Bradley signing: From bad to worst-case

First of all I would call the Bulls aquisition of Jalen Rose a bigger flop than Ben Wallace and flopped around the court for a longer period of time. After whining about being in Reggie Miller's shadow in Indy he really burned up the league and took the Bulls to levels Artest and Miller couldn't didn't he?
The unfortunate thing is the Cubs won't be able to even get a Marla Collins type ball girl in return for Bradley. But there comes a time when you have to suck it up, cut your losses and move on.
If there is a culture of negativity surrounding the Cubs how is it that Wrigley Field is consistantly sold out? Only when the Cubs have been mathematically eliminated from post season play or have been eliminated in the post season do Cub fans begin expressing negatives about the team. The negativity Bradley is talking about was directed towards him (deservedly so) and not towards the team. Bradley whined about his treatment by the fans and the Chicago press but NO ONE got more negative ink than Rex Grossman did last year, yet I don't recall Rex whinning about the press or the fans. Unfortunately Bradley's ego is greater than his talent and will eventually make him nothing more than a $50 trivia question on Jeopardy.

You should have been in New York for the Carl Pavano Era. How about Kei Igawa? 50 mil for a minor league pitcher?

First things first; Bradley was an unhappy, troubled, angry and unproductive member of the team. He did zero to help the team. His outbursts both on the field, in the dugout and to the fans didn't help make him any more lovable. He's not the only reason the Cubs failed this year. He has others like Gregg, Soriano, Fukudome, Dempster, Soto and Zambrano to share the blame with. Was his signing the worst in free agent Cubs history? LaTroy Hawkins was pretty bad. And I shudder when I think of Jacques Jones. But for the amount of years and money, Bradley has to be the worst free agent signing ever. As far as the comment about negativity being a part of what's holding the Cubs back? The culture of negativity and losing hasn't been reversed by Lou Pinella. How can Cub fans be blamed for getting more and more frustrated and angry as the years go by? There's a certain kind of player the Cubs need and Bradley wasn't it. Bradley asked for trouble by antagonizing the fans. The real fans are unhappy for good reason. The team should get some young, hungry players and start fresh. And what's supposed to come first; the end of negativity (will that in itself result in a championship?) or winning a championship which will definitely end the negativity? Remember how quiet and scared Cubs fans were the first two games of the Dodger playoffs last year at Wrigley?

I will never believe that one person can hold the whole team back. Cubs have been losing for far too long for it to be anything but the culture. I've seen plenty of people leave here and go on to better careers. I've seen people with great careers come here and do absolutely nothing. This is the same team that traded Lou Brock. The same team that didn't sign Greg Maddux. Nomar barely played after being paid. Not his fault with the injury(s). For this team whatever will go wrong will go wrong. Bradley's signing was regrettable. Why sign a mercurical guy when this team and town has preconceived ideas and a bad rep? There is a bad pattern out there in right field. I guess Hendry is calling the players who have said it liars. It was a train wreck waiting to happen. I think he's a scapegoat. That's the only way to explain it for Hendry. You just knew it would blow up in your face. It's easier for people to write about the stupid things that Bradley would say or do than to pay attention to what everyone else is doing on the field. What type of team is on the field. It's a built-in excuse why everyone else didn't achieve that expected World Series. Blame the hot head instead of the guy that brought him here. In Hendry's world that the rationale.

I have to respond to the Tribune polling results.

Bradley was a bad signing, no doubt. But worst then Soriano??? Soriano signed for $136 million dollars over 8 years! To put that in perspective, only players like Alex Rodriguez ($252 million for 10 years), Derek Jeter ($189 million for 10 years), Manny Ramirez ($160 million for eight years) and Todd Helton ($141.5 million for 11 years) make that kind of money. Alfonso is nowhere near that caliber of player. Financially, that's what is killing the Cubs now and will kill the Cubs for a long time. We won't be able to sign any big name guys for possibly 5 years. Just blows my mind how terrible a signing it was.

