soapy

not sure how to take this. there looks to be some positives and negatives. hard to say how wild he really was without seeing it, but from Raisin's description (per radio PBP) it sounds like he still has some work to do. i'd still like to see him moved up.

Ceda could always take Fox's spot. Although i was thinking they might be saving that for Guzman.

this is pretty much how i see it. in my experience sports like soccer, basketball, etc. are much more dependant on this type of thing. i don't think it matters nearly as much in baseball, if at all.

In addition to what's already been mentioned, the Cubs have gone 16-18 since June 11: -without one of their most productive hitters -with a huge power drought (hopefully temporary) from their #3 hitter -with two big slumps from their #4 hitter -without their ace pitcher for three starts -while playing 21 out of 34 games on the road -while playing 17 of those 34 games against teams who sport winning records (with ATL and BALT being just under .500) And they are (temporarily?) still in first place. ETA: I can't believe I'm one of the positive ones. This doesn't feel right.

I have it on good authority that you've started to suck a little. valid. then in the spirit of the title of this thread: yes, i remember when i didn't suck.

The problem could solve its self if Soriano wouldnt be such a about it and bat in the heart of the lineup. how would that make ramirez, lee and soto hit better? get ejected from a game, duh.

Also, "I" still do not suck so I take issue with your use of "we".

The pitcher(s) that pitched those other 60 innings would have to have an ERA over 8.82 in order for the cumulative ERA to be higher than the 220 IP, 4.55 ERA guy. besides, i'm not having that discussion with out seeing the peripherals for these guys. ERA and IP isn't going to do it for me.

i still think the Cubs win the division.

i've had much better luck with ebay, pricewise. i still paid close to 2X face for bleacher seats, but the prices were the best I could find.

You should post what you posted early in today's game thread to get people off the ledge. It's after the game, no can do. (Honestly, I wonder what UMFan was like during the NBA Finals in the 90s.) Hey come on that post wasn't too irrational. Are any of those things I said not true? Yes. Cubs have 17 HR from the #3 spot (7th in NL) Cubs have .379 OBP from the #4 spot (3rd in NL) Cubs OPS with RISP is .811 (2nd in the NL) The RISP thing I'll give you. That's just been a trend in the small sample size since the break. The first 2 though show numbers that are heavily inflated by the first 2 months of the year. If you look at the numbers since June 1 you will see a big difference. Now while the numbers in April and May show the potential of this offense, the fact is, the overall team hitting numbers have declined in both Team OPS and Team OBP every single month since April. For the record, Lee has 2 HRs since June 1st and Ramirez has a .305 OBP since June 1st. yeah. i was trying to find team splits, but couldn't really find a good site for them, particularly breaking down by position. i don't disagree with what you're saying, but Lee has still been productive despite his (hopefully temporary) lack of power. as i noted in the other thread, he's put up 348/403/485 in July and people act like he's a black hole out there.

it is. my point was to say that he has been stepping up.

you don't appear to be the only one, but people need to remember he's put up 348/403/485 in July. he needs to start hitting for more power, but people are acting like he's a black hole out there.

You mean like this? Last 28 days: 358/402/576 Last 14 days: 296/387/630 Last 7 days: 444/500/778

Ramirez' wife gave birth. That's why he wasn't with the team for a few days. I'm not sure what to say in response in your thoughts on Lee, except that I think it's kind of absurd.

You should post what you posted early in today's game thread to get people off the ledge. It's after the game, no can do. (Honestly, I wonder what UMFan was like during the NBA Finals in the 90s.) Hey come on that post wasn't too irrational. Are any of those things I said not true? Yes. Cubs have 17 HR from the #3 spot (7th in NL) Cubs have .379 OBP from the #4 spot (3rd in NL) Cubs OPS with RISP is .811 (2nd in the NL)

Your eyes have deceived you. Lee's average is higher this season with runners in scoring position than it is with the bases empty. He hasn't hit for much power with RISP, but to say he doesn't get hits in that situation is false. But have the numbers watched every game? I also don't understand what "seemingly good numbers" are.

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 huh? what is a "closed door" going to do? Lou: "Ramirez, get in here!" Aramis: "Yeah, skip?" Lou: "You need to stop sucking on the road. Now I mean it!" Aramis: "Ohhhh...I see. Got, skip. Will do." Lou: "Lee!" Lee: "Hi coach. What's up?" Lou: "You've only hit 2 home runs since June 1st. WTF?!?!" Lee: "Seriously? No way, let me see that......Damn; you're right. I'm on it!"

agreed. last night was frustrating more because balls that were hit hard (many) were right at defenders.

i like the ideas; particularly a Samardzija piece and the rotation crunch (though maybe better for the off-season?). on the topic of brewers/cubs the rest of the way, i'd also be interested in an article/discussion about the cardinals chances from here on out. with Carpenter and Wainright conceivably coming back, i'm starting to think they're sticking around for the duration.

can someone remind me who did the thorough piece last year during Zambrano's rough start detailing a drop in his arm slot? the thought was he was dropping his arm as a result of an injury. i can't remember who did that piece though. ETA: i remember being completely convinced by the article though it seemingly turned out to be nothing as Zambrano ended up turning it around. hopefully this is the same.

i think i read he'll be taking BP with the team (MLB team) this weekend and start his rehab stint Monday. probably looking at three minor league games and then back with the Cubs Thursday for the Marlins series.

Yep

glad to see him starting in Daytona so he doesn't have to wait until Friday (primarily for the reasons CCP mentioned). the sooner the better.

Still looking for news online but there's nothing in the Des Moines or Chicago media as of yet. Tomorrow would be his turn in Mesa, Friday would be his first chance in Iowa as the I-Cubs are on their all-star break till then. If we don't see his name in the box score for Mesa tomorrow, it would appear likely he'd come off Iowa's DL on Friday (we don't hear about Iowa Cubs transactions until the day off normally). It'd be great if the Chicago papers would pick up on Hill but I haven't see anything on Rich since his awful first start in the AZL. yeah, i checked after i posted that and saw iowa doesn't play tomorrow either so Friday would be his first chance (if that's where he's headed). i guess we'll have a better idea tomorrow based on Mesa's game.