Bleed Cubbie Blue

uncalled for really

and comical as well

I wish I could rec this 100 times

Al's

“pompous, smug attitude doesn’t help matters any.”

Well he did come out of left field on that one,

but there are those stat obsessed people out there that only argue numbers on a sheet. Not a complete strawman, but a unnecessary jab anyway.

I'd like to meet one of those

As I believe they’re as rare a breed as a LH 3B and have such a minimal voice that it’s hardly EVER heard.

I'd hate to speak for Al, but

from what I’ve seen is some like to go to BR and cite examples of past performance and say thats the way it always will be. I have a big problem with projections.

TWSS

it took me a second to swydt

Ignore them

Use ZIPs, MARCEL, CHONE. Any other system. PECOTA isn’t the end all be all, not even in the world of stats.

+1

projections are guesses based on past, nothing says that the past will repeat itself in MLB

(dying laughing)

+1, rec'd

rec all day

I do not have any problem with those who want to live in the land of projections, I personally do not and will not. There are projections that are damn near spot on, and others are so horribly wrong it shows that it is a guessing game.

I bet you think all weathermen should be out of a job too

if you say so

I am not here to argue, I said my opinion and way. The same people who like to run with the projections, cannot explain why they are wrong often as well……Rich Hill was to battle for the Cy Young the same yaer he fell apart according to the projections.

of course they

can explain it. The explanation is that Rich Hill had major mechanical problems. He also apparently had major shoulder issues.

which shows that

projections are educated guesses, right? you are guessing that a player will do “x” and if “y” happens, then there is a reason to allow for the projection to be scrapped and we can move along pretending it doesnt exist? come on, you cannot have it both ways.

Yes they are EDUCATED guesses

What else are you going to use?

so

we are supposed to go “based on a ton of evidence I predict player A will produce in a range of X to Y, unless of course he dies, in that case all projections are flawed because we can’t have it both ways”

does that make sense

No one who points to projections is going to say they're right 100% of the time

What we do say, though is what’s MOST LIKELY to happen. Plus, it’s all we really have. The Cubs (and other clubs) have access to professional scouts who can tell them whether someone is having issues with mechanics or something. But both of them cannot exist in a vacuum

so it is an educated guess

based off the information you ahve access to, since there are factors which you cannot take into consideration.

i am not saying that they are useless, but that they are not perfected and accurate all the time.

and who is claiming that they are?

All we’re saying is that, based on all sorts of data, this is what is most likely to happen. Of course you’re going to be wrong sometimes, but most of the time you’re going to be right. No one is right 100% of the time

unless your name is HAL

oh wait…. watch the rest of the movie.

who the hell

is claiming they are 100 % accurate

show me!

Yeah...we need some statistics to back that claim up.

and projections

of how many comments here are accurate, how many are trolling, and how many are SWL photoshop

and when wrong

the defensive attack, such as you are showing here, is what happens when called out for it. when right its cuz its cuz the person making the projection is a god so to speak.

What are you even talking about?

The government healthcare bill i believe.

the political talk will stop NOW

(dying laughing)

Savor it!

what?

did you read what i replied to

I am saying, for those who didnt read, that those who want to use projections get defensive when they are wrong and it is pointed out, and people are doing that now….

What projection was pointed out as wrong in this thread?

Our fancy stats didn't predict Rich Hill's collapse, WF

Curses!

Back to the basement! (dying laughing)

actually

i think BP has a “collapse” percentage in their projections.

that is one example

and, in typical fashion, those who live and die by projections are defensive about it

the problem

is you are misunderstanding what projections are. And you are really missing the point as to what we think they mean.

no I do know what they are

but I understand that projections and realitty are not always the same.

great

you and everyone else with a brain…….

I think you are confusing defensiveness

for trying to explain what went wrong with the projection. The second one is an important thing to do because it helps you make improvements.

This projection was off because… isn’t necessarily defensive, it’s part of working to improve the system.

the defensive i am talking about

is the inability to accept that not everyone looks at projections and accepts them as what to expect. if that were the case they would feed the numbers into a computer and give you the champions.

they'd feed in the numbers and give you probabilitys of different champions

if anyone tells you a projection has to come true/be right they don’t understand stats. Like mentioned above they are well-educated guesses.

what exactly

have you proven them to be “wrong” about?

AUGH!!!

I am going to project that we will have projected stats of players that are wrong, and those who make projections will have a million reasons why they were wrong, without accepting that projectiosn are educated guesses, and continue to be defensive when it is mentioned as such.

wow

you are going to project that projections can be off?

by how much? how often? any outside reasons?

generalize much?

by that much

this often, and the reasons are “x” factors I cannot provide you, cuz i dont have access

i really think

use stat folk need to post a friendly (and i mean this) fanpost about stats and how to use them and what they mean

there is a TON of misunderstanding/misrepresentation on this blog about them

but....

how will the jihad happen though?

good point

people tend to dismiss that which they do not know. I’ve come a long way in this regard. There are some great data to either confirm your suspicions or change them.

I would read it

Honest.

so would i

If it wasn't gross to bring a laptop into a bathroom

so would I.

Print out the main body

Worry about the comments later

opinions...

opinions

Discussion?

just that they are like

a**ho***… everybody has one and everyone else’s stinks

well, I suppose he could print those comments out, then

Would be appropriate for the bathroom, I guess

No printer

Well, I have a printer/scanner, but I only use it for the scanner. I haven’t bought a new print cartridge in forever.

I meant at work

Can't

Goes to a central print station in my office.

I'll print it and mail it to you...

we could all print one comment

and he can try to put them back together, a BCB Puzzle

What projections are you seeing that give you 100% outcome?

Most say player X is going to get on base 30% of the time.

Or team Y is 74% likely to win.

The only person I see predict an outcome with certainty around here is BLou.

very true

if you are being truly objective you never claim certainty.

Probably? Mostly? Overwhelmingly Likely? Yes, but not certainty.

Well then

next time you argue a projection, then say this player based on past performance has a 50% chance of success.

+100

had to up the ante

Who has made that argument? Who?

No one. The argument has been made that—based on projections—certain things are the most likely to happen. The argument has been made that ignoring the most likely outcome is pretty silly.

But no one has said that projections are 100% accurate. Well, Al has said that people have said that. But no one really said that.

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2009/5/28/892114/as-fonzie-goes

I made a post on Sori hitting leadoff

and many posters, based on past experiences said that Sori could not hit anywhere else but leadoff.

thanks

np

nice to see you around

with better health

comes more posting lol

Uh,

sorry...

Looks like Drew was the only one who said he couldn’t hit anywhere else. Others said he probably shouldn’t, because he gets more chances leading off and he’s good at hitting baseballs, but looks like you had one poster there.

Well that's one, there are more out there.

It was my post that’s why I remembered it.

"many posters"

You said many. There was one.

DTChris was another

Are we down to monosyllabic grunts?

I accidentally posted without the body.

But, nice one. Your avatar of a woman from the neck to the naval shows you’d speak that language.

Don't mock my tribute to Bill Buckner. j/k :)

I just went thru 7 pages of comments

and I dont see what post you are talking about. Could you cite a specific one?

okay

Soriano has an OPS under .700 with runners in scoring position, he’s not a player to drive in runs.

I found his career stats from different places in the lineup, I will stick to First,

Third, and Fifth as that is where he has seen the most AB’s over his career, second and fourth are horrible and would only help to further my argument but their sample size is small so I will ignore them for this.

First: .291 .341 .548 .890 (3488 plate appearances)
Third: .258 .307 .449 .757 (696 pa)
Fifth: .268 .312 .513 .824 (626 pa)

He isn’t bad out of the 5th spot, but he is clearly better in the leadoff spot.

The team plays about .500 when he’s not in the game.
The team plays about .300 when he’s in the game batting anywhere but leadoff
The team plays about .600 when he’s in the leadoff spot.

There’s just a few.

So?

Those posts are just pointing out that Sori has done better in the leadoff spot. Thats a historical fact. Where are the people telling you

that Sori could not hit anywhere else but leadoff.

And projecting that

Sori would never be able to hit anywhere else but leadoff based on past stats.

Again

Where are those posts? You have these mystery posts and mystery posters, but what you have actually quoted has not backed up your claims yet. Which post said that he could not hit anywhere else but leadoff, and who were the many posters that said this?

Just saying he did better in leadoff historically, and that they would rather he just stayed there is no where near saying he can not hit anywhere else but leadoff.

okay

Basically he doesn’t produce anywhere but in the leadoff spot.

moving Sori down would make the team better.
The numbers directly contradict that.

It has to do with the fact that hitting leadoff helps Soriano PLAY BETTER.

There’s 3 for you, I’m not going to keep going through it for you, I know you want to defend all stat people, and I’m not condemning all. But some use past stats to base projections saying that things will not work in the future. I think that is wrong headed.

soriano was playing bad before he got moved down

and is not playing that well since he got moved down. logic tells me that his spot in lineup doesnt matter right now

But when he was doing well he was driving in many runs.

some stats are just noise

a better way than just looking at splits would be to see if there’s been any research done about the effect of lineup spot on performance, then if there has been and they found an effect, the splits could be meaningful.

Yeah

You’re absolutely right players don’t follow trends at all.

I'd really like to know who are these "obsessed" people with statistics on BCB.

Because I don’t think there are many people, and not any I can name off the top of my head on this particular site, that are closed to qualitative analyses.

I just don't understand

Why you feel the need to harp on this, Al? Ask any statistician, they’re not mentally retarded. Nobody things anamorphic numbers play the game of baseball. Give it a rest.

The only harping I see is coming from

the defensive sabermagician types.

Then you clearly didn't read what was written.

The only reason I’m being ‘defensive’ is because of inane baseless attacks such as these.

I guess if a one line dig

in a 1500 word post is harping….

Yes

It is. As it’s been pointed out by Wreckard as well, this isn’t the first time Al has made mention of this. It’s constantly with him. NUMEROUS amounts of folks have tried to point this out but he still keeps at it. THAT is harping.

Not to mention,

it’s an enormous stretch to slam statistical projections in a thought about players getting up/not getting up for a particular game.

I find it easier to ignore Al when he trolls on his own site than when BLou does.

Deviating from the point.

but yeah sure.

No i'm not....you guys are in essence saying Al is trolling...

and he sort of is…and I think it’s freakin’ hilarious.

Oh

My mistake, I thought you were saying “well if you don’t like it move on”. Fair enough. Sorry.

I find it quite funny myself.

sue369 - August 12, 2009 reply

So you're going to convince him to stop harping

by harping.

I love the internet.

You're right

He should be left to say as many dumb things as he wants without anyone arguing with him on a public forum.

No

If what he said was really that egregious, then call him out.

But, I don’t see it as that horrible.

It wasn't that egregious

But it was specious, and deserved to be labeled as such.

No one said it was horrible

Who used horrible?

Must've been horrible

for 6 different people to come out and say he was wrong.

Irritating yes

Horrible? I don’t think so.

i haven't seen

horrible anywhere

It’s annoying that he constantly baits posters who take the time to share info/thought at his own blog be w/e

I think everyone has forgotten

that this is Al’s site. He’s allowed to harp on whatever he wants. If you don’t like his viewpoint or are tired of reading things you disagree with you’re free to visit any of the other sites on SB Nation. I don’t get why people are taking offense at a harmless sarcastic comment from the site’s founder. That’s half the fun of sites like this. If you want to go somewhere where everyone agrees with you and wants to worship your every opinion, you’re welcome to, but the rest of us like the differences.

I think Al would be the first to say

that just because it’s his site doesn’t mean we have to agree with everything he says.

I like the debates, personally

I’d rather not go to a site just to find that everyone agrees with the owner. That’s what makes this place fun – seeing people who have different opinions try to back theirs up.

There's a difference between an honest difference of opinion...

… and pointless jabs. Since he has spoken out against them (jabs) so frequently in past days, it seems hypocritical to deliver more of the same, thereby signaling to the rest of us that such actions are okay.

Golden Rule, CubsGirl. Golden Rule.

What he's spoken out about

are personal attacks and swearing, neither of which are in this post.

