Sammy Sofa

I can't belive I'm gonna say this, but can we please get Schlock Jones in there, bad back or not?

The Cubs at full strength are still worse than the injured Cardinals.

This hump is gonna pitch a complete game. AWESOME.

Maybe their plane crashes on the way to the next series and they're awarded the WS victory out of sympathy. And no, I'm not wishing for this to happen. I just see it is more likely then them actually winning it. A LOT more likely.

The exam itself is fine...I just wish it had happen a year or two ago instead of in the final months of what is probably his last season with the Cubs. We get the honor of being his rehab session before he goes off somewhere else. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

No they won't.

And just to go off on a tangent, here's why I REALLY want to see the Cubs man up for once and shell out for a guy like A-Rod. The way this team is set up and has been set up recently, they NEED 2 big bats in the lineup. Guys that consistently hit and have pop...one goes down, the other still hits. They don't have that right now. I'm not even sure they have one. Lee's year last year was phenomenal, and I know he started decently and in the WBC, but he's no sure thing. Now that he's hurt, it's even more questionable with the type of injury he has. Aramis has proved abundantly that without another batter ahead of him that he can draw decent pitches off of, he's average at best. He's a hitter almost tailor-made for teams like the Cards or Red Sox or Yankees. Plug him in between some big bombers, my God, it would be spectacular. But realize we're NEVER GOING TO HAVE THAT ON THE CUBS. Ever. Not as long as the current regime of mediocrity holds sway. Bite the bullet and get at least ONE guy that has a history of playing like an allstar and missing next to no time. Lee fit the latter, but the former ain't exactly true with his career numbers. I'm sick of settling.

Just like teh Cubz offence!1!!!!1111!

1-0. That's what it will be at the end of the game, too.

Basically this all a fancy way of dressing up Dusty's ACTUAL quote... "Wait, I'm managing a WHAT team?!? I thought this was football!"

This team is beyond pathetic. From the groundskeepers to the stockholders. You all stink and should cry yourselves to sleep every night.

Wood needs more time to heal and figure out how he's going to pitch from here on out. If he's willing to give the Cubs a BIG price break, fine, sign him up for another year, and y'know what? Do it soon and shut him down. Prior, too. Let these guys heal...either they get good enough to start again or they get decent enough to trade...they're neither right now. The season is down the crapper, through the pipes and spewed into the ocean. The FA market for starters next year is going to be awful, and the odds of Hendry screwing up trying to trade for one are way too good. He'll just overpay for some middle of the road guy that has his worst year ever the second he lands in Chicago. If Wood doesn't want to cut the Cubs a break price wise, seeyuh.

The problem is, time is against the Cubs with Wood. If he takes forever to come back but then is able to put in, say 6 or 7 stunning starts towards the end, maybe bringing him back wouldn't be a terrible idea. But as it stands right now, Wood's most valuable as a trade offer, and unless he picks it up quicker or gets moved to the 'pen, he's not coming off very appealing to anyone, or at least not near the level that's going to get the Cubs some serious help in return.

Being a bastard works! Sorry, it still feels early.

But I don't expect him to save the team all by himself. I've never said that. I have repeatedly said, he's a step...a BIG step, granted, but even if they got him, they need to pick up another quality, reliable starter and find another bat for the outfield. In my perfect world (the reasonable one) at this point, the Cubs trade for A-Rod and Craig Wilson and sign Carlos Lee as a FA after this year. Trust me, I wouldn't want the Cubs to trade for A-Rod if he was the ONLY significant upgrade or change they were going for. But I do thing a huge move like that among making other serious steps forward would go a long way to boosting this team on a number of levels. I'm tired of seeing signings and trades that "might fix things" if the wind blows or a certain way, or certain people don't get hurt, or the magical luck factor increases, or whatever excuse is trotted out by McHendust this week. Just once, ONCE, I want the sure thing in a player. It would be a nice change of pace.

Didn't somebody just put a Rant up about these single name-type threads? Mystery stinks!

Hopefully poorly. It would be one thing if he was facing a scary team, but damn, beating the Cubs ain't no thang these days.

Yeah. I think Wood needs to be given a 15 day DL stint to heal up a bit more and then showcased in the bullpen. Offer him to teams as a lights out setup man or closer.

Remember when Kerry Wood struck out 20 guys, and we all thought it was the start of a long and dominating baseball career? Man, that was sweet.

Thank God for that dose of reality. PAY ATTENTION, HENDRY.

Who has brought up getting rid of Lee or trading him for A-Rod? Everyone's brought up Aramis in that trade...in my case, packaged with Wood, Jones and a reliever. Aramis benefist NY because he's showing he needs to be behind or surrounded by big hitters to pound the ball. Bam, easily done in NY. He also replaces A-Rod at 3rd. They need a starter, they need the OF help, and they need the bullpen help, badly. I think A-Rod would thrive on a team like the Cubs, where there are very few superstar players compared to the Yankees. He's much more consistent than Aramis, would be able to carry on offensively if Lee gets hurt, and misses little time himself. I think you overestimate their needs. They are in first place. I didn't mention ARam because I don't think he rises to the kind of value that the Yanks would want for ARod. We're a team with many holes. Packing up several players to acquire one doesn't strike me as a terribly productive approach for a club that is missing quite a few pieces. This season and team are a wash. Aramis, IMO, is always going to be a bust unless he's paired or surrounded by big hitters he can draw the pitches he can hit off of. Wood is Wood...either he picks it up as a starter or they start showing him as a bullpen guy. Wood is the past, and the past stinks. He's not a solution to the starting rotation. Jones is Jones...trading him while he's hot for a proven player would be the greatest thing he's accomplishd baseball-wise. Is it really a big deal if grabbing a stud as a step in the right direction opens up or leaves a couple of holes unfixed? Last place instead of second to last? I'm sick of these stopgap "solutions" that accomplish diddly squat. Go for broke and get things done.

"Thought Police"...I love that song!

Who? Where? When? How? WHAT TH-?!?

Because eventually losing your job to Walker isn't nearly as humiliating as losing your job to Tony Womack.

It's a long, slow start, but he's getting back up there...