David

What did I miss? Where's Hanley Ramirez? Actually, I sort of remember that they might've traded him...but I'm not sure. Or do they just have absolutely zero faith in him?

Depends what you mean about "our 2B". I think the odds that he starts the season on the roster are higher, post convention. It was clear that management's attempts to smear Walker in the press didn't work as well as it did with Sosa, Farnsworth and others. If the odds were 80% he's gone, maybe now it's something like 50%. But the odds of him actually being the everyday 2B for the whole season are probably still low. At most he'll be platooned with Hairston and Neifi. I still think he's gone, but the PR conscious front office might find it difficult to get rid of a guy that so many fans spoke out for at the disinformation sessions. Thanks. Not as good of an outlook as I was hoping for, but certainly better than what we were hearing just a few weeks back.

Just a question. I haven't been entirely in the loop the last couple weeks. How likely is it looking that Walker will actually be our 2B this year?

Don't take this personally, but you can't be serious. You're openly calling for clubhouse discontent as a way to win more ballgames? Perhaps, when it means taking away one of your biggest obstacles.

The 2004 team was clearly the best team he put together. 04' & 05' the Cubs were decimated with injuries & teams like the Astros & Cards, had very healthy pitching staffs. Health/depth will be the main determining factor on how good the Cubs will be in 06'. Right now, there is no depth in the outfield. Maybe he still plans on addressing that before they head into Spring Training. If not, the outfield is going to be a major concern for the 2nd year in a row. Might be a little late now, BBB. Not much left to pick from I fear. TBCF: Everything comes back on the GM in one way or another. Even injuries. Especially when you string multiple seasons of injury-plagued baseball together. At some point, a good GM would look at health as a factor in his decisions and bring in ballplayers and staff to ensure more players are healthy. Hey----look at a ballclub like the Bears. Injured for years. Then they finally address the issue and wind up with a healthy playoff team. You can't control every injury that takes place, but you can control the overall picture in order to minimize the potential for injury. So, while I agree injuries are unpredictable in the short term, over the longterm a GM must have a successful plan in place to minimize their impact. And Hendry hasn't done that. I'm still not sure the Hendry I'd want is the Hendry of 2003.... That team was just lucky to be in a really bad division. Moves like Dusty Baker, Randall Simon, Doug Glanville, etc...not exactly the moves I'd be calling for. Sure, they worked out well at times THAT YEAR (i.e. it just so happened that Simon came through with some big playoff hits.. or that Glanville hit that triple)...but those still aren't acquisitions you could be happy with at the time. The ARam/Lofton trade worked out pretty well, but ARam wasn't all that great in 03, and the offense, contrary to popular belief, didn't do much better after that trade. Now the Hendry of 04... that was the best Hendry (and best Cubs team of recent memory) IMHO. The Nomar trade was a thing of pure beauty. The Lee deal was a solid move. Walker was a very nice pickup, etc. Hawkins, had he been used as a setup man, was also a very good addition to the pen. It's just a shame that team had to tank at the end of the year. :x

The timely hitting was there, Jim. The guys who draw the walks in front of timely hitting were not. I'm not so sure that the timely hitting was there. We left a lot of runners in scoring position including a number of basesloaded situations IIRC. It's difficult to have timely hitting when there are not many guys on base to create timely hitting in the first place. Walks are fine but I'd rather have a team that relied on timely hits. You can't build a team around telling guys to walk. You can just try to stress pitch selection, which should lead to better hitting and more walks. EDIT: I wouldn't be surprised if we were in the top five for runners left in scoring position. That happened all the time last year. you're kidding, right? please tell me that you're being saracstic. Yea, seriously...Can't build a team around telling guys to walk but rely on timely hits? How exactly do you get your team to get "timely hits?" Of course, you can, however, have players that consistently don't make outs and find ways to get on base. That is something you CAN control. And it affords you more opportunities for those hits that you do get to be so-called "timely hits." Plate approach is something that can be done consistently... The luck of when those hits you'll get (at best 1 out of 3 times) come is really beyond anyone's control.

Agreed. Just about all the expansion teams of the late 80's through the 90's had terrible color schemes... Lots of teal/turquoise. Hornets, Magic, Panthers, Jaguars, Marlins, Devil Rays... even the Diamondbacks colors suck. The Rockies did ok with their colors and logos I thought. But the Grizzlies can go in that "sucky" group. I knew I was forgetting some. I agree. The Rockies did OK. The black and purple is pretty sweet. But the Grizzlies and Raptors (yes, I know, similar to Rockies colors... they just don't pull it off, I guess) both belong in teh "suck" group.

