Trying to see the BIG PICTURE

by Comfortably Numb on Jul 5, 2009 8:00 AM CDT Comment 17 comments

As fans, especially Cub fans, we live not only game by game, but inning by inning. There is no way a team that has played so lifeless most times this year couldn't use a shot in the arm. The play of Blanco, Fox, and most recently Sam Fuld have all provided enthusiasm to the roster. After watching Fuld in those 2 games against Pttsburgh and Milwaukee how or why on Earth would any sane person consider putting hum on the bench. I'm not saying the guy should get his induction speech ready, but it seems you have to play him till he cools off. Well, unfortanetly or fortunately for the fan, Lou Pinella is looking at the big picture. If this team is going to contend for a World Series it's the soriano's, Fukodome's, and Johnson's that will take us there. Or so we think. After the roster moves Monday, there's a good chance this youth that has should some life on the field will probably be making plays back in Iowa. Pinella will have all his guys back in the everyday lineup and this team will excel or continue a somewhat lifeless at times attack. As goofy as Uncle Lou sounds at times, he has ben pushing the right buttons since he's been here. Putting all his chips on Soriano, Fukodome, Fotentot...........either way we all know we as Cub fans aren't going anywhere. We will be there every game, inning, and pitch.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Lou must not mind seeing Sori at bat with RISP flail at low and outside pitches

trying to pull the ball with his 400 lb. bat. Or not. I hope something is done soon about that. At least Miles hasn’t been playing too much.

"I'm not much of a chemistry guy, you know. Chemistry to me is a pinch-hit double with the bases loaded"--Jim Frey, Chicago Tribune, 1985.

by zevkalman on Jul 5, 2009 8:27 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Quite simply

the most awesome Pink Floyd song of all time, filled with personal import and pathos, the dirge for all who’ve lost control of a chaotic life and are in full retreat from the forces they cannot control by resorting to chemically-induced fetal stupors ..

Kind of where this season is heading .. and what I am sure the Bud Light bleachers were like by the time they stopped selling hooch yesterday.

When I was a child, I caught a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown, the dream is gone
I have become Comfortably Numb ..

coda

Blue mountains high .. Blue valleys low
I don't know which way we will go ..
One summer dream .. one summer dream ..

coda

ELO, 1975

by cubnational on Jul 5, 2009 8:52 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

A good tune to be sure

However I like “Great Gig In The Sky” better.

by CaliCub on Jul 5, 2009 11:22 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Floyd was penetrating

now at 52 it reminds me of what I was feeling even when it comes to time…

Time
(Mason, Waters, Wright, Gilmour)

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you’re older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I’d something more to say.

Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."

by Ivy Walls on Jul 6, 2009 10:37 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

TWSS

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 6, 2009 10:41 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

BRAVO>>>BRAVO

by Comfortably Numb on Jul 5, 2009 9:06 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

BTW

FWIW IMHO

I’d like to say that I believe the season is definitely still up for grabs. The Cubs can still pull this one out.

But I’m going to sweat everytime Soriano is pencilled into the lineup, anytime A-Ram dives for a ball, any time Bradley comes to bat with RISP, and anytime we go to the bullpen.

The Cardiac Cubs of a couple years ago are on the air.

Blue mountains high .. Blue valleys low
I don't know which way we will go ..
One summer dream .. one summer dream ..

coda

ELO, 1975

by cubnational on Jul 5, 2009 9:23 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry Lou does NOT see the"big " picture and never has

Since he was with the Cubs. He manages batter to batter ,pitcher to pitcher reading a little book that says lefty Vs righty etc. In game managing he never plans beyojnd the next guy even it if means running out of any position players by the 9th or blowing out Marmol’s arm by using him ih a 100 games. Soriano is KILLING this team and there is no chance this club wins with him playing as he is now. With a team of guys who can’t seem to score a runner on 3rd with no one out you HAVE to do something to shake it up. The Cubs are in some kind of endless loop of bad hitting and Lou pretty much does nothing and hopes it will go away. Maybe Fuld too would have gone 0-9 in the last two games if he had started but it was worth at least a try for another game. If the " Big Picture" is just hoping Soriano and Dome will get better and playing them every day until they do , I don’t want to see that picture.
"

"I daydream just like everybody else, I just do it with my body facing the field, so everybody thinks I'm paying attention."- Greg Maddux

by Doggie Stalker on Jul 5, 2009 9:25 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Disagreed .. but what was said in another thread seems to make sense

As opposed to the last couple of years, Lou’s management of whatever resources on the team hasn’t been as good as it has been. I’d agree with that. Maybe I’m missing the big picture, but he seemed to somehow work the team through the losses of Soriano, Wood, Lee, Ramirez et al to injuries much better the last couple of years – not to mention the meltdown of Pie, Howry, etc.

