm up before turning on him. if he's still batting .220 in july, then it's open season on him. - i am so thankful no one took walker off hendry's hands. whatever his minuses are in the clubhouse and beyond, the guy is a true gamer and i'm happy to have him as a cub. think about who would be manning 1B right now without walker [ mabry, neifi :-) ] - did anyone else notice that ESPN said murton was acquired for nomar garciaparra during MM's first AB? - speaking of murton, i love the guy's approach at the plate.

in the bottom of the 7th, i put my miniature schnauzer's cubs collar on her and the rest is history!

so much for the change in scenery theory. he's off to a blistering 1-for-15 start (.067 BA) with 1 RBI. his OPS? .133

mlb audio is slow compared to gameday. it's like 2 pitches behind.

leave rusch in and let's see if the reds can hit a homer in every inning!