Soul

Red Sox are one of the most explosive offensive teams in the league. That was El Duque pitching from the core of his soul, make no mistake. That pitch to Damon was nothing short of brilliance. D has no idea where that ball was. He swung out of total confusion, and couldn't hold up. Cubs did have some luck in 2003. And I didn't notice anyone pointing it out at the time in Cubdom. So it's a bit disingenuous to claim we would be pointing out our own luck in the heat of a World Series run. Maybe afterwards, but not during. I don't buy that for a second.

I think most of us are, given the negative posts around here. It's not negative, man. It's frustration. 100 years of it. We all love the Cubs, or should at least.

That's your standard, and you hold up the White Sox as a bastion of success? They've been hovering around .500 for 5 years. You just said "How many teams can just put out incredible contenders every season? There's really 4. Cards, Yanks, BoSox, and Braves. The rest of the teams struggle, and the goal is to build a winner who makes a run in a given season." Yeah, sure----that's the goal for the WHITE SOX and others. That shouldn't be the goal for us. We should be one of those cream-of-the-crop teams.

That's because you think it's a miracle and it isn't. It was well planned out and executed to provide a ballclub that works with his manager. Lee for Pod is downright stupid if you are trying to build a power-based baseball team. But not so stupid if you intend to put more runners in scoring position and want to improve your defense a little. Oh, and by the way: it didn't hurt the White Sox power numbers a whole lot as it turned out. But that wasn't the point. The point was to give Guillen tools he could work with.

At the risk of getting myself into trouble..... Sometimes I wonder if you guys & gals are even really bothered by the failures year in & year out by this organization. I've been watching Cub baseball for 40 years. Most of my family has been Cub fans for their entire lives. We've watched this play out over & over forever it seems. I'm getting old :? And getting gray :wink: Watching teams like the Braves, A's, BoSox, Yanks, Cards, even the Stros every year. I sit back and watch, and they just have better teams than we do 9/10 years. You have to wonder why, don't you? And at some point don't you have to get angry and demand more from your baseball team? I don't buy that close to .500 is acceptable, or a rebuilding year, or O.K. because it's within a couple years of a playoff run. I want to have 90+ wins at least 3/5 seasons. I want meaningful games every September, and many Octobers. That's a winning, successful baseball team to me. That's what I see other organizations accomplishing. So tell me. Am I just doomed to be a fan of a team that will never accomplish this? Does anyone here see a future for the Cubs that is anywhere close to what teams like the Braves & Yanks have accomplished? Maybe not playoff bound 20 years in a row, but say, in the playoffs more than 50% of the time? Or should I just give up hoping for that and just hope for the one-off playoff year every once in awhile?

That's not marvelous, that's mediocre. Walker > Iguchi, Barrett > Pierzynski, Burnitz > Podsednik. Uribe barely had a higher OBP than Neifi. It's no different than Hendry's moves, probably worse. I'll say it again, unreal pitching while they built that divisional lead is why the Sox are in the playoffs. Not because of Williams, Guillen, Podsednik, the way they play, or anything else. Take a look at Crede's numbers, remarkable how similar they are to Patterson's prior to this year, while Crede is two years older. Crede's embarrassing offensively for a 3B. The Sox were 24th in 3B OBP. Rowand is an average CF after a career year, while Murton(who's had more than a September callup of 160 PA's) will be an average LF when he comes down from his hot numbers of this season. Also, why should the failures of the organization pre-Hendry even matter when comparing the two as they currently are? Mediocre if you take the individual stats only. Magical if you put them in the context of that TEAM. I love how you and others try to throw out entire season's worth of stats, marking them as "career years" just to try and twist the stats to fit your argument. That's pretty funny. But it doesn't matter. 99 wins does. A sweep in the ALDS does. Individual stats along the way don't. OK, let's forget the lack of position talent coming from the Cubs in past 20 years. Let's focus on now. Who is there? Murton and Cedeno? Pie, if he ever plays? Not much to hang your hat on. I hope Murton turns out good, but who knows if his performance was just due to the league not knowing him or what? Cedeno----you won't even remember he ever existed in two years, mark that down. Pie---who knows? The cupboard is bare, as it always has been position-player wise. Other teams bring up position talent on a yearly basis. We can't develop one, ever. Doesn't that even bother you?

