XZero771679666304

I doubt they'd be able to keep either of them, with about a -99% chance of Sabathia being re-signed. Frankly, I wouldn't be shocked to see both Sabathia and Sheets in Yankees unis next year. I doubt Sheets would interest the Yankees after the trouble they've had with Pavano's injuries. Obviously, Sheets is much better than Pavano, but durability is probably something they're looking for. I don't have much confidence that the Yankee string-pullers have an ounce of sense, which is why I also think Cashman may be working for a different team next year as well.

I doubt they'd be able to keep either of them, with about a -99% chance of Sabathia being re-signed. Frankly, I wouldn't be shocked to see both Sabathia and Sheets in Yankees unis next year.

Look beyond the last 3 months. Wright's significantly better (than ARam) in each of the last 3 seasons. I still don't see how anyone can say they are "close." Really, last season has been the only one where it wasn't very close.

Braun isn't a 3B anymore.

True, but part of me would like to see them deal LaPorta, Gamel and more to Cleveland just to see Sabathia walk at the end of the season. I think Milwaukee with C.C. would pose a challenge, but if Jim goes out and gets Harden/Burnett, I don't see them catching the Cubs. If the Crew doesn't land a very good pitcher, they won't finish within 6-7 games of first.

I've maintained all along that the Brewers are the bigger threat. Unless they land a top of the rotation starter before the break, they won't pose a big enough threat, though. I just can't imagine the Cards can maintain their current level of play a whole lot longer.

It was lame, but it's not like Carp had been the picture of health prior to this, either. It may well end up being like Kerry Wood's situation: get injured early, come back and string together a few full, productive seasons, then break down.

If Steinbrenner had more brains than balls (which clearly isn't the case), he have Cashman try and unload as many players as he could not named ARod, Jeter, Cano, Chamberlain, Wang, Hughes and Kennedy. Clearly the cost/production ratio hasn't been even decent for a couple of years now. They should scrap the season (I don't like their chances of making the postseason at all), keep the core and retool.

That and he went to a team that had been crappy which I beleive Ray didn't. And KG didn't play great in the finals but did his most important job. Rebound and play D. Kobe on the other hand was pretty bad especially the last three games. Yeah, the Kobe/MJ thing is done and over. He wasn't good at all this series. According to Wood Kobe is MJ right now. Kobe is clearly not made of the same stuff MJ was. Micheal took a stranglehold on games when he needed to, while Kobe seemed content to pass the buck. Kobe may well be more talented than Jordan, but he really showed little of what made Jordan great in the finals.

Personally, I don't want Carlos. Too much money, blah, blah, even tho he would help the offense out tremendously. His contract is the biggest problem for me. Plus I would rather trade the assets that the Cubs do have, for another pitcher or two. I didn't see this rumor anywhere, but if it is somewhere, please delete or merge. He's not playing like an 18+ mil player. If we take his whole contract, he may not cost quite as much as you would think in prospects. I wonder how close an offer of Pie + Marshall/Hill would get us? I know that wouldn't work, but I wonder how far out of the ball park it is? Actually, I thought about posting a trade proposal involving Beltran last week, but the money issue scared me off. I would think Pie + Marshall/Hill would be a starting point, but I think you would have to add more (Murton/Patterson + Veal??) He would be great to have, but the OF would have to be nicknamed "The Billionaires". Cubs outfield day with free monocle/top hat sets to the first 10,000 fans.

If the NL were to adopt the DH (or the reverse) it would bother me for all of about 5 minutes.

A start maybe, but I'm not sure there is an executive alive who can fix that mess. Bedard, Silva, Sexson, Washburn, Batista and Beltre are all virtually unmovable unless the team eats a whole lot of money.

