[retired_jsnap]

Great start by Francoeur though, especially in pressure situations.

None on .205 avg

Runners on .364 avg

Scoring position .423 avg

Men on, 2 out .438 avg

Scoring position, 2 out .538 avg

The bigger the situation, the better he's been.

[retired_kimmymarlo]

Originally posted by jmarcetic:
I love how Francoeur sounds so proud that he can multiply 4 by 9, he just had to tell the umpire.

Francoeur > you

[retired_autumn]

Originally posted by Andy Jordan:
<BLOCKQUOTE>Originally posted by jmarcetic:
I love how Francoeur sounds so proud that he can multiply 4 by 9, he just had to tell the umpire.

Francoeur &gt; you </BLOCKQUOTE>

Originally posted by Andy Jordan:
Francoeur moved out over the offseason.

[retired_autumn]

Pelfrey gets smoked by the Rockies. Mets 5th spot is officially in disarray. :thup:

Now if O Perez can stop pitching well every other start, then the Mets can get started on being undone by their starting pitching, which I've been banking on all season.

[BarryLFC]

Originally posted by Oggy73:
You want a bullpen that never loses a game?Everyone in there bar Eyre and Ohman has been acceptable. The only runs Dempster has given up in 11 innings is a 3-run homer to Pujols. Wuertz has been close to perfect.

Hill is now 3-1 with a 1.57 era. That is still a superb start. Lilly's lack of run support is hardly his fault; in four games he has 30 strikouts and 5 walks. He's been great. Marquis will blow up some time in the season but did enough to win enough all three of his starts. Zambrano has been awful but will improve; the fifth starter spot is a black hole.

Preseason I thought the pitching staff would be this team's biggest weakness. The start they've made has been hugely encouraging. The problem right now is the hitting, and that will come good.

Lee's homers will come, and even if they didn't, he's hitting .367. Ramirez and Barrett have hit, Soriano will hit, and Pie is a toss up. There's enough there to make up for the weaker bats.

This will be a good team.

Nah, I want a bullpen that doesn't lose every game. If you think Ohman has been acceptable you can't have seen his first three outings of the year when he threw about 20 balls to 3 strikes. (Estimated).

Hill's last start was only disappointing because nobody else is winning.

[retired_lphipps]

Ohman and Eyre are the two relievers I left out of "acceptable." They've been poor to say the least.

I really do think the team will do okay this year once they start swinging well. In most of their losses they've had good chances to either pile on runs or come back. Clearly you think the bullpen is worse than I do, but their jobs should have been made a lot easier by the bats.

Would be surprised if they hit Sheets much today though, if that game ever starts.

[retired_lphipps]

"CHICAGO -- Cubs right-hander Mark Prior will not pitch this season after undergoing successful right shoulder arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday.
Dr. James Andrews performed the procedure in Birmingham, Ala. During the arthroscopy, Andrews performed a debridement of Prior's right rotator cuff, as well as repaired the labral and capsular injuries in his right shoulder.

Prior began a comprehensive rehab program in Birmingham on Wednesday that will be overseen by Andrews and the Cubs' medical staff.

The Cubs announced in a statement that Prior will not pitch this year, and will continue his rehab program this offseason.

"Obviously, he had some things wrong physically and he's getting them corrected," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "This is a step in the right direction."

Prior, 26, has been on the disabled list at least once every year since he was called up in May 2002, but he had never had surgery on his shoulder until now.

The right-hander pitched 10 1/3 innings this spring with the Cubs and was then optioned to Triple-A Iowa at the end of Spring Training. He never reported to the Iowa club, but was placed on the Minor League team's disabled list with right shoulder fatigue.

Prior had stayed behind in Mesa, Ariz., at the Cubs' extended Spring Training camp. His only outing there was two innings on April 12, and that was cut short because of discomfort in his shoulder. Since then, he was examined by orthopedic specialists Lewis Yocum and Andrews.

Prior was limited to nine starts in 2006 because of his shoulder. He hasn't been the same since a stellar 2003 season when he won 18 games and was named to the All-Star team."

2003 was so much fun. Will he ever come back?

[BarryLFC]

Originally posted by Oggy73:
Ohman and Eyre are the two relievers I left out of "acceptable." They've been poor to say the least.

I really do think the team will do okay this year once they start swinging well. In most of their losses they've had good chances to either pile on runs or come back. Clearly you think the bullpen is worse than I do, but their jobs should have been made a lot easier by the bats.

Would be surprised if they hit Sheets much today though, if that game ever starts.

Sorry, misread.

[BarryLFC]

Debridement is where he cuts bits off, isn't it?

[retired_lphipps]

Removal of dead, damaged, or infected tissue according to wiki. I've just about given up on Prior's major league career, but I believe this is the first surgery he's had: if fully healhty he's still young enough to come back from the past few poor years.

But maybe that's stretching my Cubby optimism too far. He's just as likely done for good.