YearofDaCubs

I think it's amazing that Demspter's ERA has fallen to 3.24. That's how good he has been for us as the closer. He must have an ERA in the high ones or low 2s as a relief pitcher this year.

Heres a question. Usually when there are two outs and a runner o base gets caught stealing, the next inning the same batter is on the plate again. What happens if the person at the plate is a pinch hitter and the runner gets caught? Because a new pitcher has to pitch, when the next inning comes up is that pinch hitter up to bat or is it a SOL situation?

Corey basehit Soto up to the plate.

I'm not watching on TV, what did he do? he dropped the ball.

a defensive gem by Corey.

Rusch for MVP!!

Which of course begs the question, why hasn't he been shut down for at least the last month. That's a great question. I would go one step further and shut Z down as well. That really does make sense. That way we can give the young ones time to start as well. At the same time though its always good to end the season with the best W/L record and ERA possible. Personally, I would shut down Prior for sure.

Neither of them has been as good as Barry was pre-1999. Junior was at least equal or better than Barry pre-1999, check the stats. Griffey's plate discipline was not as good as Bonds, but his eye was far better than Bonds at a similar age. A Rod was just getting started, but was far better than Bonds his first few years in the league. Stats 1996 through 1998 Bonds: 42, 40, & 37 HRs; 129, 101, & 102 RBIs; .308, .291, .303 AVG Griffey : 49, 56, & 56 HRs; 140, 147, & 146 RBIs; .303, .304, & .284 AVG I really don't care about RBI - that's a team measure based upon who is on base in front of that player and how often they are given the opportunities to drive in the runs. What I do care about is a player's overall performance, of which walks are a big part. Limiting the discussion to the years you picked to make things look as equal for Griffey as possible, here are the numbers they put up: Avg OBP SLG Barry 1996 .308 .461 .615 1997 .291 .446 .585 1998 .303 .438 .609 Junior 1996 .303 .392 .628 1997 .304 .382 .646 1998 .284 .365 .611 Junior has an edge in SLG, but Barry just dominates in making fewer outs than KGJ. To put that in perspective, let's look at more advanced metrics for those seasons: EqA BRAA VORP Barry 1996 .362 82 98.1 1997 .349 73 95.8 1998 .348 74 92.7 Junior 1996 .318 72 87.8 1997 .324 65 99.8 1998 .310 53 85.8 I have to admit that it is closer than I would have thought. Junior actually beats Barry in one stat in one year. However, this is the sampling of years that makes Juniors case most strongly. Looking at VORP, for example, Griffey only tops Barry twice in the 90's. I think Barry is in the top 10 in every single season during that time frame. Not only was his peak higher than anyone else's, he was also astonishingly consistent from season to season. So, in your opinion is Griffey Jr. a HOFer? Speaking of Barry, nobody can doubt his skill, but as a person I dislike him. Period.

I pretty much agree with everything you said, but Baker is playing with the hand dealt to him from Hendry. You mentioned the other teams, yet I doubt their GM's would've re-signed guys like Macias, Perez, Hollandsworth and sign Burnitz if there were young guys up and coming. I blame Baker for not playing some of these guys, but Hendry shouldn't be given a free pass, either. Had he really wanted Dubois given a good shot at the everyday spot, what was the need in re-signing Holla (after promising him more playing time) and then signing Burnitz? If Cedeno was wanted to play a lot, why re-sign Perez? Another example, Jocketty wanted Molina to start. Therefore, he didn't even really entertain an offer to Matheny to come back, nor did he sign a good veteran catcher that might enable LaRussa to play him over Molina. Sometimes the manager's decisions are only as good as the GM's decisions. Baker should be criticized, but Hendry has been his co-dependent. I liked the resigning of Hollandsworth. To me, he looked like a guy who could play the part of a Mark Sweeney. Decent outfield replacement when needed and a veteran bat off the bench with some decent punch. Baker was the one who misused him. Whether Hendry had those same intentions or not is not as obvious. I think it hurts the team to not sign a veteran bat for the bench. But, if the manager then turns around and uses the bench bat as an everyday starter, all you can do is beat your head against a wall. Especially if the manager has a contract with more than a year remaining. Maybe I'm wrong and Hendry agrees with Baker's philosophy. If that's the case, Hendry really fooled me. He gave me the impression this past offseason that Dubois would play a lot. He also spent a lot of time and effort building up the farm system. He gave me the impression that he was improving the system from the bottom up, which is a system that works. But, ever since he's had Dusty here, the philosophy seems to have changed. Misuse is the perfect word to explain Dusty Baker. Off the top of my head I can think 5 times this year he has misused someone. Corey(leadoff) Holla(starter), Neifi(leadoff), Fox(too many consecutive days) Hawkins(closer).

Of course. What wasn't fun about this year? Just goes to show you the mentality the manager and some of these players have where they would find any fo this a joke,

For all the crap talking I do, when Maddux is on, he is a good pitcher. His ERA is low 4s now.

I know I would send him a couple to tell him what a GREAT job he is doing.

this team blows. I really dont think I can handle another year like this.

That's inexcusable. Simply unbelievable. I hate Baker. HATE. 2 year contract on the table broooo

Both Prior and Wood havent been the same since the dreaded 2003 season.

Wow, I was watching CNN. Good thing the plane landed without anybody getting hurt during the landing. It was pretty smooth landing actually.

Macias is also playing? Oh boy.

Prior gave up a homer? No way.

How can you not give Murton LF next year?

HAHAHAHA, what a damn joke.

Disagree...Colon and Carpenter CY Young and Jones for MVP.

He's right on the money.

A little doom and gloom? GMs are willing to trade. Deals are out there and can be made. C'mon gooney, we ARE Cub fans, after all. It's part of the deal, isn't it? :wink: I think such a mindset doesn't take reality into account, and pushes the blame for failure to third party figures. The Cubs can get much better this offseason if Jim makes the right move. They aren't doomed to a crappy offseason where nobody will want to trade anybody of value, and no free agents will be available. Well, let's put it this way, right now I'm at 70-30 that Hendry wont make the right moves. We just have to wait and see unfortunately.

Maddux is coming back for sure. He already has said that he is. I dont care if Sosa needed to go or not, I still hold Hendry accountable for this year and next.

For those of you who think we might get Giles dont get your hopes up. Until I see Hendry spend top dollar to an offensive FA, then we will talk. I personally think though with FA being so weak a trade might get us the best players, but nobody wants to trade their players, and if they do they will be overpriced. Everybody knows how weak this years FA will be. Long story short, it does nto look good for the Cubs...again.