Soul

I wonder if Rob Neyer will do a piece about how Joe Kennedy's career is over.

Baseclogger! 8-)

This isn't true. Fans didn't suddenly changed. Fans have ditched Wrigley everytime the team sustained crappiness. They come back in droves when the team succeeds. The Cubs have been spending more than 80% of the teams in the league for over a decade. The myth of a complacent team with no incentive to win has no basis in reality. Not during the Sammy years, they didn't. Especially when you look at years like 1999 & 2004.

Excuse my lack of modesty, but I've been trying to make this case for years. Finally someone of stature lets it slip: unwavering fan support even in the face of utter failure can have a negative impact. If the Cubs had good players that played poorly, maybe that would make sense. But the Cubs have sucked because their personel decisions have sucked, not because overly supportive fans brought about complacency. Why bother making great personnel decisions when it doesn't really matter? What doesn't matter? Are you arguing Wrigley sells out regardless of the record? Because that's not true. It was an easy ticket up until 1998. But in 2000 and 2001 it went back to being easy to get. It wasn't until the nearly unprecedented (for the Cubs) success of 2003 that Wrigley regularly sold out again. Management noticed all the empty seats late in 2006 and realized they weren't going to sell-out in 2007 without improving a lot. This is a tired old argument that doesn't hold up. The Cubs suck because management has sucked. Not because the fans show up. I know they suck because management has sucked. That's not even the argument. It's about incentive to win. You're right, last year really showed that the fans will leave if they stink it up. At long last, the fans started booing.......then they flat-out left. The Cubs' spending this offseason in the face of dwindling attendance and the success of the White Sox proves the point. Now that fans have changed their tune, the Cubs have *FINALLY* been forced to react. I'm not saying it's going to pay immediate dividends, but it's a refreshing development IMO.

Excuse my lack of modesty, but I've been trying to make this case for years. Finally someone of stature lets it slip: unwavering fan support even in the face of utter failure can have a negative impact. If the Cubs had good players that played poorly, maybe that would make sense. But the Cubs have sucked because their personel decisions have sucked, not because overly supportive fans brought about complacency. Why bother making great personnel decisions when it doesn't really matter?

Excuse my lack of modesty, but I've been trying to make this case for years. Finally someone of stature lets it slip: unwavering fan support even in the face of utter failure can have a negative impact.

Wow..just wow. LOL. The Vikings apparently were impressed while watching Bobby drop punts & passes against them. *cues Twilight Zone theme music*

I'm on board for Murton hitting 2nd.

I'm just waiting to see what his next couple ST starts show, that's all. Certainly doesn't make sense to write the guy off because of his first couple innings in ST since forever.

Bwahahahah Knicks lose.

I heard that conference call on the radio last night. There's one big, gaping hole in Briggs' argument. He says he's been quietly waiting for a long term deal that never came. That's just not true. There's a long term deal on the table. He just won't take it. We don't know all the inside details, but I'm thinking this stand Briggs is taking has alot to do with Rosenhaus. Briggs should be careful: Drew isn't going to care about him if this whole thing falls through and he doesn't get his cut of a huge signing bonus.

I will say what I have said about Angel for the last 4 years. If he is physically able to pitch, he will do it well. Easily the most talented arm to come thru the Cubs system since Zambrano. I agree. Why is he hurt so often? I hope it isn't because his arm motion sucks, like Woody...

For the last time, the reports after the game said that Prior hit 89, not the 83-85 that the Seattle announcers were talking about. You can't expect his velocity to be 100% in his first ST start. I'm not worried about his velocity at all. If there is anything to worry about, it would be his command, since that was his big problem last year. Hence the qualification in my statement. *IF* he's really only in the mid-80's.

I agree. If he can't hit the 90's with his FB, he's done for. I think we can all agree that if his velocity stays in the 80's we won't be expecting much from him this year or maybe ever. I might feel differently if he was a multi-pitch guy. But it's basically 2 pitches. If a pitcher is going to succeed as a starter in the majors with 2 pitches, then both need to be "plus." Or so I've been told ;)

Hairston was part of a double-blind study, and he received the placebo. Either that or he has the natural baseball talent of my dog.

