Vanilla Ice

There's no way Theriot doesn't have a solid OBP He walks a fair amount but his batting average is only .266. My guess is that it is not that high.

Oh, you and your silly statistics.

He does that every single time he makes a catch I love that so much, I do the little jump thing every time I catch a ball in pickup football or baseball It's not a good idea. Neither is being a Cubs fan, but oh well

He does that every single time he makes a catch I love that so much, I do the little jump thing every time I catch a ball in pickup football or baseball

Id rather bring in Kevin Hart.

Less... than.... two... hours...

I was happy to see him go, does that count?

haha My favorite two lines "Weve got Bartman chained down in the basement" and "We hear Mark Priors getting better"

Geovany Soto.

Ive been wasting my entire day waiting for this [expletive] game to start. I look at the clock and I have about 8 hours to go. :cry:

I WISH I LIVED IN CHICAGO!! SHFLDJASDSDHDJKLDHASJKDASKDJASHDJKSH

I do not see one single pitching matchup, in which we clearly are at a disadvantage. There are some in which it is about even, but the closest we come to being at a disadvantage, is either Zambrano vs. Harang (twice), or Lilly vs. Willis (I still think we have the advantage).

I would only want to face him if he is a righty and can throw over 87.

Geovany Soto. No question about it. Soto is our MVP. I did not say MVP, I said favorite player.

Geovany Soto.

What is his OBP w/out July? Picking and choosing doesn't accomplish anything. He's a MI utility player starting at SS b/c he has been the best option on a team with no starting SS. Good hands, poor arm, below avg. range for a SS. Avg. to slightly below avg at SS defensively to above avg. defensively for a 2B which requires less range and less arm strength. If they had the funds or the expendable players to improve SS, I wouldn't let Theriot prevent them from upgrading. I question whether they do. Ok, what is his OBP without July and September?

Geovany Soto.

I'd flip Lilly and Z. I wouldn't. As erratic as Z can be, I have more faith in his ability to completely shut down a team than Lilly. Z's A, B and C game are better than Lilly's. I would go Lilly, Z, Hill This would split up the two lefties, and in a 5 game series Zambrano could still start game 5, if needed.

I agree Also, I think if our offense is struggling, I would start Zambrano because he could easily shut the other team down. If our offense is doing fairly well I would start Lilly because, unlike Zambrano, I do not see him giving up a whole lot of runs in only a few innings.

Big difference between SS and RF. Theriot's SS or 2B production is acceptable in a lineup that has big production elsewhere, and has some compensation production at another non-traditional offensive spot. Burnitz's hustle in RF didn't mask his production shortage. Why do people keep responding to my original point like Theriot has matched Burnitz's offensive output or projects to even come close to matching Burnitz's offensive output? Ryan has had his bright spots, but his career up until this point and his age is likely indicative of his offense being well below his high points. I can live with him as a backup utility guy, but to want him hitting any higher than 7th or 8th or on a regular basis simply because he's cheap and has been decent for short periods in a very small sample size strikes me as not being good for the team at all in the long run. And no, I'm not trying to argue that Burnitz was the right RFer for this team, but I think straight up comparing his output with the bat to Theriot's definitely weighs in Burnitz's favor. Go root for the Yankees Are you seriously equating pointing out the shortcomings of a mediocre player to Yankees fans who demand an all star at every position, or are you poking fun that those who use this ridiculous tactic to brush off comments by those who are interested in seeing the Cubs get better? Kinda both, I think every lineup needs to have a singles hitter that can get on base (with the exception of September) and play good defense. The Angels are built around them, the Red Sox have Ellsbury and Lugo. The D'Backs have Hudson, the Phillies have Rollins (yes, he is better than Theriot, but the point stands), the Mets have Castillo (I am not going to compare Reyes to Theriot). The Cardinals have Eckstein. Do I need to go on? I realize going to root for the yankees is an extreme. Theriot has a .330 OBP, compared to the league average of .347. And again, Theriot really isn't a good defensive player. What is his OBP without September? His defense is not that bad. I cannot remember him making a bad throw, or making an error of any kind. He does not have range like Reyes or a gun like Reyes. But he has pretty good range and not a terrible arm. So, he is above average, not great.

