Sammy Sofa

Yeah, but that's playoff baseball pressure. That's not unique to being a Cub. It just strikes me as really ridiculous to think that players will fail or succumb to pressure because of the simple fact that they are playing for the Cubs. Again, look at the Yankees: do those players not face incredible pressure every time they make the playoffs despite how many WS their team has already won? What team DOESN'T face (at least faces significantly less than the Cubs) incredible pressure to perform in the playoffs?

I'm definitely much more optimistic that they will win it in my lifetime post-2003 than I was before. There's another thing I don't get, that more chances at making it have somehow made it less likely. And I don't think being a Cub in the post-season necessarily adds "more pressure" to a player, or at least not significantly. They're already going to be under a ton of pressure to begin with. Hell, look at the Yankees.

But it's not like the Cubs are more likely to blow situations like that BECAUSE of the basic fact that they're the Cubs. That's just ridiculous.

OK, this started off making sense, and then ended up like 30 different kinds of crazy.

I don't really see that it's possible to choose not to be a fan if you already are one. I guess that's kind of what I'm saying; it's pretty clear that the regular posters here are fans and I don't really "believe" it when they say they think or know for sure that the Cubs will never win a WS "ever again."

I never understand sentiments like this at all. If someone is convinced they'll never win another WS, then why be a fan of them? What's the point? Then it just becomes being a "fan" of misery, and I don't get that at all. I don't see why faith needs to come into the equation. I root for the Cubs because I like them. Doesn't have anything to do with whether or not I "believe" they will win. Sure, but an inherent part of rooting for a sports team is with the hope/faith/expectation/whatever that they will at some point win the whole damn thing, no matter how remote the odds. If you subtract that from the equation it seems like being a fan would then just be right up there with "oh, I like them because they have nice uniforms." I hope the Cubs win it one day, but I don't have any faith they will. I still don't get it. It's subjective, but if I ever convinced myself that they would never win a WS in my lifetime I'd stop investing so much time into them. To each their own, I guess.

I never understand sentiments like this at all. If someone is convinced they'll never win another WS, then why be a fan of them? What's the point? Then it just becomes being a "fan" of misery, and I don't get that at all. I don't see why faith needs to come into the equation. I root for the Cubs because I like them. Doesn't have anything to do with whether or not I "believe" they will win. Sure, but an inherent part of rooting for a sports team is with the hope/faith/expectation/whatever that they will at some point win the whole damn thing, no matter how remote the odds. If you subtract that from the equation it seems like being a fan would then just be right up there with "oh, I like them because they have nice uniforms."

Yeah, but that was 2006. This is 2010. This website has only existed since 2003. It's not difficult to see why there wouldn't be many posts in a game thread at this point. If this website had existed in any of the multitude of years prior to 2003 when the Cubs sucked and sucked hard you would have seen the same thing time and time again.

I never understand sentiments like this at all. If someone is convinced they'll never win another WS, then why be a fan of them? What's the point? Then it just becomes being a "fan" of misery, and I don't get that at all.

On a holiday Sunday that was beautiful out. What was there really worth talking about that would have been better than being out and enjoying the day? Or hell, even to talk about after the fact? Maybe if this team had shown any kind of consistency, sure, but as it stands they're likely to go out and score a grand total of 3 runs over the next 4 games.

What the hell are you talking about. The Cubs aren't running a charity. Why the hell should they trade a useful left handed pitcher who can start and relieve just because you feel bad for him?

So would I, but aside from DeRosa, when has Hendry sold high on a player? Jose Ceda and Kevin Hart probably qualify. Sean Gallagher would as well. I guess it could be argued he sold reasonably high on Choi and Bobby Hill, too. What about Clement? Clement was let go in free agency by the Cubs. That's probably a little bit of a different category in which a few notable names would appear. Ah, my mistake. I was thinking he was part of the Nomar deal.

So would I, but aside from DeRosa, when has Hendry sold high on a player? Jose Ceda and Kevin Hart probably qualify. Sean Gallagher would as well. I guess it could be argued he sold reasonably high on Choi and Bobby Hill, too. What about Clement?

"YOU MONSTER." http://www.old-picture.com/indians/pictures/Old-Indian-Man.jpg

YOU be quiet. You were the butt of arguably the best joke. Hey, the guy has a lot of experience with special ed classes.

You be quiet. This is the best thing this site has produced in years.

When was the last time Lou seemed "all that happy" to you ?? During batting practice before game 1 of the 08 NLDS? It's kind of weird to see yet another well regarded manager limp his way to the conclusion of his contract after all the fanfare that was had when they began their Cubs career. Each one promised they were going to do good things and take the Cubs to a World Series. They all professed that they did not feel like the Cubs were cursed or that there was any difference between this club and the other 29 teams. I'm not saying there is, but its strangely fascinating to see the life slowly being kicked out of these guys. Baylor and Baker looked depressed and overwhelmed during the end of their tenures, while Lou is somewhere in la la land and seems like he can't come to grips with how things have turned out in his tenure with the team. I kind of want the next manager to be a nobody at least in the minds of the casual Cubs fan. I am sick of the fanfare surrounding our manager, but I think the powers that be want a manager they can market. I want a boring ass manager that is never the star of the show. I just want a GM who knows what they're doing and can ignore the manager when necessary. What you're describing ironically happened in no small part to Hendry letting himself be lead around by Dusty and Lou and their dumb ass ideas as to how a team should be built. I basically want a GM who knows what they are doing and a manager who won't mess it up. If the GM knows what they're doing then the manager has to go pretty out of their way to [expletive] up the team. Replacing Hendry is key. If they by some miracle actually end up with a good GM they could let Lou, Dusty, whoever the [expletive] they want out there.

