23sharks

Same here. Hopefully he gets it going soon. This team is so far away from being good....the lack of a closer being just a small part of the problem....

Definitely!! Why not just let him play everyday the next 10 games or so? Get tired of the platoon thing, especially when one guy is on fire, and the other side of the platoon is doing squat. There's a really good chance that one guy in the platoon is "on fire" largely because of the platoon. Continue to play to his strengths. Yeah, I get that, but throw him out there against some lefties and see how he does. Maybe find out he never got enough of a chance to prove he can play everyday. They have nothing to lose, and maybe a lot to gain by trying it.....

He's dropped off so far the past couple of years. Some people out here implying he is a major pot head, and that it's contributed a lot to his downfall.

Definitely!! Why not just let him play everyday the next 10 games or so? Get tired of the platoon thing, especially when one guy is on fire, and the other side of the platoon is doing squat.

Prepare to be annoyed a lot this season. Yeah, no kidding. Even if things went/go well this wasn't/isn't going to be a very impressive offense. Definitely. This season could be really ugly. Top 3 pick in 2014!!!!

Got home yesterday just in time for the fun stuff.....the 8th inning. Turned on the TV, saw they were up, thought I could enjoy the rest of their win. Called my Uncle and said I'm going to test my theory that I'm their jinx, that they really couldn't lose this game, could they???? Good news is I won't watch today.....so Shark probably throws a perfect game...... Seriously though, totally frustrating......

Nice of you guys to post this info. Come home, get to check in one spot and get caught up. Much appreciated

DONNNNNNTTTTTT CAARREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Exactly! Who gives a rat's ass??!! Grab some bench. just observin I hear you. Wasn't being a smart ass to you, just already tired of Marmol, and it's only the 1st game!!

DONNNNNNTTTTTT CAARREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Exactly! Who gives a rat's ass??!! Grab some bench.

Same old Marmol

And yet Pirate pitchers threw 140 pitches. Can't force balls to be out of the zone. Thanks. Not able to watch today, so following on the computer.

Just looking at the Cubs hitting stats...15 K's and only 1 walk??!!

Didn't some scrub get close to a no-hitter one year? Remembering stuff is hard. Guzman, years ago...

Because many people can't reconcile "summer in California" with "cold". Yeah, I live about 50 miles from the park, and it can be 90 here, and 50 at the stadium. It's crazy. AT&T is a hell of a lot better than Candlestick was though.....

LOL. Classic!!!

I like the move. This has been a much better offseason than last year. Nice to see them making some good moves.

Agreed, assuming they sign similar deals I'd rather have him than Dempster. With the SP market dwindling and Greinke still out there it looks like Jackson could wind up taking only a 3 year deal. Dempster apparently turned down a 2 year $25M deal from Boston......

I think that's the problem.....how do you REALLY know who did them and who didn't? To me, Bonds and Clemens were HOF's before I think they actually started using....Just using doesn't turn an average player into a great one, but it can help turn an already great player like Bonds into a freak. I heard someone mention that you just let them all in, the great ones, and just note that they played in the steroid era.....Maybe that's the best solution....Or you get stuck trying to guess who was juicing and who wasn't....

First of all, glad Sveum is ok......The 2nd thing thing that came to mind was that if something like this happens, it doesn't surprise me at all that it happens to the Cubs...

Yeah, I just had this same conversation with another Cubs fan. It probably seems like more funky things happen to the team you follow, both on and off the field, because you are paying a lot more attention to all the moves they make.

Yeah, they've been on fire since the all star break. I'd love to see them win it all.

Drunk Mark Grace being in a one man car wreck, now that's entertainment. LOL. I'd like to hear him every day too. Krukow and Kuiper aren't bad out here in San Jose.

No one is going to tolerate this thing going beyond next year. And I don't think they'll have to. I hope you're right, but they have a LOT of work to do before they are competitive. They need at least 4 more good everyday players, a couple of starters, and a few relievers. With most of their top prospects in the lower levels, they probably won't get much immediate help there either. I'd like to believe they'll get it together soon rather than later, but I think it's gonna take at least a couple more years. Seeing as how they are doing pretty well at 5 of them, I'm not sure how they need 4 (in the short term, that is). If they just fill the black hole that is CF, they will be in much better shape in terms of the position players. As for a couple of starters, I'm pretty confident that will be addressed this offseason. They need an entire OF and a 3rd baseman. Soriano did better than anyone could expect, but he isn't going to be part of this team when they are actually able to contend. Castro-Rizzo-Castillo-Shark are the only obvious good players on this team. Barney is ok, and would be fine on a team that had a bunch of good hitters in the lineup. Nobody knows how bad Garza's injury is. The bullpen was a mess most of the year. I want them to turn this around as much as anybody, but I'm just being realistic, there are a ton of holes that need to be filled.

At some point, Epstein has to take the blame for either the 2012 Red Sox or Cubs. He can't dodge both. He takes blame for the 2012 Cubs. You don't get to take a dive and then dodge the criticism for all the losses you caused by fielding a horrible team. Completely agree.

No one is going to tolerate this thing going beyond next year. And I don't think they'll have to. I hope you're right, but they have a LOT of work to do before they are competitive. They need at least 4 more good everyday players, a couple of starters, and a few relievers. With most of their top prospects in the lower levels, they probably won't get much immediate help there either. I'd like to believe they'll get it together soon rather than later, but I think it's gonna take at least a couple more years.