The bench continues to have a rotating door on it that never stops spinning. All benches do, of course, but this year, it seems to be particularly bad .. and the magic trade fairy hasn’t visited Hendry yet. So all of this I think is making keeping the ship on an even keel particularly tough. The Cubs were far more healthier at this time last year and were able to mount the stretch drive better. This is going to be one really rough summer. Will Bradley finally be what he can be? Will Harden be what he was supposed to be a YEAR ago? And will Soriano EVER rake consistently from April to October? And will the Cubs ever learn how to unclog bases with RISP as well as they did last year?

Oy ve. I don’t know if I want to sub to MLB.TV to watch this last half or not.

Blue mountains high .. Blue valleys low
I don't know which way we will go ..
One summer dream .. one summer dream ..

coda

ELO, 1975

by cubnational on Jul 5, 2009 9:39 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fontenot is feeling the heat with call-ups tomorrow

I know he has been bashed and debated on being sent down but in his last 5 games he is 6-15 and showing signs of coming back. Maybe he is feeling the heat knowing he could be sent back to AAA. Maybe Fonty is more comfortable since Fox has taken over 3rd base or it’s a credit to Von Joshua. I hope his hitting continues.

What I do feel stronger about every game is Soriano has to either has to take a long break or go on the DL. He is an absolute mess. We can debate all the moves and returnees from the DL, Soriano has to be taken down for 2 weeks and now is a perfect time.

This is only the beginning....Lou Pinella end of '07 season and Chicago Transit Authority (the band when they were really good).

by mrcubsfan on Jul 5, 2009 9:28 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

here's an angle i haven't seen floated.

usually it’s waaaaay to early to think about it. usually in this organization, it’s never an issue. i’m confident i’ll get flamed for mentioning it in early july, but…

how are we going to be for a 40 man roster this winter? i haven’t looked at the list, but at some point vitters and thomas will need to be added. nobody considered wells a definite in those terms in early may.

the reason i wonder is, if we won’t have room on the 40 man for hart/patton/etc.. due to adding blanco, fox, kyler burke, chirinos, clevinger, etc.. maybe we should trade them now for PTBNL and save a spot on the 25 man roster at the same time. i figured patton would be a reasonable 40-man-cheap-option as a reason to keep him. but some of our prized prospects will be jockeying with him for ‘rule 5 day’ importance since our kids have produced so well.

how’s that for overstating the big picture?

by tim815 on Jul 5, 2009 9:40 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The bigger picture.

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.

by santoswoodenlegs on Jul 5, 2009 5:57 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

grumble...wish i lived on Zeta Reticuli...

by CaliCub on Jul 5, 2009 7:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

◘

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 6, 2009 9:59 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

┬

I'm singing, "GO CUBS GO! GO CUBS GO!" -- DrCrawdad on Jun 12, 2009 7:23 AM CDT

Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true! -- Homer J. Simpson

by Shanghai Badger on Jul 6, 2009 4:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

↕

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 6, 2009 4:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Big picture is about getting the team right for August-September

Yes bringing up new guys who have the infectious enthusiasm is always part of a team’s process. Fox has made a stamp on this team, he is a offensive force.

Getting Soriano right is part of the program, DL’g him is a step in that direction, having him feel the tug of competition instead of complacency is another.

Fontenot has been playing out of position and is not an everyday player so he is taxed but still important.

Getting Ramirez back and effective is essential.

Soto has come around and Theriot has proven all of us wrong. Fukudome is effective and I think enthralled about being the lead off hitter.

That is the big picture—-getting your talent right and clicking together.

Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."

by Ivy Walls on Jul 6, 2009 10:42 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs