Outshined_One

I say we replace Prior's throwing arm with a Howitzer.

See, this is what bothers me. If Lou were to play Murton in RF, would Murton all of a sudden turn into a pumpkin? We now know that Jacque can't hit lefties worth a lick, so why not just let Murton sub in for Jones when the Cubs face one?

Yep, he's been moonlighting. :D

Ooh, try this one -- "Hey blue, you're missing a good game" -- it kills every time. My personal favorite: "BEND OVER AND WATCH THE GAME WITH YOUR GOOD EYE!"

Woohoo! More fun with Theriot-Izturis-Cedeno-Lee across the infield!!!! ](*,)

Considering this topic has come up recently and has been nearly beaten to death in certain respects, there is one thing I am curious about with regards to booing. How do you feel about booing an umpire/referee/official?

Box Scores Iowa won 8-0 Box Score LF A. Pagan 2/5, 2 R, K 2B M. Fontenot 2/4, BB, 2 R, RBI CF F. Pie 0/1, 3 BB, R, K 1B M. Hoffpauir 1/5, R, 4 RBI, HR (2), K 3B S. Moore 1/3, BB, R, 2 RBI, 2B (1), 2 K C G. Soto 1/4, 2 K RF B. Coats 1/3, BB, RBI SS C. Rojas 0/4, K SP C. Marmol 5.1 scoreless, 5 H, 10/0 K/BB, HBP, 0-6 GO-FO Tennessee PPD: Rain Daytona lost 10-5 Box Score SS M. Matulia 1/4, R, E (2, fielding) CF T. Colvin 2/4, R, RBI, 2B (3), 3B (1), Assist (2B) 1B R. Norwood 1/4, 2 RBI DH M. Reed 0/3, K PH/DH J. Muyco 0/1 SP S. Taylor 5.1 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 0/1 K/BB, 2 HR, HBP, 6-9 GO RP G. Johnson 1.2 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB, 2-2 GO-FO Peoria lost 8-5 Box Score 2B M. Camp 0/3, BB, R, E (2, throw) RF P. Lopez 2/4, 2 R, RBI, 2B (2), 3B (1), K 3B J. Lansford 0/2, BB, RBI, K 1B R. Canzler 0/4, K LF A. Joseph 0/4, K CF Y. Carter 1/4, R, 2 K, SB (2) DH DJ Lewis 1/3, BB, R, RBI, HR (1) SS D. Johnston 1/4, RBI, 3 K SP R. Dolis 4 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3/2 K/BB, HR, HR, WP, 5-4 GO-FO RP J. Papelbon 1.2 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 2/3 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO RP J. Castillo 2.1 hitless/scoreless, 2/4 K/BB, 2 WP, 4-1 GO-FO RP A. Maestri 1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 2-0 GO-FO OVERALL: 1-2

One of the most underrated and hilarious things in sports, imo. I think booing is warranted in certain circumstances (player is clearly loafing, for example), but with Soriano, he's a good player who's been slumping the past few games. If he had started out the season hot, but then went through a ten game slump in June, I don't think the frustration with him would be nearly as evident as it is now. Give him time. If it's June and he's hitting .200 with no HRs, then I'll begin to wonder.

Hahahahahahahaha

apparently not as much as arroyo owns the cubs, heh Glendon Rusch is no longer pitching, so the Reds can no longer rely on Arroyo's guaranteed HRs.

So, when will the eternal optimists be trotting out the Astros and Marlins comparisons for teams that sucked hard early in the season, but rallied back? It's now one of my official signs of summer, by the way. It's right up there with the solstice.

