Soul

Cedeno/Blanco/Fuku sure as hell must have "missed the stolen signs" in the 9th last night then.

Maybe not quite that soon, but it wasn't all that long ago they were pinned to the mat. Hopefully they will stop their little run soon. Maybe today is a good start.

There's very little doubt about Beasley's talent level. Maybe Riley has finally gone senile, I dunno. Or maybe Riley just can't handle that the Bulls will finally get the top backcourt player OVER him, unlike the draft when he got Wade and we wound up with Hinrich. If that's the case, then I have one thing to say to him: EAT IT.

Shhhh, you might be in danger of making sense here. Wouldn't want that. How about the Yankees all these years. Red Sox? No, can't be them. Could only be the Cubs!

Can't see the game right now, but gameday showed that final strike pitch to Chipper was well outside. Anyone see it?

Cmon Braves, at least take the final game here.

He also seems to have the ability to come right off the DL ready to pitch well. Seems like he just got back, and it was really only what -- 1 shaky start before he hit a groove? Maybe 2? That's not too bad at all. Some guys will take a month of starts, or more. Some guys if you bring them back in mid August you can pretty much write off the rest of the season as extended rehab, at the expense of runs given up. I admit, like some other posters on this thread, I also like Sheets.

Noted. We should still take Rose.

My God that's all kinds of awesome. Perhaps a tad bitter?

If they'd send him to Iowa (if they can) to stretch him out, I wouldn't at all mind seeing him as the long man out of the pen, provided the keep him as the long man this time and not as a LOOGY. say what? I said, I wouldn't mind seeing Lieber as the long man out of the pen. That just makes me even more confused. Lieber is the long man right now. Both Lieber and Marshall are already stretched out enough to be the long man. So who are you sending to Iowa to get stretched out? And if you were talking about Lieber as the long man, why did you mention not making him a LOOGY again when that was Marshall? And why would you mention Lieber having to become the long man when he already is? And if you were talking about Marshall, why were you worried about either his ability to be sent down (considering he just came up yesterday) or how much he's stretched out, considering he just started yesterday? I'm honestly not trying to be picky. I'm just trying to understand what you meant. Yeah, what he said. No. Lieber needs to be retrained in Iowa to throw lefty so he can be the LOOGY. See, I've got this all figured out.

If they'd send him to Iowa (if they can) to stretch him out, I wouldn't at all mind seeing him as the long man out of the pen, provided the keep him as the long man this time and not as a LOOGY. He's talking about Lieber, not Marshall. True. My point was, considering where we were in ST, with Lieb competing for an actual starting role, it's not working out all that well. My guess (and it's only a guess, of course) is that he's at least partially considering retirement because he doesn't really like being the long man in the pen. He's probably not all that happy, though of course he's going to do his best when called upon.

I wouldn't count it out either. I've been disappointed at how little fight they've been putting up against Milwaukee though. Without Chipper I don't like their lineup much, he'll have to stop having quad-strains and what not that keep him out.

My eyes must have gone fuzzy or something because I could swear this post is a prediction that the Cubs will lose tonight.

I know, I was listening to the radio and when I heard Pat say "Blanco will be pinch hitting" I was like.......crap, game over man. I assume that was a last second change in plans by Lou. Henry doesn't have strong splits against lefties, and he really never has. I think he saw 3 righties get on base and 1 lefty look foolish so he made the move. If Kosuke's at bat went a little different, I bet Patterson gets a chance to make a play. That's exactly how I took it too.

I didn't see the numbers on Burres posted: 6-5, 96 hits in 81 IP, only 39 K's, ERA 5.24, WHIP 1.525, ERA+ 80. Yeah. 80. Come on now. Let's not make this guy into any more than he is: a pitcher who is really struggling. PASTE THIS AL BUFFOON.

He's kind of been dead weight on the roster. I'll always like him for what he did for us in his prime, but it's really not working out all that great now.

I know, I was listening to the radio and when I heard Pat say "Blanco will be pinch hitting" I was like.......crap, game over man.

