Cubswin11

Holy [expletive], Berg got lit the [expletive] up

I don't know if I should like or dislike the fact that when we face a LHP we will almost always have 2 LH hitters in the lineup

So does this mean Kosuke has the inside track on the starting RF job? We've seen much worse lineup configurations with pretty much this same core group of players over the last two years. Soto shouldn't be hitting lower than 5th however.

How so?

I like this lineup although I wouldn't mind Soto up to 2nd/Pena to 3rd/Castro down to 7th. A little less pressure for Castro and it give Ramirez 3 guys who walk a lot in front of him. The only thing I'm iffy about the lineup above is having Soriano/Pena back to back. I can see pitchers walking Pena a bit to get to Soriano (esp when he's in his slumps) and if he's in front of Ramirez, they'll have to pitch to him more often. Fukudome Soto Pena Ramirez Soriano Byrd Castro Dewitt/Baker It looks like Ramirez and Castro (and possibly Soto- depending on which Pena we get) are the guys who would get walked in order to face the next batter in my lineup. Castro I can see for sure. Ramirez could sometime, but if Soriano has a decent to solid year then I can see pitchers pitching to A Ram. Then again... I don't mind having Castro at 2nd and see how he does this year, but I think he'll see a lot of pitches his way. I'm just hoping that he gets more walks this year and improve his plate discipline. Plus at the 7 spot, I think he would get to run/steal more often than at the 2 spot. I agree with your points and that's why I think we will have a very fluid lineup all year. With Colvin likely to get a lot of ab's replacing all 3 OF, a good amount of our offensive guys being streaky, the fact we have a platoon at 2B and I guess you could consider all 4 OF in some sort of platoon as I think they will all get around the same amount of ab's and finally the fact one of our best hitters is our catcher meaning Soto on the high end will catch 145 games and when Hill is in the lineup he will/should be batting 8th moving other guys up/down. And then there's also that whole injury thing.....

I think he will be batting leadoff or 3rd

Knowing this info, I would prefer Fukudome RF Castro SS Soto C Ramirez 3B Pena 1B Soriano LF Byrd CF Dewitt/Baker 2B

Still a lottery pick. The Pacers should make the playoffs,

Well the Thunder are finally getting their big guys

I really like this trade for the Pacers

:-k

Do the Packers still have rights/contract with Johnny "Purple Drank" Jolly?

I went with Max Ramirez*, more because I want him to have a big spring and beat Koye [expletive] Hill out for the backup catcher job than it is me thinking he will have a big spring. I think Lehair/Snyder are more likely to put up big numbers than anyone else on the list. *Max Ramirez will only make the ML roster as the backup catcher if he has a OPS of 1.000+ in spring, finds a cure for cancer and saves a bus full of children and nuns from terrorists. While Koye Hill could go 0'fer the spring, cut all 10 of his fingers off while building a bird house in his garage or whatever the [expletive] it is he does in there all while killing puppies and he will still make the ML roster.

I'm sure that the pack are just about to spend money on adding to an already very good secondary. It certainly isn't a priority, but Ashomugha has already stated interest in joining the Packers and if your best secondary player is willing to move positions to accommodate him the Pack should certainly look into it. Especially when Ashomugha is a top 3 corner in the league.

Not that it is nearly as significant, but they also just reported Punto is out 2-3 months to repair a sports hernia. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2011/news/story?id=6150062

Assuming there is a hard cap next year if they would have waited until the offseason to sign him, would they still have been able to keep Gallinari, Chandler and Felton and still be at/under the cap?

2-3 years. Quick Hendry get Mozeliack on the phone and trade the Cards Silva!

How close is Shelby Miller to being ML ready?

You and me both :good:

... They haven't played a single ST game yet. I know, but I am getting excited about the season after seeing these pics. Didn't know if there were any quotes from Quade hinting at which way he is leaning.

I know it's extremely early but have there been any reports yet on who will be the starting RF? Leadoff hitter? Cashner as a SP or RP?

I am guessing teams over the cap will just be grandfathered in and be allowed to keep all their current max contract guys until their contracts run out, but have to pay some sort of luxury tax for being over. I doubt the league will switch to a hard cap and, using the Heat as an example, say trade Bosh or release him since you are over. They will just enforce a luxury tax/penalty, now if the Heat want to trade/release him because they don't want to pay that tax/penalty that's something different.

Get that [expletive] the [expletive] out of here. You just made me a sad panda. With that rotation and an offense featuring the likes of Sammy Sosa, Moises Alou, Nomar Garciaparra, Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, and up and comers Corey Patterson and Micheal Barrett, the future was nice and bright. It was hard to imagine not winning at least 2 World Series with that bunch. It's hard to imagine not evening making the playoffs with that team

:cry:

And even more coming off after 2012 with Zambrano likely not vesting the option for 2013, Dempster, Byrd and Marshall also coming off the books as well. That's another 40m. Isn't Dempster a FA after this coming season?