Heard it while at lunch today. VERY refreshing to hear a guy come on and tell it like it is. He called out SORRYiano for being lazy and called his statement selfish and not part of playing winning baseball. No real news to true Cubs fans there....but when he was asked whether he would have gone out and got SORRYiano [for being lazy]...Brenly replied that he would have gone out and got him (aka - sat his ass on the bench) a long time ago.

Bravo Bob Brenly.

Lou Pinella has become a players manager ala Dusty Baker. They can be lazy...Play non-fundamental baseball...Be selfish...Pose for doubles off the wall....Make errors in the field....Not move runners over....and all that jazz...and not be held accountable.

Lou's comments today in the paper about SORRYiano was that "its a big ballpark"...and "yeah, I'll have a talk with him about that (posing - no hustle). A TALK???? Fuck you Pinella.... Embarrass his 18M dollar ass by sitting him 3 games straight if not more.

This team is lost right now...and Lou is as much to blame as anyone.

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Oh c'mon, its only Year One!

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I agree with what Brenly is saying here, but managing from the press box is much easier than managing from the clubhouse.

Saying you would have done something is much easier than actually doing it.

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I don't get all the love for this interview. Brenly has pretty much said the exact same thing in past years in other radio interviews and on the telecast. It bugged me they are acting like they have new hot tape with Brenly venting about Soriano.

Now Bernstein saying how happy he was that Brenly specifically mentioned the contract. Oooohhh. Yet another angle Brenly has covered before. Yes, the coach has pressure to play the guys getting big money. Shocking.

Everyone can want Lou gone, and that is fine. But this interview provided nothing new. Like it or not Lou is still faced with the same problems he has had with the big contracts for the last couple of years. Brenly has talked about it in the past and tactfully addressed the obvious as he did today.

You are dead on, and Brenly did preface his comments by saying as much. He also mentioned the size of SORRYianos checks and said that likley has something to do with it as well. BUT COME THE FUCK ON.....why do we have to live with a team & a bunch of players that cant be held accountable? It is professional baseball and we have to accept players being coddled? You know and I know....and the other players know who hustles, who is a team player, and who is just a freaking selfish idiot. It is the manger who sets the tone for the team. Lou has allowed this type of play. Ramirez has posed....Bradley posed, others too....and when the manager looks the other way on these actions....there is no accountability.

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The more it is stated...hopefully the more attention it gets. Yes we have heard this before and it is not new....and that is exactly the problem. The same shit keeps happening...the posing...the lack of fundamentals....selfish play....and Lou is the one who sets the tone for all this. It has become acception actions without accountability. Play a rookie out there 5 days in a row and sit the prima donn ballplayer down. His dumbass wont care. Hendry has handcuffed Lou...but Lou is no better than Dusty in allowing these types of actions from his players. It is losing baseball, and that is exactly what we are getting.

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Bob Brenly's latest criticism of Alfonso Soriano isn't anything new. He knows that the Cubs' high-priced outfielder is a dog and hasn't been afraid to voice his frustration when Soriano dogs it out there...

OK...so we have established these are not new comments. They were just restated publicly today...so lets see a reporter with some balls go ask Lou about this comment from Brenly. Lets see what Lou has to say. Stir up the shit a little. It is shit after all.

The end result I'm sure would be Dave Otto filling in for Brenly in the booth. Sad, sad, sad.

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I've become a huge fan of both Brenley & Kasper. Lets not forget that he also won a World Series too. Brenley better watch himself though...being outspoken cost Stone is job.

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We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

I find it very hard to believe that Lou has not addressed all of the shortcomings we see with all of the players you have mentioned. As Douchebag pointed out, it is easy to talk big from the broadcast booth. If Lou felt that he could affect meaningful change in a very talented athlete I believe he would have done what Brenly talks about doing.

In affect, he already has knocked Soriano down to size. I believe he is a proud ball player. He is being forced out of the most important part of each game because his fielding sucks. That has got to be a humbling experience after it happens game in and game out.

IMO If you get to the elite athlete level today, you come to expect a certain level of entitlement. To get to the elite level they are coddled and told they are wonderful they are from a very young age and come to believe it. I am not saying that I agree with it, but I understand it exists. Confidence, ego and performance are a delicate balance. If I am trying to manage these guys (with or without the street cred of having played in the majors) I have to walk a fine line between coddling and scolding.

I think it is a mistake to go scorched earth on a talent like Soriano or Zambrano and the like. If you do this, and blow his confidence, you just blew a huge investment for your ownership. Don't give me the Bobby Cox example with Andrew Jones. The guy was in his 2nd or 3rd year in the big leagues and still learning. I also don't believe this type of thing ruins the young guys in the clubhouse. The Cubs know what Soriano can do when he is hot. They need his bat. They can clearly see the impact to their team when he has to be taken out for "defense" in the 6th. What an embarrassment. No self respecting ballplayer wants that to happen to them and I believe they get the message.

This is an unfortunate situation for the Cubs. They have half a tool in Soriano and no real easy way to fix it. They paid more than they should have for whatever reason and are now trying to make it work...and it isn't.

