Qualified Links (Today's Links)

• The Hawks win again. Maybe I should be watching them more during the sports wasteland known as "February".
• Illinois continues its cold play against Wisconsin. It's never easy to win in Madison but this one would have been big.
• It looks like there is going to be a movie made about the book Moneyball and Brad Pitt is going to be starring as Billy Beane. Score one for sabremetrics!
• Elton Brand is being shut down for the season with shoulder problems. Will he ever be the force that he once was? Regardless of the injuries I think Chicago fans will always regret trading him for Chandler.
• Dusty Baker wants to recreate the Chicago Cubs he coached a few years back in Cincinnati. Today's acquisitions? Daryle Ward and Jacque Jones.
• BDL is going to do a 2 on 2 tournament of NBA teams, sort of like an NBA Jam. Hey that was my idea! Well we all know Skeets will do it better than me anyways.
• Looks like Gordon is a little put off by the fact he wasn't selected for the 3 point contest.
  

Hey Kerry, Remember That Time I Ruined Your Arm And Your Career? We All Had A Good Laugh; Anyways Want To Play For Me Again?

Remember 2003? Ahh, we all remember the good old days, when our good 'ole skipper Dusty would shred our pitchers' arms to no end by leaving them in too long and running up their pitch counts. I wrote a wonderful ode to Dusty's amazing ability to manage his pitchers here. Well apparently now that Woody is out as the Cubs closer, Dusty wants him to come play in Cincy:

"We have a closer already in [ Francisco] Cordero, who we have under contract for a few more years," Baker told the newspaper. "But somebody can use Kerry Wood. I am going to call him. I like Kerry Wood as a person, not just as a ballplayer, but as a person. I will give him a call and see what's up."

If you like him so much as a person, how come you let him pitch all those innings and basically ruined his career?

Today's Links

• An ode to Jerry Krause. Seriously, its a positive story about him. No, I'm serious.
• Calm down Bears fans. The NFL is wide open this year and we're still in it.
  
• Nocioni vs. Gordon; How to deal with an injury.
• Top ten overachieving Chicago teams. As usual there are some I don't agree with, but overall a solid list.
• Eddie McGee is mad Juice passed him on the depth chart, so he hit a random 19 year old coed at a party. Makes sense to me.
  
• Some photos and recap of the little league game Dusty managed. Dr. Andrews has his schedule cleared for the next month.
• Something about Phil Jackson's management style.
• I hate the Red Sox and I love that they keep losing. One more Tampa!
  

Dusty Baker To 10-Year-Old: "Don't Worry About The Pitch Count, Just Throw"

The SF Gate is reporting that Dusty Baker is going to be managing his son's youth baseball team:

"This weekend, Baker will be the fill-in coach for 9-year-old son Darren's 10-and-under traveling tournament team, Hard 90 Pastime out of Roseville, Calif., near the Bakers' Northern California home.

The 59-year-old Baker spent his first season as skipper of the Cincinnati Reds this year working with a roster of youngsters, but this of course will be much different. He finally gets to coach his son — and in the Bay Area, no less. The tournament will be in nearby Sunnyvale."

It's going to be an interesting game, that's for sure. I think its safe to say that we can count on a few things happening:

• 2 Tommy John surgeries;
• 1 torn rotator cuff;
• Neifi Perez will be 0-3;
• a 9-year old will be rushed to the hospital after his eye was poked out by a toothpick;
• 0 walks will be drawn.
• Corey Patterson sucks
  

Today's Links--Sleeping With Dusty's Daughter Edition

• Is Dusty Baker's daughter sleeping with Corey Patterson? Why else would Dusty have a guy that can't bat his weight leading off? Oh right, because he is an idiot.
• "Air" McNabb will be throwing all night next Sunday against the Bears, especially with Westbrook on the shelf.
• Is this Lou's last year managing? Whether he wins or loses he may be considering retirement.
• Some good Ozzie quotes. Also, is "Big-Game" Floyd ready to pitch the most important game of the season? Also Orlando Cabrera rips his team.
• Top ten Millen disasters. There were so many candidates for this list, it must have been difficult to pare it down to 10.
• I should not even be posting these, and you would never see them on NQTC until the Cubs actually make it, but here's what Cubs World Series tickets look like.
• Benny the Bull takes out one of the Sausages in the infamous Sausage Race...on ice.
• Cubs win to help Brewers move into a tie for the Wild Card. Personally I would rather play the tired Brewers than the Mets, but that's just me. Unfortunately Z did not perform that well.
  

Dusty Baker's Legacy Of Greatness Rears It's Ugly Head

Have you ever heard of something called a "pitch count"? I bet you have if you have any idea about baseball. Well our old friend Dusty Baker never knew what it meant. Take a look at this gamelog of Zambrano's from 2004, but be ready to be pissed off when you look at how many pitches he threw. Why bring this up now? Well, according to the Sun-Times, Zambrano has a tight triceps and is going to be on a short leash for the next few starts. Here's why:

[T]he Cubs and Zambrano believe the right-hander has muscle fatigue in his triceps, and he has been going through lighter workouts to rebuild his arm strength.

''You can't compare him with a lot of people because I don't know anyone who has logged the innings he has in the last six or seven years,'' pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. ''We're trying to get the arm stretched out and strengthened. ... He knows he's not throwing the ball the way he wants to, and anyone would get frustrated. He's a big strong guy and expects a lot out of himself.''

No I don't know anyone else who has logged the innings he has either. Wait wait, I can think of two that were logging those minutes, and their careers have never been the same. (See: Mark Prior and Kerry Wood) Dusty Baker was the man who left these guys in forever, even when they were too young, too tired, or just overworked. I only hope they can get Z healthy again for the playoffs. We're going to need him.

Next Week: Why walks clog the bases starring Dusty Baker favorites Neifi Perez and Corey Patterson.

**UPDATE: Apparently big Z has been scratched from the start today. Marshall will make the start.

Cubs Average 326 Runs Per Game, Only Allow 4 Per Game

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