Amie

I've got no problem with Ronnie at all, he just doesn't hit well has a PH. Heck this year Ward isn't getting it done either. Lou should try Hoff at this, as he is used to doing it and hits both LH and RH pitching.

Lou might start by sitting Lee for a day or too. Heck he brought Hoff up from AAA, he has great numbers against both RH and LH pitching, yet Lou has not yet used him. Hoff was swinging a hot bat, yet it is going to waste on the bend while we lose games. Put him in the line up, and give D Lee a day or 2 off. Same for Ramirez, he has looked terrible at the plate ever since he started with all the traveling. He's made 2 trips to the DR, 1 trip to NY, flown more then any of the other guys. For a guy with a slumping bat, that's not going to help. These guys will swing at anything late in game lately. Lee needs to go down in the order for sure.

Cuban if he wins the bid, would be a total fool to fire Jim Hendry. While he may not the the smartest GM around, he is certainly the one that keeps the players here, and has their respect and trust. Signing them to discounts, even when agents like Steve Boras and their own peers aren't happy about it. Cuban likes to get things done, and Hendry does that.....faster then most. When your "ace" looks at a man like his second father, it's often not a good idea to send him packing. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080714-jim-hendry-chicago-cubs-all-stars-rogers,1,6069263.column

Last summer Fontenot had that super hot streak for about a month. He looks to be going into that now, and your right he and Theroit do play well together. They are used to each other from college, and the bond is strong. If he's hot, and the team is staggering, he needs to play now more then ever. Last year Lou was going with the "hot hand", he needs to go back to that. That's what got us playing winning baseball. No hit, no play..

One thing that's great about Fontenot is that his numbers seem to be better on the road (274/391/562). Not sure if Lou realizes that, but I saw that when I was looking at splits. For us right now that's a BIG thing....a boost we really need... \:D/

Maybe petition the league to see if he can wear the pinstripes on the road??? Not sure if that will work, but Lou needs to have a closed door with those 2....either that or bench them. Shoot, they're killing us at the plate. You'd almost think they want this division to get tighter then it already is... [-X

outside of teh Rockies? Since Boston is having the same problem right now, I might think they are having some similar problems.

I was thinking this myself. Hoff hits lefties and righties equally, though he may not be Lee's equal defensively. Heck I replace them both in the same game. Maybe A-Ram and D Lee both need a wake up call. Their hitting is far different on the road, and that needs to change. They can't be swinging and every piece of junk that comes their way. That 9th inning tonight was a glaring example, and it's cost us many games. If they want to make the big bucks, they need to earn it on the road, not just at Wrigley Field. =;

Your right about that, and D Lee has been doing that all year. Most especially on the road. He has no plate discipline, and won't take a walk these days. Aramis won't either. What happen to taking it on the ground to right field..? These last few games on the road, those guys are killing us. Rally killers is all I can say..

I much rather Soriano get a game or two in the minors before being activated. I want Soriano back at 100%, not 85%. If Fonzie's at 85 I want him back. What I don't want is the utter disaster that he was when he came back in early May from his first injury. If Sori hits a homer or gets a couple hits in Mesa then you mine-as-well call him up because he is going to perform any better than that with an extra game or two. You have to be careful about making that suggestion. Just because he goes 2-3 against 1st or 2nd yr minor leaguers, doesn't mean he's ready to rejoin the club, nor does going 0-3 with 3 k's mean he isn't ready to come back. It will come down to Soriano and how he is feeling. I'm hoping he'll be honest with Lou. If he truly believes he's ready to come back, then so be it, but if he is rushing back because of the struggles of the team, then this is where the Cubs need to protect Alf from himself. With the problems scoring runs lately, I have a feeling Sori is going to want to get back. I would imagine is even makes the idea easier for Lou to swallow. So if that happens we can just hope he's truly ready.

Zambrano and ? Dempster or Harden.....either way neither is a "huge drop off". Zambrano and harden. I do not respect one year wonders like Dempster. He was nowhere near this good ever, nor did he ever show signs. A complete fluke. Same reason I have no respect for how well Lohse pitches. No matter how well either pitch, I will have no fear of them shutting down a team in a post-season game. Can it happen? Of course. But they are not world beaters. They are both mediocre talents having exceptional half-seasons. The problem is alot of fans feel their team is better than it really is. I mean, the Cubs roster is not that talented. There are some very good players, and there are some really awful players, and some overachievers like any other team. The way Cub fans act, you'd swear they have a world-beater at every position, with 5 aces, and a Rivera closing out games. I understand good Cub teams is a rarity so you have to overcompensate when they finally are good, but some posters take it overboard. They act as if the Cubs are some unbeatable powerhouse, when sorry, they are far from it. One might say the say the same thing about what the Card fans think about their team. The rotation that has little experience, and the hitters that lack it as well. Cards management is hoping that things will hold out, and if it doesn't then "ole well". Their thinking is that you already won the WS in 2006, so they aren't interested in spending money or giving up prospects now. The owner has already said that. Do the Cubs have holes, sure they do, just as any team does. But most of our players have long histories that can be relied on, so you really know what can be expected of them. As far as your "deep" concern over Dempster, have no fear. If you watched the game today, he is doing anything but fading. If by chance he does, we have plenty other starters to fill in. He can rest up for a few weeks before the post season. Besides, when we face the Cards we want our 3 lefties.... \:D/

