goonys evil twin

I don't know if he's Muslim or not but he sure isn't brown-skinned.. He's Algerian. Given the recent conflicts arrising from african descended youth in France, I could see how such a slight would send him off. You can't do what he did, but you can understand why if the guy said the right thing.

Okay, sign Vlad Guerrero the next time he's a free agent.

He was not completely without options, both with free agents and potential trades for higher priced players. But you are right. His lack of foresight in past years is what really hurt the team coming into 2006. Missed opportunities.

You thought that was subtle? It was in reply to "do you accept part of the blame?". Yes I do, just look at how great of a job I've done all my career.

What are the suppose to say? Of course they back the manager....then they support the new manager, just the way it is. Why the bother printing this I'll never know. That is my exact point. Eyre received some criticism on here a few days ago for the same type of comments. I seem to remember a line about all he does is "eat ho-hos and injure D Lee". It is a non-issue, 99.9% of players will publically back their manager regardless. But Eyre said that if people stopped asking about Dusty they would win more games. It's not the same thing.

sounds like a horse

http://www.tvparty.com/tvm/freedomrock.ram

I wish I had a reasonable argument against this claim.

I figured with Hendry and Dusty owning my top two spots, it was time to lay some blame on the players. Too often, we want to blame others for people's failings. Don't get me wrong, the coaches bear their share of the blame around here, but with my totally arbitrary look at five things, I thought 60 percent should go to the players, balancing that by giving Hendry and Dusty the gold and silver medals. Then should there be room for Maddux on the list? It's hard to blame an old player with declining skills for getting worse, but he's really laid an egg during the collapse. That ERA near 5 is just not acceptable. And the results by the other pitchers suggest he is not having any sort of magical effect on them (not that I ever thought he would, or that he claims he can, that's just something his biggest supporters claim he brings to the table. And the results don't support it). Some pitchers have to take blame. It's impossible to blame Wood, given his very serious injuries. A case can be made against Prior, but something has been physically wrong with him. I'd say Maddux's disastrous 2 months were a bigger hit to the club than Barrett's very selfish, and very stupid move.

If you're saying what I think you're saying, I disagree Bruce. Our payroll, in and of itself, is not the problem. We've given too much money to the wrong people, I know . . . but spending $26 million more isn't going to make problems go away, especially if you're just trying to catch an AL team in the Payroll Standings. But, really, other than that, great article. I've always said you have to spend wisely. But for an outfit such as the Tribune Co. to self-impose these type of limits is indeed a problem. I'm a little disappointed with the payroll, but is it the Trib, or Hendry and his annual "we're saving some for the trading deadline" talk? The trib has raised the payroll substantially for several years, until this year. And now that the team is playing so poorly, there's no reason to raise it higher to get more players. Has the trib gone gun shy after seeing the results of Hendry's poor spending habits? Or have they made the funds available and the Cubs powers that be just haven't decided to spend them yet? I'm thinking it's a little bit of both.

I'd replace Barrett with MacPhail. It is MacPhail's "contend within the division" mantra that creates an environment of striving for above averageness. When above average is your goal, failure isn't too far below you. Andy is much more interested in the stability of mediocrity than the rollar coaster ride of attempting to achieve greatness. Yet they've dealt with all the lows of the coaster with none of the peaks. I'd also like to throw the coaches in with Dusty. Rothschild keeps getting the praise of being the best, but he's yet to do anything to justify that title. Pitching has been a disaster the past two years, despite the immense talent of the players. The Cubs only have 3 guys who have pitched for them this year with an ERA below 4.00. The guys in charge of the offense are obviously not having a positive effect either.

Did Zambrano blame the media for the team's poor play?

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=entomology http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=etymology FYI, I didn't know this.

I don't know what to make of Schmidt. The guy spent his first several years being mediocre with occasional averageness mixed in, then he had one fantastic year, followed by a much less impressive, but still solid season, then it's back to mediocre-ville. Health has always been a question with the guy, and overuse has been an issue. You can't call him a workhorse because of how much time he's missed, but I wouldn't be surprised if he put together a 240 IP dominant season before he retires. He might do it this year. I wouldn't know what to do with him as a GM.

I'd prefer that as well. But those weren't the only two options.

