Outshined_One

Box Scores Iowa PPD: Rain Tennessee won Game 1 of their DH 8-6 Box Score 2B T. Thomas 1/4, K SS D. Barney 1/4, R 3B M. Smith 0/4, 2 K 1B R. Canzler 2/3, BB, R LF T. Wright 2/4, 2 R, RBI, 2B (8) C S. Clevenger 1/3, 2 R, 2B (4) CF B. Guyer 1/3, R, 3 RBI, HR (1) PH W. Castillo 1/1 SP M. Mateo 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3/2 K/BB, HR, 4-8 GO-FO RP D. Cales 1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1-1 GO-FO Tennessee lost Game 2 of their DH 7-1 Box Score 2B T. Thomas 0/3, R, 2 K SS D. Barney 1/3, RBI, E (8, fielding) LF R. Canzler 0/3 3B M. Smith 1/3, K C W. Castillo 0/3 PH B. Guyer 0/1 SP J. Russell 5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 6/1 K/BB, 2 WP, 4-6 GO-FO RP A. Maestri 1 scoreless, 1 H, 0/1 K/BB, WP, HBP, 1-2 GO-FO Daytona lost 3-2 Box Score CF T. Campana 3/5, 2B (2), K SS S. Castro 1/5, CS (3), E (13, throw) LF T. Colvin 0/4, 2 K 1B R. Keedy 0/2, 2 BB, R, K 3B J. Rosa 1/3, BB, 2 K RF D. Johnston 1/4, 2B (4), 2 K 2B N. Samson 0/3, HBP SP A. Cashner 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5/0 K/BB, 7-3 GO-FO RP M. Carrillo 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1-2 GO-FO RP R. Dolis 2 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 5-0 GO-FO Peoria lost 9-3 Box Score LF J. Harrison 1/5, R, K, SB (8) 3B J. Vitters 2/4, BB, 2 R, RBI, HR (11) 1B R. Ridling 0/3, 3 K, E (3, fielding) PH/RF N. Perez 0/1 CF/1B K. Burke 2/4, 2 RBI, 2B (17) 2B J. Lake 1/4, K SS R. Flaherty 1/4 SP C. Carpenter 1 perfect, 3/0 K/BB (extended rain delay shortened his start, everyone relax) RP J. Beliveau 3.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3/2 K/BB, HBP, 0-7 GO-FO OVERALL: 1-3

hahahahahahahahahahaha

Fail.

I guess Lilly is just going to pick up the emotion that Lou seems to be void of this year. Dempster probably dared him to do it.

That somehow worked out.

Um. Huh.

We did good.

That would be why.

A...run?!

Awesome AB.

Cue hustle criticism.

Memorial Day. Every team wears them.

The Pirates' hats make them look like the Phillies.

Of course winning 83 and winning the WS is preferable to winning 120 and not making it out of the first round. Hell, if there was a way to win 60 games and win the WS, that'd be preferable to winning 120 and not making it out of the first round of the playoffs. However, this is more about building a team that is most likely to win a WS. Given the choice between 120 wins, 83 wins, and 60 wins, which of those teams do you think would be more likely to make it to the WS and win it?

The problem with calling up Fox for the AL interleague games is the fact that Lou Piniella is more likely to use Hoffpauir at DH than Fox. However, considering the Cubs could use a power bat off the bench, Fox's callup would be most welcome.

We have need of Oddball. http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/2149/oddballsays.jpg

I think he would be a solid pick and a steal if he fell to us, I also like Chris Dominguez out of UL. Any idea where Dominguez might go? Tough call. Word is he might not stick at 3B. However, the major concern is whether his bat will translate to the majors. He strikes out a good amount and doesn't walk nearly enough to allay concerns about his plate discipline. He's likely a supplemental first/top half of the second round kind of guy.

