ToupeeOnFire

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Bobby Valentine. And for the heck of it, a few other names to throw out there: Lou Piniella, Mike Hargrove, Gene Lamont.

At the time, many of the complaints about Cito Gaston were some of the same you currently hear about Dusty Baker. In fact, after a quick Google search I found this. Relevant quote... Hmmm, sounds like a manager we all know and love. The points is - and I don't know if these complaints were legitimate or not - there is no such thing as a perfect manager. I just want somebody who is willing to develop and stick with young players; who doesn't play favorites amongst his "pet" players, even to the detriment of the team; who stresses patience at the plate and the value of a walk, while conversely preaching the importance of throwing strikes and keeping the pitch count down amongst the hurlers ; who won't bat sub-.300 OBP hitters at the top of the order (or keep them in the everyday line-up, period); who won't tolerate sloppy play; and a manager who uses common sense when it comes to the starting pitchers -- knowing how long to leave them in, when to take them out, and not letting them throw 120 pitches over 5 innings on a hot day -- in other words, I want a manager who worries less about burning out his bullpen and more about the long term health of his starters. That's not too much to ask, is it?

Didn't he get in trouble for something he said? I thought I remember him being fired for something other than performance. No, that was the manager that succeeded him. Tim Johnson, succeeded Gatson and was fired because he lied about being a Vietnam veteran. http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/lies.html If I'm not mistaken, Tim Johnson managed the Iowa Cubs before he was hired by the Blue Jays. He was obviously seen at the time as an up-and-coming managerial prospect. Davey Johnson is a name that seems to come up every time there is a managerial opening. He's had a lot of success, but somehow has rubbed some people the wrong way. Since his last managerial stint with the Dodgers, I don't think he has ever seriously been considered for another job. I like what he brings to the table, but there is something there that gives me pause. I'd take him in a heartbeat over Baker though, and over most of the other familiar names that have been tossed around. For a laugh, check out Davey Johnson's page on Baseball Reference. note: check out the sponsor

Come on people, look at the bright side. It's better to have the team collapse now than watch this team tread water for a few weeks only to fade away. The worse this team does from here on out, the better the chance that Dusty either leaves of his own volition or gets the pink slip. As painful as it is to see the Cubs play like this, it may ultimately be for the best.

Be thankful, despite what you might think, that you do not have to witness this team stumble and bumble to another loss. FOX, and the MLB black out rules, are only looking out for the best interests of you, the fan, and your right not to be subjected to bad baseball.

I disagree with you. And, my take on the interview was totally opposite. As Canseco pointed out, Palmeiro was the "Latino" response to Canseco's allegations. Palmeiro was considered "squeaky clean" by the so-call "commissioner" and his stooges. Now, with the outing of the steroids violations....along with the lies that accompany them....Palmeiro and the world realize that he is a patsy. What is so hard to make sense out of that? I doubt very seriously that the so-called "commissioner" or any of his shills are capable of thinking about "conspiracies." I beleive Canseco, now.... I don't understand how that makes Palmeiro a patsy. Are you suggesting he is innocent? That this was some huge set-up by the commisioner's office to out a star player so that he can ease suspicions as to the efficacy of the the steroid testing program (and Palmeiro, of course, being the latino that he is, making the perfect scapegoat)? Or are you suggesting that the commisioners office and player's union are protecting a number of players that have already tested positive (along with Palmeiro) and decided to throw Palmeiro to the wolves as a sacrificial lamb, he having just surpassed 500 home runs and 3000 hits and being latino? I'm not getting this. I don't see how Bud Selig, the player's union or baseball benefits from having Palmeiro being made a fall guy. If anything, instead of being a patsy, he was afforded a degree of privacy and protection that other players (Alex Sanchez and Juan Rincon) have not. The only really conspiratorial situation about this whole thing is the leaking of the exact substance that was in violation. This after Palmeiro emphatically denied that he "intentionally" took steroids. Sorry, I'm not buying what Canseco's selling.

I was thinking to myself the other day that since Jose Canseco was vindicated to a small degree, maybe it's time to take what he says more seriously. Then I saw him interviewed for an 'Outside the Lines' special last night on ESPN where he was suggesting that Palmeiro was being set up as the fall guy by the commisioner and the players association and there was some huge conspiracy going on. I think he mentioned the illuminati at some point. Anyways, it made no sense whatsoever and Canseco came off looking like a complete idiot. Whatever new-found credibility he may have acquired in the wake of Palmeiro, he flushed away with that interview. My low opinion of him continues unabated.

Like the rumors with Dodgers, this article seems to be more speculation than anything concrete. But one has to wonder, if there is actually some smoke to this "Dusty wants out of Chicago" fire. One wonders, perhaps, if Dusty is not sending out signals through intermediaries that he is unhappy. Remember that article out of San Francisco earlier this year -- according to a "close friend" -- that if the Cubs didn't win, this would be his last year in Chicago? Keep in mind, Dusty seems to be very sensitive to criticism, and never in his entire managing career has he felt such heat before. What's interesting is that even if these rumors are entirely BS, with no factual basis whatsoever, they kind of take on a life of their own. The Dodger rumor may have originated from the fevered imagination of some sportswriter for the L.A. Times (a paper owned by the Chicago Tribune, hmmm :-k), but that in itself kicks up a media storm. An innocuous column in the LA paper leads to speculation on internet message boards, leads to a race-baiting column from Scoop Jackson, leads to a response and rebuttal from Jay Mariotti, leads to angry denials by Dusty, leads to a vote of confidence from Hendry, leads to a speculating article from the Washington Times...leads to more and more fan and media speculation and the cycle intensifies. After the dust settles (oh my sides), what may have been nothing, becomes "something". Note to Dusty: I hear there are some pretty good schools in Northern Virgina.

