Bruiser Chong

I would suggest they just bring up the kids and let them play, but there's this mindset you can't rebuild in Chicago and thus, there's this vicious cycle of filling in holes with aged vets and journeymen who may have had something to offer in the 1990s. A total rebuild isn't really necessary to achieve success. Both the Red Sox and White Sox retooled their teams a bit to fit a certain approach to the game and it worked. I'd like to see the Cubs doing something along those lines, but I guess they're sorta committed to their blueprint of useless utility players, veteran presence and aggressive hitting and baserunning.

Although he's been part of a subtle platoon for a week, it looks like Matt Murton's playing time is going to be cut even more in favor of Phil Nevin. With Nevin out of position in left, the chance for more comical defensive blunders just increased.

Jinx.

I know it's pick your poison there, but they look stupid for pitching to Ortiz now.

I plan on writing a piece about this in the near future. I think the fans are just as good a group as any other. The problem isn't the fans, it's the process. Yeah but fans of the bigger clubs in particular don't have an issue selecting a dude batting like .220 or someone who only played in 15 games. I'm surprised Yankee fans didn't go all out with getting someone like Bernie Williams into the game just for shits and giggles. Papelbon just blew a save to Chase Utley. Boo. Hiss. The All-Star thing with the fans selecting players is a damn joke. Look at last year when Scott Rolen was the leading vote getter at 3rd base despite missing an assload of games. I agree there's a good number of Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, and Cardinals that deserve to be in the All-Star game, but there's alot of other guys that aren't getting the popular vote despite their worthiness. This is about Morgan Ensberg, isn't it? Yup. That run shot his ERA up to a pathetic .46.

Howard got jobbed on that called third strike.

I've heard mostly positive reviews, although I fear the running time is going to scare off a lot of people.

Re: Arrested Development Not that it all matters, since its creator was the one who decided to move on since he didn't want the quality of the series to suffer.

Ah, Philadelphia; I forgot about that one. The last scene nearly made me cry, which could've been tragic since it I was a junior in a health class that was filled with people who couldn't understand why 9/11 was getting so much publicity (this was 2001).

Just seems if they had all this available money, they should've gone out and built a bullpen that won't crap away a seven-run lead in the span of two innings.

Good thing they signed Clemens.

I wouldn't point at the H2H match-ups at this point. The Twins were playing dreadful ball when they faced both teams earlier in the season. It should be interesting now that they've started to really put it together.

King Kong's an interesting one. I enjoy the original more, but the closing sequences of the remake sparked a bit more emotion in me. Nothing close to tears, but I actually felt like a bond was being broken; probably because she was terrified of Kong for the duration in the original.

Not if it's an NL team.

Bob Brenly: You couldn't play this bad if you tried. He's not even going the acid tongue route a la Steve Stone. He literally cried, "Uncle" when a pop up dropped between three players.

Oh and just so Banky doesn't think I was out of line for my response to Vern's question, here's a snippet from a piece that appeared in today's Tribune:

On the "positive" side, Bob Brenly's sounding more like Steve Stone with each passing game. He was left speechless on a easy grounder to the right side that both Nevin and Walker just looked at. He also noted the Cubs would swing at a rosin bag if the pitcher threw it near the strikezone.

It's different, though. The Tigers weren't built to win during that stretch. Money wasn't being invested in the team and the expectations weren't there. Many didn't figure the Cubs to be a force this season, but with the resources available, there's no reason things should've been this bad. The lack of accountability is probably more frustrating than anything happening on the field. Instead of doing something about the lack of patience at the plate, poor hitting with RISP and overall lack of fundamentals, all of the Cubs' woes have been pinned on the loss of Derrek Lee by the Cub brass. There's no reason for a team that cost almost $100 million to build be one of the worst records in baseball. There's no reason for Neifi Perez to be getting this many starts in a week. There's no reason that a change of some kind hasn't been made, whether it be Dusty getting the pink slip or the hitting coach being let go, since it's clear whatever he is doing, it's not working on the team's hitting. It's not as if they can't get runners on base. They've had seven baserunners in three innings today and have no runs to show for it. It's the story of the year and it's frustrating to sit through. Especially when it could've been avoided.

If not for Seven Samurai, this would probably be Kurosawa's best film. One of the saddest but most beautiful endings of any film ever made, IMO. It's bittersweet yet edifying at the same time, because while Watanabe basically wasted his adult life in a meaningless occupation, he finally finds a way to give his life lasting meaning and purpose, and he actually accomplishes that goal before his time is up. God, I love this film. It's so incredibly beautiful and haunting. How can you NOT get misty-eyed at this. Wow, I rarely agree with Vyce, but he and I are on the exact page with this one. The thing that makes this movie unique, and I'm gonna reveal some SPOILERS here, is that we know right away Watanabe is going to die. That's not necessarily the tear-jerker. He passes halfway through the film. The touching portion is the sequence when the police officer tells the family and friends how he saw Watanabe on the swing singing. It's chilling, but filled with emotion when all things are considered. I didn't expect to get choked up, but that's what happened. I'd probably place it over Seven Samurai on a personal level. Samurai's excellent, but Ikiru has the more human touch and had a lot more impact on me.

No, it just means they'll have to pin all their misfortunes on the absence of Wade Miller and Angel Pagan.

Derrek Lee will be activated for Sunday's game.

I only heard about that, but the way you put it, I had this visual in my head: Had it been Neifi, that may have actually been the case.

No, Bynum has swelling in the same shoulder only had surgery on due to a blood clot.

The NL continues to look feeble. On a brighter note, Freddie Bynum may be DL-bound, which could save Matt Murton from AAA hell.

Haven't cried in ages, but ones that had me choked up or getting a little misty-eyed include: - The Green Mile - Leon: The Professional - Monster - The Pride of the Yankees - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Grapes of Wrath - Ikiru