Haven't Prior's problems been mostly with his shoulder? Since we're playing expertise cards here, I've had plenty of conversations with my father (a rheumatologist...think bone and joint specialist) about the Cubs' pitching staff since we enjoy chatting about sports. From what I can recall, he said that the shoulder is one of the most difficult areas for a physician to adequately examine, diagnose, and treat. While Tommy John surgery has made life easier for pitchers' elbows, the shoulder remains something of an enigma. Pitchers who have torn labrums and torn rotator cuffs might as well hang up the cleats since it is so hard for them to get back to full strength and be as effective as they once were. In Prior's case, there have never been any disclosed tears (hmmmmm), but he's had plenty of trouble. Heck, he was shut down in 2006 because of shoulder tendonitis and some other weird issues: After dealing with the mess that was Bobby Brownlie's shoulder (*gag*), we saw that he was healthy and able to pitch, but he was nowhere near as effective as he was when he pitched at Rutgers. His velocity was way down, his stuff was nowhere near as sharp, and the only reason why he stuck in the organization for so long (beyond the $$ investment) was because he had reinvented himself as a soft-tossing right handed control pitcher who eventually flamed out. I've followed baseball enough to know that pitchers with shoulder problems terrify teams, even if those guys never had to undergo surgery for those problems. Given how Prior's stuff has degenerated so markedly (especially this year), I'm beginning to see him fall into the Bobby Brownlie mold. And yes, it killed me to type that.

This thread is beginning to make me worried about Zambrano...

One of those games was cut short by the midget second baseman shoulder injury and the other was a rehab start, to boot. Ugh, this thread is making me depressed and angry.

Subtract AVG from OBP and you'll get IsoD. It'll give you a much better picture of a guy's ability to draw a walk while phasing out strikeouts. Basically, the number of times a guy strikes out is not indicative of future success or failure. You'll find plenty of awesome players who strike out a ton (Ryan Howard) and who do not strike out much (Albert Pujols). You'll also find terrible hitters who K a ton and who rarely K. Using IsoD for Pie, you'll get the following numbers... 2003 (Low A): .061 2004 (High A): .063 2005 (AA, shortened season): .045 2006 (AAA): .058 In the majors, an IsoD of .06 is nothing special, but also isn't too bad. Pie can definitely stand to improve on those numbers...but the problem with these kinds of numbers is that it's difficult for players to radically improve on those numbers over the course of their careers. We'll see about Pie in that regard, but at some point, he has to face major league pitching if he is to continue to improve here.

Box Scores Iowa won 4-1 Box Score LF A. Pagan 1/4, SB (1) 2B E. Patterson 0/3, BB, R, 3 K CF F. Pie 1/2, 2 BB, R, RBI, CS (1), Assist (2B) 1B M. Hoffpauir 2/3, BB, R, RBI 3B S. Moore 0/1, 3 BB, K, SB (2) RF B. Coats 0/3, RBI, K SS C. Rojas 0/3, K, HBP, SB (1) SP L. Walrond 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2/1 K/BB, HR, 6-9 GO-FO RP R. Cherry 2 scoreless, 1 H, 2/0 K/BB, 1-3 GO-FO RP C. Rapada .2 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO RP F. Baez .1 perfect, 1-0 GO-FO Tennessee won 7-5 Box Score CF C. Walker 2/4, BB, R, SB (3) C J. Fox 2/5, R, RBI, 2B (4), K, PB (1) 3B M. Craig 2/5, RBI, 2B (3), K, E (1, throw) 1B B. Dopirak 0/5 PH J. Simokaitis 0/1 SP J. Berg 4.1 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3/2 K/BB, 2 WP, 6-3 GO-FO RP A. Mendez .2 hitless/scoreless, 2/1 K/BB Daytona won 6-3 Box Score SS M. Matulia 2/5, R, RBI CF T. Colvin 0/4, IBB, R 1B R. Norwood 2/4, R, 2 RBI 2B R. Chirinos 1/3, RBI C J. Muyco 1/3, BB, R, 2B (3) SP T. Blackford 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2/3 K/BB, 9-5 GO-FO RP M. Avery 1 hitless/scoreless, 1/2 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO Peoria lost 2-0 Box Score 2B M. Camp 0/4, K CF V. Heredia 0/3, K PH P. Lopez 0/1 3B J. Lansford 1/4, CS (1) 1B R. Canzler 1/3, K, SB (3) LF A. Joseph 1/3, K, Assist (Home) RF Y. Carter 0/3, 2 K C W. Castillo 0/3 DH DJ Lewis 0/3, 3 K SS D. Johnston 0/3, 3 K SP J. Pina 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3/3 K/BB, WP, 3-5 GO-FO RP M. Carrillo 3 scoreless, 1 H, 0/1 K/BB, 3-6 GO-FO OVERALL: 3-1