Milton has brought this negativity upon himself. The blame should be more evenly spread, but because Milton keeps opening his big mouth, he makes himself an easy target. This has nothing to do with race. Angry and frustrated fans will call players every name in the book, especially to a player who will actually say something back. It's not fair, but that's part of being a professional athlete. Bradley just needs to go to a team where the fans don't actually care about baseball and he can just collect a paycheck and be invisible. I'm sure the Pittsburgh or Toronto would take a flyer on him.

Jim Hendry should send Bradley a giant 'Thank You' card because he was able to distract Cubs fans from the person who deserves the most blame. This guy has made one horrible front office decision after another, but hey, he suspended Bradley! Woo-hoo! Too bad Hendry couldn't suspend himself from making anymore front office moves.

WRD

That's about the best assessment of the Cubs that I've read in awhile.

Bradley's boo-boos are covering up a whole lot of things that went wrong.

Hendry signed him. He should be walking the plank.

Or do we need to remind everyone about just how good Fukudome is -- he of the .257 avg and $12M/year contract?

Jim Hendry didn't "roll the dice" with MB. Jim Hendry, the glorified "check writer" spun the roulette wheel. What are the odds on that? 36-1? I told the Cubs to mark my words last winter. We'll, here's your guy...

Jim Hendry is a poor GM--I guarantee that most of us who know baseball could do a much better job--and I'm dead serious even knowing that we haven't been inside major league baseball.

If I were a Cub fan, I would demand that he be one of many changes upcoming. So, it continues....

Worst signing of all time? I don't know.
Worst signing in recent memory? Absolutely.

The Cubs should have NEVER signed this idiot in the first place.
Seven teams in seven years?!?!

If I was the owner of the Cubs, I would be merciless:

Get rid of "Go, Cubs, Go" after games (would the Yankees play a song like that?); change the uniforms back to early 80s style; give Jim Hendry a short leash for one year and then decide whether to let him go or not; get rid of ANY pitcher who's not earning his pay; and make sure EVERY player could lay down a bunt.

All the sportswriters seem to be ganging up on Bradley,which only proves his points. I sincerely hope he is back next year and turns all those jeers to cheers. I think it is both sad and absurd that the most intelligent commentary I read came from the guy who hit two home runs against the Cubs last night, Cameron.I suspect there have been times when Lou said a lot more negative things about the media than Bradley did, and Ditka was not exactly known for humble forbearance in the face of adversity. The Cub fans needed a scapegoat for their frustrations and chose Bradley for the role, as did the management. I suspect that Jim Hendry will live to regret his hasty suspension of Bradley and hope it costs him dearly.

Exhalent comments here that hit the nail right on the head.
Hendry was right in telling him to go away but he is the one who brought him here in the first place when pretty much everyone under the sun knew that this was going to be a joke.
Bradley did not disappoint.
The Cubs got just what his reputation said he was and they paid a lot of money for it to boot.
Dumb.
Yes Soriano is over paid but at least the guy has won you some games while he has been here. Which Cub has single handily won more games over the last 3 seasons than Soriano has?
Over paid yes but the amount you pay him is not keeping the team from winning….. only from trading him.
Fukudome is being paid a lot of money too and he has not done half of what Soriano has done here.
Zambrano is over paid and he is not only a so-so pitcher but also another head case.
Blaming Soriano for everything has become the real Cubs scapegoat and it is not much different than blaming Ben Gordon for the Bulls having no inside game.
What positive can you say about Milton Bradley?

Lets see if this becomes the reason for the Cubs management and their fans to believe that another cry of “Wait till next year” is all they need now that they have gotten rid of their latest cancer.
How about this…..
What if they can’t get rid of him and the new owners refuse to pay a guy $20 million to just go away? What if he is playing right field on opening day 2010?
They already can’t dumb Zambrano because he is not worth the money they gave him or the headaches that he brings to the table.
Hendry will still be here so what will really change?
The Cubs opened up their wallet for him and he has failed and Bradley has been just a part of that.
This is Hendry’s mess and he should be held up to the light this time around.

Bradley is an excellent player. This team needs to grow together.
This is not a fantasy league where adults still living in their mom's
basement can just throw away people because you don't like them. Who cares what you like? Zambrano has been far worse for this team. They
should keep their motto "at least we are not the White Sox", and the
current team-minimal changes. St.Louis will run out of luck eventually, I'd be miserable if I had to coach that bunch of losers.
Thank goodnesss we don't have Manny and all the Dodgers scrum.
Thankgoodness we are not as hapless as the Giants (all that pitching and nothing to show for it.) Thank goodness we are not the Rockies, or
Marlins who change players like Mariotti changes his mind. Thank
goodness we are , ....... the Cubs......
So....shut up and cheer.

Yeah.... thank god the Cubs are not the White Sox, Giants, Dodgers, Cardinals, Rockies, Marlins......
Wow.
Here is your poster child moment for a century of losing baseball and the clueless people who pay to see it.
The gift of being able to discrib what is wrong with this team in so few words.
Classic!

It's bad enough that Jim Hendry signed this bozo, knowing full well the potential for it to blow up in his face. Sadder still, according to Steve Stone this morning on local radio, is the fact that the Cubs had an "out" in dealing with this. There was a clause in Bradley's contract that invalidated the third year, (13 million) if he finished this year on the DL. That might have made him easier to dump, just putting him on the DL instead of suspending him. Doesn't anybody in the organization ever do any research, or just take a kneejerk reaction. If this is the case, shame on Hendry...TWICE!!

Honestly, is there anyone on the face of the earth that remembers the Cubs winning a World Series? Despite major market advantages, the Cubs remain a national symbol of futility. Hendry is a bozo that threw around $ millions as if it was Monopoly money, and made one stupid move after another. Piniella's an over-rated windbag, another Hendry acquisition. Thank God I'm not a Cubs fan. I'd have slit my throat long ago.

Seriously, I think my least favorite "Milton Bradley" memory of this season has to be the local Chicago media basically painting this guy as the PRIMARY reason for the Cubs downfall this season. Yes yes yes, I understand it's the media's job to write the story as it surfaces and I understand Milton just doesn't know when to f'in shut up, but it's not like Milton goes out of his way to say something in public, it's the writers/reporters who constantly barrage him trying to get the inside scoop. It's a two-way street, so basically both are at fault for the media circus this season.

Jim Hendry must take accountability and should burden most of the blame for this lost season, from the signing/releases/acquisitions of Bradley down to Aaron Heilman, Kevin Gregg, Aaron Miles, Ryan Freel, Mark DeRosa, Henry Blanco, Mike Fontenot, etc... Hendry cost the Cubs a ton of wasted money with these bad contracts and let's not forget in hindsight, of course, the bad contracts of Soriano, Fukudome, and so forth. Sure, Hendry made some decent signings like Ted Lilly and Reed Johnson (although injury-prone), among others, over the years, but the clear negatives outweigh the positives, especially on busted signings from the dreaded OUTFIELD Position that Hendry has never successfully corrected all these years.

Funny thing is, to play Devil's advocate here, there is some (or rather, plenty of) truth out there of the culture of negativity surrounding the Cubs franchise. Even last season's 97-win feat, there were more than plenty of people who predicted a meltdown by the Cubs in the playoffs because no one trusted Soriano, people questioning Lou w/ Fukudome's 2nd half struggles, the stupid talk about curses, Bartman, the blessing priest in the dugout... hey, call it comedy or whatever, but that's negativity, folks. That's why I've been suggesting for several months now, the new ownership team must make drastic changes all across the board, even it means having to get rid of favorite Cubs guys like Ramirez or Lee to get true value in return. There should absolutely be no untouchable on this team and within the organization, none at all. This starts from the management team. If they can't get rid of Hendry because of the contractual obligations, then create an Executive position/consultant for a true baseball guy to oversee Hendry and go from there. Start from top all the way to the bottom which includes the roster and the coaching staff, while revamping the Farm System in between. Hey, finally they brought up Tyler Colvin last night! What about Josh Vitters? Still not ready for another 4 years according to Hendry's scouting team? Man, what a mess. Good luck, Ricketts!

The MLB players association to file a grievance on behalf of Bradley against the Cubs? What is their beef? He just stole $30 million from the organization with his lackluster effort and constant whining about everything.

I'll preface this by stating that I'm not a Cub's fan, and will never be a Bradley fan, regardless of which uniform he's wearing.

