apete6

According to the official Cubs site, he's batting .500 with a walk in 4 AB's. He must have felt sorry for 2 pitchers. Otherwise, he'd be batting 1.000.

Ha! I agree. While the season could have ended up playing out completely differently, I remember vehemently wanting the Cubs to sign Pudge before that year. Hendry should have brought back Lofton for 2004 as well, even with Patterson coming off the injury. IIRC, Lofton settled for a backup role somewhere else anyway. Then again, I wanted to sign Jason Schmidt a few years ago, didn't mind the Juan Pierre acquisition, and wanted Girardi instead of Piniella (the jury is still out on that one), so who knows? He also should have signed Carlos Beltran. That would have been nice. Thing is, we could have afforded Beltran then traded Sosa to the Mets. Instead, we waited 2 years and spent even more money on a worse player (Soriano). Who knows, though, maybe the ownership wouldn't have OKd all of the money on Beltran after 2004.

Ha! I agree. While the season could have ended up playing out completely differently, I remember vehemently wanting the Cubs to sign Pudge before that year. Hendry should have brought back Lofton for 2004 as well, even with Patterson coming off the injury. IIRC, Lofton settled for a backup role somewhere else anyway. Then again, I wanted to sign Jason Schmidt a few years ago, didn't mind the Juan Pierre acquisition, and wanted Girardi instead of Piniella (the jury is still out on that one), so who knows?

Really? OK, I'll take it. A 1.000 OBP would be nice...

Difference is, Sheffield was pretty much washed up at that time. I don't think getting his option picked up is really that huge of a factor here. Yeah, the economy sucks right now, but in 3 years, who knows, Peavy could be better off not getting his option picked up. He could sign a new deal for better money. The $63 million or whatever owed to Peavy isn't going to be the last $63 million he earns in his career unless he gets hurt or something.

And you've been wrong all along. 1. He's still there, so they can afford him for now. 2. Peavy will go to any team that will pick up his option. What about that do not understand? Let me repeat it in case you didn't catch it. PEAVY WILL GO TO ANY TEAM THAT PICKS UP HIS OPTION. PEAVY WILL GO TO ANY TEAM THAT PICKS UP HIS OPTION. PEAVY WILL GO TO ANY TEAM THAT PICKS UP HIS OPTION. Do you really honestly think he'd turn down a trade to LA, Mil, NYY, Sea, or any other club willing to pick up his option because he's so dead set on being a Cub? No link=not true

but DePaul doesn't care. They get their cut of the Big East pie and don't have to spend any money on coaching or recruits. joining that conference was the worst idea ever. Joining it was a great idea. Putting 0 effort into upgrading the men's basketball program was the worst idea ever.

Aaaannddddd DePaul gets blown out by St. John's at home in their last "winnable" game of the season. 0-18 is almost a certainty. Awesome. We're the Detroit Lions of major college basketball.

Hoffpauir looking good is nice. Hopefully he can be the impact bat off the bench. I know we would like a more traditional 1B/3B guy, but I'll take Hoffpauir's bat and live with Fontenot or Miles playing 3B when Aramis has his annual 2 week DL vacation in May. We're good enough to survive a 5-10 stretch when he's on the DL.

Ya, singles are available for almost every single game. A risky sell, but if you just want to go by yourself or try to seat swap, you can get any game right now.

Since when is Kevin Hart "formidable"? I must have just been imagining that 6.51 ERA and WHIP over 2.00 last year.

Playing Devil's Advocate, every year except last year. But I definitely think he will be competent depending on your definition of competent. I'm thinking somewhere between Marquis last year and Dempster last year.

Vazquez with an unbelievable game. 33 points and a triple double.

The Steve Lavin award? The Jerry Wainwright Award. End of discussion. Edit: Someone beat this with Dave Bliss. At least Wainwright didn't cover up a murder, but even if he did, Ponsetto wouldn't fire him.

There's still over 20 games that are already sold out according to the system, so the demand will still be there.

http://thinkexist.com/quotes/jerome_james/

$$$$$$

Can I get a rundown of the Lavin tenure at UCLA? I know everyone pretty much hates him there because he wasn't God or John Wooden, but why, exactly? I understand UCLA is a top notch program, but what did he do (or not do) that makes him so reviled in Westwood? He was a horrible coach and teacher (from all accounts, his practices were basically pick-up games with no actual coaching). His most talented players never came close to reaching their potential and all his teams underperformed by a wide margin. His recruiting dropped precipitously after the first few years (when he was living off the 1995 national championship). And when fans, alum and media started calling him out, he said UCLA fans weren't satisfied unless they won national championships and needed to lower their expectations (this wasn't the reason most UCLA fans were upset with Lavin; some fans still need to become more realistic but this was complete BS to try and deflect the criticism). Baron Davis said it best when he was practicing at Pauley with the Warriors last year: "We should have a banner up there: the only team to make the tournament without a coach." Wow, that's pretty heavy. So, he's like the Pat Kennedy of the West coast? Got it. I assume you think DePaul should pass? Although I'd take anyone over Wainwright at this point, including Kennedy. I feel dirty even saying that.

