third eye

OK, so I understand how this board as a whole doesnt attribute much value to a player's defensive ability, particularly with the Neifi run gloved in stat. But you have to acknowledge that Soriano has saved a number of runs with his arm this year. Beyond the putouts, you see plenty of 3rd base coaches holding runners at third on balls hit to left. I personally think this will bear itself out in wins down the stretch, especially in close games. I think this could make as much as a 2-3 game difference in the latter part of the season. I'm also not conviced that his arm is better served in right. Yes, it is a longer throw to 3rd, but the way he has deterred runners from taking 2nd and trying to score, I think his arm might be best utilized staying where it is. Considering the right handed balance of good hitters in the NL central, might he already be in the best spot for his defensive abilities? . Thoughts?

I remember that well. Specifically, they lost 8 in a row, then immediately turned it around and won 12 in a row. I don't recall any other team having such a long winning streak immediately on the heels of such a long losing streak without even a single game between the streaks. If I really strain my memory, I want to say that the streak was snapped when a player reached over the wall (not a jump, it was a very short wall) to take back a Sosa homer that would have saved the game for the Cubs with two outs in the ninth. pretty sure it was everyone's favorite recent Cubs RF: Jeromy Burnitz. Yep, I'm pretty sure thats who it was. Also, it was Sammy up to bat with 2 out in the 9th, the Cubs down by 2 and either one or two on base. That would have either tied or won it. They went on to sweep the Cards at Wrigley immediately after. In any case, do the 2007 Brewers = the 2001 Cubs?

Definitely one of the most (if not for sure the most) talented Cubs teams I've seen. That team should have ripped through the league after the trade deadline And the most depressing thing looking back at the end of '04 is the starting pitching. Zambrano and Prior were unhitable. Rusch was even pitching out of his mind... but that bullpen :( I remember listening to a game against the Reds from September '04. Prior was flirting with 20K for the first half, kind of lost steam with the K's near the end but ended up with 16 or 18. Gave up a solo home run somewhere in the later innings and left after 9IP with a ND, and of course the Cubs lost it in extras. EDIT - Just looked it up, it was his last start of the year, sept. 30th, so I think the season was all but officially dead at that point. 9.0IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 1HR, 1BB, 16K Sosa had a solo HR Kearns had the HR against Prior Javier #$%^&^ Valentin doubled in the winning run.... Adam Dunn (who set the major league strikeout record for season that day) And a Rusch start where the only offensive support he got was a solo home run... that he hit. But the season wasnt dead yet. His start and Glendon's start, where they both only gave up one run (maybe none in glendon's?), were the last 2 losses of the Reds series. If they win those, they are tied with the Astros going into the last series. Stoopid Latroy hawkins. I think he blew 9 saves after taking over as closer. Get 4 of those back and they are in the playoffs as the hottest team in the field.

I'd rather have Rich Hill over Sean Marshall because Hill still has a higher upside and doesn't have Marshall's injury history. While I trust your opinion is accurate it doesn't seem logical here. Hill is older, has less velocity, less control, less # of pitches and can't show any consistency. Marshall has seemingly grown over the offseason and has surpassed Hill. The only negative is his unknown injuries. less consistency? hill is coming down off a stretch of baseball nearly equal to a full season where he was one of the top 5-10 pitchers in all of baseball. has marshall even strung together more than five consecutive good starts in his career? what's the longest run of good health he's ever had? three months? and that's not even considering hill's vastly superior minor league numbers. by the way, every one is crapping themselves over hill's last four starts...his four starts before that... 27 2/3 ip, 18 h, 5 bb, 24 k's, 1.63 era, 0.83 whip i'm concerned about him right now too, but let's have a little perspective. Agreed. Also, all pitchers will have stretches of a few bad starts in a row over a season. Prior in 2003 had a couple of bad ones before the break. He only got REALLY hot after he came off the DL from the Giles collision. Hill has put together close to a full very solid year now. And as abuck pointed out, prior to the last 4 starts, he had 4 strong ones. And even within the last four, the sox outing wasnt that bad. I see him getting through this slump as he finds his location again.

I agree, somewhat. Hendry must be proactive and get a SS, CF, or catcher. He cannot wait until the deadline. Also we have to hope for good health. I'm looking a your Aramis. Oh, and also Lee needs to start hitting some taters. So, in conclusion, the Cubs need some more offense and a lot of luck. I am starting to believe for the first time since 2003. I was in full believe mode in 2004. Thats was the most talented roster top to bottom i have seen as long as I've followed baseball (maybe skewed a bit by my blue tinted goggles). In any case, we havent seen this stretch of good baseball since they got hot in early June of 2005. That ended badly though as the team's flaws were revealed. What gives me more hope is that i think this rotation and bullpen are deeper than that team's was. Does anyone else see parallels between the way this season has gone and the way 2001 went? Insert the Cubs as the Astros and the Brewers as the Cubs. The Cards are the Cards. The Cubs were 3.5 games up at the break that year, but had been out in front by 6.5 when the astros were struggling. They put it together and passed the Cubs in August, and the Cards got hot and passed both. I think both Cards and Astros finished with 93 wins and the cubs with 88. Also, if you remember that year, the Cubs started out hot, then swooned before going on another hot streak before the break, similar to what the Brewers have done. Yes, this is anecdotal and has no sabr value as an analysis, but the tone of the season seems eerily reminiscent.

