fromthestretch

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And lets them throw 130 pitches in a 13-2 win on three-days rest following a 120-pitch effort.

you don't think they think about their jobs as much as we think about their jobs? My point is that they probably think about their jobs just as much as most people think about theirs. Which, considering most people here spend their days thinking about the Cubs while at work, is why I think most of them were over it within a few hours. Do you think about your job much when you leave the office? Not everyone's current occupation is their dream job. I'm not sure what you do for a living, but was it something you dreamed about doing as a child? Did you tell everyone that you aspired to be a ? When you got home from school as a kid and went out to play with your friends, instead of grabbing a ball and bat, did you go out and practice ? I'd have to think that if I spent my entire life practicing my butt off to be a professional athlete, actually reached that goal, had a legitimate chance to make baseball history by being a part of the first Cubs team to win a World Series in 100 year and had that chance end in an embarrassing manner, I might not get over it in just a few hours.

How do you get tired of something that rarely happens? The Cubs were first in the NL in runs scored...by 56 runs. Obviously, the strikeouts are not a problem.

If they ever traded Lee for a .600 ops infielder, thats it, Im done. If it allowed them to get Teixiera, I'd be down. That's all I was saying!!!!! That makes no sense though. It's not like Figgins is the only option available. Even if you want to dump Lee to simply free up salary to get Teixeira, you should still get something better than Figgins in return. Figgins put up an OPS .005 points higher than Ronny Cedeno and earned $4.75 million for his efforts. On top of that, where are you going to play him? CF? He's sure as hell not going to play third over Ramirez or second over DeRosa or Fontenot for that matter. You're better off dealing Lee for some prospects, letting Pie play center, and signing Teixeira. You'd save more money that way for improvements in other areas.

20 HR, 100 RBI for that "older then dirt" player. He's also two years younger then Manny. He's worth a two year deal. EDIT: 371 OBP as well. The guy can still play and play at a high level. Worth a two-year deal? Perhaps. Willing to sign a two-year deal? Doubtful. He's going to want at least three, possibly four. While he does do a good job of getting on base, his walk rate is also starting to decline. I might go three years if I had to. Lets face it, our offense is the problem and has been in the postseason the last two years. We have been worked over by dominant, right handed pitching. Imagine this: Roberts in a trade for Derosa. Fukudome Soriano A-Ram Abreau Lee Soto Cendeno or Theriot You're not going to get Roberts in a deal for DeRosa. Just isn't going to happen. And considering the Cubs had the best offense in the league, I find it odd to say the offense is the problem. Yes, they struggled in the postseason. But you don't say the offense is a problem based on a three-game sample. The pitching and defense played a large role in the Cubs playoff failures this season, so it's not fair to lay it all on the offense. I also find it odd that you want to trade DeRosa, considering your emphasis on postseason offense, when he did a good job with the bat this postseason. Even though it's a small sample size, his career postseason numbers are very good.

I agree with that. IIRC, the Yanks gave up quantity but not quality to get him AND Lidle. Abreu still has a decent arm, but his range isn't much to talk about. I think he might have one or two more quality years left in him, but his best seasons are definitely behind him. He's not worth a the three or four-year deal he's probably seeking.

20 HR, 100 RBI for that "older then dirt" player. He's also two years younger then Manny. He's worth a two year deal. EDIT: 371 OBP as well. The guy can still play and play at a high level. Worth a two-year deal? Perhaps. Willing to sign a two-year deal? Doubtful. He's going to want at least three, possibly four. While he does do a good job of getting on base, his walk rate is also starting to decline.

And then worn their head as a hat when he went back out the next inning.

That had nothing to do with what happened on Thursday. Bingo. I'll agree that Zambrano lets his emotions get the best of him at times, but he should have been out of that inning three times and the defense let him down. Three times he did his job and the guys behind him didn't. In one inning. All things considered, he handled that inning much better than a lot of pitchers would have.

you think the sox will make it through both the rays AND the angels/redsox? I really doubt it sure thing mang...and then we can spank them in 6 because that would be a world series victory at wrigley right? Game 6 of the World Series would be a road game for the Cubs.

Unfortunately, I have a baseball game of my own tonight, unless we get rained out. Therefore, I will be showing my Cubs pride by wearing my Arlington Senators baseball jersey and hat, gray baseball pants, burgundy baseball socks, etc. If my game gets rained out and I actually have a chance to watch the game, I will be wearing my replica 1914 Cubs jersey.

He was tolerable but still pretty bad. It honestly sounds like he's not paying attention half the time. That said, I'd rather listen to those guys than Buck and McCarver. And, man...Eckersley just looks and sounds like he's not very comfortable in front of the camera. I felt bad for the guy everytime they cut back to the studio.

A "Taking Care of Business" World Series? 8-[ Wow. Nice reference from a terrible movie.