Can I get a rundown of the Lavin tenure at UCLA? I know everyone pretty much hates him there because he wasn't God or John Wooden, but why, exactly? I understand UCLA is a top notch program, but what did he do (or not do) that makes him so reviled in Westwood?

If Fukudome does what we got him to do, he'd be ideal as a number 2 guy, with Theriot as the leadoff. However, at this point, Im more worried about the number 3 spot, which is supposed to be your overall best hitter. Sorry, D Lee doesnt fit the bill anymore. Im not saying Lees washed up, hed be a great 5 or 6 hitter for any team, but number 3 should be Bradley or Ramirez. Wow, that's a good point. Fuku, Theriot, DLee is a WEAK 1-3. None of your 4 best hitters (Soriano, Ramirez, Bradley, and Soto) would even bat in the first inning a majority of the time. Why move Soriano now? If you do, what about this: Fuku Lee Soriano Bradley Ramirez Soto Fontenot Theriot Why can't we just trade for Brian Roberts? Oh ya, we wouldn't give up Rich Hill and Felix Pie last winter. Forgot about that.

Nicely done. Maybe she can go with John Moores, I hear he's available now.

$5.5 million seems steep for a backup who can only really play 1B What if traded Luis Vizcaino (3.5) + prospect for Johnson (5.5). After adding in the 500K buyout for Vizcaino, the Cubs would only be taking on 1.5 million for Johnson. That's a deal I'd do if you could get Bowden to bite on it. Johnson would at least give us a decent bat on the bench, and allow Lou to comfortably give Lee an off day every now and then. Also, I think Johnson (while he's never played there) could be just as passable in LF/RF as Hoffpauir. I'm sure a rebuilding team would love to have a 34 year old declining reliever making nearly four million. Jim Bowden isn't a bad enough GM to make that move. That's Dave Littlefield level of ineptitude. Even though Adam Dunn is easily worth 20 million I don't understand why the Nationals signed him. They aren't contending with or without Dunn for atleast another few seasons. I'd invest that 20 million into the draft and international free agent market. Washington's farm system could really use the upgrade that strategy would provide. They would actually be freeing up money by trading Johnson for Vizcaino. Are they really rebuilding? It seems to me that if they could find some takers for their plethora of outfielders, they could have a halfway solid team full of veterans. Also, considering they were willing to give Teixiera a huge contract, they probably have the money to spend for O-Dog. Put him in the line up, and I think they have a very competitive team. Pretending that Adam Dunn would play 1b, they have: OF- Kearns/Pena OF- Milledge/Dukes OF- Willingham 3b- Zimmerman SS- Christian Guzman 2b- Orlando Hudson 1b- Adam Dunn C- Jesus Flores SP- Scott Olsen SP- Daniel Cabrera SP- John Lannan SP- Collin Balester SP- Bergmann, Hill, Detwieler, Shell What they need at this point is pitching, and they still have plenty of outfield depth to trade. Lets see here...quality young hitting and no pitching. Sounds like the Rangers during the Soriano days. Not exactly what a team should strive to be. With my strategy the Nats don't spend 20 million for two years of a player that won't help them contend. Spending huge amounts on the international free agent market and draft would bring the National farm system tons of credibility, and in the long run allow Washington a much better chance to contend. You guys have to remember, though. They are trying to build a fanbase in a transient market of "fake fans". Fake fans might know Adam Dunn or at least think its cool to go to a game to see Dunn hit a HR. They won't care if the team spent $20 million on the farm system if the team on the field is winning 60 games 2 years in a row. Now, does singing Dunn solve this problem? Probably not, but add Hudson to the mix and maybe a decent pitcher, you might have a 75 win team. Sounds crappy, but the fans there need a reason to go see one hell of a nice new stadium. Add Stephen Strasburg and another top 10 pick (comp for messing up the Crow negotiations) that contributes in 2 years and you could be on to something.

There was some rumor of the As wanting to acquire Johnson earlier in the offseason. Don't know if that's changed since they signed Giambi. As far as Dunn goes, good pickup by the Nats if they paid less than the 2/$16 that Burrell got.

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/02/10/2009-02-10_15m_lawsuit_claims_exmet_roberto_alomar_.html

What should happen to the records set in the steroid era?