naivin

Yeah, I kinda like it. The song needs a little work, but the foundation is there. Certainly more clever than "Its Gonna Happen."

Yeah, I kinda like it. The song needs a little work, but the foundation is there. Certainly more clever than "Its Gonna Happen."

Pat Burrell says Hi! So does Carlos Lee.

The one thing I always seem to need clarification on is the timing of clearing waivers. I know it is customary for teams to generally put the "whole team" on waivers after the deadline. Does that then allow anyone who clears to be traded, or does the player(s) need to be put on waivers at the time the trade is made...for instance, within the past 48 hours in this case?

Especially if they do so with 90+ wins, and the only reason you aren't going to win the division is because you happen to share a division with the only team in the NL that is better than you (just bad timing/luck). From all appearances, the Cubs are going to keep winning, so it seems to me our chances get better and better if they help take care of the rest of the league for us. I'd love to win the Central, but I'd also be more than happy to worry about the Cubs in October.

Probably, but not necessarily, which is why it would be a risk for the Dodgers. If the reds pull him back they can't trade him for 30 days anyway, so they would in effect be unable to trade him at all. There is nothing to say the Reds wouldn't be content to put the remaining $5million or whatever in their pocket, and let the Didgers take care of it. Obviously they would forfiet any compensatory picks at the end of the year, so that would seem unlikley, but possible. Just depends on their priorites, what they value, etc.

I dunno...what if they actually would have ended up with him...they have an awful lot tied up in Manny and Andruw Jones, and with Kemp, where is he gonna play? I would imagine they would not have been looked upon to highly had they claimed him just to keep him from another team and just let him rot on the bench. I would also guess there is some level of gentlemen's agreements with these types of moves as well. Would heav been kinda funny though...Can you imagine Dunn, Manny and Juan Pierre in the same outfield? They would set defense back to before the game was invented.

yeah, the Counsell complaints are a bit of a stretch. First fo all, e didn't start either of the last two games. They are 6-2 in the stretch he has been playing, and in teh two they lost, he was about the only guy who did anything. Its not as if he is playing him in favor of Braun or Fielder. How much are Bill Hall's and Russel Branyan's bats really going to be missed in the lineup?

Much like yesterday, where the Brewers won one they "should have lost."

I'm not sure about this one, personally, I am thinking that facing a 1-2 of Hammels and Blanton is preferrable to a 1-2 of Webb and Haren, regardless of location.

With Sabathia, Sheets and Parra going, I dare say success (3 of 4 minimum) in this series is mandatory.

The way Sheets has pitched the last month or so, that may not be as good as it looks on paper.

So since his proposed removal from the rotation was based on a handful of bad starts (a couple of which he was likely injured), does he deserve a contract extension after the last couple?

So our hopes of avoiding the sweep at home are pinned on Dave Bush against Rich Harden... http://content7.flixster.com/question/36/97/55/3697557_std.jpg

If he continues on his hot streak teh rest of the year, he'll win, but it will certainly not be close.

I was actually just thinking talking about this on Sunday. Braun has made himself a candidate, and is approaching front runner status, but right now Pujols gets my vote.

This brings new meaning to the term bad flight...

I completely agree with your second, and even some form of your third suggestion. I guess the real question here is as to the Brewers feelings on all of this. Do they even see a problem that needs to be addressed? Perhaps some member of our oh so lazy media in this town could look into this at some level beyond the married couple going to teh game - "He's a Brewer fan, she's a Cub fan" that inevitably ends with some refernce to Packers-Bears. As predicatble as the story showing the loading of the salt trucks when the first snowfall of the year is on its way.

