It's been a long season -- but you don't really need me to tell you that.
Since the NLCS is over and the ALCS isn't resuming till tomorrow, it's a baseball day off.
And I'm taking the day off from posting. In the meantime, you could talk about the MLBPA's accusations of collusion about the non-signing of Barry Bonds last year (nonsense, I think); or what's up with the Cubs' participants in the Arizona Fall League (Ryne Sandberg is serving as hitting coach), or even the Blackhawks' shocking firing of Denis Savard as coach after only four games (quick on the trigger a little bit?).
Have at it. I'll be around. Still working on my magnum opus on what I think the Cubs should do for '09. Maybe by Monday.
0 recs | 75 comments
Magic # is 162
PurpleLineToWrigley - October 17, 2008
Do you think Al will post it on the front page?
santoswoodenlegs - October 17, 2008
You should make it your avatar again.
PurpleLineToWrigley - October 17, 2008
163
Shanghai Badger - October 17, 2008
OT: My first campaign commercial....
I honestly didn’t have anything to do with this…but I do approve this message.
Slightly inappropriate for work (and no, it isn’t Sue in the video) - SWL’s first campaign commercial -
santoswoodenlegs - October 17, 2008
Obviously, it's Casual Friday for the actress in your commercial, too
JohnM - October 17, 2008
Any candidate that runs on a platform of junk in the trunk and booty shakin' has my vote.
In the immortal words of YouTube user eaeaear: "SWL is by far the best!
daver - October 17, 2008
That's it, Chad.
You have my vote.
dtpollitt - October 17, 2008
Excellent... SWL & Sue have my vote!!
Jimmyeatworld - October 17, 2008
That's quite a platform you have there, SWL
Emelie - October 17, 2008
What happens with the Bonds grievance anyway?
It seems it would be largely ceremonial, its not as if they can force someone to sign him ,so they must have some sort of concrete evidence he was deliberately not signed b/c of his off the field issues, right? So I assume one or more parties will be fined?
bren - October 17, 2008
Collusion by MLB:
All the teams looked at it and decided they’d be better off not signing a declining and potentially felonious cheater.
That’s not collusion, it’s common sense.
What a load of crap.
cocknfire - October 17, 2008
I'd still like to see Bud get knocked down a notch or two
dr stabbingworth - October 17, 2008
Next union agreement
will have the clause that all over 40 former MVP’s with major health concerns have to be signed to big money multi-year deals. ha!
N Oakley - October 17, 2008
Savard
I can’t say I’m a huge hockey guy but its clear that this wasn’t a firing as a result of four games. The organization likely had some concern. It seems apparent that Scott Bowman was brought in to turn this organization into a professional one. I imagine he saw in Savard someone who was just not ready to be a big time coach. Now its likely that the team should have axed Savard during the off season if they felt there were problems but its also possible that Bowman and others saw real concern during training camp in how Savard ran the team.
dmlichte - October 17, 2008
I would compare...
…Piniella and Bowman to have a lot of comparisons and they were both brought in (primiarily) by John McDonough.
Don’t be fooled by McDonough’s great media personality, he is a very demanding individual and he has a good nose for those who are not getting the job done and others that are the best to help get the job done.
This was a Bowman recommendation through and through, and it just took him a little time to conclude that Savard was lacking something behind the bench. It just happened to come to a head 4 games in.
MPH73 - October 17, 2008
This kind of thing happens in hockey a lot. Coaches seem to be treated as
interchangeable parts and are tossed out like used kleenex. That has got to be one of the most unsecure jobs in sports.
willie mays hayes' gloves - October 17, 2008
Second only to the Raider's Head Coaching Position.
santoswoodenlegs - October 17, 2008
At least one day Al Davis will croak, I think.
willie mays hayes' gloves - October 17, 2008
We can only hope WCF does, someday
CaliCub - October 17, 2008
hockey and basketball
… coaches seem to have a shelf life of about 14 months.
interestingly, this could really be an off season where MLB sees ZERO managerial moves. I think its unlikely that Riggleman remains at the helm in Seattle and Sveum seems like a 50/50 proposition. But the possibility exists that there will be no managerial firings. There will be minimal front office moves, however, compared to most off seasons.
dmlichte - October 17, 2008
I don't think basketball coaches are flushed nearly as quick as hockey. Hockey seems to
have no problem dumping a guy after a few games.
willie mays hayes' gloves - October 17, 2008
Exactly
Case in point: New Jersey, who have twice fired their coach with a week left in the season while holding one of the league’s best records. I do think, however, that in the Hawks case that expectations are a bit too high. I love all the young talent, but they need time to work and grow together. Good things are definitely in the works.
thinskull - October 17, 2008
IMO...
