apete6

Cubs sign Sammy Sosa and he hits a walkoff grand slam off of Torres to win the 2008 NLCS, sending the Cubs into the World Series. Sosa steps on home plate and then smashes his helmet down, shattering into more pieces than when Torres beaned him. Then he grabs his crotch, points towards Torres and says "Bean This."

Yanks are apparently going looking to get Brad Hennessey and Jonathan Sanchez. How bout we offer them Eyre and Dempster? Or better yet, Marquis and Dempster? Move Soriano to right and have Matsui play left. Or I'm sure Matsui could handle right. I've always liked Matsui. He's an over 850 OPS guy who seems to have a knack for driving in runs. He had 10 Sac Flies last year, which is probably more than the entire Cubs team. SEASON TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2003 NYY 163 623 82 179 42 1 16 106 63 86 2 2 .287 .353 .435 .788 2004 NYY 162 584 109 174 34 2 31 108 88 103 3 0 .298 .390 .522 .912 2005 NYY 162 629 108 192 45 3 23 116 63 78 2 2 .305 .367 .496 .863 2006 NYY 51 172 32 52 9 0 8 29 27 23 1 0 .302 .393 .494 .887 2007 NYY 143 547 100 156 28 4 25 103 73 73 4 2 .285 .367 .488 .855 Total -- 681 2555 431 753 158 10 103 462 314 363 12 6 .295 .371 .485 .856

Somewhat OT, but would you think about batting Soriano 3rd or 4th so he gets better pitches by being in front of Lee and/or Ramirez?

I wouldn't say so. He is at least 80% of Erik Bedard or Scott Kazmir, so he could be respectable in the AL East. I'd say 4.50 ERA and a similar # of Ks that he had this year. Not great, but not "batted around" either.

Sign me up for Murton & Gallagher for Roberts. I really have no interest in Figgins...especially if it costs us Pie. Now if its Pie for Roberts and Murton & Gallagher for Figgins/prospect, I might be persuaded to like it, but only if that prospect is at least middle tier.

What would honestly be a fair deal if you are Baltimore? I think they have to come away with either Felix Pie or Rich Hill plus a low level prospect. If not, they would have to get Marshall AND Gallagher. I would rather have it be Pie. Or we could just give them Kevin Hart, effectively making the trade Brian Roberts for Freddie Bynum \:D/

That was Jim Duquette, not Steve Phillips. but steve phillips gave it the Meph Stamp of Approval Steve Philips may not have done Kazmir for Zambrano, but I believe he was responsible for giving Mo Vaughn like $90 million. :-k

Agreed...especially if we sign Fukudome to play CF. Problem is, then you have NSBB favorites DeRosa and Murton splitting time in RF, which doesn't make sense since they're very similar players (and both very average defensively)

Marshall & Gallagher for Roberts Sign Fukudome Roberts 2B/SS DeRosa RF/2B Lee 1B Ramirez 3B Soriano LF Fukodome CF/RF Soto C Theriot SS/Pie CF Bench: Pie/Theriot, Ward, Blanco, Cedeno, Murton Rotation: Zambrano, Lilly, Marquis, Hill, Dempster/Hart Pen: Wuertz, Pignatello/Cotts, Hart/Dempster, Eyre, Wood, Howry, Marmol \:D/ \:D/

Imagine being an Indians fan right now. Blowing a 3-1 lead in the ALCS and now probably not making the playoffs again for at least 4 years. At least the Cubs were favorites going into 2004. The Indians are going to have to beat the Yankees out for the Wild Card if they have any hope of the postseason.

I agree with you there, Jon. Better to be safe than sorry. I'm sure most season ticket holders share tickets with someone who isn't in their family or is in their family, but has a different last name (i.e. brother in law, uncle, etc). I'm sure whoever you are sharing with wouldn't mind funneling your funds through their paypal account. And if they arent, tell them to eff themselves and cut them off from access to your tickets. :lol:

Here's the Yankees info: Yankees' management's position concerning fans reselling tickts stems from one principle, greed. According to the September 23, 2006, New York Post article by Bill Sanderson: "More than 100 season-tickets holders suspected of reselling their regular-season seats have gotten letters denying them the right to buy playoff tickets and barring them from buying season tickets for next year, the team said yesterday. "We've caught tons of people on eBay, StubHub and other ticket brokers," said Yankees spokesman Mike Marino, who said he sent most of the letters himself. "We're looking to stop StubHub as well as all other scalping," Marino said. Next season, the Yankees will set up their own StubHub-style ticket reselling operation for its season-ticket holders, Marino said. But until that site is up and running, the team will continue enforcing its resale ban." If you believe that New York Yankees' management policy deprives fans the freedom to do whatever they want with their tickets, please contact: Mr. Randy Levine President New York Yankees Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY, 10451 (718) 293-4300

Here is a link to a story about the Patriots getting the names of the sellers on StubHub http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2007/10/19/patriots_get_stubhub_users_names/

If the Cubs got Tim Lincecum for Felix Pie and anyone else in the system (not named Zambrano, Soriano, Lee, or Ramirez), I would drive to Nashville and kiss Jim Hendry's rear end.

