How many DU Cubs fans are out here?

[genie_weenie]

So, another season of Cubs baseball is upon us. I am slightly out of the loop. Last season was a very odd one for me. Having been gone from the Chicagoland area for over 5 years (Expect for occasional leave days) I missed out on the Steve Stone/Dusty Baker/Tribune conflagration.

Of course, the Trib sided against Stone. This is ironic because Stone relates in his 2000 book Where's Harry? asking Harry if he ever feared for his job for bad mouthing the ballplayers or coaches. Harry, with typical aplomb replied, If a guy makes a bad play do they expect me to not say it was a bad play? What are they going to do fire me?

So, Stoney was no more. Except on the Score, but I wouldn't find that out until the city got caught up in the Sox run. BTW, I consider Steve Stone to be one of the best analysts ever, far superior to Joe Bucking St Louis, Tim McCarver. IMO, Stone should have been GM for the Cubs back in the late 80s early 90s. Anyway...

So, I missed the early baseball (and Derek Lee's great start) finishing my tour in Iraq for OIF II.5. Getting back to Camp Lejeune NC, I catch a game or two via the Superstation, but with my separation coming up I have too much to do and miss most of the season. However, after separating from the Corps, I manage to catch the Series here and I'm of course happy because a Series Winner in Chicago for the first time since WWI? Awesome!

So, finally the main purpose of the thread. What chance do the Cubs have?

Positives:
1) They didn't trade Mark Prior for a steroid using Miguel Tejada. Thanks for not pulling a Maddux, Part2.
2) Derek Lee and Aramis Rameriz are the best power combo since Ryno/Andre Dawson.
3) Juan Pierre instantly adds 100+ runs to this offense.
4) Good moves for middle relief, Bob Howry and Scott Eyre.
5) Jacque Jones, I liked him in Minnesota, he always beat the Sox, maybe he can bring that here. However, he is almost a clone of Corey Patterson.
6) Maybe the Cubs can convince old Red Beard to give up ESPN and move here to be the announcer?
7) Carlos Zambrano is a hell of a ballplayer.

Negatives:
1) Dusty ruined Corey Patterson by trying to force him to be a leadoff hitter. Now here's gone
2) The Cubs acquired Marquis Grissom (3 new players with French names? I hope O'Reilly doesn't find out!). At 39 there's not much juice left, but unfortunately Dusty loves playing Vets.
3) This could be Greg Maddux's final season. I hope not, I'd like to see Maddux play another 2 years after this.
4) Kerry Wood is in his final season, won't be healthy until 2 months in and won't win more than 8 games. So ends the next Nolan Ryan saga for the Cubs.
5) Why won't Dusty play Todd Walker? Perfect 2 hitter (high average), good run producer for a second baseman.
6) 1500 new bleacher seats, keep lining those pockets Tribune.
7) Sammy may retire, due to the insult of having to prove he can still play, without the juice or cork. Is he a HOF? (I say no, but 3 60+ HR Seasons and no HOF, yikes.)

Well, any Cubs fans out there? Got an opinion on the 06 season?

[tcfrogs]

1. Yikes!!!

That's a full menu.

I'm not a Cubs fan, but I've lived here for 10+ years.

Let me disect your statements more fully, and get back to you. :)

[Bluzmann57]

2. Huge Cub fan here

Now on to your points. I'm going to stay away from the Stone/Baker/Tribune thing since it's old news. And Sammy Sosa did many great things while with the Cubs, but he had a wretched year in Baltimore last year and it probably is time for him to step down.
I agree with all of the positives you have listed, save for Jacque Jones. He and Burnitz put up similar numbers last year and Burnitz was let go. But Jones is younger, so that's a plus.
Now about your negatives. Patterson was tried all over the lineup and quite simply, hasn't got the discipline at the plate to ever be a superstar type player. He strikes out way too much. I have watched him since the low minors, and he has always been strikeout prone, no reason to think he'll change now. Grissom was signed to a Minor League deal with no guarantee that he'll make the club. There is a kid named Felix Pie waiting in the wings, who is only 20 years old and could use a season at AAA but look for him to be a breakout star within a year or two. I think Grissom is just a fill in type, assuming he makes the team. I also think that about Jones, although he will make the team. Maddux was up and down last year, and alas, he may be almost done. Wood, well he may thrive, just not in Chicago. He should be a middle reliever. He did a good job in that role last year. Todd Walker played a lot last year, after he came back fron injury, and will be the starting second baseman this year. The guys we should be concerned about not playing are Ronnie Cedeno and Matt Murton. Those are two good young players. Why not add some new bleacher seats? It was hard to get tix last year and if I can see my beloved Cubs in person, then I'm all for it.
I do think that if Hendry can find a good starter, not a retread like Wade Wilson, the Cubs have a real shot at winning the Division title. I have heard rumors about a certain pitcher from the west coast whose last name starts with Z coming to Chicago. If true, that would be a good acquisition for this team.

