TBone

To give Lou a little credit, NOT ALOT MIND YOU, but a little, once he did see Soto was the better player, he played Soto more. Plain and simple. Maybe Piniella wants Pie to show him he is better then Johnson, and Pie hasn't be up for the challenge. Now I understand the lack of playing, I really do, but there is more the "rising to the challenge" then what is on the field. Pie has to show he can play, so maybe the Cubs see something Pie they don't like, and are trying to correct the problem. Same goes with Hill. I'd love to ask him why Jason effing Kendall started Game 3 last year. Because Kendall had a .500 or so career average against whatever bum the DBacks threw out there. But yeah, that's dumb.

I would disagree with Blanco having no purpose as Geo is a good defender. He's OK, but I still think a lot of people are blinded by his offensive production. He really hasn't looked anything more than average behind the plate to me. He's young and I can certainly see his defense getting better, but I still like Blanco's D better than Soto's at this point. Offensively, it's no comparison. And I'd really like to see him batting 5 and Fuku batting 2, but I'm not too sure about Pie batting leadoff.

I doubt that Corey Patterson continues his pace and I am sure Dusty will make enough bad decisions that we won't have to worry about them too much. I doubt Adam Dunn and Edwin Encarnacion continue to hit below .200. Let's not forget that soon Griffey will be hurt

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Amen

I could see how that mistake could be made...here I was thinking they may IBB Lieber to get to Soriano, but now I understand why they didn't.

Theriot's been dropped from first to second to eighth in the lineup in 5 games. If Lou really had a love affair with Theriot, he'd still be hitting at the top of the order. Then what would you call it? Lou has continued to play him even though he has had 1 productive month in his entire MLB career, but he still gets to go out there everyday with no worries of him losing his job if he sucks(which he already does). Yet, our top positional prospect, who has torn up every level of minor leagues hes played in, gets 4 damn games to start and then gets benched for at least 2 consecutive games againste RH pitchers, and probably more games this week since we will be facing some lefties. I mean Lou is sitting Pie, against 2 RH pitchers, so he can start a guy who has a career .268 .328 .354 line against RH pitchers in over 1500 ab's, but will continue to roll out a guy who has been horrible for every month outside of 1 of his much longer MLB career. The fact that he moved Theriot down to the 8 hole is meaningless, hes starting every game. Hell the fact he put a guy with a .328 career OBP in the 2 hole says to me, that Lou really doesnt have a clue right now, and hasnt all year. Maybe he's hurt a bit more than we all thought and the extra day of rest will be good for his hand healing? I think everyone needs to get off the ledge.

Double switch and move the pitcher batting spot to the 8th person due up. But yeah, it still sucks.

You've not been watching his defense have you? OH yeah when our pitchers couldn't hold a single runner. Please. :glare: and an error, and standing in the middle of the basepath before the ball gets there so he can get steamrolled by the runner and give up another run. not to mention he hasn't been much more successful at throwing out runners than rubber arm kendall was last year. but yeah, otherwise he's not made a bad play all year. ;)

You've not been watching his defense have you?

The entire Cubs offense outside of Fukudome. 3rd worst BA in the majors, similar OBP, would be much, much worse if Kosuke wasn't the only patient batter on the team.

Time for some games for Ronny Cedeno, and put him in the 8 spot.

Pie was trying to wipe some "hair gel" off Fonzie's ear.

Theriot steals third... Kendall may be able to outhit his mistakes... remember when Bob said that? ;)

I really like our 5-6-7 guys and hate our 1-2 guys. Hmmm...

Sori still 0-fer 2008! Keep the streak alive!

Another interesting side effect of moving Demps to the starting rotation...we get to watch another Cub fail miserably trying to put down a sac bunt

1st rule taught outfielders in T-ball, always start back on a ball. Ooops!

They just called Riot versatile cause you can hit him anywhere in the lineup. That's funny.

We lost that game? I must have really been drunk! Moises could have caught the ball and likely would have, at least according to the replays. His glove appeared well positioned to have said ball plop into it. Gonzo, meet Leon Durham, although the Bull could actually hit and wasn't in the game solely as a defensive specialist. Dusty is a horrible manager and it has nothing to do with whether or not he came out to calm everyone down that game. If he were to come out, he should have sprayed that weird pixie dust crap on the field on his way to the mound. He singlehandendly set this organization back a number of years by his pitching staff management. Then there was 04 where he was too nice to yell at anyone while the whole team continuously fumbled opportunities to win the wild card. Good stuff! There's always next year though, right?

Am I the only one that thinks that Hendry may have a bit more inside information on the situation, such as Prior may be unhappy enough with the Cubs that there is a very high probability that he won't re-sign after offering a year contract? I know there are a lot of HUGE Hendry fans here, but he's gotta know a lot more about the situation than most, if not all people on this board. If that's the case, I see offering a contract for a year a very likely waste of money. Even if he's able to come back by June, will he still be the Mark Prior we all knew at his height? Will he even be servicable at the major league level? Keep in mind he'd like be making these starts when the pennant race is taking form. Will his confidence in his ability at that point be high enough to pitch effectively in clutch situations? If we could guarantee 10 solid starts, I'm down with the transaction, but we can't even guarantee a solid start. I absolutely loved Prior and what he brought to the team, but I think a non-tender given what we think we know about his thoughts on the Cubs is probably the right move at this point.

Sorry, but there is no way the Cubs should sign Prior for a year. For one, I don't think they'll be able to get much for him in return for a sign and trade. Two, I don't think Prior will pitch well enough, if at all, prior to the trading deadline next year to get anything for him. Plus, you're assuming a lot of risk in that scenario of throwing 3 mil or whatever out the window. The best option, and it pains me to say this, is to non-tender, and both parties moved on. T

He's only potentially coming on as an advisor. I think this is great. Jim can ask Dave what he'd do regarding potential trades and free agent pick-ups, then do the opposite. In fact, I'll bet Lou gets Jim a bracelet that says, WWDD? T

Doesn't that say it all? We need guys who can get on base and be patient at the plate. Currently, we don't have much in that department. Besides, what would be better than setting the record for HDP for a season? Seriously, we've got "enough" power to do damage in the Central and a decent staff. Putting some guys in the lineup that can get on base and move around the bases can't hurt, although it won't be a major upgrade. T

Blyleve and Goose should be in, period. It'd be nice to see Hawk in there, but I don't think he'll get in this year. Dunston's the reason I wanted to play shortstop. Unfortunately for him, that's not a qualification to get into the Hall. ;) T

Marlins had much better starting pitching and probably more speed. The Rockies have a better lineup and more power. The Marlins got one of their first two guys on base and used their speed to manufacture runs. The Rockies for the most part hit for a lot of power. The Rockies are a far superior defensive team. The Marlins had a better, more experience, smoking manager. The Rockies have a manager people in Denver have been trying to get rid of for the last two years. The Marlins play in humid weather. The Rockies have a humidifier in a room full of baseballs. The Marlins fans would never go to the game. The Rockies fans started selling out the games after they'd won 15 straight or whatever. I don't recall much about the Marlins pen, but the Rockies isn't spectacular, however they've been pitching out of their minds outside of Fuentes meltdown in game 4.