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Magnetic Curses

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Everything posted by Magnetic Curses

  1. Magnetic Curses
    the bottom line is we do not need ramirez to "hustle" and have "heart". heart and hustle are very overrated things in the game of baseball. we need him to do more important things, things that he has done in the last 2 years before this season. what a joke, he gets thrown out at third after driving the ball into the gap (something that we've done little of this year) and he gets blamed for all of the cubs' problems. if we had more players getting thrown out at third it would be a good thing, because at least we'd be driving the ball instead of pathetically and gutlessly "just putting the ball in play".
  2. Magnetic Curses
    incorrect. pitching wins championships. good defense is nice to have, but if you have good pitchers, they get a lot of ground balls and strike outs, putting little pressure on the defense to make great plays. defense is not nearly as important as getting on base, driving the ball and scoring runs. in football, defense wins championships, not in baseball.
  3. Magnetic Curses
    i wouldn't care if we played "small ball more", but in order to play any kind of ball you must first get runners on base at a greater clip. you can't even play baseball if there's no one on base, and that's what hendry and dusty seem content to do.
  4. Magnetic Curses
    Lance Broadway and Brandon McCarthy and I'd gladly do it. OML... I'd trade Maddux to the Sox for either of the above. Actually, I'd give them Maddux, Pierre and Williamson for McCarthy. We're not going anywhere and McCarthy slides nicely into the rotation for the next few years. I wonder what Sully would think if the Cubs aquired McCarthy? We'd relive the 50's if that happened. just don't name names. :P
  5. Magnetic Curses
    corey's not really the player in baltimore that we wanted him to be in chicago. he was actually more productive in 2004 than he's been this season. i hope he continues his solid play for the orioles, but his ceiling is probably that of a torii hunter and not a carlos beltran. i hope he reaches it, but it probably wouldn't be helping here much.
  6. Magnetic Curses
    if troutman makes the team, can we call him rambo?
  7. Magnetic Curses
    If that's true, the man should be running the whole friggin' league. that was brian mcrae, i think. Rodney McCray rodney dangerfield. Since I can't make a play on Dangerfield, I'll just point out that it really was Rodney McCray who ran through the wall. Dammit, no other Dangerfields? oh, sorry. i knew it was a mcrae/mcray of some sort.
  8. Magnetic Curses
    The Tigers are winning with a pitching staff that is what the Cubs staff was supposed to be post 2003, and with guys who murder the ball and get on base. Having Leyland demand "guts" and "heart" means nothing. Going into this season, IIRC he had a sub .500 winning percentage. Personally, I agree with the logic behind what you're saying - it's the players that make the most significant difference in the standings. But it doesn't really matter. Frankly, it could be the renewed sense of guts and heart in the clubhouse that is causing the players to play so well. It's a circular argument that I try to care too much about. Whoever manages the Cubs should get them to play fundamental baseball, hit and pitch competently, make logical strategic decisions and, ultimately, look respectable. Motivator or not; Players' Manager or not; guts and heart or not. if your idea of "fundamental baseball" is getting on base a lot and driving the ball more then i agree. make no mistake, dusty's shortcomings have nothing to do with his apparent willingness to field players who can hit and run, "catch the ball", bunt the ball, and give 110%. dusty's problem is that his staff (by which i mean clines) is telling hitters to "just put the ball in play and good things will happen". this is so transparently obvious when looking at team stats that it's almost humorous. "just putting the ball in play and good things will happen" is a gutless philosophy that leads to losing. "just putting the ball in play....", despite assertions to the contrary by baseball dinosaurs, puts NO pressure on the defense, puts NO pressure on the pitcher, puts NO pressure on anyone to do anything except OUR hitters to slap the ball harmlessly around the diamond. the "just put the ball in play.." method of losing has 1. possibly ruined cedeno, and 2. might possibly ruin murton too. fire dusty, but fire hendry as well, his paleolithic philosophies have opened the door for a new level of failure in chicago. dusty is just there to enforce them on the field. the game has passed them both by.
  9. Magnetic Curses
    even though prior has had his share of injuries, there's absolutely no way that i think about trading him. i'd even bring wood back next year if he'd agree to a 1-2 mil deal for one year with a vesting option worth considerably more for a second year. there's nothing structurally wrong with him. will he get injured again? if he does next season, there's really not much invested in him to worry anyone. as for prior, i have no doubt that he'll return to form.
  10. Magnetic Curses
    Yep, primarily because of age. this year, definitely.
