Bleed Cubbie Blue

I was just using Houston as an example.

Detroit would be one, but he can DH there. Cleveland doesn’t strike me as a team that bunts much, either, so maybe there.

Bill Potter - June 16, 2009 reply

As I noted elsewhere...

… the Tigers have one LH starter, Dontrelle Willis. I think we can probably beat him anyway, if he’s still even on the team next week. Hoffpauir will likely DH vs. any RHP.

I'd agree with that assessment.

Bill Potter - June 16, 2009 reply

Ah, the eternal question.

Let me go rake some fine, white sand in my garden and I will return with the answer. In about 80 years.

GateCity, VA Cubs Fan - June 16, 2009 reply

YES!!!

Glad to have Fox on the team.

At least we are getting rid of these excess pitchers

jkobus - June 16, 2009 reply

This will accomplish very little...

if Lou leaves him on the bench for the next 2 weeks and he gets 7 PH appearances.

+1

chilango2 - June 16, 2009 reply

You're SO wrong...

The Cubs players are going to school him in the ways of how to properly hit a baseball… (or is it the other way around?)

IowaCubs- - June 16, 2009 reply

The only thing the cubs of the last few weeks are in a good position to teach Fox...

… is hitting the Gatorade cooler.

AndrewJStone - June 16, 2009 reply

And, that it's not important to know how many outs there are.

Fox should get a few more looks next week in the AL parks.

Blue W - June 16, 2009 reply

Watch out White Sox!

We might score more than 3 runs sometime in this series.

salparadise23 - June 16, 2009 reply

Didn't we all think Fox

would be back but didn’t know it would be this soon.

mrcubsfan - June 16, 2009 reply

I figured it'd be soon

But I didn’t think it’d Waddell who went down.

I figured they’d find an injury on Miles or something.

+1

chilango2 - June 16, 2009 reply

They weren't going to go with no backup middle infielder...

if Miles got DLed, they’d have Blanco starting at 2B and no backup middle infielder. As bad as Miles has been, he really can’t be taken off the roster unless another middle infielder replaces him.

I wonder what the "non-baseball related medical issue" could be.

Hmmm

Maybe he ate too much candy on his off day.

VicVega - June 16, 2009 reply

Chances a dumpster was involved?

Mike Vails Evil Twin - June 16, 2009 reply

Well

Or even worse, a Dempster?

VicVega - June 16, 2009 reply

PR mumbo-jumbo for "Jim/Lou have no use for him."

chilango2 - June 16, 2009 reply

A non-baseball related medical issue makes sense

After all, it’s not like he’s been playing any baseball lately.

I'll do my best BLou impression...

Any Cubs fan with an ounce of brains knows why Waddell was placed on the DL for non baseball related medical issues. He went out and partied too much on the off day! Too much Jose Cuervo, that’s the problem! If he’d just get his head in the game, and concentrate on baseball, he could be that shut down guy we need. Oh, I also noticed he lost a little weight, must be off the ’roids…

Waddell

totally on the juice. box.

Oooh, so close

Damn you

Needs more steroids accusations

Speaking of

For those interested, Sosa apparently is on that list of 104 who tested positive in 2003.

ESPN says.

Dun dun DUN!

Adam Dunn too?!!!!!

tony412 - June 16, 2009 reply

hurt himself at

santo’s golf outing?

tim815 - June 16, 2009 reply

You cross Ted Lilly, you pay the price.

"During my backswing?!?"

“Better duck, Jason.”

Clutch16 - June 16, 2009 reply

Severe acute lack of talent in pressure situations?

Seems to be common along middle relievers in Chicago… must be something in the water.

lswaidz - June 16, 2009 reply

Case of that going around the roster, for sure.

SALOTIPS it is!

AndrewJStone - June 16, 2009 reply

Chlamydia

Flatley - June 16, 2009 reply

Could be anxiety?

Hilary Lee - June 16, 2009 reply

anxiety from chlamydia?

I’d be upset too!

