soccer10k

What makes you right and them wrong? Bonds was well past 400 HR when he supposedly started taking steriods. He has always been a leg-driven power hitter that currently has minimal power from his legs. Who cares how many home runs Bonds hit before he took steroids? I never said that Bonds wasn't a great player before. I've openly admitted that Bonds would have been one of the best to ever play even if he didn't take steroids. I believe Bonds is the only player with 400 HR/400 SB which he achieved in 1998 which is before he started juicing. Are you saying that every player's knees go out when they age? Because if you think that you are horribly wrong. Players get older and all of a sudden they can't swing the bat as quickly anymore or they aren't able to pick up pitches quick enough. But the breakdown Bonds is having is directly tied to steroid use which is the exact same thing that happened to McGwire. My dad is 53 and he can run FAR better than Bonds can right now. The guy juiced heavily and now he's paying for it. I hope he's in pain every day and I hope he suffers. He deserves it.

the more you make him run, the sooner he will be gone? I'd walk him just to make him run the bases. I think McGwire is an even better comparison than Sosa. Agreed. Sosa was done because he stood 8 feet away from the plate and couldn't come close to touching the outside pitch. His body never had the chance to fully break down on him. McGwire and Bonds are deteriorating before our very eyes.

Honestly, I think the best thing Cubs fans can hope for is Baker not being offered an extention. I think he'll finish out the season and management will determine what to do with him after that. But I just don't see him getting fired.

Sox = Red Sox Sox = White Sox

I just saw it and I love how the interviewer (Karl Everett?) ended the conversation with "Hall Of Famer Joe Morgan" like it's supposed to bring some credibility to Morgan's statements.

I don't think Dusty is the whole reason but he should have to accept some of the blame.

I know it was one of the three against Philadelphia. I think it was the first game.

It's not like anything has changed. The Cubs are still losing. All the reasons for losing have already been talked about numerous times.

I keep hearing this question numerous times every single day on ESPN whether that is SportsCenter/Around The Horn/PTI, etc but nobody ever mentions the correct reason. A few years of hardcore steroid use is catching up to him. People just say his knees are bad and are wearing down because he's old. Jim Rome was gone last week but I'm sure he's said it at some point because he's the only one who has the balls to. I'm just sick of hearing the same old thing over and over again. Why are people so afraid of mentioning steroids? It just baffles me. EDIT: Another reason I just heard that idiot John Kruk said is it's because of his swing but no mention of steroids. Sure he might not be swinging well, but don't you think that it's because he body is screwed up due to steroids?

Cubs would lose because Rusch would give up 5 HRs before the Cubs even come to bat. That's an excellent point.

And we can't do anything about this.

I'm gonna have to go with either Zambrano or Wood as the DH's.

Absolutely classic. That's sig worthy.

I don't know about any managers bouncing back, but Jason Giambi was quite possibly the most hated man in New York after his grand jury testimony was leaked and he wasn't hitting anything. Now he's hitting and the fans like him.

Maybe Rusch should get the spot start and have a contest: First pitcher to allow 5 home runs loses.

Cedeno is kind of a pre-steriod, pre-Arod/Tejada/Nomar/Jeter throw back. I think he will be a good-not-great SS for a long time. Both He and Murton have more than held their own so far in their first full season. I agree and think Cedeno will definately be solid major league player. Maybe not great, but he'll have a long career.

Actually lots of people make a living hitting minor league pitching. It's just not a very prosperous one. Just because you want to dismiss minor league production doesn't mean it can't be included in rational debate. You said all signs indicated he couldn't hit lefties. I think a large amount of minor league at bats can easily outwiegh a handful of major league at bats spread out over multiple years, as well as personel decisions made by the Cubs. It's your opinion that he can't hit lefties, but you have no more evidence than those that say he might be able to if given a chance. It's been stated before in this thread because it's an important fact to remember, even though you insist on ignoring it. My point on minor league hitting is that just because some guy tears up minor league pitching doesn't mean that he's going to tear up major league pitching. It's the "what have you done for me lately" line. What has Choi done against left handed pitchers at the major league level? Absolutely nothing.

