apete6

58 seconds, and he's out for the rest of the season. $400K for 58 seconds. Good work if you can get it.

I believe that happened last year with the Hawks and Blues Yeah, this new NHL playoff format sucks ass. Just go 1-8 or abandon geography altogether and go 1-16 (like the NBA is rumored to be considering).

LOL. This team is going to suck again. They've now run off Forte, Marshall, Bennett, and Jeffrey (and soon to be Cutler) and gotten a total of a 4th rounder and 7th rounder in return.

They are going to beat Michigan State and Rutgers, sneak in, and get Groce an extension. Gross. I didn't even realize Illinois was in shape to have an outside shot at an at large...i don't hear anyone talking about them. Their RPI is 56th and SOS is 12th. Beating MSU at home gives them a 5th top 50 RPI win (although 3 of those are against the 46th team and the 50th team (x2) and they play each other this week). Their worst loss was at Indiana (87th). If they beat MSU and Rutgers they are 18-12 (9-9). Could they be 1-2 BTT wins from making it as an at-large? If they beat MSU and Rutgers and win their first BTT game, they are very, very close. If they win 2 in the BTT, they're in forsure unless all hell breaks loose in conference tourneys.

I need that jersey. Should be the current road jersey. The existing one is pretty boring and lame.

He looks like Mose Schrute.

That Kansas comeback/West Virginia choke was something to behold. Whatever you think about Bill Self, the guy is amazing. Soon to be 13 consecutive B12 titles. Going to be a long time before we see that again in a power conference. And the B12 is the best conference this year (sorry, ACC). Unbelievable.

If Travis pulls a Dexter and makes a surprise appearance at spring training (MLB radio jumped the gun and announced Wood had signed with San Diego on Saturday), I'd love it on a 1-year deal simply for the extended rotation depth. Travis posted a very good ERA last year of 2.95, but I doubt anyone here is fooled by that. His BABIP was unusually low (.215) suggesting he had quite a bit of luck last season. Some of that can be attributed to the Cubs stellar defense, but his career BABIP is 60 points higher. Despite the 2.95 ERA, his FIP (4.54) and xFIP (4.83) are probably closer to his actual performance level. That said, he's better than Brian Duensing. As a situational reliever, Wood was excellent against lefties in 2016 keeping them to a slash line of .128/.208/.239 with a career slash against lefties of .203/.276/.316. That's much better than Duensing's 2015 (his last full season) lefty slash of .284/.413/.364 and his career slash of .232/.286/.328 About the only thing Duensing does better is get ground balls. He'd be more of a "bringing in a guy with runners on base to induce a double play ball" than a LOOGY. Duensing has a solid 46.3% career GB%. However, the additions of Davis and Uehara would potentially free up Rondon (48% for his career), Edwards (51% in 40.2 major league innings) and Strop (54.4% in his career) to be the guy to come in with runners on. It's been widely reported that Maddon intends to have a 13-man pitching staff. Lester Arrieta Hendricks Lackey Montgomery/Anderson Davis Rondon Uehara Strop Edwards Montgomery/Anderson Grimm Wood That looks like a pretty darn good pen to me, though, again, his real value this year wouldn't be as the 8th man in the pen but as rotational depth. After 2 years of remarkable (lucky?) rotational health, Travis essentially becomes the 7th starting pitcher option with Zastryzny, Butler and Mills rounding out 8-10. That's not bad. If the idea is to repeat (and it is), why not sign him? It says a lot that the Cubs have made him an offer. Now it's up to Travis if he wants to start or win... 13 man pitching staff, though. Ugh. So brutal. But yet so incredible that they have so much versatility to pull this off. Cubs games are going to average about 3.5 hours between us working the counts and the 5 pitching changes per game.

New season premiere April 4th! I thought this was a joke. I can't horsefeathering believe they are making another season of this trash SEVEN YEARS LATER.

Since the Indians hosted in 97 (Including 2017 and 2018): AL: 1999 Red Sox 2001 Mariners 2003 White Sox 2004 Astros (NL at time) 2005 Tigers 2008 Yankees 2010 Angels 2012 Royals 2014 Twins 2019 Indians NL: 1998: Rockies 2000: Braves 2002: Brewers 2006: Pirates 2007: Giants 2009: Cards 2011: DBacks 2013: Mets 2015: Reds 2016: Padres 2017: Marlins 2018: Nationals Teams that haven't hosted since 97: AL: Blue Jays (1991) Orioles (1993) Rays (Never) A's (1987) Rangers (1995) NL: Dodgers (1980) Cubs (1990) Phillies (1996) I'm not surprised at the A's/Rays not hosting it. The O's supposedly were in line to host it in 2014/2016 but the MASN/Nationals debacle pissed off the league so they didn't get it. The Cubs are rumored to be likely to get it for 2020 after the stadium renovations are supposed to be done. I'm surprised that the Phillies haven't hosted it since they haven't had one at their new stadium yet (96 was at Veterans) Yeah, the Phillies are the only one that really stands out there. I'm surprised Cleveland is getting a 2nd one before Baltimore. Here's my best guess at the next 7 years after 2019. 2020: Cubs 2021: Rangers (new stadium) 2022: Braves (new stadium) 2023: Orioles 2024: Phillies 2025: Blue Jays 2026: Dodgers This could change if the A's/Rays move before then, which I think at least one of them would.

Yes. However, Bill Self's press conference was actually fairly decent when compared to other college coaches who have been in this situation. He actually *gasp* acknowledged that the investigation is more important than the game. And he also acknowledged that his guys being called "witnesses" might actually mean that they are more than just witnesses. Now, I'm sure he and the entire athletic department will probably do the standard cover-up/try to influence the investigation, but for now he looks semi-OK.

Yes! Him and Peavy both.

Well this is horsefeathering awful. Though I'm not sure what value an easily traceable World Series ring would have to a burglar. I guess they could get all of the diamonds out of it, somehow. What a terrible person this has to have been.

Fun fact: Since that off-season, Rizzo has accrued 20.1 fWAR. Pujols and Fielder have combined for 16.6 fWAR. Damn, all you guys pining for Pujols and Fielder are amateurs; I raged hardest when the Cubs didn't sign Adam horsefeathering Dunn after 2010. Beat THAT. Fun fact: Adam Dunn only has a 16 bWAR for his entire CAREER. My 2 biggest WTF? signings/non-signings for the Cubs were not signing Carlos Beltran after 2004 and signing Milton Bradley after 2008. I feel like those held up pretty well. Then again, I had a full-on Nomar-ection for basically every day he was on the Cubs roster.

I'm all about making fun of the Orioles. But HOW is getting a 5 year younger Trumbo, who hit 47 homers AND keeping your 1st Rounder, a worse idea than signing a declining Bautista, at 36 and losing your 1st rounder in the process? 3/37.5 isn't remotely a bad contract. This. A virtual steal from the O's.

I'm sure it's not the only place, but Chicagoland Kohl's stores have all of their Cubs WS stuff at 70% off. T-shirts are like $7. Stock up so you can keep wearing these for the rest of your life.

So college football. That's the problem. Being a football player gave him a 2nd chance most people would not get. It's not like law enforcement decided on their own not to do much, they did so because of college football and all the scumbaggery that surrounds it. People who have an issue with those that still bring up this "2 year old issue" completely ignore the fact that college football is what allowed him to skate. Yep. The whole thing is a cesspool. You reap what you sow. I highly doubt much changes anytime soon, if ever.

I still don't know why they hate Jason Hammel so much. He is the perfect 5/6 for this situation. Maybe he's just a pain in Maddon's ass and they didn't want to deal with him anymore, but the $/production would have been fine, particularly because they are in the Luxury Tax anyway.

he also wasn't really punished in the first place. A suspension from playing college football as a freshman for punching a lady in the head? A regular joe could have been punished far more harshly. His status as a football player protected him. That was his second chance. The guy is obviously a piece of crap and was in the wrong, but I lay most of the blame for him coming back and being allowed to play to the following parties: 1. Law Enforcement. Basically no legal punishment. He gets charged/convicted of a felony and that's a hell of a lot bigger thing to explain for the following responsible parties. 2. Bob Stoops. He tells the president he can't put up with that stuff and he's gone. No AD/president is going to overrule a legendary coach trying to kick a player off of his team, no matter what. 3. The AD/President: Have some balls and overrule your coach once in a while. Now, if OU had booted him, he probably would have gotten another chance somewhere and I'm sure that's why they kept him, but have some semblance of a horsefeathering backbone. But, what's the kid supposed to do, just quit and not take the free scholarship and eventual millions? The lack of remorse from him is incredibly troubling, though, and based on many other cases, he will do it again and end his career like the piece of crap he is.

Why? Is he trying to legally Kevorkian himself? These football coaches, man. Seems like most of them would rather die on the sidelines than live a normal life without it. Real #FootballGuy move here.

Is he related to this guy? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Monk I enjoyed watching him dominate garbage time in some shitty preseason game for the Bears that year. Edit: yeah, it's his little brother: http://www.wholehogsports.com/news/2015/nov/20/does-marcus-monk-owe-arkansas-anything/

Yeah, looks like that got pushed. Sucks. It's going to be awesome when it happens, though. this is going to be awesome...what a view http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/chc/restore-wrigley/images/renderings/upper-deck-club@2x.jpg This will be great as well: http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/chc/restore-wrigley/images/renderings/proposed-upper-level-concourse-view@2x.jpg

Yeah, looks like that got pushed. Sucks. It's going to be awesome when it happens, though.

yes, but I imagine he wants a guaranteed starting role to rebuild his value. I would've been fine guaranteeing him CF for as long as he didn't play his way out of it. Agreed. Almora is just a guy.

If what you're saying here is that your seats are better than joe schmoe thinks they are because of their positioning, I'm riiiiiight there with you. Which is why I want to move to the bleachers. The rubes overpay for those, and when I want to go to a game to actually enjoy it, I'll swap them out for grandstands day of. Same thing happens with my IF UF Box. Those are awful seats in just about every stadium except Wrigley. Yeah, the UD Box are some of the best seats in the house, but you certainly pay for them. In our group, we have 2 there and 2 in UD Reserved. The UD Box are more than 2x the cost for almost all games and usually sell for around face, whereas the UD Reserved sell for well above face (when the team is good, obv.). As for the 96%, maybe it's a total dollar value thing that is some BS math? Say a great 1st level ticket is face $100 but sells for $300 and a UD Reserved is $20 face and sells for $30. That's a total face value of $120 and resale value of $330--that's a 175% over face total, right?