goonys evil twin

True... but going from Juan Pierre to Soriano is a huge bump. So is having Lee back for a full season. It'll definitely be improved significantly. How much is anybody's guess. I know they're better, but I don't see how anybody can say they are good enough. We aren't talking about a salary cap sport where all you can reasonably hope for is being good on both sides of the ball, and try to be great at one. The Cubs are blowing teams away in the salary department, but still very far from blowing them away in the stats department. This is turn, means they won't be blowing people away in the standings. They can use all the help they can get in this lineup.

I don't understand the theory that the Cubs lineup is all fine and dandy right now. We're talking about one of the worst lineups for the past 4 years. Soriano is the only real upgrade, and he's not going to turn them into top notch on his own.

The courts will take it into account. If he had been .25, it would have definitely been worse for him. How does that justify pretending this isn't a big deal? DUI is DUI. He's lucky he didn't kill anybody. Obviously he was in no shape to drive.

I don't know what's going on with this bet, but if anybody wants to put the over/under on Marquis' ERA+ at 100, I'll take the under.

I find it rather disturbing and disgusting how quick people are to blow off such a "low" level of BAC. DUI is DUI. People die from it everyday. Just because you think you can handle it and that low numbers aren't that bad doesn't make it true.

Paul Sullivan/Tribune Good. I didn't see any benefit to him at AAA. And there is no justification to go out looking for another 25th man at the end of March. Give the job to Ronny, and see if this new staff can help him learn to hit in the majors.

Crap. i don't see why that's so upsetting. turner runs nothing special, but with a defense like the bears have, there's no reason to get super cute on offense. The OC is always an easy target for fans' ire. Turner has taken what was the worst offense in the league, and raised them up to #15th overall last year (IIRC). He's getting little or no help from Lovie, because Lovie doesn't know offense. So it's all him. He's doing a good, though not spectacular, job. Amen brother.

He's probably a better version of Todd Johnson, at this point. I hope he's replacing Johnson and Worrell. Depth, not meant as a key player. And I wonder if he'll see some special teams play, like those two did.

It's ST, I think Lou just wants to see what Ronny can do. He's still being considered for the utility position. I'd think that way too. more often then not if he's the 25th man, he might be called on in the late innings to come in an drop a bunt down. Wasting a pinch hitter for bunting duty is asinine. Use a pitcher. (or better yet, don't waste outs with the bunt)

The fact that they are negotiating is a good sign.

He's got 15 days before the first AAA game, and he doesn't even need to be there by then to the best of my knowledge. I don't think we'll ever know if things are fixed until he looks good in game situations. He'll still have side sessions between outings, and they can put him on whatever type of rotation they like. Option him to AAA, let him start the season in Iowa, then if things don't look to be improving, you can DL him and send him back to Arizona. But keeping him in Zona from the outset offers no advantage.

"This Texas ballclub is going to try to outscore you." Interesting thought there. What do most teams do?

Yes. LOL, I wouldn't! :D Imo, Prior is more likely to return to the big leagues while devoting his whole time to fixing the mechanical and other errors and then working on his arm strength. It will be tougher for him to do this while also keeping a normal pitching schedule - especially against talent that he'd be able to beat with his lesser stuff. If he only makes 10 starts after starting off in extended, I can't imagine he'd make many more while starting the season in the minors. I don't care as much about his clock. If he struggles to make an impact with the big league team this season, the Cubs won't care much about his service time and will probably try to move on. I don't understand your theory that he wouldn't be able to work on his mechanics in the minors. If anything, I think he needs to pitch in game situations to get that work to translate. He doesn't need more side sessions. He needs to pitch. If you want to make an adjustment for the weather, let him start in Daytona. The ICubs open April 1 at Round Rock, then head to Alabama. He can get 2 starts there, then if you want to avoid the Iowa weather, have him go back to Arizona until the ICubs next southern road trip a week later. I understand you thinking the Cubs should just worry about getting him major league ready as opposed to worrying about his option clock. But I don't see how keeping him in Arizona will expedite the process.

You're nuts. :? How? Do you think they have IMPROVED this offseason? Are they a better team? They lost their starting running back, offensive line is older, and wr/te corp is still mediocre. The defensive line lost 2 possibly 3 d-tackles, and Harris will be recovering from a torn achillies tendon. Our pro bowl lb doesnt want to play for the team and will hold out. And if they get rid of Brown we will be starting a SS who was benched not once but twice for a 5-11 team that just signed him to largest contract for a safety in NFL history, who only played on special teams for the last half of the season. The other starter will be a 3rd year 6th round pick who can tackle but cannot cover, or a 2nd year, 2nd round pick who can cover but misses assignments so blatantly that he left a pro bowl wide reciever 20 yards open down field to double team the second tight end who ran a 5 yard in route, in the super bowl. Not to mention the absolute brutal schedule the bears have next year. How am I crazy? IF anything im optimistic. They were the most talented team in the NFC last year, and they still are. You noted that you're talking about the team right now, without draft picks, but it's worthless to describe the team's talent assets when completely discounting the draft picks, including the one they got when trading Jones. This is a double digit win team with or without Brown. I hope Brown stays because he's good, but he's not the difference between 5 wins. You are talking nonsense. If Brown is out, and Harris is out, and Briggs sits out, and Benson fails to take the reins and Grossman doesn't improve and the draft picks provide no help, then you can talk about the team taking a step back. But so far all they've lost is backups, and they got good value for a mediocre RB who was on his way out regardless. Games don't start April 1. Angelo has plenty of time to add to the team.

You're nuts.

It's not that risky of a market. And the more guys that come over the more teams are able to learn about who can make it here. They spend a ton on American amateurs who are an even bigger risk.

It's quite different. Marshall hasn't come close to establishing himself as a major leaguer. Prior has. And the problem with Prior appears to be health related. I agree they should option Prior, I just don't see your point in comparing him to Marshall.

Hendry was hardly raked over the coals. The majority of fans and media paid no attention to the Kaz situation. And I don't see how that situation has anything to do with potential future moves. They did increase scouting efforts in Asia. They don't have a great history there, but I dont' see how anybody could say they'd never be a serious player over there.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2806948 NEW YORK -- Baseball's "Extra Innings" package of out-of-market games might wind up staying on cable television. IN Demand said Wednesday it will offer to match the terms of DirecTV's $700 million, seven-year deal with Major League Baseball on behalf its owners, who are affiliates of the companies that own Time Warner, Comcast and Cox cable systems. As part of the offer, iN Demand also said it would carry The Baseball Channel when it launches in 2009 to at least the same number of subscribers who will get the channel on DirecTV. "As the current home for 'Extra Innings' for more than 200,000 cable subscribers, we have extended ourselves to do our best to be able to continue to provide this package to baseball fans and our customers," iN Demand president Robert Jacobson said. "This offer meets all the conditions set forth by MLB last week.

Is it me or has Jones's time in CF increased since Soriano was more or less named the CF starter? I like to see Murton get some time in RF.

I don't think there is much controversy with such a statement. Unless they plan on having him in the opening day rotation, that's just about their only choice.

the cubs website or wgntv.com

that depends on what you mean by power arm. hill tops out at around 92 but he will strike out a lot of hitters. if they stay healthy, both z & hill should have over 200 k's in 2007. Hill's not a power arm, despite the K's. He's a curveball pitcher. Z is a power arm. Wood is a power arm. Prior was a power arm. But Hill is not.

Is this what you are commenting on?

I think there are two or three teams that have not released players and announced their keepers. Just noticed. Looks like 4 or 5. Wasn't there a deadline? Is there a total roster limit. Seems like some people have an insane number even after trimming.