Pastime

6' 3", 260 lbs. That used to be awesome for me as a right guard in high school and college, but it's not so cool anymore.

If we could only somehow dump GIDPaul Konerko and maybe trade Maggs, we could be a major player in this list. It's not always about how much money you have to spend, it's about what you DO with the money you have to spend. :banghead

And for the record, I didn't see or hear those games in 1954. I just read a book about that series a few years back. I love to read about baseball whenever I can - it's my favorite sport by far. I guess I'm just wise and mature beyond my 32 years so far on Earth.

Yas, We're bound to be right at least ONCE this decade, right?

To me, it was great because you had an arrogant team that was one of the game's best ever overall, and then an underdog team that was given no chance came through and walloped them. Maybe it's just my hatred for the Indians clouding my vision.

I still have my moments of negativity, but I'm much more positive than I've been in a long time. I really think Koch will rebound. When you have a player like him who "lost it" all of a sudden, you'll find two kinds of players. Those who just accept it and hang on until they are shown the door, and those who say "Oh yeah? Watch me!" - and they fight and claw their way back. I think Koch is the latter.

I don't know. That 1954 Series was outstanding. The Indians were 111-53, they had Bob Lemon, Mike Garcia, Early Wynn, Hal Newhouser, and Bob Feller as their starting pitchers. (All HOF'ers besides Garcia - a great starter.) They had the batting champion (Lopez), and a team full of speed and power. They met the Giants in that series (97-57), who had Marichal, Gomez, HOF reliever Hoyt Wilhelm, 21-game winner Johnny Antonelli, Dusty Rhodes, Willie Mays, and Avila (the batting champ in the NL) - and yet the Giants kicked their asses. It was a good Giants team. but a team that was inferior - if you believe the "experts." Needless to say - the "undermanned" Giants swept the series - four games to zip.

KipWellsFan, You'll regret that mindset. And you'll be cheering your lungs out when Koch retires the last 3 batters as we win the division - all three by STRIKEOUT. But have laughter at my expense - the opponents won't think it's funny next year when Koch sticks up their asses sideways and unlubricated.

This is completely unrelated, but Denny Hocking is a free agent. I would sign him in a heartbeat. He would be a great influence, a great clubhouse presence, and a great utility player. Plus, he woudn't cost much at all. Plus, he could share some Twins secrets with us.

That lineup makes me want to just put my head in my hands. We need SPEED in our lineup. That station-to-station crap didn't work very well, did it? I can't stomach another season of slow plodding oafs on the bases. I just can't. If I were GM, I would re-sign Colon, sign another starting pitcher, sign Luis Castillo, and play Willie Harris in CF.

My favorite quote of the year comes from Kenny Williams: "We're out to change a mindset. We're out to prove that we will do whatever it takes to win." Prove it. And not by annointing Scott Schoenweiss as your 5th starter next year.

Getting a viable 5th starter, like Kenny Rogers, Wilson Alvarez, Jose Lima...people were available. Last night, Kenny Williams said that the 5th starter's spot is Scott Schoenweiss's to lose. Atta boy, Kenny, keep reaching for the stars. And never get off the ground. You can do better!! Schoenweiss? Come on. He's just the left-handed Danny Wrong. He SUCKS. Hearing that made me want to vomit. :puke

Did I hear the announcers right last night? The Yankees have a payroll of 160 million? No wonder they are in it every f*cking year. They don't just develop talent, they also pay for it. If you can't win with that payroll, you deserve to be shot. s***, with 160 million at our disposal, the White Sox would be there every year as well. I still can't believe that. Wow! However, the Yankees have a HUGE hole in RF - we have a RF who will be making 14 million a year, something we can't afford really - a Yankees/Sox trade coming in the next month?

Garland isn't a bust, but he's very inconsistent. I've always thought of him as a younger Mike Morgan. Yeah, he'll go 14-10 one year, but then go 8-14 the next. I hope I'm wrong. I really do. I want him to succeed. I just keep waiting for him to finally "get it," where the light bulb above his head lights up, but it hasn't happened yet. I just hope that Don Cooper really gets up his ass and helps him achieve what we know he can do. If Coop can't, then we'll just have to accept Garland for what he is - a million-dollar arm with a 10-cent head. God, I hope I'm wrong. I want him to succeed so badly it makes me clench my fists. IMHO, he is our wild card next year. If he can win 15-16 games, we will bust some skulls. But if he reverts to 9-10 or 8-12, we are doomed.

Or Al Bundy.

I don't want any of those guys. I want Dusty Baker!! If we could just get him away from the Cubs, he could bring his magic dust and his messiah touch to our team, and then he could show us his miracle powers of handling a pitching staff in the playoffs.

Billy Koch, 2004 - 3-4, 2.58, 44 saves You heard it here first.