This is so convienent for the entire team; to lay their complete catastrophy of a season at the feet of Bradley, using this freak show to absolve themselves of any and all complicity in their grandest of failures.

Zambrano, Soriano, and Dempster, to name just a few, should all be cutting Milton $100,000 checks for taking the spotlight off of themselves.

Bradley cost the organization $10,000,000 this year. What exactly did they get for the rest of the money they spent?

It became obvious that this wouldn't work. Bradley seemed more interested in taking a pitch an inch outside (often called a strike anyway) then taking the TEAM into account. Runner on 3rd, less than 2 outs - we need a ball hit somewhere, not someone trying to make a point.

Garry, good post from a true blue Cubs fan. I agree with you for the most part, and you brought up some good points for further discussion. The only real item that I felt that you left out, though, and I’m not sure whether it was intentional or not, was that you didn’t seem to call out or mention Jim Hendry at fault at all. You’re right, the “real” fans are indeed unhappy for good reason. However, even last season in that playoff series with the Dodgers, there was more than enough doubt going into that series from fans and media guys alike constantly bringing up the choke artists label, the curses, the Bartman talk, the red hot Manny Ramirez, the loaded pressure, etc… any way you look at it, there will always be that aura of negativity surrounding this team every year because you can’t just weed out and force out the casual/bandwagon fans in any sport, but bottom line, unless drastic changes are made within the organization from top to bottom, then the culture of negative perception will never change, especially with a 100+ year black cloud history hovering over the team. Minor tweaks here and there will NOT or will NEVER get the job done. This situation is very similar to the Blackhawks in that a complete overhaul is necessary to go along with the new ownership transition. The only differences were that the Cubs had more successful regular season records and had more expectations than the Blackhawks who were literally just bad for so many years. For me, my attitude as a fan is to just cheer on the guys to play the game to win. I don’t care about the winless championship streak. I don’t dwell in the past. If they lose, they lose and tomorrow is another day, but as long as they played tough and with 100% effort, I’m satisfied, but in this case, if this Cubs team is ever going to progress to serious contention again, then they have to fix the true problems on the team, not just make small adjustments around the core issues.

Look, I understand that there are a bunch of bad contracts of underperformers on the roster and the terrible hires within the organization and the Farm system. I’m aware that’s a TON of money involved here, much more than what the Blackhawks had to compensate for in their rebuilding. I get that, and I’m glad I’m not the rich guy who bought the team to take on that burden, but if they’re ever going to dig themselves out of this hole, then you have to start over fresh with like you said, Garry, with fresh and extremely ambitious true “baseball” corporate guys and the young and hungry players who don’t know the meaning of pressure yet. Unfortunately, the Cubs are also going to have to fix up their own Farm System of development as well to groom future superstars. I know guys like Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are the likable guys and perhaps the experienced players you can “build a young team around with”, but let’s face it, both guys are getting older, less reliable to last an entire season without missing games due to various nagging injuries, and I believe next season will be Derrek Lee’s final season under contract. You can’t necessarily start fresh building a new team around existing players past their prime. It’s time to let them go and get value in return while they are still respected around the league. If there’s one consistent area that the Cubs have done well over the years is the starting pitching overall. Fine, I understand Zambrano had a down season and he’s a looney tune out there, but overall, the starting pitching was not a problem area with this team. I don’t see how getting rid of Z is one of the answers, but hey, if we get proven and young quality in return, then do it!

And finally, to answer Garry’s last question on what should come first, the end of negativity or winning a Championship?... I don’t think you can ever cure the negativity, but at this point, it’s best to start over and rebuild from there. Go young, build consistency and make steady progress into building a serious contender again. As long as fans of all types that follow the Cubs see a plan in place, then all that hope will erase the negativity into excitement again. Right now though, it’s mostly about just the beer and parties around the ballpark. Like I said before, this offseason will quickly show if the Ricketts are the true Cubs and baseball fans that they claim to be or if they’re just another business entity worried about the almighty cash flow $$’s and profits.

Nice catch, Gizmo.

That would have been a shrewd move if they could have pulled it off.
And since Milton himself claimed that he wasn't physically able to play, he would have had a hard time arguing his case.

As it is now, he'll be laughing all the way to the bank with another unearned $20 million. I want to see what Cub fans do next year when they raise ticket prices again.

You are right Edgar.
They have to clean house from one end to the other here.
Completely redo this organization.
The players, management, attitude, the fans, the ballpark.
This is not working and has not worked for decades now.
If the new owners were to shake off this stupid lovable loser nonsense and build the Cubs into a team that really contends every year the real fans would worship them.
Of course they would offend the drunken frat boy crowd or the tourists but so the hell what?
Build a real winner and you are going to get your 3.5 million fans just like they do in Boston, Philly and St. Louis.
All three of those teams are thinking World Series right now and all three have won a World Series in the last 3 years. That is what you want to be.
Who won it the year before?
The White Sox.
The team right across town and they do not reminisce about seasons that end in failure and nether do their fans.
If the Sox can pick up Chone Figgens in the off-season would they not be the favorite to win that division next year?
I think so.
Does anyone really believe that the Cardinals are just going to sit on their hands even if they win it all this year?
I don’t.
They have a lot of money to spend if they want and they have knowledgeable baseball people making the decisions over there.
That is the team that you are chasing and they are light years better at this than the Cubs.

If the new owners are just in it to milk the fans then change nothing.
Add a few more seats some place and sell the naming rights to them.
Bring in more near celebrities to sing.
Put up another monument to Harry.
It will make you money while not getting one inch closer to a World Series and some people will be just fine with that.

"If the new owners were to shake off this stupid lovable loser nonsense and build the Cubs into a team that really contends every year the real fans would worship them."

Phil ... Their fans worship them now; exactly the way that they are.

That's the problem.

And as for drawing 3.5 million fans? The only thing that prevents them from pulling 5 million of the drooling idiots into Wrigley is it's paltry seating capacity.

Cub fans could sell out the new stadium in Dallas, 82 games a year.

There are that many of these brain dead zombies out there.

Be afraid. Be VERY AFRAID!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are right Villano.
It is hard for me to think like a Cub fan and I find myself thinking in terms of winning and making the game the focus.
Too many Cub fans just want their Wrigley, their cuddly losing and their over priced beer.

To hell with them then.

Villano, it's called 'loyalty'. Something the Whitesox can never
experience. You know they did a poll and 65% of the Chicagoans had no idea who won the world series in 2005? I don't know either..but it wasn't Chicago's favorite baseball team-or second favorite team(Brewers).
Phil..yeah that's the answer...Chone Figgins will make the Sox the friggin team to beat? Your the same as the idiots who blame the Cubs woes this year on Milton Bradley.One person deosn't make a team a
division champ or a loser. Lose you 1980's arcade nickname and get out of your mom's basement once in a while. There are living,brething,evolving things outside. Evolve.

Stuck, who did this "poll"? Polls per se are only as good as the statistician who put them together combined with the pollsters that take them. For all I know it was done is Sister Mary Ann's kindergarten class or a beauty salon/spa at Water Tower Place! I could do a very bad poll that suggests the Cubs are the laughingstock of the league tomorrow in my classroom, especially after persuading my students with a reward or some self-concocted story that would sway them.

While I concede this is a Cubs town whatever the reasons (I suppose a doctoral dissertation could be written as to why that is), I will not for a one single second believe that "65% of Chicagoans" didn't know who won the 2005 World Series using correct polling standards. Now, it's possible that in our current society of misplaced cerebral usage, that people simply didn't put together the exact year that they won. It wasn't that a proper poll taken measured that a significant percentage of Chicagoans didn't know that the Sox had won within the past few years.

Stuck, you come across as someone who really thinks they know so much about this and that. The Sox stunk up the joint this year. That's what most Sox fans do; they admit that their team stinks and demand a quality product with which to spend their hard-earned money. I think that "loyalty card" is overused. So many of us have been diehard Sox fans for decades. We follow them year in and year out, albeit from various distances until they show us something. I call that an efficient use of our time and money.

