UMFan83

Don't forget his Baker-esque 'gotta play my vets' attitude during August and September.

At the time I thought it was, and even subsequent replays look like it could be fan interference, but at the same time I don't think you could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that it was fan interference. Its close enough that I don't mind that it wasn't called that. I mean I would have loved for it to have been called fan interference, but I'm not angry at that call.

I think that mindset is completely outdated. You win through the air. There is no point in running when you can't and are down big. It would be nice to have a better running game, but the problem is not that they aren't calling for it enough. It's that they aren't good enough. Yeah but they also are not a good enough team to pass 40 times a game either. They don't have a line that can block a 3-4 man rush long enough and they don't have receivers that can consistantly get open when the defense is dropping 7-8 back. You can point out that the Bears moved the ball by passing the last 2 games but at the end of the day the ended up with 13 and 17 points scored. It's my opinion that the Bears NEED at least some balance if they are to have any shot at a coherent offense. If the opponents drop back 7 guys every play because the Bears are that predictable on offense they are going to have trouble scoring points, especially when the field shortens in the red zone.

so the 1st 10 minutes and 5 minutes toward the end is almost half? The director grew up a Red Sox fan, and the scapegoating ties between Buckner and Bartman is what interested him in the project.

A lack of care plus basic human kindness. What're they gonna say anyway? "I work with Steve Bartman. We file papers together and stuff. He's really nice. He was once part of a group of people who failed to pull in a foul ball in an important baseball game, if you aren't aware." Well yeah. Steve Bartman is almost a mythical figure now seeing as there is almost no information on Steve Bartman anywhere on the internet, despite everyone wanting to hear the guys story, or hear what he's been doing since that day, etc. You'd think someone would have an encounter, however minor, with Bartman and snap a cell phone picture or write about the encounter and it would pop up online. A site like Deadspin thrives on exposing stuff like this and even they could only get a 15 year old picture of his face. Although, I do have to reconsider whether I'm overreacting to how much people want to hear from this guy when I post about this on here and read 2 different poster's first or second hand stories about him in an hour.

Also, I completely respect Steve for how he handled the situation once he left Wrigley, but at the same time I wonder about whether the "Steve Bartman play" would have the same mistique if somewhere around the way Bartman caved and went on TV to talk about it. If he had an interview where he told the world everything about him and who he is and how the play happened, I am not sure ESPN has the same obsession with writing about him. I'm sure there would still be an emphasis on the "Bartman play" and how it effeted the Cubs chances of winning but it wouldn't be nearly as big of a deal as it is now.

An actual picture of Steve Bartman from another (happier) day in his life: http://fastcache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/11/2011/09/xlarge_bartmancircle.jpg Deadspin makes a great point. It's amazing that in this internet age we live in that there has been absolutely no photos caught of Bartman since the game, and no stories of run ins with Bartman. Maybe people don't recognize him without the hat and headphones, I don't know. But given that he is said to have a desk job at an office in the suburbs that he drives to and from everyday, its amazing that no one that he works with has said anything about him at any point. I can understand most co-workers respecting his wishes, but someone on the other side of the office that doesn't know Steve or his department, what's to stop them from sharing a Bartman sighting story?

Not to mention we'd be 1-3 with almost half our home schedule already played.

Maybe they should let him throw in the pen for the majority of the game in case that opportunity arises.

http://therealmeangirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/the-end.jpg

Just because one season doesn't work out in favor of 2 WCs doesnt mean it should be scrapped. Right now the NL Wild Card will be decided by one team playing a 100 loss team and another playing a 100 win team. Wouldn't you rather see them settle it against each other? Plus you can't even really look at it the same as if the season was played with 2 WCs in each league at play. Maybe the Giants don't play a bunch of young players or stick with their regular rotation if they are within striking distance of the WC with a week left. Maybe a team that's on the fringe of the WC race in July makes a couple of trades knowing they can get back into the race.

Are you going to use it on a NSBB Premium membership?

No wonder Byrd only has 35 RBIs this year, the dude wants to swing at everything when there is a runner on base.

BTW, in case anyone was wondering, I believe home field for tiebreaker games is now settled by record against the 2 teams. If that is in fact the case, Red Sox-Rays would be in Tampa, and Cardinals-Braves would be in St. Louis

Looks like the AL and NL Wild Card races will be tied going into the final game of the season.

The guy that really blew the Cubs season gets to go on TV and casually discuss the game while Bartman has to hide forever.

Ryan Theriot gives the Cardinals the lead with a 2 RBI triple. This is all Carlos Marmol's fault.

I think its starting to be clear that the Braves choke is just as bad as the Red Sox. Red Sox are 7-19 in their last 26, Braves are 8-17 in their last 25

Theo just dumped his relator in Chicago.

It's not the first time a team has made a trade for a better than marginal major league player in mid-to-late September. In 2008 the Brewers traded for Todd Coffey down the stretch, and he pitched in multiple games, helping the Brewers win the Wild Card and then sitting out the playoffs. He went on to spend 2 full seasons in Milwaukee, with a nice sub-3.00 ERA in 2009.

it's not the first time. Remember Lou Piniella to Tampa Bay? Hell there were rumors about Guillen being traded to the Marlins last season. I think Mike Stanton was the name rumored to go to Chicago.

I don't know why I'm posting this because its not an idea based on anything, just a speculation article. Dan Szymborski writes that the Red Sox are exploring the possibility of trading for a starter to start game 162 instead of pitching Lackey on 3 days rest. In that list he suggests Zambrano: http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7023605/boston-red-sox-trade-options-final-day I doubt this would ever even be considered, given that he couldnt play in the postseason, but if their was interest it might be the best chance to get rid of him without eating much money as the Red Sox are in a position of desperation.

All day? They tried 9 times (and 2 cutler scrambles) and abandoned it. They were down by double digits in the first half itself and Forte was averaging less than 0.5 yard per carry. Thank goodness they abandoned it when they did. Now, Martz called some inexplicably dumb pass plays given the quality of the line and receivers but that's a different argument. Have you never seen a team struggle with the run for a chunk of the game and eventually find some holes, wear down the D and finish with a decent game? I just think that balance is very important. I didn't see the game so I don't know how GB was aligning defensively in the 2nd half but I'd imagine they were dropping 7-8 guys back into pass coverage. Granted the Bears were down double digits the majority of the game, so its more understandable than last week but 9 carries is extremely low for an NFL team. In fact, the Bears had the lowest number of rushing yards in a game since 1954 yesterday, and only because of Jay Cutler scrambling did they avoid having the lowest in NFL history. That said, I'm not too upset about it, because like I said, being down 14 points early causes you to change your game plan. As does getting 0.5 YPC on the ground. But there needs to be more emphasis in general on the running game. It doesn't have to be 50-50 every game, but there should be enough to throw the defense off a little. The Bears won't win many games throwing as often as they have, and it shows, having scored 13 and 17 points the last 2 weeks.

I am ok with just taking the 4 best teams, seeding them, and holding a playoffs, but to do so they have to balance the schedules. As of now, divisions make sense because you play the other teams in your division for almost half of your games. So if you play in a division that has 3-4 decent teams that beat up on each other, you might have a 87 win team that finishes 1st and has the worst record of all playoff teams. I think its fair that the division champion should be rewarded with a playoff spot. As far as the existance of divisions, it does seem to create a lot more excitement, and due to geographical closeness seems to really create and maintain rivalries. There are some negatives of course but nothing is going to be perfect.

All day? They tried 9 times (and 2 cutler scrambles) and abandoned it.