Little Slide Rooter

I dont know if Id use the word dynasty, but we definitely have the type of team that will be in contention for years to come. We have the core of our team signed long term. The Brewers coukd be a threat for a while, but once their guys start coming up for free agency, and the Yanks, Mets, Angels, and Red Sox start throwing obscene contracts at them, the Brewers wont be able to match them. The Cardnals are going to ultimately have to realise that if thy want to win, they'll have to sever ties with the Albatross Brothers(Edmonds and Rolen) and go after some real talent.

C-Lee is a better hitter, that cant be debated, especially in RBI situations, however, Phonz is the better all around player, especially with his defense starting to come in.

The problem is 3 of the 5 teams in front are in the same division, meaning they probably play each other quite a bit more, and while someone has to lose those games, someone has to win them as well. The Cubs job should be to keep winning and let that be the Cards and Brewers problem.

Dont forget the many good pitches our pitchers threw as well as the 3 gentlemen who got on base proceeding that one bad pitch. If that one bad pitch had come with nobody on, wed have been looking at a 3-2 loss.

Sweet. Put them in a division with the Pirates, Nats, Rays, and Orioles and might have a fighting chance of not finishing last every seaon.

Big game for Big Z after getting his Big Deal, especially as hes up against argueably the worst "Ace" in the history of the game.

Whoever it is, the first time we hear his name will probably also be the last.

Zambranos signing gives Cubs nation more than an ace for the next 5-6 years. It gives us hope. Before yesterday, Zambranos future was 50/50 at best. Sure, he could have kep telling reporters that he was 90-97% sure hed stay, but I guarantee, if they had made him wait until the new ownership was decided, it would have been hard for him, or more importantly his agent to turn away the 150 mil or whatever that the Yanks or Mets would have thrown at him. Now we have hope that despite the limbo of ownership, the organization isnt going to implod on itself, and hopefully make a major aquisition or 2 in the winter. A-Rod in a Cubs uni would be all the Chistmas presents Id need. 1. 2B Theriot 2. LF Soriano 3. SS A-Rod 4. 3B A-Ram 5. 1B Lee 6. CF Jones 7. RF DeRosa 8. C Soto/ Kendall 9. P Wow

Funny how nobody seems to mention the parrellels between the Cubs and Sox. -Both teams made it to the playoffs in a season in which they werent expected to in the beginning, difference being, obviosly that the Sox made it a bit further -The following season, each team was close to making it again as the WC before an end season collapse. -The next season, both teams began a decent into oblivion -Both cities loved their new GM and Managers at first, then turned against them Both teams took a chance on a guy who had though to be done, and then put up great numbers, Dye for the Sox, Jones for the Cubs.

Sure looks like it. Zambrano may know it, Lou may know it, Rothschild may know it, Mark O'Neil may know it, but none of them will admit it. Is it just a coincidence that after 2 outings shortened by "minor heat related cramping" he has 2 of his worst outings of the season? Zambrano will never admit it, unlike some other nameless Cubs that will hit the DL with a hang nail, but if it is something, he wont say anything until it becomes major.

What a bad idea. An 18 year old kid who just signed and clearly hasn't been prepped for dealing with the media. That was absolutely hard to listen to. Bad move Cubs. Good luck to Josh in the future... Sure, he sounds like he could be borderline autistic, but its a shame its not possible to send Cedeno or Pie to AAA and get the kid in uniform by the end of the game.

Jones has been too good in the 2 spot to move.

Maybe John Lennon, but the avi is Sean Lennon I believe, whose in the same boat as the 97 Marley kids who somehow continue to multiply and whore off their fathers name.

I only heard the game on the radio, but the way Uecker made it sound it was partially the umps fault. Fielder called a strike 3 call, and got the boot, and Fielder left the scene, but the ump walked after him and kept said something that pissed him off.

Self important much? How appropriate that you would chose a Lennon as your avatar.

Though it may look like some trades are done for no reason, I have found when you look at it there's almost always a reason, real or perceived, that a GM does it. I doubt many GMs would really do this -- just throw guys around basically in desperation ('cuz that's what it is) to change out players and hope for magic, no real reasoning or basis for the move. Sometimes its just because a guy needs a change of scenery as a last resort, such as the seemingly pointless Jason DuBois for Jody Gerut trade. As anti Marshall as Ive been since the break, Im not for trading him just yet. Weve got to see what hes really capable of first, as well as what Sean Gallagher and Donnie Veal are capable of, considering that if we sign Z, we wont be signing any more big name pitchers any time soon. Prior Wood Zambrano Willis Garland ...ah yes, what could have been.