Wow, trippy. Is this like one of those pictures where if you stare at it for a long time, another image comes out of the background? Nobody let Sean see this. He'll be too distracted to make his start.

Almost.

DLee HR in this at bat?

While it is just 7 game stretch like any other, the team we are trying to chase will be playing the same weak teams. They are likely to get 4-6 wins out of these 7, so keeping pace or gaining ground if lucky is very important in this particular stretch heading into the break.

Unlike the Cubs of the last couple of years, this team doesn't fold after being down by several runs. The only problem early in the year was the bullpen giving those runs right back. With the pen settling down, I have to think this team doesnt feel like it is ever out of a game.

Cause he hung a pitch and the batter hit it hard? Seriously you are comical with your excuses for Hill. I bet if Marquis had this same crap performance you would be saying alot of different stuff what's comical is how everyone buries rich hill when he's been the team's best starter this year. I'll take a guy with a top 10 WHIP in baseball. He's not having a great game today, but the overreaction in this thread is a lot funnier than anything I've written. Agreed on the Hill assesment. But sorry, your transcript of Soriano's post game interview earlier this week was funnier than any overreaction here could be.

you seriously cant i asked my fiance if I could get wayne to sing the anthem before our wedding ceremony. Carniby, I thought if the Cubs swept the Rockies, you were going to change your name to Killbuzz McSmartarse or Handlebar McSkullet. Whats the deal?

I'm a dummy. But which game is that? I honestly don't know what team those guys are on right now. (brain fart). that's more than a fart. I think your brain sharted. :lol: The shart has to be one of my favority pottie-humorisms of all time.

I'm a dummy. But which game is that? I honestly don't know what team those guys are on right now. (brain fart). ? Heh, I think the 7-4 confused you. That was the put-out that Soriano just had. It is in reference to this game. :)

For those of you who have MLB.com gameday audio, the Pat and Ron call is available on archive. The call of the 9th starts at the 4:00 hour mark and the call of Soriano's at bat starts at exactly 4:12. Yes, Ron does lose it, but Pat is even houder than he is. Great to listen to after watching the game on TV.

On pace for 14, I think he might flirt with 18 or 19. Well, he's still hitting the ball well. I'd like to think that he will continue to regain strength in the wrist as the year continues. I think he will get to 20 eventually (or close). Back when he was with Florida, he put up better second half power numbers too if i'm remembering right. In any case, I'm still happy with the OPS and RBI figures. And with Aaramis back and providing power, I think we can live with Lee's non power. I can see him ending up with numbers similar to Drew with LA last year.

Still only at 92 pitches. Hopefully he can finish this one off.

How is Soriano ALWAYS at 0-2? In every at bat it seems.

Will this be Dempster's 5th straight day with an appearance? Scares me.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6337 Dear Lord, if this is accurate we are truly hosed. How can it be possible that year after year since 2004, our best players have gone down for extended periods of time? Seems unfathomable!!

Seriously, it does seem like the second he steps to the plate, he is immediately in an 0-2 count every time. Didnt seem to bother him when he was on his hot streak. But man, is he streaking the other way now.

While I agree that the 3-13 mark does illustrate that the Cubs are not currently a playoff team, I disagree that it is because they can't come from behind. They have staged some fairly sizable combacks only to see the bullpen blow those games. Last night was another example, though Dempster has been fairly solid this year. The single biggest factor in their awful 1-run record has been the bullpen. It does look like there are some signs of it settling down, as Ohman and Howry have started to look better. In any case, I dont think this can be chalked up to the offense's inability to come back. By the way, I'd expect a storm of rolled eyes and sarcastic responses to the title of this thread, given this board's objection to the concept of "clutch"...

Pie! Wow, he has looked great since soming up. I especially like swing he took on that hit.

Bottom line Jones needs to go, if there ever was a player who's play reflects his dislike with playing for the Cubs it's Jacque Jones. He's a California native, Hendry should look trading him to the Angels, Dodgers, Giants or Padres - take anything Jim - lower level prospect, bucket of balls, six pack of Anchor Porter or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale - just get him out of town. I didnt see this posted elsewhere, but in the trib they had an article today about some of the players on both Chicago teams that might be traded plus the views of various scouts on each of the players. Here is what they said about Jacque: Jones: "Pass," one scout said bluntly. "I would have very little interest [in recommending him], although scouts aren't in the money business. He has put up some decent numbers, although his defense is nothing great." "[The Cubs] would love to trade him," another said, "but they would have almost no left-handed hitting. To me, he would have more value in the American League because he still has some offensive value. But we're talking about [the Cubs] eating a sizable portion of his contract." I thought it was a bit surprising given his numbers last year. I figured teams would view him as a low cost option for decent production assuming he gets to play every day. Apparently not.

Icehole! Thats one of the best TBS/TNT/A&E dubbed-over-a-swear replacement words I've heard. My personal favorite in the past has been "Jackhole". Or when they dub over any Sopranos character on A&E so they say "Funny" in leiu of what they originally said.