Because they already had the season where no one gets hurt (2004). Now they get to have the season where everyone gets hurt and they inexplicably play well anyway. It's not luck that teams that can still win despite injuries or that rotations built on rubber arms and guys coming off of injuries can pitch for an entire season. For as much talk about STL playing over their heads, the Cubs have as well. I can't imagine the reaction if the Cards had a mediocre closer turn into a great starter, a catching prospect who projected as a backup turn into a stud in his 3rd go round in AAA, a gritty SS far outperforming his minor league track record, a journeyman 2B turning into a legit all star candidate, an aging ex-Cub CF who looked to be toast turn into a serviceable player to fill the only void on the team, etc. That's a little bit of hyperbole. Dempster has been good as a starter before, and DeRosa had his best year in 2006, before he signed with us. I think Rudy Jaramillo has more to do with DeRosa's success than anything else. And the Cards routinely have mediocre players perform well above the level their track record would indicate. That's not to mention that Theriot has begun to slide already. And Edmonds line with the Cubs isn't that much different than his line last year, when he wasn't hurt like he was in San Diego. It's not like the guy is OPS'ing 1.000 or anything. Also lost in all the recent wins is that DLee, Kosuke, Soto and even ARam haven't been hitting a lot lately. Or that Howry and Wuertz have stunk for most of the season so far. Or that Hill fell apart, and Soriano has been hurt on and off. Now I don't buy into the "Cardinal pixie dust" theory one little bit (LaRussa is a great manager and Duncan is a spectacular pitching coach). The Cubs have had some surprises, but the Cards have been playing much further above their heads than the Cubs. There was a reason they were predicted to finish in 4th or 5th place.

Yeah, I hate both teams, but I like KG. I hope the Celtics finish this off Sunday so the NBA can go away and stop making me wait for baseball highlights.

Business as usual in Iowa City.

I'll go on record and predict this is the longest winning streak they'll have all season.

Yeah, there have definitely been some "should have won" games on the road. The home winning percentage will come down, the road will go up.

Good baseball players do somtimes have bad 2-3 week stretches. It happens. I was afraid they had figured Soto out after the Washington series. I was a lot more worried then than I am now. And let's face it, expecting him to OPS 1.000, (or even .900) all season isn't realistic.

Ha! That sweep has inflated your ego, huh? That, and the fact that it's true. The West is absolutely terrible, and that's where you've gotten most of your wins. EDIT: Looks like 12-17 vs. non-NL West opponents. We're a horrible team, though? :lol: That's odd. Cubs are 22-19 vs those two same divisions (Central + East), while 14-2 vs West. Looks like that's where you guys have gotten most of your wins too. And yea, I know 22-19 > 12-17, just saying. 22-19 is nothing impressive either. What TT said. And I don't think you guys are horrible at all, but if you were judging by your record outside of your division, which is what MrWood was saying, it looks bad. A 67 win pace is 2006 Cubs bad. The DBacks will win the West, but clearly they aren't the team they looked like they were 3 weeks ago. Whether the Cubs are the team they look like they are now remains to be seen. I am not optimistic, but then again I am a Cubs fan.

Never underestimate the power of the eastern seaboard promotional network.

Ha! That sweep has inflated your ego, huh? That, and the fact that it's true. The West is absolutely terrible, and that's where you've gotten most of your wins. EDIT: Looks like 12-17 vs. non-NL West opponents.

Don't forget Cruz. exactly - I'd put Zambrano in the pen If Zambrano starts, your in trouble

He loves Dodger pitching. He's the guy that hit two grand slams against the Dodgers in the same inning against the same pitcher (Chan Ho Park) Whenever some says the name Tatis, that's what immediately comes to my mind.

Guy has 2 emmy awards. As a baseball analyst. Yet he only watches the games he's covering (he all but admits this weekly in his espn chats, rightly ridiculed at fjm). And he's brutal, just brutal, in both substance and delivery. If he were the analyst for some team with a local broadcast, whatever (I'm thinking a Dave Otto type). But he's on the biggest sports channel's biggest baseball broadcasts every week for 6 months a year, has weekly chats at the most-visited sports website, and wins awards for his performance. I don't hate him, personally, though my son is now old enough that I don't want him watching Sunday Night Baseball for fear that he might pick up on some of the things Joe says. I don't really care that he doesn't like Moneyball, but the fact that he ridicules it (when he doesn't even know what it's about) and still claims Billy Beane wrote it is stupid and pathetic. Yeah, if he were tucked away in some local broadcast booth, that would be one thing. But the guy is the #1 analyst on the #1 broadcasts on the biggest sports network in the world. And more often than not, the guy has almost no idea what he is talking about. His knowledge is anecdotal, poor and biased. His delivery is terrible, his articulation is terrible and I am less than convinced the guy has an IQ over 100. Are there worse? Sure, lots. But in most cases you'll have to dig deep into your EI lineup to find them. The fact that a behemoth like ESPN tries to pawn him off as an oracle of baseball knowledge on their biggest stage is an insult to our intelligence. The Sandberg thing is mildly irritating, but really immaterial compared to the other complaints.

You have got to be kidding me