fathom

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Oct 6, 2007 -> 02:06 AM) Yeah, but it's not something I'd put out of the realm of possibility. Nope, not at all. KW definitely wanted to acquire him last offseason. However, it really would be pointless, as we already have Pierre Jr. out there.

QUOTE(29andPoplar @ Oct 6, 2007 -> 12:43 AM) Speaking just for myself, I honestly wish you'd stop with the half speak and innuendo. If there are "things" you've heard about Shines and his relationships with members of the organization, speak up about it. When you post shadowy innuendo type stuff, it leads other people on this site to reach conclusions that aren't necessarily accurate. I don't know what the big secret is anyways. I'm going off of what Steff has said, as well as some differences of opinions that Razor had with Ozzie last season. I've been a huge supporter of Razor ever since the Sean Tracey incident, and it's too bad he's leaving the organization.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 09:41 PM) Lofton thinks he's like 25 again, Melk with the gun though. Not to sound like Hawk, but he has a video game-esque arm. The ball just gets to the infielder on a straight line.

With some of the things I've heard about Shines and his relationship with members of the organization, I wonder why they even promoted him this past offseason. And I don't think many of us really care that our 3rd base coach got let go. It's more that members of the coaching staff who have underachieved (players in the area they specialize) continue to get a free pass for some reason. There's honestly no reason Greg Walker still has a job.

Why does everyone want Furcal so much? Doesn't he only have one year left on his deal, and he's also a Boras client? We'd likely have to give up Garland to get him, and I'd rather get someone that can help out the organization a lot longer than one season (a season in which we're not likely to compete for the pennant).

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 10:48 PM) I honestly think you might kill yourself if the Cubs ever win it all. Nope, sorry. Livan Hernandez sucks, and with the wind blowing out tomorrow, the Cubs have to be heavily favored to win.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 09:43 PM) What about the Cubs gives you any idea they have a chance to make it to game four? They've played bad fundamental baseball, as well as their pen blowing rather large testicles. Livan Hernandez

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 07:21 PM) So f***ing stupid. But what else should I expect out of this organization lately. They've made nothing but retarded decisions since the Buehrle signing. It's really amazing, isn't it? It's going to be scary going on rotoworld every morning during the offseason looking at the possible deals were involved with. I can already picture it now: Garland and DLS for Tejada.

I just heard that the wind's going to be blowing out to left field tomorrow. I really hope Arizona doesn't pitch Webb in game 4. Save him for game 5, because if you lose tomorrow and lose that game with him on the mound, you give the Cubs all the momentum in the world for game 5.

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 07:16 PM) Stick Cora back at third and hire a competent bench coach. Hell no....Cora was pathetic as the 3rd base coach. I thought Shines did a competent job, which of course means he has to go.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 07:04 PM) Don't post in this thread. I guarantee it will be my only hocket post of the year. I was listening to the update on the Score, and since I didn't seen anyone post the news yet, I figured I'd keep you updated. Hopefully Havlat is fine....and enjoy the thread.

According to the Score, Shines will not be back.

Havlat's going to be out for the year likely, according to the Score.

BTW, I think it's been cool how ESPNews hired Mike Bacsik, the pitcher who gave up Bonds record breaking homer, to be an analyst during the postseason.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2007 @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 06:07 AM) No surprise tonight. The Cubs just aren't that good. They were the tallest midget in a horrific division. Everybody knew (except fathom) that they would be exposed. And are the D-backs fun to watch or what? Their farm system has come through quite well for them the last few years. It still would surprise me if this series doesn't get to game 5. Supposedly Santo was saying again last night that he wants to beat up Valverde for his show-off antics on the mound. I hate that legless f***er so much.

Yes! Impressive fastballs by Valverde.

You've got to be freaking kidding me. Why in the world didn't Drew take that himself?

Fathom's man crush on Brandon Lyon continues to grow.

Drew's made the hard plays look easy, and the easy plays look hard tonight.

Big double play ball there.

And courtesy of the umpire, the Cubs are back into this game.

And we're back. Basically things went great since the board went down. We need Cruz to come in and get the Dbacks out of this inning with the big lead. This umpire seems afraid to call the 3rd strike this inning.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan99 @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 02:29 AM) Huge break for the Diamondbacks, now take advantage. Actually, the Cubs got quite lucky. Lee missed that ball, but somehow, it got wedged between the glove and the ground.

QUOTE(whitesox61382 @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 09:36 PM) I don't think anyone is claiming that the Sox have one of the top 5 minor league systems in baseball. With that said, the Sox system is certainly heading in the right direction(really only one way to head from the bottom). Last year the Sox minor league systems was one of the 5 worst in baseball(could make an argument that it was the worst). Thanks to some offseason traded(see Gonzalez), breakout years(see Carter, DLS, etc), and what appears to be a very good draft(see Poreda, etc) the Sox minor league system has taken a pretty big step forward and might even be in the 15-20 range overall. So I guess the answer to your question is about 10 teams would probably be willing to trade their minor league system for the Sox. The Sox upper minor league system isn't that strong, but it did produce some positive contributions from prospects like Fields, Owens, and Richar. Furthermore, the Sox have 3 solid looking pitching prospects who appear to be ready to contribute next year(Broadway, Gonzalez, and Egbert) and while none of those guys have ace stuff they have the potential to be solid middle of the rotation starters(Gonzalez having a little higher upside). The Sox lower minor league system is where the strength lies. In fact, I bet only a handful of teams would NOT trade their low A ball AND advanced rookie ball rosters for the Sox. They had a handful of all star potential players have breakout years(Carter, DSL, Shelby) and had a handful of sleepers to keep an eye on(Allen, Sanchez, Marrero, Moreno, Martinez). Plus this years draft was a big success based on early indications. Poreda put up impressive numbers(has no control what level he starts at). Miranda instantly became the Sox best SS prospect(not necessarily saying much). Ely was very impressive(although I am not a huge fan of his). Gallagher, my sleeper for the 2007 draft, put up some guady numbers. Mabee might be a closer of the future with his dominating numbers. Plus you have a handful of talented high school players who just got their feet wet(Griffith and Gilbert). Point being, while the Sox minor league system is average at best right now it is certainly heading in the right direction. If some of these lower minor league players can continue to produce as they progress up the system, than the Sox might be in the top 5 before too long. I think people are going to be disappointed then to see where the Sox minor league system is ranked this offseason (and no, that information is not just coming from BA).

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 03:52 PM) Hahaha. Cubs fans are accusing Webb of having grease on his hat. No matter that he was wiping his sweat on the brim of his cap, he OBVIOUSLY was cheating. Also they are accusing the Dbacks ground crew of softening up the dirt in front of the plate to help his ground balls. That same "soft" dirt that led to the only Cubs run?