What’s the old saying, “You can’t fire 25 players, so it’s just easier to fire the manager?” Sometimes, you’d like to do both. In the Cubs’ case, they seem loathe to deal with Dusty Baker and his comedic inability to fill out a lineup card, but that didn’t stop them from getting everybody’s attention.
Is it a coincidence that immediately after “firing” centerfielder Corey Patterson, the Cubs’ team looked anew this weekend in Florida?
No more three pitch innings, no more swinging from the ass at anything near home plate. The bullpen still looked like it emerged from a vat of toxic waste, but you couldn’t help but notice the change in the offense.
Part of the improvement was that Corey’s replacement, Jerry Hairston was actually getting on base, which not only helps out the offense, but is a nice change of pace.
But that didn’t explain the Cubs’ wearing Dontrelle Willis to a frazzled knot by taking pitch after pitch after pitch. It didn’t explain the way they actually let Al Leiter pitch his way into his own trouble on Sunday. It didn’t explain the way they jumped Guillermo Mota like a rich guy in an alley.
What Jim Hendry did had to resonate with the players. He called up two of the young Cubs and said, “If we’re going to lose, and you’re going to half-ass your way through the rest of the season, you get to do it someplace else.”
There are some important things to remember. Number one, the Marlins aren’t very good. They’re 18-26 in their last 44 games and going nowhere, fast. Number two, it’s just three games, all played in front of about 17 fans (12 of which were Cubs fans) and with the Marlins just hoping the Hurricane would graze the east coast of Florida so they could get an extra couple days jump on their All-Star Break.
The Cubs are still faced with more problems than solutions.
Dusty Baker’s still making out the lineup as though Neifi Perez can actually play. Wait, that’s an exaggeration, it’s not like he batted Neifi sixth on Friday or anything…no, wait, he did.
It’s not like Dusty said that he had to play Todd Hollandsworth instead of Matt Murton on Sunday because he didn’t want Todd to have almost a week off since he’s “been so hot.” First of all, he said this about an hour after Todd had gotten just as many at bats as Murton (two) in Saturday’s win. Secondly…Todd’s been hot? Why didn’t anybody tell us? By all means, you ought to lead him off then! Let him get a few more ABs!
The bullpen’s horrific-ness was hidden for most of the eight game losing streak. For the first seven games, the Cubs never had a lead, meaning that when the bullpen came in the cause was already lost and we didn’t notice that they can’t throw strikes. Then, Roberto Novoa had the misfortune of pooping himself while the Cubs’ had a lead, and then Mike Wuertz did it on Friday and that reminded us all just how lousy they are.
The Cubs are 43-44, which is a joke. This team has too much talent, regardless of their flaws to be under .500 at the All-Star Break.
Even when the Cubs were incredibly lousy like in 1998 and 2001 they had the good sense to ride great seasons by Sammy Sosa into contention. Here are the current Cubs, better equipped than either of those crapfests and Derrek Lee is having the half-season of a lifetime and they’re 43-44.
They ought to be embarrassed. Three wins at the Fish Farm can’t cover that stench.
——————
There is apparently some debate, still, over whether Albert Pujols or Derrek Lee is having the better year. That’s absurd.
Geniuses like Joe Morgan and Phil Rogers say that because the Cardinals are in first place and the Cubs are in third, that Albert’s better than Derrek.
But according to my math, Derrek has a better batting average, more homers, more RBI, more doubles, a higher on base average, a higher slugging percentage, is a faster, better baserunner and a much better defensive player than Albie.
So other than offense and defense, Albert’s got it all on Derrek. Oh, and Albie has a huge lead on Derrek in runs scored. Albie has 70. Derrek has 69.
———————-
What are we, as Cubs’ fans to make of the new additions? We’d heard that Matt Murton was a good hitter with a knack for getting on base, and he’s done nothing in seven plate appearances to dispel that notion. As for the Hebrew Hammer, Adam Greenberg, he’s had one pitch thrown at him and he only saw about half of it before it slammed into the back of his noggin.
If there’s a knock on Murton it’s that he’ll never hit for power, but power is usually the last skill a player develops, and he hasn’t exactly been Tony Gwynn, Jr. in the minors. Murton’s hit plenty of doubles which is a good sign and his share of homers.
Watching him on the bases, it’s clear he’s now the only Cub with a clue, as he actually take the the time to locate each outfielder before each pitch so he’ll know if he can score from second on a single or go first to third. What a novel concept.
As for Greenberg, all we know is that he must be really annoying on the bench. Before he got brained by a Valerio de los Santos fastball late Saturday night, we were treated to shots of him on the bench holding a bat and talking incessantly to everybody and anybody sitting near him.
We also noticed that Murton puts his arm around anybody he sits next to. It didn’t seem that odd when he was sitting next to Greenberg, but the sight of a 23 year old in his first game sitting with his arm around Greg Maddux was a little…strange.
And, he’s going to have to stop talking like this, if he and Greenberg want to avoid being referred to as the Cubs’ Ambiguously Gay Duo.
We couldn’t get to sleep last night, knowing we were going to get an opportunity to come here and play with this great team.
