Mizzou

I've got one too many first basemen. If anyone's interested in trading a pitcher for Morneau or Youkilis, let me know.

Isn't it nice to have too many players that are playing well, and not enough lineup spots? I can't remember the last time the Cubs had this problem.

You're the man for posting all these videos. On a somewhat related note, I really wish Len would improve his ability to call a HR. I love him as an announcer, but he simply has no idea of when a ball might leave the yard.

I'd have been really worried if Lou started screaming obscenities when Pie hit a 3-run bomb in the 8th. Come on. You could tell they handled this differently than other Cubs homers. Everyone in the dugout, including the coaches, looked really excited about it. It was cool to watch. Sure it was different. He's a young player that hasn't had much success at this level. Much more exciting than a DLee HR at this point (unless it's a walk off or something). But WilcoFan's post is a little weird. Their reactions signal that they want him to succeed? Did anyone here really think Lou wanted him to fail? I think the coaches want him to succeed. I (and many others) just don't agree with the way they've been going about it. If this HR earns him more regular ABs, I think that's a pretty stupid reason to get more ABs, but I'll be happy that he's actually seeing the field rather than riding pine. Finally having a nice at bat and getting rewarded for it by getting more at bats is stupid? If you, as a manager, make decisions on who should start based on 1 AB, yes, that is stupid. Do you really want your manager picking the next day's starters based on the last AB of each player from today's game? Well of course not. But in Pie's case, his playing time depends heavily on how he looks at the plate. He's not going to get more at bats by striking out.

I'd have been really worried if Lou started screaming obscenities when Pie hit a 3-run bomb in the 8th. Come on. You could tell they handled this differently than other Cubs homers. Everyone in the dugout, including the coaches, looked really excited about it. It was cool to watch. Sure it was different. He's a young player that hasn't had much success at this level. Much more exciting than a DLee HR at this point (unless it's a walk off or something). But WilcoFan's post is a little weird. Their reactions signal that they want him to succeed? Did anyone here really think Lou wanted him to fail? I think the coaches want him to succeed. I (and many others) just don't agree with the way they've been going about it. If this HR earns him more regular ABs, I think that's a pretty stupid reason to get more ABs, but I'll be happy that he's actually seeing the field rather than riding pine. Finally having a nice at bat and getting rewarded for it by getting more at bats is stupid?

He's over 100 pitches and it's only April. Don't wear him down, imo. Agreed. Let Marmol and Wood finish the game.

I think if that were any other pitcher, Lee would have taken it himself.

Wow, if you take out Wood's first appearance of the year, his numbers are sick. 9 innings, 1 run on 3 hits, 1 walk, 8 K's. F you again, Angel Hernandez.

Nice pitch, idiot

Oh there's a game on? I thought this was a special about the Cubs' failures.

F you ESPN

Well that was random. A promo for an Arena football game during a baseball game? Yeah, I'm sure lots of people will be switching over to that. What a waste of time.

Where the F was that??

Here we go

Another bad call at first! We'll take this one though.

Let's see if Zambrano has a breakdown here.

Stupid play by Soto

Fontenot looked safe there

He does a hop sometimes... like the time in your avatar.

Z is looking really good again. It'd be nice to get him a run or 10 this inning.

It still boggles my mind that people think the only way a guy can get bigger (over a period of several years, no less) is by taking steroids. Have any of you that feel that way ever worked out? It's pretty amazing actually -- if you lift a lot of weights, your muscles get bigger! Crazy concept!

I'm not 100% either way. It's a tough call, because on one hand you've got a guy who has torn up minor league pitching and deserves to be at this level. But on the other hand, that same guy hasn't done anything at this level to show that he can be successful here. If I'm Lou Piniella, what I would do right now is continue to start Reed Johnson. If a matchup presents itself that doesn't favor Reed, give Pie a start. If Pie starts showing that he can have success at this level (something he still hasn't done), then I start mixing him in more often. But there's no way that I sit a hot player to give a very cold player a chance to adjust. People seem to forget that Pie was handed the starting job. It didn't take much for him to lose it, so if he wants it back I wouldn't imagine it would take much for that to happen either.

No, they should put out the team that will give them the best chance of winning on a given night. Right now, Johnson gives them a much better chance than Pie does. This isn't directed towards you... just a general statement. But it seems like some people are fans of Pie first and the Cubs second. If leaving your starter out there for 140 pitches gives you the best chance of winning on a given night, should you do that? Should you run Marmol out there for two innings of relief for four straight days because that's what gives you the best chance of winning on those given nights? Sometimes you need to lessen your odds on a given night to support the greater goal. Putting someone in a position to get injured is a completely different discussion. I'm talking about putting the best team out there at 1:20 each day, not making short sighted decisions as the game progresses. It's not the exact same thing, but there are certainly similarities. If you want to switch the analogy a bit, then I'll posit this: why give position players days off? It's not really about reducing their risk of injury as much as trying to preserve their long-term production, right? So, if you agree with putting a lesser lineup out there once in a while to give guys a rest with the purpose of having everyone as fresh and productive as possible for the stretch drive, then surely you must be able to see some logic in letting a rookie (or near rookie) get some time out there early in the season to make the required adjustments so that you can field a stronger team in August, September and (hopefully) October, right? Some time? Absolutely. I'm not saying that Pie should ride the bench every day, and only play after the 7th inning when we're up by X amount of runs. Clearly he's not going to get better just by taking BP every day. I just don't feel that this is the time or place for him to be given an unlimited amount of at bats, just so he can work through his problems. We've got someone else who's currently smacking the ball all over the place and isn't having any problems adjusting to new pitching.

No, they should put out the team that will give them the best chance of winning on a given night. Right now, Johnson gives them a much better chance than Pie does. This isn't directed towards you... just a general statement. But it seems like some people are fans of Pie first and the Cubs second. If leaving your starter out there for 140 pitches gives you the best chance of winning on a given night, should you do that? Should you run Marmol out there for two innings of relief for four straight days because that's what gives you the best chance of winning on those given nights? Sometimes you need to lessen your odds on a given night to support the greater goal. Putting someone in a position to get injured is a completely different discussion. I'm talking about putting the best team out there at 1:20 each day, not making short sighted decisions as the game progresses.

No, they should put out the team that will give them the best chance of winning on a given night. Right now, Johnson gives them a much better chance than Pie does. This isn't directed towards you... just a general statement. But it seems like some people are fans of Pie first and the Cubs second.