[genie_weenie]

3. Let me clarify my perspective

Good points and info. I listen to the Score a few hours every week, but of course like everyone I was reveling in the Bears success, so it was hard to hear Cubbies info. Mike Murphy from Noon - 2 is a Cub guy and he covers it from time to time. Anyway let me offer some more on my views.

The last season I was able to watch a fair amount of games was 2003, that year I saw Corey Patterson hitting .300 a solid doubles hitter with a little pop, who could steal bases, and would strike out a little too much. From what I've heard and looking at the way the Cubs season went last year. He was bounced around from the following spots in the line-up 8th, 2nd, 6th, 1st. None of those spots but 6th fit him. Like I stated, Corey still had too much potential in my mind to just get rid of; He's only 25/26, He could have played Right (where Jacque Jones is going) and it just makes me worry because the Cubs have a habit, even under Hendry of getting rid of guys too soon. Gary Matthews Jr.

Jacques Jones. As I mentioned Jacque is almost a clone for Corey. However, Jacques has had several big years, now followed by the last 2 down seasons. The only thing that really sticks out about Jones was his ability to seemingly bring the Twins a victory over the Sox all the time.

Jeremy Burnitz was a butcher out in right field. He reminds me of Glenallen Hill. Didn't Burnitz have a ball bounce off his face last season? Jones is a step up in the defense department.

I'm just worried Dusty will find a spot for Marques Grissom, over Matt Murton, because Grissom is a Dusty-type of player. I don't know what this Murton kid can do over the grind of a full season, but I know Grissom isn't the answer, unless the question is cool baseball names...

Kerry Wood is finished. He's never put up more than 13 wins in a season, he will blow out his shoulder or elbow every year. You can't pay a middle-reliever 13 million. I recall Steve Stone commenting on Wood's mechanics back in '98, saying his arm orientation, his predilection over crossing his body on his follow-thru and release point were going to cause major injuries time and again until someone cleans up his throwing motion. It seems he was right...

Lastly, one of the trouble spots for the Cubs since Dusty's arrival has been lack of concentration and poor fundamentals by the Cubs. I don't know if you can blame a Coach in the Modern game because of the changes in money, power, media influence, etc (that is topic for another thread).

[Bluzmann57]

5. I agree with you about Grissom

Baker does love the vets over young guys. And along those lines, will Neifi Perez be the starting SS over Cedeno? I like Perez, but youth must be served. And I think Cedeno is going to be a fine player before his career is done. I hope it's with the Cubs. I also believe that if the ballclub fails this year, it may be curtains for Baker. As you stated, they are lacking in fundamentals since Baker got there. All one has to do is look across town to see what good solid fundamental baseball can do. All of this being said, GO CUBS!

[HuskerDU]

15. I like that Hendry took a flyer on Wade Miller. Between he and

Wood, one of them should make a quality #4

1 Z
2 Prior
3 Maddux
4 Miller/ Wood
5 Jerome Williams

Williams should be a decent #5, if Miller/ Wood comes through, Maddux could be dropped to a very crafty #4. We have one more wildcard in the ever fragile Angel Guzman. He supposedly has stuff as good as any of the above.

The pen has a wildcard too. Scott Williamson. The pen has the potential to match the great pen of the early '80's that featured Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith, ('84 AL Cy Young) Willie Hernandez etc.

[kick-ass-bob]

4. Zambrano is the heart of the staff, maybe the team.

I LOVE him! As good as Prior is, I think losing Zambrano would be worse for the Cubs. As for CPat, he really never worked out, even before Dusty showed up. CPat never could get under control - which was his downfall. Hopefully he can figure it out before it's too late.

I love having a true leadoff hitter - especially Pierre with his speed. I wish he'd take a walk a little more though.

I think we have a good chance if our SP can hold together, the Cards will come down, and who knows about the Astros. I think last year was their swan song with their vets. With our luck though, the Brewers will come out of nowhere and take the division.

:crazy:

[dr.zoidberg]

6. I just hope that they can make it to the postseason.

Is that too much to ask? Personally, I 'd like to see them win the World Series, just to see if that worthless hack Jay Mariotti would jump on the bandwagon or trash evey step of the way. Either way, we should lynch the fucker. In fact, I want to lynch him now just thinking about it.

[HuckleB]

7. Cubs fan since childhood, and by marriage.

Oddly, though, I am now stuck with my two favorite teams in the same division, since the Brewers were moved to the NL.

Nonetheless, Juan Pierre is not the impact player Cub fans are hoping for... Jones is an improvement over Patterson, who would have bombed no matter where he batted. I don't disagree enough with anything else you wrote to bother.

Salud.

[Hobarticus]

8. Patterson was a non-starter...

Unfortunate it took this long to sniff him out.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Raising Hand!

Since my dad took me to my first game in 1960! (Man, that was 46 years ago?!?!?)

I pretty much agree with all your positives. I wasn't sold on Tejada for a starting pitcher. I still think Prior's mechanics are so sound that if he gets past the freak injury thing (hurt running the bases, hit by a line drive. . .) i think he'll be the stud we expect him to be. Look at his record in the 2nd half last year. As good as Zambrano was, Prior was even better.

I agree with you on the bullpen. I looked at the stats over the last 3 years and found that with the ERA and BAA for Prior, Wood, and Zambrano, had they not had bullpen pitchers ruining games, they all would have averaged 3 more wins each of the three years. That's nine wins for the team, just from 60% of the starting staff! Nine more wins per year (and nine less losses) means they win the division one year and make the wild card the other two. So, fixing that problem is really important.

On the negative side, i'm still worried about defense up the middle infield. You can't get pitchers to think "ground ball" if they're worried that a ground ball up the middle means a runner gets on 40% of the time. The outfield, except in center, is a little slow, and i question arm strength overall out there. With the long thick grass in the outfield, the ball doesn't get to the fielder that quickly, and i fear extra bases being taken.

Walker is a defensive liability in the middle infield. He has no range anymore. He's slower than Larry Bowa used to be. Bowa cleanly fielded everything he got to, but got to about 80% of the balls most decent shortstops would have. That's where Walker is now. At least he would have Lee to his left, to cover some of that ground!

What do you other Cub fans think about that?
The Professor

[genie_weenie]

10. Hey Hey, a seasoned Cubs Fan!

Sorry you had to go through that '69 season, '84 was a crusher for me!

Well, maybe Harriston the answer at second. Jose Macias defintely is not. You bring up a good point about outfield arm strength, I think J. Jones has a cannon, but his fielding may be suspect (I don't know how much Torii Hunter covered for him out there, if at all). Murton may have a noodle arm out in left.

Do you anything about Cedeno? What are his attributes? What's he bring to the table? I know they wanted to put him at second and bring in the guy from Atlanta (Rafeal Furcal but he can't hit a lick in day games) to play short. Does that mean Cedeno has no arm?

[HuskerDU]

14. Macias is gone. Cedeno looked pretty smooth in the field last

year. I like him at short with Hairston at second. Furcal has the best SS arm in baseball, so Cedeno can't compete with that. But his arm is certainly ML quality. He can hit with some pop too.

I can't wait to see what Cedeno and Murton can do starting everyday. Sure hope Dusty let's 'em!

[HuskerDU]

13. Some very good points, but I disagree that the corner outfielders

are slow. Jones is supposedly faster than Burnitz who had replaced the butcher Sosa. And Murton played a fine left last year. He is fast (averaged over 20 SB in minors) and has a decent arm for left. Pierre has a very weak arm. Patterson was a better Centerfielder IMO.

I would be very surprised if Walker starts for the Cubs at second. He may not even be on the team. Look for Jerry Hairston Jr to play second and Ronny Cedeno at short. Nefi Perez will back them up. I think our middle infield defense will be vastly improved. Add a quality starting 5, and an improved bullpen and I think you have a playoff calibur team.

