Exile on Waveland

I'm not so sure. If Patterson gets on a roll, and Pie hits 260/320, we could afford a Murton in LF. Now if for some crazy reason Sing gets a call up and hits the street running, or Huff is delivered to our doorsteps, we could have a very productive and young OF You want Pie, Patterson, and Murton as your OF next year :shock: ? That's got 4th place written all over it. Sorry, but that would be just terrible. A career dead-ender in RF (cory), a young and not ready CF in Pie, and a AAA player in LF in Murton who will come back to earth (even though he really hasn't flown very high in the first place). That's even worse than what we left camp with this year. Please tell me you were just kidding. I'm not. I dont see Patterson as a "career dead-ender", and for Pie, it might be a jump, but I would accept it. Murton is the iffy part, but as I stated, Huff (or perhaps even Floyd via trade) would make a very nice addition. that would make Pie/Patterson 2/3 of our OF, which you seem terrified of. This cannot be the Cubs outfield next year if they want to contend. Pie needs to play another season in the minors. Now, I'm all for Patterson and Murton if they're grouped with a big bat in the other spot (Dunn/Giles/etc).

Haha, you don't realize the horror that would be Gary Hughes as our GM, which is the likely candidate if Hendry is canned. He'd put Bowden to shame. Someone post that BA roundtable again. Done Oh. My. God. Besides the insanely prehistoric baseball philosophy, he comes off like a close-minded, arrogant half-wit. I had never read that before; Hughes as our GM would be a horrifying disaster. Wow. I hardly know what to say.

I've been at acceptance for quite a long time now. I pretty much entered that phase during the non-moves during the offseason.

That can't actually be true. Surely.

Dunn can't hit with runners on, he won't do anything here. Oops.

I think MLB had the right idea with contraction -- expansion is the absolute last thing the league needs. It needs to be at least four teams contracted, and I'd probably recommend six or even eight.

he's a lot different from dusty. Sold!

Depodesta is a Beane disciple. I can't envision any scenario where he'd hire a vet-loving, walk-hating manager like Baker.

Who is Gonzalez? Maybe its too early in the morning for me but I seem to be swinging and missing at this name. Fredi Gonzalez. He's the thirdbase coach for the Atlanta Braves. Here's a link to his bio. The Cubs interviewed him before hiring Baker. See here. What's really depressing is that all four of those guys would have been better options than Baker. That list is very depressing. I wanted Showalter or Macha, now, I think Gonzalez would be a great choice.

I agree it's very likely Murton has been lucky. But, if it's not a hot-streak, it's a luck-streak. Either way, he's producing, so he should play until the streak ends. For cripes sake, he's got a .500 OBP and a 1.028 OPS -- and a .417 average, which is what Dusty values. Those numbers will obviously go down, a lot, but there's not excuse for him not to be starting over Macias. But, I forgot, Macias is a small and (sorta) fast veteran, so he belongs in centerfield.

I've got an idea how to Dusty-proof the team: Get a new manager. But, going on your assumption, you have to do two things: 1. Shore up the bullpen. This way Dusty can't overuse one or two guys, but will instead use them all. Oh, no backwards splits ala Remlinger. 2. Fix the bench. No total scrubs, and no still-developing young players. If you decide to start a young player, make sure no viable candidate is there to replace him at the first sign of trouble. Grieve is a good back-up option for Murton here, as he's not a "Dusty" type player. I agree with Vance -- a late congrats on the interview thing, from someone you hardly know incorporeally, much less corporeally -- that manager-proofing a team is a bad premise. But, it's something that probably needs to be done, as Hendry doesn't appear ready to fire Baker.

You know what? You're right. You would know better than professional sports trainers with years of experience and firsthand knowledge of Nomar's swing and step. This isn't basketball, Nomar's not exerting himself the entire time he's in the game. He has just as much chance of re-injuring himself in the 1st as the 9th. If you can play 7 innings of baseball, you can play 9. What reasons are there for him not to play everyday? It's not the swings I'd be worried about. It's more the quick, lateral movements of playing SS and the starting/stopping of running the bases. (He didn't get hurt swinging, he got hurt coming out of the box -- which I saw in person, unfortunately) I'll admit I really have no idea what I'm talking about, but days off would seeminly reduce the risk of re-injury. Today wasn't the difference between playing 7 or 9 innings -- which I would agree is pointless -- but between playing and taking the day off. But it's not like the risk builds the more he plays. Isn't he just as likely to hurt himself at SS tomorrow, whether he played today or not? I say yes, which is why not playing him because of the injury is dumb. I don't know; I'm inclined to defer to the Cubs on this one. I think it's possible that too much exertion could result in some kind of build-up effect. That has to be where the club is coming from. Trust me, though, I want him out there. Because, if Nomar's playing, Neifi's not.

