CUBZ99

Both had no future with the Cubs. I don't see what the big deal is.

Your idea of a good 4th or 5th starter is very unrealistic. Trachsel is coming to give the Cubs another option down the stretch, not be the ace of the staff.

How do you figure? It was 4.02 coming into today and he gave up 4 ERs in 3.6 IP ONly 1ER rest are unearned.

Pat and Ron seem to think there is going to be a 6 man rotation also. Is there an injury that nobody knows about? Common sense would tell you that you would want your best pitchers on the mound as frequently as possible, not spread their starts out even further.

I wouldn't mind an extension if it is cheap. Kendall is one guy on the team that is easy to root for. That being said, with Soto's rise, there is no way that Hendry goes into the season with 3 catchers, and with Blanco signed, that leaves Kendall as the odd man out.

Trachs would be good insurance as a long man/spot starter from the pen.

Vitters 1 - 3 so far tonight with a BB, 2K's and a SB.

*****

Not to nit pick, but Mench made the final out. I don't have a problem with the Cubs pitching around Fielder. A single by any player would have likely tied the game. There was an open base, and it created a force at every base.

Who is the Parra? Is he a soft tossing junk baller?

Didn't the best stretch of the season come when Soriano was red hot? If he gets hot again he has the ability to carry the team into the postseason.

Floyd looks like he needs a walker.

You make an interesting point. With the condition of the market and the cost for a pitcher, it seems possible that if Marquis reverts back to '06 form, there will still be some team that would take him off the Cubs hands. Lets hope that Marquis has a good year for the Cubs and earns his money next year.

I would think so. By the way, I've read a lot of comments that the Cubs would like to see Vitters get up to Boise (they finish a week after Mesa and they have a chance at the playoffs too). I think the Cubs will change their mind on that given how Vitters struggled in Mesa. yeah someone said something about that but doesn't look too good. He's batting what .045 or something with 3 errors? 30 AB: .067/.094/.067, 1 BB : 9 K, 3 errors. He supposedly hasn't played since June which hopefully explains a lot of his struggles. What would be the possible benefit of getting him a week in Boise. Maybe it is the same theory they had with Shark. :lol: Heck, it couldn't hurt anything to give him a week at Boise. If he did well, it would give him a boost going into next year. If he did poorly, they would just say he is rusty and he will be ready next year.

Oh, I'd definitely agree. I probably still would have played it closer to the way you suggest than the way Yost played it. I actually put no stock in the 4 AB's against Linebrink-that's so few at-bats that one hard hit out that falls for a double changes the statistics all the way. The 10 at-bats is a little more statistically significant only because of the extra base hits. If Jacque had been 4/10 with 4 singles, then it could just be passed off as luck. 2 HR's and a double could still be mostly lucky pitches, but it's a lot less likely. Also, there are about 3 Cubs who the Brewers would really love to save that situational left-hander for (4 if you count Pie). With Jones having great numbers against Shouse, even in a limited number of at-bats, it just wasn't the right time to use him, especially after Linebrink entered the game which meant the Brewers probably would have had to use 3 relievers to get out of the 7th if they brought in Shouse. Like I said, I wouldn't have played it the way Yost did, but I don't think it's completely cut and dry that he's wrong either. Wouldn't this have been the equivalent of having Marquis in the game with a 2 run lead? If the Cubs were in the same situation, most of us would have been begging Lou to get Marmol in there after the Floyd AB. I think Yost played it the way he should have. It is easy to second guess his decisions now, but Linebrink was acquired for those exact situations. He just failed to come through last night.

Better than a K. Now lets get some runs.

Who is the idiot that booked Ueker to sing the 7th inning stretch. Nice guy, but terrible idea to let him go out and get booed like that.

wow come on man. Its not like it matters when your offense cant score He's now given up 3 runs in less than 5 innings and we're already blaming the offense? 3 runs in 5 innings is garbage. If Zambrano did this, they would be ripping him alive too. Not to mention the run Hill cost, because he couldn't get the bunt down.

and then watches another go for a called strike 3. :x This is getting real old. Take the bat off your shoulder.

Why not Piggy? He seems like the guy that is least likely to be needed during the playoffs. Sending him down for a couple days wouldn't put that much of a strain on the staff considering the off day yesterday. If its between Murton and Pie, I got to guess Murton. With Monroe on the team, and Lou's apparent dislike of Murton, he seems like the easy choice.

why? Not sure if this is a serious question or not. Generally, it has to do with who has the last opportunity to win the game. If you play it safe at home and get a tie, you guarantee yourself another opportunity to bat. I think the point is why ever play for a tie? No team ever plays to finish the game in a tie. But, there are some situations where you might play it safe to ensure at least a tie, instead of going for the big inning and getting nothing.

why? Not sure if this is a serious question or not. Generally, it has to do with who has the last opportunity to win the game. If you play it safe at home and get a tie, you guarantee yourself another opportunity to bat.

Nice line for Shark. Good to see all those Ground balls and it seems like he is starting to get a few more K's.

I knew someone would respond like this. Almost word for word of the sarcastic remark I expected. But my post was not to dog Hendry for not getting him. There were plenty of reasons not to: injury history, past chemistry problems, and in light of the Barrett situation earlier this year, it was a long shot. The point of my post was to show that what I was saying in July that this was a high reward, low risk signing worth taking and that it has turned out that Bradley has turned in the best possible result so far. There is no way that Hendry would add a me-first guy like Bradley into the middle of a playoff contending team.

why? that is a valid commentary.