Its obviously a very small sample, but does this thread not provide plenty of evidence that some sort of change to address the fan experience for these games is called for? I didn't actually count, but most in this thread - the die hard Brewer fans, the lunatic fringe, choose not to go to these games, or at the very least indicate they do not enjoy going to these games. Late July, the two best teams in the NL, the Brewers best chance at the playoffs in years - and these people are choosing not to go? What's wrong with this picture? Obviously, the brewers are happy to have the tickets sold, and they know they will have big crowds, but is this really the image they want these series to portray? They charge premium prices for games already...why not make these super premium games and tack on another 25% or whatever number they deem appropriate to make the riff raff decide that maybe that's too much money for me to go to that game simply to draw attention to myself? I would love to go to these games, but not in the current environment. I would gladly pay more if it meant that I could go to the game without having to worry about these pathetic losers on both sides ruining the experience for me and my kids. The ticket demand is obviously there. I realize this may also squeeze out some of the quality people who would like to go but may not be able to pay more, but frankly, that's too bad. I don't see what makes their their financial needs any more important than my need to feel comfortable taking my kids (or myself for that matter) to a great baseball game. I have a lot of confidence in the current Brewers management, and I trust that they will not be like most organizations and wait until something serious happens, like someone getting launched off the loge level, or shot or whatever, before they do anything about it. Perhaps it isn't that bad, but it is obvioulsy bad enough that a whole lot of people aren't willing to go, and unfortunately, the more quality people stay away, the more prevalent the bad element becomes.

I guarantee that neither Ned or Rickie would necessarily disagree with what he wrote there - at least privately. Ned will likley stand behind Rickie with his words at the very least, and that is absolutely the right thing to do, but I would guess that most in the organization - likley including Ned - would tend to agree with TH on this. The organization obviously still has high hopes for him, which certainly makes this tougher, but lets face it, there is a reason they acquired Durham. I would assume Weeks will probably continue to get opportunities in some form, but I also have to assume he will see those opportunities steadily diminish if his level of play doesn't pick up pretty drastically, and quickly.

My thoughts exactly...Ben, we need you. He hasn't exactly been stellar since CC has been in town, and we need a good game out of him tonight. I wouldn't be feeling too good about Parra-Dempster and Bush-Harden if we go into those games 0-2. Note to Ben and the bullpen: Walk's are bad.

It dawned on me last night, that Rickie Weeks is Terrell Buckly...only without the big mouth and undeserved swagger. He is a guy that shows flashes of brilliance in his abilities and athleticism, and just how good he could theoretically be, but when you get right down to it, most of the time he's just bad. I hope like heck to be wrong on this, but it is looking more and more like he will have a career much like Buckley's...occasionally making some big or spectacular contributions, but overall play 10-years or so of below-average baseball.

Too bad you didnt have the usher from our section. He was running people for pretty much no reason at all. Good. I think the quick hook should be standard operating proceedure at these games. If it was, the riff raff who make it so unenjoyable for so many, might just stay home and make it more enjoyable for all. My 7 year old son is so into this Brewers-Cubs thing, its crazy. Unfortunately, he won't be going anywhere near Miller Park this week. If the environment was not so toxic, we'd be there for sure.

Just to further demonstrate the presence of idiots atthese games. Its just one guy, but still... "I love it," said Ryan Curry, 27, of Rockford, Ill., dressed in a Cubs jersey. "The fans are fun. We argue back and forth. This is one of the greatest seasons we've had in a long time. We were the first National League team with 60 wins. We were in first, then tied, then in first. If we lose this series, we lose the season." Good grief.

I will refer to a post I made in the IGT before the game yesterday... These series have typically drawn in the worst 'fans' f both teams - many there primarily to simply make their presence felt more than the others. I stopped going to Brewer-Cubs games a couple seasons ago. Hopefully, as the quality on the field improves, the quality of people enetering the park will improve as well. There is no doubt that these games draw in a lot of people desperate to out do the other side, and it is beyond pathetic - on both sides. I have been to several over the years, took my kids to exactly one - that was enough. The volume of knuckleheads really does a lot to take the fun out of it. The Brewers can obviously do what they want, but as more and more people like me and others in this thread decide to sit these games out, it is simply going to get worse. Its a real shame too, because these are the games that people like me and the others in this thread should be at. Let the collection of unsavory riff raff that these games draw go get hammered and swear when the Nationals are in town. Personally, I would recommend an (perhaps significant) increase in ticket prices for all Cubs series. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I would pay more to go to these games if I was a little more certain I wouldn't want to get up and leave in the second inning because there are a bunch of drunk ____ fans needing to make sure everyone knows they're there.