Soul
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Everything posted by Soul
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Bottom of the order? Cesar is hitting second, dude. All hail Cesar! Haha. When they see him hit 2nd this year, they'll have to reconsider. They saw Neifi do it a lot and don't seem to have any second thoughts. He did last night, and we only lost by 11. We better not be looking at an '07 of .290 OBP from the #2 spot. I'm starting to run out of furniture to throw; this is getting too expensive 8)
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I hate that low expectations are considered acceptable when it comes to this team. I expected very little, but got less. The low expectations were generated long ago by Hendry & Baker. You can't build a junk ballclub and then expect to fleece other teams with said junk. So it continues.... Somehow the cycle has to be broken. Can't do it with a single Maddux trade, but it's got to be done. I think much more sweeping changes are in order, starting with the firing of one Mr. Hendry, and the eating of the remaining years on his deal by the Cubs. Actually I'd like to see new ownership but that apparently will never happen. Hendry, on the other hand, is destined to be fired eventually. Why not just get it over with?
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Bottom of the order? Cesar is hitting second, dude. All hail Cesar! Haha. When they see him hit 2nd this year, they'll have to reconsider.
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No one can top the Blackhawks for incompetence. Cubs put butts in seats. As long as they do, they stay off the bottom of the list.
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He also had 260 more plate appearances. details details details. He had a .311 OBP in the minors, taking just 113 walks in well over 2200 at bats. He's taken just 116 walks in over 2300 major league at bats. Corey Patterson took 107 walks in less than 1400 minor league at bats, and 126 in 2500 career at bats. There is no marked improvement in Izturis's patience. He's always been worthless at the plate and likely always will be. He does look incredibly Neifi-like from the stats. I don't understand what possesses Hendry to think these type of players will get you where you need to go. Surely Hendry will not try to foist a Cedeno/Izturis middle infield on us, with Neifi backing up the two positions. Not in '07 I mean. There's got to be something else coming. I mean come on, Hendry would like to keep his job, right? That's tantamount to career suicide. It cemets the bottom of our order as the worst in MLB on a team that is already terrible offensively.
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Sweet, took you 3 years you fool Exactly. On another note, I feel like slapping Hendry every time he says the guy can catch the ball. He said that yesterday during the Cubs game. Jeez. I know this is probably sacreligious, but I found it *supremely* satisfying to watch that grand slam fly out right after Hendry proclaimed "Mark's back, he's over the hump." Oh yeah, really? Over the hump, eh? Good show!! :x Hendry's response: "I thought that ball was going to drop before the warning track." Wrong again!!! Wow, you're really on a roll Jimbo! And then I fell asleep.....which is what the Cubs increasingly do to me these days. -
And probably the year after that... Izturis has to be thrilled. He's almost guaranteed to have his club option picked up for '08, when there is no chance the Dodgers would have taken it. Yes there was. The Dodgers loved him. I don't like the move at all and wish we didn't have him. But people are acting like he has the same rep or value in the league as Neifi when he doesn't. Like I said yesterday, ML teams love 26 year old shortstops who have had 193 hits in a season, won two gold gloves and have an all-star appearance under their belt. It's the way it is. Neifi - Career BA is .270. OBP is .299. SLG is .379. OPS is .678. Izturis - Career BA is .260. OBP is .295. SLG is .339. OPS is .634. Neifi also had 193 hits in the 1999 season. Neifi also has won a gold glove. And had Izturis not been playing in LA he would never have been voted in as an all-star. Izturis is Neifi's little brother. The one without power. Looks bad, but I'm hoping this isn't the final move.
