text:
|Brian Moehler, RHP 1-4, 7.29 ERA, 42 IP 18 K, 13 BB, 8 HR 333/382/559 against, .338 BABIP
|Greg Maddux, RHP 5-3, 3.76 ERA, 55.0 IP 37 K, 14 BB, 4 HR 266/309/391 against, .307 BABIP
|*Juan Pierre, CF Ronny Cedeno, SS *Todd Walker, 2B Michael Barrett, C *Jacque Jones, RF Aramis Ramirez, 3B Matt Murton, LF #Neifi Perez, 2B Greg Maddux, P
|Hanley Ramirez, SS Dan Uggla, 2B *Mike Jacobs, 1B Miguel Cabrera, 3B #Joe Borchard, LF *Jeremy Hermida, RF Reggie Abercrombie, CF Miguel Olivo, C Brian Moehler, P
|Cubs vs. Moehler: Todd Walker: 7-18, 389/421/778, 2 HR, 1 BB, 4 K
1-0 Marlins. Ugh. Don't
1-0 Marlins.
Don't worry Neifi is playing today.
J. Jones reached on bunt
J. Jones reached on bunt single to third
OK, when Jaque Jones bunts
OK, when Jaque Jones bunts for a single...the sky has officially fallen.
26 pitches for Maddux in the 1st...amazing.
Wow...I hope that Neifi! and
Wow...I hope that Neifi! and Juan Pierre were watching that bunt. that was just beautiful...
and then the 6-4-3 dp...ouch.
Even Maddux has been
Even Maddux has been infected by Cubs stupidity. 2 outs, runner on, Cabrera up, .188-hitting Joe Borchard on deck. Pow. 1-0, Fish.
Why do they keep letting the Marlins' best hitter beat them? What the hell do they talk about in team meetings: "OK, does anybody know what to do when a great hitter is up with 2 outs and a terrible hitter is on deck? No? OK. Have a good game, everybody!"
They're shitty.
They're shitty.
You know as much as last
You know as much as last night's loss hurt..... It was kinda fun......The old Cub spirit is back in the Suz........Cause I knew all night we were gonna blow this game and we finally did......Go Cubs Go........After a little slump, I am back in the saddle and ready for more real Cub baseball......With a little luck we can still finish fifth this year.........Ain't life wonderful.
you're right, Rob. no
you're right, Rob. no matter what happens this season, i must say that i really enjoy having maddux on this team. win or lose, he's just a cool dude who plays hard. Double to left today.
Guys..I like Ronny Cedeno.
Guys..I like Ronny Cedeno. I think he will be a solid SS, and a good hitter.
Please take him to the batting cage and throw him curveball after curveball in the dirt, until he can start to consistently lay off that pitch, he will struggle.
Don't get excited about
Don't get excited about Maddux - he has to be trade bait at this point doesn't he?
Of course May hasn't been as kind to him as August but still....
Maddux is fun to watch and
Maddux is fun to watch and clearly a great guy...but I have to wonder if we passed on him and signed some younger top line pitcher if we would have been better off the last couple years.
When Maddux signed there was all that talk about how he makes pitchers on his team better...to no fault of his own, that hasn't really been the case.
His 4.0+ ERA is ok...but I think we need more from that from one of our two staples in the rotation.
Er..scratch August - say
Er..scratch August - say April.
"signed some younger top
"signed some younger top line pitcher if we would have been better off the last couple years"
Maddux was brought in to be fifth starter, injuries have made him the Cubs # 2.
you don't pay $8MM a year
you don't pay $8MM a year for a 5th starter.
I'm saying for the price, and considering what has happened, I think a younger more dependable starter may have served us better particularly in 04-05
And mind you...I started this line of thought before Maddux gave up 5 runs after 2 outs in the 5th.
man oh man.
WTF? Maddux love fest and
Maddux love fest and then bam!!!
Wow, well this looks like a Marlin sweep. Off day tomorrow. Coming back to Chicago for series against Braves.
Deseving or not, someone (dusty, coaches or both) should get wacked.
That is going to be one fun
That is going to be one fun flight back home.
Any more talk about signing Maddux for another year?
Have the Marlins swept anybody this year?
This season is turning into
This season is turning into a horror film that never ends.
Is this like Scrabble? Can
Is this like Scrabble? Can we throw our players/coaches/manager/GM/President back and draw new ones?
At this point, it would be a winning strategy...
two more GIDP's today. we
two more GIDP's today.
we are now last in the Majors in that category as well.
When there are men on base, the opposing pitcher is going to try to make you hit a ground ball.
Don't do it.
Where can I get one of those
Where can I get one of those "Bereaved" bracelets?
I think we can all agree
I think we can all agree that there is no easy solution with this team. It has a few good pieces, and whole bunch of parts that don't fit. The really issue is this team doesn't seem to fit well together.
Look at a team like the White Sox, are they the best individual players at there respective positions? No. But, the players fit well together. Look at the other Chicago teams whose stock is rising. The Bears, they have a plan and get players who they believe fit into it, same with the Bulls and Sox.
The Cubs don't seem to have a plan. They look at free agents and say "That player looked pretty good last year, maybe they can fit in with us?" Well, the truth is that some players play good in some systems, and not so well in others. Its all about identify the best players for YOUR team, not just pick-up random talent. The same goes for the coach
Look a the Mets of previous years, they stank awful, b/c they didn't have a plan. Now, we have the Cubs, who are vying for one of the worst teams in the National league, but spend lots of money. Money doesn't equal sucess. It can help, but a good GM and Manager go a long way.
put it next to the "In dusty
put it next to the "In dusty we trusty" bracelets...
Marlins have no 3-game
Marlins have no 3-game sweeps this year -- they did sweep a 2 games series from the Nationals.
Another first!
If the Marlins' lead holds
If the Marlins' lead holds up, and it is hard to believe it won't (I mean, the Cubs score 7 runs? C'mon, get serious), then we are 4-18 for our last 22 games. Surely, someone has to get fired now, even if it is just Carrie Muskrat, the Cubs' propagandist at cubs.com. More seriously, how is it possible that Dusty is gonna get an extension under these circumstances, as rumored? I realize that Dusty cannot hit for these guys, but a manager must be accountable at some point for the level of his team's play. Haven't we reached that point yet?
# 16 The Marlins have been
# 16
The Marlins have been involved in 7 sweeps this year. They swept the Gnats in a 2 game series. So I'm sure sweeping the Cubs won't go to their heads.
Lets hope that the Dallas
Lets hope that the Dallas Mavericks win the NBA Champsionship and then maybe Mark Cuban will get bored with them and make a bid on the Cubs.
I will go back to sleep now.
#20 of 24: By Brick (May 24,
#20 of 24: By Brick (May 24, 2006 01:55 PM)
Where can I get one of those "Bereaved" bracelets?
early candidate for post of the day
And the good news keeps on
And the good news keeps on coming-
From Cubs.com
Wood may not make next start
Feeling stiffness, righty might need more time to recover
Here's your Chicago
Here's your Chicago Trainwrecks
20 walks issued to the
20 walks issued to the Marlins this series. We've taken 4.
Baseball is a remarkably easy game to breakdown.
This team sucks! It is time
This team sucks! It is time to fire Dusty and all of the coaches. It is time to eat the contract of JJ. It is time to eat the contract of Neifi "GIDP" Perez.
Dusty and the coaches don't hit or pitch, but this team has no life or fire. At least Alou had some fire, it may not have been aimed at the right place, but he had fire. It just doesn't seem like they care and that I blame on the manager.
there has been some posts
there has been some posts lately that call for a protest for the games. I say attend the games but wear a bag over your head like the "ain'ts" did in New Orleans a few years back.
JJ, neifi, dusty... there
JJ, neifi, dusty...
there sure as hell been a lot more going on than that the past few days.
hell, even today that's not the problem.
aram, maddux, cedeno, novoa, pierre?
no, go out to the game,
no, go out to the game, drink more beer, buy more souvenirs, enjoy the sun. It's been working for 90+ years now. :)
a fan protest might be a
a fan protest might be a good idea to "us" but out of those 30-40K that go to games...we are a HUGE minority compared to the casual fan. the hardcore fan is a minority in almost every market...chicago's wrigley field its even more drowned.
They're still shitty.
They're still shitty.
"The really issue is this
"The really issue is this team doesn't seem to fit well together."
IMO, this is not the issue the real issue is a lack of a fundamental understanding of what wins baseball games, control of the strike zone. Cub hitters don't walk and don't get on base while Cub pitchers don't consistently throw strikes. Below is a chart showing the Cubs rank in the NL in walks taken, offensive OPB and walks issued.
2002 6th/12th/14th
2003 14th/13th/16th
2004 14th/11th/8th
2005 16th/11th/13th
2006 16th/16th/16th
I have tix for Friday's game
I have tix for Friday's game in the bleachers, help me with a sign. I was thinking-
"Is anyone accountable?"
but Crunch, but each of
but Crunch, but each of those 3 represent problems with the direction of this organization even if they are not necessarily the specific ones to blame.
We aren't going to eat Jaques contract after 2 months...way too early to judge that one (but was he ever worth 32 years). We aren't going to eat Neifi's contract although he never should have been given a multi year contract to begin with.
So that leaves us with Dusty from that list. you can't blame him for individuals under performing. But when an entire team, all aspects of that team under performs...you have to look to problems with the gameday approach. We are consistantly near the bottom of the league in walks taken and walks allowed...that's a fundamental problem with our game plan approach. When we watch our pitchers get themselves into trouble over and over again, and don't put the same pressure on the opposing pitchers, that's a problem with the game plan.
We pay Dusty $4MM a year...but if we can't place some reasonable blame on his shoulders for the Cubs falling apart in all facets of the game...then what is the purpose of a manager anyway? If a manager shouldn't be blamed for a team falling apart because he can't hit and throw, then why are we paying anyone $4MM?
But no, firing Dusty doesn't really solve any problems this year...and I don't expect to see it happen. But I also don't think trying to deflect blame away from him makes sense either. The buck needs to stop somewhere...and he is getting paid way too much money to manage an 18-28 team.
a sign? WWE Rules Can you
a sign?
WWE Rules
Can you smell what the rock is cooking?
Austin 3:16
or the classic "The people behind me paid $30 for me to block their view."
nice to see the walks
nice to see the walks stopped once dusty was hired. its called hittin
"look I can sit and do
"look I can sit and do nothing too!!"
Transactions - Major League
Transactions -
Major League Baseball - sent the Chicago Cubs down to AAA International League. Called up the Charlotte Knights.
block...but if anyone's
block...but if anyone's gonna keep going on and on and on about neifi, jj, dust while ignoring pierre, giving aram a free pass, and letting cedeno hit like neifi and that be okay cuz "he's a kid" then what's up with that? its not like dusty is making JJ thrive and telling pierre/aram to suck.
JJ's actually a top producer on the club...hell, i dunno how anyone can complain about his production when the rest of the club except barrett is falling flat on their faces...hate him or like him, just as i feel about dempste, he's getting it done more often than not so far. he's made a few blunders but they're not the kind that you're gonna see regularly.
i see these paragraphs long rants about presidents and managers, but when pierre/walker/cedeno/aram were struggling to hit .200 over a 3 week period rarely was much mentioned. barrett was hitting around .300 through that stretch with a single rbi!
this team sucks, but walker/aram/pierre are grown adult baseball players who know how to play this game and are being put in their proper roles...cedeno has cooled to neifi-area...d.lee's sitting at home...barrett's hitting...jj's there...the pitchers are walking the park...
hendry, dusty, and the coaches are gonna take a lotta hell, but this isnt the marlins and this team isnt filled with 5 year olds.
actually maddux hitting a water cooler and getting a trainer covered in water without saying "excuse me" or "sorry" is acting like a 5 year old, but that's a bunch nothing in the scheme of this May.
9-3 now. Surely, Dusty's
9-3 now. Surely, Dusty's firing will be announced after the game. This is getting ridiculous. I mean, is Hendry gonna stick with Dusty even if we go 4-18 for our next 22 games to make 8-36 for our last 44? As someone else commented, our schedule the next month is tougher on paper than it was the last month. I think it is well within the realm of possibility that this rudderless ship just continues down the same path. I think we ought to just forfeit the rest of our games and take everyone out of their misery. And yet, as awful as we are, you just know that 300 folks will sign up for the promotion over at cubs.com to meet the players on May 30th and be given a baseball and a chance to have the ball signed by whichever players bother showing up. The cost for this privilege and to be allowed on the field and for a "snack"? Just $300. No thanks.
C'mon Crunch. Managers are
C'mon Crunch. Managers are not irrelevant. When a team goes 4-18, I am sorry, but it reflects on the manager to some extent. Now, you and I may disagree on the extent to which it reflects on the manager but it has to. Yes, they are grown men but I do not believe that Dusty is motivating these guys. I don't know how you do that but, then again, I am not being paid millions, like Dusty. I just find it hard to believe, well, impossible to believe, that if players are playing a long way below their potential, it has nothing at all to do with the manager.
Crunch you are right Dusty
Crunch you are right Dusty is not the problem, but comments like "walks only clog the bases" lead me to believe that he has no idea what the problem is.
"this team sucks, but
"this team sucks, but walker/aram/pierre are grown adult baseball players who know how to play this game and are being put in their proper roles...cedeno has cooled to neifi-area...d.lee's sitting at home...barrett's hitting...jj's there...the pitchers are walking the park..."
But then why do we bother paying a manager $4MM. If these players don't need to be managed...then let's end his contract after the end of the year and pay Jody Davis $500K to manage.
I guess I kinda see you playing both sides of the coin...saying it's the whole team that sucks...but not acknowledging that when the whole team is off kilter that maybe you need to look up top to see why so many people aren't doing their jobs.
As for JJ, I agree with you...he isn't the problem at all, and is unfortunately stuck with his April reputation because everyone tuned out individual performance during our May team suckage. But the bigger point with that and Neifi is that those signings represent a lot about the direction that this team went this year...a direction that many people think is the wrong one.
Bottom line is, firing Dusty isn't going to make this team a winner. Having Lee and Prior back isn't going to make this team a winner. But, you have to begin to start somehwere, and while you can't change players easily...you can change managers. And if he isn't getting the best out of his players...find someone else and give them a chance.
At this point, I'm concerned about 2007 and 2008...2006 is effectively over as far as I'm concerned. But, by continuing with Dusty, we will continue with a gameplan that is not suited for this team and these players.
The only comment I have at
The only comment I have at this point is:
What the heck happened to the Bears in the playoffs? When does summer camp start.
The Cubs have no leaders. Dusty Baker gives a lot (maybe too much) respect for veterans. That's why players love to play for him and that's why your not likely see Theriot starting in front of any of the 3 2bmen. The only problem with this is if the players Dusty has just don't care. These guys are just too dull you've got no sparks on the team to lead them or do something to wake up. Everbody is just handling this like professionals and going out there and saying " we gotta get through this" "we keep trying...sometimes this happens" Somebody's gotta slap these guys. Where's Sarge when you need him.
Did Maddux really punch a
Did Maddux really punch a watercooler? Tell me this is some sort of exaggeration or metaphor or something that I didn't read correctly!
I think it is time to send a
I think it is time to send a message. Fire somebody. Fire Dusty, Sarge, Rothschild and his towell, Clines, and Pole. Get rid of some players and maybe you can wake these guys up. Do something even if it is wrong. Send a message to the fans that you are as pissed as we are. I am glad that Maddux showed some frustration. Someone should!
He didn't punch it. He hit
He didn't punch it. He hit it with a bat.
Ron and Pat even hinted that
Ron and Pat even hinted that we might be able to expect changes in the ballclub. They did mention management, but they may have also been referring to players. I agree, something has to be done.
Somebody get Novoa a live chicken.
Jack Jones will be a decent
Jack Jones will be a decent piece to this club as soon as we find a manager that will platoon him. A matt murton/jack jones platoon in left. With Carlos Lee in right would look mighty good next year.
Personally I do not care
Personally I do not care about waking these guys up. The entire team is contaminated by the losing, lackadaisical environment Dusty and his coaches have created. Nobody is ever held accountable, the coaching is consistently horrible and sends mixed messages. Twice in two years Dusty has said they didn't have a scouting report for an opposing player who beat them that night. Who's job is that? Not the players. Last year Sonny Jackson said the coaches did not have time to work with Corey Patterson and other players on bunting fundamentals because they played too many day games (Hendry claimed on Murphy's show last week that the coaches have time to work with players before home day games). Any young starting pitcher with an era above 5.00 is certain to dominate the Cubs - it happens over and over and over and over with pitchers from Cincy, Pitt, and Florida, to name a few. That tells me it's a coaching problem.
If any of the coaches are going to be named interim manager, the only choice has to be Chris Speier. He wasn't one of Dusty's buddies and hopefully he isn't contaminated, but it doesn't matter who they make manager. The organization needs to be blown up and rebuilt brick by brick. Everyone needs to go. Barrett, Aram (Mr. No-hustle himself), Wood, Prior, even Zambrano in the right deal. I just don't trust Jim Hendry to be the one to make any of these deals. He'll just use the same cookie cutter to get more POS players like this.
"Any young starting pitcher
"Any young starting pitcher with an era above 5.00 is certain to dominate the Cubs - it happens over and over and over and over with pitchers from Cincy, Pitt, and Florida, to name a few. That tells me it's a coaching problem."
Young starting pitchers with high ERA's typically don't throw strikes. The Cubs help them out by swinging early and often.
I just don't trust Jim
I just don't trust Jim Hendry to be the one to make any of these deals.
#55 fred garver-
and there is the dilemma. not only is the guy who acquired these players still on the payroll, he has been extended. prematurely. which indicates the guy above him on the payroll has questionable judgement as well. even if jim hendry suddenly found himself unemployed, along with the entire coaching staff, the man responsible for replacing the dearly departed would be the same.
and one can only presume that he would repeat many of the same errors. and would have some 'splaining to do as to why the people he wanted, and extended, were suddenly gone.
but i'm no advocate of keeping the devil i know for fear of the devil i don't know. time for a change. several changes. now.
what i fear most at this time is that "management" either:
a. thinks 2006 can be salvaged or
b. will do nothing for 6 more weeks, in hopes of selling as many players as possible at the deadline to as many buyers as possible. effectively, becoming a feeder club to genuine major league clubs. if players are worth selling, let the selling commence!!
You know for all the
You know for all the speculation that Dusty doesn't like Chicago, and might not even accept an extension, He really has found the perfect place for him to be.
Dusty get $4 million dollars a year, and doesn't care if his team wins or loses.
Meanwhile, his bosses in Hendry and McFail say everything is ok no matter how badly the team performs.
And all 3 of them get angry if fans or the media dare question why the team is playing the crap-tastic baseball we've seen out of them over the past 3 seasons.
It's really a match made in heaven, why would he want to be anywhere else?
1. Purchase a plain white
1. Purchase a plain white t-shirt before your next game at Wrigley.
2. Write "FIRE DUSTY" in huge block letters on said t-shirt with a marker.
3. Repeat until it catches on and spreads through the park.
I can understand why injuries would explain a sweep to the likes of the Cardinals or (hurts to say this) White Sox. You can't defend the manager when you get swept by the Marlins. Sorry, but there's no excuse whatsoever.
The Marlins have one major league pitcher and one major league position player on their roster. That's it.
Dusty should resign. Hendry shouldn't even NEED to fire him after this sweep.
Or maybe he should be forced to stay on all season. We're stuck with this. Why shouldn't he be?
I don't know if this has
Dusty get $4 million dollars
Dusty get $4 million dollars a year, and doesn't care if his team wins or loses.
I assume that was out of frustration, but you knows that's not true.
nice article, does that
nice article, does that fella really think it's a good idea to play Jones against Buehrle though? 1 for 27 or something will all kinds of K's....
Yeah that was a stretch
Yeah that was a stretch
CUBS = Completely Useless By
CUBS = Completely Useless By September, or the revised version:
CUBS = Completely Useless by Summer
Caving Under Bakers Stupidity
If McFail were a real leader
If McFail were a real leader he would find a way to fire Hendry (break his contract) and fire Dusty tomorrow...There needs to be some serious accountability for the Cubs terrible performance...A team that is in the Cubs situation needs a total rebuild and the current management and coaching organization just can't get the job done.
I posted this earlier today and I think it makes a lot of sense...
{...Robert Warner of the Battle Creek Enquirer compares Jim Leyland to Dusty Baker in his response to my original article on "Busty" (link above). One big difference would be Leyland has won a World Series that he should have lost (1997). Dusty choked away a World Series (2002) and gave away a trip to the World Series in 2003. Baker was out-witted in both cases by superior GAME managers in Mike Sciocia and Jack McKeon. McKeon was a mid-season manager change for the Marlins in '03. As far as Leyland (butt-kicker) with the Tigers, he's doing far more with arguably the same talent that Alan Trammell (player's coach like Dusty) had...}
I predict with reasonable
I predict with reasonable certainty that there will be significant announcement coming from the Chicago Cubs tomorrow. Fan disgust is at an all time high and the team is coming home to play over the holiday weekend and the official start of summer. I look for one of the following two scenarios to happen.
