ZZ Thorn

Aargh! My hotel in Midland, MI doesn't seem to get WGN! That sucks - probably won't see or hear the game tonight. Gotta get this one too...keep the momentum going! Go Cubs!

He's gotten 12 at bats in the last 9 games. Even a veteran would lose his stroke playing that infrequently. That is not a fair platoon. He's only had 128 AB's on the season and he really only got regular starts over a 3 week stretch, and now he's on the brink of being dumped from the team. If every rookie on every team was discarded this quickly MLB would be overrun with 50 year old players. 4/21 in his last 6 starts - that's not very good no matter how you slice it. He's geting his share of starts and he's not performing, end of story. He's on the brink of being dumped from the team like I'm on the brink of being added to the team. I guess I should get my stuff together and wait by the phone.... His demotion sure surprised me - I was wrong on that one Frosty. I've been a Doobs fan for years, and I hope he can suceed in the AL.

BUMP Hairston, other than that grand slam, hasn't done squat as our leadoff hitter. He's been slumping for a while now. He has definitely not been the reason for our recent good offense. He may be doing a tad better than CP in the leadoff spot, but that's not saying much at all. I'd give that credit to Walker, who has been hot, and our lower third of the order: Neifi, Barrett and who can forget how our pitchers have really knocked in a bunch of runs recently. They carried us for a few of these recent wins - now it seems the middle of the order is back on track. I'd also give credit to the demotion of CP. He got booed at every at bat which does affect the mood of the clubhouse. He also struck out a ton which does affect the confidence of the other team as well as detract from our own. With him gone, a daily, large, negative distraction was removed. An out may be an out in the box scores, but in the ebb and flow of a game a strikeout can be a real rally killer. After he and Dubois, another big whiff guy, was sent down the rest of the team got the message that they have to start being more patient and had a team-only meeting apparently saying so. Which is a reason to keep Murton - he keeps going to the opposite field, keeps working counts and is a good influence by balancing the lineup, plus he has speed. If Gerut pushes anyone out of the usual everday lineup I hope it's Hairston and not Murton.

More posts like this, plz. We haven't seen enough of them. :roll: Wow, way to welcome him to the board. Here's a joke from the latest Mad Magazine to make you feel better. From "The Fast 5" section of "The Fundalini Pages" Little-Known Facts About the Recent Conclave of Cardinals 2. For some unexplained reason, retired St. Louis Cardinal Mark McGuire was allowed to vote. More baseball-related humor! From the "Fundalini Foto News" section: Congress Gets Pumped Up About Steroids in Baseball A pic of a surprised Sammy Sosa at the congressional hearings on steroids. Mad's balloon of Sammy's words reads: "Why would I take steroids? Everybody already knows I cheat by corking my bat!" Not baseball related, but apparently there's a new show from the producers of "Everybody Loves Ramadan" called "Desperate Hamaswives." It's on Sundays at 9 on Al-Jazeera - looks promising.

That's only because you lack all the necessary information to figure this move out as part of the Dunn trade. An absence of contrary information is not confirmation of a poor hypothesis. Unless you're able to provide some actual reason behind these moves rather than simply shoving them into a loosely-fit framework, you haven't developed a logical trade proposal. Isn't that what I said with the Cheerios? It's an obsession that will fortunately be cured on Aug. 1. So can Gerut leadoff? Doesn't seem like he has much speed, tho he can work the count.

No, it doesn't. It's still completely baseless. Totally baseless. If there was a report that Hendry is having Cheerios for breakfast some people would spin that into us getting Dunn. Too bad this is like half the thread....

Good luck Doobs! Followed him for several years, like many posters on this board, but his astronomically high K rate really makes him the kind of hitter we don't want anymore. I was listening to the Reds broadcast tonight and their announcer said something interesting: to paraphrase, "These Cubs make a lot of contact. They get a lot of hits and they don't strike out much. If a runner needs to be moved over, they get a fly ball or a grounder in the right spot to do it." I liked that. In that same vein, I like this trade - not ecstatic, but it's a good move. Doobs is the wrong fit for our club as it's currently constructed. Besides the K rate, his defense was atrocious and good D saves a lot of runs. How many times have I seen Burnitz cut off a ball well and prevent a runner from getting into second base, i.e. scoring position? But how can he platoon with Holla when he gets so dominated by lefties? Seems another move is forthcoming.

