Careless

Cedeno is the best part about this season to date, IMO. Marshall is close. Bet it took a long time to whittle that list down to two.

Chris young lumbers.

So, worst lineup ever?

no "pujols is old" jokes yet?

because the bad ones are tired from a solid week of garbage time

put 2.7 runners on an inning and you're going to throw a lot of pitches. edit: make that 3 per inning. forgot about the hbp

What happened? He and roberts had some words after roberts scored. Resulted in warnings.

As close as you're going to get to seeing dusty say "I don't like playing young people"

I strongly DISAGREE with your comments about Guzman. You do understand that he has only had 3 starts at the major league level? Yup...just 3. In all 3 starts, he showed excellent stuff, but a lack of command. Since he has been known for his command throughout his minor league career, most observers feel his command will return shortly...that it is shaky due to the fact he hasn't pitched many innings since recovering from surgery. Guzman's first 3 starts were roughly the same as Marshall's first three starts. What if Marshall had been written off after his first 3 starts? Don't believe me: Marshall Start 1: 4.1 IP, 4 Hits, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 k's Start 2: 5 IP, 5 hits, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 k's Start 3: 5 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 k's TOTAL: 14.1 IP, 11 hits, 10 ER, 5 BB, 8 k's Guzman Start 1: 5 IP, 6 hits, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 k's Start 2: 5.2 IP, 6 hits, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 k's Start 3: 4.1 IP, 5 hits, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 k's TOTAL: 15 IP, 15 hits, 12 ER, 11 BB, 16 k's So Guzman allowed 2 more ER, while going deeper into games. And at least 2 of those runs scored AFTER he left the game. He struck out twice the number of batters as Sean (good stuff!), totally more than a k an inning, but he also walked twice the number of batters (shaky control). Once Guz finds more consistant control (which will come with more innings pitched), he is going to be VERY good. Shall we ignore 75% more baserunners in 1 more inning?

Wow. HAHAHAA

I generally agree with Wastra, but on this I have to disagree. Hendry coveted Baker from day 1 in his tenure. He brought in his guy to manage the team. I believe (admittedly a guess on my part) that Hendry is just fabricating the team that Dusty wants. Dusty wants a veteran lineup, he gets it. Dusty wants a speedy lineup, he gets it. With a few notable exceptions (Murton/Cedeno) Baker has gotten the rosters he's asked for. The exceptions were the guys that Hendry feels strongly in favor of. No question on the rule 5 goofs, I completely agree. Jones has picked it up lately (a little) but that signing fits the Baker mold perfectly - speedy veteran with good fundamentals, poor plate discipline and a decent glove. To me that is a Baker signing more than Hendry. I honestly believe that Hendry believes in Dusty so strongly that he'll deliver the roster that he asks for, with a very few exceptions. Look at how things have changed regarding young players - the knock has always been that Baker won't play kids. It's was only when Hendry stepped in and forced Murton and Cedeno into the lineup that they played consistently. I don't mean to put all the blame on Dusty, and Hendry certainly does deserve some shots, but most of the failures are Dusty forcing Corey to hit leadoff, and putting Neifi in the 2 hole, or sac bunting unecessarily. It starts with Dusty. I think Hendry is beginning to see this which is why Dusty hasn't been signed to an extension. By the end of the year I honestly think we'll be looking for a new manager. Who's the more foolish: the fool, or the fool who follows him? Blaming the bad performance on Dusty's ideal roster does not diminish Hendry's culpability

it could be clearer. There could be, like, 10000 innings recorded of situations like this with the results of sacs/non-sacs wait, I meant to write that such a thing does exist. The manager of the cubs is simply a fool for not knowing/taking advantage of it.

Congratulations on making the first original cubs+pitcher+injury joke in about 2 years here.

I'm almost glad directv decided that no channels over 100 should be broadcast tonight. But still, it makes me glad I don't have satellite at home

Wasn't this just the second game that Murton didn't start? And at this point it doesn't matter who is playing because nobody can hit consistently. I saw Barrett swinging at a Corey Patterson type pitch tonight. I didn't mind shaking things up a bit, but I still don't know why Bynum, Hairston and Perez are all on this team. I can partially understand two, but don't understand why all three are on this team. Dusty said in his radio pregame show that he was going to give the kids some time off (maybe just tonight) because their bats were slowing. I probably wouldn't have posted this without the words from the man himself

Well, yeah, he had the extension coming Worked really hard to earn it, too!

Good to see that when the Cubs are in a hitting slump, Baker's strategy is to pull the rookies from the lineup. It wouldn't be a Cubs meltdown without a tremendously predictable bout of managerial incompetence. I mean, ask the most bitter, jaded, dusty hating cubs fan you know "hypothetical: cubs bats are slumping, what does Dusty do?" and, well, gee.

yes, some guys have sucked, but lee's absence could trim a run or two per game. that's a lot! Ok, now you've just called Lee the most valuable player in the history of baseball. a run or 2 a game=240 runs over an average replacement first baseman, who will most likely get 100 or so rbi+runs in a season... Lee, your 200 RBI, 140 run MVP!

Didn't someone write an article here that said it would cost us 2 or 3 games this year?...turns out it was 2 or 3 games a week. If only Lee was hitting his 200 Hr a year for us :(

number of seasons where Garland has had a better ERA than wood's career ERA: 1 Number of seasons that Zambrano, Wood, and Prior have pitched at least 150 innings with a better ERA than Garland's career ERA: 9. 13 if you lower IP to 110 (hey, still a lot more than relievers pitch) Conclusion: Garland is nothing close to a great pitcher. Oh, since you brought up Dontrelle: Willis's 3 seasons have been so much better than Garland's BEST 3 seasons, it's a joke.

I hope your wife is at least as big a cubs fan as you

Man, we didn't even charge to get into our games at my high school. Of course, that would've been impossible considering the way it was laid out, but still, I remember going to districts and knowing it was a big deal cause people had to pay to see us. My college didn't even have tickets for football games. Granted, they'd probably have lost to a good high school team.

Indian fans are pathetic? Ummm...WOW apathetic

The Lottery thanks you as well. the lottery's different, I'd contend, because very few people actually expect to ever win. They're just hoping for a big payoff on a small investment, not realizing the actual costs. Casino patrons, on the other hand, can hope to come out with a gain every trip. Btw, has anyone here ever worked out the threshold at which a lottery ticket is a good idea?

:-k It's one of the few low numbers remaining... Unless I go down to 29. But he already got the walk. Do you mean 45 more ABs from now till Neifi's second walk? I should've read the entire topic. I thought we're predicting his total walks this season. Given that he's only had more than 29 walks twice (30 and 38 ), I wouldn't see the problem with 29 in that case. Of course, 12 would probably be safer. He had 18 in almost 600 PAs last season