...that better not have been a slam against “Whataburgers”. Man, if the Cubs were smart, they’d say screw the new triangle building/museum and just put a Whataburger where YumYum used to be.

Of course, MickeyD’s across the street probably wouldn’t be too pleased…

Edmonds has always been a hot dog. His last good offensive season was 2004.

Seriously, he’s done.

I always felt that it looked like Edmonds would slow down a few steps enroute to a ball in order to make a diving catch.

I know I’m not the only one who feels that way, because I heard Torii Hunter say essentially the same thing on Mac, Jurko, and Harry a few years ago. Mac asked Hunter to rate the top CFs in the game, and when Edmonds wasn’t on the short list, the guys asked why. Hunter, in a roundabout PC way, basically called Edmonds a hot dog, always trying to make the routine plays look like highlight reel plays just to get on SportsCenter. Maybe there was some bad blood between them, but to me it just confirmed something I already suspected.

To me, slowing and diving to get yourself on Web Gems is even worse than getting a bad jump. Recovering from a bad jump indicates that at least he had the ability to make up for his shortcomings. The hot dog accusation would mean he valued his Gold Glove collection and his highlight videos more than he respected his team and the game.

We are talking about signing a guy who was released by the Padres for crying out loud. Most games they can’t buy a run and they released him. We don’t need his glove or his bat. I’d hate to see them screw with Pie even more by bringing Edmonds in.

Edmonds can’t platoon with Reed Johnson. Pie is far better than the 2008 version of Edmonds is defensively. For all of Pie’s problems at the plate, I still think he’s better batting than Edmonds is now. The Cubs already have a veteran left-handed pinch hitter with power in Daryle Ward. Ward even has more value than Edmonds. Edmonds needs a trip to the fountain of youth for this potential move to work.

I’d rather see Jason Marquis in CF than Edmonds.

The Cubs don’t need PhD graduates of the Lenny Dykstra College of Web-Gemology. They need guys that will do anything to help the team win.

Just put DeRo (you know, a guy who will genuinely do anything to help the team win) in CF - I’m sure he’s better defensively than Edmonds at this point - and platoon 1DECK and Fontenot at 2B while Felix is in Lou’s doghouse.

Playing at petco will depress your numbers, so I think he’ll improve offensively at Wrigley. For a guy who is absolutely sucking at hitting the ball, he’s still getting on base relative that awful BA. Pie is acceptable for his youth against RHP but the guy is a total zero against LHP so far, and of course the lack of patience. If the Cubs think Edmonds has value then they must be blind to the injury risk. I think he’ll have better offensive numbers but I think he’s going to be unavailable quite often.

Paul Sullivan’s article points out that since May 1, Edmonds is hitting .278 with a .381 OBA.

That sounds good until you look at it in detail and find out that he’s 5-for-18 with one run scored and no extra-base hits or RBI in that period and a .659 OPS. That’s just about what Pie has done in the identical time frame (5-for-19, one double, .616 OPS).

Again, what’s the point?

The question is, WHY? And if this was the case before spring training even began, why did they not go and make a deal in addition to getting Reed Johnson?

Again, the team is winning and scoring tons of runs. Why screw with it?

...I am firmly in denial about the matter. Jim Edmonds is not a Cub nor will he ever be. I will retain this stance until I see photographic evidence that the player in question is standing in centerfield wearing a Cubs uniform—and, even then, I might still deny it, hoping that someone is just, like, really really good with Photoshop.

Keep coming to the park if you can bring wins like this!

(And yes, it was VERY cold.)

Bochy might as well have been managing the Padres last night, though. I’ll fix it.

has nothing to do with the fact he played for the Cardinals; it has everything to with the fact that he’s just not a good ballplayer anymore.

Or, read it on the Sun-Times website.

using an exponent of 2.00, the Cubs would have a 4-game lead in the loss column. What that says is they’re outscoring their opponents at a greater clip than their record indicates. Let’s hope that record catches up to the RS/RA rate.

Watch the headlines, not necessarily the content.

It’s by comparison to how other teams deal with similar situations. We look at the Rockies and Rex Sox last year who stuck with their struggling rookies and ended up able to ride them to championships when they came around. We look at teams like the Rays this year who are sticking with Evan Longoria who is hitting with an AVG nearly identical to Pie’s.

