Sammy Sofa

What a jerk. GIVE THE CUBS THEIR MONEY.

That went from hilarious to disgusting way too fast. OHHHHHHHHHHH, LOOK WHO'S THE CLUBHOUSE CANCER NOW.

It is sad. It's also sad that I'd be happy with a manager at this point who knew how to put together a lineup based only on common sense and even a rudimentary understanding of stats. Would you need ANY stats to put together a more intelligent order? Sure. When I say rudimentary, I mean it. As in, "oh, I know what OBP is, so let me put Fukudome at the top when he starts and bat Soto 2nd."

It is sad. It's also sad that I'd be happy with a manager at this point who knew how to put together a lineup based only on common sense and even a rudimentary understanding of stats.

Soto up a spot?!?

Nobody's doing anything of the sort. This tangent is about a relatively small group of posters who seem to only want to make every comment they share in a game thread or a discussion about the team some cliche about about how the Cubs suck or how "only the Cubs/only Cubs fans" have to deal with or witness whatever latest thing they act like is the worst moment in baseball history. It's primo Cubs.com stuff and little different than if a fan of another team came here and trolled about how they thought everything the Cubs did or didn't do was stupid or terrible.

Sounds like you're describing me. You post about the Cubs?

Fine, but like TT pointed out, this isn't supposed to be people's irrational emotional dumping ground. And no, it's not only you, but it does get ridiculous how some posters act like when things don't go the Cubs way it's either the end of the world or it was some kind of preordained disaster that of course was going to happen because "only the Cubs" or that they knew was going to happen.

I don't know squat about college basketball, so what's the deal with this guy?

Exactly. Regardless of what Hendry or Lou think of him, Theriot is not a core player to this team. He simply doesn't have the talent or ability.

Why is Dempster not worth what he's making?

Well you are being silly. As long as Piniella and Hendry are here, Theriot IS a part of the Cubs core. Now if Piniella and Hendry happens to no longer here, then that's another story, but until then he is a part of the core. Uh, no, that's not "being silly." The core of a team are the players most critical to the team's success. Theriot is not that kind of player.

The good thing about being a big money team is that the rebuilding process is a lot faster. Basically, we'll be building something around Soriano, Soto, and maybe Aramis. With Lilly and Lee more than likely gone after the year, thats a nice chunk of change to work with, although If prefer wait another year for Fielder or Adrian Gonzalez to become available. Prince is, I believe, a FA after this season, not next.

Theriot is not part of any "core." Zambrano is only 28. They've got Soriano for 4 more seasons, so who knows?

Cutting payroll for the sake of cutting payroll isn't the answer, but I wouldn't be opposed to it as part of a longer-term plan. Mixing and matching veteran players isn't working, so if the Cubs continue to play poorly the rest of the season then why not start a mini-rebuilding phase while waiting for some of the restrictive contracts to expire? Yeah, there's definitely a huge difference between fielding a cheaper team due to more internal development and smarter signings and just slashing payroll to make more of a profit.

Then why bother? Because I am a Cubs fan. Have been for well over 30 years. I want them to win as much as anyone else. It kills me to see them fail time and time again, yet I can't walk away. I blame my dad for inflicting me with the sickness. Are you my long-lost brother, because we're the same. Look, I know two of you will take this the wrong way, but it really comes across like you just generally don't like the team or being Cubs fans. It's like you prefer when things are going bad because it gives you an excuse to be as melodramatic and "woe is us" as possible. I obviously don't know either of you, but that's just how the posts come across. I'm not saying this to start drama or whatever; it's just something that keeps coming up and surely you've seen how so many people respond to your posts because of their tone and repeated bouts of self-loathing.

Even that top 4 really isn't that awe inspiring outside of the Phillies. The NL is just bad.

Where? From who?

We'll see. Their performance to this point does not dictate the rest of year since it's still only the first of May. If Aramis ever wakes up and Lou gets wise and starts playing Soto more and higher in the lineup you could see this offense be much more consistent. Nothing is set in stone at this point. you are right nothing is set in stone. That's why they play the games. But it's looking increasingly unlikely that we are going anywhere. Even if we get better hitting, can we assume that the pitching will hold up. Will gorz and silva have under 3 eras all year? Hell the pen hasn't even had the chance to suck for us lately. And despite all this we could get our crap together. But don't expect to fatten up on crappy teams to get back in a playoff race. Well have to play .550-.600 ball against a schedule that is packed with contenders. So unless we suddenly play like a top 1-2 team in the NL it's gonna be tough. Were not going to be able to win 85 games and take a weak division this year. I think you're pretty drastically overrating their schedule. It's obviously not a cakewalk, but the NL by and large is not very good, so even the "contenders" are still very beatable. And "increasingly unlikely" still doesn't erase that it's only May 5th. Sure, Gorzelanny or Silva could fall out of the rotation, but you have Zambrano available to move right back in. Yeah, the bullpen could be horrible, or it could be perfectly serviceable.

Then why bother?

Ugh, Aramis just cannot do anything with pitches he usually crushes. Very frustrating.

We'll see. Their performance to this point does not dictate the rest of year since it's still only the first of May. If Aramis ever wakes up and Lou gets wise and starts playing Soto more and higher in the lineup you could see this offense be much more consistent. Nothing is set in stone at this point.

He could just come back out and pitch the 9th if they go ahead. And they still have Marshall.

When is the last time he pitched? 1st of May. Yeah, getting him work tonight actually makes sense.

And then the Pirates took a series from the Brewers in Milwuakee. We're all kinds of screwed up.