Stuck you're right the only teams(and I'm speaking of MLB now) that genuinely have fans as loyal Cub Fans would be the Yankees. Do I question my loyalty to the Cubs? You betcha I do. Do I blame goat curses or Bartman or the alignment of venus and mars? Not at all. Why does Wrigley sell out and the Cell have an echo? Perceived atmosphere. White Sox fans always want to refer to the drunken frat boys and tourists that fill wrigley, well they should ask why it is that those people don't go to the Cell?
Negativity around Wrigley only sets in once the team starts it's downward spiral and ofcourse then the feeling is....Oh No Not Again! Is Bradley solely to blame? NO! But he has made himself the main point of focus. Does Mr. Ricketts need a new broom to sweep the team and organization clean? NO! He needs a vacumm cleaner. And MLB contracts(actually all pro sports) need to be incentive based instead of handing players guaranteed money for past performances. Increases in a base salary for past performance is fine but gauranteeing millions of dollars without protection of a certain level of performance is just plain stupid. Would Bradley be so bitter and vocal if half his money was incentive based? I doubt it. He'd be too focused on doing what he could to meet the incentive performance level.

Just wondering...

Why didn't Neil Hayes come out with an article telling fans to get off Bradley's back just like he did for Jay Cutler?

Only seems fair.

Gig, I am just baiting you guys,as always....seems to be the only place Sox fans post is in Cubs threads....suprised you bit on it.
I agree, generally people who use polls and statistics are liars.
Such as myself in this situation...good call out. I love Chone figgins, Sox had the opportunity to get him 2 years ago....now if
they do...surely a steeper price to pay.

Stuck, I don't mind fan loyalty to a certain sports team. I'm a huge fan of the Cubs or else I wouldn't care so much with the passionate posts on most Chicago sports teams. I'm glad to see that you stick up for the Cubs through thick and thin, but don't ever mistaken "loyalty" to ignorance and blind faith. Just because I'm a big fan of a team doesn't mean I have to kiss their a$$ and defend all their transaction moves every single time. If you sit back and read your posts over again, it's "fans" like you who prompt all the stereotype statements about Cubs fans in general. The fact of the matter here is that the team made a complete turnaround this season and FAILED in what was expected to at least make some progress to go deeper into the playoffs and now there is danger of things getting worse for the team instead of getting better. Exactly where do you see it getting any better? Why not elaborate on that instead of picking argumentative posts with the obvious White Sox posters invading the Cubs board just looking for some knucklehead to respond to them? Whether you're right or wrong, no matter what you say, the back and forth crap goes nowhere and doesn't help figure out the true issues with both baseball teams. Earlier you said "the team needs to grow together". What do you mean by that statement? How much longer you have to stand by that statement before you realize that it's never going to work with this particular team? The core guys on the Cubs have already been intact for years already! They're not rookies who just got the callup from the Minors. I mean seriously, Stuck, you actually think that a little tweak here and there is all the Cubs need in order for them to continue "growing together" and become a serious contender again? We can either continue this discussion about the Cubs or you can choose to continue your barbs with the White Sox and Cardinals posters. Your move.

Not true Edgar. A 'core' of a team is just financial jibberish. These
guys who have been together have to accept change. That is the first thing that needs to happen. They lost their clubhouse leader in DeRosa, and gained someone who is very different from him (Bradley).
Cubs will finish with a winning record, and maybe a better record than 2 years ago when they won the division. This season has not been
a failure by any means. Disappointment -yes. This group of players has
fought through injuries and red tape( ownerless,powerless) this year,
and has undoubtedly developed the resiliency required to keep you
from getting swept out of the first round of the playoffs. That is what they needed. I can assure you, that this team will be very dominant next year, if kept how it is (maybe get rid of Miles).

"a gem cannot be polished without friction,nor a man without trials."
-old proverb

this was a 'polishing' year. WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

The biggest mistake the Cubs and Hendry made was to get rid of Mark DeRosa!! If we had DeRosa this year, we would have won...of course, the next big mistake was keeping Bradley, Fukadome, and Soriano. All they did was strike out the lst half of the season.

And, it's time to play the new kids...Fontenot, Fuld, Fox, Hauffenpaur (don't know how to spell his name, but you know who I mean), even Blanco...and, of course, by all means KEEP Theriot and KEEP and Johnson and let Johnson play, too. Bradley and Fukodome
mainly kept the Cubs from winning this year. And, get some pitchers for next year! There is no reason the Cubs couldn't have won the Division this year!!! Let's get a team put together for next year that can win!!!!!!!!! Players that want to play and for goodness sake, GET MARK DEROSA BACK. WE NEED HIM.

Okay, that's better, Stuck. However, I'm gonna have to disagree with you on your last post because you and Mt. Carmel Kay are basically saying that losing Mark DeRosa was the ULTIMATE reason for the Cubs "disappointment" (or in my opinion, FAILURE) this year. Stuck, in the age of free agency, all ballclubs in all sports have to deal with some ounce of change within the team every year. The Cubs had injuries last year and the year before and the year before that. That's part of the game that I rarely ever bring up as an excuse for any round table discussion. This team clearly had the talent, but no one on this current roster has proven that they can perform or get the job done when the wins matter the most. For all those nice regular season stats from past seasons that I have seen from Ramirez, Lee, Soriano, Theriot, Zambrano, Harden, Lilly, Bradley, M. Alou, heck, even Mark DeRosa, etc.... NOT ONE SINGLE PLAYER on this current Cubs roster has proven that they can perform under pressure and in a playoff environment! NOT ONE! I challenge any other knowledgeable Cubs fan to tell me otherwise. I appreciate the proverb quote, Stuck, but it's not exactly inspiring for my tastes with this team at this time. Ricketts have their hands full this offseason.

Stuck sez: "this was a 'polishing' year. WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR!!!!!!!!!!"

We know what they've all been polishing, but since this is a family publication .......

And as for your "Wait 'til next year" mantra; don't Cub fans usually begin that chant in May?

Trying to beat the rush, huh?

OR..............I am 4 months late..........GOOOOOOOOO CUBBBBIESSS.....next year.

No Edgar, I was saying that Mark Derosa was a leader in the clubhouse, but Milton is not...not in the baseball aspect anyway, I am sure there are plenty of things he leads in, and the Sox fans have let us know. Who was the leader in the clubhouse this year? Exactly, no one. A leader was not replaced. That's all.

'If you always did what you've always done, then you'll always git what you've always got.'
-hillbilly proverb

Bradley is out of his mind, but he can play baseball. Cubs are suckers for suspending him. Put that expensive joker on the field! I wish Kenny could sign him. Ozzie would check that joker and get him to do what he is PAID to do.

Bad move by Hendry. But the problem is Lou.

Stuck is right. Next year.

And he better apologize for making all those bad board games...

Keith, I couldn't disagree with you more about MB. I think the only managers he can play for are Ron Washington in Texas or Jerry Manuel, guys of that ilk. I don't think Ozzie is the type of guy to get the most out of him. Some guys are rather passive aggressive with firey managers, even honest ones with whom you know you stand at all times. While MB has obvious outward aggression, I think he's a complicated bird and has inward aggression as well. "In your face" is not for everyone. Of course, I'm no psychologist, but it is one of the hats I have to wear in my profession and am usually pretty close in these general assessments.

MB is very talented, I'll grant you that, but aside from his season in Texas, his body of work is about C+. Moreover, he can be cancerous and injury-prone. I wouldn't want him on the Chicago White Sox and I just might get on a plane and fight my way through to KW's office to find out what he was thinking. To say the least, I would be very upset, especially for ten million per annum!

Yo Stuck!

Now that I think about it, I can't really come up with a real rabble rousing, "Let's go get 'em" leader on either team.

They're all a bunch of million dollar wall flowers.

Gina, I still play Monopoly today.No apologies needed for that one.

Everyone seems to agree that huge salaries for long-term contracts are counter-productive, so perhaps the pro teams should operate on a zero-based budgeting concept. If you don't produce, you don't get payed.If you do, you get a bonus. One suspects that there would be lots of personnel turnover and the competition would be more equitable. Only joking here, so please do not arttack me on unrealistic expectations.

One thing the owners should do:

Get together collectively, (not in secret) and vote to eliminate all "no trade" clauses from any future contracts. There is no reason that they have to agree to this type of agent induced blackmail, and it renders too many clubs helpless insofar as moving players, and improving their rosters.