1) Theriot is NOT above average defensively. He is certainly quite surehanded, and accurate with his throws. However, his range is abysmal and his arm strength is nothing to write home about. He's diving and missing at balls that Cedeno is getting to standing upright. Theriot is quite good at balls hit right at him, but he's not making any plays that the average shortstop wouldn't. At best, you can make a case for him being solid... but he's certainly a tick on the short side of average. So you would rather have Cedeno play? :?:

Big difference between SS and RF. Theriot's SS or 2B production is acceptable in a lineup that has big production elsewhere, and has some compensation production at another non-traditional offensive spot. Burnitz's hustle in RF didn't mask his production shortage. Why do people keep responding to my original point like Theriot has matched Burnitz's offensive output or projects to even come close to matching Burnitz's offensive output? Ryan has had his bright spots, but his career up until this point and his age is likely indicative of his offense being well below his high points. I can live with him as a backup utility guy, but to want him hitting any higher than 7th or 8th or on a regular basis simply because he's cheap and has been decent for short periods in a very small sample size strikes me as not being good for the team at all in the long run. And no, I'm not trying to argue that Burnitz was the right RFer for this team, but I think straight up comparing his output with the bat to Theriot's definitely weighs in Burnitz's favor. Go root for the Yankees Are you seriously equating pointing out the shortcomings of a mediocre player to Yankees fans who demand an all star at every position, or are you poking fun that those who use this ridiculous tactic to brush off comments by those who are interested in seeing the Cubs get better? Kinda both, I think every lineup needs to have a singles hitter that can get on base (with the exception of September) and play good defense. The Angels are built around them, the Red Sox have Ellsbury and Lugo. The D'Backs have Hudson, the Phillies have Rollins (yes, he is better than Theriot, but the point stands), the Mets have Castillo (I am not going to compare Reyes to Theriot). The Cardinals have Eckstein. Do I need to go on? I realize going to root for the yankees is an extreme.

CUBS' remaining schedule (12).... Gm# Date Opponent Score Starter Opp Starter 151 Mon 09/17 Cincinnati N - Hill Arroyo 152 Tue 09/18 Cincinnati N - Zambrano Harang 153 Wed 09/19 Cincinnati N - Lilly Shearn 154 Fri 09/21 Pittsburgh - Marshall Maholm 155 Sat 09/22 Pittsburgh - Marquis Van Benschoten 156 Sun 09/23 Pittsburgh - Hill Gorzelanny 157 Tue 09/25 @ Florida N - Zambrano Willis 158 Wed 09/26 @ Florida N - Lilly Mitre 159 Thu 09/27 @ Florida - Marshall Olsen 160 Fri 09/28 @ Cincinnati N - Marquis Arroyo 161 Sat 09/29 @ Cincinnati N - Hill Harang 162 Sun 09/30 @ Cincinnati - Zambrano Shern dangit, we play every teams ace. Between Willis, Harang, Harang, Gorzelanny, the pitching roation could not have come out worse. On the other hand, we might not face too many no-name lefties. Well, you do know Willis has been awful this year right? But since he's a lefty I don't know if we'll benefit from that or not. I bet Florida wishes they would have cashed out on him a couple years ago. We've always done well against Willis. Who would you rahter face Willis or their number 4 or 5 starter?

Big difference between SS and RF. Theriot's SS or 2B production is acceptable in a lineup that has big production elsewhere, and has some compensation production at another non-traditional offensive spot. Burnitz's hustle in RF didn't mask his production shortage. Why do people keep responding to my original point like Theriot has matched Burnitz's offensive output or projects to even come close to matching Burnitz's offensive output? Ryan has had his bright spots, but his career up until this point and his age is likely indicative of his offense being well below his high points. I can live with him as a backup utility guy, but to want him hitting any higher than 7th or 8th or on a regular basis simply because he's cheap and has been decent for short periods in a very small sample size strikes me as not being good for the team at all in the long run. And no, I'm not trying to argue that Burnitz was the right RFer for this team, but I think straight up comparing his output with the bat to Theriot's definitely weighs in Burnitz's favor. Go root for the Yankees

If he is worried about that, why wouldnt he let Lilly start game 1, Zambrano game 2, and hill game 3