Hope nobody minds my opening this topic. No doubt there will be numerous occasions during the season when I will need a forum to vent my spleen on the ineptitude of Piniella, Soriano, Jones, etc. and it is probably sensible to keep it all together. Besides that, there is a general undercurrent of interest in the Cubs from many quarters and it'll be interesting to keep all the discussion together. Far less messy! Will be back with my views on the upcoming season once I finish a few file notes and legal aid forms...
Well, they were just sold today and will be sold again at the end of the season. That will be an interesting series of events to watch.
I think we all knew this was imminent, given the splurge on contracts by the present owners, looking to up the value of the franchise.
Today's other news is that Carlos Zambrano has agreed to continue contract negotiations past Opening Day, having previously indicated he'd not talk after the season started. It seems both sides are nearing a contract that will pay Z $80m over 5 years, topping Pedro's last Red Sox contract as the biggest given to a pitcher not eligible for free agency.
One of my good friends is a cubs fan, i get back from class and his away message was Auto Response from "Matt Liebl" (2:24:09 PM): CHICAGO CUBS! THIS IS OUR YEAR! *BELIEVE* then, the dunn home run TheNotoriousVMD (2:25:18 PM): oh god "Matt Liebl" (2:25:35 PM): omg... "Matt Liebl" (2:25:36 PM): we suck again TheNotoriousVMD (2:25:30 PM): that was a rocket TheNotoriousVMD (2:26:09 PM): if it makes u feel better, the yankees are winning Auto Response from "Matt Liebl" (2:26:22 PM): ...looks like another long year...
Zambrano and Harang gave up the same number of hits, sadly the ones Zambrano gave up were to Adam Dunn and he was on the mark today. :sad:
Z is really going to piss me off with this 5 BB thing he has going. The guy has been doint it for a while now. Theres no reason for it, and it could lead to things like injury, loss of effectivness, and so on.
He's been walking guys his whole career. Unfortunately despite giving up more walks than any other staff in the history of baseball last year, Piniella decided to retain our pitching coach... :/
Yea, our front office is just retarded dude. I like Pinella, but I can't believe Rotschild is still a pitching coach in the MLB. Z has been walking guys his whole career, but he's been pushing 5 per 9 for over a year now, and I don't like it. He's been overworked his whole career, has had back problems, "arm twinges," and doesn't keep himself in shape. Honestly, I think the guy is a ticking timebomb as a pitcher. If we're out of it, I'd love to see him moved to one of the LA teams for a young elite arm (Billingsley/Santana), a blue chip prospect (Laroche/Wood), and a good position prospect/player (Betemit/???).
