Soul

So there's IF hits, sacs, HBP, height. How do we incorporate "driving in runs with your glove," a true sign of grittiness?

Those were the real Chicago Cubs. No, those weren't. No kidding. The Cubs sure aren't the '27 Yanks, but what they showed in the LDS was pitiful, and certainly not what they had been for most of the season. Arizona was exposed by Colorado the same way they should have been exposed by the Cubs. It would make me feel much better if I could believe that Arizona was the better team and the Cubs were simply beaten, but I would be lying to myself. I can't believe people are still so willing to lie to themselves about what the 2007 Cubs were. The 2007 Cubs were prone to looking exactly like the team that got swept in the LDS this year, they did that very same thing on numerous occasions. That was the real Cubs. Yeah, you're right. The real Cubs only averaged 2 runs per game this year and gave up an average of 5.3 runs per game. What's that you say? They averaged 4.6 runs per game and gave up 4.26 runs per game? Well by golly they sure didn't do that in the postseason. And I don't know about you but I'm much more willing to believe 162 games than 3 games. Additionally, if those were the real Cubs as you are insisting, then I suppose if I looked up their regular season stats that I should expect to see that Derrek Lee has an OPS of .718, Matt Murton has an OPS of .500, Cliff Floyd has an OPS of .375, Alfonso Soriano has an OPS of .343 and Aramis Ramirez has an OPS of .077. And I also bet that Ted Lilly had a ERA of 16.20 this season, Marmol an ERA of 9 and Rich Hill an ERA of 9. Oh wait, I won't see that because those guys performed significantly better than that over 162 games. Yeah, but I think the point is we saw these stretches where the Cubs would hit nothing. It wasn't something we didn't see. It happened quite a bit with our hitters. Then they'd come back another time and slaughter the ball and the overall numbers looked better. As for the pitching. OK -- especially Lilly. I didn't see that one coming, not against the DBacks. I'll give you that.

Even the Red Sox?? i'd rather the rockies or indians win. but if the red sox win, then whatever. better them than the diamondbacks. I'm tired of Boston sports. +100 Look no further than the Sports Guy for the giant transformation from sarcastic down on their luck fans to overly prideful goons. Every week he writes a new article about how terrific it is to be a fan in Boston. It's sickening. It's pretty amazing the town hasn't seen a champion in any sport since the 2004 season, yet they all seem to act as if the Patriots haven't lose a playoff game in a decade and that the Red Sox are indesctructible. They need to revert to their old, loser selves in the worst way. Sadly, I think the Pats might have the most realistic shot @ 19-0 of any team in awhile. I'm torn whether to hold my nose and root for them to shut Czonka and Bob Griese up forever, or just root against them on the basis that Boston has become a hateful sports town. I know the Bo Sox need to be stopped. That's what I'm focusing on now. Maybe the sand flies or gnats or whatever the hell they were will return to the Jake and save us from having to hear about the Sox anymore.

Even the Red Sox?? i'd rather the rockies or indians win. but if the red sox win, then whatever. better them than the diamondbacks. I'm tired of Boston sports. +100

Even the Red Sox?? i'd rather the rockies or indians win. but if the red sox win, then whatever. better them than the diamondbacks. I'm actively rooting against the Sox. If they win the WS, then the Pats run the table? And the resulting ESPN love-fest that will undoubtedly follow? My poor brain, it will hemorrage.

Yeah I think Sox/Rox would be a decent WS, better than I had hoped for considering how the NL playoffs were an unmitigated disaster. Trouble is, the Sox are sorta in trouble themselves. Tribe/Rox would likely be much less intriguing, although I would definitely watch. Put a decent AL team against the Rockies and I think you have the potential for some good entertainment.

Even the Houston Astros? Awesome. :lol: Zing! :lol:

Tom Gordon's cousin....that's great. Yes, the who's who of A ball and 47 year old guys who haven't got a shot in heck of playing MLB again. Which brings me to another point. Why do you come out and say "we're gonna name names in about 2 weeks, everyone get ready!!"? Why not just....you know, come out and name the damn names? Could it be that someone is, well, "willing to discuss" not naming a particular name......for a price, perhaps? Yes, I know.....paranoid conspiracy theorist. Just makes me wonder though. I think it may be because of the World Series. The timing of this would be terrible. Did the McCarthy era really effect you that much? :wink: Conspiracy!! Conspiracy!! No, not affected at all 8-)

LOL :lol: Well at least the best story in the National League will be going to the WS. If the DBacks would have gone, I'm convinced that everything white in this world would have turned black, the earth would have cracked open, and Satan would have crawled out.

Tom Gordon's cousin....that's great. Yes, the who's who of A ball and 47 year old guys who haven't got a shot in heck of playing MLB again. Which brings me to another point. Why do you come out and say "we're gonna name names in about 2 weeks, everyone get ready!!"? Why not just....you know, come out and name the damn names? Could it be that someone is, well, "willing to discuss" not naming a particular name......for a price, perhaps? Yes, I know.....paranoid conspiracy theorist. Just makes me wonder though.

If the Cubs had a decent lineup they'd be an actual good team, and then the whole dynamic would be changed. But they didn't. And neither did the Phillies. And now the DBacks are finally exposed for the crap that they are. I disagree that this is anti-expansion snobbery. Vehemently. This is bad baseball antipathy.

yeah the sale of the team really feels like it is going to put a damper on things. it's probably going to be an argument between theriot and cedeno all next year, neither option seems real good to me. i guess in that case i would rather give cedeno a bit more of a shot. not happy with it in either case.