What does that even mean? Are you seriously trying to complain about the Cubs not getting big hits THIS year of all years? We've seen like 5 years worth this season. I know, but I'm just nervous about the playoffs. Just once would I like to see that moment. Hell, even the Sosa and Kerry Wood HRs (the most clutch HRs in Cubs history) were in games they freaking ended up losing. What other postseason/end of season elimination game HRs do the cubs have in their history? Gaetti in the 1 game playoff maybe? Aramis' grand slam vs. Florida was great, but that was in the first inning. All I want is a Magglio Ordonez vs. the As homer or a Joe Carter moment. Is that too much to ask? While that would be nice and all, I'd settle for a walk-off HBP in Game 7 if that's what it took to win it all.

There's no reason ANYBODY should be striking out 200 times per year, high OBP or not. your baseball knowledge is definitely in the bottom 10 percent of this board And you're a borderline troll who should have been banned long ago. And, seeing as you're a genius, would you care to explain to me why it's a good thing that they're striking out 200 times per year? Care to tell me why with runners on the corners and one out, it's ok that he strikes out, instead of putting the ball in play and perhaps getting the runner home? Yes, when you strike out you avoid the double play. But that is worst-case scenario. If there's not a runner on 1st, a strikeout isn't any better than a ground out or a fly ball. At least with a fly ball or grounder, you can possibly advance the runners. With a strikeout, barring a dropped 3rd strike, they don't. It's simple, really. So, care to tell me why it's desirable for a high OBP guy to strike out at disgusting levels? Seeing as that's the position you're taking by rebuking my argument. I'd be quite happy to hear it. Not a single person has said it's desirable or even a good thing. It's just that it's a hell of a lot easier to look past the strikeout totals when a guy is putting up a .900 OPS. Cutting back on their strikeouts is not necessarily going to make most of these guys more productive hitters. For many, it could make them worse.

If/when the Cubs reach the World Series, three of us here are talking about driving to Chicago for the games on 10/25 and 10/26. We're not planning on being able to get tickets for the games, but just to be there would be great.

A stat I find odd is that Rickey Henderson never had more than seven triples in a season. Despite being a right-handed hitter, with his speed, you'd think he would have had at least a couple years where he reached double digits.

Not all pitchers throw it that way. I remember reading that Zito, for example, has always used his index finger instead of his middle finger on the seam. While it's not as common, I doubt he's the only one that throws it this way.

braves angels yanks giants rangers I don't think that the Yankees or Rangers have any starting pitching they could afford to trade away. Both would seem to more be in market for pitching help in the offseason than a one dimensional power hitter. I don't see how the Rangers can be included in that group. They are desparate for pitching. FYI, they have one of the best farm systems. They also have a 22-year old, left-handed hitting corner infielder in Chris Davis they could plug in at 1B regularly next year if they don't decide to use him at 3B. Not sure what Blalock's contract situation is, but he's an option for 1B, as well. I can't see them giving up much, if anything, for Prince Fielder. If they're going to use prospects in trades, it will be for pitching. Davis can play third, first, and DH all at the same time?!?!?!? Listen, I didn't say that the Rangers absolutely should trade for Prince, what I said is they could be a possibility. Wow. Lighten up, man. I didn't say he would play all those at once, nor did I even imply it. What I'm saying is they already have options at first base for 2009. When you factor in the dismal state of their pitching staff, it would make sense that they would aggressively seek out pitching for next year. Offense is the least of their worries. Does that mean they won't go after Fielder? Of course not, GMs have done dumber things than that. However, their resources would be best utilized going after pitching. I would probably take the Braves off the list, too, since they went out and got Kotchman already. Fielder's a better player, but Kotchman was a big part of the Teixeira deal. My guess is that they'll give him a full season at least.

braves angels yanks giants rangers I don't think that the Yankees or Rangers have any starting pitching they could afford to trade away. Both would seem to more be in market for pitching help in the offseason than a one dimensional power hitter. I don't see how the Rangers can be included in that group. They are desparate for pitching. FYI, they have one of the best farm systems. They also have a 22-year old, left-handed hitting corner infielder in Chris Davis they could plug in at 1B regularly next year if they don't decide to use him at 3B. Not sure what Blalock's contract situation is, but he's an option for 1B, as well. I can't see them giving up much, if anything, for Prince Fielder. If they're going to use prospects in trades, it will be for pitching.

By no means do I expect Purdue to win this game, but it's not going to be anywhere near that bad.

No point in getting your hopes up for anything better than that. While Purdue's defense actually looks a little better this year (that's not saying much), they aren't a big-play defense that's going to force a lot of turnovers. The receivers might be a little better than I thought coming into this season, but collectively, they're worse than last year's group. They also lost one of their key running backs to injury. A 7-5 season might not be a bad guess, even if they do somehow happen to pull out a win against Oregon.

If they are doing an arthrogram, they have to inject dye directly into the joint. I had one done earlier this year, and there was increased discomfort for about a week. I'm sure it's different for everyone, but at a minimum, they would probably have him miss two starts as a precaution following that procedure.

Put me in the camp that thinks it should be defined relative to the player's typical performance. Chances are, if a guy is hitting better than league average in high-pressure situations, he's just simply better than the average hitter. But if a guy is a .900 OPS guy for his career but he turns into Randy Winn (career .771 OPS) in high-leverage situations, that's not clutch, even if it is better than league average in those situations.