jersey cubs fan

About what? The pitching has been fine for the most part. Lou might be on the verge of cutting off his nose to spite his face with the way he's reacting to bullpen struggles.

The problem is worrying about the running game. Top of the order should be about OBP, first and foremost. The running game is vastly overrated.

Depends who the owner is. It's quite possible they end up with a cheapskate, or a guy who doesn't believe in long term contracts for pitchers.

I'm not saying he can't. But the odds are always stacked against a RB staying healthy. I would not be the least bit surprised if he played in 19 games next season and was among the league leaders. But there's a chance he could go down, and it's more than a slim chance. So I'm concerned about backup plans. Not convinced APete could be "the guy" if he needed to, eh? I'm not either. Certainly Wolfe wouldn't last more than a few games as the primary. Yesterday I wrote:

I didn't see the game, but the brief highlights I saw of Z pitching he was comming straight over the top in almost an exaggerated motion. I've also not seen the drop in velocity. What did the gun have him at? SNY had him throwing 87-88 in the first. I DVRd from the 2nd on and watched later, slowing on occasion to see him pitch. I saw much of the same stuff I'd seen before. Yes, he was throwing over the top, but not all the time. And it was hardly just a case of him reverting when he got rattled. Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez sure didn't like the looks of his mechanics, although they seemed to agree that he improved as the game went along.

I never had much velocity when I pitched. I throw righty. But I'm naturally left handed. If I just grabbed a ball and threw lefty, it would be slow and ugly. If I repeat the delivery and concentrate though, I can throw pretty decently. And I can throw football perfect spiral 30-35 yards left handed. Maybe Zambrano is a natural lefty who just learned to throw righty because that was more common.

I didn't watch the game, but I totally agree with your assessment of Zambrano. I'm not usually a "get into the head" type of guy. But you can almost see it happen with Z. He gets pissed gets the ball back from the catcher and slings it in there. He usually does this type of stuff for the better part of an inning after something bad happens. He loses all focus. Really, is this behavior of a guy who deserves $15M+ per year? He's been a major league pitcher for five years now. Grow up and learn how to handle a little adversity. Agreed. Enough baby sitting this guy. Just pitch. I don't understand where this is coming from. People just keep repeating that he lets his emotions get the best of him and unravels, but that surely didn't happen last night. And it's really not what happens to him in most games. He once again started the game with a weird short-arm sidearm delivery, terrible mechanics and low velocity. And he was inconsistent throughout the game. Most of the contact went to gloves, however, so it worked out alright.

I'm not saying he's approaching free agency. I'm saying the odds are Florida trades him sooner rather than later. I base that on the theory that there's no way that cheap bastard pays one guy $10+ million, which is what he's about to make. A responsible owner would sign him to a Pujols+ contract today. But I don't see Florida doing that ever.

I'm not saying he can't. But the odds are always stacked against a RB staying healthy. I would not be the least bit surprised if he played in 19 games next season and was among the league leaders. But there's a chance he could go down, and it's more than a slim chance. So I'm concerned about backup plans.

Marquis went 5, and left with 2 on nobody out in the 6. That means the bullpen had to hold a lead for 4 innings. That's really all you can expect of the starting 9? That's all you expect? You expect very little from the starters, and very much from the bullpen. The bullpen started in a hole, with 2 men on base and nobody out. The average result from a man on 1st and 2nd with nobody out situation is 1.6 runs will score. If he managed to prevent one of those runs from scoring it would be a great accomplishment, and it's still 4-3. Then you are expecting your bullpen to do better than allowing 1 earned run in 4 innings, which is expecting them to have an ERA under 4.25. Then you are going extras with an impotent lineup and Lou making 100 switches so he runs out of guys early and you've got somebody throwing 3 innings who normally doesn't throw more than 15 pitches in a game. Personally I would never expect to win if you tell me the bullpen will come on in the 6th with nobody out, two men on, up 2 runs with the offense going into shutdown mode. Even weak teams average more than 4 runs per game. And those teams lose most of the time. Anytime you score only 4 runs you can't expect a win. That's a below average production, especially against the best hitting team in the league.

Anyone specific in mind? Sure. Cabrera. Miguel? So are we discussing guys that we actually have a chance to acquire or are we just playing pie in the sky, here? It's hardly pie in the sky. He's not signed past this year, and there's next to no chance Florida keeps him as his salary soars past the $10m mark. His next contract will eclipse what Pujols got. And there's no reason the Cubs can't be the team that gives it to him.

I'm not satisfied with the current MI depth, even if I do like the three guys you mention. They should never stop looking for a guy who can be an everyday impact middle infielder, especially at shortstop, where they have the least depth. I think a team with the three guys you mention handling 2B and utility roles, with a legit SS could be something special.

Then you are terribly ignorant of the history of our hemisphere, as well as many other things. How is it ignorant to admit that I don't know his ancestry and thus don't want to make assumptions based purely on his appearance. Wouldn't that be the opposite of ignorant? And what are these other things I'm also ignorant on? I think you are just being overly PC. People who look black have their origins in Africa. They are black. You don't have to make an assumption. You aren't overly generalizing somebody. Just because they aren't African American doesn't mean they aren't black.

