Cubs vs. Astros Preview, Monday 9/6, 1:20 CT: Shooting For Third Place

day for a ballgame. I’m heading to Wrigley shortly.

Too bad Coleman is pitching. And that Castro is out. And Ramirez too. Ugh. Oh well, it’s still baseball on Labor Day — gotta love it!

some friends and I are thinking about heading there, and wearing all black to the 2010 Cubs funeral

If it launches a six-game losing streak, Ryno will breathe easier and our draft position may improve slightly – both good things in the long run.

There are some who want to see the Cubs lose to get better 2011 drafting position

I don’t me or anyone else here has said that. I’ve said I don’t care if the Cubs lose, I said I don’t care if they decide to shut down Soto, I don’t care if they win. I’m not saying I want to see them lost, I’m saying it’s not the worst thing in the world. Of course I want to see my favorite team win.

This statement, is not “inaccurate”, but also isn’t totally accurate.

There are some who want to see the Cubs lose to get better 2011 drafting position. I’m not one of those people. Play the games to win.

The accurate part is, sure, there are “some” who WANT the Cubs to lose.

However, most of us loosely grouped in the “pro-draft” camp view the situation differently.

Let me explain… No, There is no time. Let me sum up.

I NEVER root for the Cubs to lose. Never. However, given the lost season, I am significantly more apathetic to whether they win or lose.

If they win, I see good things for Mike Quade, individual players who are helping lead the Cubs to victory, and flickers of hope for next year. That said, “finishing strong” means very, very little to what we should expect for next year’s Cubs.

If they lose, it does improve their draft position. Like it or not, as toonsterwu summarized elsewhere, the higher your pick, the better your chances of having a successful draft. That said, I am under no disillusionment that a higher pick guarantees anything for the Cubs. Obviously, good players are found at all points in the draft. WHO is picking is more important than when you pick. But, this does not erase the slight advantage to making a selection before an increased number of your competitors.

I view the chance to draft higher as more valuable than “finishing strong”. The fact that others feel differently is perfectly fine with me… and a point we can all feel free to debate.

However, I humbly ask you, Al, to please stop inferring that many of us are “rooting for the Cubs to lose”. That simply isn’t the case for most of us. The pain of each loss is simply substantially muted by the fact that we are “shooting for third place”. I will always root for the Cubs to win each individual game. However, if they would happen to lose more often than they would win the rest of the month, the silver lining is the slight advantage gained in next year’s draft.

and I’ll say the same thing today about Wandy Rodriguez: I can’t believe his lifetime record against the Cubs is only 5-4. He is one of two guys in the division (Arroyo being the other) who the Cubs always seem to lose to. Arroyo’s record against the Cubs, as I came to find out, was a winning record, but not dominating as I thought it would be. I could probably include Carpenter in this discussion also, but Carpenter is different because he is a bonafide ace, a guy who would be the #1 starter on most teams in the league (although, ironically, with the season Wainwright has had, Carpenter may not be the #1 guy on his own team anymore).

1.Fuld CF 2.M Smith 3B 3.Snyder RF 4.Dubois LF 5.LaHair 1B 6.Scales 2B 7.Chirinos C 8.Camp SS 9.Jackson P

has got to keep his emotions in check. He can get too pumped up on the mound.

<h1> GO CUBS</h1>

C’mon Jay.

Jackson pitches out of the jam.

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2010/9/6/1671869/first-pitch-thread-cubs-vs-astros#comments