Sammy Sofa

And he's inexplicably hitting lefties when it's clutch. Like Womack, just ride it until he inevitably falls off. Nevin ain't going nowhere.

The guy would have had 14+ wins last year if the offense hadn't imploded on him multiple times. I'm talking games where he kept the opposing team to 1 run. He was robbed of another 15 win season. And here's the bottom line to my thinking...there's nobody this organization would find better than Maddux in that role. None. Not even close. It would make the current Maddux look like classic Nolan Ryan. Maddux is Maddux...if they work smart and shore up the #1-#3 slots, there's next to no hamr in letting an old great finish out his career where he started. Yeah, it's sappy, but the "Maddux problem" is the kind of minor problems this team keeps focusing all of its resources and time fixing, and the much more serious stuff comes back to plague us again next year.

I'm not as delusional as I usually am! SCORE!!!

You guys are forgetting about the powerhous dynamo that is Bynum.

How so? Neither of them got the surgery he did. Wood did. He did? I thought he got a "less serious" version of the same procedure than Miller did. Ah well, shows why I never even made it to flunking out of medical school.

For what it's worth, I met Carlos Lee at the Milwaukee Art Museum over the weekend and told him that the Cubs may need a left fielder next year. He just smiled. Of course, the Brewers PR person sitting next to him was not amused with my comment, but why would she be? So much of me thinks he's just trying to get the Beer Boys to shell out more cash, but if there's a shred of truth to it, Hendry better put down the doughnut and get the offers out there.

Why not? Steinbrenner isn't running the Cubs...he wants to win. If trading A-Rod can do that, I don't see why it wouldn't happen. He's not a Yankee institution...people barely tolerate him up there at this point.

Why should he be a 14 win pitcher with an ERA in the low 4's? Why, for that matter, would you think that any pitcher with an ERA in the low 4's would get 14 wins for this team? He can't even perform that well now, so why do you expect him to be better when 2 years older? I don't understand the thinking behind anything you wrote here, I guess Maddux's ERA's the past 5 years (including 06) 2.62 3.96 4.02 4.24 4.77 I just think if he's kept in the role he should be at at this point is his career, he'll do fine until he retires in a couple of seasons. He's not a #2 or #3 starter by any stretch of the imagination, and yet that's the role he's been put in the last 2 years. That's going to change which players he sees batting against him when he pitches. And why is 14 wins and a low 4 ERA so unbelievable? If he had even an iota of run support when it pathetically dired up last year, he woud have had 15-17 wins, easy. I predict that as a consistent #4, he'd hover around that 4.00 mark. And when you KNOW this team will only go with guys like Rushc or Williams in that spot if they get rid of Maddux (they're not going to trade him, bottom line. Hendry's not trading off a "name player" when things are this ugly), I'd go with Maddux and his aging pitching a thousand times before the inevitable alternatives. If the Cubs pick up Maddux with the intention of keeing him in the #4 slot for his final 2 seasons, I think it's a relatively minor concern compared to other gaping holes in the team.

He's almost guarenteed to hit better than Blanco and Neifi, so at least he won't be the worst guy on the bench. SET THE WORLD ABLAZE, PAGAN!

Hank needs to change his number again. He did that last season and ended up having a career year out of nowhere with the bat, at least by Hank White standards.

He is. Kerry's rehab was pushed back a week or so because of Oscar's death earlier this year.

Yeah, I'd much rather see him eased back into the swing of things, pun intended. The Cubs have zero reason to rush him with how this year has gone so far. Don't ruin the future by frantically scrambling over a crappy today.

How so? Neither of them got the surgery he did.

I definitely wouldn't pay 9mil for that output. If we can get somethign valuable for Maddux I say we do it. He has regressed every year since we got him and that trend will not change. I was against having him here longer than 2 years and I think the Cubs would be better off moving on. Guys his age tend to do that as long as they don't have asses of unusual sizes and are douchebags when it comes to retiring. I still think if you play him #4 the bulk of the year, he's just what you need. He hasn't been able to do that the last 2 years because of the Brittle Twins. Cubs aren't hurtin' for cash. They dump Maddux, they'll end up with someone infinitely worse to fill the #4 spot, bank on it. Pay the name the money and let him finish his career in Chicago...he'll get the job done if used right.

