CubbieRich

I don't want them to trade Wood. I guess that makes me a yahoo huh? And Wood and C-Patt aren't even comparable. When healthy, Wood is a dominating ace (yes I know he hasn't been since Baker burned him out in 2003). When healthy, C-Patt is still just downright awful. And who would you get for C-Patt? A bag of balls? I'd rather try and get him back to some place of value and then trade him, rather than just giving him up for nothing. When healthy, Wood is WHAT? An overpaid 12 game winner? Wow, Hendry better sign him to a long term contract for about $12 million a year because we sure can't lose that kind of talent. Oh that's right..he already did. As far as CPatt, they got what they deserve. They should have adnitted he was a bust and traded him earlier in the year. Now you have nothing. Wow. Did WSCR give you your talking points? Is this one of the Johnny Interns there? For the 1 billionth time, wins and loses are the worst way to evaluate a pitcher. By that standard, Clemens in 2005 and Randy Johnson in 2004 sucked. Wood's 2003 was dominant, even though he won only 14 games. Yes, he gets hurt, and yes, that sucks, but at the time of the extension Wood had pitched in 3 straight seasons with total health. Patterson, yeah, he's done in Chicago. But a small part of the fact he's done has to do with the fact that nearly everyone in the media and fanbase have been on him for the better part of 2 years for mostly stupid reasons. "He can't be coached", "he has an atiitude problem", "he needs to bunt more". Mentally, he's shot. I don't expect him to ever be the star he was hyped to be, but I think, given a change of scenery, he could become Mike Cameron redux. Finally, if you think the Cubs could have gotten anything of value for Corey during the year, you're mad. Position player-even the ones who suck-always have more value in the offseason. This may mean he's sold for pennies on the dollar instead of a fungo bat, but it's still a smarter move. Finally, who are these "yahoos" that don't want to trade Wood and Corey? Not many peolpe here will admit to wanting Corey back unless the offense is bolstered to the point where you can bat him 8th and have his defense. Wood has a NTC, so that dampers alot of trade talk with him. Plus, you'd likely have to extend him to get him to waive it. What team will extend him coming off of an injury? Wow. A screener allow you on the air, that's your gripe? Stop yourself. Patterson thinks he's a 5'9" slugger. He doesn't want to bunt. He doesn't want to learn the strike zone. He doesn't want to learn how to steal, although you can't steal first anyway. He doesn't want to do anything but swing for the fences. His fielding this year suffered because he took his offensive problems to CF. He was not aggressive and tentative at times. Hendry didn't trade him because he didn't want to admit that he and his over-rated scouting and development system made a mistake. If he had traded Patterson during the year, he would have gotten at least something. Now, exposed for the fraud he is, Patterson will draw considerably less. I wish that CPatt had developed, but he won't ever do it here. If Wood is such a quality pitcher, such a great player then teams should be falling all over themselves to trade for him, when he is healthy. I consider any pitcher who will make $12 million to win more than 14 games, go deep into games and be the unquestioned leader of the pitching staff. Wood is none of these. Blame it on Rothschild, Barrett, Dusty whoever you want to. But Wood hasn't produced, hasn't come close to earning his money and now become a drain on the Cubs. Hendry was foolish to sign him to such a contract and would be wise to get him healthy and put him on the market.

So your statement is that the 03' Cubs, mid-90s Yanks, 03' Fish, and 04' Red Sox succesful playoff runs did not rely on or have anything to do with very good pitching and nearly error-free defense. I am sorry, but if that is your point, than I completely disagree. No, I'm not saying that they didn't do any of those things. I specifically mentioned before that quote that I was talking about Guillen's out-wasting antics on offense. Smartball is stupid, and I hate that it's receiving praise for relying on an unreal pitching staff to have success. Let's see..the White Sox are in the Series with a manager that uses the team he's got, makes decisions that are not by the book and told his GM what kind of player he wanted. They have speed at the top of the lineup, they have everyone bunt and sacrifice if asked, they have starting pitchers who don't have 90 pitches by the 4th and they use young players in key roles. He shows emotion in the dugout and cares whether they win or lose. The Cubs can't do smartball with the roster they have now. They don't have the manager to play smartball or the general manager to develop smartball. They have no plan. Is Pete's Cafe still around? I wish the Cubs had some 'smartball' in 2006 and so do you. Listen to many of the yahoos who don't want to trade Wood, CPat or anybody else. They want Dusty, Rothschild and Hendry back no matter what. For what? Another year of frustration. None of those things(sans Dusty, who I want fired) have anything to do with "Smartball". I certainly do not wish that the Cubs lose outs and possibly games because an overbearing manager thinks that he has to make things happen by bunting and stealing bases at a manic and wasteful pace.

I don't want them to trade Wood. I guess that makes me a yahoo huh? And Wood and C-Patt aren't even comparable. When healthy, Wood is a dominating ace (yes I know he hasn't been since Baker burned him out in 2003). When healthy, C-Patt is still just downright awful. And who would you get for C-Patt? A bag of balls? I'd rather try and get him back to some place of value and then trade him, rather than just giving him up for nothing. When healthy, Wood is WHAT? An overpaid 12 game winner? Wow, Hendry better sign him to a long term contract for about $12 million a year because we sure can't lose that kind of talent. Oh that's right..he already did. As far as CPatt, they got what they deserve. They should have adnitted he was a bust and traded him earlier in the year. Now you have nothing.

