Shilzzz

what's the score? what's going on?

go ronny! he had me worried for a minute.

Well like somone said the line didnt look to good, but he was throwing some good stuff. I think Guzman is ahead of him for the 5th starter. His curve and change were filthy. His fastball looked straight. The times he worked it down in the zone, he did well. He gave up some ropes on fastballs that he left up in the zone. I'd take Guzman or Marshall ahead of him as fifth starter, but I'd also have no qualms about using him out of the pen. so, are you in az? Watching the game on the tube. No, I'm in Louisiana. Had some great boiled crawfish last night. :) how do you have it on tv? i miss louisiana. glad i did move away from n.o. before katrina though.

Well like somone said the line didnt look to good, but he was throwing some good stuff. I think Guzman is ahead of him for the 5th starter. His curve and change were filthy. His fastball looked straight. The times he worked it down in the zone, he did well. He gave up some ropes on fastballs that he left up in the zone. I'd take Guzman or Marshall ahead of him as fifth starter, but I'd also have no qualms about using him out of the pen. so, are you in az?

i can see alot of the same reasoning in this thread that dusty is using to keep grissom.

yeah, that's real good to see no walks, seems like hill's been much more calm the last couple outings

12 pages in it's only the third inning? my my.

Jeff Culpepper 24th Rd Pick 2004. Probably start season at West Tenn... Gonzaga U. anything special?

who is j culpepper? was carlos' outing as bad as the box score looks?

How old was Z when he came up and stayed on the Cubs? How much experience in the minors did he have? I'd like to see one of these kids get into the rotation. true. but even then, who was thought of to be the real prospect and the relief guy between he and cruz?

thank you for that, fred! i didn't realize pagan had hit 3 homeruns. it would be a crime for grissom to make the team over him. ramirez looks good too.

but that's it. i don't know if we had still had dontrelle willis, that he'd be on the team right now. i thought it was try to play the best player everytime, not the best player in that position in the lineup. if that were the philosophy, sean marshall is that player right now.

anybody got a box score?

i read that last line as: the cubs are dead, even on their record this spring.

how is joe morgan not in your 'announcers to punch'?

anyone think marshall has a shot at the 5th spot?

what inning is it in? has it been exciting baseball(other than hearing joe morgan, of course)?

He's a righty. It still surprises me considering Grissom, Restovich, and Pagan are all battling. He has power but his OBP is horrible. so basically he's a guy the cubs will try to get?

is he a lefty or righty? he'd probably be a good platoon in right if he hit right handed.

I'm not sure if I am reading your post the right way, but Baker was criticized in SF for pulling his starting pitchers too soon and burning up his pen. I think that criticism coupled with the less than stellar bullpen performance has, in a way, contributed to the ills in the pitching department (i.e, overuse of both the SP and select bullpen arms). so because he pulled his starters too soon in sf our starters are overworked? i don't know if i understand what you are getting at. if baker actually knew how to utilize a bullpen(im sure its also rothschild) - ie the overuse of remlinger vs lefties when he was obviously terrible/ keeping hawkins in the closer role, etc etc - then he probably wouldn't have to leave the starters in the game for so long for fear of the bullpen not producing. the bullpen doesn't work if you don't use it right(or left, depending on who's at bat ;)

You're not butting in, this isn't a two person conversation. I think Hendry hired the wrong one, Baker needs a certain type of team to excel, he had that in SF w/Sabean. That's not a knock on Hendry, b/c I prefer Hendry's outline better than Sabean's, despite Sabean having the better track record. But, Hendry should've been cautious on how Baker ran Bill Swift into the ground, Van Landingham as well, how Estes was overworked and had his FB go from the mid 90s to the upper 80s under Baker. Baker's track record of overworking pitchers was clear and was probably my #1 complaint of Baker, he's not a very good in-game manager either. So, yes if you believe that Baker has hurt the Cubs more than helped them, some blame goes to Hendry despite the glossy appeal of Baker. How much? I don't think that much. yeah, i remember around the time of the hiring, there were alot of people on the cubs.com forum(back then it was alot of us and less what it is today) saying that he wasn't the right guy for the reasons we dislike him now. but hendry wanted him from the get go, he said several times during the interview process after the 2002 season that he wanted to interview some people still in the playoffs, and when baker wasn't reupped by the giants he had this job just as quick. but i mean, you could tell it wasn't going to work from day one. he(dusty) was notorious for not playing rookies or youngsters and the innings he put on starters was partly covered up by livan hernandez and jason schmidt iirc; and hendry and the cubs brass, at the time, were trying to build from the farm system up. it's funny to me that since bakers hiring, hendry has focused almost exclusively on veterans(giving them HORRIBLE contracts), and changed his whole player evaluations around what baker wants. i just think that if hendry was truely savvy, he would have seen this and went in another direction(wasn't the current brewers manager interviewed? he has done well with that team and their limited budget, imo).

not to butt in but how much blame for the injuries of the staff and poor decision making on the field go to hendry via baker? baker was who he is before he got here and it was evident in san fransisco.

anyone know the haps on the craps in this game?

for what it's worth, i'm with you.

I must've missed something... why do you say that? Nothing happened. Grissom was 1 for 3. I just thinks he wants Grissom elimated from making the team... yeah. i may be wrong, but i think there are a few that would be more productive and deserve it over grissom. Grissom needs to learn when to let go, he is barely effective anymore and is just holding a roster spot hostage from a young guy trying to break through to the pros. I mean isnt it enough that he was at one time a good established pro but now he had to accept a non-invite st roster spot??? Then again I would probably try to hang on to long as well, cant beat getting up everyday and playing some baseball...but still! am i the only one real suspicious about older players that perform and the scarlet "s"? is it bad that i assume like that? most people that are mediocre in their peak, don't stay as good as mediocre in the late 30's, early 40's i don't think