brinoch

Ummm... why is Howry batting in gameday?

Oh Christ. All this for Miller? He of the straight line 87 MPH fastball? This organization deserves its place in history as the most futile organization in sports. Happy happy joy joy.

This is unfair. The other side of the argument has claimed that Marshall will do as well as Guzman, which is using the "crystal ball" just as much as the pro-Guzman camp.

Horrid.

My guess is that they'll keep it going, but I don't think they have much hope for success. I think what probably saved West Ham's bacon is that they more or less reported the contract issue themselves. Sheff should have focused on taking care of business at home against Wigan and they'd have been safe. A draw at home against a relegation rival should be your focus; not what West Ham does on the road. Say what you will about the Tevez/Mascherano fiasco (and I really think it was a fiasco), you have to give credit to West Ham for an incredible run at the end of the season. They won 7 of their last 10 matches, including their last 4 in a row; in any league, that's pretty darn good. I watched the Man U/West Ham game, and it was a good match. Man U deserved at least a point out of it, but West Ham also had some nice chances -- including an open net post hit by Boa Morte and what probably should have been a penalty kick. West Ham should also be happy that Man U didn't need the game. If Chelsea beats both Man U and Arsenal down the stretch, Man U would have needed to win the game and the result likely would have been different. But Chelsea didn't win, so Man U didn't need to win, and West Ham certainly benefitted from that. True enough, but it's not like Man U didn't play solid football or field a decent team.

He's a great screen threat. Yikes, imagine that -- a successful screen pass by the Bears.

I don't know what to say. ??? Please enlighten me with your infinite wisdom Every single plate appearance "skews" statistics by your definition. Why should Murton's last 5 or 6 ABs not be considered but a 5 or 6 AB stretch earlier in the year where he did nothing is. It's not misleading at all to say Murton has been more productive this season when his season long stats (all included, it's not like his most recent at bats are weighted more heavily) are better. Additionally, if you factor in the fact that since Soriano's switch to LF, Murton's barely played, and yet he's STILL HITTING BETTER THAN FLOYD OR JONES. Kinda hard to justify going with Floyd, in particular, except that he's a veteran playing for a manager who likes veterans. Well, if you would factor that in, you should at least mention that Floyd has barely played at all since Soriano moved to LF as well-considering this is how many at-bats each have gotten since Soriano's first game in LF: Murton-32 Floyd-26 So Murton has gotten more at-bats since Soriano switched to LF, which kind of eliminates your point that he's hardly played since that time compared to Floyd. BTW, even without that point-I think Murton is really starting to hit the ball well, and I hope he is in there for at least a majority if not a good majority of at bats in the near future, because he is playing better than Floyd. Except that I did include Jones, as well as Floyd, in my commentary. I made the point that Murton should be playing over Floyd and Jones, though Floyd in particular. Playing Murton is clearly the least of Sweet Lou's priorities. Which means that Lou lied to the fans and the media -- repeatedly. And I don't like being lied to.

My guess is that they'll keep it going, but I don't think they have much hope for success. I think what probably saved West Ham's bacon is that they more or less reported the contract issue themselves. Sheff should have focused on taking care of business at home against Wigan and they'd have been safe. A draw at home against a relegation rival should be your focus; not what West Ham does on the road. Say what you will about the Tevez/Mascherano fiasco (and I really think it was a fiasco), you have to give credit to West Ham for an incredible run at the end of the season. They won 7 of their last 10 matches, including their last 4 in a row; in any league, that's pretty darn good. I watched the Man U/West Ham game, and it was a good match. Man U deserved at least a point out of it, but West Ham also had some nice chances -- including an open net post hit by Boa Morte and what probably should have been a penalty kick.

I don't know what to say. ??? Please enlighten me with your infinite wisdom Every single plate appearance "skews" statistics by your definition. Why should Murton's last 5 or 6 ABs not be considered but a 5 or 6 AB stretch earlier in the year where he did nothing is. It's not misleading at all to say Murton has been more productive this season when his season long stats (all included, it's not like his most recent at bats are weighted more heavily) are better. Additionally, if you factor in the fact that since Soriano's switch to LF, Murton's barely played, and yet he's STILL HITTING BETTER THAN FLOYD OR JONES. Kinda hard to justify going with Floyd, in particular, except that he's a veteran playing for a manager who likes veterans.

