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Jesus, that's about as bad as you can get :puke: LOL-this lineup was tied for the most games by any Cubs lineup last year: Pierre Theriot Ramirez Murton Jones Blanco Cedeno Soto When that's tied for your most common lineup, you know you have problems.

Why does Lou deserve credit? Unless he suggested something to JJ that changed his approach or something, I think the credit goes to JJ for having a great month. Of course, if I'm going to tell JJ "great job in July" I also get to tell him "you sucked hard in June...and May...and you were bad in April too." To be fair, Lou supposedly changed Jacque's swing near the end of June, so there potentially could be credit to Lou for that. Jacque still needs the power to come around, but I really like what I am seeing in other areas of his game. Some sharp hits to the opposite field, walks, and not looking completely helpless against the left-handed relievers he has been facing recently. He still does his ground it to first or second a lot, but the shortening of his swing may have helped cause his strikeouts to go down (4 in 45 AB's this month, and 6 BB's). I don't think it's just luck that has propelled him into this streak-it's a definite change in his approach (although he lapses back at times and has some pretty bad swings, he was doing that every swing earlier in the year). I have absolutely no idea if he'll go right back to what he was doing whenever he struggles though, so I'm not sure if he can sustain this production or not.

I found that to be an interesting exchange with all that has been talked about with the old regime/new regime and pitch counts. http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20070725&content_id=2109020&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

That's very true about Dunn, but if the Cubs got his second best month out of the 9 (.847 OPS) for the next two months, Dunn probably wouldn't be worth the amount it would take to get him. He would have to be better than that-which is certainly possible, but the question then becomes how likely it would be.

I believe they will resign Grossman if he has a good season. And I believe there will be money to sign him if he has a great season. A great season by Grossman virtually assures them of at least an NFC Championship appearance, and probably the Super Bowl. They have always been good about maintaing a smart cap. There will be space, or they will make the space. Besides, when was the last time a marque QB (and under this scenario RG would be marquee) actually signed as a free agent with a new team? If he fails to improve from last season, I think they will either try and get him back on the cheap or let him walk. Drew Brees was probably the last "marquee" QB (under your definition) to be signed by another team just 1 season ago. His team had a different guy that they wanted to promote, and he was coming off injury. Plus, he took a bit of a step back. I'm talking about a QB coming off a great season whose team wants to keep him. It's not like baseball, where stud pitchers routinely do to free agency and leave. If a team finds a QB, they typically keep him, unless they already have his replacement on board. Agreed, although Grossman is sort of an unusual case in that respect. Usually QB's get signed for pretty long deals out of college, and by the time they hit free agency the team knows if they are going to sink or swim. Grossman got that type of contract as well, but because of all the injuries a lot of the decision making will have to be based off of this year alone (because if he has a good year this year, last year can simply be chalked up to growing pains). I do agree with you that the Bears won't let him go if he has a good year, although that might mean that his top receivers this year will be cap casualties.

I believe they will resign Grossman if he has a good season. And I believe there will be money to sign him if he has a great season. A great season by Grossman virtually assures them of at least an NFC Championship appearance, and probably the Super Bowl. They have always been good about maintaing a smart cap. There will be space, or they will make the space. Besides, when was the last time a marque QB (and under this scenario RG would be marquee) actually signed as a free agent with a new team? If he fails to improve from last season, I think they will either try and get him back on the cheap or let him walk. Drew Brees was probably the last "marquee" QB (under your definition) to be signed by another team just 1 season ago.

I didn't realize the Braves were playing Franco that much. He's 48 (49 in a couple weeks) and has an OPS under .600, and the Braves pick him up and start him everyday in the easiest position to play on the entire field? That's just a strange move, and if the Braves use Franco in order to justify trading Salty it will be even stranger.

The Cubs didn't face a LH starter last night-Kip Wells is a right-hander.

No-he had a scoreless inning on Saturday.

Lou said as soon as there is a LH on the mound Fox will get a start.