…they were trying to correct something that never should have been in place – Savard as head coach. The dude from the Daily Herald had a good article about this yesterday and I agree with his conclusion, that Savard never should have been named the coach in the first place.
As a Hawks fan, I love the guy, but I’ll listen to what Bowman has to say 100 times over Dale Tallon. By the way, Tallon is next, and he is another guy who really got his gig just because of ties to the organization and not because of ability to do the job.
MPH73 - October 17, 2008
There are a lot of nervous people in the Hawk organization right now. Savard's firing
shook things up and a few people probably feel they may be next.
willie mays hayes' gloves - October 17, 2008
I'm not a hockey fan
and I don’t understand why the Hawks fired their head coach only 4 games into the season.
If they didn’t have confidence in their coach, WHY didn’t they replace him in the offseason?
cowsarecool220 - October 17, 2008
Yeah! Or fire him two weeks before the end of the season...
…like the Brewers!
daver - October 17, 2008
Simple reason...
…Scotty Bowman was hired in August, and he needed time to give McDonough his opinion on the coaching situation.
MPH73 - October 17, 2008
Let's hope Rich Hill makes a comeback
He would be a brilliant (and cost-effective) addition to our roster if he can get his head together.
dr stabbingworth - October 17, 2008
Hope you're right doc, but I'm not betting the mortgage on it.
willie mays hayes' gloves - October 17, 2008
Aw go ahead...bet the mortgage!
The government will bail you out.
daver - October 17, 2008
Nope, we're not rich, we're just the taxpayers that pay the bills!
cowsarecool220 - October 17, 2008
Long time no read y'all
Have a good weekend.
chilango2 - October 17, 2008
There has to be something to the
Scotty Bowman infuence — the Hawks have not played well (save for the victory over PHX) over the first 4 games, but that’s just not enough to lose one’s job.
I only missed the PHX game — they did look listless in the first 3. Huet didn’t play very well in the nets, and gave up a few soft goals. He was awful in the shoot-out loss. Same shot to the 5-hole beat him every time. K-B actually looked like the better goalie, even in his loss.
But his play is too erratic to depend on.
San Diego Smooth Jazz Man - October 17, 2008
At least we have the Bulls to fall back on!
willie mays hayes' gloves - October 17, 2008
I have a feeling the Bulls are going to be really bad.
cowsarecool220 - October 17, 2008
Rumor has it that
the brass wanted Huet in goal on Monday night and Savard wanted Khabibulin, and the “stand-off” that ensued and Savard making a point by Starting Khabi may have in fact been the final straw and an excuse to do the firing after the game, regardless of outcome. I do agree that it was Bowman though…Savard just wasn’t the best coach- albeit an unbelievable player and Hawks legend.
PurpleLineToWrigley - October 17, 2008
How can you be so sure the collusion charges are nonsense
…when we don’t know what the evidence is?
Wreckard - October 17, 2008
But we do know who is making the accusation.
End. Of. Story.
santoswoodenlegs - October 17, 2008
"But we do know who is making the accusation."
So? Everyone’s protected under the law. That statement is just wrong on so many counts.
cubsnlinux - October 17, 2008
Yes...everyone's protected under the law, and some are protected more than others.
santoswoodenlegs - October 17, 2008
I understand where you are coming from but
that should never be taken as an excuse to encourage more wrong doings.
cubsnlinux - October 17, 2008
Who's encouraging?
I’m merely pointing out that you should take into consideration not only the accusation being made, but also the credibility of the person making it.
When the AIG executives staged their “protest”….do you think anyone really gave them the benefit of the doubt they had a legitimate argument?
santoswoodenlegs - October 17, 2008
ha ha ha..That's a funny pic
I agree that for all pragmatic reasons the credibility of a person often plays a big role when others judge his accusations against people whose credibility is perceived to be more. But if there is enough evidence that corroborate the substance of those accusations then it is immoral and idiotic for the concerned not to act.
cubsnlinux - October 17, 2008
We seem to agree more than we disagree on this point.
santoswoodenlegs - October 17, 2008
We do know who is making the accusation...
…and it’s the MLB Players’ Association, not Borris or Bonds.
Furthermore, we know who is denying the accusation, and to be quite frank MLB spent most of the late 80s pissing away their credibility when it comes to collusion, and then went ahead and did it again earlier this decade.
cwyers - October 18, 2008
MLB did "what" again earlier this decade?
Do you mean collusion, or piss away their credibility?
CaliCub - October 18, 2008
Yes.
cwyers - October 18, 2008
So I assume you mean both.
