Larry Horse

Wow, that's an ugly list.

I think that what he said was that was what they would need to do to win the WC. Good, because I don't even think Ron would think that is possible.

There's really no point in rooting on a professional sports team unless you are rooting for them to win the championship. This isn't a little league team where you can be proud if everybody just figures out how to play, or a high school team where you can be happy with the team winning big games against rivals, or even a college team where you can enjoy watching a class of players grow from raw freshmen into solid seniors, and be proud of a postseason appearance. This is pro ball. The only goal is the world series. The time for gradual improvement is long past. 2 steps forward 3 steps back will not set me up to be happy with 2 more steps forward. =D> =D> =D>

=D> =D> =D>

and synonymous with championship baseball.

Hmmm... Well, I'll go on record as saying I agree with Barrett. I am proud of the Cubs! Granted, I have my huge dissapointments and even anger at some point. But, every single time I get pi$$ed and walk away from the TV or turn off the radio, I always find myself going back and cathing up. Hoping till that last pitch that the Cubbies will turn it around and win the ballgame. Am I proud that we have near 100 million bucks going towards a team that has a rookie left fielder, a role playing starting SS, a CF who forgot how to play and a 4/5 starter with + 4.00 era's NO. Am I proud that we are neck and neck with the Brewers and closer to last place than first, NO! However, I carry the biggest smile on my face of anytime during the day when the Cubs get a "W" ... I am proud to see Maddux throw 200+ innings, to see him record his 3000 K in Cubbie blue. To hear and watch DLEE put up MVP numbers. To watch ARAM have a great year - An All Star. To have Mark Prior back from the horrible elbow hit earlier this year and pitch well. To watch Big Z go nuts and start to mature along the way. Heck...I'm proud of the Cubs and I am proud to be a Cubs Fan!! Now, think of how much happier we will all be when we win the World Series soon! Go Cubs! Wow, I guess I'm too tough on the Cubs. I'll be proud of them when they win the World Series, and not before.

Funny you posted the Nomar one, but I just heard Paul Sullivan on the Score and he said he would resign Nomar, put him at third and trade Aramis to Florida for Juan Pierre and maybe Lowell if Florida wanted to contract dump. And his reason for trading Aramis: He can't stay healthy. Like Nomar can.

"I think Cub fans are proud of us" Not this Cub fan.

I think this fits in this thread, but did I hear that Santo is looking for the Cubs to go 16-3 to finish the season? That is blind loyalty that borders on stupidity.

CubsWin, I'm a little confused. You say Dusty isn't biased against rookies "simply because they are rookies". Murton is called up the first time this year, performs well, yet Holly gets the majority of the PT. Why? "You just can't sit Holly.", I believe was Dusty's quote. (Which of course, being the manager, he could) Now I think any other manager would base playing time on who produced while playing. Yet, for some strange reason, Dusty doesn't. He is going with "what he knows best and trusts most" which are veterans. Now if Dusty's "going with what he knows best and trusts most" (veterans) have put the team in the position they are in now, and he has other options (rookies) and won't play them on an everyday basis, that leads me to believe he doesn't like playing rookies. And if the rookies he has sporadically played have performed, then that leads me to believe that he doesn't like rookies because they are rookies. What exactly is the Garvey-like reason Dusty has the Cubs playing for right now? Is it to continue to play the same players who have gotten the Cubs to this point because he thinks it gives them the best chance to win, even though they are under .500? The nonsensical things Dusty says will continue to have their own threads, because it backs up the opinions of those who want him fired and this quote falls in this category. I don't see how anyone can defend this guy, IMO.

The thing is, Kerry Wood's contract was fair at the time, coming off his 2002-2003 seasons. Greg Maddux, on the other hand, was definitely being overpaid on this contract given his decline. Both are overpaid, obviously Kerry more so since he has pitched so little the last few years. No way was Kerry's contract fair at that time. There are few elite pitchers who deserve 12 mil per year and there is no way that he is one of them. If he was coming off three or four 20 win seasons then maybe, but no way did he deserve that coming off a 12 and 14 win season. I don't think Roger Clemens is even making 12 mil a year.

Amen Serena Maddux 2004-5 28 wins 407 IP 62 games started Prior 16 wins, 262 IP and 44 games started. Kid K 11 wins, 206 IP and 32 games started. Maddux shows up every start and more often than not wins. The true injustice is the obscene salary Wood will make next year, not that Maddux will make 9 million. At least you can count on Maddux taking the hill. I would think the three things to look at regarding a pitcher are: 1. Does he show up on his scheduled day? 2. Can he pitch a lot of innings? 3. Does he win? Maddux fits the bill on all three, much more than the supposed "Big 2" of Prior and Wood.

