Sammy Sofa

Really hope the Cubs have more in them besides 3 runs, because this is looking ugly.

Nice start. Will they have enough to escape the vortex of blech that is Doug Davis?

Yup, no other team ever does this.

Really? You don't think the idea that the Ricketts family, billionaires, severely underestimated the financial situation of the Cubs, but YOU could see it clearly when they couldn't...is up for debate? yes. Anyone with a half-assed economics degree could have seen this coming. And their direct actions show that they underestimated the costs of being a team owner. No, they really don't. Your expectations for owners that have owned the team for a season and a half and inherited a bloated, mis-spent payroll (that's only now finally going to start coming off the books en masse after this season and the next) are unrealistic. That you think what's happening now is something that has taken the Ricketts by surprise, or could have been avoided, is absurd. Yes, Hendry should be gone already...but here's the reality you need to face: this season would be little different, if at all, if Hendry had been fired after last season. And to think that they had no idea of the issues of Wrigley itself is even more ridiculous. And ticket prices aren't the problem. No, they're not helping, but the crappy team is far and away the reason they're not selling tickets. Put a good team on the field and people will, for better or for worse, pay the higher ticket rates. Once the team is competitive again the higher ticket prices are moot. If the tickets were significantly cheaper this season than what they are the stands would still look half-empty.

Well, to be blunt, you're wrong. The place is literally falling apart and it's largely inadequate to deal with the demands placed on it when the Cubs are actually drawing in sellout or near-sellout crowds. Improving Wrigley would ultimately mean making more money down the line, which helps the team. In what way is it inadequate? Perhaps your expectations are higher than mine. The seating capacity is too small, there's too many terrible seats, the various amenities are too spaced out and/or too few and, most importantly, it is literally falling apart.

When you have a GM who just loves to re-sign non-productive former Cubs each year just to give them a paycheck, who could be surprised. Wood isn't productive? What are you babbling about? Reading is fundamental. 1-3 record for an overpaid non-productive thrower is what I'd expect. Try to keep up. This is a joke, right?

Well, to be blunt, you're wrong. The place is literally falling apart and it's largely inadequate to deal with the demands placed on it when the Cubs are actually drawing in sellout or near-sellout crowds. Improving Wrigley would ultimately mean making more money down the line, which helps the team.

When you have a GM who just loves to re-sign non-productive former Cubs each year just to give them a paycheck, who could be surprised. Wood isn't productive? What are you babbling about?

Really? You don't think the idea that the Ricketts family, billionaires, severely underestimated the financial situation of the Cubs, but YOU could see it clearly when they couldn't...is up for debate?

Burning a bunch of one's clothing isn't an opinion.

You should blame him. These are the actions of an idiot, a child or a maniac.

Do it.

I'm not sure about Beltran, but when Vlad was a free agent the Cubs didn't sign him because they already had Alou and Sosa on the corners. I desperately wanted the Cubs to trade Alou to make room for Vlad, but the Cubs weren't that creative. Ah, that's right; I thought he was a FA after '04, not '03. For some reason I remember a lot of Cubs talk regarding him, though.

Well then you just aren't remembering accurately. He did a lot of things wrong, like hiring Lynch and Hendry and allowing Baker to come here. But he did spend and allow spending, he just got weird about it at times. What major free agents did the Cubs acquire during his entire time with the Cubs? Was Alou the biggest one? MacPhail did allow spending but he wasn't willing to spend on any one player. It was a widely played story that one of the biggest reasons why the Cubs were suddenly landing free agents in the 2006-2007 offseason was because MacPhail was gone. It could be that all those reports are wrong (and I think they are probably slightly overplayed), but they are out there. I recall the Cubs "finishing" second in the bidding for a lot of major free agents. They were willing to spend big money, just not obscene money that it usually takes to land one of those guys. That and they did have one of their own "those guys" in Sosa. Right, but then what about Vlad and Beltran immediately post-Sosa? I had always heard that the Cubs' efforts to sign them when they were up for deals in the mid 00's were nixed because of what effectively amounted to self-imposed salary caps.

Yup. 3-0 may as well be 30-0 against Halladay. Yeah no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit. Oh wait we suck and we're facing Halladay so its allowed to happen. Carry on Granted it's only 3 games, but the Cubs have a surprisingly decent line against Halladay: .280 .316 .467 .783 Though he's rocking the 13.00 SO/BB.

No. It's stupid and terrible. PS: No creepy PM's, please. Thanks.

No kidding. Seriously. Kid was blessed with a swing from the gods: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liS3kGvQ9Bk&feature=player_detailpage#t=183s very pretty swing, but a 502 foot HR with a metal bat? Is still very, very impressive given the circumstances.

Game 2 vs. Spurs: 25-7-6 (2nd Scorer: Gibson -15) Game 3 vs. Spurs: 28-8-7 (2nd scorer: Gooden - 13) Game 4 vs. Spurs: 24-6-6 (2nd scorer: Gooden - 11) 9/21 - L 9/23 - L 10/30 - L Oh, right, so he had a terrible game then.

No. Consider Wilt's absolutely mind boggling numbers and he wasn't even considered the best player of his era. It's safe to say that no one will have that overwhelming statistical dominance ever again. His era is key. Wilt was an amazing player, but he dominated largely because he was a freak-show because of the era he played in.

Fantasy stats IMO Yeah, I know. I used stats. How's this for supporting cast? Scotty Pippen in his second year, Horace Grant in his second year, BJ Armstrong, John Paxson, Will Perdue, Bill Cartwright, Charles Davis, Jack Haley, Ed Nealy, Jeff Sanders, Clifford Lett, Craig Hodges Bron-Bron would have killed for that team over the course of his career up until this season.

Probably not. Not unless they were on almost nothing but garbage teams their whole career and still put otherworldly numbers.

I'm thinking 3, too.

Of course. Obviously the lack of championship is going to knock him down a peg, but it's not like he's be in terrible company never having won a title. Ewing, Barkley, Wilkins, Iverson, Baylor, Maravich, Miller, Stockton, Malone...who is really going to knock any of these guys as not being some of the very greatest of all time? That'd be pretty terrible company for Lebron all things considered. Why? Those are some of the very greatest players of all time. The same way Wilt is knocked down for "only" winning 2 titles. If Lebron wins no titles? He's on a completely different level than the rest of those guys. He'd blow Dan Marino out of the water in terms of having a black mark on his career for not winning a championship...like literally lapping the rest of the field. But that's not what bcl was asking. He was asking if LeBron could be considered one of the greatest players ever if he never wins a title, so I listed a bunch of players considered some of the very greatest NBA players ever who also never won a title. Of course he wouldn't be as highly rated if he never wins one; that's just common sense.

I can't tell if DivineBovine is really overrating the Heat or really underrating a bunch of other teams (though yes, Barkely was screwed with [expletive] supporting players throughout his prime, probably more than anyone in NBA history with that much talent).

So what was Jordan's excuse? The last year before the Bulls first championship, he averaged 37/7/7 with 3 steals in the playoffs. The 1990 Bulls are no comparison to the 2011 Heat in terms of supporting cast. And don't bring up the fact that BJ Armstrong started an All-Star game. Any other rules?