Actually, I thought his last 3 days were better, even though you didn't always see them as runs scored. He hit 3 fly balls on Friday, a single yesterday, and another 2 hits today. Looks to me like things may be looking up for him. :good:

Time to stop pitching him in blowouts. Actually I prefer that he be used in less intense situations until we are sure he is back up and running. He hadn't pitched since the ASG, so he does have to stay sharp. With Kerry not able to go right now, you need to make sure that Marmol keeps his confidence up. To me today was a good outing for him. Demp finally got the road win out of the way, and Carlos got a bit of work. No harm done. Now if the same thing were to happen tomorrow, then I would question it..

I watched that game on MLB.com and was happy to see Sean do so well against the Yankees. He handled those big bats quite well, although you could tell he was a bit nervous. The YES announcers were indeed impressed by Sean, and mentioned that several times. Matt did very well too, against the hyped Zoba, getting a double and single I believe. Both players are under much less pressure now, and I think that may help them at this point in their careers. Go get um boys... \:D/

Well, I certainly think, or hope that he'll pick up another bat. Not sure who he can pick up with what we have available, but adding another stick would be good.

Yup. That sound you hear is the bottom falling out. Seriously? It's TWO games. Two games that are continuing some very clear and worrisome trends. I'll grant you Kosuke, but who else? Ramirez is slumping, he'll be fine. Lee has lost his power, but it's not a physical thing with his wrist because he was hitting for power earlier this year. I bet he'll bounce back, nothing ridiculous, but probably 12-15 HR in the second half. Other than those three, what are the worrisome trends? I'm really concerned by these poor at bats on the road. They act like these games make no difference at all. I'm not referring to Ryan, or all of them per say, but I see so many at bats just tossed away. A-Ram is doing this a lot, D Lee some as well. It's like they can't wait to get back into the dug out...or can't wait for the game to be over. Hey perhaps they need to have the race to tighten up, to get their competitive juices flowing. All I know is that games like tonight are very hard to watch. :banghead: Like I said earlier in the thread, I believe a good explosion from Lou behind close doors is needed here. I know he was frustrated after yesterday's game, but to see you're offense consist of a homerun by your pitcher, Lou can't be happy right now. To me it looks like the Cubs are trying to stay afloat while Soriano continues to rehab. But tonight, I think Lou should have gone off on them in the clubhouse. Lou only offered a short post game. He talked about the lack of road defense, that he didn't know why but it had to change. He was clearly pissed, and who could blame him. They were sleep walking through that game. Z wasn't great, but Wandy is no Cy Young.

I think you're missing the entire point. It's annoying how some people are downplaying what Hamilton went through because it was "self-inflicted" or because his family life was stable beforehand. Actually, it's not just annoying, it's flat our wrong. Yeah, he did it to himself, but that doesn't make addiction something he could just shake off. It's a disease. "Nobody says, "foresooth Mitch, you have lupus!" He wants to use his story to influence other people that have gotten hooked on drugs or alcohol. He's proven that, no matter how low you get, you can shake it off and get back to the top. Have you honestly heard anyone present the story in a way that says "don't worry guys, you can take drugs and it'll all still be ok?" You'd have to be a complete moron to take that out of this story. Like I said earlier, I can understand being sick of the story, but a lot of these complains are idiotic. Can you imagine treating a recovering addict like this? "Yeah, that's great that you saved your life, Big deal, it was all your fault anyway." That's awful. I've not commented on this topic before now, and while I do hope that Hamilton does OK, from this day forward. As clinical psychologist, there are a couple things about him that in my line of work are real read flags. Some things we would be really concerned about. The biggest being the fact that by his own admission he can't be out on his own. Not running to the store, out for fast food. He needs to call a friend, take his wife, or have everything delivered. Why, because he can't trust himself, even for a short time. Also, addicts very often dive into religion, almost like an addiction when they get off drugs. We see that constantly. They become vocal about it, trying to convince others of how much they've changed. Only rarely is is genuine. Addiction is a disease, a self inflected one. Very often in runs in families. It's not like lupus though, as we all do have choices. That does not mean that those who suffer with addictions don't deserve our help. They do. I hope Hamilton does well, the sooner out of the limelight the better for the young man. Limelight does not do well for recovering addicts....

