Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

There’s Still A Pulse….

GAME 107 IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (54-52) @ PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (55-52) CITIZENS BANK PARK, 6:05 pm CDT, TV: CLTV, CSN
Robinson Tejeda, RHP
2-2, 2.95 ERA
42/39 K/BB, 2 HR in 55.0 IP
Jerome Williams, RHP
3-4, 4.61 ERA
36/20 K/BB, 8 HR in 56.2 IP
LF *Matt Lawton SS #Jimmy Rollins
CF Jerry Hairston CF *Kenny Lofton
1B Derrek Lee 2b *Chase Utley
RF *Jeromy Burnitz RF *Bobby Abreu
3B Aramis Ramirez LF Pat Burrell
2B *Todd Walker 1B *Ryan Howard
SS #Neifi Perez 3B David Bell
C Michael Barrett C Mike Lieberthal
P Jerome Williams P Robinson Tejeda
How nice of the managers to put out the same lineups as last night, makes putting together these previews much simpler. Unfortunately for the Cubs, Jerome Williams doesn't handle the lefties as well as Big Z normally does. Something to watch for in tonights game. I wasn't witness to the cardiac moments of last nights game, but by all accounts it seems the Cubs staved off flatlining the season for at least another day. Today they face what appears to be a rookie having quite a nice little season when you look at that ERA. Then you look at his K/BB ratio and the fact that he's walking 6.4 per 9 innings and you realize he's ripe for a drubbin'. Sure he seems to keep the ball in the park (no small feat at Citizens Bank) as well as probably being the benefactor of some outstanding defense. But if there was ever a night for the Cubs offense to remain patient at the plate, tonight would be the night. Go Cubs!

Comments

Tejeda has allowed just 38 hits - including only two homers - in 55 innings, but has also walked 39 batters and hit seven more. (ESPN) Cubs have to be patient, by which I mean that these guys are probably going to make Tejeda look like a Cy Young candidate by swinging at everything.

woo...aram makes the lineup after coming up slightly gimpy yesterday! hope he's up to the job...macias is the only backup out there *shudder*

Same line-ups same results hopefully (except for the bottom of the 9th for sure). Hopefully they win in blowout fashion because it will be bullpen roullte w/o Dempster tonight.

Robinson Tejada is all heat. Hits upper 90s. Absolutely no control though. He's kind of like the starting version of Roberto Novoa.

hope he's up to the job...macias is the only backup out there *shudder* Of course you could make Neifi the good back up he's supposed to be and let Ronny C get some playing time. But that would assume Dusty wouldn't WANT to get Maciass in the game.

ronnie cedeno wishes he could play 3rd... seriously, he's not gonna be a utility player at this point in his development...no need to take a kid like that and make a serious run at teaching him 3rd with as good as the D is coming along at SS... fontenot's taking macias's role if it dont come from outside the organization as it stands...

I didn't mean having Cedeno play 3rd. I ment play him at SS, freeing up Neifi to be the back up at 3b.

I'm sure MaciASS has his batting gloves on already because he knows he's going in if Aramis farts the wrong way tonight or if he's on second with 1 or no one out. Oh and by the way, he will undoubtedly play because he's usually the first PH off the bench. At least he's better than Holly right now.

Sort of off-topic: Does anybody have Comcast SportsNet Chicago (Ch. 37) but does not have access to Comcast SportsNet Chicago Plus on their cable systems? This is my predicament. I did not even think this was possible. Thankfully, there is only one more game on Comcast Plus the rest of the season (and three more games on WCIU).

Nice one two three inning with plenty of swings. Exactly what they needed. I mean, don't these guys go through a scouting report.

juicy post-deadline rumosr... http://www.usatoday.com/sports/bbw/columnist/white/2005-08-03-leading-o… Reds Owner nixed a deal that would have sent 3 minor leaguers from the White Sox for Griffey Jr. They said they'll revisit talks if Griffey clears waivers. (Which he should, no one is going to risk being stuck with that contract) The WSox and Pads plan to trade Burroughs for Joe Borchard this week. (Rotoworld doesn't think Burroughs would pass through waivers and I agree) Thome will certainly pass through waivers, now will someone take on that contract. The Marlins rejected the Phillies offer of Vicente Padilla, Lofton and Urbina for Burnett and Pierre. (Geez, can't imagine why?)

Mitterwald, Did you try ch. 38 which on my cable is CLTV?

Mitterwald, if you have RCN cable it's on channel 51, if it helps at all

Mitterwald- DO NOT FIND THE GAME ON TV... I REPEAT... DO NOT FIND THE GAME ON TV. If you're a cub fan it's hard to watch right now.

The header for this one is "there's still a pulse" Look's like she's flatlining right now.

In NW Illinois we don't get comcast sports plus any time EXCEPT when the Cubs are on it. They turn ESPN news (or something like that) into comcast sports plus.

Great start, 6 pitches to get out of first. Comes back to reality in 2nd with 29 pitches, gives up 3 runs and commits an error that turned out to hurt. WTG williams, looks like a long night for cub fans the way this offense has been going. 3 runs? Good Luck!

Somebody put the dam ball in play will ya? 3 up 3 down, 3 k's. Looks like the cubs are in midseason form tonight. O wait, it is midseason. It has to be a misprint that cubs are top 5 in National league in hits, homers and team avg!

How does a pitcher with more than a walk per inning pitched make the cubs look so bad? 5 Ks no BB?

This is brutal, but tomrrow's line up will be more brutal because Blanco is going to catch and Macias is probably going to play 3rd to rest Aram. You know he is going to do that.

I know Chad but still honestly please. We're not THIS BAD. But does it seem like to anyone else that we beat clemens, beat willis, beat Morris, should've beat Carpenter but we can't handle any guys that have 6+ ERAs.

I know Chad but still honestly please. We're not THIS BAD. But does it seem like to anyone else that we beat clemens, beat willis, beat Morris, should've beat Carpenter but we can't handle any guys that have 6+ ERAs.

OIff-topic side-note on the Fire Dusty campaign (perhaps to follow on Oct. 3 with the Fire Dusty champaign): Lots has been made on these forums about the Cubs eating Baker's salary, ie, unwillingness to, for reasons of not wanting to pay him and go hire someone else. Of course, he's going to get that money, whether he's going to Wrigley every day or not. But why should he be going to Wrigley? If MacPhail and Hendry watch as many Cub games as the rest of us, it clearly must've crossed someone's mind at some point in time that the Cubs are being managed out of ballgames. But still, the question is, how do you replace Dusty without adding additional salary? How about a player-manager? (By the way, has there been one since Rose?) My nomination: An experienced, $9 million SP whose right arm isn't worth quite that much any more ó but I'd bet his brain is. Give him a 1-year deal with nominal salary to go along with his player's deal/salary. I mean, it's one season, and it might be the only alternative. It couldn't be any Worse, could it?

Let me add: Pitching coach should have the power to pull him if he gets in trouble.

nice thought but forget it,. Maddux is probably the smartest player in baseball and he is an enourmous help to fellow pitchers but he would not be managerial material at this time. Would interfere with ability to be one of the boys, pull off stupid pranks and tell endless fart jokes. It is part of who he is in the clubhouse. He needs to spend his time between starts shagging balls and practicing sacrifice bunts ( if only a few of the OTHER players would do this). Maybe a decade from now when he is retired but not now However I would be strongly in favor of "poaching" Mike Maddux from the Brewers for next year. Best pitching coach in baseball Jessica

Maddux takes himself out of games anyway so that is not a problem. How do you score 1 run w/bases loaded and 0 outs. This offense sucks!

Jessica, That is how Guillen is with the Sox and they have the best record in Baseball.

Bases loaded nobody out and get 1 fkn run? WTF??? I swear there is not way any other team is baseball is worse than the cubs at gettin guys home from 3rd. All the rippin here on Macias and he ends up being the guy to atleast put the dam ball in play. Absolutly horrible how often a major league player, if thats what u call these guys, strikes out and don't even put the ball in play with a guy on 3rd and less than 2 outs. Barrett has to be one of the worst. Shit, pay me millions to whiff will ya? Again, PUT THE DAM BALL IN PLAY!! Just horrible, and i bet Dusty gave Barrett the ole pat on the back and said get em next time. FK that, make contact or im gettin in your ass, isn't that why you get paid to play a hobby? This team is totally useless and its not just the dam manager!!

The cubs offense is actually consistent. Be it a rookie pitcher...be it an all star pitcher .. be it a pitcher who gives a lot of walks etc etc we consistenly score 1-2 runs/game nothing more. This offense is extremely pathetic.. -C

while dusty sucks balls often, the players have been just as bad. Now we're into our pen because Barrett couldn't come up with a hit.

Burnitz is HORRIBLE! And you know what else people? All that talk about the tripple crown and the huge lead in batting avg for D Lee, well its about over with. He has stunk so bad the last week and a half that he is only a very small margin ahead of Pujols for avg now. I bet he don't win any of the 3 categories let alone all of them.

Amen..WiCubFan..this team has been performing miserably. With the payroll we got we have the right to demand more from the players. As you said it becomes a responsibility of the manager to see that the players perform to their potential. A team/player can have an occassional slump but this kind of consistent failure to produce runs is inexplicable. -C

Williams is pulled after only 4? Albeit with 70 pitches through 4. Anyone think Glendon Rusch is getting "stretched out" for a return to the rotation.

Couldn't have said it better Cubby78! Cubs don't stand a chance of making the playoffs and even if they did, u can't win playoff series without putting the ball in play and the Cubs put the ball in play with the worst of them. Think Angels and Marlins and why they won the World Series titles they did. They weren't the most talented teams in either series. They were simply the best teams in Baseball those 2 years at putting the ball in play and striking out the least. How many more games would the Cubs have won and how many more runs would they have scored if they simply didn't strike out all the time in clutch or even just a sac fly situation? Think how Florida beat us in '03, because we had these supposedly stud pitchers that struck people out at a higher rate per 9 innings than any staff in history, well guess what, florida put the ball in play and out pitchers were mere avg pitchers at the end of that series. But Beckett looked great against us, why u ask? Because the Cubs don't put the ball in play and its been a consistent problem since Dusty arrived. I know he's not hitting, but cmon, if the same shit happens for 3 years, its called a trend people and trends have alot to do with how a team is handled by its manager. Trends can even be good, like playing fundemental baseball now and again!

Talking to a buddy of mine who told me the old dustbag is great because at least we're winning now. I had to remind him that with a 100 mil payroll, he could win 90 games in the major leagues. This team is absolutely underperforming and the finger can be pointed all around except for at Prior, Lee, or Z. IMO

another k. walker has to be one of the worst situational hitters on the team. Well, Barrett is pretty bad too.

How about a Barrett for Irod trade. Barrett is bad on defense and his bat does not make-up for it. We will probaly have to throw in a AA pitcher but its something that needs to be explored in the winter if he wants out of detroit. A dumb decision works out again for Baker.

