fathom

Nice to see the horrific defense and terrible base running against the Cubs pick right back up in the first inning today.

Just for the record, any team that gives Santana a 20 million dollar plus contract is going to really regret it.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 22, 2007 -> 02:01 AM) Didn't he double his first game back? That's my all time favorite. I can't remember another one. His shoulder must really be messed up because you think he would at least hit a little bit. Didn't he homer twice in the minors? Goes to show you how bad the competition is down there.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Sep 22, 2007 -> 01:59 AM) Better now than never. This is why winning is good now. Maybe we won't fear or suck against Santana as much in the future. Thome is on a mission of some kind. Every homer helps Fields. Fields' batting average may suck, but what he is doing power wise is pretty amazing and taken for granted by many fans, at least that's how it appears to me. Just win, baby! Every single game! I'm pretty sure Fields is the main player we all want to see continue to do well the rest of the way.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 22, 2007 -> 01:58 AM) Toby Hall is probably a couple of 2 for 4 games away from making Gonzalez the worst player in the majors. What's your favorite Toby Hall hit of the season? I don't think I've seen more than 3 or 4 this year.

Do your thing Mike Myers.

Bad news....Carlos Beltran hurt his knee tonight. Doesn't sound too serious, but doesn't sound like he'll be 100 pct for a while.

QUOTE(29andPoplar @ Sep 22, 2007 -> 01:52 AM) It is a shame because clearly he is overmatched. They have no one else at the moment though, and decided not to pursue anyone else since they were so far back. Might as well see if Gonzalez had anything, now they know the answer for sure, he doesn't. I'm pretty sure you agree with me that it's a good thing Gonzalez has struggled so much over the last few months, as it will likely make him a non-option for the bench last year. We both hope to see significant upgrades to our bench.

Even with a poor 2nd half, I think people will be pleasantly surprised by how much trade value Garland will have.

Big hit by Hart!

What a great time for the Brewers offense to go extinct. Bill Hall is stealing money from the team right now.

Craig Counsell is Ned Yost's version of Erstad. He keeps benching either Hardy or Weeks so Counsell and his sub .230 batting average can play 3 times a week.

QUOTE(SouthsideNorthsideFan @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 09:15 PM) Howry's been excellent the last four years, even better in the AL. Straight ERA: 2.74 2.47 3.17 3.38 The Cubs ENTIRE problem lies in the starting rotation (or lack thereof!). And I still don't know how Howry gets batters out.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 08:55 PM) Lilly and Hill will completely fall apart if they have to pitch on limited rest (I guarantee it). Lilly looked terrific on 3-days rest this week.

So, who are the likely 3-man rotations for possible playoff teams? Cubs: Zambrano, Lilly, Hill Mets: Maine, Glavine, Perez DBacks: Webb, Davis, Hernandez Padres: Peavy, Young, Maddux Phillies: Hamels, Kendrick, Moyer

What's that, 8 gift runs or so? Also, someone check G. Soto for steroids/HGH. His numbers are ridiculous this year compared to previous numbers. I'm in a better place right now due to accepting that they're in the playoffs. I just pray that the other teams give a good effort when the playoffs start.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 08:19 PM) I still do not get how no team can hit Dempster, Howry, Eyre or anyone other than Marmol in the cub bullpen. I still do not think they are that good of a team to be taken seriously in the postseason but then there is no team in the NL that is a real baseball team. Howry throws straight fastballs down the plate with no movement at 94 mph. I always get happy when he comes in, as I think the opposition will crush him. Dempster at least has a good splitter. I don't see a way that the Pirates win this game at this point with Marmol lurking. BTW, I wonder if the Brewers will voice a complaint that Jack Wilson is gone for the first two games of this series?

QUOTE(beck72 @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 10:06 AM) You can count Danks in the rotation, unless he's hurt. The sox seem to have far more doubts about Floyd, though he seems to be changing some minds. Those guys you mentioned [except Freddy] will come with a $10 mill price tag. If anything the sox want to shed salary in the rotation, not add to it. In some ways, I think the Sox are more confident in Floyd. You just get the vibe that they're very disappointed in the development of Danks throughout the course of the year, particularly in terms of his mound presence and competitiveness.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 08:03 PM) I never would have guessed it would have continued at this rate. Wow Unfortunately, you could see it coming a long way away. This team was too talented to play as bad as they were, and they were coming up with ways to lose earlier in the year. They also are like the Redskins, in which they'll pick up any high-priced guy who's available during the season that no one else wants.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Jul 18, 2007 -> 06:52 PM) Unf***ing believable how many runs the Cubs score on defensive miscues or after errors that would have ended the inning. Check out this post you made over 2 months ago.

Hart for 2, Marmol for 2, Howry for 1, Dempster for 1.....I don't like the Pirates chances. I really hope that the wind stops blowing out, as the Cubs would have a huge advantage over teams like the Padres/DBacks if it turns into a slugfest.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 07:41 PM) Cubs are so gonna win the Series, aren't they? Absolutely everything has gone right for them all year, so why would that stop in the postseason? It has been amazing to see how awful the defense against them has been. Meanwhile, the defense against the Brewers over the last few months has been amazing. Also, the Brewers basically have lost two games due to an outfielder falling down due to the grass.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 07:40 PM) This f***ing team scores more runs on errors and f***ups than anyone in baseball history. What happened now?

No reason to get excited about the early lead now, as Malholm has no chance of holding the Cubs down.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 07:12 PM) Brewers get Hudson and Smoltz..... The bright side is Milwaukee comes home next week and the cub hit the road. The fact that the cubs can not hit consistently leads me to believe they can lose any given day to any team. If the lead is 1.5 on Monday I think it could be an interesting week. Especially if the San Diego games do not mean anything next weekend. If the race is close and Zambrano and Lilly are not bumped up next week they could both be unavailable for game one . It's almost guaranteed that the Padres games will matter for them. The ironic thing is it's very possible that we'll be cheering for the Brewers to lose to the Padres in less than a week. I'm grateful that if the Cubs clinch the playoffs, it won't be at Wrigley.