I know you are friends, and I’m sure you weren’t in the same bed, but…just lay off the “we’s” for a while, kid.
—————-
The White Sox are 1-5 against the A’s this year and 11-34 against them since 2001. But that’s OK because the A’s are sure to be better than anybody the Sox play in the playoffs this year…right?
By the way, the most telling comment about the Corey Patterson “firing” was this from Gene Clines. He was asked if Corey had been receptive to suggestions made by Gene about changing his swing and approach at the plate. Cline’s answer? “He has to be now, doesn’t he?”
With 3 days of no regular season games, i feel it’s time for an episode of me.
I’d like to see that damn Billy Beane beat us without Mulder and Hudson. What? This damn eyepatch.
Sox are us vs Oakland this year.
Is it just me, or is Clines passing the buck on Korey’s lack of plate discipline? Seems to me the problem is widespread on this team.
Murton is someone who looks like he was actually taught how to play baseball before he became Cubs’ property…I’ll take a smart ballplayer over a slugger any day.
I’ll bet it will kill The Genius to have to start A-Ram instead of Pumpkinhead Rolen at 3B tomorrow night.
I’m available, fork.
Kenny Williams is, and will always be, MY BITCH!!!
I realize Baker has his flaws and they’re well documented here. It’s fun to play armchair skipper and second and third guess the pros. People who think they know sports enjoy that type of thing and I think it’s fine. But one thing you have to give Dusty credit for, and I some of you are loathe to do such a thing under any circumstance, is that the Cubs under his watch never give up no matter how ugly things get. If you recall, under Don Baylor and Jim Riggleman, the Cubs would have a real nut punch game like say, the Steve Rain game, the Preston Wilson game, the White Sox sweep of 1999 and they would go immediately into that tank. Adios, Sayanara, kaput, over, never to be heard from again. And I know you can say the playoffs in 2003 were an example of them not bouncing back, but it wasn’t for lack of effort, rather lack of relief pitching or a shortstop who didn’t crap himself on the biggest groundball of our lives. The last couple weeks of last season were awful, but the team battled and lost close games the whole time. They didn’t hit much but that’s not the manager’s fault.
They just lost eight games in a row and not only did they not quit, they came back and stomped the living crap out of their evil tormentors. You can laugh it off and make excuses for the Marlins being lousy but they had the best staff ERA in the NL before they got lit up like Uday and Qusay. They’re not dead. They’re six games back in the Wild Card with a half season to go. A lot of Cub teams I’ve watched over 40-some years would have folded a long time ago. Not this one.
You can have what’s left of him, Billy.
“the Cubs under his watch never give up no matter how ugly things get. ”
Until Corey was sent away, they sure had.
Perhaps they responed to the guy that signs the checks, not the guy that makes the lineup?
Even with the three game sweep this weekend, Dusty is an ass along with his coaching staff.
Jim Hendry needs to cut ties with this sham of a coaching staff. They’re a fucking joke.
Can anybody say what purpose Gary Matthews serve? Gene Clines is a smaller skinny version of Dustbag. Larry Rothchild doesn’t have a fucking clue. Dick Pole has the best benefits baseball can pay out. Chris Spier hasn’t been around long enough to turn into one of these dumbass clones, but give him time.
This has to be one of the worst coaching staffs in baseball. These guys are worthless. It’s a wonder the Cubs are even around .500 with this leadership. Really think about these guys for one second- I bet you’re laughing your ass off to this humerous joke on us fans.
Jim, instead of searching for help at the trade deadline for players, I would be searching for a new coaching staff.
Baker Basher
Jeebus, somebody just dumped 75 million tons of cigarette butts, tobacco spit and beer cups all over me. What, was NASCAR in town, or somethin?
But even from my vantage point, dead, split into three distinct pieces of whale lard, dumped in a landfill, and having oozed over 6 feet deep into the muck by now, it is plain for me to see that the Trib is once again trying to wave the fairy dust over our eyes.
Nomar’s Coming!!! Maybe even by the end of the month!! Then, watch us go!!
I thought Walker Was Coming, and Wood Was Coming, and Prior Was Coming, and JoeBo Was Coming!?!
I give myself credit for having a halfway functioning brainstem, and it just pisses me off to no end every time the Mothership tries to yank my chain.
The only thing they had given up were a whole bunch of runs in the middle and late innings. You can say that Greg Maddux and Mark Prior “quit.” But that would be incorrect, obviously.
Look the Cubs are structurally flawed. I concede that. I don’t “believe” they’ll make a serious run at the playoffs. But they’ll show promise and be a team worth watching if only because their starting five gives them a chance to win every game. And I think they have a chance to do something great this year or next. A fighting chance? A fool’s chance? Whatever. But I think with Dusty they’ll always have something to play for late in September. While we can ask for much much more, this beats the hell out of what we used to get out of the unfortunate deadasses who came before.
I said during an interview on either the Score or ESPN 1000 (who can tell the difference?) that after Corey and Dewboy were sent down, someone called a players-only meeting during which we all decided to sack up and play better, or our jobs could be in jeopardy, too.
So the whole not-giving-up thing seems to be more related to Hendry’s decision to punish underachievers than any Dusty rah-rah tactic.
