Soul

I think he can do it, but he's going to need SOME run support. But the 20-year plus Cub fan in me feels that a good performance will be counterbalanced by NO RUNS. Then Crusty will trot out Williamson (or someone else not named Howry, Eyre - is he still out?, or Dempster) after Greg is done for the day, and the Cards will get the sweep in their back yard this time. Ask, and ye shall receive. 0.99 ERA for Madux on the year, outstanding! And just after looking so flat the last couple of games, they string together some hits and make it look like everything's going to be all right. That is just so Cubs. Stringing us along in the process. Even if our season is in dire straits, I must say watching Maddux do what he's doing at this stage of his career has been MARVELOUS. 8)

This is typical Cardinals B.S. They've been pulling it for years. Good job to Mad Dog punking their collective arses.

Huh. Glad to see him doing well. I didn't realize Texas would have him with the big club. Just watching his stuff, it's not all that great. I pictured him as more of a career AAA guy. Nice job goes out to him for gettin' the job done :)

You don't go, so you wouldn't know. Biggest myth about Wrigley and Cub fans, btw. As if other fans don't go to games to drink and watch girls...

The point was that it's in an area that may hurt his pitching and could get further aggrevated. I don't see what this has to do with Wood's pain endurance or ability to stay healthy. Let's not forget that this isn't even an arm issue. I assume he threw today. According to Cubs.com, he'll throw to hitters on Monday or Tuesday. Something's just not right with this whole situation. This just doesn't happen. Seriously. It's the equivalent of a person not being able to ride a bicycle for 7 straight days without pulling a calf muscle---even going at a leisurely pace. Especially for guys as well-built as Woody & Prior. These continued injuries, pulls, and twinges even just throwing simulated games for a couple weeks? That doesn't happen. There are pieces of this puzzle still missing. It's not adding up. As someone was fond of saying: "Something ain't stirring the Kool-ade, Ace."

Amazing how the Bulls are shooting right now. 13 threes and we're still down by 2. I doubt we'll be able to keep up this scoring pace throughout the series. Shaq has played very well. He's not hobbled at all as some suggested.

Was nice while it lasted though.

Thing is, I remember an interview where Hendry was nearly gushing over this guy. Has he lost all sense of reality? Surely we have AA and AAA players who are better than him.

I'm hearing alot of optimism about this series. I guess I never considered that Shaq won't step it up for the playoffs (or won't be able to). Plus----I'm having difficulty with the idea that our backcourt is better than the Heat. Wade is superior to Gordon & Hinrich, though I like our guys just fine. I'm mostly afraid of the inside matchups, which is pretty usual for this Bulls team since that's our weak point. I'd love to see Gordon go off in front of a national audience. Tip off is near. :!: GO BULLS :!:

Agreed the draft is more of a crapshoot that most realize. I think it was Kiper who called the Briggs pick a reach. Hah. is this the same soul from the main bear boards? Or is this just a coincidence? The same. I criticize the home team when they're doing bad here, too. So you might have to get angry with me again, Slick 8)

One of the guys who had to drive UConn fans absolutely bonkers this season. This is a guy who should have been the best player in the tournament because of his sheer level of talent...yet he was incredibly lazy at times and was streaky to near-maddening degrees. Here's hoping the Bulls stay away from him. Yeesh. agreed. i think they will. it seems like he only did good when they didn't need it and when they did need the lift, his game was nowhere to be found. so tyrus thomas it is. I'm really excited about Tyrus Thomas...but he could end up a lot like Tyson. His offense needs a TON of work, so we might have to with a safer pick. I hate to mention his name because I know he's got one foot out of the league, but we need a big man who can score like Eddie Curry when he decided to play decently (i.e. when he wasn't too tired, disinterested, injured or out of shape----basically once every 2 weeks or so :)). I'd hate to draft this high and wind up with Tyson Chandler part Deux. We need someone to draw attention away from our small-ish backcourt. I like our guards, but they can't match up as well if teams can concentrate on the perimeter.

Cedeno has been doing everything asked of him. I have been pleasantly suprised so far. Murton needs to hit higher in the order. Nobody's going to give you a pitch to hit when they know Blanco and Glendon Rusch are coming up next. Ramirez looks like he's in more than an early-season slump. He's already had a tweak this year----I'm half-expecting to hear he's been playing with a nagging injury. These past two games I believe we have been exposed. We don't have the pitching without Prior & Woody, and we don't have the offensive pop without Lee and with Ramirez looking bad. There's just no way around this. The players aren't stupid. They see the same things we do. When you watch all your good players hit the D/L or slump, it has to have an effect on your outlook. It just looks to me like the Lee injury was the straw that broke the camel's back with these guys. I don't think I've ever seen a team that needs a road win this early in the season as badly as this Cubbie team.

