XZero771679666304

As an overall player, Smith isn't in the same league as Ripken.

Ehhhhhhhhhhh...this point can be debated. Yes, it'd be one thing if Palmeiro was unaware of the fact that he jammed a needle into his butt and injected himself with steroids. It's another matter when it comes to supplements. The problem with a lot of multivitamins, "natural health supplements", and various other products you can buy at stores like GNC is that they are almost completely unregulated. There's a reasonable chance that those daily echanecia pills you're taking are 70% sawdust. Here's a nice article on it: Story on Steroids, Orrin Hatch, & The Olympics If I'm Raffy, I'm blaming it on whatever the heck I tested positive for being an unlisted ingredient in any supplements I take. I don't know. I can tell you that if I am a high profile player in this climate, I don't take anything unless I know exactly what it is. And if I am a millionaire, I am not going to buy my supplements at GNC, I am going to have a nutrition and supplement company (like BALCO) to have my stuff formulated so that I do know exactly what I am taking. MLB players have the motivation and the means to know exactly what they are taking. Ignorance is not a valid excuse for them.

At least Raffy didn't say he thought it was flax seed oil. :lol: Serously, how can guys say they took the stuff "unknowingly"? As a professional athlete, you are going to know exactly what everything that goes in and on your body is. I never thought Raffy juiced, so I am a bit surprised, but I don't suspect any more players than I did before. Big Mac pretty much admitted he did. Giambi admitted he did. Bonds admitted he (unknowingly :roll: ) did. I strongly suspect Sosa did. The Raffy test surprises me, but doesn't really change my perception at all.

I was over at a Pirates board, and they had heard that the Cubs might use him in center. The most common terms used to describe that idea were "comical" "amusing" and just plain old bad. Having speed doesn't make you a good CF candidate. Other GM's have been questioning his defensive ability as a corner OF, so that should tell us something. Lawton needs to be in LF.

Yeah, it needs to stop soon. Andy Pettitte with 8 consecutive starts allowing 1 run or less, Wandy Rodriguez and Astacio beating Martinez and Benson...this madness can't continue for much longer.

Frankly I don't think we will be having that conversation 15 years from now about Pujols and Lee. Agreed. Pujols' debilitating elbow injury a couple years from now is going to ruin his HOF chances. :wink: Nah, he's gonna get shot by a crazy woman in a hotel room in Chicago. Those crazy White Sox fans, eh? It's a reference to what happens to Robert Redford in The Natural. My name for Pujols is The Natural. Pujols is great, but he's no Roy Hobbs. :P

Lawton hasn't played CF in 5 years, and he's not that good in RF. And you wouldn't see a Murton/Lawton?Burnitz OF. It would be Holla/Lawton/Burnitz, with Murton facing LHP. I'd much rather have Lawton/Hairston/Burnitz with Murton facing LHP. Lawton is really worse in the OF than Hairston? I see what you are saying but I'd rather have Hairston backup 2B,3B and the OF and have a real bat like Murton's out there all the time. As long as Dusty's the manager and he has Holla on the team, Murton won't be out there all the time.

Lawton hasn't played CF in 5 years, and he's not that good in RF. And you wouldn't see a Murton/Lawton?Burnitz OF. It would be Holla/Lawton/Burnitz, with Murton facing LHP. I'd much rather have Lawton/Hairston/Burnitz with Murton facing LHP.

Yeah, those guys are scrubs. :lol: I remember last season when people were saying the Cards were playing over their heads, and it was a fluke season that they could never repeat. They were, and the Cards aren't going to sniff 105 wins this year. The problem is that the Cubs haven't played any better than they did last season.

Yeah, those guys are scrubs. :lol: Pettitte is pitching over his head, no if's, and's or but's about it. If you think that the pitcher who has given up 1 or less runs 8 consecutive times is anything close to the real Andy, you are sadly mistaken. Clemens is playing over his head, but to a far lesser degree than Pettitte is. Punky Oswalt is pitching to his ability, IMO.

hahaha what? we clearly upgraded in left, and gave up virtually nothing at all. how can you say you are happier staying put? I wouldnt say that we gave up nothing for Lawton. i would. where was jody supposed to play? he wasn't going to start over hollandsworth, and murton has been playing more and more. he's ben grieve with better defense. matt lawton can legitimately help this team. This move won't catapult the Cubs to greatness, but the team is quite clearly better because of it.

But when was the last time he logged time in CF? I want Murton to get his AB's but I don't want Holla starting anymore.

I may be wrong, but didn't the Ramirez/Lofton deal happen in mid-July? I know Simon was aquired after the deadline, though.