All I’m saying, Flatley, is that it seems kind of childish to complain about Al’s opinion. I happen to agree with him on the statistics issue and it’s a common theme on most of the game threads and therefore obviously a hot topic on BCB. I can’t speak for Al, but I’m pretty sure that was a joke. Why doesn’t anyone have a sense of humor anymore?

I think you have forgotten

We are not Al’s minions. We can express out opinions. If Al has a problem with that, he has the ability to ban people. So meanwhile, we can express our opinions. I think its kind of childish to complain about our opinions.

My God

not this holy war again…

the jihad

has started

No religion, please.

may you forever be Touched by His Noodly Appendage

Teeheehee!

It’s chilly!

Can we PLEASE stop bringing up Michael Jackson.

shudder

And we're

arguing in circles. I’ve NEVER said that people CAN’T post anything. I was stating my point and am now being attacked for it. Seems hypocritical, no?

See how the circle just goes around and around and around.

passive agressive

tactis.

You post a inflammatory line of "this is Al’s site if you dont like what he says hit the road!

Somebody argues back at this and you throw up your hands and take it as a personal attack.

lame

I'm being attacked!

I’m being attacked! AHHHHH!!!

OK.

You’re entitled to your opinion.

Better?

Well, you DID take your stance.

And, just as Al’s comment in the pregame thread did, what you said is generating plenty of replies. You gotta reap what you sow, or take a step back and concede the point. Nothing wrong with either point, but you really can’t complain about people addressing your statement.

Oh no! I am being attacked for attacking!

Now you're just being ridiculous

Thanks.

this is America!

if you dont like it you can giiiiiiittttttttt out!

THEY TOOK OUR JERB!

LOL...

Could see that redneck on south park so clearly when you said that.

Sure he has the right

but as such because it’s public he also has the right to get ridiculed for something so…..I can’t even describe it.

what about sites outside of SB Nation?

am i free to visit those as well?

Only if you finish your broccoli.

So, wait.

You like different opinions, but we shouldn’t present any that are in contrast to Al’s?

Gotcha.

Yeah, that's EXACTLY what I said.

Sure. OK. Did I accidentally turn on my English-German translator and post that in a different language or something?

...

If you don’t like his viewpoint or are tired of reading things you disagree with you’re free to visit any of the other sites on SB Nation.

If you want to go somewhere where everyone agrees with you and wants to worship your every opinion, you’re welcome to, but the rest of us like the differences.

/facepalm

And show me

where I said that no one is ALLOWED to post differences?

/facepalm

that’s a new one to me.

Is that Sori’s “you can’t see me?”

Nah thats an old one

ahhhh

thanks Allie. That is pretty funny stuff.

Done be dense.

If you disagree with her, you should go away.

If she disagrees with you, then she has the right to do so.

Don't be a jerk.

Yes, agree with her, jerk!

I am not a jerk.

Most people who know me think Im too nice to people. If I have misrepresented what you said, correct me and I will apologize. If I have not and you dont like the way you sound when you are summarized, then stop talking this way.

There's a difference between summary

and exaggerate. Or am I being too opinionated?

lol

rec’d!

I just want the record to show

That I had NOTHING to do with this one

sure you did

carry-over from the last hang-over

It's time to get damn-over it

It stopped being interesting

it's hard when

emotions got riled up pretty good and then there was always another 6-8 new posts on it to keep the flame going strong.

It was a great source of amusement.

but your klingon breeding

has gotten us all riled up

TWSS?

nah....

twhs

twts?

winnar

WE WANT SOME CAKE!

Of course you did

its “blame worf” day. aka: wednesday.

its all your fault

you didnt stop it, so you are guilty by association

Well, trying to stop a bunch of thin-skinned hotheads

from reacting to every perceived, imagined or harmless slight is like trying to stop a compass from pointing north.

Or a woman from crying.

It's like trying to put out a tire fire.

Just sit back, grab a beer, and watch it burn.

like trying to steer a train

With your teeth?

not steering a unicycle?

Sexist!

so you have to step on it

and break it?

its teh intarwebz

just block the tubes and pull the plug

that wil make her cry more I think

Nor did I . . .

Sure...

EVERYBODY loves Badger…

it's not love

it’s the fact that they are a ferocious little mammal

Not even Allie?

Dang.

is she a badger?

Boiler

Gross.

Maybe its that train whistle, or maybe it was the Purdue pre-med that stole my girlfriend in schoo, but i REALLY dislike the Boilermakers.

That bastard!

I’m not a big Joe Tiller fan, either. Went to a game in 1997, I think, and he ran up the score, having a FG kicked at the end.

I actually have a special place in my heart for the Badgers...

… not only because your football coach has a hawkeye tat on his leg, but also because after a Wisconsin game my freshman year i found an ID that look exactly like me just laying on the ground outside the stadium. That ID was a trusty fake for like 2 years… great times, me and John Ellis from Rock County, WI had.

Be nice

Or I won’t do the lead-in to your show anymore.

I want to watch Pedro

because he’s Pedro. I have no interest in seeing the Phillies abuse Jeff Samardzija.

I really want to have faith we can win this game

but knowing Samardzjia isn’t very good and 3 best arms in the ‘pen are probably not available isn’t helping my confidence.

But, at least the games on WGN and I’ll be able to see it.

Well Guzman & Gregg won't be available

Who is # 3 ?

Marmol

God willing won’t be available.

Um you said 3 BEST arms

So I was not counting Marmol unless the goal is to hit some more Phillies and walk the rest. Grabow should be OK if
needed.

Marmol's still got a good arm

its just the rest of his delivery that isn’t very good.

Actually, I meant to hit 2. Not three.

I suck at teh typing.

good arm

bad aim?

yeah, kinda like the anti-maddux, anti-moyer, anti-glavine

all bad arm good aim

hell maybe Shark will catch lightning in a bottle and pitch lights out

I can always dream right?

if the discussion above can agree to anything

it’s that past performance doesn’t always equal future performance (though I’m pretty well convinced it’s quite useful for projecting the future in many cases).

Go cubs..

let’s win today. It’s still not too late.

DisCUBbobulated - August 12, 2009 reply

I suspect Marshall was not used last night

to be in reserve today.