OMFG, i just been bitchin about this very situation earlier. Runner on 3rd less than 2 outs and the cubs have to, and i mean have to be the worst fkn team in MLB at gettin that guy home. OMG this has been a consisten theme since the 2003 Playoffs as far as i can recall. Im sure it was a problem in the 03 season as well, seeing how we got lucky to even make the post season. But Barret will fly out his next at bat, watch! This makes me sick to my stomach, watching the same SHIT every fkn day/night. I swear this is horrible. No longer can the fans blame the trib for not spending. This team is so far superior on paper to other teams with better records. I mean cmon, we are like what, 3 games ahead of the brewers. Yea thats rite people, i said the BREWERS!

Exactly gabe, and look he came through! OMG it must be freezin down under cuz the cubs got a clutch hit!

Nice job by Holly!!! Clutch hit off the bench....which is how he shoould be used, if anyone is taking notes..

I agree Dusty, as Gabe had stated earlier, finally used proper. Baker, Walker and Barrett should thank him for bailing them out. Now hold your breath and watch the pen in action!

Baker had the luxury of bonds and kent in SF but couldn't stop the fighting or stop himself from bickering with the front office. He comes here and gets the pleasure of Wood and Prior who virtually carry the team into oct, not to mention Z's emergence. but as soon as some real managerial skills are needed in 2004 what happens? Sosa is disgruntled, Alou and Merck are unhappy and he is firing off at an announcer? Where did he get this great reputation as a manager from? He's been blessed with talent and high payrolls his whole career. Let's see him do it in Oakland or Minnesota.

But why didn't Dusty use Murton to PH when Cormier came in?? Stupid double standard by Dusty.....

One theory i have gabe, is he's a "Players" manager, meaning the players do what they want, when they want and there are no re-percussions. How many "Players" managers actually win titles? Its because of no dicipline and lack of fundemetals. He'll always attract talent where he goes because of this, but he will never manage a team to its potential. I never paid much att. to him in SF and i was rooting heavily for Anaheim in the WS, but now after seeing him often for 3 years, i'd like to re-watch Game 6 of the WS when the Angels came back from down 5-0 in the 8th to force game 7 and see how he managed it down the stretch and see if it was his total lack of in game skills that cost SF that game.

Every move Dusty has made today so far has paid off. Macias with an SF, Holly with 2RBI, and Williams being pulled with 3 solid innings of relief work. But yes, this team still is no more than mediocre all around.

Bless our LOOGY

Am I reading this right? Lawton stikes out to end the inning. Leaving Hairston to lead off the following inning. Dusty double switches Holly in for Hairston, leaving the pitcher's spot to lead off!!! In Dumbass we Trust!!!!

Update: Lee .357 Pujols .341 Much closer than i thought i might get this late in the season. Lee really slumping. Nice walk though, team player and a stand up guy. One of the few we have.

Blue- Watch the game before you comment. Know the situation....

Great call Bleeding, didn't think about that myself, but yea, WTF was he thinkin? Guess we'll have to wait til the post game conference and hopefully somebody will bring that up.

I'm following the game via internet tonight. Please fill me in on why it was a good idea to double switch to have the pitcher's spot lead off? Its going to be great later in the game when we need a pinch hitter and have no one left on the bench.

Ohman was only going to go 1 inning, and since Hairston got hurt he was going to have to PH anyways. You guys are amazing....

O yea ur rite Manny, forgot he got hurt. I guess i should put this down, i've had enough! LOL

No manny you are amazing. Defending the double switch that leaves the pitcher to bat first. Cant you even admit once that this qualifies for a WTF?

If Hairston was hurt and had to leave the game, then, and only then, does the move make sense. So what happened to Hairston that he had to leave the game?

Still all in all not a bad job by Williams. He had one bad inning and made an error that although wasn't un-earned, still allowed a run to score that would not have. The trade for hawkins is looking more and more like another Hendry steal in my opinion.

Gabe- No, everyone on the chat, there are currnetly 18 of them all agreed with the move. You guys just try and pin everything against Dusty no matter what. He does things that deserve critisism, but this ain't one. Follow and understand the game situation and you will know why.

Guys, it was not a double switch. Holly went in to bat for the Pitcher as a pinch hitter leaving him in the 9th spot, then when it was determined that Hairy couldn't go, they needed to replace him. Come on guys, seriously...you have to chill out as you are letting your hatred of dusty get in the way with rationality.

Blue- I am sorry if you were not following the game on TV.... He hurt his right elbow diving for a ball. No word on extent of injury.

I have to agree with Manny the move was OK. Holly got the big hit so he should stay in the game and why would you take out Lawton. Come on Novoa throw a damn strike to Liberthal.

Uh o, here comes another interesting inning from the pen. back to back singles. Novoa throws hard, but everything seems to be rite in the zone to hit. 2 on 1 out, cross ur fingers. ;)

Wow was holding my breath on that one! one more out novoa, CMON

Cmon Novoa, get the ball up and out of the dirt, now a hit scores 2!

Whew!!! Going to the ninth guys, another nail biter. Sure has been a wild last 7-10 games with almost every game coming down to the 9th inning or later.

Anyone find it odd that no homers have been hit in this series?

Macias 0-0, RBI Holly 1-1, 2RBI Bullpen, 4IP, 7K, 0ER every move has paid off so far. Does Dusty get any credit for that?

derrek lee has 44 extra base hits with no one on base. What a waste! (not dusty's fault)

Hey adam, a squirrel finds a nut every now and then. A few good moves don't make up for all the terrible ones, and it certainly don't mean i want dusty to remain as cub manager beyond this season.

Baker was only giving Ohman 1 inning: Manny was right... I'm oK with the moves so far tonight... I've complained about Barrett before. During the winter I suggested the Cubs sign Damian Miller AND Barrett. Barrett could be a super sub. P/t catcher, Lf, 3b, 1b, ph. His game calling is very often questionable. His stick is good, especially when rested.

Adam, Yes he gets some credit but most of it is used up on paying off the stupid moves he's made in the past. You see, I'm not a "what have you done for me lately kind of guy" I still despised Neifi Perez when he hit the infamous STL grand slam, still think Macias is worthless even though he had the ability to fly out (wow), and still think baker has mismanaged the team and abused our pitching staff

Wagner needed a whole 7 pitches for that inning! I have to agree with you all the way Gabe.

fair enough...I still want Dusty gone too (although it isn't going to happen before his contract is up, unless he takes another job under mutual agreement) I just want to make sure that for one day, he gets a little credit where credit is due.

Damian Miller, are you serious? The goal should be to get Barrett and some talent out of town in the winter to get Pudge onto the team. Imagine this line up: CF- Johnny Damon SS- Nomar Garciaparra 1B- Lee C-Pudge 3B aramis RF- burnitz LF-murton 2b- todd walker rotation: prior, z, maddux, hill and Free Agent

I know it's old but I just read scoop jacksons article on ESPN calling my whole city racist. Ouch. what a moron.

say goodbye to Remlinger... he DFA after blowing this game; Williamson takes his spot

0-4 Rollins leads off with a Double against Rem. Talk about a waste of money sittin around the clubhouse! Rem deff has to go after this season. I don't think this one is gettin past the 9th folks, see ya for the next nite game!

Cubs probably should've listened to baker after 2003 and kept lofton in center and got rid of Kpat while his value was still high.

Would the pitchers PLEASE cover first base? Please?

Sounds like 3 times today the pitcher hasn't properly covered first...no excuse for that.

Turn out the lights, the party is over. 1-2 count on lofton, lefty on lefty and they still allow him to move the runner? Nothing amuses me about this team anymore, every time u think u've seen it all, just wait till next game. 1 out, sacs full? got lucky last night, not 2 in a row!

I hope this interntionally walking the bases loaded doesn't backfire on us like it did for St. Louis.

Player A .272/.335/.469 2005 Salary: $3,133,333 Player B .296/.306/.463 2005 Salary: $8,000,000 +.5 points to whoever cares enough to name them.

The pitchers not covering first are gonna give Santo a heart attack.

Yeah Remmy probably ran himself out of town.

OMG Weutz is gonna walk the winning run home. 2nd game in 2 nights ending with a walk off walk and only 7 times in history! lmfao @ cubs

OMFG Barrett.

Barrett? They steal home on the Manager and coaching staff.

MICHAEL BARRETT IS A DAMN IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rollins was halfway to home!!! FREAKIN MORON!!!

TELL ME WHO IN THE F DOES THIS HAPPEN TO????? STEALS HOME!!!!!!! SQUEEZE PLAYS!!!!!!!!! I SERIOUSLY F.ING QUIT. DAMN IT ALL TO HELL

Remember this game...they have just outdone themselves. Latroy Hawkins hitting the runner in the helmut was the previously dumbest ending a baseball game has ever had. This is #1 If this team makes the playoffs. Remember this game to keep things in perspective. They don't deserve to be in the playoffs.

ok is there any human being left ...over there who thinks its not time to fire Dusty Baker??? Any one????

an epic fundamental error by Barrett. I mean there is no excuse for losing on an unnecessary rundown.

cAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT HAPPENED ON THE PLAY???

Well--in all honesty, lately the wins the Cubs have gotten have been because of the other team choking.....looks like the law of averages just swinging back to bite the Cubs in the ass tonight. Lately they've been winning this way instead of losing this way.

Yes, someone explain for those of us that don't have TV, weren't listening to the audio or in the parachat?

Rollins was 3/4 of the way home WTF was Barrett thinking. He should start packaging for Detroit right now!!!

CWTP - no steal of home. Passed ball on strike three. Rollins broke for home and stops 1/2 home. Barrett throws to third instead of running him back to 3rd that's Barrett not the manager or coaching staff and it's not a stolen base.

What happened?

Batter struck out...the ball got away from Barrett and Rollins headed home...stopped...Barret ran him back but not very far...threw to Ramirez...throw was off just a bit...Rollins runs home..Ramirez throws to Barrett slightly off...and Rollins scores

CWTP - it wasn't a steal of home. Passed ball on strike three. Rollins broke for home and stops 1/2 home. Barrett throws to third instead of running him back to 3rd. That's Barrett not the manager or coaching staff and it's not a stolen base.

Score Summary ............ 9th Rollins stole home. No shit? I mean, seriously? Is it real?

Barrett now equals Bare ASS as in... my bare ass shows when I'm caught with my pants down.

CBS Sportsline just said "Burrell struck out swinging" so I cheered. Then it said "Rollins stole home." And that was that.

Can someone clarify a rule for me? If the bases are loaded, and Burrell strikes out on a past ball and runs to 1st, does that make it a force play at the plate? If not, what happens if nobody throws to 1st and there's 2 guys standing on the bag?

I dont know if we are going to make it to playoffs or not..but if we go down then lets at least go down with some dignity and decency. My vocabulary is limited to explain tonight's outing. Such an amateurish, callous idiotic performance. Its humiliating to all the thousands of cub fans around the world and through out all these years WE DONT DESERVE TO see a performance like this.

