Soul

I'd rather have derosa at 4.3 than neifi at 2.5. Honestly. That's like saying you'd rather be stabbed than shot. True. I would though 8)

Looks like we are getting Izturis and Derosa next year up the middle. 2007 is over before it even had a chance to begin. Nonsense. That is silly. Why does it end anything? Because I think getting guys like Izturis and DeRosa indicate next to nothing has changed in Hendry's mind as to how to build this team. I have zero confidence in him finding anyone for the OF except for another Jones or Pierre-esque player and a couple of average journeyman pitchers. As soon as I see something that indicates he's adjusted his team building policy, hey, I'll be jumping for joy. Sadly, with the last 2 positions we've needed to improve significantly and he's made changes at, 2nd and SS, he's tanked miserably. Why is he going to be any different improving the OF or the starting rotation? With the exception of the bullpen, Hendry hasn't indicated at all he has what it takes to make the drastic improvements this team needs. Almost all of his trades and signings in the last 6 months are just staying the course and not rocking rhe boat at all. He's taking no chances on anything even remotely close to a big signing or trade. Hendry gets a high OBP guy for 2B and everyone is acting like the sky is falling. I'm very suprised at the reaction to the DeRosa signing so far. I'll admit his numbers haven't always been that great, but last year was a fine year and I can't imagine everyone would be that upset at having a .350+ OBP at 2b. Not the sky falling, but rather just knowing we had miles & miles to go, and really needed a perfect offseason to get there in '07. DeRosa on his own? Meh....I could make a place for him on my ballclub I suppose. But when you've got limited funds, a huge FA bat to sign plus 2 starter-quality arms? It's not an '07 winning move, IMHO.

I'd rather have derosa at 4.3 than neifi at 2.5. Honestly. Well, DeRosa fits more of the Walker role and Izturis is the nu-Neifi. My point is we've barely improved the middle infield, if at all, at too much cost. Welcome to Hendry's world. I wonder how Lou feels about this. Just gotta wonder, that's all. I've got to hold judgement on DeRosa himself, but more money is now off the table, and we obviously need at least one more top FA bat and a couple starters. Pretty clear that's not going to happen now. So '07 is all but guaranteed to be a marginal year, especially because of the pitching, but also because we just don't have the pop and we can't satisfy both concerns with the resources available. Just wheels turning, that's all. I'm thinking Lou has that little voice in the back of his mind......"uh-oh, did I make a mistake?"

That's cool. I realize the Bears are a hot commodity----as they should be, but they can't make us play every Sunday night. I think there are some rules regarding this, too, but I don't remember them. Last week was fun, shutting up all those NY homers. Lord, grant this Bear fan a double dose of Chicago sending NY home crying. Just this one year.

For me it was sticking it in Hoculi's face. The guy obviously hates the Bears. Up yours, Ed. What was his problem? That manufactured call against Briggs, picked up the holding on Gilmore - good call yet, Ed and his crew missed Daneial Manning having his jersey ripped from his shoulder pads during Barber' long 3rd quarter run. I've never seen a worse game called from an offensive holding standpoint. After the Giants' tackle went down, the replacement was horse-collaring Alex on every play. Seriously: EVERY PLAY. That's holding, and it's Ed's call since he's the guy who stands back behind the line. He was letting it happen all damn night until the 4th quarter. That's just unacceptable. And then to hear Madden call him the best. It made me sick. The guy is just a horrible, horrible ref. But you have to admit that Madden did call them out on the bad horsecollaring call on...was it Briggs? I believe it was Briggs. Madden called him out on the poor review of Tillman's knee, too. Which made it all the more puzzling that he went on to call Ed one of the best referees in the game. He's the most physically fit ref---I'll give him that. But he needs to get his eyes and his brain in as good a shape as his biceps.

Wastra, I thought someone had posted that Lou was on the radio saying pitching is the number one priority now. Maybe I misinterpreted that (I did not hear the actual interview).