Between Shark starting for the Cubs

and Carpenter starting for the Cards I am not exactly optimistic about tonight’s outcomes.

let me be the first to say that i dont have a good feeling about todays game

Beat you by 60 seconds

first in my mind

you realize you are taking Blou's job away from him

i do not

If we only had Hubbs - August 12, 2009 reply

fool ya

This is when The Cubs will fool all of us with an unexpected win. Pedro is not the pitcher he was. We may just lay a lickin’ on him tonight. C’mon Cubs !!!

the 09 cubs are known for making the aaron heilmans of the world look like roy halladay

We need moar soft tossing lefthanded junkball pitchers...

those kind always seem to shut us down.

Yea for WGN!!!

double yay...

i thought the game would only be on espn, hooray for not having to listen to espn announcers bring up curses. Can I get an amen anybody?

Amen, because my curse on Joe Morgan isn't working.

hooray

even though i enjoy espn broadcasts, i think they’re interesting… but i’m blacked out. so yay for wgn.

-1

WGN not in HD on DirecTV. Yea CSN

Employee22 - August 12, 2009 reply

directv doesn't offer wgn in hd?

that doesn’t sound right. That’s lame if they don’t. What area are you in? You don’t get chicago locals?

Portland, Oregon

Employee22 - August 12, 2009 reply

that blows...

i just looked it up and directv really doesn’t offer wgn in hd while Dish network does. For directv claiming to have the best hd and sports available, I’m a bit surprised. Well I hope you enjoy the game on espn or CSN. Go Cubbies!

Sullivan twitter has the lineup

Cubs vs Pedro: T-Ro Ss, Milt RF, D-Lee 1B, Fox 3B, Fu CF, Sori LF, Bake 2B, Koy-E C, Smardz P.

T-Ro?

God. I hope that name doesn’t catch on. Worst. Nickname. Ever.

its bad

I think he’s just figuring out twitter, at least I hope

Its that supposed to be Theroit?

Really?

As far as I can tell, yeah

as I said.

Worst. Nickname. Ever.

I was searching my brain

for some minor leaguer we had called up to play short.

Theriot IS short...he doesn't play it.

make it green

hmm Baker and not Fonty?

a 4 hit game deserves another start

okay, I'll buy that

since I have been harping on Lou to play the hot hand anyway. :)

and because Fontenot

… has been a major disappointment.

elgato - August 12, 2009 reply

It seems

he has not played as well as his projections. Unfortunately we have too many of those this year.

tharr - August 12, 2009 reply

Please use DOME instead of FU

I read that and thought , they are starting Fuld for the 3rd day in a row and batting him 5th ? Is Lou out of his mind.

Does this mean BB will be "Stoned"

after all, a good part of why people wanted Stone gone was for being blunt and honest..

Does that mean Stone has gotten better?

He’s only one of those things now.

that brings up another question

is BB as petty as stoney?

::opens photobucket and CS2::

NO!

Please don’t do it.

please dont

but Brenley wins on the hair.

I don't know...Stone may have him beat on the physic....

ok I will need to have lazik now

thanks

petty. not pretty.

both petty and pretty are valid questions

I will not click

you cannot make me.

you know you want to

listen to your conscience

nope

i’m all out of eye bleach… i will not inflict more damage on my poor poor retina.

it's just a picture

of someone with mullety goodness. if you can call a mullet good.

The last time someone mentioned Stone

SWL scarred me for life with a picture.

I will not do it again.

at least

he put it behind a link this time

Yep

I just wanted him to know I’m onto him. :evil laugh:

LOL

but there was no stoney in this pic

just a person with mullety goodness… I have followed the link.

nah

if i wanna see a mullet, i’ll go outside and stare at the creepy neighbor.

you might be suprised...

this could be your neighbor.

It does look like the redneck on southpark

“they took our jerbbbb”

well it is the perfect

pic for a “you might be a redneck if….”

True Allie....but you know you want to click it. The pretty blue letters call out to you from your screen.

The mouseover script teasing you with thoughts of what might be. That simple, deadly blue line appearing like a siren calling you to come….come….join us in our dance around this wicked fire.

You just know her finger is twitching on that mouse

That sounds like an entry on Urban Dictionary.com

I don't know.

I think this team and this manager are a little more prepared to be held accountable than when Stone was ousted. I think Theriot’s quote demonstrates that.

While I don’t think I’ve seen him fess up to his own managerial gaffes, Lou tends to admit when the team screws up.

And the player you may think most likely to take offense (Bradley) also seems to hold himself accountable for mistakes in the game.

If we only had Hubbs - August 12, 2009 reply

Stoney

Which people ? Don’t you mean Dusty ?

amongst others that season

players and fans

Rather than use Theriot's quote to defend baseball as a human activity...

… how about someone calling Theriot out on making excuses? It’s not like the Cubs only don’t run things out on getaway days. Or, if you’re buying that one, then I guess we just have to change Theriot’s moniker to
“Does all the little things right (except on getaway days and on other days when he’s being human).”

I hope Theriot’s act with the media gets old before he gets too expensive.

DGU - August 12, 2009 reply

was thinking something similar

californiachicagoan - August 12, 2009 via mobile reply

but, but, but he's the grindy guy who doesn't get paid much

and jokes with the media. He couldn’t ever say something wrong.

Imagine if Soriano or Bradley said that.

exactly!

I can picture this place now if Milton had said “the season is a grind and sometimes I’m too tired to hustle”

Al would have a very different front page take on THAT

Al wouldn't have to give his own take

He could probably link to one of the many writers who would jump on him first.

Thats what I was trying to post

Before my phone crapped out on me. If Alf said something similar he would have been ripped repeatedly for it for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, not only will Ryan get criticized a whole lot less, some of those same people who rip Alf will defend Ryan. Im not saying its Al, but some people.

Unfortunately, for some, that is human nature too. Hopefully a nature we are all learning to over come.

He's almost being praised in this writeup.

Well, I agree with Al.

It is human nature. And none of the critics “bring it” to their job 100% every single day either. But then I would also agree if Alf said it.

