Little Slide Rooter

Or, you know, bring up a legit baseball player like Schwarber to do the same thing. There's actually a difference. Guys like Fox and LaHair were so good for a short time because they had the go-ahead to swing at every pitch until they get that straight fastball to knock all the way to Jupitor, at least until pitchers realized that they could just toss the ball wherever and they'd flail at it like a hyperactive 9 year old going after a Piñata. So Junior Lake? I think we've already juiced that one. Besides, Junior Lake at least looks like a professional athlete. We're talking an, oafish, hulkish individual. One who looks out of place on the field. Justin Bour would have been just what the doctor ordered. If Dan Vogelbach's somehow around in 5 years.

Or, you know, bring up a legit baseball player like Schwarber to do the same thing. There's actually a difference. Guys like Fox and LaHair were so good for a short time because they had the go-ahead to swing at every pitch until they get that straight fastball to knock all the way to Jupitor, at least until pitchers realized that they could just toss the ball wherever and they'd flail at it like a hyperactive 9 year old going after a Piñata. But with an actual prospect like Schwarber, you want them to approach every at bat as a learning experience as well as an opportunity to drive in runs.

This would sure be a good time to have a Jake Fox or Bryan LaHair stashed in AAA who could come up and hit everything in site for about a month.

what an awful post. as though he was somehow singularly responsible for their playoff fates (or lack thereof). and it was far from one of the worst contracts in the last 15 years unless your list is like a million guys (that's hyperbole) long Every thread spirals off into this kinda thing. They're never going to understand. 'Nuff.

In terms of pre-season: Thompson BA #43, BP #47 Alfaro BA #67, BP #31 Williams BP #71 And Matt Harrison was pretty damn good before he got hurt. That was 3 years ago, but he's still 29. But damn, that contract sucks. The other 2 seem like decent enough 5-6 pieces. Nothing special, but both have been well below the age differential at every level they've pitched.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand he just struck out on 3 pitches, swinging at the last 2 out of the zone. gotta think since his name popped up on twitter regarding the padres he might have been kinda out of it today. I know, right? I mean one moment, you're hanging out with the boys. Next thing you know, Chris Valaika comes in, and he's all "hey, bro. Guess whose name's all over Twitter?" And Javy's all "who?" and Valaika's all "you." "The [expletive] are these fan boy bitches saying about me now?" Snapped Javy. "They're saying that the Padres have shown some level of interest in you." "The Padres?" Replied a suddenly attentive Javy, spewing Mr. Pibb all over Christian Villanueva's new Chucks. "[expletive] are the Padres showing interest in me for?" And with a casual shrug of the shoulders, Valaika replied "I guess they find you interesting." And then he left the room to prepare for work. As he was known to do in these situations, soft spoken, light hitting middle infielder Jonathan Mota scooched in and gently placed a brotherly hand on Javy's shoulder. "Don't even worry about it, man. These things pop up on Twitter all the time." "Don't even worry about it?" Snapped Javy, eliciting a reflexive flinch from gritty outfielder John Andreoli. "You heard what Josh Vitters said. I could be traded! You've been with this organization for what, sixteen years, and nobody's ever shown interest in you. How the [expletive] you going to tell me don't worry about it?" An apologetic Javy soon broke the deafening silence which he, himself had induced. "Listen, man," he assured Mota, who was now holding back tears of his own. "I was out of line, and you know I didn't mean what I said." After taking a deep breath, he added "but damn, that just fucks up my whole day. I just hope it doesn't effect my ability to keep my head in the game tonight."

Javy Walk.

Bryant did single handedly prevent a mass suicide all throughout Cubs nation the other night, so he has that to hang his hat on.

Good to see they're keeping him busy between injuries.

That felt more like surviving than winning, but I'll take it. More please.

Maybe don't pitch to this guy either. ETA never mind.

Jon Lester's making the best offense in baseball look like...I think you know where I'm going with this.

If Lamahieu ties it up...I just don't know.

http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/7236368/theo-epstein-give-carlos-zambrano-chance-earn-way-back-chicago-cubs I guess he was told he would be given the chance to "earn his way back." This was 11/15/2011. He was traded 1/5/12.

For the Rangers, I'll assume that this would be more geared beyond this season. This being said, I wonder if we could spin this into a 3 way for Gallardo.

Castro+Soler+prospects = Ross+Kimbrell+Upton Ooh. I mean if Upton were up for an extension, then absolutely. If not, I don't know. If we made that trade, we missed the playoffs, and Upton walked, it would feel a bit too Brock for Broglio.

There's a subset of Cubs fans that are overly wedded to the prospect brigade, and another subset (which I'm begrudgingly on the fringes of) that doesn't think think this iteration of this team is likely to justify a win-now move. I'd like for things to be going better, but I can understand the POV of not wanting to make a move the way the season is playing out. I can understand not wanting to go all in for a mediocre rental. But there's no excuse not to be just as aggressive as anyone else in persuit of guys who can legitamately improve our chances, especially those under control beyond this year.

That's just an unfortunate bi-product of the Twitter-era. Everyone wants to be the first to break the big story. Whether or not there is a story is irrelevant. One guy says something like " pulled from the lineup" then another comments on it, and others comment and retweet. Before you know it, it reaches a credible-ish source, and it blows up. It's basically a gigantic game of telephone.

I hate how disappointed that makes me Remember when Epstein told Zambrano he wasn't going anywhere?

[tweet]@BleacherNation: Jimenez removed for a tweak. End trade speculation. Commence injury panic. (You don't have to do that second one.) https://t.co/Iw3Sf1JRmv[/tweet] Sigh. Twitter=News source::Flintstones Vitamins=a balanced diet.

I must be prepared for either scenario and all in between.

He's been pretty bad since he's been back. Velocity is down. Oh God...Schlitter. More likely Medina. Why not CJ or Rivero? Or, do you think I'm crazy to suggest that too? CJ's control issues don't seem to be getting any better. As for Rivero, his numbers look decent enough, but I have to assume that there's a reason why he hasn't been called up by now.

That is... Way weird.

I'd trade Vogelbach or Zagunis for a rental, but it would need to be something of significance. I'm not saying Price or Upton, but something like a Zobrist (off the table, I know.) For a 5th starter upgrade, I'd give up a handful of rule 5 eligibles, such as Torrez, Paniaqua, Candelario and/or depth pieces like Lake or Szczur

Are you suggesting that somebody would set up a fake Twitter account for an obscure Minor league pitcher to troll?