Bruiser Chong

What the FUCK? I go to take my contacts out right after Maribelli strikes out and all of a sudden, I hear the crowd go apeshit. I fucking missed it. The curse lives, nonetheless.

Heh, I'm calling it--Yanks win it in the bottom of the 10th...or 11th...or yeah.

Soriano redeems his lackluster offensive day with some good D. I'm calling it right now--the Yanks take it in the ninth. C'mon people, the curse is alive for the Cubs, it can't die for the Sox.

I don't follow the Yanks, so maybe someone can tell me what sort of leadoff hitter strikes out four times and then grounds out with the bases loaded in a tied game in a situation that could basically mean the end of the series?

Heh, that'd be funny if he walks Garcia and it's up to Soriano to get the job done.

You know, if Wilson throws out the runner in the first, we've got a 5-4 Yanks game right now.

I'm sorry, but as a Cubs fan, I can't help but laugh at this. All those people who busted Dusty Baker's balls over leaving Prior and Wood in too long and Little does the same damn thing with Pedro. And let's not forget that this all started with FIVE outs to go, in a THREE run game. Pretty freaky, no?

That Ortiz homer is huge now. Think about it, without that and the throwing error by Wilson in the 1st, this is a tied game.

Anyone who was blaming Clemens should shift to blame to Soriano, who's starting to look like Jose Hernandez up there. Soriano could have tied it up there with a double, but instead, he opts to swing at everything. The Yanks may have started the rally a little too late.

Ah, gotta love that loyalty. The man pitches great for 20 years, including several for the Yankees and in his last performance, he performs poorly, which in your mind cancels out everything he's done for the team in the past. If it weren't for his performance in game 3, we wouldn't even be playing this game right now, the Sox would be resting for Saturday night.

The way Pedro's pitching and the Sox are hitting, it's getting late early already.

Man, the Yankees looks like crap so far tonight. Maybe we will get that Red Sox/Marlins WS.

I rarely start threads around the board anymore and especially try and steer clear of even posting in this folder, but there's something I've been thinking about lately. What's the point of all this? Posting is one thing, as you can discuss, learn, and enjoy yourself (if you look in the right places), but I can't help but think about how much time is wasted by so many people by getting involved in these petty flame wars that eventually build into 10-page, 200-posts threads. I'm not here to tell anyone to stop what they're doing, but surely some of you have wondered why you or someone else is even wasting their time getting into these petty arguments, especially ones that are found in this folder. Discussions that get a little heated when in regards to topics of some substance isn't a big deal, but what about this bickering at each other and typing up these mega-responses to people we supposedly care nothing about? I know I tend to get into these things myself, but never to the extent that others have. Take a look on this very page and see a perfect example of this. The thread Marney started where she felt the need to dissect something involving SSD. If she feels the need to spend hours on end bashing someone for something they've done, then fine by me, but I still question the point of it. What's been settled after all these posts have been amounted, after all these hours have been invested into arguing with a group of strangers over not something of any use, but over something petty. Some may call me a hypocrite for saying these things, considering my tendencies in the past to get involved in similar petty disputes. They may say it's ironic that I talk about what a waste of time threads like that are when I'm probably starting another one of them with this initial post. But I guess that's the "risk" I'll take in trying to find out not only if anyone sees no point in such a thing, but maybe a valid reason as to why people feel the need to involve themselves in such garbage. The increase of threads over the years involving posters arguing not about interesting subjects, but rather minute things about each other, has really taken a toll on not just this board, but boards as a whole. Maybe I was just too blind to see the moment when starting shit with strangers over the stupidest things became more important than discussing anything of worth, but I do know that it wasn't always like that.

I hope FOX enjoyed those ratings while they last because they're going to go to shit for the World Series, especially if the Sox lose tonight.

Nothing wrong with being on top of things, but we've seen what planning ahead can do. Bernie Mac calling the Cubs the champs during the 7th inning stretch, anyone?

Is this old news? YES!

Are you sure you haven't been selected to be the next Joe Schmo?

I'm not going to completely shit on the Cubs like Mike did, but things may have gotten even uglier had they made it to the World Series. All things considered, I'm just glad the young (or postseason inexperienced) got a chance to play in some huge games in the playoffs and now know what it's like for future references. I think what everyone's forgetting here is that a month ago, a lot of people weren't even giving the Cubs a chance to clinch the Central. They had the softer schedule (although I think that's a bit of a weak defense since the bad teams are usually playing the hardest by that point), but many people were going with the Astros to win the Central. Then the Cubs actually won the division and everyone automatically said the Braves would be winning in four or five and the Cubs once again surprised everyone. The Marlins impressed the hell out of me by winning three in a row, the last two on the road, and basically defying all of the odds, but you can't forget that the Cubs won three straight, two on the road, as well. The Marlins' victories will obviously overshadow that, but the Cubs still gave what I believe to be the hottest team in baseball a run for their money. Looking at the Cubs, even I didn't think they were World Series material this year, but as the Braves and Giants proved, the best team doesn't always make it to the big dance. The Cubs were honestly lucky to get this far considering that only Boston's bullpen rivals theirs in terms of bad pitching, not to mention that their starters are still very young and inexperienced in postseason play. The Marlins starters are just as young, but Beckett and Pavano were the only two starters that really looked great out there. If the Cubs can get something resembling a bullpen next season and their starters stay healthy, I love their chances. Remember, Zambrano and Prior are going to get better, much better, barring any injuries. When it's said and done, they may have a starting rotation resembling that of the Braves for so many years. My point is, yes the Cubs blew it in the end, but no one expected them to be there in the first place. We were all banking on a pipe dream of a World Series that after tonight, may not happen even if the Cubs had won last night. Give your dues to the Marlins, but don't be so quick to dismiss the Cubs. They did a total 180 this season and for the first time in my nine years of watching them, I felt like I was watching a team I could truly be proud of.

I can't decide whether he's bashing or excusing the Cubs. It looks like he's saying that they choked and that even though the fan isn't responsible for the eight runs, that one play stuck in the minds of the Cubs, which was enough to seal the deal...or something.

I may get flamed for this, but I'm now morbidly curious to how the reaction will be if the Sox don't win tonight. It can't be much worse than the Cubs, since the Sox were being counted out of everything two days ago, but still, they've forced a game seven and to lose it, makes it all very bittersweet. I'm pretty indifferent now that the Cubs are out. As Choken said earlier, the appeal is gone since the Cubs are out, it doesn't matter as much if the Sox make it now.

I agree Patterson isn't a leadoff hitter, as he was putting up better numbers than anyone on the team before he went down. That's the problem with having guys like Sosa and Alou in the outfield, neither one could ever be a leadoff guy, and there's really not anyone else on their current roster that could be a good leadoff man, except Lofton. Grudzielanek works better as a number two guy (I think he was leading off for a while after Patterson went down), as well. It'll be interesting to see how they deal with that situation. If they keep Karros, I gotta believe Choi will be seeing more time than him, since he was their number one first baseman, before he went down with the injury. When he came back, he wasn't hitting as well, and Karros was hot. Add in the fact that by that time, the division race had really gotten intense, Baker went with Karros the majority of the time. But since they'll be starting at the beginning of the road with the start of the 2004 season so to speak, guys like Patterson and Choi will most likely get the chance to develop into the stars that they'll eventually become. Dusty went with the vets down the stretch just because of the experience thing.

I agree they choked, but to say they can't handle pressure is ridiculous. If they couldn't handle pressure, they would've crumbled like the Cards did over the last couple of weeks and like the Astros did in that last weekend. The Cubs were playing in what could be considered playoff games for months, as that race was between three teams for quite a while. If they couldn't handle pressure, they wouldn't have been able to clinch the Central, take the Braves, or take the Marlins to seven games. The Marlins were the better team in the last three games for sure, but give some credit where it's due.

Wasn't Patterson their leadoff hitter before he got injured or was he the number two guy? I'm drawing a blank on that for some reason. It's a shame that with Corey back though, we probably won't see Lofton back in a Cubs uniform next year. He was brought in as a replacement and for the playoffs. His job is basically done in the eyes of management and even though he helped a great deal, I won't be surprised if he's traded before we begin the 2004 season. That brings up a somewhat interesting question. Who won't be back in a Cubs uniform next year? I'm thinking Veres, Guthrie, Lofton, and Simon at least.

I think it's sorta humorous that a lot of people only start to show up in this thread to kick the Cubs when they're down. Yes, they blew an incredible lead, but why not throw down on some of the actual previous baseball talk instead of adding in cliche lines like "Huh huh the Cubs blew it huh huh, they sure do suck Huh."

Pardon my ignorance, but who's Donnie Moore?