Soul

Wow. And because it's the Cubs, heads will not roll. Ever get the feeling you were being slowly suffocated and nobody gave a damn? That's how this Cub team makes me feel.

Thanks for editing what you originally said. Answer me this, did Carpenter return to pitching (and pitching effectively) 10 months after TJS? From the time he finished rehabbing, he joined the Cards. Immediately the guy was pitching with lights out stuff. NOT ONLY THAT---he never did that ever before in his entire career, even when he was healthy. Is your argument that pitchers should be able to return from TJS and go from being .500 to CY Young candidates? Because if it is, then where do I sign up?

Most pitchers aren't great in their first month back from TJS. Except the immortal Chris Carpenter... Exactly my point. Wow, I didn't realize Carpenter just came back from TJS in July. Did you just skip over the "first month back" part? Carpenter was great from the moment he came back from TJS. Didn't take him two years.

Most pitchers aren't great in their first month back from TJS. Except the immortal Chris Carpenter... Exactly my point.

Can't wait until Williamson gets back!! #-o

Actually, you are right. He does have very good movement on his pitches. If he doesn't learn control though, it will probably be for nothing.

He might be able to do that if he didn't have: 1) A high priced wife who sucks every last dollar out of his bank account and 2) An agent who keeps telling him he needs to hit home runs or he won't get paid. I didn't know Corey got married? Has he been married for long? And who is his agent? Is there a site that lists which players have which agents? The ironic part is that patient hitters wind up getting the HRs. Take Lee and a pre-roid Giambi (who is getting his form back - think it's "help"?). And that translates into bucks. Haha, I was just shooting off for fun. Don't be so serious 8)

He might be able to do that if he didn't have: 1) A high priced wife who sucks every last dollar out of his bank account and 2) An agent who keeps telling him he needs to hit home runs or he won't get paid.

I want to know what drugs Carpenter took to come back from a 2-year catastrophic arm blowout to suddenly become a Cy Young candidate. I don't buy that he did it naturally. Not for one second.

Yay. Carpenter vs. Williams. I know we have to play the game, but this one was decided the day the pitching rotations were chosen.

Nope. Every day, and in every way: The American public is forced to consume incessant quantities of B.S. regarding East Coast clubs they don't follow, and rivalries they don't care about.

In other words, Cub baseball.

Did you see that stat on Carpenter? 49-50 before his injury. Then 2 years off with an arm made of hamburger. Now, 31-5. How does that happen? He wasn't nearly this good before his injury. I mean, he was alright--but nothing like now. And after a massive, massive arm collapse? Something isn't right with that.

Yep. That kind of crap is why I refuse to give my money to MLB.tv You aren't going to get half the games anyway. And it will probably be the games you want to watch most. So why feed MLB.tv more of your cash just to be frustrated by blackouts?

Madison FOX is showing the Cubs right now.

The only place we should be moving Nomar is to another team.

If that's what passes for a "resurgence" these days, then I'd say our Cubbies are in deep, deep trouble.

Carpenter vs. Williams. Ouch. Maybe it would be better if the storms come back and wash us out.

Just terrible. :o I sure hope he's OK.

But how much time did Prior miss? He's still going to pitch 175 innings this year. Ramirez is having a terrrific year. What you fail to realize is that it is not the injuries that have kept the Cubs from leading the Wild Card. It is that even with a normal amount of injuries this is about a .500 team. Macias and Perez are your two best bench options; Hollandsworth logs 200 ABs as your starting LF; a confirmed mediocrity like Burnitz in right (batting 4th or 5th!); Weurtz making 80 appearances; Roberto Novoa is your 8th inning guy after Baker lost confidence in Wellemeyer. Those are games going out the back door that Lee, Ramirez, Prior and Zambrano won in the first place. That's a .500 team. On $100 million that is a poor return. Fair points all around. I completely agree with you on the bullpen situation. My original point was that it was injuries + Dusty that led us to not contending for the wild card. Playing Macias, Perez, and Holly, and overusing Wuertz and Novoa were all decisions by Dusty, not Hendry. Yes, but *having* players like Holly, Macias, and Perez on the team in the first place was Hendry, not Dusty. *Having* pitchers like Novoa & Wuertz as your only decent options for middle relief (they aren't bad, but obviously there should have been better options)----this was Hendry. Yeah Dusty misuses them and he's bad too. I'm not defending him. I'm just saying there's someone else who should be in the crosshairs as well. And his name is Mr. Hendry.

Yes sir. Little league has a site: http://www.littleleague.org/series/2005divisions/llbb/index.htm

I'm not so sure. If Patterson gets on a roll, and Pie hits 260/320, we could afford a Murton in LF. Now if for some crazy reason Sing gets a call up and hits the street running, or Huff is delivered to our doorsteps, we could have a very productive and young OF You want Pie, Patterson, and Murton as your OF next year :shock: ? That's got 4th place written all over it. Sorry, but that would be just terrible. A career dead-ender in RF (cory), a young and not ready CF in Pie, and a AAA player in LF in Murton who will come back to earth (even though he really hasn't flown very high in the first place). That's even worse than what we left camp with this year. Please tell me you were just kidding. I'm not. I dont see Patterson as a "career dead-ender", and for Pie, it might be a jump, but I would accept it. Murton is the iffy part, but as I stated, Huff (or perhaps even Floyd via trade) would make a very nice addition. that would make Pie/Patterson 2/3 of our OF, which you seem terrified of. Yes, I am terrified of that. And frankly, you ought to be as well if you wish to see a successful 2006 season...

I'm not so sure. If Patterson gets on a roll, and Pie hits 260/320, we could afford a Murton in LF. Now if for some crazy reason Sing gets a call up and hits the street running, or Huff is delivered to our doorsteps, we could have a very productive and young OF You want Pie, Patterson, and Murton as your OF next year :shock: ? That's got 4th place written all over it. Sorry, but that would be just terrible. A career dead-ender in RF (cory), a young and not ready CF in Pie, and a AAA player in LF in Murton who will come back to earth (even though he really hasn't flown very high in the first place). That's even worse than what we left camp with this year. Please tell me you were just kidding.

The only guy I can think of who has been better under Rothschild is Glendon Rusch. And maybe Ryan Dempster, although he wasn't too bad before his injury problems and he was a starter, so I'm not sure much credit can be taken there. Rusch. The man who went 1-13 for the Brewers revived his career under Rothschild. And for this, the guy is as slippery as a mobster? The guy has been junk. You know who was much better? Phil Reagan. Bring him back. He did so much more in 1998 with oh, sooooooo much less.

If Patterson and Pie are 2/3 of our outfield next year, it's going to be a long, long season.