SouthSideRyan

I do agree with you though, that he'll likely turn things around as long as Greenspan lets him take his lumps.

I've got a newborn at home, so I'm a little behind on IU news, but here is what I can gather. 2 players remain from Sampsons 2008 class, those will be Matt Roth and Tom Pritchard. Crean has signed two players for next year since he took the job. Those are JUCO SG Devan Dumes and Alabama Mr. Basketball Nick Williams, also a 6-4 SG. Who knows what will happen next. He has said that he isn't going to offer someone just to fill a scholarship. he wants quality players, and if that means being short-handed next year than so be it. For 2009 he has committments from Derek Elston, Bobby Copabianco, and now Maurice Creek. Next year might be ugly, but I think he will get things in order. Just out of curiousity, what do you think? I think they have to pick up a couple JUCOs. For your returning guys: Jordan Crawford is a player, he should score 20+ per game. I think McGee will turn out to be pretty decent, but this year's way too early to count on him as the # 2 guy. Taber is what he is. A solid body, but him being the # 1 big guy would be a nightmare if the Big 10 had a good frontcourt presence. I gotta plead ignorance on the recruits besides Roth, who I think could turn out to be a lights out shooter, but he's gonna have problems getting it done with only Crawford for defenses to focus on. Come his senior year though he's gonna be really valuable. My whole point in all this is that there's just not a lot of talent left on the team/coming in(solely going off star ratings and other schools of interest for recruits besides Roth) To ask these 7 to not only be the stars of the team but to play ~30 minutes apiece will just kill this team, such that the end of the year could turn out some really ugly games. That's not even getting into potential injuries leading to Brett Finklemyer getting playing time. Getting a couple JUCOs in there just to eat some minutes so the freshmen don't have to be forced to contribute right off the bat is crucial. I say JUCOs because of the point Crean brought up about not just filling spots. Even if the JUCOs don't turn out, those schollies free up by '10, so you're not killing the program with non-big 10 caliber players. I'm not really familiar with what JUCO recruits are out there, so I don't really have guys I think they should target, but history tells me some decent enough contributors are out there for them. Right now they have 7 taken up for '08, 9 for '09. Taking 2 JUCOs leaves 2 open rides for '09, and then come '10 you've got 2-4 open depending on what you do with '09. This is all assuming I'm able to add correctly and the NCAA doesn't knock out a scholarship for the future. Beyond the problem of wearing down and making ugly games from a fan perspective, I'd be worried about how things look from the recruit perspective. I know it's not a big deal getting good recruits in with bad teams(look at Baylor, Purdue, or our last season), but you don't want to voluntarily put yourself in that spot, and I think IU in its present state would turn out a really ugly record and some really ugly ball come big 10 play.

I'm not sure people realize how bad Crisp has been since leaving Cleveland.

Magic Johnson shouldn't speak.

Any word on what Indiana is planning for next year? Is Crean just gonna say f it and go with the 7 rather than waste a scholly on a lesser player? Or is he gonna pick up a few JUCOs to fill some spots? EDIT: I can't count.

Yeah, they shoulda booed instead.

He can't sue over that, it's not an open auction. It's a private, non-regulated club, Zell can sell to whoever he wants. 1. Cuban's ability to sue in this situation has nothing to do with whether the Cubs are a "private, non-regulated" club 2. Doesn't MLB require approval before a club is sold? I was talking about MLB when I said "private, non-regulated club"

What, in major league play, shows you that Felix Pie is a better hitter than Reed Johnson? You can show me all the projections in the world from baseballprospectus that tells you that, but that doesn't mean jack. Felix Pie has been a disappointment this year. He strikes out at an high rate, and doesn't walk. If that doesn't scream Corey Patterson to Cubs fans, nothing will. Felix has looked overmatched this year many times. Plus, he's a black CF who's fast.

Looks like this is his last option year. Then again it's hard to discern from game logs, because those 32 days in between appearances very well could have been Dusty using him as the 12th man.

Hahahahaha. The poll question for the White Sox game was asking for the favorite Ontario based musician. Options were Neil Young, Tragically Hip, Rush, and Avril Lavigne. Of course Rush runs away with it. You can't beat the south side. That's followed up with Darin Jackson making a Fine Young Cannibals reference(not bad), surely it goes right over Harrelson's head.

He can't sue over that, it's not an open auction. It's a private, non-regulated club, Zell can sell to whoever he wants. And you should hate Reinsdorf for lots of reasons, #1 being the '94 strike. He definitely has an interest in keeping a charismatic owner taking over the Cubs and making them even more popular in this city than they already are. Reinsdorf is pure evil.

LaRussa is undeniably the best manager in the Central.

Bruce Miles confirms Gallagher brought up to go carry the gum and candy to the pen and not much else. Well, he didn't actually say that, just Lieber to the rotation, Gallagher to be long man.

I liked Lou for the last half of last year. I was even able to look past Soto rotting in AAA. He's just gotten so Dusty-like this year, it's killing me. The reason I'm so pissed off about his managing this year is because of how high he built up my expectations of him. Coming back to 2006 level managing is crushing me inside.

I'm hoping it's Gallagher that gets the start. I'm not optimistic. Marshall deserves the spot over Lieber, but I'd definitely give it to Lieber because Marshall hasn't thrown more than an inning in like a month and a half.

Some dope called this one. He mentioned that Gallagher will be buried in the pen with Marshall. That guy was smart. I wish he was wrong.

Haha, I just realized Soto is hitting 7th. Lou sure is something.

I hope somebody after the game asks in the most condescending way possible if he's ever thought about giving Ronny Cedeno a chance.

Oh, for the love of God.

I'll be out there early to try and help grab those seats. Who else is gonna be there when gates open besides me, Laura, and Vance? Yeti and nilo, you gonna be there then too?

Chad Fox should be unavailable but that has nothing to do with how much he pitched last night.

All these comparisons to the '06 team are off base. The only part of the Cards I could see as better this year is Molina '08 and the back of the rotation.

How bout this, the a manager that has batted Luis Rivas 2nd this year might be the 2nd best manager in the division.

You can criticize Lou's handling of the team all you want. Calling him a huge douchebag is entirely inappropriate. Yeah, namecalling is wrong, I shouldn't call him a douchebag, but it's the best way I could think of summing up the way he's acted this year. Saying he's acting like a classic macho jock who refuses to be questioned and publically calls out others for not being the same macho-headed jock doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

He should stay in the rotation.