Even though it is just Lawton, this seems to be the biggest deadline deal this year. That market is just dead, and for Hendry to get Lawton for Gerut is real good move. Littlefield may want to avoid Hendry in the future if he wants to keep his job. But Lawton is a guy with a .380+ OBP, moderate power, steals a few bases, and most importantly removes Holla from the starting equation. Not big impact move, but a definate improvement. You're right, t is the biggest deadline deal this year. This was a good trade for the Pirates though. Lawton was going to be gone next year and Gerut has some nice upside at a lower cost. It was a lot less than Pittsburgh had hoped to get for Lawton, though. People in Pittsburgh are not going to be happy.

Even though it is just Lawton, this seems to be the biggest deadline deal this year. That market is just dead, and for Hendry to get Lawton for Gerut is real good move. Littlefield may want to avoid Hendry in the future if he wants to keep his job. But Lawton is a guy with a .380+ OBP, moderate power, steals a few bases, and most importantly removes Holla from the starting equation. Not big impact move, but a definate improvement.

I don't think so. Dusty has no reason to play Holla anymore, Lawton takes Holla's place, and Murton remains the RH component of the platoon. At least that's the way I see it.

Rotoworld is reporting a possible Gerut for Lawton trade.

[quote name="Rotoworld"Ken Griffey Jr. is out of the lineup today against the Padres. Even though GM Dan O'Brien keeps saying he's not trading an outfielder' date=' there's been some speculation today about Griffey to the Cubs. Griffey is 13-for-31 with five homers against Woody Williams in his career, so this would be odd timing for a routine day off. Jul. 31 - 3:12 pm et

Wont there be 3 new spots activated (Wood, Garciaparra, and Willamson)? This question may be answered by a trade today but as things currently stand, I would think that Mitre, Wuertz (possibly), and Cedeno would be headed down. Your guess is as good as mine. Id have to say that barring a trade, Cedeno and Mitre are near locks and probably a coin flip between Novoa and Wuertz. I'd have to say Wuertz has a greater chance of being sent down because of his control issues. Except Novoa has worse control issues. Not lately. Wuertz has been terrible.

yeah, derrek lee's breakout is real similar to abraham nunez's. they're practically the same player...always have been. and who would have guessed that walker would be injury-riddled when the cards traded for him? he's a young, spry guy who's always been a picture of health. mind-boggling. People really see what they want to don't they? I said neither one of those things. I know very well that Nunez is a bench player who is playing over his head at the moment. I never said he wasn't. All I said was that I'm glad he is because we need him right now. The same goes for all our bench guys. I don't even know where that Larry Walker reference comes from. Derrek Lee is a good player, a solid hitter with great defense, who is putting up out of this world numbers this year. This isn't even a career year. It is beyond that. I don't know what to call it. Yeah, Lee is having a ridiculous year. But don't be surprised if he is a .310/.400/.550 guy for the next few years. And I can't recall if it was you specifically, but many Cards fans have coming here insinuating that you guys have it as bad as us injury-wise. THe fact of the matter is that if the Cardinals had the same injuries at the same time of the year as the Cubs, they would most definitely not be in first place. Walker, Carpenter, Rolen, Sanders and Izzy are all guys who have been fragile during their career, and no one should cry if they get injured. In fact, you guys are very fortunate they have not been injured more than they have. Now you could say the same for Wood and Nomar, and I won't argue that. Prior, however has really only had one legitimate injury, and the others have been injuries that could have felled anyone (collision, line drive). But even when you guys get a rash of injuries, you already have a big lead to cushion the blow. If these injuries had occurred in April, we'd probably be seeing a close three team race right now. And Molina was essentially on offensive non-entity, and while Diaz isn't his equal defensively, he's not bad either. Molina's is not an impact injury.

Truthfully, what I see outside of his curveball isn't that impressive. He could (and very well may) develop some complemetary pitches, but his curve, as devastating as it is, isn't going to cut it for long if he only has that average straight fastball to go with it. Plus his command seems suspect to me. I would like to keep him, but if trading the guy could land us an impact player, I'd do it.

Hollandsworth has put up the following line this month: .206/.271/.365 Outside of a couple weeks in June, Holla hasn't done anything all season. You're telling me that Murton hasn't looked much better than Holla? Come on.

This weekend, they don't.

Dude you are a Cub fan. Go to work, aint nothing going to happen. In fact its better to work so you dont get pissed off waiting for crap to happen. Yeah, nothing happened last year either. Yes. That was pretty cool. But that was like a suprise party, you come home and.....holy schmoly. Dont get surpise party too much or it wouldnt be a surprise. What about Ramirez and Lofton then? If we are in a race, Hendry is going to do something. It may not be a blockbuster, but he will do something.

Uh...no, cause I seriously doubt they would want Marquis, considering they already unloading his twin (Tim Redding) on the Yanks. ANY discussions for Giles would start off with Anythony Reyes, and Hawksworth or Wainworth. Book it. In other words, don't expect the Cards land any BIG name OFer. Marquis is far better than Redding.