Outshined_One

I think Bay ends up actually being an All Star, though. Seriously, who else do the Pirates have? As for the possibilities for each candidate... Canada: Jason Bay (Conf.) Dominican Republic: Miguel Tejada (Conf.) Venezuela - Bobby Abreu (Conf.) Curacao/Netherlands - Andruw Jones Japan - Hideki Matsui USA - Derrek Lee Panama - Carlos Lee Puerto Rico - Carlos Delgado Kinda stinks that a bunch of guys who'd be fun to watch in this contest will be snubbed. Matsui's a questionable candidate, but knowing MLB, they'll be doing everything they can to pimp this freakin' thing internationally...

You could have just saved time if you had any confidence in my posting ability. :P

Box Scores Iowa lost 7-6 in the 10th Box Score 2B M. Fontenot 2/5, R, 2 RBI, 3B (7) LF B. Grieve 1/5, RBI PH/LF D. Kelton 0/0, R DH S. McClain 2/4, BB, R, RBI, HR (18) 1B M. Hoffpauir 1/4, BB SP R. Valdez 5.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2/2 RP B. Brownlie 2 scoreless, 1 H, 01 RP R. Rohlicek .2 perfect, 0/0 RP J. Van Buren 1.1 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 3/3, HR RP C. Bartosh 0 scoreless, 1 H, 0/0 West Tenn won 11-0 Box Score CF D. Bacon 2/5, R, RBI RF A. Greenberg 2/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (4), SB (12) LF M. Murton 4/4, 4 R, RBI, 2B (17), HR (7), SB (17) 3B C. McGehee 4/5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B (20) 1B B. Sing 1/5, RBI SS R. Theriot 2/5, R, 2 RBI, 2B (19) 2B R. Lewis 0/3, 2 BB, R SP JK Ryu 7.2 scoreless, 5 H, 5/3 Daytona lost 4-2 Box Score CF C. Walker 0/4 1B B. Dopirak 1/4 3B S. Moore 0/3, RBI LF K. Collins 1/3, R, RBI, HR (16) RF J³ 0/3 C J. Fox 0/3 SP A. Tavares 5 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4/1 SP J. Wylie 1 perfect, 2/0 Peoria won 8-7 in the 9th Box Score CF S. Fuld 1/4, BB, 2 R 2B E. Patterson 2/4, R, RBI, 2B (13), SB (22) DH L. Montanez 1/4, R, RBI LF B. Flowers 1/4, 2B (7) SS J. Simokaitis 1/3, BB, RBI SP S. Gallagher 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1/2 Boise lost 8-2 Box Score CF D. Gregg 0/5 C M. Reed 0/4 3B E. Puello 1/4 LF J. Valdez 0/4, RBI DH J. Muyco 1/3, R 2B S. Hode 2/4, 2B (2) SS J. Mota 1/1, 2 BB, RBI SP M. Billek 2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 5/2 RP A. Santana 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3/2, HR RP L. Hagerty 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 Mesa won 10-9 in the 9th Box Score SS L. Rivera 2/5, 2 R, 2 RBI DH J. Defendis 2/5, 4 RBI, 2B (2) RF D. Lewis 0/3, 2 BB, R LF R. Episcopo 1/4, 3 RBI, 2B (2) 1B R. Canzler 0/4 C M. Mercedes 1/3, R PR E. Serrano 0/0, R CF R. Brown 1/3, BB, 2 R SP M. Avery 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1/2 OVERALL: 3-3

*Coughs*

I'm here, I'm here. Just had a fun night out on the town tonight! :D Boxes shall be all posted momentarily.

I'm guessing they'll have A-Rod represent the US.

I hate Vinny Castilla.

Yep.

It's like a rite of passage for the DJaxx.

:( *Groans* Ron, got any updates on this?

My list, in no order: 1) Call my mom, who grew up watching Cubs games on WGN way back in the day and is still a pretty big fan even now. Plus she's convinced the Cubs will never win a WS in her lifetime, so this would be a fun topic of conversation. 2) Call my sister, who's just as passionate and loves the Cubs as much as I do. 3) Call every single other Cubs fan I know. Likely topics of conversation: "Oh my God!" "I...I can't believe it..." "This isn't a dream, is it?" "*Expletive deleted* YEAH! *expletive deleted* YEAH!" and so on... 4) If I'm not already, get absolutely hammered during celebrations with other Cubs fans. Stay that way for at least two or three days. 4a) In doing so, give cheers to every current and former Cub, even guys like Todd Hundley and Mel Rojas. 4b) Also give cheers to every Cub fan who never saw a Cubs WS championship in their lifetimes. Deceased family and friends to be cheered individually. 4c) And while we're at it, toast Ron Santo about 40 times for being the biggest Cubs diehard ever to live while living out the dream of starting at third base and broadcasting for his favorite team. 5) Hit on any female who is wearing Cubs gear. 6) Happily shed tears at least 8-9 times within five hours of that victory. 7) Hug everyone wearing Cubs gear. 8) Walk around in a dream-like daze for the next month or so. 8a) During said time, have one of two looks on my face: utter disbelief and total bliss and happiness. 9) Likely have at least two unexpected irrational breakdowns when it really hits me that the Cubs won it all. 10) Buy almost every single piece of merchandise that comes out dedicated to the Cubs' WS win. DVDs, shirts, jerseys, hats, you name it. 11) Attempt to get my voice back after running it hoarse throughout the playoffs and WS victory. 12) Go home to Chicago to attend all of the victory celebrations and likely parade. 13) Die happy.

