Sammy Sofa

Wait, wait, wait...with all that their respective teams have been pitching-wise, Mazzone and Duncan are "overrated" and Rothschild is the one that'll make it work where they failed? I'll give you that some of those pitchers were going to be good no matter what and that Rothschild had a rough go of it under Dusty, but to think he's going to have huge success where both Duncan and Mazzone didn't is both incredibly optimistic and very unlikely.

This whole thing is Larry's idea. I have a whole host of feelings about this, but none of them are suitable for NSBB. :x Wow. How big do his cajones have to be to think he can succeed where Duncan and Leo-freakin'-Mazzone failed?

i disagree. if hendry really wouldn't trade hill for dunn, i think it speaks more of hendry's dislike of dunn than it does his like for hill. remember, this was during hendry's, i've decided i like guys who catch the ball phase (during which he also, of course, didn't like strikeouts and didn't see the value of a walk). hendry has never said anything to indicate support of hill. the most the organization has spoke about hill was when they trashed him after the white sox game. that, coupled with the reluctance to give him a prolonged shot in the rotation, lead me to believe that hendry does not have a "thing" for hill. Hill was talking out of his ass after that game. "Rookie rules" debate aside, he should have just said "no comment" and moved on. It was a mistake on his part since after the game both sides were generally keeping quiet and not trying to blow the whole situation up. Let Ozzie be the jerk in that situation...we don't our rookie pitcher who just got blown out of the park sounding even remotely like that guy. And I'm not saying Hill was necessarily treated "roght" after what he said, but I also don't think he was "trashed." Beyond that, not falling over themselves to praise him doesn't mean they're not "for" Hill or somehow "against" him. That's a purely subjective assumption on your part.

I am Rich Hill's father.

Yeah, but he wasn't just bad during the first part of the year...he was abysmal. And his previous, albeit brief, stints in the majors were pretty ugly, too. By the time of "the game" with the White Sox, Hill was potentially looking like a real royal "AAAA" bust. There wasn't a whole lot ot get excited about with him...yeah, his numbers in the minors were fantastic, but that just made it all the more frustrating that he was stinking it up SO bad every time he came up. I'm not saying he was handled right or wrong...I'm just saying there wasn't a whole lot to get excited about with Rich Hill through the first half of last season. Yes, we all saw his minor league numbers...they weren't even coming close to translating over every time he came up for the show. If Hill was treated "differently," it's probably because he showed so much more potential than anyone around him and wasn't able to make anything happen for what seemed like the longest time. That can't help but be frustrating. The hindsight notion that Hill was being held back seems great now, but at the time there seemed very little hope he'd make it "click." I'm certainly not convinced that him staying up in the majors he would have turned it around. There's a pretty good chance that going back down and doing whatever he needed to do finally got him to step up. Hill NOT being sent back could have very easily resulted in a hideous and epic implosion.

Sweet merciful crap, that's just...just...just... ... I don't have the words. They've basically replaced Rusch with a slightly less awful, more expensive version of himself.

Well, I believe it was Bruce Miles who mentioned that Dusty supposedly ignored or overruled a lot of Rothschild's input and suggestion. I'm not saying he's totally off the hook with what's happened to this club pitching-wise since he showed up, but there is that talk plus a number of guys on the team going out of their way to talk him up. Didn't Hill credit him in a big way with helping him turn it around last season?

NEDM

"GET YO' ASS TO CHURCH, BOY!"

Thank God.

Would the White Sox want him for anything other than a DH?

This is, what, the 8th thread about this? I never thought Bynum being gone would get more love then Neifi's departure.

I'm all about heading to Church.

I don't. I think the focus is Lilly and Meche, like we've been hearing all along. Zito will be choosing between the Mets for 5/75 and the Rangers for 6/100. I think he's going to get either Lilly or Meche not both. Meche is a backup to Lilly. Then Hendry will try like hell to pry another starter from a team. Which is a much better idea. I'll settle for Lilly, but Meche is a mess. Sign Lilly and try to trade for Westbrook, Penny or Jennings.