The human nature part is true

I just know that some people (and not necessarily Al) would start a riot if Soriano or Bradley gave that exact quote.

I'm reminded of the episode of The Office...

… where dwight commits to working 100% for a day. Pretty soon he is peeing in an empty two liter bottle that held coke before, but he had to chuck for the caffeine. He starts feeling bad when he takes a second to sneeze.

Honestly, who here has EVER gone in to work and gave a 100% “this is as hard as i can possibly try, i’m working as if my life actually depends on it” effort?

santoswoodenlegs - August 13, 2009 reply

Eric Hanna?

I understand baseball players are human beings

But I find it hard to believe that all 25 guys on the roster can lack intensity on the same day. That’s when you need someone on the team to lead by example. Lay down a sweet bunt, steal a base, stretch a single into a double – that sort of thing. The only cure for the lulls/blahs is HUSTLE!!

DKT - August 12, 2009 reply

In the same way that one person can pick up a team...

…can’t it also be true that several people without energy can drag down the rest? Besides, they all did the same thing the day before. Why wouldn’t they all suffer similar levels of fatigue?

I absolutely agree

But that’s why it’s so important for guys to focus on picking eachother up – especially mentally – during the dog days. One bad game can turn into two or three. Kinda like this week…

DKT - August 12, 2009 reply

Yes, it sounded like more excuses from a team that can't seem to make up enough.

I doubt anyone plays with 100% concentration and effort 100% of the time, but it is disappointing that the “team” or Theriot couldn’t give better effort in those games.

DudeVf11 - August 12, 2009 reply

I have to ask

Why do I turn on David Kaplan’s stupid tv show every night knowing I’m just going to hear stupid things?

and the first guy who talks

Phil Rogers and suggests Marmol becomes the next closer. His reason? Mitch Williams was wild in 1989. I need to turn it off, but I can’t.

Open thread for any sort of non-bickering topic here:

DisCUBbobulated - August 12, 2009 reply

I love Chipolte burrito bowls.

chipotle?

The regular Chicken Burrito with the roasted corn salsa is a winner.

The Taco Bell on Highway 12 and I-43

Is the most polite fast-food place on earth.

HWY 50, not 12

Are they all stoned?

Because that’s how all the Taco Bells are around here.

Not that I've noticed

I love chipolte burritos

Why dispense with the tortilla? Obviously you are biased against tortillas

WE WILL NEVER AGREE ZOMG

first they got rid of the foil wrapper...and I didn't say anything....

then they did away with the tortilla…and I didn’t say anythiing…

that is excellent.

rec’d

It's a well-hidden fact that there's more food in the bowl than the wrap.

Get with the program.

I actually don't eat at Chipotle that much

I do like their burritos though. I’m surprised to hear that, considering how frakking huge the burritos are

Freebird is better

I'm keeping my mouth shut.

TWSS

I swear if Lou doesn't put Dome at leadoff tonight...

I’m gonna quit watching the cubs. Okay empty threat but I still think Dome should be at leadoff tonight.

T-Ro is leading off.

t-ro? t-ro price?

Terrell owens joined the cubs

That would be T-Ow

TO has many shapes and names

is the lineup already?

look up in the thread.

scroll up

its already posted. by nji.

I don't like it

Dome’s been getting on base a lot and Sori has been leaving a lot of them on. It doesn’t feel like the right combo. At least put him in front of Jake Fox.

I think Dome should be leading off as well...

Theriot seems lost lately and Lou is definitely liking Bradley in the two hole…switching dome with theriot seems a good solution to me.

I think we would be missing slugging in the middle of the order

Dome has not only been getting on base a lot, but has been slugging well too, .600 since the All-Star break!!! With Aramis out, I can understand wanting Dome in the middle of the order.

i hope two days rest didn't make him rusty

Boy, this thread has a lot of clicks already.

Every click counts!

its clickalicious

Robert )' DROP TABLE STUDENTS - August 12, 2009 reply

Thereby driving up ad revenue

Sort of an unfortunate side effect of the jihad

Get Ad Block Pro.

Sorry Al, i know that isn’t in your interest. But its a must have firefox addon.

Sure does...scrolling up i don't see the lineup and it's making me dizzy lol

Copy from nji's post

Sullivan twitter has the lineup

Cubs vs Pedro: T-Ro Ss, Milt RF, D-Lee 1B, Fox 3B, Fu CF, Sori LF, Bake 2B, Koy-E C, Smardz P.

flagged for plagiarism

i gave credit to him...it's just a pain in the butt to find

Need quote blocks to not be committing a crime

Thanks az

Twittermyer agrees with Sullivan:

Cubs’ answer to Pedro: riot, milt, lee, fox, fuku, sori, baker, hill, big irish.

Back to the lineup thing...

Doesn’t “Riot” and “T-Ro” have the same number of characters?

maybe sullivans trying to impress some new friends

he has friends?

really?!!???!!

It's a weird name for sure...riot sure sounds less douchy...is that a word?

didn't think of that

This has become a bigger problem now.

but the hyphen is inconvenient

No, I'm saying use "Riot"

Since that’s what he’s known as.

Okay, I thought you were advocating.

he only does

with a bat’leth

true

and T-Ro is harder to type…you have to hold the shift key 2 more times. Plus T-Ro makes me think of a T-bone steak.

yep

i’m not a fan of the whole “first letter of first name, first few letters of last name” nicknaming… but this is a bizarre crapastic twist.

Crapastic?

workin’ hard with the lexicon there…hmm sounds interesting…did you mean craptastic?

yes

that would be the word i meant.

my keyboard doesn’t like me today. at all.

Crappy keys there. sticktastic.

my keyboard fell off the desk earlier

and still hasn’t quite recovered.

Imagine if you had clicked what could have happened...both together.

OK, I want to get back to the Brenley thing

Seriously, we can’t be the franchise that runs off two straight color guys, right? I mean, I was a fan of Stone, but I get that he wasn’t for all.

But seriously, what the hell would that look like to the rest of the league if the Cubs players manage to bounce out TWO color commentators for being… meanies?

Who was it complaining...i forget...

wasn’t it Moises? Where is he now?

thought it was

kent mercker

I think Mercker was the evil genius in that one

Although he had PLENTY of support from bigger fish.

Merker, Alou, were two

but IIRC there were some others including players wives complaining

ahh...the wives were complaining...

that’s when you know there’s trouble a brewin.

You'd think they would be more concerned about slump busters

There were active complainers

and then there were the folks who could have put an end to it, but didn’t. Baker and Hendry for sure, but I think Wood could have done more there too.

That’s done.

It just can’t happen again.

Wait til he gets on Bradleys case some more.

“Who’s that pounding on the door”

I'd sure be pissed...Brenly is a joy to listen to

Plus, who else would say “he just got saved from being smashed into a million pieces by Hill”

sounds like lack of institutional control to me

If you don’t want to be criticized, play hard. Or go away.

Brenly was on the score the other day

and said repeatedly and clearly that no one from the front office or either network has said anything to him about his bluntness about the team.

That's good to hear.

The way the Cubs have played lately he’d be lying to ignore it.

Can't wait till the new ownership comes in...

We need to get this organization in shape from the top down.

I forgot to add...

has the sale been completed yet? Sam Zell blows.

Boy, even in this economy Zell needs a side job.

No.

dtc0405 - August 12, 2009 reply

It will be a relief for it to finally be over.

But I actually worry. I mean things have been going pretty darn well lately. But who knows what kind of organization the new guys will run. Could be awesome, could be horrible, could be anywhere inbetween.

i think it'd be stagnant at first

not much would get done, just because I would wait until my big contracts were gone before giving out new ones. I like Henry, but he put us in a bind for like the next 10 years.

I agree 100%

Brenly

speaks as a fan and his frustration boils over. He follows this team religiously and his son is now a member of the organization. He is frustrated that this “World Series” contender is 3 games back and played some really lousy baseball.

He pointed out something that needed to be said and theriot came up lame. I would hope this blows over. Players need to focus on the field, not the booth.

And regardless of what Theriot says, there is no execuse for him not running hard while the ball was in play and he was advancing a base. Pathetic.

+1

We’ve already got a big homer broadcasting with Santo, as much as I still like him. I enjoy a lot hearing Brenly saying what many Cub fans are thinking, whether its about our team or the opposition. I’d hate to see that be muzzled at all, much less getting rid of him.

This post

makes me feel like I’m stuck inside those Dr. Stat cartoons

who made such a thing?

the devil rays

Joe Posnanski has a great take on it here http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2008/07/06/dr-stat-attacks/

dr. stat

thanks for the link to joep’s take… twas funny

Chris Dobbertean - August 12, 2009 reply

These are nice, in a really cheesy sort of way

Thanks for the link.

What the hell is with all the malarkey?!

and those damn

teenagers are standing on my lawn again!

cubs are losing

trolls are trolling
flames are flaming
stats are up
it’s anarchy

You kids cut out that racket! Don't make me go upstairs....stop doing that ...stuff!

kids with their

damn internet!

the last hour before the game takes the longest

all the major complaints have been aired… and now we’re all waiting.

And waiting.

Yep.

Wasn’t hard to avoid that stats nonsense for me. It’s not much fun to disect losing and poor defense or baserunning to me…I’m hoping the Cubs continue the fielding they had last night.

Just wait until the cubs actually start playing, all hell will break loose.

cars will be flipped over

shops raided

it'll be anarchy

end of days

ron santo standing in the middle of chaos saying

“oh boy…” over and over.

only ted lilly can save us now…

yeah

all the more reason not to do game threads, honestly.

I've been busy lately, haven't been here for awhile.

I can just imagine with the bad play how contentious it was.

I like the game threads

and I’d like them a bit more if the ban hammer were used more to rid threads of idocy.

but the ban hammer

should only be used against the anvil of common sense

Like Blou. And used as often as necessary.

Rinse and repeat.

But whatever is being discussed above

and I highly encourage not scrolling up for that, makes no sense to me. It honestly seems like the people arguing all have the same stance, and don’t realize it. I know there’s plenty of arguing, but that is some of the most confusing stuff up above.

“I LIKE GRILLED CHEESE!!!”
“BAH! WHATEVER! GRILLED CHEESE IS THE BEST SANDWICH, NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY!”

Any site gets bogged down once the posters can't let something go...and agree to disagree.

nah

they argue over which bread goes with which cheese.

tuna melts are better

crouches...waiting to see if my evil trap works!

cheesy fish?

Not as cheesy as that mullet posted before.

do you have an e-mail?

coz my co workers call something a tuna melt…. and it’s very nsfmb

Whole wheat, all the way

What about the cheese though? I’d go for a blend of cheddar, mozzarella, and colby jack.

rec'd

waiting to wait

I'm waiting for Guffman.

wait for godot

it’ll be less painful

How long before the new sign for...

…the “Don’t take the bait” campaign is unveiled tonight?

I'm willing to bet we don't see him

Really? Why do you say that?

cause

the cubs will win in a laugher

i can't buy into that

everytime we’ve faced a pitcher I’m convinced we should hammer we end up getting shut out.

And to win a laugher you have to have solid pitching. And I’m not sold on Samardjiza at all, especially not going thru a lineup multiple times.

but see

that’s why we will…. people are losing faith, and hence the fates will smile once

i really hope you're right

There ya go...don't let a loss make you skeptical...

If Lou can keep Marmol out tonight we have a good chance to me.

If that'd been the first loss like that

I’d shake off the skepticism… but it wasn’t.

10 hits. 7 walks… and 3 runs.

I'm hoping for this, but if they should end up losing...

there’s always a nice bottle of wine and plenty of other things to do.

don't go all

BLou on us now…

Huh?

remember...

he has better things to do than grace us with his presence

But I'm talking about turning off the tv

instead of frustrating myself watching a losing effort.

but see...

you stated about other things to do….. and he has that in spades.

Same here

Leverage is on tonight.

That’ll definitely be an option if this game goes south.

quitter.

Know when to fold 'em.

Besides. Leverage is pretty awesome.

it already is south

for me at least

Is that any good?

Commercials make it look cheesy. I may give that a go if Netflix ever has it on watch instantly.

What I really need to bust into is The Wire because a lot of people have compared that to The Shield, which was my favorite TV show ever.