I'm definitely disappointed in his testimony too. I'm just not sure it really proves much. I do think there's still a language barrier with Sammy. I know for myself, it seems sometimes he doesn't respond to the nuances of questions well sometimes, and some of his English doesn't seem to come out right. I know I would be nervous as heck being in that situation. I'm not giving him a total pass, but he seemed really overwhelmed to me. Yes, he had a chance to make a 100% denial, but we saw where that got Raffy, LOL! He didn't do it, and it was disappointing, but I have always wondered if Sammy really understands everything that's swirling around him sometimes. I don't think he's a real sophisticated person, and that's fine.....I think that can tend to compound some of his difficulties.

i dont really get the cedneo theriot comparisions. cedeno had 80 ab's in 2005 and ended up with a .731 ops. ryan had 134 ab's in 2006 and ended up with a .934 ops. theriot is 27 and has had some success in the minors hitting .304 twice and has had 3 season with obp above .360. he doesnt strike out, is above average on defense, steals bases and runs well, gets the bunt down and moves guys over. the instincts and fundamentals that theroit showed in his short time in the bigs far surpass anything i've seen from cedeno. i know it's human nature not to want to get burned again by getting our hopes too high and that ryan most likely wont see a .900+ ops in the majors but i dont think .280 with a .750 ops and 40 sb's is out of the question. that is a vast improvement over the .610 ronny put up last year. They aren't great comparisons for players. But there is a comparison for how the Cubs need to handle the situation. That is, there is nothing wrong with going with either player to start the season, but you have to build a team that can withstand them not doing anything at the plate. You don't know what Theriot will be able to do, and we didn't know what Cedeno was able to do. You can take a risk with such a cheap player, but you have to use the money saved to buy some guaranteed production elsewhere. You can't go into a season with a mediocre OF and risk getting nothing out of a middle infielder. I agree with that, and I know Theriot had more ABs than Cedeno, but it's still only 130-ish ABs. But I also agree we just might not be able to make that choice. It might be our best option to shore up the lineup elsewhere, or get solid bench help who could come in if necessary, and then just give Theriot the shot.

That would be a bad move. There's not a catcher on the market who could replace Barrett's production while there are CF who are as good if not better than Wells. Sign JD Drew and you can have both Barrett and a good CF. Yeah, I think that would be a positive move. Then pray for JD's health..........at least weekly :)

Interesting stuff. It's been Tribune for so long, I can't really wrap my mind around a change of owners until it actually happens. Also, I should just throw this out there: careful what you wish for. I'll bet not all these bidders would make good owners. Sounds like the Trib, if they sell, will be selling in the same mode they bought the team: FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS. And that doesn't give me much comfort. When you buy the team because you love baseball, and then you sell it with the idea of ensuring the city has a continued winner, then that's one thing. When you buy for profit, and sell because you're tanking........that's another story entirely. Sounds like the Trib is squarely in this second category.

Tough crowd? You make it sound like Sammy just got off the boat. He's a high-profile superstar with thousands of interviews under his belt. There were no difficult questions, no curve balls, right? If he were clean, every single question was a fastball in his wheelhouse. What "case", exactly, was he asked to make? What is your excuse for him saying "That's not for me to say" to the zero-tolerance question? And to the direct issue of whether he'd ever used ... if he was clean I'd expect him to JUMP at the chance to answer that. A simple "Absolutely not." would have been nice. Instead, we got a pretty clear indication that the question (from CUMMINGS about halfway thru) was off-limits. Yes, thousands of interviews. And each one of them showed Sammy speaks in broken english which is barely understandable many times. You said you expect strong statements in clear english, and that's not fair to ask of Sammy, IMO. As for zero tolerance, I don't need to make an excuse. It's not for Sammy to determine the policies of major league baseball, and Sammy said as much.

Hmmmm.... I don't see how it's cynical or just hating on Jimbo to not give him much credit until the team wins. It's a perfectly well-reasoned, logical stance to say the guy has not been a good GM for the past 2 years. And also to refuse to say he's accomplished anything until he.....well.......accomplishes something. Do I acknowlege he has done well in the early going this offseason? Yes, of course I do. But overall he's presided over a withering collapse and until he pulls the franchise out of the fire and at least makes the playoffs, I'll temper my enthusiasm, thank you very much.

