XZero771679666304

Yeah! Oh wait, we have to win games to gain ground.......

I remember going to Giants message boards after we signed him, and many of them were ecstatic. They also told me all of the things he would do to make the team worse, but I thought it was sour grapes. I was happy we signed him. Now he has done all of the things Giants fans told me he would do, and I want him gone. Now I know he passed over many young players in SF just as he ids doing here, but I can't remember many of the names. It is alarming how old the Giants got under Baker, and they are suffereing for it now.

Didn't have Dempster all year.....he's good now though, although he doesn't get many opportunities lately. Maddux: you're talking Maddux in his prime. Now, he's only good some of the time. Prior is fine, but hasn't been here all year. We really have had Z, a terrible middle relief staff, and part-time contributions from Prior, Dempster, & Wood. Doesn't sound as great now, does it... It's a .500 ballclub. In it's current incarnation, yes. Now back in ST I thought the team might have trouble scoring runs consistently. But in ST it also looked like we'd have a rotation with Prior, Wood, Z and Maddux in it, and the lineup would have Nomar (who was white hot in ST), Lee and Ramirez anchoring it. I never thought Burnitz would bat higher than sixth. The bullpen was questionable, but I thought Dempster was going to close from the outset (as he should have, and we would have a few more wins if he had). But of course Dempster didn't close, and was terrible as a starter when Rusch should have been. Dusty ruined Fox and Hawkins. (how many more games would the Cubs have won if Rusch were starting, Dempster closing with Hawk and Fox setting him up from the beginning?) Nomar got hurt, and Ramirez didn't show up until May because of his back. Dusty wasted a month's worth of games by batting Patterson and Perez at the top of the order. Wood got hurt. Prior got hurt. Walker got hurt. Holla slumped for an entire month while Dusty waited for Dubois to cool off before starting him. Neifi played maybe the worst offensive ball for a regular in the game from May-July, but Dusty kept running him out there. Now Lee desperately needs a rest, but no one seems to notice. Now you could have forseen a few injuries, but Nomar's was totally unrelated to his past injuries, Prior got smoked by a line drive, and Baker pushed Fox way too far way too soon, and Walker got rolled by Carlos Lee. Those couldn't have been predicted. Now despite the rash of injuries, blatant mismanagement and total lack of discipline and accountability, the team is barely under .500. I don't hold out more than the faintest hope of reaching the postseason anymore. Now having said that, the team assembled in ST, if managed correctly and with even half the injuries, would have been at least 15-20 games better than the current Cubs record. Not a division winner, but at least where Houston is now. Inconsistent, but easily more talented than the Houston Astros. I never expected 95 wins, but I sure didn't see this coming in March. You may say you did, but unless you are clairvoyant you didn't, because unless all the injuries/mismanagemnt hadn't happened the team would clearly be well over .500. The team is bad right now, but it didn't have to be this way.

:lol: But on topic, say Dusty does leave. Who's gonna take his place? Sarge? Does anyone else recognize the possibility that whoever takes Dusty's place might actually be worse? Grady Little Jim Leyland is also out there, and is interested in managing again, but Little makes the most sense, and he is a very good manager. There is always the possibility his replacement could be worse, but I think it's highly unlikely.

There's only one thing to be taken from this entire sequence of quotes: "Don't ask me". That's all you need to know about Dusty. And when passing the buck doesn't work, insinuate your detractors are racist.

I had hoped I'd never hear that name again. :x

To say nothing of his phylum. :lol:

LoneStarCubFan = find a dictionary. Poise and heart have absolutely NOTHING to do with each other. This team has PLENTY of heart to still be at .500 after everything that's happnneed. They aren't gutless or heartless or any other vitriolic adjective that makes you feel better when you spew it at them. They are talented, but not good. They aren't coached well, and they rely too much on the long ball. They don't execute. All of these are reasons they suck, not because they have a lack of heart. Today a team with a lack of heart would have rolled over. They didn't. Cratering in pressure situations equates to no heart whether you want to admit it or not. If a guy goes up and flails at three straight pitches and runs to the dugout, I might buy that he has no poise. But every single time a guy fails in a clutch situation, you can't just chalk it up to lack of heart. Believe it or not, a pitcher is out there on that mound, and all the heart in the world won't help you when you are overmatched. I am willing to bet that guys like Burnitz, Walker and Lee have more "heart" than anybody out there, yet when one of them fails to come up big, you chime in with "no heart" or the very tired "No.Sense.Of.Urgency." Lame. This team has shown a lot of heart on more than a few occasions. Lack of heart is not what is losing us games. What is? 1.Poor managing. Bad lineups, micromanagement, lack of discipline and accountability, poor management of an already poor bullpen. 2.Too many role players, not enough impact players. 3.Injuries. Key injuries, wrong players getting rested. 4.Bad bullpen. That's what it is, IMO. And as for definitions, IMO: Poise = The ability to remain focused during times of extreme pressure. Professionalism in character and execution, gained mainly through experience and/or training. Heart = Determination. A fighting, competetive, never-say-die attitude. I think the two things are fundamentally different. In all sports, I think there are three major factors that define athletes/teams: Talent, Poise, Heart. Talent+Poise+Heart = Championship performance. Talent+Poise = Great performance, but may fold when the chips are down. Professional, yet somewhat stagnant. Talent+Heart = Unpredictable, inconsistant. Has the ability and the drive, but lacks the capacity to harness either for prolonged periods. Undisciplined. Poise+Heart = Wants it, knows how to make it happen, but can't. Not good for athletes in individual sports or whole teams, great for scrappy role players. See David Eckstein. Clearly, I think the Cubs are the third.

I sincerely doubt that Dusty has ever gotten the best out of any team. His managerial style doesn't allow for it.

That's true. Houston is playing great fundamental baseball. I would expect Clemens and Oswalt to continue as they have, but Pettitte, Rodriguez and Astacio are going to flame out at some point, as they are simply over thier heads right now. Pettitte is a good pitcher, but nowhere near as good as he has been pitching lately. Wandy and Astacio pitching like they have been is inexplicable. Those three have to come back to earth at some point. The question is, will it be too late for the Cubs when they do? What I have seen lately tells me yes, but there is a ways to go yet.

Oddly enough, I was thinking Dusty should bring in Blanco after the bases were loaded, because Wuertz throws a lot of balls in the dirt. I don't think Hank would have brain farted like that.

Navin has an internet crush on Slugger? Where have you been? :lol:

Why? Holly is one of the better pinch hitters around. The fact that he is not probably qualified to be an every day player does not mean he is not a good guy to come off the bench in a tough situation. That's true, but Todd has been ice cold lately, including PH chances.

:shock: :P What is this, junior high? Why don't we just play MASH to resolve this? :lol:

Wow. Wonder if his elbow is hurting him, after that attempted dive. Jerry may have just sealed his own fate. Its rumored that the Cubs want to bring up Corey. This could be the thing that gets him up here and back in center. Yeah, I hate to say it, but Hairston has been doing about as badly lately as Corey was before he got sent down. And he doesn't seem to want to accept the fact that he isn't a power hitter.

Holla got a hit, now Dusty's going to force him into games.

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :D

And your griping isn't going to help the Cubs win. If you are mad, just yell or something. If 9 out of every 10 of your posts are going to be pessimistic sniping, maybe you should just post less. This is a game thread, not venting central.

Neifi should have a big night. meaning?... He has a reputation for stealing signs and peeking.

Hes batting .287. Yay.

Not all of us are guys and we're watching because its the Cubs... You're female? Is that a surprise? Didn't the Avatar tip it off? :lol: :lol: Actually, I can't see your avatar. Are you using Geocities or Angelfire as a host? http://www.imageshack.us is a good place to host an image that everyone can see. Hmmm, that's interesting. I can see it and I thought everyone sles could.. Thanks, I'll check out the site. I used to see it, but not for a week or so now.

I don't believe ive ever uttered that statement. However theres not alot of reason to be entirely optimistic right now. The Cubs are barely treading water, and with a 40% DLee we're in DEEP trouble. As I type this DLee botches a play. No offense, but we can all see what is going wrong here. But pessimism is neither insightful or constructive. In fact, all it does is aggravate people.

LOL, I'm not surprised. :) If he said he had a feeling a meteor was going to strike the team flight, I wouldn't be surprised.

Yeah but Lee looks to be slumping/injured. I think hes hurting pretty badly, hes just not telling anyone. Of course its simply presumptiousness on my part, but its a logical conclusion. I'm so happy we haven't faced Houston or St Louis in a rough strech of our season. Hes not gonna hit 400 all year long.... If you watch real close at the Inning where all 3 balls were hit to Walker, you will see on one of them that DLee had to reach pretty good he grimmaced a good bit. I hate how stubborn players can be. Lee is hurt, so he he should take ask out of the game, and for a rest. Unfortunately players don't like to do that, and it is the job of the coaching staff needs to take the bull by the horns.

He's tired, and obviously hurting. THere is no mystery as to why he is scuffling.