The responsibility that the coaching staff bears is that they just didn't play fundamentally sound baseball today. Three different pitchers failed to cover first base, the catcher's first instinct was to throw the ball instead of running at the baserunner, which is what I was taught to do in HS baseball when you have a runner between bases. Where are the fundamentals, and who's teaching them?

You have got to be fuckin kidding me????? OMG, im just done, so fkn fed up with this BS! Does this happen to any other team in baseball?? It can't possibly! I don't care who you put in a cub uniform, when they put it on, its like instant DUMBASS!!!!!! OMFG im sick to my dam stomach! like i said earlier, just when you thought u seen it all with this team, watch tomorrow nite it'll be something else amazingly stupid that costs them the game!

I don't see anyone who has blamed Baker for that last play....maybe I'm blind, but I don't see anyone.

The worst part is, he has a FORCE AT HOME with the ball in the dirt! all he has to do is step on the f***ing plate and then throw to first and the inning is over.

It was a drop 3rd strike Rollins is halfway to 2/3 down the line and Barrett throws it to third and rollins scored.

WES Can only take first if it is open, the strikeout can't create a force at another base. Adam you're right, this is barretts prob

WESCHC, if the strikeout had been the third out, they would have had a force at the plate. Since it was only the 2nd out Burrell couldn't go to first.

So then, Burrell can't advance to first on the K at all? It's a strike out and there are just 2 outs with the bags juiced?

Can someone clarify a rule for me? If the bases are loaded, and Burrell strikes out on a past ball and runs to 1st, does that make it a force play at the plate? If not, what happens if nobody throws to 1st and there's 2 guys standing on the bag? No...with runners on base the catcher does not need to catch the ball for strike 3. ..it was not a force out at the plate...it would be treated as a stolen base with a tag needing to be applied.

I dont know if we are going to make it to playoffs or not..but if we go down then lets at least go down with some dignity and decency. My vocabulary is limited to explain tonight's outing. Such an amateurish, callous idiotic performance. Its humiliating to all the thousands of cub fans around the world and through out all these years WE DONT DESERVE TO see a performance like this.

"HOW THE FUCK DO YOU BLAME THAT ON DUSTY...you guys have completely lost your fucking minds." no way! while i like dusty's masterful coaching making rusch strike out all those guys earlier in the game, i saw with 100% accuracy dusty giving barrett the "start sucking now" sign. being as dusty controls every player's action from the dugout with a cool custom joystick, its totally his fault. i really don't understand how you don't see this.

I dont know if we are going to make it to playoffs or not..but if we go down then lets at least go down with some dignity and decency. My vocabulary is limited to explain tonight's outing. Such an amateurish, callous idiotic performance. Its humiliating to all the thousands of cub fans around the world and through out all these years WE DONT DESERVE TO see a performance like this.

that's not true dbt. no force at home on the play

UNFKNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!! Your rite Cubby78, nice call. We don't fkn deserve this stupidity out of a 100 million dollar payroll! Im truely at a loss for words and i vow to never watch another game until they weed out all the DumbAsses! Cmon, like you all are saying, thats HS shit! I played organized 12 inch competitive tournament softball for 16 years and i seen some dumb shit, but this tops the cake for a MLB team/player.

There was no force out, but as any minor league coach will tell you, there is also no way Rollins can be allowed to score on that play. Crawl down the third base line if it requires it, but don't throw the ball until he commits to going back to third base.

Can someone clarify a rule for me? if a batter strikes out with first base occupied (as in this case), and there is a passed ball on strike three...the batter is out and can not try to advance to 1st base. But the other men on base can advance at their own risk... which is what happened. Somebody must have coached Barrett in how to do a rundown. You hold the ball and run directly at the runner until he commits... Not until the fans committ suicide.

Dumb and uninspired baseball. Too bad there is not a position on the baseball coaching staff that is capable of telling the pitchers they are lazy and position players not to play deep with one out and the winning run 90 feet away and how to run a baserunner back to the bag. Only if...

As everyone clearly pointed out, Burrell was out and there was no force play. Rollins baited Barrett into throwing to third. Lee was visibly upset, throwing his hands up in disgust. Make that 4 pitcher not covering first: Williams, Rusch, Ohman, and Remlinger didn't in the 9th, although Lee just got there in time to beat Lofton. That might have been the weirdest ending to a game since Ricky G fell down around third and somehow scored in the Hernanzdez throws out McMichael game in August of '01.

crunch - I agree with you. Adam you need to understand that if a team is consistenly failing coz of fundamental mistakes then some one higher up is not doing their job period. The players obviously are not doing the basics right but what the heck the managers, coaches etc etc are paid millions for?? chewing on toothpicks ??? Damn tonights game is not even NLCS game 7 that you can mitigate the blame to nervousness. These mistakes in the spirit of the game are unpardonable and no excuse is worth it. -C

cubby78...if you agreed with me you wouldnt say what you just said.

Right, cubster. I don't get where everybody thinks he could've just touched home. First base has to be open. My wife, I'm not kidding my wife, knew what to do in a run down when I asked her about it when I was explaining what happened in the game. My wife played softball until she was fourteen.

one minor consolation...my crystal ball sez: The cubs wouldn't have scored another run until the 31st inning. So Dusty's happy cause that would have not been good for his bullpen. Remember this as Remlingers last game as a Cub.

How it is Dusty's fault. It is because the player's make stupid mistakes and Baker does nothing. Send Barrett to AAA for 10 days and see if does it again.

I equate teams lacking fundamentals to a young player like Corey Patterson struggling and the manager not giving him direct instructional coaching to help him in his deficencies. Dusty figures at this level it isn't his job to coach the young players and it isn't his job to instruct the fundamentals of the game. Dusty doesn't think it is his job....others disagree.

*all* ball players know how to do the things they didnt do tonite. these 30-40 year olds know better. david bell also knows better than to play a ball backhanded off his hip. that barrett thing was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY out of line...beyond laziness, beyond anything...it seems he was trying for a double play, but whatever communication he had going on aram wasnt picking up on it...and reguardless, if that was his point, his throw was pure ass.

Someone in the chat room, who is one of the most arrogant pricks on this board, is trying to convince 20 people in the chat that all Barrett needed to do was touch home. That is dead wrong, and it's really a fundamentally basic rule in baseball With a runner on first, less than 2 outs, if a batter strikes out, he CAN NOT ADVANCE. The batter is out, and then the runners are at their own free will. There is no force at home. If Barrett steps on home, nothing happens. The batter is still out, and then the runners are safe at their bases. IF there are 2 outs, then the batter may advance, and then the catcher needs to step on home, or throw for a force at any base. But there were not two outs. There was 1 out, the batter struck out, and the player gets credit for stealing home as he would need to be tagged out to record the final out. Look, I don't mind if people get the rules wrong. I get several confused at times too. But when you are nothing more than a bitter asshole on these boards, thinking you know everything about the game, you damn well better shut the hell up and listen to the 15 people that do know the rules instead of continuing to lash out and tell other people they are wrong and don't know the rules. You made a fool out of yourself. Go read the fucking rule book.

"hat barrett thing was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY out of line" by that i mean, way outta line by barrett...it was a stupid stupid stupid play

Dusty doesn't control whether or not barrett is in AAA which he won't be btw. However, dusty's teams have lacked the fundamentals but I don't remember any cubs team really having any fundamentals besides Sandberg, Dawson, Grace, and Maddux.

"Someone in the chat room, who is one of the most arrogant pricks on this board" ...??? I don't use the chat room...?

This is not Dusty's fault, clearly. Any male not in diapers (young or old) should be able to execute a run down with better success than Barrett. Hell, if Barrett has been immediately frozen upon picking up the ball and returning to the plate the result would have been better. That being said, clearly there is something not right in the way these players are dealt with when fundamental mistakes are made. By the second time a pitcher didn't cover today, somebody should have been saying something. What appears to happen with the Cubs under the Baker regime is that Dusty "goes to bat" for his players after mistakes like this instead of reminding them that they are major league baseball players and they are functioning on a level lower than that of a beer league softball team. As mentioned in a previous thread, you can't blame Baker for any actual event that takes place on the field (outside of putting people out of position), but you can blame him for some of the players apparent apathy and lack of devotion to the fundamentals.

crunch..your double play guess ..if its true will be dumbest thing I would have ever heard in my life. I think you and Dustbag are striking a chord in deciding the strategy. Please tell me again that you are just kidding.

reality check again everyone.... Lately there have been a LOT of games the Cubs have won in the 8th or 9th or extra innings in which they scored because of the other team choking......look at it as they have won many more games than they've lost in which a team has choked. If you they only recorded games in which the losing team choked...the Cubs would have a winning percentage better than the St. Louis Cardinals. This was a game that was bound to happen eventually--they've won way too many of these types of games lately...it was bound to happen.

Bill...dont you see 'lack of apathy' and 'lack of devotion' are actually leading to those 'actual events' on the field. I see there is a connection.

A catcher must be smarter than that...there is really nothing a manager can do about that...A major league manager can't teach that....it's not something you can practice at this level. For once, for crying out loud, blame a player. Again, what happens when you blame the manager for the players...is you assume everything is fixed with a new manager. In a situation like this, that just isn't the case. Barrett had a horrible game. Couldn't get runners in from 3rd with 1 out twice, and made an ultimate boneheaded play. You change the manager, you get the same result. What Rollins did was what a highschooler is taught to do, bait a fielder to make a dumb play...he did. You can't credit Philly's manager for that, and you can't blame dusty for the boneheaded mistake on the other end.

Do you guys know what was cool about 2003? It was that all the shit that usually happens to us, started happening to the Astros and the other teams. For once in my life I knew what it was like to be a fan of a team that is playing the Cubs. These past two seasons have been unpleasant reminders that WE ARE THE CUBS

"crunch..your double play guess ..if its true will be dumbest thing I would have ever heard in my life. I think you and Dustbag are striking a chord in deciding the strategy." 1- what reason you got for barrett to think of throwing that ball? 2- what the HELL did dusty have to do with that play in the least shred of instance?

"...??? I don't use the chat room...?" I know, That's why I specifically said someone in the chat room...it wasn't you. I don't care about someone who is confused about the rule and asking for clarfication, I do that all the time. I care when some jackass is in a chat room where the official rule is posted, and 15 people are telling him he is wrong, and yet he does nothing but call everyone else stupid and tell everyone else they don't know what they were talking about. MikeC was wrong, and his ego the size of China cause him to look like a pathetic desperate asshole. People make mistakes, I like that...but I truly have no lower opinion than that of someone who is older than 12 that can't admit they are wrong when faced with 100% certain fact.

I'm sure the Phils were saying, "OH CRAP NP!" when they saw Rollins go...knowing he was a dead duck and inning over....He made a BIG mistake going--fundamentally it was a horrible decision by Rollins...he didn't just "bait" Barrett, he was more than half way home--sitting duck for a rundown.... Rollins horrible baserunning fundamentals actually had a positive outcome. If Manuel had "taught" him not to go in that situation--the Phils might not have won the game right there.....but Rollins bad fundamentals were not as bad as Barretts failure to run him back further.

"For once, for crying out loud, blame a player." now that is my take totally...

Cubby78, I am not being a Dusty apologist. I am saying there is clearly something horrid going on with the coaching of this team. Not having people up in the bullpen in appropriate times, horrible lineup construction, blind faith in "his guys", reluctance to play young kids, etc all our contributing factors to the Cubs record. That being said, just because Perez bats 2nd one day, doesn't mean Dusty causes him to strike out. Striking out still lies in the lap of Neifi. Just like failing to enact fundamental baseball falls on Barrett tonight. All I was saying is you can't blame Dusty for individual plays, you CAN point a finger at him in regards to overall fundemental play and attitude.

WWOD? What would Ozzie do? I think Blanco would be playing for awhile. It is so fundamental to run the guy back toward the base - a little leaguer knows it. The pitchers also blew fundamentals. Whatwill Dusty do? I'm not part of the hate Dusty crowd but I think we need a manager who will be a little more outspoken and critical when it is warranted.

from phillies.com PHILADELPHIA -- Try figuring this one out: Pat Burrell whiffed with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, yet the Phillies won, 4-3, at Citizens Bank Park. Confused? The pitch from Michael Wuertz got away from catcher Michael Barrett for a passed ball. Barrett recovered and had Jimmy Rollins hung up between third and home, but threw to third baseman Aramis Ramirez rather than running Rollins back to third. Rollins restarted and slid home ahead of Ramirez's relay back to Barrett, giving the Phillies one of their strangest wins this season. Even the phillies beat writer thinks we're a joke

Dusty pinched hit with Hollandsworth against a left handed pitcher and Murton against a right handed pitcher...that was pretty lame if you ask me.

i'm ready to see dusty's after-game comments, myself...

Barrett fucked up and proved once again that he's not a quality catcher. I hope Hendry will admit to himself that he was wrong about Barrett and seek a new catcher, or trade him and use Hank full time.

"Dude, this one was tough, real tough...Man, that was big...tough--We fought back and tied it up...that's all you can do..tough...man tough"

Cubfan, Holly hit a 2 run single to tie the game. Holly was brought in to face a righty forcing the Phils to make a move to bring in a lefty, once the move was made, Dusty was not going to waste our last good hitter on the bench, knowing that Hairy was hurting. Murton then had to come in to bat for an injured hairston, it had nothing to do with matchups at that point. Again, people are so quick to blame Dusty without first checking the facts.

Hank White is awful!!! I won't knee jerk Barrett out of starts when we don't have a better options. get pudge, send barrett over there with Mitre, rem, and eric patterson.

BJS, Barrett is a perfectly suitable catcher that carries a bat better than at least 80% of the other catchers in the league. He f'ed up tonight, but one play or night does not make a player.

I don't know everytime I see Hank White play he seems to hit a home run....granted I don't see him play much.

Tonight's loss certainly has to be blamed on Barrett. BUT I think a whole lot needs to be said about the fundamental mistakes we've seen on the Cubs teams over the past 2-3 years. Dusty's big selling point is supposed to be his ability to get the best out of his players. If his players can't even get the basics right, he's not accomplishing that goal.

re: #164 hahahhahahahahahahahahahhahahaha...

How good would've Pudge's classic singles to right looked tonight with men on second and third?

Barrett does have a great bat, but there is a fundamental problem in my mind when 2 out of 5 pitchers would prefer to give up a 100 points in batting average, for a terrible offensive catcher who they think calls a better game. That to me shows a significant problem with Barrett...what good is his bat if 2 of our pitchers don't want to pitch to him.

Blue... Perez is certainly a player let go by the Giants (he probably was considered to young for the organization)...anyway..they let him go.. NO ONE else in the majors wanted him...not KC, not TB NO ONE>...and he ends up playing for Johnny B and does much better than he ever did for SF and others recently....giving Dusty Baker once again that "Gets the most out of his players"...he turns crap into crap that doesn't smell too bad.

100 posts in an hour - TCR comments working overtime tonight. Player A .272/.335/.469 2005 Salary: $3,133,333 Player B .296/.306/.463 2005 Salary: $8,000,000 A- Barrett B- Pudge

I don't have the stats in front of me, but I would be willing to bet the staff ERA with Barrett behind the plate and the staff ERA with Blanco behind the plate isn't too different. Also, the club record with Barrett starting is probably better than that of Blanco starting. Regardless though, to say we should get rid of Barrett is misguided.

#167 - Bill I'm not looking to argue, but Barrett is one of the worst catchers in the game and his offense does NOT make up for it. The pitchers perform better with Hank and he has much better fundamental sense than Barrett.

Cubfan, please be sure to see post #165, for know other reason than just being sure you know what happened in the game. Night all, you all piss me off....but that's what being a sports fan is about.

#176 - BILL You are very wrong, I wish I had the stats on hand.

Barrett made a bad play--poor decision.... Who doesn't? We shouldn't have been in that position anyway....we should have played "smart ball" on offense and had 6 runs tonight. We didn't...we lost. Barrett's play was the final nail of bad plays...but everyone has made plays equally as stupid in their career.

Cheer up everyone. St. Louis nailed 7 runs in the last two innings on Florida, so they should drop a game too. Of course, Washington picked up a game. As did Philly.

cubfan... probably we can paraphrase this.. "but everyone has made plays equally as stupid in their career." to "but every cub player has made plays equally as stupid in tonight's game"

NO ONE else in the majors wanted him...not KC, not TB NO ONE>...and he ends up playing for Johnny B and does much better than he ever did for SF and others recently Except even that's a Myth. Neifi isn't playing better under Dusty: Neifi 2005: .263/.286/.377 Neifi 2004: .255/.296/.336 (both SF and CHC) Neifi 2003: .256/.285/.348

BJS, Well, I am wrong, I don't know about very wrong. Trying to figure out staff ERA would be nearly impossible without some major research, but when Barret has 0, 1 or 2 AB's in a game the Cubs are: 20 - 13 So, when Barrett has 3 or more AB's the Cubs are: 34-40 So, yeah, they aren't as good, record wise, when Barrett is behind that plate. That being said, he also catches Williams, Mitre, Rusch, etc. While Blanco almost exclusively faces our "Healthy" Ace and a HOF. I still say stating Barrett needs to go is wrong.

It's times like this I wish I was named Elrondo or something. No surprise. Bleeding Blue wins the points. I'll try not to let that happen in the fantasy leagues. Does this get a worst taunt ever award?

Blue, Regarding post 184--EXACTLY! You listen to the announcers and they can't say enough good things about Neifi and his wonderful play--better than expected...yet it's right about his norm... Just another tool in Dustys PR machine....remember if the announcers turn on you the season gets long and ugly and people lose their jobs (and it isn't Johnny). On a side note we now are only 1.5 games ahead of Milwaukee---club should feel real proud.

Cubby78, I don't know how to say it more clearly: I don't like Dusty Baker, he is a big reason for our poor record thus far. Our roster should have a substantially better W/L than they currently do. But, we can't just blame Dusty for everything. Barrett is the one that messed up today. In fact, this was a rare day by Dusty I thought. A fairly well managed in-game game. Usually he does put his players into positions to fail, but today he didn't do that, the players just failed to produce.

Did anyone else think D. Lee's shoulder may be giving him more pain than he's letting on? He swung and fouled a pitch off tonight and he looked like it really hurt his shoulder. Whatever his numbers are surely cooling down.

Yeah, the Neifi myth is puke inducing. I almost get more pissed when he gets a hit now because it means more PT. Did anybody watch the broadcast a couple weeks ago during the rain delay where they showed a replay of Dusty's pre-game press conference? He actually stated that Nomar isn't guaranteed to be the everyday SS upon his return. That without Neifi we wouldn't be where we were you can't just take him off the field. That comment cost me my left eye since I happened to have a fork in my hand and needed an immediate distraction.

you know what is Ironic. The phillies have stolen 2 games from us on absolutely boneheaded mental mistakes in the 9th inning. In May in Chicago, Cubs up 3-2 in the 9th, bases loaded, 1 out, Hawkins on the mound. Line Drive to Hawkins, All Hawkins needs to do is hold the ball, and then go after the next batter...instead he tries to be the hero, makes a stupid throw to try to catch the guy off first. Hits him in the head, 2 runs score...Cubs lose. Today, 3-3 in the 9th, bases loaded, 1 out. Strike out to Barrett, all barrett needs to do is hold the ball and let Wuertz go after the next guy. He tries to be the hero, makes a stupid 3 to third, the winning run scores. That's just unbelievable that two situations like that can happen at the major league level, and a scary coincidence that they happened in virtually the same situation against the same team.

"Dusty doesn't control whether or not barrett is in AAA which he won't be btw. However, dusty's teams have lacked the fundamentals but I don't remember any cubs team really having any fundamentals besides Sandberg, Dawson, Grace, and Maddux." Gabe, I know Hendry is not going to send Barrett down to AAA. What I was trying to say is there should be punished for dumbass fundamential mistakes. They should be fined or something. Yes I know the PA will go biserk and challange it. If Baker did this world poverty could come to an end because of how much money would be donated to chairity. Funny how 3 of the 4 guys you mentioned are or will be in the HOF in 10 years.

Michael Barrett CERA 4.59 thrown out .277 Henry Blanco CERA 3.34 ERA thrown out .588 Of course Blanco catches Prior primarily, so it's not as simple as just looking at their CERA. You can try and breakdwon how each catcher handles a certain pitcher, but I don't have those numbers. A few weeks back I tried to calculate the team win/loss depending on which catcher started a game. I think Blanco was a couple of games over .500 which means Barrett was near or just below .500. Once again, catching Prior (and Maddux) would skew the numbers a bit. Loss to be blamed on Barrett(the catcher), Barrett(the hitter), fundamentally inept pitchers and unprepared offense. Tejeda didn't walk one guy and we swung at WAY too many early pitches. Horrible approach at the plate and either the scouting or the coaching let us down.

Nice recollection Adam. Bill..I agree with you man that tonight its barrett's fault that really cost us the game (whats up with the pitchers not cover 1st base etc etc). You can probably refer to other threads for countless similar fundamental mistakes we have made that cost us games all season long in similar fashion. Where do you think is the solution to this problem?? Yesterday it was some one else ..tonight its barrett tommorow its going to be john doe. Who will take ultimate responsibility for all this crap?? Some one has to right?? Consistent cheap fallability should be accounted for as soon as possible and unfortunately its Dusty Baker who should take the brunt in my opinion. I totally agree that the players are messing it all up ...but what is the solution right now for us to play at least decently through the rest of the season???

ohhh wait lets blame it all on billy goat this year - right fellas?

"Player A .272/.335/.469 2005 Salary: $3,133,333 Player B .296/.306/.463 2005 Salary: $8,000,000 A- Barrett B- Pudge" Blue, Your forgetting 2 things in that comparison D and clutch hitting both things this team is lacking. NO WAY IN HELL that Pudge does what Barrett did or K W/ bases loaded and no out.

ohhh wait lets blame it all on billy goat this year - right fellas?

I don't think tonight was Dusty's fault - there's not much he can do about Barrett's boneheaded play. But it can't be argued that the fundamentals the last few seasons under Dusty have been flat out awful. From the baserunning (Alou, Burnitz, Hairston), to stupid throws like Hawkins earlier this year, to stupid plays like tonight, to other stupid plays I'm sure I didn't see/suppressed, to never getting the runner over from 2b to 3b when there's no outs, to rarely getting a runner home from 3b w/less than two outs, the cubs just never do the little things to win games. That is why they were a mediocre team last year and that's why they're a medicore team this year.

Jody Gerut (knee) left the game against the San Diego Padres Wednesday, Aug. 3 in the seventh inning, with right knee irritation. - why the hell are they trying to play a guy with a bonds-eque brace on his knee that much anyway? geez..pitt...

Re 196 - I wasn't commenting on "cluchness" or actually commenting on anything. I was answering the triva question.

NO WAY IN HELL that Pudge does what Barrett did or K W/ bases loaded and no out. Actually, while I wasn't commenting on it before. Pudge is 1 for 10 with 4 Ks with bases loaded this year. No way does he make that boneheaded play to end the game, but even the best, "most clutch" players in the game still fail in key situations more often than not.

"You're taught to run at him every time," Barrett said. "I panicked and threw the ball. I looked up and saw Rollins breaking and I threw the ball." No one getting paid $3MM dollars a year should be panicked about anything, unless it involves a mask and a gun.

Barrett is, has been, probably always will be a poor defensive catcher and I've never thought his bat makes up for it. He is horrible at blocking balls, rarely makes a play at the plate probably doesn't call a good game and is not smart. But we have so many bonehead breakdowns that you have to wonder why. Somehow either the players or not focused or just plain lax.

I couldn't stand Barrett's D prior to tonight and now it is should be clear that he needs to go. Damian Miller would be an upgrade. We should have never let him go.

Meanwhile. when the Astros worst pitcher shuts down an Arizona offense the killed us, and the Astros offense crushes a pitcher who shut us out last week, it's probably a good sign of how the two teams stand in comparison to one another. 5-0 Astros bottom of 6th We have 10 games left against the Astros. It now means that we will need to go 8-2 against them to jump them

All you guys saying tonight wasn't nothing to do with Dusty's fault are missing the whole dam point. No, Dusty don't make or break plays on the field, Barrett did that tonight, it'll be somebody else tomorrow night. The problem is that Dusty does have a HUGE hand in the way the players play the game. This team is so fkn horrible with fundamentals its dam sickening. Its been happening for 3 fkn years now ppl. Any time bad fundementals keep occuring over and over and over, blame has to be placed on the manager. Why is nothing happening to these guys after these baserunning blunders, fielding mistakes, strike out with runner on 3rd less than two outs, etc... Well you guessed it, NOTHING! And that is exactly why they play as the enigma they are. Start holding people accountable (players) and stop worring about being there DAMN friend and manage the damn team! Who cares if they like you, do you fkn job and stop the MENTAL MISTAKES! Good managers don't allow there players to make mistakes over and over, year after year. Now i see why the Giants didn't want him back, how the hell did they deal with him for as long as they did?

I can't believe you guys are saying to ditch Barrett. Hold him accountable for his mistake, as im sure he realized what he did wrong and feels worse about it than we do, but to say we should get rid of him after this? He is a top 5 catcher offensively in MLB, this year anyway and although he is horrible devensively, he is still one of the "good guys" on this team, along with Lee and Burny to name a couple. I mean Lee was throwin out trying to steal 3rd late in a game the other day with Ram at the plate and nobody out in a one run game. Ram singled, burny doubled and they scored nothing and they lost by that one run. So do u guys want to trade Lee now too? That was a pretty fkn boneheaded play but i don't see anybody saying to trade him.

I agree with the accountability thing. Dusty holds no one accountable for their shitty play. No one is under any pressure to think through the game out there. Here are our Cubs, yet again, finding ways to lose. Crap.

Adam: "MikeC was wrong, and his ego the size of China cause him to look like a pathetic desperate asshole." Kinda like when he said the SS ONLY covers 2nd for stolen bases... He didn't realize that the 2nd baseman and SS give signals back and forth to each other to decide who covers the bag.

I'm starting to dislike this baker guy... http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-050803c… "Baker said left fielder Matt Murton would sit against Mets left-hander Tom Glavine on Friday, but will play Saturday against lefty Kazuhisa Ishii. Baker said he would try to get Murton at-bats, but he doesn't plan to platoon him with Matt Lawton, as he did with Todd Hollandsworth. "We're trying to get to the playoffs, so we're going to play whoever I think the best lineup is against that particular guy," he said." In case you didn't get the memo, Lawton isn't very good against lefties. The article also stated that Nomar will start Friday/Sunday while Neifi will play Sat and be used as a defensive replacement. Hairston will be out at least a few days , no break, but he's flying back to Chicago for an MRI. Well, Dusty's gut and instinct better be fine-tuned. I'm starting to believe he'll get fired if we don't make the playoffs. Let me rephrase that, I think he SHOULD be fired if we don't make the playoffs. You want to rely on who you 'think' and 'feel' should be playing, fine, but if this team fails, it'll be COMPLETELY on your shoulders.

From the archive of the Official Site of the Chicago Cubs: 2/17/05 Cubs Notes: Focus on Fundamentals "Fundamentals was a word mentioned often at the Cubs' camp on Thursday, the first day pitchers and catchers took the field" I didn't read the article, but my guess is the word came up in conversations like these: "With Moises gone, who's going to be the group leader for baserunning fundamentals?" "I hope they're not going to make us do fundamentals like we had to last year". "I got a case of fundamentals over the winter, so I went to the doctor and got a shot and its gone now".

2/3 OF SEASON GONE TRADING DEAD LINE PASS, I BECOME A FAN. I will not critiza dusty or the players of the front office. There is not enough season left to bitch about. Let us look forward and say.... GO CUBS!!!!!

I don't care if we make the playoffs. I want him grady littled if we win the world series.

whats a worse way to lose. the way we did or to walk in the winning run?

"I mean Lee was throwin out trying to steal 3rd late in a game the other day with Ram at the plate and nobody out in a one run game. Ram singled, burny doubled and they scored nothing and they lost by that one run. So do u guys want to trade Lee now too?" It was a bonehead play but Lee doesn't consistently fail on defense, and he's got a bit more going for him on offense than Barrett. Barrett consistently fails to block the plate, can't seem to hold on to the ball for a play at the plate and rarely throws accurately to 2nd. Ever notice how many 3rd strike foul tips he drops? These things wear on a pitcher. No wonder Z and Prior prefel Blanco. Barrett has a decent bat but he really is a below average catcher.

Baker was livid over the lack of execution by Cubs pitchers. "That's what we work on all the time," he said, "You can understand that happening early in the year, but later in the year, it's a natural thing that when a ball is hit to the right side, you cover first base. We gave them six outs in that [second] inning. Ö We gave them three out of four runs." ....ow

It's games like these that find me poking around the minor league stats, and I couldn't help but notice one E. Patterson. Through August 2: .330/.407/.504, 30 SB What?! Oh, last night he went 1-2 with a homer, 2 walks and a stolen base. Can you imagine what Harrison High's baseball team was like in 1998, when both Eric and Corey were just raking? They won the state championship after all. I know it's only A ball, but I like this Patterson kid a lot. I don't think we mess around with this one. A poster above mentioned trading E-Patt for Pudge. I imagine it was probably half in jest, but that seems to be a monumental error in judgement. Minor league stats can be misleading, but his patience is for real. He may not always have the average to go with (I don't know his BABIP, John Hill, but it might be very high), but as long as he's walking, ripping line drives and stealing bases--supposedly he's faster than Corey)--E-Patt looks to be a very solid major leaguer. His average seems to be for real, though, as he hit .326 in college at a big time baseball program: Georgia Tech. I'm quite excited and hope to see him in the starting lineup in '07. The only thing that is troubling is the high strikeout total. 76 is a lot, especially at this stage in his career. He is a Patterson after all. It may be something we'll have to live with. But lots o' K's can be forgiven with lots o' OBP. I like this Patterson kid a lot, but I remember saying those exact words five years ago. I haven't given up on Corey. I still love him, but that's another conversation entirely.

trade for pudge? hehe...if anyone wants to pay him he's pretty much there for the taking. same for griffey.. pudge is broken and not the 10-million dollar man...he's all that when he's healthy, but that's about as much as mike sweeney or rondell white over the course of a season

I wouldn't get too excited about Eric Patterson. What I've read suggests to me that he's unlikely to ever be more than a bench player. Solid (but not spectacular) speed and defence, decent patience, pop rather than power, but contact problems, and at 22 he's very old for the Midwest League, so the fact he's dominating (.395 average on balls in play, by the way) is hardly surprising and you shouldn't read too much into it. He needs to be promoted to Daytona as soon as possible, I think, and if he makes it as far as West Tenn, that will as always be the acid test. Trade him for Pudge? Well, that's not going to happen, firstly because Pudge probably won't clear waivers, secondly because we don't need a catcher, hyperbolic miscreants be damned, and thirdly because Pudge is an expensive and overrated player. But ignoring all that, I'd give up E-Pat for Pudge without a second's hesitation.

Adam and the whoever else was in the chat... You do realize I was argueing just to argue last night? You guys were arguing back and forth about whether it was a SO or not you completly forgot it doesnt matter either way. All Barrett had to do was get back to home plate and keep Rollins from running home. Thats all I kept saying after that play. But ohhhh god was it a strike out, was it not? Was it or wasnt it? WHO CARES! Barret screwed up. I was pissed about that and you silly people are argueing if its a SO or not. We lost the game did you happen to notice that? Sorry sarcasm doesn't come over well on the internet but I am glad I pissed alot of you off. You pissed me off argueing about something that didnt even have an outcome on the play. Barret all he had to do was hold the freaking ball and worst case scenerio you have 2 outs bases loaded. Is it fun being frustrated by stupidity in the parachat? Now you know how I feel when you guys were argueing at the end of the game about something stupid. You deserve to be screwed with back. I got a few choice insults for some of you now, but I want this post to be seen, while the rest of your guys insults are deleted. Tata, fun way to lose huh?

Lost in all this was Brenly who was livid about our pitchers not covering 1st base. Kudos to him. This was the most upset he has been on the air openly disgusted with this teams lack of fundamentals. Brenly said the pitching staff should report for drills at like 5am to practice this stuff after Lee had to slide into 1st base to get someone out. And Brenly was dead on that this was a good way to get Derrek Lee injured by failing to cover 1st. Personally the lazy covering of 1st base is just an overall sign this team has no heart. It seems Derrek Lee is the only one that cares because he actually is working for something, a triple crown bid. The rest of the team is just blahhhhhhhhh. And when you get lazy on simple fundamentals bad things happen. Sickening game all around.

Arg I am still pissed and its hours after the game..... Brenly was more critical in tonights game than Stone ever was last year. So does this mean the team will say Brenly is overly critical? Is there now bad blood again between the broadcast booth and the players again? Brenly started off as "Dont say anything critical" and has graduated to "Frustrated, upset, and occasionally critical".

It is all in the team atmosphere. Dusty supposedly brought a winning attitude to the Cubs and in looking at the 2003 season he did just that. The other teams were choking and THE CUBS WERE CAUSING THIS. What has happened last year and this year is that the team has reverted back to its losing ways. No confidence, no energy, and always seem to catch the bad breaks. They are the victims. I've got news for you THE CUBS ARE CAUSING THIS TOO. We control our own destiny and I think the cubs are quick to blame injuries, bad luck, bad calls etc. As talented as this team is they should be able to overcome obstacles. We are paying them what 100 mil? There is no excuse for this team to be scoring 3 runs per game and there is no reason for any of us to believe this team is worth a crap until the offense can do otherwise.

"You want to rely on who you 'think' and 'feel' should be playing, fine, but if this team fails, it'll be COMPLETELY on your shoulders. Posted by: Rob G." Of course you're right, Dusty is responsible for the lousy play of his team. Why is this even controversial? Have the nitwits forgotten that when Baker took this job he announced that he was building a champion and it would take four years? This is year 3 and THIS is what HE built. A chaotic mess.

AQC (post #218)- Nice post... Can you imagine how good the G-Tech team must of been with EPat and Murton together??

Wasn't in chat last night--but the game ending play was confusing. As it happened I too thought about a force at home...but within a few seconds I realized the batter couldn't advance and the runner at 3B coming home was in a straight steal situation--or advancing on a wild pitch/passed ball. I can see where people would be confused about it. And yes all Barrett had to do was stand at home plate and look dumb with ball in hand...and it would have been okay. As far as heart--you got it...the Cubs don't. Their heart isn't in it. These are the people who play like they really do care...Carlos Zambrano, Greg Maddux, Robert Novoa, Derreck Lee, Murton, Macias and Neifi....what is bad is half of that list consists of the best players and half consist of the worst.... I am one who believes (my opinion not based on stats here) that teams personalties reflect the manager somewhat. The Sox have heart....Ozzie G. has a LOT of heart....the heart is in every game. They play fun exciting ball...Ozzie promotes fun exciting ball. Dusty Baker doesn't seem to promote anything. He seems pretty aloof....as well does his team. Baserunning blunders...getting picked off the bases...running with less than 2 outs on fly balls getting picked off etc...ALOOF....just like Baker.

Some of Lang Whitaker's column this week about what makes manager Bobby Cox great --- BAGS BAKER PLEASE READ!! "3) Consistency -- This is Bobby's gift and his curse. Once he understands where a player is best utilized, he never varies, always using the same guys in the same spots. It's especially evident in his handling of the pitching staff: starters go six innings, rarely throwing more than 110 pitches; relievers generally go one inning apiece; righty batter, bring in righty reliever, and vice-versa. While it can be maddening to watch, his steady hand gives the Braves players comfort, knowing Cox won't use them where they can't succeed. 4) Show Emotion -- Aside from his vocal exhortations, Cox seems mild-mannered, but he's generally just one bad call from exploding. Cox is the leader among all current managers in career ejections, and he's the only skipper to be ejected from the World Series twice. While he occasionally gets run for arguing, many times he gets ejected for show, either to get his troops fired up or to keep one of his guys from getting tossed. Without saying anything directly to them, they know he's got their backs. 5) Surround Yourself With Greatness -- The Braves current coaching staff is stocked with three guys who could be major league managers right now: Leo Mazzone, Terry Pendleton and Fredi Gonzalez. I love that Cox isn't afraid to hire guys who know more than he does about different aspects, as Mazzone has certainly proved while molding the Braves pitching staff into the best in baseball. Cox's loyalty to them pays dividends, as it did last week when Mazzone was erroneously linked to the Yankees. "I've been under contract with the Atlanta Braves for 14 years, and I hope to be under contract with them another 14 years," Mazzone said. "I love it here." 6) Trust -- If you're playing for the Braves, if you're on Cox's roster, he trusts that you can get the job done. Earlier this season, as the Braves started calling up their entire minor league system, rookie Kelly Johnson got plugged into the two hole in the batting order and responded by going 1 for 30. But Cox stuck with him and he straightened himself out, and he's now unseated Brian Jordan in left field. Similarly, you'll never hear Cox disparage a player to the media. He holds his tongue, handles business in private, and as a result engenders a great deal of affection from his team. They want to give their best for him. And that's the best you can ask for from a leader, isn't it?"

5 back of houston and how many against the astros?

Ten

WELL-DEFINED ROLES " For the first time in his managerial career, Piniella is using relievers in defined inning slots rather than employing a matchup system. Piniella likes Chad Orvella for the seventh inning, Joe Borowski (0.00 ERA 10 games 10 Holds with TBay) for the eighth and Danys Baez as the closer. ``I've never done it this way before, but you learn things,'' Piniella said. ``I like it.''

Maybe we need to keep a Dusty meter on TCR...seems to be he is the center of debate. He has his supporters and detractors..... What if we look at situations and see how well the team performs... One area to look at is situations where the team has runners in scoring position and no outs...or 1 out and see what percentage of the time they get a run in....If Baker's team is less than a certain percent...then he's failing..if not he's succeeding... And come up with other situations we think are vital they succeed in. I think everyone would agree that runners in scoring position with less than 2 outs need to get home....any other ideas...at least we could manage how well Dusty manufactures runs.

Rob, To defend Baker on Murton not starting aganist Glavine, he is a reverse split pitcher. WICF, The reason I want Barrett gone is that he sucks on defense. He is Mike Piazza with the glove, and he does not hit like Piazza. John Hill, I think I-rod would pass through waivers to us. His contract is bad like you said, and all of the AL contenders having good catchers. The only NL team below us on waivers that would take a shot is the Dodgers. The reason that Gabe's trade would not happen this year is Barrett wouldn't clear waivers in the NL. The Dodgers would for sure claim him and even if they didn't the D-backs and Padres (assuming Hernandez is out for the year) would. Chad, Definitly how we lost yesterday.

Or a Hendry meter up on TCR that states how many players he signs that are injured, get injured are seriuosly lacking in basic fundamntals that are learned in Little League.

Manny, A Hendry meter will be fine as long as you realize Hendry is getting a guy based solely on his past performance.... Dusty is getting a guy who he has direct instructional guidance and control over.....Hendry doesn't influence anything except getting players to the field. He gets them based on their past performance. What happens after Hendry gets them is Dusty's responsibility. We have all the data to analyze Hendry's moves based on the past stats of the players he obtained prior to becoming a Cub. If they were solid as pre-Cubs but start looking like foolish pickups once they perform as a Cub--well that then is Baker's doing more so than Hendry.

Jason Dubois watch: Since joining Cleveland... 8-33 (.242 avg & .342 OBP), 5 runs, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 5 BB and 17 K's. Yes that is not a typo, he has K'd in more than half of his AB's.

Is this at all realistic? 2 out of 3 in PHI 2 out of 3 in NYM 3 out of 3 vs CIN 2 out of 4 vs STL 1 out of 3 in HOU 3 out of 3 in COL 1 out of 3 vs ATL 2 out of 3 vs FLA 2 out of 3 vs LAD Can we go 18-10 in August or not? Otherwise, it's football season...

If I-Rod's contract is bad, why exactly do we want it? Bench Barrett for a series and be done with it. .. The Sox have heart....Ozzie G. has a LOT of heart....the heart is in every game. They play fun exciting ball...Ozzie promotes fun exciting ball. There's no "fun, exciting way" to rock on pitching and defense, which is how the Sox win games. Their offense is not good. Incidentally, J-Dub's player note in the 2004 BP book is something along the lines of "Sometimes, if these kinds of players get really lucky, they pan out and turn into Jody Gerut."

1st and 10

Post above: "Tonight's loss certainly has to be blamed on Barrett. BUT I think a whole lot needs to be said about the fundamental mistakes we've seen on the Cubs teams over the past 2-3 years." As a long time Cubs fan, how I truly wish it were only the "past 2-3 years". Last night was a classic - chalk that one into your answer column for the 1 day (in probably 50 years) when the CUbs win the World Series and someone asks you, "but why is it so difficult to be a Cubs fan?"

I see the Dusty-apologist spin machine is working bright and early this morning. I can see the memo now: Poor coaching and fundamentals lead to a loss. Make sure to blame Jim Hendry for getting the players in the first place and then quickly try to change the subject to a player who used to be on Dusty's bench.

dubois has also walked 5 times in 33 AB's he only walked 7 times in 142 AB's with the Cubs.. He finds some patience at the plate and he'll be a useful player. And of course those numbers are still better then Hollandsworth. It's one thing if Dubois wasn't playing in front of Matt Lawton all season, it's a whole 'nother story when he's being blocked by Todd Hollandsworth. Same thing goes for Ronny Cedeno, being blocked by Neifi isn't the same as being blocked by Nomar. I'll give Dusty the benefit of the doubt the rest of the season, he's earned enough victories in his career, that I don't necessarily have to agree with what he does ,as long as the goal of winning is accomplished. But it's the playoffs or the highway in my opinion. Your going to keep going against commom sense moves, then you better know what your doing.

Just an FYI.... Jofy Gerut tweaked his knee again last night... So much for knee braces helping much. Man is that guy a knee surgery waiting to happen. He is the leg version of Fox's arm.

Blue: "I see the Dusty-apologist spin machine is working bright and early this morning." I can see the constant over abundance of Dusty-bashers is in full effect at TCR again. Swings both ways Blue...:) Why have we had him as the manager the past 98 years we have not won a WS? You'd think some of these GM's and owners would realize he has never won a WS in the 98 years managing the Cubs that maybe its time for a change. Damn you Baker....

I was going to post on Dubois's walking, which is halfway to Neifi's total and 2 above Macias's. Or about Hollandsworth. But what's the point, what's done is done. Now, all we can do is hope Jason does well, because he appeared to be a decent guy, and the Cubs got a decent return through the sequence of trades. Alternatively, some may point out every game where he Ks 3 times in a "See, I told you so, IDWT!!!" fit of gleeful schadenfreude, because we're the best fans in baseball & whatnot.

Last night's stats: 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Two leadoff doubles result in no runs scored. It's not the Cubs--it's the White Sox from last night. The Cubs don't have the market cornered when it comes to playing poor fundamental baseball.

Ron Galt- And if he was hitting .500 and playing good, I am sure none of the majority of Dustybashers on this site would post about how Dusty never gave him his shot and look how good he is doing with no pressure from Dusty, blah blah blah. Right? Again, door swings both ways...

If Jason Dubois' (he is a rookie by the way) performance since leaving the Cubs is relevant when we have no lack of left fielders (Lawton, Murton) to replace him then the outstanding recent records of relief pitchers Joe Borowski, LaTroy Hawkins, Kent Mercker, Andy Sisco and Kyle Farnsworth must be really really relevant given the deplorable state of our bullpen.

