Soul

Well if you are going to call people out after a good start at triple A, I would think it is only fair to come back after a bad outing a the major league level? I can tell you no one wanted to see him do badly his first outing, but give people a little more credit then expecting things to turn around instantly once these injured guys come back from injury. The problem is that it takes time to get going once back, and as you can see from Wood, and now Prior, it is going to take some time, something this team ran out of last month. Expect the same from D Lee when he comes back. Anyone still believe the "well Houston did it last year" stuff? BCB No. I said it in May when this whole thing turned south, and and I'll say it again now: the '05 Astros had an actual decent ballclub even when they were losing. I'll guarantee anyone right now, guys like Neifi, Bynum, Hairston-----never would have made their roster either now or then. This Cub team was always going to be marginal. I just didn't realize it would be this bad. But once it went down the tubes, there wasn't the ballclub to pull it back like the '05 Stros. The fact that Hendry, MacPhail, and Baker believed it could just proves they've lost their way.

How do we really know he's a top pitching prospect? I know he's definitely a top NFL prospect (or somewhere in the neighborhood), but I know little of his pitching prowress, and to be honest I don't trust the Cubs scouting department to accurately judge his ability. Just having a mid-90's fastball isn't going to guarantee anything. Lots of guys can do that. And are we really going to pay him a ton of dough and then watch him get crunched every weekend by NFL DBs? Hey---it's the Cubs' money not mine, they can do what they want. I'm just saying, doesn't sound like they've thought all of this through...

:shock: Really? How about faulting them for being incompetent as owners? Again, aside from not removing any or all of the MacPhail/Hendry/Baker trio, you can't fault the Trib. They put up a good payroll and don't threaten to slash it if the team falters. They financed the addition to Wrigley. Getting mad at them for being the greedy corporation is misguided. Sadly it's not. The Trib was making an insane profit for years while under spending. Over the last two years they have jacked up ticket prices , added seats, and more advertising all while keeping the payroll the same. Can you imagine the money the Trib would rake in if the Cubs won the World Series? For them to have Andy MacPhail at the top this long means they do not care about winning. It's time for them to sale its a shame see how low this team has fallen. In the end, they are supposed to keep a profit. They've done what an owner should do financially, especially for one that's a publically owned company. Say what you want about not getting rid of management, I agree, but when it comes to money they are holding up their end. Not faulting them for the money end, but their major baseball responsibility is to ensure that the team is being run by a competent and effective management team. And they are failing miserably in that area. Glad they're turning a profit and all, but for fans who care about this team they're still incompetent as *baseball* owners.

At least we will have a nice rotation next year (and healthy *crosses fingers*) Prior Z Wood? Marshall Marmol Samardja (sp?) Maddux? that rotation is not good. promising, yes..but major league good? no i wouldn't mind seeing it but i would prefer if we end this year with marshall,marmol and guzman getting 2 months worth of starts. I like it Agreed. More likely than not, Wood won't be there, and quite possibly Maddux as well. Prior hasn't pitched well in a year, since he had that nasty liner richochet off his elbow. I still hope he'll pull himself back to being dominant, but even so that's Z, Prior, and then basically riff raff for '07. Not exactly a dominant rotation.

Things change. I hear what you're saying, but that's part of what makes the "good old days" fun to remember. My Dad used to tell me the same thing back in the '80s when I was a kid. He would tell me how Wrigley was a dual-use stadium used for Bear games, how people would bring their own booze and everyone wore a top-hat :) Back then people lamented the retirement of Jack Brickhouse. It wasn't until a few years down the road that Harry Carey became the legendary CUB announcer. For awhile he was the guy who came from the Cardinals and White Sox. I've gone through the same thing you have---sort of wishing baseball remained the way it was. But, some good things have happened in the modern game, such as the Wild Card, which I wouldn't want to disappear under any circumstances

Glendon Rusch was placed on the "DL" after "suffering" "back spasms." He is expected to "miss" several "games" while "doctors" attempt to expedite the "healing" of his troublesome back. Translation: Can't DFA due to ridiculous contract, can't stand to see face due to ridiculous incompetence.

He was placed on the 15 day DL with "back spams" today. *Back spasms is MLB code for "crappy pitcher." Sounds like the majority of our staff has "back spasms" This entire season can be described as one big, ugly, spasm.

i'm sorry, but we aren't better than the royals. if the royals had the same payroll as the cubs they would have a better record than us. But they don't, so what does that have to do with it? The point here is, we have now reached the level where comparisons between us & the Royals are quickly gaining legitimacy. That's a helluva thing to have happen to a ballclub spending $100 mil on a team that the Trib sold as a playoff contender.

