Routine grounder to 3rd. Campana begins this play on 2nd. Third baseman fields it where the grass meets the dirt to the 2nd base side of third. Campana is a stride past third by the time the third base man releases the ball. Campana scores. This dude is QUICK. Most players would have been sliding into third, AT BEST.

The ICubs won - 5-3. Brett Jackson more or less says Sveum >>>>>>>>>>> (to the infinity power) Quade post-game.

I JUST SAW MARMOL BLOW A SAVE AGAIN - WE NEED TO COME UP MEOW A REALLY CLEVER NICKNAME FOR HIM TO DISCRIBE HIS NON-MEOW-ITUDE.  HE SHOULD BE TRADED FOR ORAL ROBERTS' 600-FOOT JESUS WE JUST LOST 6 IN A ROW AND THIS TEAM STINKS! WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS ORGANIZE A FLASH MEOW AT THE GATES OF HELL...ERR I MEAN WRIGLEY AND DEMAND THAT MLB REVOKE THE CUBS FRANCHISE LICENSE.  SERIOUSLY, RICKETTS CHEAPITUDE IS BEYOND COMPREHENSION. 

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I was listening to the radio the other night and a Chicago reporter, who is in Mesa, reported that Marmol gained 10-15 pounds this offseason, just not in the right way.  Apparently Marmol has a Baby Lou...is anyone in Mesa to confirm this?  Marmol also admitted that he spent too much time eating this past offseason.

Does this bode ill for what is supposed to be a strong suit for the Cubs?  Marmol was a bit of a grey question mark to begin with (can he continue to work his way out of his self-inflicted jams), so does his lack of focus this offseason spell a sophmore (2nd year as the FT closer) slump, does the shape a player shows up to in ST even matter or am I just being a helicopter fan and worrying that my borderline contention Cubs arent going to be able to capitalize on the breaks that the Cardinals have thrown them?

After several hours of very intense watching and counting the Cubs.com Active Roster still sits at 41 players.  Reports are pouring out of the blogs that Jim Hendry is still trying to decide if he should DFA Fuld, Castro, or Castillo.  One thing is for certain, Koyie Hill will remain on as the Cubs backup catcher.

Early last week it was reported that Tom Ricketts had signed Koyie Hill as the backup catcher so that he could relieve some of the pent up pressure that he was being cheap, which Roster-gate seems to confirm as he is not wanting to pay someone to spend the time to update the Cubs.com website.

An email was received from Bud Selig's office that simply stated that they will begin a review and work with Congress in anyway possible that is needed.

Ladies and gentlemen, I just want to let you know that all of us here at BCB Network News pray for the safety and health of everyone involved.  We will stay on the air as long as we can here, to cover the news story that may very well define the 21st century, to our families we say godspeed and we love you.  We can only hope to still be broadcasting at the end of this because in the middle of December there is nothing worse than having 41 men on your 40 man roster.

Also, in case anyone didnt see my other fanpost we are still needing a few members for the BCB Dyansty Fantasy League - if you are interested and havent done so email me.

****UPDATE**** (telegraph machines beeping in the background)

It is now day 6 of the drama and still no word on when the Cubs and MLB will release Jessica from her captivity of the mind.  Word is that they are playing hardball as they have removed all baseballs from humidifiers (apparently someone forgot to tell them it is the offseason) and they are going back to the way balls were made prior to 1994. 

We have reporters standing by outside the offices of Jim Hendry and Bud Selig and we will pass along any news as we get it.  A reporter was outside of Tom Ricketts office but he refused to tip the guy more than a shiney nickel, mumbling something about that is alot of money.

****UPDATE****

Well we are now on day 7 of this drama, it does appear that the earth will not be swallowed into a black hole as was previously feared and there is no threat of the universe ripping in two in the immediate future.  Reports from the White House seem to indicate that the Roster Threat level will be downgraded to light magenta in the next couple of days.

We will continue to monitor the situation and will report more when the drama ends with some Cub being kicked off the 40 man roster.  I know the waiting is too much for some and you have taken your own lives due to this.  We can only pray that for those of us who remain we can keep our heads about us.

****UPDATE**** (camera pans from the Wrigley Marquee to a tired looking anchorman in a tan overcoat tightly gripping his microphone)

The sun sets on day 8 of Roster-Gate and as I stand outside of the Wrigley Field front offices there has been a small crowd that has gathered with me and has vowed to maintain a candle lit vigil until the Cubs release Jessica from her mental captivity.  There has been no word from inside Wrigley as it appears that Tom Ricketts has cut power and heat inside the compound to reduce costs.  This of course reduces our ability to get the news out from inside but thankfully my informants remain in place and I will pass along news as I get it.

Some of the rumors that are flying in the vigil crowd is that Jim Hendry is trying to open a portal so that Zuul can return to earth and destroy the memories of the Cubs of the many contracts and free agent signings that he constantly gets blamed for.  One can only hope that in these dark hours that a force can come forward to battle these evil spirits and protect the innocent.

I had the opportunity to interview one of the vigil holders, a man by the name of Ray Stantz, and his words ring true as never before: "Let my Fuld go!"  We here at BCBNN are all wishing for the same thing, the release of Jessica and her Fuld from the terrible grips of a terrible man.

****UPDATE**** (the sound of bagpipes bellowing Amazing Grace in the background)

The vigilers have claimed their first casualty today.  After much heated discussion on David Eckstein he has appeared to be abducted by Vigo the Carpathian.  Eckstein tried to muster all of his scrappiness but as Ryan the TOOTBLANER found out last summer, scrappiness alone will not save you from Vigo.  One person that I interviewed said that while he cant hit, cant run, cant range he sure was scrappy and that is something that this world needs more of, a scrappy person that can no longer do their job properly.

Still no movement inside the Branch Wrigley Compound as it appears that Ricketts and Friends were settling in for some nice inter-dimensional pizzas brought courtesy of Zuul.  The local police chief declared that it is a crying shame that efforts to turn off the power, water and sewer were only met with a smile and laugh from the evil geniuses inside.

That is all of the news that is fit to report today.  Again, here outside of the Branch Wrigley Compound this crowd will not go until Jessica and her Fuld are released.  And that is all the news that is fit to report today.

****UPDATE****

Well, the saga that seems to never end spans 2 decades.  This is a seemingly never ending drama that gets more and more weird by the day.  Rumors are now circulating that Batman is invloved in the case and is promising swift justice.  We can only hope that he will be able to face off against such advisaries such as Vigo, Zuul and Jim Hendry.  Calls have been made to the offices of Superman, Spiderman and Kick-Ass with no return call. 

It appears that Jessica and her Fuld are going to be held captive for another day as there is no movement between those camped inside the Branch Wigley Compound and those holding vigil outside, whom now measure in the tens of people.

As we reported last week it appears that David Eckstein has been taken captive inside Ricketts office and new reports are coming that he hasnt been fed yet - Tom was heard to be saying that he only paid for enough pizza for 15 people so anyone beyond that will have to fight to the death for scraps.

We will continue to keep watch here during Roster-Gate and will inform you as new information breaks.

****UPDATE****

Well, good thing I donned my tinfoil hat last night or else I would think that the governement is tapping into my brain.  It has been quite the remarkable 24 hours as the lines are being drawn in the sand here at the Branch Wrigley Compound.  There have been some recent additions to the two sides and it appear we have quite the battle royal shaping up.

Former superhero turned villan The Coon and Cthuhlu have entered into the Branch Wrigley Compound along with the Red X, the Decepticons and Al Gore.  Fighting on the side of Jessica and Her Fuld now is Batman, And Friends, and about 10 Theriot supporters who are really mad about Theriot the TOOTBLANER being traded.  Phone calls to the Transformers have not yet been returned but it may be a timing issue with the rotation of the moon (see this press release)...we can only hope, for Jessica and her Fuld's sake, that The Situation is resolved as quickly as possible, for the good of mankind, please Tom, just pay someone to update the website.

Things are heating up really quickly here as another victim was taken in what may just be a freak accident.  Someone walking along on N Seminary Rd was speared with a trident and sucked into the vortex created by Zuul.  The suspected chucker then got into his car, backed into a garbage truck and then sped off mumbling something about a pants party.  If you have any information please call the police.

Oh and still no updates to the 41 man roster.  This is Steve Magenta, you stay awesome, Cubs Fans.

Well with the football season winding down and my team defeated in the 1st round of the playoffs (what did I expect with a sub .500 record) it is time to shift focus.

I am looking for a dynasty league.  Nothing too expensive - sub $100 a year - I'm serious but I dont want to throw away a car payment each year.  Im not too picky beyond that as I dont have much experience in fantasy baseball (maybe 2 season a couple years ago), used to not get into baseball until opening dayish (B-BCB) but now that I follow it every day I need a fix and something better than your standard free-espn or yahoo league.

