UMFan83

[expletive] hell, Bolland is always hurt.

Yes, but the news will be related to what they are planning to discuss on the radio. If Theo is interviewing with the Cubs, it makes perfect sense for them to come on and explain to fans why they made this decision (we owe it to him, etc) so that they are not destroyed for just letting Theo go. If they turn down the Cubs request they will talk about why they don't want Theo to leave and then discuss the manager search and the offseason.

Well, when Francona was let go, ALL of them (Lucciano, Henry and Epstein) were present. I think it's signifigant. When it's Red Sox related, they are all usually joined at the hip. It's a radio interview. If any of you are expecting any valuable information in regards to Theo out of a radio interview with an owner, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Then why are the two top guys in the organization doing the radio interview if it's nothing signifigant? Look, you could be right but they need to address this as Boston and Chicago are basically hanging upside down here. They aren't going to address it on a radio show at 7AM. They are just going to beat around the bush with non-answers. All reports say that the Sox want to figure this out one way or another by the end of the world. The entire fanbases of the Red Sox and Cubs are desperately waiting to hear whats going on. It's been 3 days since the Cubs have requested permission so answers are needed. They will not be able to get away with going on the air and giving non-answers. Another thing to point out is that Henry and co. have always been very open in general with the fans. Henry has a twitter account and has been posting tidbits about the manager search on it. While some stuff is obviously kept in the organization, it is not at all beyond them to do something like go on the radio to respond to the Theo story.

Well, when Francona was let go, ALL of them (Lucciano, Henry and Epstein) were present. I think it's signifigant. When it's Red Sox related, they are all usually joined at the hip. It's a radio interview. If any of you are expecting any valuable information in regards to Theo out of a radio interview with an owner, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. They are going on the radio to discuss "the state of the team" during a period where the only viable topics to discuss are the manager search and the gm situation. Everyone is waiting to hear their response about the Cubs and Theo, so there is literally no reason to go on the radio if they are not going to address that because that's primarily what people want to know. Besides, if the owners are too above discussing Theo's status, then ultimately who is going to fill us in? Usually the GM would, but since we are talking about the GM, the response is going to come from above.

Well that settles that then. Better lock up Carlos Pena. He said that while Chicago is a great place to play, these guys want to win and are not going to want to wait around for any type of rebuilding process that could takes years. If the Cubs offer the most money, they will play here. If Pujols does test the FA waters and STL isnt offering enough, there will be 2 premier FA 1B available and the 2 usual suspects will be out of the running due to having premier 1B. So we're looking at the Cubs, Angels, maybe Dodgers, maybe Mets fighting for 2 guys. The Cubs are no further away from competing than any of those teams except the Angels. Are there any darkhorses out there? Maybe Florida tries to make a splash with their new stadium opening, and anticipating extra revenue. Houston typically can spend money but I doubt they are in a situation were they'd be looking at a high end FA. San Francisco could use hitters all over the field, so they might be in. Seattle? I'm just grasping at straws here.

I would guess if nothing leaks before 7am tomorrow we can assume they denyed the interview request. Just a guess though.

I hope that if/when they interview Theo they emphasize the upgraded bathrooms at Wrigley to him.

Theo will not make his decision until this thread passes the Brian Roberts thread in length. Only about 270 more pages to go. Lets do it!

Dammit, I am going to be in Indy for a wedding all weekend, otherwise I'd totally go. I have seats on the glass right by the Hawks bench for the Winnipeg game next Thursday, and 300 level seats to the Bruins game next weekend so I guess its ok if I don't go to the opener as well.

I think Boston ownership is confronted with a dilemma. Ricketts is going to offer Theo his dream job (albeit in Chicago, not Boston). Boston can offer him an extension and more money, but can they promote him substantively vs designating a fancier title? Unless Lucchino is ready to ride into the sunset, I'm not sure they can. Doesn't mean that it will happen, and Theo could be using this as leverage in Boston. Still, Ricketts will land one of his top picks. If you pass up an opportunity like this, you may never get another. Here's the thing though. Theo is established in Boston, beloved by the ownership and has a long rope with the fans even if they are antsy about the last 2 seasons. He also grew up in Boston as a Red Sox fan. His original dream was likely to play for the Red Sox, and then be the GM for the Red Sox when his athletic dreams died like they always do. The Red Sox hold a significant advantage there. He may not be able to get a higher title right now but if he sticks around Boston long enough he will get the opportunity most likely. He's not even 40 yet so he can afford to be patient. Have you seen what the public sentiment has been? Not just the insane people who comment on blogs and articles, either. The fan base seems to be indifferent at best on him leaving. The radio call in shows have been somewhere along the lines of the blog comments, too. I've listed to the radio shows. A majority seem to be ok with him leaving but aren't exactly running him out of town. Most of them respect that he was able to bring two titles and wouldn't be upset if he stays. You are right that they aren't flipping out saying 'we've gotta keep Theo' but given that they are 8 days removed from a historic Red Sox collapse that kept a heavily hyped team out of the playoffs, I can understand fans being ok with change even if it involves their highly regarded GM who has brought them 2 titles in the last 8 seasons.

