Soul

I'd definitely dangle Prior out there. The only thing that scares me is the Cubs organization. What if they're doing something that causes him to suck & get injured? Don't ask me what, I don't know. But there's that fear: CPatt. Nomar. What if it isn't Prior, it's the organization in some way?

It wasn't luck. It was good pitching. Remember that horrid 2002 season? The team scored 706 runs and posted a .321 OBP that year. In 2003, they weren't much better. They scored 724 runs and posted a .324 OBP. They made some strides in 2004 by improving the OBP to .328 and increasing their run output to 789, but they fell off dramatically last year with 703 runs and a .324 OBP. They weren't lucky in 2003. The pitching was so good that they won games in spite of the poor hitting attack. If you had great pitching, you might be able to get away with what Houston and the White Sox accomplished last year. But, it's risky to do nothing to improve a bad offense and assume your pitching will carry you. And right now you are seeing why that is such a risky game plan. The White Sox didn't sit on their hands after winning the World Series by living and dying on a strong pitching staff. They went out and improved the offense this offseason while also working on improving the pitching staff. Hendry had an average pitching staff at best last year. He had a horrible offense. Instead of focusing on improving the offense, he focused on speed and defense. Gee, why is this team 20 games under .500? And I'm no rocket scientist. I agree 100% with your analysis with respect to the White Sox and Astros. And I didn't know the diff between the Cubs' 2002 offense and 2003 offense was so marginal. Great post. I also agree and thanks for the responses. I would add that given the fact that our last 2 months in 2003 we actually *did* score and put baserunners on at a decent clip-----the first part of the season we must have been incredibly bad.

First of all, where are the refs in all of this? Secondly, if someone said those things to me, they'd be lucky to get out of the ICU. That Italian player is trash.

Welcome to the board! I don't think it's that much of a travesty. I voted for Tool...

Absolutely. They are a live band. The studio recordings take away everything great about the band and are only a shell of what the band is. I'd be curious to know how many of the people that have voted for the Pumpkins have actually seen DMB live and/or know that there is so much beyond the surface of their radio hits. Seems like lots of people here dislike DMB based on their opinion of other people that are fans of the band instead of making up their mind after actually listening to them theirselves. I can repsect different tastes in music but to vehemently hate DMB is just unbelieveable to me. I mean, I don't like Crash (Into Me) that much but I am aware that it isn't their only song! Too each their own though. 8) I think it's quite snobbish of you to insinuate that those who voted for the Pumpkins just aren't informed enough about DMB's greatness. I've listened to a ton of DMB at one time or another. I've never seen them live, but I haven't seen 90% of the bands in this poll live. Well, probably more than that actually. I find this kind of attitude in a lot of DMB die hards. I've got a couple friends that are incredulous when you turn down a chance to see them in concert or don't participate in a proverbial circle jerk when discussing the band. I think they've made some nice music. They aren't anywhere close to a rock band, however, and they aren't the greatest band in the world. They have a fantastic effect on the young ladies and are a perfectly suitable band to listen to on a camping trip or bonfire of some sorts. I like SP better. I agree it's a little out there to suggest you need to have seen a band live before you have the right to dislike them...

So that's 7 days in a row without a Cub loss. W00t!

Welcome to the Twilight Zone, ladies & gents. I swear there's a little creature on the wing of the plane! It's Perez for God's sake!!!! Get him off or we'll crash! LOL. Aren't those the 6 craziest words ever put together? It's like looking at a field of purple grass. Like........huh? Did someone actually say that? :shock: :shock: :?:

I need to see something from Prior. How do we know if we shut him down he won't be too weak for ST next year and we start this whole thing all over again? No, I'm against shutting Marky Mark down. He needs to come back and prove he can pitch. I'm in full Prior watch mode----no longer 100% convinced he will ever be back to what he was in '03. If he basically misses the ENTIRE SEASON this year because he got the flu 6 months ago???--then maybe I start shopping him a little in the offseason.

Hendry will have to be fired before this club turns it around. I'm convinced of that now. No GM in his right mind would say something as stupid as "you don't walk your way on." Either he's lost his mind, or he just had a lucky year in '03 and a lucky offseason heading into '04. Not sure which it is, but the end result is the same. Hendry's not the guy to take us where we need to go.

