Hey fellas,

Just sending an invite to anyone that might want to join a head-to-head BCB League with a live draft on Sunday that I am trying to get filled up.

Currently in the league is Al, nathew, nathew's dad who's also on BCB (I  apologize, can't remember his username), and a couple other friends of mine who are huge Cub fans.

Also, this is a shoutout to Cubsluver.... I sent you an invitation to join the league for this season again about a month or so back. Check your email, you're welcome to come back.

I'm looking for two more SERIOUS and DEVOTED players who will be religious about checking their lineups and adjusting them to stay competitive throughout the '10 season.

The stats that are counted are as follows:

Roster Positions:

C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, Util, SP, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL

IMPORTANT: This is a league with a live draft this year (This Sunday, Mar 21 8:00pm CDT)

--If you are unable to do the live draft, you are able to pre-set your rankings and your players will be drafted for you instead.

If you wish to join, please post your email and I will send you an invitation to the league.

Made this a fanpost instead of a 'shot because I figured this thread could also give others an oppurtunity to shore up their own leagues with a couple more players.

Hey all,

TheRiot4Life's fanshot the other day on Jake Fox at new positions got me thinking....

I don't know about anyone else but I feel like after watching tonights game, maybe we need to think about starting Jake Fox at catcher in the Washington series after the break.

Yeah, he's had limited experience at the plate, but I don't know if this team should start out the 2nd half of the season with good ol' Koyie Hill. Sure, the guy's a great story but he's a below average offensive guy at-best, with above average defense--one of the main reasons he is on this roster.

There will be the argument "whatever we get from out catcher, especially Koyie, is an added bonus". Well the way this team has played offensively, we need all the help we can get. Geovany's injury hurts that much more because of the way his bat was starting to come around--driving the ball with authority, plus, his defense was improving also.

So the question is: Is it worth risking a little defensive prowess (Will there be THAT much of a noticeable difference?) at the catcher's position to get Jake's bat in the lineup? There doesn't seem to be any FA catcher available that would be of better help than what we have in Koyie or any minor leaguer we bring up. Plus, we sure as hell shouldn't be trading for one at this juncture. Another thing that might need to be taken in to consideration is that if Jake DOES begin to catch on a regular basis, would his offense begin to suffer?

What's your take? Eh?

Back in 2005, Bud Selig had introduced a new steroid policy that was thought to have been thee solution. Turns out, it still doesn't scare some players enough.

Some players seem more worried about having bad statistics and disappointing their franchise, fan base, and MLB. They don't seem to be worried about MLB's image, as a whole.

As a refresher, Bud Selig's current steroid policy (won't even get into amphetamines) that was ratified by owners and players in 2005 is as follows:

Steroid Penalties

• First positive test -- 50-game suspension, up from 10 days.

• Second positive test -- 100-game suspension, up from 30 days.

• Third positive test -- Lifetime ban, with player having right to apply for reinstatement after two years and an arbitrator being able to review reinstatement decision. Under the previous agreement, the earliest a player could be suspended for life was for a fifth positive test.

• In addition, a conviction for possession carries a 60-to-80 game penalty, while a second offense carries a 120-game to one-year penalty. A third offense nets the offender a lifetime ban. If a player is convicted for distribution, he will be suspended 80-to-100 games, while a second offense equals a lifetime ban.

Source: 2005 ESPN Article

In light of Alex Rodriguez's admission, even though he supposedly stopped in '03, do you feel as if this policy needs to be ammended?

I feel like this policy won't hold up. It's not scary enough. Players are still going to try to find ways around being caught. I can say with a good deal of confidence that there are still many players, in the minors and majors, that are still succeeding at beating the system.

There was some discussion in another thread as to what changes should be made to the current policy. Cubbie-Tim and a few others came up with ways to amend or change the it.

They are as follows:

(Almost) Zero-Tolerance Policy:

• Any player found to have taken steroids (Prior to the 2008 Season) will not be punished should their name arise through past tests, reports, etc. (Alex Rodriguez, 104 unnamed players, etc.)

• First Offense: Any player that tests positive after October 2008, will be suspended for 3-years and will be forced to relinquish the money to be made in the remaining year(s) of the contract

What about lifetime banishment, only after first offense?

• Second Offense: Lifetime banishment, name, stats, records, etc. expelled from Major League Baseball

• Also (from Cubbie-Tim): Any team with a player who fails a test cannot replace the player on the roster that season

What do you think? Sure, it might not be ideal and might have trouble being ratified by both the Players Union and Owners, but I feel like the current policy doesn't cut it.

Do you agree that the MLB needs to solidify their stance on PED's and construct a new policy?

If you were put in charge of coming up with a new steroid policy for Major League Baseball what would it be? Would you be harsher? More lenient?

-------

If you're sick of steroid talk, walk right on by. I thought this would be a good thing to discuss.

Go at it, if you wish.

ESPN (Video Inside)

A-Rod has admitted that the allegations made against him by SI are truthful.

Tidbits:

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day," Rodriguez told ESPN's Peter Gammons in an interview in Miami Beach, Fla. "Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time.

