Hire Jim Essian

It's hard to imagine that Neifi Neftali Perez was a bigger liability to the Cubs when off their roster than when on it. When last we left Neifi over four years ago, he was being honored as the second-worst Cub of my time. Now here we sit, eagerly awaiting his official retirement from baseball so that his Hall of Fame eligibility clock can begin its insistent ticking. Surely, a man with a career .297 OBP will not get a call from the Hall of Fame. He would, however, if the BBWAA considered only Neifi's statistics against the Cubs. His career pursuit of those numbers caused Neifi to scrap his way all the way up to #18 of the Top 79 Cub Killers of My Time.

I offer you this submission. Never has there been a more hate-worthy Cub shortstop than Ryan Theriot. Not Jeff Blauser. Not Neifi Perez. Not Alex Gonzalez. Not Ronny Cedeno. All of those guys were terrible, but they either had some redeeming moments (Gonzalez), were hated solely because of misuse (Perez), were harmless simpletons (Cedeno), ... Read More

I know you're as excited as I am that not-meaningful baseball finally begins this afternoon. As has become the tradition over the past couple of years, we will be doing another Neifiball league. The guys at Razzball have very generously invited us to participate in their league again. They care more about their readers than I do ... Read More

Well, well, well. It looks like Tiger Woods has been knocked off his high horse, elevating me back up to the most talented athlete and beloved man of the decade. The line starts behind the shattered heart of Elin Nordegren, ladies. I'm a little late with the Roundup. Deal with it. Tips are always loved. Mike ... Read More

Because Tony Womack was the starting shortstop on the World Champion 2001 Diamondbacks, it's sometimes easy to forget how terrible he actually was in his 13 seasons as a Major League Baseball player. It's probably far easier to forget how terrible he was if you're a Cubs fan. After all, when Womack wasn't busy killing the Cubs from ... Read More

Okay, it's reality-check time. Even if the Cardinals go one game under .500 for the rest of the way, they'll finish 88-74. For the Cubs to reach 88 wins, they'll have to go 28-17, a .622 winning percentage. Unlikely, since they're playing .513 baseball this year and are in danger of getting swept by a terrible 51-70 ... Read More

Before I forget, Kermit wanted me to let you all know that we've already filled two divisions of Neifiball, and are looking for eight more players to fill a third. If we fill a third, we'll add a fourth. If you're interested in playing, e-mail Kermit HERE and write "NEIFIBALL" in the header. Second, how about the ... Read More

Several people have asked whether or not I'm doing a Neifiball league this year. I am, and I'm trying desperately to perfect it. We had some decent results last year in the two leagues, but it was difficult getting the right settings, particularly for pitchers. Since last year was supposed to be a "keeper" year, but I ... Read More

You finally get a Godfather quote and it's from Godfather III. How does THAT feel? Anyhow, I saw the Muskbag was back, and I couldn't let that aggression go unchecked. I noticed that Ryan Dempster is eligible to become a free agent this offseason. Are the Cubs going to re-sign him? Who else is eligible for free agency? -- Steve ... Read More

Kermit is going out of town tonight and staying out of town until Monday, so the whole HJE gang is allowed take a breather if they want to. I can't speak for Mike D., but I'm going to take advantage of it. But I wouldn't dare leave you idiots without anything to read this week, so I'm doing ... Read More