If there is a better draft GM in rounds 2-5 than Angelo, then that guy better have signed an extension through 2020.

UGH. WHO THINKS THE bEARS WILL LET HIM GO IF HE GOES TO JAIL? I HOPE NOT. I THINK THIS WHOLE EXPERIENCE HAS TAUGHT HIM A LESSON, AT LEAST I HOPE SO, AND TANK IS A GOOD DT. I think they decided to stick with him on a "next strike and you're out" basis. They could use the excuse of jail time to cut him, but I'm guessing they won't. It's all guesswork what they will do, but I would be suprised if the Bears didn't already know some jail time was likely when they dealt with this situation earlier.

That's a good point. Maybe I am undervaluing what we got in return. I do think this is a good opportunity for Angelo to look for 1st round talent at a 2nd round price (albeit likely late 1st round talent, but there's always a couple guys who slip).

Prior, Lee, and Wood all look like they've lost weight to me. Especially Wood, of course. Maybe I just heard completely wrong about Prior. I could have sworn someone said he looked alright in practice, and that the velocity was O.K., though not great. If that's all he really has -- mid-80's -- then yeah, we're in trouble. You can work on strength all you want, it's not going to suddenly add 10 MPH to a fastball in 1 month. Prior needs to hit 93/94 with that fastball to be effective, IMO.

I'd be very suprised if Wood's not closing by June. Of course, if he isn't, that probably means we're getting good production from Dempster or someone else, so that's not a bad thing. I've just got it in my head Wood is going to storm the league as a closer.

Laura, IIRC, Sullivan did mention that he thought Prior was holding back. If he's been throwing faster than that in practice then I'm not worried. I thought -- though I'm certainly not sure -- that I had heard Prior was popping the gun for 92-ish in practice.

I'm not sure how Jones is a warrior. He was a 1st round draft pick who has been in the league 7 years and has only 5300 yards. He's essentially a 4.0 YPA runner who isn't a threat to break off long runs or rack up any significant TD totals. He was a nice runner, but nothing special. You have a handful of true stud RBs in the NFL and then a few special guys like Brian Westbrook and Fred Taylor who have some very nice YPA numbers, if not the total yards figures. And you have guys drafted in the 2nd round like Jones-Drew who come in and rack up some very impressive numbers as rookies. Then you have a very big least of interchangeable bodies. RB is the one true meat market position. Denver wasn't insane for continually rotating guys in and out of the position. These guys take such a beating, that you just have to keep throwing out fresh bodies whenever possible, and hope you're not left holding the bag when a guy's career starts to fade. The last thing you want at the position is a 30-something RB with 2000+ attempts and a huge cap number barely plugging along at a 3.5-4.0 clip. I'm not arguing, but Jones had a few years in there where he didn't carry much. He's 30, but he hasn't been tapped for 25 rushes a game for his entire career. There's still something left in the tank, which as you point out, can't usually be said of RBs Jones' age. He also was very strong in the playoffs last year. That does count for something in my book, but apparently doesn't carry much weight in the market.

Hutchinson? Walter Jones. Oh, my bad. Is that a new rule then? I was basing what I said off what I heard about some other players who had been franchised several times.

Perhaps a guy like Timmons, due to his lack of college starting experience, will fall to the early 2nd round. Angelo likes FL players and Timmons has the speed Lovie likes.

Moving up the equivalent number of spots that the Bears moved would essentially cost a late 2nd or early 3rd round pick. The Bears basically traded Benson for a late 2nd or early 3rd, and then traded that pick and their 2nd to move up. I don't think he got hosed. 2nd round draft picks are extremely valuable trade chips. I guess this is where I would make a lousy NFL GM, I woulda helpd out and made the Jets pay more, if not, make Jones play angry. Whattya think we can get for Briggs now that he is pissed off? I don't know, but if it's just exchanging a pick? I'd let Briggs sit. All year if necessary. Hell, I'd franchise him over & over and let him sit forever if all I'm going to get for him is an exchange of 15 draft positions.