Plus, let's give a clear picture of those 101 years of futility From 1945 to 1966, the Chicago Cubs had three winning seasons. In that span, they finished dead last 6 times. Remember 2004? Remember how everyone made a big deal about it because that was the first time since 1973 the Cubs had posted back to back winning seasons? The reason why the Cubs have not won a WS since 1908 and not been to a WS since 1945 hasn't been because of some stupid curse or bad luck. It's been a result of cheap ownership, woefully terrible player development, and incompetent front office personnel. At the very least, I'm willing to give Jim Hendry and the Tribune Company credit for breaking from the past, doing their damndest to put a contender on the field, and actually making the Cubs competitive on a year to year basis. Yeah, there's still work to do, but as Vance said, if you get a team out there that wins every year, they'll compete for the World Series and likely snag at least one ring. There's not much more you can do aside from putting together good teams year in, year out.

I get just as pissed off as anyone else when the Cubs have choked away their postseason hopes. Cripes, check in with my landlords and ask them what damage I've done to my apartments as a result of 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2008. But, there are familiar refrains that keeps popping up in my head when it comes to assembling a team that couldn't choke, especially in terms of the 2008 team... 1) What was Jim Hendry supposed to do differently to make the team better? 2) How could Jim Hendry make the team better within the constraints of the resources he had? Hendry doesn't have an unlimited budget. To me, the only argument you can really make is that he should have thrown more after more free agents. However, if the Tribune Company told him he could not add guys like Vlad Guerrero after 2003, Carlos Beltran after 2004, Miguel Tejada after 2007, and CC Sabathia after 2008, then there's no realistic way Hendry could have done it. Moreover, even if Hendry signed every big name free agent, that's still no guarantee that they would produce in the postseason. To me, I don't see the point in criticizing Hendry and the organization as a whole for not putting together a team that's choke-proof in the playoffs. You can't predict slumps and you sure as hell can't predict hot streaks.

That was Major League 2. We should do a casting call for that sucker to fill out our team that way. Kosuke Fukudome can be Isuro Tanaka and Carlos Zambrano can be Rick Vaughn. Who gets the honors of Jack Parkman, Jake Taylor, Rube Baker, and Willie Mays Hayes?

What do you mean start? The officiating in the playoffs has been so terrible this post-season that I'm convinced he never stopped.

Has anything substantive been proposed yet regarding how a team should be built for post-season success beyond cliches and movie clips that sparked a generation of jackass businessmen who think they can increase office productivity simply by grandstanding and threatening to fire everyone?

I love the fact that the Cubs have gotten us to a point where we're basically questioning whether or not Lou Piniella has senile dementia.

Box Scores Iowa lost 5-3 Box Score CF S. Fuld 0/4, E (2, fielding) 1B J. Fox 1/3, R, K, HBP DH J. Dubois 1/3, BB, RBI, 2B (10), K LF D. Deeds 1/3, BB, K C C. Robinson 1/4, R PH K. Reynolds 1/1 SP J. Samardzija 4.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 5/2 K/BB, HR, WP, 1-7 GO-FO RP V. Perkins 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4/0 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO RP J. Berg 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB, 0-2 GO-FO RP B. Parker 1 scoreless, 0 H, 1/2 K/BB, 0-2 GO-FO Tennessee lost 8-2 Box Score 2B T. Thomas 0/3, BB, 2 K SS D. Barney 2/4, 2B (8), K 3B M. Smith 0/4, R, K, E (7, fielding) 1B R. Canzler 1/2, 2 BB, 2B (2) LF T. Wright 1/4, RBI, E (3, throw) C W. Castillo 1/4, 2 K CF B. Guyer 0/4, K SP C. Lambert 5 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1/1 K/BB, 6-6 GO-FO Daytona with an off day...again. Peoria Canceled: Rain OVERALL: 0-2

Back to the subject of untouchables, I don't think anyone in this system fits that bill. Yes, Vitters has the potential to be very good, but I don't think he's reached a level where I'm comfortable saying he's more likely than not to be a future All Star. I'd like to see him take on pitchers with much more advanced stuff before proclaiming him as a Top 5 prospect in baseball. I could see him finishing the year as a Top 20 guy, though. However, I wouldn't be sad to see him be traded. If the Cubs could nab a top level hitter or pitcher for a deal involving Vitters, I'd have no complaints. Frankly, I don't think anyone in this system is even close to him at the moment. Tony Thomas, Starlin Castro, Jay Jackson, and to a lesser extent Jeff Samardzija have all helped their causes this season to varying degrees, but I don't get nearly the same vibe from them as I do from Vitters.