Pie’s playing time this year has been inconsistent and unpredictable. He has often sat against pitchers with weaker stuff and started against pitchers with very difficult stuff. When he got hot in May, Lou benched him for a week. There are ways to develop 23 year old players with holes in their game. There are also ways to play a guy grudgingly and give him little chance to get it going. Look at Pie’s gamelogs closely and tell me what you really think is going on.

honestly, thats what I do.

it’s another beanball war with multiple, long suspensions.

..the Cubs lead the league in runs scored and now were going to reshuffle the lineup to hit Edmonds 5th?

I agree that Dome would be great at number two, but the lineup is producing today, why mess?

My guess is that your summary is very close to what is behind the appeal to, and debate about Edmonds. I personally don’t like the odds of this gamble, but as you stated if successful, it satisfies some of the line up issues.

are a bad baseball team.

I had a decent view after Ramireiz (Ramirez 3-2 with 2 outs and your on 2nd base is a perfect time to not hustle HE DID) beat him to the bag I next looked towards first to see if he would beat that play and saw Gonzalez near the coaches box running off.

Gonzalez needs to cover first base. Ill advised throw? yes. should he have been there to catch it? yes. To me, I don’t think its a terrible play by kouzmanoff, he put in the effort. however, Gonzalez was sluffing and that’s a shame.

Call your family and gather ‘round the TV. This is a pitching matchup for the ages.

from Estes, although it was a great one at the end of 04

Wake up the kids and call the neighbors, nobody should miss these two legends at work!!

I’m not following. Please, regale me.

They either see something they don’t like or believe that winning now will be easier to accomplish without Pie in the line up. Whatever it is, it’s not obvious- Pie has shown improvement and a change in approach and mechanics at the plate. So it looks to me that their work is paying off, but Pie’s playing time is further cut and now the Edmonds thing says they aren’t satisfied. I’ll defer to their far greater knowledge, while scratching my head.

Lou made at least one trip to the DWL to tutor Pie, and Gerald Perry made at least two. Pie looked like he was progressing during ST, then….

I remember listening to Pat and Ron during the last week of ST, and Ron said (paraphrasing): “It looks like Pie has gone back to his old stance. Maybe he wasn’t comfortable with what he had worked on this winter, because it looks like he has shifted back to last year’s stance.”

If I were Lou or Gerald, I’d be POed if the pupil I spent so much time tutoring threw everything away in a panic during the last week of ST. Perhaps they haven’t forgiven him and want to sentence him to a few months in Iowa as a result.

I’m not saying that I agree with them - after all, the Cubs can score runs without him and he does have a good glove - but I can understand their feelings.

To quote The Kinks, “Paranoia will destroy ya.”

Bang your spoon on your highchair?

Call us Nintendo-playing basement dwellers?

Take your toys and go home?

(Please be the last one. Please be the last one. Please be the last one.)

He was annointed the starting center fielder and never got a chance to be the starting centerfielder. Hows that fair? Im being ignored some if someone else wants to chime in please do.

So is your name Mike D_ _ _ _ Blue and you went to NIU? Google here I come

Barry Larkin had already been in the big leagues for four years and was established as the starting SS when Pinella got to Cincy. O’Neill had been up for five years by the time Pinella got there. Jay Buhner was in the big leagues for 6 seasons before Pinella got to the Mariners. A-Rod struggled mightily, but Lou let him work out of it, so you’re kind of right about him. Crawford came up the year before Pinella got there, but he was so damn good he didn’t need development in the way that Pie does. Ditto for Baldelli, who came major league ready, though genetically predisposed to injury. Theriot is not young talent. Pinella had jack to do with Soto’s development and, in fact, played Kendall in front him last season. He won’t even let Cedeno on the field.

And I just don’t get how you can write a thousand posts about Lou being clueless on Soriano and then say Lou is unquestionable about Pie.

with the auto-outs in RF, CF, C…and to a lesser extent SS?

I challenge you to find anybody who insists that Felix Pie has to hit .300 in this league. I’d gladly settle for a .250 BA, 10 HRs and some stolen bases. But he can’t even fulfill those very modest expectations follks.

Lou Piniella and Jim Hendry have literally done everything for this kid. They have spent tons of resources and time working with Pie on his wretched hitting approach. They have handed him a starting job. They have insulated him against left-handed pitching by going out and acquiring a guy (Reed Johnson) who was supposed to be only a 4th outfield platoon type.

And funny thing is, Reed Johnson has filled the void created by Felix Pie’s disappointment quite well. Johnson has played a capable center field and has hit quite well. We all know Johnson isn’t an everyday ballplayer and Lord knows it would be a mistake to trot him out in the lineup 140 games. Hence why the tires are about to be kicked on Jim Edmonds.