The team is structurally flawed but maybe, just maybe, the idea that you want guys to, you know, get on base in front of the best offensive force in baseball has seeped into Dusty’s consciousness. Waiting 80+ games to do that is Dusty’s fault.
That 8-game stretch/losing streak was some of the worst baseball I’ve seen, both from a performance AND attitude standpoint. It started with the tough release of JoeBo and continued with the demotion of Corey. While it may take some time to get some deals done, Hendry is going to whack the guys who aren’t producing. I am beginning to believe that Dusty and Hendry are not seeing eye-to-eye, and changes are going to continue.
Teams win in spite of Dusty Baker, not because of him. Dusty coming to Chicago coincided with a general increase in the level of talent on the Cubs, and particularly with the rise of Prior and Zambrano (and the acquisition of Clement). You can’t just say ‘back-to-back winning seasons’ like one of the morans over at the Cub Reporter and have that be your argument. You have to look at what the manager has done GIVEN what he’s had to work with.
With that in mind, I’d argue that Dusty and the current coaching staff have been a significant negative factor on the overall performance of the Cubs, not to mention a huge negative on the development of any young players in the system, pitchers or position players.
If the Cubs rally and come up short this year, we’ll be able to look at the two week stretch when Baker allowed the inmate to run his lineup and put Patterson and Perez at the top. They had won the first two in Milwaukee and Dusty, using all of the force of a freight train ramming into a loaded semi tractor-trailer sitting across the tracks, put a screech to any momentum they had. While the experiment lasted less than two weeks (although Neifi near the top continued) and the Cubs ironically defeated the White Sox 2 of 3, losing three times to the Brewers in five games and getting swept at home by Washington is criminal. And all while DLee and Ramirez were both clubbing the shit out of the ball. The Cubs were squeaking out 2,3, and 4 runs in many of these games when they should have been scoring 5,6 and 7. Even in games they won, they made things unneccessarily stressful on their pitching staff by minimizing their offensive opportunities. While they went a less-than-awful 4-6 with Patterson at the top (the Saturday Washington game being the last), every game they won they had to hang on because their poorly-constructed lineup barely scored for them, and at least three–if not four– of those losses could have been victories if guys were on base for Lee and Ramirez. 7-3 becomes 4-6 simply because Baker insisted on Patterson and Neifi 1-2 during a stretch when the Cubs critically needed to pick up some steam. If they miss the playoffs by one or two games at the end, point to that 10-day stretch, and then run Baker out of town.
Hey Basher, if I am so bad, how comw D. Lee credits me with hwlping him to get to that fastball in? I’m not that bad of a hitting instructor, fucker.
I’m lost in the shuffle. I deserve better than this.
I’m starting the All Star game, bitches…long live the Genius.
Every manager has his pluses and minuses. And Dusty does some things I don’t agree with. But his teams win more than they lose and they don’t give up. Period. The fire and brimstone and chewing guys out and benching them and all that stuff doesn’t work. Ask Larry Bowa about it. I’m really not sure who or what the Baker Bashers of the world actually want as a replacement. You can look around the managerial scrap heap and turn up a Jerry Manuel or with a little luck, a Lou Piniella. You could look for an unproven commodity like the Mets did. If you have a guy in mind, you could argue for him. But failing that you can continue to bemoan the lineup card every day for the next two years. That sure makes for interesting and insightful reading. Have fun with it.
More pap on Tony LaRussa from Dave B… This obsessive behavior over The St. Louis Mullet just never ends. If Tony has any notion of winning the game Tuesday, he will have NO problem starting Ramirez over Rolen. None. Leave the LaRussa voodoo doll at home on your Iowa tractorâ€â€it’s getting old.
Dusty has been a huge negative on our development.
Dusty hasn’t hurt you two nearly as bad as I have. Fuck me.
Yes, I’m not an asshole who’s, for example, starting my own pitcher at the ASG over Clemens or Willis, at all. Stop making fun of me Desipiots, it’s getting old!
Still waiting for tangible pluses for Dusty… other than ‘his players love him because if they are proven veterans Dusty will be loyal to them no matter how bad they suck.’
That’s not a plus.
Dusty’s teams win more than they lose? His career W-L as a manager certainly supports that. However, this is a straw man. In order to properly evaluate a manager we have to look at how he has done relative to the level of talent his team has, as I posted earlier. Quite simply, Dusty has not succeeded when judged by the correct benchmark. Let’s loook at the last few years: the Giants choked away a World Series in 2002. The Cubs choked away a trip to the World Series in 2003. The Cubs choked away a playoff berth that was theirs for the taking in 2004. Notice a pattern?
Dusty’s teams never give up? As Chuck noted, they already had given up until Hendry made some changes. For the Cubs’ sake, let’s hope some management changes are next on the list.
Dusty’s in-game managing is just awful. His lineup cards give more weight to his loyalty to the ‘proven veteran’ than they do to the idea of getting runners on base and thus winning games. He has no idea how to use a bullpen properly. His first bat off the bench is generally Jose Macias. Enough said.
You know, we have some great talent on here that Dusty can go to.
Yes, I am an asshole. That is not debatable. Make fun all you want, but stop hanging on my every move. It’s obsessive and foolish. I’m a major jagoff, but you good readers of Desipio don’t need daily reports on the latest idiocy from St. Louis. Luckily, you have Dave B. trolling the St. Louis Post Dispatch every hour so he can report all things Cardinals.
Dusty is a genius…blah blah blah…back to back winning seasons…blah blah blah…who would you rather have, Art Howe?…Grady Little?…blah blah blah…my Believe bracelets are in the mail…blah blah blah…put on Steve Goodman, we’re near .500…blah blah blah…I am a cmplete toolbelt.
Yeah, that “doesn’t have anything on the bench” argument always works well.
Of course nobody gives two legitimate shits about me, that’s a given, but anybody wanna go ahead and call it?
Bobby Abreu
Jason Bay
Hee Seop Choi
Andruw Jones
Carlos Lee
David Ortiz
Ivan Rodriguez
Mark Teixiera
I’ll go with Bay in a shocker.
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Is it any coincidence that all three of us taco fart smile guys are in the derby? I “smell” something cooking. All of us will surely be too stuffed from taco night to do well.
They let retarded people play in derby now?,,,yeah!!! I like hit homer, eh.
How has Dusty hurt Zambrano’s development? Carlos was a plus prospect and had shown good stuff in 2002, but he’s become an elite pitcher under Dusty. That wasn’t expected (remember that Cruz was though of as a better prospect).
Prior’s development has been hurt by his achilles, his elbow, and a line-drive. Maybe Dusty’s to blame for some of that, but Prior was looking fine this year until the liner.
Yeah, I couldn’t have been from overusage in 03′. I mean, Wood and I were right at, or near the top in NP. One example, remember the huge lead against the Marlins, where Dustbag unneccesarily left me in about 40 pitches too long. Think that had anything to do with me running out of gas later on in the series? Oh, and then seeing as how no one was up in the pen, I had to stay in and get knocked around. I would say overusage might have led to me, hence hurting my development by having me open the season injured nest year.
Am I really in the home run contest?
Really?
Don’t you have to be named to the All-Star team to enter the contest? Wait, am I on the fucking all-star team, too?
Hory clap!
I sit back and let the players play, if they win great, if not I make a stupid move way too late. That about sums me up. Do you like the way I argue bad calls? Rock on, bro.
Hee Seop! Time for dinner.
We have alot of doctors here who knows Prior’s medical history, as well as the cause of his injuries.
Dusty hasn’t hurt my development, my emotions are the only speedbumps along the way.
Although the bench is thin, the bullpen suspect and a few of the ‘starters’ have been miscast, there is a basic common approach to the game that every team has, which starts from the field manager, and the Cubs’ approach in 2005 includes swinging at everything, assigning blame to the media, as well as a complete disregard for situational baseball. This is why so many of us are sick of Dusty Baker.
hey, i said it before and I’ll say it again, if I were the Genius i’d be doin the same thing, startin my own guys. Plus, Karen’s stats have been just as good as mine, and now I get to pitch to Lo Duca! Wait…well maybe at least I can show the genius some style, how to hide his animal-loving mullet-head behind the sideways cap of mine. I’m a G.
You are right Desipio. The only way I could hurt my achilles was by the way I got in and out of the bath tub. As far as the elbow, well…it gets kind of lonely on the road.
Yeah. Prior was overused in 2003.
Good thing he wasn’t around back in the early 80s when 300 innings was considered good.
It’s amazing how evolution has man doing a sub-3:50 mile. Sub 9.80 100 meters. Faster swimers. Higher jumpers.
But ask a guy to thow a ball more now than 20 years ago, WITH AN EXTRA DAY OFF IN BETWEEN THROWING, and the geeks get in a uproar.
Shut the fuck up about PAP etc.
When did we say the media is the reason we lose?
I am gay in the context of this website.
But Dontrelle, you field your position extremely well, and can mash the ball. So while our stats may be similar I would…wait, what’s that Mr. Morgan?…I should start because my team is in first place. Great, Morris, you take 3rd, Albie you hop on 1st, now where’s So and Grudz?
Evolution?…Fuck you Chuck. Give credit where credit is due.
I guess if you call reading a newspaper evey couple of days to see what the St. Louis homers are writing “trolling”, I’m guilty as charged. A large number of people who read and contribute to this site think The Genius is an assclown, so I’ll continue to opine on his moves. If you don’t like it don’t read it.
Dontrelle’s All Star Game start might have been cancelled when he couldn’t get out of the fifth against a Cubs team that had been getting ass rammed for eight straight days. Just a hunch.
And Fat Roger got to start last year, so I’m fine with LaGeniussa starting Karen. I hope she blows out her elbow.
So seriousness is gay huh, what’s his number? I think I’ll give him a ring…ooohhhh…wheeee!
Remember how well I did in last year’s game?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, without wins a team can’t…win. Therefore, wins are the most important stat and other ones (you know, the ones you can’t count on your fingers…and toes) like ERA and WHIP are meaningless.
Ha Roger,
I remember how bad your inning was. You made me run all over. You make tim mccarver question me defense. I got so depressed, I not hit rest of season.
There is apparently some problem, still, where you don’t understand the difference between having better statistics for a half-season and being the league’s most valuable player for a half-season.
I’m assuming it’s your misunderstanding in reading my columns and not dishonesty
We don’t trust this clown LaRussa with our chances of having home field in the World Series
I’m worse than malaria.
Keep me out of this, you scumbag.
Hey Phil,
Why don’t you give the crap about “runs created” a break? Your stat is a total of RBI + runs scored – HR. You use that, at least partially, to justify Pujols over Lee. But given the lineup foisted on the Cubs for much of the season (with either Corey or Neifi or both in the 1-2), Lee’s at a disadvantage that has nothing to do with his performance or his value to the team. How do drive in runs when there’s no one on base? How often do you get stranded after a two-out double?
Put it this way, would the Cubs be within 15 games of .500 without Lee? No. Would the Cards still be leading the NL Central without Pujols? Yes. Anyway you slice it, Lee’s more valuable than Pujols.
I’m doing the homerun derby. Get ready to be underwhelmed.
This is one of the funniest things you guys have come up with in a while.
Intrepid Reader: Cubs
July 11th, 2005 at 1:35 pm
We don’t trust this clown LaRussa with our chances of having home field in the World Series
Now where’s my clean salad fork? Ah, the hell with it.
Had Seling not imposed the shame of “Home Field” crap, the AL would have had home field in 2003 and the NL in 2004. So, the only change to date was that the Cards lost home field. What was the result? Home Field didn’t help the yanks, but hurt the Cards.
Sounds good to me.
You’re gonna hear me uttered five hundred million times this evening.
Like nails on an effing chalkboard I am.
He can find me lodged nine inches up his pimply, white … ah the hell with me.
Chuck,
I think if St. Louis had home field last year that the series would have been drastically different. They might have led a game for an inning or two. Maybe three!
You can also take a drink when I…
…use my “Raid-ahs” voice for something other than the Raiders.
…come up with some player nickname based on a 60’s Western.
…make an OK sign with my thumb and index finger when I really want to stress an inane point.
…say, at any point during the proceedings, “Have we ever seen a greater (player, pitcher, gardener) than (insert name here)?”
…rip off John Facenda.
…use the words “prime” and “time” in a sentence not involving Deion Sanders.
…point out Eric Hipple in the crowd.
…remind everyone NFL training camps are later this month.
…make a stupid George Blanda joke.
…use a telestrator to show where Reggie Jackson’s HR in 1971 would have went at Comerica Park.
Have a six-pack ready, my friends!
Yo, that was a legit question about Gene Clines posted up there, wasn’t it? For all the crap he gets about the Cubs’ collective lack of discipline at the plate, doesn’t he deserve at least some credit for improving DLee’s approach?
Please do not play that game!
I sound like a fucking chicken when I do my “home run call”.
I was asking: when was it that I said Pujols is having a better year than Lee? If I’ve been debating it in my columns for a while, it should be easy enough to use a quote instead of making things up.
I defend myself on Desipio now?
I just wanted to say that you guys have finally come to your senses about Dusty Baker. It takes a shitty first half of the season for everybody to realize that this guy is highly overrated. The only critics that like the Dustbag are his own players. The only reason they like him is because they can push him around and there’s no one going to give them heat for their pathetic play.
That’s a sad excuse to keep a manager around and a sad excuse for no having strong solid management.
It’s just too bad that Jim Hendry will only come to his senses about Dusty after the Cubs have a disappointing second half of the season that a buyout is going to be mandatory. But I’m sure Jim will say the Tribune Company won’t put up with the buyout and we’ll all be bitching again next year about another soft and pathetic Baker team.
Baker Basher
Brian, I know this is going to come as a shock to both of us, but I agree with you on the Lee/Pujols argument…
The Cardinal fans I have talked to about this issue are using the “1998 Sammy Sosa Argument” as to why Pujols should be MVP: He’s the best player on a playoff team.
However, what they are forgetting is that the Cubs would have been absolutely AWFUL in 1998 without Sosa’s production… Sosa almost single-handedly made the offense just good enough that the Cubs could make the playoffs…
Where would the 2005 Cardinals be without Albert Pujols? They would be worse, but I think they would still be in first place by at least five games…
Where would the 2005 Cubs be without Derrek Lee? Probably behind the Reds in the division race for fifth place.
I think Phil (or whoever is posting as him) makes a fair point, though. His article didn’t say that Pujols was having a better season than Lee (which is how Andy phrased it), but that he is more valuable than Lee.
But Phil’s underlying claim is dumb. Lee has done everything to keep this team respectable, whereas the Cards are a good team with or without Pujols. The runs created stat is worthless for the reason I said above (let’s see Pujols RC if he had no one on base in front of him and came up with two outs most of the time).
Phil Rogers is me.
The Cubs had 94 of me in 2004, which would have given them the Wild Card as well as the third best record in the National League. This year the Cubs have 45 of me and should be in second place, although only by one game. Whose fault is it that we should be winning more games than we have been? That’s not a rhetorical question…I really want to know.
b/c of my ineptitude we are underachieving our Pythagorean Record, just like the Birds good pen last year helped them exceed it by sumthin ridiculous like 7 games.
