dalgreen

Nightmare scenario of course. But in my opinion, it's not going to happen. I think Jim made it somewhat clear that he was appreciative of what Neifi did AS A FILL-IN. I do not believe he will consider Neifi for the starter, unless they fill out the rest of the roster to productivity capacity. I'm not so sure. Dusty was absolutely thrilled with Neifi's "contribution" this year and absent Furcal I'd bet Hendry would cave and give Dusty what he wants(more Neifi). Personally I don't think Furcal will be worth what he's going to get, but I'm inclined to believe one reason Hendry will get in the Furcal bidding is to avoid an ugly fight with Dusty over resigning Neifi. What is it that makes you think Hendry doesn't want these types of players like Perez and Macias, but just "gives in" to Dusty? For crying out loud, he was after Jeromy Burnitz back in 2003 when Patterson got hurt.

That would be great but can he play the OF? Would he want to? Does he have the arm to? Not everybody can play every position. Wasn't he a punter? Punters can do anything they put their mind to. He was a QB at Tennessee.

That would be great but can he play the OF? Would he want to? Does he have the arm to? Not everybody can play every position. I understand your point, but the Cubs have had several bad leftfielders over the past 25 years that I've been watching them. I think Helton can play left; I think he's a very good athlete, and not because he was a Division I QB.

Welcome aboard!

Let me at this time reiterate my plan to trade for Todd Helton and put him in left field. And, yes, without hesitation, I would give up one or two top prospects in return.

That is truly amazing. I can't help wondering what that lineup would look like if Dusty Baker had managed Atlanta for the last 10 years. I think you guys are giving our homegrown talent too much credit. Who have we had that is on the same talent level as the ones listed above for the Braves? I think we've gotten our great minor league system shoved down our throats for so long that we just believed it. Shouldn't Kelton and Jackson be ready by now (I know about Jackson's injuries--- but you get my point)? And, I'm already down on Harvey. It says something when Murton, who's not a product of ours, is one of our best prospects already.

Back then a lot of fans were just happy to have won the division, so Durham wasn't going to get the "Bartman" treatment. I do seem to remember he did get some hate mail, though. I also remember in 1985 or 1986 his brother dying and I don't think he ever really recovered from that.

I wonder why age has to matter? There have been tons of crappy 40-55 year old GM's in baseball. To hit home, how old were Larry Himes and Ed Lynch?

Or it could be some stupid official scorer calling an obvious error a hit and thus charging 5 earned runs to the starter instead of 0.

His teams win because (at least while in St. Louis) because they have good players. Had that idiot Hernandez not swung at balls 1, 2 and 3 against a struggling Izzy, Nunez's play wouldn't have come into question. LaRussa makes some great calls and makes some lousy ones. I don't know if you get to see him on a regular basis or not, but he makes many head-scratching decisions. For one, starting Morris over Suppan in game 3. Right now, Suppan is their best pitcher and he may not throw one pitch in the NLDS. On another note, why were people surprised that Sanders got a 3-0 green light? Don't you normally give your 3-5 hitters the 3-0 green light? I could see the surprise if you gave your lead-off or 8th place hitter the green light, but not the 5th hitter.

But are Red Sox fans acting any differently than we Cub fans will when we win the World Series? I don't blame their fans for acting cocky. But I can't stand Cardinal fans who act like their entitled to a world championship.

What does the number of titles have to do with it? I can't see many Cubs fans feeling any connection to the Sox' run. The jersey says "Chicago," but they may as well be from another planet. The number of titles (in basketball), to me, has a lot to do with the rivalry of those two schools. At least they both can spout off how good their teams are/ have been when bragging about it. It was just my opinion that since it's been years and years and years since either the Cubs or Sox have won a world championship I just thought after a certain amount of decades both fans would be like, "Well, I hate them but I would like to see a championship." Plus, unlike NY and LA, in Chicago you don't have multiple teams in other sports. Chicago fans are pretty much united for the other teams the other six months of the year. I was just trying to understand the hatred on both sides when both teams have had too long of a drought, but I guess you have to have lived in Chicago to fully understand, and I respect that.

Gotcha.

I'd compare it to the type of hatred seen often in college sports. You don't see Kentucky fans running to support Louisville's tourney runs for the "good of the state." Considering the number of national championships theyboth have had since 1980 and not since 1918, I can understand the Louisville/UK hatred. Plus, their rivalry probably would extend to football, volleyball, track, baseball, etc. I don't know if that's a fair comparison.

I'd love to see that, but I think it was Dalgreen who pointed out LaRussa is a Dusty clone when it comes to veterans. He did give Haren some key bullpen innings in the playoffs last year, but Haren had considerably more MLB experience. Reyes was pretty much the only K guy out of the pen and Anthony Reyes is the closest shot to replace that. Larussa gave Haren a chance, and Ankiel. He also gave Pujols a shot, pretty much right off the bat. He's also used Brad Thompson alot this year, and will likely have one or two rookies (Reyes and/or Thompson) on the post-season roster. So Larussa isn't as stuck on veterans as you might think. I didn't say that LaRussa is a clone of Dusty when it comes to veterans. I said he's a clone when it comes to being loyal to a fault. There's no reason why Suppan shouldn't be starting game three instead of Morris. Suppan would've sat last year if Carpenter hadn't gotten hurt. For the record, Pujols only made the team out of spring training in 2000 because Bobby Bonilla (veteran) was placed on the disabled list at the end of spring training. LaRussa has said many times that he gives the edge to vets because you know what you're getting. The same ludicrous statement that Baker has made.

