MustangMike

I thought the offense did well, albeit without the inning with the bases juiced, no outs, and a 2 run lead. Get a few in and that game is over...even 1 would have made a difference. That was serious momentum for Atlanta to get out of that jam.

:shock: I'd rather have this said then there be nothing said or bad words between the two forcing the hand of the GM to move one or the other.

I'd rather have a guy loaf to first on a sure groundout and be able to play the entire and lead the team in HRs and RBIs than have him get hurt on a play he would have been retired on anyway. Of course I want one of the best cubs to play and not be hurt, but all I'm saying is hustling generates good things IMO. In this case, he strained his knee, which I obviously didn't want to happen but I wouldn't tell him to 1/2 heart it to 1st base.

FRREEEEEEDDDOOOOOMMMM

Hustling or not, injuries can happen. I'd rather have my guy give 100% every time if if something happens while trying hard, I'll live with it.

If the Cubs are not gonna play Murton, maybe they can package him in a deal for Byrnes. Sorinano, Pie, Byrnes is a pretty good outfield. But isn't he an outfielder...we already have too many of them. I don't see the logic in this move, can you explain?

I'm a fan of AL pitchers moving to the NL...I'd try it. Plus it gets rid of Jones.

I don't think you let Z feed what its like to be on another team. If you want him, then you'll have to pay him in FA. All he knows is the cubs, and I'm sure on some level he likes that comfort. If you let him go to a playoff team for a run, he'll want that.

I agree, Lou has to find a way. But the buzz is the players don't like the way he does it. I guess he can try to adapt, but I thought lou was much more mellow than advertised until he finally went nuts. Also, i think this keeps going back to the point of saying "the manager" needs to find a way, why don't the players find a way?

Managing people is managing people. It doesn't matter if the media is involved or not, but the media being a factor is another reason not to sell out your players publicly. People can talk about players being "babies" and "crying", etc, but the fact of the matter is that people generally won't respond well to a boss who passes the buck and tosses individuals under the bus whilst washing his hands of any culpability in the group failure. This is what Piniella has done. And as far as Dusty goes, it's not a black and white thing. You don't have to be one extreme or another. Believe it or not, there are better ways to get through to a group of people than one or the other. And again, people keep missing the point-it doesn't matter what style it is that he's using, it matters that it's not working. It's on him to find a way of managing that will work. The longer he keeps being obstinate, the more he's going to alienate his clubhouse. I don't think Lou has been "throwing them under the bus" all year. To me its been the last week or so where he's seemed publically frustrated. He's made many comments about players needing to play better, but why is that wrong to say? Calling out the bullpen earlier this year seemed to be pretty darn obvious. As for individual call-outs, I haven't seen that and that's probably not the best way to go about it. I also think judging Lou's entire season on 50 games is wrong. Working or not, you have to give him a chance, and you have to get some consistant play from your players. I guess I'm just missing my Lou or Dusty or whoever is to blame, why aren't the players shouldering this burden? I blamed Dusty last year, I really did, but I think I didn't put it on the players enough.

I don't get it. They played bad under the coddler that was dusty, then play bad under Lou who lights them up when they consistnatly make mental mistakes. What's the constant here? Time for the players to start earning their keep.

isn't ward hitting .167 as a pinchitter?

What bothers me is I still follow the cubs, but not like I used to. Last year really soured me on this team, and this year isn't shaping up any better. I think I'll always be a cubs fan, I can't root for any other team, my hearts not in it. What I don't understand is why I don't get mad anymore at every game...I just laugh and say "typical", "you suck", and stuff like that. I hope I get it back one day.

I can't figure out why, but this statement made me laugh for a good minute...its not even that funny. :)

I think we need another Right Fielder.

You know what's funny? year after year we basically say the same thing. This is a "medicore team at best", "Division is weak", "good on paper"...why do I do this to myself year in and year out. My only saving grace is the trib did spend money, so I can't use that as an excuse anymore.

Nothing in the article is concrete evidence that he is the 5th starter, but the very fact that it was written suggests the organization has plans to use him. Can he be a middle relief guy? Or is he still against the bullpen?

The bullpen officially gave up only one run, but Cherry also let both inherited runs score in the 6th. While I agree the offense should have scored more than 4 last night, scoring at least 4 runs has been found as a good indicator of winning. The bullpen hasn't been the biggest reason why the Cubs have the record they have, but it was the biggest reason why they lost last night. You can't get on Cherry for those two runs. Inherited runners are going to score. One of them scored on a sac fly. It's really hard to say the pitcher did a bad job when there were 2 on when he came in. He gave up a double, a lazy pop fly and a strikeout. Those runs belong to Marquis, and justifiably so. The bullpen went 3 2/3 and gave up 1 ER. Wuertz blew it with the walks, but 3 2/3 and 1 ER is nothing to get all pissy about. You can't expect relievers to be perfect. But when you score only 4 runs and repeatedly score only 0-4 runs per game (7 of the last 8 games), you are asking far too much out of the bullpen, and should not be surprised when they come up short. There are a few things that people surrounding the Cubs have gotten hung up on the past few years, that I just don't get. Finding a legit leadoff hitter and bullpen angst are two of the biggest. The focus needs to be on the lineup and starting rotation. When your lineup scores 4 or less, and your starter gives up 4 in 5 innings, you are going to lose, anger toward the bullpen is misplaced. I don't expect perfection all the time, but I would expect a bullpen to hold a 2 run lead for 3 innings, I don't think that's too much to ask. Marquis wasn't great, but he was good enough. Wuertz walking 3 in a row is down right pathetic and no one else can be blamed for this one in my eyes. yes, they should have scored more, but they gave the bullpen a lead, that's all you can do and all I'd expect.

And if I told you would be saying that now back in March.... :lol:

I didn't watch the game yet, but is the velocity that far off...and can inconsistant mechanics be the reason for his loss of velocity and/or movement on the ball? I guess I'm asking if its possible he's NOT hurt, and just having a bad stretch that's fixable with some coaching. I have a bad feeling his hurt, but i'm a pessimist so I don't put too much thought behind this feeling. I know they cubs were sold, but it just seems odd they haven't locked him up. And even more to the point, since he's not locked up, for whatever reason taht is, that's usually when guys perform well, to get that big FA deal. Carlos seems lost.

What's worse to you...putting this sarcastic remark in or having someone actually rip on Kerry Wood for his well deserved lambasting for his constant health problems? Just curious

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what's your definition of a slap on the wrist? Any monetary fine they give him will be a joke, given what he earns in a year. If they suspend his license for a month, for most people that's a lot more than a slap on the wrist. It sure would be an inconvenience for me, having to take a cab or mooch off friends to get to work or go out anywhere. You can't base the punishment on the fact he makes more than most and then say a fine would not hurt...because if a fine was the normal punishment, that would bother the average joe. However since driving is a priveledge, you should have that priviledge revoked for these offenses imo.

But if he continues on this DL/Minor league path will he get paid? I would think not as well as he'd like if it was all business to him

Is prior done or 1 more inning???