CaliforniaRaisin

Heh, you're on a crusade, eh?

UCLA down 29-25 at the half against USC. They started off playing like crap, and then the refs decided they needed to help out USC whenever UCLA had a chance to tie. :x The vaunted UCLA defense has really fallen apart a few times in the first half. All in all, very disappointing.

The media? With a conscience? That's a new one. You may be giving them a bit too much credit. As for people in the emergency room of a so cal hospital: if any of the staff leaked it, their job is finished and they may face legal action. Nothing is stopping someone from calling KTLA and saying 'I saw Mark Prior in the emergency room today' though. I think the percentage of folks in So Cal who know Mark Prior is a little higher than you think. Of course I don't think KTLA would care. Someone might call, but an LA TV station wouldn't care and I really doubt SD would too. I think some of you are overemphasizing what Southern California media would care about Mark Prior.

Well yeah, but Woody's rate of return on complete seasons has been running at 0% for years now. Sure everyone's one play away, but Woody's been rolling snake eyes so often, I can't see how he will suddenly become a rock in the rotation. 2 years. ....and counting. And before that he had two years in a row (2002 and 2003) where he didn't miss a single start either season. So you can't be certain that, just because he's had injuries the past couple of years, that it will continue. Between 2001 and 2003, Wood made 93 starts. Only after the 2003 campaign in which he threw the most pitches in baseball did he break down again. It might help my confidence a little if he would show up at Spring Training ready to pitch..... This will be the 3rd year in row that Woody has not been able to make all his potential starts. We know this for a fact and we haven't even played a single Spring Training game yet. I'm on very solid ground here. I always wanted Woody to succeed, but it's not happening. It's just not looking good for the guy. Unless he starts turning it around, and I mean double-quick, you won't see him in a Cub uniform for much longer. He's sucking salary and not taking the mound. It's bad. It's not Woody's fault that the team decided to postpone his surgery by having him relieve when they thought they were still in the WC race. I place this one on Hendry/Baker.

Let's not go the Hitler route. Keep it about Bonds, folks.

HE HATE ME!

No, not all of the media's. About 95% of it (or more)... Nothing like irresponsible, wild generalizations. Yeah, 95% is a ridiculous figure.

Correct.

D'oh! Two games in three days? Stupid pac-10. UCLA hasn't played since last Saturday. :| that's terrible. couldn't asu have hung around until tomorrow? They probably had to get back to some parties. Maybe they were scared of the rain in Berkeley too. Apparently UCLA and USC used to played each other twice in one week back in the day. That would have been an intense rivalry week.

Uhh, didn't Andy show up about a month before Roger? During the offseason?

5 points.

D'oh! Two games in three days? Stupid pac-10. UCLA hasn't played since last Saturday. :|

Well yeah, but Woody's rate of return on complete seasons has been running at 0% for years now. Sure everyone's one play away, but Woody's been rolling snake eyes so often, I can't see how he will suddenly become a rock in the rotation. 2 years.

I'd say so is 15% of SoCal. Including me. :(

Holy!! Last place ASU upsets Cal IN Berkeley in double OT, 65-64. UCLA now is up 1/2 game over Cal. The Bruins play down in the Sports Arena for the last time ever (USC moves to the Galen Center next year) tomorrow evening.

The Boss is a good man.

Yeah, it was very popular this winter out here. :x

100% agree. I've yet to see any evidence from Abuck about the Cubs not offering any advice for wood. We know the Cubs offered him advice, they trumped it up last season saying they had fixed his mechanics. But Kerry took the advice, as seen by the change in his mechanics. And yet he still needed surgery. Maybe it wasn't the right advice, maybe the Cubs don't know what Kerry can do to alter his mechanics, maybe Kerry is always going to have arm/shoulder issues no matter what mechanics are altered. But given he changed his mechanics at the behest of Rothschild and company, I don't think anyone can say Kerry doesn't listen to the coaches. And abuck makes a good point, if Kerry hadn't listened, the Cubs would have publicized this a whole lot more than with what Steve Stone said.

wow, i hadn't realized that he'd retired. If he can regain his health, he could easily pitch at least 5-6 more years, so how can he be a bust. Nolan Ryan wasn't injured, but look at his record at Wood's age. Hopefully, Wood will recover and straighten out his mechanics and end any talk of him being a bust. ....because he never will "regain his health." He's a walking injury, face it. He will always be one pitch away from an extended stint on the DL. Sorry if that's too harsh. Well, so is every player in the sport.

