MSG T

Holy [expletive], that's horrendously funny.

Gah. That'll leave a mark.

Yep. I took a low 90's fastball to the face in HS. My reaction was almost identical to Chapman's, as were my injuries. Compared to the heart attack, being shot and grenade fragments...it's still the worst pain I've experienced. It felt like my face had exploded. Jesus. Remind me not to ever stand anywhere near you. That is to say, wow. You've dodged (er?) a lot of bullets. Being in Iraq twice (15 years apart) helped with a couple of those, a through and through in my right shoulder and an RPG blast that put a few fragments in my left leg/hip. Having a horrible family history with heart attacks, about 12 members of my dad's side of the family had one before they were 60 and four of them died, helped with the other. As for the face, a kid in our conference threw really, really hard but had no control of it. A fastball tailed into me and I didn't recognize it in time. It broke the orbit around my right eye, kind of smashed my cheekbone, broke my upper right jaw and actually caused a bit of damage near my ear. No scars, but you can still see there's something off as they didn't quite put me back together right. My eye is now a little different and my ear is about 1/8-1/4 inch lower than it used to be. I ended up having a similar problem to Olt, my tear duct wouldn't work right and my vision was blurry, but they both cleared up by the next season. I don't freak if I hear loud noises, but I do freak if something flies past my face and I didn't know it was coming. Been deployed twice and the only PTSD I have is from a [expletive] baseball hitting me in the face when I was 16.

I can't believe he didn't lose any consciousness during the ordeal. I just can't imagine the amount of pain involved with that. Yikes. I would imagine his entire face went numb for quite a while before any pain set in As someone who was hit in the eye by a line drive I can tell you that there is no numbness only pain and fear, but mostly pain. Yep. I took a low 90's fastball to the face in HS. My reaction was almost identical to Chapman's, as were my injuries. Compared to the heart attack, being shot and grenade fragments...it's still the worst pain I've experienced. It felt like my face had exploded.

Give me a break. Did he just channel Theriot?

He didn't get built like that eating Girl Scout Cookies.

Ah, that's cool then. I haven't seen it and I was hoping that wasn't an example of what they were using, even with the ST consideration (not equipped with as many cameras/positions as a normal game). I still hate the idea of centralized review, why can't they have someone in the park? Of course, I'm also not a fan of the challenge process, I'd just like to see them review anything that needs reviewed. It seems like doing that way they could actually review more things, but in less time than an official challenge from one coach or another. But, I guess it's an improvement...unless they can't actually fix bad calls.

I get that it's ST, but they don't have the use of HD for review? I think I saw clearer shots watching the Cubs in 1985.

Of course he did.

This is from the Evanta site, showing featured speakers, though I think the bio is similar to the one on the Cubs official site... http://www.evanta.com/sports/global-sports-management-summit/may-2013/speakers#

They said this last year. We've added some new faces but if Veres is your closer, his stats last year are only slightly better than Gregg's, if at all. 21 -25 saves 3.02 era vs 33-38 saves with a 3.48 era with a huge fall off in September (he was at 3.11 to start that month) If it's Strop, he had 1 save last year, and 4 for his career. He has shown flashes but has never had the role, so we simply do not know what we have in him. Wright adds another lefty, but totes a 4.37 career era, and 3.69 from last year. Blake Parker adds interest but it's doubtful he has a significant role unless everyone else flops-maybe a 7th inning guy, more likely a fill the gap guy from starter to the 7th...with the other 4 filling the end of game roles. Anyone else would be non-impact (long relief,etc), or is also an unknown for any important role. One of the things that is rarely mentioned about out pen last year was that because of our offense almost every appearance was a high intensity situation. So they were always under pressure, and usually facing a 1 run loses the game or lead situation. So even if our guys out there are a little better on paper, they may have similar results. You'd have to think we can't possibly blow as many games as last year, but the scary thing is can you imagine what it would have been like if Gregg hadn't sold his soul to the devil for 1 more season in the sun? I still can't fathom that he had the type of season he did, but we could have easily blown 10 more saves if he hadn't. Neely? My first thought also. Can't be neely, he used the enter key.