We could also work together and start a new league...I would prefer it to be a dynasty league, free of course.  If you are interested reply below and your preference to a one year or dynasty and I will start compiling names.  Forgive me as I will be learning how to run a league while we go.

UPDATE!!!!

Please email me to indicate interest here.

I am seeking a dynasty league - preferrably on the cheap side of $100 a year.  I am fairly new to fantasy baseball - 2 years experience and I need something to keep my attention in the offseason and something to be excited about if my team falls out of contention.

Not to picky about the style I just want to get in.  Please reply to this message as I dont want to get spammed to death by the spam bots and I will reply back to you as quick as possible.

There has been much discussion in the past on this site about back-loading contracts and I have seen much confusion about this process on here.  Currently on the Cubs there are many examples of contracts being back-loaded; however, for those who may not be 100% certain about what it is and how it works I will go into a short explanation.

It is what it sounds like; if a player has a 5-year deal that is worth $100 million, you think they would be paid $20 million a year.  If you back-load it then you would pay more in years 4 and 5 than in years 1 and 2.  Vice-versa for front loading.  Currently the Cubs are hamstrung by several contracts that were structured as such and by poor financial planning.  This is what you get when a media company owns a sports franchise, just worry about this year’s profit and loss statement and making sure we can be as profitable as possible.

Ideally, and I came to this after some though, you would back-load every contract you offer, everything else being equal (like the player doesn’t demand a few million more by doing that) and I will tell you why in a minute.  Now there are times where front loading and no loading are preferred (typically if you are projecting a period of stagnant growth, poor projected investment earnings, etc…) but with the current ownership group I don’t see that.

Now WHY you would want to back-load every contract you can.  Lets take the previous example, 5 year $100 million a year and break it out.  $20 million a year would be your cost.  Now lets say you are able to negotiate the same overall contract but you back load it - $10, 15, 20, 25, 30 million.  Same overall cost, right? Wrong…I am sure you are all familiar with the concept of inflation, well the same principle applies here, a dollar today is worth MORE than a dollar tomorrow (and with the current Fed Reserve fiscal policy a dollar today is going to be worth A LOT more than a dollar in 2020). 

Here is where having someone like Tom Ricketts is great…you take the $10 million you didn’t spend in year one and invest it.  Now lets say you can earn 8% (which someone like Tom should be able to do even in today’s market).  At the end of year one your $10 million is now $10.8 million.  That is $800,000 “less” that you have to pay on the contract so it is now a $99.2 million contract.    In year two you would have $15 million you can invest ($10 from year one and 5 from year two) thereby earning you $1.2 million bringing your total “saved” to $2 million, or 3 free rookies.  You still have the money you would have paid in years one and two to pay out in years 4 and 5.

In year 3 you get another $1.2 million, in year 4 you get your $800,000 (seeing as you paid out $5 million of the $15 million you had saved up) and in year 5 you earn nothing and you depleted your savings account.  So over the life of the contract, if you reinvest your monetary earnings, you gain $4.436 million by backloading the contract.  Doesn’t seem like much but if you can invest 20% of last year’s salary at 8% you would have an extra $11.6 million (assuming a $145 million payroll).

Lets apply what we have learned to something that most people on here are probably familiar with: your mortgage.  If you were to take out a 30 year, interest only loan and save 1/360th of your principle balance each month and pay it at the end you would...(assuming 5.5% APR on the mortgage and earning the same, not subtracting taxes or inflationary losses) pay $1,650.00 in interest you would earn $2,537.81.  That is right, for every $1,000 you borrow you would actually make $887.81 making your house cost 88% less than what you actually paid for it. Similar logic, defer payments and invest until you have to pay the piper - the key thing is discipline.

I understand currently we are snake bitten by back-loaded deals but, if applied correctly and that money is spent wisely it can only spell good things for you and you still retain flexability if you need to trade someone.  I think with Tom’s background we shouldn’t insta-vomit when we hear a deal is back-loaded.  Then again we have only seen a year of Tom and Friends being behind the wheel and I think the key to his future is what he will do next draft, next season and next off-season.  BTW, Tom I did send in a resume for that Financial Analyst job but haven't heard back...I am available and willing to move!

Ok, alot of people on here have been complaining about the way the playoffs have too much time between series and/or do not represent the regular season.  So in the spirit of a rant I have had in regards to a recent Hendry post, I decided, rather than simply complain about the post season schedule, lets discuss how it could be better.  There is some value here, does it really take 30 days to play at most 19 games and potentially as few as 11 games...this doesn't make sense.

 There have been thoughts thrown around about having floating start dates which I am not a huge fan of and the current schedule gives no real dis-advantage to the WC team. 

Here is my idea - a 3-3-5-7 playoff schedule.  include 4 Wild Card teams in the first round then the LDS, LCS and WS.  This plan would allow you to end every series (minus the WC series) on a weekend and keep it ending within October. Also my example is using this month for the timeline:

Tiebreaker Day: Oct 4th

Wild Card - Played Oct 5th, 6th 7th (or double-header on one of the days if more than one tiebreaker needed - home team determined by coin flip)

LDS - Oct 8th, 9th, 10th - 3 game series makes it exciting and starting the day after the WC series puts the WC team at a distinct disadvantage - more pressure to win your division

LCS - Oct 13th-17th - this would put the decisive games on Friday, Saturday or Sunday

WS - I have 2 ideas for the WS:

 ---- Idea #1 - Game 1 starting the 19th and double header on the 24th.  This way if it goes 6 games you have a monster day where the WS champ is guaranteed to be crowned. Games 1-2, 6-7 in the home of the best record from the regular season.

 ---- Idea #2 - Game 1 starting the 20th and double headers on the 23rd AND the 24th.  Guaranteed to have a winner crowned on a weekend where you would get alot of viewers.  Make it super tough to have a 2 man rotation win the WS and would truly crown the best team the champion.  Games 1,2 and 6,7 at the regular season champ's home.

This would put your off days on the 4th, 11th, 12th, 18th, and potentially the 19th.  At most you would have 4 days off between an LCS and the WS - nothing crazy (at least not the week they might have now) but enough to make the winner of the WS  have more than 2 starting pitchers, it also closely simulates the regular season whereby teams will play a long stretch of games with travel without off days.

I understand the double-headers in the WS put alot of stress on the players (especially if they travel the night before) but arent we supposed to see who the best team is, and wouldn't this schedule showcase that?

This is my idea, I like my idea, I keep it in a jar above the fridge, I would like more ideas, that is where you come in.

On September 25th my wife and I are going to be taking her Dad to his first ever game at Wrigley Field - he will be 75 years old.  It will also be my son's first trip to Wrigley - although he will be almost 8 months old so wont remember it anyway.

Basically what I am asking, for my Father-In-Law, what are some of the things that we HAVE to do there or HAVE to see?  I want to make sure that he has a helluva time in WrigleyVille.

Ok, I understand that right now we are incredibly far out of the NL Central lead and it looks like the Wild Card probably isn't going to come from our division either.  I understand that our offense has looked pitiful for far more games than it has looked good.

But imagine, if only for a second, if the Cubs were to do the unthinkable (especially as of 2 weeks ago) and get hot while the Reds stumbled and the Cards continued their recent woes. Now imagine that the Cubs have managed to defeat the Phillies 3-1, 5 of 6 from the Astros and 2 of 3 from the Cardinals.  That would give us 10 of 13 after the break.  Now, the Reds take 5 of 13 (last 10 for them is 4-6 on a 4 loss streak) and the Cardinals go 7-7 through the 29th (last ten is 5-5 but on a 2 game win streak). The standings would be as followed (also assuming that the Brewers do nothing to gain ground on the Cubs):

1. Reds - 54-48

2. Cardinals - 53-48 --- .5 games back

3. Cubs - 50-53 --- 4.5 games back (if my calculations are correct and good God we are in a bad spot)

Ok, now lets say that Ryan Theriot and Kosuke Fukudome have been traded for prospects that are not ready for the bigs and the Cubs are able to free up $5 million in salary from these two and Tommy Boy says he will throw in another $1.5 million.  Who else do you deal, who do you go for, do you do nothing as Jimbo, do you call up Darwin Barney and try for bullpen help or do you still say screw 2010 this is just a fluke of a couple weeks and try to shed salaries as quick as possible.

When you reply - I don't care about the feasabiltiy of this situation, I understand there is a greater liklihood that I will win the Lottery before this happens, I am simply saying, if this would happen, if the Cubs were to be or become buyers at this trade deadline then who do you want/what would you do.

Sorry no picture....just please score early and often Cubbies!  Not sure if this is going to be the game thread for the evening or not...if it isnt I will delete as soon as I can - I will not be able to post overflow threads so someone else, if you could do that it would be good.  Oh, my stapler.  Hopefully the wonderful lineup will play out this evening and we will be able to celebrate a W tomorrow in the recap thread.