It's not working. Looks like we'll need the commercial-grade image. Probably not working because while you may not like the wording of the original post, you can't argue the validity of the arguement no matter how many goofy pictures you put up. Yeah, we can. Everybody is arguing how valid your so-called "point" is. Marshall is still a fantastic fifth starter at this point. Potential playoff teams, their fifth starter, and his ERA: AL: Red Sox - Julian Tavarez, 5.20 Yankees - Hughes, 4.64 (was Igawa, 6.79) Indians - Aaron Laffey, 5.73 (Cliff Lee, 6.38) Tigers - Andrew Miller, 4.42 (DL) Angels - Bartolo Colon, 6.72 (DL) Mariners - (for both fourth and fifth starters, pick two of Jeff Weaver, 6.20; Horacio Ramirez, 7.12; Cha Seung Baek, 5.74; Ryan Feieraband, 8.47) NL: Mets - Mike Pelfrey, 5.92 Braves - Jo Jo Reyes, 8.72 Phillies - JD Durbin, 4.12 (just four starts) Brewers - Claudio Vargas, 4.97 Diamondbacks - Yusmeiro Petit (just removed for Kim, 4.93) Padres - Clay Hensley, 6.18 Rockies - Jason Hirsch, 4.81 Dodgers - Matt Tomko, 5.49 I tried to avoid injury cases as best I can and go with the guys who would be predicted to be the #5 starters near the beginning of the season, but in cases like Philly and Atlanta, injuries and trades have made it pretty hard to ignore all of them. Either way, Marshall and his 4.17 ERA more than stand out in the group. I'm tired of putting out the numbers now, so I'll come back with some Pie stuff later. I gave up on the Marshall arguement a while back. He is OK for a 5th starter as long as you have 4 innings worth of bullpen help. Also, people who think Im a Fontenot mark are wrong. I like the guy, I like the name, and right now, hes hitting better than Pie, which is odd considering how Fontenot is a 28 year old throw in in the Sammy trade whos never been on the radar as a top prospect and Pie is supposed to be the Cubs Jose Reyes or Jimmy Rollins. If he can prove me wrong, theres nothing that would make me happier than to eat my words.

It's not working. Looks like we'll need the commercial-grade image. Probably not working because while you may not like the wording of the original post, you can't argue the validity of the arguement no matter how many goofy pictures you put up.

Exactly so send down Fontenot now damnit! Fontenot does his job as a backup. Pie was supposed to lead to Cubs to glory. Maybe he will on day, but not yet. Theres no purpose to sending Fontnot down. He'll do there what hes doing here. As for Pie, he can either stay in the Majors as a backup/pinch runner and waste his talent and loose confidence or he can play out the AAA season as a top player in the league, and come back up in September as a back up, play some winter ball, and see what happens out of Spring Training. Having an OPS under .600 is not doing your job, and Fontenot starts alot. Pie is 22 years old and there are 19 more days left till Sept, no reason to send him down. Pie has made an adjustment at every level hes been in after struggling. Hes not the problem on this team. If Kendall and Jones continue hitting the way they have been, and Aram and Soriano can come back swinging the bats this offense might be able to score some runs. Right now there are no better options than Felix Pie so you might as well play him and see if he can make an adjustment, and even if he doesnt, its way to damn early to call him a bust. Never called him a bust. It is way too early to call him a bust. Its even too early to call Corey Patterson a bust. I am saying that he is not ready for the majors just yet, and its time to give someone else shot. You never know who may end up being our Ryan Braun.

Exactly so send down Fontenot now damnit! Fontenot does his job as a backup. Pie was supposed to lead to Cubs to glory. Maybe he will on day, but not yet. Theres no purpose to sending Fontnot down. He'll do there what hes doing here. As for Pie, he can either stay in the Majors as a backup/pinch runner and waste his talent and loose confidence or he can play out the AAA season as a top player in the league, and come back up in September as a back up, play some winter ball, and see what happens out of Spring Training.

The fact of the matter is you can bring up all the top prospects you want. You'll get a few Ryan Brauns, and you'll get a lot of Corey Pattersons. The Cubs dont have great track record. The last star position player to come out of our farm was Mark Grace some 20 years ago. Since then, we've had jorneymen like Doug Glanville and Dwight Smith and total busts like Gary Scott and David Kelton. In a perfect world, Pie, Soto, Fox, Cedeno, Theriot, Craig and Coates would all make up for it and be perenial All Stars, however, this season is not one where we can go messing around with a guy whose clearly not ready for Major League pitching.

The Cubs are not going to win a WS until Pie becomes a valuable everyday player. That will happen with playing time in the major leagues. So I would contend the Cubs cannot afford to not let him play. So why did jimbo spend all of that money on the likes of Soriano, Lilly, and Derosa while all along the answer was right in front of his face. 99 years of futility, and all we needed was Felix Pie. May as well trade Ramirez and Lee and let Zambrno go o the Yanks, because it's all about Pie.

=D> Quite a change from "I'm gonna go gangbusters to make a waiver deal!!" from a couple days ago, isn't it. Ahh the shifting winds of the mind of Jim Hendry. Next time Jim, just tell the truth: the team is being sold, nobody's going to let us spend a ton of cash. It's very simple, it's the truth, and it avoids making everyone look like fools down the road. When did he say that he was desperately trying to make a deal? He said he's put in lots of claims, but I've never heard him say that he wanted to make a deal for anything but the right price. Oh he will make deal, mark my words. It may not be a good one, it may not be a logical one, but he will make a deal.

no horrible fielder-check Overweight-check 0 Speed-check can hit the DL if the wind blows too strong-check former power hitter now a singles hitter who needs a pinch runner the moment they get on base-check [/url]

Jake Fox for Pie Pignietello for Marshall Gallagher to the rotation. Yeah, Gallagher looked great last night. We have yet to see what he can do as a starter. Starting and relieving are 2 entirely different animals, and you cant expect a guy whose gone his entire career, be it a short one as a starter to instantly translate into a relief pitcher, just like you cant expect a guy whose alway been a starter his entire career to instantly produce when reduced to a pinch hitter or platoon player.