Ooofff.   Pie and Theriot are not getting it done in June. Well that's not entirely true now is it. Theriot did lay down that bunt to win game 2 vs. the Sox and Pie did score the run in game three. Pie did walk and Theroit was playing great defense at third.

Both men have been cold at the plate though 0-14 for Theriot and Pie is 6-43. Yikes!

But it seems that it isn't such a big deal for some reason. Last year the Cubs faithful would have been screaming for them to be sent down to AAA and bringing up anyone that's hitting (Cedano?). It seems that the current management is showing patience.

My pick to click in the up-coming series vs. Colorado is both Pie and Theriot. They will prove to management that they belong and they worked out their problems. They will reward Lou P. for sticking with them. I personally like both players, they both bring a nice energy to the field and are fun to watch, along with Fontenot.

BTW Al do you recall my posting saying the Cubs will be playing the suddenly cold Rockies? Looks like the Cubs might be catching these guy's at the right time. If they take the approach that got them through the Sox series. Like you said "good things WILL happen".
   

Looking back over the last 4 years I cannot think of one time when the Cubs had a steady line-up. In 2003 they had a somewhat steady line-up but the following year it was never consistent. As a result you get what we've all witnessed the past 3-4 years which is inconsistency out of the offense.

In 2007 it seems to me Piniella is moving to many parts and tinkering to much to see if any one of his moves has worked. It's similar to trying to solve a algebra problem with 2 or 3 unknowns. You cannot solve them all at once.

I don't understand the thinking of Baker and now Piniella that every bench player needs to play. He needs to stick with a steady line-up for 2 weeks and see what happens. I can care less about ego's and playing time. If he just sticks with one line-up for some consistent amount of time he can see what needs to be fixed easier then fixing  2 or 3 things all at once.
(BTW save the argument that the players are professional hitters and should perform in any spot in the line-up, I'll never buy it!)

As for the bullpen, I can't help but to think that it begins and ends with Rothchild. The dread I feel when the bullpen begins to warm-up is palatable. The pen has no confidence. How do you get them to gain confidence? Lou has his work cut out for him on that topic. I think a Rothchild firing would be an interesting choice.

This team has the ability to string some wins together. The starters have given more quality starts then not. The offense would produce if given the chance at consistency. These 2 factors would go along way in giving the pen some time to gain confidence when entering a game.

Lou needs to stop all experiments and stick with a team that will win some games. I don't want to see Marmol, or Guzman in a game except in a mop-up role. Stick with one line-up for 2 weeks and tweek after that if necessary.

Does this seem unreasonable to anyone else?      

this search engine

Piniella
Trammell
Paul Weaver?

All we need now is Lee Elia and the corpse of Leo Durosher.

Any word on whom the batting coach will be?

The Cubs are making some interesting moves. I gotta hand it to them. which just might be the Blue Coolaide talking right now. But if things "roll down hill" and the phase "it all starts at the top" then the Cubs Top is looking pretty good right now. Alot of baseball knowledge and winning experiance.

All for nothing unless we sign some talent!!!

Brenly is the right choice for the manager of the Chicago Cubs. He has seen the Cubs for 2 seasons. Knows the players, the orgainization and what the Cubs need to bring in to win.

He understands what OBP is. That alone makes him better then the previous manager. He was hired by McDonough.

Now ask yourself. Why would you hire an ex-World Series winning manager to sit in the broadcasting booth if you didn't think he might, one day, be a good option as manager? I believe if Grady Little was still here he would have been announced already. Remember Grady Little? The playoff bound manager of the Dodgers?

When the people calm down and take a good look at what they have in front of them. I believe Brenly will be announced as the manager.

Stone will be back in the booth as well.

I then expect Am Ram to be resigned along with Zambrano. I now expect J. Pierre to walk/run away and Jones to ask for a trade.  

... is not a on-coming train!!

The young talents the Cubs have, have inspired a "light at the end of the tunnel" state of mind in me. It just might not result in a World Series next year. With Theroit, Hill and Murton leading the charge of the younger guys, I honestly like the rookies in the team and wouldn't mind seeing them have the chance to grow into a team next year. I could follow and pull for these guys. With Hill, Mateo, Marmol and Marshall throwing from either the pen or starting I'd like to see which rise to the top. Bynum, Pagan, Theriot, Murton, Moore and Cedano all deserve a chance to be seen and grow, I like all these guys and what they COULD be if given the chance. The veterans on the team like D Lee, Barrett, Pierre, Jones, Blanco, Wood and Prior all seem like they could help the younger guys out and to build a winner regardless of the manager. The adult words of Wood in the last coouple of days have given me a new revised hope and clarity for thr future of the Cubs.

