Cub Trade Possibilities

We're nearly in July, which holds the time of the Baseball Season known as "The Trade Deadline", so let's use yesterday's off day to take a look at some of the possibilities for the Cubs to strengthen their team.

So, what do the Cubs need?

Well, the offense has been outstanding, and with the way that Jim Edmonds has been hitting lately, that left handed outfielder doesn't seem to be as dire a need. Therefore, the help the Cubs will look for is probably in pitching.

In the minors are two pitchers who might come up to help this season, the 1st round draft picks from the last couple of seasons. Andrew Cashner picked this year (out of TCU) could very well be up and helping out the back end of the rotation this season. Jeff Samardzija just recently got promoted and will probably have a chance to join the team later this season as well, also possibly in the bullpen.

What the Cubs really need is some rotation help.

Zambrano is an ace number one starter, and Dempster has been pitching lights out so far this season. Ted Lilly appears to be straightening things out and Marquis has been a servicable back end of the rotation type, but if the Cubs added another stud towards the front end of the rotation, they would instantly become World Series favorites, and it appears that Jim Hendry (the Cubs GM) knows this and is looking into the possibility of strengthening the rotation.

Here are the names being mentioned...

C.C. Sabathia-Cleveland Indians

Last season's AL Cy Young winner is coming to the end of his contract, and the Indians aren't living up to the expectations, so rumors are heating up about the Indians ace, you also hasn't been living up to expectations thus far this season, but would be at the very least an intimadating presence, and a change of scenery could be just what the big pitcher needs to reclaim his magic.

Rich Harden-Oakland A's

The A's often make big trades at deadline time and during the offseason, getting new, young talent as soon as the older, young talent starts to near free agency. Rich Harden is probably one of the best young pitchers in baseball, but has had an injury plagued career thus far, and after the last few seasons being haunted by the near greatness of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior being halted by injuries, the Cubs probably won't want to give up what it will cost to get Harden, especially since the A's are in the race in the AL West. If Harden were healthy, however, he would turn into an instant ace at the top of the rotation along with Zambrano.

Eric Bedard-Seattle Mariners

The Cubs actually tried to make a trade for Bedard (then with the O's) at the beginning of Spring Training, but it was the huge deal from the Mariners that landed him. However, the Mariners now have the worst record in baseball and are a team going no where. They have fired the manager and general manager, and admitting that trading for Bedard was a mistake is a possibility. They might try and get prospects back for him, although they won't get back nearly what they gave up especially since Bedard has struggled thus far this season for his new team. A change to the DH-less National League might be just the thing to catapult Bedard back to his dominating ways, however.

Greg Maddox or Randy Wolf-San Diego Padres

While the Mariners have dropped to the bottom of the American League despite their high hopes coming into the season, the same thing has happened to the Padres in the NL. A few seasons ago, the Cubs traded Maddox to the Padres for very little so he could have one last taste of the playoffs before retiring, now the Padres could return the favor as well as letting Maddox retire with the team that he started out with.

AJ Burnett-Toronto Blue Jays

Burnett has openly talked about wanting to play on the North Side of Chicago, and the Blue Jays have openly talked about trading him.

Gil Meche-Kansas City Royals

While the Royals would probably be interested in finding out what they could recieve for the right hander, he has a no trade clause and says that he has not been asked to waive it as of yet.

Randy Winn-San Fransisco Giants

They would probably want young arms in trade, which would put the Cubs as a likely suitor, with names like Kevin Hart, Sean Gallagher, Rich Hill, and Sean Marshall all probably available and one or two of those would most likely be involved with any of these trades, along with someone like Matt Murton, Felix Pie, Eric Patterson, or (hopefully not) Micah Hoffpauir.

One of these pitchers will probably be a Chicago Cub by July 31st, and I think Eric Bedard is the most likely, but I would love it to be Sabathia.

Cubs take on Baltimore tonight looking for another sweep at the Friendly Confines which have been even friendlier then normal so far this season (Cubs home record 32-8).

Go Cubs.

I'm Back and So are the Cubs

After being out of town all last week and unable to watch any baseball, the Cubs suffered their first three game losing streak of the season (as well as the first time that they've been swept) but I returned in time for the Cubs to rebound by sweeping the in city rival White Sox. Awesome.

Despite their first three game losing streak (and first time being swept) the Cubs still have the best record in baseball.

