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Although I shouldn't respond to this post in a respectful manner or even respond at all, I will. You see it all the time, pitchers will rush their delivery or they don't stay set for a full second. Catchers will jump out of their stance prematurely, etc. With a baserunner w/speed on 1B, a pitcher should always be under the assumption the runner is going to steal. It helps take away the element of surprise and puts further emphasis on what a pitcher must do to upset the timing of the runner. Warren Spahn once said, "Hitting is timing, and pitching is upsetting timing". The same holds true with the pitcher and a runner at 1B. The pitcher has several ways of doing so, coming set and waiting a few seconds and throwing over is one way, vary your delivery times to home as most pitchers use the same set time, turning and throwing while his hands are in the act of moving down toward their final position. They also can throw over from the top of their stretch before their hands join and from the set position wait a couple of seconds, quickly stepping back with his foot off the rubber to prevent the balk fake the throw to 1B. Another is improper stretch mechanics, you can rush your throws in a strecth position just as easily out of the stretch as you can the full windup. Everything done to try and upset the timing of a runner or pick him off of 1B is done without throwing the ball to home. Some pitchers have trouble recognizing it. You want another example of a "weak mind", watch Clement after he got hit for a 2nd time last year. It's not that it's a weak mind or "[expletive]" as incorrectly you put it, it's a mental block, some have it and some don't, some get over it and some don't. Back to Clement, after he got hit with a liner for a second time, as soon as the batter made contact and fouled it straight back, Clement flinched before even finishing his follow-thru. Once a pitcher realizes he can't dictate whether or not a runner is going to go, when he knows he's going home, he has no control over the runner and his focus is on the batter. It's a mental block, it's pretty common in baseball and various aspects of the game, the way Patterson differentiates a ball from a strike is different than Bonds, Patterson might very well have a mental block there.

Now, how much value does that have compared to the actual ability of getting on base? To me, the ability to distract some of the lesser pitchers isn't nearly as important as the ability to get on 1B.

I will have attended aome 40 or so HS games by May 1st, driving 90 minutes and all the hassle isn't worth it much of the time. If I go to a game I'll scalp or buy the day before a game.

I'm glad that wore out on me, the glamour of trying to deal w/all the BS to get as many as possible doesn't make much sense anymore. Sad, but I don't enjoy trying to get to Wrigley as much as possible. I'm usually burnt out of going to games by May.

But, RH'ed pitcher isn't visually distracted, when a runner takes off his eye is on the target. A LH'ed pitcher can get visually distracted by the running taking off as can the hitter. As a hitter I hated runners stealing 2B while at the plate.

Hughes is definitely an asset for this team, despite that Baseball America article. He knows his stuff and is very good in his role as assistant GM to Hendry. The only problem is that his line of thinking runs parallel to Hendry, I'd like to see someone of his stature within the organization run more perdindicular. Pretty much more balance is what I'm getting at.

I'm predicting Oswalt.

PNC has a nice row of restaurants and bars right outside the stadium. I would rather go to PNC before GABP, it's probably closer to Clev. as well.

But, what type of pitchers are impacted by a runner on base? I've never seen Maddux react differently, he'll throw over, but he'll never rush his typical slow delivery or hang one. The only type of pitchers that get impacted by a quick runner on-base are weak minded ones who don't trust their stuff that day. The elite or even good pitchers do not get distracted, having speed is more important as far as creating a mind-set that you're an aggressive club rather than distracting pitchers/catchers. Every team should allow the players to have a green light, the green light should never be given by a coach, only a stop sign.

He'll have to get on-base a lot, if not the Cubs will have a feast or famine style of offense again.

There are more 6'0" 180LB athletes that run a 6.4 60 in FB than baseball. There are not many small athletes in any pro sport, including baseball. Unlike most sports though, size doesn't matter as much in baseball. You can have power pitchers the size of Randy Johnson or Billy Wagner, you can have hitters like Kingman or Aaron.

Scouts factor speed more than GMs, if there are 5 absolutes to pitching and hitting, speed is obviously one of the 5 absolutes of scouting. It's also one of the easiest to grade, thanks to the stop watch. For me, when grading a leadoff hitter, speed is a luxury and getting on-base is a requirement. I would not sacrifice the ability to get on base for speed, if there was a choice between two hitters to hit leadoff.

But that doesn't explain a certain type of kid, which is what Goony was originally referring to. If you're fast, you're likely playing FB. Baseball is further down the totem pole compared to FB, some play both, but there are more elite athletes playing FB than BB. Overall, baseball participation on a local setting has declined for the reasons that I mentioned. It has impacted the quality of the game as well.

I'd have no problem with the possibility of a new stadium depending on location, although it would never happen, so obviously it's the Cubs 1st.

If a pitcher is thrown for a loop b/c Pierre is on base, he's probably weak mentally and unable to handle pressure. That likely means he's not that good to begin with and lacks confidence. You don't see good pitchers get rattled when a fast runner is on 1B for a reason. Then, did Pierre impact the pitcher or did the weak mental state of the pitcher impact it? I blame the pitcher & not credit the runner. That pitcher likely gets rattled even with a slow runner, b/c the leadoff runner and he's afraid of the big inning.

What's your take on Citizen's Bank Park? I was there 2 years ago and it was ok, nothing special.

I blame video games and the suburban effect, the population has spread out over the last 50 years and it's hard to play baseball when you can't round up enough people to field a game. Equipment makes it more difficult as well especially in lesser economic areas. Go to Latin America, the cities are more condensed, no video games, and you're left w/sports as far as recreation.

I took it from an offensive standpoint, production and value are two separate issues, Lee will be better offensively than Tejada, but Tejada with a productive year will have more value than Lee b/c of positional changes. Murton will likely bring more production offensively then Pierre, something that Pierre's speed likely won't be able to compensate for. Defensively, Pierre is better b/c of the range, Juan can cover alot more ground than Murton, both have avg. instincts, neither have strong arms w/Murton's probably stronger than Pierre, who has below avg. arm strength w/similar accuracy.

Camden PNC Wrigley Fenway Next group. Comerica, Jacobs, SBC

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-060222rogers,1,695844.column?coll=cs-cubs-utility Does waiting to decide on Baker make Baker and the Cubs look weak & directionless? I haven't seen enough to merit locking up Hendry before this season concludes. Hughes and Wilken are great for the front office, but Rogers mentions "directionless" w/out Hendry, I want to know what direction are they heading in NOW? This is a team with a boatload of FAs coming off a 79 win season, down 10 from the previous season, with a farm system that has gone from one of the elite to average. What does that say about direction? The direction of this team shifted after '03 and it still hasn't recovered.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/moore/260529_moore23.html

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11491483/ At this point, they have to forward and somehow prevent Civil War. I was against the War at the start '03 and am still opposed to it.

Don't forget about Chase at 2B.

It's great for those individual players, I'm not sure of the impact on the overall team. This team will still have to depend on the health of Wood and Prior as far as getting into the post-season. In-season conditioning is just as important as off-season conditioning, especially the pitchers.

It was Madden, Carter mentioned Delino "shooting his wad".