Ballgame64

How did Soriano get to 3rd base? Nevermind, I see the post above mine. Sorry.

Who is on deck for Silva? I would assume its Xavier Nady time.

our bullpen blows, but on a day like today facing three pretty bad pitchers, 8 hits and 4 walks really isn't that good. Yep. The offense should have torched Suppan today. In other news, Grabow would prefer to give up a few more runs to make sure the offense can't come back.

Shark against 3-4-5. What is Lou thinking?

Shark against 3-4-5. What is Lou thinking?

That assumes the guy is grooving one on the first pitch, and that was not close to the truth. Like I said, I can only go on what Gameday says, and that you should swing at a good pitch to hit. The pitch was a back door breaking pitch. There is no way anyone should have swung at it given the situation.

I thought the first pitch of the at bat was a strike. Comcast was just coming back from commercial break. Either way, this kid has to learn how to throw strikes. He is facing 7-8-9, not Braun and Fielder.

I can't believe Theriot. Two straight walks and he swings at a first pitching breaking ball low and away. Is he even watching the game?

I don't get this either. But hey a line out DP and the game is over! I'm guessing home opener and off day tomorrow is the reason for this. plus the heart of a good lineup could come up and our bullpen sucks. 8-9-1 if Berg can't get through those guys, why is he on the team? It worked just like the all right handed hitting line-up, but that doesn't mean it will next time. We've seen plenty of closers have terrible outings in non save situations.

I don't get this either. But hey a line out DP and the game is over!

He continues to dazzle with his abilities. Does he think he is a speed demon or something? When they showed the replay from the 3rd base line camera, Theriot is going back to 2nd and then breaks after the throw. Once he took the last step toward 2nd base, he should have just stayed.

Nice comment by myself...nevermind. I love the all right handed line-up. At least for today.

Is anyone else sick of the all right handed hitting line-up against soft tossing left handed pitchers?

Has Tim Brown been remotely close on any of his "scoops"?

I know most people don't respect Phil Rogers, but I tend to agree with his take on the move to Florida. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-10-rogers-on-baseball-dec10,0,1650172.column Its only been a couple of months, but I don't like the start Ricketts has gotten off to. If the family was willing to spend $850 million to buy the damn team, they should have been prepared to spend a little more to upgrade the roster this winter. Worry about the bathrooms and concession stands later. Like McDonough says, "the best marketing plan is a winning team." This whole organization needs an enema.

No doubt this team has issues, but if the big 3 (Lee, Ramirez and Soriano) can perform anywhere near their expected levels, this team can compete in the NL Central especially if the Cardinals don't re-sign Holliday. I think Zambrano and Dempster will bounce back. I'm a little worried about Lilly and like everyone else I wonder if Wells can be a viable starter all year.

That would be fine with me. But Milton isn't without blame here. He needs to change his attitude a bit and at least have a professional relationship with teammates and other Cubs employees.

But Hendry IS the one who signed him, so obviously Jim valued Milton. Of course he probably valued him wrong to begin with (left handed power hitter, run producer or whatever Lou told Hendry to get). Damn it, it is time to eat some crow Jim and meet with Milton to smooth things out or just take whatever you can get. Spending endless hours trying to trade him seems really silly. In reality, the Ricketts family needs to step up and tell Hendry, you are keeping Bradley or screw it take whatever you can get since we would have to pay him anyway. long way to go till opening day Yes it is, but do you really think there is going to be a market for Bradley? There more time spent floundering around with this the worse the Cubs organization looks. I would think the new owners would want to appear as if they had a plan when they bought the team other than cleaning up bathrooms, putting up wooden billboards and getting different food for the concession stand.

But Hendry IS the one who signed him, so obviously Jim valued Milton. Of course he probably valued him wrong to begin with (left handed power hitter, run producer or whatever Lou told Hendry to get). Damn it, it is time to eat some crow Jim and meet with Milton to smooth things out or just take whatever you can get. Spending endless hours trying to trade him seems really silly. In reality, the Ricketts family needs to step up and tell Hendry, you are keeping Bradley or screw it take whatever you can get since we would have to pay him anyway.

I don't think you are correct about what Theo values. Bill James was on WGN radio a few weeks ago and said while the Boston front office doesn't value stats like RBIs, they do take into consideration the player's personality. He said they would not have been interested in Bradley. Interestingly enough though, he told Kaplan if the Cubs don't want Zambrano to give the Red Sox a call. I think Kaplan was shocked by this because it came at a time when he was saying Zambrano isn't a good pitcher because he only won 9 games in 2009.

You are worth whatever someone will pay you, nothing more, nothing less.

This is a very interesting thread. I also think it is interesting that part of Brad Penny's one year deal is the Cardinals agree to not offer him arbitration next year. Penny's representative must realize arbitration is not necessarily a good thing for players who want to test the free agent market. Personally, I could care less about Harden. The stats might say he is good bordering on great when he is healthy enough to pitch, but to me this is too much like the Prior saga. I'd like to see how the rest of the offseason plays out before saying this was a horrible move. With Lilly missing the first month, maybe Hendry and those who have a lot more information about Harden than people on this message board felt they needed more of a sure thing. I also think it is only fair to see how Harden performs in 2010 before saying this was a horrible year.

As Doug Buffone would say, Stop yourself! You did make me laugh though.

What makes people think this? Matt Murton deserves a shot but Sam Fuld doesn't. Not necessarily you, but this is where people who rely mostly on stats lose credibility in my opinion. They argue Fuld should not be given a chance because you can't rely on a small sample size of success last year and his minor league stats don't suggest he will be a good player at the major league level. Meanwhile, a guy who has bounced around organizations doesn't get the shot "he deserves". The great Billy Beane had no use for Murton. Why? It may have something to do with his lack of defensive ability and his hitting does not overcome his bad defense. Beane could have had Murton again but instead chose Jake Fox. Interesting. On the other hand, Fuld plays good defense, has better speed and has shown an ability to get on base at the major league level but most people here don't want to give him a chance. I'm not necessarily advocating Fuld for CF, I'm just trying to point out the double standard that exists. I am the single biggest defender of Sam Fuld on this board, being on the record as preferring him to a number of other options including names like Brad Hawpe and Jermaine Dye. Oh, and the Fox versus Murton comparison is silly. Fox isn't being acquired to play in the field, which Murton had to do. And Murton isn't a bad defender. He's just not a good one. Same for his offense... not good, but not bad either. I wrote "not necessarily you" for a reason Rob. And I don't think the Fox vs. Murton is silly at all. The A's are saying Fox will also play some 3rd base and 1st base for them. I guess there are at least two of us who would like to see the Cubs give Fuld a chance.

What makes people think this? Matt Murton deserves a shot but Sam Fuld doesn't. Not necessarily you, but this is where people who rely mostly on stats lose credibility in my opinion. They argue Fuld should not be given a chance because you can't rely on a small sample size of success last year and his minor league stats don't suggest he will be a good player at the major league level. Meanwhile, a guy who has bounced around organizations doesn't get the shot "he deserves". The great Billy Beane had no use for Murton. Why? It may have something to do with his lack of defensive ability and his hitting does not overcome his bad defense. Beane could have had Murton again but instead chose Jake Fox. Interesting. On the other hand, Fuld plays good defense, has better speed and has shown an ability to get on base at the major league level but most people here don't want to give him a chance. I'm not necessarily advocating Fuld for CF, I'm just trying to point out the double standard that exists.