fathom Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 02:55 PM) Check out this post you made over 2 months ago. I never would have guessed it would have continued at this rate. Wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Chappas Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 (edited) 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? Edited September 21, 2007 by fathom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Chappas Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 03:20 PM) 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. That is a strike once less then half of the time. The fact that they are at home and could not put away Cincinnati or through today the Pirates does give me much faith htat they will all of a sudden turn it on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Another f***ing error. Surely, runs will score now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxfan99 Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Fathom - "Why can't anyone field the damn ball against the cubs"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxfan99 Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 And of course the Cubs score as a result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 ARE YOU f***ING KIDDING ME? Inning ending DP ball and they f*** it up, next batter cranks a 3 run jack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted September 21, 2007 Author Share Posted September 21, 2007 Lilly and Hill will completely fall apart if they have to pitch on limited rest (I guarantee it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthsideNorthsideFan Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 03:20 PM) 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. 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!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteSoxfan1986 Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 03:39 PM) 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 I think if you're the Mets you have to go with Pedro. I also think more teams will use a four man rotation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWSGuy406 Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 09:10 PM) Lilly looked terrific on 3-days rest this week. And Zambrano has an ERA north of 6.00 in his last nine starts. It evens out. Even if he does turn it around, he's still nowhere near as good as Webb or Peavy. Speaking of the Padres, I don't understand how they haven't won more games (not that the 85 they're at now is something to gawk at, but still). They have the best one-two punch in the NL and their bullpen is phenomenal. Their lineup isn't great but doesn't feature any easy outs (okay -- Marcus Giles). They could be real tough in the playoffs, as their back-of-the-rotation won't be exposed. I could also see Milton Bradley doing some nasty (nasty meaning great) things in the playoffs, just as he's done ever since he's put on the Padre uniform (170 OPS+!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 03:39 PM) Cubs: Zambrano, Lilly, Hill They would start Marquis instead of Hill based on "experience" veteran and playoff wise I am sure of it. Hill will probably be a good option for the bullpen come playoff time. (Maybe he starts a game or two) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Just read this. Great article from a great, great writer. In the late weeks of 2000, I flew to Los Angeles to spend a couple of days with Barry Zito. At the time, the 22-year-old pitcher was a still-obscure up-and-comer with the Oakland Athletics. He had recently completed a rookie season during which he went 7-4 with a 2.72 ERA in 14 starts, but could safely walk the sands of Manhattan Beach without being identified. In our two days together, Zito and I ate Mexican, went to a jazz club, surfed (well, he surfed; I took notes), talked life and death and the electoral college and french toast and The Roots and seemingly all things beyond the boring ol' world of offseason baseball. By the time we parted ways, I was absolutely dazzled by a man boasting the free-spiritedness to inevitably morph into the modern-day Bill (Spaceman) Lee. As I wrote in Sports Illustrated at the time: "Ever since his freshman year at UC Santa Barbara, in 1997, Zito has practiced yoga and meditation. He travels with the satin bed pillows his mom sewed for him, as well as scented candles, which he spreads throughout his hotel room. 'They relax me,' he says, 'and hotels don't always smell so good.' He is learning to play the guitar, and he admits to holding dialogues on the mound with his left arm 'whenever I need someone to talk to.'" What struck me most about Zito was that he didn't care. He didn't care if my article would be full of praise or full of scorn. He didn't care if his hair was messy or his shirt torn or his socks unmatched. He didn't care if you liked his girlfriend or didn't -- just that you treated her with respect. He was as nonchalant as a warm breeze in July, and eminently more likable. "I know I'm lucky," he told me. "I've been given this odd gift to throw a baseball well. It's random -- and I appreciate it." In the ensuing years, as Zito emerged from promising rookie to the 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner, I was extremely happy. Like Shawn Green, Josh Hamilton, Mike Sweeney and Tim Hudson before him, here was a guy I would follow with enhanced interest. I wanted Zito to succeed because, in my heart of hearts, I knew he wouldn't change. He was who he was. Or was he? In my decade of covering professional sports, few people have disappointed me as greatly as Barry Zito. Though I'm unsure when, exactly, the transformation began, Zito is no longer the kid with the surfboard; the laid-back, Cali-cool dude with the ungodly talent coupled with uncommon humility. No, now he has (egad) a publicist. He has (egad) dated Hilary Duff. And Alyssa Milano (well, no shame there). Worst of all, he has (egad) an attitude. Not an especially good one. Talk to former teammates and front office officials in Oakland, and several will quietly moan that, with time, Zito began to place too much emphasis on his own press clippings and Q rating. Even more disappointed are the men and women who cover Zito on a daily basis. Once upon a time, Zito was a writer's best friend: a never-ending quote on whatever filled his mind. Now, while still accessible, Zito seems to view the media with skepticism and angst. He'll talk, but behind a guarded boundary that never before existed. "He's OK," says one regular Zito writer. "But he won't give you very much." Just listen to what he told Sports Illustrated's Chris Ballard a few months back: "Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not flaky. It's just a fun thing to put on a guy -- 'Hey, lefthanded, long hair, surfer!' But these people don't know, because they've never come in here and talked to me. Because if they did, I'd call them on that s--- in a second." The words were ludicrous for too many reasons to count, but what the hell, I'll try: No. 1: Zito fostered that image himself by talking up stuffed animals and man-to-ball conversations with unabashed regularly. No. 2: Factually, Zito was/is quirky. No. 3: Factually, those who played with Zito in the early years said he was quirky. No. 4: How many writers have compiled a Zito-is-nutty piece after meeting with the man? My guess: no fewer than 50. We came, we saw, we wrote. No. 5: I can go on. No. 6: And on. Nos. 7 through 2,321: And on and on and on. Back in the day, Zito was quirky -- and it was fantastic. Whether he pitched brilliantly or terribly, he was guaranteed to be the life of the party once the game had ended. Teammates loved him because he was one of them. Fans loved him because he was one of them. He talked trash, played Halo, told stories and found pleasure in the little things; in walking on the freshly cut grass and throwing strikes. Now, with a seven-year, $126 million deal from the Giants, Zito isn't the same. Not -- as his 6-8 record and 4.71 ERA indicate -- as a pitcher. And not as a person, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 I love Roy Halladay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWSGuy406 Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 The Yanks scored four in the ninth to tie up Toronto -- they're in extras now. That's awesome. --------------- On a separate note, I'm still a little angry that Boston didn't give into that Delcarmen/Pena for Dye deal. Pena has a 125 OPS+ in just over 100 at-bats for Washington and now that he'll be playing every day, he should put up numbers similar to his 2004 season in Cincy (.259/.316/.527). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Nice to see the horrific defense and terrible base running against the Cubs pick right back up in the first inning today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Showtime Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 22, 2007 -> 12:34 PM) Nice to see the horrific defense and terrible base running against the Cubs pick right back up in the first inning today. Good thing Rich Hill is on the bump. edit: Soriano is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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