Exile on Waveland

Argh! Hitting with runners on is NOT this team's problem. The Cubs are batting .274 with runners on, which is third best in the league (and barely behind second place San Diego's .275). These announcers are morons.

I really don't think anyone said that, surely. Oh I think you had better re-read some threads then. I believe what they said was in a few years Deron Williams will be carrying Eric Gordon's bags. Lol. Deron Williams is a Steve Nash away from being the best pg in the league. Notice I said pg, not sg playing the position. Gilbert, I am looking at you. Well, I'll believe you then, however absurd that is. I agree with you, Deron Williams is awesome. I liked him better than Chris Paul coming out of college, as I'm sure you did. I don't care much about Illinois one way or the other, but always enjoyed watching Williams play (except against IU, of course). I liked Felton better than Paul also. I think Chris Paul is nothing more than a stat stuffer. His teams never do what they should. When they were number one in America they came into Assembly Hall and laid a complete egg. Were down 37 at one point. There is no way that happens to a great point guard's team. Agreed. Paul is talented, but he lacks that extra something. He's a blur and he's better at creating an offense than Williams, but Williams is far better at running one. Williams is also a much better defensive player. Plus, he's bigger. I would've ranked them Williams-Paul-Felton, and I always thought Marvin Williams was way overrated in that class (off topic, sorry). I like to see Williams do well because it seemed like a lot of people were questioning him and the Jazz for the pick. PS Hope Dee Brown is OK. That looked painful and he looked tottery. I thought it was great they were questioning the pick, but only because Deron uses that for motivation. In college he would look for articles that people wrote questioning him or our team and then would react. I remember before the Arizona game a newspaper guy asked him about not being a great athlete, but getting by anyways. After the game Deron made a comment about how he caught an alley oop and how it was impressive because he wasn't an athlete and laughed. Back on topic though I think and hope this series goes all 7. It is so fun to watch. edit some in atlanta think the same as you about the williams' boys.http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/hawks/entries/2007/05/09/the_williams_co.html I remember Williams saying that. He was pretty pudgy his first yeah, though. Obviously this is hindsight -- well, at least regarding my posts on this board -- but there have been a few picks/players over the years that I just didn't understand at all. Marvin Williams is at the top of that list. He's not overly big or overly athletic, he's pretty skilled but seems unassuming. I was stunned the first time I heard someone say he was the best player in the class -- I had never given that a thought after watching him play. Not that I was surprised it was Atlanta taking him #2. I think everyone fell into the Marvin Williams hype. If the guy was the next Jordan, shouldn't he have been able to start at UNC? Exactly.

I really don't think anyone said that, surely. Oh I think you had better re-read some threads then. I believe what they said was in a few years Deron Williams will be carrying Eric Gordon's bags. Lol. Deron Williams is a Steve Nash away from being the best pg in the league. Notice I said pg, not sg playing the position. Gilbert, I am looking at you. Well, I'll believe you then, however absurd that is. I agree with you, Deron Williams is awesome. I liked him better than Chris Paul coming out of college, as I'm sure you did. I don't care much about Illinois one way or the other, but always enjoyed watching Williams play (except against IU, of course). I liked Felton better than Paul also. I think Chris Paul is nothing more than a stat stuffer. His teams never do what they should. When they were number one in America they came into Assembly Hall and laid a complete egg. Were down 37 at one point. There is no way that happens to a great point guard's team. Agreed. Paul is talented, but he lacks that extra something. He's a blur and he's better at creating an offense than Williams, but Williams is far better at running one. Williams is also a much better defensive player. Plus, he's bigger. I would've ranked them Williams-Paul-Felton, and I always thought Marvin Williams was way overrated in that class (off topic, sorry). I like to see Williams do well because it seemed like a lot of people were questioning him and the Jazz for the pick. PS Hope Dee Brown is OK. That looked painful and he looked tottery. I thought it was great they were questioning the pick, but only because Deron uses that for motivation. In college he would look for articles that people wrote questioning him or our team and then would react. I remember before the Arizona game a newspaper guy asked him about not being a great athlete, but getting by anyways. After the game Deron made a comment about how he caught an alley oop and how it was impressive because he wasn't an athlete and laughed. Back on topic though I think and hope this series goes all 7. It is so fun to watch. edit some in atlanta think the same as you about the williams' boys.http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/hawks/entries/2007/05/09/the_williams_co.html I remember Williams saying that. He was pretty pudgy his first yeah, though. Obviously this is hindsight -- well, at least regarding my posts on this board -- but there have been a few picks/players over the years that I just didn't understand at all. Marvin Williams is at the top of that list. He's not overly big or overly athletic, he's pretty skilled but seems unassuming. I was stunned the first time I heard someone say he was the best player in the class -- I had never given that a thought after watching him play. Not that I was surprised it was Atlanta taking him #2.