Honestly, if you want to be an uber-pessimist, that's fine. But you don't have to preach it like the gospel. We can all see what is going on, and don't need people exacerbating our existing frustration. If you want to vent, that's fine. But the "I told you so" BS is really annoying. Sorry to have annoyed you. I will cut the "I told you so" B.S. immediately. It *definitely* seems like some people on this board won't accept any criticism of the Cubs whatsoever no matter what happens. Not singling anyone out----just seems that way. And that's fine too. But there needs to be some balance to the discussion when catastrophies like Wood & Prior or Lee happen. These are crushing blows. CRUSHING. Some like to ignore them and move on. I don't. And I don't see how either view should be attacked. Seems like people who try to say "things are not good" around here get attacked and labeled. I think that's completely unfair, especially in our current situation. Just because everyone isn't dwelling on the problems doesn't mean we aren't all acutely aware of ther severity of the situation. Hand wringing, Chicken Littling and moaning isn't going to help matters anymore than being too optimistic. If you want to be pessimistic (and the reality probably lies between where you are and where the kool-aid drinkers are), that's fine. But you seem to be on a crusade to put everyone in the same mindset you are. The situation is really bad, and nearly all of us realize it fully. You aren't a voice of reason enlightening the blissfully ignorant, you are behaving like child running around saying "nah-nah, told you so!", and it's incredibly lame. We all see the same stuff you do, but not everyone chooses to let it effect them the same way you do. I'd bet that 95% of the people here aren't in denial, but just choose not to allow the circumstances to make them completely miserable. At least not outwardly. If the fact that not everyone here isn't pissing and moaning like you are bothers you so much, you have bigger problems than the Cubs. Maybe it's a misery loves company thing, I don't know. If you want to moan, then moan. That's fine. But don't label people ignorant just because they don't behave like you. My big problem in life is that I'm addicted to a ballclub that never wins. Of that, I plead guilty. I don't feel like I'm whining. I'm just telling it like it is. It's bad. By the way----remaining optimistic isn't going to help either. Unless you have found a way to influence the outcome of games from your lazy-boy. If so, please share. Nobody was a bigger optimist in 2003 than me. And nobody was more optimistic heading into the 2004 season that me. If it's good, I say it's good. It just so happens that right now, it isn't. And it hasn't been for awhile. That doesn't make me a pessimist. It's just reality. I will try to be sensitive to making it sound like others are ignorant. I certainly don't believe that-----in fact, I consider myself far less knowledgeable about the intricacies of the game than many on this board. But I will not stop telling it like it is--as I see it.

Cey came to Chicago as a fading vet and gave us a couple decent years. Then he was done. I love him for it, but he was pretty far past his prime. I don't see a whole lot of similarity between him & Lee.

This is what I fear as well. We will do well against the easy teams that next few weeks. Then we don't get anyone and fail miserably vs. the good teams coming up next. . I'm not sure if we can take Hendry at his word, but in the pre-game today he basically said there wouldn't be a trade...

Not sure what you mean by the latter comment, NJ had the 3 seed already by virtue of winning the Atlantic. I know about NJ winning their division, it's just ridiculous that the Cavs(or any other team) are precluded from getting the 2 or 3 seed just because they have the best team in basketball. They finished with a better record, they deserve the seed. If NJ had something to play for its last week, I doubt they would've sat their starters and lost to Philly and NY to end the season. I completely agree that the seeding system needs to change, but the Mavs got screwed by it, not the Cavs. By the same token, the Cavs had nothing to play for for even longer with the gap between them and the 5 seed, but yeah, I don't get why they can't have a second place team at the 2 or 3. They could do this, but I think the setup is essentially the same as other leagues.

Holy cow, could we wait a week or two before we conclude that they have given up? Sheesh, what does it look like to you?

Agreed the draft is more of a crapshoot that most realize. I think it was Kiper who called the Briggs pick a reach. Hah.

The Cubs are being pretty careful, but I don't think this is a case of holding him back too much. I slightly pulled something in the same area that Wood reported tightness and I can certainly see how that might hurt his mechanics. And if he hurts that muscle because he tried to pitch through it, that could really set him back since he wouldn't be able to throw at all while it was healing up. Yes, but if it's a pull then that's different... If that's really the case then I hold very little hope Wood will ever be back. At any rate, if he's really this fragile then I don't see how he's going to be able to ever start on a regular basis.

Yeah that makes sense. Even if they did that, you'd complain when he came back and got injured because he hadn't thrown that many pitches. Or complain when he wasn't effective. Or complain that he was on a pitch count. Yes, because everything's wonderful. Nothing to complain about here! Keep drinking that koolade man.

In the face of Lee's injury, they've packed it in.

So much for the whole "rally in the face of injury" thing.

I have my Dad and 2 Grandmas to thank. All were rabid Cub fans, and all died without ever having seen the Cubs win it. Check that, my Dad's mom was 2 years old when the Cubs won it. That's just incomprehensible

I've tried not being a fan. To my horror, I discovered it's a disease that has no cure. Believe me, if I could escape I would have long ago. I know, I feel trapped. Damned if I do, dammed if I don't. I just can't get over the stupid idiot Cubs. as I've posted yesterday, its like being an abused wife who cant leave her abusive husband That's a pretty good analogy.

I've tried not being a fan. To my horror, I discovered it's a disease that has no cure. Believe me, if I could escape I would have long ago.