New theme song for your 2005 Chicago Cub team. I recommend you turn the sound down on your television, crank up the music linked to above, and enjoy the play of your Chicago Cubs.

Link People talk about the lack of plate discipline on offense (which, indeed, is a problem), but few talk about the walks the pitchers give up, which may be an even bigger problem. Despite leading the league in strike-outs and being second in the league in lowest BAA, the pitching staff has given up the most walks in the league other than Colorado. Now it might be because of the pitchers we have, but it is just as maddening...especially to see the young pitchers come up (Novoa, Wuertz, Wellemyer, Leicester, etc.) and struggle to throw strikes. Something has to change, not just at the major league level, but in the system as a whole. Because it seems that not only do we fail to realize the value of a walk on offense, but we fail to see the consequences of them on the defensive side of the ledger as well.

Glad to see Remlinger get the heave-ho. Of course, watch the Braves pick him up and have him prosper down the stretch. The next guy that needs to go is Rothschild.

Michael Wilbon said on PTI that he'd be glad to see Dusty leave Chicago. I guess that also makes him a racist.

As much as I think that Patterson needs more time, Hairston's bat and defense have been below par. Ever since he has been installed in the starting line-up, the OBP has taken a nosedive. At least Patterson gives you a glove and I think he is bound to hit better - although maybe not to our satisfaction. The good thing is, they finally have a legit lead-off hitter. If Patterson does come back, I'd bat him 8th with Nomar in the line-up and 7th with Neifi (with Neifi batting 8th). The sad thing is, Murton is going to get squeezed. In the long run, they may regret acquiring Lawton as opposed to giving Murton an extended audition. But chances are, that wasn't going to happen under Dusty anyway.

Well Ryan Franklin of the Mariners just tested positive and I don't see the Mariners on your above list, so I am calling this bogus.

My prediction is that Mitre and Cedeno get sent down and Remlinger gets DFA'd. I really, really think Mitre is ill-suited for a bullpen role, especially considering he's a sinkerball pitcher and that it usually takes an inning or two for a sinkerballer to really get into a groove.

No, but a side effect of steroids is sexual disfunction.

Wow. Just wow. I can't imagine what the implications of this will be.

so what? Things were better in his day. Better? In what way? Sorry, but as much as I love Ryno, I think his comments do come off as a bit bitter and smack of old fogeyism. Back in Ryno's day, it was the players of the 60s complaining about these modern overpaid, underappreciative primadonnas taking the game for granted. You can find that sort of carping from just about any era of baseball. Let's take a look at baseball in Sandberg's day... One dimensional sluggers? In Sandberg's day you had Steve Balboni, Pete Incaviglia, Rob Deer, Cory Snyder, and Ron Kittle to name a few. Home runs weren't as plentiful back then (the parks were bigger for one thing), but these guys didn't do much else but hit home runs. Steroids and other drugs? How about Steve Howe, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden and Darrel Porter. These guys were ritual drug abusers. While in this era you have the congressional steroid hearings involving some of the biggest stars of the game like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, in Ryno's day (1985 to be exact), you had the Pittsburgh drug trial involving some of the biggest stars of the game like Keith Hernandez and Tim Raines. Cocaine was the drug of choice amongst players in the 80s. Greed? Labor strife? Yep, it exsisted back then too. There was a strike in '81 that stole a chunk of the season (a year in which Ryno got his first cup of coffee at the big level) and one in '94 when Ryno was still active. Ask anyone from 1994 after the season was cancelled if baseball was better back in those days. Then, as now, you'll find players that couldn't bunt, couldn't move the runner over, that failed to plate a runner from third with less than two outs. You'll find players making baserunning gaffes and bone-headed plays. You'll even find players who always looked for the little red light on the nearest camera. I'm not saying baseball back then was worse, just different. The same stuff that Ryno complains about today's game, existed back then. There were some things I liked better about baseball in the 80s. For one, I kind of miss the speed aspect of the 80s' game that doesn't exist now. Also, I think there was a little more competitive balance back then vis-à-vis the smaller markets. On other hand, there are things better about today's game. Is anyone going to miss artificial turf or cookie cutter stadiums? Sorry, but Ryno is barking up the wrong tree here. We all like players who respect the game and give it there all, but there has never been a time in baseball history when the game was truly "pure"...and, given human nature, there never will be. In fact, the one guy who hustled on every play and seemingly played the game the right way, disgraced the game by his later actions and got banned from baseball for life.

Yeah, I've read the book. I knew he hated Himes (and after reading the book, so did I), I just never realized he hated Sammy so much. Just kind of surprised he'd use his HOF induction speech to make his feelings toward Sammy known.

Did anyone hear him taking less-than-veiled shots at Sammy Sosa? Man, that was harsh. To paraphrase, he basically pointed out that he concentrated on all facets of the game, as opposed to just focusing on hitting home runs. He then went to say that in his day if anybody showed up 20 pounds heavier over the offseason, everyone would of thought something was wrong (pointing out that he pretty much weighed the same his entire playing career). Now all of this is pretty vague and non-specific, but what followed was unmistakeable. In effect, he said that players like him did their jobs and didn't go seeking out the red light on the camera after hitting home runs (to big applause). It was a very entertaining speech, by the way -- surprising, since he is considered such a low-key guy. I loved the shut-out to Ron Santo and the respect shown to Andre Dawson.

If it were any other day, this would be a 30 page thread of people complaining and bickering at one another.

Hopefully Old Man Remlinger finds himself DFA'd this coming Friday. I can't stand the guy.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2120988

For some reason this series, to me, has the feel of last year's four day September homestand against the Reds. Bad memories all around. At least there is plenty of more baseball left to play.

There is no way this team is going to score four runs today. Game. Set. Match.