XZero771679666304

Remember earlier in the season when Dubois was hitting everything in sight and Macias was still getting PH opportunities ahead of him? You see, it doesn't matter what the stats are, Macias would be getting those opportunities. If Jason were hitting .400, Macias would still be hitting ahead of him because of Dusty's misguided sense of loyalty, and everyone knows it. And what aboout Cedeno and Barett, who were sitting on the bench and both better options than either Macias or Dubois? Your assertion that Macias is the best PH is total BS, Dubois or no Dubois. You can't blame Hendry for Macias batting there, I'm sorry to say.

The Trib is spending alot of money for this crap, and I doubt they are too happy. I'll go out on a limb and say that if the Cubs win less than 2 of the remaining games before the ASB, Dusty gets the axe. You think they would eat Dusty's $4M next year that fast? For some reason I think Hendry actually agrees with Dusty's managerial moves. He is the one that supplies Dusty with the players. If Dusty goes Hendry needs to get the Axe on the same day. Do you honestly think that Dusty doesn't have a big say in personnel decisions? He has almost all of the say in who gets called up/ sent down, and all of the say in who plays. Hendry is not without blame, but Dusty deserves the lion's share of it. I remember when the guy wanted Matt Williams to be our 3B. Granted, we had a bad situation at 3b at the time but come on Matt Williams was striggling. Good thing he decided to retire or else we might not have ARam right now. I'd also bet the farm that Hendry envisioned a whole lot more PT for Cedeno when he called him up, and he deserves it. But what can you do? The better options are there on the roster, but it's Dusty who has them anchored to the bench.

I have always jumped on people who make those "season over" remarks, but we're nearing that point.

The Trib is spending alot of money for this crap, and I doubt they are too happy. I'll go out on a limb and say that if the Cubs win less than 2 of the remaining games before the ASB, Dusty gets the axe. You think they would eat Dusty's $4M next year that fast? For some reason I think Hendry actually agrees with Dusty's managerial moves. He is the one that supplies Dusty with the players. If Dusty goes Hendry needs to get the Axe on the same day. Do you honestly think that Dusty doesn't have a big say in personnel decisions? He has almost all of the say in who gets called up/ sent down, and all of the say in who plays. Hendry is not without blame, but Dusty deserves the lion's share of it.

Dubois is not a better option. The guy strikes out every third time at bat and has been hitting .225 since the end of April. I know he has high expectations but the reality is that he has been pretty bad. Hendry has no excuse for leaving Dusty with a pathetic bench. BTW I think Dusty is doint a bad job too, but the bench is not his problem. Macias makes more outs than Dubois, as is incontovertibly evidenced by his higher OPB. And Dustbag even batted Macias ahead of Dubois earlier when Dubois was tearing it up, so you can't really say it's because Jason has been slumping. Barrett is a better option. Cedeno is a better option. There is ZERO excuse for Macias to be batting in a bases loaded PH situation with any of those guys sitting on the bench. Zero.

The Trib is spending alot of money for this crap, and I doubt they are too happy. I'll go out on a limb and say that if the Cubs win less than 2 of the remaining games before the ASB, Dusty gets the axe.

Honestly, I would just let the season go down the toilet at this point. There are way too many problems with this club that a move or two isn't going to turn this team into a World Series contender. Don't bother mortgaging a part of the future for what's probably a hopeless year. Sell off some guys in the last year of their contracts that other teams might find useful, and do a better job in the offseason of putting a good team on the field for 2006. If nothing else, Dusty needs to go before 06'.

hearing Ronny tonight was real sad...he sounded even more frustrated then us. It's unbelievable how we make these rookie pitchers look like Cy Young canidates. Dustbag can talk all he wants about how this team fights, but I don't see it. This team looks dead. I could handle it if we got shut down by great pitchers, but we have been owned by four losers in a row. You can't just tip your cap to that garbage.

Have you seen Dubois bat? He would have struck out faster than Macias, generally Macias at least makes contact. Still pretty pathetic that Dusty's best option in that situtation is Macias. Macias usually strikes out, too. The difference is that with Dubois, you have a chance for a GS, or the remote chance of a walk. Macias is a poor, poor hitter. That was terrible managing. Well the stats don't back up your argument. Dubois strikes out roughly 1 out of every 3 times at bat. Macias Strikes out 1 out of every 10. Dubois is a better hitter than Macias. With Jason, there is at least the threat of damage.

