Ballgame64

Tie game, but it sure would be nice to see a base hit with the bases loaded.

I can't stand Lou anymore, but I refuse to believe he called for a bunt from his 3 hitter in the 5th inning. But will he send Byrd on the 3-2 pitch to Lee?

I don't believe what I just saw. WTF Marlon?

What did he say?

He knows Lou won't bench him and nutless Jim Hendry won't release him so he is going to be aggressive because he thinks he is a good hitter. I blame Cubs management for not having the sense to realize Theriot is not a good player.

How in the world can Ryan Theriot not make Wuertz throw at least 3 pitches. Does he remember Wuertz?

The thing I really don't like about Theriot in the first spot is when the line-up rolls over and there are a couple of guys on base. On the flip side, that why I didn't mind Soriano batting 1st. Back to the game...it is nice to see Wells have a good game. Maybe he was threatened with a move to the pen or back to AAA.

I can't wait to watch the all right handed hitting line-up two more times this week. I know Lou doesn't have much choice, but can't he try Fontenot once in awhile against a lefty. I mean, 0-4 from Fontenot is the same as an 0-4 from Theriot. Does Lou really think leadoff is so important that he has to keep playing Theriot against all pitchers because Lou thinks Theriot fills that role, regardless of the stats?

The example of bunting with the 3 hitter with no outs in the first inning, is definitely a bad sign. There is something to be said about playing the game the right way. To me that means hustling, picking up your 3rd base coach instead of looking over your shoulder at the ball, hitting the cutoff man, knowing when to try to get the runner going to third or throwing to 2nd to keep the double play in order, etc. Basic fundamentals of playing. Expecting your players to do those things is not a bad thing. Playing the game the right way doesn't mean calling for a sacrifice bunt in the first inning from your #3 hitter. Since I have no input to who the next manager of the Cubs will be but have a feeling it will be Ryno, I just hope he succeeds.

Wait - so we use the results from the minors to judge if a player will be good, but a manager who's had success in the minors shouldn't be hired if he says things like "play the game the right way"? One could argue that Tony LaRussa is the most successful manager in baseball over the last 25 years. While the Cardinals have a payroll that is high, it is not like he has managed Boston or the Yankees. He believes in playing the game right, sacrifice bunts all the time, uses some of the most ridiculous line-up choices you could imagine and over manages as much as anyone. Yet all he does is win. Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Charlie Manual have all been pretty good managers and I think they all talk about playing the game the right way. I am not saying I want or don't want Sandberg to manage the Cubs, but to act like he will be a failure based on anything Sandberg says is comical. The fact is, you have to have the talent and be able to utlitize the talent while managing relationships between 25 players and the coaching staff.

Again, what do you want them to do right now? Firing Lou isn't going to magically make a mediocre team good. They're not sitting on a glut of prospects (or even just one) in the farm system that they can start playing who are likely to make the team better in the immediate future. The money isn't there yet to try and fix this with big FA signings. So again I ask, why do you keep making this statements as if there's anything they can do now that would actually make the team better? Just admit them you only want them to effectively ply you with more lip service, because that's all they can effectively do at this point. Sure, they could and should fire Hendry at some point, but again, no money to start rebuilding and why would you want them to start trading off their prospects for a team this old and flawed? Fixing this is going to take time. No, I don't want lip service, I want action. What do I want them to do right now? How about acting like winning is more important than anything. Oh wait, they are because the Cubs might win the BP Cup this weekend! :banghead: You act like the Cubs/Ricketts don't have two nickels to rub together. If that is the case, why did they buy the team? And if they don't have the money now, I can't wait until revenue plunges so the Cubs can become the Pirates. Will the family have to spend a little more money than they planned? Maybe. But they might have to lose money now to make money in the future. If they were not willing to do so, knowing where things stood during the process to buy the team, why did they buy it? The entire organization looks stupid when you keep a manager who continues to say "I don't know what to do", "I don't want to talk about it anymore", "What am I supposed to do?"...He is being paid $4 million to figure out what to do so if he can't, you fire him. You don't let the season go down the drain in June because you still owe him money. Will firing Lou make the team better? Who knows. But it seems keeping him only guarantees more fan discontentment and less fans in the stands if things don't turn around. The last thing Ricketts should want is apathy. Look at TV ratings, radio ratings and attendance - you can even look at internet site traffic during games - people are just not interested in this team. But as a fan, if the owner doesn't seem interested in improving the team, why should I care anymore? Change for the sake of change might not be the answer, but I think Lou has earned his termination.