I understand that, but he made the moves and they panned out. That's what he's being paid to do. How many teams can just put out incredible contenders every season? There's really 4. Cards, Yanks, BoSox, and Braves. The rest of the teams struggle, and the goal is to build a winner who makes a run in a given season. Williams has done that. That's why I think he's a great GM.

Minor league system comment -- let's take a look at the important ChiSox this year: Rotation - El Duque - not homegrown Garland - not (entirely) homegrown Buehrle - homegrown Contreras - not homegrown Garcia - not homegrown Lineup: Podsednik - not homegrown Iguchi - not homegrown Dye - not homegrown Konerko - not homegrown Everett - not homegrown Rowand - homegrown Pierzynski - not homegrown Crede - homegrown Uribe - not homegrown No one in the bullpen except Jenks came from the minors. So in total you have Aaron Rowand, Joe Crede, Mark Buehrle, and if you want to give them the benefit of the doubt, Jon Garland. Four players does not constitute a great minor league system. The Cubs had more ROOKIES play regularly this season from their system than the White Sox have total homegrown talent on their whole playoff roster. As for the great GM comment: Podsednik, besides his 70 steals, had a very below-average year last year. His OBP was a very non-leadoff-hitter-like .313. In my opinion, the Lee-for-Podsednik deal should have hurt the Sox offense more than it did and that is luck. Dye had his best year in five years this season. Last year he was no better than Preston Wilson and now he hits 30 homers and drops his K's by 30. Also not a great move, but a move that panned out. Carl Everett didn't even have a good year. How the Cubs miss the playoffs with Ramirez/Burnitz in the five hole and the Sox make it with this scrub is beyond me. Pierzynski had his best year ever this season, and much better than with a better offense (SF) last year. How that panned out is beyond me. Juan Uribe was worth nothing before he came to the White Sox. Somehow he has hit 39 homers over the last two seasons after doing absolutely nothing with the Coors-habitated Rockies. Also dumb luck. Also you throw in Contreras and Freddy both having career years, and Garland inexplicably having one of the greatest first halves in the history of baseball, and Kenny Williams is being made to look a lot smarter than he really is with this team. Yeah, well at least their minor league system (which I did NOT call great, by the way) is producing position talent that plays at the major league level. Ours doesn't. I don't care about player stats. TEAM WINS. That's the goal. Do yourself a favor and forget individual player stats. And forget about if players are having "career years" or not as a reason why the team isn't really all that good. The fact is, they ARE having career years for the White Sox. That should tell you something, and it isn't luck. When a team wins 99 games and sweeps the World Series champs on their way to the ALCS, player stats, career years--all worthless. They play, and they win games. And that's all that matters. Kenny Williams has been the author of that from beginning to end. I refuse to belittle the accomplishments of the South Side team just because I'm a Cub fan. What's happening over there is very, very special.

Why is he not great? Because he doesn't fit the mold of a great GM? Help me out here. 99 wins. World Series run. Swept the World Series champs. Tons of moves in the offseason that have panned out. How is he *NOT* great? The facts would seem to be against you.... What has he done that was so great? His team winning a bunch of games doesnt make him a great gm. Oh, he's only put together the best team in the American league. In my book, that counts for something. If winning a bunch of games doesn't make you a great GM, then what does? That's kind of the whole point.

