abuck1220

It is an accomplishment when you have an injury plagued rotation and an overworked bullpen. He saves those guys the extra work, and he puts in quality innings as opposed to just leaving someone in for extra innings and watching them get shelled. i dont' know...i guess i don't really care if our bullpen gets taxed. everyone out there sucks anyway, and when you're carrying 19 pitchers, nobody should really get that worn down. maybe i'd feel different if we had the same guys out there all season, each with their own defined roles. a guy only going five innings w/ that setup would screw with the use of the pen more. i'd rather have five good innings than six so-so innings.

i don't see what the big deal is about a guy who 'eats innings'. anybody (when healthy, of course) can eat innings if the manager just leaves him in there to get hit. hell, rusch could have pitched seven innings in each of his four starts prior to last night...he would have given up a crapload of runs, but i guess eating innings is some kind of accomplishment.

i don't think anyone views neifi as a scapegoat...it's just that he personifies the problems that many people have with baker/hendry...not paying attention to OBP and a preference for veterans over youngsters. i wouldn't hate it if he came back next year, but i just don't trust dusty to use him right. if nomar's gone and hendry intends to play cedeno everyday, you know he'll, at best, split time with neifi. i didn't have a huge problem w/ neifi playing earlier this year, but the cubs are out of it now, and they need to see what cedeno can do. i can just hear baker next spring saying that he doesn't know if cedeno can play everyday because he hasn't seen what he can do playing on an everyday basis. now's the time to find out. i don't know exactly what i'd expect out of cedeno if he played full-time, but i think he'll be a better ss than murton will be a lf...if that makes sense.

furcal's not a great leadoff man. what on earth happened to his walk rate after 2000? :shock:

damn...i thought my bullpen was one sure advantage i had this week...but my pen's been outscored 18 to -1 or so after two days...ouch. wagner picked a bad time to suck...

nice 12 hit QS by vazquez. :evil:

at least hill could get some innings tonight. rusch looks to go to 0-5 since his triumphant return to the rotation. i'll take the under, by the way. rusch blows.

all i know is...this calls for contract extensions (and raises!) for everyone!!!

If a player missed a sign during a crucial stretch in the game, the first thing I do as manager is chew his butt or if I'm in a patient mood, ask him about what happened. The fact that Baker/Speier/Clines etc. didn't even mention anything to Hairston shows how inept this coaching staff really easy. No wonder why players want to play for Baker, they don't catch an earful when they mess up. somewhere else baker said that part of the reason he took prior out was because prior's leg was hurt. prior's response was something to the effect of 'i have no idea.' then you have walker whining about the announcers again. looks like this year's team is mounting a furious run in an effort to match last year's circus.

are you kidding? it was a HUGE thing in the news last year. he was mad that the announcers didn't give the players nicknames. so stone called him the louisiana lumberjack sarcastically.

i like walker, and i want him back next year, but what is this guy's obsession with what the announcers are talking about? he knocked stone and chip last year, brenly last week, and the cardinal announcers today. someone get him xm radio so he can weigh in on pat and ron.

give me a break...this guy always finds a way to cut down a young player and make excuses for an older player. his bias is so ridiculously obvious that i can't believe he even makes an effort to dispel it with his comments. well, i'd love to start cedeno at ss, but his throws to first run just a little bit into the runner. i think we'll go w/ neifi and his sub-.300 obp...his throws to first are awesome! Honestly, would this quote raise an eyebrow if any other manager had said it? If Tony LaRussa or Bobby Cox were saying this we would be saying, "see, it is their eye for detail and the level of excellence they demand of their players that gets them where they are". yeah, except, strangely enough he only nit-picks at the games of younger players. -murton needs to hit for more power (replaced by hairston, who has no power & patterson who can't hit anything) -dubois can't play defense (replaced by hollandsworth, who is awful defensively, and can't hit to save his life) -cedeno throws slightly funny (replaced by neifi and his .300 obp) -hill isn't ready for the big leagues (replaced by rusch, who has gone 0-4 with an 8ish era since he took hill's spot) point me to an example of him doing this to a young player, then we'll talk. I think you meant older. But wasn't it just recently, and then back in July and also back at the end of May that Baker was making public comments about how players, both veterans and not, needed to be more selective at the plate? maybe...but what came of it? two of the most unselective players on the team (macias and neifi) have only gotten more playing time.

geez...overbay is 9-13 w/ 4 hrs against claussen...he better do something tonight.

give me a break...this guy always finds a way to cut down a young player and make excuses for an older player. his bias is so ridiculously obvious that i can't believe he even makes an effort to dispel it with his comments. well, i'd love to start cedeno at ss, but his throws to first run just a little bit into the runner. i think we'll go w/ neifi and his sub-.300 obp...his throws to first are awesome! Honestly, would this quote raise an eyebrow if any other manager had said it? If Tony LaRussa or Bobby Cox were saying this we would be saying, "see, it is their eye for detail and the level of excellence they demand of their players that gets them where they are". yeah, except, strangely enough he only nit-picks at the games of younger players. -murton needs to hit for more power (replaced by hairston, who has no power & patterson who can't hit anything) -dubois can't play defense (replaced by hollandsworth, who is awful defensively, and can't hit to save his life) -cedeno throws slightly funny (replaced by neifi and his .300 obp) -hill isn't ready for the big leagues (replaced by rusch, who has gone 0-4 with an 8ish era since he took hill's spot) point me to an example of him doing this to a young player, then we'll talk.