All I know is he should be on the DL. It is bad enough his lack of production is hurting this team, but to screw around with a sore thumb and be a worthless member of the 25 man roster is inexcusable. Who is running this team, the players or management? Chad Tracy might not be great, but he is a better option at 3rd than Fontenot or Baker.

There are so many things to question, that it isn't even worth worrying about anymore. So the Ricketts clan went to Milwaukee to watch this collection of stiffs. Did they notice all the empty seats, because that is what Wrigley will look like soon. Highest average ticket prices in baseball for this. Supply and demand will switch places because people are not going to be paying premium prices to watch this crap.

Or the guy who has always been a free swinger was free swinging. I know that, but not realizing the ball got away is inexcusable. No matter what Byrd has done to this point, his free swinging attitude is exactly what the Cubs didn't need.

Why D. Lee pinch hitting for K. Hill when if the Cubs actually tie the game, Geo is going to have to catch? And what the hell is Marlon Byrd doing? It is bad enough he swung at a ball that bounced, but to not even think stone hands Doumit might miss it is remarkable. When the guy that hustles the most doesn't have his head in the game, you have to wonder what is going on? Have they quit, it sure looks like it to me. 1 run in 4 of the last 6 games and 2 tonight. 1-7 against Pittsburgh should cost Lou his job. If they get swept tomorrow, there is no way he should be with the team Friday night in Houston.

So Lou gets Marmol up in case Lilly gets in trouble. Yet with a runner on 1st and two right handed hitters coming up, Lilly is allowed to stay in the game to give up a 2 run homer. Another brilliant move by Lou. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is really getting fun.

Absolutely ridiculous approach by Soriano with Nady on 3rd with one out. He decided he was swinging at the first pitch no matter where it was. The mental approach this team has with a runner on 3rd base is so stupid it is comical at this point. And to the earlier question, no Byrd would not have been anywhere near the ball the got past Colvin. It was a gap shot to left center and it would have been a back handed attempt by Byrd. Colvin may be the fastest player on the team and has done nothing to show he can't handle any outfield position, so why do people think Byrd is a better outfielder? The fact that any defensive metric makes Theriot seem like a good shortstop should make everyone question them.

What point was that, wasting a boatload of money on a 80 year old building is much better. :scratch: Isn't the reason most teams build a new stadium is so they have better facilities and more revenue streams?

How about releasing John Grabow so Lou can't use him? The money is spent, there is nothing you can do about it now. Other teams admit their mistakes and cut their losses. One could argue firing Lou might help the team be better this year. I never said Ricketts is losing games and I know there are no guarantees, but to act like he can't do anything to try to help the team this year is silly. Let's just pretend he does some stuff like this and the Cubs win an extra 2-3 games. Then what? You have a brand new owner with a micro manager label who insists on stepping on the GM's toes and releasing injured players, somebody that nobody would like to work for and therefore somebody who is going to have to spend extra money to convince people to work for you. I agree, 2-3 wins probably won't make much difference to this team, but I don't think anyone would question Ricketts if he made a few changes. Also, I don't believe for one second that Grabow is on the DL because of an injury. The Cubs just did not want to have to make a difficult roster decision. So the easy way was to say his knee was bothering him with the hopes he and/or Larry can fix something to get better results.

How about releasing John Grabow so Lou can't use him? The money is spent, there is nothing you can do about it now. Other teams admit their mistakes and cut their losses. One could argue firing Lou might help the team be better this year. I never said Ricketts is losing games and I know there are no guarantees, but to act like he can't do anything to try to help the team this year is silly.

That is where you are wrong. I would love to see a new stadium with a retractable roof so if they make it to the World Series, they won't have to play in 30 degree weather. I am a Cub fan, not a Wrigley Field fan. When I listen to Ricketts blab on and on about the fan experience at Wrigley Field, I have to ask myself if he is a Cub fan or Wrigley Field fan. Can you be both, I guess, but the object of the exercise is to win the World Series, not have the "coolest" park.