A. Gene Clines and/or Larry Rothschild are fired and a shake-up is made to the roster (and no, brining up Tony Womack doesn't qualify as shakeup)
B. Andy McFail comes down from his ivory tower and forces Jim Hendry to make Dusty Baker the sacrificial lamb by firing him.
You watch. One of these two things will happen. There is no way the Cubs enter this weekend series under the current circumstances. Fan mutiny has a way of getting the attention of even the most incompetent and dopey of ownership teams. To me, firing Dusty is the wrong thing to do. In my view Hendry is the one most culpable for this unmitigated disaster.
Well..... it looks like if
Well..... it looks like if Lee and Prior come back and are productive, this team could possibly win 65-70 games. The problem is Dusty will be long gone by then and some other sacrificial lamb will be in his place. The Cub "Talking Heads" will be telling us the problem is fixed. Next year we will be right back here with a lousy team and a new manager taking the blame.
#67 of 67: By Mike (May 24,
#67 of 67: By Mike (May 24, 2006 04:40 PM)
so do you think that dusty deserves to keep his job?
To me, firing Dusty is the
To me, firing Dusty is the wrong thing to do.
Please, give me just one reason based on anything Dusty has done in the past 3 years to justify keeping his job.
#68 of 69: By Sweet Suzy
#68 of 69: By Sweet Suzy (May 24, 2006 04:44 PM)
Well..... it looks like if Lee and Prior come back and are productive, this team could possibly win 65-70 games. The problem is Dusty will be long gone by then and some other sacrificial lamb will be in his place. The Cub "Talking Heads" will be telling us the problem is fixed. Next year we will be right back here with a lousy team and a new manager taking the blame.
Thats the Beauty of the situation. Its always someone elses fault.
I am going to post trade
I am going to post trade idea #1.
to arizona
Greg maddux
scott williamson
to chicago
Carlos Quentin
I'm not going to defend
I'm not going to defend Dusty too hard, but my Lord anybody who takes a look at the roster Jim Hendry constructed has to be appalled. The man has nearly $100 million at his disposal to spend on payroll. His "strategy" for winning the past three seasons has been to cross his fingers and toes and hope like heck that the enigmatic Kerry Wood pitches like Curt Schilling and that Mark Prior pitches like Tom Seaver. Wood has been member of the big league roster for nine seasons now and Cub management is still awaiting fulfillment of promise. Meanwhile Prior missed significant chunks of the 2004 and 2005 seasons and is well on his way to missing half of 2006 even though NOBODY (including Cub management) quite knows for sure what is wrong with him. My own personal opinion is that Prior, who grew up in a wealthy family, doesn't really have the intestinal fortitude to be a major league pitcher. Either that or he is homesick and wants to be playing for the Dodgers, Angels or Padres. How else do you explain his fake rehabilitation program going on in the Southwest? I'm guessing he watched today's game while sitting by the poolside sipping margaritas today.
Please Tribune Company executives, SELL this team.
Maddux does have a full
Maddux does have a full no-trade clause fwiw, although you'd think a NL West Coast team would make him think about it. A contract extension would really make him think about it.
Again, Dusty is culpable for
Again, Dusty is culpable for some of this mess and I refuse to defend him too hard. But if anybody thinks bringing in a new manager is magicially going to transform this God-awful $95 million roster, then I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. Firing Dusty will be the equivalent of putting a band-aid on a hospital patient who instead needs quadruple bypass surgery. Sure a new manager might provide this team with a spark and the players will go on a sugar buzz and winn 5 out of 7, but ultimately the level of talent (or lack thereof) on this roster will rear its ugly head.
i am not aware of any No
i am not aware of any No trade clause. are you sure?
So Mike, you don't think
So Mike, you don't think Dusty should be fired, but you can't provide any reason why Dusty should keep his job.
No, this is not a good roster, yes, Jim Hendry needs to take some of the blame, but none of that excuses just how bad this team is playing under Dusty.
I mean, come on, this team is not so poorly built that it should be getting blown out and swept by the Marlins.
#61 Bleeding Blue always
Bleeding Blue always knows what people are thinking. Dusty doesn't care if they win or lose, and the players have no desire to win. See? It's simple in his world.
season may be lost, but no
season may be lost, but no reason to go into next season with the same captain who keeps stearing us into icebergs.
bottom of this article confirms Maddux no-trade:
#79 of 79: By Rob G. (May
#79 of 79: By Rob G. (May 24, 2006 05:04 PM)
season may be lost, but no reason to go into next season with the same captain who keeps stearing us into icebergs.
bottom of this article confirms Maddux no-trade:
If firing Dusty will appease
If firing Dusty will appease the circling sharks, then go ahead and fire him. I really don't care. But don't sit here and tell me an interim or permanent new manager will produce marginally better results with this roster. It is SO like the Cubs to whack the manager and ignore the fundamental core of the problem.
* Jim Hendry's famed minor league system is a bust. What happened to all those "can't miss" prospects of just a few years ago? I'm smart enough to know that not all top prospects make the cut, but my goodness the continued futility of our player development system is the stuff of legends.
* Outside of signing Greg Maddux and acquiring Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez (who plays like a dog anymore) from organizations desperate to shave payroll, what are the visionary or great trades or free agent signings made by Hendry? Remlinger and Hawkins were busts. Juan Pierre has a sub .300 on base percentage and two RBIs. $16 million was handed over to a platoon player in Jacque Jones. Where are the great trades? Where are the inspired and bold free agent signing? This isn't Kansas City or Pittsburgh. Hendry has $100 million to play with folks.
So, in summary, pardon me if I don't crap solely over Dusty for this mess. Make Dusty the scapegoat and it will still be more of the same until the Tribune Company sells and Andy McFail and Jim Hendry are out of jobs.
You're right Tommy, this
You're right Tommy, this team is playing with nothing but heart and desire, and just like it did in 2004 and 2005. How dare I question that.
I have seen lots of bad, bad Cubs teams. I've seen lots of Cubs teams that even on their best days needed a prayer for a victory. This is a team that is simply plays like the results of the games don't matter.
Yes, Mike, you make a nice
Yes, Mike, you make a nice case for why Jim Hendry should be fired, that's all good and well.
But that doesn't mean that Dusty is doing a good job as a manager.
You said that Dusty Baker should keep his job. Why? If he should keep his job, it should be simple to find just one reason to support your position.
Worst. Cubs Team. Ever. Yes,
Worst. Cubs Team. Ever. Yes, I've been around some horrible Cubs teams that lost more games than this 06 bunch will likely lose. But those teams didn't have $100MM payrolls and a $4MM retard manager, either. They even had some fun guys to root for, while we have....what, Sean Marshall?
It's never been this bad and hopeless from my perspective. Nothing short of TOTAL management firing can begin the (long) process towards rebuilding a better model.
if dusty would just tell
if dusty would just tell pierre, cedeno, aram, and the 2nd base crew to start hitting all this wouldnt matter.
and the fact dusty is making these pitchers walk all these guy is inexcusable.
i dunno why he keeps making these hitters hit singles, either. he's told murton not to get but 1 extra base hit from april 28th til last night! what is up with that?
this team is just a few moments of motivation, hustle, magic, and unicorns away from a 100 game winning streak, but dusty refuses to pat people on the ass and say "rah rah!" which is solely responsible for the nearly .120 point drop in slugging. what a greedy dick.
kids like pierre, walker, jones, barrett, etc. need to have constant grooming to become the hitters they'll be once they're 25 years old. they're still fresh and new to the game, but with the right crew one day they could be great.
Dusty Baker's a lame
Bleeding Blue: Go ahead and
Bleeding Blue:
Go ahead and fire Dusty. The man certainly has made managerial mistakes. I don't think he is the primary mess, but you and the rest of the circling sharks want blood and you shall have a meal.
I look at that lineup and that bench and that starting rotation, and I see a colossal mess that not even Bobby Cox, Joe Torre or Ozzie Guillen could have any hope of winning with. But lets go out and hire the 267th manager over the past two decades and cross our fingers all over again.
Look at the roster. Juan Pierre had a bad 2005, and is having a wretched 2006. Matt Murton is overhyped and probably destined to be right handed version of Todd Hollandsworth at his peak. Aramis Ramirez plays like a dog and is precisely the type of player good teams get rid of. Todd Walker and Michael Barrett play awful defense. Barrett is terrible working with pitchers. Jock Jones is nothing more than a platoon player. Do I even have to bring up the names of Henry Blanco (awful), Neifi Perez (awful), Jerry Hairston (awful), John Mabry (washed up and awful) and Freddie Bynum (awful and proves there actually IS a player on this planet worse than Jose Macias)? Sean Marshall should be pitching at Double A. Rich Hill is beyond awful even though Hendry labeled the guy an untouchable last winter (snicker). Mark Prior is on schedule to miss one half the season for reasons that NOBODY (including Jim Hendry and the medical staff) can put there finger on. Kerry Wood is an enigmatic pile of wasted talent. Michael Wuertz, Will Olhman and Roberto Novoa are garbage.
But, like I said, go fire the manager.
Who is Baltimore's batting
Who is Baltimore's batting coach: C. Patterson 111 AB - 19 SO - .358 OBP - .306 AVG
Sorry Mike I disagree with
Sorry Mike I disagree with you when you say that no other manager could have done even "marginally better" than Dusty the last month. Give me a break. We are 4-18. Do you seriously believe that 4-18 reflects zero percent on Dusty? Sure, empirical proof will not be forthcoming from me, or from you for that matter, but I just believe that Dusty is not motivating these guys to play, which I believe the manager has a role in. Yes, they are grown men but that is true for all major league teams. And yet we can all cite examples in the last five to ten years of teams that took off and played much, much better ball after a manager was fired. The Marlins in 2003 are just one example.
Yes, that team had much more talent that our current group of guys but that point does not defeat my premise, which is that a manager can make a difference at least "marginally." Specifically, I have to believe that a manager that wanted to be something other than a buddy to our players could have gotten maybe one or two more wins out of these guys the last 22 games. Not much of a difference? I agree. But it would be at least a "marginal" difference.
Is Dusty being fired enough? Heavens no. But surely you don't want him back next year, do you? So let's just get rid of him now. I don't see what else we can do DURING THE CURRENT SEASON to get a few more wins, you know, to win a game occasionally. (I think it is unlikely that there is a player out there who we can magically trade for at this point that is going to help us out very much this year.) I think Hendry or MacPhail or both should also be fired. But I suspect they have less to do with the players' day to day attitudes than a manager does. So let's start with Dusty and move on from there.
so sporting news says lame
so sporting news says lame duck and steve stone says sure thing extension.
let the battle for the minds of fans begin.
honestly, i dunno how they can bring him back...even if he rolled up into the playoffs...there's too many people looking for a shakeup that just don't wanna look at the players, themselves.
i have never seen a cubs cornerstone do a job like aram has without hardly a word of his performance.
The Cubs stuck with Corey
The Cubs stuck with Corey Patterson for over 1,600 major league at bats. When they tried to work with him, he proved lazy and disinterested. Perhaps he has finally invested personal energy into making himself a major league caliber player because he finally realized his meal ticket was about to expire if he didn't do so. I can't fault anybody within the Cub organization for the failure of Patterson.
AaronB, You beat me to the
You beat me to the post. I was reading an article today at baseballthinkfactory about all the blown saves the Braves have and my next thought was at what point do Williamson and Maddux get shipped down there? I thought Maddux has said he either wanted to retire a Cub or Brave, but would also entertain the thought of a West Coast NL team like the Dodgers or Padres.
My only question is, do you think Schurholtz (sp?) will be able to keep a straight face when he hands over a "toolsy, athletic" 2nd base prospect that he convinced Hendry to fall in love with for Maddux and Williamson?
If Hendry will actually admit he botched this season and he starts trading some veterans, I can't wait for the crap he starts taking in return. Unfortunately this time, he is on the other end, so he won't have the luck of dealing with GM's as dumb as he is
Another note: Dusty should have been fired after 2004, he should have been fired after 2005, so now just because Hendry is an idiot and this team blows, it doesn't mean Dusty no longer deserves to be fired. They all need to go.
c.patterson having a hot
c.patterson having a hot month doesnt mean a whole lot, honestly...mostly cuz of how he's doing it.
he's still doing pretty much everything the same except his SB attempts and SB/CS rate. the guy hasnt revolutionized anything in his game aside from his running confidence. he's looking a lot like the 04 corey at least...not the miss-horribly 05 corey.
So if I am to understand ARM
So if I am to understand ARM and Bleeding, the magic elixir for the Cubs is to employ a new manager who will tell select players not to suck so much. "Hey Juan, don't ground out weakly to the pitcher... get a sharp single to right." "Hey Todd, stop playing defense like a ship at anchor." "Hey Michael, work with our pitchers better and start throwing runners out." "Jacque, please stop running the bases like you have crap for brains." "Look Kerry, enough is enough....I need for you to invest in a brain, figure out your mechanics and reel off a 20 win season." "Mark, lets stop with the extended vacation in the Southwest with mystery ailment." "Aramis, stop playin like a dog." "Neifi, please stop being Neifi." "Henry, would it help if I can't get the rules changed so you can hit the ball off a tee?" "Freddie, your not good. From now on I'd like for you to run out and get us hotdogs during the 7th inning stretch." "Mabry, I'm going to see if we can't release you so you can go back to home in St. Louis and watch Cardinals games on the tube." Etc.
Dusty could make a case to
Dusty could make a case to help these guys out if he would teach them a take sign. Good lord this is the freeswingingest bunch I have seen since my daughters last T-ball game.
So again Mike, You say that
So again Mike, You say that Dusty Baker should not be fired.
But just to be clear, you can not provide a single reason why he should keep his job.
I was at Wood's first start
I was at Wood's first start last Thursday. Guess it's a good time to post my impressions of the new bleachers, since it's really only beer and sun that anyone can enjoy there now.
When sitting in the bleachers, you don't really notice the changes unless you're looking at the batter's eye in CF. I took my usual seat along a line from 3rd to 2nd to RF, sitting right on that line. Seemed like nothing had changed from that perspective.
The concourse around the back is very wide. The last row of bleachers is now higher than it was in comparison to the concourse. The effect of that is that people can't stand behind the last row of bleachers and watch the game, so there is less crowding there, making the bigger concourse seem MUCH bigger.
There are beer and food vendors on the concourse. There are the vendors behind the batter's eye, those seem unchanged. There is a new(second) women's room. The old food spot on the ground floor is now a swag store, and a bigger food spot is further to the right(as you come in).
Basically, it's the same only better.
So tell me Bleeding Blue,
So tell me Bleeding Blue, where did you learn that argumentative style of yours? "So you still can't tell me why Dusty shouldn't be fired...blah, blah, blah." Apparently reading comprehension is an acquired skill. To reiterate for the umpteenth time, go ahead and whack Dusty if that is what will make all you circling sharks in the water happy. A new manager might result in this team going on a temporary sugar buzz, but absent Fergie Jenkins, Billy Williams, Ernie Banks and Ryne Sandberg magically returning to their prime and putting on a Cub uniform, it won't make a hill of beans difference. The roster sucks. And sucks bad.
I've sat in the new
I've sat in the new bleachers and like them. A lot. Big improvement in my book.
Look Mike, the simply
Look Mike, the simply question is whether you think a manager can make ANY difference in terms of wins and losses? You refuse to answer that question. I don't know what managers like McKeon did when he was brought in back in 2003. But the team started playing better down there, much better. I guess you would say that was just a coincidence. Well, I don't believe it. I think a manager can make a difference. Is that difference saying the ad nauseum list of things you cite in # 94, no. But a simple change in managers can make a difference. See Florida Marlins 2003. Will we make the playoffs after Dusty is fired? No. But I think we might at least occasionally win a game with a different manager. Yes, again, by all means, after Dusty is fired, fire MacPhail or Hendry or both and then bring in some better players bit by bit. But why not start with Dusty?
I don't know. I just feel like you are not really reading some of the messages you are responding to. I have never said that firing Dusty will be a "magic elixir." All I have said is that I think it could help us occasionally win a game and, gee, maybe even against the 2006 Marlins.
Again: simple question for you: Do you want Dusty back in 2007? (And no, I am not asking whether you think it is all his fault or that the players have no responsibility in all of this or that Hendry and MacPhail are not to blame, too.) I am simply asking if you want Dusty back in 2007 period end of sentence.
Crunch Alert! For what it's
Crunch Alert!
For what it's worth, Steve Stone on WSCR said he knows there "are atleast 6 players in the clubhouse that will be happy when Dusty is gone."
My guesses-
Thats a quarter of the team if he is correct.
In April there was a great
In April there was a great deal of optimism for this very same Cubs team.
We just got swept by the Marlins, a team which none of us would rate better than the Cubs, talent wise, even with DLee gone.
It looks to me like the whole Cubs team is underachieving, and our former rejects go elsewhere and improve.
I agree that CPatt's indifference was irritating, and I wanted to get rid of him too. Now I wonder where that indifference came from.
When the whole team underachieves to this degree, it is difficult to convince me that the problem does not lie with coaching.
Yet again Crunch, I ask you
Yet again Crunch, I ask you what is the purpose of a manager...you continue to imply that he doesn't hit, he doesn't throw walks, it's the players, players, players.
Then what is the purpose of a manager, and why are we paying so much for one.
No, a manager doesn't swing the bat and doe3sn't throw walks. But when your entire staff and entire team is near the bottom of the league year in and year out in walks allowed and walks taken...that shows that there is something wrong with the entire game plan...there is something a miss as to how we are approaching games.
This team sucks with or without Dusty...but why in the world would you bring him back when over the last 2 seasons (plus the end of 2004) oversea a team that underperforms in all aspects of the game.
You can't fire pierre, can't fire aram...but you can change the clubhouse and the game plan by getting rid of the manager. Or if you think the talent will not be there no matter who is managing, then you don't re up a guy for $4MM a year.
I really have trouble understanding your perspective crunch. It seems that no critism of ownership is legitmate, no critisicm of general management is legitmate and no criticism of in game management is legitmate. It's all about the players and they are the only ones to blame.
Who put this group of players together?
Who is responsible for making sure thesep layers play up to their potential?
I know me and a couple others have joked at times about you being employed by the Cubs...obviously I don't think that's true...but help me understand your perspective, where your point of view is coming from....as to me, it's becoming more and more irrational the worse the Cubs are doing.
jacos...yesterday stone was
jacos...yesterday stone was saying dusty's extension was a sure thing...now he's got inside info on a definate # of cubs players who are glad when he's gone. what kinda person who knows dust is gonna get an extension is going around trying to find out who will be happy when dust is gone?
btw, i find it hard to believe walker is one of them for many reasons.
Simple answer. I am
Simple answer. I am indifferent whether Dusty returns in 2007. My opinion is he will not. Either he made to be made the sacrificial lamb within a matter of hours, or he and the Cubs come to an amicable parting of ways during the offseason. Dusty makes no secret of the fact that he is a west coast guy and has never warmed up to Chicago. That more than anything is the reason why I think his days in Chicago will come to a close if he isn't whacked tomorrow.
If not Dusty, then who do I want managing this ballclub? Two words. Mike Maddux. Mark my words, Maddux who is current pitching coach in Milwaukee is going to be the next solid manager in this league.
The "argumentative style"
The "argumentative style" you refer to is me asking one question and you refusing to answer it.
Yes, Mike, you have made it perfectly clear that you do not like the roster Jim Hendry has put together. But the two men have separate jobs, and just because one man does a bad job at his, it doesn't mean the other man gets a free pass. You keep saying that you won't defend dusty too hard, but you haven't defended him at all, you simply refuse to discuss how he performs his job.
You said quote "Firing Dusty would be the wrong thing to do"
I simply want an answer as to why? If Firing Dusty Baker is the wrong thing to do, then why is it so hard for you to name one single thing that Dusty Baker has to deserve keeping his job.
The sharks are about to be
The sharks are about to be fed. Let me whittle down my previous prediction to one option.
Dusty Baker will be fired Thursday morning.
Like I said for what its
Like I said for what its worth, because hes getting an extension doesn't mean he has players who do not like.
I don't know the number of players on any given team do not like the manager.
My guesses are that, guesses. My feeling on Walker was because of the Dusty off season phone call and Walker misunderstood.
block...not to be a dick,
block...not to be a dick, but i get asked my view every few months about a manager and his duties and im kinda tired of answering it. i'm not trying to be an asshole, but its there in the past if you care to search.
im not gonna assume that a change in management will change how ballplayers put into their proper roles go about playing the game...and for every speculation of a broken clubhouse there's more than enough legitamite/real responces from the clubhouse that its not. given that almost all of these players have been around about a decade in the pros on more than 1 team, i find it hard to believe there's some 'rah-rah' cheerleading issue that's causing these professionals to underperform.
maddux was given huge props for "mentoring" marshall...aka, talking to him on the bench though most of us dont know what was being said...so is maddux now to blame for marshall not pitching like he was? should maddux be banned from talking to the youth? i mean, c'mon...ultimately its up to the player who's given the ball, fielding the ball, or hitting the ball.
It seems like the people who
It seems like the people who are attacking those that are calling for Dusty to be fired feel that those calling for the firing think that's the answer to all of our problems.
I really doubt anyone feels that way.
No, firing Dusty doesn't solve problems. But clearly, keeping him at the helm of this team isn't solving any problems either.
A Manager of a company doesn't necessarily do the everyday tasks...but he is responsible for making sure the everyday tasks are being performed to the best ability possible. If things go south at a company and numbers decline...even if there are other factors at work that the manager has no control over...ultimately, the company is going to make a change to try to reinvigerate the office.
To me, the same principles are at work here. You pay a guy a lot to come work with you and turn things around, you want a return on your investment. IF that return isn't there...you certainly don't extend the contract of that manager.
Again, I'm not concerned about this year at all...it's done. But I am about 2007. Dusty is simply not right for this team...and if we are going to turn it around, it needs to happen under someone else who has a different approach to the game entirely.
Mike, the sharks you speak
Mike, the sharks you speak of should have been fed 2 years ago.
Dusty has done nothing to help this ballclub.
Firing him will be the first step towards fixing the Cubs many problems.
i still dont know why anyone
i still dont know why anyone would think dust's extension is imminent except for those that hate this "administration" so much they just want to assume its gonna happen cuz its the worst thing they can think of.
i'm yet to see a shred, even a small shred, of dust's extension even being discussed amongst those that actually have control over his situation.
Miek you are so far off with
Miek you are so far off with your shark bullsh%t. Read back 2 or 3 years and realize that the case against Dusty has been building for a while and really should have been addressed back when we still had a playoff caliber team. Hendry has his hands full and I am not sure how much faith I have in Hendry and McPhail. But I KNOW thath Dusty Baker is HORRIBLE tactician and motivator. It is obvious to anyone with a nack for this game who follows the Cubs regularly.
I'm not saying that he can't
I'm not saying that he can't manage, but I am not a fan of pitching coaches becoming managers. They don't tend to work out too well. IMO, they work with one aspect of the game to an extreme degree, which is why they tend not to work out to well in other parts of the game. Just an opinion.
How big of a check would it take to get Girardi. I think its pretty obvious the owner and GM of the Marlins are guided by the green. I'm sure a phat check could get them to tear up his contract. Don't think it will happen, but oh well.
Or we can go with the Crunch theory. Since the manager does absolutely nothing, we can just have one player pick names out of a hat every game for the line-up and let them have a go at it. We don't need any coaches either, since these are grown men that cannot and refuse to be taught.
I understand you aren't
I understand you aren't trying to be a dick, but without that context of understanding what role a manager plays...your deflection of any and all criticism away from him simply doesn't make sense. It may answer why you don't think firing Baker solves anything...but it certainly doesn't answer why you apparently think he should have his contract extended.
The key difference between you and I is apparently you see this as a problem with a collection of individuals underachieving in their own individual way. I see it as with so many people underachieving, and underachieving in the same way (Low OBP, high walks allowed) that there is a problem with the approach by the team to the game.
Another way I look it is...if the players simply aren't talented enough to compete at our payroll, then the GM is to blame for assembling that talent. If the talent is there, but the players as a whole aren't performing to their talent level, then there is a problem with the game management.
Yes, players play the game...but in a sport where you can't simply fire players for not performing to expectations...you have to influence what you can...and make changes to the personell that you can change. Dusty is not working with this club. You don't bring him back again next year when we will likely have much of the same overall make up of the team. You have to try a new approach.
McFail should fire Baker and
McFail should fire Baker and make Hendry the interim manager through 2006. McFail should appoint an interim GM through 2006. If the club turns it around then you keep the interim GM and make a decision about manager when that happens.
This puts the brunt of the decision to field this team on Hendry's shoulders. If Hendry can't turn it around then you fire him as well....you hire a competent GM...a competent manager and focus more attention on the farm system and training/conditioning of the players in the system.
Firing Dusty Baker (which
Firing Dusty Baker (which will happen tomorrow morning) will not be the first step. Rather it will be the first AND ONLY step. Whacking Dusty will appease the circling sharks and all but eliminate the pressure Jim Hendry is feeling. Andy McPhail is going to do his old pal Hendry a favor. How you say? Andy is going to call Hendry into his office and "order" him to fire Dusty despite his protests to the contrary. This way everybody (except Dusty) comes out smelling like a rose. In the meantime, the Cub roster will still suck and the minor league system will still remain an unproductive joke. And we will be on chapter 267 on "How to Make the Cubs a World Series Contender Without Really Trying."
Pardon me while I go vomit now.
block..im not trying to take
block..im not trying to take criticism away from baker as much as i am saying "look at these players."
these arent kids or a team of milton bradleys or a bunch of cusp players.
in all honestly, 3/4+ of the team has their roles, period...reguardless of what team they are on. they are finished products. we have a lot of finished products, including more than a few that got BETTER once they got here (barrett/aram/d.lee) that just arent getting the job done...well, barrett's bat is.
Crunch, do you personally
Crunch, do you personally think Dusty should recieve a contract extension. For discussion sake, we can assume 2 years, $4MM a year.
To anticipate a possible response of "Ask me at the end of the year"...just make some assumptions.
- The team performs as it has been the past month
- The team improves and finishes with about 80 wins.
- The team pulls a 04-05 Astros and finishes with 90+ wins.
Crunch if the players are
Crunch if the players are finished products then Baker is the X Factor. These players should not be playing this bad.
Mike, I agree with you about
Mike, I agree with you about Mike Maddux, at least I agree that I think he will make a good manager if and when he gets the chance. Blockhead , I also agree with your comments about the role of a manager in #103. Again, Hendry and MacPhail have done a poor job, too. But this team has just shut down. I really believe that. Some of the players can give lip service to being behind Dusty, and maybe it is not even lip service from some of the guys, but 4-18 against teams that are hardly spectacular, with the exception of the Sox, signals several things, including that the manager has lost the team. If Dusty is not fired tonight or tomorrow morning, I will be surprised. But I have been surprised before so I am not gonna bet the farm. Hendry has tied Dusty to Hendry so unless MacPhail orders Hendry to fire Dusty, I doubt Dusty will be fired. I just think MacPhail must be to that point. In a perfect world, Hendry tells MacPhail that he will not fire Dusty and that MacPhail will have to fire both of them.
"Fan disgust is at an all
"Fan disgust is at an all time high and the team is coming home to play over the holiday weekend and the official start of summer."
Technically, the official start of Summer is June 21. Just thought you might want to know that before the sharks start circling around you.
If Jim Hendry has any shred
If Jim Hendry has any shred of professional integrity, he will object loudly when Andy McPhail orders him to fire Dusty Baker, thereby leaving McPhail little choice but to fire the both of them. Or so I hope.
It's too bad Denis FitzSimons doesn't get off his lard butt and call Andy McPhail into his office and let the snowball effect start one notch higher in the firing department.
But rest assured Cub fans, at a minimum Dusty Baker will be terminated as Cub manager on Thursday.
The point that some of you
The point that some of you are missing here is that Dusty brings absolutely NOTHING to the table. Someone give me example #1 of a time when Dusty has pulled someone out of a game for making a mental blunder. How many times have we seen a player on this team make 3 outs in a game on 4 or less pitches? It is obvious that this team has been a loose ship for several years. Coincidently this team has trended downward over the same span. Despite whatever roster moves have been made. Baker has needed to be gone for 2+ years. This is the team that Dusty wanted. You reap what you sow. If the next manager doesnt have success. ITs Hendry's turn.
And again, throughout this
And again, throughout this discussion...the number 1 staff change I want to occur first and foremost is not being discussed. Before Dusty's head, before Hendry's head...I want Rothschild gone from this team.
I can't think of anyone who consistantly gets less out of more talent....whether it be in knowing how to deal with young rookies or mechanics of old oft injured veterans. I just don't see one positive thing that he has brought to our pitching staff.
Mike, you keep talking about "circling sharks" in a deragatory manner basically making it sound like anyone who wants Dusty fired doesn't know the real problems.
I guess I only speak for myself...but again, I for one am certainly not claiming that Dusty is the only thing holding us back. So me wanting Dusty fired does not mean I don't understand that other changes need to be made as well. I guess, I'd ask you to argue against a specific point...and not just lump everyone together as "circling sharks".
To me that's no different then those that refer to those who don't want dusty fired as "Dusty apologists". Both are copouts to the argument in my opinion.
STRONGLY agreed regarding
STRONGLY agreed regarding Larry Rothschild, aka Jim Hendry's baby. Rothschild has not "coached up" one single Cub pitcher or prospect in his 5 years with the organization. Not a single one. Meanwhile Mark Prior and the enigmatic Kerry Wood have had problems with their mechanics that went unresolved for over THREE YEARS. What DOES Rothschild do?
Dusty's management style has
Dusty's management style has always been "sit back and watch the big guys (Bonds/Sosa) mash the ball and take care of business".
This club is not one to sit back and watch get business done.
Baker is a manager used to sitting back and watch his steroid pumped players smash the ball.
Baker has no idea how to manage this or any other post-steroid era team. His legacy will be similar to Sosa.....was hot when looking away from steroids was in....and dropped off dramatically ....to the point of insignificant and no longer able to stay in the game during the post-steroid era.
Matt Clement had his 3 best
Matt Clement had his 3 best years with the Cubs.
But the sharks started circling around him on the mound.
I don't think Dusty will be
I don't think Dusty will be gone THursday. But if he is I will be throwing the biggest party I have in years. I have been unable to root for this team since early 2004 and have tried NOT to watch games the last two years. You will see a new Superjimmer with bells on. Oh to dream.
Mike, how exactly do you
Mike, how exactly do you think Hendry and McFail will come out smelling like a rose after Dusty is fired?
If the Cubs still finish well below 500, how will the pressure be off Hendry?
The only way I see your prediction coming true is if Dusty's replacement somehow turns the Cubs into contenders. And in the unlikely event that that happens, well, there really wouldn't be anything to complain about now would there?
fire Rothschild and bring
fire Rothschild and bring back Oscar Acosta
Dusty is done in Chicago as
Dusty is done in Chicago as of Thursday. Lets move the debate forward. I don't want to live in the past. Lets worry instead which schumuck Hendry will tap to be interim manager. Or whether he will back up the truck (as he should) and be an aggressive seller prior to July 31st. Or who will be hired as new manager in the winter. Or whether Felix Pie is destined to be yet another 130 K hack, as his minor league progression strongly suggests. Etc.
Tomorrow, Dusty becomes past tense. Lets get a jump on fresh topic.
I liked Clement overall. he
I liked Clement overall. he was a little frustrating at times but I was sad to see him go AND was considering him as a major asset and key to the potential we wasted during the blame the announcer era of Cubs Baseball.
Even though Acosta is dead?
Even though Acosta is dead?
#134 of 134: By Nazey (May
#134 of 134: By Nazey (May 24, 2006 06:43 PM)
Even though Acosta is dead?
