Bruiser Chong

Right on. It was funny neither he or DJ were sure if the ump had blown the call on the play at first and then following the HBP, Hawk's declaring the ump's 0-for-2. The syncher was saying you could give four of the Twins' five runs to the ump. The HBP was a bad call, but that only loaded the bases with two outs. Vazquez retires Morneau and it doesn't become an issue. Even then, they were only down by one with four innings left. They can't pin the loss entirely on that inning.

Lot of good that did him in Game 4.

I hate to admit it, but I think I'm becoming a bit of an Ozzie fan. I still think the guy's an ass, but I dig how frank he is. When you get nothing but excuses and cliches from the North Side, it's refreshing to hear a manager who isn't afraid to say when his players suck and what they need to do. He made some comments after tonight's game I agree with. He's wondering what managers can question the ump about, since everything he argues seems to result in an ejection. "What am I supposed to do, just fill out the lineup and watch a game?"

I'd definitely dump him in favor of Kevin Mench.

Thank god I dropped Cordero not more than two days ago.

Except Jim Hendry. Many are confident it isn't a question of "if," but when Baker gets his extension. Steve Stone noted how the Cubs not giving him one would be like saying they'd made the wrong decision and that's never been their way. When asked how they could justify giving an extension after what's happened in recent years, he pointed out they've been able to increase profits (from the added bleacher seats), while lowering their payroll with no problem. I was unaware the Cubs' payroll was actually less than the White Sox. That's pretty unacceptable considering the Cubs draw significantly more fans.

Wild affair in Milwaukee with more bad umpiring.

What new book is this? I must own it immediately.

White Sox got absolutely jobbed in that inning and have now squandered a four-run lead. Of course, this is the team that's been able to not dwell on things of this nature and make the comeback, so it should all be good. And boy do I regret benching Scott Rolen in favor of Aramis Ramirez. Homerism at its worst.

Haven't some speculated Russ Ortiz' downward slide was caused by Dusty overusing him? I didn't keep tabs on them back then, so I don't know if there's anything to it or if it's just Dusty hate. I'd agree he's not done any damage to people other than Prior. Wood's been on the DL every year since 1999.

I've seen them mention no-hitters through five innings if the pitcher is a name.

It's a brief album and real hit or miss. The video for Crazy is a great play on the title; people not familiar with Cee-Lo may be a bit put off by it at first, but those who aren't will dig it.

