Jon

Walker's starting streak?

You could've commented that Encarnacion dropped his keys in the puddle while trying to stick the landing.

RONNY! And that skip over the puddle was great.

Actually, I think Lee was there last year.

Don't knock the stadium. The field is on a giant conveyor belt so they can move it out of the dome to get sunlight between games. Oh, what an age we live in. http://www.aluminum.org/images/AluminumNow/0505/BC_Envelope_article_stadium.jpg I can't believe they gave in to the aluminum lobby, though.

It really depends on the year, and transfer applications have risen a lot in the last few years, but it's definitely easier than freshman admissions. Especially for in-state students.

Yeah, that's certainly nothing new. And a lot of outfield seats across the league have blind spots. The family section was always a great place to watch the game despite the blind spot. I'm not sure what the odds are of missing a great catch at the wall, but I'd imagine they're pretty darn small.

It's possible he may not have a spot in the rotation, anyways. Let's hope that with Marshall, Guzman, and Hill, the Cubs can have Miller pitch a bit at AAA before deciding what to do.

I would say that Les Walrond needs to do more thinking and less walrond! Hmm, not as funny. Is there a reason Broadway was pushed up to AA after those stats in 11 games?

Well, the radar looks good right now. I can't say the same for those in Wisconsin and Michigan, but the storm has moved on. Let's just hope the stuff to the west stays away.

Haha, yeah. I need to check to see how he's doing in Europe. Haven't done that in a few months. Yeah, I post over there at times. No better place for news. Good luck with admissions. I transferred here after a couple of years, but was also a rare life-long fan and have been thrilled with getting to go to games for free. It's great. Hopefully you'll get quite a few opportunities to rush the field/court.

Another Northwestern fan? Awesome. Welcome to the board.

I don't think it is reasonable. And even if they do have a pretty good idea after an injury, it would be irresponsible to make a public statement about a diagnosis before tests are even conducted. If people have blasted the Cubs for a bad diagnosis in the past, just imagine what would happen if they made such a statement. I don't see how the Cubs could've handled this any better. Regardless, you shouldn't have to be sent to a top specialist to diagnose a moderate strain. Maybe that reflects more poorly on the training staff than Mark. And with all due respect, a pitcher saying "I think it's bad" or "I don't think it's bad" is hardly a public diagnosis. Besides, it's not like the Cubs have even an iota of credibility left to damage in this department. A strain in the rotator cuff? Of course they should, especially when it's a new injury. And even if they were to somehow know exactly what it was, they needed to seek medical advice about how to treat the injury and what kind of program they should put him on when he started throwing again. Not getting tests for reported pain (which turned out to be consistent with the diagnosis) would be nothing short of irresponsible in this case, especially when you have the resources that the Cubs do.

The spacing could've used some work. Here's a pic from inside the batter's eye: http://images.ibsys.com/2006/0406/8516872.jpg And apparently the ivy on the outside walls will take 3-5 years to fully grow.

The more signs that simply say "OBP?" the better.

I'm optimistic about Wood this year, but I'd imagine a return won't happen before early May. Either way, it's looking good right now for him.

I don't think it is reasonable. And even if they do have a pretty good idea after an injury, it would be irresponsible to make a public statement about a diagnosis before tests are even conducted. If people have blasted the Cubs for a bad diagnosis in the past, just imagine what would happen if they made such a statement. I don't see how the Cubs could've handled this any better.

Well, I think it has been made pretty clear that Prior misses more time to minor injuries than any other pitcher in the league. Until someone can present a pitcher who has had 5 injuries like Prior had, I conclude it to be true because I have a pretty good memory of every player and MLB season I've watched and I can't think of any. So whether it is right for the Cubs to shut him down each time he gets one of these injuries or he could have just played through some of them and never had any problems, there is a problem. He doesn't pitch enough. Nobody has had the same collection of injuries like Prior has had, but countless pitchers have had more non-fluke injuries than him. Since he was mentioned recently, how about Gagne? And Burnett's injury history has been more serious. How about Kerry Wood? There are plenty.

There is a distinction that is not being made here. The ability to sustain and heal injuries quickly and the ability to endure and manage pain are two very different things. I have never, nor would I question the former in Prior's case. What I am questioning is Prior's constitution, not his physical endurance. I just find it odd that he reacted in a sudden and alrming way to what amounted to one total non injury and one very minor one. After Prior cut his seesion short last month, no one said "this is minor pain" or "we think is just a strain". There was a very serious air. I am no professional athlete, but I know the difference between a strain, sprain or irritation and something serious like a tear when I get hurt, and I have been hurt a fair bit. I don't know if some people, including myself, are reacting this way to Prior's injuries because he really can't manage his pain, or because the cloak and dagger way the Cubs deal with injuries always has us primed for something far worse. Regardless, it is getting old. Of course not. That's what the tests are for. They correctly recognized it was not normal soreness and took the proper precautions. The tests confirmed that it was not normal. It turned out to absolutely be the right thing to do. How can he be criticized for doing the right thing? Pitching through pain is almost always a pretty bad idea. Don't forget what trying to pitch through such an injury could do. If they didn't shut him down, he'd be putting his rotator cuff in danger and at the very least would almost certainly be behind where he is now.

Maybe not most, but a lot of matchup stats certainly don't carry much weight. Or rather, they shouldn't. Barrett implied that he's catching Maddux.

The deal's going down on Saturday, according to Cubs.com. Or at least that's when it's being announced.

I know he has a walk and triple but I'm not sure about his complete line Was the safety squeeze him as well? Did whoever that was reach? Good to see an XBH and a walk from him. I think it was, but I'm not sure. That play tied the game. Yup and yup. The pitcher bobbled the ball, though I believe Ron said he didn't have much of a chance to get Eric. Chiefs lose :(

Nannini gave up a walkoff HR today for a team in the Reds organization.

Sounds great! I know some people had problems last season with the volume; it's coming through loud and clear for me tonight. :) I had popping noises briefly earlier and restarted the player, it's been working fine since then. Oh, forgot about that. Yeah, it's definitely better.

Yes because those 3 deals are the reason the Cubs aren't expected to win. Real franchise cornerstones there. That's not much of a defense for three bad multi-year deals.