Little Slide Rooter

He will be announcing the move to Schaumburg and the addition of ostrich dogs to the menu.

The only one that doesn't make me sick to my stomach is the Adam Dunn proposal. Sure, I'd prefer Fielder or Pujols, but if they don't plan on spending the money, I'd much prefer Dunn over Carlos Pena, despite Dunns 2011 numbers. A return to playing the field, the NL, and Wrigley Field could be just what the big guy needs, plus Z reportedly has a great relationship with Ozzie Guillen. You should be sick to your stomach already. All of those trades seem better than the alternative, which is to release Z. This thing is now beyond the kiss-and-make-up stage. I just can't see a silver lining here. Sure, miracles can happen, but what GM in his right mind is going to give us anything of value and/or pick up a good chunk of his salary? I don't think we release him and just outright eat all that money, but it's not like trading him is going to be a hell of a lot better. Of course there's no silver lining. It's all about damage minimization now. Some sort of trade is the path to achieving that. Releasing him maximizes the damage. [expletive] that. If the Cubs are paying him 18 mil next year, unless we get some good prospects or a decent big league player for him, he damn well better be pitching for us, whether he's a middle of the rotation starter or a middle reliever. I personally don't buy into the clubhouse cancer nonsense. As I've said before, whether you're a multi million dollar athlete or making minimum wage at Hardees, you're bound to work with guys you don't like, but there's no excuse for it to affect your performance at work.

Hard to believe that there was a time when that finish would have ruined my entire evening, probably tomorrow morning as well.

The Phils also lead the NL with a +136 run differential. The distant 2nd is the Braves with a +58.

19 [expletive] hits? Christ.

Im sure they'll swing a 3 team trade in which they end up with Russ Branyan and Denys Baez.

http://www.bringyourbud.com/blog/image.axd?picture=2011%2F6%2Fmajor-league-lou-brown.jpg

The only one that doesn't make me sick to my stomach is the Adam Dunn proposal. Sure, I'd prefer Fielder or Pujols, but if they don't plan on spending the money, I'd much prefer Dunn over Carlos Pena, despite Dunns 2011 numbers. A return to playing the field, the NL, and Wrigley Field could be just what the big guy needs, plus Z reportedly has a great relationship with Ozzie Guillen.

"I am here to talk about the direction of the Chicago Cubs franchise. The ballpark for our short season A affiliate in Boise sucks. We're gonna move the team to Coeur d'Alene. Oh and look at how well we are playing with everyone healthy. Told ya so. We'll keep our roster as is this offseason. I'm off to Egypt guys, peace!" And we shall provide the bathroom troughs with fresh urinal mints.

You're being sarcastic, right? I'm just saying that if they will make some kind of announcement regarding what they plan on doing in the offseason. Will the be planning something big, or will they try to rebuild from within, because the fact is, i the 2012 team looks like the 2011 team plus a few middling free agents, I don't think I can follow a full season. I'd follow individual player stats such as Castro, Jackson, Cashner, and Garza as well as the farm, and when July rolls along, and they look like they're in contention, I'll hop on the bus there, but I have no intention of hanging on to every game from April-September for a team that looks like this one. I'm at the point where I don't care what they do with Wrigley, and I don't care what they do in Mesa. I don't even care who the GM is for 2012. I care what they plan on doing when it comes to the team itself. You're expecting the owner of the team...in August...at a press conference...to lay out the team's potential trading and FA plans for the offseason? Not the particulars, I don't expect him to say we will be pursuing Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols or CJ Wilson, but they could be able to give us an idea if they plan on doing some spending or if they plan to do more promoting from within.

Wait, that guy got more than Scott and Gretzky, and almost as much as Zych? Wasn't he basically just a guy they drafted as a favor to his pops?

You're being sarcastic, right? I'm just saying that if they will make some kind of announcement regarding what they plan on doing in the offseason. Will the be planning something big, or will they try to rebuild from within, because the fact is, i the 2012 team looks like the 2011 team plus a few middling free agents, I don't think I can follow a full season. I'd follow individual player stats such as Castro, Jackson, Cashner, and Garza as well as the farm, and when July rolls along, and they look like they're in contention, I'll hop on the bus there, but I have no intention of hanging on to every game from April-September for a team that looks like this one. I'm at the point where I don't care what they do with Wrigley, and I don't care what they do in Mesa. I don't even care who the GM is for 2012. I care what they plan on doing when it comes to the team itself.

I just hope he gives us some idea how much he plans on doing in the offseason in regards to trades and FA so I can get some idea if I'm going to waste anther spring and summer of my life on them.

Gotcha. In that case, I wouldn't be surprised if Maine sticks around and the finally make Grabow go away.

Scott Maine has been called up, so I'm guessing the winner is Ramon Ortiz. Yay for us.

Pirates know how to do it. Damn it, Ross, Hedges and Goeddel sign. I wouldn't worry. They'll find a way to be bad as they have for the better part of 2 decades.

BOOM!!!!!! HUGE!!!! 2.5 mil doesnt sound like that much. Then again, I wish I was making 500K a year.

It sucks for the Blue Jays, and the Rays, who seem to be perennially good, but have the misfortune of sharing a time zone with New York and Massachusetts where as one of the White Sox, Indians, or Tigers get to back door themselves into the playoffs by default.

Sexy doesn't slump.

Per the Cubs minor league site, John Maine has been called up and Hung Wen Chen, back from Mexico will take his place in Iowa.

Hell, I'd take the I Cubs over the Astros.

Let's all laugh at him if he's wrong. Hopefully Kendall Rodgers knows something Law doesn't.

And if you're wondering about his scouting eye, his live blog of the NBA '07 draft consisted of Liking Oden Conley Corey Brewer Brandon Wright Acie Law Julian Wright Morris Almond (WHO??) Zack Randolph back when he was still a fat tub of goo Marco Belinelli Jason Smith Jared Dudley Derrick Byars(??) The '07-'08 Knicks Disliking Durant Horford Jeff Green Al Thornton Noah Hawes Stuckey Channing Frye Wilson Chandler Aaron Brooks Arron Afflolo Just an amazing run of incompetence. I thought it was Richard Alpert without the guy liner.

Technically I believe he opted out. Why on earth would the Phillies wan't Dave Bush?

Ibanez and his 88 OPS+ can sure rake it. I think Cub like offense is a pretty good description, outside of the fact that the Cubs have no one hitting like Victorino is It's also about what these guys are capable of. Utley, Rollins, and Howard are all in the primce of their careers, and have been underperforming for the most part, as opposed to our guys, like Soriano, Byrd, and Pena, who are putting up the numbers that can pretty much be expected of them at this stage in their careers, although Rollins is somewhat more questionable judging by his past 2 seasons. Utley is 32, Rollins is 32, Howard is turning 32 this year. Not all that different from the Cubs you mentioned. Pena is 32, Byrd is 33, Soriano is 34. In the post-steroid era 32 is around the time the downside from peak performance starts for many, but not all players. But the fact remains, these are better players than the ones we have, and really can't be compared to our guys. Yeah, they don't have a ton of talen built around those 5 guys, but looking around the NL, there arent exactly a lot of offensive powerhouses like they have in the AL. This Phillies offense should be good for at least 4-6 runs per game, and when you have the pitching they have, that should be good enough.