Don't be stupid. The fact is, he's consistently fallen back into great situations. He had the luxury of having Barry Bonds as his core during his time in SF. The misconception is he turned the Cubs around from a terrible 2002 team to a squad that got within five outs of the WS. What most people seem to overlook is: 1) In 2003, he got the first full seasons out of Mark Prior and Carlos Zambrano. Moreover, Kerry Wood was actually healthy in 2003. Prior and Wood made 62 starts that season. To date, that is the most starts that duo has ever made. 2) They were a .500 team in July. It wasn't until the acquisiton of Lofton, Ramirez and Simon they started to roll. One could also argue the dominance of the four lead starters in the rotation and an insanely soft schedule down the stretch synched it for the Cubs. 3) They had a fully healthy Moises Alou. In 2002, Alou was injured the bulk of the season and nowhere near the player everyone knew he was when he was on the field. That, again, left things up to Sammy Sosa. These things are what got the Cubs to where they went in 2003. When four of your starters are throwing down and your offense is clicking, even a bad manager has trouble messing it up. Now, let's look at the two+ season since then. In 2004, you could easily use the injury excuse. I mean, Wood had been hurt before, but after his strong 2003, I guess the Cubs figured he'd be fine from that point. Prior had never had a pitching-related injury, so his DL stint was a surprise. That doesn't take away from the Cubs being a one-dimensional, fundamentally-inept squad that year. They had a lot of firepower in that lineup, but rarely walked and subsequently, rarely saw middle relief. On the basepaths, they were awful. Unconventional doubleplays were a way of life for them. They had mental lapses on the field. Move along to 2005. A weaker looking squad on paper, but promises of better fundamentals and scoring runs in ways other than the longball. That lasted until the second game. Although much of the personale had changed, the club remained incapable of having long at-bats or executing on the little things. But apparently, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood being hurt affected their ability to takes walks, lay down sac bunts or effectively run the bases. Yeah. Now here we are almost a fifth of the way into 2006 and since 2002, this looks like one of the weakest offenses the Cubs have fielded. But it was supposed to be okay; small ball, small ball. The problem with small ball is that you often play for one run and at the most, get one run. Well, with the Cubs having given up eight runs or more 10 times in less than 40 games, that method isn't leading to many wins. The problem's compounded when you consider the Cubs STILL aren't executing on the things that are supposed to be their MO. Yes, the GM didn't do a good job of putting together an offense, but at the same time, what's that we've always heard about Dusty? He gets the most out of the least? It's just crazy a team that insists on laying down sac bunts and giving up runs whenever it can is unable to do this. At the same time, it's something they go at full-swing. Any time there's a possibility to move the runner over by giving up an out, Dusty's doing it, unless it's one of his power hitters. He's even had Walker lay down a few bunts. But here we are in the fourth year of his contract. Few players remain from that original squad and yet this team continues to lack the ability to carry out the simple fundamental elements of the game. Jacque Jones made another mistake he's been making all year and that allowed the runner to move into scoring position. That runner eventually scored and proved the be the difference in the game. Yes, it was Jones who made the mistake and not Dusty. But isn't it Dusty's job to rally the troops and make sure these mistakes stop happening? Is it not his job to take his team to the field and work on bunting and hitting the cut-off man if they have such a problem doing it? Dusty's always had the rep as a player's manager, but that seems to be another problem. He's too laid back and just thinks everything will work itself out. The problem is, that isn't happening. Players aren't reprimanded for poor defensive play or costly mistakes. It's a shame no one on the team is stepping up to be the leader. Lord knows they don't have one in their manager.

What's even tougher to take is John Mabry pinch-hitting in the ninth against Hoffman when Matt Murton's on the bench. But he isn't a lefty, so he could never get a hit off of him, right? Fuck Dusty.

And naturally, Ryan Dempster gives up a three-run homer in the top of the 9th. Good thing we didn't need either one of those insurance runs; small ball rules!

Bruce Bochy bails the Cubs out by taking out his hottest hitter (Dave Roberts) with two on in a two-run game, just because Dusty brought in the lefty. Thankfully, the pinch-hitter grounds into an inning-ending DP. But lesson not learned, as Jones gets on first (and then to second on an error) to lead off the 8th and he has Hairston bunt him over, leaving it up to NEIFI and the BACKUP CATCHER to get the job done. Naturally, it's still a two-run game. And watching the Yankees game, Mr. Clutch almost cost them that game totally booting what should've been an easy DP, resulting in runners at the corners with no outs. Lucky for him, Eric Chavez was ass today and Dan Johnson's Dan Johnson.

So with Pierre actually getting a walk to lead off the inning, Dusty has Cedeno lay down a bunt...with PIAZZA catching. Why not let Pierre get the easy steal and then utilize your three outs to get that runner in from second? God, I hate the sac bunt. With Maddux throwing down, it will hopefully not be a big deal. The Padres just scored their first run, though, so that extra run would've been nice. Of course, the run doesn't score if Castilla doesn't get to second on ANOTHER stupid defensive blunder by Jacque Jones.

The trick for DVDs there is to look thoroughly. I don't mess with most of their DVDs, many of which go for little less than they can be had for new. But there are some definite advantages for the buyer with their pricing: 1) They only have one price for each title. This turns into a potential goldmine when it comes to SE and Criterion titles. Last summer, I bought Traffic and Silence of the Lambs CC for $9.99 each. Two weeks ago, I picked up the SE of Sin City with the comic for $9.99. 2) Low prices on WWE titles. I'm not sure what it is, but a lot of the WWE titles are insanely low. I found the Jake the Snake DVD in their $5.99 section and have heard of people finding the three-disc Undertaker set in that area, too. A couple months ago, I landed the three-disc Bret Hart set for $9.99 3) Frequent Buy 2 Get 1 Free promotions. They seemed to be running this all last fall and most of the winter; during this period, I must've tacked on 25-30 titles. This is best utilized with TV or movie boxsets.

I don't think the slams against Dusty are unwarranted. He's the second highest paid manager in the game and for what? His team finished under .500 last year and at this rate, it could happen again. The Cubs have been a terrible fundamental team during his tenure, something you can't necessarily blame on the players alone. Remember, only four players on the roster right now were there when he came aboard in 2003. The Cubs have been a lousy fundamental team since then, but the only consistent has been Baker. Something's gotta give. Instead of those issues ever being addressed and fixed, there's just a lot of excuse-making. Were he not making anything and managing a team not expected to win, then maybe I'd agree with you. But when you're supposedly a contender and posting lineups that include Neifi Perez batting second and your team can't do things like hit the cut-off man, run the bases, or cover first base, you have to shoulder some blame.

Since this is one of my favorite movies, I'll jump in... The downward spiral many of the key characters experience isn't all that far-fetched when you consider the business they're a part of of. Remember, Dirk's based on John Holmes, who DID have drug problems that affected his work. He did become difficult to work with and eventually, began prostituting himself. The failed robbery near the end's based on the Wonderland Murders. As for the limo scene, it captured how much the business had changed and how Jack had been left behind by refusing to change with it. In the span of a few years, he'd gone from having dreams of his pictures being considered legitimate film to watching the business become a video-dominated industry with no concern for cinematic quality. The lime sequence illustrates a defeated Jack trying to be a innovator in a business he has reluctantly agreed to change with. I've always viewed the '70s as the honeymoon portion of the film, with the '80s kicking in harsh reality. As an aside, the transition from from decade-to-decade's tremendous. Superstar, the bells used during those sequences are used as the opening music for P.T. Anderson's Hard Eight, another great film from one of my favorite directors. Like Boogie Nights, it helps create the perfect atmosphere.

Have you ever met this girl? That picture screams "fake!" to me. As a rule of thumb, I don't buy a girl actually looks a certain way unless I can see multiple pictures.

I'd never dump anything there. I'm addicted to GameStop's DVD section, but their trade-in prices have ALWAYS been insulting. I recall my friend trying to trade in his NES with all the bells and whistles back when they were still under the Funcoland banner, and being offered $2 for the lot.

He's an uber sensitive bitch. It's not certain, but Brenley suspected it stemmed from last Monday, when Roberts swiped third late in a game the Padres clearly had under control. He was plunked to lead off the game, which probably had more to do with Angel Guzman being terrified of throwing near the plate than anything else. In the five-run inning today that turned the game into a wash, Roberts was on second and stole third. I guess Barrett thought it was unnecessary, so when he eventually scored, Barrett said something to him. Roberts, who was already well past the plate, turned around and looked a bit surprised. Brian Giles and the ump got in the middle before it escalated, but as the umps huddled to decide what to do, Barret started yapping (again) at the Padres dugout. I guess we'll ignore none of this happens if Barrett manages to throw out a baserunner for once. A lot of the fans liked that one of the players was showing some signs of life, but to me, it was unnecessary pissing and moaning that has come to define the organization. I'm as big a fan as anyone, but it kills me to see constant excuse-making and crying about things not going their way, instead of addressing the piss-poor fundamentals and offensive patience that has plagued this team the last several years.

Could be worse. You could go 1-8 on a road trip against two mediocre teams.

That's keepin' the faith! It's so weird seeing Brad Lidge pitch in the 7th again. It's like I fell back three years in time.