"Why have we had him as the manager the past 98 years we have not won a WS?" It's commentary like that that makes TCR great. WTF??

Another thing about Barrett. How many balls did he let get pass him from simply poor defense on his part? The man has no clue on how to block pitches in the dirt with his body. Between Barretts poor D, pitchers not covering 1st that game was one of the worst displays of defense I have ever seen from a major league team. And to top it off we got a RF in CF, a LF with no arm in RF and a LF in LF with no arm. Yippe!

Had fun at Fenway last weekend, and at the Ryno induction. Lots of sympathy (can't be empathy anymore) for Cubs fans in Boston, at least from the ones who talked to us. I said I wanted to be like them when I grow up. I'm done with baseball-related travel for the year, and now that I've been to both Yankee Stadium and Fenway, I think I've seen all the parks on the endangered species list. For being older than Wrigley, Fenway is in significantly better shape. Quite a fun place to watch a game, I thought. Did anyone else hear Ryno's speech as a managerial audition? Sure sounded like one to me.

Cubswinpennant: They very well might be. Either hendry, Dusty or Rothschild (or most likely a combination of all 3) need to be looked at to why they are not with the Cubs and/or why they are doing better not in a Cubs uniform. Same in my opinion goes for Alou. I know some think Alou is a crybaby and bad baserunner (so is the rest of this team)and bad defense (so is a majority of this team), but his offensive stats on a piss poor team without their stud player would look nice in LF this year.

Oh yeah I thought of the movie title of the 2005 Cubs: 2005 Chicago Cubs...A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS. Lemany Snickets has NOTHING on the Cubs.

THE CUBS ORGANIZATION TRAILS ONLY SEATTLE IN SUSPENSION FOR DRUG USE " Now that Rafael Palmeiro has been publicly tarred and feathered, everybody in professional baseball is absolutely sure what steroids, steroid precursors and supplements are illegal - right? Well, uh, sort of. ''I'm sure there's a list around here somewhere - maybe,'' Diamond Jaxx outfielder Adam Greenberg said, glancing around the locker room at Pringles Park on Tuesday. I don't know." ''I've never seen a (banned drug) list posted,'' Chicago Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra said before Tuesday's game. '' (by the way, Adam Greenberg tripled yesterday for the Jaxx)

The quality of pitches coming from the bullpen and bullpen usage are becoming huge issues. Wuertz... Obviously he should be used against righties only. He doesn't have a nasty for lefties. He tries throwing the wicked slider, but lefties get a different look at it and never bite. If I had a dollar for every time Dusty put him in to pitch to a lefty, though... ugh... I'd spend all the money on hard liquor. Mitre... He's a ground-ball pitcher and should be played a Wrigley more where the thick grass can eat up the ground balls (3.60 GO/AO). I'd even say, let him pitch inning 7-8 in winning games at home. Rusch... is completely the opposite (0.99 GO/AO). He should only be pitching on the road and in bigger parks. It's no freeking wonder why he had a 4-hit complete game start at Petco... the place is huge. But you can't let a guy like that pitch at Wrigley, it's just *WRONG*. Novoa... is sort of like the pitching version of Dunn (Dunn: See ball. Hit ball hard... Novoa: Get ball. Throw ball hard.) His best quality is the brute force he uses on the mound. Consequently you get a lot of infield fly balls. He'll be fine as a setup guy so long as he can continue to throw a strike on-demand. Remingler... I like the guy a whole lot. He seems like someone I'd invite over for poker-night, but he's not been effective lately (meaning, since before the All-Star Break). Something's gotta give. 4.91 ERA isn't going to cut it in a tie-game in the 9th inning, I don't care how veteran and southpaw he is. I'm done ranting.

Let's try again. I'll add bold this time. But what's the point, what's done is done. Now, all we can do is hope Jason does well, because he appeared to be a decent guy, and the Cubs got a decent return through the sequence of trades. Alternatively, some may point out every game where he Ks 3 times in a "See, I told you so, IDWT!!!" fit of gleeful schadenfreude, because we're the best fans in baseball & whatnot. Part of the path to maintaining decorum and relevant discussions here is not posting the old debatables' one-game or small-sample performances. I personally don't want to hear about Dubois either way until the end of the year, and Manny, whenever you want to stop updating us on his whiff ratio, that's fine with me.

What you said, ryno. Please keep ranting. You are right on. e.g. I saw Rusch pitch in Petco last year. He was tremendous. Shocked the hell out of me. If I were the Pods I'd offer the Cubs the world for Rusch. He'd win 15 a year for them in that sluggers' tomb they call a park. Of course they'd have to forget about moving the fences in.

Ron Galt- " I personally don't want to hear about Dubois either way until the end of the year, and Manny, whenever you want to stop updating us on his whiff ratio, that's fine with me." Ok, man. Do I need to sign out a hall pass from you to get permission to post certain baseball items?? Let m ehave your email address so I can send you a preview of my post and you can authorize it... Also, tell the same thing to the people who post constantly about Sisco and now about Farns doing good and about past trades people think Hendry screwed up on (Clement/Willis and garland/Karshner). It's all in the past...right??

Couple things from last night not getting much talk: - The 2-2 pitch Wuertz threw looked like a stike. i saw the replay again this morning and it still looked good. It always seems when we don't get that called 3rd strike it comes back to haunt us. It happened to Rich Hill the other day and 2 pitches later he gave up a tater. - Barrett thought the ball was foul tipped: "I looked at the replay, and the guy foul-tipped the ball," Barrett said. "The umpire called him out. I don't really blame him. The place was so loud. ... I was expecting a foul-tip call and didn't get it." I am not making an excuse for him, because in is inexcusable, but just passing his quote.

On these pitchers we let go: Willis: He won't be a excellent pitcher until he learns that the games after mid-july count. Clement: Read Willis Farns: A drunk who is succeding because he is far from a bar. Sisco: When he let him go he looked like the a smaller shaq. 6-10 300 pounds. He was eating himself out of Baseball. Getting bascally cut finally lit a fire under him. Hawkins: Can not pitch in Wrigley. Borowski: We should have never let him go.

"You do realize I was argueing just to argue last night?" Bullshit Mike, you pull this crap every week. You argued because you have the definitive juvenile mentality that you can never admit that you are wrong. so even faced with facts, you kick scream and punch, and then leave. And then you decide it's cooler to pretend it's just a game then admit you were wrong and out of line. Mike, how the fuck do you look at yourself in the mirror. I haven't come across someone like you since the 4th grade. Just a pure arrogant bully who can never be wrong who and is a flat out liar. I find it an absolute sickness when someone feels the need to try to show their manhood by picking fights on the internet. I've told others to try to ignore your 12 year old bully antics in the past as I tried to think of it as a game...but the shit you pulled last night was absolutely unnaceptable to me and really went a long way to showing the type of character you have. Be proud of yourself Mike, be proud. Yes, this is a personal attack, and if the mods feel the need to boot me so be it. It's not ok with me anymore to have someone continually not take responsibility for their actions, and so I'm willing to go down in flames to ge my message across. Even though this is the internet and you can hide behind your computer....actions have consequences, and what is a schoolyard bully game to you, is not viewed that way to anyone else. Enough is enough Mike.

Chifan- Good point about Willis. man I would love to see his 1st half vs. 2nd half numbers in his career. They MUST be night and day. He has been horrible this 2nh half so far...

Macias in center today. Should be great. Lawton Walker Lee Ramirez Burnitz Macias Blanco

lineups Lawton LF Walker 2B D Lee 1B Ramirez 3B Burnitz RF Perez SS Macias CF Blanco C Prior P Rollins SS Michaels CF Utley 2B Abreu RF Burrell LF Howard 1B Bell 3b Pratt C Myers P Who'd ever thunk you'd miss Jerry Hairston that much?

Manny you are being disingenuous again. I was the first person to post about Jason Dubois' astounding number of strikeouts since leaving the Cubs. You didn't discover that, you read my post. But I also note that our bullpen is a shambles because we discarded a lot of pitchers who, it turns out, weren't the dead fish that Dusty said they were. Each one went to a different team and lo and behold each one suddenly became the pitcher HENDRY THOUGHT THEY WERE WHEN HE GOT THEM FOR US. as the ALL-CAPS CROWD would put it. If it were just one guy doing well, or with one organization. If it were with just bad teams with no pressure, or with good teams with hitting and defense then the Cubs manager and staff could be excused. But its not. It's hot teams and cold. High pressure and low. The Dusty-Defenders really need another argument for the lack of progress toward a pennant besides "The players suck." Maybe he sucks.

I think Hairston must be hurt(??) I dont dislike Macias as much as some fans here do. Macias gets on base decently and honestly I am starting to like his swing better than burnitz.. Yes burntiz. Macias is a defensive liability.. but wait a minute should we be talking about defense after last night?

I don't really care if you believe me or not Adam. You guys were argueing about something THAT DID NOT MATTER. Who cares if it was a SO or not. Barrett lost the game whether it was a SO or not. You guys argueing about the stupidest things and completly lose track of what really happened. Try watching the game and understanding what happened. Barrett lost the game because he was stupid, not because it was a SO or not. I am sorry I pissed you off, but you guys pissed me off argueing about something that was totally irrelevant. Adam grow a spine and admit you guys were argueing about the stupidest thing last night. So I argued back with the stupidest topic ever. Now you know EXACTLY how pissed off I was with you guys in chat last night. If you can't stand having your own medicine thrown back in your face maybe you shouldn't bother stopping by the chat anymore. Oh wait I get it, you guys get to act stupid and talk about the dumbest things. But if I do it I am an asshole. Yeah, whatever, double standard much? Grow a spine dude, its pretty obvious your skin is so thin they call you "clear".

CWTP: "Manny you are being disingenuous again. I was the first person to post about Jason Dubois' astounding number of strikeouts since leaving the Cubs. You didn't discover that, you read my post." I don't recall saying I was the first posting that or anything. I was just pointing it out. What post # was that post you are refering to? But if that is the case, I wonder why Rob G. and Ron Galt didn't respond to you, but to me then. Hmmmm....

Good job removing the context from that quote. I don't see anyone updating the community on every Sisco/Farns appearance, and at least there's some relevance there in the ineffective bullpen. Plus, we didn't get anything worthwhile for those players, certainly not comparable to Gerut = Lawton. Specifically to Farnsworth, sometimes it isn't analogous at all, because many posters bring it up in the "gee, maybe his issues weren't psychological," "perhaps our coaching is deficient," and other issues regarding how the team evaluates and utilizes talent. If there's something to your updates aside from "Hey guys, Dubois still strikes out a lot," I'm missing it. But, on the broader point, you're correct in that I don't think these players' every success and failure should be constantly raised for the purposes of point-proving, as it wears on everybody.

I want some of what Cubby78 is smoking. Macias "gets on base decently"!? His current OBP is .303; is career OBP is .301, and he put up a sub .300 OBP in 2002, 2003, and 2004. How is that getting on base decently?

No one has contributed more to the downward spiral of these comments more than you Manny. I have exposed you over and over as the mega troll of this site caught in lie after lie after lie. I don't need any more proof because it all rests in the archives for anyone caring to check it out. I am not hiding anything for any poster to find out the truth. If you want to find out how TCR has gone down the crapper look in the archives and when Manny arrived. Good luck trying to explain that Manny, you cant erase that past or make it go away no matter how many times you go "Na na na na, I am not listening!"

MIKEC- I love you man. Too bad you classless, unprovoked personal attack posts get deleted so much. Just like when HAWK got booted from here, TCR will be much an improvement the day you finally get booted. Finally others are seeing you for what you really are. Those in the chat last night and the night you were saying ONLY the SS covers 2B on steals were classic. You arguing against 15-20 people. NICE!!

In one of the articles on cubs.com, it said that Hairston went back to Chicago today to get an MRI on his left elbow. "'It doesn't feel too good,' Hairston said of his elbow. 'I just hope it's hyperextended.'"

Dont even play that game Manny. Your not even clever enough to come up with your own rhetoric back. Because your post 3274 is exactly what I have said about you month after month after month. Don't worry Manny plenty of your guys posts will be deleted shortly. You guys complain about personal attacks but then you turn around and do it yourself? Huh? Like I have said before do what you preach or your just a pathetic excuse of a human being who feels he needs to tell everyone the rules of the game but never follows the rules himself. Is having a double standard your disease Manny? Or does retardation run in the family?

I was paying so much attention to the personal attacks that I didn't notice we apparently prefer Jose Macias's glove to Matt Murton's bat. Perhaps someone can help me... this is where people go to discuss Cubs baseball, correct?

I've said all I need to say on the subject of users, so I'll leave it at that and give him the last word. As for pitchers improving after they leave us, you not only are taking tiny sample sizes in all cases, you leave out pitchers like Juan Cruz who have gone on to suck elsewhere. Farnsworth had a great couple seasons for us, lost his head, needed to go somewhere else...it wasn't that the Cubs didn't think he had potential, it was that he couldn't be trusted in the Chicago big market media heat. He had to go. Hawkins is a non subject, he has been medicore at best for the Giants, so you have no argument there. Borowski we stuck with for 1.5 years after his sudden and raearkable drop in velocity. He was terrible with us this year giving up 5 HR in 11 outings and getting scored upon in 6 of 11. He has now played well for Tampa in a TINY sample size, but that's great for him...He didn't fulfill a role in the Cubs organization anymore and couldn't be kept as a risk during a potential playoff race. Tampa Bay has luxuries that we don't. Also, what about some of the success stories like Rusch who has been performing significantly better for the Cubs than he had before he got here, I think it cuts both ways. The key is to look at what makes the most sense for the organization...and the trades and moves all needed to be made. All of the names you listed had their chance with the organization (willis aside) and didn't work out.

If Murton is not going to get regular PT he needs to go to Iowa to get it. There is no need to have your 2nd best postion player prosecpt on the bench.

Finally someone wants to talk about baseball and something relevant. Bout time Adam. Just for the record I dont hate any of you (cept Manny), but you guys really pissed me off last night at the end of the game. It should also be noted that Borowski is in another league. He may have some initial success but will it last? I havent seen his velocity, is it still the same? Because if it is he will not fool people for much longer. Or maybe it was Barrett calling the wrong pitches, -shrug-.

Nope...once again, Dusty fails to play smart ball... Man on second...no outs...man on second one out...fails to move him over Man moves to 3B with 2 outs...fails to score.. Unacceptable

If Murton is not going to get regular PT he needs to go to Iowa to get it. There is no need to have your 2nd best postion player prosecpt on the bench. How about there's no excuse for having your 2nd best position player prospect on the bench when Jose Macias is starting in the outfield. In Dumbass We Trust

So you want a bunt with Walker who is slugging .473 and D-Lee?

Playing for one in the first inning ahead of your big guns may be a lot of things, but it isn't "smart".

Cubs have not scored a run in the first inning since they put a 2 spot up against Cincy on July 18th. One fond memory of the Aramis/Lofton pick-up in 2003 was the immediate hay made in the first inning with Lofton/Grudz batting 1/2 in the order ... seemed like the Cubs were getting a run or two in the first inning every game for a month. Man, times have changed.

Prior is developing a nasty habit of putting the Cubs several runs in the hole by the end of the first inning.

So.. Ron said that Macias could have jumped the wall and more than likely made the catch on the Abreu grand slam.

weschc- good thing we have a midget in CF today...

Stick a fork in this one. Yeah, Now we go to New York where we can watch another team pass us by in the wild card race. In Dumbass We Trust!!!!

Mark Prior. Just get an out. 1 out. That would be a start.

Prior's opposing batter splits by pitch count are unnerving: Pitches 1-15: .170/.204/.340 Pitches 16-30: .250/.359/.500 Pitches 31-45: .182/.237/.327

Uh, isn't a runner on 2nd already in scoring position??? Especially when your best hitters are coming up??? Please correct me if I'm wrong...

#293 of 295: By Bleeding Blue ( In Dumbass We Trust!!!! Come on now, we can't blame this on Baker, can we? Don't get me wrong, the guy drives me nuts, but this doesn't make Dusty an idiot.

Prior....oy

2 innings 53 pitches...WOOHOO! I thought Kerry Wood was still on the DL.

I'm at work... can't watch (I guess I can be glad about that, huh?) Anyways, what happened? Just took some time to settle down?

1st inning Single,single, walk, Salami, walk, K, K, K

Bleeding could have been playing off Manny's tendency to insert the parallel phrase into posts celebrating wins or good events that have nothing to do with Baker. Who's ready for football/hockey/X-Games/Aussie Rules/Christmas?

Ryno - Think the Real Thing would be interested in being a Manager???

Hendry must be fed up with Dusty's poor lineup skills. He's had to make trades to fix these issues including his obsession with playing: Hawkins in the 9th...Trading him forced Dusty to move Dempster to the 9th CPat until he was a minor leaguer, a good mgr would have benched him and then played him 1-2x per week and add to that if he performed better Hollandsworth...along with the callup of Greenberg/Murton it implied that Holly need no longer be a starter Hollandsworth...the above didn't work on Dusty so he went out and got Matt Lawton Macias starting a game when he has other options, today the lineup should have had Burnitz in CF, Lawton in RF, Murton in LF (or even Holly in RF/LF for the reasons Dusty uses in the two items above) Hollandsworth has value as a pinch hitter, and if one of the OF's goes on the DL. Macias has value as a 3rd pinch hitter (switch hitting is a niche, but in one day that goes away since Neifi will be the bench switch hitter). All Macias does is screw up the lineup with Dusty's usual double switching that bites us in the ass about 2 innings later. Seeing Macias play in CF says that Dusty really screwed the team by running CPat out there until ultimate failure point. Corey would be a better backup and get rid of the 12th pitcher (Mitre/Remlinger) and get a backup infielder from the kidde corp (Jerry Fontenot) My biggest fear is that we still have one more contract year of this Dustyball. BUT I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 2007 SEASON. at least that gives Felix Pie another year to develop.

Thanks, Ron. I'm sure you're correct. I always have found the original rather grating. Sigh

The Cubs haven't scored more than 4 runs in a victory since July 24th. It's going to take 5 today...at least. With Prior already at 67 pitches in the 3rd, I'm thinking 8 - 10 will be needed. Hello again, Mr. 500. Pathetic

Ron- "Bleeding could have been playing off Manny's tendency to insert the parallel phrase into posts celebrating wins or good events that have nothing to do with Baker." No that is what I do along with crunch....get it right. people blame everything on baker and then I sarcastically say when something good happens it is because of Baker...

One correction on Juan Cruz. He didn't suck last year. As matter of fact he had an outstanding year, with the best pitching coach in baseball. He does suck this year, but he is no longer with the best pitching coach in baseball. Farnsworth was having an outstanding year this year and then was traded to Atlanta. He will be awesome from here on out. Bottom line, with several other examples I won't get into, Rothschild is at best, an average pitching coach and most likely below average.

On the bright side... Prior is on his way to a 20K game. *roll eyes*

..."and get a backup infielder from the kidde corp (Jerry Fontenot) Football must be right around the corner... ...the Cubs could use a good Center.

Pitchers and catchers report in about 6 1/2 months. I can't wait. I'm ready for baseball season.

Nice work Cubster. You forgot Hendry getting Gerut to stop Dusty from playing Hollandsworth and that didn't stop him, so he got Lawton. Looking ahead to 2007 is sad, but correct if Dusty isn't fired at the end of this year. With Dusty at the helm, 2006 will be a throw away year, with Murton roting on the bench, etc., etc.

Re 297: Ron Galt is correct, its a play off an equally silly phrase. Re 308: Manny, you can keep trying to sell it, but no one's buying.

Inserting "In Dusty We Trusty?" You've done that since day one, or time immemorial at any rate. This is the kind of thing that MikeC will have a conniption over. Which is good, we need sidebar entertainment today. I'll add that Juan Cruz is pitching very well in AAA. Billy Beane, in a recent BP chat, said that Cruz is a starter in their plans, and that his chance to contribute is in the future.

Macias will probably hit a game winner today...just to bite this board in the ass and buy Dusty another year of contract extension. two runs in now...it's gonna happen. MY HERO, JOSE MACIAS ...oops Mike Fontanot, Jerry's evil twin brother

There's another manager on the market: AP-Orioles-ManagerURGENT 08-04 0019 AP-Orioles-Manager URGENT ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles have fired manager Lee Mazzilli.

There's a new post up with a fresh comments section...this one is loading slooooooooooooowly.

Adam, you're just factually wrong. Give it a rest. Hawkins has been doing a fantastic job pitching since he assumed eighth-inning duties for San Francisco. He had an ERA of 2.53 in July (1.93 since the all-star break) a save and 8 holds in 13 appearances. This month he's been perfect in two outings. Like I said earlier, in just three weeks Borowski has 10 consecutive holds and a 0.00 ERA . To put this in perspective Wuertz leads the Cubs in holds with 10 for the entire season. Ohman is next with 9. If Borowski and Hawkins can collect 18 holds in a time so short you can't comprehend it, then what does that say about the pitchers the Cubs kept instead and their 19 holds for the year.. Frankly, if you want to talk small sample size, Borowski's tour with the Cubs this year was too small a sample to justify cutting him loose. Juan Cruz wasn't with the Cubs this year OR LAST and last year he was outstanding (50 games, 6-2, 2.75 ERA) for Atlanta. So why bring him up?

Ron- please reread my post again...i was not referring to the In Dusty WE Trusty comment. This is what I said: "people blame everything on baker and then I sarcastically say when something good happens it is because of Baker..." It is toungue in cheek just like Blue, but when he does it it is OK, but when I do it it is bad. DOUBLE STANDARD. you guys are funny:)

Move onto the next post fellas and move onto a new topic.... Here's one, "of all the things to learn from greg maddux, why did prior choose to pickup on how to suck in the first inning?" Comments closed, the management

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

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  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

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  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

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  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...