Sammy Sofa

Fair enough.

I don't think the pictures are conclusive either way. Hell, they make it look like if the ball was in play then Alou had absolutely zero chance of catching it since he's reaching into the stands.

I thought FI hinged on where the ball is. If the contact between Alou and Bartman occurred because both are going after a ball in the stands isn't it moot? I thought FI occurs when a player interferes with a player trying to make a play on the field.

I kinda did. Imagining the worst case scenario with anyone is impossible to avoid. Expecting or predicting it was going to happen didn't happen and shouldn't happen. I can safely say that nobody here predicted that this type of season would happen the first year of his new contract (short of a catastrophic injury occurring). If you want to claim that the bold part was referring to something like what actually happened (an .892 OPS player going to .569 at age 31) instead of talking about a steady (and even steep) decline over the course of his contract, well, I simply don't believe you. I mean, I wasn't arguing against the idea of Dunn declining; it happens to everyone and he is technically on the wrong side of 30. I was pissed at the time because the WS had gotten him for only 4 years and I really wanted the Cubs to sign him for 3-4 years if they could. The thinking behind that is that while they'd be likely dealing with decline they likely wouldn't get saddled with a player toppling off of a cliff. Well, turns out I was probably wrong in that assumption (part of me still thinks this might not have occurred if he had stayed in the NL). Of course all of that hinged on me being convinced that Fielder was going to end up in the AL before or during this season (and then be locked up by whoever snagged him) and that Pujols was going to be re-signed by the Cardinals before ST. Right now I'm glad I was wrong on all of that and I really hope I get banned due to being spectacularly wrong.

Man, you didn't warn me about THIS. I want to be banned because the Cubs have someone amazing at 1B, not because their assortment of garbage by default beats out a guy who inexplicably fell off of the Ultimate Cliff of Baseball Doom at age 31.

I think I demanded to be banned if Dunn doesn't outproduce the Cubs' 1B production by the time his contract with the Sox is done. I really, really hope I'm banned for something better than some mope(s) outproducing something like a .750 OPS.

I was kind of indifferent to the MLB Network before but I [expletive] love it now.

I'm struggling to think of a more amazing night of non-Cubs baseball than what I've seen tonight. 3 of 4 games delivered just [expletive] fantastic drama.

HOLY [expletive]. This night was amazing.

I was a huge fan of Alou's but a lot of people's perception of him was tainted by how bad he was that first year with the Cubs and he had been touted as such a big signing. 2003 was also well below those numbers he was putting up in his peaks years of 1997-2001, plus he was always so dicey in the field and was a monster on the basepaths.

You can't tell if his glove is open or not in that picture. Bad fielder or not, it's a pretty safe assumption that a fielder's glove is going to be open mere milliseconds before the ball is supposed to land. Not when it's a bad fielder trying to make a tremendous catch.

I don't know, that's a pretty big stadium. Wikipedia says that their capacity is nearly 55,000 with standing room.

Well, it's not a stretch given that he wasn't a very good fielder. Hell, the more I look at that picture I'm wondering why OMC thinks it's such a trump card. His glove isn't open and he's leaping against an oddly angled wall; it's not a stretch at all to say that Moises Alou doesn't make that catch. I think he would have caught it but it would have been a great catch. This may be a dumb question but if he does, is that catch itself any where near as memorable as the whole Bartman incident was. Probably not because it would have been the second out of the inning and there was still plenty of time for Florida to come back but I thought Florida had 2 men on at the time and if he makes the grab the rally is thwarted and it probably would have been the best defensive play in the game that sends the Cubs to the World Series. Dumb hypothetical but it crossed my mind. 1 guy on base (Pierre at 2nd).

Wait, isn't this redundant? How many people are saying Alou definitely wouldn't have caught it if there were no people there? Of course he likely would have caught the ball if there were no fans; a batter is likely to get a hit if there are no defenders besides the pitcher, too. Seems like most of the debate is whether or not fan interference took place. That said, even that screen grab doesn't settle anything. Unless the ball suddenly drops straight down or Alou is still rising up/back in that shot it looks like it easily could have hit off the top of the glove or popped out if he managed to get it in there. if Alou catches the ball in the presence of no fans, but does not catch it in the presence of fans, isn't that by definition fan interference? Not if he's reaching into the stands. That was always the debate before, was when the fan interference occurred and if it obstructed a ball in play or in the stands.

Well, it's not a stretch given that he wasn't a very good fielder. Hell, the more I look at that picture I'm wondering why OMC thinks it's such a trump card. His glove isn't open and he's leaping against an oddly angled wall; it's not a stretch at all to say that Moises Alou doesn't make that catch.

Wait, isn't this redundant? How many people are saying Alou definitely wouldn't have caught it if there were no people there? Of course he likely would have caught the ball if there were no fans; a batter is likely to get a hit if there are no defenders besides the pitcher, too. Seems like most of the debate is whether or not fan interference took place. That said, even that screen grab doesn't settle anything. Unless the ball suddenly drops straight down or Alou is still rising up/back in that shot it looks like it easily could have hit off the top of the glove or popped out if he managed to get it in there.

Yeah, I remember WGN making a big deal in 2007 that their radio broadcasts were going to be finally synced up with the national TV broadcast.

There's not now or there wasn't then? It was saying that his reaction time to the play might have been a bit slower if he was focusing on the radio broadcast he was listening to, if there was a delay. What are some of the other errors it was "full" of?

Zam.

Really wish they had talked to Gonzalez.

I'm sure he can't completely avoid ESPN... and the promos have been running every break for the last week. I'm not sure what you're thinking he could have done.

Fuckin' Unitarians.

It's not like he has to watch.

Uh-oh, Aramis booked a flight home before they actually lost game 7. KAPLAN JUST EXPLODED SOMEWHERE.

He can do nothing. He's tried to do the only thing he can: the silent treatment. To this day he could probably net a nice paycheck for an in-depth interview. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-09-26/site/ct-spt-0927-bartman-chicago--20110927_1_cubs-five-outs-scapegoat-bartman-alex-gibney