Sad. I remember going to a Bullets game when I was a kid when he and Muggsy were on the team and it kinda freaked me out.

When was the last time Lou seemed "all that happy" to you ?? During batting practice before game 1 of the 08 NLDS? It's kind of weird to see yet another well regarded manager limp his way to the conclusion of his contract after all the fanfare that was had when they began their Cubs career. Each one promised they were going to do good things and take the Cubs to a World Series. They all professed that they did not feel like the Cubs were cursed or that there was any difference between this club and the other 29 teams. I'm not saying there is, but its strangely fascinating to see the life slowly being kicked out of these guys. Baylor and Baker looked depressed and overwhelmed during the end of their tenures, while Lou is somewhere in la la land and seems like he can't come to grips with how things have turned out in his tenure with the team. I kind of want the next manager to be a nobody at least in the minds of the casual Cubs fan. I am sick of the fanfare surrounding our manager, but I think the powers that be want a manager they can market. I want a boring ass manager that is never the star of the show. I just want a GM who knows what they're doing and can ignore the manager when necessary. What you're describing ironically happened in no small part to Hendry letting himself be lead around by Dusty and Lou and their dumb ass ideas as to how a team should be built.

Can't start Soto since the last game ended only 17 hours ago, dude. That's barely even a full night's sleep! I'm personally grateful that we have someone like Lou who is so thoughtful and concerned about his players' well-being.

Fuckin' post dates; how do they work?!?!?

Colvin could keep hitting exceptionally well, but the odds are much greater that Kosuke is the better player over the course of the season. Coupled with Kosuke's trade value likely dropping if he's benched, the right move is to stick with Kosuke. I'm all for getting Colvin as many ABs as possible, but I'm not in favor of benching the guys who are most likely to help us win this year. The trio of outfielders have been easily our best hitters this year (save for maybe Soto) and we shouldn't be benching any of them. The best way to get Colvin ABs is to let him hit for whoever needs a day off or whoever is struggling. Kosuke and Soriano have both proven to be streaky players, so giving Colvin more ABs when one of them is mired in an extended slump is fine. Outright benching any of them is not the solution, though. Great points.

Yes. I don't know why you're not grasping this. It's not like I want him to fail, but it would be surprising if Colvin consistently hit 20+ HR each season as a starting OF. His success thus far this season, while a pleasant surprise, is nowhere near being proof that he'd be a 20+ HR guy every season. I have no problem with Colvin getting most of the RF starts if Fukudome is traded, but in the meantime it's simply not realistic to have him starting over the main 3 OF. You can't bench Fukudome if you expect to pull of a decent trade, Colvin definitely cannot man CF full time and a streaky Soriano is still more likely to be more beneficial to the team getting more starts than Colvin. It is hard to grasp when you change your argument, yes. It has now gone from Colvin ever hitting 20 in a full season being a "llooooooooooooonnnng shot", to "it would be surprising if he did it consistently". I have never even argued the point of him doing it consistently. I haven't argued whether he should get more playing time in this awkward outfield situation. I was arguing "loooooooooooong" shot for 20 when the guy is on a 40 HR pace. I haven't changed anything. I thought we were always talking about whether he could do it consistently as a starting OF, but yes, I do also think it would be a long shot for him to hit at least 20 this year if he became a starting OF for the Cubs today. His performance in a limited role thus far this season is in no way a guarantee that he'd continue at the pace he's currently on as a starter, or even be anywhere near that pace, or even that he'll continue at this pace in the role that he's currently in. I'll be very surprised if Colvin finishes this year with 20 or more home runs, either in his current part time role or if he basically becomes a starting OF if Fukudome is traded.

Yes. I don't know why you're not grasping this. It's not like I want him to fail, but it would be surprising if Colvin consistently hit 20+ HR each season as a starting OF. His success thus far this season, while a pleasant surprise, is nowhere near being proof that he'd be a 20+ HR guy every season. I have no problem with Colvin getting most of the RF starts if Fukudome is traded, but in the meantime it's simply not realistic to have him starting over the main 3 OF. You can't bench Fukudome if you expect to pull of a decent trade, Colvin definitely cannot man CF full time and a streaky Soriano is still more likely to be more beneficial to the team getting more starts than Colvin. As long as he keeps hitting, thats reason enough to keep him playing regardless. Hes OPSing over 1.000, and has 3 fewer home runs than Jason Heyward in less than half the ABs. When the main thing killing this team is offense, when your 1 of the few guys on the team whose hitting, your going to play even if you cost the over priced guys playing time. Again, he can't play CF well enough to start there regularly, you can't bench Fukudome if you expect the team to be able to make any kind of a good trade moving him and regardless of what some people refusing to believe the odds are much better that Soriano, flaws and all, will be more productive over the course of the season as the starting RF than Colvin. And hell, it's tremendously likely that Colvin is hitting this well BECAUSE he's not starting full time. Just let him hit off the bench and spot start for all of the other OF (hell, let him start for Fukudome against lefties to get a bit more of an idea if he can hit them) and then ideally he gets the bulk of the RF starts after Fukudome is (hopefully) traded.

Yes. I don't know why you're not grasping this. It's not like I want him to fail, but it would be surprising if Colvin consistently hit 20+ HR each season as a starting OF. His success thus far this season, while a pleasant surprise, is nowhere near being proof that he'd be a 20+ HR guy every season. I have no problem with Colvin getting most of the RF starts if Fukudome is traded, but in the meantime it's simply not realistic to have him starting over the main 3 OF. You can't bench Fukudome if you expect to pull of a decent trade, Colvin definitely cannot man CF full time and a streaky Soriano is still more likely to be more beneficial to the team getting more starts than Colvin.