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He was getting hit before that liner from Burnitz, his problem is that with his FB he is having trouble getting ahead of hitters, they are either putting the ball into play early into the count or are getting ahead. The HR to Patterson was a cutter that missed in the zone, the HR to Lawton was a FB that was too far down the middle. The Cubs should've him harder, Morris threw the exact same pitch that Patterson hit for a HR to Walker and he hit a shallow fly to RF. Before the 6th, the Cubs had 8 hits thru 5 I believe and 2 HRs and could only manage 3 runs thru 5 which included runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs and Lee up in the 1st. I don't know if he is fatigued, but his FB hasn't had the location it once did and that little cutter should only be a show-me pitch inside to LH'ers and not something they should throw backdoor to them. Hitters are focusing on his FB and laying the curve unless behind in the count, which is why it is important for him to get ahead. Lee did hit a hanging curve, though.

Lawton 58BBs in 374 ABs with Pitt. Lawton 1BB in 43ABs with the Cubs... A full season of Walker hitting 2nd would eliminate the lack of OBP with the #2 hitter.

Morgan/Miller----Baker/LaRussa Can it get any worse?

It's more likely that Torre will get canned before Baker. Personally, both have done poor enough of a job to merit being canned.

The stats say all of them are better, except for Vidro who statistically has been better but hasn't played enough. If the stats say they are all better, I'll lean towards that for obvious reasons.

Clemens has DIPS ERA of 1.92, Carpenter 2.89. Clemens has saved 41 runs over an avg. pitcher this, Carpenter has saved 31.

I'll be rooting for the Astros to win the WC, I'll be rooting for the Braves to win the NL. As much as some don't like Oswalt, I respect the production he brings. I also like Ensberg as well as Ausmus.

Counsell has had a better year, Walker, Luis Castillo, Giles, Kent, Utley, Biggio, Freel, and Durham. That's not including the health of issues of Vidro and the potential of Weeks, who I'd rate as better 2B than Grudz. That's only the NL.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/printedition/ny-spflash144384071aug14,0,4480692.column?coll=ny-sports-print

I do not want the Cardinal pitchers to throw at anyone unless warrented (bean ball after a hr, etc..). To me the brush back pitch is just as affective and you make your point. And I don't think Zambrano is deserving of such a pitch because he is no real threat as a hitter. If you want to send a message it has to be at ARam or D. Lee. Those are the studs on the team just like Albert and Jimmy. Players throw at other players all the time, in '03 when Haren was bunting and Clement knocked him on his "insert", Haren responded by hitting Clement in the leg. That wasn't an accident, that was a purpose pitch, I don't think it was dirty. I assume LaRussa or Duncan were behind it after the Cubs pitchers had knocked down several Cards batters during the 5 game series. I do find ironic, how the writer of "3 nights in August" comments how LaRussa has spoken out about purpose pitches. Of course, that same blowhole mentions those with a "MBA" and the moneyball philosophy are taking over the game, how those who have played the game need to take the game back. This coming from some writer who has never played the game, what validates his opinion, what has he done in baseball? It's great he knows how to use multiple metaphors, he should use them to describe the soap-box he is on. I want the Cubs to be more aggressive, they didn't have the talent to compete with STL in '03, but they had the moxie, this year they don't have the moxie or the talent. If it takes some purpose pitches to put some spark into the Cubs, so be it... I never understood the idea of throwing at someone other than the pitcher, if it is in retaliation of the oppositing pitcher throwing at a batter if the teams are playing in the NL>

These players cleared from the Mets and Yanks...

It's all bat control, those with good bat control typically hit for a higher avg. and have a better eye and put the ball into play in the right spot/situation. How well a hitter advances baserunners with groundouts isn't high on my priority lists, if he can hit, that ability becomes an added bonus.

The more thought I've put into this, the more and more I've been considering Orel Hershiser as a possibility I'd like to see as well. His work ethic, approach, and understanding of the game put him near the top of any managerial candidate.

