TBone

There was a dude - last name DeRosa who was sacrificed in the need of getting more "left handed." It's not that the trade worked out for either party, but the Cubs have been trying to get more "left handed" for a while with poor results.

That was one of the more puzzling things I've seen. You've got a reliever making a spot start, he's thrown 80 pitches and isn't really looking good, the wind's blowing out, he's facing 3-4-5 hitters of the opponent in the 5th, you're batting and you've got a guy on first with one down, and you send the pitcher up there to hit. Not only that, he shows bunt on pitch one, but not on pitch two. Pitch 3, when he's up 2-0, he doesn't show bunt and now it's 2-1 as the heater down the middle is a strike. Then you trade showing bunt and not, and wind up having him bunt with two strikes only to K after fouling the last pitch off swinging? To top it off, he throws four (?) pitches to the first batter and gives up a dinger, then you pull him. Quade, are you [expletive]?

My wife went off when I sent her this link...she thought the article was real. :)

Coors field is a nice place to catch a game. There will be plenty of Cubs fans there. Go to the Sports Column in the LoDo area before the game for Chicago Style hotdogs and cheap Old Styles. (think they're $1--I'll be there Monday) Hang on the deck upstairs. Know what a rocky mountain oyster is before you try them. They're good, just know what to expect. ;) My Brothers Bar (warning--there's no sign, just listen for the classical music blaring out the speakers in the front) is one of the best burger joints (Cherry Cricket being the other) with good beers on tap. If you haven't had enough girl scout cookies, you can also get them year round as they stock up and sell them to customers throughout the year. Get the Ralphie (buffalo) burger w/ cheese and the onion rings. Stop by REI nearby for outdoor gear if that's your thing, or watch the kayaker's just outside REI to see some people drinking some really unclean water when they barrel roll. If you like sushi, Sushi Sa Sa kitty corner from My Brothers Bar is the best in town IMO. (Chef Morimoto from Food Network trained the chef of Sushi Sa Sa) Earl's is cool if for no other reason than the talent serving your drinks and food, otherwise it's expensive and hip. Check out the Paramount and get a seat outside to people watch all the freaks on 16th street mall. Espn Zone just closed. Giggling Grizzly is a bunch of underage kids, but decent after the game. The Mexican joint next door (El Chapultapec) has horrible food, but the best jazz in town. Just take cash as they don't take checks or credit cards. The Celtic bar in LoDo is a good Irish pub that gets pretty crowded. (there's a Fado's just across from Coors Field, but it sucks in comparison) The Cruise Room is the best martini joint in town. It's in the Oxford Hotel I believe. Very old-school feel to it, but can get crowded on weekends. Wynkoop is nice...try the elk if you're there--great home-brewed beers too. Fontano's chicago subs downtown has some really good sandwiches as well as a nice Italian Beef sandwich. Larimer Square has some nice restaurants and bars as well. Pete's Kitchen on Colfax or Denver Diner on Speer are the "after the bar has closed" eating establishments. The Rio has fantasticly strong margaritas, but don't eat there...eat at Yahoo's Fish Tacos next door for cheaper, better food. This is a great happy hour joint, but they limit you to three margs and close at 10. Besides Blue Moon, check out Fat Tire and Breckenridge Brewery beers if you're into beer. Stay anyplace reasonable downtown. (cheap places could be sketchy) you're a short cab ride, walk, or bus ride to any of the places I've mentioned, if you don't take the free bus that goes down 16th St mall. If you give money to everyone who asks you for money on 16th street mall, you'll be very poor very quick. You may be able to tour the US Mint in Denver, but I think you need reservations and they only do it a couple days a week. I always recommend Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park for visitors. (you're almost guaranteed to see Elk with a good chance to see big horn sheep, fox, and coyotes) If you go there, be sure to stop by the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. It's the hotel Stephen King based his book "The Shining" on. It's pretty creepy. Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs are nice as well and about the same distance drive. Boulder is a blast, especially if you stop on Pearl Street. Breckenridge is an hour and a half drive if you want an old-time mining / ski resort town, with Vail another 45 minutes if you want to see a ski resort town that tries to look like a European ski resort town. If you've got money and want a very nice dinner, check out Frasca in Boulder--make a reservation if you can get it. (Flagstaff is also quite nice with beautiful views) One of the best restaurants in Colorado. The Fort in Morrison (by Red Rocks if you're planning on visiting there) has some expensive various game dishes, but a great view of the city and all kinds of game. (ostrich, elk, buffalo, rattlesnake, etc.) If you're into trying different game, I prefer the Buckhorn Exchange on 12th and Osage. (short cab ride from downtown) Rocky Mountain Oysters there are great and it's the first liquor license in the state of Colorado. Blackhawk, CO is the nearest gambling mecca (and a 45 minute drive) if you're into that. They just upped the limits from $5 to $100 and now have craps and roulette as well as poker, blackjack, and slots. And whoever recommended getting acclimated to the altitude is very right. Drink plenty of water your first couple of days. If you want a really quick buzz, just start drinking alcohol and expect to be hammered after half of what it would take you in the flatlands. PM me if there's anything else you may want to know or specific food requests...I've lived here since 2000. I'm going to my high school reunion for the weekend on Friday and will be off of email, (or too drunk to respond) but if you catch me before then I'll be able to respond. T

