jersey cubs fan

Do the chefs have a coaching staff yet?

jets

I have to disagree. First off, his presence doesn't mean less Joe Morgan. It probably means more totals words spoken by broadcasters, but it doesn't mean less Joe Morgan. Joe has gone through prolonged periods of silence before on broadcasts. My guess is he'll do the same stuff and speak just as often.

So a small portion of the audience (people who pay very close attention to the Cubs, and are therefore far more likely to be interested in watching an ASG in the first place) had an increased interest in watching this year. But that doesn't mean having home field advantage determined by this game has increased interest in the game. It's a stupid gimmick game that draws little interest and should have no baring on anything. i agree that it's a terrible way to determine HFA. but to suggest that a "small portion of the audience" had an increased interest seems silly. think about it. fans of every team in contention at the ASB (which is probably 75% of the teams) have a vested interest in seeing one league win. would i have watched all 13 innings (or whatever it was) last year if the end result meant nothing? no. but knowing that it was going to hopefully have an effect on the cubs, i stayed up watching. i think a lot of people did the same thing. certainly enough to say that there was increased interest. Others said the Cubs being in the race made it more interesting to people on this board, people who already spend an inordinate amount of time following baseball and the Cubs. That's a small minority of the overall television viewing audience. But the HFA story is years old. Why would it suddenly increase interest this year?

So a small portion of the audience (people who pay very close attention to the Cubs, and are therefore far more likely to be interested in watching an ASG in the first place) had an increased interest in watching this year. But that doesn't mean having home field advantage determined by this game has increased interest in the game. It's a stupid gimmick game that draws little interest and should have no baring on anything.

How can you assume it was more watched because of the HFA thing? You did catch me there. I only have anecdotal evidence to back that up. I know many people including myself who have admitted they wouldn't have stayed up until 1:30 in the morning to watch an All-Star game without the allure of seeing which league won HFA. The interest on this site's game thread was incredible to the point where that is still the longest game thread on file even beating all the Cubs playoff games and Opening days (the site's archives go back 4 years). There was even a hatred of Dan Uggla that came out of the game that shows how many people were emotionally invested in the game, and that is something that was not happening for the most part in the 90's. Yeah, but you're talking about one game. They've been doing this for years, how is increased interest in last year's game indicative of HFA being the difference maker?

Can Hendry have contact with a new owner even if he has not been approved by MLB. I don't see why not.

This plus the curling. I want to learn how to curl. Think about it, average looking men in the rest of the country are like Brad Pitt in ND. Lots ops for good women id imagine. Hell if i hated it i could still blow my brains out after trying it. yeah but average looking women are also angelina jolie in ND. If I can convince myself I'm with Angelina Jolie*, all the better. *Actually, I never understood the infatuation Jolie. She's not that hot and has been with her brother and Billy Bob Thornton. Take away the fame and she's just a skinny chick.

i didn't know he was from dunedin high...quite close to where i live I worked at the Winn-Dixie on Drew between Clearwater and Dunedin several years ago. Cubs scouts never noticed me. They like players with tools, not people who are tools.

So am I. I thought the Cubs were going with somebody else because of cost.

How can you assume it was more watched because of the HFA thing?

Obviously not. The goal isn't, or wasn't, average though. It was reasonable to expect much more than average from him. If he spends his Cubs career providing nothing but average production, it will definitely be a disappointment. But it wouldn't necessarily cripple the team.

Or make a bigger forture by blackmailing those he filmed.

uhhhh, what? You can't expect the Cubs to field a team that's made up entirely out of star players. If Fuku plays average next year, he'll be more than adequate for us in CF. Not every player needs to be super awesome. If Fuku plays average, he's still better than some of the crap we've put out there in recent years. There is no way any player on the current roster reproduces the numbers put up in CF last year. That's an awful lot of money for average. Is Fukudome Japanese for "Marquis"? In an organization with nothing in the pipeline to fill the position, and a horrible history of developing their own position players, that could suffice. The thing that held back the Cubs for so many years was well below average production at multiple positions. They'd have a couple stars, or near stars, but teamed up with bums at other spots they still finished in the bottom half, or at the bottom, of run production. If your least productive positions are still average, you can be very good. And there's still room for upside with the guy.

Weren't there some strange quotes about him wanting to leave the game or something and having his brother and/or dad talk him into staying? And wasn't there also a weight/health question about him? Or am I making this all up? He's the Hawaiian with the necklace right?

I don't think that's accurate.

Well, he's on the wrong side of 30, already past his prime, and his health suggests a decline could come sooner than hoped. It would be much more foolish to discount the value of a prospect who is years away from hitting the majors just because a 30 year old vet is currently at his position. If he voids his contract after 2010, it would be nice to have a replacement so they don't feel pressured to foolishly sign him to an extension through his mid-30's that will likely see him produce a heck of a lot less than he has to date. Isn't there an opt out clause in Aramis' contract, also? I'm not sure of the exact language, but that's what I was referring to in the bolded section. Aramis can choose to be a free agent after 2010. I would hate to sign him to a long extension for his age 33-37/38 seasons if we don't have to.

Well, he's on the wrong side of 30, already past his prime, and his health suggests a decline could come sooner than hoped. It would be much more foolish to discount the value of a prospect who is years away from hitting the majors just because a 30 year old vet is currently at his position. If he voids his contract after 2010, it would be nice to have a replacement so they don't feel pressured to foolishly sign him to an extension through his mid-30's that will likely see him produce a heck of a lot less than he has to date.

Mike Stanton? Give it up already buddy.

There was consensus on Ryan Harvey?

Lasik isn't that expensive. Lol I know. But it's like $3000. Which to me, is expensive. There's a fairly wide range of prices. I know one doctor in Manhattan charges $5k per eye. But I'm pretty sure you can do both for $1000 at other places.

Excuse me? Get over yourself. I don't know the numbers, I just remember at the time that he came up Pie had a fairly similar K rate to Patterson. It's on the higher end, but it's not obscenely high.

he does? about as frequently as Corey Patterson, no?

When you're saying "yuck" to a 5-5-1 stretch that's a pretty good sign.... especially with a young team. We all knew they'd go through rough patches. If this ends up being the worst of it that would be really really good Winning less than half your games is never a good thing. I think it's important that they avoid as much of this type of thing as possible, because in today's NHL, it takes a lot of points to be a top 5 seed. And if this team is seeded 7 or 8, I doubt they stand a chance of winning more than 1 or 2 playoff games.

Weren't the off field issues after he was essentially dumped? I think he enjoyed visiting Rush Street after games a bit much according to some. This is always the story we hear about guys that struggle, but guys who do well have the same after hours plans.