I’m feeling sick and about to puke…. and the neurological signals from the small brain that is my neighbor tell me that all these symptoms are because the Genius has to start 2 cubs at the corners tomorrow.
“Whose fault is it that we should be winning more games than we have been?”
I would say Dusty Baker.
Chuck would say Korey Patterson.
Dusty Baker would say the Sun.
I would say luck! And also, note that the Cubs would be behind New York, Milwaukee, Florida, and Houston in the WC, but that Atlanta would be leading the East, and Washington would be sub-.500.
Rob Neyer is me also.
We were .500 at the all star break.
We fired our manager, signed an awesome outfielder, and made an improbable run almost to the world series…you should try it…
You should try it.
You guys are better than we were, you might go all the way…
I may be all you need to get the wild card..
The East is going to beat up on itself so much…
Sure, I’d listen if the Cubs called. Come on, you hire me and I guarantee you the Wild Card and an appearance in the NLCS, Game Seven.
I also guarantee I’ll leave a tiring ace (I have three to pick from) in the game too long and the Cardinals will beat you with a game winning homer, likely hit by David Eckstein.
guys, talking about new managers and stuff, I would like to tell you when I was manager of the DBacks and I won a world series and blah blah blah and blah blah blah and “gracie” and blah blah blah…
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Is Dusty still in town?
Don’t forget about me.
I still think 92-70 will be the record the Wild Card winner will have to have to win the WC.
I think Atlanta rises up to take the East somewhat easily, while the Phils and Mets will be stuck in the .500 mud for the rest of the season. Barring a stunning stretch of play I don’t think the D-Backs, Giants, or Dodgers will have enough to be in true Wild Card contention. So, that leaves the Cubs, the Nats, and the Astros as teams I think can win the WC. As I mentioned before, Washington’s run differential isn’t that good, plus they recently have not had as much luck winning the one-run games as they did earlier this season. If they can reverse that run differential some and also keep to winning the one-run games, the Nats can hit the 92-win mark. Houston’s offense has to be a concern for them, but if Ensberg stays hot they can keep their run going and get to 92 wins as well. As for the Cubs, we can get to 92 wins, but it would take our starting pitching finally getting in order, finding people who can pitch the 7th and 8th, getting Nomar back and at normal Nomar production level, and praying to God for good shoulder health for Derrek Lee, along with Dusty putting decent OBP guys in the 1 and 2 spots for the rest of the year.
That’s asking for a lot from the Cubs.
Remember when I was the idiot savant of baseball managers in 2001 and won the World Series!?!
This one time we had a lead in the ninth inning in Yankee Stadium, I brought in BK Kim and he gave up a game-winning homer.
This other time we had a lead in the ninth inning in Yankee Stadium, I brought in BK Kim and he gave up a game tying and then game-winning homer.
This other time we had a lead in the ninth inning in Yankee Stadium, I brought in BK Kim and he gave up a game winning homer.
Last year’s 89-73 record wins the Wild Card this year. Too bad the Cubs seem unlikely to duplicate it.
PICTURE THIS:
tonight, after the HR Derby, ESPN reporter interviews LaRussa near the dugout.
Reporter tells him “what a great season so far..”
LaRussa stops him in mid sentence and tells him: “we have this lead in the central thanks to a guy very special to us…a team player”
Reporter: you talking about Albie? lassie?
LaRussa: no, I’m talking about this guy…
-out of the dugout comes a masked man with a cardinals jacket and hat.
stands besides La russa, removes his mask and hugs LaRussa and then both raise both arms…
The reporter then says: ooooooooooh my God! It’s Korey Patterson
don’t loose (not even once) to the reds, the brewers and the pirates in the second half.
Well, we have 26 losses to play with to get to 92-70… 29 if last year’s 89 wins gets the WC…
No matter what record will win the Wild Card, minimizing the losses against the Reds and Pirates will be important if we are to have any chance. Of course, there are at least five other issues I listed in an earlier post which will also ALL have to go our way for Cubs to win the Wild Card, in my opinion.
sure, I’d listen if the Cubs called. Remember me?
That Hal McCoy article is among the shittiest I have ever read. It just blows.
Sammy Sosa is watching the home run derby from Baltimore and crying his eyes out.
I just gave an ultimate shoutout to Cub fans. I rule, Joe Morgan can suck it.
Cubs trail Washington by 8.5 for WC; they have only slightly better chance of catching the Nats then they do of catching Satan’s Minions (12.5 back). Washington isn’t doing it with mirrors; they have timely hitting, play as a team, make few mental errors, and hustle because they know they aren’t that good. Apart from the blown saves (and a road sweep), the Cubs series was typical. Also, the closer has generally been lights out. Their relative lack of power plays into their home field advantage; it is damn tough to hit a HR at RFK Stadium, where Washington is 30-13. Washington has several key injuries right now, particularly to Nick Johnson (originally projected to miss 3-6 games, he’s been gone two weeks and counting, what a surprise); they don’t have the team depth or the farm system to cover for key hitters going down. The Nats will have a freakish record in one-run games because they’re designed to win close games, and besides, they lack the O to blow anyone out. If Washington can maintain their home field advantage, avoid more or prolonged key injuries and hold their own on the road, they will at least catch the wild card — and that’s only if Andruw Jones continues his freakish pace.
That’s nice. But history shows that teams cannot maintain gaudy one-run win records. Good teams win more games by more than a run, bad teams lose them by more and everybody in between ends up pushing .500 in those puppies.
The Sox are doomed to regression, too.
We’re the guys for the Job…Give us a call, we’ll give you a postseason
Yeah and young closers like me don’t eventually tire after being asked to pitch every day.
Once I hit 150 innings, my arm will fall apart again.
I am going to need surgery from all this overwork
Just another Venezuelan f@#K!
Woops, don’t click on that. Damn English language keyboard, how do you do it Big Z? Oh yeah, that Miguel Cabrera…damn is he annoying.
Doesn’t the law of Independent Events mean that I won’t happen? Theoretically, shouldn’t a team be expected to play at it’s Pythagrean (sp) winning percentage for only the rest of the year?
What did I say about Cubs fans at the HR Derby??
I was asked by Schmoe and Tumor what the difference between playing in FLA and Chicago was…I said, lightning quick-The Fans. I said that they are the best in baseball and we could never get anyone in the park in FLA, I said that fans are serious in Chicago and that every game is a playoff atmosphere, and they are the best. Seriously, if the man love for me goes even higher, that’s okay. I am a class act and a gamer…seriously, you could hear the conviction in my voice, I actually meant it.
I said Cubs fans were great and that Marlins fans…don’t exist.
Almost as good as the look Carlos Lee gave Chris Berman when Berman announced Carlos was leading the AMERICAN League in RBI. Carlos then said to the player next to him, “Yeah. Milwaukee’s in the National League.”
I’m an idiot and ruin all things wholesome. You’ll never be able to watch the HR derby or NFL highlights ever again.
Joe, I love it when you analyze!
BC wrote:
“the Wild Card winner will have to have to win the WC.”
Only on Desipio can you get refined insight like this.
That’s why I brought the numbers back. You can now refer to which of his posts (87, 92 or whatever) he said that.
Brilliant Chuck! He actually said, “92-70 is the record the Wild Card winner will have to have to win the WC.” Which makes sense even though it’s probably incorrect. But by leaving out the rest of the sentance, you succeeded in making BC seem like a stupid moran. This is the stuff of Cannes Film Festival standing O’s!!!
I see Fat Elvis is still working on his Oscar:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2104935&num=0
See the first section under “And now, still more awards …,” about halfway down the article.
a get a lot of crap arpund here, but I’ll get the last laugh next year
when I play against MLB in the Baseball World Championships, suckas.
“Good” teams — as in teams laden with talented players — do win by more than a run. Point is, that’s not the Nats, and they know it. What they ARE, is good at what they do. They know how _they_ can win games, they’ve been very good at reproducing it, and I think they will continue to be good at doing it. Besides, as I recall my Bill James (and it’s been 20 years), the regression to the mean occurs from year to year, not necessarily within a year; there are lots of one-year aberrations. GMs who trade for Preston Wilsons and Sammy Sosas don’t build teams like the Nats; you won’t often see Nats trying for home runs when a single would do, for one because it is so hard to hit a homer at RFK, and for another, they don’t have that kind of power in the lineup. They have turned their weaknesses into strengths: they don’t have much power, so they’re happy to slap singles incessantly. (Meanwhile, up the road, Sam-Me is KILLING the O’s offense. I couldn’t be happier.) They don’t have much speed, so they don’t waste outs stealing.
If you have a manager who is a leader, teams take on that manager’s persona. Gripe about strange lineups all you want, the biggest indictment of Dusty’s management IMHO is that his players don’t seem to play like anyone in particular. Nats, OTOH, take their cues from Frank Robinson. They play with intensity, and they generally play with baseball smarts (which you have to do to repeatedly win one-run games). You have to stink for months to be shown the door with the Cubs; you’ll be traded to MIL if you diss Frank once. Dusty’s players are happy, Frank’s players (judging from the SI poll) are not. Who’s got his team in first? Or flip the script: if Frank runs the Cubs, they’d either be in first, or he’d be out the door.
Just think how many homers Abreu would have hit if we played the HR derby on Banks Boulevard! You know how it padded Ernie Banks HR totals, and that no-talent assbag Ryne Sandberg, too. “Sandberg City” they call it now.
BC’s statement could have been mocked for its inclusion in me.
“I still think 92-70 will be the record the Wild Card winner will have to have to win the WC.” BC is evidently a big fan of pleonasms.
Chuck, however, couldn’t simply point that out, but decided to be a prick. Go figure.
Post 118:
First time ever “pleonasm” and “prick” are used together.
And correctly to boot!
What’s a Pleonasm? Oh, fuck it. Go Insurgents!
I will give you ungrateful dudes 3 straight over .500 seasons. Isn’t that enough? Isn’t that as good as a world series win, dudes? I mean, it was for San Fran…but they are cool there man…cool like Miles Davis in a refridgerated Pepsi truck, bro.
