Sosa21MVP

Go Jacque!!!!!!

Too soon to judge the guy. Besides he his one of my boys who played for the Fort Wayne Wizards. Yeah Latroy Hawkins played here too. But I've got nothing against Latroy I think he would have been fine if used as properly as a setup man rather than closing. Just looked at his career numbers, meh. Nothing too thrilling there. Obviously his batting average has decline rapidly the past two seasons. Oh, Matt Lawton is another ex-Wizard/Twin. Back to the point, I like Murton and Pierre a lot. Not so hot on Jones but maybe this Pie kid will get a chance to play this season. That or Hendry deals for one at the deadline. Time will tell. In the meantime, I don't expect much patience from the natives they get restless quickly now in Chicago. :wink:

Grissom retired. Thanks! :)

Drink.....heavily. :wink: No, but I understand. I used to be the same way about all of my teams but I guess after about 20 years of being a serious fan, I've learned to not take it all so seriously. Having said that, I still don't think I have allowed the reality of the 2003 NLCS to sink in. :? The ups and downs are part of what makes it great to be a fan. It makes you feel alive one way or the other. But if a game really gets you down, I've always felt like the best thing is don't dwell on it at all. Go out, do something. Play a videogame, watch a movie, anything but think about it!

I did not watch every game last season but Neifi Perez played well enough that I don't mind him as a bench guy who starts here and there. Of course, I did preface that statement by stating I did not see every game. :wink: At least, I'd do him a favor and rank him above Lenny Harris, DeShields and Jose Macias. :lol: Don't we have Marquis Grissom on the club this season? Is he washed up or does he have anything left? Tomorrow will be the first game I can actually watch, thank gawd for that!!!! 8)

I think there is always a need to evaluate each game in a careful manner because if there are some negative things that happen I don't think you want to let the win gloss over aspects of the game that could have been done better or need to improve. Yeah, it is opening day but I don't mind seeing people analyze both the good and the bad. The key is to make sure the same negatives do not continue to duplicate themselves over the course of the season and become trends which could hurt the team at critical junctures during the stretch run. And yes, I know my username is outdated. :lol: Haven't been here much since 2003.

I'm an optimistic man but I think the Cubs time was 2003 and they messed it up. Imagine...Cubs in '03, Red Sox in '04, White Sox in '05. Haven't seen anything quite like that since the Rangers and Red Wings won back to back years in the NHL to end epic droughts.

I know, with such a bold title people will expect extremely witty and insightful observation. Well be prepared to be disappointed! 8) No but as a very silent member of the board and one who hasn't seen as much Cubs baseball as I'd like, now is the time I want to throw my thoughts against the wall and see what y'all think. Been a Cubs fan since 1986 and unwavering in my support and not completely jaded even after the 2003 NLCS meltdown; as 1984-esque as that may have been. I think the Jim Hendry has generally done a good job as GM. He has pulled off some trades that have excited the senses (even though the Lofton/Ramirez deal was looked upon with a negative eye at the time). And the Nomar trade at the brink the deadline last season was purely ANTI-CUB! I mean how often have the Cubs pulled out the last minute BIG DEAL even if it didn't end up pushing them over the top? I'll take a Nomar-type deadline deal over bringing about Felix Heredia and Matt Karchner ala 1998. Wow, 2 relief pitchers with 4+ ERAs!!!! WOOHOO! :roll: As my name indicates, a big Sosa fan. But it was time for him to go. And his struggles in Baltimore offer more proof of that than anything. So no bitterness there but my username shall remain because regardless of what anyone says about Sosa (steroids, corked bat, etc) the guy have me a lot of genuine joy as a Cub. Overall, I'd rank the likes of Ryno and Dawon's Army above Sammy on my favorite player totem poll but I'll choose to remember the good times. Currently, I feel like the Cubs have a good window of opportunity to become a pennant winner. The 2003 team will almost got there ahead of time. I think most of the pieces are in place. Enough pieces in place that a major overhaul or expenditure of money is not needed. Is Dusty holding back the process? Perhaps. I respect Dusty's body of work overall as a manager but also realize his shortcomings. Right now, we have about the best corner combo the Cubs could ever ask for in DLEE and ARAM. Barrett is solid behind the plate. So up the middle lies the infield question marks. Nomar is fragile enough to warrant much doubt about his future. Love Todd Walker but the Cubs could upgrade at 2B. Mainly I'd like to see stability at SS and I think the Cubs would be okay. But is Cedeno talented enough to start at SS in the near future? I won't pretend to know, just asking. So overall, I think the Cubs have more answers than questions on the infield. Outfield - here is where it gets tricky. Going into the season, I had CPatt marked down as a solid, reliable source of production. Now, I'm not sure. Kid has every tool in the world except one - the ability to read the strike zone. His wild flailing away at pitches nowhere near the strike zone bring about many evil thoughts! :evil: And the corner outfield positions have not been addressed adequately yet. I hated Moises Alou and his piss poor attitude and knew Sosa had to go. I could accept Dubois, Hollandsworth, Burnitz, etc as short-term gapstops until the better could be found, but now I'm not sure. We bring in the kid from Cleveland (Gerut) then deal him away for Lawton. I don't think Lawton is worth the salary he earns. I mean the guy is homegrown as in played for my hometown Fort Wayne Wizards and like many former Wizards (LaTroy Hawkins, AJ Pierzynski, Torii Hunter, Corey Koskie, Sean Burroughsetc) has made a decent MLB living but not really a guy who I think should be a starting corner OF on this team. Just my feeling. I love Matt Murton and want to see more of him. Starting pitching: Zambrano is the man. Prior too, although he has had mucho bad luck with injuries. Kerry Wood.....hate to say it but I don't think the guy will ever get over the injury bug. Maddux, just the crafty old veteran doing his thing, glad he could get win #300 and strikeout #3000 in the Cubbies blue. I think you have to build the starting rotation around Zambrano & Prior and not really count on Wood. Relievers: To me, middle relief is like the flavor of the week. Most middle relievers are guys not good enough to start or close so guess what? They become MIDDLE relievers and the fact their results fluctuate should not be too surprising. If they were THAT good, they would not be pitching the middle innings for a living IMO. My main concern is closer. Dempster seems to be doing an acceptable job. Personally, I think Wood could be a dominating closer ala John Smoltz the past couple years but like Smoltz, I don't see Kerry settling for that role. To me, the Cubs are maybe 2-3 players away from being a World Series contender. I think at least one of those players needs to be a corner OF, plus a healthy reliable 3rd starter behind Zambrano & Prior and then that last spot is up for grabs (middle INF, closer). What do you think? :?: :wink: