Sammy Sofa

Errrr...an "improved" Cedeno MIGHT get him up to Neifi's level...I think he's best left out of the equation altogether short of some kind of miracle turnaround.

Some of the opinion pieces I read about him seem to consistently state in general that he didn't really have a sense of when to take pitchers out and he tended to leave them in there too long. Who did he send back in after the rain delay?

It especially didn't help that it really seemed like there wasn't a player that emerged as the leader of the team. Granted, I'm not aware of the specific clubhouse politics, and maybe someone like Bruce can shed some light, but there really didn't seem to be a "captain." I think Wood filled that role for a few years but he just hasn't been around enough the last 2. Surprisngly, for me at least, Zambrano seemed to step up towards the end, but I don't know how much of that was just him being enthusiastic. His personality and emotions might prevent him from being a "true leader."

Out of the serious reported candidates, Girardi, Brenly and Lou all have pretty awful track records when it comes to pitcher abuse...what about Bochy?

According to Tigers.com, Pudge is 5' 9", and Neifi is 6' 0". Wow, I didn't think they stacked Neifury that high.

You don't have to convince of all the reasons Piniella shouldn't be here...I agree with all of them. My question is simply why does Brenly gets more credit at this point despite the fact he seemed just as clueless and outdated as Lou when he was managing? Is it only because he'll mention OBP every now and then?

Brenly has actually acknowledged OBP and pitcher abuse during his tenure. Lou has bemoaned OBP and said that baseball needs more "thinkers". If Piniella brings Chambliss and McLaren with him, this might be a good move for the offense. From what i've heard out of Lou, he doesn't bemoan OBP at all. He's been mentioning it alot lately. Exactly. He hasn't come across as the master strategist I'd ideally want, but like Brenly, he's been saying things that indicate that perhaps he's adjusted his theories lately, or is at least paying attention more.

I can't imagine that Piniella is actually coming here if there was even a chance the Cubs weren't going to pay Aramis whatever was needed to get him here for the next few years. And I can't imagine Hendry lasts even 1 more year if he lets him get away. If Aramis gets away, it'll be because Hendry screws up, not because of any idea of letting him go.

While I'm not sold on Lou, why does Brenly get some credit for supposedly "learning" during his 2 years as a broadcaster but Lou couldn't possibly have picked anything up in his time off working as an analyst/commentator? It seems to be a bit of a double standard. Granted, I'd rather have Brenly than Lou, but the talk like Lou is going to make this team worse than it has been the last 2 years is getting pretty absurd.

I know the perspective is off, but I will laugh if Neifi is actually shorter than Pudge.

And I'd rather have a scrappy hustler who gives 100% that hits 290/392/523 instead of a guy who gives 75% and hits 290/392/523 or 243/260/316. What about a guy who gives only 99% and hits 291/393/524? :P Under 100% = NOT ENOUGH HUSTLE. 95%-99% gives you "scrappy" and 90%-94% you end up with "gumption." The next bracket is "spunky," then "moxy," then "heart" and finally "gusto." This is all very scientific and should be taken very seriously.

Just curious how that would guarantee a last place finish? I realize Lou might not be #1 choice for many around here, but I think because of that all of the "Lou-fear" is really getting overblown. If the CUbs go and get some players to improve this team, I think Lou would do fine. It all depends though on the player personnel that Hendry acquires. Agreed. If they actually wise up a bit and use this rumored extra money to get 2-3 SERIOUS impact players, Lou isn't the end of the world. He's far, far, faaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr from my first choice, but if they manage to improve this team we will see marked improvement from the last 2 years. How much of that you can chalk up to Piniella, well, that's pretty subjective. I think if you give him the right team he can win. The issue is whether or not the Cubs are capable of getting that team.

Sounds like he was waiting to see if Girardi would get hired here. While having Kranitz back would be great, I'm not nearly sold enough on Girardi to have this totally crush me.

Just wait until ARam walks... And Rothschild is brought back...

I'd rather people stopped saying things like "scrappy" and "hustle" like they mean anything in the context they're typically used here. They're way too subjective.

Is he going to start taking foul tips to the jewels and punching rival catchers on a regular basis?

He didn't just play it...he LIVED it, dude.

It's a dead horse, but as long as our team keeps playing at WRIGLEY Field, this type of complaining comes off a bit ridiculous. Pretty much since the beginning, baseball fields have been field with signs advertising commercial products. Baseball and advertising go waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back. I actually think naming parts of the stadium or the innings, etc. is actually LESS intrusive than most of the advertising baseball has been a part of and invited in over the last 100+ years. Wrigley Field is named for the former owners of the franchise, not for the gum. It just happens that the former owners also owned the gum company. It's pretty hard to seperate Wrigley the man from Wrigley the gum/company, especially when the stadium was renamed. They can say all they want...old man Wrigley was no dummy. If he didn't know that name on the stadium wouldn't be a huge source of advertising, he wouldn't have been as rich as he was. Officially, it's named after the man. Unofficially, well, the guy also named his gum after himself, too. The Wrigley name was a huge product in and of itself back then. It's not like he was dead at that point and they were naming it in his honor. Hell, the place was known as "Cubs Park" before Wrigley slapped his brand on it...what was wrong with that? Or transferring over the old "West Side Park" name? It's a bit of a cheat to let companies that use a family name off the hook just because it is a family name. Besides, I'll still stick with the rest of my post, too. Baseball and advertising all over the fields and stadiums have gone together practically since when professional baseball was first started. I simply don't understand how sponsoring a section or inning or stadium is somehow more intrusive than the ads in the stadium and around the field, something that has been around almost from the beginning!

The light is going on. Maybe not at the speed of light, but they're not ignoring the poor walks and OBP totals from this year. It'll be on the table at the org meetings. More like at the speed of clog.

It's a dead horse, but as long as our team keeps playing at WRIGLEY Field, this type of complaining comes off a bit ridiculous. Pretty much since the beginning, baseball fields have been field with signs advertising commercial products. Baseball and advertising go waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back. I actually think naming parts of the stadium or the innings, etc. is actually LESS intrusive than most of the advertising baseball has been a part of and invited in over the last 100+ years.

To hell with them both. I have no shame rooting for an AL team this year, especially with the Red Sox, White Sox and Yankees out of it.

Idle question, but why couldn't this thread have gone into the long-running ARod speculation thread in the Transactions forum?

Jeez, a lot of you guys must retch when you go to games at any age level and you see the ads/sponsor signs along the wall/field/stadium/etc.. Lighten up, Francis. Hey, anyone want some gum?

Yeah, that Cabrera guy is a hack.

Maybe I'm recalling incorrectly, but I think most of those sentiments were in reply to the idea that the very presence of Juan Pierre every time he was on base was going to drive even the most skilled pitcher to crap the bed. In the right situation, ANY baserunner can possibly get the pitcher's attention. Most of the time, however, it ain't no thang.