ZZ Thorn

that's what the cubs thought they were doing when they signed remlinger and hawkins. neither of those signings worked out very well. relievers' (especially 7th-8th inning guys) performance just vary too much from year to year for anybody to be a sure thing. i'm not saying the cubs shouldn't ever sign a guy like that again, but there's a decent chance that it will end up backfiring. Very true. But if Hendry has to give up money/prospects to get a proven reliever we sure could use another one this year and beyond.

Fact: Kearns was a BALLER in 2002. He killed the ball, I liked him more then Adam Dunn. Fact: Kearns has been hurt - he is not CP. CP got a ton of PT and stunk with the exception of the first half 2003. Kearns has a much better eye, can take a lot walks and has a better OF arm. He will K a bunch, but unlike Corey he can take a walk and unlike Dunn he can hit for a good average. He should hit 30+ homers a year. Fact: Hill for Kearns is too much IMO, which I guess is not really a fact but my opinion. Fact: I would be glad to take Kearns off the Reds hands for the right price. Fact: That price should involve Mitre. He's a groundball pitcher and that's exactly the type of pitcher they need in that bandbox they call a ballpark. We can easily afford to give up Mitre, and Mitre has shown very good potential...as a starter. The Reds should be stocking up on GB pitchers.... Fact: That may not be enough to net Kearns. There's no doubt they need pitching, and we have lots of pitching. Maybe Hendry can give them a prospect or two of value and make something work. Fact: Kearns would be a risk, but with a very high reward if he pans out. If he's healthy he will be a consistent player at worst, an Aubrey Huff with more Ks but also more bbs.

To the Sox's good OBP it does, but not to the 'more runs=more consistent offense' 'myth.' The proof of that can be found in the difference between the '03 and '04 Cubs. The Cubs really aren't that bad at OBP - .340 is the standard for good. Add our top BA and SLG to the equation and we have a pretty darn good offense, plus we'll get Nomar back and may even add a good bat in the OF. Off topic: you know who I don't miss? Corey Patterson.

This thread is of no value and just shows how late-starting the trades are this year. Less than a week 'til the deadline and we really have no solid leads for the Cubs or too many for other teams yet. Maybe they were talking about someone named "Washington." Maybe they were talking about Washington from "Welcome Back Kotter," the black guy who'd say really smooth "Hi there...." Who knows!

Wood and Williamson aren't locks - I'd sure like to see Hendry do the near impossible and bring in a good reliever at a fair price. Who's locked up long term after this year in the pen anyway? Most everyone is a kid. Rusch - affordable for next year Remmy - gone Demp - he'll get a good sized contract Novoa, Mitre, Welly, Wuertz - youngsters with cheap production, plus Aardsma in the minors, Angel Guzman is a remote possibility. Seems like we can and should go out and get a reliever who makes $2-3 mil and will produce for a few years. If Williamson and Wood pitch like they're capable of, add another good reliever along with Demp and we could have an awesome pen. And with Wood not starting, that makes our starting corps weaker, that puts more pressure on our pen. Strengthening the pen is just as important as that real OFer.

Normally i am not happy with the Cubs facing these 2 guys in the next 2 days but i feel good about this. Lowry can be had an Rueter just doesnt bother me a whole lot anymore. Now id like to see murton today AND tomorrow. Holla is been real crappy lately and it seems all he is doing is pulling everything, these lefties will eat him up. We did pretty well during that last stretch of lefties too. I'd be shocked if Murton isn't starting both days. Holla sure is streaky. Before this stretch of coldness he was killing the ball for a couple weeks.

You can't not play Nomar. You can't play Neifi Perez instead of Nomar either. You can play Neifi over a rookie, tho I'd like to see more Cedeno. I hope they ease in Nomar, Kerry and Williamson. No need to rush any of them.

Cubs don't do well this year versus starters they've never seen before... and he's a lefty. Rueter, another lefty goes tomorrow - the Cubs can really give themselves some confidence versus lefties with a couple wins.

4 games out of the wild card! This team is a contender. And as such, we should sweep the Giants, take 3 of 4 from the slumping Dbacks, then take 2 of 3 vs both the Phillies and Mets. So 9-3 in our next 12 games, making us 60-51 by Aug. 8th. Which is also when we'll have Nomar back, Wood and Williamson in the pen, a true LFer thru a trade, and Johnnie B. Baker engineering one of his perennial second half surges.

Giants average nearly 4.5 runs per game. Hill gave up 2 in 5; so he held them just below their average. What I think people are enamored with is that he didn't tank. He faced major leaguers, got them out, and displayed a wicked curve ball. With that curve ball, he has excellent potential to become a Blyleven or Zito. Overall, his potential to be a Zito is probably closer to a reality than Kearns potential to be a J.D. Drew. Sure seemed in the first couple innings that he got away with some bad pitches, and I thought that if it wasn't the Giants up there he's had been hurt early. But he wasn't. He lives to start another day. On the other hand, he did get hurt by some real cheap hits. I suppose it will take another start or two at least to get a good read on how he'll do. That's very true, that first run was BS.

