halplm

Well, that's crazy talk! Only someone with a Baseball IQ over say, 12 would come up with that idea!

I haven't been disappointed in a Cubs loss for some time now, as ever loss makes it more likely that Baker is fired, but it's very depressing to have to try and pull for a lineup like this. I don't hope they lose, but I won't be disappointed if they do. Maybe Neifi and Macias will go 0-10 in a victory where Aramis hits a couple of solo home runs... Of course Baker would probably still give them credit...

That is actually unbelievable. Not "unbelievable" in the sense of shocked it could be that linup. It's just not believable a manager could put that linup out there for a major league game.

Baseball never gives anyone a chance. Why do you think they recycle the same failures over and over.

How is this style attributed to Homer and not Rocky!? Because Rocky actually did hit back... Homer didn't.

Hadn't thought of it that way... I suppose if you give up enought runs in game one, they'd be so tired of runnign the bases they'd be pushovers in the rest of the series... Of course, we'd be terrible at that, what with our pitchers getting all those outs...

My thoughts exactly. While it's great we have a chance to come back... it's also entirely possible we'll be highly embarrased... and being embarrased by the Cards is not my idea of a good time. We have 14 games left with the Cards. If we won ALL 14 OF THEM, we'd only be up a game and a half. 14 games is not enough any more...

Felipe Alou, I think, is one of the most overrated managers in the game. Not as overrated as Baker... even now, when everyone says he's terrible ;)

Nope. Feel free to blame many things on Baker, but Patterson isn't one of them. Patterson's problem is Patterson. He hasn't listened effectively to any coach, and hasn't made many positive adjustments in 2 years. Sure there is this clash of want between Baker and Patterson regarding where he hits in the lineup, but that falls on Patterson's shoulders. It is irritating to hear a player as young as he, without the credentials, staking his claim to a particular spot in the lineup. It further shows he does not listen. No, I don't buy this at all. Yes, he shouldn't stake a claim on a spot, but when he is so obviously being misused, and then fails at it... that's on the Manager. Corey has never been a leadoff guy. He's never been a number 2 guy. He has ALWAYS been a 6th or 7th spot guy. As for Hairston being dumb.... He still gets on base. It's up to the Manager and coaches to make sure he keeps his head in the game. They know their team, they have to know it's strengths and and solve it's weaknesses. If Hairston is missing signs that's unacceptable, but that doesn't mean he should be benched and complained about to the media...

Alou is not the answer for this team at all. I don't know who is, but it's not Alou.

We're loaded with tons of talent? :scratch: I'd say there is tons of talent. Productivity and talent are not he same thing. Some of the most talented players in the game aren't all that productive. They have physical gifts that allow them to do things others cannot, but they don't consistently utilize those talents in a productive manner. If you ask me, that defines the Cubs. Corey is talented as heck, just not productive. Zambrano, Prior, Wood, Lee, Ramirez, Dempster and Barrett have enough talent to measure up against the best in the game. They just don't all produce to their talent level on a consistent basis, or maximize their abilities. Which is SUPPOSED to be what Baker is good at. Although I've never seen it, and I watched him for years with the Giants.

Ok, I've been seeing lots of talk about Hairston missing signs. Is this actually the case, or is that an excuse Baker is throwing around? That said, do we know it was actually Hairston's fault, or could it have been Bakers, or whoever was relaying the signs from Baker? I'm not saying he didn't miss any signs, as I've been too busy to follow the games recently, but it sounds an awful lot like Baker's typical mentally challenged reasonings for not playing the better player when it matters. I've been a long-time Hendry supporter, as I think his hands were somewhat tied dealing with Sosa last offseason. Yeah, he "hoped" the team would pull together, gel, and be a contender, but there was reason for him to think that was possible. So I've backed him, even though I think Baker is trash. However, that's rapidly changing. He's backing his man Baker WAY too much. Maybe that's just for the press, and Baker will be on his way out, but I've started thinking Hendry is blind to Baker's oh so obvious faults. Maybe he has his reasons for sticking with Baker that aren't apparent yet, but I don't see them. Until I do, I'm going to have to switch to being anti-Hendry and Baker. If Hendry fires Baker and doesn't try to fill gaps with short term solutions in a vain attempt to win this year, then I'll start to believe in him a bit more. The man seems to make really good deals sometimes. As for Baker. I wanted to comment specifically on Patterson. I personally think Baker is responsible for Patterson's very negative turnaround. Baker has been hard on Patterson publicly, and there is evidence it is privately as well. Patterson's complete lack of discipline at the plate is partly a result of the "no walks" mentality that Baker is very much a fan of. Before he got hurt, Patterson was starting to turn that around, and he took walks, and was improving on his strikeouts. Since he's come back, Baker's influence is obvious, and Patterson is probably trying to gain Baker's approval by playing the game HIS way, when he should play it his OWN way, or be coached by someone that will help him improve. Baker should go first, Hendry not too far behind, but Patterson should stay, and Hairston should play every day.

