Corey
adeadcat
cubfan1452
manstrength
AndyThings on my mind
Dusty- Alright, I’m not saying the guy was good.. but he’s not that bad. I mean, lets give him some credit where some credit is due.. He was at the helm when the Cubs had back to back winning seasons for the first time since 1972. Alright. Seriously, give the guy some credit. I’m not saying I was happy when Neifi Perez was starting for us any way we could find a place for him (it kind of surprised me that Dusty didn’t put him in as a starting pitcher in ‘06.. I mean, he couldn’t have done any worse there than he did playing short stop.) I mean, hey, he won a gold glove one time a long time ago. That’s cool.. did you know that one time when I was in second grade, I won Student of the Week at Ericsson Grade School. I guess what I’m saying is that it was freakin’ awesome when it happened.. but 16 years later, it doesn’t have much meaning. I’d like to think that if I was still in Mrs. Landon’s second grade class right now that I’d still win Student of the Week, but things don’t always go that way.. we don’t always win the award more than once. In Neifi’s case.. and actually probably mine as well, sometime’s it’s a fluke. Alot of things went wrong for Dusty.. Namely, 2006 as a whole. There were a lot of things that weren’t his fault.. Cubs fans were still frustrated about 2003, then bummed out about 2004.. then DLee’s wrist in 2005.. And there was the whole thing about Dusty not getting the memo about not putting all of his eggs in one basket (i.e. Kerry Wood and Mark Prior). All in all though, I’m going to go ahead and give Dusty a solid 6.5 out of 10 overall during his tenure.
Soriano- Cubs fans, could it be that you’re just pissed off that he’s making a cool 13 mil this year while you’re busting your tail feather off to make your 35k? Look, so the guy strikes out alot.. and sure, he’s been hurt.. but don’t bust on the guy for getting hurt. DLee got hurt in 05, and we weren’t out to get him for it.. Look, Soriano is tenacious when he’s on. But don’t be drinkin’ the Haterade because he’s been batting a sweet .175 this year.. It could be worse- David Ortiz is also making 13 Mil this year.. and he’s only batting .132. And he’s not hurt.. so he’s actually playing. Personally, I’d rather have Soriano than Big Papi. I mean, Soriano is rediculously fast, has just as much power, and fields better. So… I guess what I’m saying is.. lay off man.. the guy’s pretty good.
Heather Mills is a gold digging hack job. Seriously.
I’ve recently decided that I hate the Red Sox more than the Yankees. Maybe the only reason why I hate the Damn Yankees is because they’ve won 27 championships in the time that it’s taken the Cubs to win one more. Seriously Chicago, I’m as excited about being back to back champs (’07-’08.. 1900, that is..) but can we win one for the Gipper sometime soon? But since the Red Sox won in ‘03, then again last year.. I’m sick of them. Their fans.. their players.. their damn city.. Between them and the freakin’ Patriots.. Give me a break. Speaking of breaking.. how about the Yankee’s fans spirits? It sure seems broken since they haven’t won in.. oh my goodness- 7 years! They’re acting like they’re the next coming of the Cubs.. One thing we can all agree on, they’ll win another one within the next ten years. I think that as soon as they learn how to spread out their money between pitching AND offense, they’re going to be just fine.
And in closing, I would just like to take this time to mention that Dusty’s not that bad, lay off Soriano, Heather Mills is a gold digging hack job, and the Red Sox blow more than Colombia and 1980’s rock stars combined.
Filed under: General Baseball, Management, The Cubs | Tagged: 1980's Rock Stars, Alfonso Soriano, Colombia, David Ortiz, Derek Lee, Dusty Baker, Ericsson Grade School, Heather Mills, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Neifi Perez, Patriots, Red Sox, Yankees
Best Blog Ever!
Whoa. Dust was awful.
The Cubs, under Dusty Baker, were fundamentally the worst baseball team I have ever seen. The defense was laughable. Outfielders were incapable of hitting the cut-off guy or throwing the right base. Don’t you remember the baserunning? I remember watching the Little League World Series and thinking “Wow, these kids have better fundamentals than the Cubs.”
One major difference between the Cubs under Dusty and the Cubs under Lou is how deep they take pitchers into the count. Dusty’s guys came up hacking, trying to drive the ball out of the yard. These same guys, under Lou, are showing patience, drawing walks and going the opposite way for base hits.
One of the most baffling comments I’ve ever heard in baseball was from Dusty Baker. He said “I think walks are over-rated”. That, right there, showed me that Dusty Baker is a giant pud. A walk is as good as a base hit. Except, in the age of pitch counts, it’s even better because if you managed to foul off a few pitches to stay alive, you’ve eaten up a good number of pitches and forced the other team into their bullpen quicker.
I know Baker had to deal with a lot of injuries in 2006, but that doesn’t excuse professional baseball players playing horrendous baseball. I’m talking fundamentals here.
On Soriano:
How can you say he is ridiculously fast. Those chicken legs are spent, man. In the last year, he’s injured the front and back of his leg. He will never be fast again. I can pretty much guarantee that the Cubs will end up eating a large portion of his contract and shipping him off to an AL team to be the DH.
That walk quote was my favorite from Dusty. I think the next sentence was “It just plugs up the bases for faster runners.” My second favorite was when he actually defended Neifi’s bunt with the winning run on base and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. “If he would have been safe it would have been a good play.” Yeah, and if frogs had wings they wouldn’t bump their ass when they hopped.
But Soriano is awesome. Nobody seems to hate him when he’s leading the league with lead-off homers, or throwing guys out all over the place.
Great blog! I laughed heartily.