CuseCubFan69

Tennessee boys....this is the easiest schedule I can remember you guys having. Florida's is a bear.

I think it would be a win-win situation to get Ward some more AB's to keep him in a decent groove while getting Lee a little more rest. I'd like to see a start every 10 days or so for Ward.

My bad, Cuse. There was another story they had about how defense is the easiest part of the game to improve in and they talked about what a few players (Eric Chavez, Russell Martin, Michael Young, Joe Crede) have done to improve but that too is premium content. In Lee, the obvious was mentioned - his size and athleticism help him - which gives him an advantage over the Pujols and Heltons of the world. Lee says his biggest thing from the time he was with the Padres and on is hard work and repetition. Thanks raisin.

How is Ross defensively?

You have to be a BA guy to get that link raisin. Are there any interesting things about what Lee does defensively practice wise?

I love this. The guy obviously really likes being a Cub, working with these guys. How much is it going to cost us to keep him again? I'm not so sure this is a fluke season for him. He's been a good starter before this with Florida. I'd think very long and hard before letting him go. We'll see how much he likes being a Cub when they offer 8 schillings and the Yanks 13M a year. If the Cubs offer 10M and the Yankees offer 13M I think he's a Cub next year. If the difference is much more than that I'm skeptical. It's going to be interesting to see how much of a "discount" he gives the Cubs CFP. I think the amount of years might mean more to him as well.

I love this. The guy obviously really likes being a Cub, working with these guys. How much is it going to cost us to keep him again? I'm not so sure this is a fluke season for him. He's been a good starter before this with Florida. I'd think very long and hard before letting him go. We'll see how much he likes being a Cub when they offer 8 schillings and the Yanks 13M a year.

The point is 8 Dunns offensively but others have mentioned a team of Dunns as well as Master Blaster.

What about Uncle Charlie? Knee buckler or Outlaw!

I don't know SRS but all I can say is that Lenny Harris is Lenny Harris and Jim Edmonds is Jim Edmonds. Just because they both have played for a long time doesn't make them the same person and are not going to do or say the same things.

Why Tree? Because we can't put a number on it? I just don't get the need to quantify every little detail in baseball and if it can't be explained, it's a waste of time or hogwash. I don't know what kind of an effect it has and I'm sure at times none but I just don't see why certain things like this are so dismissed by people who need numbers. Honestly, not that this is you, but many posters act just like the people in baseball they hate the most (Joe M) and deny everything "Old school" just as he does the number crunchers. This debate just reminds me of Conservatives and Liberals and I just don't understand why some can't see a possibility of a middle road or even the others side. i don't think you get it. everyone admits that edmonds might have some knowledge he can pass on, just that the chance that it actually makes any kind of meaningful difference is so slim that it's not worth talking about. I agree that it's possible he won't make a bit of difference or minimal but I also don't know how much it could be either. It wasn't me that made a big deal out of this, I just responded to the posts.

First of all I didn't think it was a big deal when i mentioned it at the beginning of the post, it was just something I'd hoped he'd be able to do. But, wouldn't it be nice if he did give a tip and Ramirez got a hit? What if Rammy was struggling and Edmonds gave the tip, is it possible that might get him out of his rut? I never really thought saying Edmonds might help a teammate out would be such a big thing but for some reason it seems I touched a nerve with this. Heck IMB...even if it's one hit it would be worth it. How do we decide that it doesn't change things even a little?

