Soul

So would you say after two weeks go by if nothing is done it's alright to panic? Because this still feels "panicky" to me, despite it being a formality. It's too bad we couldn't have done some sort of deal before the end of the season to avoid it coming down to this. But, alas, it doesn't always work out seamlessly like we would want.

Why, that's Sammy money!!

I believe we are in serious trouble right now. I'll second that. The window is closing quickly. I agree. What I had meant to say was, if we lose Aram, we're in the kind of trouble that isn't likely to be resolved for '07. In other words, no Aram likely = no chance for a positive '07 beyond some rebuilding takeaways for '08.

Just to add to what raw said, the Dodgers have supposedly targeted Aramis and Soriano as their two biggest FA targets. It was bound to happen. Aramis has alot of value. A bidding war over him with another team is a fearful proposition. The grass has to be looking mighty green on the other side of the fence right about now. Though I thought I heard Aram say he would prefer to stay in Chicago. Saying something like that is usually the baseball equivalent of pillow talk. Lose Aram and we are surely in serious trouble for '07. I'm willing to say that right now.

The reason the Cards won this year is because the league as a whole sucked bones. I'd rather build a good baseball team than rely on the entire major leagues to stink again next year. We're pretty far away though, IMHO. I'm thinking 2 year plan at the moment. Who knows though. Last year took alot out of me. I'm just hoping for some light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe a few Lou moments to tide me over.

I like how Howie Long summed it up in one word: JEALOUSY. By the way, I got a good laugh over some SF fans who were crying that we were running up the score. # of points the Bears scored in the 2nd half: 0. We dialed it back nicely to save their feelings, thank you very much.

I agree, I just think it's entirely too early to be thinking undefeated, so I doubt they'll bother trying. I don't think they would do it anyway until there is only one team left undefeated. You're probably right, but I wouldn't put it past them to show up. Maybe Marino too. They hold it as a feather in their cap that they were the ones who beat us in '85, even though they suffered a most embarrassing loss in the playoffs that really signaled the last best chance for Marino to get to a Super Bowl (though nobody would have guessed it at the time).

This time it's in our house. If Bob Griese, Larry Czonka, and that cavalcade of jerks shows up, they ought to be denied admission.

Realizing Sammy was a steroid cheat was bad enough, and with him it wasn't even proven. Signing a proven roid pumper like Bonds is out of the question. There's such a thing as dignity, you know.

Great game. It's been back and forth the entire second half. Edit: The Broncos have now given up more points than the Chicago Bears. Woo Hoo! They've also scored 5 more than San Diego for the league lead in points scored. I think that game exposed Denver's defense a little bit. Indy completely had their way with them. There have been teams this year who were able to shut down Indy much better than Denver. And this was a home game for the Broncs. Still, very entertaining game to watch. Actually it was a great day to have NFL Sunday Ticket. 3/4 of the late games were great until the end, and a few of the early games were excellent as well. The Bears game, to be honest, was boring. I found myself switching around for better action. I've decided it's good to be a fan of a team that puts out laughers like today :)

So, we're close to replacing the driver, but the Car Dealer, the Bank, and the Car itself remain the same. If you've got a rusty old Dodge Neon, would it matter if you changed from Dick Trickle to Jeff Gordon? Maybe a little :) OK, that's my analogy for the day...

i wish i could gamble on things like this, but id be willing to wager that a team that does not currently exist will win the world series before the cubs do. OUCH. I agree. This is the worst time ever to be a Cub fan. All curses are gone except ours, now the Cards are going to win it----and with the worst team they've had in years, no less----and there really is precious little light at the end of the tunnel with our club. Go Bears. And Bulls.

Maybe a little talk with Billy Beane. I like what Lou says about woirking the count. Don't just take pitches without a plan, have a plan and work it the way a hitter should by making a pitcher pitch and hit your pitches and not his. Perhaps Dusty himself really doesn't believe in taking no walks and swinging at everything. Maybe that's really Hendry, and Dusty was just trying to carry out his plan. Which of course failed miserably.

This makes sense. Joe is very young, and let's face it that Nationals gig isn't all that attractive. I agree, once the Cub job was gone it was probably a foregone conclusion that Girardi would sit out this year.

Agreed. After what I've seen so far tonight, my level of concern just jumped 2 or 3 notches. This is bad news.

