Bryants Disco Ball

Or a triple and a wild pitch.

That sucks. Would have taken two hits to score Gonzalez from first probably.

If we can shut them out in the 9th I really feel we will walk-off in the bottom half of the inning.

I feel like if we can shut them down in the 8th we will win it in the bottom half of the inning. Provided they also shut them down in the 9th, of course.

That was sort of stunning.

SECOND. Yeah I might be weird but I haven't even thought about the standings. If the Cubs are good enough they will be there in the end and we can have fun doing the scoreboard watching in September. Right now I'm just enjoying the Cubs being competitive again.

Fowler isn't a model of health, unfortunately.

Agreed. His defense is really nice. And, as much as it sucks, there aren't that many great offensive backup catchers or they'd be starters.

next Sweet. That will only help with free agents.

Is the home clubhouse done for next season or 2017?

It was meant to be sarcastic, but why did it confuse you? ETA: The point being that people flip out over racial stuff on here (as they should) but it doesn't extend to other areas that I feel should be treated with as much respect. That said, I'm not looking to further talk about this. I've taken up enough of the board's time. I stand by my statements but anything else I add will just be for the sake of repeating my stance.

How bad of an announcer Joe Carter is? For sure. If only he looked and sounded and was as smart as Len Kasper. http://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ls43i60GuA1qmnnibo1_250.gif Wait. You have a problem with that?

How bad of an announcer Joe Carter is? For sure. If only he looked and sounded and was as smart as Len Kasper.

i don't think handicapped is the proper nomenclature Thanks for getting at the real issue.

I don't think he made a joke about a handicapped person. He told a story about a handicapped person and then compared that person positively in comparison to a former professional athlete. Uh, yeah.

I'm not really new around here, but just want to make sure I get this straight. People do not tolerate racist jokes or racism on this board (a good thing), but making jokes about handicapped people as a way to rip on a former broadcaster is a post of the year candidate? OK. Gotcha.

I can see the Pirates, but I don't buy the Royals despite Mondesi.

Crazy talk incoming: Maybe wait until the Cubs have won so much as a berth in the Wild Card game before giving them credit for an "extended window." What fun is that? I'm not going to hedge in what I think just to protect myself if I'm wrong.

Would also add that I would be shocked if the Pirates and Royals have the extended window open that the Cubs now do. It will soon be onto the second wave for the Royals, and I don't trust them to be as well prepared as the Cubs will be if the front office sticks around.

Don't know you well enough to say, but it sounds like the scouting report on you is that you wouldn't tip your cap for the seven playoff seasons but instead would focus on how they didn't make the proper moves to make the playoffs in all eight. I'll admit I get really frustrated with people who try to bash Epstein. Maybe it's naive, but I have total trust in the front office for the first time as a Cubs fan. I want nobody in charge more than them. Yes, they will make mistakes. It's baseball. But the process behind their ways is magical and something I dread not having whenever he and his boys leave. I agree with Kyle on this one. I support Epstein, but believing that "the process behind their ways is magical" is a bit much. Front office management has changed so much in the last 10 years (because of Epstein, Beane, etc.) that I think Theo and his boys can be replaced if they choose to leave. I really, really believe there are not many GMs who could have delivered what the Cubs have now in such a short period of time. The rebuild was risky in that they had to hit on a number of guys or the thing was going to stall, and they pretty much hit on all the important things for it to happen while also getting some key guys back in trades. Sorry, but I just can't believe there are that many front offices in the game today that would have the Cubs in the position they are in now. The Astros, Royals, and Pirates are examples of losing and taking the draft choices to rebuild, but none of them had the assets (Cashner, Garza, Hammel, etc.) at the ML level to trade for more prospects. This is already wrong. Part of the reason why the Royals are good is because they had a top talent to trade in Greinke, giving them both their SS and CF of the future and allowing them to take the third piece in that deal to trade in a package for a top starter (James Shields) and an MVP bullpen piece (Wade Davis). I'm quite certain there are SOME front offices that could do what the Cubs have done, but they still will be in the minority.

A great example of what I am talking about when I say that some fans, maybe even most, don't get what the aging curve in 2015 mlb looks like. Primes are short and early, it is quite possible that we are right now seeing the best guys like Rizzo or even Bryant will see. Heck, it is looking quite plausible that Casto had his best at 22. Or maybe not. Every career path is different. But it isn't just plugging guys in at 22 and soaking in how awesome they are by improving every year through 27. The more 22- and 23-year top talents you accumulate give you a far greater chance of it being the maybe not end. I'll take it every time.

Agreed and it's a lock they do get another starter. We'd all love another ace but it's probably going to be a rental who is more a 3 or 4 but offers more than a Wada. But I'll still dream of Hamels because it's fun.

Sort of surprised you included Hammel in there. He's pretty solid and fairly consistent.

Don't know you well enough to say, but it sounds like the scouting report on you is that you wouldn't tip your cap for the seven playoff seasons but instead would focus on how they didn't make the proper moves to make the playoffs in all eight. I'll admit I get really frustrated with people who try to bash Epstein. Maybe it's naive, but I have total trust in the front office for the first time as a Cubs fan. I want nobody in charge more than them. Yes, they will make mistakes. It's baseball. But the process behind their ways is magical and something I dread not having whenever he and his boys leave. I agree with Kyle on this one. I support Epstein, but believing that "the process behind their ways is magical" is a bit much. Front office management has changed so much in the last 10 years (because of Epstein, Beane, etc.) that I think Theo and his boys can be replaced if they choose to leave. I really, really believe there are not many GMs who could have delivered what the Cubs have now in such a short period of time. The rebuild was risky in that they had to hit on a number of guys or the thing was going to stall, and they pretty much hit on all the important things for it to happen while also getting some key guys back in trades. Sorry, but I just can't believe there are that many front offices in the game today that would have the Cubs in the position they are in now.

Agreed. But I am more optimistic that if this team wins 85 as is, that still having a strong minor league system and plenty of payroll flexibility in the future will help future teams at worst, maintain that level of play for several years. And if Rizzo stays an elite player for a couple more years and remains a good player for the rest of his contract (very reasonable), Bryant improves from an already really good player, and Schwarber is anything close to what he's shown this week, I'll take my chances on the future. Not many teams have 3 players that good, especially when they'll make minimum in salary for the next several years. The one concern I do have is what was talked about earlier in this thread. They were pathetic for 3 years, and aren't like monumentally more talented than the field. That was probably unreasonable for me to expect, but the Astros tanked to a similar extent and may have more young talent to show for it. The Dodgers didn't tank, spent like a team in Chicago should be able to, and did it while not sacrificing young talent. The Cardinals have been where the Cubs want to be for several years now, and don't look like they're going anywhere anytime soon. You must keep in mind, though, that of course they aren't going to be monumentally better than the field the first year. We are being led by players 25 and younger who haven't even come close to being the players they will be but who already are performing at a really high level for their age. I totally expect the Cubs to be monumentally better than almost anybody in the relatively near future. But even before they get there, they are a playoff contender who has to be one of the most entertaining teams in MLB to watch. The scary thing is you mention Rizzo, Bryant and Schwarber and never even got to Russell and perhaps Soler.