No, but you're not getting the right reason that he won all those games. He has 300 wins because he's been durable, and because for 11 straight years, he was in the top 8 in the league in ERA - in all but one of those years he was top 4 in ERA. When you make all your starts and pitch that well, you're bound to win 15+ games. The last two years he's been able to win that many games because he's been durable and he's gotten good run support. If Kerry Wood had that much run support, he'd have won plenty more than 14 games in a year before. ...not to mention a bullpen that could hold a freakin' lead.

Box Scores Iowa lost 6-5 Box Score 2B M. Fontenot 1/5 DH S. McClain 1/4, R RF D. Kelton 1/4, R 1B M. Hoffpauir 2/4, R, 2 RBI, 2B (8) C G. Soto 0/2, 2 BB SP T. Wellemeyer 3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5/1 RP C. Pignatiello 2 perfect, 3/0 West Tenn lost 5-2 Box Score CF D. Bacon 0/3, BB, PO 2B R. Theriot 1/4, CS (6) RF A. Greenberg 2/4 3B C. McGehee 0/4 SS B. Coats 1/4, R, 2B (18) LF B. Sing 1/3, R, RBI, HR (15) 1B M. Craig 0/3 C J. Reyes 0/3 SP R. Pinto 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3/3 Daytona lost Game 1 of the DH 11-6 Box Score CF C. Walker 0/4 3B S. Moore 1/4, RBI 1B B. Dopirak 0/3, BB RF J³ 1/4, 2 R, 2B (16) C J. Fox 2/2, R, 2 RBI SP J. Mateo 0 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 0/1 RP R. Wells 2 scoreless, 1 H, 2/2 Daytona lost Game 2 of the DH 1-0 Box Score CF C. Walker 0/3, SB (32) 3B S. Moore 1/3 DH B. Dopirak 0/3 1B K. Collins 2/3 RF J³ 1/3, SB (5) SP JR Mathes 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4/0 Peoria lost 8-0 Box Score CF S. Fuld 2/3, 2B (16) PH/RF B. Flowers 0/1 2B E. Patterson 1/4 LF L. Montanez 1/3, BB DH R. Harvey 1/4 1B D. Larsen 0/2 SS J. Simokaitis 0/3 SP J. Estrada 5 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 5/0, HR Boise won 5-2 Box Score CF D. Gregg 1/4, BB, R, SB (12) DH A. Joseph 1/4 1B C. Gaskin 0/4, BB C J. Muyco 0/5 LF J. Valdez 2/4, 3B (1) 2B S. Hode 2/4, R, RBI, HR (1) SS J. Mota 1/4, 2B (3) SP D. Downs 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 7/2, HR Mesa won 6-0 Box Score 2B E. Serrano 1/4, BB, 2 R CF R. Brown 0/3, BB, R RF D. Lewis 0/2, 2 BB, 2 RBI DH R. Episcopo 1/5, RBI 1B R. Canzler 1/4, BB C M. Mercedes 0/0, BB SS S. Baez 0/4 SP J. Pina 4 scoreless, 2 H, 2/1 RP S. Williamson 2 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 OVERALL: 2-5

The Cubs win the first WS of many this century in a four game sweep of the Minnesota Twins. In retrospect, this will be seen as the beginning of the vaunted Cubs Dynasty, which at first is compared to the Yankees' Dynasty of the 20th Century, but the comparison is later reversed as time goes on.

Marmol got smacked around with 5 BBs and 3 hits in 2.1 IP...yet only gave up one run. Color me impressed.

So now that we got our official June Swoon out of the way, can the Cubs please string together a couple of long winning streaks without much losing inbetween? This coming stretch of games is crucial. The Cubs have the opportunity to pull away in the WC standings with games against the Nats, Braves, and Marlins going into the All Star Break. Getting that momentum going into the second half is going to be very important, imo.