Sign me up for Jews for Church. He can hate my matzah eating arse all day as long as he puts up some numbers. I think this is getting really ridiculous. Someone told him that Jews are going to hell and from what i can tell, his heart went out to them. How does that turn into him hating Jews? If he would have said, "good, let 'em burn" that would be something you could get on his case for. Some Christians think all Jews go to hell, some Jews think all Christians go to hell (and yes, many Jews do believe in a hell or something similar). Thats the situation we're in. Sorry to go off on a rant, but the Church-mocking is getting out of hand. I'm sorry you're going to hell. *Looks around* We're not already there? not until we sign Gil meche I just made an inhuman noise.

Use of past tense for the race for Schmidt and Meche? The whole article is written like that.

Sign me up for Jews for Church. He can hate my matzah eating arse all day as long as he puts up some numbers. I think this is getting really ridiculous. Someone told him that Jews are going to hell and from what i can tell, his heart went out to them. How does that turn into him hating Jews? If he would have said, "good, let 'em burn" that would be something you could get on his case for. Some Christians think all Jews go to hell, some Jews think all Christians go to hell (and yes, many Jews do believe in a hell or something similar). Thats the situation we're in. Sorry to go off on a rant, but the Church-mocking is getting out of hand. I'm sorry you're going to hell. *Looks around* We're not already there?

He is surely not the same pitcher he was a couple of years ago. Zambrano Hill Schmidt Lilly Miller/Prior I'd start off with Hill in the #3 slot. If he maintains what he showed last year, move him up by the ASB. I'd like to be in a position where it's a question as to who should be #2, Hill, Schmidt or Prior. Man, that's a nice dream. i think a pitcher's "slot" is more about respecting the vets and such than anything else. Early days off throw off the "ace vs. ace" matchups and it never gets back on track True. Though if Hill is even close to his level the 2nd half of last year consistently, you almost have to bump him up.

I'd love Floyd if the deal is actually heavy on the incentives.

He is surely not the same pitcher he was a couple of years ago. Zambrano Hill Schmidt Lilly Miller/Prior I'd start off with Hill in the #3 slot. If he maintains what he showed last year, move him up by the ASB. I'd like to be in a position where it's a question as to who should be #2, Hill, Schmidt or Prior. Man, that's a nice dream.

Not really...two words...Frank Robinson No kidding. Listening to the Nationals talk around here and that was one of the biggest sticking points he had with Robinson and the team. Yeah, he said some stupid things...but he has shown a lot of talent. Either work it out and move on or trade him when it's best...don't just waste him doing nothing.

I think given the parks and the weather between the teams, a pitcher like Maddux still holds semi-decent value for them. It's a coup in that it looks like the Dodgers were planning/hoping/counting on re-singing him and he's being snagged by a rival team instead.

I miss Todd. And his unbeatable stubble.

Nope. That would be too late. You need to find out NOW if Griese will be better, otherwise you go into the playoffs with a cold QB. No good. Has to happen now or never. That would still leave 2 games before the playoffs and it's not like Griese is some green kid. Yeah, it's short on the time to gel but I think it might still be enough time to let some adjustment take place. But hey, my opinion is that the Bears are pretty much done overall in the playoffs if Rex can't at least be average, Griese or no Griese. They need the flashes of awesomeness that Rex has shown to be a truly powerful team all around, not Griese's capable but ultimately non-threatening greasiness.

I think that if 2 weeks from tomorrow Rex is still in the pits and not looking significantly, you don't choose whether or not to bench him, you HAVE to. That said, I think that the Bears would be lucky to get passed the 2nd round of the playoffs with Griese. They're basically screwed if Rex can't even come close to getting it together. THEY DON'T ALL HAVE TO BE BOMB SHOTS, REX.