Pleonasm? Man don’t be bringing none of that fake ass jurassic shit around here.
Kenny Rogers and AJ Burnett to the sox in a 3 team deal. Joe Borchard will be drawn and quartered and half of him will be sent to each team. Seriously, my uncle’s cousin’s step brother heard it at a crack house in Harvey.
Dusty, you keep taking credit for the “successive +.500 seasons”. With the money we’re spending now, Terry Bevington would be +.500 so shut your fucking pie hole or I will make you disappear.
Anyone care to go out for a drink? I’ll be designated driver. burp.
I wasn’t aware that San Fran won the World Series under you, Dusty… or are you referring to the fact that they won 3 World Series games?
Where’s the stat on Dusty’s record in series-clinching playoff games? It’s been too long.
Why bother to quarter Borchard when you’re only sending him to two teams? Just chop him in half with an axe.
I love nitpicking.
I just got back from lunch at Byron’s and none other than Jim Hendry was sitting at the next table.
He got up and walked by, talking on his cell phone in animated fashion, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Then he sat back down and, just before he ate his hot dog, I overheard him whisper to it: “I’ll see you in 2 days.”
Look for an imminent move from Hendry.
and, harkening back to post 128, I love picking nits. That’s why this is a perfect place for me, 12 feet deep in an illegal Dick Mell-run landfill in Joliet. There’s SO much for me here to pick, any and all vermin are plentiful.
Maggots, fleas, genital crabs, Al Hrabosky…all here, all stinkin’ to high heaven, just dust returning to dust here in a state-of-the-art polyethylene lined disposal facility.
BTW, isn’t Bobby Abreu the tits? Whoda thunk in the first Home Run Derby post-testing that all records would be shattered?
Oh, overheard, I bet he was just talking to some skank.
Or maybe his favorite Krispy Kreme clerk.
If you must know, Overheard, Hendry was talking to ME.
Overheard is me.
Haven’t we here at Desipio all learned to take trade rumors with a grain of salt. Wait a minute…did I say we, I meant you. Woah, surf’s up, later wnnamaker, bodacious, dudes.
Hendry was talking to the hot dog. He’s got a very large colon.
Before any senseless rumors start let me clarify:
There is no freaking way I am going to wait 2 days before getting fresh Krispy Kreme or seeing Poppin’ Fresh
We also have a very large Colon.
That’s weird, because I saw Hendry at Ricobene today eating a steak sandwich with Freddie Blassie. I sat at the booth next to them, but all I could make out was “purple monkey dishwasher”.
That phone call absolutely proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that Saddam didn’t have any WMD’s and that bin Laden and Bush are old pals. It also means that Hendry is going to be meeting with members of Time Magazine to discuss who outed that poor woman from the CIA. This is SCANDELOUS!
Doesn’t work at Desipio.
That’s funny, because I swore I saw Hendry holding vigil outside Demon Dogs.
What ends in 2 days…oh yeah, the All Star break, I mean Hendry couldn’t have been talking to a co-worker or anything. Who knows, maybe he was talking to his sister about something that belonged to his recently deceased mother that they both wanted. To speculate that he must be talking about a trade since he was talking “in an animated fashion” is just plain rediculous.
I just came across today’s Daily Dose. It was almost completely illegible down here under the millions of tons of the South Suburbs’ trash. But I WAS able to follow the link to find out that Tiffani Thiessen got hitched.
And just WHERE did he get the picture of Bobby Abreu injecting himself in the ass with some clear substance?
CT evidently knows that I once had breakfast with Freddie Blassie at a Sambo’s. They even shot the whole conversation:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00001U0EC/104-7512251-6917518?v=glance
Homefield for us now bitches! Thank you LaRussa. Save Dontrelle and Rocket for the late innings. Can’t do you any good if you have a huge hole to dig out of.
You mean the “Dusty Baker is 1-6 in his last seven postseason series-clinching games” statistic, right???
There you go…
Have I always been here to the left of the comments and you never noticed me, or am I new?
I used to be there long ago, now I am back…and good as new bitches.
He gone!
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-050712cubswoo,1,917783.story?coll=cs-home-headlines
Please stop with the Ronnie Woo-Woo updates. Don’t encourage this.
leave it to that clown la russa and his minions to screw our home field chances.
Lee and A ram did their best, but couldn’t overcome the total suckitude of eckstein,
lassie,albie & karen
Yeah, I did my best.
At killing a rally that DLee started with a double by rolling into a 6-4-3.
Oh, ALL the rest of you NL pussies were horrible. Wasn’t I the only one to even collect two hits?
Ah, yeah, A-Ram’s DP was nice, but didn’t you love my non-slide
If you didn’t have enough proof with the sweep I delivered in the World Series,
yesterday I did it agian. I completely embarrased Mulletman again.
Mulletman, you’re no good, you’re just atrocious.
Hey, Terry! Thanks for the win, mang! Winning is fung! Playing with the home field advantage is fung! You maybe juss help my White Sox win the World Series, mang!
Mang, I love winning. Winning is sooooo fung!