The opposite of best is of course worst, and FOX Saturday baseball is apparently hoping to challenge the horrendous Jon Miller/Joe Morgan team with some ridiculous commentary from Thom Brennamen/Tim McCarver.

Thanks to astute reader Daddy Cleaver for this quote and analysis (Fire Joe Morgan style of course) from Saturday's Red Sox/Cardinal game.

Brennamen: Jason Larue is the closest thing to a cowboy in the major leagues today. I'm not talking about cowboy up. He is from West Texas.

McCarver: No Country For Old Men in West Texas.

Brennamen: Indeed.

What the hell? That's all it takes to be a cowboy? Buddy Holly was from west Texas. I doubt he was ever called a cowboy. Anyway, what does No Country For Old Men have to do with it? What does that even mean? Is Jason Larue a cold blooded killer? A sheriff weighed down by his responsibility in these modern times? A gunned-down drug dealer left to the lobos?

Outstanding stuff. Thank you Daddy Cleaver. I would add that perhaps Larue is a man so consumed by greed that he endangers his life and the lives of his loved ones in order to better his financial status.

As the season continues and the ridiculous quotes continue to pile up, we will have a contest to try and decide what the dumbest thing said while broadcasting a professional baseball game was all season. Won't that be fun?

Not to be outdone by McCarver, of course, Joe Morgan during last nights Cubs/White Sox game did say in the first inning that Ozzie probably told Vazquez (the South Side's pitcher) not to just lay one up there for D Lee because you didn't want to go down 4-0 so early. The interesting thing about that? There were only two men on in a scoreless game. I mean, I know that D Lee's awesome and all, but not even he can hit a grand slam with only two men on. Although how B A (and I don't mean Brad Ausmus there, but being a family friendly site, I shortened what I meant to only the initials) would it be if he could.

Anyway, keep watching (baseball in general, but McCarver and Morgan if you can stomach them) and keep track of more INTERESTING COMMENTARY!!!

And Go Cubs!

No Soriano For Some Time

Thankfully, we have Jim Edmonds.

I figure that after yesterday, all Cub fans are finally on board with the Edmonds signing.

Sure, it could be said that the Braves lost the game yesterday more then the Cubs won it, but our Cubbies put the Braves in position to blow it in extras thanks to Jimmy Edmonds.

The Cubs are certainly a better team with Soriano's bat in the lineup then they are without him, but they can survive due to their depth and still win a lot of ballgames.

The Cardinals without Pujols, on the other hand, are going to struggle. They don't have another hitter even close to his calliber, whereas the Cubs still have D Lee and Aramis Ramirez, and Edmonds is starting to hit like he used to back when he was protection for Pujols.

Even with the big loss of Soriano for approx. 6 weeks, my optomism is high.

This is the year, people.

I feel it more now then ever.

I haven't rooted for a team this good and this dominant since the 1985 Bears.

GO CUBBIES!!!!!!!!!!

Baseball Needs Replay, ESPN Needs Better Commentators

The Cubs lost Friday and Saturday's games against the Dodgers in part due to horrendous officiating. Well, Saturday wasn't as bad as Friday, but still, we have the means to make these calls correct and we should be using them.

Kosuke was safe by over a foot on Friday night in a play that had it been called correctly would have tied the game. Instead, Darryl Cousins clearly just wasn't paying attention to the play and got the call wrong. There is no other explanation for missing this play, because Kosuke was already past the bag before the ball got there.

The bad call resulted in a huge shift of momentum for the Dodgers.

Saturday, Jeff Kent should have been called out at first, but I'll give you that it was only when we saw it in super slow motion that the correct call became clear.

But since we can do that (look at the plays and make sure they're correct), and do it quickly, shouldn't we?

Yesterday, thankfully, the Cubs regained their spot as BEST TEAM IN BASEBALL and kept the streak alive as the only team in baseball this season not to have lost more then two games in a row.

However, the game was damn near unwatchable thanks to Jon Miller and Joe Morgan.

The worst part was the top of the eighth inning when Joe Morgan asked Jon Miller a "trivia question".

Now, to me, the term "trivia question" signifies that it will be a question that has a verifiable fact for an answer.

Well, judge for yourselves. Here was Joe Morgan's trivia question.

"Who hit hardest line drives consistently throughout their career?"