Why Tree? Because we can't put a number on it? I just don't get the need to quantify every little detail in baseball and if it can't be explained, it's a waste of time or hogwash. I don't know what kind of an effect it has and I'm sure at times none but I just don't see why certain things like this are so dismissed by people who need numbers. Honestly, not that this is you, but many posters act just like the people in baseball they hate the most (Joe M) and deny everything "Old school" just as he does the number crunchers. This debate just reminds me of Conservatives and Liberals and I just don't understand why some can't see a possibility of a middle road or even the others side.

i worked at walmart and i had to set up a stack of diapers in this display and one of my managers came over and said "if you do this well, you might have a future in this business" and i got real nervous so i accidentally stacked it wrong and the diapers collapsed on an old woman and paralyzed her so what i guess im saying is that clutch exists and youre wrong if you believe otherwise It's amazing, not once did I mention clutch but yet you threw that one in there to suit your own needs. sorry, i get all the stupidity that people believe in confused sometimes I'm sure you do. what i should have said was that there is no way that jim edmonds is going to be a calming influence on anyone once the postseason starts. throwing out a bunch of useless hypotheticals is just wasting everyone's time. Well....I said he may be. I said for some players or maybe one but hey, keep thinking I said the whole team and he was going to 100% be able to calm them down and win the whole darn thing. Plus, he'll get the credit for it too and everyone will think he's the next Jeter. There you go, that's what you're getting out of what I wrote so run with it.

Is it possible that once Ramirez started to struggle he pressed even harder and thus struggled even more? Why is it so hard for the analytical to accept this possibility? The Cub players have a lot of pressure on them and I've read comments where they said they didn't want to disappoint the city or really want to break the jinx and possibly struggle a little more than usual because of it? Or, are you just going to come up with another lame joke? You've definitely got me beat in that department. So Jim Edmonds might be a calming influence because of his playoff experience, but Ramirez, Lee, and Soriano (among others) didn't calm their teammates or themselves in last year's playoffs with theirs, do I have that right? Further, why would Edmonds be immune to this so-called Cubs pressure? I didn't say he was. Sometimes it takes an outsider that has a different perspective to see things that a group of people that have been together haven't been able too. Why is Edmonds hitting the ball so well since he's been a Cub after struggling as a Card and Padre in the past couple of years? Is it just possible that a change of scenery and a chance to win mentally gave him a boost? I can't answer for those players you mentioned but all I've seen from them is that they are quiet, except for Sori. Players comment on this all the time but yet you think that it's voodoo. I'm certainly sure you know more than they do regarding what goes on in the Clubhouse and dugout. That still wouldn't answer why their own experience didn't help them calm themselves. It makes a lot more sense to me that they just had bad games, like they would at any other time. Talking about stuff like this, even if it's for the sake of discussion, is the precise reason why players get reputations as bad clutch players or playoff chokers. ARod has that reputation now. Barry Bonds used to, until he magically figured out how to hit in the playoffs. It's pointless speculation that leads people to wrong conclusions, and there's pretty much no way of knowing if there's anything to it whatsoever. Again David...you're going to the extreme. I believe a good hitter is a good hitter. I agree with the fact that players could have bad series and are still good hitters and are not "choke artists". I get that. These guys are not machines even though they seem to play like them sometimes. You don't think that another player has ever helped a teammate with a tip or some other bit of advice that helped them in a situation? I'm not saying since Edmonds is on the team Sori is going to hit 500 but it is possible that he may give a tip to help him in an AB or to get into a positive frame of mind if he is struggling. I don't know, but it just surprises me that so many of you are 100% positive that this is a false statement.

i worked at walmart and i had to set up a stack of diapers in this display and one of my managers came over and said "if you do this well, you might have a future in this business" and i got real nervous so i accidentally stacked it wrong and the diapers collapsed on an old woman and paralyzed her so what i guess im saying is that clutch exists and youre wrong if you believe otherwise It's amazing, not once did I mention clutch but yet you threw that one in there to suit your own needs. sorry, i get all the stupidity that people believe in confused sometimes I'm sure you do.

Speaking of, what are the rumors like about Greg Schiano? Aside from an internal hire, is he the front-runner that everyone says he is? Tony Sapprano said he ain't going nowhere. I think the Jersey people are worried about this one. He just singed a new deal and already there has been a big debate about his buyout for 2009.

i worked at walmart and i had to set up a stack of diapers in this display and one of my managers came over and said "if you do this well, you might have a future in this business" and i got real nervous so i accidentally stacked it wrong and the diapers collapsed on an old woman and paralyzed her so what i guess im saying is that clutch exists and youre wrong if you believe otherwise It's amazing, not once did I mention clutch but yet you threw that one in there to suit your own needs.

