goonys evil twin

He didn't say anything wrong outside of all his stupid baseball talk. You really don't think his comments about Shawn Green were out of line? Nope, not at all, and I've so far heard from more than 10 jews who don't think so either. Nobody talked much about that statement until this firing, which tells me people are just reaching, which they clearly are, to justify an overly sensitive rationale.

He didn't say anything wrong outside of all his stupid baseball talk.

Be prepared for the Anti-Stone people. I also enjoy Stone but we are the minority on this board. I like him as an announcer, but hate him as a decision maker. I lost a lot of respect for him with the way he went out. Why because morons like Kent Mercker and Dusty Baker ran him out of town I would be bitter too if the Cubs choose a loogy over one of the best colorman in the buisness. I think he acted like a classless fool with complete unprofessionalism and immaturity. The Cubs should always prioritize players over an announcer. An announcer who thinks otherwise is an arrogant idiot.

The Cubs got away from the "wait for the 3 run homer" approach last season. They tried to make things happen on the basepaths, and do the little things. It didn't work out well. They still had to wait for the homer because Hendry has yet to build an all around solid lineup. I know they said they weren't waitng for the big homer but they still did. No they didn't. They knew they couldn't hit homers and tried to make things happen.

You can't try and get away from the things you've never been near. 3-run homers are good things. Sac bunts and making things happen waste outs and decrease your run totals, and are therefore bad things.

..wasn't able to listen; what do you like about that statement? Players play, pitchers pitch, hitters hit, coaches coach, posters post, etc.....sounds meaningless to me...what was the context? He was saying he is in the background and just a small part of the team. I took this to mean he's not going to try and have his signature all over everything that happens on the field, like Dusty did with all the pitch outs, sac bunts, etc, etc. But then his later comments said otherwise. I think it was mostly an acknowledgement that the team's results depend on the players.

That's not the right thing. The whole, be aggressive thing is what killed the Cubs. 3-run homers are good, and they need more.

player talent wins Amen. He's just small cog. I can live with Lou for now.

I don't think he brushed it off entirely. The biggest problem is they are last in the league in walks, and always are. I don't need them to lead the league in walks or OBP. I need them to be average. I think Piniella might be a guy who can help them get to average in that deparment.

OBP My philosophy is to get 8 midgets up there that walk all the time. Today's hitters are aggressive. You want hitters to hit in hitter's counts. Obviously if you swing at strikes, your chances are better. I noticed they didn't walk all that much, but that's something we'll work at. You want these guys to swing at pitches within the strikezone.

Oh man, he's talking about Dusty and it crapped out on me.

No, there's no curses. It makes for good copy, but there's no curses.

The immediate reaction doesn't matter much to me. They did pull off a pretty crazy comeback that warrented some sort of hysterical celebration. What I want is for these guys to realize what they did wrong this week, and then prepare properly next week. And I want Grossman in the video room every day.

Craig Wilson would be a nice addition to the bench, but I'd rather just replace Jacque with Austin Kearns. It would be nice to have a RF who might throw someone out at the plate once in a while. Craig Wilson is a FA, correct? Why would he sign with a team to be in a platoon or be on the bench when there are many teams he could start for? He was labeled a platoon guy with one of the worst teams in baseball, I'm not sure the rest of the league is dying to give him a starting job. Plus, money is the reason he might accept a platoon role.

Versatility on the bench is overrated. Macias, Perez, Bynum and others were all very versatile, but they sucked. I say try and get 1, maybe 2 journeyman bench guys with decent bats, then give the rest of the jobs to cheap labor, because they are just as productive as your typical veteran bench player. Likewise, if you have the players named in the lineup you were critiquing, it would be much easier to withstand an injury to a starter, because the team wouldn't be dependent on two players, like this year's team.

They were at their best when Brosius was their 3B, not because of him, of course, but if they buy into all the talk about getting some role players, we might be able to think of a way to send them somebody else's journeyman type. Or, they could go after a 3B in free agency. Nomar is out there. Scott Spiezio is a journeyman type making noise in the playoffs. What if the Cubs worked a deal that took Beltre off Seattle's hands, with the M's picking up a little cash, then sending him on to NY in a deal that includes some bullpen help and other young pitching. Beltre is overpaid, but he's not worthless as a player. His deal is much smaller than what NY still owes ARod, and allows them to plug him in down in the order, not expect much out of him, and have room for others. Corey Koskie could be available.

Be prepared for the Anti-Stone people. I also enjoy Stone but we are the minority on this board. I like him as an announcer, but hate him as a decision maker. I lost a lot of respect for him with the way he went out.