I'm gonna take a wild guess

and say over the last 3 years, we lead the league in fake injuries.

if only Waddell were RH

i could play the “he’s RH” in this organization since the end of 2008 being RH is a non-baseball related medical issue

DartmouthCubsFan - June 16, 2009 reply

It's pretty lame...

Has it been 10 days since Fox was sent down? Or, did they have to make up an injury just to call him up? And, if he’s back up here so quickly, taking a pitcher’s spot… why did they send him down anyway?

Our roster is seriously screwed up with Patton… and Miles too for that matter.

who's the LOOGY?

I think Jake Fox is a nice guy, but I think people are putting WAY to much faith in him.

I have the question twisted.

Yes, you are right.

TWHMS

(thats what he mumbled sleepily?)

The opposite of Milton Bradley.

Bradley's got

a track record.

We don't need him on our track team.

We need him to…
oh, I see what you mean.

Blue W - June 16, 2009 reply

Why do we even need the token lefty anyway?

EEOC

equal employment opportunity cubbies?

Is that why we have Aaron Miles? Because we have to have a quota of short MIs?

Hilary Lee - June 16, 2009 reply

Hell, they've got that market cornered

that would be bill clinton... ;-)

I have a feeling the Cubs are going to bring up J.R. Mathes soon.

He’s been pitching fairly well for Iowa this season.

IowaCubs- - June 16, 2009 reply

Well, we don't really have one.

But I assume Marshall is the lefty in the pen.

I think you are correct...

Marshall will be the guy to get tough LH batters. Otherwise, Piniella will go with his RHP and use Marshall as a long reliever.

and hope

we don’t need to use Marshall as a long reliever AFTER we get the tough LH batter out. o.0

Yup...

Just gotta hope we stop playing 13-inning games.

Instead

I’d rather worry about how our LH hitters are going to start producing at the plate rather than worry about which LHP is set to face the opponent’s LH hitters.

krummy12 - June 16, 2009 reply

As opposed to Waddell?

It’s not like Waddell has been a great LOOGY or anything. I’d say the track record on Fox is more reliable than the track record on Waddell.

In reality, it’s a minor move. We got rid of a guy who wasn’t being used and replaced him with a guy who isn’t going to be used as more than a pinch hitter, occasional spot starter in the corner OF, and DH option.

Starting lineup tonight

Soriano
Fukudome
Bradley
Lee
Fox
Johnson
Fonteno
Theriot
Zambrano

I have not been pushing for Fox to play 3rd but it is time to do something so we can score more than 3 runs. We will never know what Fox can do until he is in there.

Is that the real lineup?

Or just what you want?

What we want is an option?

Do you really love lamp

are you just saying you love lamp?

I hope Fox does well...........

but temper your expectations

After all, he's no Micah Hoffpauir

I don't think Fox is the answer

but as I learned in school the right answer isn’t always available so pick the best of the rest!

So true.........

Thank God!

Not. Gonna. Happen.

Just my suggestion

This is the first Sox Cubs series at Wrigley I have missed in 5 years

Those who are going have fun for me.

I find it funny...

That everyone hated on Micah Hoffpauir and hardly anyone is skeptical about Fox.

cubswynn - June 16, 2009 reply

Curious isn't it?

Hoffpauir never hit .420 with 17 HR & 50 RBIs before June 1st either!

Itchy - June 16, 2009 reply

Maybe on XBOX?

Or any other Cub for that matter..........

so I’m not sure those small sample size stats mean much

I agree...

there should be more skepticism about Fox’s ability to hit MLB pitching.

Well,

the fact that Fox has a) had a cup of coffee before and b) is about 4 years younger than Hoff makes me less skeptical about his hitting.

Hoff is ST darling everyone fell for b/c he’s got that “pretty LH swing”.

Hoffpauir had as much MLB time coming into this season...

as Fox has now.

I agree that Fox is more likely to be a legit hitter than Hoffpauir (given the age difference). But there definitely should be a lot more skepticism in my opinion.

Not auite accurate....Hoff has 78 games at ML level and Fox has 15

quite

I said coming into the season...

I was comparing the discussion about Hoffpauir coming into the season (33 games and 80 PA) versus Fox now (15 games and 29 PA). It’s still more time for Hoffpauir, but not as drastically different.

And the fact that I haven't had Hoff shoved down my throat as

the “greatest PH ever!” helps.

I like Jake. I’d like him even better if his defense wasn’t “a notch below horrific”.

I don’t hate Hoff. I cheer when he gets a hit. But having people force him on me for the last year or so has become a sore spot. Can’t help it.

This entire comment is full of TWSS.

LOL

I guess it is.

I’m not doing game threads tonight, so I had to get them all out now.

Fox is only 2 yrs younger and has languished in the minors 3 yrs longer.........

What a deadbeat!

All the more time to learn to play third base.

Oh wait…he doesn’t play third base.

That's not accurate...

Hoffpauir was signed in 2002 and didn’t make the big leagues until 2008 (his seventh pro season). Fox was signed in 2003 and this is only his seventh pro season. He made it to the big leagues for a brief stint in his fifth pro season.

Couldn’t we have figured out some sort of injury for Soriano like a strained eye muscle or something like that. It think that Cubfan Wavwland has Bradley as the catcher tonight

Rainman9856 - June 16, 2009 reply

Good catch

Soriano
Johnson
Bradley
Lee
Soto
Fox
Fontenot
Theriot
Zambrano

Boss walked up the first time and I forgot to double check.

Look out! Here he comes!

well

you guys have fun. I’ll be joining the gamethread late.

So there's an opportunity to build up my comment count with some PBP, eh?

Mwahahahahahaha

Good to have Jake back.

Did anyone else see Steve Stone on CTL last night. He was crying about the Sux not being able to use Thome at Wrigley these next few days. He didn’t think it was fair to the Sux. He said he hopes MLB will make it a rule that all interleague games have to use the AL rules. I hope they keep it just like it is now.

Steve Stone can suck it...

Sammy Sosa, too.

IowaCubs- - June 16, 2009 reply

That's a short-sighted argument by Stone...

that would give a HUGE advantage to the AL teams. AL teams are constructed to have 9 quality bats in their lineup. NL teams can’t afford the luxury of paying a 9th guy to be purely a hitter (unless he can play a bunch of positions).

The corrolary is not really a big problem. The AL teams just have an extra, (generally) overpaid pinch hitter.

The advantage of the DH for the AL has really shown up in the WS, where NL DHs have been atrocious over the past several years.

The better argument would be to consolidate the rule...

Either have the NL adopt the DH or have the AL drop the DH. Having the two leagues play by different rules is silly and should have been remedied a long time ago.

I don't think it's silly.

I hope they never consolidate the rule.

I think it's very silly to have a sport with two separate sets of rules...

And that’s why you create problems like the one Stone is discussing. You’re putting one team at a disadvantage at all times by having leagues with different rules. Baseball is the only sport that doesn’t apply a single set of rules uniformly. It doesn’t make any sense, and is unfair.

How about a sport with 30 different size playing fields?

I like the that the outfield dimensions are arbitrary.

Remember when the Tigers pulled in their fences to placate Juan Gonzalez? Fubarred their pitching staff, but hey, he’s Juan.

N Oakley - June 16, 2009 reply

That's also silly...

but at least they’re playing by the same basic rules on those different size fields.

For what it’s worth, I think soccer has a similar issue with variable field sizes.

We can agree

to disagree then.

Why do you not think it's silly?

I’m fine with agreeing to disagree, but I’d at least like to hear the rationale.

I don't want the NL

to use a DH. I’m sure there are AL fans who do want to use a DH. How do they decide which way to go? For me it’s just easier to leave it the way it is.

So you okay with the rules being specifically unfair to one team at all times?

If so, then I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.

I think people would get over a change (either way) pretty quickly. And at least then the rules of the game would be equivalent and fair to both teams.

What do you see as fair?

Which league should have to change?

