Soul

To be honest, I thought Prior wasn't all that bad last time out. he gave up 4 runs, was charged with 3. And I know that was charged as a Wild Pitch, but that ball hit at Barrett's feet----I want my catcher to be able to block that, regardless of what the scoring on it would be. At times Prior seems to be pitching well, then he just loses his touch. The fastball is topping out at around 93, that's really only 1 MPH slower than what he used to throw from what I remember. The curve is spotty right now, no question. I think it's just going to take time. Returning from injury is really only half over when you take the field for the first time. You still need to rebuild your mechanics, get your groove back, get your muscles tuned to tip top shape----that's why I get so p!ssy when Prior & Wood always miss spring training. People always get mad at me for it, but I know what it really means: they'll be out until June, and not pitching like themselves until the end of the year. The biggest thing for Prior is, he needs to stay in shape in the offseason, be ready for Spring Training, and put in the full season. Then I think he will be fine.

That song makes me throw up and sob alternately right now. I try to avoid it.

I'll be interested to see the 15,14, and 13 seeds if Crue barely notched in at 16. Crue completely dominated an entire music scene for pretty much a decade. Certainly not one of the best, best, tippy top bands of all time----but 16 seems a tad low.

Don't they need somebody to score points? Plenty of room on the sunny side of Chicago sports. I'm ready for football season already. I can get behind that...but I'm good with what the Bulls have done. I don't know much about it, but it seems rather obvious they are still a long way from being a stud team without somebody who can score. Wallace sounds like a better version of Chandler's defense only game. An upgrade certainly, but not a guy who will take an already great defensive team that was mediocre overall due to inability to score, into a great team. Are they just expecting to win every game 79-78 or do they think one of their young guys is going to take a huge leap this year? As Bill Simmons and many other NBA gurus will tell you, the 3rd year is when many guys start really hitting their stride. Kirk had easily his best year yet last season in his 3rd year, and four of our best players (Gordon, Duhon, Nocioni and Deng) are entering their third season this year. It's not a stretch to think that at least three of them will improve this season, two of them significantly. Have I mentioned that I'm stoked we didn't even have to give up Malik in the Tyson deal? Yeah, and Noc really stepped it up late last year. At worst, we have improved at least a little. At best, Deng, Noc, Gordon turn into great players/stars and we make a run at a championship. I am going to miss Tyson though. I loved the energy and enthusiasm he brought. I know Big Ben will bring that energy and Brown is a great vet for the locker room (like AD was a couple years ago) and Smith has nice upside, but I will still miss Tyson. These moves by Pax have been brilliant and I can't wait for the season to start. Anyone think anymore moves will happen? Do we have any money left or are pretty much maxed out? I liked Tyson too. However, when you consider he started 50 games and played an average of 26.8 mins per game, and Big Ben started all 82 and averaged 35.2 minutes, you can clearly see the upgrade. Part of the problem with Tyson were the injuries. He wasn't *always* hurt, but he often seemed slowed by a tweak here & a tweak there. It wasn't all that often that you could feel he was playing at 100% and had been playing that way for long enough that he was in a groove. Big Ben seems to always play, and the double-digit rebounds will be like gold to our shooters. Having PJ in there can only help as well. I believe we're at the point where injecting a couple solid veterans can send this team over the top. Not saying it will definitely happen, but I'm on board with the direction Pax is going.

LOL 8)

No chance we hold the one run lead. I know, Captain Obvious.

na, leave him in he's dealing Good to see him deal a doozy again. 8) Our bullpen is junk. Leave Marshall in. Eyre & Howry aren't going to do any better, believe me.

Yeah, this is why JA traded the 1st rounder away. After dumping a load of cash on Benson and enduring a long, painful holdout last year, '06 became time for a little decompression. With all the rooks in the fold, now they can just concentrate on Training Camp, and giving Briggs & TJ their final years as Bears.

Is the hard to project part your opinion? Every scouting report I've read about him compare him to Duncan and David Robinson, and he'll be the consensus number one pick in whatever draft he decides to enter, barring serious injury. and tyson chandler was the next garnett, except without any coordination. there are other examples of high school big men being hard to project as well. to me, he looked flat-footed on offense and a bit plodding trying to run the court. he scored a lot of points from 5 feet and in, but so did thomas hamilton. i have no doubt he'll be the #1 overall pick-but i don't see how he can be projected as the next duncan or robinson without having played against college competition. sure he's played against the top players in the country in aau and tournaments, but most of those teams don't have people that are anywhwre close to his size. high school centers are so hard to place because any seven-footer will be dominant against some 6-4 catholic-school kid. So it's your opinion and it's based on you seeing Oden play twice. Thanks for clarifying. His point is valid though. Chandler was also highly coveted out of high school. Every scout on the planet had him as a future NBA star. Not saying he has no value because I still like Tyson, but his deficiencies came to frutition just as much as his positives, and he will likely never attain the full potential that was expected of him. I hope Oden will, but I'd like to see him play in college a bit.

...and they're growing more outside the left-field wall I see.

If the Cubs win every game after the All-star break, we could be .500 by mid August.

Isn't that the "real" reason they are always trying to trade Walker? It's probably among the reasons. Another one is probably the unfounded trust in Neifi, and also the idea that a SS is more important than a 2B and the Cubs desperately need a bargaining chip on a talent-light ballclub. I notice Todd has been quiet lately though.

Very interesting. I won't believe it until I see the change though. But this is the first time I've even heard Hendry is going to "re-evaluate" Baker & Co. Firing Baker is a foregone conclusion almost every Cub fan has accepted. It's just a matter of when. You don't come back from this level of suckage. Just doesn't happen. I wish Hendry would have realized this in May: even a 5-under .500 team would still have a fighting chance in this crappy division. But I guess a change too late is better than none at all. It's time to pull the trigger. The Dusty era is a failure. Time to move on.

Nope. He told the truth. And with the Cubs, telling the truth can get you destroyed.

Cripes, even a Top 5 pick will probably net a great player. Next year's draft crop looks insane at the top. You can thank NY again. We could be in the Conference Finals next season and still net a top 5 pick :)

2001 Texas Rangers went 72-90 spending 107 million for that season. I'm thinking the one of the Mets' teams might take the cake. We aren't winning 72 games, so we've got the Rangers beat, though our salary isn't quite the ARod-bloated 107mil.

Me too. I'm thinking there will be little if any changes until someone higher on the food chain fires Hendry. Jimbo has lost all sense of reality---he's stuck in a corner ruled by his own ego, unable to accept that his plain is a grade A failure. He's not changing anything.

I'm quite sure we are. Also, how's that double play record coming? We should be able to grab that one too.

Carniby. Welcome to the ranks of the damned. I'm quite sorry, but there is no cure, you are a Cub fan for life :) You got any good ways to get decent Badger tix?? :wink: Nobody wants to hear my random thoughts. Besides, I don't want to cause Tim to have to spend the remaining hours of the 4th of July deleting inappropriate words. Don't worry. I'm a Cub fan. We know how to bottle it all up inside. Forever. 8)

Thanks for causing me to laugh so hard that my drink came through my nose. LMAO. Ditto. larhur, you were joking.......right?

Dusty still doesn't have his players. They're all on the Mets, Tigers, and White Sox. Just give Dusty his players, man.

And Baker, Clines, and Hendry should be given a lethal dose of fire, hell, burning sulfer, and explosives for ruining CPatt and then making it sound like it was all his fault.

I think they should take the same approach with him that the Astros have taken with Everett. His defense is pretty good, his bat just needs to catch up now. He's still only 23 so he's got time to develop. I hope you're right. Could be looking at another washout with the coaching staff working with him though.

Though I'd like to wait a little longer, it is starting to look more & more like Cedeno just isn't a major league quality starting SS.

Alright Cubbie fans here it comes.... Wait for it.... Wait for it!!! :roll: