Soul

The dropped third strike is the dumbest rule in sports. No, in all of sports, that would be the inability to review force-out plays in football. Well there's no such thing as force-outs anymore (thank God). They exist now only in our memory. Incidentally, that rule change is really going to change things...

Well you could see that coming a mile away after the ground rule double. :banghead:

I'd be interested to hear your improved idea.

NO!!!!

Just seems like we aren't getting the good contact now.

So why wasn't that a balk again?

I'm skeptical. I do not like what Soriano brings to the table, and he doesn't get on base enough for me. I hope Lou finds his balls and banishes him to be the best 5-7 hitter in the MLB. I agree. Getting a guy who will hit you 30-40 HR's a year less AB's is exactly what this team needs. Better than giving more to a guy who makes an out around 67% of the time he comes up. Soriano has his warts but let's not try and pretend he's not a very valuable player. Guy put up a 42.1 VORP last year and a 7.6 WARP. Advocating that he get fewer at bats is more than a little silly. Agreed, we're going to need Soriano to get hot at some point because there's no way all these guys keep going at their current clip. Sitting him out wouldn't be wise.

...which is exactly why people shouldn't be creating threads entitled "Best Record in Baseball!!" Argh!! Didn't the Brewers get off to a start like this last year? RAR! 8-)

ri-friggin-diculous. Milwaukee has a significantly better split against lefties than they do against righties: vs. RHP: .232 .298 .358 .656 vs. LHP: .290 .354 .534 .888 wow they really do suck against righties. I didn't know that.

Apparently Sheed's contract is worth around $6 million, with a $1.1 million signing bonus.

Let's bat him 9th and hand him a lineup card before each game that's shifted one row so it looks like he's batting 1st.

...which is exactly why people shouldn't be creating threads entitled "Best Record in Baseball!!" Argh!!

Why?

<3 the Cubbies. This is some of the best Cub baseball I think I've ever seen. It's friggin' beautiful man.

Would it interest you to know that the Cubs hit .329 with a runner on third and less than two outs last season? I'd be more interested to know what the Cubs .avg was of not scoring any runs with the bases loaded last year, and how that compares with the league. But then again, I'm not the one who was complaining.

Did you watch the 8th inning last night? Yeah and it wasn't pretty either. It ended well, but we damn near blew that chance too. So you're counting 2 out hits that score 2 runs as a failure in that situation too? That doesn't seem fair. Cedeno's AB wasn't ugly at all. He did a fine job. Actually, it was kind of funny. They got Soto on a high fastball -- Hershiser says "I'd like to see that same pitch here" -- then the pitcher throws it, and WAP! Ronny serves in over the infield. It was beautiful. Yes it was, but it never should have came to that. TIme and time again the Cubs fail to get the runner in before it comes to that. Who cares? If the 2 run double comes with 0 outs, 1 out, or 2 outs...it counts the same. I was going to say time & time again last year we wouldn't have gotten the 2 out hit. That's the difference, so far.

Did you watch the 8th inning last night? Yeah and it wasn't pretty either. It ended well, but we damn near blew that chance too. So you're counting 2 out hits that score 2 runs as a failure in that situation too? That doesn't seem fair. Cedeno's AB wasn't ugly at all. He did a fine job. Actually, it was kind of funny. They got Soto on a high fastball -- Hershiser says "I'd like to see that same pitch here" -- then the pitcher throws it, and WAP! Ronny lines it over the infield. It was beautiful.

I'd be shocked if Fukudome's OBP drops sharply because pitchers are able to take advantage of a "lack of power" in some way. Too good an eye, and he's able to just foul off all kinds of good 2 strike pitches. Gets the bat on almost anything he wants to from what I've been able to observe. I just don't see the holes in his strike zone to exploit. Maybe I'm wrong, it is a small sample size still.

No he doesn't. Maybe, but probably not. No, he doesn't, and I'm not sure it's even close. Maybe, but again, probably not. I admire your keen ability to distinguish between sarcasm and reality. I admire your sudden and unexpected use of the word "keen"

I'll be on a plane during the draft, which is probably a good thing.

The realization of doom from Reds fans brings on this overwhelming sense of deja vu in me.

Hank? Oh trust me, he's popping off because it's in his genes. He doesn't know how to shut up any more than his Dad did. And it looks like he also can't resist the urge to meddle.....like father like son.

I just find that comment interesting from the standpoint of Santana saying "it looks like they're trying to win it all here." That's a pretty solid compliment.

The man is in a new country, facing pitchers he's never faced before, he's coming back from an injury, and he's getting on base at a .400+ clip. He's also seeing the most pitches of anyone in the majors per AB. I'm not worried about Fukudome. He's obviously not a big bopper. Who cares? He's a fine ballplayer, and it will be very interesting to see what happens once he gets used to being at this level. Right now he's still got to be figuring things out. And that's pretty scary.....if you're anyone but the Cubs.

I look at it as the best Bears player of the past decade, by a wide margin, who is still a very good player and likely to remain very good, is looking for a final extension on his contract that will provide him with his last great financial income from his playing career. That extension will not come close to handicapping the Bears against the cap (they have great leverage in the negotiations because of what's left on his contract), and therefore I don't have a problem with him wanting it. I don't see it as greedy. The guy got divorced after his last contract, likely meaning his first wife took a great deal of that money. He's getting married again (idiot) and only has a few years left in his life where he can reasonably expect to make a high income. Say all you want about having more money than any reasonable person can expect in life, he deserves what he can get. As the Bears, I'd rather take care of this now, than 1 or 2 years from now where he has more incentive to sit out, be a troublemaker or otherwise make things difficult. They can pretty much throw him a bone now and be done with it, or wait for him to demand even more if he has a solid 2008. Agree. Like it or not, there is a market value established for players of his caliber. As long as he's beneath that, he has a gripe. I think now that his back is giving him problems, Urlacher is probably somewhat afraid of what his future holds. I'm sure he feels he's done enough for this franchise to be given that extra security. I can't blame him. Do it now. Keep your best player happy. He's not being unreasonable in his demands. I don't disagree, but there's nothing that says Brian will never make another peep as long as the Bears "take care of him now." We could extend him now, and then 2 years down the line have him come back and ask for more. It wouldn't really be in Urlacher's character (IMO), but still, there's no guarantee.