Iowa's game was suspended in the 6th for some reason. Anyone got the low-down?

So, who wants to take odds on when the Cubs decide to convert Prior to a 1st baseman?

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/6945/blofeldandcatzv9.jpg

Felix Heredia? Psh. Washout.

They could always take another safety in the draft. Most people seem to like the idea of Eric Weddle in the 2nd or 3rd.

Box Scores Iowa Suspended in the 6th Box Score Tennessee lost Game 1 of their DH 5-2 Box Score CF C. Walker 0/4, 2 K C C. Robinson 1/2, BB, RBI, K, 2 E (2, throw, catcher interference) LF J. Fox 1/3, 2 K 3B M. Craig 0/2, BB, K 1B B. Dopirak 0/3, K SS J. Simokaitis 0/2, BB, K SP S. Gallagher 5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4/1 K/BB, HBP, 5-6 GO-FO RP G. Reinhard 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2/0 K/BB, 2-2 GO-FO Tennessee lost Game 2 of their DH 5-1 Box Score CF C. Walker 2/3 LF J. Fox 1/3, RBI, 2B (3), K 1B M. Craig 1/3, 2B (2), K PH/SS J. Simokaitis 0/2, K SP D. Veal 4 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3/7 K/BB, WP, Balk, 1-7 GO-FO, Pickoff Daytona lost 4-3 Box Score 2B N. Spears 0/3 C M. Reed 2/4, R, RBI, CS (1) CF T. Colvin 3/4, R, RBI, 2B (2), HR (1), K, SB (3) 1B R. Norwood 0/4, RBI, 2 K SS M. Matulia 1/4, R, 2 K, SB (1) SP J. Samardzija 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2/2 K/BB, HR, HBP, 10-2 GO-FO RP J. Estrada 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5/0 K/BB, WP, 0-2 GO-FO RP G. Johnson .2 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO Peoria lost Game 1 of their DH 4-0 Box Score 2B M. Camp 0/2, BB, SB (2) CF V. Heredia 0/3, 2 K 3B J. Lansford 0/3 1B R. Canzler 0/3, 2 K DH A. Joseph 0/2, 2 K RF Y. Carter 0/2, K LF DJ Lewis 0/2, K SS D. Johnston 0/1, BB, K, E (1, throw) SP A. Alburquerque 3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2/1 K/BB, HR, 3-3 GO-FO RP M. Pawelek 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2/2 K/BB, WP, 2 HBP, 2-1 GO-FO RP J. Castillo 1 perfect, 3-0 GO-FO Peoria lost Game 2 of their DH 2-1 Box Score 2B M. Camp 0/3, K, E (1, fielding) SS J. Mota 0/2, BB, 2 K 3B J. Lansford 2/2, 2 2B (2) 1B R. Canzler 0/3, 2 K CF A. Joseph 0/3, K RF Y. Carter 2/3, R, 2B (2), SB (1) LF DJ Lewis 0/2, BB, K DH P. Lopez 0/2 C W. Castillo 0/2, K SP W. Muldowney 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 8/2 K/BB, HR, 4-5 GO-FO OVERALL: 0-5 :(

Randy Wells got lit up. Ouch.

Watch how he gets chastised in Boston for breaking up history in the making in the coming days.

Yikes. Pitching for Vero Beach is D-Rays hotshot lefty prospect Jacob McGee. :(