Sammy Sofa

Mark Derosa just hit an RBI double. Hahahahah! You're not seriously wishing they had DeRosa instead, right?

Lou, do us a favor and get tossed.

That's not what I was hoping for, Fart Master.

Come on, Fart Master. Hell, if I'm the Pirates I take the gamble and just walk Baker to face Wells.

Can Zambrano even pitch on back to back days yet? Or are the Cubs willing to do so yet?

Hopefully Baker's ass blisters didn't start weeping. BECAUSE LORD KNOWS I AM.

Yikes, Wells doesn't have anything tonight. Thankfully there's stuff to watch at 7.

These are very comparable situations. They're not? Jordan's gone. To the younger generation of NBA fans around right now he's just a guy from old highlight clips. Why is it realistic that the Lakers and Celtics could get great players to come play for them despite arguably being defined by previous dynasties and some of the greatest players of all time, but it's not for the Bulls? Because by the time the NBA became "THE NBA", the Celtics and Lakers already had a host of iconic stars. The Bulls 2nd best player of all time is still just "Jordan's sidekick" And? Again, Jordan's gone. I suppose it would be one thing if he was anything even remotely close to a presence with the Bulls or at the UC, but he's not. To fans growing up now he's just a number in the rafters, a statue outside and someone they see in highlight clips. Anyone that is perceived as winning a championship for the Bulls from now on is going to be first in the minds of most young fans, not Jordan. The impact of playing "in the shadow of Jordan" is a load of crap, especially when it comes to player of LeBron's abilities. I mean, if you're going to argue that he'll be second to Jordan here if he doesn't win at least 6 rings, then where could he go where that wouldn't be the case? What, if he goes to the Knicks or stays with the Cavs and wins, say, 4 championships with them when all is said and done, in those cases people would argue he's as good as or better than Jordan, but not if he "only" 4 rings as a Bull?

These are very comparable situations. They're not? Jordan's gone. To the younger generation of NBA fans around right now he's just a guy from old highlight clips. Why is it realistic that the Lakers and Celtics could get great players to come play for them despite arguably being defined by previous dynasties and some of the greatest players of all time, but it's not for the Bulls? I guess it's a miracle that Shaq decided to play in Kareem's shadow, or that Garnett was willing to play in Bird's shadow.

Yeah, the same thing happened to the Celtics and Lakers, too. Nobody great ever wanted to come play for either team again after the glory days of their dynasties.

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.