They said this last year. We've added some new faces but if Veres is your closer, his stats last year are only slightly better than Gregg's, if at all. 21 -25 saves 3.02 era vs 33-38 saves with a 3.48 era with a huge fall off in September (he was at 3.11 to start that month) If it's Strop, he had 1 save last year, and 4 for his career. He has shown flashes but has never had the role, so we simply do not know what we have in him. Wright adds another lefty, but totes a 4.37 career era, and 3.69 from last year. Blake Parker adds interest but it's doubtful he has a significant role unless everyone else flops-maybe a 7th inning guy, more likely a fill the gap guy from starter to the 7th...with the other 4 filling the end of game roles. Anyone else would be non-impact (long relief,etc), or is also an unknown for any important role. One of the things that is rarely mentioned about out pen last year was that because of our offense almost every appearance was a high intensity situation. So they were always under pressure, and usually facing a 1 run loses the game or lead situation. So even if our guys out there are a little better on paper, they may have similar results. You'd have to think we can't possibly blow as many games as last year, but the scary thing is can you imagine what it would have been like if Gregg hadn't sold his soul to the devil for 1 more season in the sun? I still can't fathom that he had the type of season he did, but we could have easily blown 10 more saves if he hadn't. Neely? My first thought also. Can't be neely, he used the enter key.

You're usually top 10 in payroll which means you have the money to win. Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but other than the last 3-4 years of the Trib and the short Zell period, weren't the Cubs generally in the 10-15 range, not the top 10? I mean they may have dipped into the top 10 once in a while, but it was far from every or even most seasons, wasn't it?

I'll gladly pay it if it means they have truckloads of money to build a WS contender year in and year out.

So, is 7/$180 considered [expletive] you money? If so, I like it.

That was already my favorite Cubs uniform.

Well that's [expletive] nice. :club:

AND WHO PRAYTELL IS GOING TO PAY FOR THESE T-SHIRTS??? (Or the cannons) They'll start charging the players for soda in the clubhouse.

that doesn't sound like Pedo Bear's Playhouse at all. nope. Maybe like PeeWee with mirrors on his shoes?

Holy [expletive], they gave it a [expletive] clubhouse... http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/cubs-adopt-adorable-new-bear-mascot-clark-the-cub/

I had one in football, two in baseball (including taking a 90+ mph fastball to the cheekbone) and one in basketball, all in high school and all diagnosed. Add to that the three more I've had since joining the Army. Sporadic short term memory loss and occasional lapses in attention (reminds my wife of day dreaming) are a couple of issues I've had for a few years now. As a bonus, Alzheimers has occurred in the family (including my grandmother). Yeah, it scares the crap out of me. I had a heart attack almost five years ago and heart disease doesn't worry me a bit. Dying after spending a few years gradually forgetting everything and everyone I know does.

Stay classy, Beth.

Well, the expansion of replay has been approved, but the exact rules haven't been drafted. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9975837/major-league-baseball-move-ahead-instant-replay

How does somebody get into baseball late? If I wasn't obsessed with baseball as a kid in the 80s I probably never would have paid attention in my teens. moved to Chicago for college, started going to Wrigley (back in the days when you could just walk up on game day and get great/cheap seats) and it rolled from there When my wife and I lived in Joliet, we would head up 5-6 times per month and get either Terrace Box or Terrace Reserved seats for around $10 each at the ticket window. Bleacher seats were $5 and readily available. Those were a good couple of summers.

That's where I'm at. From the time my mom and dad first got cable in the late 70's until I graduated from HS in '87, I probably watched 300 games each summer. Over those years I could watch, at various times, the Royals, Braves, Cubs, Cards and Twins on a daily basis. Plus watching This Week in Baseball all the time, reading Baseball Digest cover to cover 4-5 times with each edition and playing Strat-O-Matic 4-5 times every day with my friends, my brain was full of baseball. By the time I had a family, I had so many other things going on that I haven't had near the amount of baseball exposure that I used to. I still love the game, but I can't pay attention as much as I used to. That's why I come here so much.