With him struggling mightily at the plate, is it a good idea to also ask him to move to a position he's not real comfortable at? I'm all for him moving to center (if Pie isn't going to play there), but I'd prefer to give him the offseason to adjust to it instead of forcing it on him during a terrible slump. Fukudome looks at video of the apposing pitcher everyday. There are some difference he is having to adjust to though. First off, they throw a lot more off speed stuff here in the US, then in Japan. Also, the strike zone here in Japan is set, not up to the opinion of each umpire. Here some umpire will call high strikes, others don't. Some call the corners, and others don't. You get my drift. For a new player that is hard to take in, it takes time. But taking all that into consideration, if you look at his stats in Japan over the years. Fukudome has always had a lot of walks and SO's. More walks, of course....but still the strike out is always going to be there with players who work the count as he does. He has a lot of work to do for sure, so we'll have to see if he's up to the task in the second half.

Yup. That sound you hear is the bottom falling out. Seriously? It's TWO games. Two games that are continuing some very clear and worrisome trends. I'll grant you Kosuke, but who else? Ramirez is slumping, he'll be fine. Lee has lost his power, but it's not a physical thing with his wrist because he was hitting for power earlier this year. I bet he'll bounce back, nothing ridiculous, but probably 12-15 HR in the second half. Other than those three, what are the worrisome trends? I'm really concerned by these poor at bats on the road. They act like these games make no difference at all. I'm not referring to Ryan, or all of them per say, but I see so many at bats just tossed away. A-Ram is doing this a lot, D Lee some as well. It's like they can't wait to get back into the dug out...or can't wait for the game to be over. Hey perhaps they need to have the race to tighten up, to get their competitive juices flowing. All I know is that games like tonight are very hard to watch. :banghead:

I love the Clemens story and enjoy watching him get busted. I don't like the Rocket. I don't like the Rocket either, but I'm also very curious to know the names on the rest of those receipts. They weren't all to the Rocket.

I was satisfied. Fort Myers started to tire him out with foul balls as it sounded like he was a little less sharp in the 5th. He walked the last two guys he saw on 4 pitches each. Before that, his control was pretty good. Before the game on Thursday was called off, the radio pregame guy said that Rich would probably be there for at least 2 starts. At first I thought that was a bit extreme, but then once he pitched tonight, I could understand. He did fine, especially early on. But he needs to work more, and get his strength up. Hopefully, next time out he'll be stronger and more confident.

Everybody says they're "sure" Fukudome will get back on track, and I keep asking people how they can be "sure" outside of wishful thinking and nobody seems to have an answer. In reality, the 2nd tier of Japanese hitters below Hideki Matsui and Ichiro are disappointing .750ish OPS blah players. Or Kaz Matsui, who is worse. Look up the Japanese numbers for Kaz Matsui, Akinori Iwamura, Kenji Johjima, and Kosuke Fukudome and you know what the difference is? The difference is the first three guys are paid like $5 million a year and Fukudome makes $12 million. I mean, holy crap. If this were Ryan Theriot you guys would've all jumped off the bandwagon, but since this is Fukudome and he looked great for 3 weeks you're determined to ride this sinking ship all the way into the Mariana Trench. You know what I'm learning? This board just can't be honest about Fukudome. All of you who say you're sure he'll go back to being a .800+ OPS guy seem like you're lying to yourself. I'm tired of this spin. If this were a less popular player the board would be allowed to get with reality. There are far more difference in the 4 players above. Level of experience is one thing, 2 of them barely played in Japan at all. Only Fukudome and Matsui had a long history there, and real stats to compare to. Fukudome was much better at getting on base, year after year, then Matsui ever was. Matsui with more hits, but Fukudome with far more walks and more SO's. So the strike out is always going to be there to some extent for Fukudome. The Dome was always a defensive wiz too, where as Matsui was anything but. One thing you have to keep in mind though, that in Japan the players have more time off, and the travel is much less. Small countries tend to lend for easier travel. That is likely a big difference, and hard for any player to get used too. Fukudome is surely not going to be the player he was the first 2 months, but I think it's unfair to say he won't do well. We really don't know. One thing for sure though. As long as he is never rested, and gets switched around in the batting order everytime a change needs making, he will likely have problems. He's got a lot on his plate already, and Lou needs to leave him in one spot and let him play there. He also needs to make sure he gets rest, even on the days he's been "off" he usually come in for defense, or an at bat. That's no day off.

If he goes out for the 9th up 9-1 They should execute Ned Yost. The way that pen is, Ned is afraid to NOT let CC finish that game. Can you imagine the fall out, if he took him out, and then the game was lost by the pen. Neds job is on the line this year anyway, so he is being really cautious. Probably way more so then need be.

I don't get the lousy plate discipline they seem to have on the road. I swear some of those guys swing at every junk ball that comes their way. D Lee is really bad lately. Heck that first inning, they only saw what...5 pitches for 3 outs..?? Terrible. [-X I felt bad for Ted, as he really did pitch well tonight..

I tuned into the radio in hopes of hearing the Daytona game. They did mention that Rich would be pitching on Friday evening. The web site indicates that as well. With any luck, the rain will hold off...:)