Wood's having surgery

Finally.

Hopefully this will finally cure whatever the hell is wrong with his 12 million dollar arm. This surgery should have been done weeks ago.

Unreal

Let's get one thing straight: The Chicago Cubs are NOT going to the playoffs this year.

It's not happening, and Cubs management needs to realize that. Therefore, the rest of this season should be devoted to preparation for next year's team.

One would think that would mean giving a lot of playing time to the younger guys, though we've clearly seen Dusty would rather sit on one of his $6 toothpicks than letting a rookie get significant playing time.

Look at the contradicting comments of Jim Hendry and Dusty Baker...

(from the Chicago Tribune)

"I think [Murton] held his own admirably coming up from Double A," Hendry said. "So it's not like we're going to have 12 guys without big-league experience up here by Sept. 1. … I think if Cedeno and Murton are playing, that's a positive, and I think our fan base would appreciate that."

Now look at what Dusty said...

"We owe it to ourselves and to our fans to put the best team on the field and try to win," Baker said.

That suggests kids like Cedeno and Murton won't play on a regular basis.

"It's too early for me," Baker said. "I haven't been in this position in years. You still owe your best to the team and to the fans and to everybody, for now. Eventually you're going to have to start thinking about that, but right now we plan to end up the best we can. We owe it to ourselves, to the paying customers and out of respect for the game."

IDIOT!! What kind of manager is this??

"We owe it to ourselves..." No Dusty, you had a talented team and you failed with it, just like you did last season.

"...to the paying customers..." So basically you're compromising the future success of the team so that the fans get what they want. I think there's a good number of Cubs fans who want to see what the future Cubs are going to look like, because we all know what the current Cubs look like, and it's not good. Don't let the fans dictate your managerial decisions. Moron.

"...and out of respect for the game." You want to respect the game? Take these fundamentally-challenged players off the field and play some rookies who will play their heart out because they'll be fighting for playing time in 2006. How are you respecting the game by keeping aging, failing players on the field? You'd be better off respecting the game by looking ahead to next season and trying to ensure that the 2006 Cubs don't fail the way the 2005 Cubs have.

I pray that the Dodgers fire Jim Tracy, view Dusty as a good replacement, and get his ass into LA and out of Chicago ASAP.

My first call for Dusty to be fired was on May 5th when we fell two games under .500, in the midst of being swept by the Brewers.

Yet he's still here, continuing to foster failure.

If I had my way for 2006...

Nomar would not be re-signed. He can't stay on the field. I like Nomar and he's obviously a very popular player, but you cant keep depending on a player like that, especially when you're counting on big offensive numbers. Ronny Cedeno should be your 2006 SS.

Wood would have been shut down a long time ago. This ridiculous 'as long as we're in the playoff hunt we want him in the bullpen'. We're not in the playoff hunt. It's not happening this year. Shut him down, and he better damn well be in the rotation in 2006. Or he better be traded.

Patterson would be traded and Felix Pie would be our starting CF next year.

Burnitz would never again wear a Cubs uniform. I like his attitude, I like everything about him as a person, but God Almighty get him out of Cubbie blue.

Matt Murton would not be my starting left fielder. I might catch some crap for this. But in another world, Murton would be an ideal 2B because thats the type of hitter he is. He hits singles, he takes walks, he's everything you'd like to have in a 2 hitter. However, LF, RF, 1B, and 3B are supposed to be the positions that you get the most production from. LF and RF this year have been abysmal. Matt Murton is not the answer in LF. I wish he was the answer at 2B, but this guy may be nothing more than attractive trade bait.

Ryan Dempster would remain as your closer.

Approximately $30-40 million would be spent on bullpen help, and acquiring a LF, RF, and 2B. It's too bad we didnt sign Luis Castillo after the 2003 season. His .304 avg and .394 OBP would look real nice at the top of our lineup.

We would not spend $70 million on Johnny Damon.

We would acquire better athletes. Better athletes than Walker, Nomar, Burnitz, Murton, and Hollandsworthless.