Anybody who thinks that a majority of pro athletes don't cheat on their wives, pregnant or not are kidding yourselves. I've run into a great deal of situations where pro athletes were out at the bar I was at without their wives and with very beautiful women, and appeared to be very endeared to the very pretty women also known as not their wives. If you're going to start disliking a pro athlete because he's cheating on his wife, you may as well not hold these people up as the heros you may consider them to be. (and you may as well not hold any pro athletes up to be the "heroes" many hold these people up to be) I'm not condoning cheating as I'd absolutely hate myself if I ever cheated on my wife, but I'm not going to not pull for one of the members of my favorite team because he's done so or been accused of doing so. Ask Lakers fans what they think about Kobe or Yankees fans what they think about ARod or Packers fans what they think about Favre pre-last year's pre-season fiascol. I'm pretty sure as long as they're producing, noone cares. Ask Democrats what they think about Bill Clinton or JFK. And consider the fact that you're just beginning to scratch the surface of cheaters and many cheaters who many people have considered upstanding people will never be uncovered. T

That's the pot calling the kettle black with Ryan Braun's "awesome" defense. The only reason he doesn't get charged with errors is because he so badly misreads balls, as does Hart. Fonzi did lollygag to the ball, then kicked it into the corner, then proceeded to walk in a semi-circle before realizing Kendall was going to third, and it should have been an error, and this sentence should be an excellent example of a run-on sentence.

How many times have baserunners been picked off now? This has reached ridiculous.

Do we have the most people under 6 ft tall of any roster in MLB history?

Miles is allergic to mid-80's fastball...see AB vs. Hoffman the other night for further evidence.

What the hell are you talking about? He wasn't terrible today by any means. What the hell are you talking about? 4er 3 walks and an impressive 4.98 era for the season. 2 of those earned runs came in the 7th, which he shouldn't have been out for since he was well over 100 pitches yet Lou sent him out anyway against the Brewer's best hitters. Through 6, when everyone expected him to come out, he had pitched a good game. He probably should have come out in the 6th but I still feel the same way. He's been garbage. He somehow managed to keep his era down last year and get a fat contract. This year he is back to his career numbers. He pitched a good game tonight. He shouldn't have been in there that long, but a good game is a good game. This one is strictly on the fact that Lou has no trust in anyone available in the bullpen to come in in the 7th inning. Sure, he's walked more than I'd like to see, but tonight's not on Ryan. Whether that's Lou's or Jim's fault is another thing, but Dempster shouldn't have been in that situation in the first place. Granted, he hasn't been last year's Dempster this year, but tonight he did everything one could ask for. The offense did very little for him in the innings he pitched, the bullpen performed at a minor league level, and the manager did a poor job managing.

What the hell are you talking about? He wasn't terrible today by any means. What the hell are you talking about? 4er 3 walks and an impressive 4.98 era for the season. It should have been 2 ER if Lou wouldn't have left him in too long. Tonight was a solid night from Demp, Lou just mismanaged the pitchers. T

Ole Miss, are you visiting Denver, or do you live there? I'm in the southern burbs...may need a drink after this game. T

I only remember on-toe game where Cotts did something good, otherwise it seems like every lefty he's faced has gotten on base. He got out of a bases loaded jam with one out by getting a DP. And I almost soiled myself when I saw Demp come out for the 7th to face the top of the order after pitching almost 110 for 6. In fact, I think he was at 90+ going into the 6th, and I was wondering if he'd even come out for the 6th. If there's one positive, Bradley's gotten a hit in the last few games, but Geo continues to suck hard and Lee is day to day horrible when he plays. T

Manuel got a 1 game suspension for a cap bill bumping of an ump. I can't see how they're not going to decrease Milton's to a single game. Either way, I don't see it at a significant loss by appealing. T

I dumped him from my fantasy team today, so I expect him to now start lighting it up.

