Soul

I'm probably going to reveal my math ineptitude here, but oh well... Doesn't the mean have to be .500? If each game always results in a win and a loss, and there are X number of games, then there will always be just as many wins as losses each season leaguewide. Now---in each division it's not necessarily the case of course. No. The mean is the average. The median is the middle and the mode is the number that comes up at the highest frequency. When people talk about regression toward the mean it means that the performance is likely to revert to an historical average. For example if St. Louis regress toward the mean of the last 5 years, this year they will likely win 96 games (100,105,85,97,93/5). Not so good for us Cub fans. Ouch. Let's find a string of seasons where St. Louis was terrible and call that their historical average instead! :D

I'm probably going to reveal my math ineptitude here, but oh well... Doesn't the mean have to be .500? If each game always results in a win and a loss, and there are X number of games, then there will always be just as many wins as losses each season leaguewide. Now---in each division it's not necessarily the case of course.

Trouble is, if we don't stop this slide we're going to regress much further than the mean...

Woot!! We found another Neifi without even trying! 8) Anywhoo........it's May now so if slappy doesn't pick it up soon, no more excuses. :wink:

Not sure what to think anymore. Part me thinks Prior is going through a rash of bad luck, and another part wonders if he has become a bit too sensitive to any discomfort that comes along. I hope it's the former. At any rate, the situation is obviously very frustrating for everyone. Same with Wood, though I'm more certain in Woody's case he's just putting a ton of strain on his arm and it's not holding up.

I need some Jack.

Alright, I'm declaring it officially "OK" to boo Jones now. That's just reeeeeediculous. :x

Christ!! Jones has Hundley's penchant for K's and Alou's baserunning! NOT A GOOD COMBINATION! :evil: :evil:

He also won a World Series with a bad offense, but that doesn't mean it was the right offense to have. And throwing too many pitches usually won't take a toll on previously healthy pitchers in one or two seasons. The risk is for future health. Angel was brought up out of a perceived necessity. His pitching wasn't 100% yet and they knew that. They also knew just how much time he's spent rehabbing over the past three years. You have to adjust standards based on who the pitcher is. Of course, with Angel, you're worried about his immediate health. It's the same reasoning why (hopefully) Wood's pitch count will be limited at least for a few starts when he gets back. You're not going to leave him out of the rotation until he's actually 100% in terms of pitching. Hmmmmm......it doesn't? Object is to win the World Series, isn't it? Who cares if you have a world-beater offense if you can get that done? Maybe I'm missing something here.... The goal is to put together the best team possible, not just rely on great pitching performances. For every 2005 White Sox team, there are quite a few more 2005 Cubs teams. Having a bad offense doesn't exactly give you much insurance if the pitching doesn't work out just as you hoped. Understood. But I wouldn't characterize the Sox's offense last year as "bad." It was adequate. Some good timely hitting, if not copious hitting. I agree you always try to put together the best team possible. You surely must agree that hope for a less-than-perfect team is a good thing----especially being a Cub fan :)

He also won a World Series with a bad offense, but that doesn't mean it was the right offense to have. And throwing too many pitches usually won't take a toll on previously healthy pitchers in one or two seasons. The risk is for future health. Angel was brought up out of a perceived necessity. His pitching wasn't 100% yet and they knew that. They also knew just how much time he's spent rehabbing over the past three years. You have to adjust standards based on who the pitcher is. Of course, with Angel, you're worried about his immediate health. It's the same reasoning why (hopefully) Wood's pitch count will be limited at least for a few starts when he gets back. You're not going to leave him out of the rotation until he's actually 100% in terms of pitching. Hmmmmm......it doesn't? Object is to win the World Series, isn't it? Who cares if you have a world-beater offense if you can get that done? Maybe I'm missing something here....

The real problem is, it's just too darn nice down in Arizona. We need to "dirty up" the facilities down there a little bit. Yes, that was sarcasm.

I'm partial to the Elia tirade, but the Weaver one is truly hilarious. It's almost like they planned it before the show started, because you can hear both of them laughing under their breath towards the end. I think Earl just had enough of the B.S. and told the interviewer (Tom something--?) he was going to let one loose. The "little fleas gettin' picked off" sequence at the beginning never fails to take me off my chair :lol:

What an ordeal. Too much for an old man on Monday night 8)

This is just embarrassing. 1 run against the Pirates? Whoa.

I've just about had it with Mabry [-(

What the hell was that? 3 cheeseballs right down the middle, no movement whatsoever. He swings through all 3 like they were nasty sliders?

We're all basically on our knees before Marshall tonight: "Please dear GOD. Give us some pitching tonight"

God, our starting rotation is such junk with Z pitching badly. This is embarrassing. When is Woody coming back again? We're in *trouble* with this thing.

Thank you. Next year lets send them our minor leaguers. Leave the players we really need alone. They need their spring training----in MARCH, not April when the games count. I just HOPE this is the problem....that would mean that the real Z will/should show up in the next 2 weeks or so. My fear is that it's not about a delay to their spring, my concern all along was that guys would be overthrowing in early March, when they're usually cruising along. The only WBC pitcher of consequence with a decent start has been Willis, who sucked, got rocked and left early every game. The guys who threw meaningful innings are off to bad starts or injured, or maybe both. God I hope you are wrong and Z doesn't have some kind of weird dead arm from pushing too hard in March. My feeling was players would spend too much time watching instead of working up to strength, delaying their preparedness for the season.

Thank you. Next year lets send them our minor leaguers. Leave the players we really need alone. They need their spring training----in MARCH, not April when the games count.

that's the sad thing. True, but I also agree the angst should be directed at Hendry for bringing him in at ridiculous $$$$, rather than at Jones for being himself. Jones has been worse than his normal self. Plus, when the angst is directed at Hendry, you get people yelling at you to leave Hendry alone. You can't win. I just say let people write what they want as long as it's about the Cubs and fits within the rules of the board. Wow. You are unusually Zen today, goony. 8) I agree. People should say what they wish. Far be it for me to instruct people on what they should write! Just saying maybe the angst towards him is a little misplaced----not that people can't say what they want. Personally---I was leery of the Jones signing when it happened. He's doing pretty much what I expected. Hopefully he can hit a few well placed homers in between the K's.

JP is no Derek Lee. JP is a one-dimensional ballplayer who hasn't been valuable to a team since 2004. I never said he was Ry. The point is valid: wanting a player to be thrown out of town based on an April isn't right. Not saying you want that, but people are suggesting it on these boards. If it gets to be June and he's still getting on at his current clip, I'll be the first to suggest we NOT extend him and perhaps give Pie a shot or pursue some other avenue. But it's still April (well, for a couple more days anyway). And lots of players struggle their first April with a club. Doesn't mean anything......yet. BTW, you should look at Pierre's April numbers from 2003, when he first came to the Marlins. Eerily similar to this year's numbers. And he wound up giving them 2 good years----like you said, through 2004.

that's the sad thing. True, but I also agree the angst should be directed at Hendry for bringing him in at ridiculous $$$$, rather than at Jones for being himself.

It's gonna be really interesting to see what the Bears do. What time does the draft start? And so it should be what, 2 hours and 30 minutes after that when the Bears pick? Could be longer. 15 minutes per pick. That's 4/hour. Probably won't go that long, but it could be up to 6 hours (i.e. 4pm).

I see a trend. Yes. 2003 was his first season as a Marlin.