Yes, and I understand he visits Goodall on Wednesday, where the smart money says he will receive an 8 game suspension. I hope Dvoracek is ready to step in. Is this based on something factual, or is it just speculation? It's speculation, but since he's taken the reins, Goodell has really cracked down on misbehaving players. 8 games is in line with what he's done so far this offseason.

Except that, dare I say it, moving Soriano down in the lineup might perhaps help the lineup by moving players who get on base more often into the 1 and 2 spots. I'll stop the crazy talk now. At the time he made his post (earlier today), Soriano was 3rd of the regulars in OBP. The other two? They bat 2nd and 3rd every time they play (Theriot/Lee). So far, Soriano's OBP hasn't been a problem at all, and he has been one of the players who gets on base more often. And yet, there's another player who could fill the bill: Matt Murton. I'd go with: Theriot, SS Murton, RF Lee, 1B Ramirez, 3B Soriano, LF Jones, CF Barrett, C DeRosa, 2B Soriano really does have a lot of power, and I really hate seeing solo home runs. Just a personal thing.

We should trade Izturis to Japan for an empty bottle of sake. Or some leftover, uneaten rice grains from a restaurant floor.

Except that, dare I say it, moving Soriano down in the lineup might perhaps help the lineup by moving players who get on base more often into the 1 and 2 spots. I'll stop the crazy talk now.

We've hashed this type of argument out about a hundred thousand times since this board was created by Tim. The fact is that the Cubs have nothing invested in Floyd and his happiness shouldn't be a factor in anything. He's old and he's clearly getting worse as he ages; there's nothing wrong with that -- it happens. Murton, on the other hand, is only going to get better and better. He's younger and already better than Floyd both offensively and defensively. So why play Floyd? Because, like Baker, Piniella has a ridiculous veteran fetish. You want to discuss improving the offense? Well, look no farther than Murton's career OBP (.368) as an easy fix. (Jones in his last three years has a .323, and Floyd earned a .347. Color me impressed.) Murton gets on base more. His power is on the upswing. And, perhaps more importantly, he's extremely inexpensive. Hendry really screwed up when he went out and got Floyd. He and Jones both have very similar weaknesses -- both have a real hard time with lefties -- yet Hendry went out and got a second (older) version of the same player. What the Cubs needed was a either a platoon partner for Jones, or two impact OF's (one needed to be a CF) that would pair Murton and Jones in a platoon. Hendry didn't do that. Instead he signed Floyd. Yet another horrible decision by a GM that doesn't think about the whole picture, or understand why teams win. Teams win by scoring more than the other guy, and to score runs, you need basecloggers ... er... baserunners. Murton should be playing every day, and he should have a chip on his shoulder thanks to the shoddy treatment he's received from Sweet Lou and the Cubs -- treatment which is, alas, quite typical for an organization known for its futility and failure.

Tank gets out of jail early for "good behavior."

Holy crap! Did we just get a ... first pitch DP? Wow. Now if only we weren't down by 5.

My word! Another first pitch DP.

That would be across the line of appropriate language.

Sweet. A first pitch double play. I love it.

I like this move. Pie was wasted sitting on the bench, whereas now he can play everyday -- which is what he needs at this juncture. Rotting on the bench rather than playing every day is the wrong thing for him. Piniella has just as much a veteran fetish as Baker ever did -- don't kid yourself. He's demonstrated it time and again, and right now, I'm afraid it's hurting us with Murton and Floyd.

that weren't that good for the innings before that either. Maybe, but I didn't start watching until the 8th.

From the 9th inning on, the Cubs were simply awful. Everyone swinging for the fences -- no one just trying to get on base and make something happen.

The only thing missing from that abysmal display of defensive prowess was Jones spiking the ball 10 feet in front of himself.

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Kevin Goldstein with BP thinks the Cubs will take Vitters, FWIW -- of course, provided that he's available.