98navigator

where's the strike call?

Renteria out on a sac bunt

no no-no for Rich

go Rich

No doubt. Is Lou smoking the funky stuff or something? I don't know if Lou called it

really, DeRosa didn't do his job by getting him to 3B but Theriot should have stayed at 2B. DLee walks

Riot out at 3B with DLee batting?

DeRosa out to LF

Riot steals 2B 5 for 5

This is the Braves 8th game this season against a LHP. WOW, and they have already won 10 games. :shock: Riot singles!

BB just said Hill has matured into the ace of the staff. It's about time that someone associated with the Cubs acknowledge that fact!

Come on Rich, we need a well pitched game!

Lou just said on the pregame show that Soriano should be ready by Monday or Tuesday (according to the trainers).

I'm not pulling for him, thats for sure. What a waste. [thread hijack] I agree. I'm not going to expend energy rooting for someone who has failed without the assistance of others! I don't understand why people who have abused drugs, done time, or--pick the infraction--, deserve our support. He's to blame for his problems and he has to earn some credibility. Lost in the shuffle of this "feel good story" are the guys who succeed without succumbing to pressure or those who don't get a second chance. The guy is lucky to be in this position.[/thread hijack] Yes he his, and I'm sure he knows that. If he stays straight and lives up to his potential, it's still a good story. Battling an addiction is about as difficult as anything anyone can ever do. He should not be forever condemned for making stupid mistakes with drugs at a young age. Why is this a good story? I can see someone battling back from a devastating injury, cancer, or after an unprovoked attack that took them away from the game, but this? No, using crack was his fault. BTW, I'm not advocating condemnation. If he proves he is clean there's nothing to talk about but he hasn't earned universal respect, praise, or support. There are plenty of young people who don't throw away years of their life because of drug abuse. Also, let's not characterize this as youthful transgressions, this guy was married with children. Instead of adequately supporting his family he was terrorizing them--so much so that his wife kicked him out of the house!!! I don't hear enough praise for those who do the right thing the first time around. They don't get the limelight. Now Hamilton is viewed as a symbol of strength and perseverance? Not in my world. You're not only advocating condemnation, but you are wholeheartedly engaging in it. :D I strongly disagree with his previous behavior, but I think that people can change for the better. However, I don't believe in heaping praise on someone who is finally doing what's expected of everyone. The people who need support are his family and friends for the hurt and sacrifice they endured. Judging from his comments on RealSports I think he would agree with you 100%. There is a lot ot like about the guy. We all cannot be blessed with stable home lives, wonderful parents, or a supportive environment in which to grow up. I'm not making excuses for the problems that people get themselves into, I'm trying to bring in some context. I hope he does agree. I'm sure he's trying to say the right things. It's also probably true that he's very likeable. Neither is valid with respect to his past behavior nor how he has been portrayed in the media--It disgusts me that his life story is being romanticized. He isn't a victim, he is/was weak. No one forced him to use drugs. Also, you're implying that his family and environment are possibly to blame for his failures. I wholly disagree. Again, he was married and had small children at home during the height of his drug use. He also had a $3.9 million signing bonus that he smoked away. I know people who grew up in impoverished situations, with far less than an ideal family life, who have never abused drugs or used their life as an excuse to do bad things. There are people with legitimate reasons to resort to addictive behavior, as a coping mechanism, who refuse to do so. Hamilton turned to drugs because he couldn't handle the pressure of playing sports at a high level... One of my best friends, that I have known since I was 12, grew up being abused in the foster care system. If there was ever a built in reason to screw up he has one--instead he has worked hard to be successful. I hope Hamilton is reformed for the sake of his family.

I'm not pulling for him, thats for sure. What a waste. [thread hijack] I agree. I'm not going to expend energy rooting for someone who has failed without the assistance of others! I don't understand why people who have abused drugs, done time, or--pick the infraction--, deserve our support. He's to blame for his problems and he has to earn some credibility. Lost in the shuffle of this "feel good story" are the guys who succeed without succumbing to pressure or those who don't get a second chance. The guy is lucky to be in this position.[/thread hijack] Yes he his, and I'm sure he knows that. If he stays straight and lives up to his potential, it's still a good story. Battling an addiction is about as difficult as anything anyone can ever do. He should not be forever condemned for making stupid mistakes with drugs at a young age. Why is this a good story? I can see someone battling back from a devastating injury, cancer, or after an unprovoked attack that took them away from the game, but this? No, using crack was his fault. BTW, I'm not advocating condemnation. If he proves he is clean there's nothing to talk about but he hasn't earned universal respect, praise, or support. There are plenty of young people who don't throw away years of their life because of drug abuse. Also, let's not characterize this as youthful transgressions, this guy was married with children. Instead of adequately supporting his family he was terrorizing them--so much so that his wife kicked him out of the house!!! I don't hear enough praise for those who do the right thing the first time around. They don't get the limelight. Now Hamilton is viewed as a symbol of strength and perseverance? Not in my world. You're not only advocating condemnation, but you are wholeheartedly engaging in it. :D I strongly disagree with his previous behavior, but I think that people can change for the better. However, I don't believe in heaping praise on someone who is finally doing what's expected of everyone. The people who need support are his family and friends for the hurt and sacrifice they endured.