I too thought he was very good at handling the pen in seattle. To me, this is really what i look for in a manager, how they handle the pen. Pitching changes in general are probably their most important decisions. When to pull the starter, which reliever to use, how to keep guys fresh as well as rested. Dusty was terrible at having a reliever ready in advance, and getting guys regular work. He latched on to his guys and used them until they fell apart. If Lou can get guys warm in time to make a move before disaster strikes, use everybody, and not overuse one or two key guys, he'll have done his job. Too many managers feel they need to do a whole lot of other BS to justify their salaries.

I admittedly may be nuts here, but I think Hendry may be a bit more spend happy this season than any other. If the payroll increase rumors are true, and Hendry is trying to save his job, wouldn't he go all out for all the big names he can? I'm thinking an infield of A-ram, A-rod, Soriano and D-Lee would be fearsome. Then C Lee, Jacque/Murton, and whoever you have in CF. I'd even live with Pierre with that lineup. I'm not a guy to figure up all the salaries, and I'm sure that would be one spendy lineup, but I really think Jim is wanting to do something like this. I could be crazy though. Shine on you crazy diamond. In previous scenarios I was assuming a $100-105m payroll, with the Yankees picking up part of ARod's deal and keeping Ramirez. But that's kind of a rosy picture. If Hendry is going to spend, I think he might tell NYY he will take on all of ARod's deal. And if he's also getting Soriano, and some pitchers, and thinking of Carlos Lee, he's going to surpass $115m really quickly. I think the expanded budget just might make him more willing to go higher on the guys he wants, as opposed to getting a lot more guys. I think odds are Ramirez will be a Cub and Rodrigues won't. But, I also think that the only way they get Rodriguez is if Ramirez leaves. There's always a catch when it comes to the Cubs.

I get the feeling that the only way the Cubs get him is if Ramirez leaves, which means 3B it is. Because NY won't deal ARod without a good 3B coming back, or because Hendry won't resign Ramirez? Because Hendry wouldn't resign Ramirez and trade for Rodriguez. Plus, I think he's still giddy about getting Izturis for SS. He could always move Izturis to 2B (not that he should). Actually, it's not a terrible idea, given Izturis' arthritic elbow. People complain about a $20m bullpen, could you imagine a $46m infield, not even counting the inevitable $2m of bench help? Ideally you find a way to dump Izturiz, resign Ramirez and trade for ARod. Not sure how that will work though.

I get the feeling that the only way the Cubs get him is if Ramirez leaves, which means 3B it is. Because NY won't deal ARod without a good 3B coming back, or because Hendry won't resign Ramirez? Because Hendry wouldn't resign Ramirez and trade for Rodriguez. Plus, I think he's still giddy about getting Izturis for SS. I think even Hendry's not so dumb as to think Arod/ARam isn't better than ARod/Izturis. I don't think it's a matter of him thinking Izturis is better than Ramirez. I think it's a matter of him wanting to save money to spend on worthless bench players, combined with the thought that ARod might not be a SS anymore, and that Ramirez might be too lazy for Lou. If you don't really want to extend Ramirez, but feel pressured to since you have so few options, then ARod solves a lot of problems.

I can't see him dishonoring the Lions like that. I asked if you could a few pages back, and you didn't answer one way or the other. I'm guessing you can? If he hired Scott Boras, I doubt honor is the biggest thing on his plate right now. Hiring Boras doesn't make him an American all of a sudden. Different culture, different mindset. Boras might try to play the go back to Japan card, but I'd call Matsuzaka's bluff if he did. What happens with the posting money? Does it sit in escrow until a deal is signed, or negotiations fail? Do they give it all back, or just some, like with Rule 5 claims? Or do they get to keep it all?

I'm not sure either, but I think the point is that he supposedly is most comfortable there, and would most likely insist on hitting there if he were to sign. If Lou really is a guy that demands team play who can handle these guys, eventually you might see him drop to 5th, where he belongs.

I get the feeling that the only way the Cubs get him is if Ramirez leaves, which means 3B it is. Because NY won't deal ARod without a good 3B coming back, or because Hendry won't resign Ramirez? Because Hendry wouldn't resign Ramirez and trade for Rodriguez. Plus, I think he's still giddy about getting Izturis for SS.

I can't see him dishonoring the Lions like that. I asked if you could a few pages back, and you didn't answer one way or the other. I'm guessing you can? If he hired Scott Boras, I doubt honor is the biggest thing on his plate right now.