Outshined_One

The Reds' BP sucks, but Zambrano needs to pull his rear end out of the fire.

5-1 on the sac fly.

Time for another out.

Gooz (yay!) and Cotts (uhhhh...) up in the pen.

Oh baloney! That didn't hit him!

HBP? Whaaaaaaaaaaa?

I'd chuck one into his ribcage.

Wow, Freel couldn't hang on. That would have been a web gem.

Giddyup!

Matt Murton's bringing back those cheap IF hits. Yay!

Our first base coach's name is Sinatro? Nice. Cue Frank Sinatra and Sinestro references.

Zambrano...trying to bunt for a hit. Somehow, that does not surprise me.

What happened? Dribbler in front of the plate which Z barehanded and made an awkward throw on. Doesn't seem like it hurt him. Someone should give Z a glove for his right hand too so he doesn't barehand those. Actually, it was a play he pretty much had to barehand. The throw was what concerned everyone.

3-0 Reds coming into the Top of the 5th.

What happened? Dribbler in front of the plate which Z barehanded and made an awkward throw on. Doesn't seem like it hurt him.

Z really tries his hardest to inflict injury on himself, doesn't he?

Just for the record, I hate everyone in baseball named Alex Gonzalez.

Between Ceda and Dolis, that's quite a bit of firepower that rotation will be packing. Should be fun seeing what they can do over the course of a full season!

:-s

Since Opening Day is upon us and we've got a brand new season of baseball, what are some of the things you are really looking forward to? It doesn't have to be Cubs-specific, much less confined to the majors, but I'm curious to see what everyone has to say. Here's a short list for me: -A healthy Derrek Lee! -Alfonso Soriano at the plate. -The continuing development and emergence of Matt Murton -No more Dusty in the dugout. -No more Neifi Perez, Jose Macias, Lenny Harris, or equally terrible scrub on the bench or in the field. -Ryan Theriot: Superduperutilityman! -Jeff Samardzija: The Real Deal or $10m Enigma? -Homer Bailey vs. Philip Hughes for the title of top young rookie pitcher. -Daisuke Matsuzaka exploding onto the scene. -The new generation of young pitchers coming into baseball and taking over: Felix Hernandez, Matt Cain, Jered Weaver, Rich Hill, Jeff Francis, Chad Billingsley, Justin Verlander, Jeremy Sowers, and way too many more. -Alex Gordon. Nuff said. How about you guys? :D

Fixed for me. :D I have two papers due tomorrow for my classes. I am only about two thirds of the way through one and haven't even started the other yet. Unfortunately, I won't be able to catch the first two hours of the game. :(

So their opening day lineup is going to look like... C Navarro 1B Wigginton 2B Upton SS Zobrist (Harris?) 3B Iwamura CF Dukes RF Young (Gomes?) LF Crawford DH Baldelli Huh, not bad. Navarro was well-thought of while he was in the Yankees' and Dodgers' system, although I think weight problems got to him along with having trouble adjusting to competition. He's still young enough to make something of himself. Plus, apparently the Rays wanted Riggans to get regular playing time at Catcher rather than have him be the backup. The Rays have to do something with Upton. All the tools are there for him to be a premier player, but he just can't stick anywhere on the diamond. Let's see how 2B treats him. I liked Iwamura coming over from Japan. I was hoping the Cubs would pick him up and try him at 2B (or 3B if Rammy left). Also, did anyone get his first meeting with Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes on video? Has he worked out a ten step handshake with either yet? Does he enjoy fruit by the foot? Inquiring minds want to know! Zobrist is just keeping a spot warm for Longoria or Brignac. Shame, too, because Zobrist actually seems like he could be a decent IF in the big leagues. I dunno, considering Cantu did not put up good numbers (.310 OBP) last season, demoting him to AAA to start the season might have been a good idea. Maybe they should have kept him up for utility purposes, but I haven't even remotely been following him during Spring Training. They could have a perfectly good reason for demoting him. I actually dig their lineup. Lots of youth and potential with some insanity (Dukes/Young) and some fascinating question marks (Iwamura, Upton) sprinkled among it. It's going to be next to impossible for any team in the AL East to overcome the Red Sox or Yankees, but hey, if they can properly develop this talent, they might get more than 75 wins this season.

I really hope this particular culture among the players gets cleaned out. Baker did nothing but encourage it and used it to scapegoat a whole variety of problems facing this team. Look, if you play or coach professional sports, you are putting yourself in the limelight and will be subject to criticism. People spend a lot of their time and money on sports and expect some sort of a return for their dedication. Athletes and coaches simply cannot have the attitude that fans will be kissing their feet everywhere they walk and that they will be absolved of any responsibility for whatever problems they face. If these guys scapegoat the fans for their problems, that's a slap to the face which will not resonate well with anyone. Part of their profession is to deal with hecklers, jerks, and the fans who boo. Maybe that is unfair or not right, but it's part of the gig. I'm not going to be one of those people who tells fans what they should do when it comes to the whole booing thing. You paid the money for your ticket, food, beer, and whatnot and you are entitled to act in whatever allowable way you see fit. However, you also will have to pay the consequences when you step over the line or come off like a complete fool. This is not some black eye on Cubs fans, either. Go to any professional sports venue in the world and you will hear booing (or its equivalent). People boo in New York. People boo in San Francisco. People boo in Houston. People whistle in Paris (and it's funny). Fans will boo players who are loafing and they will boo coaches and managers who make completely idiotic decisions. Look, the racist heckling and threats are horrible, I will not dispute that. However, any time I hear a guy complain to the media about the fans booing him, that just grinds my gears. These guys are in the wrong profession if they want unconditional adoration from the fans.

I'm still bitter about that deal. I don't care if Bay never sees the light of day in the majors, that still was an incredibly stupid trade. Dusty deciding to let Bartosh collect cobwebs didn't exactly help matters, either. Blech. My gut feeling is that Cherry will be the first reliever called up if any trouble hits the bullpen. Granted, I would rather that never happened, but given the finicky nature of bullpens with injuries, slumps, and whatnot, it's pretty much a given.

Ned Colletti : General Manager :: Dusty Baker : Manager Ah, to ponder what we could have gotten for Maddux had Hendry demanded prospects instead of Izturis.