UMFan83

What the hell? He's 29 freaking years old. This is not essentially his rookie year. He's been garbage for well over a month now. Relax, I'm not saying he's an all star. It's been interesting to watch to see if he can rebound into a decent player after a great April. You might not find that interesting but that's you. Seriously, you are just stretching to find excuses for using the word interesting. You're Peter King. Here lets end a jersey discussion the only way its possible to: You were completely right and I was completely wrong. I am sorry for making you waste your valuable time having to explain something that is now so blatently obvious. This Cubs team is not interesting at all and all those hours I thought I've been watching them has actually been a morphine induced dream-like state.

I know, it will be nice to get 3, or maybe even 4 SEC teams playing for the title.

What the hell? He's 29 freaking years old. This is not essentially his rookie year. He's been garbage for well over a month now. Relax, I'm not saying he's an all star. It's been interesting to watch to see if he can rebound into a decent player after a great April. You might not find that interesting but that's you.

There's hope for the organization but the team itself hasn't been the least bit interesting. Lahair has a ceiling he hasn't hit? Garza? I'll give you Castro, and now Rizzo, as well as Shark. But 2 of 3 of those guys were here last year and Rizzo just showed up. Recent teams weren't bad because Zambrano was throwing tantrums. This team is bad because they have a bunch of bad baseball players, not a bunch of guys who just aren't at their peak yet. The product on the field has not been interesting. There's hope for the future because of the people who are in charge and some of the talent they have brought to the system, but you are deluding yourself if you try and pretend this baseball team has been interesting. They just suck at baseball. I'm not deluding myself of anything. I find this team interesting. I know it to be true because last year I didnt have any desire to watch any games, I would occasionally check the scores on my phone but never had a desire to put on the game. This year, I am finding myself waiting for the games to start and watching a pretty good amount. Nothing about it is forced, its just a natural desire to watch the games due to the team being interesting. LaHair has probably hit a ceiling but its also his rookie season essentially and after a great start has fallen back to earth. The odds are against him being as good as he was in April over a full season, but its still interesting to watch him as the season evolves. Garza has probably hit his ceiling, i'll give you that, but it's interesting to watch him increase/decrease his trade value each game. And yes I agree that the team is bad because we have a bunch of bad baseball players, but there are several individual parts that aren't bad and actually have the chance to be good, so its been enjoyable watching them. I dunno I tried to put it into words why the team has been interesting to me but maybe its just hard to say exactly what has held my interest for so long, because last summer I was internally debating whether I was still a Cubs fan, and this summer I can't get enough of the team.

The 2010 and 2011 teams were for the most part bad, underachieving teams partly made up of aging remnants of the 2008 team. As a fan, I was increasingly losing what little faith I had left in Hendry to right the ship, the team seemed to have no long term plan, the farm system was mediocre to poor, and there were numerous bad contracts clogging up the payroll limiting what we could do in the near future. So no enjoyment of the present, no trust in leadership, bleak future prospects = uninteresting teams. This year we have leadership we feel good about, we have a real long term plan, the number of bad contracts are down to 1 after this year, the team is partly made up of players who have at least some level of potential and for the most part a ceiling that hasn't been hit yet (Castro, Barney, Rizzo, LaHair, Shark, Russell, Garza, even Stewart although hopes are dwindling pretty low right now), and the farm system has made a decent leap over the last year and although almost all are in low minors, they give legit hope for the future. So while the team might be bad, its not because Aramis is declining, Zambrano is throwing tantrums and gifting black guys to Milton Bradley, etc. It's bad because its a young team that is collectively not talented enough but has individually talented parts that are worth watching grow. It's also been interesting watching Dempster become an increasingly valuable trade piece, Castro improve his defense, Barney hitting well enough and playing great defense, Shark (at least to start the year) look like a legit piece, LaHair's power surge to start the year, Garza throwing to first base, the persuit of Solar, the rise of Rizzo in the minors and the anticipation for his first game, the June draft. There's just been a lot to be interested in IMO.

Also I have no idea what the rumors are about the Bobcats and who they are drafting but I don't see how Ben Gordon takes Beal out of the running.

The protected first rounder from the Pistons is protected almost exactly the same as the protected pick that the Bobcats gave to the Bulls. Unfortunately for Charlotte, Detroit seems like a much better bet to deliver that draft pick earlier than 2016. Regardless, they got a potential high first rounder and the better player. It's amazing how much you can get for taking on salary. Is the #10 pick in 2014 worth eating 15 million dollars in cap space? Is the #6 pick in 2015 worth that? I'm not so sure. 2013 Free agents are pretty good. Also, the Bobcats have no use for the better player. What FA are the Bobcats getting in 2013? Exactly. The Bobcats desperately need a shooter/scorer like Gordon, and his contract isn't that bad. I think he only has 2 more years left, so after this year he could be an expiring contract with some value if you want to go for an upgrade in a trade. Plus you get what is likely to be at worst a mid-first round pick.

Come on Shark, get it together. Use Rizzo's awesomeness as inspiration.

The protected first rounder from the Pistons is protected almost exactly the same as the protected pick that the Bobcats gave to the Bulls. Unfortunately for Charlotte, Detroit seems like a much better bet to deliver that draft pick earlier than 2016. Regardless, they got a potential high first rounder and the better player. It's amazing how much you can get for taking on salary.

Hmm that's a decent question. I'd say no because A) There isn't necessarily a need to cut costs at this point as the Cubs are already operating at a lower payroll than the previous few years and there are significant contracts coming off the books after this year and given that B) the Cubs might get something decent for Marmol if he can finish this year strong and the Cubs are willing to eat a lot of the money. If it were this time next season and Marmol was struggling still, then yeah.

I can't get over how interesting this season has been so far. Yes they are on pace for something like 58 wins all year, but there is always so much going on, and something to look forward to every game. I never thought I could enjoy a pathetically bad team so much.

Correct me if I'm wrong but Vitters has been quite a disappointment overall the last 2 years and is just now showing signs of adapting to AAA and hitting with authority. There's really no need to rush him up here until Theo and Co. feel there's nothing left for him to prove. And in my opinion, he still has quite a bit to prove.

Beaten to death by 2 out singles...what is that 4 in a row?

Hard hit about 2 steps to the SS's right. SS dove, and the ball deflected off his glove and rolled away from him.

H to the Rizzo

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--brand ... s-say.html

You don't trade him because he was intended to be a piece for the next Cubs winning team. Young and cost controlled...exactly what Theo is looking for. Of course if someone offered the Cubs a significant package for him, he'd be gone in a second, but almost certainly that won't happen.

Wasnt that the point of not bringing him up until now, and not 2 months ago?

I think it was a good trade for both teams.

Ouch, sucks for him. I knew of the connection but I guess I was naive in believing him when he said he was clean.

Wonder why they pulled him mid-game and not before or after when they've probably known the exact date they planned to call him up for awhile now.

Using that MLE calculator, Rizzo's season at Iowa would translate to .285/.337/.546/.883 with 14 2B, 17 HR, 46 RBI

Hrmmm... .273/.348/.475 14HR 46RBI That's pretty much around what I was expecting...possibly a little bit higher OBP, but I think the SLG and BA are right on.

I was listening to an interview with Kuc on the Score on Saturday from the draft, and they specifically asked him if he had heard anything at all linking the Hawks to the bigger FA, and he said absolutely not thing, and he expects Bowman to make smaller moves to not shake up the team too much. Which if true is the dumbest thing Ive ever heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0e-eLzscqQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player Whiny White Sox fan cries about Lilibridge getting traded. oh yeah and he's 5