Soul

Well now they know their future pitching sucks donkey balls. So can we have Oswalt pitch tonight? 8-) 8-)

Yeah, there's no telling where the standings will be by that series. There's no way of being sure the games will matter. Odds are the last game won't matter for at least one of MIL or SD, if not both. And it's possible the last two will be meaningless as well. Things are tight for everybody right now, but that can all go out the windown in 2 days. Which is also why the whole loss column thing doesn't matter now, HAHAH!

What me worry? http://www.notmilk.com/graphics/alfrede.jpg

quit your whining. yeah, it sucks, but the cubs missed oswalt twice and webb when they were in arizona. the cubs shouldn't need the astros help to win 85 games. Seriously, please quit the whining. I'm sure the Cardinals just loved it when we were throwing out Guzman, Marmol and Juan Mateo at the end of last year. I do remember that, and I think LaRussa complained about it. Which is why I was wondering out loud if Tony might want a little payback this year. I understand this isn't the first time something like this has happened and the ultimate bottom line is we have nothing but under .500 ballclubs left on our schedule. Therefore if we don't make the playoffs it is because we didn't deserve it. I get that.

That's....what I was saying just a couple days ago.

I'd say the loss column really matters when we have less games to play, few enough that the Brewers would realistically win the remainder of them. Looking at the schedule, it wouldn't be at all surprising if the Brewers lose on both of our offdays, negating the loss column advantage. The odds are still in our favor to win this division. If we don't win it, it's certainly not because of anything but the Cubs not getting it done. I guess I can see that, with just a few games remaining, it comes into focus a bit more.

i know. it's not that hard: - If the Cubs lose 5 more games and the Brewers lose 5 more games, the Cubs don't make the playoffs. there, simple, eh? And if they don't then it doesn't mean anything. So what's the point?

Neither did I (understand the loss column thing). What I do hope for is the fact that the Cubs have 2 days off and the Crew plays straight through, all the way. A couple nights where they need to use that bullpen heavily could help because they won't be able to breathe. It's just a dead heat right now and I will admit that I'm concerned. But like others I've been concerned about this bunch from day 1. They're outperforming my pre-season expectations.

LOL, I just get this ugly feeling that we're gonna be saddled with the biggest joke of an owner that Selig can hang on us. Tell me you all aren't feeling the same thing.

You're lumping Piniella in with Hendry? I don't see them as the same, at all. How is Piniella an idiot? I don't think we'd even be in the race right now without some of the moves he's made. He's the one who put Marmol as primary setup man -- that right there saved the season. He also quickly plunked Izzy on the bench and moved Theriot in, something that probably also resulted in several losses turning into wins. Idiot? Don't think so.

I think LaRussa lamented a September lineup we put out there one year. Payback?

Hehe, it figures. Is there some kind of sentiment out there that the Crew should be helped along to win the division title or something? Weird. Well, actually this is probably payback for the ARam trade. In all honesty, I don't care who is pitching for the Pirates, if we can't beat them down the stretch then we don't deserve to go to the playoffs.

But they're not in a pennant race. I think the competitive balance should lie somewhere between playing like a playoff race and rolling over. Did the Phillies complain when we trotted out this lineup last September: Pierre, CF Bynum, 2B Ramirez, 3B Jones, RF Murton, LF Moore, 1B Blanco, C Cedeno, SS Walrond, P Besides, who the heck cares if Woody Williams was taken out of the rotation. Do you really think he was going to shut down the Brewers? Last year? That lineup was probably better than our freaking starters. Yes, I think woody williams and roy oswalt would have had a much better chance of stopping the crew than a couple clowns. Yes. The whole point is, if they were still in it they wouldn't be doing this, and also that they weren't in it before either when they faced us and we got their better starters. There's an inequality here that can't be muted. Woody Williams is terrible. Why not take their chances with one of their prospects and try to catch the Brewers 'off guard'. I was told the reason that they are doing this now is because they were officially eliminated from the playoffs on Monday. I know thats a joke because they were mentally done a month ago, but it is what it is. Yeah I think it's a complete joke. Let's just try to hold serve tonight and see what Atlanta and SD do.