Guess I should do start doing some work I'm being paid for - that is, drive 4 hours to Cadillac, MI. Timed it so I can hear the game on the radio. Go Cubs!

Juan Pierre could turn out to be a really special ballplayer - some speed guys burn out in their early thirties, but some guys stick around forever. He's so durable I could see him being one of those 'still fast at 40' guys, but that's just a guess of course. Pierre could put up some really great totals before it's all said and done. His ability to handle the bat and consistently make contact (to take advantage of his speed) certainly bodes well for him. He had a bad first half, but at 27 I'd sure be shocked if this was 'the beginning of the end' of Juan Pierre.

He could have had a better success rate stealing, but .326/.374/.407 with 221 hits is a very impressive offensive season for a leadoff hitter in my book. You don't get 221 hits in a year by not being good. Pierre isn't Rickey Henderson, but let's give the guy some credit, even tho he is a Marlin. A lifetime 73% success rate stealing isn't the neccesary 80%, but it's still pretty good and he still is a major distraction on the basepaths. .307/.356/.378 lifetime is very good for what he is, a leadoff hitter who lifetime has more walks than strikeouts. He may not have a good arm in the OF, but he has great range, and this is a guy who has played more than 350 straight games, another plus. But I think he'll cost too much to aquire and to keep. May as well keep Hairston and wait for Pie. If a good deal came along I'd sure take it tho.

I'd bet Hill gets called up in September for the pen, and I bet he's pretty much a LOOGY during that time. If he does well, and he does dominate lefties, I could see him staying on the playoff roster, should we make it. I think they ought to bring him up to the pen now tho, cuz what's the long term plan? '06 has 4 starters locked in, and Williams is doing well as the 5th - if the Cubs wanted Hill over Williams as the starter they really could have done so by now. So there's no room as a starter in '06, but they really can't leave Hill in the minors again next year. I say bring him up and use him out of the pen, where he can be a real boon to the big league squad.

No one else wanted Glendon Rusch. No one else wanted Joe Borowski in '03. I just really hate that line of reasoning, that because 29 idiots passed on somebody that he's worthless. Very good points. Ben Grieve could easily find a niche as an outstanding pinch hitter if he accepts the role. He has all the attributes: He can't play defense, he's slower than molasses, but he can get on base and he has some power. There's no reason that he can't be extremely valuable off the bench, a la Dave Hansen circa 2001 or Mark Sweeney now. I agree. Macias is good at getting the bat on the ball, making contact. Cedeno gives good D and is player development. Grieve can fill a power/obp role if he can succeed and accept his role. Could just be for a few weeks tho, depending on who we get in trades.

I think Raffy's a first ballot HOFer. I don't know why consistency and longevity is so undervalued. I hear the same argument regarding Hank Aaron's greatness: he wasn't spectacular, he was just consistent. Well consistency is hard to find. It's a virtue to play a long time at a top or near-top level. A lot of people can't do that, Raffy did. You make 3,000 hits and 500 home runs it shouldn't matter if it took you 10 years or 23 - that's HOF totals.

Growing up I loved to read Bernie Lincicome's hilarous columns in the Tribune. Then he went to Denver and they brought in Skip Bayless. I hate Skip Bayless. I hate his name, I hate what he writes, I hate the way he talks, I hate his stupid face with those grotesque permanently arched eyebrows. See, I avoid superficial attacks like that last one, but I really, really hate Skip Bayless. And he deserves it.

