abuck1220

how do you figure furcal will make nomar money? nomar will probably get less than he did this year, while furcal will probably get a four-five year deal for at least 8 mil/year. a .344 obp out of your lead off hitter is not all that good. i'd rather re-sign nomar and keep walker. cedeno is the primary backup at 2b and ss, keep hairston, don't bring neifi back.

luis gonzalez has played in something like 135 of the dbacks last 139 games...now he sits two games in a row...what gives?

i ain't exactly throwing gibson, koufax and ryan out there either... Well, Sheffield won't play today and is questionable for the weekend. I would think he'll play in some capacity this weekend considering winning the division probably rides on this series with the Sox. injuries have really hurt us both this week. my pitching staff is remarkably suckier w/o sheets in there, and you're w/o griffey and now possibly sheffield. i thought i'd be down by more than 8 when i checked it this morning...

does anyone else feel like the points for pitching could be altered somehow? it seems like now, your start either sucks (0-4 points) or is very good (15-18 points). i don't feel like there's a real middle ground. in reality, there is little difference between a 7 ip/4 er start and a 6 ip/3 er start. but in our league, the points difference is huge. the only way i can see to make the SP's points less extreme, but to keep the overall value of pitching, is to perhaps knock a QS from 7 to 5 points, but to increase the value of an inning pitched from 1.5 to 2.25. like it? hate it? hate me?

now weaver's on the hook for the L. EFFFFF! i swear, 3/4 of his outings look like -- 6 ip, 5 h, 3 er -- after six, and then -- 6 1/3, 9 h, 5 er -- after seven.

and for about the 7th time this year, weaver has a 6 inning QS in the bag only to blow it in the 7th. weaver (and jim tracy for that matter, since this happens EVERY TIME) and david bell can catch the next bus to hell!!!

i ain't exactly throwing gibson, koufax and ryan out there either...

we each have three starts left. me: vargas, el duque, johnson you: zito, vazquez, suppan advantage: you. if i can somehow match you in QS the rest of the way, i like my chances. my pen is bound for a couple points before this week's over. philly was stupid to use wagner when they were behind by a couple the other night...then he throws a ton of pitches over the next two days and gets hung w/ two losses.

QS Willis QS Arroyo SV Dempster My pitching is saving me right now, but I'm not going to win the week without some production offensively! you're 4-4 on QS so far, which is nothing new. i'm a damn magnet for QS...i've had a couple of weeks of giving up 5+ QS. your pen has been awesome...mine has sucked, even w/ the gift win for street today. wagner has three losses on the year...two in the last two days. :evil:

screw you, david bell, you worthless piece of [expletive]. how's that for a swing...a perfect inning and a save from wagner turns into two hits allowed, a loss, a blown save AND a three run homer for biggio. :evil: :evil: :evil: edit: had bell made the play, i would have been +4.5...w/ the error and what followed, i went -5.25 and buddiga went +8 (for biggio's homer). one play = 18+ point swing. damn, damn, damn!

yep. i certainly didn't think arroyo was going to get you a QS after the first couple innings. i knew dontrelle was going to be tough in rfk...i'm just glad he didn't throw a shutout. i said before this week started that my brewers would be key going against shitty pitchers in a great hitter's park...though they only combined for one homer, they put up a combined 30+ points so far this week. i'd be in trouble w/o them. by the way, overbay is like 23-43 w/ 7 hrs against the reds this year... :shock:

isn't nomar/furcal + walker > nomar/furcal + cedeno? that's the only thing about cedeno...i don't think he'll outperform walker or nomar. and the cubs are in a financial position where $ shouldn't be an issue when deciding what to do w/ walker and nomar. i'd be happy w/ cedeno as the primary 2b/ss backup with walker and nomar starting. then you can plug him in as a starter in 2007 when one of those two is gone.

This is probably a roundabout discussion, because both sides have valid points. But perhaps the reason we've had a merry-go-round bullpen this year is because they were so taxed at the start. None of them could handle the workload, so we had to bring up more and more guys. A fresh bullpen is more likely to pitch well than a taxed one. But I still see your point. It's not like Maddux has been horrible when he's out there eating innings. no, he hasn't been horrible. but he hasn't been worth $9 mil either. i see what you're saying though.

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.