So your statement is that the 03' Cubs, mid-90s Yanks, 03' Fish, and 04' Red Sox succesful playoff runs did not rely on or have anything to do with very good pitching and nearly error-free defense. I am sorry, but if that is your point, than I completely disagree. No, I'm not saying that they didn't do any of those things. I specifically mentioned before that quote that I was talking about Guillen's out-wasting antics on offense. Smartball is stupid, and I hate that it's receiving praise for relying on an unreal pitching staff to have success. I wish the Cubs had some 'smartball' in 2006 and so do you. Listen to many of the yahoos who don't want to trade Wood, CPat or anybody else. They want Dusty, Rothschild and Hendry back no matter what. For what? Another year of frustration. At least Kenny Williams had a plan and has a manager that will execute that plan. Does Dusty? Does Hendry? You may think it's hype or whatever you want, but the Cubs are sitting at home now again in October.

He would because: 1) The Phils need young, affordable pitching. 2) The Phils have to move salary and Abreu could be the one. No one will want Thome's contract and Ryan Howard can't play the OF.

These are my big targets for 2005 off-season. I read in one of the Chicago papers that Bobby Abreu could be available. I would offer CPatt and Williams Rusch, Mitre, Koronka, Welly, Nolasco(they choose 2 pitchers.). I would sign Millwood for $8-10 million, Furcal for $6-7 million and Eyre for $2-3 million. I would put Rich Hill in the starting rotation with Prior, Zambrano, Maddux and Millwood. If Wood is healthy in spring training, trade him now. I would put Pie in CF and bring back Kenny Lofton for bench duty or until Pie is ready.

A small note in the Cards paper says that Kirk Rueter could be weighing an offer to show up for our 2006 spring training. Why do we bring these washed-up Giants losers to our camp each year?

Not to act as a shill for Tim's partner at Wrigleyville Sports, but I was there yesterday and they have some good stuff. I found grey Cubs sweatpants(hard to find) and Cubs blue Adidas running pants. Plenty of authentic jerseys, including home unis with names. They have some pretty good stuff if you need them.

I was at Wrigley yesterday and the park needs these projects. I could care less about these money-grubbing rooftop owners and their views. Tough! If there is a restuarant and gift shop open year round, that's great. It will make for a great place to go. Compared to what the new Wrigley-lite St. Louis copycat park will look like or the ballmall of the White Sox, Wrigley Field will continue to be the best in the BIGS.

He has lost all confidence at the plate and even in the field. He doesn't show emotion(which is his way) and that's okay, but many of us view that as 'I don't care' attitude. He refuses to bunt, to choke up and lay off the high pitch. But yet, Dusty runs him out there everyday. I don't think the Cubs can bring him back next year at any costs. The fans hate him and looks like the front office does too. This leak of 'psychological help' and the other one about not wanting to go to winter ball is just too much. I think Cub fans could live with Felix Pie out there struggling than Corey. I have read that Eric Patterson is more outgoing and demonstrative. Let's hope so. I agree with Tim that the Cubs organization has made an ugly turn somewhere in the last 2 years and it is surprising.

You want slick fielding 22/SS who turn more DP's? Cut the grass short. Sign groundball pitchers, not strikeout pitchers. Have your pitchers learn to hold men on 1st. It seems like they are doing exactly the opposite and wondering their DP count is down.

I'm sure everyone has heard the 'Corey may be asked to seek psychological help in the off-season' story. It's been in both Chicago papers for about 1-2 weeks. Dusty has spoken openly about it, but Corey says that no one has talked to him. Wouldn't you think that Dusty had talked to Corey before letting the story out? If your employer spread the word about you like that, wouldn't you sue them big time? If you believe that Corey has not been approached about seeking help, then who is leaking the story to the beat writers-Dusty or Jim Hendry? For an organization that is very concerned about the public image of the team, they seem to have their share of these behind-the-scenes petty squabbles the last couple years.

Perez is what he is..not a starter, but one who filled in admirably for a hurt Nomar. He is a bench player and did okay. I wonder if Bobby Crosby for the A's getting hurt last night had happened on Mon. or Tues., maybe we could have dealt him to Oakland. I feel that Dusty should play Cedeno full time, because we know what Perez can do. The speculation on The Score from Steve Stone is that if the Cubs acquire Furcal as a FA, the team would move Cedeno to 2nd.-letting Walker go. That would be OK with me. We just need to see what Cedeno can do for the next month.

MacPhail was on WGN radio last night with Cubs lapdog Dave Kaplan. Andy still doesn't get it. He didn't take phone calls, because he doesn't want to lower himself to talk with pissed Cub fans. He said the Cubs minor league system was rated as #2, but had excuses for the lack of current everyday homegrown players. He said the team is headed in the right direction..blah..blah..blah. He blamed injuries for the team's lack of progress. Under MacPhail's guidance, the team will have finished a cumulative 200+ games out of first place. Kaplan, who hasn't had a new thought in years, said that the team may seek another starting catcher with better defense. He said he wouldn't be surprised if Barrett was traded.