Oh yeah, and Dusty Baker would be managing an Arby's.

"Dude, I don't know nothin' about no Beef-n-Cheddar. That's society, man. I don't know nothin' about no Jamocha shake, dude. I'm Hard Bake."

Can I say a couple things?

Like the fact that I hate Ronnie Woo-Woo and I think it's ridiculous that people gush over this toothless moron because he's the closest thing the Cubs have to a mascot (other than Ron Santo). "Cubs Woo! Cubs Woo! Wrigley Woo! Field Woo!"

Or the fact that I have very little Ron Santo love. I've become increasingly sick of Santo over the past few years thanks to the shameless Hall of Fame campaigning he's done as if there could be nothing more important in life. I really wouldnt mind one bit if he just went away forever.

And Harry...well I grew up listening to Harry do the games so he'll always have a special place in my heart. But he's been dead for 7 1/2 years...can we move on?

I'm also becoming increasingly sick of the Wrigleyville assclowns who toss back 8 beers before the game, then head into the bleachers gate and start retarded chants like "Ed-monds-Sucks!" while they hook up an Old Style I.V. to their veins, and then follow the game with a trip to another bar to pound another 22 beers and call it a day. I have no problem with beer. I like it a lot. I'd just prefer to surround myself with more people with baseball knowledge.

Just felt the need to say those things...

The Cincinnati Reds just swept us.


The Cincinnati Reds just swept us.


The Cincinnati Reds just swept us.


The Cincinnati Reds just swept us.

Silver lining?

I cant stand seeing this team lose, but I cant help but feel like the end result of this season could mean we'd be Dusty Baker-less in 2006.

And that, would be a very very good thing.

I cant stand underachieving,

I cant stand seeing the Cards and Astros on top of us.

I cant stand Dusty.

I cant stand not scoring runs with a man on 3rd and less than 2 outs.

I cant stand inconsistent pitching.

I cant stand low OBPs.

I cant stand first pitching swinging.

I cant stand major league baseball players failing to play fundamental baseball in the midst of a playoff hunt.

Hope

Please tell me this could come true.

(From Chicagosports.com)

Something big happens on Friday for the Cubs.

With Kerry Wood and Nomar Garciaparra rejoining the team at New York's Shea Stadium, they are positioned either to begin their kick to the playoffs or stagger toward the end of the Dusty Baker Era in Wrigleyville.

There's no doubt which is more likely.

Tied for fifth in the wild-card playoff race after Mark Prior got pounded Thursday in Philadelphia, the Cubs fell 5½ games behind Houston, which has a much better pitching staff. While general manager Jim Hendry's stated goal was to push his team toward October, he might have known what he was doing when he added only Matt Lawton at the trade deadline. He showed restraint in not sacrificing big parts of his future to improve a team entering its fifth month of mediocrity.

Consider the Cubs' record by month: 12-11 in April, 14-13 in May, 14-13 in June and 13-15 in July. The Cubs haven't been more than four games above .500 in a month since that 19-8 September in 2003. And they're suddenly going to hit the afterburners, just because they're adding Wood and Garciaparra, the latter of whom could have used more than eight games in his minor-league rehab?

It's not likely, is it?

That leaves us with Baker. He no longer needs to tell us his name is Dusty, not savior.

The Cubs aren't likely to fire Baker, not with a year left on the manager's contract—and not when Wood, Prior and Garciaparra have been sidelined for a combined 328 days over the last two seasons. Baker has many good reasons why his team isn't winning. But with the Cubs floundering under him, his 2006 status will be a hot-button issue until Hendry and his Tribune Co. bosses either extend him (which is unlikely) or let him take a deal elsewhere.

No matter how strongly Baker denied the Los Angeles Times' story that said he is eyeing a shot at the Dodgers' job, currently Jim Tracy's, you can't help but wonder. The same kind of whispers began in 2002 when he was angry with San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan.

In fact, I wrote that September that at least two of his close friends were telling associates he was headed to the Cubs. Baker and Hendry denied it, and where did he wind up after the Giants let the World Series slip away from them?