I'm honestly looking to understand this Cub/White Sox stuff. I have no allegiance to the city of Chicago. I'm not from there nor was I born there. The only real connection I have to it is that I'm married to a Chicago girl. I grew up in Central Illinois where the White Sox were considered just another team. The real hatred was reserved for the Cardinals. My question is, why don't Chicago baseball fans root for the other guys to win the World Series or at least to get to it? Shouldn't Chicago fans just want a World Series parade to be held in Chicago? I think it's absolutely pathetic that Chicago has two baseball teams and yet no world champs in more than eighty-five years and one team cities like St. Louis, Minneapolis and Miami (South Florida) have had more parades. Is it that you hate the fans and they'd rub it in? Or what? After all, for the other six months of the year all of Chicago is united with the Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks. Just trying to understand, that's all.

Big blow. I think he and Tavares have been their best two men out of the pen.

I don't think it was a "buffer" against anything. McGwire was introduced. If there were going to be boos, then that would have been the appropriate time. I honestly don't think that McGwire gives two shakes if somebody wants to boo him. Heck, he was embarrassed when he left the game, because of the way he was playing. He knows he's not perfect. He's a happy man now. The game doesn't consume him like it does some of you, and it never will. The vast majority of Cardinal fans love McGwire. I know a few who don't, also. I know fans who hate Ozzie Smith. I know fans who hate Larussa. I know fans who rip Pujols every time he has a bad week. We call them "the Whaction". You can't possibly take them seriously. When did McGwire "lie", and how do you know he lied? And what makes you think that every player that's ever played the game hasn't told a lie? Why is it SO hard for you to stomach the fact that the vast majority of Cardinal fans love McGwire? Why can't you just let people decide for themselves who they want to applaud? It's presumptuos of you to think that everybody should hate him for the reasons that you do. Let people decide for themselves........ I don't think you live in St. Louis. If you did then you wouldn't say "the vast majority of people love McGwire. I think the majority of Cardinal sheep like him, but don't love him. Just because 50,000 fans cheered him doesn't mean the vast majority of Cardinal fans love him. I'll trust you, take a poll of only 250 random Cardinal fans from "Cardinal nation" and I guarantee you the "vast majority" won't say they "love" McGwire. Since you love McGwire, you should also love Garry Templeton. He only flipped off the fans behind the Cardinal dugout who were cursing at him, and could've been using racial epithets. Do you construe that as a mistake or would fans have booed him?

Man, it's a good thing I know some objective Cardinal fans who think McGwire is a cheat because you are exhibiting the general "homer" that is known as a Cardinal fan. Everything is okay if you've ever worn the birds on the bat and spoke highly of the city or called its fans "the best in baseball". I can't find one place where anyone has said that McGwire is a horrible human being, not one. He's not a perfect human being and he definitely isn't a bad human being. All I believe I've ever said is that he is a cheater and lied about his use of steroids. I don't know why you equate that to people saying he's a bad human being. I love how he was the only one, I believe, not to ride around in the car to tear down the number. He conveniently popped out of the gate near the sign with wife and child in hand. Now, maybe he wanted his family to experience this great moment, but the large majority of the others did it without their families. Was it a buffer against the possible boos? Inquiring minds want to know.

I really don't get it. Dusty has a fetish for veteran players yet our GM feeds his fetish by getting him vets.... and not just vets, but mediocre to bad vets. That's why I always have to criticize Hendry as much as Baker for this ridiculous personnel move. I wish Hendry would do like Jocketty did last off-season. The Cardinals wanted Molina to be the everyday catcher. Jocketty didn't even offer Matheny a cheap contract offer, so Matheny had to leave, and Jocketty didn't go get a veteran who could potentially challenge Molina. He got Einar Diaz. Just don't sign vets, period. Then Baker would have to play Cedeno everyday. Actually, I don't want both Murton and Cedeno starting, but one of them should. I still want high OPS guys in right and left, with Murton being the 4th outfielder and Cedeno playing everyday. Just say no to veteran utility infielders. Actually, I wouldn't mind a double play combo of Freel and Cedeno.

What's the surprise? I think a lot of people looked at it realistically and none of this is really news. What one hopes and what one expects are two different things.