Um, Dusty, you NEVER had a group of guys who came up as young players where you were able to instill these things. Are you just making up stories again and hoping no one will notice? :roll: He had one player during his tenure in SF that came up through the system. Rich Aurilia. That's it. "but there will be people (particularly on here) who will take every opportunity to blow anything Baker says out of proportion just out of pure hatred without any want to offer up good baseball talk." Wrong. This is another case of Baker passing the buck. Remember when the three pitchers didn't cover first? Baker's response: Ask Larry. This is not another case of Dusty Busting. It's another case of Dusty skirting his responsiblilty. I like how he says how his teams don't finish under .500 and my teams are fundamentally sound. Well guess what Dusty, the Cubs are "your team" and the team I've watched the last two years stink at the fundamentals and are medicore at best. It's interesting how he tries to distance himself from the problems when things go bad. But as long as he finishes .500 and the Cubs still don't know if Murton and Cedeno can play everyday, that's OK. I guess I should stop now with the "pure hatred" of Dusty.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-cub07.html ''I've never really had a team, before I got here, that was accused of being a poor fundamental team,'' Baker said. ''My teams have always been fundamentally sound. But I was at a place [san Francisco] for a long time where you can instill these things from the time they are young.'' Baker pointed to expansion creating more jobs -- creating better job security for players -- as a reason for crumbling fundamentals. ''You can stress it, but the guys still have to react and do it on command,'' Baker said. ''Fundamentals to me, is one of the things that is lacking, period, in baseball.'' So this is his defense of the veterans who seem to make the mistakes on this club. Because they weren't here "from the time they were young" they don't know fundamentals. So every team they came from doesn't teach fundamentals? I thought he said "my guys don't bunt"? So if his team in SF could bunt, why can't the Cubs? Wow, is he stupid. And it seems to me that every other team can lay down a bunt or pick up a sign, but for some reason this Dusty team can't. Well, it's not his fault, just ask him. Please someone take this dope.

40 + games out of first the last two years? Sounds like a good enough reason for extensions....... :shock:

And I'll make my prediction right now regarding next year. Nomar will be on the DL, and will not play a full season again for the Cubs. . If Wood doesn't change his mechanics, he will be on the DL. If Hendry doesn't see that, and plans on full seasons from both, then he is being foolish.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/12557707.htm Burnett would be a good fit with Prior, Z, Wood, and Maddux. Edited to fix the link. Him and "Kid DL" could carpool to the doctor together........

I heard Santo say today that "Neifi has had a stellar, stellar season. I haven't seen anyone play a better shortstop. He'll be back next year." Maybe he accidentally overmedicated himself today? He can't be serious.

Hopefully, he will be in peak condition for next years trip to the DL....

Who says? Id rather have two average defenders who are in the top 25% offensively for relatively cheap. Especially considering the offensive question marks we will undoubtedly once again be entering the season with in the OF. Ever notice the pitching and defense aren't that good either. Get Giles to solve the offensive problem. Getting Giles may not be enough, though. If the Cubs gamble with unproven bats in LF and SS and a question mark of a bat in CF, they could easily be out of it by June if those gambles don't pay off even with Giles in the line-up. 3 question marks in the same line-up is 2 too many, IMO. If Nomar will come back for a base salary of 3-4 million with heavy incentives for plate appearances, the Cubs had better take it. Then all they would have to worry about is how to acquire 2 great offensive OFers... :roll: If Murton's as good as some say, a 1-6 of Furcal, Murton, Giles, Lee, ARam and Barrett's pretty solid. Put Patterson in cf and Cedeno @ 2b. People should be happy that the kids are finally getting a shot. But thats the thing. Murton is still an "if". So is Cedeno, and so is Patterson. Is there a decent possibility that each of those "ifs" can perform well next season? Sure. But I would much rather have 1 question mark in the line-up, especially if the Cubs are going to have a solid chance at competing next season. So the question remains, where do you want the 1 "if" to play? If Corey isn't traded and no other CFer is acquired, the Cubs will almost have no choice but to stick him in CF again, and there goes your 1 "if". That means signing Giles/Damon or trading for an all-star caliber OFer, re-signing Nomar or signing Furcal and at least having a decent back-up plan in case Murton falters is a must, as I see it. I would feel a lot more comfortable with Walker manning 2B than sticking a rookie SS there out of position and counting on him to produce. Walk is good, cheap and a leader in the clubhouse, apparently. If I'm Hendry, I'm picking up his option unless I know I have a deal on the table that will net me a clearly better 2B. With Walker in the fold, I would go for Nomar at a lower base salary with PA incentives knowing that I have Cedeno there in case of an injury. The presence of Cedeno combined with a possible low base salary for Nomar trumps a high-salary, long-term deal for Furcal in my book. The decent back-up plan in case Murton isn't as advertised could be Lawton. CubsWin, isn't the biggest "if" in that whole scenario is "if" Nomar is healthy? I can't believe people actually want him back given the amount of games he has missed. I can't see the Cubs actually depending on Nomar to be a everyday player. I'll take Furcal and Walker or Furcal and Cedeno.

I could never mention Sammy and Ryne in the same breath. One was a self-centered phony, the other one was all class and professionalism. The Sammy dig in Sandbergs' speech made me respect him that much more.

It will never happen.....he ticked off too many fans and more importantly Cubs management, who unfortunately created their own monster. It would be embarrasing to have the ceremonies amongst a parade of boos. And there is not proof, but that's like saying McGuire hasn't been caught so don't accuse him.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/rickhummel/story/C83D5E738B2DA6858625706B0010BE93?OpenDocument "So would the Chicago Cubs if Dusty Baker decided to go elsewhere." Just speculation in both stories, but thought it might be interesting to post......

http://www.newsday.com/sports/printedition/ny-spflash284401963aug28,0,7954110.column?coll=ny-sports-print " Possible landing spots for Piniella might include Baltimore, Philadelphia or Chicago's North Side."

The reason I'd choose Furcal over Damon is based on the age of Damon vs the age of Furcal. Agreed...... 3 years at 8 per?, I'd do that in a heartbeat instead of a one-year incentive- based contract to Chinadollciaparra.