I provided the paragraphs so the BoilerRick response is easier.

It was a colossally bad idea, a horrific signing at the time and it has somehow turned out worse. I give Brenly a bit more leeway than a "typical" broadcaster seeing as he is a World Series winning manager himself.

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If anyone remembers when Alfonso Soriano was a Washington National, Frank Robinson was his manager and I remember Frank had trouble convincing the converted second baseman that Soriano's future was in the outfield. Soriano was very reluctant to play left field and initially center field when he broke the bank with the Cubs. I'm starting to wonder if what's happening with #12 in Cubbie blue is mental...This should not be happening!

I said it the day he bought the team & I'll say it again. Ricketts should have blown this fucking team up & cleaned house. Hendry, Lou, the entire coaching staff. Get rid of them all. This is a wasted lame duck season. After yesterdays loss Lou says that the players are trying...they aren't trying to make outs. You have got to be fucking kidding me.

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We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

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Scorehead, that Alfonso Soriano contract is quite an albatross! When Tom Ricketts bought the Cubs, I don't think Soriano's outrageous contract was part of the sale. Too bad he can't get a 24 pack of Budweiser for Soriano...The Cubs are screwed financially for years to come, even though they had to get rid of Milton Bradley and his idiotic behavior!

Lou Piniella is the real disappointment here. Lou played under Billy Martin, who once yanked Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson's lazy derriere out of the outfield in Fenway Park in the middle of an inning because Reggie lollygagged on a popup hit by Jim Rice. Alfonso Soriano is no Hall of Famer.

I never really liked Reggie Jackson.

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You're right, he only payed $900 million for this team. Eating another $100 million is nothing...

Aren't you one of the guys always preaching responsible spending?

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Exactly. So why does the fucking idiot responsible for the Bradley & Soriano contracts still have a job with the Cubs?

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We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

and Hendry is the one responsible for that bad contract....but yet he is still GM. I agree in that I would have liked to see Ricketts fire everyone from hendry all the way down through the coaching staff...and then obviously bring in some experienced replacements. That said, the "prudent" move is what he did....he kept the shit in plave because it was alread here and and he was already obligated to pay for the shit anyhow. So he bought shit with contractual shit attached to it, he didn't do shit about it, so shit is what we get.

Shit!

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The saddest thing is that he is tied for 2nd on the team for most hits.

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Firing the entire Cubs coaching staff wouldn't cost Ricketts $100 million. I'm not sure where & how you came up with that number.

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We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

I understand your love for all things Yankees, but this is not related. I would guess that Reggie's contract in years and total amount of salary was nowhere near the level of money the Cubs have to pay Soriano. The 1970's was a completely different era for players. When Reggie went to the Yankees you were witnessing the beginning of free agency. Prior to that, ownership OWNED the players. There is a huge difference in the mindset of a player being owned and a player from today that has ownership under his thumb (I would use a different phrase, but don't want to offend).

I can't answer that one...Anyone with a brain knows Jim Hendry has to be held accountable, yet the Ricketts family seems to have given Jim the benefit of the doubt...for now.

Ricketts still cant believe that he actually bought & owns the Cubs. This is a guy who got all start struck when he met Greg Maddux. The new pissers are nice though...

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We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Shit, now my entire post deleted...Well Darkside explained it well a few posts later.

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Probably because you said Ricketts should have "blown this fucking team up & cleaned house". Seems you're talking about more than coaching.

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http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

DENTAL PLAN....

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I respectfully disagree. Regardless of what a player is being payed, you play the game properly or you don't play. It is not as if Soriano is a star player who is carrying the Cubs on his back.

Reggie Jackson was an established star in 1977. Believe me, pulling Reggie Jackson out of the outfield in the middle of an inning was a pretty big deal, even in 1977. A lot bigger deal, I would submit, than sitting Soriano, who is essentially a piece of garbage.

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What was the length of Reggie's contract? That matters. What was the prevailing attitude of players in the 1970's...just what you are saying. You play properly or you don't play. Like it or not, that is not the case in today's baseball.

Look, how much did an agent make for helping Reggie in the 1970's? How much is that agent going to make for Soriano today? The agents are in the business of telling a player how great they are. So are all of the other hanger's on to a major star. Like it or not, Soriano is still a major star hitter for the Cubs. They don't have many options with the guy. They have to figure out how to get the most out of this guy for the next what 4 years? Reggie's contract was nothing like this albatross. Reggie could sulk all he wanted...for about 2 games before he needed to perform for his next contract. Soriano doesn't have the same motivation.

Lou was on that team wasn't he? Give Lou credit here people. This is a full blown mess. Trust me, if this was the late 1970's Lou would have yanked Soriano's ass from 2nd base yesterday. It is not the same game. Brenly can talk big all he likes from the booth. Truth is if he comes into the dugout tomorrow and pulls that move and Soriano loses that little bit of confidence he has (yes, I do think it is razor thin) and becomes a basket case for the next couple of years the Cubs are toast...and so is Brenly. He just wasted a $90 million asset for ownership. That will not sit well with anyone including Brenly.