  11. Magnetic Curses
    I'm pretty sure that Paul Depodesta is available. good. i think depo deserves another chance. his replacement in LA is going to get all the credit for his team too. i've been saying this for months. if we could pry both depo and alderson away from the padres, well, that would be a dream.
  12. Magnetic Curses
    If that's true, the man should be running the whole friggin' league. that was brian mcrae, i think. Rodney McCray rodney dangerfield.
  13. Magnetic Curses
    hendry supplies baker with the players baker wants, baker tells them to be aggressive but not to strike out. hendry thinks that catching the ball can help score runs, dusty just wants his horses back. the modern game has passed them by, men like them are going the way of the dodo.
  14. Magnetic Curses
    If that's true, the man should be running the whole friggin' league. that was brian mcrae, i think.
  15. Magnetic Curses
    Is the hard to project part your opinion? Every scouting report I've read about him compare him to Duncan and David Robinson, and he'll be the consensus number one pick in whatever draft he decides to enter, barring serious injury. and tyson chandler was the next garnett, except without any coordination. there are other examples of high school big men being hard to project as well. to me, he looked flat-footed on offense and a bit plodding trying to run the court. he scored a lot of points from 5 feet and in, but so did thomas hamilton. i have no doubt he'll be the #1 overall pick-but i don't see how he can be projected as the next duncan or robinson without having played against college competition. sure he's played against the top players in the country in aau and tournaments, but most of those teams don't have people that are anywhwre close to his size. high school centers are so hard to place because any seven-footer will be dominant against some 6-4 catholic-school kid.
  16. Magnetic Curses
    with zidane serving it up and henry faster than anyone else left in the wc, i have to give the edge to france. they're more of a threat to score at any time than anyone else. just my two cents.
  17. Magnetic Curses
    Fox lit up high A early this season, but he was repeating the level at 23, and since moving up to AA he hasn't hit at all. I've heard lots of questions about his defense as well (not sure what the answers were to those questions, but they were asked). bummer, i was somewhat excited about him when he was drafted, and then after he tore up A ball.
  18. Magnetic Curses
    =D> thanks, i added some stuff.
  19. Magnetic Curses
    i, personally, amdshocked that we got rid of all of our "chemistry" problems yet more continue to pop up. could winning and losing dictate mood and not the other way around? the answer is almost without any doubt: yes. this cubs team is such a deliciously perfect illustration of why team chemistry, defense, speed, and blah blah blah smallballfundamentalsjustputtingtheballinplay and whatever antiquated idea some people have of what it takes to win is so vastly overrated it's not even funny. it's also a perfect example of why getting on base and driving the ball are the REAL fundamentals of the game. and you don't have to be everyone's best friend to do these things.
  20. Magnetic Curses
    how far is jake fox away, could he be ready by spring? if so, i'd say go with the trade and slide barret to third.
  21. Magnetic Curses
    naw, that couldn't happen, hendry has seen how far not striking out has gotten us this year, and quite frankly, i think he's encouraged to continue. who knows, he could try his theories again and get even more slap-happy players who never strike out, put the ball in play ineffectively, and rarely get on base--never connecting it to why they're losing.
  22. Magnetic Curses
    So then you can have two offensively challenged players on the court at the same time? I realize that Oden isn't as bad as Wallace but he's been built up much more for his defensive ability than offensive. Oden definately needs to put in a ton of work in that part of his game. Not saying that Oden can't play offense and will never be good offensively, but he does need to show a huge improvement to be a star in the NBA. How much have you seen Oden play? The way you are talking, I'm assuming you've scouted him pretty extensively. sorry to interject, i've only seen oden play a couple of times, both on tv, and i wasn't impressed with him more than any other 7 foot high school player. he dominated because he was bigger than everyone else, he looked kind of stiff offensively around the basket and barely even had to jump to get it over the heads of the other players. he's hard to project as an nba player, but i don't see a shaq-type force down low, very easily he could be more of a michael olowakandi-type force.
  23. Magnetic Curses
    getting on base (not making an out) does very little to hinder a team's chances of scoring. some baseball insiders like mccarver are just completely ignorant when it comes to seeing the forest for the trees. baseball is a game that cannot be completely understood unless you have outisde observations.
  24. Magnetic Curses
    excited about thabo, he seems like a pippen-type player.
  25. Magnetic Curses
    Andy might be in NY within a year or two. When he's gone, Hendry's biggest supporter is gone. I believe Hendry will have to turn things around by next season or he'll be canned either way. The Cubs are not afraid to fire people. i hope you're right, but i'm wondering what macphail has done in chicago that other teams might admire and covet.
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