If the Dodgers or another team, say Oakland or Arizona (now operated by Baker's former agent, Jeff Moorad), asked the Cubs if they could talk to Baker in October or November, I bet they would let them, provided they were going to hire him. The only risk to the Cubs is if Baker interviewed with someone and didn't get the job, returning to Chicago as a lame duck.

While injuries and an unreliable bullpen have sunk the Cubs the last two years, you could see management deciding that maybe somebody else could get this team over the top. It's a decent time to consider replacing a strong manager, as there are at least three good candidates within the organization or nearby. In no particular order they are:

Grady Little, who got the Boston Red Sox to Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series and currently is a roving catching instructor in the Cubs' organization.

Bob Brenly, who won a World Series with Arizona in 2001 and is spending this season doing great work as a color man on Cubs telecasts.

Joe Girardi, the Northwestern graduate and seven-year Cub who is serving as a bench coach/understudy to Yankees manager Joe Torre.

In Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Zambrano, Greg Maddux, Ryan Dempster and possibly Garciaparra (whose immediate future will be decided by his play down the stretch), there are playoff cornerstones in place. The key for 2006 lies in getting contributions from enough guys like Matt Murton, Rich Hill, Ricky Nolasco, Roberto Novoa, Ronny Cedeno and Corey Patterson or Felix Pie.

It's fair to say these aren't the kind of guys who have thrived under Baker.

Bakers critics fault him for his inflexibility in playing young position players (with Todd Hollandsworth Exhibit A); the failure of his two hitting coaches, Gene Clines and Gary Matthews, to tap into Patterson's talent; for the continuing injuries to Wood and Prior, whom he pushed extremely hard in 2003; and too many fundamental breakdowns, with Wednesday night's 4-3 loss to the Phillies providing a three-hour, two-minute indictment.

A coaching shuffle doesn't seem likely, given Baker's loyalty to so many of his coaches. That leaves the responsibility with Baker, who wouldn't want it any other way.

But remember this: A Baker team hasn't finished below .500 since 1996 and his teams have compiled a .554 winning percentage since '97. To put that into context, that means Baker's teams have won 90 games a year for nine seasons.

And this is a guy not good enough for the Cubs?

Thanks to the increased expectations that came with Baker and his predecessor, Don Baylor, this isn't the same Cubs organization as in Sammy Sosa's heyday. It certainly is not the same group of Cubs fans. The bar has been raised, and no one wants to live with mediocrity, including Baker.

Unless things turn around in a hurry, it's easy to see why he would want to take his chances elsewhere, especially if means a return to the West Coast.

I'm trying to tell myself that we still have a chance.

But this team has been horrendous this week.

Playoff teams dont lose 3 of 4 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Playoff teams dont waste run-scoring opportunities.

Playoff teams dont literally throw games away.

This team pisses me off to no end.

But look at the bright side, we get to look forward to another year of Dusty the Clown.

Mariotti and I: Two peas in a pod?

In Mariotti's article today, he continues ripping Dusty. In fact, he wrote some of the EXACT same thoughts in the article as I did in my 7.29 post, asking if Joe Torre or Terry Francona would respond to boos the way Dusty does.

He also defends himself against allegations that he's anti-Dusty because of Dusty's race. It's a little ridiculous.

Dusty leaving?

One can only hope.

Read an ESPN article about it here.

Lawton? Really?

This is our big move?

Back when we got Gerut I said that he might be spun for a bigger name, but I dont think Matt Lawton qualifies.

Lawton's a decent player, with a respectable OBP and more leadoff skills than anyone currently on our roster.

But I dont see why we couldnt make this deal in the offseason. I know we were held up by not being able to dump Sosa right away, but Lawton should have been a Cub going into Opening Day. Perhaps we were stupid to think Hollandsworth and Dubois would be a good fit for LF.

We didnt get bullpen help, we didnt get a big bat for LF. We got a 33 year old decent lead-off hitter with an average glove.

Sorry Mr. Hendry, I think you could have done a little better.