I really don't think anyone said that, surely. Oh I think you had better re-read some threads then. I believe what they said was in a few years Deron Williams will be carrying Eric Gordon's bags. Lol. Deron Williams is a Steve Nash away from being the best pg in the league. Notice I said pg, not sg playing the position. Gilbert, I am looking at you. Well, I'll believe you then, however absurd that is. I agree with you, Deron Williams is awesome. I liked him better than Chris Paul coming out of college, as I'm sure you did. I don't care much about Illinois one way or the other, but always enjoyed watching Williams play (except against IU, of course). I liked Felton better than Paul also. I think Chris Paul is nothing more than a stat stuffer. His teams never do what they should. When they were number one in America they came into Assembly Hall and laid a complete egg. Were down 37 at one point. There is no way that happens to a great point guard's team. Agreed. Paul is talented, but he lacks that extra something. He's a blur and he's better at creating an offense than Williams, but Williams is far better at running one. Williams is also a much better defensive player. Plus, he's bigger. I would've ranked them Williams-Paul-Felton, and I always thought Marvin Williams was way overrated in that class (off topic, sorry). I like to see Williams do well because it seemed like a lot of people were questioning him and the Jazz for the pick. PS Hope Dee Brown is OK. That looked painful and he looked tottery.

I really don't think anyone said that, surely. Oh I think you had better re-read some threads then. I believe what they said was in a few years Deron Williams will be carrying Eric Gordon's bags. Lol. Deron Williams is a Steve Nash away from being the best pg in the league. Notice I said pg, not sg playing the position. Gilbert, I am looking at you. Well, I'll believe you then, however absurd that is. I agree with you, Deron Williams is awesome. I liked him better than Chris Paul coming out of college, as I'm sure you did. I don't care much about Illinois one way or the other, but always enjoyed watching Williams play (except against IU, of course).

I really don't think anyone said that, surely.

How about we don't? If I vote, I'll vote for players that are actually deserving. Not that my Cub bias won't play any factor, but I'd much rather see Derrek Lee voted in as the starting 1B.

I believe the title of this thread is accurate: Hendry cannot win. And that's all that matters, folks. As a GM you're judged on wins and wins only. End of story. Hendry hasn't won, he's not a good GM.

The big, obvious points? Like the fact that a high payroll team is under .500 during his tenure? What could be more big or obvious than that?

Youre right. It does give us a better chance to win. The only reason why you would go with Pie and Murton over Jones and Floyd is defense and I think right now we can use every part of offense we can get. Since when are Jones and Floyd automatic offensive improvements over Murton? They are each still sub 800 OPS OF with checkered pasts (Jones usually isn't very good and Floyd usually can't stay healthy). Lets completely ignore Murtons sub 700 OPS though. I think he's talking beyond their small sample of ABs from this year. Three year splits: Floyd: 261/347/466 Murton: 303/370/462 Floyd's number have been trending down as he's getting old. Murton is on the rise. I still fail to see how Floyd is the sure-fire better option both long-term and short-term. I don't think Floyd is a good long term solution but the more I see of Murton, the more I'm not sure he's the long term solution either. I think Lou right now is handling it about as well as can be expected given what Hendry has given him. He's even planning on getting Ward some outfield time in smaller ball parks. That isn't going to help Murton gain any more playing time. It seems the baseball people with the Cubs have cooled on Murton a lot this year. I assume they have areason for that. Yes, I'm sure the Cubs "baseball people" have had reasons for doing all the incredibly stupid things they've done over the years. Unfortunately, having a reason for doing something doesn't make it the correct thing to do. Surely we've all learned over the years to be skeptical of any reasons behind this organizations actions. Well, Lou for one, hasn't been with the Cubs for years and he's the one making out the lineup card. Why isn't Lou seeing that Murton potential? Yeah, and in 2003 Dusty hadn't been with the Cubs before and that turned out swimmingly. He had never been tainted by the Cubs organization and made all the right decisions during his tenure. Lou has never favored veterans before and is infallible when filling out lineup cards. The Cubs baseball people have changed numerous times over the past 99 years, but with extremely similar results. From the top down, this organization needs an overhaul in philosophy. If turnover in personnel doesn't change the philosophy of an organization, what will? I'm hoping the ownership change. But the Cubs theme song, with apologies to The Who, has been "Won't Get Fooled Again": "meet the new boss, same as the old boss". They keep hiring crusty old school baseball men. Predictably, they make the same mistakes that their predecessors made. The Cubs need, and have for a long time, an infusion of open minded, forward thinking baseball men. Until that happens, the philosophy will remain stagnant.

Youre right. It does give us a better chance to win. The only reason why you would go with Pie and Murton over Jones and Floyd is defense and I think right now we can use every part of offense we can get. Since when are Jones and Floyd automatic offensive improvements over Murton? They are each still sub 800 OPS OF with checkered pasts (Jones usually isn't very good and Floyd usually can't stay healthy). Lets completely ignore Murtons sub 700 OPS though. I think he's talking beyond their small sample of ABs from this year. Three year splits: Floyd: 261/347/466 Murton: 303/370/462 Floyd's number have been trending down as he's getting old. Murton is on the rise. I still fail to see how Floyd is the sure-fire better option both long-term and short-term. I don't think Floyd is a good long term solution but the more I see of Murton, the more I'm not sure he's the long term solution either. I think Lou right now is handling it about as well as can be expected given what Hendry has given him. He's even planning on getting Ward some outfield time in smaller ball parks. That isn't going to help Murton gain any more playing time. It seems the baseball people with the Cubs have cooled on Murton a lot this year. I assume they have areason for that. Yes, I'm sure the Cubs "baseball people" have had reasons for doing all the incredibly stupid things they've done over the years. Unfortunately, having a reason for doing something doesn't make it the correct thing to do. Surely we've all learned over the years to be skeptical of any reasons behind this organizations actions. Well, Lou for one, hasn't been with the Cubs for years and he's the one making out the lineup card. Why isn't Lou seeing that Murton potential? Yeah, and in 2003 Dusty hadn't been with the Cubs before and that turned out swimmingly. He had never been tainted by the Cubs organization and made all the right decisions during his tenure. Lou has never favored veterans before and is infallible when filling out lineup cards. The Cubs baseball people have changed numerous times over the past 99 years, but with extremely similar results. From the top down, this organization needs an overhaul in philosophy.

Youre right. It does give us a better chance to win. The only reason why you would go with Pie and Murton over Jones and Floyd is defense and I think right now we can use every part of offense we can get. Since when are Jones and Floyd automatic offensive improvements over Murton? They are each still sub 800 OPS OF with checkered pasts (Jones usually isn't very good and Floyd usually can't stay healthy). Lets completely ignore Murtons sub 700 OPS though. I think he's talking beyond their small sample of ABs from this year. Three year splits: Floyd: 261/347/466 Murton: 303/370/462 Floyd's number have been trending down as he's getting old. Murton is on the rise. I still fail to see how Floyd is the sure-fire better option both long-term and short-term. I don't think Floyd is a good long term solution but the more I see of Murton, the more I'm not sure he's the long term solution either. I think Lou right now is handling it about as well as can be expected given what Hendry has given him. He's even planning on getting Ward some outfield time in smaller ball parks. That isn't going to help Murton gain any more playing time. It seems the baseball people with the Cubs have cooled on Murton a lot this year. I assume they have areason for that. Yes, I'm sure the Cubs "baseball people" have had reasons for doing all the incredibly stupid things they've done over the years. Unfortunately, having a reason for doing something doesn't make it the correct thing to do. Surely we've all learned over the years to be skeptical of any reasons behind this organizations actions.