Agreed. Just about all the expansion teams of the late 80's through the 90's had terrible color schemes... Lots of teal/turquoise. Hornets, Magic, Panthers, Jaguars, Marlins, Devil Rays... even the Diamondbacks colors suck.

38 That's not even close to right...

Beat me to it. Regardless, the point needs to be beaten in the ground some more. Key phrase in my post: "when one of the big three inevitably suffers a FLUKE injury" Yea, you phrased it properly. But many others in this thread have included Prior among the injury prone. Journalists have done it as well. It just isn't right.

All valid points. Of course, if, as many expects, nobody bites on the trade front and they are forced to release him (Philly has little leverage with everyone knowing there's no chance he'll be playing for them next year), then his contract won't be much of an issue.

Anyone hear the report that TO and Jerry Angelo had dinner in Chicago on Wednesday night? http://bears.scout.com/2/491068.html Now, this is the site that always seems to give us bogus Cubs rumors, so take it for what it's worth. But they do cite AM 1000 as their source, and the Bears have not denied that such a meeting took place (don't confirm it either). I know this would be a controversial move. I like it, though. I'm the type of person, like many here, that doesn't give a damn about team chemistry if you're getting a superstar talent. TO has pretty much won wherever he has played. For all that was said about him in Philly, that team was great when he was playing. As for his age, he is getting a little old, but he keeps himself in incredible shape and even with a dropoff would be a great WR. I also think, with what he's gone through this season, that he realizes that he's on his last NFL legs and needs to behave. I would *love* to see Grossman having TO (and a new TE) as weapons in the offense next year. The offense would instantly become a strength. Mark me down as *for* this move.

Based solely on pure talent, I don't think I'll ever see a better Cubs team than 2004. Sosa, Nomar, Ramirez, Alou (at the height of his powers), CPatt (ditto), Wood, Prior, Z, Maddux, Hawkins, Grudzie/Walker (both having great years). The only problem is that many of these players were not playing at their best. I have no doubt that that team would have at least won the pennant had they made the playoffs, especially the way Prior and Wood were going at the end. Let's not forget Zambrano's Cy-Worthy year... He probably would've won the Cy Young Award if he had more wins... of course we had a "fab" offense. 2004 was an awesome team. I had the most confidence going into the 2004 season. That confidence has sort of come back going into the 2006 season, and was the least going into the 2005 season. Eek... What gives you any confidence going into 2006? 2004 was a great team. They just picked the wrong time to go into a team-wide slump... the end of that season was such a heart-breaker...Almost as much as 2003... I was really looking forward to taking on the Cardinals in the NLCS that year.

I know the Cubs faced Oakland, and I think Anaheim, but they sure didn't show up here. :-( Yea, for the past few (several) years, they have had the Cubs and Sox "trade" in a series with one (or is it two) of the teams in the division from the other league that they're facing for an extra cross-town series. I guess Seattle (and Texas?) were the ones that got dumped to make room for the home/home Cubs/Sox series in 2004.

I don't think there is indisputable evidence there though I do think it should be a touchback. Yeah. That's a huge bullet dodged, but it should have been a touchback. Bah. Bailey was a good camera angle from being a laughing stock. Gotta think he was just tired, though. I'm giving Champ the benefit of the doubt. Hell, Vasher was definitely letting up at the end of his return.. (of course, that one was 108 yards, and not straight line :lol: ) 100 yards at full speed is no picnic.

Didn't Hoops scoop this a little while back?

Fortunately, that would never ever happen in real life. In that situation, we'd eiher be kneeling or running. :)

I don't think any fields in the league have astroturf anymore. Rogers Centre/Skydome? or do you mean in the national league? Doesn't the Skydome have some form of Astroplay/Field Turf?

As for the weather, weather.com went from saying a high of 38 to a high of 32 for Sunday. However, Tom Skilling is saying a high in the upper 40s. Someone's wrong. No wonder those dudes hang out by NU.

Have people just completely jumped off the bandwagon/lost interest in the Bulls? 3rd straight win tonight; 113-104 over the Raptors. Gordon with his first double-digit fourth quarter of the year.

WHODEY?? http://i-see-sound.com/video/20051129/i_see_sound_bootsy_fear_da_tiger_game_day_300k.wmv :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I don't see them getting past today.

Whatever happened to ndi, our resident Panthers fan?

Honestly, I'm not even that worried about Carolina. If the Bears play like they should, at home, they will be more than fine. If they lose, it will be because they shot themselves in the foot somehow. I think what we're seeing today just shows how much of a cut above the rest of the conference the Bears are. Only nobody has realized it yet.

Some people are so friggin clueless... http://boards.giants.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=86241 Giants fan calling Urlacher an "average white boy on an average defense." :roll: