reesdi

Ben Davis has a slow bat, but he is strong. If he wants to get back over .250, he is going to have to shorten and level his swing as much as possible and make a living hitting up the middle and the other way, only turning on get-me-over fastball on hitter's counts and hanging breaking balls. Sounds easier said than done, but guys like him (read: at least half ML'ers) simply cannot surivive as pull-hitters. It's up to him to make the adjustment(s).

That said... If Nomar thing backfires big-time and Cubs have a mother of all meltdowns.... Then all the better.

I suppose you'd rather he steal 20 bases and get thrown out 20 times as Derek Lee did a few years back? Give me a guy who steals 19 in 20 attempts over someone who steals 100 in 150 attempts.

If you think Hawkins is a bad closer, Beltran would make Koch proud. Harris is a schlub. Jones is 19yo, is far from dominant in A-ball and is already having arm problems. He has a good arm? So did Corwin Malone and Lorenzo Barcelo. Sometimes you have to let go of some talent, big deal. Long after your friends are celebrating Cubs winning back-to-back World Series, nobody is gonna care. In fact, nobody is gonna care even if Cubs lose in the first round. And why should they? Hendry and Tribune Co have only just began, so it's not as if they're putting their eggs in the 2004 basket - there are gonna have truly awesome teams on the North Side in 2005 and 2006 and beyond, Beltran or not.

Cub fans are useless morons. That explains it.

Actually Willie can steal bases alright. But he is not Carlos Beltran. And with his pathetic Slugg. % he needs to be Carlos Beltran. If Willie wants to be a 70 SB/10 CS man, he is gonna have to get a whole a lot smarter and a lot more aggressive.

Is it too much to ask for Willie to stop clubbing with the dirty ho's before/after games and instead study the footage and work on his jumps? Cuz....my god, Bobby Abreu, a 30yo 215-pound slugger, has 25 steals in 27 attempts this year. Willie is 12 for 17 if you count the pick-offs.

It just tells me that either Ozzie is a moron Uribe is a moron. Smart money is on the latter.

But, but....Brandon Harris, y'all. rolleyeyes.gif Nomar is a ginormous offensive upgrade and the way rangeless Gonzo has been fielding this year, even the ever-brutal Nomar is no big downgrade if any. Cubs are something like 50-11 when scoring 4 runs or more, so those who do not see how this move may benefit them should watch baseball a bit. But Nomar's value is also in his name. He keeps the Cubs in the headlines, and imagine how many Boston-Nomar fans have temporarily became Cubbie followers for the summer. It seems all Chicago is talking about right now is Nomar and Mia. Sooner or later, all that popularity and attention translates to money, money, money, payroll, payroll, payroll, success, success, success. Hendry is earning his paycheck here to say the least. Not giving up Clement was big.

Hi, Ken.

Why does it take a scout to notice something Sox fans knew back in March?

He doesn't have the command of his curve and change - half the time, he either hangs it/floats it or bounces it in the dirt. That puts way to much pressure on his sinker. He is behind seemingly all the time, even even when he is ahead, he is wasting pitches James Baldwin-style and has to eventually throw get-me-over junk that gets hits hard, or else he just puts the hitter on base. Frustrating. At this point Judy is a glorified #4 who can't be counted on for s*** in pressure situations.

With his new pitches, Clowneweiss would be a much better reliever than a starter. He throws 3 mph harder as a reliever; his mechanics/control is sharper; change-cutter combo adds another dimension to getting RH out; hitters only see him once. But I guess he'd rather be a miserable failure of a starter, a folly that will undoubtedly culminate in his back-elbow ailment returning. Real smart, Scott. rolleyeyes.gif

There is absolutely no way Sox will miss playoffs this year. A huge win streak is coming alright, and Twins will have some fizzlin' to do in the next 8 weeks, though I would have preferred they lost yesterday. Harris, Uribe, Valentin and Crede are all due for re-awakening, Aaron Rowand-style. Now JR/KW have to do their part. Robbie, Zaun, Cruz Jr will be a start.

No can't do. Since Mota and Gordon aren't coming here any time soon, we're just gonna have to depend on good ol' Cliff as the 3rd best option out of the pen. Get used to it, Reindorf doesn't like spending money on needed pieces if it can be avoided. Marte choked yesterday, and you can't use Shingo. You live and die with Politte - and for a while it worked - got the first man out and was 2-2 on Sanchez. All he had to do is throw a good slider or bust him with a belt-high inside fastball, and you got two outs and bases empty. Then again, Sox are nothing if not loser-chokers. Have been for years. Just as was the case yesterday, if we didn't lose in the bottom of the 10th, we would have lost in the bottom of 11th. And so on. Anyway.......How do people like not having Maggs and Hurt around? Having fun, are ya?

Told you. All fastballs. No slider in sight. All badly miss. Guillen didn't take a single swing. This team is a trainwreck.

Watch Guillen end it right here.

Politte loses his slider in pressure situations and becomes 1 pitch pitcher with no control. :puke

Rowand is not doing anything special....but compared to the rest of the stupid, oveswinging bums, he looks like a superstar. Nice short, level swing on a pitch in a strike zone....hitting 101. Too bad other clowns in the line-up are trying to re-invent hitting and make it extra difficult on themseleves.

I am still waiting for Zaun, Cruz Jr and Robbie.

I don't know if you noticed, but Schoeneweiss has been TERRIBLE in quite a while. He will be much better as a long man out of BP who would fill in the Sean Lowe role if need be. A pitcher like him could really benefit from a few extra mph on his pitches as well as from hitters only seeing him once. That means Felix Diaz better be ready. His fastball, change and slider are all better than Scott's. Control is key.

Yeah, but it's only Wild Card - no way a WC team can be a favorite to win it all. Sosa, Garciaparra, Alou, Ramirez, Lee, Patterson, Walker, Barret, Hollansworth, Hawkins, Farsworth, Merker, Clement, Prior, Wood, Zambrano, Maddux....who?

Whatever helps you through the day, I guess. rolleyeyes.gif

There also has been talk the Cubs could try Wood as a closer. rolleyeyes.gif Contreras is here for one purpose and one purpose only: to start ....and be f***ing good at it, too.