I think Boston ownership is confronted with a dilemma. Ricketts is going to offer Theo his dream job (albeit in Chicago, not Boston). Boston can offer him an extension and more money, but can they promote him substantively vs designating a fancier title? Unless Lucchino is ready to ride into the sunset, I'm not sure they can. Doesn't mean that it will happen, and Theo could be using this as leverage in Boston. Still, Ricketts will land one of his top picks. If you pass up an opportunity like this, you may never get another. Here's the thing though. Theo is established in Boston, beloved by the ownership and has a long rope with the fans even if they are antsy about the last 2 seasons. He also grew up in Boston as a Red Sox fan. His original dream was likely to play for the Red Sox, and then be the GM for the Red Sox when his athletic dreams died like they always do. The Red Sox hold a significant advantage there. He may not be able to get a higher title right now but if he sticks around Boston long enough he will get the opportunity most likely. He's not even 40 yet so he can afford to be patient.

I think Boston ownership is confronted with a dilemma. Ricketts is going to offer Theo his dream job (albeit in Chicago, not Boston). Boston can offer him an extension and more money, but can they promote him substantively vs designating a fancier title? Unless Lucchino is ready to ride into the sunset, I'm not sure they can. Doesn't mean that it will happen, and Theo could be using this as leverage in Boston. Still, Ricketts will land one of his top picks. If you pass up an opportunity like this, you may never get another. Here's the thing though. Theo is established in Boston, beloved by the ownership and has a long rope with the fans even if they are antsy about the last 2 seasons. He also grew up in Boston as a Red Sox fan. His original dream was likely to play for the Red Sox, and then be the GM for the Red Sox when his athletic dreams died like they always do. The Red Sox hold a significant advantage there. He may not be able to get a higher title right now but if he sticks around Boston long enough he will get the opportunity most likely. He's not even 40 yet so he can afford to be patient.

Yeah at first I figured no response was good because it meant they were actually considering letting the Cubs interview him, but the longer this goes the longer I think that there is something going on behind the scenes like trying him to agree to an extension/promotion.

Gun laws? Seriously? Yeah he ain't coming here. The Cubs would be option #30 if that was his most important criteria

Another instance of Jerry downplaying his own team's faults. While I do agree with him that Newton played great, the defense was downright pathetic and should not have any blame alleviated. Considering we've had a history of containing much better QBs like Rodgers and Brees, there is really no excuse for such a performance on defense. I wonder if he blames the offensive line problems on the other defense "playing great". Sure the QB played great Jerry but why we he able to get so much time to throw? How many times did we sack him? What, we didn't sack him?

Giving up on Bradford already?

Can someone explain what the hell "derp" means?

lol I was just about to make a reply saying "wow LeBron AND Wade??!!?"

The Cardinals don't get to have a home field advantage because the Phillies fans also wear red, so they are used to it and aren't distracted. It's not fair.

And the Cardinals overcome almost insurmountable circumstances such as shadows and messed up body clocks to win.

Damn, I thought we'd get at least 2 hours out of that airplane to Boston rumor. Thanks for blowing it David.

Why would they fly to Boston anyways unless it was to pick Theo up to go back to Chicago? I would assume they'd want Theo to come to Wrigley, see the offices, etc etc. Hmm then again, given how crappy the Cubs offices are said to be, maybe they don't want him to see it

He's not 31. He's 33 in 18 days. It's not a random decline, either. He has been steadily declining the past 3-4 years and this year, which also happens to be when he's oldest (duh), was awful. Don't buy that this is a decline at age 32. 28: 3.01 ERA, 3.54 FIP 29: 3.75 ERA, 4.53 FIP 30: 3.83 ERA, 3.73 FIP 31: 4.40 ERA, 3.85 FIP 32: 6.41 ERA, 4.71 FIP It doesn't seem like much of a decline at all until this year's drastic jump in ERA, which seems a little flukey. His ERA went up last year moving from LA to Bostn, but the FIP was nearly the same. He had a very similar FIP at 29 and had a much lower ERA. I mean its possible he's in a steep decline. He's been pitching 200 innings a year for 8 years. But I don't think the stats give us any conclusive evidence as to an on going decline other than his age, which is by no means old enough to expect a decline. *Also I will admit that I might be abusing the FIP stat a bit as I only know basic information about the stat and it's application so its possible I drew an incorrect conclusion.

I think Cam Newton has the most passing yards on the season than every QB they've played this year, so I think that's a reasonable excuse if the other 3 games are 'slight excuses' as you said. All that said, I agree with your overall sentiment about the D being extremely disapointing so far this year.

lol 26 grams is not even an ounce. That's a felony?