harrdb00

Jones has been the Cubs best hitter during the past two months. Right now, based upon his stats and his salary, he is a relative bargain. Also, he is just entering his prime, so I believe (though many disagree with me) that he can keep this up. Right now he is on pace for a .290 average with 30 hrs. That's pretty darn solid for $5 mil.

Jacque is having the best season of any hitter on the team, and people on this board can't be happy about it. I'm enjoying watching him hit. Moreso than any RF we have had in the past couple years (the last sammy season included). I am impressed with how Jones has withstood the booing to rebound and put together a solid start to the season. Yes, his OBP is below average, but is that the only way a guy should be evaluated? I don't think so.

Murton and Barrett are making him work. hopefully something good will happen.

Great AB. He hit the crap out of that one

I'm not excited about Piniella either though. I keep hearing the talk shows mention him, and I cringe. I hope that doesn't happen. Who would you prefer? Piniella is the only name I can think of? Maybe Brenly? Is Riggleman unemployed? Speier would be an interesting choice. He'd work as an interim guy. If he sucks, oh well, he can go out the door after the season is over. Good call. Speier would be a good choice. Anything but Dusty.

I'm not excited about Piniella either though. I keep hearing the talk shows mention him, and I cringe. I hope that doesn't happen. Who would you prefer? Piniella is the only name I can think of? Maybe Brenly? Is Riggleman unemployed?

I agree with everything you mentioned. Before today, I believed that Dusty bashing was premature. Well now is a different story. This team is not talented enough to withstand his mismanaging. It is time to pull the plug on Dusty and bring in Lou Piniella.

Do you really need to ask? After awhile the anger wears into numbness. Right now I am comfortably numb. This is why Dusty needs to go. The decision on this move cost the Cubs a run. It was a no-brainer to let Pierre steal and allow Cedeno to hit. I don't get it. Dusty's managerial decisions hinder this team. They aren't good enough to overcome decisions like these.

Yes indeed. Horrible.

awful.

I think Ronny is going to hit an HR today

Alright. Let's Go Ronny!

Let's Go Juan!

Wow, Tim. Are you really bragging about your testing ability when you were 18? Uh, yeah, I guess so, though it was really just a throwaway comment in a post that was really about a comparison of the two tests and me being far removed from the testing process. Would you prefer I brag about more recent accomplishments? :D I'd probably prefer you don't brag at all. The great site you created speaks for itself.

Wow, Tim. Are you really bragging about your testing ability when you were 18?

Well put. Same here.

I still love him. He didn't pitch well in that game but without his dominance, for much of 2003, the Cubs wouldn't have gotten to the postseason much less the NLCS. Agreed. He is my favorite Cubs player to watch play. He did so many great things in that short playoff run. Whenever he takes the mound there is a chance for greatness. I really hope he can get healthy this year. I'm fearful that the Cubs are going to have to let him go after this year. I think seeing him pitch for another team will make my stomach turn.

I just saw Neifi limp off the field. i hope you all are happy.

I'm not really sure why everyone on this board is so down on Pierre. I remember watching him in '03 and every other time the Cubs played the Marlins, thinking how I wish the Cubs had a guy like him. Now we have him and I couldn't be happier. Let's not bury him because he had a below average spring training. He is not a rookie, he does not need to prove himself in ST. He is a veteran who has proven to be a very good lead-off man. I can't wait to watch him play!

No Eric Patterson? That's not right. Do you think he'll be at West Tenn?