THANKS TO NEIFI, WHO DOESN'T EVEN DESERVE TO BE ON A MAJOR LEAGUE ROSTER! I DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE FACING HIGH SCHOOL PITCHERS! OMG HIS TWO BIG HITS TOTALLY MAKE UP FOR HIS COSTING US OUT THE WAZOO FOR THE PAST TWO MONTHS!!!!! WOOHOO!!!! It's a start. Textbook hating: the guy wins not one but two games in a row and some still give him crap. Can't let him have his moments for even a moment. Textbook hating. Thanks for making a great game a little less positive - goodnight. ZZ- I'll give Neifi his due. I think it's fantastic that he's been able to contribute to winning some games for us. I also think he's an okay bench player. However, he's definetly not an everyday player, and I think the joy of his successes is tempered a bit by the knowlegde that, when played 5+ times a week, he becomes a detriment. That said, if he wants to keep driving in big runs, I'm not going to object. And, just for You, ZZ...I'll even give Dusty credit for a game well managed. He used Remmy correctly, PH with Murton late and Macias early, and double switched with Cedeno. Well done tonight. I too apologize if my comments made you upset. my mind was already made up that I couldn't stand him, and these two hits aren't going to change my mind, but it was probably an inappropriate moment to bring it up. c'mon back ZZ. LOL, Neifibashing doesn't really make me upset. A bit annoyed, but it's a message board after all. I just had to go to bed! But I appreciate it, and I'll bet Mama Perez appreciates you not bashing her son. Credit for Dusty? Wow, somebody frame this post.

Giants average nearly 4.5 runs per game. Hill gave up 2 in 5; so he held them just below their average. What I think people are enamored with is that he didn't tank. He faced major leaguers, got them out, and displayed a wicked curve ball. With that curve ball, he has excellent potential to become a Blyleven or Zito. Overall, his potential to be a Zito is probably closer to a reality than Kearns potential to be a J.D. Drew. Sure seemed in the first couple innings that he got away with some bad pitches, and I thought that if it wasn't the Giants up there he's had been hurt early. But he wasn't. He lives to start another day.

It was the same thing with sinkerball Dempster - has trouble in the first inning. But Demp and Wood, unlike say Mitre, have overwhelming stuff. Demp has adapted darn well, I think Kerry will too. I think he'll do very well. I don't see Kerry friggin Wood, aka big time baller whose main problem is injury, is going to do badly as a reliver. He's not Mitre.

THANKS TO NEIFI, WHO DOESN'T EVEN DESERVE TO BE ON A MAJOR LEAGUE ROSTER! I DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE FACING HIGH SCHOOL PITCHERS! OMG HIS TWO BIG HITS TOTALLY MAKE UP FOR HIS COSTING US OUT THE WAZOO FOR THE PAST TWO MONTHS!!!!! WOOHOO!!!! It's a start. Textbook hating: the guy wins not one but two games in a row and some still give him crap. Can't let him have his moments for even a moment. Textbook hating. Thanks for making a great game a little less positive - goodnight.

THANKS TO NEIFI, WHO DOESN'T EVEN DESERVE TO BE ON A MAJOR LEAGUE ROSTER! I DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE FACING HIGH SCHOOL PITCHERS!

SAFE!!! AWESOME!!!!

Neifi is far from Cal Ripken, but he's done very well all things considered. When you consider just a few things, like OBP, not so much. He still has the biggest hit of the year so far. He still plays great D. He's still doing a great job keeping Nomar's seat warm. But what's the point? It's like ](*,)

most annoying commercial anywhere IMO. its always relative because the most annoying commercial always seems to be what is on right now. for me right now its every commercial, promo, cut away, seque, etc. for ESPN 50*50 where they play that really lame song by Bryan Adams (is it Bryan Adams? if so, nice to have a Canadian singing the theme song for the series about the 50 states) Ok. Let me ask you, then. Can you come up with something stupider than "RBI stands for 'really big ice cream'"? Rainbows brighten incredibly! I think that's way lamer. Ronny with a single - we are so winning this game.

Nothing will. Neifi, the best back-up SS ever? Definitely in all MLB for this year. Started as a backup, should have gotten some consideration for the all-star game. Oh, but he sucks. Yeah.... He's batting under .200 over the last 43 games. He sucks. I notice you didn't include his BA for the first half of the season. Certainly was above .200. 40 rbis for our SS now.

Nothing will. Neifi, the best back-up SS ever? Definitely in all MLB for this year. Started as a backup, should have gotten some consideration for the all-star game. Oh, but he sucks. Yeah....

Neifi keeps giving and some fans just keep hatin'....

Jeez, first Jane Eyre, then Herman Munster, now Christy Mathewson - they're running out of relievers.

"Que? Pero Lee es muy grande. Walkair es bajo.... Ay caramba! Senor Lee es muy bueno..."

That was an unneccesary, dumb play by Vizquel.

FYI - LaTroy is no longer referred to as 'the pride of Gary.' Attaboy Walk!