dalgreen

Mark Prior already deserves a hand. Unlike over the past week, he's been able to get out of the first without allowing a run.

I think too many people get caught up in the number of pitches per inning. If a pitcher is around the plate throwing strikes like Colon for the Braves was Tuesday, then you have to swing, and at least you're swinging at strikes. It's the eight or ten pitch innings where hitters are swinging at balls that's pathetic.

You guys kill me as if Walker hitting second and dropping Perez to 8 is going to be the difference between scoring 2 runs and 8 runs. I agree with Goony, I don't understand batting lefties back to back against a lefty.

You're right. Baker should be slammed repeatedly for placing incompetent hitters in front of Lee. But using that as the only reason for this year's failure thus far is shortsighted. The bullpen has at least 15 losses this year, just like it's important for the 1-2 hitters to get on base, it's also important to have Burnitz, Holla/Dubois and Barrett get on base too. Also, our starters haven't been consistent. So, outside of the stupid lineups with Patterson and Perez at the top, most of the problems are players not performing.

I think the real question is which team is the real team? The one that won seven in a row or the one that has already lost seven in a row and is currently on a six game losing streak?

You want to fire Baker who's yet to have a Cub team not finish under .500 (no real accomplishment), for a guy who had only one season above .500, and got swept in the 1998 playoffs? Perhaps there's a good reason why no one else has hired Riggleman. Ok, allow me to play the "talent" card again. Look at the 1998 team, and compare it to the 2003 and 2004 teams. I'll follow your lead, okay allow me to ask again. Why hasn't anyone else hired Riggleman? By the way, the 1998 Cubs had a very good Lieber and Wood pitching combo, and Sosa who was head and shoulders better than anyone on the 2003 and 2004 teams. But my main question is why hasn't Riggleman been hired by anyone else? I don't have an issue in firing Bakre if you change personnel on the team or at least provide a better name than Jim Riggleman.

You want to fire Baker who's yet to have a Cub team not finish under .500 (no real accomplishment), for a guy who had only one season above .500, and got swept in the 1998 playoffs? Perhaps there's a good reason why no one else has hired Riggleman.

Welcome to the forum? I grew up in Central Illinois watching the Cubs every day (yes, WGN used to show like 150 games a year). The Sox were just another team to me like the Phillies, Rangers, Giants, etc. The team I hated and still hate are the Cardinals. I never understood the Cubs/Sox rivalry among the Chicago fans. They only started playing each other (in games that count) less than ten years ago, but other than that, they played in different leagues and neither team had much to brag about. I would love for Chicago to host a World Series parade, preferably for the Cubs, but I would be happy if the Sox won, too.

Yet another unbelievable Cardinal performance and win. I still think the Cubs will make the playoffs, and I won't give up on the division unless we're 10 games out on July 31. Anyway, another example of the difference between the Cubs and Cards; ninth inning score tied at 1 and Molina gets a double to lead off. Cards play baseball the right way and Nunez lays down a beautiful sacrifice bunt. Molina goes to third. Eckstein then converts a suicide squeeze for the winning run. Now, fellow Cub fans, can you think of two position players that we have that are capable of laying down good bunts? Our guys would've fouled two off then struck out or bounced out to third leaving the guy at second. How many fundamentally sound guys do we have on the 25 man roster? I count maybe three. Anyway, Carpenter gives up only one run on a solo homer. We need our starters to step up for at least one turn in the rotation where they go 7-8 innings giving up no runs or one run. The bogus three run 6 inning starts aren't going to cut it with this offense. I hate the Cardinals, but I like how they play baseball.

That isn't true. Gammons either got bad info or was just making a false assumption. First of all, I have read quotes from Von Joshua (West Tenn hitting coach) that said that Pie still has a lot to work on and that right now he could play in the majors but that rushing him would stunt his growth. Secondly, the Cubs have taken their time with Felix. They aren't going to change that now. The earliest he is going to be up is next year and I wouldn't expect him up before mid-season. Glad to hear it!!! I do not want to see Felix Pie in Chicago Cubs pinstripes until September 2006 at the earliest. What is the freakin' rush? I think Corey is failing Corey right now and I think the Cub organization has failed Corey. He shouldn't have been rushed through the system, he shouldn't have been yo-yo'ed, and he shouldn't have been told he's to be a power hitter then be told he's not then told he is.....

We're loaded with tons of talent? :scratch: I'd say there is tons of talent. Productivity and talent are not he same thing. Some of the most talented players in the game aren't all that productive. They have physical gifts that allow them to do things others cannot, but they don't consistently utilize those talents in a productive manner. If you ask me, that defines the Cubs. Corey is talented as heck, just not productive. Zambrano, Prior, Wood, Lee, Ramirez, Dempster and Barrett have enough talent to measure up against the best in the game. They just don't all produce to their talent level on a consistent basis, or maximize their abilities. 8/25 = tons? And I don't think Barrett is talented. But I'll give you that one. You don't think Barrett is talented? I think he's incredibly talented. He's a great athlete capable of producing outstanding numbers for his position for sizable chunks at a time (April, May, July and August 2004, May 2005) he's just terribly inconsistent and at times appears clueless at the plate. I don't think there are a lot of teams who have much more talent than the Cubs have. There are just several more teams that do a better job utilizing their talent. That's an organizational failure, from the players, to the coaches/instructors to the front office. Inefficiency defines this organization, and considering they are owned by a well respeced corporation, that's surprising. It's like in football, with the Patriots, vs a team like Washington. The Redskins are a terribly inefficient organization, while New England runs their ship like a high class fortune 500 company. Great football analogy. I think I used the same one months ago but used Kansas City instead of Washington. But I digress.... I think we just have different views of Barrett. I don't see athleticism in him. I see potential, but then his career numbers suggest to me that what we see is probably what we get -- inconsistency. I don't think he's baseball savvy and he frustrates me with his lack of mobility behind the plate at times. I guess I'd look at him as more of an athlete if I thought he could play any other position at least at an average level. I think he's just a catcher.