Depends on what's important to you. StubHub is very user friendly--especially for selling multiple events, provides the shipping, ensures payment, and will pay you via paypal. However, the 15% seems a bit high, but it is good if you're very busy. They also have a pretty good audience because of its gaining popularity and people who have become frustrated with shady sellers on Ebay. If you have some extra time to do more listings, do the shipping yourself, deal with individual buyers, ebay might work. You get to keep all of the profits (minus shipping) and can still be payed online via paypal. Although you run the risk of getting busted for violating scalping laws more than you would with Stub Hub. If you live in Chicago, Craigslist is also a good way to get rid of tickets, but usually people on there are looking for a deal or at face value. Also, you have to meet someone face to face and give them the tickets in a cash exchange like its a drug deal or something. Kind of annoying, but not much computer work and cash is king. Craigslist is also your best bet for selling tickets only a few days before a game (or day of in some cases) because you can meet up with the person in the area. Whatever you do, I would have someone other than the season ticket holder whose name is on the account do all of the selling. I guess some pro teams are starting to find anyone who sold on StubHub and taking away their season tickets. The Yankees blocked some people from getting playoff tickets last year because they sold on Stub Hub. I would imagine that if you have someone unrelated sell the tickets, they can't prosecute you because you could just say "I gave him those tickets as a gift and they turned around and sold them".

That could quite possibly be the dumbest thing I've ever heard from a major league GM. Well, other than "Darren Dreifort, here's $55 million".

Kansas only has 1 loss, correct? And to a better opponent than LSU (Kentucky, Arkansas). Why not them (I know, no good wins), but what the hell. If you're going to have a BS champion, why not give them a chance?

Honestly, my season ticket prices went up over 20%, but I'm not going to complain. They're not forcing me to buy them. It really sucks, ya, but there are about 50,000 people who would trade places with me in a heartbeat. Face it, until the stadium really declines to a point where its unsafe and/or not fun AND the team sucks 3 or 4 years in a row, there is going to be enough demand to sell out a majority of the games. That may look bad on Cub fans, but thats the way it is. First of all, theres about 8 million people in the metro area PLUS all of the WGN Cubs fans and the tourist influence. Not to mention Chicago is a great city to visit for opposing fans and the fact that Wrigley is so historic. If you know anything about business, you know that the Cubs would be stupid NOT to continue to raise ticket prices. Why should they be watching people pony up 4 and 5 times face value on StubHub or to the scalpers? As long as they are behind the Red Sox, Yankees, and soon to be Mets (new stadium), they will be able to get away with it rather easily.

You guys do know that Dusty was hired in Cincy, right? How can he assemble a team without his savior, Glendon. Expect Rusch and Neifi to get multi year deals. BTW, good for Rusch, he is a very nice guy and it's not his fault Hendry overpaid him. He did have one hell of a 2004.

This is a very Reinsdorf-like move. It is VERY similar to the Ben Wallace to the Bulls signing. Both are hard working, leadership guys who are very overrated because of their defense and "flash". Hunter's diving catches and Wallace's afro and shot blocking. Like Wallace, Hunter's contract will seem OK for the first 1/3rd or so (2 years for Hunter) and everyone will turn the other way while still seeing diminishing skills. The next 1/3rd will be the obvious decline. And the last 1/3rd, fans will be barbecuing the GM for the signing and running the player out of town for 50 cents on the dollar. Good times!!!

Everyone who is from these states or went to these schools, good luck surviving this weekend. I just recently found out about the intense hatred between the 2 places and, honestly, I can't get enough of it. The historical significance, history of violence, and extremes that you people go to in terms of pranks and insults are fantastic. A good rivalry like this is finally getting national attention and that's awesome. Add in the fact that several hours of tailgating and alcohol served at the stadium could make for one hell of an evening. Enjoy the weekend.

Phil Rogers (wrongly) making an argument for John Lackey: http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-071113rogers,1,1416741.column?coll=cs-home-headlines

I know this doesn't make any statistical sense, but does anyone think that there would be an impact (positive or negative) of Crawford going from a terrible team playing in an empty stadium in an average media market to the Cubs? Would he "try too hard" and suck for 2 months like JP or would he relish the opportunity and become a better player? Or would it have absolutely no effect because these guys don't care where they play as long as the check clears? P.S., I change my original theory as to giving up any 3 Cubs prospects/young guys for Crawford. I now want to keep Rich Hill. Marmol, Cedeno, and anyone in the minor leagues or Marshall/Gallagher would be great.

only times i've been was as a student and we got bused out there. i can't imagine Target is patrolling the lot for non-customers, but don't take my word for it. do they charge to park at Allstate? I can't see why they wouldn't if the Arena is like all the other arenas in the country. They charge...and they charge a lot. I think it's $11. If you're a student, you can get a parking pass for $5 I think. They do have buses that run from Lincoln Park for the students, if you're young enough to look like a student, you can jump on one of those. Parking at Target is buyer beware. They have been known to tow from there if they specifically see you leave the premises, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's not like the Dunkin Donuts at Clark & Belmont where there is a spy there with a boot on your tire within 5 seconds of you leaving the premises. Then again, 1 towing can cost you parking fees for the entire season...

But if they were to change that rule, Prior would be a perfect candidate....