If it happens that the White Sox are the winners of the first World Series in Chicago in nearly a century, just be sure you place the blame squarely where it belongs. Don't blame the Sox, who hired a *GREAT* general manager who continually makes solid moves to bring in quality players every year. Don't blame the Sox, who have a minor league system that is actually producing a few players for their major league squad, INCLUDING position players. Blame our Cubs. The team that really doesn't care about winning anyway. The team that would rather put it's energy into creative ways of expanding Wrigley Field and opening up more "ticket agencies" so they can rape the Chicago public out of more cash than actually put a winning product on the field. Blame the Cubs. And then try to be happy for your city, who finally has a winner after nearly 100 years. Afterwards, be sure to DEMAND better from our organization by refusing to buy tickets & merchandise until a winner is placed on the field. I don't think I agree with a single word of this post. Yeah, most Cub fans can't bring themselves to accept how our organization has betrayed the trust the fans have placed in it. The truth is undeniable. The White Sox have made the moves, brought in & developed the players, and are now on solid ground for a World Series run. The Cubs have not, and are not close to the Series. You may not like it. God knows, I sure don't. I'm pretty mad about it. But it is true. And then, to watch them tear up Wrigley and probably raise ticket prices once again when they should be worried about putting together a winner. It makes me sick. It should make everyone here sick. Ken Williams is not a *GREAT* General Manager. The only reason the White Sox are in the playoffs is because they got ridiculous pitching performances for a portion of the season. The claim that they've somehow been more successful in developing players is absurd. Who's homegrown on their team? Buehrle, Garland, Crede, Rowand, McCarthy and some bullpen arms? How is that miles ahead of Wood, Prior, Zambrano, Patterson, Murton, Cedeno, and some bullpen arms? Both teams used their system to bring in players. Then of course there's the always enjoyable rhetoric that the Trib doesn't care about winning. They've put up the payroll necessary, and that's all they can be held accountable for. Wow, that's alot of sour grapes about Kenny Williams man. Look at the way he has pieced together a ballclub that fits Guillen's mold. His homegrown players have actually panned out and are contributing. His free agent acquisitions have been marvelous. Uribe. Iguchi. Pierzynski. Dye. You are seriously going to compare Crede and Rowand to Patterson (the biggest crash-and-burn failure in recent memory) and two September callups? :shock: That's borderline ridiculous. As for the pitchers: may be a wash. But you are ignoring the lack of position talent coming from our minor league system for......oh....the last 20 YEARS. No sir. Kenny Williams has been amazing. Maybe Hendry has it in him to be a great GM too. Hey man, I don't know. But calling Kenny Williams less than stellar after what he has accomplished on far less money than the Cubs sounds like nothing more than sour grapes to me.

Why is he not great? Because he doesn't fit the mold of a great GM? Help me out here. 99 wins. World Series run. Swept the World Series champs. Tons of moves in the offseason that have panned out. How is he *NOT* great? The facts would seem to be against you....

The 84 series, I was a young pup, but I remember my grandfather going on a profanity laced warpath that day. Something along the lines of losing a big money bet. Then the 2003 series, well, I went on a profanity laced tirade, that's for sure. In 2003, I went on a profanity-lace tirade as well. I think I destroyed some furniture too. It's kind of hazy :) But, on a positive note, I knew we would lose game 7 after the game 6 fiasco, so I put some cash on the Marlins (Cubs were favored) and came away with a goodly amount of extra spending money. :wink: First rule of betting: bet your head, not your heart.

If it happens that the White Sox are the winners of the first World Series in Chicago in nearly a century, just be sure you place the blame squarely where it belongs. Don't blame the Sox, who hired a *GREAT* general manager who continually makes solid moves to bring in quality players every year. Don't blame the Sox, who have a minor league system that is actually producing a few players for their major league squad, INCLUDING position players. Blame our Cubs. The team that really doesn't care about winning anyway. The team that would rather put it's energy into creative ways of expanding Wrigley Field and opening up more "ticket agencies" so they can rape the Chicago public out of more cash than actually put a winning product on the field. Blame the Cubs. And then try to be happy for your city, who finally has a winner after nearly 100 years. Afterwards, be sure to DEMAND better from our organization by refusing to buy tickets & merchandise until a winner is placed on the field. I don't think I agree with a single word of this post. Yeah, most Cub fans can't bring themselves to accept how our organization has betrayed the trust the fans have placed in it. The truth is undeniable. The White Sox have made the moves, brought in & developed the players, and are now on solid ground for a World Series run. The Cubs have not, and are not close to the Series. You may not like it. God knows, I sure don't. I'm pretty mad about it. But it is true. And then, to watch them tear up Wrigley and probably raise ticket prices once again when they should be worried about putting together a winner. It makes me sick. It should make everyone here sick.

After all these "improvements" are done, don't you people realize it isn't Wrigley anymore? Why don't they just tear down the whole park and build a modern facility? Just watching games on TV with the new brick wall in back of home plate: THAT'S NOT WRIGLEY ANYMORE. Build a new park and keep the old scoreboard and home-plate-entrance sign. No difference from what is happening now.