So McGwire is a cheater (maybe)? And so are lots and lots and lots and lots of other ball players. So what? So you hate them all? Or you only hate the ones that you know about? Or you only hate the ones that it's convenient for you to hate? Or you only hate the ones that I applaud? If you'd learn to sit back and enjoy the wonderful moments of the game (inluding McGwire in '98), and not be so judgmental about every mistake that every player makes, then you might enjoy it a little more. I'm sure you are without fault, and so it's hard for you to understand that baseball players are human beings who will make mistakes, but that's life.......... McGwire didn't "murder" anybody. You take this thing WAY too seriously. The joy that he brought to St. Louis is immeasurable. Almost all Cardinal fans recognize that. I'm sorry if that offends you. My advice is to get over it. If you want to hate Cardinal fans for loving Mac, then so be it. I'll sleep well, regardless. So with McGwire. When did McGwire say adamently state that he never took steroids? McGwire took the 5th under oath. Sosa lied, and continued to take your money at the ticket gates.. Palmiero lied, and continued to take your money at the ticket gate. Schilling said whatever it was that was convenient for him to say on that particular day (his stance changes hourly). McGwire left the game 4 years ago, and was trying to enjoy a life with his family in California. I don't blame him for refusing to playing a puppet in that congressional circus, like the rest of the panel did. I think you're debating just to be debating. In our discussion, I've never read where you've said.... Steroids is.... is...bad. Do you condone the use of steroids or other banned substances? Using banned substances in sports is not a "mistake" as you state. A mistake is picking up regular soft drinks instead of diet soft drinks at the store. Is embezzling also a mistake? And as I've state before, there are plenty of Cardinal fans who are upset at McGwire so don't pretend that all Cardinal fans condone his actions or lack of action. Some leader in the fight against steroids.... giving money. Tell me something, he said he'd be a leader and spokesman, but he said in an interview that all he's willing to say on steroids is what he said at the congressional hearing. Some spokesperson.

I think you know what the fax has to do with. If he loved the Cardinal organization so much, why did he never speak to them about his retirement, but chose to use ESPN as his vehicle? Yes, there are good people who are Cardinal fans, but there are a bunch of hypocritical homers, too. I guess if Palmeiro and Bonds came to town they'd get a standing ovation, too. A cheat is a cheat is a cheat. Just because one used to wear the birds on the bat doesn't make him a better cheat. Other than just being hypocritical, I don't see how the fans would boo Bonds but not McGwire. I definitely don't see them applauding Palmeiro. I don't like cheaters, period, whether it's baseball, football, track and field, swimming, etc. I guess some don't mind it if it's close to their heart and it's their guy. Palmeiro and Bonds aren't Cardinals, weren't loyal to the Cardinals, didn't speak highly of the Cardinals, didn't play hard for the Cardinals, haven't donated millions of dollars to charities in St. Louis, and didn't bring the Cardinals years of baseball enjoyment. Again, you're completely missing the point. You're extremely narrow-minded if you think that Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, and Giambi are the only "cheaters" to ever play the game. Again, you choose to target the players who are easy targets, and completely ignore everyone else. If you only knew.............. Perhaps if you'd quit sipping the Cardinal kool-aid and try and be objective, you'd read where in an earlier post I stated other players and other NFL players, but you said you didn't want to bring up another thread. So please stop calling me narrow-minded because I've never, never, never said the list you named are the only guys I think have juiced. Basically, like a lot of Cardinal fans, if you play hard, speak highly of the city and fans, you can pretty much get away with murder. McGwire (as well as many others) is a cheater. Put the kool-aid glass down and McGwire is on the long list of cheaters in all sports. When McGwire wasn't under oath he openly and adamantly stated he never took steroids. Then all of a sudden he's under oath and he doesn't take the same stance? Well....steroids is ....is bad.

September play from young guys can be overblown. What if Murton hits .210 with a .285 OBP in spring? I don't expect that to happen but there is a possibility, although slight, just as none of us expected the poor season from Patterson. I still would be fine if Murton is the 4th outfielder next year because that would mean (or at least I hope) we have some high OPS in the corner outfield positions. When Hendry brings up our farm system products, I hope he hasn't forgotten that Murton isn't a Cub farm product. You can tell from his plate discipline. I'll be glad when we can produce position players from our farm like we have in our pitching like Zambrano, Wood, Ohman and Wuertz. I don't know about that statement. Cedeno and Theriot both showed plate discipline in their short stints and both are products of the Cubs system. I'm not saying the system is overflooding with them, but the farm is starting to produce more than previously. I think you're using exceptions as the rule. I love Cedeno, but I think this is really the first time in his career that he's had a good OBP. Personally, I see Theriot as a career utility player. Hope I'm wrong, though.

I think you know what the fax has to do with. If he loved the Cardinal organization so much, why did he never speak to them about his retirement, but chose to use ESPN as his vehicle? Yes, there are good people who are Cardinal fans, but there are a bunch of hypocritical homers, too. I guess if Palmeiro and Bonds came to town they'd get a standing ovation, too. A cheat is a cheat is a cheat. Just because one used to wear the birds on the bat doesn't make him a better cheat. Other than just being hypocritical, I don't see how the fans would boo Bonds but not McGwire. I definitely don't see them applauding Palmeiro. I don't like cheaters, period, whether it's baseball, football, track and field, swimming, etc. I guess some don't mind it if it's close to their heart and it's their guy.