Either would be more fair than what is currently in place...

I don’t actually care which way they go. But the rules as they currently stand are more unfair than switching to uniformity.

The DH isn’t going to go away in the AL because of the player’s union. So the only way it could work would be to add the DH to the NL. I’m pretty sure people would get over it quickly. And then NL teams won’t be disadvantaged in the World Series anymore.

NL teams would adapt their rosters pretty quickly, nabbing up a DH in the offseason.

I would not like that.

I guess that’s where we disagree. It happens. :D

I realize you wouldn't like it...

Clearly you don’t mind the current unfairness. I do.

I think people have romanticized the argument around the DH. I think people would wind up enjoying the extra offense more than they would miss the intricacies of the double switch.

But I guess we’ll agree to disagree.

Don't need one, the Cubs already have two.

N Oakley - June 16, 2009 reply

The way I see it... the NL teams have just as much as an advantage

You put the DH in the NL, and you’re removing all the strategy away from the game. Those strategic moves in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings are very advantageous for a good game manager. You can’t just go through your bullpen at will… you have to manage a line-up, double-switch, and think several outs ahead of time to get batters in the correct spot.

An American League manager has no decisions to make outside of pitching changes. He’s on cruise control.

As I said, the current rules are unfair each way...

When the DH is in play, the advantage goes to the AL (in a big way) because they have an extra legit hitter on their roster. When the DH is not in play, the advantage goes to the NL (though I’d argue the advantage is smaller) because they are more used to the strategy of the switches.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think NL managers are that much superior to AL managers in terms of strategy. I definitely don’t think it offsets the advantage AL teams have in terms of being able to carry an extra MLB-quality hitter (even an elite hitter) on the roster. Remember – most of those AL coaches have spent time in the NL. So there shouldn’t be THAT big an advantage in strategy.

what do you mean by "at all times"?

if there is any unfairness here, seems like it’d only be unfair during the interleague and WS games. I’m not denying the criticalness of WS games, but numbers-wise, it represents only a small percentage of the total games played.

If you’re concerned with the unfairness of it all, seems like the inconsistency of the playing field size ought to be a bigger issue for you. That impacts ALL the games played. And closer to home, the Cubs inordinate number of day games. That seems unfair.

Spot on...

A team can build their roster to suit their ball park.

And visiting teams may be at a big disadvantage, due to the size of the outfield… and for other measures, the thickness of the infield grass.

At all times during interleague games...

I agree that the inordinate number of day games is unfair for the Cubs. And I agree that the differences in stadium design are an issue.

There are two distinct differences between the stadium size is that there are not really particular rule advantages in play and (2) it’s a LOT easier to add the DH rule than to redesign all the stadiums to uniformity.

But I agree – those rules are unfair too. They’re just more difficult to change (at least the stadium one is).

The DH is stupid

But you’re right. Having two systems of rules really isn’t right.

If MLB leadership had a marketing brain cell among them...

…during interleague games, they’d use the DH in NL parks and make the pitchers hit in AL parks. Let fans get a taste of what they’re missing.

No, I just didn’t come up with that. It’s been suggested many times before and usually well-embraced every time I’ve seen it referenced in the media. Which is probably why Bud will never act on it…

yes, that would be interesting

And if Stone was still getting paid to work for the Cubs

He’d be on the other side of that argument.

I'm just glad he's not.

I agree with that...

I’m disappointed in Stone. I was hoping he’d be as abrasive to Harrelson as he is in general and not be a blatant homer for the team he’s working for. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Whatever

The evil National League is out to get the world.

nji232 - June 16, 2009 reply

Not sure why the AL teams needs an edge by using their DH

in NL parks since they have “won” the interleague series overall for the last few years.

cowsarecool220 - June 16, 2009 reply

exactly

nji232 - June 16, 2009 reply

Steve Stone is a smug know-it-all...

I learned much of the game by watching him and Harry and listening to the commentary. However I wouldn’t put any stock into anything he has to say. He’s bitter and spiteful, and nowadays really full of crap.