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dude, I tangle with many of the people you are tangling with right now, but look at the roster going into 2004 and look at the roster going into 2007. there's many reasons for negativity there, and if Aram opts out, that will leave exactly three players that are capable of being in the top half of the league at their position, barring offseason acquisitions. sure, defense up the middle is important, but the game is really about scoring runs and pitching. and what really compounds it is that the past two off seasons were relative disasters, so it's hard to see any acquisitions that will allow us to score any runs. the only option will be to bench the two best positional prospects we've had in two decades. it's just an absolute nightmare right now. I hear you and agree. But I don't see what else Mad Dog brings in a deadline trade. You have to give something to get something. 2 months of 4.69 ERA doesn't bring much. If this team is to turn it around, it was never going to be on the back of a miracle Maddux trade. So why make a deal that makes you worse offensively both now and in the future? You mean because Maddux hits better than Izturis? 8)
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Izturis / Cedeno Slick Young Defense
Soul replied to Knyption's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
We really don't have the pitching. The run scoring isn't going to help much with only 2 starters. -
But the Cubs didn't get something, they got less than nothing. They got a terrible baseball player who is also very expensive. That's a bad thing. Not all players are assets. Teams are forced to dump players all the time because they make a lot more than their production should warrent. Izturis is awful. He is exactly the wrong type of player for this team. He doesn't get on base and has no power. This team has about a dozen guys just like that. There's got to be someone out there who will take him. Come on, Hendry's not really going to field a team in '07 that starts Cedeno and Izturis with Neifi backing them up :lol: I don't believe it. Hating Hendry as much as I have grown to-----there are many months ahead of us until next spring. I don't believe this is just it. Can't be.
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dude, I tangle with many of the people you are tangling with right now, but look at the roster going into 2004 and look at the roster going into 2007. there's many reasons for negativity there, and if Aram opts out, that will leave exactly three players that are capable of being in the top half of the league at their position, barring offseason acquisitions. sure, defense up the middle is important, but the game is really about scoring runs and pitching. and what really compounds it is that the past two off seasons were relative disasters, so it's hard to see any acquisitions that will allow us to score any runs. the only option will be to bench the two best positional prospects we've had in two decades. it's just an absolute nightmare right now. I hear you and agree. But I don't see what else Mad Dog brings in a deadline trade. You have to give something to get something. 2 months of 4.69 ERA doesn't bring much. If this team is to turn it around, it was never going to be on the back of a miracle Maddux trade.
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Not if he can move runners which many of the Cubs can't and neither could Walker. just moving runners over is a terrible way to approach hitting. slapping at any pitch in order to "just make contact" is gutless baseball, and is generally exposed--much like our team is being exposed as gutless. "oh well, at least they don't strike out much and move runners over." striking out is a small price to pay for attempting to put the ball in play effectively, not just slapping bad pitches around the diamond for the sake of moving up baserunners--who don't exist anyway because we never walk, either. Are we assuming Izturis will play for the Cubs next year? If so, isn't that a bit premature? Izturis is under contract for next year. The Cubs would have to make a separate deal to move him. So we can't use him in a future trade?
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Not if he can move runners which many of the Cubs can't and neither could Walker. just moving runners over is a terrible way to approach hitting. slapping at any pitch in order to "just make contact" is gutless baseball, and is generally exposed--much like our team is being exposed as gutless. "oh well, at least they don't strike out much and move runners over." striking out is a small price to pay for attempting to put the ball in play effectively, not just slapping bad pitches around the diamond for the sake of moving up baserunners--who don't exist anyway because we never walk, either. Are we assuming Izturis will play for the Cubs next year? If so, isn't that a bit premature?
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I happen to fully agree with Stone(I know, I blast him a lot), but you got a true SS, a switch hitter who doesn't strike out and a glod glove fielder vs 2 more months of Maddux. We already have two true SS's on the roster for next year. Switch hitting doesn't matter if the production isn't there. Cedeno & Neifi don't strike out that much, either. Neifi won a GG, too, and we already had him and don't have to pay an extra $4M for him next year. Cedeno isn't a quality SS and Neifi is a backup. What did you think you would get for Maddux for 2 months, along with a No trade clause? Count me among the idiots. I'm not sure what Hendry was supposed to get for a 2 month flyer on an ancient pitcher with little or nothing left in the tank. Not sure what to think about Izturis. I just didn't expect anything more than a marginal prospect or two for 2 months of Mad Dog.