It means it's on cable. And all this indignation about expansion teams and teams not from huge markets playing playoff baseball is Yankee-esque. It's disgusting. Teams not from a top 5 market are only their to be fodder for big city teams? Wait, that's not what I'm trying to say. If I said that I didn't mean it that way. I had no problem whatsoever with the DBacks in '01 when they were a real good ballclub and beat the Yanks. The Rockies just threw Josh Fogg. And he dominated. DOMINATED. It's crap baseball. Craptober indeed. How good are the Rockies? Well, they're good enough to beat ballclubs so fundamentally flawed they wouldn't have sniffed the playoffs in a year where the NL was decent. Doesn't have much to do with the fact that they are an expansion team. As for the Yanks and Angels -- shame on you. Shame on you for laying a huge egg to what should have at least been halfway decent baseball in the DS round in the AL. I'm hoping the ALCS will rescue this mess. Maybe the WS will be exciting, I don't know. I'll give it a chance.

I disagree. It doesn't excite me when that team is winning 60 games in a row on the backs of opposition that simply doesn't have what it takes to provide even a small challenge for them. And the fact that a team could be basically .500 all year then turn it on like this with nobody to even pose a small threat just speaks volumes about how horrible the NL is. I'll bet this NLCS is one of the worst rated in history. If that means there's something wrong with all of us? Then so be it.

Seriously, is this the worst October ever? I know Selig and his little imp Dane Cook have been trying to sell this turkey since July, but so far it's been a nonevent. Not one decent series in the DS. Not. One. Every series was basically one team crapping the bed and the other team letting them do exactly that. The NL is crap. These teams ARE CRAP! Can someone call someone, do some voodoo rituals, hold a seance, SOMETHING -- to get a decent team or two into this godforsaken league?!? The NLCS is a joke. Is anyone even watching? I doubt it. So far it's an exercise in why when a crap team like Arizona makes it this far it's a travesty, and hurts interest in the game. At least we know Selig isn't fixing games in the NL, otherwise there's no way in hell he would have let these bozos into the NLCS. His league is losing millions in fan interest, merchandise sales, you name it. The ALCS -- maybe this one can rescue the playoff season. I don't know, maybe. Hahah. When the most exciting moment in the playoffs is an invasion of freshly hatched GNATS in Cleveland? Yeah. That's when "Actober" becomes "ACKtober." At least we know the Cubs weren't the only team to embarrass themselves this playoff season. Basically all of MLB looks like a bunch of clowns. Worst ever.

The reason I mentioned AAA is because you said Ronny was worse than Theriot in '06. Theriot was in AAA for most of '06 and put up mediocre #s, which I said I was sure Cedeno could match. As I've said elsewhere around the board, I'm not going to write off a guy for one horrible year in the bigs at the age of 23. I'm certainly not going to write him off so I could give more ABs to a known below average player in Ryan Theriot. He's been given more than one chance at the bigs, under two different managers, and has pretty much sucked each time. I'm not sure what can be done to turn him into an above average MLB player, but right now he's not even close.

Cuban/Schuerholz 08. =P~ Schuerholz is basically retiring folks. He's still sticking with the Bravos organization. I fully realize this. Just the mindless hope of a Cub fan taking over. I'm sorry. Maybe being a GM is like being a boxer, or an athlete, and its tough to retire from. Maybe he would dig the thought of ending a 100 year WS drought. We can dream, can't we? Hendry will be brought back because new ownership won't be able to hire a new GM in time for '08. Schuerholz will try being President for awhile, but won't be able to take not being part of the action. Cubs fire Hendry and hire Schuerholz near the end of '08.....he's the Cubs GM for '09 and beyond. Calls it the "last great challenge of my life." OOOoooohhhh, what a pleasant dream. 8-)

You don't know if LSU should be ranked, or where they should be ranked? I don't know how far they should fall.

I don't know about LSU. Georgia should be unranked after today though, they really should have lost that game. The stupid celebration afterwards only adds to my feeling that they don't deserve crap. Good for the coach breaking it up and apologizing to Vandy.

It's so typical, isn't it? Just when you think the Illini are looking good, they go to a lesser team's house and lay a big egg. They're going to lose this game. Wow. I think Iowa's strength is defending the run and option, Mr. Zook. Might be time to go to McGee and try to throw the ball a little bit. But hey, that's just me.

Girls on the 3rd base side can see his face better.

They always say "this is going to be huge!" then it turns out to be, like, Neifi and Tom Gordon's cousin. Anyway I'll believe it's going to be big when I see the actual names.

DeRosa is simply a better baseball player than Theriot. Is this one of those "all positions should be open to a competition in spring training or it's not fair!" kind of arguments? Because that's lame if it is.

Yes, he did. Yes...he did. I don't remember that, at all. You sure? Ridiculous, obviously. I remember it too. Not sure where I'd find links, but I'm almost positive he brought it up. That would have been incredibly dumb. LOL, yeah that's stupid. BTW, tons of articles and quotes out there now about Stone rejecting the idea that he would accept the GM position.

Yeah, I didn't mean compared to Theriot -- I mean we better find something better, SS was a hole this year.