He's gained some respect back... but man, what a blow.

It's becoming more and more clear that steroids were a lot more prevalent than what everyone first thought.

"The more honest we can all be, the quicker we can get baseball [back] to where it needs to be," he said.

Here's an article I stumbled across on ESPN. Take a gander..... It probably doesn't mean squat, but still.

Couple snippets:

"I speak with Manny every three days and he tells me, 'Man, no one wants to sign me,'" Pujols said Thursday during a news conference. "I'm not an agent or general manager, but I can't understand how Manny has not signed."

Right, Albert. The money Manny wants now is nothing compared to what you'll want when you hit the open market.

Pujols passed along Ramirez's telephone number to St. Louis manager Tony La Russa.

"Maybe St. Louis doesn't have the money to sign him, but he could give them a discount because St. Louis is a great city that supports its players," Pujols said.

Manny give St. Louis a discount?

That's laughable.... or is it?

I was about to post this as a fanshot but I thought I would get everyone else's input on the subject. I'm kind of curious.

I figured maybe change it up and not talk about Brian Roberts, Jake Peavy, etc.

Let's say Manny does sign with St. Louis.... how does that affect the Cubs? Would St. Louis give us more trouble if they ended up landing him? And do you see Manny taking a "discount" to be Pujols's teammate and to play there?

Just wanted to get people's ideas of where they think Manny will sign since teams have shown that they don't believe in throwing him the money he thinks he deserves.

Alright, I know there's been some talk about this already but I've been thinking about this lately everytime I hop over to mlbtraderumors and see articles like this.

So the big question is: is it worth it?

Should we invest in a pitcher like this to solidify our pitching staff?

Do we have enough to entice the Padres?

Should we be confident that the back of our rotation will produce like last season?

A user on mlbtraderumors suggested that the Cubs trade Mike Fontenot, Jose Ceda, Felix Pie and Donnie Veal.

If the Padres would make this trade I would jump on it in a heartbeat if I were Hendry. Seems like a good deal for us...... which probably means that it isn't going to be enough.

It could take 1 or 2 more players/prospects which means we would possibly throw in Josh Vitters, Sean Marshall, Jeff Samardzija.

Would it be worth it to give up, say, 4 or 5 players

For a former Cy Young winner a couple years removed, I am leaning toward yes.

Thoughts?

There was an article on ESPN this morning I found pretty interesting.

Apparently Ichiro, one of the best players and most hard-working players on the team, isn't very well liked.

Sometime during the season (around June 19), a teammate for which they don't know, said that they wanted to "knock Ichiro out."

Some of the Mariner teammates reportedly think that Ichiro is cocky and only cares about his own stats.

I don't really know what to think of that Mariner locker room but you sure as hell don't act like a coward behind a sports writer.

On the other side, if Ichiro is as self-centered as he is reported as being it should be expected.

Our "boy", Jim Riggleman, had a great quote about the situation. "When the ship is sinking, the rats are the first ones off. They're the ones scavenging everything on the ship when it's going good, but when it's sinking they're the first ones off."

Whew! Talk about good team chemistry! I'm really glad the Cubs' clubhouse is the polar opposite of this.

Kind of reminds me of the anonymous Sammy Sosa boom box smasher.

Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!

Just saw the headline on ESPN.com [See Video]. Tempers flared tonight in a class A minor league game between the Peoria Cubs and the Cincinatti affiliate, Dayton Dragons.

During this event-filled half inning there were three hit batters, managers screaming in eachother's faces, players hurt, and a fan was injured.

Peoria Cubs pitcher Julio Castillo, in a completely uncalled for move, threw a baseball as hard as he could into Dayton's dugout. Too bad this kid has bad command because he airmailed Dayton's dugout and hit a fan who then had to be taken to the hospital

Being suspended or kicked out of the Cubs organization should be the least of Julio's worries because he faces criminal charges and most certainly a lawsuit.

This is just sad. What a way to represent your organizations, huh? So much for enjoying a nice summer evening of baseball.

on Monday in Arizona with the Cubs' rookie team. Tuesday he will then join Triple-A Iowa for their game in Tucson on Tuesday. If All goes well he will hopefully be a spark to this sputtering Cubs offense.

It's definitely better that he goes on this rehab assignment rather than jumping into a major league game. We all saw how it took Soriano a week or two to get back up to par after his last  DL stint.

source

I went to the game tonight, I picked a great night to bankrupt myself for tickets. (It was good to go to a game where the Cubs win... I'm always unlucky and go see a loss).

I noticed and some of you who go to games may have noticed that these t-shirts are back. The 'Horry Cow", "Fukudome You" with the middle finger, and some others were back and they were EVERYWHERE. Even the vendor bragged about having them, acting like he was getting away with murder. It pisses me off that people actually think that those shirts are funny. Having a little humor on a shirt is one thing but these are dispicable shirts and they really cross the line. I had thought they had been taken care of.

Does anyone know why they have resurfaced? Or were they ever 'banned' in the first place. I did notice that they were right across the street and not actually on the property surrounding the ballpark. Still, I think something needs to be done.