I'm pretty much a Cubs addict who does some pretty stupid things to satisfy my hunger for more things Cub. But I could never imagine myself sitting down to watch a DVD like this.

Was today Veal's side day, so they decided to pitch him in relief to get his work or what? Today was his start day. It was his start day, and they bumped him for Wade Willer's rehab assignment? What's the motivation behind that?

He threw 6 strikes. Delgado had a great at bat and fouled balls off.

The Cubs bullpen has lost 10 games for us so far. 10 of the losses are attributed to relievers. That doesn't mean the bullpen lost 10 games. It takes a full team to win, if they don't, it's the team's fault. This isn't some juggernaut ballclub being letdown by the bullpen.

Okay, we get it, you're pissed he walked in the winning run. Fine. But what does the fact that they had a lead earlier in the game matter? Do you really think it's better to do that when you spent the first 8 innings leapfrogging each other with 1-run leads? Or if your team came back from a 4-0 deficit? The point is the bullpen is going to surrender runs. It happens. They are your less reliable pitchers, by definition. That is why they are in the bullpen. They aren't going to win you games. And they aren't going to determine your season. If you need your bullpen to go 3 scoreless in order to win games, you are going to lose a lot of games. My issue with last nights game is not that the Cubs lost via the bullpen, but that it was a walk that scored the run. Make Delgado put the ball in play. I don't think throwing a strike is too much to ask for MLB level pitcher, do you? I would have rather seen Delgado hit a GS in that position, rather then get a walk. It should be noted that Wuertz threw 6 strikes in the at bat. The 4 balls to Beltran were de facto intentional. Wasn't there a pitchout in the 1st walk (I hate pitchouts). So a good chunk of the balls were more or less thrown on purpose at the behest of the manager. I don't like putting a pitcher in a position where he has to throw strikes. Ideally he does. But bad things happen when a batter knows a pitcher has to come at him.

I don't see Hester lining up at RB ever, so no. Wolfe is a third down back - he might come out to slot or something for a few plays but I can't see him taking away time from Hester. I still wonder what happens if/when Benson gets hurt....like he did as a rookie and in the Superbowl. Benson runs into people too much to make it healthy through at 350 carry season. Can Wolfe be an everydown back? I don't don't Pittman could be, who I wanted the Bears to pick instead. Still, I like Wolfe a lot. I think the Bears take something from everybody this season and we'll see a better offense. Olsen is used like Clark in Indy. Wolfe can be used like Bush in NO, although a very poor man's Bush (hehe). Hester, I'd like to see used like Steve Smith was early in Carolina. Five years later, the WR screen finally has a chance to actually work. Strangely enough, as much as the Bears needed to take pressure off of Grossman, it looks like the Bears have the personnel to actually throw the ball more than they did last year. In my Madden season I had to rely on Peterson and Anthony Thomas to split the load for the first 8 games, and really stepped up the passing game. Worked well enough. But that is a concern. I like Wolfe as a 3rd down back, but I don't see him being able to carry more than 10 times in any game without dying. I think Peterson can start a game or two. But if Benson is out for any significant time, this is going to get dicey. I would have preferred a guy who could actually develop into an everydown back with time. I think Grossman now has a lot of passing options, I'm just not sure he has any great ones. It would be nice to have an elite pro bowl starting star at some offensive position, to try and carry the load. Instead they have a lot of good players. And I'm still worried about the offensive line.

Okay, we get it, you're pissed he walked in the winning run. Fine. But what does the fact that they had a lead earlier in the game matter? Do you really think it's better to do that when you spent the first 8 innings leapfrogging each other with 1-run leads? Or if your team came back from a 4-0 deficit? The point is the bullpen is going to surrender runs. It happens. They are your less reliable pitchers, by definition. That is why they are in the bullpen. They aren't going to win you games. And they aren't going to determine your season. If you need your bullpen to go 3 scoreless in order to win games, you are going to lose a lot of games.

If they leave Soriano at leadoff (which Lou said they will when Lee comes back) then it's better to have Theriot in the 2 spot then Murton, and Murton in a middle of the order spot (5/6/7). Why?

I don't know about Wuertz. Haven't we seen this act from him before? I seem to remember him starting out good one other year and then tanking. I'm not sure I would give him all that much more time. He seems to be unable to maintain any consistency over the long haul. You have no idea what you are talking about. He's been the most consistently effective reliever on the team for the past few years.

.333/.451/.621 Yikes.

My impression on NFL trades has always been that they are hindered by the negative affect on the salary cap of the team trading the player. If two teams trade two expensive veterans, both get hit by the prorated portion of the salary cap all being pushed to this year. But if one team is trading an expensive player for a draft pick or cheap player, they are the ones taking the hit as the player goes out the door. Oakland, as a crap team with no hope for the near future can deal with a the short-term remifications of such a hit. The Bears, as a contending team near the salary cap can't afford this problem nearly as much.

I hate being in NY when the Cubs are playing the Mets and sucking.