Bruiser Chong

It's obvious that Smoltz is hurt and the Braves are in serious trouble if they advance because it's clear that he's playing injured right now. Getting eliminated tomorrow may end up being beneficial to Smoltz in the longrun, although I'm sure that's not what he wants at this point. He's certainly not as effective as he's been when he's actually healthy, and one has to wonder what would have happened had the one and two hitters gotten on for the Cubs in the ninth. As it turned out, I thought they really played hard until the last out instead of just rolling over and moving onto game five, mentally. A pretty good game, and the Braves got some breaks which ended up making the difference. Farns doesn't get hurt and I say Chipper doesn't hit that second homer.

That Karros homer hurts when you think that had Chipper not hit those two homeruns himself, the Cubs would be in this one and looking to win right here. At least they've given Atlanta all they can handle and haven't completely choked like the Sox have. I flipped over to see Manny fail at another chance to drive in some runs and then Ortiz striking out to end the small rally they had going.

Looks like we'll have a Game 5. At least Wood's going to be out there. And if they can't get it done well then I guess all that's left to say is, "GO MARLINS!"

What a piece of shit. You're winning the game and YOU ground out, yet you're going to try and pull a stunt like that? I like Fick's intensity most of the time, but that play disgusted me.

Well, Glanville basically fails in his role, and I can't imagine why he wasn't bunting. It's all about manufacturing runs and that's not what was going on here. The homer got the crowd back into it, but that DP may have taken them out of it.

What the hell is wrong with you? You sound like I did at my absolute worst. If the Braves end up losing, that means God hates YOU? What about the entire Braves team and the people associated with it (manager, coaches, etc.). If they lose it won't be because God hates you. And so what if the Cubs are getting attention from the media? They haven't made the playoffs in how long? So why wouldn't they get some attention. What are they going to say about the Braves? They're there every year and they get their due credit, so quit acting like they're getting the shaft or something. If the media were all over the knob of the Braves, I'm sure you wouldn't be complaining.

I agree, but I never said it always prevails. It usually does and I think that in this series at least, it has. Clement was the first Cubs pitcher in the series to not pitch that well, and thus he's on the losing end at the moment.

I'm not, but you can't deny that pitching and defense usually prevail over good offense in the postseason, simply because good pitching usually shuts down good offense. Clement's clearly not on today, although he was hanging for a while and now it's looking like we may be going back to Atlanta tomorrow night. Oh well, most were saying the Cubs would go down in four games.

You know what's sorta bothering me? All these Braves fans acting like beating the Cubs should be no big deal. Yeah it's tied right now, but good pitching and defense prevails in the postseason and that's why the Cubs are up 2-1 in the series. The pitching from Atlanta has been very good, but the Cubs' has been better. The Cubs' D has been surprisingly good in the series, while Atlanta's has been pretty bad. Clement's struggling right now, but as I see it, he's doing quite well when you consider that he, being the number four starter is still hanging with the best team in the NL's number one guy.

Well, the Giants are making a game of it right now. I don't care for either team, truth be told, especially since the winner would play the Cubs (if they can pull it out) and thus, I don't want either of those teams to truly dominate the other. The Giants, though, haven't looked like the second best team in the NL so far in this series.

I tend to agree with you about Baker pushing Prior too far. I mean, I know he averaged around that amount of pitches during the regular season, but it may just catch up sooner or later. Of course, he doesn't throw as hard as Kerry Wood does and his mechanics are better, so I doubt he'll go through the same thing that Wood did. I didn't get to see how Prior was pitching from the 3rd to the 8th, but I would've just sent Borowski in there for the save in the 9th. I don't trust their pen, but Joe's been more or less reliable in his role as closer this year.

I think it's interesting, but completely expected in a way since you'll notice that the Cubs were in a constant offensive slump before acquiring those three. Once you got past Sosa and Alou, pitchers really didn't have much to worry about. Now they've got Ramirez and Simon backing those two up, with Lofton being basically the prototype of what a lead-off man should be. And with Lofton doing well, Grudz is a better hitter.

I caught the first two innings before prior engagements cut things short but I got to a friend's house during the 9th with one out and saw him put the last two guys away. I couldn't believe Prior was still in there because of the pitch count, but it was nice to see him put the Braves away in a convincing fashion. One thing that surprised me was the four errors. I know they're pretty mediocre with the D, but FOUR errors? That's why you lose postseason games, which is something Harold Reynolds pointed out. The teams that are playing the bad D are the ones who are losing.

That was a crazy play by Worrell and with Pudge down 0-2, I thought it was over. What a pickup Pudge has turned out to be. I think this is the first time I've heard him talk too, cause I was sorta surprised he sounds so, well, ethnic, I guess. And yes, I'm aware that he's hispanic, but still. And to think it all started because of Cruz's lazy attempt to catch the flyball. Now if that Cubs game would start already.

It's when you count out a team long before they're actually out that they'll surprise you. Most people were saying that regardless of the soft schedule down the stretch for the Cubs, the Astros would make the playoffs and what happened? I'm not saying the Cubs will get past the Braves because to say such things is really a crapshoot, but if they do go down, they certainly aren't going down looking like chumps.

Glad someone mentioned Griffey. I remember a time when he was the only one anyone was considering as a likely candidate to break the record. Sosa will definitely get near it, but I don't see him sticking around long enough to break it, although I'd like to see it.

*nods* Indeed. However, whether it's a joke or not, I take exception to Prior being referred to as a "young punk." Barring any injury, this guy IS the future.

That'd be Rebecca Wild. Nuff said.

She doesn't look that much like Trish. She's got bleach-blonde hair and a big rack. That's about it.

They didn't get bigger, she's just wearing an extremely low-cut shirt, obviously so we won't look at the rest of her, including that hideous hair.

That'd be Rebecca Wild. And what is the fixation of the women from pro wrestling doing porn? The closest thing any of these women have done to porn is Playboy. If you're looking for women in wrestling who've done porn, go watch some XPW, otherwise, don't wonder if people like Molly Holly (of all people) has done porn.

Yeah, once Zito got going, things looked mighty bleak for the Sox. The inning where they scored their sole run may have been their best chance to get back into the game, but Manny took them right out of the inning. The Sox just had no defense today, as evident by the scoring of five runs with only two hits in the inning. I'd say it's just about over and the Sox will be the first ones to be eliminated. Sorta odd how so many of these superstar hitters look like nothing once the games are postseason ones.

Wow, the Sox look simply awful so far. That was a terrible inning, with Wakefield throwing some 40 or so pitches and having his defense behind him fall apart. 5-0 gonna be tough to come back against.

I think the crowd around you has lost brain cells and hence, it's killed the desire to put forth much in the way of posting, yourself, although I still think it's good stuff when you do post. In the eyes of some, I'm probably washed up, but that's only because I'm seen as nothing more than negative. Of course, that just comes from the part of me that remembers these boards being filled with intelligent discussion and some great threads. My theory is this: most of the posters that made those boards so great grew up/moved on. Jay Bower's an excellent example. There was a time when he was a regular poster like me or you and wasn't even really regarded as that great of a poster for the longest time. By time he was being regarded as a great poster, he'd put most of his focus on his columns and rarely posts anymore. In the place of these people who have moved on, are younger kids who're on their parents computer, regurgitating opinions they've heard elsewhere and presenting them not only as their own, but as facts. I'm aware I'm not too much older than a lot of these kids, but I've been around long enough and have already gone through my "growing pains" on the boards. I think the fact that wrestling has been in a downward spiral for the two years really hurts things, as well. I don't think it's a coincidence that these boards were at their best during the same time that wrestling was also at its best. When there's good stuff out there to discuss, discussion is good. When it's bad, you've got the same old complaining about this and complaining about that, and even though it's justified complaining most of the time, it grows old. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now, since this has become more about why message boards aren't as great as they once were instead of posters that have hit their peak. I just thought I'd share some thoughts and theories with you, to see if anyone felt the same way.

Yeah, no kidding. How about finding out what it's all about before going crazy over it? That movie happens to be one of the more well-known inspirational movies for "gangstas," because of the rags-to-riches story.