A-Cal

the one in the middle needs to sit on my face

Hypothetically, if it was something career ending, would the Cubs still be responsible for the remainder of his contract or would some kind of insurance take it from there? What are they gonna decapitate from the knee down? I hope he has surgery and is out for the rest of the season so that he'll actually be healthy next year. I think you mean amputate, but yeah, hopefully he'll be healthy next year. Its getting to the point where they may as well shut down Aramis as well. You can still tell hes still in a lot of pain after a lot of those big swings. i remember reading that aramis would need surgery to fix his shoulder...is this still true? if it is...he just needs to go under the knife already throw harden in there as well and just have a doctor cut miles up into little pieces

Alfonso Soriano-OF-Cubs Aug. 26 - 10:14 am et Alfonso Soriano is set to undergo an MRI on his left knee Wednesday. ''I hope it's nothing serious. I want to see the doctor and see,'' he said. ''I don't like surgery.'' Soriano has missed three straight contests with a sore knee and most of his poor offensive numbers can also be attributed to the ailment. We'll keep you updated with the results of the MRI. Source: Chicago Sun-Times i hope he has to get surgery and is out for the rest of the season...i need a break from his sorry ass

Moving to #15 could be huge if Ricketts wants to open the checkbook. Go Nats. why not try to sneak in the top 10?

lol...apparently i don't think like you Or any other Cubs fan for that matter. nice blanket statement

I'd be all for trading Lilly if it meant the Cubs could keep Harden. I love Lilly but Harden is younger and better. As for the other two, they both are having good seasons but nobody on this team is untouchable. I'd love for Hendry to find a way to get Soriano off the team, even if it means eating some of that albatross. lilly is the best pitcher on this team...the problem with harden is that whatever is wrong with his shoulder hasn't healed...he needs surgery...which should have been done during the offseason Where in the world are you getting this Harden shoulder crap? Since the All Star Break hes 3-1,has a 1.64ERA, striking out over a batter an inning,and has a BAA of .136. He had a no hitter going into the 6th inning of a start vs Philly, and a 1 hitter in his last start. Hes allowed 2 runs or less in 10 of his last 12 starts. There is noway in hell hes doing that while being hurt. Rich Harden is the best pitcher on this team. best pitcher when on? mmm...sure...consistent? NO WAY...you have to hand that to lilly by the way here is a link to refresh some memories unless harden has all the sudden dosed himself with a miracle cure... http://www.bleachernation.com/2009/01/19/rich-harden-has-a-tear-in-his-shoulder-joint-the-earth-is-round/ you want to take a chance on that? count me out

lol...apparently i don't think like you

I'd be all for trading Lilly if it meant the Cubs could keep Harden. I love Lilly but Harden is younger and better. As for the other two, they both are having good seasons but nobody on this team is untouchable. I'd love for Hendry to find a way to get Soriano off the team, even if it means eating some of that albatross. lilly is the best pitcher on this team...the problem with harden is that whatever is wrong with his shoulder hasn't healed...he needs surgery...which should have been done during the offseason

Why would you want to see the Cardinals anything? unlike a lot of folks on here, if the cubs don't make the playoffs, i will root for the cardinals because they have a good squad this year and a hell of a one two like i said before anyone but the dodgers...

i want to see a cardinals/tigers rematch actually as long as the dodgers don't win i will be happy

how long until we look good again with promising youth? 3, 4, 5 seasons? i can't wait for the debut of vitters yay :hug:

dude, there is always room to fall

but we had gathright :scratch:

the braves are ahead of us in the wild card!?!?!?!?!? :rotfl:

i heard salty is having problems throwing back to the pitcher... i hope the rangers trade him and throw chris davis in a garbage pile somewhere...

I think I just read it was in the mid-nineties...so...not bad i suppose...

dear lord, will it never end?

that's why i hate trading players to the american league, there's always the chance we'll meet them in the ws If it means facing the Baltimore Orioles in the world series, thats a chance Im willing to take. i think the orioles would wax us in the WS

A very broad summary, but it works: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_manager_(baseball) don't know who the hell this guy is, but what he is saying is lining up more with what i originally thought the GM did...which is more than you guys are saying they do... http://www.ehow.com/video_2364931_general-manager-baseball-team.html

And once again, you're overstating/estimating the GM's role in those areas, and even if you weren't the Cubs' drafts and farm system have looked much better over the last 2-3 years. Maybe, but that's one area Hendry has been reasonably strong in which means it wouldn't be a bad idea at all to hold onto him until the payroll can be expanded. I'm just saying we need to look at this realistically: if the payroll can't be expanded then replacing Hendry isn't something that needs to happen this offseason if the Cubs fail to make the playoffs. It would just be change for change's sake. If Hendry actually was "a bottom 5 GM" as some here love to repeat, fine, there would be some urgency even with a limited or frozen payroll, but he's not so there really isn't since anyone replacing him would have their hands tied. ok...if i am overestimating/overstating a GM's role...then please give me a layout as to exactly what they do because if all they do is dick around with the major league squad...i would imagine they would have a load of free time on their hands

The money issue of the Cubs likely having little to no payroll flexibility this upcoming offseason and through 2010. I'm not talking about that in terms of affording a new GM: I'm talking about in terms of no GM, Hendry or otherwise, having the means to make significant changes. It's arguably redundant to fire Hendry just to fire him when whoever replaces him won't have the means to change anything. Why not wait to fire Hendry until there is more payroll and whoever replaces him can actually do something? again, i never said a new GM would be able to make significant changes on the major league roster, but he would be able to have a new line of thought and a say so on the younger kids hell, maybe he can even pull off trades better than hendry

So then explain why hiring someone new when they can do almost nothing (smart) of significance to make changes for the forseeable future makes any sense? They can't do anything. Hendry can't do anything. It's Hendry's team/mess, so what's the point of hiring someone new to do basically nothing? Fire Hendry and hire someone new when the team actually has money to make changes. i would think that if hendry were to be fired and a new GM hired then there would also be some other changes in the front office...not saying for certain, but i think they would bring in a couple of new guys to flank them... also...the GM, i thought, was the headmaster...in charge of the final decisions in relation to acquisitions (both statewide and foreign) and also in charge of final decisions on draft selections, as well as managing the farm system... why in the world would you not someone new doing this very important job? The drafts and the farm system have noticeably improved over the last 3 seasons, so even if the GM was as hands-on in these matters like you describe that rather effectively counters your argument. And you keep dancing around the money issue like it doesn't matter: it doesn't matter how much you shuffle the staff if the money is not there. That's the crux of my suggestion in keeping Hendry through next season: there likely isn't going to be any money for major changes to the team for him or anyone new that would be hired. There's no point in firing Hendry and having to pay him and hiring someone new who is also going to effectively be paid to do nothing. Fire Hendry when the means are there for someone to come in and make changes. Change just for the sake of change in this situation doesn't accomplish squat. what money issue am i exactly dancing around here? i already asked how much hendry is making since it isn't up on Cot's...however...he is signed through 2012...so keeping him around for one more season is almost as stupid as letting him go at the end of this season by your reasoning

So then explain why hiring someone new when they can do almost nothing (smart) of significance to make changes for the forseeable future makes any sense? They can't do anything. Hendry can't do anything. It's Hendry's team/mess, so what's the point of hiring someone new to do basically nothing? Fire Hendry and hire someone new when the team actually has money to make changes. i would think that if hendry were to be fired and a new GM hired then there would also be some other changes in the front office...not saying for certain, but i think they would bring in a couple of new guys to flank them... also...the GM, i thought, was the headmaster...in charge of the final decisions in relation to acquisitions (both statewide and foreign) and also in charge of final decisions on draft selections, as well as managing the farm system... why in the world would you not someone new doing this very important job?

Because Hendry isn't even close to being the worst case scenario, because he's still owed a lot of money and he'd have to be paid if fired and because whoever came in would have nothing to work with. Hendry's not going to "destroy" the team with the payroll all but locked up. He'll have as little freedom and leeway to make changes as anyone else. Again, I'm not saying this in that I think Hendry is the ideal GM or that I'd even be opposed to him being fired: I just don't see the benefit of firing him and still having to pay him and then paying someone else who can't do anything and is just going to take the fall if the team does poorly again. anyone with half a brain could understand that a new GM for this team is going to have their share of obstacles...they would not be held accountable for hendry's mistakes what is hendry's salary anyway?

I understand some people have this irrational fear/hatred of Hendry, but do you honestly belive that given the limited money available and the circumstances that if he did trade Zambrano his only move would be to then overpay for someone as historically bad as Aaron Miles? The odds of some whiz kid being hired who can make magic with the very limited resources the Cubs will likely be facing this offseason and next season aren't pretty slim to nil. I'm not at all opposed to Hendry being replaced, but I'd rather it be when someone new coming in would actually have something to work with. i don't understand this line of thought at all if someone isn't doing a good job, you hire someone else...no one can help the baggage at this point why continue to let a drunken sailor man the ship?