wastra

Right now, we are weak- very weak- at too many positions to talk about contending until some moves are made. We start Neifi at short, Corey, Hollandsworth/Dubois, Blanco, and today Macias and we're wondering why we're not hitting. Hmmm... A case might be made that Mark Prior is the 5th best hitter in this lineup behind Lee, Burnitz, Walker, and Hollandsworth.

That's what I like about Todd. Last year, he specifically said he prefers to hit lower in the order. But this year, apparently, he's seeing where we have a marked deficiency, and is pretty much offering to do it to help the team. And his defense/ability to turn the DP has not been as bad as many people seemed to think it was...in fact, it's been solid.

My main question is whether or not Dusty starts the circus midget at second base again tonight since he managed to get his second whole hit of hte year last night.

I'll go one step further: If 3 of our 4 best starting pitchers aren't healthy all year and we still finish over .500 with a legit playoff shot in late September, I'll openly praise his job as manager, because I think we're one injured pitcher away from toying with .500 all year with this roster. Being a Cubs fan doesn't mean we have to blindly accept and praise everyone in a Cubs uniform (not that anyone here is doing that). Our Cubs haven't won anything yet- seasons over .500 is fine, but it's not a victory, with our payroll and fan support, it should be the BARE MINIMUM expectation. We should EXPECT to battle down to the wire for the playoffs every season. We're not pittsburgh, Milwaukee, or Kansas City. The Cubs are a major market team with a major budget with a great ballpark. failing to win with that is not excusable. The downside to shedding the "loveable losers" tag the past couple years is that the organization and team can't fall back on that anymore either when they fail to produce. This team has the money, the fan support, and the infrastructure to enter every season as one of the division's clear contenders. We should expect nothing less. Hence, we will point out what we perceive to be glaring inadequacies with both management and personnel decisions. It doesn't make us less of "Cub Fans" to do so. It just means we disagree with the direction of the team we so root for.

It almost seems liek Dusty's just sticking it to everyone who doesn't support his moves. It's like he's saying: "Okay, FINE. I'll start Hairston. But I'll show you all- If I want to play Neifi Perez, I'll play him, by God. I'll start him at third and bench ARAMIS. How do you like THAT?"

Now the SCORE is reporting that Dusty has changed the lineup so Hairston is now leading off and playing 2B. Not to fear Perez lovers, he's spelling for Ramirez today because of the "weather". You mean to tell me we're fielding the "forfeit lineup" already this season?!? Great [expletive] move, Dusty. Let's really stick it to Prior. Fire Dusty NOW.

At this point, I'm pretty lividwith the whole Ryan Dempster thing. At what point did Dempster earn the right to start for this team? Certainly not from his horrid career numbers. Not from his past few seasons. Not from Spring Training. And yet Dusty annoints him starter just because he had a good season a few years ago. I'm honestly pissed off wathcing this awful game (4/6). Anyone who said they didn't see this coming after watching Dempster this spring is either lying or oblivious.

I really don't care if he hits righty or lefty. I want a guy who simply gets on base and knows how to hit. I don't care if he swings with his feet if he can do that. Granted, Baker will never allow him to face a righty, so..... :?

Hey, JC! Actually, my company stopped allowing access to post on that forum, so I'm here now. I don't post as often, it's been very busy at work, though.

My username at the horrid ESPN board was... wastra. Pretty easy to remember. Looks like I won't be hosting any online fantasy leagues this year. My firm's new internet policy says no games, so I can't access the fantasy forums on ESPN or Yahoo. And I went and cancelled my home phone line and started using a cell phone instead.