vance_the_cubs_fan

No votes for the senior citizens??? Has Fred voted yet? :lol:

Ha ha!

This is ridiculous. Mark Prior is under no obligation to make positive contributions to your emotional wellbeing. We'll see how he feels when he doesn't get a Christmas card from me this year. :roll: Seriously I'm not going to cry myself to sleep. I guess I value loyalty more than most people. It's not like the Cubs were going to give him league minimum. I value loyalty to, but Prior doesn't owe me one damn thing, not does he owe you a damn thing. The fact that you or anyone else figures you are entitled to loyalty from Prior is laughable and absurd. The fact is, loyalty is a 2-way street. And the Cubs didn't exactly show Prior much. If you total the money spent on Prior from draft until now, we got our money's worth in 2003 alone. The system in baseball basically screws the player from draft until their arbitration years. After that the advantage starts to shift to the player. Many players long for free agency because it gives them a choice of their workplace and other conditions that most of us have all the time. I'm not going to make it sound like being a baseball player is a bad deal. Hardly from it, but I'm also not going to begrudge one because he chooses to take his work location, etc into his own hands. You talk about loyalty. And certainly, there are some fans who stuck by Prior through it all, but my guess is many of these same fans would not be willing to pay him millions next season if he didn't return until August and had a 6.50 ERA when he did. I'm sure if the Cubs offered Prior a guaranteed 2 year 13 million deal, he would have taken it. That's 3.5 million for this year and 9.5 that a pitcher of his caliber who is healthy might get in free agency. But of course, we didn't do that because there is the risk he won't be a valuable asset in 2009. The Cubs wanted insurance, and frankly I don't blame them. But if they were loyal to Prior, they could have made him such an offer. My guess is if they had guaranteed a market value second year, Prior would have taken it.

I used to think the early Kenny Lofton might be a good comparison, but I doubt he'll ever get on base that much. I really think we might be lucky to get Lonnie Smith like production out of him. If he can produce Lonnie Smith age 25-27 level production, we'll be ok.

Ha ha!

Some of the vitriol against Prior in this thread is comical indeed. I think a few things are clear. Prior wasn't happy in Chicago. We may not be privy to all the reasons for that, but the indications are he wanted out. On the other hand, no one should be mad at Prior. Mad at the situation? sure. However, Prior did not choose to end the relationship. The Cubs did. Had the Cubs wanted Prior around, they could have tendered a contract. To the Cubs, the risk Prior would leave as a free agent without providing value on the one year was too great. Why should Prior have taken a 2-year deal? Did it make sense for him to do? In his mind, getting to free agency had value. For him, it was a chance to choose where he would practice his profession. Considering all the crap he's taken in Chicago, I really can't blame him. Should he not attempt to find a better situation because you bought his jersey? Ha ha ha ha! That's great, really. Anyone who thinks that players owe us much of anything need a reality check.

And there go the Bears....

The Astros are a team that could take a risk on him. They have a hole the size of Jason Whitlock in their rotation. One thing the Astros can promise Prior is that whenever he feels ready to return to the majors, their will be a spot in the rotation. That was one more thing the Cubs could not commit to. I don't like this either, but it isn't surprising. My guess is the deal will offer Prior a low base like 1.5-2 million and then incentive levels based on the number of starts he makes. The risk/reward makes more sense for a team like the Astros because they don't have any better options. If it's only a one year, I'm not going to be too upset. I still don't think he pitches before June 1, and it's not likely he helps the Astros much this year.

While Cameron won't receive the "Walker" treatment, Barrett might.

My brother the Saints fan is hoping the Bears win.

Who's Mark Buerhle?

Shockey is out with a fractured leg. That's going to hurt the Giants in the playoffs.

I can't get stat tracker to load. I'm not sure if it's a Yahoo issue or an issue with my computer.

Every team penn state or philly plays against gets all the calls. Life must be rough, what with all these league administrators and referees plotting against you. hey i recall one of the lions players getting flagged for spiking the ball after a play last week. just odd that when julius jones did it, there wasn't the same call. Romo was flagged for it last week as well.

Every team penn state or philly plays against gets all the calls. Life must be rough, what with all these league administrators and referees plotting against you. :lol:

Ha ha...Feeley sucks even on the sideline! :lol:

Are you getting emotional watching McNabb's last three starts as an Eagle before the Kolb era begins?

http://celebworld.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/jessica-simpson-picture-1.jpg

Well that was an interesting turn of events....

I would have liked to have seen these names... Albert Pujols Lance Berkman Craig Biggio Jeff Bagwell Jim Edmonds Bronson Arroyo Brad Ausmus Ryan Freel

I doubt the casual poster knows what MPC stands for If the casual poster doesn't look at his signature you may be right. I have sigs blocked. The board is a lot less cluttered that way.

It's an absolute travesty and an injustice. It shows how petty and vindictive some baseball people can be. Bowie Kuhn? Give me a break. Buck O'Neil also got shafted. Marvin Miller did more to change the game in the second half of the 20th Century than anybody. And ever since the changes Miller championed were put into place, the owners' revenues' skyrocketed. Right, so baseball people from all sorts benefited from Miller yet they won't put him in. Bruce, have you written or are you going to write a piece about your take on the whole steroid bit. I'd be interested to know your opinion. Also, do you have a HOF vote? I do have a HOF vote. I have not yet written anything about the issue yet. I may after the first of the year when the announcement is made about the class currently on the ballot. Since you have a HOF vote, can I make a case for you to mark Tim Raines on your ballot? You can but you don't need to. I'm voting for him. Awesome! Are you planning on writing an article where you discuss the players you're voting for?

While this trade is probably in the Astros favor, it's still a bad trade for them. Wade gave up more trade chips without improving a starting rotation that is Roy Oswalt and pray for four days of rain. Considering they have a retractable roof, that might not work out very well for them. The Astros current rotation is Oswalt, W. Williams, Backe, and A Fish Called Wandy. The fifth spot is unfilled, and in the Tejada trade they traded away the two most viable candidates for it. So, even if Valverde is a light's out closer for the Astros, how many chances will he get in games not started by Oswalt? If the Astros were going to package their best available bullpen arm along with Burke, they should have aimed at someone to improve their rotation.

It's an absolute travesty and an injustice. It shows how petty and vindictive some baseball people can be. Bowie Kuhn? Give me a break. Buck O'Neil also got shafted. Marvin Miller did more to change the game in the second half of the 20th Century than anybody. And ever since the changes Miller championed were put into place, the owners' revenues' skyrocketed. Right, so baseball people from all sorts benefited from Miller yet they won't put him in. Bruce, have you written or are you going to write a piece about your take on the whole steroid bit. I'd be interested to know your opinion. Also, do you have a HOF vote? I do have a HOF vote. I have not yet written anything about the issue yet. I may after the first of the year when the announcement is made about the class currently on the ballot. Since you have a HOF vote, can I make a case for you to mark Tim Raines on your ballot?

ah there's that dallas cowboy arrogance again... good to have a real team to hate again (the dave campo cowboys were hard to hate because they were so inept) Yes, it is nice to be back in our rightful place after those years.