give me a break...this guy always finds a way to cut down a young player and make excuses for an older player. his bias is so ridiculously obvious that i can't believe he even makes an effort to dispel it with his comments. well, i'd love to start cedeno at ss, but his throws to first run just a little bit into the runner. i think we'll go w/ neifi and his sub-.300 obp...his throws to first are awesome!

nsbb and tootie sit this week out, waiting to see who they play in the second round. and i'm sure tootie is glad that a two start week for prior doesn't mean [expletive]. meanwhile... in the west, the flyers and the lynx square off... it looks like lynx only gets five starts, including a few in some not-so-good pitcher's parks. however, he does have five offensive players getting seven game weeks. the flyers have a few guys getting multiple starts, including randy johnson, who is probably the key to this matchup. he also gets a seven game week from d-lee...but he's one of just two offensive guys playing a full week. looks like he's got a couple of potential injury problems, as well. the hand sanitizers and buddiga face off in the east... GHS holds a 2-0 season advantage on buddiga, but you can throw that out the window. GHS has eight starts, but most of them will undoubtedly be shitty. anytime you go into the playoffs counting on a starter whose little yellow tab says "O. Hernandez consistently bad" you know you're scraping the bottom of the barrel for SP's. however, the hand sanitizer pen has been fantastic, and the offense can smack some homers. buddiga has two guys w/ two starts, neither of which is one of his aces (zito, willis). and vazquez's second start is in coors. the griffey injury makes him an iffy play for this week. farnsworth apparently getting the closer's nod in atlanta is a bonus for buddiga. should be an interesting week!

wow, i didn't see that. pretty huge development if he's out...they had a bunch of games at GABP this week. looks like i'll outstart you 8-7, but, let's face it...my starters suck. at least your two best guys aren't the ones w/ two starts...and vazquez's second start is in coors. i think lee & overbay are the keys to my team this week...they need to have big games at GABP. three games for gonzo in coors needs to translate into a hr or two from him. and my bullpen has carried me all year...i need a big week out of them.

it's on. cedeno got robbed for nsbb POY!

just in time for the postseason run!

well, i guess i'll watch the game today. my rule for the rest of the season is not to watch unless cedeno/murton/hill play.

is this some kind of joke?? :shock:

baker seems to be the last person to realize that this current group of stiffs isn't winning, hasn't won and will continue to not win. since when does playing your worst players = trying to win? This is infuriating. When teams are out of contention in September, they play the kids so that they can better evaluate what role they can play on the next season's team. It provides the GM with better information for the offseason. baker's already covered himself on this one by saying that you can't really put much stock into what kids do in september because teams don't have a book on them. also, if he plays murton/cedeno consistently now and they set the world afire, he'll have to listen to a month of everyone saying 'why didn't you play those guys instead of hollandsworth, neifi and macias?' if there's one thing that baker's good at, it's covering himself.

Does he really value OPB though? To me, Hendry is moreso trying to emulate the Yankees than show legitimate concern for OPB. For example, the Yanks collect superstars. Sheff, Giambi, ARod, etc. are all players brought in by the the Yankees because the are superstars. Sure, their stardom arises partially due to their strong OBP statistics, but those are likely incidental to the fact that the Yanks want them. Due to payroll constraints (as everyone has who aren't the Yankees), Hendry is kind of the poor-man's Brian Cashman. He collects lesser star players on the cheap. He appreciates that Lee, ARam and Nomar have potential to produce, but OBP is incidental. Hendry hasn't shown a willingness to chase, or force the play of, high OBP players with limited power like Boston or Oakland does. OBP just doesn't seem to be a priority in the supporting cast. i agree w/ you, jc. the only guy he's gotten that would indicate that he cares about OBP is lawton...and his OBP sucked while he was here. so i don't know if he'll go that route again any time soon.

Because he does it for a living? Because he, and his staff, are the closest people to the players, and presumably have a lot more institutional knowledge than anyone on this board? I don't know why people operate under the assumption that because a GM makes some mistakes, he doesn't know anything. Name me a GM who hasn't made mistakes. They're dealing with people, and people are extremely variable in their abilities and their reactions to new and stressful situations. I think Hendry is a very good GM, even while admitting he's made his share of mistakes. But whose opinion do you trust more, someone whose staff works with the players every day, or someone on an anonymous internet message board who probably has never had contact with the player in question, much less run a sports organization? so just because he does it for a living he's automatically good at it? you've never worked w/ anyone that sucks at their job? i don't care how much contact he has with his players. fact is, he has a top payroll and the team SUCKS. SUCKS. it's not that they're just not living up to expectations...they're awful. i'm not saying hendry's never done well, but i can't say how anyone can say he's a 'very good' gm given the team's failures over the past two seasons.

jim hendry also thought glendon rusch was a good option to start. he also thought signing mike remlinger was a good idea. he also thought hiring dusty baker was a good idea. in short, jim hendry has shown that what he thinks isn't necessarily right. i dont' know why people operate under the assumption that just because a guy is a gm/manager, he knows what he's talking about. last time i checked, the cubs have a 90+ million payroll and are fighting to stay out of 5th place. i don't know why you give a guy in charge of that mess so much deference.