Balta1701

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 01:15 PM) Except that the Cubs didn't win the division in 1998. Let's not grasp at straws here. We're having a rough stretch: all good teams do. Oh, were they wild card that year? blah, they made the playoffs, that was the big "Harry Carray's ghost helping the cubs out" year, the Kerry Wood 20 strikeout year, the year Sosa started the juice, etc.

QUOTE(rangercal @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 01:14 PM) I blame the lack of Thome Jim Thome would not have made Pablo catch those balls, or kept those doubles on the infield, etc.

We lost this game in a lot of ways. A lot of ways. Buehrle made a lot of good pitches that were turned into doubles that missed people's gloves by 6 inches. We had another bunch of mental mistakes, Anderson missing the cutoff man, Dye getting caught in a rundown, etc. We had terrible approaches at the plate. In the 6th and 7th innings combined we saw 13 pitches, and it seemed like everyone tried to pull the ball, and everyone was grounding out to the right side. Ozuna missed some annoying fly balls in left. Crede and Uribe couldn't keep balls on the infield. Blah blah blah. Fat and lazy sounds like a good way to describe the way we're playing right now.

Anderson ripped that ball, right at Blalock. That's just not fair.

Well, the Dodgers/Phillies game is starting. Maybe we'll get some actual baseball out here.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 01:06 PM) As scary as that is, you're right. The Cleveland series last week might be the start of that. There's a lot of games in the next two weeks that are pretty important. They need to find their edge, and in a hurry, or Detroit will run away with this division. The way the Tigers are doing right now, we may as well start worrying about Cleveland and Minnesota running away with this division. The Tigers starting pitchers haven't been able to go 7 lately, and all of a sudden they're having to use their middle relief, which is just about as bad as ours. If they can go 8-9 with guys like Rodney and Jones they're all right, but for example, Grilli just walked 3 and hit a batter.

You know what the Sox remind me of right now? The 1999 Cubs. That team was just off winning their division in 98, got started pretty well out of the gate, were 32-23 on June 8th. Then they came in for a 3 game set with the White Sox, were swept, and absolutely fell apart. Went 1-10 for a stretch, gave up, and wound up the season 67-95.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 01:00 PM) You mean the team that every paper in Chicago tomorrow is going to make it sound like they have a better chance of winning their division than the White Sox? With Pujols hurt? They may be right.

QUOTE(CWSOX45 @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 12:58 PM) I think we caught a disease...a disease that a team in the same city was infected with for awhile....it's called CUBS. Rumor is is that the incubation period is 3 days, which makes sense considering we swept the A's then played s***ty in Toronto. Anyone know a cure for CUBS? I think we're dealing with a mutant strain right now, since we've been doing this since the start of the Toronto series. Why Montero instead of McCarthy? If we want the kid coming out of the pen, he should actually come out of the pen every day or every other day at the worst.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 12:57 PM) I'm surprised Ozzie doesn't start getting some blame for this. *waits to get completely piled on for saying something negative about Ozzie* I was hoping the rant in Toronto would get through to these guys, but it hasn't. When a team doesn't perform up to their own potential, at some point you do have to start looking at the coaching staff.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 12:57 PM) Yep....this team is just a mess right now, and quite frankly, isn't a playoff team with its current roster constructed this way. I think that the organization needs to make a decision...either keep Anderson in CF and let him play 5 times a week, or make a total overhaul of the CF position. Anderson't not going to get it going at the plate playing once every 3 days. I'm actually thrilled the Tigers are coming to town this week...if that doesn't get the players pumped up, I don't know what will. When Fathom and I agree on something...I don't know how anyone can think it's a bad idea.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 12:52 PM) Last year, we played our worst when we were "tight"... it seems to me like the guys who are really struggling right now are the ones who are trying the hardest and are "tight"... they need to try to relax and just play ball. Easier said then done, I know. But, when this team relaxes and just goes out and does their thing, they are much more dangerous. You know, I'm not sure how much I agree with that. I know what you're talking about...how they played in August/early September when Cleveland was pushing them. But there sure seemed to be plenty of pressure on the team in that last week when they won 8 in a row, or in the playoffs, or in some of those contests early in the season when we first started playing the Twins, and so on. I don't know if playing "Tight" is the problem. Personally, I think it's when they stop focusing that becomes a problem. Like in August last year, when they started complaining about attendance again, or Mark started seeing lights, or Iguchi started complaining about having to sit down so often, and so on. It just seems to me like their heads just weren't in the game then, and they don't look like it now.

QUOTE(JimH @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 12:50 PM) Dj makes another great point, the issue right now is guys are definitely capable of doing better, but they're not. Sounds simple but it's true. Witness that inning, bad at bats. That's what some of us have been trying to say in all these "person x sucks, we should trade for person y" threads. These guys just are not doing their jobs at all right now.

It'd be a nice idea to get McCarthy some work in the 9th.

I think our last 6 hitters have averaged about 30 seconds at the plate.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 12:39 PM) He's nothing more than your typical lefty. We've sucked all year against lefties, as our righty hitters try to pull everything. Aside from the fact that we haven't taken a walk, this guy hasn't impressed me that much. Last inning is your prime example, they barely took any pitches, and got 3 ground balls to the right hand side. With 3 of our good hitters too

By the way, is anyone else ungodly sick of the current generation of burger king commercials?

what was that, a 6, 7 pitch inning?

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 12:33 PM) I thought good pitching beats good hitting? Not if your defense can't get their gloves on the ball.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 12:35 PM) ^^^^^^^^^^^^ You would have said the same thing last year too.

That throw was 1 foot away from getting an out. Yeesh. We just can't catch a single break.

Jesus Christ, another 6 inches-away from a glove double.

Damnit, come on Mark, get this inning over with.

QUOTE(Ndgt10 @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 12:18 PM) Do we really have to go through that thought process after every infrequent Anderson hit? Since at some point he is going to string a few hits together, and he's already one of the best defensive CF's in baseball...Yes.

Knocks on a bunch of wood...hopefully that gets Anderson going just a little bit. I though he was finally turning it around a few weeks ago, then he hit this latest slump.