bring stone back

No, that is why sacrifice bunts that aren't executed well are stupid.

Because he hit a knee high change up for a homerun off a terrible starting pitcher? That would have been gone anywhere - including Petco.

Yeah, that homer that Johnson hit will keep him in the lineup for a good two weeks. Absolutely unreal. Thanks Bruce. If you're going to complain about Johnson playing over Pie at least wait until the Cubs are facing a right hander...

What about Cedeno, Ronny? He's not bad.

i don't even bother asking that any more. when felix pie has a solid game and then sits for the next five, or marmol comes in to shut the door on a five-run lead, it's just par for the course. lou was all right last year but he is doing a pretty damn lousy job managing this year's club. The Marmol thing I get and is a bit puzzling but exactly how many "solid" games has Pie had this year?

So in your opinion, Ryan Theriot does not deserve to play then? Is this Little League? Are we trying to be fair? The argument has nothing to do with what Ryan Theriot does and does not deserve. Neither of them deserve the position, and to be quite frank it's not reassuring that management went into the season with the two of them as our only realistic options at shortstop. It's about playing your best players in order to put yourself in position to win the most baseball games. Cedeno has been a better hitter, fielder and baserunner than Theriot, and if you start looking past AVG/OBP (the ONLY things that Theriot's defenders will ever bring up) to things like fielding prowess and baserunning and, oh, extra base hits, the difference becomes even more pronounced. And, fine, all of it's a small sample size. But going on Theriot's performance last season it's hard to make a case for Theriot being the starting shortstop that doesn't require ignoring his on-field performance. No, this isn't little leagues and I'm not "trying to be fair" - I'm basing playing time based on production. Right now Theriot is producing and should (not deserve) but should be playing. Frankly, Cedeno should be, as well at 2B for the time being. (I wish Cedeno was really good defensively as a lot of you think. He's got good range and a good arm but how soon we forget about the inconsistencies and errant throws he displayed so often in the past and did tonight). Using the argument you laid out above - Reed Johnson should also be starting every day, right? This isn't the little leagues, they should play the best players who give them the best chance to win, correct?

Saying he would find starts for Cedeno then benching him for a week does. Actually, it doesn't at all. At no point did he say "I will find him starts within the next week" or give a definitive timetable. I think it's reasonable to infer that he meant soon and more regular starting than he was already getting, and not that at some indeterminate point in the future he would occasionally start. Your mileage may vary, I guess. You clearly drew your own conclusion from his quote - it does not mean he's a liar. Say you don't like him, the way he's handling the lineups, etc...but calling him a liar from one quote is unnecessary and wrong.

So in your opinion, Ryan Theriot does not deserve to play then?

Saying he would find starts for Cedeno then benching him for a week does. Actually, it doesn't at all. At no point did he say "I will find him starts within the next week" or give a definitive timetable.

That's like saying Pitcher X is a fly ball pitcher - sure they were hit harder than you'd like and went over the fence and not in the outfielder's glove but he can't control that. Wuertz is getting crushed right now. Not really. Flyball pitcher = bad, groundball = good. which is not relevant to this discussion and not the question. The fact is Wuertz is getting drilled and you can't just ignore it because he's a groundball pitcher.

In a sport like baseball you can't say someone ALWAYS does x, y or z right. Albert Pujols does strike out with the bases loaded, Johan Santana gets shelled from time to time - even the greats do it. (No, I'm not labeling Theriot a great - far from it - but he is playing well thus far). He deserves credit the first 20+ games this year.

Were they not strikes?

That's like saying Pitcher X is a fly ball pitcher - sure they were hit harder than you'd like and went over the fence and not in the outfielder's glove but he can't control that. Wuertz is getting crushed right now.

ri-friggin-diculous. Milwaukee has a significantly better split against lefties than they do against righties: vs. RHP: .232 .298 .358 .656 vs. LHP: .290 .354 .534 .888 Don't insert logic into these discussions. It's much funner to call everyone in the organization stupid.

Chamberlain is better than Marmol.

You really think there is a chance of that happening? I don't. Soriano goes back to leadoff and that's just the way it is.

Where is she going? I'm always the last to know...

Why? Right now the only value he brings to this team is a late inning defensive replacement. Fukudome can play center in a pinch. Pie should be in AAA right now. I've heard the argument a lot here that he has nothing to prove at AAA anymore - obviously that's not true because whatever he achieved there has clearly not translated at all and he needs a refresher course. Give him new marching orders on his approach at the plate and let him have 4-5 plate appearances every day in Iowa for a month or so and go from there. As I said before, it would be one thing if he was making good contact and had a good approach but they weren't falling for him but that is clearly not the case at all. To say he is lost is an understatement.

I'll say Pie. thread continues.

Pie? Murton? I'll say Pie.

Wait, I have an even better idea. Let's bench our top position player prospect after 20 bad at-bats in favor of a journeyman outfielder who was cut in spring training, even though our team currently has one of the best offenses in the National League. If anything, the fact that we just scored 13 runs for two straight days should support the idea that Pie should be playing, since his struggles wouldn't affect us too much. 1) I'd say Soto is the best position player prospect right now. Prospect seems to be a relative term. 2) He's had more than 20 at bats. When Johnson comes "back to Earth" then you can start dividing playing time. If anything, this is a fantastic scenario for the Cubs. Johnson plays well, buys Pie some more time to get a few spot starts and works on his swing in hopes he shows something, anything at all offensively, in a month or so and they can then throw him out there a few more times. This is really not difficult to understand. Clearly the Cubs have not given up on Pie or the manager wouldn't be working with him personally so much and going out of their way to get him at bats in blowouts. I could see the argument if he was hitting the ball well and it they just weren't falling but Pie looks so overmatched it looks like "bleacher fan - win an at bat" give away. Honestly, has he even squared the ball up and hit one hard? I can think of a deep foul ball and 1 or 2 flyouts. That's it.

Really? Somebody should tell the Cubs then so they'll take him off the 25 man roster and use it for somebody else then. That's not how we do things. They need to keep him and only play him sporadically for two more years, robbing him of key developmental time. Otherwise, he'd go on to another team and be good, thus making them look bad. Is that other team a major league baseball team? If so, he wouldn't be good - at least not any time soon.

No way...I say we keep complaining about Reed Johnson getting turned around and misplaying a fly ball. After all, Felix could have caught that (ignoring the fact Felix would likely strike out if the ball was placed on a tee for him). Let's play, Felix - we're stunting his development! :roll:

Really? Somebody should tell the Cubs then so they'll take him off the 25 man roster and use it for somebody else then.

Who says they have given up on him? The comments from Lou and the extra work he is putting in with Pie himself suggests otherwise.