Is this a question with a verifiable answer? Or is this a question that 20 different people could conceivably come up with 20 different defendable answers?

I'm going with the second part. Jon Miller called him out on it a little bit, but Joe Morgan wouldn't budge and rather then fight the good fight, Jon Miller just decided to agree with him.

I demand better commentators if you're going to be the Leader in Sports ESPN.

A Combination of My Two Favorite Sports Teams Can Only Mean One Thing: Good Times Ahead!

For those of you who don't know me, I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS (bachelor of science, not what you were thinking) in Radio-TV-Film from TCU, and as you could probably tell from an earlier post, I'm almost as big a fan of TCU athletics as I am of my precious Chicago Cubs, so yesterday's events were hugely exciting for me.

"With the 19th pick in the first round of the First Year Player's Draft of Major League Baseball, the Chicago Cubs select Andrew Cashner, right handed pitcher, Texas Christian."
-Bud Selig

I didn't think that there was any chance that TCU's superstar closer would last until the 19th pick, and was hoping that he would make it to 11 when the Texas Rangers picked, but when Justin Smoak (1B from S.Carolina) was amazingly still on the board, the Rangers made the consensus best pick of the first round, and I began to hope that possibly, Cashman would hang around for the Cubbies, and he did.

ESPN projects that the junior could join the Cubbies bullpen by the end of this year, which added to Marmol and Wood (and to a lesser extent Howry and Eyre) would make a strength for the Cubbies even stronger and almost unhittable!

The second that the TCU pitcher does make the big league club I can guarentee you that I will be getting his jersey!

After the old school Maddox performance helped to stop the Cubs winning streak at 9 (despite a hell of a game from Ted Lilly) the Cubs started a new one yesterday, although it got a little scary. The Cubs opened a 4-0 lead, but it became a tie game going into the 9th. In a battle of former Japenese superstars, Saito (on his bobble head night) gave up the go ahead run on a single to Fukudome (who had also homered in the game) and despite loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth, K Dub got his NL leading 17th save as the Cubbies won 5-4 to take the first game of the four game series in LA against the Dodgers and go to 3-1 on the road trip so far (and 10-1 in the last 11, go Cubs.)

Cubs Win Again, Dodgers and Rockies Fight About It

Cubs won their 9th game in a row (8th comeback in a row) last night beating the San Diego Padres 9-6 despite a poorly pitched start from Jason Marquis.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers and Rockies were playing each other shortly after each team was swept at the hand of the Cubs. Aparenty there was a little frustration on each team as Torrealba and Kemp got into a bit of a scuffle causing the benches of both teams to clear. How did this start? I have my theories.

Torrealba: You guys only scored one run per game against the Cubs. Your offense sucks.

Kemp: Yeah, well you guys blew a 9-1 lead against the Cubs. Your defense sucks.

Torrealba: You take that back!

Kemp: Not until you take yours back!

Then Kemp forces the baseball up into Torrealba's neck which forces Torrealba to do the same to Kemp. Kemp shoves Torrealba, Torrealba takes Kemp down. Bench's clear. Torrealba still whispering (while exhasted) "One run a game". Kemp struggling to answer, "9-1 lead".

At least that's how it happened in my head.

Go Cubbies.

How Bout Them Cubbies

After last night's (again a) comeback win, the Cubs have won 8 in a row for the first time since 2001.

They retain their best record in baseball.

The Cubs came into (as well as left) June 1st with the best record in baseball for the first time since 1908.

Of course we all know what else happened for the Cubs in 1908.

Towards the end of this hot streak, many Cub fans seem to be coming around on the addition of Jim Edmonds. At the start of the last home stand, many were speculating that the signing was a bust and that perhaps the Cubs should look at bringing back Kenny Lofton (who is a free agent and played a prominant role in the 2003 campaign). The last few games, however, Edmonds has found his stroke and helped the offense overcome an 8 run deficit headed into the bottom of the 6th the other day against the Colorado Rockies. (Very reminisent of the 9-0 hole the Cubs were in against the Astros in that game back in 1989 before they came back to win 10-9. You know the one, they replay during super long rain delays. Maybe this Rockies game will become the new Rain Delay Game). Now, Jim Edmonds is getting standing ovations in Wrigley Field (hey Sports Illustrated, if you use that line as a sign of the apocolypse I'd better get credit).

It's still early, but it's a good time to be a Cubs fan!