AB's against lefties: 2003: 17 AB 2004: 36 AB 2005: 29 AB 82 AB's total vs. lefties 783 AB's total vs. righties Wow. He just can't hit lefties. It's been proven. In three years, with 82 AB's, he did squat. Hmm... let's do some numbers here on those HR's. 36 HR's in 783 AB's... is 1 HR every 21.75 AB's. 2 HR's in 82 AB's... that's 1 HR every 41 AB's. That's the worst split ever. Okay, not really. It's not even all that surprising. Of course, given the size of, dare I say it, the sample, I find it hard to draw any such conclusion that Choi cannot hit lefties. Indeed, I surmise that if the Cubs had not acquired Karros in 2003, Choi would have had a greater chance against lefties and perhaps, as his minor league career indicated, he would have hit just fine against them. Shouldn't you also ask the question: Why did the Cubs even acquire Karros? Maybe because something was wrong. Every sign out there proves that Choi can't hit lefties. He is average against righties, but he can't hit lefties. You can cite sample size (and yes I have taken a couple statistics classes) but Choi hasn't given me any reason to believe that he'll ever hit left handed pitching well at all. Definately not well enough to play every day. Also, for those of you that think the Cubs should bring Choi back to Chicago, Pittsburgh has 3 left handed starters, Milwaukee has 3, St. Louis has 1, Houston has 2, and Cincinnati has 2. That's 11 out of 25 left handed starters. Choi is not the answer. The Cubs didn't set out to acquire Karros. They set out to get rid of Todd Hundley. The price was taking Grudz and Karros -- and it was a pretty good deal, frankly. Nobody goes into a trade not caring who they get in return. Jim Hendry wanted Grudz and Karros in return. You don't just call up another GM and say "Hey I'm going to give you Todd Hundley, just give me whatever you want to in return. I don't care." You don't do that. Hendry had to have had some idea of what he wanted in return. If he didn't want Karros, he wouldn't have acquired him.

Who cares about minor league pitching? Stop using that as an example. That point has already been stated about 15 in this thread. I GOT YOUR POINT ALREADY. Nobody makes a living hitting minor league pitching.

Holy dear lord, you've changed your opinion. It's magic, I say, magic. Nice try, my foot. You are a contrarian, CubsfaninCA, and you regularly skirt the line of trollish behavior pretty regularly. You've been a dropping into threads in such a fashion almost since you joined the board. I'm all for different opinions and I like a good debate. I don't like when people reiterate the same opinions time again without sufficient support for the argument. Additionally, it's pretty clear that "almost everyone else in baseball" doesn't mean much of anything since we don't have access to their thoughts. I would add the argument, too, that it's pretty clear that there are a lot of baseball clubs that really don't know how to maximize their winning potential. The Cubs are, and have been, a great example of how not to assemble a baseball team. that's really rich. when the information doesn't back one's opinion go personal. take the next lecture to pm. Keep dodging, ducking, dipping, diving and dodging. You may not like it, but you are contrarian. It's not personal and it's not an attack. You take pride in fighting the conventional wisdom of the board. You like pointing out how stats can't do this, and stats can't do that, and how your eyes told you that Choi sucked as a Dodger. Oh, and by the way, since you never read the last PM I sent you, why would I bother sending you any more? If you don't like what I have to say, in what forum I say it, how I behave as a Mod, how and when I moderate, or if you have a problem with me personally, please feel free to contact Tim or 1908. Let him disagree with the board. What's the big deal with it?

