YearofDaCubs

Man, Guzman is looking real good right now.

What kind of unreasonable expectations are you talking about? I think there's a good chance that Prior as we knew him is gone.

Prior's velocity this inning: 84mph 88mph 74mph curve 86mph 86mph 87mph 86mph 87mph 76mph curve 86mph 87mph 78mph curve 77mph curve 75mph curve 88mph 88mph 78mph curve 87mph 87mph 78mph curve 78mph curve 88mph

I find it odd that all of a sudden the gun is acting strange right when Prior is pitching...

This is excellent news!

Yep, and that Maddux guy really sucked, didn't he? Prior is considered a power pitcher while Maddux is not. They are totally different pitchers. If you think Prior will be successful consistently throwing in the 80's have at it.

ESPN1000 just had Mike Marshall on not too long ago, and of course the first question that was asked was pertaining to Prior. They mentioned how Marshall made a public statement 3 years ago about Prior and how he felt that he would have shoulder problems the more he pitched. Marshall said that the problems with Prior is his long snapping motion and how he holds the ball under overhand with the ball in his Palm. He also mentioned that he keeps his elbow too close to his body and that those things he does leads to shoulder issues. At first when they asked if he felt that Prior still has a future he said that Prior might be already done for. Later on he did say that both pitchers are young and with proper guidance they can make a comeback. He was very critical of whoever was in charge of Prior's mechanics and was hinting that these guys are not looking at the right things with Prior. He mentioned that they should take a video of Prior's motion and show the video in slow motion to him to show him what he is doing wrong to rectify the problem. He said what Prior had to do is not have too long of a long or or whip(something like that I don't remember exactly what was said) and that when pitching and finishes he should have his palm facing backwards(or something like that). They briefly talked about Wood, and that his problem is different from Prior's but that he too is not properly throwing. He mentioned something about his stride and crossing with his arm. Towards the end of the call both him and the interviewer both agreed that long tossing with pitchers is completely wasteful. I wish I had a tape so that I can record the conversion for you guys. IMO if Prior doesn't hit at least in the low 90's consistently he's done for. Right now he's throwing as fast as Maddux.

Wow, we've had a lot of errors this spring so far.

We have too many leftys in pen IMO. Cotts, Eyre, and Ohman. I think we only need 2.

Except they offer no speed or defense and combine to block two of our best prospects. How exactly is Ward blocking anyone? Care to respond to my statements about what they actually CAN do? You know, something that has been definitively proven rather than merely hoped for? Well, Ward is blocking Cliff Floyd's spot on the bench for one...and looking at these guys' recent history I don't see them as any more proven than top AAA talent. They wouldn't be hanging on if it weren't for experience. Ward hit .350/.438/.633/1.072 as a pinch hitter last year. That made him arguably the best pinch hitter in MLB. Cubs pinch hitters hit .216 last year. Floyd was Soriano's equal as a hitter in 2005. He was injured last year. I think he's well worth the roster spot. Agreed. There's a lot to like in Ward as a pinch hitter.

I'm surprised he's not blaming the Cubs defense for that. :roll: Nice one! I've been sour on him since he took that shot at the Cubs. Yeah, me too.

I'm surprised he's not blaming the Cubs defense for that. :roll:

There's a lot to love now that Baker is nowhere near Chicago and its North side team. Never was a fan of him and I'm just ecstatic that he's gone. He's all wrong.

Now THAT is the lineup I want to see out there on a daily basis! Theriot over Izturis, ahh one can only dream.

The NFL salaries are almost in the MLB Starting Pitching salary category.

For the last time, the reports after the game said that Prior hit 89, not the 83-85 that the Seattle announcers were talking about. You can't expect his velocity to be 100% in his first ST start. I'm not worried about his velocity at all. If there is anything to worry about, it would be his command, since that was his big problem last year. This is from Sullivan's article.. The velocity on Prior's fastball averaged 84-86 m.p.h., topping out at 89, whereas Wood threw in the mid-90s, hit 95 with consistency and said his "heart was racing" on the mound. Obviously WORKING from 84-86mph is not going to get it done. I'd bet the 84-86 was his 2 seamer, which he throws more often, in which case its only a 5 mph gap, since he usually threw the 2 seamer 89-91. Is a 5 mph gap in his first ST game in years really something to be concerned about? 89-91? Maybe when he was injured did he throw it at that. All I'm saying is if he doesn't get his velocity consistently in the 90's there cause for concern.

I dont think I can say no fast enough. really, wow, i understand the love of Murton's potential but you get a chance at a player of Ichiro's caliber you have to take it- i think you might be overvalueing Murtons Potential as well as Marshall and Gallagher- they are young unproven commodities- I think i couldnt say yes fast enough( if Ichiro wanted to sign an extension) I think you will find that potential is almost always valued above production when it comes to our prospects. Murton: .297/.365/.444, 103 OPS+, 25 years old, making 6 figures and under team control until the 2012 season Ichiro: .322/.370/.416, 109 OPS+, 33 years old, making 8 figures and a year away from Free Agency And we're adding Jones, Gallagher, and Marshall? That shows you how valuable Murton is and why he should be starting every day.

Let him pout. 7 mil he will be getting next year is not bad at all. His demands are ridiculous and he already turned down a multi-year deal from us last year. Then he has the audacity to say he was disrespected? Ha.

Ichiro would have been a nice acquisition years ago but not now at his age.

For the last time, the reports after the game said that Prior hit 89, not the 83-85 that the Seattle announcers were talking about. You can't expect his velocity to be 100% in his first ST start. I'm not worried about his velocity at all. If there is anything to worry about, it would be his command, since that was his big problem last year. This is from Sullivan's article.. The velocity on Prior's fastball averaged 84-86 m.p.h., topping out at 89, whereas Wood threw in the mid-90s, hit 95 with consistency and said his "heart was racing" on the mound. Obviously WORKING from 84-86mph is not going to get it done.

I agree. If he can't hit the 90's with his FB, he's done for. I think we can all agree that if his velocity stays in the 80's we won't be expecting much from him this year or maybe ever.

Wasn't it something insane like 3/34? 3/34.5 I think. That is absolutely horrible. I don't think the deal is that bad actually.

I love the way that sounds though.. One huge knock on Dusty was accountability or lack thereof.

PECOTA: 5.44 ERA Bill James: 5.14 CHONE: 5.13 ZIPS: 4.95 I'd say 4.40 is pretty optimistic. I'd love for it to happen, but it's more likely we see a 5-something. Previous to last year he put up ERA's of 4.13 and 3.71 and some other crappy ones. There is reason to believe he could fall inline close to the above numbers this year. no... baseball projections are always dead-on amen to that sarcasm. gut feelings from fans of the team the guy signs with following a good spring training outing are typically much more accurate. His performance in spring training has nothing to do with how I feel he will do for the Cubs this season. It is my opinion he will do much better than last year, how far-fetched is that? We will see who is right come October.

PECOTA: 5.44 ERA Bill James: 5.14 CHONE: 5.13 ZIPS: 4.95 I'd say 4.40 is pretty optimistic. I'd love for it to happen, but it's more likely we see a 5-something. Previous to last year he put up ERA's of 4.13 and 3.71 and some other crappy ones. There is reason to believe he could fall inline close to the above numbers this year.