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Indeed. The arrival of "veggie dog" can't be too far away :roll:
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Could Dusty's vote of confidence be the reason...
Soul replied to Sweet Swinging Billy's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
I'm actually saying both. Am Ram is not a go-to guy. He's your number 2 or 3 guy but not a team leader sample and plan. So he wilts under pressure when he's alone to carry a team. The others mentioned are finally settling in and getting comfortable playing at Wrigley, and for the Cubs. Playing with for a manager on the hot seat adds off-the-feild pressure not in-game playoff type pressure. So with Hendry saying Dusty is safe for the rest of the season. The off-the-field pressure was relieved. You can tell by the better defense and better concentration at the plate. The Cubs are actually taking pitches and working counts like that haven't been at all this season. So what changed? The obvious answer is the the managerial situation. Everyone's using this "ARam's not a go to guy" thing to try and damn him to hell. The thing is though, nobody ever said he was supposed to be that guy. He certainly wasn't brought here to fill that role. Sammy & Lee were always supposed to be the stud, not ARam. So why now, when we "find out" what we always knew in the first place, is this suddenly being used to try and "prove" something about ARam? Teams need a #2 guy too. ARam is a fantastic complementary power hitter. There's no place for a guy like that on our club? I'm not willing to go back to another 30 years of searching for a 3rd baseman just because ARam isn't Scott Rolen. -
That's pretty awesome...too bad they use realplayer for the video, cuz it's totally crappy video...:x That was payback. Benson was getting hit hard before that. It was an interesting practice :)
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I voted Sabbath because, well, I'm an old metal freak from way back, but cmon people what's with the Queen hate? Only Zep can match them in terms of quality, quantity, and diversity. It can be argued Queen is the greatest band of all time. Do some just not realize all the different stuff they've done? If someone thinks they're just Bohemian Rhapsody they are missing it. That would be like watching a pitcher's duel in baseball and concluding "I hate baseball because nothing ever happens."
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Could Dusty's vote of confidence be the reason...
Soul replied to Sweet Swinging Billy's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
I think this Cub team has talent enough to put together a 4 game winning streak at home. There have been times this year when we have looked like a actual big league ballclub, despite our poor record. Plus, I think we've all said it at one time or another this year: this Cardinals team is not on par with what they've had in past seasons, despite the fact that they lead the division. The other example I can think of where the Cubs looked good for a few games was the Brewer series up at Miller Park in early July. -
Cubs' Managers and Their Managerial Careers After the Cubs
Soul replied to RonnieWooWooSanto's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
I'm pretty sure Baker will slip right in to another Managerial position after he leaves the Cubs... He went to the World Series prior to coming here, as a manager. -
We did know this was going to happen. Or rather, we did know that *nothing* was going to happen...
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If they put a specific kind of "latino sausage" in there just to appease latino fans who wanted/were complaining about some sort of sausage representation, then yes, that would be stupid and I would call it "politically correct pandering." However, allow me to add that I think the idea is hillarious. I mean, have you seen the thing? It's awesome. And Chorizo's ridiculous sombrero is anything but politically correct. LOL, "latino sausage" :lol: Gotta admit, the Brewers have something with that stupid sausage race. How else can a franchise from a small midwestern town make a mark?
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More people know CCR's stuff so they beat Radiohead. In this case, it was probably more a function of the # of people who know the material versus whether or not they felt the songs were better. I don't think Radiohead got ripped off. They went up against a band that literally everyone knows and knows well. Sure, some people hate CCR, but most don't. The reason Radiohead lost seems rather clear to me.
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*jingles keys* They made sweet 16 which seems appropriate, so no crying for U2.
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Again, I agree with da Treeman. Careful. If you agree with him too much, you might start to sprout....stuff..... 8)