And another four year contract? I'm not saying that Dusty should stay, but sometimes one in the hand is worth two in the bush eh? If it's Dusty in hand, I'll gladly take whatever's in the bush.

You know what? You're right. You would know better than professional sports trainers with years of experience and firsthand knowledge of Nomar's swing and step. This isn't basketball, Nomar's not exerting himself the entire time he's in the game. He has just as much chance of re-injuring himself in the 1st as the 9th. If you can play 7 innings of baseball, you can play 9. What reasons are there for him not to play everyday? It's not the swings I'd be worried about. It's more the quick, lateral movements of playing SS and the starting/stopping of running the bases. (He didn't get hurt swinging, he got hurt coming out of the box -- which I saw in person, unfortunately) I'll admit I really have no idea what I'm talking about, but days off would seeminly reduce the risk of re-injury. Today wasn't the difference between playing 7 or 9 innings -- which I would agree is pointless -- but between playing and taking the day off.

I'm in. Go intelligent, progressive management! And Street, who's on my fantasy team.

As opposed to getting hurt again in the field? How do you handle a player made of fine China? Play him every day? Easing Garciaparra in is a good idea. Let's hope Baker uses the same discretion for Wood and Williamson, so there's no repeat of the Fox fiasco.

I agree. The Cubs have had injuries, sure, but there is NO excuse to be behind the Brewers and in fourth place at this point in the season. The Brewers very well may be a threat in a couple of seasons, but they're still rebuilding. The Cubs have too many resources and too much money invested in players to accept this. Somebody has to be held accountable. Ugh, the Brewers.

The Cardinals would beat the White Sox. I doubt it happens, though, as I can't see the Sox winning two series to get there. As to which team I'd root for, the Sox. An explanation is in order, I think; I'm originally from Evansville, IN (southern Indiana and big, big Cards territory) and have lived in B-town for going on eight years. I hardly know a Sox fan -- seriously I think I've met like three. I know tons of Cards fans, especially my old E'ville aquantances. Also, I absolutely despise the "smartest baseball fans" garbage the media spews out in relation the the Cards. Besides, Cubs-Sox is totally different if you're not from Chicago or currently living there.

Game over. Cubs lose. Again. Go Colts and Blackhawks.

Hmm, who exactly could you be talking about? (Educated guess based on The General pic in your avatar) Anyway, you're exactly right, interim's are dangerous. It might be different if the Cubs truly view Little or Spier as a long-term solution --long-term being something like three or four years, because that's how it goes anymore. Otherwise, a situation like you mentioned with Sandberg would be very appealing. I don't like the peripherals that go with having an interim manager, but that's not to say I don't hope to see one at Wrigley managing the Cubs this season.

Yeah, I don't see it. I dream it, but I don't see it.

A little late, but on the subject of soccer injuries: About a month ago now, I go up for a headball and a thug on the other team shoves me in the small of the back. I go flying and try to catch my fall with my right hand. I was rather unsuccessful; I completely broke my ulna in half and also broke the radius. I then called for a sub and drove myself to the hospital -- nobody on the team even knew I was injured until I called one of them. That's right, I'm stuffed full of machismo. Anyway, to make matters worse, this happened on my first day of law school -- literally about an hour after class ended. And, naturally, I'm right handed. (Note: IU has a summer-start program consisting of one class, for those of you wondering how I started so early). On the bullpen topic, spending big free agent money on relievers isn't typically the way to go. Now, I wouldn't refuse B.J. Ryan, but, with some exceptions, 3-year, 10-million dollar contracts for a reliever aren't good ideas.

Why must the yelling at players come behind doors -- which certainly wasn't the case last year with Patterson -- but it's quite all right to throw your pitching coach under the bus publicly? The thing is, as manager, he has to take responsibility no matter what -- even if this is Rothschild's department. That's leadership, that's what a good manager does. Simply say, "It's my team, I'm the manager, so I'm responsible for what goes on between the lines." That's the appropriate response. I'm counting the days until I no longer have to hear Baker's incessant excuse-making.

If the Dodgers fire Tracy, the Cubs should hire him. Stat.

Did you mean to say "Larry Bird was great at watching Rick Carlisle coach?" Go Hoosiers, by they way.