Soul

Uh, he's already been named the fourth starter. Yeah. Maybe we need to start a prayer group or something

Ackity ack ack.

It just occurred to me that this season will be a test of Derek Lee's leadership, with all these young players around looking up to him. This is probably Derek's first chance to truly put his personal stamp on a baseball team. He is absolutely 'the guy' on this club, especially with Wood & Prior out.

Ah, hell. I'll join in on the fun, too. Care to wager on that? I don't wager, ever. Well........I *did* bet on the Marlins on games 6 and 7 and won about 1,500 bucks. Almost never. It's a feeling, based on past history with how our starter's injuries tend to go. Soul, the fellow Cub fan I watched game 6 and 7 with did the same thing you did and he won a boatload of money. Easy money. I knew I wasn't alone 8)

Nope. I've never sold my soul. If we get within a game again, I'm slapping down money against. I watched the pressure, and all the media B.S. about the curse build & build in 2003, and I just felt it was too tough to cut through. You'll see all those stupid graphics of billie goats walking across the screen, and all the damn post-game interviews "you thinkin' about the curse yet?!? Huh----yet?!?" You remember how it was.... The way I see it, from a psychological standpoint the Cubs have to win the World Series just to *GET* to the World Series.

Wow, that really puts the Yankees behind the 8-ball.

Come on. Nobody else here has ever bet *against* their favorite sports team?

Ah, hell. I'll join in on the fun, too. Care to wager on that? I don't wager, ever. Well........I *did* bet on the Marlins on games 6 and 7 and won about 1,500 bucks. Almost never. It's a feeling, based on past history with how our starter's injuries tend to go. You should be banned from all things Cubs for the rest of your life. :twisted: :wink: I don't feel guilty about it, though I understand people's reaction to it. It was based on a hunch. No, the money didn't help soften the blow. It paid my rent instead :wink:

Ah, hell. I'll join in on the fun, too. Care to wager on that? I don't wager, ever. Well........I *did* bet on the Marlins on games 6 and 7 and won about 1,500 bucks. Almost never. It's a feeling, based on past history with how our starter's injuries tend to go.

You won't see Prior until after the all-star break at the earliest. Maybe later.

No, I'm saying I don't see the renovations as turning it into a terrible ballpark, and as long as they can keep it viable, I prefer it where it is than in the suburbs. I only go to a few games a year. I'll still watch games wherever they are played, and be the same fan. But it will be a lot less fun to go out there for a game or two if they are in the burbs. I think the uproar over the changes is just the typical fight against change of any kind. I think it will actually end up better, and a few years later people aren't going to be longing for the days when it was something else. I think the location is much better than the stadium itself, even though I love the stadium. I'd rather they build a whole new park on the current location than move the current park to a different location. But first and foremost on my mind is always the team. They could do this. But I never hear anyone talk about it, and with the renovations being done I feel pretty safe saying it isn't an option being discussed seriously. But I would have preferred it to the piece-by-piece upgrade path. The Grandstands. That's going to be the determining factor. They eventually must be updated, and it will be a large project which will contribute greatly to the future look and feel of the stadium. I have no problem with the neighborhood----I love it. I was born and raised in Naperville though, so I can't join in the popular hate-Naperville sentiment.

between Daley/city counsel and Wrigley being listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, the coy disguises are necessary. there are many politicians telling them what they cannot do with their building, so they have to jump through the hoops and do what they can. Exactly, and if they ever did build a modern stadium, they'd have to do so in a boring suburb somewhere. I don't care about the physical structure of Wrigley nearly as I do the location. I love that the stadium is in a great neighborhood in the middle of the city. So many other ballparks are glorified rest stops on the side of a highway, or part of a city's industrial area, surrounded by abandoned or broken down buildings. I hope they keep improving Wrigley bit by bit in it's current location, because I don't want to drive to a McBallpark in Naperville in the future to see the Cubs. ne'er truer words been spoken. Give me McBallpark in Naperville. I'll take the Cubs with me and you can have HiTops and Murphy's. j/k. Sort of. I mean, are you saying Murphy's is all that matters, even if the renovations result in terrible ballpark?