"Obviously, Glendon has struggled a bit. But so has everybody. Yunno? But I have every confidence in Glendon that he'll turn it around". . . OP, wait, that second part sounded more like dusty. "I will be evaluating Glendon in the 2nd half." "Why did you sign Neifi to a 2 year extension when he plainly sucks bones?" "We're evaluating him, too." "Why keep a bozo like Clines to ruin more players? Are you evaluating him, too?" "No. Dusty's evaluating Clines." "What conclusions are you drawing from all this 'evaluation?'" "I don't know. Haven't finished evaluating yet." ](*,)

I'm convinced Hendry is doing nothing. Maybe a tweak here & there. Nothing major at all. He's happy with this team. This is the team he built, and he thinks it's a winner. He doesn't care what the record is.

Well they had McF.A.I.L. on and couldn't get spit, let's hear how they do with Hendry. Waddle: "so what are your plans moving forward?" Hendry: "I will be monitoring the team in the 2nd half. If things start to deteriorate, then I will evaluate everything." Waddle: "what are you doing right now?" Hendry: "evaluating." Waddle: "how about acquiring?" Hendry: "don't push your luck." Waddle: "this is the end, isn't it." Hendry: Bwahahahah :twisted:

Oh come on. Pearl Jam has actually had some very listenable stuff over the years. Green Day always gets trashed on by folks---they're much better than they get credit for.

Wow. I knew RHCP had fans, but *dayum* I expected a better showing from Tool. Calling a choke-o-matic on the Toolsters right here. Too much partying the night before game time :wink:

Pumpkins do have some very good songs. Goin' Punkins here.

Never got into the Clash thing. Saw Alice in Chains live-----thought they were quite good, especially for a band of supposed "slackers." Tight sound, good energy. Good stuff. I'll take the minority stance----Alice in Chains gets my vote.

It's funny because Aerosmith's early stuff isn't all alike. It's actually quite good----lots of groove for a '70s hard rock band. But once they made their comeback------all of a sudden Aerosmith was like the McDonald's of rock; they were everywhere, the music wasn't nearly as good as the old stuff, nobody seemed to have the guts to admit it. 4 or 5 albums of inferior stuff and they're winning Grammys for it. It got to be waaaaay too much.

Is there anything you actually like? There's only been a few I haven't had a choice I liked. So far I have liked: REM Sound Garder Skynrd The Clash Def Leppard Jane's Addiction Cream The Kinks The Doors GnR Pantera U2 Bruce Springsteen ACDC Radiohead Rage STP Allman Brothers Black Sabbath Jimi Hendrix The Who Metallica Led Zeppelin The Beatles The Stones Motley Crue and a bunch of bands I love but couldn't vote for because of difficult matchups like Foo Fighters and Sonic Youth. So it would appear I have liked a lot of bands in this poll. Maybe just not many that you like. Sorry. I just saw 4 messages from you in a row where it was "I hate X" and it made me wonder....

This is a prediction thread. Not a wishing thread. Oh in that case 81-81 total for the year. Explain how ending the season 81-81 would be good for this team in the long run.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone, ladies & gents.

Dang, I thought you were going to say he was going to step down as the Commissioner of MLB, then Andy MacPhail could step in! :D :cry: Selig says "we'll figure it out." LOL. Alrighty there Bud. You do that. So in 2025 the people of Milwaukee will finally be free of the "Chicagoland" blackout rule? Woot! I'll be sure and alert the media......from my wheelchair.

Is there anything you actually like?

I'd like to second that and also throw the 'over-rated' tag on REM. I just never understood where all the REM hype came from. And while everything from 'the Elder' on is pretty lame, 70's KISS was great. It's a shame that they've become such caricatures of themselves that no one will look at any of their music seriously again. I think of both bands as overrated. KISS though. The women. Since I'm not a real fan of either band's music----outside of a few songs from both-----gotta go with the band that attracts the most chicks.

Agree 100%. This is about Hendry more than Baker. Honestly I can't see how Baker cares either way. He'll have a fat paycheck coming no matter what. And someone else will hand him a job when it's over with the Cubs. No skin off his back. Dusty's not putting on an act. He really is relaxed---doesn't matter to him what happens; all he has to do is sit around doing nothing and collect his paycheck. It's Hendry who can't get over himself. Hendry who assembled a stinker, trusted the franchise to players who were obviously unable to take the field on a regular schedule, then had no backup plan whatsoever once they hit the DL. Hendry who called Pagan the next Beltran & signed Nefi up again. Hendry who drained the minor leagues for players who are no longer with the ballclub. Hendry who can't accept his plan is an abject failure. Baker's junk, true. But Hendry built this dog.

CSN+Y's favorite ump is Angel Hernandez. It's true. Swear to God.