Felipe Alou, I think, is one of the most overrated managers in the game.

We're loaded with tons of talent? :scratch: I'd say there is tons of talent. Productivity and talent are not he same thing. Some of the most talented players in the game aren't all that productive. They have physical gifts that allow them to do things others cannot, but they don't consistently utilize those talents in a productive manner. If you ask me, that defines the Cubs. Corey is talented as heck, just not productive. Zambrano, Prior, Wood, Lee, Ramirez, Dempster and Barrett have enough talent to measure up against the best in the game. They just don't all produce to their talent level on a consistent basis, or maximize their abilities. 8/25 = tons? And I don't think Barrett is talented. But I'll give you that one.

Yeah, Felipe Alou is the answer. If you believe that, then say good-bye to Michael Barrett and hello to Henry Blanco (maybe not a bad idea if you look at Barrett's last fifty at-bats). Remember, or maybe you don't, that Alou said that Barrett would never catch in the major leagues. Then he moved him to third base. The main question is which is the real team? Is it the one that ran off seven wins in a row or the one trying to avoid its second straight seven loss slide?

We're loaded with tons of talent? :scratch:

Maddux has been good? Oh, that's right, he has seven wins. :shock: Perhaps you should look at Barrett's career numbers vs. just what he did last year. Dusty deserves plenty blame, but this isn't Playstation, guys who have played baseball all of their lives should already know the game instead of still having to learn some of the basics.

I still don't see why Baker is the only problem on this team. Barrett sucks (4-46), so a new manager is going to get him to be better? Patterson sucks right now, so a new manager is going to get him to play better? Hairston misses signs and runs the bases poorly. A new manager is going to change that? Maddux has a 5+ERA. A new manager is going to change that? Burnitz turns into Moises Alou on the bases. A new manager is going to change that? Baker is part of the problem, but don't kid yourself into thinking that the players have nothing to do with the record and poor play.

But what does he have to do with Taguchi, Mabry and Nunez being good this year? None of those guys should be this good off the bench, but they are. The only sorry bench players you've had has been Cedeno and Lankford.

In all sports, I generally follow the teams I most hate almost as much as the teams I love. The Cardinals have had three hitting coaches, I think, over the past five year ---Easler, Paige, and now McRae. Their offense continues to be at or near the top of the league and the bench seems to play above expectations. Our bench sucks, as we predicted, and it actually sucks even more than we thought. So my question is, in your opinion is it that the Cardinals get a different kind of quality players/hitters than the Cubs or is it the coaching even though they've had three in the past five seasons?

I don't why this guy seems to fly under the criticism radar screen. Maybe it's because he tried to pick a fight with Oswalt last year. A lot of good that did. I can't believe how many people actually think he should hit second in the lineup. Outside of a select few, everyone in the organization deserves blame, but most of it goes to the players. Why only Perez, Patterson, Macias, Remmy, Maddux, Macias get the brunt of it, I don't know why. The bonehead decisions I see on the field isn't because the coaches/manager is clueless, I think we have several guys on the team who have played baseball almost their whole lives, but really don't have baseball smarts.

I don't like Morgan, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. If he calls Sandberg congratulating him than I'll believe his absence is legit. If he neither attends nor calls Sandberg to offer his congratulations than he's a bigger Richard Cranium than what I already think he is. After all of these years I still don't know what his problem with Sandberg is.

I would love to see the lineup being: Cedeno Walker Lee Ramirez Burnitz Holla Barrett Patterson Maddux I would hope the failed bunt attempt by the never- can- do- anything wrong veteran, Neifi Perez, has finally ticked Baker off and he can give up on the guy as an everyday player. Yes, I'd love to play Hairston more, but since Holla has finally decided to hit, we need his bat.

I could live with him hitting .257 if he'd work the count better. He still doesn't draw many walks. But I'm not singling him out, well maybe today I am, but you know me, I hold everyone accountable, not just the usual suspects. I was just curious when others complain about production vs. contract his name rarely gets mentioned. Hes not supposed to walk!!!! What good does a walk do (most of the time) when the pitcher is hitting behind you. Look at when he was hitting second last year. He changed his approach at the plate and got more walks. He has been a pretty decent average guy which is what you want in the 8 hole, not OBP. He's not? You'd prefer for him to swing at bad pitches? I didn't mean to imply that he should go to the plate looking for a walk, no hitter should do that. My point is he swings at too many pitcher's pitches, and he didn't do too well in the #2 hole last year. Nor has he had good plate discipline when hitting 6th or 7th. I'm still somewhat confused how some guys get ripped for their contracts when they're not producing, but Barrett's $3 million seems to be treated like $300, 000.

I could live with him hitting .257 if he'd work the count better. He still doesn't draw many walks. But I'm not singling him out, well maybe today I am, but you know me, I hold everyone accountable, not just the usual suspects. I was just curious when others complain about production vs. contract his name rarely gets mentioned.

I agree with you. And if you think about it, as bad as we've played, the parity has helped us, because we probably should be 8-10 games out of the wildcard, too. But, don't worry, as has been the custom, a three game winning streak and you'll find a lot more optimistic people joining us.