Very apt comparison. I could see the Sox making it to the WS and then getting swept too.

awesome Is Dunn the perfect hitter or something? He's a whiff machine, and I agree with what the Wiz said - good pitching can dominate strikeout prone guys and you'll find good pitching in the playoffs. Has Dunn ever been in seriously clutch situation with the Reds? Hardly. Skepticism of a lifetime sub-.250 hitter's chances in the playoffs seems pretty logical to me. All I'm saying is that Dunn would probably put up his normal numbers in "clutch situations". And his normal numbers are awesome. You see Dunn as a sub-.250 hitter. Fine. I see a guy with a .382 career OBP and .512 SLG. But I guess batting average wins. I see Dunn as a sub .250 hitter cuz that's what he is - that's reality. I remember slugger Andre Dawson not doing well in the '89 playoffs - maybe Dunn will be the new Mr. October, but it's natural to have reservations... as I have no unholy man-love for him. Why do you choose to look only at the batting average, and not the whole picture? I mean, you can make any player look however you want that way. I don't just look at BA, but I just don't toss it away either. This just in - getting hits is an important part of baseball. I was skeptical of Dunn to start the season cuz he hadn't yet put together 2 good seasons in a row, but he's proving me wrong. He still has a couple huge holes in his game. Doesn't make him a bad player, but they're still there.

zz, i think you're being sarcastic You just won a kewpie doll!

Yes! We've got the world series locked up - Grieve is back! You know, the guy no one else wanted.

awesome Is Dunn the perfect hitter or something? He's a whiff machine, and I agree with what the Wiz said - good pitching can dominate strikeout prone guys and you'll find good pitching in the playoffs. Has Dunn ever been in seriously clutch situation with the Reds? Hardly. Skepticism of a lifetime sub-.250 hitter's chances in the playoffs seems pretty logical to me. All I'm saying is that Dunn would probably put up his normal numbers in "clutch situations". And his normal numbers are awesome. You see Dunn as a sub-.250 hitter. Fine. I see a guy with a .382 career OBP and .512 SLG. But I guess batting average wins. I see Dunn as a sub .250 hitter cuz that's what he is - that's reality. I remember slugger Andre Dawson not doing well in the '89 playoffs - maybe Dunn will be the new Mr. October, but it's natural to have reservations... as I have no unholy man-love for him.

Before Wood hurt his tricep in '04 he was pitching the best and most consistently as he ever had. I agree with the health over mechanics assessment for his recent success.

Raffy was a doubles hitter with the Cubs, and I recall him playing in LF for us. He went to the AL and started playing AL-style ball. He really was Grace's Latin clone when he was a Cub: go the other way, hit doubles right down the line.

awesome Is Dunn the perfect hitter or something? He's a whiff machine, and I agree with what the Wiz said - good pitching can dominate strikeout prone guys and you'll find good pitching in the playoffs. Has Dunn ever been in seriously clutch situation with the Reds? Hardly. Skepticism of a lifetime sub-.250 hitter's chances in the playoffs seems pretty logical to me.

I do not consider myself a Dunn detrator, but I have my doubts about whether he would be a great addition to the Cardinals given the cost of a trade. First of all, the Cards already have power guys in there lineup that strike out a lot (Reggie and Jimmy). Moreover, given that the Cardinals are looking for more post season help, I wonder how often Dunn would strike out in the playoffs. He is currently striking out every 3rd time up to bat. The pitching is far superior in the playoffs and can dominate strike out hitters. The Cards don't need Dunn in that lineup, but he'd be a big upgrade for the Cubs. He's been consistent at what he does well this year, that was my main problem with him, but I don't think the Reds trade him intradivison. I wouldn't trade the farm for him, and that's what it'd take. I also wonder about how he'll do in the playoffs and in clutch situtations.

I think ARod should renounce his DR citizenship, dye his hair red, change his name to Alex Roddy and beat his children when they try to speak spanish. He should also stop talking to his relatives in the DR too - Alex is an American and he should forget about all that useless history. They don't even live in America - what good are they! Sorry grandma! And he should play for the US, cuz he's as Dominican as I am Chicagoan... oh wait, I am from Chicago. :roll:

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-050713cubs,1,2481331.story?coll=cs-home-headlines Holy cow, Nomar's actually coming back. "Out since April 21 after surgery to repair torn muscles in his left groin, Garciaparra is expected to begin a minor-league rehab stint within the next week or two in hopes of returning to the Cubs in early August. Prior came back from his elbow injury without a rehab stint in the minors, but Garciaparra said he needs one to get his timing back. "I'll probably go just to have a few games," he said...." I stuck a fork in him when it happened, but he'll be in the minors in a couple weeks! I can't believe he's actually coming back this year! I don't think Nomar is better than Walker at the #2 hole - I like him 5-7, definitely not second.