Because Dusty is an ass. He will play Neifi until he falls under .200 because of his God forsaken loyalty to his players, winning ball games be damned. Man, I am freaking out.

I hope he gets traded or benched because 9mil for next year is wayyy tooo much for a pitcher who is a shell of his former self. Hendry should've never gave an option for a 3rd year. Two was enough. If he stinks the joint up for the rest of the season, he may retire. He is a proud guy who already has a ton of money. If and when he does retire, I say hire him as pitching coach.

Now loaded for Neifi! Happy freaking day! :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

Macias? WTF Dusty? No Dubois? No Barrett? GAHGAHGAHGAHGAH

Armas, Drese, Davies, Colon Four below average - sucky pitchers who have owned us in a row. There is no freaking excuse for this.

hot Dusty needs to go. I am a calm person, and it has gotten to the point that I want to scream at the TV everytime I see Dusty on it. He is a stupid, stubborn old bastard. Fire him, and promote Grady Little before some other team snatches Grady away.

It may be time to blow the team up, fo r the sake of next year. I'm not usually melodramtic, but we may be seeing the end of the season over the next few days. Baker has to be the first to go.

I'm not prone to outbursts, but I feel one coming on.

No, I'd love it if he beat the crap out of the guy, a la Ryan vs. Ventura, or Farnsworth vs. Wilson. Barrett would have beaten Oswat into the ground, Oswalt knew it, and waited to grin until there was a wall of players separating him from Barrett. The man is a punk.

I don't think Beckett will pitch 200+ innings.......ever.

I would guess it has something to do with the sore left shoulder that he was reported to have. I hope it is just precautionary.

I've seen wood hit alot of players, but never have I seen him with a smug grin on his face afterwards like Oswalt did. Roy is 110% punk.

Holly won't keep it up. He never has had sustained success. And Hairston won't be the starting CF full time until CPatt is traded. Trade Cpatt for a LF, and things will be looking up.

Ha! You were off by one pitch.

I know gut feeling is to think of Lee as far and away a better defensive first baseman. All I can say is look at the numbers. Defensive stats are usually deceptive. All I can say is watch them play. Lee is just better, it has nothing to do with gut feeling. Also Lee has an advantage over Pujols: sheer size. He can pick and stretch for balls that Albert can't and never will be able to get to. Derreks combination of size and quickness is something that Albert can never match. That's not to denegrate Pujols, but unless he turns into Stretch Armstrong, that's just the way it will always be. Back to the stats; they tell us that Rafael Palmeiro and Paul Konerko have more range than Todd Helton and Derrek Lee, wich is ludicrous. They also tell us that Eric Hinske and Phil Nevin, who are statuesque at best, have a higher ZR than Pujols. Or how about this one: Jim Edmonds is 11th in ZR and 13th in RF. Do you buy what that says? And Rolen is waaaaaaay down the list in all three defensive percentage stats, even though he is the best defensive 3B there is. Even in 2004 and 2003 Rolen trailed many inferior defenders in all three categories. Did you know Aramis had more range in 2003 (his worst defensive season) than Rolen? That what the stats say. And that Andruw Jones, who has more range in CF than anyone on earth, is 14th in RF? I could do this all day. I think the implication is crystal clear, though. The stats are completely unreliable. Quantifying defensive prowess statistically has yet to be done with any kind of accuracy. You don't need a slide rule and calculator to know that Lee is a better defender than Pujols, just the same as you know Rolen is better than those many ahead of him statistically.

I don't remember my vow, but whatever it was I'm not worried. I'd also love for the Cards to sign Morris for $32M over 4 years, and I'd be happy about it for a different reason than Cardinal fans would be. It was something like, "If Morris does better than 22 wins and a 3.16 ERA I will call myself an idiot 100 times in this thread." This was in response to my predictions that Morris would have a near-career year. Even if he continues his pace, which I doubt he will, Morris will have fewer wins and a higher ERA. I wouldn't be concerned if I were Truffle. Also, I doubt he continues to get 6.8 runs of support per game. He has more wins than he should.