It's subjective, but I really don't understand when people try to explain when Lou "gave up" or "mailed it in." This is the same Lou that has been here the whole time. Remember in 2007 when he said he wants someone who can catch the damn ball? Remember in the 2nd game of 2007 when he walked to the mound and told Dempster (the closer at the time) its 30 degrees, we are up 3, throw strikes. I just don't see the same things from Lou. I don't expect to act like an idiot and get thrown out of games, but I expect more than "I don't know what to do". He doesn't have to throw players under the bus, but is it really that hard to separate Lee and Ramirez in the line-up? His big change to shake up the offense was to move the ice cold Marlon Byrd to the 2nd spot so he can make even more outs in a game? Maybe he hasn't mailed it in, but he sure isn't trying too hard to change the fortunes of this team from a line-up perspective.

What exactly would dumping Crane Kenney have done to improve the team this year? So having someone above Jim Hendry who actually knows baseball isn't a good idea? Maybe having someone with the stones to fire the manager who admittingly says he doesn't know what to do? $4 million per year for the manager to act like he has given up. Maybe it wouldn't help improve the team this year, but keeping Kenney sure isn't helping. As a fan, all I see is the status quo and that is not good enough. If I was the head of a group trying to purchase a franchise, I would have a plan in place for changes the first day I had control of the team and improving bathrooms would not have been high on the list. A winning team is the best fan experience, the best marketing plan and the best way to grow revenues. Except it's difficult to field a winning team if one of the main avenues of revenue is a dump that's literally falling apart. Wrigley had to be and still has to be improved and renovated and its revenue streams need to be capitalized on (like through more advertising). The Ricketts don't have bottomless pockets. They need to ideally set in place what is necessary to provide them with the revenue stream which would allow them to to keep the Cubs' payroll high. Your shortsighted focus as to what you think should be their first priority would be an exceedingly foolish way to run a business that they just dropped a massive amount of money on. How do you propose they field a winning team if they don't focus right away on the areas that will bring them the money to do so? So putting a bow on a pig makes the pig better? So winning games now is shortsighted focus? Then shortsighted I am, because next year isn't guaranteed to anyone. What brings more money than winning? If you spend $845 million to purchase this, I would hope you had more money or investors to help you overcome some of the crap you purchased. Wrigley Field can be fixed up as much as you or anyone else wants, but what good does it do if the team is losing. The days of a full park when the team is bad seem to be over. And since when does a high payroll = success? Payroll doesn't matter if the GM can't do his job and the manager fails to get the most out of the talent. So in your world it is more important to fix the ball park and worry about the Toyota sign and buying a roof top next door than to do something about the on field product. All those revenue streams you worry about won't amount to anything if attendance is 1.5 million because the team sucks. Win games, go to the playoffs and win in the playoffs and the revenue streams will be there. Ask Rocky Wirtz. Did the Hawks do a lot of things behind the scenes, you bet. But McDonough and Wirtz understood they had to have a winning product to get the fans back. I realize the situations are not the same, but they placed winning at the top of the priority list...at least publicly. That is the big thing to me (and most people I know), I don't care what deals Ricketts is trying to make behind the scenes, but when the team is not good and all he seems focused on is more money, it makes me wonder what the priorities are.

Maybe something changed when Ricketts took over, but Hendry reported to Kenney after McDonough left. Will firing Piniella now change the fortunes of the team? There are examples of this in recent baseball history but for the most part, the talent plays to its ability over 162 games. Personally, I think Lou mailed it in last year by mid-June. And while he might have been re-energized at the beginning of this year, he looks like he has mailed it in already. When his only answers are "I don't know and what are you going to do?" even though he could actually make line-up changes but would rather watch Lee and Ramirez fail all day against the immortal Russ Ohlendorf, I think a change needs to be made. Change for the sake of change isn't necessarily good, but how will the family react to 15,000 no-shows or unsold tickets come September? Last time this happened, changes were made at the Pres level and Manager level. Will those include the GM this time? In my opinion, Ricketts needs to do something to shake up this team because I don't think Hendry will.

What exactly would dumping Crane Kenney have done to improve the team this year? So having someone above Jim Hendry who actually knows baseball isn't a good idea? Maybe having someone with the stones to fire the manager who admittingly says he doesn't know what to do? $4 million per year for the manager to act like he has given up. Maybe it wouldn't help improve the team this year, but keeping Kenney sure isn't helping. As a fan, all I see is the status quo and that is not good enough. If I was the head of a group trying to purchase a franchise, I would have a plan in place for changes the first day I had control of the team and improving bathrooms would not have been high on the list. A winning team is the best fan experience, the best marketing plan and the best way to grow revenues.