UMFan83

Todays pics: Lou finally saw Z's moustache: http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090214%2Fcapt.80be9ddbe8b64adcb473bb567585870d.cubs_spring_baseball_azmg106.jpg And then he goes over and shows Marmol: http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090214%2Fcapt.84486cac2207457b94a424c55c99630e.cubs_spring_baseball_azmg105.jpg The aforementioned Rich Harden beard shot: http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/380,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090214%2Fcapt.a95b3b2d10494f9b93dbb17a3a29f9df.cubs_spring_baseball_azmg104.jpg You'd never be able to figure this out but this is Mike Stanton throwing: http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/345,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090214%2Fcapt.0d34874a616649ecab1fad9cd4fff4ba.aptopix_cubs_spring_baseball_azmg103.jpg Artistic shot of scrappy mc scrapperson (Theriot) through a fan's sunglasses: http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/397,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090214%2Fcapt.6d72dd6754ce42c8a80638925352ce60.cubs_spring_baseball_azmg101.jpg How Taguchi is he? (someone hit me for saying that): http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090214%2Fcapt.8cdbfd22640b42f78dd0011a73844acc.cubs_spring_baseball_azmg102.jpg

Dude. How can you forget the Jalen Rose era? I don't think Thomas was that iffy. We were a playoff team and it looked like we could take on a project because after all, we just signed super-stud, Ben Wallace. Aldridge was definitely a sure thing or NBA ready according to most scouts. Thabo obviously sucks, but who else should we have gotten in hindsight? Jalen Rose never made the All Star team as a Bull. MJ is our last All Star. At least we don't have the longest drought. Golden State's last All Star was Latrell Spreewell in 1997. I don't know who the Bulls should have gotten. It's not my job to be a talent evaluator. I actually didn't hate the Thabo pick. He was a tall guard that had a lot of reach, and one of our biggest problems at the time was defending large guards. Thabo looked like he could do a bit of everything, and I don't think he was picked to become a starter. Maybe a 6th or 7th man. If you want to look at players drafted after Thabo you have Rondo, Farmar, Sergio Rodriguez, Craig Smith, Daniel Gibson, Paul Milsap. But I don't blame the Bulls for not taking any of them, the point was that Thabo was a draft pick that didn't work out.

Explain. He didn't pull off any coups, but he didn't do anything unforgivable either. Even Tyrus/Aldridge isn't looking terrible. Thabo? Philly drafted Thabo and then traded him to the Bulls for Rodney Carney Yeah it was a prearranged deal because Pax wanted him and wanted to make sure he got him.

Explain. He didn't pull off any coups, but he didn't do anything unforgivable either. Even Tyrus/Aldridge isn't looking terrible. Thabo? Thomas was an iffy pick because the Bulls were in a position to hypothetically contend that year and what they really needed was a NBA ready PF, not a 2-3 year mega-project SF.

What is it with the Blues and Kings this year? We can't seem to beat them!

The link on the last post but here it is: http://www.cubsaz.com/journal/journal.php

Also, there are some quotes from Lou at this link. His key quote is "We're going to get it done", of course referring to the World Series drought. http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_hardball/2009/02/piniella-were-going-to-get-it-done.html There is a sweet video on the sidebar of a Dan Roan sports report from Mesa. Scroll past the Paxson talk, and there are some videos of Z, Samardzija, Geo and Gaudin warming up. Gaudin is rocking a Drew Gooden/Reed Johnson style beard

Now with Cubs pictures! Z! http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/345,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090213%2Fcapt.b2afa6d1c15f45adb6dd269200c85e64.cubs_spring_baseball_azmg106.jpg http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090213%2Fcapt.c160782bb7394de6aca36c622aff6b69.cubs_spring_baseball_azmg107.jpg Lilly http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090213%2Fcapt.8011e028dbc246d4a91cab5214f00698.cubs_spring_baseball_azmg105.jpg Lou and Hendry http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090213%2Fcapt.f72f4f44028b48cb9890347ee69bc169.cubs_spring_baseball_azmg104.jpg http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090213%2Fcapt.55a328144e844410943948ddf53e69a1.cubs_spring_baseball_azmg101.jpg http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/345,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090213%2Fcapt.5cc2e56147b74e9085720e6d8289309a.cubs_spring_baseball_azmg103.jpg http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090213%2Fcapt.a508f5ede9d04380b37042cfd2897631.cubs_spring_baseball_azmg102.jpg

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20090213/i/r1798498898.jpg http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20090213/i/r1254635001.jpg http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20090213/i/r3233684725.jpg

did someone say he lost weight? He looks like he did. He was getting pretty chunky at the end of last year. Here he was in the playoff last year (warning, bad memories ahead): http://www1.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Chicago+Cubs+v+Los+Angeles+Dodgers+Game+3+5JRCiRRpj-Gl.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=314&size=550x550_mb&ptp_photo_id=6159789 I realize I am just showing pictures of his ass, but that's the best I can find (sadly the only Geo NLDS pictures you can find are where the Dodgers players are scoring yet another run :( ), and he definitely looks beefier.