I'd rather Barrett hit higher than that, though. Maybe swap him & Jones. All this talk about Theriot starting smacks of Cedeno part deux. I would make him work for the job, not give it to him by default. But then again, we might not really have the option since we need to fill holes in the starting rotation first (accoring to Lou, that's first on the docket).

For me it was sticking it in Hoculi's face. The guy obviously hates the Bears. Up yours, Ed. What was his problem? That manufactured call against Briggs, picked up the holding on Gilmore - good call yet, Ed and his crew missed Daneial Manning having his jersey ripped from his shoulder pads during Barber' long 3rd quarter run. I've never seen a worse game called from an offensive holding standpoint. After the Giants' tackle went down, the replacement was horse-collaring Alex on every play. Seriously: EVERY PLAY. That's holding, and it's Ed's call since he's the guy who stands back behind the line. He was letting it happen all damn night until the 4th quarter. That's just unacceptable. And then to hear Madden call him the best. It made me sick. The guy is just a horrible, horrible ref.

So far sweet Lou has to be pretty happy with how things have gone. He's now got power at the corners and a real backup option at closer if Dempster doesn't pan out. I liked how he mentioned pitching right off the bat. Hopefully this means Hendry is not going to wait on Prior, and sign not only a quality starter for the rotation, but also a journeyman as a hedge against Prior's injury woes. That would be just about as ideal as it could get for one offseason, IMO. Add a genuine power bat, and it becomes a total coup for Hendry. Ahhh.......but I'm probably just dreaming.

I'll admit Hendry has done well so far. The thing is though, he has succeeded in bringing back three already existing players on a 90+ loss team. They're probably good players to bring back though, so that's good. Good so far, but still a long, long way to go and I'm not sure Hendry can pull off enough of the work in one offseason to make us competitive in '07. I believe Jimbo still has '08 to prove himself though, so if he can rise to .500 this year and then make a run the following year he could wind up OK.

If your career was over, and every time your name was mentioned in the media there was a sidenote about steroid use, wouldn't you be kind of pissed off? Wouldn't you want to argue for yourself that you're clean? If Sosa sits back and rests on his laurels, there may not be a Cooperstown, because he was already hung at the gallows. Yes, in the clearest terms and the clearest diction I was capable of - not this crap: WAXMAN: OK. Mr. Sosa, do you think that we ought to have that gold standard of the Olympic program, zero tolerance? You got caught using steroids for whatever the sport is, that you're suspended for two years and after that second offense you're out. That certainly discourages people in the Olympics. Do you think it would be effective with baseball and other sports, as well? Would you push the mic? SOSA: I can tell you, Mr. Chairman, I don't have too much to tell you. [...later ...] MCGWIRE: I believe that's one of the reasons why I'm here, is to make this a positive thing instead of a negative thing. And I will do everything I can and in my power to turn this around from a negative to a positive. SWEENEY: Mr. Sosa. SOSA: I agree with Mr. McGwire. You know, one reason why we're here is to stop that. And you know, I think that we can do some more tests and one way or another we're here to help. [ ... later ...] CUMMINGS: Now, we've had -- you made some allegations. And, as I understand it, both Mr. Schilling, Mr. Thomas Mr. Palmeiro and I think Mr. Sosa have said they never used the substances. Is that right, Mr. Sosa? You said you that, right? You said you had never... (CROSSTALK) CUMMINGS: OK. Is that right? I -- all right. [ .. later ..] MCHENRY: ... using steroids, the use of steroids, is that cheating? Yes or no? MCGWIRE: That's not for me to determine. MCHENRY: Mr. Sosa. SOSA: I think so. MCHENRY: If you'll go down the line again, I'll ask another question that everyone can ask answer simply and directly, I would hope. If it's proven that a player has set records while using steroids, should those records stand? SOSA: It's not up to me. [ .. later...] TOWNS: The question is that you have a trainer who might be aware of the fact that somebody is using steroids. And, so, he knows it, but he just walks around every day and doesn't tell anybody about the fact that this is going on. PALMEIRO: I think that, if the trainer knows for sure, it's his responsibility to make the player aware and educate the player. TOWNS: Mr. Sosa? SOSA: I agree. I agree with Raffy. I think it is probably the trainer also on people (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --------------------- Maybe it's just me, but I'd expect strong statements in clear English that unambiguously deny he used, IF Sosa really was as pissed as SouthSideRyan suggests. That congressional testimony was weak. You expect strong statements in clear english from a man who knows the language at about a 3rd grade level? Wow. Tough crowd. These quotes......they show Sammy was out of his league, nervous, and unable to make his case in a language he barely knows. Nothing more.