But what evidence is there that the owners colluded? Seemed to me they were signing free agents for big money back then – unless your assertion is that collusion was a majority (versus a unanimous) strategy. And then, in that event, the other 20+ owners might have argued that the Yankees, Red Sox, etc. were apples to their oranges when it came to revenue.
CaliCub - October 18, 2008
The $12 million they paid in the 2006 CBA to settle collusion allegations?
cwyers - October 18, 2008
And here’s the citation. This isn’t some wack-job conspiracy theory; MLB settled 60 collusion allegations from the 2002 free agent class to the tune of $12 million.
cwyers - October 18, 2008
I Honestly Wasn't Aware Of This
Thanks for setting me straight.
CaliCub - October 18, 2008
I had forgotten about that too.
But that comes to only about $500,000 per allegation — chump change in today’s market. I’m not saying MLB hasn’t or won’t do this again — but in the case of Bonds? Nonsense.
Al Yellon - October 18, 2008
If the collusion allegations turn out to be true then the responsible parties should be held accountable.
You cannot right a wrong with a wrong. It is just disgusting to even think the people designated to enforce the rules are the ones that might have broken them.
cubsnlinux - October 17, 2008
I just use my common sense,
Who in their right mind would sign a player who has been accused of cheating (steroids) and is currently waiting trial which could land him in the clinker for quite some time?
cowsarecool220 - October 17, 2008
Eh, Cubs could've used his bat in the playoffs.
What?! Just sayin’…
daver - October 17, 2008
OT: What would the North Side of Chicago and all of Cubdom be saying now...
…if we had managed to choke a playoff game with a 7 – 0 advantage (and with 9 outs to go) like the Rays did? Especially with a critical error by our 3rd baseman who threw a ball into the stands…
Methinks there would be immediate comparisons to 1969, 1984, 2003, 2007, 2008, and I imagine, tooth-gnashing and unbearable angst displayed in the newspapers, talk shows, ESPN, and every other media outlet. Talk about the “Curse” would increase, and all sorts of pressure would be laid on the team.
I think that’s how it would go if we had lost a game like the Rays did last night….
Just thinkin’ aloud here….
zevkalman - October 17, 2008
and the dodgers blew their last game with 3 errors too....huh...
it’s almost like defense is important or something.
Oh well, I say we trade Lee for Dunn, and get Giles to play RF instead of Dome.
santoswoodenlegs - October 17, 2008
what's wrong with Dome in RF?
It was his redeeming factor this season. He played RF nearly flawlessly.
Emelie - October 18, 2008
I was being sarcastic.
santoswoodenlegs - October 18, 2008
ooooh
never mind
Emelie - October 18, 2008
It will only have impact on the Rays
if they blow the series. Even then, it’s just a few games. Their fans won’t care. It can be explained away (“too young!”) Repeat this pattern 20 times over 75 years, then you’ve got yourself a legend!
San Diego Smooth Jazz Man - October 17, 2008
Giles will invoke his no-trade.
He ain’t goin’ anywhere. He likes playing in his hometown. He’s winding down his career. He’s phoning it in. Surfing is just as important to him now. Forget him. Who needs another laid-back dude in a Cubs line-up which, apparently — is full of them?
San Diego Smooth Jazz Man - October 17, 2008
meh...I hate drama
this girl i’ve been going after I finally asked her to HC, and now my best friend seems like he is TRYING TO STEAL her! I hate so much friggin drama…
Chanman25 - October 17, 2008
hc = homecoming
Chanman25 - October 17, 2008
Are you suggesting collusion has taken place? Homecoming is overrated anyway.
santoswoodenlegs - October 17, 2008
haha meh...
it’s this girl I have been trying to go out with for awhile but now my best friend is trying to stop it, it makes me frustrated..
Chanman25 - October 17, 2008
He doesn't sound like a "best friend" to me....
santoswoodenlegs - October 17, 2008
haha well he WAS.....
Chanman25 - October 17, 2008
Get your Pooh on!
n/t
DrCrawdad - October 17, 2008
or out, as the case may be
Emelie - October 18, 2008
My cousin Ezequia is ready to play for the Cubs
She’ll probably end up giving Marla a run for her money, though
cubnational - October 18, 2008
By the way, Barry Bond's comeback was largely a
cubnational - October 18, 2008
Sveum will NOT be the manager of the Brewers next year
which isn’t that surprising to me, but sounds like it is to him:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3649762
Dan
dtpollitt - October 18, 2008
DAN!!!!!!!
Did you watch that game today? hee
sue369 - October 18, 2008
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