My best advice is for everyone to stop stealing copyrighted material and pay for the product. Seriously.

I don't think anyone should underestimate the 9ers. Not after that Cards game, and not after the sudden injury bug we seem to have acquired. I won't be thinking the Bears will blow out anyone. 9ers are better than the Cards, IMO. In fact, an argument can be made they were the weakest team on our schedule, especially after the egg they just laid in Oakland.

I'd imagine Muhammad will be fine, but Manning Jr. and Harris would be big losses. Probably more so Manning Jr. I heard Muhammed will definitely play, and Harris definitely won't. Manning says he will play, but the trainers aren't so sure.

I'll probably be flipping back and forth on this one. Sorry baseball, but the Bulls are on Comcast and this is my first chance to check out the rookie sensation, Tyrus Thomas 8)

Who's demonizing Rogers? He beat the Cards w/o that crap on his hand. The only people whining about that are sore losers. Pine tar on bats is necessary to control the bat, if for nothing else than safety reasons. A foreign substance on a ball has no other purpose than to improve someone's stuff. There is no safety factor there. None. There is no double standard. I'm sure if pitchers wanted to wear body armor on the mound they could. Too bad it restricts the pitching motion so much it won't happen. That's the physical realities of the world we live in my friend. Careers are ended by fastballs to the elbow. There are rules to prevent players from just sticking there armor out there or not even attempting to move out of the way of a pitch. You can't make that safety argument. Well, I mean you *can*, but it doesn't really fly. Pine tar is optional equipment. Not required. "Oh, I'm sorry you got your head bashed in and wound up a quadrapalegic, but Mr. Edmonds doesn't like to use pine tar." If it was for safety reasons, it would be required. As for pitching equipment, last time I checked screens don't restrict the pitcher's movement. So let's have pitchers use screens so their freaking FACES don't get bashed in, because after all a hitter's elbow must be protected at all time. That's just silly all the way around. Here's a better idea: no foreign substances at all, or else everyone should quit turning Rogers into a "cheater" for having a little pine tar on his hand in 38-degree weather. I'm good with either one, but I'm not good with the hypocrisy and witch hunts.

He just went to blowing in his hand, and that provided the grip he needed, which he then proceeded to use to completely punk the Cards for another what? 5 innings? I'll bet he didn't think anything of it. Pine tar is used, probably by every pitcher in the league when it gets cold. This whole thing is becoming ridiculous. Hitters coming up, slathering up their bats with stickum, wearing better armor than our soliders in Iraq, roiding up like mad until they look like they're going to pop. Then Rogers uses a little dab of pine tar so the ball doesn't fly out of his hand in the cold and suddenly he's a demon. Wow. Am I seriously the only one who can see the double (triple? quadruple?) standard here?

You don't see the difference between pine tar for a grip on a bat, and banning a pitcher from using foreign substances? If he's using the pine tar to alter the motion of the ball, then yes, that's a problem. But if he's using it to get a better grip on the ball, then he's doing nothing different than the batter is doing. Yeah, let's not let hitters use pine tar ever again. That way some unsuspecting fan or athlete can take a bat to the head. It's a safety rule as much as it helps the hitters control the bat. Pine tar on bats doesn't change your ability to hit, only to hold onto the freaking object. Pine tar (plus other stuff) on a ball changes a pitchers stuff. It's pretty noticeable. You don't think having a better grip on the bat helps you hit? Sorry, but I don't see equity when one player can use foreign substances on their equipment and all kinds of body armor and yet another can't. And I never will, because it just isn't equitable.

I get it. Hendry is the aintchrist! :wall: If he was the antichrist we would probably have 10 WS championships by now. I get it: you don't think Hendry is all that bad. That's cool. I disagree.

There's a double standard, but it's in favor of the hitters, not the pitchers. Think about it. Why should hitters be able to use pine tar then? How about body armor? Hitters use it for the same reason----to get a better grip. Yet if a pitcher tries to, then he's demonized and called a cheater. Double-standard. If hitters can use it to grip their bats better, then pitchers should be able to use it for the same reason. But the double-standard lives because TV ratings go down when it's the 8th inning and only a couple runs have been scored. Silly.

LaRussa: routinely in the playoffs & World Series, believes in pushing the limits of the rules. Cubs: nearly always a junk team, believe in good-natured beer-drinking fun and being nice guys. Hmmmmmmmmm. I think I prefer the former.