Why? Let me preface my answer by saying (a) I'm not a Sammy-basher and never have been, and (b) my reasons have been debated here ad nauseaum ... I don't have much to add because I'm just a normal long-time Cub fan, like you, probably, and many others here on NSBB. I do not have any inside info. Why do I think he took something? It's not just his Chico Ensuela act in front of Congress ... it's not just the fact that he's a known cheater (too bad he didn't know that cork is at best a psychological advantage) ... it's not just the astonishing spurt in his HR rate ... it's not just the fact that the power surge happened to coincide with others who are under heavy suspicion, Bonds, Giambi, McGwire, etc. ... it's not just the dramatic change in his appearance (including quite a bit of acne) by '98 ... it's not just that in 2001 he hit 64 HR and didn't steal a single base (going from a 30-30 guy to a 64-0 guy is going to justifiably raise a few eyebrows) ... it's not any of the above in isolation, it's the whole thing. I want to believe that no Barry-asterisk belongs in front of any of Sammy's monster years, but at some point as circumstantial evidence piles up it becomes awfully compelling. What follows is pure speculation on my part -- just observations of how Sammy evolved over time in the 90's. Please don't ask for documentation, web links, etc. because all I have is my memory. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong on the facts I'm sure. I've followed Sammy's career since he was a skinny kid with the White Sox. I believe he legitimately turned himself into a power hitter, and a very good one, without any artificial help. In '96 he was leading the NL in HRs when he was beaned in late August by a nobody named Mark Hutton (who had no idea where the ball was going that day). Just like the Torres beaning in '04, Sammy wasn't the same when he returned -- and he also stumbled out of the gate in '97 (of course he wasn't the only Cub to stumble out of the gate in '97). Now Sammy also had contract extension negotiations in '97, and also happened to start showing the prodigious power stroke to the opposite field later that year (prior to that he had been a predominantly classic pull HR hitter). He also was visibly bulking up later that year -- perhaps someone else can back me up on that observation. All coincidental? Sure, it's possible. Probable? Doubtful. I really think '97 was the year he started using something, mid-season -- not the '97-'98 off-season as is commonly assumed. Again, pure conjecture on my part, I admit. Well put. I, too, am not a Sammy basher, but the circumstantial evidence is compelling.

That's a good point. If Grace named names he would be getting killled for being a sellout. either way he can't win. Maybe it would be better if he pretended he couldn't speak English like Sammy? Fact is Grace was a good teammate. He always showed up to training camp on time, and was good in the clubhouse. He never cheated. And I don't remember anyone smashing his boombox. It is amazing how people overlook Sammy's obvious transgressions, but flip out at Grace because he speaks his mind. I just don't get it.

Simply awesome. I read it last year, and it is worth another read. I miss watching this guy play. http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/news/2005/sandberg_speech.doc

You mean the ones who can tell what drugs people have taken by looking at pictures of them in baseball uniforms? The thing I don't understand about the majority of people on this board is why they defend Sammy Sosa when they criticize Barry Bonds and say that he took steroids. The fact is that Sosa's body changed just as much as Bonds's did. Both of their heads looked like they got filled up with helium. When did you measure their heads? Sammy's body changed at a much younger age then Bonds. Sammy came from a third world country and was rail thin in Texas and barely out of his teens. Sammy never gave testimony that said he used steriods. Sammy has never been caught with Steriods. Sammy has never tested positive for steriods. Now, all this doesn't mean he didn't do it. But what you have done in this thread is absolutely nothing to demonstrate in any tangible way that Sammy was a user. You've passed your opinion off as fact. So it is probably best that you are done with this thread. These are pretty strong words from someone who said the following about Mark McGwire who similarly is only speculated to be steroid user. I would have no problem if the plaque read the same thing for sammy or any other player whose career ran from the mid 90s to 2005. McGuire went in front of Congress and didn't answer questions about his use of steriods. McGuire played the majority of his career in the bay area with Canseco and with Giambi. Again, I don't know if he took steriods either. But there is far more circumstantial evidence for McGuire than Sammy. You are dismissing other's circumstantial evidence regarding Sammy but using other circumstantial evidence to say that McGwire shouldn't be in the HOF? That is where you are wrong. They haven't presented any evidence whatsoever. None. Nada. Zip. Zero. Nothing. Believe what you'd like.

You mean the ones who can tell what drugs people have taken by looking at pictures of them in baseball uniforms? The thing I don't understand about the majority of people on this board is why they defend Sammy Sosa when they criticize Barry Bonds and say that he took steroids. The fact is that Sosa's body changed just as much as Bonds's did. Both of their heads looked like they got filled up with helium. When did you measure their heads? Sammy's body changed at a much younger age then Bonds. Sammy came from a third world country and was rail thin in Texas and barely out of his teens. Sammy never gave testimony that said he used steriods. Sammy has never been caught with Steriods. Sammy has never tested positive for steriods. Now, all this doesn't mean he didn't do it. But what you have done in this thread is absolutely nothing to demonstrate in any tangible way that Sammy was a user. You've passed your opinion off as fact. So it is probably best that you are done with this thread. These are pretty strong words from someone who said the following about Mark McGwire who similarly is only speculated to be steroid user. I would have no problem if the plaque read the same thing for sammy or any other player whose career ran from the mid 90s to 2005. McGuire went in front of Congress and didn't answer questions about his use of steriods. McGuire played the majority of his career in the bay area with Canseco and with Giambi. Again, I don't know if he took steriods either. But there is far more circumstantial evidence for McGuire than Sammy. At least McGwire didn't pretend that he could no longer speak the language.