Why? The AL is a HITTING league, yet the Sox's starting corner OFs have OPSs of .685 and .790. And the Sox lead the league in wins. HOW CAN THAT BE? Pitching and fielding, obviously. How many blown saves have we had this year? How many first pitch outs have we had with men on base? The Cubs need alot of help, not the least of which are tablesetters and run producers. Gary Matthews, Tony Perez and the like were not HOF players but drove in runs. I see Barrett, Lee and Rameriz as the only given starting players back for next year, the rest is up for grabs.

Funny line by a Score listener..."Which one of Nomar's 8 rbi is your favorite?" Cedeno is in the clubhouse already.

It's .343...with 1 HR and 1 RBI. Pretty expensive to pay $8 million+ for a singles hitter with a fading glove. He's a singles hitter based on his first 20-something at bats back? More like 32 AB..since he got back. He's not the Nomar of old by any stretch and not worth the $8 million+ he is making now and will seek next year. Wentzville, huh? I used to call on customers off of Highway N near 40.

It's .343...with 1 HR and 1 RBI. Pretty expensive to pay $8 million+ for a singles hitter with a fading glove.

Not really. He looks the same as he did before. Check your tv. He's 10 pounds lighter than April. Numerous media people in Chicago have noticed the same thing.

Have you been watching him play the last couple weeks? He is much lighter(hm-m-m-m) than he was in April. His fielding skills have diminished and is a shell of his former self. Now is the time to let the farm system kick in and let Ronnie Cedeno start.

Trying to drag a Cubs player down to St. Louis level. There is no more a biased and mouthpiece for a MLB team than the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Considering they also own a piece of the Cardinals, they rarely criticize the team. Writers Bernie Miklasz, Joe Strauss and Rick Hummel are mere lapdogs for the team. McGwire told the Cardinals and Cards fans he was retiring, by hiding in California and Faxing his retirement to St. Louis. What a class guy. He's afraid to go back to St. Louis, because he'd be booed. McGwire was a surly, arrogant, one-trick pony of a player, who juiced up and milked $$$ millions from the fans in St. Louis. It took Sammy Sosa to get him away from being such a jerk and enjoy 1998. In Rick Reilly's book on McGwire, he readily admits that he was unfaithful to his first wife and young infant son. What a loser.

Touch a nerve did we? The truth will do that. Big Yak's physical appearance in front of Congress in March said almost as much as his avoidance of telling the truth. For someone with a documented history of deceit, lying, vow breaking and going back on his word, why should anyone be surprised?

I disagree. First of all, I think it is self rightous for you to write like you know what was going on in Sandberg's personal life, AND to expect him to be a certain way (I guess, how you or others might have been). Really, how can you preach about what he did or how he should have acted unless you're him, going through the same things he went through? The answer is that you cannot. Different people handle situations differently - it's called being human individuals. There are also many people who take time off to deal with their personal problems, he just happens to be one of those people. Sorry that he did not measure up to your expectations, but I doubt he's losing sleep over it. Second, you could look at his respect for the game a little bit differently. Did you think maybe he left during 1994 BECAUSE of his respect for the game? He wasn't able to give his best effort, because of his personal problems. This half-hearted approach was not good enough, and he had to take time off to deal with his problems. This could be seen as SHOWING respect for the game, not the other way around. There are two sides to every coin. Are you the same dhaab that posts at STLTODAY? I admire Ryno for walking away from the game to take care of his kids and trying to get his personal life in order. His wife cheated on him with Raffy and that had to be a very hard thing to deal with. People chastize ballplayers for sticking around too long or simply drawing a paycheck, Ryno never did. He respected the fans and the game too much. In contrast let's look at Mark McGwire. He had no problem cashing the Cardinals paycheck when he hit .187 his final year and couldn't see the ball. He cheated on his wife and lied to everyone about taking andro. He has turned his back completely on Cardinal fans and the city of St. Louis. He is a loser. I'll take Ryno.

Let's be honest...this team is not going anywhere and there is plenty of blame to go around. Dusty is a very confusing manager, he doesn't appear to be a very creative or good bench manager. His moves are predictable and by the book. Here are a few words for thought: What good is having a leadoff man with speed, if you are not going to let him steal with Lee and Rameriz coming up?(If not, put Walker there.) If a RH batter can not hit RH pitching, he does not belong in the majors. (Let Murton play against all pitching and see what he can do.) What kind of relationship does Larry Rothschild have with Dusty and does he make pitching change decisions? (I feel that he was thrust upon Dusty like Buddy Ryan was thrust on Ditka.) I'm waiting for the farm system to pay off next year. I hope we have a manager who will play the kids. While the discussion about other analysts and ballplayers turned announcers and coaches is nice..it doesn't change the fact that Stoney knows what he is talking about. Dusty was a good hitter, Charlie Lau was not.