Again, sorry, I couldn't get this up earlier.

Lee and Ramirez in the middle of the order have been death. Now, with the rest of the lineup coming back to earth...

I think the plural for Carlos is Carloi.

I think the question now isn’t when will Aramis snap out of this but just how bad will it be and can Aramis put up the worst season all time for a guy who is a solid bet to put up a mid 120 to mid 130 OPS+ year in year out.

Ramirez is fucking killing my fantasy team. It's some sort of karmic comeuppance for having the temerity to draft a Cub.

Wow - so much for Lou's Big Shake-Up. Basically, every slumping hitter he benched is back in the lineup tonight. And the two suckiest are right back in the 3-4 holes. Nady, who has been pretty good the last few games, is back on the pine; ditto Colvin and Fontenot. And, of course, Z is back in the rotation.

I know Lou has a rep as an irascible, grumpy, take-no-prisoners guy, but lately he seems to manage as if his goal in life is to keep his vets happy and secure.

So I was watching the Hawks game, but looking at the box score I see that Theriot/Lee/Ramirez/Fukudome(?) were hitting 2-3-4-5 tonight. I hardly even know what to say.

Thank you for the punctuation. It is always nice to see my words put down on a page the correct way. Lord knows I can't do it.

As for the Cubs, I got into a big argument on another site at the end of May about the Cubs' chances this season. I basically believe the Cubs are toast while they are the eternal optimists and thought that it was still anyone's division to win. Since then only about 5 games have been played and I think my side of the argument is pretty solid. There just isn't much about this team this season to be excited about.

As for the Cubs, I got into a big argument on another site at the end of May about the Cubs' chances this season. I basically believe the Cubs are toast while they are the eternal optimists and thought that it was still anyone's division to win.

I certainly don't see any of the teams ahead of the Cubs in the standings as locks, and with this pitching staff, I would have to conclude that they have a shot at it. The offense has been on life support, but that will improve. Whether it will improve enough to make a difference, and whether the pitching staff is likely to stay anywhere near this good, those are things I cannot guarantee.

It isn't a matter of someone above them being a lock. It is a matter of the Cubs being 6 games under with two teams ahead of them in the division and 11 teams in the league having a better record than them.

At the end of April a lot of people were saying the offense would get it together because Lee and Ramirez wouldn't stay this bad. While they were saying this some were also saying that it isn't likely that the 7 other guys would stay this hot. The same holds true for the pitching. I think the chances that the offense comes together and the pitching keeps it together is slim to none.

I don't think the starting rotation, as a group, is pitching much above its level right now. Injuries could always happen, etc, but those guys look pretty solid. If they can get the offense straightened out, they should win a lot of ballgames.

Again, sorry, I couldn't get this up earlier.

That's what he said!

and they are going to need too,something like 69 and 38 from here on out.

Oh sure, don't get me wrong, I think they're pretty much cooked.

On the other hand, the 2007 team didn't go over .500 to stay until July 2, and through 55 games they were actually 24-31, one game worse than the current Cubs. And they finished in first place.

But of course, they only won 85 games, and it seems reasonable to assume that it'll take more than that to win the Central this year. Plus, that team had actually outscored their opponents by 20 runs through 55 games, and in fact had the best Pythag record in the Central, while this team has a -13 run differential. There was good reason to think that team was better than their record, but this year, not so much. And the Cardinals look like the real deal this year.

So yeah, cooked.