Enrique Wilson...I think.

Besides, sometimes they live out our wildest fantasies... http://www.progressiveboink.com/dugout/archive/dugout2-23-06.htm

There's no way you get Cabrera by trading Aramis, and there's no way the Yanks trade A-Rod without potentially filling his hitting and fielding at 3B. I like Aramis, but he's too inconsistent when he's not behind or surrounded by big hitters. I'd much rather see Aramis used to pick up A-Rod and then Carlos Lee picked up if there's any truth to him saying he wants to play in Chicago again. On top of that, if there was any way the Cubs could get Craig Wilson, I'd be all for it. The two Lees, A-Rod, Wilson, Barrett and Walker...that's some hittin'.

I think if the Cubs hold onto Maddux for the last two years he says he wants to play and he's able to actually be the #4 starter consistently he should be at this point, he'll net you an easy 12-16 wins each year and an ERA in the low 4's. Not worldbeating, but for that role, just fine. I'd much rather overpay for him and that kind of output than the humps Hendry gives money bouquets to now. Let's say Wood comes back... Prior Zambrano Wood Maddux Miller Marshall as the 6th Or if the Cubs dole out for Zito, bump Wood and slide everyone up top down one.

Until Pagan returns, the season is doomed. Really, I don't understand people seriously bringing his return up as something that's gonna be significant. I keep forgetting the guy exists.

LEEEEEEEROY JENKINS!!! Alright, honestly...everyone who doesn't "get" The Dugout, take a gander at the link below... http://www.progressiveboink.com/dugout/archive/dugout1-4-06.htm That's hysterical! If you didn't even crack a smile at that, you're going out of your way to be miserable, dammit!

Booooo We need to move Murton up the lineup, he hits with more confidence and patience there. At this point, he needs to be 7 or 8 or leadoff. Anywhere else and he's too much of a double play risk until he gets his swing/eye back. I know that's saying a lot on THIS team, but the difference is I'm confident Murton will break back out.

I'm a Cubs fan, I can't help being retardedly optimistic from time to time. The team is hitting, Lee and Prior back within a couple of weeks, the Cardinals are getting hit with injuries, everyone else in the division has stalled, is falling off or stinks like the Cubs have. Hey, maybe...probably not, but a little hope can't hurt.

Len and Bob said the other day he was taking some grounders at first. No link though, sorry. Sore muscles are fine...and to be expected...if he can start playing w/in a week I'll be happy... on a related note...did Nevin sign a contract that says he can't play first when Walker plays second or is there some other legit reason that Dusty won't put the best offensive lineup on the field? For better or for worse, Womack has a hot bat. Best to ride it out until he falls out, then get Nevin in there. As it stands right now, Womack and Walker are hitting MUCH better than Nevin more than likely woul as a starter.

I like Dugout chats because they seem to pay attention to the same pop culture stuff me and my friends love. (Points to Leroy Jenkins joke, innumerable jokes with names, Ken Griffey as the bad guy from Unbreakable, etc.) Right on. Not to be a dick, but it obviously skews a lot "younger" than a bunch of the posters here, and also a lot "geekier." They'll throw in hardcore film/TV/music/comic book geek references that totally help sell it for me. The Crisis On Infinite Earths strip? Oh my God, the comic nerd in me was dying. Behold... http://www.progressiveboink.com/dugout/archive/dugout9-17-05.htm Trust me, "AntiMolitor" and "THOOOOOOMMMME" are pure hilarity.

The Cubs are hitting hard...if they can keep it up, there's zero reason they should lose today or tomorrow with Z and Wood on the mound. If they can just hold on and make some small gains here or there until Prior and Lee get back 2-3 weeks from now...hey, it'll look slightly less horrible! GO CUBS!!!