Backstop30

KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!

who are you talking to here? No on in particular. I'm just venting my frustrations. It was a sad sight in my section tonight.

I am ashamed to be associated (in any way, shape, or form) with the bandwagon jumpers, who call themselves fans, that were sitting in section 450 tonight. You all know who you are. When your team needed you most - in extra innings, with the score tied - you were not offering your support. This is the time of the game when every single pitch is critical. Make a good one and you are that much closer to getting a chance to hit in the bottom of the inning and win the game. Put a good swing on one of those pitches and the game just might be over. Times like these are not meant to be watched while sitting on your butts. They require you to stand, and cheer at the top of your lungs, while willing your team to victory. I guess that the people who were sitting in section 450 (except the handfull of people who have been there for the last several years) just didn't care enough to root for "their" team. Time and time again I tried to get the people on their feet, and time and time again My efforts were for not. The only people who's support I had were the usher and two guys who were Cubs fans. The Cubs fans kept going on about how real fans would be going absolutely crazy at a time like this, without any prodding or encouragement. Finally, after enough of the sellouts in the rows behind me complained, the usher was forced to do his job and make me sit down. What a sour taste this night left in my mouth. A game we let get away, and a bunch of people exposed for the heart-less, faith-less, passion-less sheep that they are. They don't really care if "their" team wins or loses. They were just happy to be at the stadium because someone else told them that it was the "in" thing to do. You people make me sick.

a lot of it hangs on the stadium issue too.... The stadium is far better than it is made out to be.

No matter what happens, I don't think that there will be 25K in the seats night in and night out. It will take quite a bit more winning before we can expect that kind of attendance for games against the likes of Montreal, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, etc. (IMO). To put up numbers like that you need a season ticket base of 20K+. We are a long way from that. I do, however, expect there to be a gradual increase in the attendance if the current ownership continues to lead this team in the right direction. I seriously doubt we'll see the type of increase that we got from last year to this, but I do anticipate the numbers to continue to grow. Season tickets are the key. I remember reading in an article (last week or so) that teams like St. Louis, SF, Chicago, etc all have season ticket bases in excess of 25K. That can do wonders for the reported attendance of a game, no matter who the opponent is. Also, this region is VERY fickle, and often times short sighted, and I expect to hear a ton of complaints this winter when some of the established player are not retained. People seem to have a difficult time accepting the realities of the team's financial situation.

Consider me one of the "passionate fish maniacs". I've had season tickets since 1997 and have endured several hundred meaningless games since then. This post season run has been extremely gratifying for me and the the rest of the fish maniacs. Hopefully, this exposure will bring the crowds back for next year. As much as I'd like to hope, I don't think that will be the case however. This area has shown it's true colors too many times before. In any event, I'll be a maniacal supporter of the Fish until the end; whenever that may be.

450 row 5, seats 1 & 2

atleast some on the staff are finally reaching it(like everyone but Brad) I worry less about him fulfilling his potential and more about him developing some consistency. He has shown how hard he can throw, how dominat he can be, etc. He did, afterall, win 14 games; only a handfull of other guys won more this year. He can pitch. He just needs to learn how to bring his "A" game more frequently. 14 W's is more than Ted Lilly, Roy Oswalt, Tome Glavine, & Curt Schilling, to name a few.

Release alex. Now there's an intelligent statement. While we're at it let's release Penny too.

that lineup is SICK... I would be sick (to my stomach) too, the instant that Cabs muffs an inning ending DP and a run scores (directly or indirectly) or doesn't get to a ball in the hole and a runner scores from second. The mark of a good coaching staff is putting their players in positions to succeed. Putting Cabs at 3B is setting him up to (potentially) be the goat.

I, for one, am 100% against sitting Gonzo in favor of Cabs. For all of you who have questioned whether AGon is that great in the field, ask yourself, "Which NL SS would you rather have (speaking of defense only)?" I say NONE. He, IMO, is the best. And on top of that, he has exceptional chemistry with his longtime DP partner Luis. This brings me to my next point... In a series where your team is not expecting to score too many runs you can't afford to give the other team more chances to score their own runs. That means not making erros as well as turning every DP possible. Who gives you the best chance of doing these things? Gonzalez. No SS in the NL has the ability to turn a DP like he does. He has more controll over his body, while airborne, than any player I've ever seen, and he has the arm to compliment this. On top of all of this, anyone who has ever played the middle infield will tell you that it takes time to become comfortable with your DP partner. You need to know where they will be at any given moment, even with your eyes closed or your back to the infield. My second major point is this: While I agree that Lowell offers a lot of offense, he also provides McKeon a major weapon on his bench. Late in a game, when you need to make a double switch, Mike can be inserted in the 9-hole and play third, putting the new pitcher in Cabrera's spot. This will allow you to get an extra inning out of Fox or Pavano while losing almost nothing defensively at 3B. No other team in these playoffs has that type of option - with any position. My bottom line is this. We all agree that Lowell is a major part of this team, but, the team is playing excceptioanlly well right now (not counting last night, and quite frankly, Lowell at 3B, - Cabs at SS would have made absolutely zero differnce in the game) and they're winning. If it aint broke, don't fix it.

Lowell is better at 3rd. It will cost the team to play Cabrera there. I absolutely disagree that Lowell is better at 3B. Either way, I don't see Cabs costing them in the field at third

I'm wondering if the information goes directly to the database or do they have to download every few hours? The data transfer is nearly immeadiate. I have season tickets and rarely go to the Sunday games. Last year they gave away bobbleheads on an afternoon game and I didn't want to stay, just go and get my bobbles. I got there real early, parked right in fron of the gate, and went in and back to the truck and back in again within a matter of about two minutes. On the second trip, I mistakenly gave the ticket taker the ticket that I used the first time through and she wouldn't let me in. I gave her my other ticket and she told me that she could let me in, but I couldn't get a bobblehead. I don't know how it works, but the system seems to be pretty well designed.

who gives a F**** bout his D ? SS is hardly one of the positions where a player with defensive deficiencies can be "hidden" in a lineup. In games of the magnitude of the playoffs I don't want some guy making a mistake because he wasn't 110% comfortable, or he wasn't 110% certain of what his responsibilities were on that particular play. I say, Gonzo is the playoff SS without question.

Gonzalez is way too good, defensively, to even consider this (IMO).