CUBZ99

Probably a good thing the Cubs didn't take Giolito. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8285494/washington-nationals-prospect-lucas-giolito-re-injures-elbow

SSS but it is great to see Soler getting off to a fast start in Peoria.

Brenly is pretty low on the list of media racists; he's the least of the problems. His was the question I was trying to answer. However, I suppose the flipside is that he's the one, more than the others, who yields the most influence as the color guy. Kaplan and Rozner are the worst; they might as well be Father Coughlin clones, and Rozner just hangs on to vendettas. Rogers is just an idiot, Sullivan is a lazy, cynical writer. Miles is by far the most objective of the bunch. No argument here with any of that. I just hate to focus on a few bad apples and generalize or make it into more than it is.

So, you're not in the camp that thinks Brenly is racist, no matter which way the racism is implied? Enough with this whole "this person is or is not a racist" duality. It's more complicated than that. Many people in the local media allow racially tinged stereotypes to color their views. It's more intellectual laziness than it is outright hostility toward people of non-white races. That's fair. Let me ask the question in another way. Do you see Bob as part of the crowd that allow racially tinged stereotypes color his view? I think, like all people of all races and ethnicity, it's intellectually easier to fall back on racial stereotypes when criticizing someone different than you. Brenly may not do it malevolently, but to say racial stereotypes don't, in some way, shape or form, influence anyone's opinions on any level is naive. I think everyone would agree with that. But that is not the argument that is being made.

So, you're not in the camp that thinks Brenly is racist, no matter which way the racism is implied? Enough with this whole "this person is or is not a racist" duality. It's more complicated than that. Many people in the local media allow racially tinged stereotypes to color their views. It's more intellectual laziness than it is outright hostility toward people of non-white races. Or more what you selectively choose to read and hear.

Yeah, I'm sure Brenly calling out players during the telecast doesn't have anything to do with the fact that they were doing something that they shouldn't have been called out for. One instance that was mentioned earlier was the Rizzo getting doubled off last week while not paying attention. Did anybody actually watch the game? Len and Bob sounded disgusted when it happened and were speechless. Is it possible they didn't dwell on it because he had only been with the Cubs for 30+ games and hadn't made similar mistakes? I'm surprised so many people also missed Bob railing on Theriot time after time for trying to hit too many balls in the air for HR's instead of sticking to his game. Or Tony Campana for sliding head first into first base. This week he railed on Shark relentlessly when he broke a bat over his knee after striking out, calling it "stupid" and going on about how selfish and immature it was. He was all over bad Randy Wells for not pitching in the zone and questioning whether he listened or not. He has not been kind to Volstad, the list goes on... But, hey, have at, continue to selectively listen to games and pick and choose portions you want to hear.

Grace run out of town? They offered him another contract and he took less to go to Arizona. Sandberg can't get a contract because he isn't fit for the job, but the idiots still think he should have it. They offered Grace a contract? It is true that he played for less with the Diamondbacks in 2001 than he made with the Cubs in 2000, but the reason he took less was because the Cubs declined to tender him a contract.

Remember that time Zambrano retired because he was having a bad season, abandoning the team, without coming back? Remember when he wouldn't stop showing up opponents with a dance move on the field? What about when he kept taking out younger players on binge drinking session before day games? Or the time he choked his manager? Punched a concession vendor? Oh wait, those were beloved, untouchable white players. If you can't see it, it's only because you don't want to see it. Are all of these examples of acts by the same player? To claim that Zambrano's criticism was related to one dumb/misguided event is false.

My kid is a huge Soriano fan, so maybe I am biased and try to block out the bad stuff, but could you please cite some examples of people pouncing over "anything and everything he does wrong since he got here"? I admit I do not have the best memory, but it seemed that most of the media members went to great lengths to talk about how hard he works and how great of a guy he is. For example, when Felix Pie was brought up, there were stories all over the place that Soriano (being the great guy that he was) let him live at his house and took him under his wing etc. I have heard several TV analyst fawn over Soriano and his work ethic. There may be a few members of the media that have been tough on him but by and far, Soriano was very well liked and a very popular player until his production slipped in relation to his salary. Once his legs started to slow down and his production dipped the criticism came from some circles and fans started being more critical of him.

Different standard than what? In regard to the Rizzo mistake, he has only been with the team for 40 games. I challenge you to go back to Castro's first year and find an instance within 40 days where the media ganged up on him and ripped him for making a mental error. Although they are near the same age, the book on Starlin Castro is much bigger than Rizzo, so to compare their treatment by the media is misguided. I'm pretty sure that 2 years from now, if Rizzo started to stuggle and the the manager started calling out Rizzo for his work ethic, and he was frequently making stupid mistakes and even caught on national television looking at the outfield/scoreboard while the pitcher was delivering the ball the media would be all over him. Hopefully we don't get to find out. As far as Soriano goes, he is held to a different standard based on his salary and his leadership status more than anything else. Why shouldn't the fans/club/media expect more from a guy that is making almost 45 times more than the league minimum player? Fortunately/unfortunately for Soriano he had several years of being revered before most realized how bad his contract was and he couldn't produce in line with his salary. Are some fans and media members racist? No doubt, but it is trumped up more here than anywhere. Does anybody remember the treatment by the media that Rich Hill got because he was deemed too aloof and lazy etc? Randy Wells partied too hard and didn't have a good work ethic, according to himself and the media. The fans and media were relentless against Mark Prior, who probably experienced the worst treatment of any player in recent history.

I can't see a team being willing to pay a 100% tax/penalty on a significant amount of money (anything 15% over pool) and forfeiting their first rounder just to take a gamble on some amateur talent.

This should help him pass through waivers unclaimed.

I think Vitters is a goner. The fact they're not going to play him everyday seems to indicate they're trying to ease him into a big league role, or more likely, that they want to keep his numbers as healthy as possible for trade reasons. You could be right, but I think we need to wait and see how they actually use Vitters. Isn't it possible that Sveum was pushing for Vitters to get called up, and wants to work with him on defense prior to giving him the majority of the playing time?

There is no excuse for a team with the resources of the Cubs to purposefully try to be terrible to improve their team. Theo even acknowledges that with the new CBA the only advantage is teams that scout better(or as you term "draft better").

And he failed miserably at that job. The only thing that Hendry failed miserably at was winning a WS. If you judge his success by playoff appearances, he was in the top 1/3 of GMs from the NL during his tenure with the Cubs. Too many peaks and valleys. Hendry could spend money, but he was awful at organization building. Top tier GMs build clubs that sustain success (Yankees, Red Sox, Braves, Cardinals), not winning in fits and starts bridged by periods of being awful. Hendry's tenure mas marked by too much living in the moment, too few contingency plans and too little long term planning. And, to be fair, a solid dose of bad luck. At the end of the day, it's hard to regard Hendry as anything other than a mediocre GM. That is not accurate at all. Hendry's teams had more playoff appearances during his tenure than all but 4 teams in the NL. That is not mediocre. Hendry was definitely an all in type gambler, but it was nice to know that every year he was going for it. With the payroll and resources the Cubs have, there is no excuse for fielding a team as bad as this year's team. I realize what Theo and Jed are trying to do, but they were not honest when they talked about a "dual fronts" approach to rebuilding. The team had more than enough resources to field a respectable team, but instead went cheap and got what they paid for. Every person who knew even a little bit about baseball knew that they weren't trying to win this year. I just hope next year, the front office makes an attempt at improving the major league club.

And he failed miserably at that job. The only thing that Hendry failed miserably at was winning a WS. If you judge his success by playoff appearances, he was in the top 1/3 of GMs from the NL during his tenure with the Cubs.

Approved? How much money is headed Braves way?

Holy [expletive]. Good or bad? Vizcaino is 21, recovering from Tommy John surgery and hasn't pitched even 100 innings in any of his previous 4 seasons in the minors. Angel Guzman part 2? Angel Guzman had shoulder issues (did he not?), TJS has a good success rate for recovery, and pitchers' elbows are often stronger once they return from it at 100%. Vizcaino is/was one of their golden arms prior to his TJS He had it all torn labrum surgery in 2003, TJS in 2007. I'm sure I'm leaving something out.

Holy [expletive]. Good or bad? Vizcaino is 21, recovering from Tommy John surgery and hasn't pitched even 100 innings in any of his previous 4 seasons in the minors. Angel Guzman part 2?

I'm sure we will never hear the full story, but Dempster has lost quite a bit of the good will that he had built up with the fans over the years. It is unfortunate that the Atlanta trade leaked prior to be finalized.

Were the rumors that he added velocity true? Or is he still high 80's?

Sanders still sporting a .532/.690/1.222 line in AZ. I realize he is old for the league, but they need to call him up and challenge him soon.

It makes sense if you get a good return, but to get rid of him for nothing is dumb. It is not like Soriano is blocking anybody or taking playing time away from a prospect. With the payroll next year standing where it is, there is no reason the team should not be able to pick up some free agents and compete.

I think it just says they are hedging their bets. Until recently Vitters wasn't doing anything to impress, but now he has been hitting, showing more patience etc. I think the new regime's philosophy regarding patience has been good for Vitters so far.

Curse you, CUBZ99!! Oops