I'd also probably pick the Brewers because of depth and the fast start.

Well, yeah, when Lee ages and Fielder is in his prime, Fielder will outproduce Lee. Who's arguing otherwise? But this year, no rational person would take Fielder over Lee (for this season, discounting the age difference moving forward). I would really have a hard time taking Lee over Fielder for this season going forward. Lee's numbers are better right now, but he isn't going to hit .410 all year, and when he starts hitting .320, if he isn't hitting more home runs, Fielder will be at the worst, even with him. Well, I think you'd be mistaken to take Lee over Fielder for this season. Even without many homeruns, Lee is out-slugging Fielder .619 to .597. He has 19 extra-base hits, while Fielder has 16. I believe the homeruns will take care of themselves, but, if not, you can hit for some power without them. (Though I do agree Lee will need to increase his homerun output) But some of that slugging percentage difference is derived from some singles that Lee won't be getting all season. As long as he's hitting .410, he outslugs Fielder by 20 points, but what happens when he's hitting .330? Yeah, that's why included the extra base hits -- singles do count in slugging and that's the reason Lee is out-slugging Fielder (batting average differences, that is). Of course, extra base hits isn't the entire story -- total bases, excepting singles, has Lee at 36 and Fielder at 50. (I hope my math's right there, I'm tired) Though I think it's likely that even as Lee's batting average drops to a more sustainable number, it'll still stay a decent amount ahead of Fielder's. Which means some of that bases difference will be made up by the lowly single. And, as this is a predictive thread (at least it is now) I think it's quite likely Lee will increase his homeruns as he has hit the ball consistently hard.

Well, yeah, when Lee ages and Fielder is in his prime, Fielder will outproduce Lee. Who's arguing otherwise? But this year, no rational person would take Fielder over Lee (for this season, discounting the age difference moving forward). I would really have a hard time taking Lee over Fielder for this season going forward. Lee's numbers are better right now, but he isn't going to hit .410 all year, and when he starts hitting .320, if he isn't hitting more home runs, Fielder will be at the worst, even with him. Well, I think you'd be mistaken to take Lee over Fielder for this season. Even without many homeruns, Lee is out-slugging Fielder .619 to .597. He has 19 extra-base hits, while Fielder has 16. I believe the homeruns will take care of themselves, but, if not, you can hit for some power without them. (Though I do agree Lee will need to increase his homerun output)

Well, yeah, when Lee ages and Fielder is in his prime, Fielder will outproduce Lee. Who's arguing otherwise? But this year, no rational person would take Fielder over Lee (for this season, discounting the age difference moving forward).

Two tacos for $.99. 'Nuff said.

it's based in D.C. , but we have one here in State College. It's right down the street from where I work Ah, thanks.

Where's Five Guys? Never heard of it. Jack in the Box > In and Out.

Yay!

no kidding...thank god there is no game tomorrow, I have my tax law final on tuesday You don't have to study for that. It will be easy. Ha, mine was actually easier than I thought it would be. Not that I did great or anything... Well, it's not alot of substance, just procedural crap mostly. Figuring out gross income, then adjusted gross income, bla bla Our prof really hit substance a lot; however, the final was almost all procedure. I think I over-studied or perhaps studied the harder stuff too much. I mean, I can read the code fine.

Ugh. Though, at first, I thought he caught it and it might be a double play. [/i]

MURTON!!!!!

no kidding...thank god there is no game tomorrow, I have my tax law final on tuesday You don't have to study for that. It will be easy. Ha, mine was actually easier than I thought it would be. Not that I did great or anything...

I like Lou and think he's way better than Dusty (not saying much) but he over-manages and hasn't used the bullpen well. Both of which came into play that inning.