If it happens that the White Sox are the winners of the first World Series in Chicago in nearly a century, just be sure you place the blame squarely where it belongs. Don't blame the Sox, who hired a *GREAT* general manager who continually makes solid moves to bring in quality players every year. Don't blame the Sox, who have a minor league system that is actually producing a few players for their major league squad, INCLUDING position players. Blame our Cubs. The team that really doesn't care about winning anyway. The team that would rather put it's energy into creative ways of expanding Wrigley Field and opening up more "ticket agencies" so they can rape the Chicago public out of more cash than actually put a winning product on the field. Blame the Cubs. And then try to be happy for your city, who finally has a winner after nearly 100 years. Afterwards, be sure to DEMAND better from our organization by refusing to buy tickets & merchandise until a winner is placed on the field.

Easiest World Series to figure out EVER, and just about the furthest thing from a Cub nightmare that you can have in a season where your most hated rival makes the World Series. Root for the White Sox. Hands down. Yeah, their fans are obnoxious and we'd never hear the end of it from them, but think about it: do we ever hear the end of it from them *anyway*??????? Plus, they're Bear fans don't forget that. It's still Chicago, we're still the biggest city in the country that the East and West coast media buffons ignore, and we still as a CITY deserve much better than what we have seen from our baseball teams over the past 100 years. White Sox all the way. Send the Cards home in shame just like the BoSox did last year. Most illuminating comment about the White Sox, a 99-win ballclub who have basically torn up the league ALL SEASON with the exception of a slip in August/early September: Chris Berman, during today's game, "Well, America----meet the White Sox!!" It's early October and America finally gets to "meet the White Sox?!?" Huh? :shock: If that doesn't tell you of the DELIBERATE, SYSTEMATIC refusal to acknowledge Chicago that goes on in the national media then nothing ever will.

Yeah, I do care. As much as most White Sox fans are insufferable buffoons, I never hated the Sox franchise or it's players, and I think it's high time Chicago received representation in the World Series, even if it isn't the Cubs. Plus, a White Sox trip to the World Series will make the Cubs look 2nd rate, which is exactly the kind of pressure that is needed to get something done about the lack of effort on our team and lack of good players coming into this organization. Hey---if you fans won't buck up and put pressure on the organization (and you DON'T), then it has to come from somewhere or we will never, ever win a World Series. That's just the bare bones truth.

The facts are simple and irrefutable. The Cubs do not have a successful track record of developing good young position players in the minors. Our minor league system from top to bottom has shown a lack of competence in developing the players we do have, as well as bringing in guys who are capable of developing. And until it is fixed, we will not be successful long-term unless we can somehow manage to put together a team through free-agency and trades at the major league level. Other teams have done this successfully so it can work (Yanks, BoSox, Cards). But it's like trying to run a marathon with an injured leg: sure, you can still make it the distance, but wouldn't you rather be pumping on all cylinders?

You know the most disappointing thing about Dusty Baker? We never got to see all those interviews Joe Carter would have done if he had just hung on as color man for a year or two longer.

Let's just make some good moves this offseason, be a healthy team for once, and make the playoffs in 2006 8) Wow, life is so simple from my easy-chair! :P

Most people would be canned and/or jailed if they pulled up with illegal substances in their bodies. End of story, end of life. If they tried to say "somebody slipped them to me in my brownies" it would take a little longer: jail time would occur *after* everyone got through rolling on the floor in laughter. But with ballplayers, they get unlimited chances to break the law and all they get is a little slap on the wrist as they plan to write a multi-million dollar best selling book that tells half the story. Anyone feeling sorry for Raffy? God, I hope not. The guy can cry in his bottle of Dom as he is chauffered to his mansion by his exclusive staff of handmaidens. Poor baby. I don't see anyone taking away all that cash he cheated to make. As Dennis Leary says, "THAT would be more refreshing." There are dozens of other ballplayers out there who cheated just as badly as Raffy. You can count on that. I hope they nail them all, but I'm realistic enough to understand most of them will probably never be totally caught. Thank God Raffy was.

Ask Dusty and Hendry. I think the Black Cat has their tongue :P

How is it possible to go from 2 innings away from a World Series to worthless ballclub in the space of less than 2 years?

Dusty is intent on destroying our weekend. Other teams recognize bad management and make changes. The Cubs refuse to accept it and ride out a bad season rather than attempt to improve. I hate the way this team is run. Your average hot dog stand owner could do it better.

Can we play all the rest of our games today? The quicker this season gets over the better.