Soul

With 12 games left, right? It's possible I suppose. We do have a home/home with Philly coming up. Upcoming schedule is Boston, Orlando, Charlotte. That's very winnable. Philly has Detroit, Indiana, Cleveland in the immediate future. Bulls need to pull it together. Any more 4 game losing streaks and its over.

And the mountain of paperwork and testimony they have assembled to support their assertions? Is that all a joke too? Doesn't sound like Bonds is laughing, by the way... [-(

Just to be clear: there's no actionable evidence Sosa took steroids. But that cork sprayed all over the infield proves beyond any shadow of a doubt he was a cheater. I'm not jumping on Sosa----I happen to love the guy despite his flaws, and despite the fact that he corked his bat. But in an effort to be fair and objective............we must concede he cheated.

They are talking about the most recent game. Corey was 1-15 leading up to that... He entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the 6th. Glad to see CPatt can still hit single-A pitching.

The last time I checked it wasn't too good. I think he was hitting in the low 200s. But ST numbers don't really mean the much. Corey is hitting .250/.286/.365 with 1 home run and 8 strikeouts in 52 at bats. It makes me happy to hear this. I hope he does well. The better our "castoffs" perform after we trade them off, the more likely we are to get something useful in return in the future. However, if our castoffs routinely do well after we get rid of them, then that should be considered like a screaming indictment of our coaching at the major league level. Conversely, if Patterson continues to play poorly for another team, we will have to admit that he, and not the ML coaches, is responsible for his failure (or success). One thing is for sure, he certainly isn't making the Cubs coaches look bad in Spring Training. The Baltimore Sun reports that Markakis (and Matos) are outplaying him which is one reason why he was moved to a corner OF spot. There's certainly a possibility that he won't be a starter during the regular season. If CPatt does well elsewhere, it only proves he finally got it through his thick skull he needs to change. Sounds like he hasn't, however. I know it's only Spring Training, but that's a disturbing report from the Baltimore Sun.

:lol: Priceless

You're welcome, Semantics Police. Edit: For the record, the Sun-Times article title is "Grace says Sosa's bulk had to be artificial" Is that any different than what I wrote. It clearly states Grace accused Sosa of artifcial enhancement. Sorry--not trying to single out anyone, this should apply to me as well and everyone else. It's too bad the Sun-Times feels the need to sensationalize their reporting by misrepresenting the article contents in the title line. We don't need to fall into that same trap. This particular article is extremely bad. How can they say Grace is saying Sosa HAD to have used steroids, when the article couches everything in the "speculation" category? That's ridiculous. If the Sun-Times wants to lie to its readers, that's their business. We shouldn't follow suit.

Please be careful when you title a thread that it isn't a lie. Thank you.

:lol: :lol: I literally didn't read a single post on this thread, just saw the Steroidfield pic. That was funny 8)

It was successful----that's a bad thing though.

i don't think this is true. i think the burden of proof is actually on bonds, and bonds has to prove malicious intent, which he almost certainly can't, whether he took steroids or not. I'm not a lawyer but I'm guessing malice is not relevant in the case of true statements. Plenty of malicious statements have been printed about Josef Stalin, who has living relatives, but you can be sure none of Stalin's relatives will ever sue for libel because the malicious statements about him are true. i guess i worded that badly. malice definitely is not relevant in the case of true statements. The general rule is that dead guys cannot sure for defamation - be it slander or libel. If Bonds wanted to bring a case against the authors, then the authors would be the defendants. That means the burden of proof would be on *BONDS* to prove they lied, it was malicious, etc. Defendants don't have to prove their innocence in this country.

I heard a rumor that Griese to the Bengals is a done deal. Monday's visit to the Bears is just a formality. Again, just a rumor.....

We have Conte in a 60-minutes interview saying it was a calender to lay out which drugs to take at which times. I mean, what do we want? Someone to walk up to us with the actual documents so we can have a personal look? Even then, the docs could have been altered before we saw them... It's asking for absolute proof. And that kind of proof seldom comes around. What we're left with is a mountain of circumstancial evidence, the testimony of several players in the whole deal, TV interviews, books that put it together, etc. It's enough. Sure, there's an outside chance it's all wrong----maybe everyone's lying because they don't like Barry. It's not very likely, but yeah it's possible. But it's enough evidence for a reasonable person to conclude he did it--which you seem to be leaning toward. I'm definitely already there.

About freaking time. This is a policy I would like to see the Cubs adopt for almost all pitcher injuries but especially with Prior. While they're at it, they should turn some of that shock therapy on Dusty's freaking head. Glad to hear they are trying something. That IS positive.

Anderson was Bonds trainer it could be his work-out schedule. Not saying it was but the only option isn't just steroids for that calendar. I thought there were others who looked at that calendar and knew right away what each letter meant----from experience. Actually, I thought it was Conti who knew. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/14050067.htm Anyhow, it's more circumstancial evidence. Granted, it's not absolute proof like a video tape of Bonds injecting himself. But circumstancial evidence also counts...

