Soul

You said it, brother. I can't figure out who is the bigger crackpot though. Angelos for being the master of a sunk ship and unable to give his GM the ability to be.....oh, I don't know, how about a GM?? ...or Hendry for being willing to humor these people for this long, causing backlash on his existing team and putting key players' futures up for grabs heading into a season. All I can say is, the Brewers want this to continue for as long as possible. You can bet the farm on that.

I'd like to see the quotes because it sounds unprofessional. He has a job to do. If he doesn't like the rumors he can elect to not answer questions about them (and stop reading the latest gossip as he has confessed to in the past). Yeah, stop being human, DeRosa! He can be human on his own time. He has a job to do. Allegedly making excuses about the trade rumors disturbing him, especially after saying as recent as last week that he wouldn't, is just stupid. He should keep those comments to himself. He's actually having a pretty decent spring, I think he's hitting about .294 and has an obp somwhere around .400. So I don't know that he's making excuses, because there is nothing to make excuses for. It's not like he's having the kind of spring like, oh, I don't know, Derrek Lee? He's not hitting below the Mendoza line. It doesn't matter. He should remain diplomatic about the whole thing. Roberts may well show up in the next two weeks; there's no reason for DeRosa, or any other player, to start talking about distractions. That's something a manager does to help deflect for the team (which Lou did for the younger players). I like DeRosa but he isn't the type of player who prevents a team from making a move. If the Cubs get Roberts, he will have to deal with it and be a backup. I'm sure DeRo can handle it, which is why I don't like hearing dissension this close to the end of Spring (when the trade could be coming close to fruition). He should just remain cool and not be baited by reporters. It's not just DeRosa, the point is this is likely having an effect on the entire team, professional or not. And I can guarantee if this thing is still hanging out there come April, and the Cubs start dropping games, people will start asking the questions. Right or wrong. You know how these things go. There might not even have been a problem to start with, but the damn media freaking out like a beehive, question after question, then suddenly players don't have their heads screwed on straight and the whole thing turns into a losing streak and a big hole to climb out of. I say Hendry needs to end this thing, one way or the other, right now. End it before it finds a way to eat into your win total for the season.

If it was up to me I would get rid of everybody on the team expect for Noah and Tyrus and even them I would trade for something if needed. Gooden has been really good since coming over I wouldn't have a problem keeping one of Gordon and Hughes either - both are inconsistent, but the Bulls need at least one person capable of going off for 30+ on a given night. I have a couple friends who come from Cleveland. They keep telling me as soon as Hughes feels comfortable he's going to turn into a piece of garbage. Hope it doesn't happen, but I'm just saying, doesn't sound like anyone in Cleveland shed one tear that he left.

Apparently DeRosa made some comments about this proposed deal, saying that it's making it difficult for him to concentrate on getting ready with this whole thing hanging over his head. I swear to God, if we start tanking games in April because this stupid Roberts deal hangs over the club like a black cloud, I'm going to start killing small animals.

:lol: :lol: classic! As my Mom was so fond of saying, "Soon is not a time."

Hi, The Bulls still suck. Thanks, have a good night.

Haha. One outfit says it'll happen, another says it probably won't. It's just a lot of tail wagging at this point. I wish Hendry would just set a deadline and then call the deal off until the trade deadline if it doesn't happen by then. I don't want to rule out a trade at all, but if the Orioles are just going to him & haw forever over it, then I think at some point in time upper management should cut the thing off so as to avoid any possible distraction to the team heading into the season. There's no reason for this to be hanging over everyone's head come April.

Is someone seriously trying to argue against Woody because of *lack* of experience? Please tell me I misinterpreted something.

It would just come back stronger. Or spawn two threads.

Such a stupid idea, IMO. Oh crap why didn't I know this? I thought they just changed it from 15 minutes to 10 minutes for 1st round picks.

i don't think they realized the true scope of the damage until after the alabama-msu game, and then even further the more the night went on. there was no point in letting everyone outside, especially with more severe weather on the way. it's basically a war zone in that area. i don't like the decision as a UK fan, but i don't see what else they could do given the circumstances. There's nothing else to be done. Just play the games and get it over with. The selection committee can take it into account when they cast their votes if need be. This is one of those situations you just have to deal with as best you can, and move on.

