Scott G. F.

I read that 5 times and didn't understand what you were saying. But now that I read the first post I understand. Yeah at the Trop you can bring in your own food. Just not a case of beer!! Oh well. The Piniella years in Tampa will be looked upon as the turning point of this franchise. It's to bad he was here for the house cleaning but not the party yet to come. I predict a winning record next year for this team. With NYY, Boston, Baltimore and Toronto all in that division? :shock: Yes. Baltimore has some pieces but not the right pieces. The Blue Jays always seem like a decent team but don't have a name that I can even think of. Boston and New York have intense pressure and age working against them. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have nothing to lose and expectations are not high. Sounds like the 2003 Cubs to me. If the Rays get some arms, they have Beaz to close. That would close the distance if not even things up. The Rays are the fastest man-for-man team in all of the MLB. Plus alot of their young stars have been in the leauge now for 3 plus years. I see a big up-swing this year for them. Just MHO though. Umm Roy Halliday would like to say Hi. :D Couldn't think of him at the time.

I read that 5 times and didn't understand what you were saying. But now that I read the first post I understand. Yeah at the Trop you can bring in your own food. Just not a case of beer!! Oh well. The Piniella years in Tampa will be looked upon as the turning point of this franchise. It's to bad he was here for the house cleaning but not the party yet to come. I predict a winning record next year for this team. With NYY, Boston, Baltimore and Toronto all in that division? :shock: Yes. Baltimore has some pieces but not the right pieces. The Blue Jays always seem like a decent team but don't have a name that I can even think of. Boston and New York have intense pressure and age working against them. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have nothing to lose and expectations are not high. Sounds like the 2003 Cubs to me. If the Rays get some arms, they have Beaz to close. That would close the distance if not even things up. The Rays are the fastest man-for-man team in all of the MLB. Plus alot of their young stars have been in the leauge now for 3 plus years. I see a big up-swing this year for them. Just MHO though.

I read that 5 times and didn't understand what you were saying. But now that I read the first post I understand. Yeah at the Trop you can bring in your own food. Just not a case of beer!! Oh well. The Piniella years in Tampa will be looked upon as the turning point of this franchise. It's to bad he was here for the house cleaning but not the party yet to come. I predict a winning record next year for this team.

One word Jerry Hairston Jr. He filled in nicely on the DL for Sosa IMO. Injuries to key players did play a factor as much as you'd like to bury you head in the sand on this fact. The injuries and the thin bench expose was the Cubs undoing. Simple and also in the past. We move on.

I guess the word is Mench from the Royals for CP and a Pitching pross. It'll kill me seeing Andy Sisco and Corey celabrating their WS championship in Kansas.

I don't know much aout either Madden or McLaren, but I guess a totally new coaching staff was sought leaving McLaren in the cold.

http://sports.tbo.com/sports/MGBU3EFA0GE.html Living in the Tampa area, I can't avoid baseball talk and sometimes even the Devil Rays are mentioned (ba dum tum). It looks like the D-Rays picked a good baseball guy to manage a young ball club. Now if management spends some on pitching they have a pretty good team. But the D-rays are caught in the Boston/New York Juggernaugt East. Do they have any chance? Boston without Epstien and getting older Yankees getting older and a big pitching ?? Maybe. That's why they play the games. BTW parking is free at the Trop = extra beer for me!

Unfortunately, sometimes that light you see is just an oncoming train. i disagree Fred and am wlling to stay on the tracks for Corey (or the train). I just hope he's a Cub when he round the bend. Scott, I'm not sure what you are disagreeing with, since I made no prediction with respect to Corey's future success. In fact, what I was really saying is that it's just too early to make such a prediction. The one prediction that I do feel confident in making is that whatever future success Corey does have will not come in a CUBS uniform. I'm afraid that the handwriting on the wall in unmistakeable. that's what I'm afraid of Fred. The Cubs have a track record of letting them get away and I feel that Corey will burn them. They must find awa y to get this kid going in a Cubs uniform. I hope they don't throw him under the bus.

Unfortunately, sometimes that light you see is just an oncoming train. i disagree Fred and am wlling to stay on the tracks for Corey (or the train). I just hope he's a Cub when he round the bend.

Thanks

Dear Corey Patterson, Hope the time away from the game has brought clarity to what needs to be done to improve. Specifically youre batting. I have heard reports you're working with Von Jasuha, batting guru. Good. That’s' a step in the right direction. By the way, how's the knee doing? It seems that Cubs fans opinion about you is split. Half say trade you for a bag of peanuts while the other half want to give you another chance. It seems with the emerging of Sabermetrics and numbers game your career has a predestined course of subpare unreached potential. I personally don't believe that. Many have compared you to Lou Brock and I remember correctly he wasn't reaching his potential as a young player and was traded from the Cubs to the Cards on his way to the Hall. I am afraid this just might happen if we let you go in a uneven trade. The Choi and Bobby Hill trades didn't come back to bit the Cubs whereas I believe your trade will. So I don't believe shipping you off will solve the problem. In fact it'll just continue the Cubs dumb luck and impatience in developing the farm talent. This off season the Cubs will address the lead off spot. I'm hoping it's in the form of R. Furcal. His signing would be the best thing to happen to your career. It would allow you to hit down in the order and make noise with Barrett and Murton. I see him as your only hope with the Cubs. If you're traded to the Marlins for Juan Pierre then good luck in South Florida you'll have a lot of outfield to showcase your defense. Either scenario your batting will have to be addressed. Good luck Corey. I'll be rooting for you either way. I hope it's in Cubbies Blue and you quite the critics reaching your potential and bringing the Cubs their first pennant. From a non booing Cubs fan looking for a light at the end of the tunnel.

I just recently dislocated my right shoulder. An Authorgram (fancy MRI) revealed a Bankarts Lesion, meaning I have a tear. The good thing is I'm left handed and after 3 weeks off I returned to my softball team pain free. The three weeks off watching my team caused me to be in a depression. I couldn't imagine being in Wood's shoes, getting paid a huge amount of money, knowing you could help the team and able to do nothing about it. I couldn't workout except to run and it pissed me off. I also didn't have people sitting on the sidelines saying I had no heart and am stubburn, unwilling to change my mechanics. People seem to think the Cubs players get hurt on purpose. Do you believe for one minute that Kerry wants to hurt himself? There is no way he would. That arm is his life and by changing arm angle or using his legs more prolongs his career I guarantee he'll be working on that. I hated to be hurt. It limits my ability to be the best I can be on the field and help the team and I'm paying to play the sport. Give him a break and see what happens. The man is trying to do his best with the situation. Use a little logic when you're talking about injuries.

Signing Neifi was a good move. Last year he was signed to give Nomar a break once and a while. Nomar went down and Neifi played out of his mind the first half of the season. Check some of the threads in here and you'll see Neifi for the All star team etc... So off the bench he is valuable. But everyday. Not very good. Hendry will sign a SS (Furcal I'm guessing) and we'll trade Walker and might put Ronny C at 2nd. I'd be real happy with this. Neifi is a decent player. He hit a game winning Granny vs. the Cards so he can stay around for a little longer.

D-Rays to Huniscker. "welcome to the suck".

The way he wrote that article, it was was poorly written and written for effect. He began with the Bad DUI Furcal and then tried to soften it a bit by saying he was out of the locker room for an OJ shower. In reading the article I didn't understand why he was outside the locker room but really felt better about him knowing he removed himself from the locker room and the alcohol. I wouldn't have. That takes nuts!

If Corey truly needs tim off to clear his head of CUBS fans booing him... he will never be back. I doubt he's back regardless, unless it's as a reserve player. You're probably right. I meant back more in the sense of returning to his 2003 form, or, more generally, attaining his potential. Fred, the fact that Cory, going through a rough season, getting booed by what people claim to be the best fans in baseball, yeah I'd want to take some time away and put things in perspective a little. Probably become a little more reserved to the "fans" and concentrate on my job a little more. Unfortunately he's learning the wrong things fronm Dusty Baker when it comes to dealing with the media (and public) and taking all that is said about you to heart. So if and or when he comes back it'll be all about the game, his game and not about his bad attitude or uncoachable attitude. I hope he put's it all together and proves the NSBB CP nay sayers wrong. We'd be alot happier if he did.

Whoa. The line for Corey bashing usually forms right behind me, but this is a bit much. The fact that he is going at all should tell you something about his "mindset." He's a professional athlete for goodness sakes. I'm sure he doesn't enjoy being awful at the plate. Let him go work on it, show up early for spring training- again, and let the winter play out. At least there is an effort to improve. Time off and 1/2 of winter ball is all I'd really hoped for. Time off to clear his head of Cubs fans booing him and 1/2 of the winter ball to work on his game. I like the move. It's better then not doing a thing. I still hold hope. The medicholride readings are very strong in this one. He can still be trained.

give me a break. you know nothing more about corey's mindset now than you did at the end of the season. did you know that he's been working w/ joshua recently? http://www.buseyworld.com/GaryHUGE_small.jpg Mr. Joshua? Praticing the lighter trick? "Mr. Joshua give me your arm."

I never want to trade him. I still believe in him and his ability to be a great baseballer. I just hope he matures and grows into the part. Last year was very frustratiing for Cubs fans and Cory, I bet. I hope he, Murton and Greenberg come up so the Cubs fans can watch them take off. If we upgrade our lineup we can still have Corey on this team, put him in the 8th hole and still be productive. I agree. Building a reliance on CP for team success is a high risk. But IMO he's has to much of an up side to trade him away for tickets to Cats! Getting a lead-off guy and building a line up based more on OBP then HR. The Cubs could have a better formula then last year of free swing.

I never want to trade him. I still believe in him and his ability to be a great baseballer. I just hope he matures and grows into the part. Last year was very frustratiing for Cubs fans and Cory, I bet. I hope he, Murton and Greenberg come up so the Cubs fans can watch them take off.

Anyone know about Cory Patterson's status regarding winter ball? Is he planning to go and work on his game or is he flipping through the yellow pages looking for a moving company for the inpending trade? Depending on the signing of Furcal. I'd give CP another chance if he did something over the winter to get better and if Furcal takes the lead off spot, thus taking the pressure off CP to play his game.

I couldn't agree with you more, Sox fan bashing aside. As of today 2005 is finished and the quest for 2006 begins anew. All teams equal.

When the Yanks played the Mets in the subway series my personal thinking at the time was, would it be cool if both Chicago teams would be in the World Series against each other. But then thought better of it. The White Sox and Cubs didn't have playoff caliber teams. It's a thought I'm reconsidering now. A crosstown series is closer to reality then it ever has in my life time, but it is the Cubs that have to raise there game to get there. That, I'm sure, would be agreed upon by all. The Cubs have the horses, thay just have to get them healthy. They have decent players but need to upgrade the pen and bench. The stakes just got higher for the Cubs. Not only get to the World Series but sweep the the White Sox in the fall classic. Now that would be cool. BTW this thread will reappear in 365 days.

Just like his analysis, this is wrong time and wrong place.

Just asking around the office. None realized the Astros had no blacks. One even was suprized baseball was still even going on. Is it me or am nieve to the fact of the teams make up looking at black/white/hispanic etcc... I just look at talent and capability. why bring up the teams make up looking at race? I really don't get it. Morgan is correct in that more younger blacks are going to other sports. Baseball doesn't have the instantanious payday other sport provide.