Clemens has allowed 39 fewer runs than an avg. would, Carpenter 30 fewer runs. Clemens DERA-1.91 Carpenter DERA-2.90 Clemens deserves the Cy Young.

Buck must've forgot how poorly the Cards were on offense in the WS. The Cards didn't lose b/c of not having Carpenter, unless the magical powers of Carpenter leads to hitters getting out of slumps.

I wish there would be more than Perez, but I don't see the Cubs unloading Perez, there's the impression of how well he did when Nomar 1st went down that many haven't paid attention to how he had done after that hot start. I think Branyan would fit the 1B/3B mold off the bench. Right now, the two priorities have to be OF and BP. I'll be disappointed if they don't improve with the pen.

1)Trade for Lugo (I'd offer Sing and a pitching prospect) 2)Sign BJ Ryan (Cubs start to develop an above avg. pen) 3)Go after Giles 4)Trade for Kearns (Pitching prospects) 5)Sign Millwood Lineup: Lugo-SS Walker-2B Lee-1B Giles-RF Ramirez-3B Kearns-LF Barrett-C Patterson-CF Rotation: Z Prior Maddux Millwood Wood Bullpen: Ryan Dempster Williamson Ohman Rusch JVB Bench: Hollandsworth Murton Blanco Perez 1B/3B backup Cedeno

Vance, are you 5'5" in heels? :) It looks like you're standing next to Randy Johnson...

I have no idea why teams would be opposed to DF&Es, 18-19yo. heading to a year of JUCO against tougher comp. gives a club a better idea of a player's ceiling, there is less risk for a team in making a financial commitment than drafting and signing.

Pitching off the mound in game situations is a process of tearing down the various parts of the shoulder. Whether you throw 3 or 300 pitches, it is an unnatural motion of the body. Plus, I don't see the positives of having Wood out there, someone explain how the positives of having Kerry out of the pen in limited is worth the risk of damaging his shoulder more? No one who supports using Kerry in the pen has been able to explain this, I'm missing something here.+ Who knows at this stage, it isn't worth the time between now and the rest of the year. If the Cubs thought he could start again and had a chance of making the post-season, then I might be more receptive, but Wood in the pen throwing with a shoulder that require off-season surgery doesn't make much sense.

I won't, if Kerry has surgery at the end of this year as I expect he will, then they're throwing him out there when he shouldn't be out there. If a pitcher will require surgery, everytime he's out there, he is risking future damage. They're risking future damage for someone who'll see spotty time out of the pen who hasn't pitched in relief and will be used as a starter in the future. They're trying to get as much out of him for this year as possible, for what? Kerry as reliever, isn't worth much to any post-season hope.

I don't think you need to be a doctor to know that there is damage to his shoulder that will need to be cleaned out via surgery and that the cortisone is a short-term heal that weakens the cartilage around the point of injection. They should've shut him down, IMO. Sorry, I don't have the qualifications, how many here have played pro-ball? Why should any of us have any of opinion that might go against what any team does?

He's still pretty raw as a C, he came up in Montreal's system as a 3B. He shifted to C after they realized he doesn't have the bat for 3B. He still projects to be an avg. C, he has quick enough feet and a strong enough arm. Despite the shortcomings, I think he has instincts to play C.

Kerry could hit 97 as a starter, not too surprising since most starters do not give max effort as far as velocity when utilized as a starter compared to throwing out of the pen. They have to conserve. I mention this in another thread, but when I seen Hill as Lansing he was hitting 93-94 in relief. He has sat in the upper 80s as a starter with the Cubs, it might be a result of a never fully injury or he may be holding back to go 6IP. With that said, the shot in Kerry's shoulder probably as much to with this as anything else as it probably feels as good as it ever has. Kerry should be a starter, roll the dice as far as correcting his mechanics and workload to the point where he can make it 1 more season and go from there.

The ILL-INI Storks http://www.mix945.com/file_library/1111206058__.JPG :!: Wisconsin drivers are the worst.