I forgot to check Cubsaz.com. He's got some pictures from yesterday as several players including Geo, Gathright, Koyie Hill, Guzman, Gaudin, Fox worked out. I have tremendous respect for his blog and his exclusive pictures, so I am not going to post them all, but hopefully it will be alright to post one as a teaser. The one........ The only......... GEOVANY SOTO http://www.boysofspring.com/journal/G%20S.jpg Complete pictures here http://www.cubsaz.com/journal/journal.php

Hard to tell but that's new Brave, and Cubs playoff jerkoff Derek Lowe http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090213%2Fcapt.815785e30fd74b60accaeb34373fc115.braves_spring_baseball_fldp107.jpg See? http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090213%2Fcapt.3e8bed0c89264a98abf53cb2707c7684.braves_spring_baseball_fldp106.jpg Where's Nick Johnson going to play this year with Dunn on the team? http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090213%2Fcapt.b885042b133144378277474cad7b0129.nationals_baseball_spring_preview_wx111.jpg Cubs tormentor Jeff Francoeur http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090213%2Fcapt.085d7ed887ec463796506b9c87747438.braves_spring_baseball_fldp108.jpg

I don't understand this at all. The Cubs are clearly the best team in the division. They've even added distance between them and the next best team. How can you not be excited? This team on paper is better than last's years team at this point. because outside of the 5th starter spot, there isn't much to pay attention to. Spring Training is 3x longer than it needs to be, and it's hard to get excited about baseball until we're a lot closer to the season. Who cares if it's 3 times too long? What are you going to do start the season in mid-March? I am a baseball fanatic. When baseball is on, I am watching. When the offseason arrives, I fall into a cocoon and hibernate with lesser sports like football and basketball to get me by. By early February, I am dying to get any glimpse of my summer warriors on a baseball field. You could start Spring Training on November 1st and I would be fine with it.

Hush you. Come on Ben! And then we need a stop.. Looks like I spoke too soon!

Looks like you all spoke too soon.

Carmona http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090212%2Fcapt.d16b73f6a6664b96a7f58bfcac00a9ec.indians_spring_baseball_azpc104.jpg V-Mart http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090212%2Fcapt.98e5603a0b0b492b877222b61f2e9986.indians_spring_baseball_azpc103.jpg

Wood throwing http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090212%2Fcapt.abb49b131cc5421f98c082d8cf08ef0a.indians_spring_baseball_azpc101.jpg

Ugh... http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/345,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090212%2Fcapt.d854834a5584476e824244e867f6c30a.indians_spring_baseball_azpc105.jpg DeRosa talking to Wood :(

Brewers fans are usually a noticable minority at Brewers/Cubs games already. Not as much as Cubs fans at Miller Park, but its not hard to find a Brewers fan at Wrigley.

The Brian Roberts thread lived until Opening Day. So long as this thread doesn't go off the deep end, we'll let this go till then. Yeah but there were still reports up until the last week that there was hope of a deal getting done. There hasn't been any sort of report in a week.

Figured I would start this. Since the Cubs don't report until tomorrow, we'll do pictures of some of the teams that reported today/early: Jeter and co. http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20090212/i/r1775657979.jpg Jeter meeting Burnett http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20090212/i/r4208320493.jpg Nick "no longer the enemy" Swisher and Burnett http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20090212/i/r3816003397.jpg Roy Halladay http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20090212/i/r2051732735.jpg More Jays http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20090212/i/r3184451249.jpg And more http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20090212/i/r3846891505.jpg I'm not over 2003 douchebag http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/345,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090212%2Fcapt.03411a330a704876a0b534bf99829a42.red_sox_spring_training_baseball_flsr103.jpg Clay Bucholtz http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/345,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090212%2Fcapt.bd1d73d51b974e86b229b92a24495811.red_sox_spring_baseball_flsr102.jpg Aaron Hill http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20090212/i/r598786339.jpg Looks like fun http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090212%2Fcapt.d08dfc2bc312483d8ed7f01b20166446.red_sox_spring_baseball_flsr105.jpg Please feel free to post more as they come along, especially Cubs tomorrow.

^ I agree the pregames are fun there, and a large part is because of the Yawkey Way experience. I really hope they build the triangle building at Wrigley and do something similar. Right now the bars are the pregame spots, and I doubt that would change with the triangle building. The people who want to get hammered will still get hammered. But for those that want to go for the baseball, being able to get there early, enter the area thats blocked off to non-ticket holders and going to the shops and buying food from food stands would be pretty fun. You can also incorporate some of the new age ballpark features like a Kids zone and batting cages or whatever without defiling the actual ballpark.

From my memory there aren't really too many "bad seats" at Fenway unless you are behind a pole. The seats are cramped as hell and don't angle towards the field though for the most part.

I was the one that vouched for Gilbert at the top part of the list. His numbers when healthy compared favorably to the numbers Kobe was putting up during the same stretch. His advanced metrics look good too. It's definitely arguable though. Not sure about Al Jeff. I think he has some issues on defense. Rising star for sure though and could easily be on the top list if not now very soon.

I don't think it would be about that. From the articles that came out a couple weeks ago on those business websites, it sounds like he just can't afford it Well that's what I meant. Why would he buy the Cubs if he couldn't maintain the team as it is. He saw the books, he knows the Cubs have a large payroll and several long term contracts to deal with. Well nobody said anything about reducing payroll. We're talking about adding more big contracts Right now we are. If Rich Harden pitches awesome this year and the economy is still in the crapper, does the new owner resign him or replace his salary? That's the stuff that worries me The good news is I think he is the only halfway decent FA after 2009