RichHillIsABeast

I think it's an unknown future ownership issue, not a philosophical backtracking by Wilken/Hendry/etc.

Supposedly the Cubs aren't allowed to go above slot this year, so Wieters is just flat out of it based on financial reasons. At least that's what I thought Callis said in his latest chat. I assume you mean they're not allowed by the Trib, as opposed to MLB. I don't think baseball could prohibit it because the slot figures are recommendations, not enforceable rules (unless the new CBA contains such a rule, which I don't think it does). You're right, they're not enforceable rules. That's just some snippet from Keith Law (if I said Callis before, I'm an idiot). It's the first I've heard of it, and the only reason I can think of is new ownership. Adding payroll (a modest amount) at the deadline is one thing. It immediately boost value to the club if they make the playoffs. A prospect is a rather abstract value.

Supposedly he wants 10MM and a ML contract. We can't exceed slot according to Callis. What do you want the Cobs to do?

He's played less than 1/2 a season in Chicago.

I'd get rid of Ohman if the right deal came along. We have a cheap replacement (Rapada) in the system.

Meh, just stay away from Vitters. I'd prefer Heyward amongst the HS hitters. He gives the tie to the LH hitter? lmao. good reasoning. why not use shoe size next time. That's a pretty lame reasoning, IMO. Heyward and Moustakas would be fine picks at 3 though.

Supposedly the Cubs aren't allowed to go above slot this year, so Wieters is just flat out of it based on financial reasons. At least that's what I thought Callis said in his latest chat. Seriously, the only thing I've heard "bad" about Vitters is that some think he's good for 30+ HR and others think 20 is more likely. I'm not going to complain about any of the picks I've heard the Cubs are interested in. No Ryan Harvey or Dopirak this year, thank god.

Maybe because of the ownership issue? That's what I was thinking. Since when did Hendry and Cubs management give a rip what Selig says about slot money? That's probably it - ownership issues.

Wait, why can't we exceed slot money?

And what's the current problem with this offense? Not driving in runs. We've had a ton of guys in scoring position and there they stay. Murton's played himself out of a job. You have to actually produce at the ML level to earn and then keep a position. Piniella will play you if you produce. Notice the time Riot got (when he was hot) over Izzy and DeRosa. Murton has no one to blame but himself for his lack of playing time.

Ryno ejected again? He rarely got tossed as a player. Must be getting cranky as he ages. :lol:

When's the last time you saw a fielder making a play on a ball when a runner passes him and yells to confuse him ? T-Ball maybe ? Infielders deke runners all the time. Fair's fair. If you're dumb enough to fall for it, it's your own fault. Same deal with yelling at position players in the field.

This was the most hilarious loss yet. Keep 'em coming, guys!

I'd be pissed if someone did that to me in the middle of a messy divorce. It's a quote from his mom, so who knows if it's 100% accurate, but it fits with the next piece of evidence. Mrs. Dukes allegations may/may not be true, but she's certainly a gold digger. I'll wait until I see some hint of evidence that her allegations of death threats are true. There is nothing to substantiate her claims as far as I can tell. I wonder what kind of bonus he got when he signed? When you look at Stephen Drew, his salary is already listed at around $1.5 mil because of the initial contract he signed. Dukes lists league minimum, so it wasn't a major league contract like some guys get. There might have been a nice bonus, but this guy strikes me as the type who would have wasted it all already. Up until this season, he was in the minors and not making very much, and he had 5 kids with 4 different women. He's got 3 months of big league paychecks under his belt now, so I can't imagine that he had THAT much money in the bank, not enough to get pissed enough to threaten her over. I could easily be wrong though. Either way, if you know things are rough, and you leave all of your money in a joint account, you should know it's fair game for either side. He can use that against her when they split property at the divorce, so in the long run, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. If his short term finances were hit that badly, take out a freaking loan. As far as evidence of the threats, wasn't she granted a protection order based on the voice mail and the picture he sent her? I didn't think there was any doubt that the evidence existed, but I didn't particularly pay that much attention to that aspect of the story. She filed for the protection order and played the voicemail threat (allegedly from Dukes) for the newspaper. I haven't heard if she got it or not. I wonder why her 2 previous attempts to get a protection order failed - well one was b/c "her kid was in the hospital." All she had to prove was there was an incidence of domestic violence and further fear of it continuing. At least that's my understanding. Considering this guy's documented history of issues, that just made me a little suspicious. As far as his finances are concerned, some people just don't know how to manage money, especially not together in a joint account. Not too many married couples don't fight about money somewhere along the line. I too doubt he has any of his signing bonus left after paying taxes, his agent, and the mothers of his kids.

There's a lot more owning up to individual mistakes than last year. Same crap with apologies. Wonderful.

Lou seems to fear extra innings. With this bullpen I can almost understand that. Still, I was pissed that Hill came out having only thrown 66 pitches. * Well, I guess it's better than tacking 130+ on his arm like dusty would have done.

Rapada is a LOOGY. Piggy is not. http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=449060&tm=IowPCL&bp=p http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=450320&tm=IowPCL&bp=p http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=450320&tm=TenSL&bp=p Those in depth stats really show that Piggy is pitching much better than Rapada. WHIP Piggy: .87 Rap: 1.43 OBP Piggy: .232 Rap: .345 SLG Piggy: .296 Rap: .438 OPS Piggy: .528 Rap: .783 They're not comparable by their overall stats. The won't even have the same roles in a bullpen. LOOGY Rapada vs. LH: .083/.258/.125/.383 0.88 WHIP, 5.63 BB/9, 12.38 K/9 Piggy overall: .204/.232/.296/.528 0.87 WHIP, 1.20 BB/9, 9.60 K/9 Those are awesome number. If a decent offer for Ohman comes along, I'd move him and call up Rapada, even if he does have walk issues. I'd dump Eyre right now and call Piggy up. We need a lefty who can get both RH and LH out. Well, getting anyone out would be an improvement on the current situation.

So he can rot on the bench? Jones or Murton needs to be moved first. Why can't Jones rot on the bench? Because that's not how veterans are treated on 90% of MLB teams. It's lame.

Rapada is a LOOGY. Piggy is not. http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=449060&tm=IowPCL&bp=p http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=450320&tm=IowPCL&bp=p http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=450320&tm=TenSL&bp=p

So he can rot on the bench? Jones or Murton needs to be moved first.

He really does look bad out there. It's pretty impossible to hide him in the pen. It just makes it that much tougher on everyone else - and they have their own issues to deal with.

Nice game, ladies. Good effort. Ding dongs and juice boxes for everyone.

you should change your username to "Broken Record"

Could this team be any worse? This is embarrassing.

Its not allowed in the clubhouse anymore, maybe thats been the problem Well, get those losers some sparkling white grape juice then. This is cause for celebration. :lol: