UMFan83

How about he steps into one?

I hate to hear "runners moving" with 0 outs...even if Mr. DP himself is up.

I would rather have 7 Todd Hundleys, 6 Jim Edmonds' and 12 Mel Rojas' on my team that 1 Jason Marquis among an otherwise solid team.

Hmm. The walks have been a smidge down. Interesting, considering we're winning. Because we've been hitting. But as we know (see 2003-2006 Cubs), the hits don't always come

Why don't the Cubs walk anymore?

Woah, just because I try not to get sky high when things are going good doesn't mean I'm always a pessimist. I'm just not one of those guys that say "OMG we are for certain the best team in the NL and on June 2nd I can definitively say that we are talented enough to ensure a World Series appearance". OK, I am generally a pessimist, but I am not outright dismissing the Cubs chances in October. I am basically saying that all things equal, the playoffs are a crapshoot, and pitching is the one thing that can quantify a team's chances in October. So instead of hoping that Soriano happens to not be in one of his 2-30 spells when the playoffs arrive, I'd rather know I can count on having 2 lock down starters in October who consistently pitch to the best hitters in baseball. Look, the list of teams that have started out equally hot or more as the Cubs and flopped either before the playoffs or in the postseason is numerous. Do you know how many 100 win teams this decade have crapped out in the first round of the playoffs? It's more than a couple. The 2007 Mets, the previous years NLCS loser, and loaded with talent, started out 37-21. Sound familiar? I know these posts are going to make me seem like the board's doom and gloom guy. I really am enjoying the Cubs play, and I'm not trying to bring anyone down. They really can win the World Series this year. But I am a realist, and I know that teams like the 2002 Red Sox, who started 42-15 and didn't make the playoffs, the 1977 Cubs (47-22), the 69 Cubs, etc etc have been there before and let their fans down. I look at the Cubs starters as not good enough, and I think its essential that we pick up a front line starter to ensure we have a good October.

If there were any semblance of logic in the O's front office, we would have Roberts. Can't really blame Stone for not foreseeing that kind of stupidity. Big mistake by them. Anyway, Hendry has a history of getting major deals done when the Cubs are legit contenders at the deadline (last year notwithstanding). With the Cubs on the cusp of a possible championship season, I could see him giving up whatever it takes (if he has enough, that is) to attempt to secure that championship. We'll see. Possibly. Hendry has never been in a position where he was overwhelmingly ahead of a playoff spot, which is where he would be if the Cubs kept winning at a decent clip. I could easily see Hendry being content with a team that is playing at a 103 win pace and assume that if its good enough to win in the regular season, its good enough to win in October, which we all know its not. I have to take issue with the bolded. It's good enough to win now, and it's good enough to win in October, especially if we have home field advantage. Adding a pitcher would just further improve those chances. Ehhh...I don't know. It could win. I just can't see us matching up against Webb and Haren four times in a possible 5 game series with Zambrano, Lilly and Dempster. The Cubs face a pitcher the caliber of Webb or Haren maybe twice a month in the regular season. In the playoffs, they will be facing them much more frequently. Not to steal a stereotype (especially one that has been proven wrong on a few occasions), but pitching wins in October. I'm not discrediting the fact that the Cubs could win as currently assembled, but at this point, I wouldn't put us as the unanimous favorites in the NL. We're right up there, but I think the DBacks, despite their slippage, and the Phillies are still right up there. At this point we basically have to hope that we are the hottest team coming into October.

If there were any semblance of logic in the O's front office, we would have Roberts. Can't really blame Stone for not foreseeing that kind of stupidity. Big mistake by them. Anyway, Hendry has a history of getting major deals done when the Cubs are legit contenders at the deadline (last year notwithstanding). With the Cubs on the cusp of a possible championship season, I could see him giving up whatever it takes (if he has enough, that is) to attempt to secure that championship. We'll see. Possibly. Hendry has never been in a position where he was overwhelmingly ahead of a playoff spot, which is where he would be if the Cubs kept winning at a decent clip. I could easily see Hendry being content with a team that is playing at a 103 win pace and assume that if its good enough to win in the regular season, its good enough to win in October, which we all know its not.

Can Brian Roberts be a frontline starter? Adam Dunn? I am not used to needing pitching (or at least being set with offense)

i dunno. he is a pretty damn good hitter, one of the best in the league... most people don't realize it though, because he plays in a small market with a cavernous home park. Agreed. Though I think his point was, no one gets the better of the Carlos' and lives to tell about it.

Hmmm... :-k

some of the rare sounds of Padres fans Are you sure those weren't Cubs fans? :)

If Moises starts (talking), urine trouble

The Trib reports Fuku will not play today, as Lou has given him the day off to be with his wife and child, who just arrived in the US. Predictions? -DeRosa in right, Cedeno at 2B? -Hoffpaiur in right?

BTW, thank God for no Barretgasm last night

^^ I have something similar here. Youtube is not banned, but they track the usage of Youtube videos. If the number of clicks gets too high, they claim that people are taking advantage of the internet, and will ban all Youtube websites.

Marmol is so awesome. Last week, Marmol didn't want to burden Kerry Wood with facing the heart of the Dodgers order so he walked the bases loaded and faced them himself. This week, in a completely selfless act, Marmol decided that A) the Cubs mediocre 8-7 record in 1 run games was not good enough, and B) Kerry Wood needed to pad his record with a few saves in order to get All Star consideration, preceded to allow Adrian Gonzalez to hit a 3 run home run to pull the Padres to within 1 run before having Kerry come in and get the save. Thanks Carlos!

Ifthe Cubs don't want to lose Marmol, they need to stop getting 4 run leads.

I don't know. He had a .290 BA /.740 OPS into mid August last year before fading. But no one was buying that fading excuse on this board last winter. He still has absolutely no range.

Where have I seen that play before? Lee with 11 GIDPs this year...

Is this Terry Adams? :)

Deep meaning shallow LCF?

Edmonds was over the mendoza line before that out

The Fukudome hit did?

Apparently Bill Hall's agent has requested a trade for Bill. Interesting.