Mayo has apparently really impressed the Heat, they also apparently do not like Beasley all that much, possibly not liking his personality http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/news/story?id=3459696. Very strange to get down on a guy because you don't like his personality, as there have been plenty of great basketball players who weren't all that likeable. But maybe that's not really the whole story. But anyway, is Mayo really good enough to jump up to #2? That seems like a reach. If Riley is leaning away from Beasley, then as much as I hate Riley, I think the Bulls should lean away from Beasley too. Riley is a better talent evaluator than Paxson. Now I'm really hoping more than ever we just take Rose.

Here's the ultimate thought about last night: DON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN. Done.

Milwaukee is a streaky team. Right now they're red hot, but the bottom can fall out without warning, especially with 7 road games coming up vs. Minnesota(the 1 team in baseball thats hotter than they are) and Arizona. The Demon Birds, on the other hand have been playing consistantly good ball since the begining, and show no signs of slowing, and thats with argueably the best player in the league injured and no pitchers anyones ever heard of. Now Phat Alberts coming back Thursday, and they're 4 games into their 6 game road trip in Boston and Detroit, which was supposed to be the beginning of their demise, and the worst they can do now is go 3-3. I don't see how you can draw that big a distinction between the chickadees and the drunks when they sit 1.5 games apart in the standings, and are actually both 2 of the better teams in baseball. They're both pretty darn good baseball clubs. We just happen to have found ourselves in one of the stronger divisions in baseball this year. If we want to win this thing, we're going to have to claw and scratch our way to it just like anyone else would have to. I don't see any 10-game margins in the standings any time soon, as some have predicted. Im just saying the Brewers are less likely to stay as hot. Right now, they're getting great production from guys like Branyan and Torres, who are less than likely to keep it up. Braun and Fielder are the only sure things on that team. Everyone else comes and gos on as they please. If the Cards do end up falling off, it will be due to pitching, not offense. They have a team full of gritty little pests, who surround a few power hitters, and the biggest power hitter of all is coming back in a few days. Dont expect the Royals to repeat last week. Oh no, I certainly do not expect the Royals to repeat last week.

He's trash too Yeah, but he's trash that the league hasn't figured out quite yet. LaRussa's become a master at putting together winning seasons by using up guys like that and then throwing them away once they "get figured out." Mulder's a known quantity. I doubt they get any kind of boost from him, though it's hard to count anything out with St. Louis these days.

That's a good point. If we can't make a play for him (probably unlikely), I'd rather see him leave the division, definitely.

Milwaukee is a streaky team. Right now they're red hot, but the bottom can fall out without warning, especially with 7 road games coming up vs. Minnesota(the 1 team in baseball thats hotter than they are) and Arizona. The Demon Birds, on the other hand have been playing consistantly good ball since the begining, and show no signs of slowing, and thats with argueably the best player in the league injured and no pitchers anyones ever heard of. Now Phat Alberts coming back Thursday, and they're 4 games into their 6 game road trip in Boston and Detroit, which was supposed to be the beginning of their demise, and the worst they can do now is go 3-3. I don't see how you can draw that big a distinction between the chickadees and the drunks when they sit 1.5 games apart in the standings, and are actually both 2 of the better teams in baseball. They're both pretty darn good baseball clubs. We just happen to have found ourselves in one of the stronger divisions in baseball this year. If we want to win this thing, we're going to have to claw and scratch our way to it just like anyone else would have to. I don't see any 10-game margins in the standings any time soon, as some have predicted.

I still think the Crew are a better ballclub, and will prove that by the end of the year. However, I agree that nobody else in the NL has as good a shot at the WC as the 2nd place NL Central team. Certainly the WC won't be coming from the West. And none of those NL East teams impress me, though I guess one of them could make a run. As it stands right now, I expect 2 playoff teams from the NL Central.

Given his injury history, I think Sheets is taking a significant risk by not even listening if the Crew makes an offer. Not that the Brewers will make an offer -- but he said even if they did he wouldn't listen. Anyway, I'm sure the Brewers feel they have enough coming up to replace him.