At worst it will be a lateral move from Rothschild. Possible improvement
Mike what makes you so
Mike what makes you so confident Dusty will be fired? You don't realize you are talking about the greatest moment of the 21st century for Cubs fans as if it has already happened. I am not convinced.
Mike, when you say it is a
Mike, when you say it is a lock that Dusty will be fired tomorrow morning, or that the firing will be announced tomorrow morning, is that just your suspicion or do you claim to have some inside information?
Not to sure what your point
Not to sure what your point is BJS. Clement had a pretty good year with the Red Sox Last year, 13-6...sure his ERA was up, but he was facing much more potent offenses.
Also, he wasn't exactly stellar for the Cubs either with 35-36 record with about a 3.8 or so ERA. Furthermore going 9-13 on a team that won 89 games.
Of course, I would have been happy with him on our team these last two years.
fire Rothschild and bring
fire Rothschild and bring back Oscar Acosta
hmmm...the raising of the dead...not a bad idea. think it will work on the roster as well?
For me Dusty getting fired
For me Dusty getting fired is like the World Series of Common Sense. I will believe it when it happens but just cause some guy named Mike has dubbed it so doesn't mean the Cubs will do it up right. Remember I am a Cub fan.
A couple of weeks ago I spit
A couple of weeks ago I spit out coffee through my nose when I opened up my morning paper and read a quote from Larry Rothschild stating that, up until very recently, both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood had screwed up mechanics that dated back all the way to 2003. WTF?!?! Did Rothschild actually say that to a reporter with a straight face!?!? After all the guy HAS BEEN the friggin pitching coach of the Cubs during that entire timespan. Tell me Larry, how many other Cub young Cub pitchers have screwed up mechanics today? Are you actually DOING SOMETHING about it, or you just goin to wait until each of the subject matters blows out his arm and generally sucks for a couple seasons like you did with Prior and Wood?
Seriously, I'm not making this stuff up.
I don't think Baker will be
I don't think Baker will be fired...but I do think something big will happen over hte next week, whether it be coaches fired or a trade that will get headlines that will shake the team up a bit, even it it means losing a good player.
I just can't imagine that Hendry will just sit and twiddle his thumbs as he will have a riot on his hands at wrigley this weekend if he doesn't do something to shake things up a bit.
On Mike and Mike on the
On Mike and Mike on the radio, ESPN, this morning with Jason Stark, Prior was discussed. A comment was made that the Cubs are wondering if Prior will ever pitch in Chicago again and still trying to figure out what is wrong with Prior. After the segment, Mike Green said, if he were a GM, he still would be willing to give up a star to get Prior. Green said that would not be true for Kerry Wood. Golick said that, if he were a GM, he would be very cautious about trading for Prior.
The fans of most baseball
The fans of most baseball teams get excited when their team wins and express minimal joy when the manager of their team is fired. Cub fans on the other hand shout from the rooftops and declare victory when the manager gets whacked. If the happiest day in your life as a Cub fan has been when Jim Riggleman, Don Baylor and now Dusty Baker gets whacked, then this REALLY is a loser franchise. Maybe Cub fans really DON'T get it and the Luvable Loser mentality is destined to carry on for another hundred years.
I personally liked Jim
I personally liked Jim Riggleman. I cringed when Don Baylor was hired because I remembered how much he sacrificed bunted in Colorado. Yes you read that correctly. I would not be opposed to Riggleman comming back. That 98 team that he won 90 games with looks worse on paper than this team.
I don't think that's true at
I don't think that's true at all Mike...for big market teams, it's huge news when a manager gets fired...I'm thinking Grady Little for the Red Sox in particular, and the Yankees back in the day.
I think the Cubs are no different in that regards...you are just closer to it being a Cubs fan.
Sure, if you are a fan of a team that has no expectations (Pirates) a firing doesn't mean shit...just as it didn't mean much through our revolving door of managers in the 80's. But in a major market, when expectations have been raised, and the team underperforms...fans are going to call for a manager's head on a stick.
Mike. You are an ass. And
Mike. You are an ass. And a short sighted ass. Read the posts. For someone who has been attentively watching the Dusty Baker era it would be a major MAJOR step towards enjoying the team again. I have been WATCHING the Cubs since 1969 and have had many great Cubs moments.
I was not a great celebrator of the firing of any other manager almost in my entire history as a Cubs fan. Based on that however I can tell you that I have NEVER seen a worse managed series of teams, a more unlikeable personality for a team, a less realized bunch of potenital and a more dispicable clubhouse attitude than these last 3 years.
Based on this I have all but quit rooting for the Cubs the last two years knowing full well (and you may read the post I and others have written over that time) that this team cannot even FUNCTION under Dusty Baker.
The man makes the team worse. If you watched the games you would know that. I have ranted the details before so I will skip the litany of Hawkins appearances and botched double switches and OBP blind batting orders and substitutions and uninstinctive relief pitching changes.
A losing attitude? Keeping a shit ass manager and supporting him after watching the last three years is a losing attitude. I actually believe that the Cubs can win again and that change is the first step.
Settling for a crappy manager is a losing attitude.
My opinion, and opinion
My opinion, and opinion only. I venture to guess that Andy McPhail has officially mobilized and will be talking to Jim Hendry very soon. Andy is going to do the dirty work for his pal Hendry. Tomorrow we will see a grim faced Hendry behind a wall of 18,000 microphones to explain the deep sadness he feels for Dusty being let go and spewing out more of the same bullcrap of how this organization is on the cusp of winning. Fans will buy it hook, line and sinker. I venture to guess Chris Speier will be named interim manager.
Trust in Dusty is
Trust in Dusty is gone
{...Every relationship has its peaks and valleys. The relationship between the Cubs and Dusty Baker had one peak: the 2003 NLCS. But even that peak quickly turned into a valley that keeps getting deeper and hasn't stopped declining since Moises Alou failed to beat out Steve Bartman for a foul ball.
Fast forward to mid-May 2006 and the Cubs are in their worst slump since starting the 1997 season 0-14. That slump didn't cost Jim Riggleman his job, but the losses were more heartbreaking than pathetic lapses of concentration or effort.
Dusty Baker has lost his team for the second time in this tenure...
...The 2004 Cubs were a playoff team stacked with whiners in Sammy Sosa, Alou and even Kent Mercker, who called the broadcast booth to complain about criticism. Baker never enforced a clubhouse rule about Sosa's boom-box, instead the players got together and smashed it themselves. Meanwhile, the team spiraled its way out of the playoffs in the final two weeks of the season.
The 2005 season is written off as the year of the injury, despite a payroll nearing the $100 million mark.
The same thing is happening in 2006. At what point does Dusty become a bust? Can you be one of the "best managers in baseball" but never save a team from injuries? The Atlanta Braves either won 14 straight division titles because of avoiding injury or Bobby Cox.
I tend to lean towards the latter.
But the problem with Baker extends well beyond the win-loss column. They repeatedly make the same mistakes: missing cutoff men, base running errors, allowing walks and not getting walks. The Cubs lead the National League in walks allowed and are dead last in all of MLB in on-base percentage - two stats that reflect more poorly on the coaching staff than the players themselves.
Is Dusty a nice guy? Seems like it. He's the "player's coach," which was supposed to help the Cubs land free agents, but hasn't even done that. Did someone forget to tell Rafael Furcal and Billy Wagner how much fun it is to play on the North Side?
Dusty allows his players to relax and play the game pressure-free, only the Cubs have slipped into a coma. Only the Kansas City Royals (payroll $47 million) have scored fewer runs in 2006. Baker supposedly gets the most out of his players, but Corey Patterson's batting average and on-base percentage are both up from his Cub career averages in Baltimore.
The Dusty Baker philosophy on baseball is apparent: The players are professionals. They should know how to do their job at this level without reminder. Give the team all the freedom it needs and they will reward the manager with maximum effort...}
Scott...can you please just
Scott...can you please just post a link...and maybe a one sentance recap. It makes it very hard to read through the threads will all the text you copy. We can all access the article just from the link.
Superjimmer: If you want to
If you want to devolve into personal attack, then so be it. Seems to me by your rambling diatribe that you are a fair weather Cub fan that is attentive only when they win. Seems to me also that you know precious little about the game of baseball and have enormous rage built up (perhaps your boss at the factory where you work the 3rd shift diddled your wife or something). Anyway, you have convinced yourself that firing Dusty is magic tonic and that the Cubs will win the World Series very soon under new managerial oversight. We have fundamental disagreement in that department. Therefore I shall end the debate with you.
Try addressing one of my
Try addressing one of my points Mike.
Mike, these comments
Mike, these comments continue to piss me off
"Fans will buy it hook, line and sinker"
Not only are you lumping everyone together and making a blanket statement...but you are also lumping everyone together and make a ridiculous statements about a response to a future theoretical event.
Again Mike, you aren't dealing with specific arguments being made by pretty much anyone here. Why do you think that the people who want Baker gone love Hendry? Why do you think that those two things are mutually exclusive.
If the problem with this team isn't Baker's fault as you contest (And I mostly agree)...then Hendry firing Baker removes the one shield Hendry has from criticism. If another manager comes in, the team still sucks...then there will be no one left to blame but Hendry for putting a crap team together.
I don't understand your logic at all that Hendry will come out of this clean once Baker is fired...I think it's FAR more likely to have the exact opposite effect.
Superjimmer: Your wet dream
Your wet dream will come true in less than 24 hours. Dusty will be fired and everything will be wonderful in your life again. Doesn't matter that the Cubs roster will still utterly suck or that Jim Hendry perpetuated a massive fraud when he declared the Cub minor league system brimming with top shelf talent a couple years ago. Nah. So long as the Cubs keep firing the manager every 3 or 4 years, a guy like you can live with the futility on the field. Life is so simple when it's always the managers fault, just like at work. Right? Thought so.
"Anyway, you have convinced
"Anyway, you have convinced yourself that firing Dusty is magic tonic and that the Cubs will win the World Series very soon under new managerial oversight"
Mike, He never said that...in fact he never said anything even remotely close to that. Again, you are simply just making up the arguments of the otherside because it's easier to attack. It's easir to lump everyone together, label them, project an argument that there side is making and then attack it.
It's the same shit a see in politics all the time.
"Liberals just want to hand out money on the street to people"
"conservatives don't care about anyone else but themselves"
Those are easy statements to apply to the otherside, because they are easy to attack...but that completely and totally precludes any real debate and discussion when someone pulls crap like that.
>> If you want to devolve
>> If you want to devolve into personal attack, then so be it.
>> Seems to me by your rambling diatribe that you are a fair weather Cub fan that is attentive only when they win.
Based on what? That I have been watching the team religeously since before you were in diapers?
>> Seems to me also that you know precious little about the game of baseball
okay. Perhaps. Care to back up your opinion with some sort of argument? Here's how little you know. As much as I desire Dusty to be fired. I can guarantee you that you are JUST PLAIN WRONG. Your presumption that he will be gone in the morning will be the first evidence of that.
>> and have enormous rage built up (perhaps your boss at the factory where you work the 3rd shift diddled your wife or something).
pure class.
>> Anyway, you have convinced yourself that firing Dusty is magic tonic and that the Cubs will win the World Series very soon under new managerial oversight.
Guess what, asshole, I didn't say that. The Cubs have many more problems than Dusty but you cannot heel unless you stop the bleeding and as I and other people have been saying for a while now. Dusty is problem 1A.
>> We have fundamental disagreement in that department. Therefore I shall end the debate with you.
I should be so lucky. You are all class Mike Barbacovi.
I didn't say anybody loves
I didn't say anybody loves Hendry. What I did say is that firing Dusty will appease the majority of Cub fans and take major heat off the shoulders of Hendry and company. It's the same old pathetic pattern of the Cub organization about to be repeated all over again. Not since the Dallas Green administration has there been any stretch of competence in the Cub front office, or a genuine interest among the Tribune Company to field a winner so long as the wheel barrow fulls of money keep pouring in. Yep, firing Dusty will make everything good again in Cub land. And yep, the fans will buy the charade hook, line and sinker. Some will even have a tear of excitement in their eye when Hendry babbles before the microphones that the Cubs are on the cusp of greatness and multiple World Series trophies. I can virtually predict Hendry's scripted responses word for word. So can the rest of you if you sit back and objectively think about things. I'm not happy. And I won't be happy until the Tribune Company sells the team and Andy McPhail and Jim Hendry are out of work too.
OK Mike...grow up. Now you
OK Mike...grow up. Now you are just being pathetic and stupid. You've said the same thing 12 times now and none of it has anything to do with what anyone else on this thread has actually said...you are arguing against some group of people that think that Hendry is perfect and firing Dusty solves every problem with this team. No one has said that...not even close, so stop being a nitwit.
#153 of 153: By blockhead25
#153 of 153: By blockhead25 (May 24, 2006 07:21 PM)
That is exactly right. Most GM's are allowed 1 manager mistake. That is usually the rule. If the next guy(full time, not interim) doesnt produce imidiate results. Hendry's number will assuredly be up.
DO NOT REPOST ONLINE ARTICLES IN THE COMMENTS!!! Not only is it annoying to read, we could be held liable for copyright infringement. A link and a very brief excerpt (a sentence or two at the most) is all that's needed.
Thank you,
The Management
Ok, now you have said the
Ok, now you have said the same shit 13 times.
- "Yep, firing Dusty will make everything good again in Cub land."
You have the gaul to say other people have a reading comprehension problem? Not one fucking person has said that. Not a single person in this thread...or hell, on radio talk shows has said that firing dusty "will make everything good again". You aren't arguing against reality Mike, you are making a copout argument so you don't actually have to take the time to think and understand what people are actually saying.
"And yep, the fans will buy the charade hook, line and sinker."
ISn't that cute mike...isn't it cute to play the high and mighty game and project onto the entire fanbase because it makes you feel smarter that waqy. Isn't it cute to pull stuff out of your ass with not even a remote ability to provide evidence for it....you couldn't provide evidence that even one single person feels this way let alone an entire fanbase.
Aren't generalizations fun...mike...it's such an easy and convienant way to make an argument without actually using any brain cells or reading what other people write.
The only "Chicago Tribune"
The only "Chicago Tribune" reason for firing Dusty is to save McFailure and Hendry's ass and appease some fans for Tribune profits.
Mike, consider for a second
Mike, consider for a second that there might just be a large portion of the Cubs fan base who holds McPhail, Hendry, and Dusty all accountable for this pathetic team. McPhail is the big chief bringing in the dollars for the Tribune Company...Hendry was just given a contract extention weeks ago...that leaves Baker, whose contract is up at the end of the year.
Reality tells us all that Baker is the only one of those 3 at the moment whose feet could be held to the fire. And just because some may want to hold Baker's feet to the fire...doesn't mean that we don't continue to have grave concerns about Hendry and McPhail.
So please, for the love of all things, stop inventing some group of theoretical fans that only hold Baker accountable and no one else.
Here's some good
Here's some good news...Outfield prospect Felix Pie went 5-for-6 for Class AAA Iowa on Tuesday night...Anyone want to see Pie come up to play for the Cubs -- sooner rather than later...? What do the Cubs have to lose (except a few more games).
Here's a pathetic
Here's a pathetic question--who represents the Cubs in the All-Star game this year?
what block said... don't
what block said...
don't see much point in harping on McPhail and Hendry since their is no way they're going anywhere anytime soon. At the very soonest it would be the end of the year. Baker on the other hand could be let go at anytime and he deserves to go. 2+ years of your team underperforming is enough by my standards.
Off the point stat,
Off the point stat, Attendance Game. Kerry Wood pitches rehab start in Des Moines--13,830. Kerry Wood pitches actual MLB game in Florida--10,979. What's more pathetic, a ton of people supporting a crappy baseball organization or nobody supporting an organization with two World Series titles.
"Here's a pathetic
"Here's a pathetic question--who represents the Cubs in the All-Star game this year?"
Steve Swisher
I was seriously just
I was seriously just thinking the same thing today at work, Jacknlou. I have to figure it's Michael Barret. The catching crop in the NL is pretty weak and his offensive numbers (are All-Stars ever chosen by anything but?) compare favorably to any other C in the league. Makes you feel like a Devil Rays fan, eh? I think their "big" move will either be to bring up Pie (big mistake) or try and save face by trading a prospect to the Orioles for Jeff Conine. Of course, that prospect will go on to become a middle-of-the-rotation guy who'll have a solid, if not spectacular career....then Conine will announce his retirement at the end of the year. Shit, this is depressing.
A bit of humor on Quincy
A bit of humor on Quincy Carter....
ï 1996: Quincy signs a letter of intent to play football for Georgia Tech, but decided instead to play baseball. He is drafted by the Chicago Cubs.
ï 1998: Realizing that life couldnít possibly be worse than it is in the Cubs organization, Carter quits and wins the starting job at the University of Georgia.
Good one TBone. I remember
Good one TBone. I remember that year very well. Swisher to the Allstar game. Think his son has a chance one of these years??
I think Mike has it
I think Mike has it backwards. Dusty has a hell of a lot of support from casual Cub fans. They continue to give him credit for 2003, and find him to be a likeable guy who seems sincere and is a good face of the organization, etc.
It's easy to lose perspective coming to TCR (and sites like it) every day. 98% of baseball fans aren't like us. They don't analyze the minutia and debate complex strategy issues. Baseball's just a fun distraction to most people. Most people who go to baseball games can't intelligently discuss double-switch strategy, or lineup construction, or things like that.
The people that want Dusty fired seem to pay a lot of attention to game management and strategy. They believe -- rightly or wrongly -- that the team would be better off without him. Not every thinking fan believes he should be fired, by the way. But the ones who do want him fired tend to follow the team and the games very closely.
So, I don't think firing Dusty will appease anybody but a vocal minority of Cub fans. Most people like the guy. The vast majority of Cubdom will either disagree with the move or, at best, feel it was an inevitable but hollow gesture.
And that's exactly why I hope it happens: because it will be done not to appease anyone, or to protect TribCo's share price, or to sell tickets. No, it will be done because the Cubs' brass will have realized that in spite of the inevitable fallout that will come from firing Dusty, it's the right thing to do because it's very difficult to win with a guy like him.
Well said 433. And I'd say
Well said 433.
And I'd say Zambrano gets the all-star nod as long as his ERA stays under 4, but Barrett could get it too.
Living in Michigan makes it
Living in Michigan makes it easier to pretend that I'm a Tigers fan.
"Crunch, do you personally
"Crunch, do you personally think Dusty should recieve a contract extension. For discussion sake, we can assume 2 years, $4MM a year."
uh no. ive never seen a manager worth 2m, much less 4m...torre/baker money shouldnt exist, imo...
this isnt football and a manager's insight beyond keeping 25+ people from killing each other or partying their asses off for 200+ days is pretty damn minimal, imo.
some of you can 'dusty this and dusty that' over 1-2 moves of someone's 1-4ab's, but until aram, pierre, cedeno, d.lee, prior, wood, etc. get their act together (for their various reasons, both innocent and/or puzzling) the arguement over hairston vs. neifi and pinch hitter 1 vs. pinch hitter 2 doesnt mean a whole lot to me and i choose to not give a damn about those things while there's key cogs that are not clicking.
If the company is running
If the company is running like shit, whether it is the rank and file employees or not, management heads roll.
In this case Dusty and his entire coaching staff are first on the chopping block. No, getting rid of them will not suddenly turn us into WS champions. But a new attitude and coaches that preach sound baseball is a start to fixing the problem. Sometimes you need to just cut your losses and say, "This isn't working out for either of us, your fired. Have a nice day."
Atleast now your company or team has some hope of someone coming in with better ideas and better plans to fix what is wrong with this team.
ok, crunch...I agree with
ok, crunch...I agree with you. I do think we tend to nitpick too much and not look at the bigger picture, and we do tend to pick out a single move in a game and blame that one thing for the entire loss.
I am not too into blaming Dusty for in game moves, although some are certainly befuddling.
But, I do look at this "but until aram, pierre, cedeno, d.lee, prior, wood, etc. get their act together (for their various reasons, both innocent and/or puzzling)"
and say, when there are so many players struggling at once, so many pitchers unable to get the ball over the plate, so many batters unable to read the pitchers and rushing at the plate...so many people performing well below expectations...and completely unable to get out of it...I look at the environment and say "Something ain't working". Whatever management is saying to these players it's not getting them straight. Therefore, something with the environment needs changing.
And that's where I look at Dusty as one key thing that can be changed overnight to help change the environment. Does it fix things, unlikely...but certainly staying with the status quo isn't fixing things either.
In the scheme of things, I'm fine waiting out this year with Dusty, it's a lost season no matter what. But next year, even if we have similiar personell, I want a different approach and a different game plan. And that will need to come from a different manager.
hey, im not even saying that
hey, im not even saying that bitching about dusty is wrong or that dusty is great or etc...i find him to be pretty damn ordinary in-game tactician. guys like jim tracey and davey johnson are great at the in-game, but cant manage attitudes/clubhouses.
they seem to pay more for the attitude management than the in-game management and if your clubhouse is in disarray, that's usually a quicker way to find your way out of a job than your win/loss record.
i wouldnt be suprised to see dusty gone tommorow and i wouldnt be suprised to see him last til sept/oct, but i would be shocked to see him re-up'd if for no other reason than fan revolt...well placed or not.
When in a particularly
When in a particularly sticky management situation myself a number of years ago, I was ultimately faced with a choice between two losing propositions, with no alternative. So in announcing which of the two I had chosen, I proclaimed that "this is a bad idea, whose time has come."
I think that the same may be true for asking/getting Dusty's head on a platter as token demonstration that ownership wants better product from the organization. It's a bad idea, whose time has come. Like 433 says, the vast majority of the laypeople fans perceive it as probably unmerited, but still recognize it as inevitable, because "you can't fire the 25 players." [while the cogniscenti realize that in fact, you can have a fire sale of talent and rebuild, provided ownership does something different in version 2.0]
Dusty's fat contract may have in itself been a gesture that management was going against the prevailing notion of 'firing the manager as a first resort' from the outset, and this could have come about from Dusty's realization that "hey, this team frequently sucks, and how do I know I won't get axed at the first sign of suckage?" I.e. compensation for taking a gamble at becoming labeled as a failure at the hands of the frequently woeful Cubs' performance on the field
Rotoworld is saying the Jays
Rotoworld is saying the Jays sent Russ Adams down and the only SS they have on their roster now is John Mcdonald. You think we can get them to take Neifi. I mean he is better than Mcdonald. Also Maddux needs to be traded after his next good start so we can make sure we can get a solid prospect for him. Here is the list of guys we should trade and realistically could trade by the deadline:
Wood (with Dempster's recent struggles and Wood's consistent shoulder stiffness after starts we should give him a month stint as the CL to audition him to a contending team with BP issues.)
Guys to target (most likely prospects to be traded)
E. Aybar
Victor Diaz
Zuyma (the Det SP prospect)
Any Dodger-Dback prospect that Byrnes and Colletti want to offer.
Dude, as a Red Sox fan, I
Dude, as a Red Sox fan, I can tell you, you guys have nothing we need that could warrant getting Hansen or Pedroia. The Sox don't need another old/injury prone starting pitcher.
If you want Clement back, I'm fairly sure that Theo would be willing to consider an offer. But even Hendry at this point isn't that dumb.
Hendry's dumb but the Red
Hendry's dumb but the Red Sox are the one's paying Matt Clement? Interesting.
Apparently, Zack Greinke has
Apparently, Zack Greinke has shown up at KC's spring training camp and has pitched a sim game. He'll be back in the majors during June.
Question is, will the Royals want him back? He quit on them, after all.
The obvious follow-up - what would it take to bring Zack to Wrigley? Guzman + Dopirak? I'd do it immediately.
"The Cubs will not follow
"The Cubs will not follow the Red Sox and White Sox from jinx to championship parade. Derrek Lee's wrist injury was a tipping point for a team with too little offense already. What intrigues is whether a non-contending Cubs team would put potential free-agent-to-be Kerry Wood up for auction as a consolation prize for those teams that don't get an older, fire-balling Texan, Roger Clemens. Wood does have a no-trade clause, but his value could be enhanced if he could thrive and stay healthy in AL pennant heat for the Yankees, Red Sox or Rangers - or about a half-dozen other clubs that would almost certainly have interest."
You have a convenient memory
You have a convenient memory Crunch because in 2004 Dusty had plenty of people clicking on that roster and basically managed them out of a playoff appearance. ONCE AGAIN FOR ALL this is not about 2006 by itself. Nobody is blaming Dusty as the sole reason for this season's troubles - but in context of two other disappointing seasons and the very simple fact that he makes his teams WORSE instead of better, well, it is time to go.
I truly find it hard to believe you really think a $4 million dollar a year MLB manager is a glorified babysitter. that notion is preposterous. Good coaching matters at every level. There are hundreds of DECISIONS per week that effect the play on the field and the momentum of the team. To deny this is truly baffling.
Coaches make a difference in
Coaches make a difference in Basketball, Football, Soccer, hell any sport.
Only in baseball they don't mean anything? Give me a break. You may believe that, but it doesn't mean you are even remotely correct.
BTW the Cubs and Baker are
BTW the Cubs and Baker are greasing the wheels for Womack being up soon....
Womack might get 2nd shot with Cubs
Baker likes what he's hearing about vet's showing for Iowa
"It's not a bad option," Baker said. "I talked to people out in Sacramento [Tuesday] and they told me he was playing good. They said he wants to play good enough down there to force us, force me to call him up. And that's fine with me."
And that is our Cubs and our manager. The stupidest organization and manager in baseball.
Womack will be on this team soon, to save the day. Him and Neifi can compare OBP's.
MIKEC: "Womack will be on
"Womack will be on this team soon, to save the day. Him and Neifi can compare OBP's."
I guess Cedeno (.305 OBP), Ramirez (.308 OBP), Pierre (.270 OBP) and JJ (.312 OBP) will want to compare OBP's too.
They can all compare notes.
They can all compare notes.
"Cubs will go to the world
"Cubs will go to the world series" enough said . . .
Transactions: Major League
Major League Baseball - sent the Chicago Cubs down to AAA International League. Called up the Charlotte Knights.
Guillen feels for Cubs
Guillen feels for Cubs counterpart
{...after being swept by the last-place Marlins, it is likely the calls for Baker's head will get louder. Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, a beloved figure, feels bad for the beleaguered Baker.
"I do feel for Dusty," Guillen said before the Sox finished off a three-game sweep of Oakland with a 3-2 victory. "I feel for him because, sooner or later, it's going to happen to me. You're not a good manager without good players. ...Maybe Dusty doesn't have the same kind of ballclub I have."...}
Jim Hendry's Work
Jim Hendry's Work Experience:
1978 - 1983, Teaching and Coaching Baseball at Columbus High School in Miami.
1983 - 1991, Coaching Baseball for Creighton University. He was an assistant coach in '83 and part of '84 before becoming head coach in the second half of '84.
1991-1994, Worked for the Florida Marlins as an assistant to Dave Dombrowski. In 1993 he coached in the Gulf Coast Rookie League, and in '94 he coached for El Mira in A ball.
1995 - current, Worked for the Chicago Cubs. He was hired by Andy McPhail as director of player development. In 1996 he became scouting director as well. In assistant general manager in August 2000, and was promoted to General Manager in July 2002.
Did Angel Pagan pass away?
Did Angel Pagan pass away? When was his memorial service?
After getting tired of collecting second basemen for the roster Jim Hendry is now going to collect "Tony's"..
Some available "Tony's" he should consider:
Tony LaRussa (can play 2b too!)
Tony Gwynn
Tony Cloninger
Tony Conigliaro (deceased he's better than TW)
Tony Kubek
Tony Oliva
Tony Armas Sr.
Tony Pena
Tony Perez
Tony Taylor
I woke up to the news today
I woke up to the news today that the Cubs were swept by the Marlins. Nice. I should have stayed in bed.
Wake me when it's
Wake me when it's over.
Crunch. Dusty is not a so-so in-game manager. He's awful. He is also terrible with player attitude. Dusty had a good run in SF largely due to Bonds being a great hitter turned monster by the wonders of chemicals.
He may not be responsible for all of the Cub woes, but he shares the blame in plenty of the fan frustration. Dusty is not a good manager any way you slice it.
Speakin of Davey Johnson. Isn't it time we gave him a call?
Oh, and one more thing Crunch. I've been talking with some of the other TCR regulars. We don't feel the smug smarter than you attitude is the direction we want to go anymore. We don't feel like it's working out and want to try a new direction. You're fired.
Giddy UP/GIDP How it
Giddy UP/GIDP
How it works:
Ryan Theriot isn't getting many AB's yet. He hasn't mastered hitting into DP's. Once he gets to watch Neifi excel in this area a bit more, The Riot will be fundamentally better suited to end rally's and get more playing time.
Cubster- Tony Bennett can
Tony Bennett can sing the National Anthem.
Tony! Toni! Tone! can sing the seventh inning stretch.
About Womack- "It's not a
About Womack-
"It's not a bad option," Baker said
In the back ground of the clubhouse you can see Ryan Theriot making a noose out of his uniform pants and pouring gasoline all over himself.
Recent comments
video of Maddon.
always nice that he actually tries to honestly answer questions. Does mention that he wanted to give Zastr? a chance in a meaningful spot rather than a mop-up role.
from Muskat:
#Cubs Maddon: "I'm not going to make up an excuse for why I did what I did. It has nothing to do with lack of confidence" ... "It was the right thing to do today based on what I saw, what their lineup looked like and Rob Z.'s availability." #Cubs
Hammel not particularly understanding of getting pulled out...as he should. Be curious what Maddon had to say. All I can think of is is keeping arms fresh and maybe wanting to see if Zastr? is worth considering for the playoffs and how he'd do against the Dodgers.
great defense
Heyward, Russell, Baez, Bryant, Ross in particular...although Bryant's a bit hard to judge with all the positions.
Fowler and Rizzo in the top half of the NL for their positions as well (per fangraphs)...Zobrist right at the halfway cutoff for 2b in the NL.
I'm sure some luck is involved too, but the Cubs and Maddon knew what they were doing.
If all the starters have FIP > ERA, is that luck or good defense?
#Cubs plummet to 19-5 in August.
Fun with FIP
- J. Hammel 3.07 ERA/4.27 FIP (3.68 FIP last year)
- J. Arrieta 2.62 ERA/3.05 FIP (2.35 FIP last year)
- J. Lester 2.81 ERA/3.67 FIP (2.92 FIP last year)
- K. Hendricks 2.19 ERA/3.37 FIP (3.36 FIP last year)
- J. Lackey 3.41 ERA/3.72 FIP (3.57 FIP last year with Cards)
zastyryzryzryzny put in 3.2ip 1h 0bb 3k
he's great when his control is "on"...problem is it's rarely "on" consistently. he could vault up the cubs prospect list if he ever gets better with that aspect of his game.
JD's take was just trying to get in a lefty to better deal with mostly lefty Dodgers lineup.
My second thought was what you came up with. My first thought was he was trying to light a fire under Hammel.
Maybe he was trying to spare him another brutal road start? NY, Colorado...
joe got a pitcher up for hammel at nearly the 1st sign of trouble in the 3rd...pulled after 2.1
not injured and though it wasn't his day so far he wasn't looking like a pure disaster.
really short leash on him. zastryznzryzryny in.
Russell and Soler can attest that Urias has a pretty good curve/slider - two big strikeouts looking to get out of that jam in the first.
Classic Scully - great stuff.
Thank God we'll still have Hawk next season. (cricket cricket cricket)
Here's Scully's call on Bryant's 10th-inning homer:
"And it's a long fly ball, a mean fly ball, and a gone fly ball."
When the Cubs were the old, hundred-year Cubs, one bad hop did not undo their opponents.
If only he was clutcher. More clutcher.
cubs win...bryant with 7HR in his last 8 games.