anemic offense

That's one messed up inning. You also forgot to mention they rallied with 2 outs. :D

Good artcile Bruce. I don't know if you've specifically mentioned it in the past, but the Cubs' (mainly Dusty's) reluctance to replace ineffective pitching and coaching staffs rarely gets play in the media. That could be the topic of one of your future exposes.

Prove it. Joanne Montanez Wow :shock: :shock:

Is it time to get a littttlllee excited about Montanez? It looks like something finally turned on in his head.

For the love of god, how can Dusty continually be giving one of our (few) consistent hitters days off? Aside from the fact the Cubs have had numerous off days to start the season, he is only 24. Fatigue should not be a factor this early in the season especially when it is that young. Furthermore taking one of your better players out of the lineup in the midst of a hot streak of offensive futility is mindboggling to say the least. If his reason for doing so rests solely on the notion of getting more of his "boys" playing time then I am utterly sickened. It's kinda hard to win when your best players are sitting on the bench, especially when the team sucks to begin with.

get rid of the whole lot. I am uttrerly perplexed at how the majority of a pathetic coaching staff can be retained when virtually ZERO of our players show progress. We have hitters who are as impatient as they've ever been (I acknowledge much of the fault lies with Hendry for acquring these players, but still) and pitchers who STILL can't find the struck zone. Why have Roth, Clines, Sarge, et all been deemed worthy to continue when the results show otherwise? It's not all their fault but their has to be SOMEBODY who can get through better then this. Isn't there????

Great work guys! http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-060509cubsbrite,1,7748432.story?coll=cs-home-headlines Maybe we can do it 3 times!!!!!! :x

I'm all for a sale as long as the Cubs aren't bought by the Wirtz family. They're a disgrace to owners, the NHL, and the city of Chicago.

I think you're a little low.

Hey, I've got some trivia for you (Trivia that does a pretty darn good job of indicating win/loss performance and expectation)! Q: What team has the best run differential in the National League? A: The St. Louis Cardinals. Stop acting like it is smoke and mirrors. ???? Seriously, putting your Card bias aside, you can't POSSIBLY say ANYONE thought the likes of Miles, Taguchi, Rodriquez, Eckstein, Molina, et al could form a formidable enough of a lineup up to be this successful. You also can't tell me ANYONE thought a rotation consisting of (prior to last year) Suppan, Carpenter, Marquis and company would perform the way the have. Yet there they are, near the top of the Central divsion. Let's face it, I could send my grandma out there and she'd be an All-Star on this team. Look, I'm not trying to diminish anything the Cardinals have accomplished. If anything, I am giving them a compliment for how they always seem to bring out the best in each and every one of their players (I'd settle for half on this team. However, one can't possibly refute the claim the roster is composed by a group (of primarily) overachievers. Then again it sure beats the hell ouf of a team of underachievers. I take my hat off (but don't tell me I can't puke in it :lol: )

Reyes is on the 40 man??? Why??

Agreed. If Hendry wasn't apt to force a move on Wendell Kim (who was costing us runs throughout an entire season), he's pry not going to fire Baker (until after the season) as well.

That's disgusting. I don't care how good he is NOBODY's worth that kind of money. I guess Rocket hasn't gained any integrity with age.

I've said this a million times. They're not NEARLY as good as people tend to make them out to be on paper, yet they continue to execute and win games. With some of the players they've got it's absolutely nauseating. Then again, what did you expect?? This is a team who picked a Cy Young winner off the scrap heap, found a Hall of Famer in the 12th round, coaxed career years from the likes of Pinetar Kline, Pinetar Tavares, and Tony Womack, got great production from David Eckstein, have AAA players prosper every time they bring them up, and have had a healthy rotation the last couple of seasons. If that's not luck I don't know what is. On the same token though one has to give Jocketty, as well as LaRussa and his staff a lot of credit. One could essentially say this team is the antithesis of the Cubs. They are fundamentally sound, receive clutch performances, and make out like bandits on every FA signing. Regardless of how I feel sentimentally, I have to acknowledge they must be doing something right.

Not throwing him under the bus YET, but he's been hit very hard his last two starts. Personally, I was kinda hoping this was a "new and improved" Greg. A pitcher who wasn't going to pitch good-decent every other time out only to be destroyed in his other starts. Granted it's only two games, but it's definately not encouraging.

I was just about to say they're better than us right now.

I hope that's a rhetorical question. Anyways, I've never really cared if the Cubs signed "big named FAs" as long as they spent their money wisely. Unfortunately Hendry has proven time and time again to be a baffoon when it comes to FA talent and contracts. Maddux, Jones, Remy, Hawkins, Neifi, Lenny Harris, and Merk (just to name a few) are FAs who either shouldn't have been courted in the first place and/or shoudln't have received their outrageous salaries.(except maybe Hawk, that SHOULD have been a good signing). When a team routinely misses on its FA signings, such as the Cubs have done, it creates black holes which the team has to live with until the contracts expire. This is one of the/if not the biggest reason(s) this team's been mired in futility the last few seasons. The FA performances we've seen (on the overall) have at best been laughable.

You're right. However, the Mets won't trade him unless they're robbing us blind. Therein lies the problem.

We knew it couldn't last...and it didn't. :(

There was nothing wrong with Gould. He was automatic within 40 and a lot of his misses (40-49) came in EXTREMELY crappy weahter conditions (as was the case with the SF kick). Gould had the 29th most points from kickers last year. He was 23rd in FG%. He was 3/8 from 40-49 and his longest was 45. He didn't even attempt a 50+ because the coaches knew he didn't have any business kicking in the NFL. He got the job by default when the veteran melted down. And he was very bad at kickoffs. They need to replace him. Look, I'm not saying Gould is an All-Star caliber kicker for he's not. I'm also not going to say the Bears shouldn't try to upgrade at the position (I agree Gould wasn't great on kickoffs) for they should. But to say Gould was awful isn't very accurate. He was automatic under 40 (which is more than you can say for most kickers), and the 3-8 in the 40-49 yard range is somewhat misleading. Not to mention he DOES play in Soldier Field (a tough place to kick). It should also be noted good kickers (let alone great ones) may be the HARDEST commodity to come by in the NFL. Kickers are routinely cut, signed, cut again, and re-signed over the course of just 1-2 seasons. The really good ones, like the Kasey's, Vinatieri's, the Hansen's, the Vanderjagt's, and the like are a rarity. The other 80% of the teams generally aren't in any better shape than the Bears. In fact, a lot of the time they're worse.

IMO there needs to be a middle ground with Aram and his hustle. For one, I don't think anyone around here wants him "going all out" (a majority of the time) on the basepaths because we know he's one false step away from going down with another hamstring injury. On the same token, his stare downs and nonchallantness (spelling???) out of the box (especially on the hard hit balls) are bleeping ridiculous. It's pretty sad when a major leaguer HAS TO BE TOLD to run to first base. I don't car who it is.

There was nothing wrong with Gould. He was automatic within 40 and a lot of his misses (40-49) came in EXTREMELY crappy weahter conditions (as was the case with the SF kick).

So would I, Rocket. So would I. That's hardly an excuse to sign the praises of Alou. It's the same as saying back to back .500 seasons is an accomplishment and we should be happy because past Cubs teams didn't do that. Alou came here and failed to live up to his contract for most of the time. Not only that, he had an abysmal attitude, was incompetent in the field and a joke on the basepaths. Yes, I'd love his production, but nobody can honestly say they knew he'd produce what he produced in 2005. Yes, yes, and yes. Moreover, with the injury history and # of underperforming FAs this team has signed over the years, he pry wouldn't have even come close to those 2005/2006 numbers anyway.

Spot on. Unfortunately I don't think he EVER will if he stays on this team.

Barry Zito???????!!!!!