July 26th. That's the day the Bears report for Training Camp, and I can declare baseball season over.

:shock: Really? How about faulting them for being incompetent as owners?

The Trib would never allow Bowa to be hired. He'd figure out very quickly what a joke this franchise is, and then he'd start SAYING it publicly. The truth just doesn't fly with the Cubs. They prefer their pleasant delusions. No, Larry Bowa has about as much chance of becoming Cubs manager as Ralph Nader has of becoming President.

NO. Those cuss words are how you REALLY feel. And you shouldn't be embarrassed about feeling anger over this trainwreck, even though it's against policy to post it here.

hahaha you think cubs fans are rooting for the tigers? There is just that many tigers fans there. i havent seen that many fans for the other team ever at wrigley. Not the White Sox, not the Cards. It's because Cub fans are beginning to sell their tickets to those who care about the games. And Tiger fans have good reason to care, although if it's really going to take as long as the Tigers to get back to a respectable ballclub, then maybe even Cub fans will begin finding other, more fulfilling things to do on Summer weekends.

IMO, this is no worse than '99, or '02, or several other seasons where we just plain sucked. I've been embarrassed to be a Cub fan many times in my life. Add '06 to the long list of brown-paper-bag seasons being a fan of this franchise. On the A's approach: that would take actual TALENT. The Cubs can't round up a .500 ballclub with $100 million dollars. We'd make the Royals look like the Yankees if we tried to actually evaluate prospects successfully. Only new everything, from top to bottom, would make such an approach possible. New owners because the Trib has no clue who to hire. New GM because Hendry wouldn't know the value of OPS if it bashed him in the face, and a new manager because we all know that's not how Baker rolls----he's pretty much a seniority system manager, preferring the most marginal vets to young guys with talent. And then misusing the young talent he does have until they either wash out or find a team that knows what to do. Besides, the Trib wants everyone to *believe* they care, remember? Most especially, themselves. But I'll never buy it. They care about as much as Bill Gates cares when he buys beach house #20. It's a status symbol for them, nothing more. The Cubs are a nice feather in the Tribune's cap. And it's for us fans to suffer for their incompetence and lack of passion.

In a nutshell. Oh, and it's officially 2.5 seasons from knocking on the door of the World Series to last place.

He's throwing away what was looking like a very promising career as a GM. You can't stop someone from jumping off that bridge. If Jim doesn't want to wake up and take action, nothing can force him to. When the job offers don't come rolling in for GM openings after he's fired, I hope he doesn't wonder why.

Remember back in February when everyone posted their lineups for the season and pretended Neifi would never play? #-o Yeah. Neifi will always play. Nothing can stop him, not ever!

Ha. So true. I was listening to the pregame on WGN radio today and Dusty was giving all sorts of excuses for the loss yesterday. He was saying they weren't really hitting the ball hard against Maddux, just a bunch of bloops. Then he said the Cubs were hitting the ball hard, but they were just hitting it right at people. Pretty much the token excuse this year. Haha. At some point Neifi's got to start hitting like that power-house run producer he was signed to be.

Ron Santo won't be the first Cub fan/player this team has killed. Believe it.

If I'm Prior, I might just need to start feeling tweaky again :o

Insanity. Welcome to Cub Hell. The Friendly Confines has become a prison!! Oh my God, it's only June 15th!!!! :shock:

Don't know what that pace is or what the record is, but there ya have it The pace is 210 -- don't know the record either, but that would have to set it. We've got a good shot at it. edit: misread the post. We're going to destroy that record.

Don't know what that pace is or what the record is, but there ya have it Yep. I didn't know the precise stat, but every double play is like a tiny dagger----after awhile you start to sense it's really, really bad. I'll bet we've got a shot at the record.

We've GOT to be on pace to set a DP record. Got to be. Never seen a club that hits into more DPs than this one. It's beyond comprehension.

I've wanted a good hitting catcher in this town for years. We finally got a good one, only the rest of the team sucks so it doesn't matter. I'm in Cubbie Hell right now. I need to get home from work and just down about two fifths of JD. Somebody edit Howry's line to reflect how he ACTUALLY pitches. He's junk, I've never seen him not struggle.