I was just thinking about that. I doubt they would risk it early on, but if we're contending towards the end of the year and one of our starters goes down, having Wood on the team could be huge. I was also thinking about how much talent we're going to have with our pitchers. I dont know how much quality we'll get, but we have pitchers that have put up these types of numbers: Prior: 18-6 2.43 Zambrano: 16-8 2.75 Wood: 14-11 3.20 Miller: 15-4 3.28 and think if we add Zito: 23-5 2.75 I'm going to pretend that they'll all put up those numbers next year, nobody tell me otherwise. Prior is going to be the biggest key to any World Series hope next year. It's November and the annual "If Prior is back by May...." talk has already started. Get a journeyman replacement *NOW*, Jim. Don't wait to see if Marky Mark will play. March will roll around and all your options will be gone, just like last year. Besides----we could use a halfway-decent mid-level starter in any event.

Yes, Tampa always seems to be satisfied with getting their clocks cleaned every year unless someone is willing to offer the moon for one of their players. Whatever else can be said about Piniella, it's really no wonder he got frustrated and wanted to put distance between himself and the Rays.

Me either. Theriot will have to prove he can do that for a full season before I'll believe he is capable of it. Everyone was saying the same things about Ronny Cedeno too. I never put much stock in the first callup year of hitting for a player. Especially one who never really did as well in the lower league.

Actually, Ramirez signing is likely a good thing for Lee and Soriano. Ramirez is now off the market, so teams looking for offense will have to look at Soriano and Lee. Furthermore, Ramirez leaving the market doesn't remove a buyer from the market as the Cubs still have money to spend and are looking for more offense. So, had Ramirez not signed, a team like the Angels probably throws money at Ramirez and removes one team from the pool. As it is now, there is one less FA to get in the way of Lee and Soriano's millions. But realistically, they were all going to be very, very rich regardless with such a shallow pool. One player likely doesn't affect that very much. IMO with the FA market as it is, I think CLee and Soriano will cash in. I don't see the Cubs getting into a bidding war. What I do see is the ARod trade talks heating up. It would not surprise me in the least if ARod was the Cubs 07 starting SS. We'll see. I still view that as a pipe dream. If it's Zambrano, then I *HOPE* it's a pipe dream.

This game could be tougher than the Giants game. Although it's got to help playing on the same field 2 weeks in a row. The Bears know that turf now. Interesting game. Everyone look at our last 5 games. It's Minny, TB, Det, GB, and Stl. Not that rough. The Bears need to find a way to win 1 of these next 2 road games (not an easy task), and the NFC is theirs. I hope they're approaching it that way. Because a letdown will probably result in a loss. Jets are definitely better than they were advertised by the so-called "experts."

They can't get away with that. Because before the game, it was all about how Eli is developing and Rex isn't......how Eli is going to be the real deal and Rex is just a pretender. But the fact is, when the chips were down, it was REX who was able to throw the ball and get the Bears back into the game. When it came time where Eli had to throw to get the Giants back, he started overthrowing everybody until finally Chris Harris was waiting on one and ended the ballgame. So no, the NY crowd can't dismiss this one as just injuries. They had their offense pretty much intact. Eli has always had many more weapons than Rex to work with, and that was the case last night as well.

For me it was sticking it in Hoculi's face. The guy obviously hates the Bears. Up yours, Ed.

:roll: Sorry, I forgot you would be an absolutely perfect NFL ref, and make even the toughest calls every time. My bad. dude, are you going to deny any of what we are saying were bs calls? even those you concede cost the Bears 3 points. you are right, the roughing call was weak, I said so at the time, although that is the rule. be a man and stand up and admit that you got some calls tonight. Most people wouldn't even be posting at this point, so Shavo's a stand up guy in my book.