I enjoy Leverage

I think its a lot of fun with a cool cast.

The first season was pretty good...

Not quite as good as the Closer but fun to watch.

A lot of people have hyped that one too

Closer is really good too

Closer, Psych, Burn Notice, Leverage are all must see.

Dark Blue’s been alright. I like The Philanthropist a lot so far too.

Thats about it for TV.

I watched Royal Pains for a while

It was ok, but the brother is annoying as hell

yeah he is

and the class warfare stuff is annoying.

and the "girlfriend" is an idiot. I want her to die in a helicopter crash.

yeah

but some of the mcguyer mediciny stuff is interesting.

somewhat...but CHARACTERS drive shows...

not gimmicks.

She's hot, though

She shouldn't be allowed to speak more than 5 lines in an episode.

Sounds like most of the girlfriends on Entourage.

Like all women!

I’m kidding ladies!

It's not bad

A little far-fetched, but it’s TV.

Burn Notice is probably my favorite right now.

I LOVE burn notice

What happened to the poster that had Bruce Campbell as his avatar?

I can’t remember who that was . . . .

you um watch michael with your mouth open?

Psych is pretty good, too.

Monk isn’t as good as it used to be.

Was glad to see the season start again.

I only wish they’d make the seasons longer with Psych.

Me, too.

Haven’t watched the first one yet; on DVR

watched it on dvr yesterday

was really funny.

had a great dig at “the mentalist” which made me laugh.

They did one last year, too

Showed the one from last week in the promos

Hate Burn Notice

I can’t stand to look at the guys face…. (really, that’s all I’m judging the entire show on)

Well, Fiona is easy on the eyes

My favorites in order

Psych
Life (damnit)
Burn Notice
Mork & Mindy

I love the writing on Psych

Fast paced and obscure 80’s references.

Plus, the names of the football team from last season were all former UW athletes. There’s an alumn on the writing team.

Wow didn't know that...

Probably had a lot of Barry’s old players there.

Yeah, they had to give names at different positions

Because of some weird NCAA rule.

But there was Fletcher, Dayne, Bevell, Bollinger and Calderwood (basketballer sneaks in)

Dayne sure tore it up for them

Steriods

He did. Not so much in the NFL

BTW – went to a game at your university in 2007. Was very impressed at how un-assholelike the fans were. Not always the case for a visitor at a college game!

Sean was explaining something to Gus once

about a case involving something to do with Cincinnati. He was brainstorming by writing stuff on a grease board. The drew a little stick figure next to the name from Cincinnati and Gus asked him what it was. Sean looked at him like he was an idiot and said…’Are you kidding? That Austin Kearns!"

I remember that - it was great

Also liked it when the Paula Abdul-like character referred to Lassiter as Mr. Bean.

I need to watch more of this show

instead of catching it here and there

I recommend it

Psych is hysterical

Just wish seasons were longer.

They were a total hoot at Comic Con.

My Faves

X-Files
Smallville
Lost
Mythbusters

When does Mythbusters' new season start?

not sure. new ones ended in June/July...

mine

Cubs baseball
Cubs baseball
Cubs baseball
Cubs baseball
Cubs baseball
Cubs baseball
Cubs baseball
Mythbusters
Blackhawks Hockey
Blackhawks Hockey
Blackhawks Hockey
Blackhawks Hockey
Blackhawks Hockey
Blackhawks Hockey
Blackhawks Hockey
Blackhawks Hockey
Supreme Court of Comedy (its on the 1010 on DTV)

Life? Is that still on?

At least you can still catch Mork and Mindy Nick at Nite.

Can’t think of a list, but I will never ever miss an episode of Rescue Me, Lost, or House. There’s others, but I’m failing to remember at the moment.

I really enjoyed the first

season and a half of LOST.

but then the whole down the hatch thing happened…. and then I saw a shark fin go under the story arc.

Ooooooohhhhhhhh

You’ve missed out on so much. Like, you were rewarded BIG TIME if you suffered through the second season. This last season was amazing.

This is what happens when a network lets writers just make shit up week after week

instead of actually forming a logical plot and adding “twists”. It’s like watching a TV show written by 5th graders.

They've always said they had a point a to point b storyline

and after the last two seasons, I believe them. Everything that happened back then makes sense, and they did a tremendous job of making up for when cast members get fired for their screw ups.

Never watched it, but

Alias seemed to have a point for the first 2 or 3 seasons. Then they flipped out . . .

(both JJ Abrahms)

The first season and half of season two it was the same thing

They had a clear outline for where they wanted to go, and then ABC told them to make it less serial because it made it hard to join in and watch. That’s why they took out Sloan so soon in season 2. They JJ went off to produce Lost and some other projects, and the people left in charge drove the show into the ground. The twist where Syd wakes up 2 years later in an alley was totally dumb, and it took them an entire season to recover from that blunder. The last season was good though, but there were too many missteps along the way.

The obsession with Rambaldi . . .

They mixed genres

Did you ever see the payoff to the Rambaldi Device?

The series finale?

Yes, if that’s what you mean.

Yeah, that's what I meant.

It was good - except

I was very disappointed with the charachter of Syd’s mom at the end. A letdown, IMO.

It's a JJ Abrams pattern.

Starts out Great… then goes into Wacky land around season 3. Examples:

Alias
Felicity
Lost (although he did bring it back)

enterprise?

I don't think that was his

But it would qualify on the other grounds

really?

thought it was

I could be wrong

I thought that was Rick Berman. The new movie was his.

No.

JJ only produces those shows

He created them, directed and wrote a few, and that’s it. Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindeloff are the showrunners on Lost, and it was someone else on Alias. Too often JJ gets a bad rap for stuff like this, but, like, he’s the producer, and he’s producing a lot of stuff. Lindeloff and Cuse have done a great job on Lost though.

Well the idea may have sounded good...

but it hasn’t done anything for me…I just want all of them to die now.

How could I forget House!

cause your drunk

Damn. What did I drink?

I want to like House

but the drug stuff just turns me off.

It's modeled after Sherlock Holmes

Who was addicted to cocaine

Didn't know that.

But I can’t get into it.

But damn.. I forgot NCIS on my list of “gotta see” tv.

I really do love that show.

The whole character pretty much is, I guess

Never read the books, but I’ve read interviews with the show’s creators

While we're onto completely random topics

Allie, did you ever end up ordering a new laptop?

No

Although I’ve got it mostly narrowed down to what I want, I’ve decided to wait until 7 is released so that I don’t have to get used to Vista and then change again.

The season finale from last season was awesome

All of the stuff with Kutner and House’s addiction is going to be hard to top.

They played Amber well, too

Funny thing – I used to work for a “cutthroat bitch” that looks a LOT like her

house is great

Oh man, Burn Notice is so good

Yeah, they're doing a good job of keeping it fresh

With him continuing to be burned

I like how they've dropped some of the

crap with his mom.

Before when she was a weak whiny hypochondriac it wasn’t believable as his mom… now sh’e s a bit more badass. You can sorta “buy” it.

A little more Cagney?

(I agree)

Damn!

Beat me to it…she was always so good at being tough on that show, I was very glad they signed her on the cast.

Definitive list:

Breaking Bad
Dexter
LOST
Mad Men
Big Love
Eastbound & Down
Rescue Me (has its moments)
Californication

Rescue Me is really suffering from a longer season this year

I love it and all, but man, it’s really, really goofy this year.

Like an elderly man with the Spice Channel.

Just a feeling.

Was he around last night? I wasn’t here.

Oh yeah.

I'm sure it was wonderful

For someone who has a lot to do away from here, and doesn’t have to post on here, I sure wish I had the time he has to waste on here.

He made things worse as usual.

And that’s all I’m going to say about him. Posting more just feeds the idiot that is him.

I probably won't be around

but I sincerely hope people don’t feed into that stuff tonight.

They will

Blou knows how to push people’s buttons. And everyone falls for it everytime.

Its almost funny at this point, to me.

Really...

What happened to a discussion of what we think will happen in tonight’s game. I mean it’s prettty obvious that there are those who disagree about the importance of stats but how about a discussion of a first career start pitcher vs a future hall of fame pitcher.

cubbiefanTN - August 12, 2009 via mobile reply

come on man....we're all already depressed enough as it is.

Good point

After losing 5 of 6 and falling out of first place, this matchup couldn’t come at a worse time. Hopefully Pedro is VERY rusty.

cubbiefanTN - August 12, 2009 via mobile reply

Future hall of famer to be sure...

But definitely on the decline and prone to injury. It will be very interesting to see if he has “it” out of the gate..and whether he will maintain it. It’s worth a shot for the Phillies, but I sure wouldn’t have confidence in him. Question is…who do you trust less? the lately toothless Shark or the fading Pedro?

Just like with any pitcher they haven't seen in a while

it will probably take the Cubs one trip around the batting order before they get a feel for Pedro’s stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t do much in the first three innings, but I hope they jump all over him…

DKT - August 12, 2009 reply

I think there is going to be a game on tonight

and while that game is on, I’m going to grill the chicken I’ve been marinating for the last 24 hours. I’m going to grill up some veggies as well. Then I’m going to eat my delicious meal and have a bottle of wine because I don’t work tomorrow. If they’re winning, I’ll fall asleep watching them play, and if they lose, I’ll fall asleep playing NCAA. That’s my contribution for what will happen with tonight’s game.

I hope you brought enough for everyone young man...

So based on stats and past performances,

we have zero chance of winning. sarcasm

Miles isn't in the starting lineup...

that should be at least a +2 percent chance of winning right there.

okay, I stand corrected, but he is in the dugout and probably will pinch hit sometime.

Yeah, but Heilman brings a -3 to Charisma

but lou is managing the bullpen usage

so how does that factor in?

+5 charm

-11 logic

But what is his THACO?

gawd

that is sooooooo ’90’s there is no THAC0

Well, in that case,

I’m just going to tap 9 mana and cast Tooth and Nail…

Wait…

just point and click

the grafix are so kewl

I think we're walking into a disaster.

Pedro’s first game back and The Shark, who hasn’t proven much of anything, besides the fact that we shouldn’t have given him a NTC.

Replying once

But thanks to all. Those were amusing posts across the board.

New topic since I can choose…

Watch ESPN HD or regular WGN?

cubbiefanTN - August 12, 2009 via mobile reply

Tough call

If they play like crap, BB will be must hear TV… but if you have a hi-def TV, it’s hard to give that up

My fear is that tonight will be Pedro's "Dravecky Game"

Remember Dave Dravecky? He came back from cancer to pitch a complete game shutout (or something like that)

Then two or three starts later, his arm literally almost snapped off on the mound. He ended up losing the arm.

I’m afraid we’re the heartwarming story before the tragedy.

If Spellcheck gets hit harder than Old Man River, well I forgot what I was going to say....

…but it’s not good.

DudeVf11 - August 12, 2009 reply

I'd at least predict he gets hit by the sixth inning, he clearly doesn't have the stuff at all he used to.

Cunning and guile can only get you so far, especially when you’ve been injured like him.

Dig up Charley Root and have him pitch the game

Ace Venom - August 12, 2009 reply

yay!

I just got my invite for google voice and I made myself a new phone number with the word cubby in it. Just another reason why Google is awesome. That can only mean good luck for the Cubbies tonight.

cool...

If we win tonight I’ll gladly give that the credit

hmm...gonna take a break from this...optimism, i've had enough cloudy predictions, thanks

I don't feel so good...

Answer: Yes
Question: Is it possible to eat too many Runts?

And on that note, let's play Jeopardy...

Gave me a good laugh turning on WGN…getting close to game time baby!

Jeopardy

Answer: Cause he has naked pictures of Jim Hendry
Question:

who is

heilman

who are

the aarons?

Haha, nice!

kanderber - August 12, 2009 reply

Man, I REALLY like Pedro Martinez...

kanderber - August 12, 2009 reply

Well, think of it this way:

It can’t get any worse than last night, right?

it can always get worse

quit being optimistic….

we need more angst.

okay

food and game time.

later everyone! :-)

Enjoy.

Go Cubs

and the countdown begins

nine more