Sammy Sofa

Plus already having Jones, Markakis, Scott and Roberts, plus looking for a rebound year from Wieters. That's not a bad team at all.

Shut up, this is important.

Of course not.

As much against the Bradley signing as I was, probably the worst thing that could have happened to Bradley was him being hyped as a big-time power hitting "RBI machine" who would slug like crazy in the middle of our lineup. When healthy he's generally been a very productive player, but more in the Fukudome way and not in the Adam Dunn way. People probably would have been more accepting of him had they expected a better (though less healthy) version of Kosuke rather than the next Sammy Sosa. I don't think it mattered whether the fans accepted him or not. It wasn't the fans that got to him (and if it was, I wish they would have got on him even more because he was really good at home and terrible on the road). The Cubs signed a guy with severe mental issues, so it really wasn't a surprise when he went off considering he was on a losing team with a manager like Lou. It was a gamble by Hendry that, predictably, didn't pay off. In hindsight, the best thing to do probably would have been to simply keep the 97 win team together, and if a need came along, fill it during the season. Unfortunately, those 3 fateful games in October yielded a knee jerk reaction that the team wasnt left handed enough, and we needed a lefty. Several were available, but none were particularly impressive. Bradley was probably the best overall player of the bunch, but was both physically and mentally fragile, both of which came out in his short time as a Cub. From an offensive standpoint, theres no question that Adam Dunn was the best choice, however, there were legit concerns about his fielding ability, and to this day, I dont think that right field at Wrigley would have been the best place for him. I wonder how things would have turned out if theyd just tried to squeeze a but more juice out of Jim Edmonds in 2009 and kept Pie in Iowa as insurance. Pie was out of options. Another example of the kind of non-obvious damage that can occur when incentives are misaligned. Hendry knew that Piniella wouldn't commit to Pie. But Lou is gone and Pie just turned 26 and has been decently productive in the AL East. On paper the Orioles 2011 lineup isn't that horrible. Granted, it's relying on key vets staying healthy, but I was surprised looking at it yesterday.

He was about as fragile as they come, however, which was my primary concern about the signing. I wasn't in favor of the Bradley signing and it had little to do with team chemistry - it was mostly due to the very high risk of injury and the possibility that his production when healthy would drop considerably from the amazing numbers he had in Texas. I wasn't big on Ibanez or Abreu either (age for both of them), but Adam Dunn was available that offseason and he's who I wanted. I knew the defense would be atrocious in right, but I felt like he'd play much more than Bradley and be roughly as productive offensively. Less upside to a Dunn signing, but much less risk - and I still think it would have been the better signing. Agreed. I was a fan of signing Bradley with the idea he would have been hitting #2 (yeah, I know the Cubs foolishly viewed him as a #5 based on his 2008 numbers) with at least a very productive OBP with a little pop, but he was a concern injury-wise. I've always been a fan of picking up Dunn, and wanted them to do it then with the idea of moving him to 1st after Lee.

I still think team chemistry is largely bunk. Obviously, it's ideal if everyone gets along, but the 2009 Cubs didn't tank because Bradley was a jerk.

Unless it's an injury I can't possibly imagine what else you think it is.

That was a start, but I'm still not convinced that there was much there. I'm sticking that with my theory that it was an appearance to effectively returning the favor for Beck's donation to Pujol's charity coupled with Pujols assuming that Beck is reeeetarded and wanting to help him out. Now if he genuinely supports and believes someone like Beck, OK, we're getting somewhere.

Yes.

Case in point: Michael Jordan. Tiger, Ali, Ruth, etc., etc.. I'm wary of Pujols because he's so great yet apparently also a great person. He must be hiding something really horrible. Like a whole closet full of used syringes? No, steroids are awesome. A closet full of dead hookers next to his collection of Nazi memorabilia would be more what I'm talking about.

Case in point: Michael Jordan. Tiger, Ali, Ruth, etc., etc.. I'm wary of Pujols because he's so great yet apparently also a great person. He must be hiding something really horrible.

Now, scowly is good. The bigger an [expletive] he becomes the greater he will be.

No, they haven't. For a guy who handles the ball as much as him, it's very good. He has a better turnover ratio than both Wade and LeBron, even with his high usage rate (2nd in the NBA behind Kobe, who only turns it over slightly less). I have high expectations, mainly because it seems like he has more "dumb" turnovers than those guys. Are you mocking the type of arguments that you normally feast on? Not really, because I recognize fully that this is based only on me watching Rose more than those other guys and, like I said, my high expectations for him. I demand that he loses the ball less by dribbling off of himself or losing control or whatnot. I DEMAND IT.

I'll be there. No, you can't touch me. But I will touch you.

Did you hear the sad Goose Island news?

No, they haven't. For a guy who handles the ball as much as him, it's very good. He has a better turnover ratio than both Wade and LeBron, even with his high usage rate (2nd in the NBA behind Kobe, who only turns it over slightly less). I have high expectations, mainly because it seems like he has more "dumb" turnovers than those guys.

OR A SKINNY JIM HENDRY, AMIRITE?!?!

? Because of the TOs? He's had a solid game other than that. Free throw shooting is absolutely killing us. Yeah if you don't count his 22 turnovers, dude [expletive] owned it Agreed. 10 TOs is inexcusible and cannot be considered a good game because of that. That said, being a top 15 (out of 64) PG in TO rate is nothing to sneeze at, so I'm willing to overlook a stinker like this. BTW, 64/64 in TO rate for PGs.....Chris Duhon. Rose's TO's in general have been inexcusable this year.

Also a good point.

Put on waivers according to Sullivan. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0329-cubs-bits--20110328,0,5658997.story Okay, that's a huge difference... not if another team claims him of course, but at least we're trying to keep him in the system rather than cutting ties completely. It's actually not a difference at all, in baseball. The terms are used interchangeably. If a player has been placed on waivers, he has been "waived." You may be confusing the term with a different sport: football. If a player is "waived" in the NFL, he becomes an unrestricted free agent (if he is not claimed by another team). Therefore, the term "waived" has the connotation of being released, in that sport. In baseball, "waived" = placed on waivers. Good points.

When the hell did a woman ever post here.

Put on waivers according to Sullivan. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0329-cubs-bits--20110328,0,5658997.story

That guy even hates Pujols? What a monster.

Harumphharumphharumph.

It's a safe bet to just assume that any Cardinal embraces the worst traits of humanity. (Not you, Albert.)