Neifi Perez????

Really, did we just sign Neifi Perez? Sadly we can only assume that Perez was signed for a purpose and what is that purpose? My hope is that it's too carry Garciaparra's stuff around (or maybe Garciaparra himself) so he doesn't strain his Achilles anymore, occasionally grab him some water and when needed come in as a defensive replacement when the score is 18-0 in favor of the Cubs. Probably jumping the gun since he's not even on the 40 man roster, but I certainly hope this isn't the answer to a left handed bat off the bench? I haven't heard a good thing or in that matter anything on Hollandsworth which can't be good. More wackiness by the Cubs.

We did win a series though and Cubs hit something other than a solo HR. Yeah!!!! Maddux gets the win after another rough 1st inning, win #301. Maddux could easily be the poster child for the UNIMPORTANCE of the win-loss record. Proponents of the win-loss record use such arguments as, a pitcher who knows how to keep his team in it, a pitcher who knows how to pitch when ahead, a pitcher who miracously keeps his run totals down below his opposing pitcher, etc, etc. Here's Maddux, who seems to always start out with a rough first inning, putting his team in a hole and he's going for his 17th straight 15 win season. Where exactly is that keeping his team in the game? By putting them in a hole in the 1st inning? Yet he still has a great win-loss record.

The only thing Maddux knows how to do is get out of games when he's ahead and be blessed with the fabolous bullpens/run support of the Braves the last decade. He's a great pitcher don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but him winning games this year and Clement not, is nothing but luck and run support. You want to know who's a good pitcher? Scan right past win-loss record and look at ERA (or runs allowed, good pitchers don't give up runs whether they're earned or not), K/BB ratio and HR's allowed. The pitcher win(or loss) means pretty much nothing, especially in this day and age. In the past, when guys were completing their own games, the win-loss record probably had a lot more validity. Run support was still an issue, but bullpen was taken out of the equation, so when Koufax, W. Johnson, etc took the mound, they knew when they started they had to outpitch the opposition's pitcher, and if they got the lead, it was up to them to keep it, So a starting pitcher truly won or lost a game. Nowadays a starting pitcher, just needs to pitch well, hope he has the lead when he leaves the game and that his bullpen can save it. How does win-lost record validate any of that?