I can sum up Jay Mariotti for all of you in a simple paragraph. Jay Mariotti is NOT a native Chicagoan, or a native Chicago sports fan. He's a Detroit sports fan. He's not a fan of any of the teams in the Windy City. However, he has to sell papers to keep his "edge," and more importantly, to keep his job. So, he resorts to just printing garbage that gets people fired up. He doesn't even care one way or another - he just wants to say whatever it takes for people to respond positively or negatively. Either way, he gets a response. He takes the popular stance whenever possible, and runs with it. He could care less what the Chicago teams do - as long as he can rile up the suffering fandom of Chicago teams by saying what they want to hear. And as long as he does that, he keeps his job - and keeps his title as the biggest asshole in town. I say we take him to the Brookfield Zoo, cover him in glue and cotton balls, stick him up an female elephant's pie and make him the world's largest tampon.

I think a manager can win or lose a team 5-8 games a year. If we had the same roster, we would win a few more games, but I still don't like the way the team is assembled. Yes, it's a blast to watch balls flying out of the yard, but the problem with a lineup like that is they tend to go into slumps collectively. One guy is in a slump, so the next bopper tries to compensate and goes into a slump, so the next bopper tries to compensate ..... We have too many guys in the lineup that move as fast as a tipped-over stove. I would love to see some speed infused into this lineup. Instead of playing station-to-station baseball, we could have a couple or few guys flying on the basepaths who truly disturb opposing pitchers. No matter what the lineup looks like - no matter who the manager is - no matter what the record is - JUST GET US INTO THE PLAYOFFS AND ALLOW US TO TELL THE TWINS TO SUCK IT.

It is a small version of that. New Comiskey isn't all THAT bad - I sit in the CF bleachers when I go and occasionally hang out on the concourse. I miss the old place, but my wife loves the salads she gets at the new place. Damn health nut. Just give me a Kosher Dog and a Coke in the 1st and 6th innings, and give me a good game, and I go home happy. I would really go home happy if I could attend Game 7 of the ALCS next year, and watch us stomp the piss out of the A's.

From what I've heard on Sportsradio in Chicago, Sammy has a 15-day window during which he can choose free agency. I don't know when that window opens and closes, but I believe it is relatively early such that Cubs will know for sure before free agency gets rolling. Late November? If he declares for free agency, he would be exactly that: a true free agent. Were he to declare, he would not have the right to test the market, find it lukewarm, and then return and demand the terms of the existing contract. Once free he'd be free. He can declare himself a free agent, but if he does, then he's completely free. He would then be at whoever's price. However, he can decide to stay for I think 17 million a year for two years (what a waste of money!), and he may be stupid enough to try to get a better deal, but his agent isn't. Either way, he will be with the Cubs next year. Aproximately 1/4 of their payroll being spent on a fading loser who won't even hit 28 HR next year. Awww - too bad. Hey Cubs fans, ENJOY!!! :fyou

In the 1990's, when the Cubs clearly defined what "really sucks ass" means, Shammy was all their fans had to root for. Yeah, the Cubs gave up 8 runs per game, but Shammy would hit a 450-ft HR once in a while, so the lemmings went home happy. Corky was all they had to root for. But now, they actually have a TEAM to root for, and Shammy is the ultimate self-centered jag. His "me first," non-team-player garbage has grown old, worn, and tired. Not ONCE did you see him try to advance a runner in this year's playoffs. Not ONCE did you see him sacrifice a big swing or take a pitch just to try to get on base. Why should his self-serving, egotistical approach be any different this year than it was in previous years? I'm glad the Cubs are stuck with him for the next 2 years because his skills are going down faster than a $10 crack whore. He can't field, he can't throw, he can't run, and he can't catch up to any fastball above 90 mph. Watching his skills quickly eroding and fading is a thing of beauty and a joy to the eyes. It couldn't happen fast enough to a bigger asshole. Corky Sosa :dips***

Heh, you actually see Frank listening to Ozzie??? I'm not 100% sure that Frank is back here next year to listen to WHOEVER we hire.

Willie's chance at being an everyday ballplayer can only happen if he decides to do one thing: Make a total and complete committment to choking up on the bat and just "slapping" down at the ball and bunting it. He absolutely cannot fall in love with trying to hit homeruns. If he made the aforementioned committment, he could be a .280 hitter - just by beating out simple ground balls. Plus, by choking up on the bat (ala Pierre), he would have better bat control and could avoid so many K's. IMO, I would like to see Harris and Pierre in a foot race. I don't think Pierre would be very much faster. Plus, if the Sox could acquire Luis Castillo as a free agent and pair him with Harris in the order, we wouldn't need so many HR's to score runs. (Harris in CF, by the way).

I'd say it's more about Cub fans than the Cubs themselves. If you live in Chicago you've probably gotten a lot of crap from Cubs fans and now you can go to work/school tomorrow and tell them all to f*** off. Been there, done that. It wasn't well received at work OR at school. Needless to say, there are some "Chatty Cathys" at work and at school. None of them said much of anything on Thursday. They were in some kind of a shock or trance. At least they finally SHUT UP.