Here are a few quick baseball thoughts:
- If Carlos Quentin, Jose Contreras, and Scott Linebrink hadn't been injured near the end of the season, then the White Sox would have been a more formidable playoff team. (But the Rays were probably still better.)
- Jim Hendry overpaid for both Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome. However, I'm more concerned about the Cubs' farm system. I'm not sure how I feel about Hendry's 4-year extension. Yes, he built the first Cubs team to make the playoffs in back-to-back years, but I don't know that I would say the future is "bright" for this team. How Hendry handles Ryan Dempster's contract will be an interesting sign of things to come. (My view: Don't overpay for Dempster.) And the Cubs need to have better "top prospects" than Felix Pie in their farm system--especially when it comes to pitching.
- I don't blame Lou Piniella at all for the the Cubs' failures in the previous two playoffs. Last year he took a lot of heat for pulling Zambrano out of the game "too early." In my view, Piniella was trying to win the World Series, not trying to ride Zambrano's arm off in the first game of the playoffs just "to get there." It's a team game, and since all of Zambrano's teammates were stinking it up against Arizona, they got swept. Regarding the series against the Dodgers this year, people were upset that Piniella batted Fukodome second in Game 1 and played him at all in Game 2. Well, which other left-handed bat was he supposed to put in the lineup?
- As for the Rays and Phillies, these are the two teams that I wanted to see in the World Series if it couldn't be Chicago. I'd prefer to see the Phillies win just because those players have been around longer. But if the Rays win it, well, that would certainly make for a nice story.
- Congrats to C-Lauff for winning the UPL. In a strange bit of irony, I'm the one who ended up find out "how fifth place taste."
Okay, that's all for now; and yes, we'll have hot stove on this blog. It wouldn't be a true baseball blog without it.
4 comments:
I've been out of the blogosphere way too much lately but I guess I'm over The Cubs enough to stop by your blog. Looking forward to the hot stove stuff too. We're already waiting for next year... *sigh*
On a side note, what do I have to do to convince you to join the insanity that is NaNoWriMo this year???? My only goal is to write something less craptastic than last year but as a fellow wannabe novel writer I really think you need to join in on the chaos ...uhhh... I mean... fun!
Heheh... You know, Lisa, I think that could be a cool name for a group: Fellow Wannabe Novel Writers.
As for NanoWriMo? Well, I'll think about it... still thinking... and thinking...
Okay, I'll join the chaos. ;-)
I just signed up. (Username: fellowwannabenovelwriter.)
Thanks Greg,
I'm still glowing from my UPL baseball Championship AND I'm in first in football, so maybe we'll be talking about a Jabrone slam here in the next few months.
As far as the Cubs are concerned, I agree with you. I think the Cubs window is not opening wider, it's being shut as we speak and if they don't win the WS next year, I fear that Cubs fans are in for a long decade of sub .500 seasons because of how the farm system has been decimated by recent trades and lack of development.
I hope you continue to post on this blog, even in the baseball offseason since I always enjoy what you come up with.
Thanks, C-Lauff. We'll see what's cookin' in the offseason.
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