I think it's part he has been hurt for most or part of the last few years so he hasn't been consistently pitching and he doesn't repeat his windup/mechanics which causes him to be erratic at times, there is no doubting his stuff however. As a competitive athelete, it takes a while to overcome the psychology of trusting your "stuff" I think Guzman will be fine with a few more opportunities where he pitches well. T

8 SB for 9 CS < 50%. Yeah!

Long time, no post. I actually had to re-start drinking when I knew Gregg was coming in given the way he'd pitched. I was hoping for a quick 1-2-3 in a low-pressure situation to re-gain his confidence, but wound up slamming my beer faster than Prince eats a monster veggie plate. He really needs to get it figured out and soon, but even if he does...is this the type of guy you want potentially closing out games in the postseason? Imagine if we get there and he's our closer? Why not just end the foregone conclusion and put Marmol in the closer role w/ Gregg setting him up. And how did noone know that he can't get up and sit down until 1 week into the regular season? This never came up in ST or in the supposed pre-trade physical? Ugh! T

So if they win tonight, they must've been loose. Not every team that loses a playoff game is playing too tight. Not necessarily, but I think that playing tight has contributed to the overall suckiness in the Cubs playoff appearances the last couple years.

This team's too damn tight is why they underperform in the playoffs. The only playoff success the Cubs have had was in a series where they didn't have home field advantage. Everything's gone to crap at Wrigley because of the negative energy when the smallest thing happens. The Sox won in 04 by a team where everyone on the team called themselves the Idiots. They played loose and had fun playing, even down 3-0 to the Yankees. That's the kind of stuff the Cubs will have to do to get over the hump IMO. Last night sucked hard. I've become emotionally cold while watching the Cubs in the playoffs. Let's hope Z can find good Z tonight and the O gets on track, but it's a much more difficult scenario than last night was.

Johan Santana in a short series scares me. I'd much rather see the Dodgers in the first round, regardless of whether the Brewers get some playoff revenue. T

A very simple solution is to have Series A play one day game followed by one night game in the first two games while Series B plays a night game followed by a day game in the first two games played. These yahoo's really dropped the ball by having one series play two consecutive day games on weekdays.

I've not read through the rest of the thread, but... I don't think it will be. Houston proper is too far inland. There will be some wind damage, but probably not to MMP or most major structures. Of course I'm not expert on hurricanes, I could be completely wrong. That is just what I've been reading. My brother just called me--he lives outside of Baton Rouge and just got his power on yesterday after about a week and a half. I believe that Houston isn't much, if any further inland than Baton Rouge is. Houston is also VERY prone to flooding. My in-laws live there and always had to deal with floods with bayous overflowing throughout the "inner loop". I certainly understand the Stros wanting to play at home now that they've played themselves back into the race, but I think postponing and not playing at a neutral site could really cost the teams as there's a chance they won't be able to play Sunday. They should at least move the Friday game up to get one in and have the opportunity to play the DH on Monday if needed. It's bad enough the baseball gods have been against us in my lifetime, but now Mother Nature as well as the ex-Brewers owner commisioner?

What a great game to be at! I must say the Rockies fans have gotten overly cocky after their run last year. I heard so many 1908 comments when walking through the stadium. I responded to one guy, asking how many WS games the Rocks have won, some dude says we were in the World Series last year to which I reply how many games did you win? He just walked away. I was about 10 rows up from ARams homer and called it as well to a bunch of Cubs fans behind us. It was ashame to see Woody blow the save. I thought Hill pitched decent, and really love the way some of the younger guys are stepping up in big situations. T

I'll be there tomorrow night in LF wearing my Aram jersey. Welcome to Wrigley of the Rockies. Unfortunately, I think the Rocks doubled the prices of their tickets after the run last year. I think my left field ticket cost me $20 more this year. After the second game, Rocks fans stopped attending...nice. Expect to see just as many Cubs fans as Rocks fans, and stop by the Sports Column by Coors Field for $2 Old Styles pre-game if you're in town. The Rocks pitchers blow. Last year was an abberation, although their offense is very potent, especially at Coors. Hopefully Hill has the curve ball working in the thin air tomorrow night. Morales has scary talent but has shown tendencies to be wild. If the Cubs plate appearances mirror what they've done so far this year and Morales isn't on, we should be able to put a lot of runs on the board.