I do wonder what will be done with Walker. I think the AL would be the best place for him.

[genie_weenie]

11. Sammy Sosa HOF?

I say no, unfortuantely I don't get a vote, but he and all the Steriod infused 90s players should be snubbed. Brady anderson, rafeal Palmerio, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza, Ivan Rodriegeuz, take alook at their free whelling steriod days as oppossed to other seasons...

Compare the career of an awesome Cub Right Fielder Andre Dawson with Sammy. Look what the Hawk went through to keep playing?

[HuskerDU]

12. Yes another Cubs fan here!

I am excited about this year's team. And here's why:

1. Best pen in many years.
2. Most athletic team in many years- should lead to best fielding in many years.
3. Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno- Murton has tons of potential (and I named my orange cat after him) and Cedeno looks to solidify shortstop.

Wildcards are what to do with Todd Walker, and the possibility that Dusty will play washed-up vets over Murton and Cedeno. This is a win or you're gone year for both Dusty and GM Hendry. I fear one of the youngsters stumbling and Dusty playing Grissom and Perez everyday. (One more wildcard- the annual Joker Kerry Wood- let's hope he's aces this year!)

I still think Patterson will be a good player, it just wasn't going to happen here. It is too bad because CP failing forced us to acquire Pierre. I like Pierre, but his arm stinks and I hope Felix Pie (or someone) replaces him next year.

The team needs to get off to a good start, especially Murton and Cedeno. If that happens, look for Hendry to make a move at the ASB as he usually does.

Prediction: Cubs make the playoffs. That would mean that Z and Prior had good years. Who wants to face those guys in a short series?

The Cardinals keep rolling along, the Brew Crew is set up to be a powerhouse, the Stos will field another good team and the Pirates and Reds are improving. The Central will be a very tough division this year IMO.

GO CUBS GO!!!!!

[genie_weenie]

16. Great points! Go Cubs!

Hüsker Dü rocks btw!

[HuskerDU]

18. Thanks genie_weenie!

Here's to a great season.:toast:

[joeybee12]

17. Stweie Griffin is a fan! In an episode of Family Guy, they did a

flashback of him telling the guy to lean over and catch the ball...oh wai,t that probably makes him NOT a fan!

[likesmountains 52]

19. No opinion..just a question

I was a Cubs fan until WGN got dropped from my local (Colorado) cable...I loved Steve Stone as an announcer. What happened to him? We drove to Chicago in 1988 to see a game at Wrigley Field...a memory my whole family still loves.

[HuskerDU]

20. Steve didn't spew the company line well enough for the Trib

and they let him go. I believe that he is doing some sort of XM baseball broadcasting this year after having done color for ESPN games last season. Word is that Stone has some wealthy friends and that if their group ever gets ahold of a MLB franchise, Stone would be the GM.

Have always liked Stoney.

[likesmountains 52]

25. thanks, I can think of several announcers I wish he'd replace...

[genie_weenie]

21. Stone didn't tow the Trib line and was fired

He can still be heard on the Score doing commentary with Mike Murphy 12-2 Central.

http://www.670thescore.com/

[likesmountains 52]

26. Thanks for the info...I wish he'd get a job with a station I could hear.

[DaveinMD]

22. seems to me

that the Cubs are intent on adding every low on base percentage player in the league. A recipe for failure. Combined with Baker's penchant for burning out arms, that is not a good combo.

[HuskerDU]

23. We added Jones and Pierre who are probably better at getting

on base than Burnitz and Patterson who they replaced. Still not many walk machines on the club though.

[HuckleB]

24. Don't go there.

Troll posts by non-Cub fans aren't worth your time.

[DaveinMD]

38. hello

I'm having a nice baseball discussion with some nice baseball fans. Feel free to partake.

[HuckleB]

41. LOL!

You're trolling, as usual, on a thread that asked for Cub fans to participate. Yeah, that's real classy. Just because you found a couple posters who don't know your routine yet, doesn't change reality. They'll catch on, like the rest of us.

LOL!

Again, game over.

(Oh, sure, you'll post something that you've repeated ad nauseum in reply. You can't help yourself. But the game is over.)

[DaveinMD]

42. trolling?

I'm talking baseball in a very respectful manner. Just because you don't like doesn't mean I'm trolling. I have said nothing incendiary. Nothing wrong with talking baseball. You really need to stop following me around. Your behavior is that of a stalker.

[genie_weenie]

43. Can't We all just get along?!?!?

It's rough enough, to be a fan of a team with a 100 year wait-till-next-year streak, but no allegations of trolling need to be made.

Of course what I'm interested in is if DaveinMD thinks the current Yankees approach of pilfering stars is good for baseball?

[HuckleB]

44. Sorry.

That's all this poster has offered, year after year. It's not an accusation. It is what it is.

Please don't feed the animals.

I guarantee you that this one will shed his sheep costume at any moment. The only reason there is a remote semblance of friendliness on this thread is that I called him out, so he must try to "prove me wrong."

[DaveinMD]

46. Whatever

I'm having a nice conversation with someone else and you intrude. It seems you are the one trolling.

[DaveinMD]

45. its not good for Yankees either

I'd much prefer the approach the Yankees took in building their team in early 90s. Smart trades, the odd free agent and building from within. I think they will get back to that approach as Cashman is gaining a lot more authority. They cut 10 million off the payroll this year. They should cut another 10 next year. There is a better crop of young players coming through the system. I hope they keep them. The system is what it is. The Yanks take advantage of that system to try to win, but sometimes it backfires. Ironically, the Yanks haven't won a series since they started signing big money free agents again. The first was Mussina in 2001.

[genie_weenie]

47. The failure of the Big Spending Yankees

is something for which I am very happy!

I know there is a big divide in opinions concerning the big market/small market spending as well as those owners who dont seek to improve their clubs.

I have to say I come down on the fairer division of assets leads to better baseball, and I think Steinbrenner has done a good job of supporting Better Competition while simultaneously pilfering superstars at his whim.

Is Matt Lawton still on the roster? Does he face the 50 game suspension for 'roids? Or does his violation fall under the old "how did that needle get there" 10 days policy? Oh and how can Giambi be the Comeback Player of the Year? Nice job of cheating Jason here's an award?

On another note, have you ever looked over the career numbers of some players and thought, "Whoa total juice year?"

I'll give a few players who I think were juicing (besides the obvious ones):

Brett Boone 1998-2004
Ivan Rodrigeuz (possibly 1997) 1999-2001
Brian Giles 1999-2002
Rich Aurilla 2001

I included some of their seasons with odd number spikes. But, what is unfortunate is from now on, there is going to be a layer of doubt when a big leaguer who had put up large numbers has a bad year, because there'll be the quiet whispers behind their backs.

There's also alot of players with big single season, whom I believe did a one and done season on the juice to bump up there numbers for new contracts.

Edited: I was looking over the ridiculous numbers from the Colorado Rockies Heyday!

[DaveinMD]

48. Lawton is gone

The roids didn't help him. He sucked.

Giambi is clearly off roids. He is under constant treatment from a tumor which includes bloodwork. Much more stringent than a blood test. But I undertand the skepticism. I think over half the league was juicing under the psudo encouragement of the powers that be. Brett Boone's career ended as soon as testing was introduced. I think the newest Yankee Mr. Damon was a roider. I think Piazza was clearly a roider. Brady Anderson obviously. No doubt about Ivan. I think Jeff Kent is very suspicious. A lot of guys. More b-level players than you think and more pitchers than you think. Especially relievers.

On the competition issue, I think contraction of a few teams would be a good idea. I don't mind luxery taxes. But I don't think all revenue sharing should only be tied to payroll. Philadelphia is a large market, but they have usually run their team like a small market club. There needs to be some incentive to get teams to spend up to a certain amount. Some owners just don't seem interested in winning.

[genie_weenie]

49. How do you feel about Damon?

I realize the Yankees needed someone to replace Ruben Sierra and Bernie Baseball as those 2 are decrepit dinosaurs, but to choose Damon? Doesn't his being in the black pinstripes seem incorrect? I mean Albert Puljous is the next Frank Thomas but, if the Cubs acquired him I might be happy the Cards got shafted, it would "seem" wrong. Puljous might be an exception since he is such a stud hitter, maybe a more appropriate analogy would be Jim Edmonds. However, I am going to be rooting for Corey Patterson this year over in Camden.

I think you're right about the pitchers being roided up. It would be an interesting case study if someone tried to track the bizarre rise in tendon, ligament injuries that have afflicted baseball lately. As I understand, since you can not increase the strength of those fibers, the increased muscle mass leads to a rise of overworked, overstretched, overstressed tendons, resulting in sprains, pulls, tears beyond the norm.

Also, I think the Owners have to realize their success is tied into the continuation of the league and strong competition. The owners who don't care about winning clearly do not appreciate this and are only interested in the yearly buck.

Brady is one of the biggest "see no evil" Juicer cases ever!
Homer Totals-
92 21
93 13
94 12
95 16
96 50
97 18
98 18
99 24
00 19

The 1996 season represents one quarter of his career HR total...

http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stats/historical/individual_stats_player.jsp?c_id=mlb&playerID=110229

[DaveinMD]

50. I was not happy about getting Damon

Sierra was awful, but irrelevent. It was about Bernie. Bernie is one of my favorite players ever, but he can't play the field anymore. Damon is a good player, but its going to be weird seeing him as a Yankee. It will take some time getting used to that. I was hoping to trade for Brad Wilkerson. I also think the contract was too long. Its exactly the kind of move I don't want us making. I was hoping Melky Cabrera would take over in another year or so at the position.

[DaveinMD]

27. Jones

has a career 319 obp to Burnitz's 348

[genie_weenie]

28. J Jones is 30, Burnitz is 36.

That's enough difference. Jones however, is a carbon copy of Corey Patterson. But Jones is going to bat 5th. Pierre has managed to score 90 or more runs the last 4 (90, 100, 100, 96) seasons, while only hitting 7 homers in that time. So, he's getting on enough to be driven in alot. Pierre's OBP was low last season but I think the Cubs are expecting Pierre and Jones to perfomance as they did in the 2002 and 2003 seasons. they each hit over .300 both years.

[DaveinMD]

29. I think Pierre is in decline already

and BA isn't as important as obp. The Cubs don't seem to understand this. They don't have any high obp guys except for Lee.

[genie_weenie]

30. Quite technically OBP isn't as important as runs scored

I guy can have a cruddy OBP and still score alot of runs. However, you are correct that the Cubs management is lacking in the understanding of what wins games. Of course, the whole league has been in a Steriod induced Coma for the last 14 years. The league is finally waking up to solid baseball fundementals, good pitching, timely hitting, good defense, smart baserunning. These are all areas where the Cubs lacked last year, whether it was due to injuries (pitching), timely hitting (only Lee provided timely hitting, I could give a shit about Michael Barret getting a 2 out double with Strikeout Patterson on deck), and the Cubs for whatever reason have made terrible decsions on the basepaths for the last half dozen years...

And like I said Jones is a clone of Patterson but, I do recall Jones always beating the White Stockings with timely homers, so maybe Cubs Management brought him in for that reason...

[DaveinMD]

31. runs scored

is a function of team and lineup. OBP is a team neutral stat. Its much more valuable than runs scored in determining value and predicting success. The teams that score lots of runs usually are at the top in obp. Good hitter get timely hits. Check out baseball prospectus. Lots of good stuff out there on these topics.

[HuskerDU]

32. How about comparing Patterson to Pierre? That is how the guys

we got, are better at OBP than the guys we let go. A ham sandwich has a better OBP than Patterson.

[genie_weenie]

33. Pierre's day game numbers stack up nicely

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
45 188 35 61 5 4 1 15 77 11 13 20 5 .374 .410 .324

.374 OBP. Very nice.

Of course, this works against me because Jones was uninspiring during day games last year.

[DaveinMD]

36. such stats

aren't too meaningful because of small sample size issues.

[genie_weenie]

39. I'm not sure I'd call 200 plate apperance a small sample size

But, thanks for the conversation! If your a baltimore fan, here's to hoping the O's can fix Patterson, he has the tools!

Peace...

[DaveinMD]

40. nope

I'm a Yankees fan. I haven't switched the avatar back from football season. A native new yorker who lives in Maryland. Statistically speaking, I believe 200 at bats to be a small sample size. I could be wrong. I think day and night numbers tend to even out over time. Best of luck this year. I was really hoping for that Yankees-Cubs World Series a few years back.

[DaveinMD]

34. you are correct about that

I still think your plan is way off base. You guys gave up way too much for Pierre. Neifi Perez is still going to get too many at bats because Dusty Baker loves him and his veterans. By the way, I root for the Cubs to do well. I hope Baker gets fired soon to save Prior's career.

[genie_weenie]

35. Well here's some scary speculation by Steve Stone

A good start gets Dusty a contract extenstion. Of course, I don't know if that is one of the face saving extenstions which are worthless and just indicatea buy out of the manager, but to keep him from being a lame duck.

And you are totally correct about Nefi getting a ton of at bats, so we don't get to see if Cedeno can play and Murton is only going to see 200 plate apperances this year as Marquis Grissiom is assured of getting play under Dusty.

Hopefully, Maddux will decide to play a few more years, his arm hasn't ever been blown out, although he doesn't get the Umpire expanded strike zone anymore.

Todd Walker is sure to be traded. Walker was po'ed on the score today, complaining that sports reporters have this fantasy that he can't play defense and won't let it go.

[DaveinMD]

37. fun talking baseball with you

and good luck to your team. And I hope Prior can stay healthy. He should be the next Clemens if Dusty doesn't ruin him.

[Bluzmann57]

51. Well, I'm worried about Prior

He's been soft pedaling it in Spring training so far, supposedly because he was sick in December. Excuse me, but if he was sick in December, he should be over it by now, unless it was something serious. The fact is, Prior is injury prone. If the Cubs can get a decent starter and a good bat, I'd trade him now, while he still has worth. Jerome Williams and a kid named Rich Hill are going to be good pitchers and are ready for prime time.

[genie_weenie]

52. Crap on Crutch! Baseball Prospectus says Prior has shoulder pain!

"Reliable sources -- the same ones that tipped us early to Prior's Achilles problems -- now tell us that Prior is having shoulder problems,'' the report said, adding that Prior looked "weak and sick.''

http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-prior21.html

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060221&content_id=1317995&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

[genie_weenie]

57. Baseball Prospectus was right about Prior, now Lee is hurt!

Well, another year of injuries for the dynamic duo of Wood and Prior. The Cubs will be lucky to get 20 wins from the 2 of them combined. Maddux is going to leave the Cubs again, unless Hemdry goes out of his way to keep him!

Derek Lee has a similar injury to Prior's, thankfully WBC Team Suck (AKA Team USA) was eliminated so Lee can come back to the Cubs.

Aaaaaargh!!!!!


http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-0603170169mar17,1,1498125.story?coll=chi-sportsnew-hed

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-060315mitchell,1,4161254.column?coll=cs-home-utility&ctrack=1&cset=true

[DaveinMD]

53. I think Prior's problems

are from being overworked at a young age.

[genie_weenie]

54. Meet the Source of Prior's Pain!

The author (Will Carroll) of the Baseball Prospectus report that questioned the health of Mark Prior's right shoulder hopes his information is wrong.

Why? Because he's a Cubs fan. Always has been.


http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-0602230117feb23,1,1680928.story?coll=cs-sports-print&ctrack=1&cset=true

[genie_weenie]

55. Kerry Wood (Forever Injured)

Adapted from the Rod Stewart Barf-o-Rama Song

May the Billy Goat be with you
Down every Minor league rehab mound you throw
And may athroscoptic and crostisone
surround you when you're in the trainers room
And may you grow to be proud
of the 13 million dollars
the cubs have given to you
Be fragile and injury prone
And in the hearts of Cubs fans you'll always stay
Forever injured, forever injured
Forever injured, forever injured

May the Fans fortune be with you
May the surgical light be strong
re-build a complete knee or elbow
With a Prior or a Maddux

May you never pitch in pain
And in the hearts of Cubs fans you will remain
Forever injured, forever injured
Forever injured, forever injured
Forever injured
Forever injured
Forever injured

And when you finally leave via Free Agency
I'll be hoping for more of the same
For all the wisdom of a change in mechanics
No one could ever tell you

But whatever team you choose
I’m right behind you, Cubs lose
Forever injured, forever injured
Forever injured, forever injured
Forever injured, forever injured
For, forever injured, forever injured

[aaronbees]

56. Cubs fan here...

No opinion yet on the '06 season ... been pretty out of the loop about the roster.