Which Boise/Mesa guys were included in the Top 50 beyond obvious picks like Pawelek, Reed, and Veal? Also, the only thing I know about Valdez is that he sat out all of 2004 with some sort of injury. It would be one thing if Pawelek were recovering from an injury or surgery. However, especially considering Utah isn't exactly renowned for its warm weather, I think starting Pawelek in Peoria would not be detrimental to him as long as the Cubs keep a close on his health. But the Cubs might be more inclined to play it safe after so many injuries, especially considering that he's now the crown (pitching) jewel in the farm system. Because he's from Utah can work both ways - it's cooler there, so his arm might not be used to logging as many innings (especially compared to a HS pitcher from, say, Cali) so it might be better to bring him along slower. I agree that it won't necessarily be any riskier starting him in Peoria, and as long as his mechanical flaws have been corrected, I do want to see him in Peoria. But I wouldn't be shocked if the Cubs feel they have to play it safer. EDIT: That's your best sig yet.

I loved those when I had class, I rarely had classes from 11-2, plus no Dodgers, Giants, or A's games ever conflicted with Cubs games at that time, so I had the TV all to myself with no roommates wanting to watch their team. Now that I have a real job, I'm gonna hate day games. :(

Wait... are you saying it's not his fault that he gets injured all the time? how would it be his fault? if his mechanics are causing the injuries, it is the job of the coaching and training staff to fix it. that's not the responsibility of a 25 year old who has never coached nor gone to college. if rothschild came out and said 'we've been telling him to change his motion for three years, and he refuses to make adjustments' then that would be wood's fault. but that apparently isn't the case. why would kerry be asked to do the job of the pitching coach and the trainer? Do you really think that no coaches, trainers, or doctors have talked to Kerry and gave recommendations as to how to not get hurt every two weeks? I think it's pretty safe to assume that Kerry has been given plenty of advice over the past few years. It's his own fault that he hasn't followed it. I'm sure we'd have heard of it by now if Kerry had been given advice by the coaching staff and didn't follow it. And given how he seemed to make those mechanical adjustments last summer that the whole coaching staff was trumping up (and still needed to have surgery), I really don't think Kerry not listening is an issue. I'm not sure I follow you here. You're saying that Kerry has been given advice, and has followed it? So then who is at fault for his constant injuries? If we have to play the blame game, then it would have to be the coaching staff for not giving correct or proper advice (the mechanical adjustments that they heralded last season, which Kerry adhered to, weren't that big a deal).

Wait... are you saying it's not his fault that he gets injured all the time? how would it be his fault? if his mechanics are causing the injuries, it is the job of the coaching and training staff to fix it. that's not the responsibility of a 25 year old who has never coached nor gone to college. if rothschild came out and said 'we've been telling him to change his motion for three years, and he refuses to make adjustments' then that would be wood's fault. but that apparently isn't the case. why would kerry be asked to do the job of the pitching coach and the trainer? Do you really think that no coaches, trainers, or doctors have talked to Kerry and gave recommendations as to how to not get hurt every two weeks? I think it's pretty safe to assume that Kerry has been given plenty of advice over the past few years. It's his own fault that he hasn't followed it. I'm sure we'd have heard of it by now if Kerry had been given advice by the coaching staff and didn't follow it. And given how he seemed to make those mechanical adjustments last summer that the whole coaching staff was trumping up (and still needed to have surgery), I really don't think Kerry not listening is an issue.

No, not all of the media's.

Heh, the reason why I am not interested in Brees. Man did Marty screw up not starting Rivers in a meaningless game.