It'd be fair, but Hill sure looks pretty good. And we've lost lefties Sisco, Willis and Jones recently. Nolasco didn't do to well at AAA. Maybe we can wait them out and give them a lesser lefty prospect like Piggy instead. Just being nitpicky, but don't you mean Pinto? Nolasco's not a lefty.

Nobody wins in the Dairy Challenge!

Box Scores Iowa won 3-0 Box Score DH S. McClain 2/3, BB, RBI, 2B (16) RF D. Kelton 0/4 2B M. Fontenot 0/2, BB, CS (2), HBP C G. Soto 1/3, BB, R 1B M. Hoffpauir 2/4 SP J. Koronka 8 scoreless, 5 H, 7/0 RP J. Van Buren 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 West Tenn won 9-6 Box Score 2B R. Theriot 3/5, 2 R, RBI CF A. Greenberg 3/4, BB, 3 RBI, 2 3B (6), CS (3) LF M. Murton 0/5 1B M. Craig 2/5, R, 2B (16) 3B C. McGehee 2/3, BB, 2 R SS B. Coats 1/3, BB, R RF B. Sing 2/4, R, 2 RBI, 2B (23) C J. Reyes 2/4, R, 2 RBI SP C. Marmol 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2/5 RP D. Aardsma 1 perfect, 0/0 Daytona PPD: Rain Peoria lost 9-8 Box Score CF S. Fuld 3/4, BB, 2 R, 2B (15), CS (9) DH E. Patterson 2/5, R, RBI, 2B (12) RF R. Harvey 2/5, 2 R LF L. Montanez 2/4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B (24), HR (11) 1B D. Larsen 0/3, BB SS J. Simokaitis 0/4 SP C. Shaver 5 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 5/3, HR Boise lost 2-1 Box Score CF D. Gregg 2/4, CS (3) DH M. Reed 0/3, BB 1B E. Puello 0/3, BB 3B B. Taylor 1/2, BB, R LF C. Quinones 0/3 C J. Muyco 1/3, RBI 2B S. Hode 0/3 SS J. Mota 0/2, BB, CS (1) SP R. Evenson 3 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 RP J. Yepez 3 scoreless, 2 H, 1/4 Mesa with an off day OVERALL: 2-2

It doesn't make sense as to why the Rockies would want Ronny Cedeno in the first. 1: They had the "front-runner" NL ROY SS Clint Barmes. 2. One of their top prospects in the organization is Chris Nelson. Third they JUST drafted a SS in the first rd....Troy Tulowitzki. Them asking for Ronny Cedeno is beyond redundant, and I believe Hendry has to know that, and thus WON'T put Cedeno in the deal. Add in the fact that they already have a top prospect at 3B in Ian Stewart...I really can't figure this deal out. They can't exactly shift one of their players over and moving some one like Nelson or Stewart out into the OF would just be more trouble that it's worth, imo. Plus Barmes should be coming back sooner or later. They're all better than Cedeno...so why in the blue blazes would the Rockies want him?! These rumored deals just aren't making any sense. The only way it would make sense is if the Rockies are shipping one or more of those prospects off in some sort of deal either involving one team dumping a high salary guy on them with cash or if the Rockies are shipping Todd Helton off somewhere and tossing in a really good prospect or two to make the deal palatable. Can anyone else make any sense of what the heck is going on here from the Rockies' standpoint?

They get some one who can actually play CF well. He's always been a highly-rated player with pop and speed, so I'm sure that if the Yankees believe they could turn him around, they'd jump at the opportunity. Remember, being a left handed hitter at Yankee Stadium is a plus, since RH hitters typically have their power numbers suffer there.

Thanks for the analysis T2E!

If we get Kotsay, my guess is that the Corey Patterson era would officially come to an end. As much as I have rooted for Corey and wanted him to live up to his billing, I think the Cubs would be best served to use him as a bargaining chip. As much as we rip on him, teams won't be able to pass up on his upside, especially considering how young he is and how good of a defensive CF he is. Make no mistake, he'd draw plenty of interest if he were available. I wouldn't be surprised to see him involved in a deal for a power hitting OF if we get Kotsay.

If the Cubs HAVE to build a new one, why not the lakeshore? I grant you, getting there would likely be an absolute nightmare via car unless a bunch of routes are diverted/created, but it would be a pretty neat place, especially seeing stuff like home runs hit into Lake Michigan and some nice potential updates to everything (especially the food!). However, I think Wrigley has plenty of years left in it and even if the Cubs leave it, the city will leave it standing. Do with it what the Yankees are going to do with Yankee Stadium, ya know? Turn it into a museum, loan it out to local colleges, high schools, and little league teams to play on it, add a couple of restaurants and bars, and make it into something fans can enjoy even without the Cubs. It'd be much better than demolishing it, imo.

Ditto.