His baseball production is separate from my comments about supporting him. If he were a Cub I'd root for him to help the team but I still wouldn't like him; There are current and former Cubs I don't like. As far as his season is concerned, let's wait and see. Eventually, pitchers will make an adjustment on him. How will he respond?

Rotoworld said a few days ago that it was better than 50/50 that Soriano was going on the DL. I don't think anyone, including Carpenter, knows how this situation will resolve itself.

I'm not pulling for him, thats for sure. What a waste. [thread hijack] I agree. I'm not going to expend energy rooting for someone who has failed without the assistance of others! I don't understand why people who have abused drugs, done time, or--pick the infraction--, deserve our support. He's to blame for his problems and he has to earn some credibility. Lost in the shuffle of this "feel good story" are the guys who succeed without succumbing to pressure or those who don't get a second chance. The guy is lucky to be in this position.[/thread hijack] Yes he his, and I'm sure he knows that. If he stays straight and lives up to his potential, it's still a good story. Battling an addiction is about as difficult as anything anyone can ever do. He should not be forever condemned for making stupid mistakes with drugs at a young age. Why is this a good story? I can see someone battling back from a devastating injury, cancer, or after an unprovoked attack that took them away from the game, but this? No, using crack was his fault. BTW, I'm not advocating condemnation. If he proves he is clean there's nothing to talk about but he hasn't earned universal respect, praise, or support. There are plenty of young people who don't throw away years of their life because of drug abuse. Also, let's not characterize this as youthful transgressions, this guy was married with children. Instead of adequately supporting his family he was terrorizing them--so much so that his wife kicked him out of the house!!! I don't hear enough praise for those who do the right thing the first time around. They don't get the limelight. Now Hamilton is viewed as a symbol of strength and perseverance? Not in my world.

I'm not pulling for him, thats for sure. What a waste. [thread hijack] I agree. I'm not going to expend energy rooting for someone who has failed without the assistance of others! I don't understand why people who have abused drugs, done time, or--pick the infraction--, deserve our support. He's to blame for his problems and he has to earn some credibility. Lost in the shuffle of this "feel good story" are the guys who succeed without succumbing to pressure or those who don't get a second chance. The guy is lucky to be in this position.[/thread hijack]

I believe Hill would have done that in his first start against the Brewers if the Cubs had not been leading by so many runs. He was at 78 pitches and no walks through 7IP.

Oh I don't think Cubs fans should be throwing rocks around in this particular glass house. After all Rich Hill with all, what, 9 career wins is better than Carlos Zambrano. the difference being that Rich Hill has been better than Carlos Zambrano for half a season now... and Carlos Zambrano is not the best pitcher in baseball Right. You really think anyone outside of a few Cubs fans believe this to be true? I love Rich Hill, but until I see him dominate like Z has for most of his career this is just silly. It's not just Cubs fans... I guess you didn't see the AP story after Hill's last start; The writer mentioned that Hill has pitched like the ace of the staff... As already mentioned, Rich has pitched better than Z for quite a while. 9 total wins isn't representative of his overall dominance since last August. Z had the highest run support of any pitcher on the 2006 staff. Whereas, Hill left some good starts with no decisions. Hill is 5-1 with a 1.61 ERA in his last 8 starts. I believe that one loss was a rain-shortened complete game against the Reds.

our......he could have not walked two people. call me crazy. I totally agree with not walking people. I also think it was obvious Eyre was running out of gas and under normal circumstances, had others been available, he would have been pulled earlier in the inning. Again, credit Cox for bringing in the RH pinch hitters because he knew the Cubs bullpen situation. The ball to Izturis should have ended the inning without a run scoring; He was too lackadaisical. Why are we crediting Cox for bringing in RH bats to face a LHP? It wasn't a difficult call. Of course it was the right call. My point is the Cubs could not respond by removing Eyre. Even though he's been used to pitch entire innings in the past, the chances are greater that a RH will do more damage against him.

our......he could have not walked two people. call me crazy. I totally agree with not walking people. I also think it was obvious Eyre was running out of gas and under normal circumstances, had others been available, he would have been pulled earlier in the inning. Again, credit Cox for bringing in the RH pinch hitters because he knew the Cubs bullpen situation. The ball to Izturis should have ended the inning without a run scoring; He was too lackadaisical.

Oh yeah? Prior has a ERA of 0, beat that. Best pitcher in the league hands down! :P The one problem is Prior isn't in this League. LOL, he's property of AAA Iowa. :P

I wouldn't be surprised... I can't say that I'd be surprised, but I'm hopeful that he pitches well and they score a lot of runs!