Ram1380

Anyone else smell a turnover???

TD!!

They're Going!

The Defense is finally getting a MUCH needed blow right now as well.

MUST PUNCH IT IN 1st and goal

bout time MOOSE!!

BIG stuff. Wake up Smith you little............

3rd down

Maynard downs his own punt. #-o #-o

AlfEstes redux..... Last season they go against all logic, switch guys roles, put Demp in the rotation and Rush in the pen, thus removing the chance to have their "all in important" lefty in the rotation and at the same time lit the fuse on the bullpen bomb in the process. Now this year they can't wait to dump on a younger, cheaper and better option(who is an emotional kid) to MAKE room for Rush in the rotation?? Idiotic re-signing to begin with, looking to get much worse. This organization is ridiculous.

Does this mean we can smack Dusty on the nose with a newspaper when he does something wrong? No Neifi in the lineup, bad Dusty! I'd like to volunteer to "rub his noes in it". Maybe a shock collar would work better?

Atleast your puppy learned from his past mistakes(i hope :) ) With some of the things Baker has done and not done since he got here, makes me wonder how he keeps himself from crappin' on the floor.

All i've read about Eyre and Howry leads me to believe they are quality guys. We now know that Ryan is as good a teammate as you get i see this unit fuctioning well nice mix. I completely agree. hope. :x

Ohman, Novoa and Weurtz were not the problem with the pen last season at all. Some boob deciding Rusch should start the season in the pen, while Dempster started it in the rotation(completely against what Hendry had said all along to that point), thus eventually forcing Hawkins to a role we all knew he couldn't handle was the start of the disaster. The continued idiotic use of Remlinger, and over use of Wuertz didn't help matters either.

Are you saying there may be quite a few "pops" followed by pre-mature "hops" in his future if he signs on in DC? :)

If you're going to use that logic, then the counter-argument easily surfaces, 'The Cardinals and Astros got lucky the Cubs had serious injury problems the last 2 seasons.' So that won't work. because without injuries the cubs would have won over 100 games both seasons? that's ridiculous. Not in the least. If you get 30+ starts out of Prior, Zambrano, Wood in those years, winning 100 games was not out of the question. They were afterall the favorite going into both seasons. yeah, mediocrity is always what a franchise should shoot for. I had "Fire hendry" in my sig for several months, and if hendry offers baker an extension with any expectation that he'll accept it, I was too kind Nice spin-doctoring. Nobody ever said GMs strive for mediocrity. I said all GMs have deals that work out, and others that don't. That is the nature of the business. And in Hendry's case, the deals that have worked out have been far more valuable for the team than those that haven't, even if the 2004 and 2005 records don't reflect it. Having Lee, Ramirez, and Barret going into 2006 is critical for this team. And enabling a self-serving ass like Baker to continue to run the franchises recources into the ground is criminally negligent.

If Hairston is given the righthanded pitcher part of the platoon it might be OK, if memory serves, Hairston has reverse splits while as Neifi! is decent batting righthanded versus lefties. If reverse splits were emphasized, Remlinger would've never seen that many LH'ed batters. If it was a Perez/Hairston platoon, Perez would likely see too many ABs. Without question UK. Why oh wht must he be so pig headed???

If Hairston is given the righthanded pitcher part of the platoon it might be OK, if memory serves, Hairston has reverse splits while as Neifi! is decent batting righthanded versus lefties.

I remember the moment of excitement when Amaury signed a ball for me. You're so spoiled. :D

I'm with you, but it's hard to see happening as long as the FBI is still patrolling the dugout.

Just my gut feelings here: As long as Jim Hendry still wants to be the Cubs' GM in 2007, I'd say there is a 99% probability of him having that role in 2007. I'd say only a 90-loss type season in 2006 will cost him his job. Mind you, I don't personally think Hendry has earned another contract, but it's very unlikely that MacPhail and Fitzsimons would let him go. On the flipside, if Dusty Baker still wants to be the Cubs' field manager in 2007, I'd say he needs to guide them into the playoffs in 2006. Mr. Hoops' post is pretty much right on. Neither DePodesta nor Epstein will be the Cubs' general manager any time soon. Jim Hendry is likely safe through 2008. We're all entitled to our opinions, and certainly Hendry has had some successes and failures. The one charge I found unfair in this thread was that he somehow wrecked the farm system. Huh? Take a gander at a Cubs media guide from, say, 1995, 1996 or 1997. When you get through heaving, take a look at it now. In the interim, the Cubs have stepped up _ no, more like created _ a presence in Latin America. Having a good farm system means two things: moving players up to your own big-league team and giving the organizaton good, low-cost alternatives to expensive free agents, and using the farm system to make trades. Obviously, the Cubs have done better in the latter category _ see Bobby Hill, Hee Seop Choi and others. A few years earlier, the Cubs would not have had the minor-league talent to fetch an Aramis Ramirez or a Derrek Lee, two star players nowadays. Hendry also drafted Jon Garland, who was foolishly traded away by Ed Lynch. They all haven't worked out: Ben Christensen, Todd Noel and, at least so far, Luis Montanez. But overall, the Cubs' farm system is light years ahead of where it was a decade ago. Ah yes, the days when the Cubs brought up Andrew Lorraine and Micah Bowie from the minors to replace injured starters. Remember the debut of Telemaco though?? Such promise. Dave Swartzbaugh(sp??) Larry Casian :?

Ponson will probably go Bottenfield on the Central, the Cards will inturn trade him for some injury prone Maybelline spokesperson that turns into an everyday hall of famer??? :)

You know it's hard to fathom, but if given the chance to go back in time, we really would have been better off keeping Little Sarge over Corey the way things are looking. :(

Wasn't Hinske part of the whole Scott Chiasson debacle??

Or because Wilson would be the most productive OF on the roster. I like Marrero. Cheap, and can play catcher if needed. Agreed. Amazingly enough he is actually pretty fast as well.