jersey cubs fan

to torture us fans. I would assume it has something to do with normal post pitching inflammation getting in the way.

I like Riggs. Maybe he can turn this into another job down the line.

If they hold him out of a start or two, it could be a blessing in disguise. If he has to go on the DL for a month, I don't see any upside to that.

i have no idea what that means

Link Read between the lines and it's clear Riccardi was onto something. Adam Dunn does not care about baseball. He also hates Canada.

They might be able to pull out the division without Z. They'd probably need Dempster to continue and will need at least one of Marshall or Hill to contribute some quality starts. I don't think it would be a lock though.

It's the wrong time for that skid with the W.Sox in town. Yeah, if we get too far behind them we'll never make th playoffs! Yea, that's what I meant!!!! :roll: He's right, though. The Sox series is pretty meaningless and actually if there were a less inopportune time (does that make sense?) to go on a skid, it would be during a relatively meaningless, non-division stretch of games. I mean, sure, if you want to stick it to your Sox fans friends, it would be better if said skid came during games against the Royals or something, but the Sox series isn't really a huge priority. Sure if that's what was said. What I meant was that it's not a fine time to start playing bad because the W.Sox are a good team and we could lose another series. I don't like losing no matter who we are playing. But going on a skid assumes you will lose games, so it really doesn't matter who they are a playing.

Yeah, but you aren't part of the group of "teachers" that pushed hard to reach for him in the draft. I would be surprised if they didn't give Wolfe a spot this year.

The point was your attempt to characterize it as similar to watching HRs holds no water. Are you really that ignorant? I don't think so. You seem smart enough to realize I was comparing two arguments that people use to criticize two sports and that each of those arguments are valid but reflect on the individual and not the sport as a whole. Apparently I was wrong though. Maybe I am ignorant. But the comparison was completely irrelevent to the discussion.

Let's be clear-are you referring to a guy who spends 10 seconds on the ground to help draw a card, or a guy who rolls around in agony, gets stretchered off, and comes back on 5 minutes later? Both. They are both obnoxious. The latter is far more pathetic, but they are both obnoxious. "Helping to draw a card" may be smart, but it's a negative aspect of the game. I like watching games, and one of my hopes is to attend one in Europe. It can get a little dull in the lagging time when the ball just seems to get punted back and forth, but I enjoy watching it. I sucked playing it as a kid, but my high school was decent and the football team used to watch them play. It's an enjoyable atmosphere. I just find the whole "drawing a card" thing really obnoxious. It's the same with any diving that takes place in hockey (which I think is far less frequent and also more difficult to differentiate, since they are flying around on ice) and basketball (which I really don't enjoy much at all).

That was Lovie, not Angelo. And I still expect to see Kevin Jones signed at some point. I don't know. It would be nice to have more depth at RB. However, if the Bears are going to be good in 2008, it's going to be because the line improves, QB is steady and the defense gets strong again. It's not going to be because they signed Kevin Jones. I think Forte & Co can be good if the line is good and QB is steady. I don't think it will matter who is at RB if the line struggles and QB stays a mess. I agree with you, except that I think we're very weak at RB after Forte. I have no faith that AP or Wolfe would be a good every down back if something happened for Forte. Jones to me is just insurance. But yes...the line being good will go a long way to solving a lot of offensive problems. And I agree with that. Forte may or may not be a quality NFL RB, but I'm pretty sure none of the others will be. If anything, I would like depth to save Forte's legs for 2009 and beyond, when the team is hopefully better. I sure as heck don't want to see him rack up 280 carries in a losing season.

The point was your attempt to characterize it as similar to watching HRs holds no water.

It really has nothing to do with Bonds. Watching your homeruns is more akin to the goal scoring celebrations. Flopping like a whiney baby and faking injury, for 2 seconds or 2 minutes, is pathetic. It's strategy, like 95% of the time. If Carlos Zambrano could get Albert Pujols kicked out of a game for exaggerating something, I'd expect him to do it. And that is the problem. Sports that require faking injury as strategy annoy the hell out of me. The fact that it is "part of the game" is the reason why it's annoying. Regardless of whether or not it's "smart", I think it's pathetic.

It really has nothing to do with Bonds. Watching your homeruns is more akin to the goal scoring celebrations. Flopping like a whiney baby and faking injury, for 2 seconds or 2 minutes, is pathetic.

That was Lovie, not Angelo. And I still expect to see Kevin Jones signed at some point. I don't know. It would be nice to have more depth at RB. However, if the Bears are going to be good in 2008, it's going to be because the line improves, QB is steady and the defense gets strong again. It's not going to be because they signed Kevin Jones. I think Forte & Co can be good if the line is good and QB is steady. I don't think it will matter who is at RB if the line struggles and QB stays a mess.

Oh come on Tiger, if these guys didn't bash the 18 and 19 year olds when they didn't produce all-star numbers in their first 250 professional ABs, then what would they even get on here to talk about? ](*,) The 20-25 year old that still suck? I'm just messing with you guys....it's only natural to be disappointed when a high draft pick doesn't live up to his "expectations." Although more often than not, those "expectations" are unrealistic. I don't think it's all that unrealistic to have expected better news regarding Vitters to date than what we've seen. His lost 2007 may have been a good reason to not draft him so high, but it's not very soothing for fans who have seen multiple high profile picks look like crap in recent years.

Oh come on Tiger, if these guys didn't bash the 18 and 19 year olds when they didn't produce all-star numbers in their first 250 professional ABs, then what would they even get on here to talk about? ](*,) The 20-25 year old that still suck?

People hold their knees and legs because it frakking hurts to be running full speed and then get knocked to the ground, or have someone kick you in the ankles or slide into your legs when you're running and cutting. I think the view of someone embellishing a foul has colored the opinion of what a typical foul looks like. I know the actual fouls can hurt. I'm not talking about those. Then you're talking about something that happens very rarely. Like I said, it could be perception, but very rarely is an extremely generous description. People on here have even talked about the strategy of selling a foul. If that's "part of the game" that is also part of the problem. Getting kicked in the shins can hurt. As somebody who played soccer at very low levels, where the majority of players are uncoordinated idiots swinging at shins, I've felt it. But the grazing fouls that wind up with men on the ground happens far more frequently than you are suggesting. I enjoy watching games, they can be fun even if they are dull at times. But this is a legit issue.

People hold their knees and legs because it frakking hurts to be running full speed and then get knocked to the ground, or have someone kick you in the ankles or slide into your legs when you're running and cutting. I think the view of someone embellishing a foul has colored the opinion of what a typical foul looks like. I know the actual fouls can hurt. I'm not talking about those.

Yep. Although it can depend on the teams. The US v. Germany in Soccer probably won't have as many flops as any Duke home game in basketball. I played soccer for a long time and enjoy watching it quite a bit during big tournaments. I do thnk that it will never become mainstream in the US simply for the flopping factor. I mean, there's no reason for anybody to be writhing around in pain on the ground, get carried off on a stretcher and be back out on the field playing full bore 5 minutes later. It's just dumb. If that was eliminated, I think soccer would garner a lot more support and fans in the US. This happens so infrequently, hearing criticism of a sport based on this just aggravates me. Maybe it's just my perception, but I feel like I see fake near fatal injuries every game. Maybe I just watch too much Italy. It's probably a combination of perception and Italy. Selling a foul to get a card drawn is strategy in general, but the Italians take it to an extreme due to the historically defensive nature of Italian futbol. And as others have pointed out, there's plenty of actual constant foul selling in the NBA. When Kirk Hinrich runs into Al Jefferson and the latter falls like he was hit by sniper fire, isn't that worse? But we were discussing sports, the NBA has nothing to do with it. Ha cha cha cha cha. Ok then, how about a catcher framing a ball off the outside corner. Isn't that "selling" a strike call? That has absolutely nothing to do with faking an injury. Call it overly manly or macho, but pretending to be hurt is just a sissy thing that bugs the heck out of me in sports. Getting the wind knocked out of you is one thing, holding your head like you've narrowly missed an assassination attempt is completely different. I don't care if that sort of selling is strategy, it's obnoxious and pathetic.

Yep. Although it can depend on the teams. The US v. Germany in Soccer probably won't have as many flops as any Duke home game in basketball. I played soccer for a long time and enjoy watching it quite a bit during big tournaments. I do thnk that it will never become mainstream in the US simply for the flopping factor. I mean, there's no reason for anybody to be writhing around in pain on the ground, get carried off on a stretcher and be back out on the field playing full bore 5 minutes later. It's just dumb. If that was eliminated, I think soccer would garner a lot more support and fans in the US. This happens so infrequently, hearing criticism of a sport based on this just aggravates me. Maybe it's just my perception, but I feel like I see fake near fatal injuries every game. Maybe I just watch too much Italy. It's probably a combination of perception and Italy. Selling a foul to get a card drawn is strategy in general, but the Italians take it to an extreme due to the historically defensive nature of Italian futbol. And as others have pointed out, there's plenty of actual constant foul selling in the NBA. When Kirk Hinrich runs into Al Jefferson and the latter falls like he was hit by sniper fire, isn't that worse? But we were discussing sports, the NBA has nothing to do with it.

That would only be awesome if he returned to his younger years. The Cubs don't really need a sub .300 OBP, 85 OPS+ backup 1B on the roster.

Cabrera and Willis sparked the Marlins, not McKeon. He did slow the rate of caught stealing, I believe, but it wasn't his spark that led to that team improving. Nor will it be the spark of Jerry Manuel that turns the Mets around.

Yep. Although it can depend on the teams. The US v. Germany in Soccer probably won't have as many flops as any Duke home game in basketball. I played soccer for a long time and enjoy watching it quite a bit during big tournaments. I do thnk that it will never become mainstream in the US simply for the flopping factor. I mean, there's no reason for anybody to be writhing around in pain on the ground, get carried off on a stretcher and be back out on the field playing full bore 5 minutes later. It's just dumb. If that was eliminated, I think soccer would garner a lot more support and fans in the US. This happens so infrequently, hearing criticism of a sport based on this just aggravates me. Maybe it's just my perception, but I feel like I see fake near fatal injuries every game. Maybe I just watch too much Italy.

Yep. Although it can depend on the teams. The US v. Germany in Soccer probably won't have as many flops as any Duke home game in basketball. I played soccer for a long time and enjoy watching it quite a bit during big tournaments. I do thnk that it will never become mainstream in the US simply for the flopping factor. I mean, there's no reason for anybody to be writhing around in pain on the ground, get carried off on a stretcher and be back out on the field playing full bore 5 minutes later. It's just dumb. If that was eliminated, I think soccer would garner a lot more support and fans in the US. Which is just another reason not to watch the NBA. Paul Pierce