If you can trade him for a quality, or pair him up with another asset or two and get even more quality, that could be much more valuable than a draft pick. Cubs need talent ASAP.

What is capped? He appeared in a game. Games appeared in is measured in caps. I have no idea of the entomology of that word. Regardless, once that happened, he can pine all he wants to play for his native Ghana, but he's stuck with us. I just read all about getting capped, some Saudi dude just set the men's record. Kristine Lilly leads all though. It doesn't say anything about not being able to switch sides later, but I'll take your word for it. http://soccerhalloffame.org/ColinJose/What%20is%20an%20International%20Cap.htm The practice of wearing caps in soccer goes back a long long way and may well have had its origin in English Public Schools (Editors note: These would be private schools in the USA) where it was, and no doubt still is, a part of the dress code. Thus when one school played some form of football against another the players wore their school caps. An account of a football game as early as 1851 at Rugby School mentions the players wearing house caps of different colors. Engravings of that period also show Rugby schoolboys wearing a variety of caps, some resembling American football helmets, some bowler hats or jockey caps. It is claimed that the first true international caps were awarded in 1886, although some form of headgear was worn in the first international when Scotland played England in Glasgow in 1872. At a meeting of the Football Association of England held on January 30, 1886 N.L. Jackson proposed that "All players taking part in future England internationals be presented with a white silk cap with a red rose embroidered on the front. These to be termed "International Caps." A sub committee then met to select a suitable cap and on May 10, 1886 the design was decided upon; Royal blue velvet, with a rose in front and date on the peak. Later editions would contain the name of the country played against on the peak, along with the year. The caps had a silver tassel, and three lions in place of the rose.

What is capped?

Hendry should have never let Matt Clement walk. Yes, I understand that Matt is not the same pitcher since he got drilled, but who is to say that he would have been drilled if he stayed, or that he would not still be that consistent pitcher. When Hendry let him walk, it really hurt this team. Another case of Hendry not looking ahead, and of course, I am sure fiscal responsibility was thrown in there when that decision was made. BCB Clement was an average pitcher at best. $9.5M is way too much money for someone like that. He was above average at best, pretty good actually. The problem is he's rarely been at his best.

Bilk- 1. To defraud, cheat, or swindle 2. To thwart or frustrate 3. To elude $32.5 million for 12 wins in 3 years. Let me know when he wants to give any of the cash back for doing nothing. So you think he got hurt on purpose?

Hendry should have never let Matt Clement walk. Yes, I understand that Matt is not the same pitcher since he got drilled, but who is to say that he would have been drilled if he stayed, or that he would not still be that consistent pitcher. When Hendry let him walk, it really hurt this team. Another case of Hendry not looking ahead, and of course, I am sure fiscal responsibility was thrown in there when that decision was made. BCB Clement was never that good, but he got worse because of his arm, not the drilling.

What makes you think he won't get a better offer from somewhere else? If somebody offers Wood 5 years and $50m then you don't even consider matching. If nobody offers more than a spring training invite, then it's a no brainer to bring him back. The stuff in between is up for debate. I think you have to make an effort to bring him back on team favorable terms. There's nothing to gain from not trying to see what it would take.

What would Baker have had to do to get a higher percentage? I'm just not sure what more a manager can do to deserve being fired. I agree that Baker should be fired. I think everyone should be fired from top to bottom. Manager, coaches, trainers, everybody. It's so pathetic to see how far this team has fallen in 3 years. Ok....now I'm really really confused. What the heck are we arguing about then? I believe the relative level of anger that should be directed toward each responsible party. Well then I'm done arguing, because frankly who cares...they both suck. yep

Is that crap necesssary? What would you call people who think Wood should stay with the Cubs in any capacity? Isn't bilking this franchise out of millions over his career enough for anyone. I think so. Let him go away. And I better not see him dressed in a uniform in the dugout anytime this year. He is not a member of this team. I'd call one of them me, but I'd call you something quite different.

What would Baker have had to do to get a higher percentage? I'm just not sure what more a manager can do to deserve being fired. I agree that Baker should be fired. I think everyone should be fired from top to bottom. Manager, coaches, trainers, everybody. It's so pathetic to see how far this team has fallen in 3 years. Ok....now I'm really really confused. What the heck are we arguing about then? I believe the relative level of anger that should be directed toward each responsible party.