Does anybody really believe in 7-10 days he'll be back throwing and everything will be fine? I believe he'll be throwing in 7-10 days, that can range from throwing 5 10 feet on up. But, he won't be fine. He still has a long ways to go before he's ready to face opposing hitters ate the level expected from him. I'm still not seeing anything positive. There's absolutely no assurance this won't continue to come back. It started after mild throwing with a towel and a couple simu-games. That's not very encouraging. Being objective about it, I would say this will likely haunt him the entire season. They aren't even really treating it at all. Instead, they are simply resting it. Prior already had months of rest. 7-10 days more isn't likely to magically cure this problem. If someone can show how this is a one-time incident only, I would gladly re-assess. But as of now, I see nothing that says this won't continue to come back.

.....which when I look at how this season is shaping up, might not have been a bad thing.

Bonds did not admit that at all, nor did the government prove that what he did take was steroids. Go back and look at the articles and show me where it says that Bonds did the substances known as the cream and the clear. Show me where Bonds knows either before or after he took them that there were steroids in them. So far up to this points Bonds has stated that there are no steroids in him nor has he ever taken them. He has never said that he unknowingly took them or knowingly took them. Nor has the government ever actually made a direct link of steroid and bonds. They have evidence for sure but there is no smoking gun. No Bonds purchased the drugs, no Anderson saying I saw Bonds take the drugs, nothing. What we have is BALCO selling drugs to Anderson and then the assumption that the drugs are for Bonds. It may very well be true but the government has not been able to make that connection yet. If they had then Bonds would be indicted by now, he has not been. Am I defending BOnds? No, I think he used steroids, I also don't care that he used steroids. But the point isn't what we think but what we "know" and what we can prove. This is about law and order. I wanted Barry BOnds to have the full protection of the law and rules that govern us. Because if somebody like him, somebody who everyone wants to "get" is protected from improper processing then that means I am protected as well, an innocent. Lynch mobs maybe expediate and may even solve a problem in the short run but when a society sets asides its laws and procedure for the sake of expediance then no one is safe in that society from the lynch mob. Obviously this board is all about opinions.....I'm giving you mine. A jury sends a murderer to his death based on their *opinion* of the evidence, too. I'm telling you that, in my opinion, based on the evidence we have available to us now, there's proof beyond a reasonable doubt Bonds took steroids. Do I "know"? No, I don't know. That would be proof beyond all doubt (see Palmiero). But when I look at the case against Barry Bonds as it stands right now: in my opinion that's proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Just like in the case against Pete Rose we didn't absolutely KNOW until he confessed. But the circumstancial case against him was strong. Not entirely the same thing here, but it's similar.

Incredible. Not one Big 10 team through to the Sweet 16!

....but the real point is, Prior developed shoulder soreness after throwing with a towel for a couple weeks. That has to be a massive concern. What will happen when he puts real pressure on that shoulder?

His W-L record isn't really the issue. At all. or any pitcher for that matter. BTW dont dismiss record completely it does factor in, it is the ultimate measure of success. I know it isnt something the pitcher has complete control over, but in the end it doesnt matter if you had 200 plus strikeouts and a great ERA, if you didnt win games you werent a success. Also when you look at the numbers it is a strong indicator of success in wins, if you have the above stats then you most likely will have a good record, but it doesnt guarentee it. A W is all that matters at the end of the day. I may very well be wrong, but thats just how I feel :D W-L is not a primary stat in determining a pitcher's worth. That's pretty well documented. The problem is, voters still use it for things like the Cy Young, All-Star game, and even the Hall of Fame to some degree. It may not be the primary factor, but it is still looked at. So as long as people factor it in, it will continue to be mentioned.

I knew when I saw everyone had Illinois on their lists, it was going to be trouble. You all need to learn the art of reverse psychology! No seriously, when I saw they would run into a #5 in the round of 32 I sort of mentally circled that matchup "this could be trouble."

Oh God please no, not the dreaded "we're going to let it quiet down" treatment. :?

Give Ryu and/or Guzman a shot. Hendry tried all offseason to find another starter. Didn't work. It's unlikely he will find a quality one now.

It doesn't say anything about our players that they lost. That's silly. Our guys aren't even in ST form yet, to say nothing of being in mid-season form, or post season form. And that's precisely why the way the WBC is set up isn't good. We've got alot of important players going full-bore in March, before they are traditionally ready to play. I suppose players could start preparing themselves earlier-----but then why have ST at all? And besides, after a long 6-month season of 162 ballgames + playoffs, I can totally understand ballplayers wanting to take a little time off. Which is probably why so many refused to play the WBC. They knew they would have to sacrifice some of their downtime, or else risk injury. That's a hell of a position to put players in, especially when you've got teams like Cuba who are primed and ready to play from the get-go. I'm glad some people are enjoying this, but it's got alot of problems.