Bruiser Chong

Dusty Baker must hate winning or something. These lineups he's been putting out lately are terrible. Granted, there's injuries, but having Gruz and Rey Ordonez in the one and two spot, respectively is death. I thought those spots were supposed to go to guys with respectable OBPs. Ordonez is not even close to batting .200. And true to 2004 form, Maddux gives up a first-inning homer. Sorry to be venting already, but things for Astros and Cubs fans have been pretty tough the last couple weeks.

Man, no way are we going to see RJ or Clemens go to the Yanks or Red Sox, respectively. What exactly are the Yanks going to give up to snag Johnson? And if Clemens were to go anywhere else now, he'd look like an even bigger piece of garbage, after all the talk he did about he wants to play in Houston because of the proximity of his family.

I thought it was a bad move when they gave up Wagner, but figured with Lidge and Dotel, they'd be okay. When they gave up Dotel, I thought it'd be a boost for their offense, but at the same time, it left Lidge, a guy who was the 7th inning guy last season, as the closer. Make no mistake, he's been great in the role, but they've got no one else who's nearly as lights out as Lidge, Dotel and Wagner were the last third of the game last season.

Bite part of his ear off.

Houston loses again, leaving them just a game above .500 and nine and a half games out. If they lose the series to the Dodgers and the Cards win their series with the Cubs, the Stros may be screwed as far as the NL Central goes.

I live in Michigan, so maybe that has something to do with the fast delivery. Regardless, I've never had to wait more than a week on anything that was already in-stock. Even some items that weren't in stock got shipped within a week of my order.

If you needed proof that the Mets are hot right now, look no further than that 7th inning, where the Phillies had runners at the corners, no outs and the heart of their lineup due. Thome strikes out, they intetionally walk Burrell and get the next two to fly out. I think Polanco could've tagged on the second out had he not gotten so far from the base before Cameron made the sliding catch.

I recall him talking about traveling around this summer. Either that or he's bleeding to death in his basement from self-inflicted wounds.

10 Nights of the Beast is always a good bet when when it comes to Batman. Year One and Two are also money.

Don't worry about that. As long as you're posting in the same threads as Anglesault, no one will notice.

Christ. Your team is coming off a year where they made the NLCS and this year is playing about eight games over .500 and is a wild card team and you're STILL not happy? What a whiner. This actually made me laugh. Hopefully this was sarcasm on AS' part so I can credit him with being witty for once.

Agreed. That one factor alone kept me from flipping out that last inning. I just couldn't stop laughing, as his siren-like "Go Cubs" chant for the last full inning was hysterical, especially with the reaction of the Brewers' commentators.

Well, the Cubs have only scored four runs in the last 36 innings and they're supposed to be great offensively. This series with the Brewers made me absolutely sick. If I may go into AS mode for a moment here, the Cubs were going to have a tough time going into St. Louis as it was, but now, it looks like they'll go in six games out and I wouldn't be shocked to see them seven out by time that series is over. Hopefully Alou, Lee and Sosa can get their heads out of their asses, while Ramirez returns. Christ what a horrible series.

Boy, it's tough to do much when you're up against a tough staff, you're missing your top RBI guy, Lee and Alou haven't done shit in the last 11 games, your two guys at the top of the order can't get on and Sammy Sosa is allergic to making contact with the ball.

Please let this nightmare of a series with the Brewers just be over. I love the atmosphere, but the Cubs haven't looked this bad all season, aside from that skid where they lost six in a row.

Worser? Good gawd. I know petty grammatical things should slide by here, but worser? C'mon. Anyway, I think the Royals are the more pathetic team. The Expos have Johnson at first and a couple of decent pitchers, unlike the Royals, who've got the likes of Matt Stairs, Juan Gonzalez and Benito Santiago. I guess they were trying to get a senior circuit going in the AL Central.

The way you act most of the time, you must not subscribe to the ".630 = Good" theory, either.

The Rockies have added two in the ninth and now lead the Giants 8-6. Wow. Schmidt goes out there, delivers seven of his usual brilliance and has nothing to show for it except a bullpen can piss away something you spent a couple of hours piecing together. And with tonight's loss, the Astros are now nine games out of first. They're just one game over .500. It's clear that Beltran isn't going to turn things around on his own. Any thoughts on when they'll start panicing, if they should or if they will?

I know this isn't a fantasy thread, but god damn do I hate the Giants' pen. I got Schmidt on my fantasy team; he goes 7, strikes out 12, gives up one hit, one earned run, left with a five-run lead...and won't figure into the decision because of the pen.

I broke a door and threw an iron out a window. No need to exaggerate. I wasn't actually referring to you, as I didn't even know you had done those things. Yikes, an iron? Weren't you at all considering the consequences you were bound to face the next morning when you needed something to wear?

Stupid, slow board caused me to double post for the first time in I can't remember how long. AS, throwing the remote has become a bit of a tradition with me. Besides, I live with other people, so I'm not exactly at liberty to go around chainsawing couches in half and throwing lamps down the stairs.

And there's nothing ensuring that that's going to happen. I'm sure that we'll see games with the whole team, but if someone gets hurt as soon as someone comes back, it's going to be hard to have everyone at the same time. Let's look at some of the Cubs' shortcomings right now. Number one is obviously the injuries, but that isn't what's accounting for everything. The defense over the past two weeks has just been disgusting and probably cost them the game tonight, as none of the Brewers' runs were earned. When you play strong defense, you ensure that you'll at least stay in the game. Plus, you won't make your pitcher throw extra pitches. Prior was in the 70s before the third frame was in the books. Had his defense not made those errors, one could assume that he would've gone at least two more innings. Next, I think we need to look at second base. Todd Walker was brought in to be an off the bench sort of guy. When Grudz went down, Walker stepped in as the everyday second baseman. He wasn't an offensive machine, but he was reliable a great deal of the time. His defense was also much better than most thought it'd be. So now that Grudz is back, they're platooning over at second. I think it's a bad idea. Grudz' had a career season last year, but that doesn't take away from the fact that prior to that, his career was thought to be more or less finished. I think that's the Grudz we're seeing right now. So why not play Walker most of the time then? I feel more comfortable seeing him at second that Grudz. The pen has been in question all season, but it seems that they step up in tough situations. Their middle relieve has been really good most of the time; it's just that people focus more on the end of the pen, which I think needs a change, too. Borowski isn't the solution and I think Hawkins is better setting the table for the guy in the ninth. Perhaps once a few more teams fall out of contention, the Cubs can go out and snag a real effective closer. Personally, I think it's all a matter of the key guys getting healthy and one or perhaps two somewhat significant trades. The latter sparked them last year and I think the same's needed this season. I think by this weekend, we'll have a better idea on just where the Cubs stand in the NL Central.

If the Cards keep playing this way, then I think so. I love the Cubs, but the way they can't get completely healthy at once is killing them. They get Sosa and Prior back and lose Hollandsworth and Ramirez. I keep trying to put things in perspective, but that can't stop me from throwing my remote control into the floor after they lose. I'm going to have to take a picture of it to show you just how frustrated they've made me over the years.

I'd say it's over for the Cubs tonight, since Kolb has become nothing short of automatic. Sammy's near homer in the 8th is a perfect example of almost nothing going the Cubs' way tonight. I think Patterson leading off with the triple and being left there was the defining moment of the game, though. And the Cards have taken the lead over the Reds, which means most likely, they'll have a five game lead over the Cubs after tonight. And losing against the Brewers is tough, but it always has been and this year, they're a much better team. Let's not forget that their rotation was flip-flopped so that their best starters would pitch in this series. I'm not making excuses for the Cubs, as they'd probably be winning tonight if it weren't for defensive errors and missed offensive opportunities, but I think a bit of perspective is needed here.

It's a bit depressing to see Corey Patterson get a lead-off triple and be left there. Derrek Lee sure cooled off in a hurry. I know he's a very streaky player, but he went from hitting nothing to hitting everything to nothing all over again. And AS, you're pissed because the best hitting team in all of baseball is hitting?