With the benefit of hind-site, all contributers of BCB and other sites, sounds like we'd all be better managers, GM's or Clubs presidents. We are all "full of it" and have no concept of how to manage a team, be a GM or a Club president. I couldn't do the job and wouldn't want to.  

As low as I am about management and ownership I still like the players and that is where I derive hope. The leaders of this team will come out and lead when Baker is not re-upped as manager and the younger guys will get better and will learn from 2006. So for those of you that think 2006 was a total loss. I respectfully disagree. I saw a lot of growing this year. I noticed a lot of green major league talent that'll stay at this level of competition and be good if not great.

2007 will be a good year. I will enjoy watching the younger guys and vets play a much better brand of baseball then this year.

It's always darkest before the new light!

I was hit with a thought on what appears to be a tread in baseball. It seems to me that since steroids have come to the forefront of baseball thoughts. The players seem to be working out in the gym more, building strength, instead of on the field trying to build there skill sets such as defense, running, hitting the cutoff man etc. When it was reported that the Cubs don't practice before games I was shocked and disappointed. Looking back for an example, Ryne Sandberg took a ton of infield defensive practice and he wasn't a big guy. He was slight when compared to major leaguers of his time. Note HOF is next to his name.

Am I the only one that seem to identify this tread or am I mentioning the bloody obvious? If it's that obvious then why don't teams make the adjustment in their coaching?  
 

The Cubs begin their road trip with 3 in Milwaukee, then three in Colorado then finish up in Houston for III. If they could have a great road trip and some how take each series (6-3) then the Cubs would be 53-67.

Rule of thumb if you see a person drowning, throw them a rope don't get to close to them because they'll end up taking you down with them.

The Cubs have been deep under water for some time now. Officially they are not considered drown/dead officially (key word). But like a person in a desperate fight for life against the water the Cubs could start dragging others (teams) that are getting close to them.

Milwaukee
Colorado
Houston
All teams reasonably close to the nearly drowned Cubs. Nothing would be sweeter then spoiling their seasons.

Here's to a great road trip. Go Cubs!    

This is kind of cool. I just received US patent protection for an idea I submitted in 2003. The idea was a safer way to fill a liquid nitrogen tank (Dewer). Liquid nitrogen is kept very cold -196C and if you've ever seen the science experiment of dipping an egg in liquid nitrogen and seeing it shatter like glass then you know that if spilled the LN is unforgiving.

When I told my mother she was not surprised and claimed responsibility for my creative side. She did not like my comment that, because of her, I had a lot of experience dealing things that were extremely cold.    

I wrote in a thread not to long ago that Steve Stone observed that for newly aquired players it takes about 1/2 a season to get used to playing during the day and Wrigley and for the Cubs in general. Look at D Lee's first half of the season with the Cubs.

The new Cubs first season list include:
Cedano
Murton
Peirre
J. Jones
Marshall
Marmol
Mabry
Eyre
Howry
Theroit
Pagan
Bynum

That is a lot of players that started off bad. Add injuries to the Cub "vets" like Prior, Wood, D Lee and now you have to rely on Am Ram, T Walker, Zambo, Maddux, Barrett, Blanco and Neifi. Of the remaining group Am Ram slumped T. Walker was Okay, Barrett was above avg. Blanco was Blanco, Neifi was Neifi. Zanbo started off okay then got great. Maddux started off great then went south.

But now JP is htting and stealing bases. JJ is hitting and going opposite field. Am Ram got out of his funk, (with no pressure mind you). Murton and Cedano have had rookie up's and downs, but I like both, both are playing better.
Marshall and Marmol are giving the Cubs a chance to win, Barrett is contining his career year (offensively). Blanco is still Blanco and Neifi is still Neifi.

I see the Cubs continuing this winning trend for the rest of the year. Will they catch anybody? Probably not, but it'll be nice watching Cubs baseball once again.

0.500 by Setp. 11th. (Guess, Hope)

The Cubs pitchers have stepped it up in the shadow of the Am Ram call out. 3 quality starts and 2 out of 3, with the one loss, the offenses fault and a Am Ram running mistake of all things. I get the feeling the Am Ram statement split the team into pitchers vs. offense were the pitchers have upped their level and are forcing the offense to up theirs. I see only good things happening when this type of scenario is in place, better baseball and a winning streak. Oh and in-clubhouse accountability to the other players and teammates.  

So it goes, the drive toward the peak of 0.500 baseball. Sept 9th

Also, the Cubs are not about Dusty Baker, Hendry, McPhil or whomever. It never has been!!