Who cares? It's discreet and it's the world we live in. Don't you have better things to worry about this team than them selling naming rights to the bleachers? Or is it just another area for you to criticize? I do. But I still say if they're going to replace the real Wrigley piece-by-piece with new construction, and then sell each part for extra revenue, then I'd rather dispense with the coy disguises and just build an actual modern state-of-the-art ballpark.

Definitely April Fools. It's not April 1st though----that's not playing fair :lol:

A youth movement is only a good thing if the young players perform.

Yes, I just heard this rumor on the radio. Not sure what's going on. cubfanintheknow pointed out maybe it's April Fools. If it is true, man I think it's terrible. :?

Yes, it is now going to be referred to as the "Bud Light Bleachers." And the naming rights to Wrigley Field? APRIL FOOLS!!! I *did* think of that :oops: It's only March 31st though. Is it one-day-early April Fools?!?

If only the Cubs' injuries were more like Edmonds': http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/22E597C2E97C1B688625713B0016A1D4?OpenDocument BTW, Edmonds spring stats; 26 AB, 13 H, 4 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .500 BA, .552 OBP, .769 SLG, 1.321 OPS A Cub with an inflamed elbow means at least half the season on the DL. Jim Edmonds with an inflamed elbow means a .500 ST batting average. Some things are just unfair. Your statement would be funny if there wasn't so much truth in it . . . :shock: Well, Derek Lee has toughed it out quite a bit and so has Ramirez. It seems like when our players try to chomp on the bit and play through pain, it only hurts us in the long run. When the Cards' players do it, they continue to perform at usual levels and then the injury disappears one day and everything's fine.

Since we're talking about the sale of things on this thread, I heard yesterday that Bud Light got naming rights to the bleachers. Expect Len to be uttering "the Bud Light bleachers" quite a bit this year. ....and, shockingly and hopefully falsely, I was driving into work and heard someone on the SCORE say they sold naming rights to Wrigley itself, too. Again---I was just listening and heard it cross my ears; I'm not saying it's true yet or anything.

I think the Cards & Stros will come back to the Pack a little, but the Brewers will be better (maybe even much better). I still think we're looking at 3rd or 4th place, though I wouldn't pick us to finish with fewer wins than last year.

Colangelo has always wanted to own a Chicago baseball franchise, I believe.

Pierre as a 1-year player is not something that just developed this spring. It was always a possibility, and I tried to tell everyone that was the case.

1) Definite improvements in the bullpen. 2) A full year of Dempster @ closer instead of messing around with Hawkins. 3) Giving some young guns a shot. 4) A team that will surely have a higher team OBP than last year, and better speed on the bases. Those are some positives I can think of. I don't think it balances out the negatives, but there are some positives.

I'm guessing the next 2-3 years would be peak years for Lee, with the final 2 of that contract taking place during his decline. I don't think 5 years is all that outrageous. Lee's defense will be a true asset long after his offensive numbers start to slip. When you factor in what market value will be 4 years from now (i.e., higher), I would probably do it. It's amazing how quickly Derek Lee has become the face of this ballclub.

I would not lay all of the blame on Hendry. Clearly, he has largely ignored the team's need for OBP guys, and has catered to Dusty's lousy veteran fetish. Hendry did a great job building the 2004 team, but did an equally lousy job with the 2005 squad, especially with the bullpen. There wasn't much to be had this offseason, so it is hard to blame him for a lack of additions to the 2006 team. But while injuries and such are beyond his control, clearly Hendry is not blameless. And I really hope you aren't including Baker when you say that recent failures are not the fault of the "leadership". Certainly, with Baker around and the injuries we have had, there's no way Hendry should get all the blame. Just his share. I do think something can and should be done about our offseason activities that would help limit the injuries. It certainly wouldn't cure everything, but a good offseason program with solid participation can help. I'm not willing to lay the blame of all injuries at Hendry's feet, of course. My main beef here is that in my opinion the team is not O.K., mistakes have been made, we are watching the potential for true greatness on our pitching staff slip by the boards (an incredible source of pain for any Cub fan), and yet listening to Hendry talk you would think everything is great.