bhogg

Love how dusty regrets that the club did not reload in 2004. That was a stacked team.....he just sucked at managing.

The Good: surprising my son on his 9th birthday with tickets to two games at Wrigley -- June 29 and 30. Really nice seats on the 29th -- section 7, row 10, seats 101 and 102. Bleachers the 30th (never to early to introduce the boy to drunken idiots not named "Dad.") The Bad: paying $100 a seat to watch the two worst teams in the majors play baseball. . . . . thank you, Platinum date!

I'll play. . . LaHair hits 35 (or more) homers, causing him to become a cheap OF / 1B option for the next few years. . . . . Soriano gets cut in July. Rizzo takes over 1B. Lahair becomes the LFer.

maybe we can tempt him with an oxygen-less room filled with ryne sandberg memorabilia To hell with this Kaplan fellow. . . . where do I sign up for the Sandberg / Memorabilia room?

just let them play 162 road games. . . . .that would be fun

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/02/report-soler-may-have-agreed-to-deal-before-free-agency/ Yikes, they could be in some trouble. This entire Cuban defection process seems ridiculously complicated to me. Who knew the US had an office of foreign assets control? WTF do they do and for what purpose? Also, why does any team/IFA need to wait to agree to a deal? As a banker, I deal with OFAC quite often. Every time I pull a credit report, it checks that applicants name against a list of known foreign criminals. We have a fairly high hispanic population, so we get a lot of OFAC hits on what amounts to generic names. . . .Jose Sanchez, for example could set off an OFAC hit. Then we just have to jump through a couple of hoops to verify that Jose is not a drug cartel leader. Basically OFAC tries to make sure that no one in the US does business with the wrong people.

Damn, he's not very good at falling off the wagon. If you're going to booze it up and bang a random skank, you gotta make it somewhat worth while. Sounds like he was blitzed out of his mind (jamming to the karaoke) so he probably doesn't remember that 5 minute ride anyway.

Amen on the travel ball thing. I'll take it one step further --- putting your kid in travel-ball only is hurting local leagues. My son was 7 last year and he played a couple tournaments on a travel team -- 3, maybe 4 tournaments for a total of 10 games. They were great learning experiences for him and it helped him understand that he's a fairly talented player. However, under no circumstance did my wife and I consider taking him out of the city league. Each of the past two seasons, about 15-20% of our 8 year olds have been taken out of the league by their dads who insist that travel ball is the way to go. $300 uniforms, traveling all of the state (and region), getting the holy hell beat out of you half the time, and calling it fun. The city league serves a purpose far greater than being a major league baseball training ground for 8-12 year olds. And let's be honest -- it's not like the good ol' USA is pumping out a higher percentage of major league players. Face it -- if your kid has the talent to play pro ball, playing him in 100+ games at an 8 year old isn't going to make a difference. Heck, it might actually burn a kid out long before they have the chance to develop into a legitimate talent. So, basically, there is a small group of dads who are causing their kids to miss out on the fun and social positives of playing city ball. I read an article not long ago that suggested that travel ball is ruining baseball in America. In it, the writer's research suggest that age 11 or 12 is the time in which a kid could seriously consider a travel team. By that time, some (not all) kids have developed such where you know if they have a special talent that might allow them to pursue a college scholarship or a chance at the pros. I'd argue that the age for spotting serious talent is probably a little bit older, maybe 12-13, but I liked the basics of the article. Bottom line is that little Johnny is only 8 years old once and playing 100 baseball games may seem like a great idea on the surface, but missing out on the kick ass things about growing up really isn't worth the money or the risk that one day little Johnny will grow up and not give a flying fart about baseball. As long as there are booger-eating, nose picking, fun loving kids in my community; I will fight like hell to keep the local leagues going.

It would be hard to believe that, given the Cubs public declaration that they don't want him, that he would veto a trade. He'll make the same amount of money regardless of where he plays. He's not on a contender now. My guess is that he will go wherever they work out a deal for him.

well played

This certainly softens the blow of losing Pujols.

if they cut him, how long can they take to pay him? Just finish out the contract or do they have to pay it sooner?

I hate people like her. Only a stupid [expletive] like her would be dumb enough to openly bitch about being offered a mere $25 million per year for 5 years.

I hope he get's strung out on crack, then finds jesus, then does body shots off random chicks, and remembers that he found jesus.

Just a tad late now I feel like the guy who didn't get the "taco party" text because of the slow network :(

Ian Stewart and RHP Casey Weathers to Cubs for Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu, per Troy Renck of the Denver Post

boy, you got a panty on your head. . ..

Most teams schedule a patsy for homecoming or just to break up the conference grind (I suppose). i thought that's what vanderbilt and kentucky are for. or Ole Miss! (sorry, OMC) This year Arkansas had South Carolina for home coming. . . . .they had their rent-a-wins during the first 3 games of the year. I'd rather they play a conference game for their 1st or 2nd game before they get 'Bama. . . . . .tired of the hogs working the kinks out in that game.

Most teams schedule a patsy for homecoming or just to break up the conference grind (I suppose).

I thought Brooklyn wore the first powder blues. . . . .could be way off. I like those Cub greys with the pin stripes --- would be cool road uni's I like the old school whites as well as the traditional royal pinstripes at home. . . .detest the blue tops at home.

Gotta believe he'll be firmly planted in the the 2 spot in the lineup this year --- assuming his power doesn't develop into something extraordinary, which would be fine with me!

He's on the list. . .. the if I ever see him in person I'll beat the [expletive] out of him list. . . .

No doubt in my mind the Cubs can win it all next year. Pixie dust and magic fairies aside, the Cardinals didn't have the '27 Yankees for an every day lineup (for Christ's sake, Theriot hit leadoff in game 7 of the WS!) and their pitching staff wasn't head and shoulders better than anyone. They had a good team, got hot at the right time, and played well in the post season. Take Albert out of that lineup and what would you have? So, yeah, getting Albert or Prince along with some other strategic pieces, you have yourself a contender. Not a 100 win team that runs away with the division, but a contender. It's baseball -- anything can happen!!!

Well said, Vance. You and I are on the same page -- favorite player, etc. I wouldn't slit my wrists if they hire Ryno, but I do think there are better managers out there. At the end of the day, I have full confidence in the new management to get whomever they feel is best for the job. If that means they hire a fan favorite like Sandberg, I would have to believe he would have full understanding of what is expected out of him from a organizational philosophy stand point. That should be the case with anyone in that position.

I told my son (8 year old) about the hiring of Theo. I said, "son, the cubs have hired a guy to run the team who has the same philosophy of baseball as you do." He said, "Oh, he'll have players who get on first base?" YES! Of course, to recap the philosophy, I had to quiz the boy. . .. If you get on first you. . . . . . . (he says) score more. If you score more you. . . . . win games If you win games you. . . . . go to the playoffs If you go to the play offs. . . . . .you can win the world series. Smart kid. . . .proud pappa!