I've heard nothing of this, but I've always thought Ronny was an underachiever.

At this point even the two of them might not know what's actually happening. ](*,) Wouldn't suprise me if neither of those two even know where they are from moment to moment.

That's really tame by Ozzie standards, actually. He pulls the lame, old "real ballpark" line out of his sorry arse? You're slipping Ozz.

The only thing I ever remember liking Crystal in was his cameo in The Princess Bride. But whatever, fine, let him play ball for a day. It's all so stupid anyway. Maybe the Cubs can get Bill Murray on the field for a day. Wouldn't that be great? How 'bout no.

That would be fantastic. However, there is no chance the Chiefs take Otah at #5. You stole my thunder. That said, even if Otah goes later -as he will - the Bears could have Woodson fall into their laps in the 3rd rnd. That would be good value. Now if we can only convince Angelo not to go defense.... Hell I'd be all for Woodson @3. I was assuming he'd go 1st round, he could be a steal this late. 2 OL in the first two rounds -- I'm thinking Angelo won't go there. I'll take Williams in the first and consider it a good pick though.

I don't think it matters. I agree if it's about results then it's stupid. But I do think someone like Lou can tell if a guy just isn't preparing right. Maybe he gets the guy a few more ABs, I don't see a problem there. Today Lou played a lot of youngsters. He could just have been blowing smoke too, which he is wont to do at times.

Nary an Illini to be found. *sigh* it's only been a few short years since glory, now look :cray:

I really don't think Angelo will do that.

I saw the numbers and had to shut up haha. It seems Lee starting slow has been a big topic every start of the season, I was wrong. I do have to say that I've been a little let down by Lee, I hope he has a great season. This spring, or as a Cub in general. If it's this spring, I don't understand what there is to be let down by. Spring training results do not matter at all. I'm certainly not let down by him, either this year or as a Cub. I just want everyone to be ready, that's all. I don't want to be sitting late April, 6 games under already, and looking up at the Brewers.

And this is a ridiculous mischaracterization of what I wrote. Spring training matters. Getting in game shape matters. Getting your timing down, seeing pitches, stretching arms, the daily grind, all that stuff matters. The results don't matter. The results should not have any effect on decisions. It makes no difference whether Lee is hitting .500 right now or .100. Maybe it's not about results. Maybe it's all about what Lou is seeing in Lee that tells him he's not getting the timing down, or not seeing the pitches. You have no idea if this is or isn't the case. Neither do I. So why make assumptions about it?

I hope he's concerned about this. It's his job to be and to get the team ready to play come Opening Day. Derrek Lee will hit, and likely as soon as he needs to. Risking overextending anyone, especially him, is the opposite of smart. These guys are doing repetitive hitting drills and/or taking batting practice every day. Do you really think an additional 3-4 at bats in a Spring game is overextending him? I certainly don't. Especially with a guy like Lee who is used to playing 150 games a year. It's not quite as simple to say he'll start to hit when he "needs to." Nobody is saying anything about one extra game. The point is, spring training results are meaningless, and adding work to try and fix "bad results" is foolish. Making any sort of decisions based on spring training results is stupid. This is silly. Let's just not have Spring Training then, by your logic it should make no difference.

I hope he's concerned about this. It's his job to be and to get the team ready to play come Opening Day. Derrek Lee will hit, and likely as soon as he needs to. Risking overextending anyone, especially him, is the opposite of smart. This whole idea of "overextending" someone is a construct of this thread and has nothing to do with anything. Are you suggesting it's impossible to use a guy too much in the spring? That there is no need for off days or rest, or easing into the everyday grind of the season? Of course not. But I don't think Lou is saying he's going to grind anyone into the ground. People here are freaking out, jumping to that conclusion.

I hope he's concerned about this. It's his job to be and to get the team ready to play come Opening Day. Derrek Lee will hit, and likely as soon as he needs to. Risking overextending anyone, especially him, is the opposite of smart. This whole idea of "overextending" someone is a construct of this thread and has nothing to do with anything.

I hope he's concerned about this. It's his job to be and to get the team ready to play come Opening Day. That's exactly right.