Thats a good reason. If a baseball team were run like a real business, this would be cause for firing the manager. There is no excuse. None. It's just the wrong thing to do.

Sorry but I just don't believe this. Maybe fans can feel better about the losses knowing that some effort to allow the future has taken place, but to state as fact that the team would have more wins just by replacing professional bench players with farm callups is very far-fetched. I don't mean replacing all of them. I was going to say "what we have on our team..." but I don't think several of the players on this team would BE on this team with another manager...

After Smoltz we face 3 lefties in a row, so Ronny should finally see some time. As much as he's sat, there's no excuse not to start him in all 3 games. After watching this season I have come to despise the concept of calling up rookies just to face lefties. Since when do you platoon your starting shortstop based on righty/lefty matchups? LF I can see, SS no. Injuries are the only reason Dusty still has his job. Which is especially bad, because Dusty just doesn't know what too do to replace the starter he was going to have... Injuries are his excuse, but a better manager could have won more with what we have in our system...

I still don't see why Baker is the only problem on this team. Barrett sucks (4-46), so a new manager is going to get him to be better? Patterson sucks right now, so a new manager is going to get him to play better? Hairston misses signs and runs the bases poorly. A new manager is going to change that? Maddux has a 5+ERA. A new manager is going to change that? Burnitz turns into Moises Alou on the bases. A new manager is going to change that? Baker is part of the problem, but don't kid yourself into thinking that the players have nothing to do with the record and poor play. Dusty's strength is supposed to be his relationships with players, but he's shown this is not at all the case with ALL players, just "his boys." Personally, I blame Dusty almost entirely for Patterson's drop in production. They've never gotten along, and Dusty treats him like a 10 year old. Maddux is performing just as I would have expected him to... good but not great. Barrett would be better served with better lineup management, and missing signs and bad base running can be blamed ENTIRELY on the coaching staff. Baker is the root of it all. Any winning they've done since he got here is in spite of him, not because of him. It's all spiraling downhill, though, and he's dragging the whole team down at the same time. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity for a manager firing followed by a big winning streak... As long as someone is put in there that knows how to fill out a lineup card that makes any type of sense. The players are not without blame, but the manager is responsable for getting the players to play to their potential, and I think we all agree the potential of these players is much higher than their performance... Well, aside from Dusty's boys...

There are two reasons this season has been a failure to this point. Dusty Injuries Every single problem can be traced to one of those two reasons, IMO. That, and the Injuries are made a much bigger problem because of Dusty's inability to deal with the roster to replace injured players...

this team, cannot win, with Baker as the manager. Until he is removed, my Kool-aid is safely locked away in the basement fridge...

Best post I've seen around here in a long time, Iceblink.

Oh I thought this thread just became redundant. I mean, it's far easier to keep track of his GOOD moves... as there are so few...

The red light that patterson apparently has is one of the worst things going this year, adn there's a lot of bad stuff. you can't tell me that he's deciding not to steal on his own... burnitz, now, he should always have the green light...

The whole point of the Neifi argument was that he was starting over Hairston and taking playing time away from a supposedly better player. Now that Nomar is out and Neifi is the only option what would be the point? What other choice is there but to play him every day at short? Even the biggest Cub farm system booster could not say that they feel Cedeno is ready to play every day at the big league level. Yes, the argument was that he shouldn't play of hairston... now the argument really is... he shouldn't be batting higher than 8th. And in a short while, as his average continues to plummet from it's abnormal high... the argument WILL be that cedeno should play every day...

is there even any point any more?

If Hendry wants any chance to salvage this year, he needs to fire Baker NOW. Not later, not at the all star break, not when the team is 20 games back... NOW. It's not just that he doesn't position the team to win... he actively puts the team in a position to lose...

I have decided, there is no understanding Dusty. It's just not possible. If I had the power, I would declare this a law of the Universe. When you recognize that, it kind of becomes amusing to see the stuff he does... at least when the Cubs still win... and as long as you're not Chad Fox... I will say this, it's obvious that Chad was going to have this injury. Even if he shouldn't have played, or shouldn't have still been out there. As the closer, there would be some situation where he would try to get that "something extra" to get a guy out, and this would have happened. The closer is expected to go any night they need him, obviously Chad couldn't do that, and I say it's better we found that out now, rather than later.