DomingoRamos

Ron rates players with his Die Hard cubbie blue heart. So however he rates a player, just bring it down a 2-3 levels. So for example, if he said a player had a good season, he probably had a below average season. If he had a stellar season, then he probably had an average to good season.

Cubs have a lot bigger problems than the pitching coach. Issues such as Prior's freak injuries, Wood's injury prong arm, Z's arm cramps, and a surplus of youth in the bullpen can create problems for any pitching coach. Wood and Prior need to consistently play to progress. As for the relievers you mentioned, all were in desperate need for a change. Everyone knew the Farns and Hawkins had talent, but they were inconsistent and frustrating for fans and coachs alike to deal with. But that is the life of a reliever. Careers go up and down from season to season.

Sure, there are probably pitchers out there that can help the Cubs, but why a starter? Sure, Woody is his frustrating self, Maddux isn't consistent, and Williams is relatively young and will make mistakes. But despite that, the Cubs starting staff remains above average. When completely healthy, they're among the leagues best, if not the best. Most importantly, who do you take out of their role? If anything, i'd like to see Rusch back as a starter. A spot where he seemed more comfortable and effective.

Ryan is definitely not your shut down dominant closer, ala Rivera. However, unlike Jobo, Dempster has illustrated some sort of pitching success in different roles with different teams. He's always had pretty decent stuff, it was more about staying healthy and putting it together for him. Jobo was a career minor leaguer who of all a sudden had a couple great years. Its a new role for Ryan, so I'd say wait and see how he grows into it further.

I'm very tired of Wood's arm problems, but I wouldn't shut up down. Rather, I'd like see the Cubs tie a long reliever with Wood's starts. FOr the rest of the season, Kerry potentially will not go farther than a few innings. I'd love to see Hendry bring up Hill to be the potential backup for each of Kerry's starts. I'm not a supporter of Hil being a reliever, but if there is a strong probability that he can pitch 3+ innings in one game every week. If there is also the potential to pitch more based on Wood's health, it should be considered.

If you can get Pierre for the right price, sure why not. He might not have all world numbers this year, but he's a proven game changer. As someone has mentioned, a similar debate of Pierre's can be made to Posednik in years past. Not the greatest .obp, not the greatest defender, no power, etc., but as Posednik has turned it around and is a significant contributer for the WhiteSox. Why can't Pierre do that? He's proved himself in the past, and he's younger. Not sure about everyone else, but I'd be more comfortable with Pierre in CF down the stretch than Jerry Hairston. Pierre is a proven commodity, and who knows, he could flourish under a new team.

Simply an amazing effort by the Bulls last night. Just by the stat line, you can tell the Bulls brought in hustlers who can play: Nocionni with 17 an 14, Deng 18 and 10, Duhon with 6 assists. This is without mentioning Kirk's 34! If the Bulls had their size, AD and Curry, they would of won. On the downside, it was the Nets. Yes, the Nets were a good team, but talent wise, they're just awful now. Bulls need to up their D, but its early, and they're young. IT should be interesting to see how Chandler and Curry find their roles, because as of right now, the nucleus is forming into Nocionni, Hinrich, and Deng. My early dissapointment is Gordon. I've grown to like the pick of Gordon, but hasn't shown one good thing yet. I was impressed with him in summer league, but right now, he looks like an odd fit. Similar to Jamal Crawford. You can see the talent, but its not meshing. I'm probably being too picky because i'm bitter that they didn't select Devin Harris. Devin by the way is playing pretty well in Dallas.