evv98

I would want the Iowa Cubs to lose to the Stros if that happened, so they would have to play a tie-breaker with the Mets and Brewers. Meaning, whoever plays us gets no days off. Not if it's the Dodgers. The Dodgers are in the catbird seat. They have clinched with no expectation to play any of their regulars. Stupid D'Bags.

Shame on Ernie for wanting to make a better life for a child. My only question is, why didn't he adopt two?

You are all youngsters. My first game was June 1, 1975. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN197506010.shtml I don't remember many of the details of the game except for a homerun by Andre Thornton and that the Cubs won. Before the game I remember there was a lot of talk about the Cubs being in, or near first place. My parents bought me a poster with individual pictures of each Cub that I had until I lost it during a move eight years ago. I can see it in my mind's eye, color pictures of Thornton, Jose Cardinal, Manny Trillo, Bill Madlock, the Reuschel brothers, Rick Monday, Joe "Tarzan" Wallis and the rest. It looks like there were several future Cubs playing for the Dodgers that day. Davey Lopes, Bill Buckner, Ron Cey and Ivan DeJesus each took their turn in Cubbie blue eventually. Of course, Burt Hooten was already a former Cub while Rick Monday would go on to star for the Dodgers. If this game were to happen today, do you think Lou would get roasted for having Jose Morales in the five-spot with his whopping .625 OPS when you have a budding superstar (Thornton) batting lower in the order with his .969 OPS? Thornton was my favorite player in those days, though he got traded (I think) to Cleveland shortly thereafter. (B-R check shows it was in mid-season '76 that he was traded) Looking at that season on B-R, what strikes me is the attendance. The Cubs drew just over 1M and had attendance figures in some games that would make Florida seem like a baseball mecca. Of course the franchise was nearing 30 years of post-season futility and were coming down from the golden years (69-73) where the Cubs had some contending teams that didn't pan out. Sort of like where Milwaukee will be in a few years.....

I want the games on the last day of the season to matter so Sabathia and Santana have to pitch. The Mets and Brewers playing a tie breaker on Monday would be even sweeter. Of course, I want the Mets to win the wildcard because I think they are the weaker of the two teams.

This performance secures him as the #3 on the staff going into the playoffs. He had good stuff, but not good enough to get a strikeout or two when he needed it. The Mets fouled off some good pitches and Delgado crushed his one true mistake. As far as being squeezed, I don't think he was being squeezed any worse than Perez was for the Mets. It has been said a million times before, but he will never be an elite pitcher until he learns to control his temper. Tonight was a perfect example. While I am concerned about his mental status right now, I would have been much more concerned if he had come out with reduced velocity or below average stuff. He appears healthy right now and is certainly capable of throwing a great game if he is right in the head.

This game doesn't matter. The Cubs will have their chances to come back. What does matter is the continued crappiness Zambrano is giving. Right now, I would start Dempster in Game One. He is going to give us the best shot to win Game Five if needed. I don't think we can count on Zambrano giving us back-to-back good starts. I don't think Harden would be able to pitch two games in a five-game series.

I wish Z weren't starting tonight, and I really wish Harden weren't starting tomorrow. The Mets are our most likely first-round opponent, so why give them a preview of our best pitchers just a week before it becomes real? Especially when the majority of Mets haven't ever seen Harden. If Z has to pitch tonight, lets hope for a quiet six-inning, 75 pitch outing and a big Cub victory.

Don't count your chickens..... The Brewers still have a lot of talent even if/when they lose Sheets and Sabathia. All they need is to have one or two of their young arms to "get it" and they will be a force again. I don't see them just going away. Cincinnati has scary good young talent. Just look what they did to the Cubs and Brewers a couple of weeks ago. If they get a couple of pitchers that learn to pitch in that bandbox they could make a move to the top of the division. Despite the fact that everyone discounted what the Astros did this year, I have been impressed. I have heard that they may be active in the free agent market this winter to improve a core of talent that is entering its prime. They could be a huge factor in the next couple of years. Pittsburgh has accumulated a lot of young talent this year, talent that may actually end up being worth something eventually. It would not surprise me if the Pirates made a move in a year or two. Like many other teams, it will depend on how their young pitching continues to develop. The Cardinals are the trash heap of the National League, but it seems to keep them competitive. They should fall off the cliff, but they won't.

I would love to see all of the regulars get two or three days off this week. With his hand, Soto should get even more. My biggest fear is injury at this point. I would hate to see any of our regulars go down just before the playoffs.

I got my rejection email at about 11 pm last night as well. I guess they are holding my entry for World Series tickets.

The irony is that Edmonds did twice as much for the Cardinals as Eckstein and Taguchi combined...probably even more. I know I hated Edmonds as much as any Cardinal, while Eckstein and Taguchi barely registered. I would guess that it comes down to Jim being a Cub now.

As a pinch hitter, if nothing else.

He never travels to New York. He hates the city. Better for him to rest for the playoff anyway.

Unless he gives one back.

Word is that all prospective buyers of the team got their emails this morning, with the exception of Mark Cuban.

Carson Palmer. He teased greatness a few years ago so made him my keeper (I had a lousy team). He didn't do so great the next year, but my intended keeper got injured in the pre-season, so I kept him again. This year I kept someone else, but drafted him because I thought he was the best available QB. He is horrible this year.

Thanks for posting, Len. I think you and Bob do a great job.

That happens when you have a very good team that has no real superstar and has a different hero each day. My fave is Geo. Given his offense, defense and emergence as a team leader, he is the rock that this team is built upon.

That wasn't Carlos Zambrano though. First, he only threw 110 pitches in the no-hitter. Second, the velocity yesterday on his fastball? It was his 3rd highest all season, and the highest velocity all year when he was on regular rest. It wasn't even close to low. Then the reports I read were exaggerated. But still, the need to dismiss anything bad as absolutely unconcerning confuses me. There is always reason to be concerned when it comes to Z. While I believe he is one of the top 15-20 pitchers in the game, we all know he is far from a sure thing anytime he goes out on the mound. Personally, I am less concerned about his arm than I am about his head. Assuming he starts a game this week, I will want to see what kind of velocity he has in his next game. That will tell is a lot as far as his physical well being.

I'd like to see him get a controlled start next week. Keep the pitch count low, but allow Z to throw some pitches against live hitting to stay sharp. I finally watched the post game comments last night on the news. I'm going to take Z's story at face value. Nobody's said anything about shoulder pain or discomfort. His grandmother died the day before. He's flying back n' forth from South America. Not a very good way to be prepared to start a baseball game. Lou's comments were pretty terse. I didn't realize Z had made a display out of it when he was pulled. I hope that whole thing blows over quickly. Yeah, when I heard about the grandmother thing it made more sense. Also, they said that Z apologized to Lou and it seems all is well. Thanks for that info. I was curious why he went back to Venezuela. Maybe that was kind of on his mind. He is pretty emotional and all This is easy to say with hindsight, but I don't think anyone would have blamed him if he had taken bereavement leave to be with his grandmother and get one start in next week. I admire that he wanted be a warrior and make his start, but he did himself and the team no favors by going out in that condition.

Do you mean Cub World?

Magglio would be an interesting option if he could be had cheaply. I'd prefer to throw a better prospect and hope the Tigers would throw back some cash. This is a common theme when talking trade, but who do the Cubs have as a better prospect that would interest the Tigers? Also, would getting rid of that prospect be worth a player who will most likely not be worth his salary by the last year of that contract?

Milton Bradley wouldn't be bad for a year or two, at the right price. I just think he will be too expensive for too many years to make it worthwhile. Pass.

Does anyone think the Cubs could do worse than to let him have the rest of the regular season off? He obviously did well after his last extended rest.

If only Mark Prior had known Geo's mom.... Geo will be fine. Nothing really matters until October.