But they're not in a pennant race. I think the competitive balance should lie somewhere between playing like a playoff race and rolling over. Did the Phillies complain when we trotted out this lineup last September: Pierre, CF Bynum, 2B Ramirez, 3B Jones, RF Murton, LF Moore, 1B Blanco, C Cedeno, SS Walrond, P Besides, who the heck cares if Woody Williams was taken out of the rotation. Do you really think he was going to shut down the Brewers? Last year? That lineup was probably better than our freaking starters. Yes, I think woody williams and roy oswalt would have had a much better chance of stopping the crew than a couple clowns. Yes. The whole point is, if they were still in it they wouldn't be doing this, and also that they weren't in it before either when they faced us and we got their better starters. There's an inequality here that can't be muted.

I'm sure they will and I'm sure it's not that big of a deal to them. But it is a little ridiculous that the Astros throw out 3 garbage, no-name pitchers in games that are supposed to matter. The Cubs often have problems with pitchers like that! :D LOL. So true.

Not really. If the Stros were in a pennant race you can bet your bottom dollar she would have induced labor for the right time so he wouldn't miss a start. Plus, it's 3 starters, not just Oswalt. 3 junkies just in time for the Crew to roll into town. Don't the Stros have a series or two left that don't matter in the pennant race where they could pitch these clowns?

I think he's hilarious to watch on TV. I love how he jumps from his seat, arms waving, and yelling stuff at the ump after he called a close pitch a ball, instead of a strike. He also refuses to participate in any 3-2 2 out everybody on your feet clapping moments, and generally never moves other than when he's yelling at the ump. The other night he seemed to have his arm around some sort of trophy girlfriend for about a half inning early in the game. I think the Cubs have a bad record whenever I've seen him behind home plate. Damn pink hat, Z can't target his pitches. Get him out of there! :wink:

Cecil Cooper used to play for the Brewers....conspiracy theorists, anyone? It certainly seems suspicious. It's not like the Stros have been in this thing for the past 2 weeks (post Sept callups). They've had no chance for awhile, yet they pitch their good pitchers against us and wait for the Crew to unveil their tomato cans? Does the league even care about this or are they just going to let it slide? Can they do anything? I don't want to cry conspiracy without knowing the facts. I just want to know what valid reasons there are for the timing. Is it the new GM -- ?

They're facing Atlanta on the road, so hopefully their road woes continue and Atlanta takes 3 out of 4. I'm hoping for an Atlanta sweep!! Milwaukee's road woes will continue!!! Atlanta will mysteriously switch out their starters for 3 tomato cans. Oh but they'll send a form letter around beforehand, so it's O.K. :roll:

It's simply ridiculous. And of course the Reds won't do the same for us. Not that I expect them to, I just expect some modicrum of decency to prevail in a pennant race. Who's getting paid on this one? Seriously.

i'd just go with NL Central: A Life Raft with a hole in it. Might want to change it to Brewers: a life raft repaired by the Stros.

Not sure where to put this, so it goes here... Does anyone else find it at least slightly suspicious that the Stros decide to pitch 3 tomato cans just in time for the Crew to roll into town? I'd like the Cubs to make it, but it seems like the deck is stacked against us, whether just by happenstance or by something more.

Hell, I'd say Marmol has been more valuable than Theriot and he's only a reliever who wasn't even in the bigs in April. Marmol has a WARP3 of 4.3, while Theriot has a 3.7... and that doesn't even account for Marmol's much higher leverage. It's silly to say Theriot is the MVP of the team, but it's also silly to say he's complete garbage after solidifying the SS position and giving us at least a couple decent months of production when we had absolutely nothing coming from that position.

I think that's what it was last time. That's what I did for Reg. season tix anyway. It worked. Just a bit of a pain in the butt.

We've got a lead in the division and what should(Key word)be a cake-walk schedule the rest of the way. Oh yeah, and it's mid september. I think it's about time that we can start talking about this stuff. with a one game lead and a week of games against teams we haven't been able to beat much? Regardless; it's september 17 and we're in first place, it's time to think playoffs. I am thinking about playoffs. I'm thinking about how one slip and a Crew sweep of a series would be all it might take to flip it in their favor. Seems like it's pretty much up for grabs still. But hey -- I don't want to tell anyone what to discuss. I'm just commenting that it still seems a bit presumptuous.