I definitely agree with that. Because of the two infield situations we used most often (Walker at second/Mabry at first, or Neifi at second/Walker at first) Lee's at bats would essentially come at the expense of Neifi/Mabry. If replacing one of the worst hitters in the game with one of the best hitters in the game only results in 2-3 extra wins, then how is a bad team ever going to become good? I also agree. And I found it quite strange when Lee went down that so many people flocked to this idea that it wouldn't mean anything. I remember there was some kind of statistical analysis, but come on. At some point common sense must prevail. You don't just pull superstars off a team and say everything is the same. I'm sure someone can put together a stat sheet that shows the Cardinals would be just fine without Pujols, too. That said, Dusty's excuses have become boring. Even if they're correct, nobody wants to hear them anymore. He needs to leave town worse than any Cub manager I can remember, including Lee Elia. He honestly should've been let go at the break. All this stuff is just making him look worse. It's a shame...If he just kept his mouth shut for the last 3 months, he could've walked away with dignity and class. Probably true. Honestly, I can't remember feeling less interest in the Cubs than I do right now. I haven't even been paying attention to Dusty's antics, because it was obvious in May that June, July, August, and September were just going to be more of the same. Once the big losing streak came after Lee went down, and it became clear that Hendry would sit on his butt and do nothing ---- this season became a foregone conclusion.