Sammy Sofa

Every time you show that picture, I want to kill you just a little bit more. Where is Vance's right hand in that picture? I'm injecting Sammy. With confidence!

Diginty? We're Cubs fans. Dignity hasn't done squat for us lately...or, for that matter, ever.

If Sammy was willing to take the money and the role, I'd love it. But his ego wouldn't allow him to do it.

As opposed to most of the alternatives out there? Probably. But injuries and questionalbe history and all, Bonds does more for this team offensively than Murton possibly could at this point. And Murton would still get plenty of playing time with Bonds in LF.

And has that model worked? I really don't see a point in following a model that hasnt worked. You dont need a superstar line-up to win. You also dont need to have a $200 million payroll to win either. Pitching comes first, then you go out and get your hitting. The. Cardinals. Didn't. Have. Great. Pitching. They didnt have great pitching, but their pitching stepped up when it matter the most. Which, in the end, gave them a World Series victory. What are you suggesting? The Tigers had great pitching and lost the WS. The 2nd and 3rd best pitching staffs (SD and Minnesota) got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. The 4th and 5th best didn't make the playoffs. So, do the Cubs go out and try to build one of the best pitching staffs in baseball? Or do they just try to get an average pitching staff that somehow knows how to "step up when it matters the most"? I would go out and build one of the best pitching staffs in the league. Cubs already have some pieces in place for the lineup. Lee, Ramirez, Barrett, and Murton all could hit .300 next year. As some of the posters have pointed out, focusing almost all of the offseason attention and resources on "great pitching" doesn't mean anything. As it was said, look at the Braves in the 90's...some of the greatest pitching ever together on one team, and what do they muster? 1 WS win. You need a rough balance between pitching and offense to win...you need to bolster both with the idea that during a short stretch like a playoff run parts of either could run cold. Focusing mostly on pitching OR hitting is not the answer, period. The 4 players you listed are not enough to carry a team offensively for an entire year, even if you have the best pitching in the league. You'd need at least 2 more impact bats to shore up the hitting, and that takes money...money that can't be used mostly for pitching.

What are his grit, fire and hustle ratings?

at this point, if bonds can take us to the playoffs, he can burn an american flag while doing it for all i care. i'd rather not see the Cubs in the playoffs if it takes bringing Bonds onboard..where is your integrity? Far, FAR outweighed by a century of futility.

Luckily for you, STL is not recruiting for new citizens at this time. boy, that would sure be a tough sell. Hey look, we have an arch!!! We also have a baseball team. You can also... uh.... well ok, that's about all there is to do here, but seriously, come live in St Louis! "Oh yeah...we've got NELLY!!!" ... "Uh, hello? Where'd everyone go? Guys? Hellooooooooo..."

Bruce, do you think it gets done? Eventually, yes. The agent is doing a little squeezing right now. Which isn't surprising. The Cubs did this to themselves. I hope you're right, Bruce. Thanks for stopping by. *Lights candle*

BWAAAAAAAAAAA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! *Collapses and weeps hysterically*

Sammy had a ton of moments that made me love him and this team more than I thought I ever would, but I definitely hope that Lee NEVER comes close to having the same "it" Sammy had. Sammy rarely seemed like a true team player and never seemed like a leader. His ego showed through constantly and whenever he got really good it just got worse. I'm not gonna pretend like he didn't play fantastic baseball or do great things for this team, but I'm also not going to ignore his faults and I'm certainly not going to wish for his personality traits again. I want the team to do a lot better, but I don't want to see that kind of ego/attitude being the centerpiece of the organization again. It's self-destructuve.

Meh. If he was a Cub, we wouldn't care.

I'm counting Hill as a 5 possibly 4 until he proves he can pitch as well as he did at the end of 2006. didn't he prove he can pitch as well as he did at the end of 2006 at the end of 2006? Awww, crud. Now I'm stuck in a logic loop.

I've wanted him for years. He's the perfect scapegoat for everything. "The Cubs just blew a 6 run lead in the bottom of the 9th and have lost the WC spot! WHAT HAPPENED?!?" [norm mcdonald]"Yep, you guessed it...Frank Stallone."[/norm mcdonald]

Off-topic maybe, but what exactly about Sosa "came to light"? Of any of those you mentioned: Bonds, Giambi, McGwire, plus Canseco, and Palmeiro (who testified in front of the Congressional committee) -- Sosa has the least against him. He never tested positive for steroids. No players or trainers have said anything about him taking performance-enhancing drugs. All we have is declining production and injuries. It's speculation. If you are talking about the cork incident, that's a different story, but it's nothing compared to juicing, imo. That is the odd thing about Sosa...personally, I think he was doing "something" during his peak years to add to his power, but you're right, he hasn't had anything even close to the accusations and "revelations" as the other proven or suspected users. Perhaps he's actually the most brilliant man in the world...well played, Sammy. Well played. But like I said, I don't know if he used. I could be wrong. I don't think I am, but hey, anything's possible.

Same here. Oddly enough, I don't really have strong feelings against the other NL Central teams outside of the Cardinals and the Astros. I don't know know why, but seeing the Brewers, Pirates or Reds win it all wouldn't get to me as much as the other two.

Sosa, Alou, Lee, Aramis, Barrett, Nomar... Sweet Jesus, that's not right.

Me neither. The weather is appropriately miserable and cold, so I'm gonna play it up with some beautifully depressing music, expensive alcohol and a nice seeee-gar while I grill myself a steak.

It's like the baseball gods are truly mocking the Cubs...5 outs away? Dashed. A great 2004? Crushed by a final week+ of truly awful baseball and the Red Sox finally snap their streak. 2005, the White Sox snap theirs. Now 2006 and the Cardinals will win it? How much more motivation does this organization need to get out there and spend/trade what it takes to freakin' WIN?!??

Damn, it was bittersweet watching that. I remember I had to watch that game on tape because I was working and being so frustrated watching those clips at the end...mostly because that was supposed to be THE year, but also because I couldn't stand that damn song (still can't). I know the clips are selected for maximum impact, but in those 4 minutes you see more fire and passion in the whole team (Dusty included) than you saw in the next 2 years combined. What the hell happened? And man, it is downright sad seeing some of those players...I have my issues with Sosa, but he provided us with so many moments of incredible baseball. I was so friggin' excited when the Cubs managed to squeak in that Nomar trade and figured he would be so important to 2005. And I remember Alou and Walker easily being my favorite players. Not even sure why, I just always really liked both. Man... *Kicks rock*

He missed the first two months of 2004. Shoot, I'm mixed up. Was it 2005 where he just missed his first start and then showed up? Yes. He was slated to start on the 12th, the first day they said they'd need a 5th starter, but that was rained out and he pitched on the 13th. Then started for two months until he got nailed by the ball. Thanks, Gooney. I forgot about the 2 months he was out at the beginning of 2004. Man, this is depressing.

He missed the first two months of 2004. Shoot, I'm mixed up. Was it 2005 where he just missed his first start and then showed up?

Nothing that made him miss significant amounts of time. Really? 2004: 118IP 2005:166IP 2006:43IP, I beg to differ. I'm sorry, I assumed that 2006 was the obvious exception. My point has always been that this year has been the only year that he has missed significant time for anything besides fluke accidents on the field. I think 2006 was the build up of 2003 and the two accidents and the adjustments he had to make for all 3 issues finally coming to a head. What about the achilles? There was talk that his ankle area was bothering him at the end of 2003, then he couldn't start 2004 because of an achilles issue. Didn't he miss one start due to the achilles?

Nothing that made him miss significant amounts of time. Really? 2004: 118IP 2005:166IP 2006:43IP, I beg to differ. I'm sorry, I assumed that 2006 was the obvious exception. My point has always been that this year has been the only year that he has missed significant time for anything besides fluke accidents on the field. I think 2006 was the build up of 2003 and the two accidents and the adjustments he had to make for all 3 issues finally coming to a head. The thing I'm worried about the most with Prior is that he is damaged goods and he will never be the same and there's good reason to think that is highly possible. Oh, that's definitely a distinct possibility, unfortunately. I just hope that he and the organization use the next 4 months wisely.

Nothing that made him miss significant amounts of time. Really? 2004: 118IP 2005:166IP 2006:43IP, I beg to differ. I'm sorry, I assumed that 2006 was the obvious exception. My point has always been that this year has been the only year that he has missed significant time for anything besides fluke accidents on the field. I think 2006 was the build up of 2003 and the two accidents and the adjustments he had to make for all 3 issues finally coming to a head.