David

This and the hiring of Perry are about the only positives to come of this offseason so far.

Remember that one year Manny hit 40 homeruns? Because, of course, anyone who uses steroids becomes a superstar slugger.

I believe this was more recent than that. Also, I doubt that would have anything to do with steroids. There's no reason for him to be spending that much on steroids, even the highest grade ones, at once. The same goes for HGH. He'd be buying a VERY long-term supply... He was probably up to no good with that money, but I'd bet that it wasn't PED related.

I never said you couldn't call him a stupid GM. Just that it isn't a very supportable statement. Has he failed the last couple of years? Yes. Has some of his moves and non-moves not worked out and angered us? Yes. Have we called for him to do different moves than he has done? Yes. Does any of that equal that he is stupid? No. What, then, does it take to qualify one as a stupid GM?

Both teams finished decently above the roster-full-of-rookies Cubs. well, to be fair, the Cubs weren't supposed to have a lot of those guys playing for them this year. I'm just saying, it may be fun to scout rookies and hope they succeed in the big leagues...but I think a lot of that is ego stroking. "I" called this player, "I" said so and so would be great, "I" have been following his stats since whenever....a winning ballclub has veterans, usually at a higher ratio to rookies. Fact. Who has said otherwise? You just brought this argument in out of nowhere. It's also a terrible idea to assemble a team full of players in their late 30's who are well past their prime. Fact.

Fixed.

Am I really only the second person on this thread wondering in what world Aramis Ramirez is considered a role player?

I don't think he meant we'd be trading Jones for Giles. Just that we'd be dumping Jones on some other team via trade. A Giles trade would probably involve some combination of prospects.

I'm not sure I wouldn't rather keep Jacque (never thought I'd say that) and put Drew in CF... (with the rest of your moves in mind) Murton Giles Lee Ramirez Drew Barrett Jones Izturis Looks better to me...

OMG OMG OMG PLZ PLZ PLZ This is the free agent we needed on the market that wasn't on the market... (did that make any sense?)

no way. It is somewhat obvious that it is a "db" There are still people who are just first realizing that the ball and glove logo has an mb in it. You guys just blew my mind :shock: . I had NEVER noticed that.

i am very happy with this signing. what an amazing switch in philosophy. nobody that i know has ever advocated going up there looking for a walk. it's exactly like perry says, shrink the strike zone, look for a pitch in that area. if the pitch is borderline, don't swing, even if you have two strikes. the likelihood that a hitter is going to get a good swing on a questionable pitch is poor anyway, unless the hitter is pujols, vlad, or aram. I am with you until 2 strikes - at that point you can't let borderline pitches go IMO. I wonder what he thinks of a platoon partner for Jones? the chances that a borderline pitch will be called a ball is much greater than a player putting good contact on it. i'm not inclined to believe the conventional wisdom of "choking up on the bat and putting it in play with 2 strikes" for the simple sake of putting the ball in play. there are worse things than striking out on a 2-strike pitchers pitch. if you can't hit the ball effectively and the pitcher happens to put the pitch in an unhittable position in the strike zone, tip your cap as you walk back to the dugout. there's nothing a hitter can do. i detest the idea of swinging at a pitch you can't do anything with, it's useless. major league hitters CANNOT be afraid to strike out on a called third strike. hitters that are are usually ineffective. QFT

i am very happy with this signing. what an amazing switch in philosophy. nobody that i know has ever advocated going up there looking for a walk. it's exactly like perry says, shrink the strike zone, look for a pitch in that area. if the pitch is borderline, don't swing, even if you have two strikes. the likelihood that a hitter is going to get a good swing on a questionable pitch is poor anyway, unless the hitter is pujols, vlad, or aram. I am with you until 2 strikes - at that point you can't let borderline pitches go IMO. I wonder what he thinks of a platoon partner for Jones? You're likely to get an out on a pitcher's pitch anyways, why not take a chance on the borderline pitch being a ball and hope to either work the count more toward your favor or at least make the pitcher work more, something the Cubs haven't been good at at all in recent memory.

Brilliant

Can't keep this off the front page... Any lines up yet for the game? EDIT - Bodog has us at +2.5... Which isn't saying much since they tend to give the home team ~3 pts.

Grossman is awful? Right.

I feel the same. Hopefully, it serves as a wakeup call. It comes at the perfect time, at the very least. You just hope they get away from that arrogance that seemed to cost them in the AZ and Miami games, as well as last year's playoff game. Through the first 5 games, it seemed like they had gotten past that issue. They looked incredibly focused and seemed to be playing with a purpose. It really looked like they had learned from the playoff loss. Two out of the last three games, though, they've looked like they've regressed.

What an irritating quote....STOP TALKING ABOUT 1985!!! Doesn't bother me really. He's just using the 85 Bears to illustrate that they think they can beat anyone at home, even the best team ever (85 Bears). Would it bother you less if he had said they should beat the '72 Dolphins at home? :)

You can bet your life on it that that streak will end next week, though.

How can the Angels re-sign Thomas? They never had him. Do you mean the A's? Or do you mean that the Angels will sign Bonds if they can't sign Thomas? Not trying to be a smart ass, just tryin to clear it up.

105.9 wckg Thanks! Kinda random station though, eh? That's the new flagship station.

Yep. One thing this team has is just absolutely SICK depth. Also, while BG is no superstar at this stage in his career, he is definitely someone I'd feel comfortable going to for the big shot late. I'm starting to feel similarly about Hinrich too.

Isn't there a rookie cap? Am I crazy? He's probably going to get a ton of money from Nike before he even signs his first pro contract, but I don't think paying him would be a problem for the Bulls until after his 3rd season, at which point Wallace is about to be off the books.

What do you do with the 75 million dollar center you just got and the good looking young power forward the Bulls drafted? You let Oden play and develop behind Wallace for 2, maybe 3 years. Wallace only has one maybe two more effective years left after this, anyway. You do not pass on a Greg Oden because you have Ben Wallace. Sure, it's a rare predicament where a championship contending team has a lottery pick, but it's a nice problem to have. :D

Orlando Cabrera