AB's against lefties: 2003: 17 AB 2004: 36 AB 2005: 29 AB 82 AB's total vs. lefties 783 AB's total vs. righties Wow. He just can't hit lefties. It's been proven. In three years, with 82 AB's, he did squat. Hmm... let's do some numbers here on those HR's. 36 HR's in 783 AB's... is 1 HR every 21.75 AB's. 2 HR's in 82 AB's... that's 1 HR every 41 AB's. That's the worst split ever. Okay, not really. It's not even all that surprising. Of course, given the size of, dare I say it, the sample, I find it hard to draw any such conclusion that Choi cannot hit lefties. Indeed, I surmise that if the Cubs had not acquired Karros in 2003, Choi would have had a greater chance against lefties and perhaps, as his minor league career indicated, he would have hit just fine against them. Shouldn't you also ask the question: Why did the Cubs even acquire Karros? Maybe because something was wrong. Every sign out there proves that Choi can't hit lefties. He is average against righties, but he can't hit lefties. You can cite sample size (and yes I have taken a couple statistics classes) but Choi hasn't given me any reason to believe that he'll ever hit left handed pitching well at all. Definately not well enough to play every day. Also, for those of you that think the Cubs should bring Choi back to Chicago, Pittsburgh has 3 left handed starters, Milwaukee has 3, St. Louis has 1, Houston has 2, and Cincinnati has 2. That's 11 out of 25 left handed starters. Choi is not the answer.

Don't suppose you care to post the number of plate appearances he was given against lefties? I'm sure that has nothing to do with the difference in home runs. Hard to hit lefties when you rarely, if ever, are given an opportunity to face them. Even if he does have trouble with them, platoon him. Start him against right-handers and use him off the bench to pinch hit against righties. You can do that and get him 400+ at-bats easily. I'm not saying that the Cubs should do this. When Lee is back, they have a star player at that position. But there are teams that don't have someone locked into that position. Have you read everything I've written? I said the exact same thing. I'm not debating whether or not he's a decent hitter against right handed pitching. I even suggested to platoon him. But he shouldn't face lefties all the time. He just shouldn't.

He barely has 100 PA's against LHP in 3 years. That's what's called a self fulfilling prophecy. A guy gets labeled as someone who can't hit LHP(even though in Choi's case he hit them fine and never got a chance to prove it at the MLB level), and then sees so few of them after that he never gets a chance to show his abilities. And does it ever occur to you that there may be a reason for that? There is a big difference between minor league pitchers and major league pitchers. You and brinoch can spout out all of the minor league stats you want, but the fact remains that at the major league level, Choi has not been able to hit left handed pitching. He just can't. He's like Jacque Jones. Both would be good platoon players but neither should be everyday players.

Your eyes and your memory have misled you. Choi had an OBP of .389 and an SLG of .496 (OPS of .885) when he was injured. But he still can't hit lefties. He never has been able to. That's a fact. And the key is those were his stats BEFORE he was injured. What has he done since then. You can state your case based on that but he's not that same player. I could make the argument that Sammy was still hitting well before he got beaned in the head and that should warrant a contract. But Sammy changed after that, teams know that, and that's why he isn't playing this year. Choi never could hit lefties, and after he suffered the concussion, he changed. And that right there is reason enough that Choi shouldn't play everyday. The guy at best is a platoon player. Really? Wow, he sucked as a Marlin in 2004. Only had a .388 OBP and a .495 SLG (.883 OPS). That's just awful, I say. Definitely took a dip to Neifi-esque suckitude with a .331 OBP and a .453 SLG (.789 OPS) as a Dodger in 2005. In the minors, Choi faced lefties everyday and wasn't platooned. He did fine against them. TT, post the numbers. 2003 to 2005: Lefties: .159/.317/.280/.597 Righties: .253/.357/.461/.818 Using your example of 2004: Lefties: .167/.268/.278/.546 Righties: .261/.381/.469/.850 Also from 2003 to 2005 he hit 38 HR's and 36 of those were against righties. The guy can't hit lefties. Face it and admit it. I'm not debating that he can sometimes hit righties, but he can't hit lefties to save his life.

Steve Phillips doesn't think Dusty should be fired. Steve Phillips also probably thinks Steve Phillips should still be the General Manager of the New York Mets.