Is it possible that once Ramirez started to struggle he pressed even harder and thus struggled even more? Why is it so hard for the analytical to accept this possibility? The Cub players have a lot of pressure on them and I've read comments where they said they didn't want to disappoint the city or really want to break the jinx and possibly struggle a little more than usual because of it? Or, are you just going to come up with another lame joke? You've definitely got me beat in that department. So Jim Edmonds might be a calming influence because of his playoff experience, but Ramirez, Lee, and Soriano (among others) didn't calm their teammates or themselves in last year's playoffs with theirs, do I have that right? Further, why would Edmonds be immune to this so-called Cubs pressure? I didn't say he was. Sometimes it takes an outsider that has a different perspective to see things that a group of people that have been together haven't been able too. Why is Edmonds hitting the ball so well since he's been a Cub after struggling as a Card and Padre in the past couple of years? Is it just possible that a change of scenery and a chance to win mentally gave him a boost? I can't answer for those players you mentioned but all I've seen from them is that they are quiet, except for Sori. Players comment on this all the time but yet you think that it's voodoo. I'm certainly sure you know more than they do regarding what goes on in the Clubhouse and dugout.

The point is a lot of different things happen.

Is it possible that once Ramirez started to struggle he pressed even harder and thus struggled even more? Why is it so hard for the analytical to accept this possibility? The Cub players have a lot of pressure on them and I've read comments where they said they didn't want to disappoint the city or really want to break the jinx and possibly struggle a little more than usual because of it? Or, are you just going to come up with another lame joke? is it possible that he just had 11 bad at bats or whatever? (yes. yes it is.) I'm the one that isn't dealing in absolutes yet you felt compelled to call that out. I've been saying that there are a plethora of possibilities and it's possible that Edmonds may help some of the Cubs with his past history of success. Not, he will...it's just possible that he could. Could Ramirez have just had bad AB's because of the pitchers or an ump or for whatever, of course. As Ping pointed out earlier, some guys are more vocal and those vocal leaders may be able to help some other players that might be in a slump, not seeing the ball well, a little down in confidence or whatever. Soriano is a vocal guy but has shown that he struggles in the playoffs and yes, it is a small sample size I realize that. But some people/hitters/players react differently to pressure than others when certain situations present themselves.

Is it possible that once Ramirez started to struggle he pressed even harder and thus struggled even more? Why is it so hard for the analytical to accept this possibility? The Cub players have a lot of pressure on them and I've read comments where they said they didn't want to disappoint the city or really want to break the jinx and possibly struggle a little more than usual because of it? Or, are you just going to come up with another lame joke?

One player learning from another certainly isn't unheard of. However, I would imagine that happens moreso during the course of a long season rather than a short postseason series. Probably but who here really knows?

Where did I say that? Speaking of patently false. The discussion is about how their playoff experience didn't calm them in last year's playoffs. Going into last year's playoffs, they hadn't struggled. You're saying that Ramirez has struggled in the postseason is irrelevant because he hadn't struggled going in. I don't even know why I'm bothering arguing about this anyway. The sample sizes on all of these playoff numbers are way too small to carry any weight. Especially since they're in my favor. My point was that Edmonds had success both at the plate and winning the WS and it MAY have a possible good influence on the Cubs as a team in the playoffs. I've heard players mention that player X helped me with this or Player Y helped them with this, why can't it be possible that Edmonds might be able to recognize something and help another player out? Also, that said player might be more apt to listen to him since he has won before? IMO, the mental part of the game is even more important in the playoffs, especially with all the extra curricular things that go on.

Where did I say that? Speaking of patently false.