The decision to go could very well have been at least as much Theriot's as Lou's. On a pregame show after a hit and run that proved to win it for the Cubs, Theriot said it wasn't a called hit and run, he just always had the green light and happened to choose that one to run. Then Theriot needs to use his damn head and let his 3 4 5 guys do some damage instead of running into outs With that CS, Theriot's SB percentage is at 84.2% this year. The value of him stealing is still worth it even with his occasional CS like tonight.

Lee was 6 out of his last 10 with 2 HR (10 out of his last 25) when he was suspended. He's not doing anything like that in his first two at bats.

Yup-101 AB's, .386/.456/.653.

How are things working out for him in San Diego? It looks like he is still battling his temper. Any complaints from the pitching staff yet? I haven't heard much about how he's working with the pitchers. He has been struggling mightily with the bat, putting up a .268/.268/.324 line up in 71 at-bats.

Wow, you can't possibly be serious. He looked very good at times during his callup last year. You consider a 5+ ERA and a 1.62 WHIP very good? He said at times. Mateo wasn't ready for the major leagues last year, but then again neither were any of the other starters (for example, look at the difference between Marshall this year and Marshall last year). He is 24 years old and has been pretty good at every level he's been at besides his callup to the majors. Either this year or next year, he probably will be ready to contribute to a major league team as either a back of the rotation starter or a good bullpen pitcher.

I think draft pick compensation was ended in the latest CBA. The requirements were made tougher for each class of FA's in the latest CBA, but draft pick compensation is still there.

I'm not sure why the Cubs would want Garland. If you put his numbers so far this season on the Cubs, he'd be the 6th best starter for the Cubs. He's been a mid 4's ERA guy for most of his career besides 1 year. He is certainly no better than Lilly or Hill. He probably is a little better than Marquis, but that's not nearly worth what it would take in talent and salary to acquire him.

Is Theriot that much better than Pagan though? In that scenario, I'd rather have DeRosa play second and Pagan CF. The offense would be similar between Theriot and Pagan (and right now possibly even a small edge to Pagan), and the defense of course would be much better with DeRosa at second and Pagan in CF. Pagan's OPS vs. LH pitching is a little below .800 which isn't bad provided he continues to slg over .500 against them. That doesn't seem very likely based on what he did last year. Theriot's OPS vs LH is about .750 with a good and more likely sustainable OBP of ~.375 I'd rather have Theriot's .375 OBP batting 2nd aginst LH than I would have Pagan batting 7th. Theriot only has a .346 OBP against left-handers this year, not .375. If it were just a battle between the two of them offensively against LHP, I wouldn't mind if the answer was Theriot-the two of them are very close in that department. When you consider the defensive ramifications of putting DeRosa or Theriot in CF though, that makes it much more of an edge for Pagan.

Is Theriot that much better than Pagan though? In that scenario, I'd rather have DeRosa play second and Pagan CF. The offense would be similar between Theriot and Pagan (and right now possibly even a small edge to Pagan), and the defense of course would be much better with DeRosa at second and Pagan in CF.

That makes Kendall 3, Hill 2. That matches up with what they said they were going to do-Kendall is supposed to get 4-5 starts a week, and Hill 2-3 starts a week.

Wow-the great day for the Cubs in the standings yesterday certainly reflected in their postseason chances. It jumped 6 percent in one day, and now gives the Cubs almost a 57.5% chance of making the playoffs.

Wow-what a day for the Cubs in the standings. They: -moved to within 2 1/2 games in the division -took a 1 game lead over Atlanta for 2nd place in the WC -moved to within 2 games of San Diego and LA for the WC lead, so if only 1 of them loses tomorrow the Cubs will have the chance to possibly get within 1 game of a playoff spot.

You remember how the Cubs at-bat to Barry on Gameday had like 2 pitches clearly in the strike zone? On Bonds at-bat just a second ago where he got called out on strikes, two of the strikes to Barry were marked as being clearly outside. Anybody watching the game to know if they were or not?

#-o He'd be good. But what are ya gonna do trade one of floyd or ward once they are back? Nope. The likelihood is that Ward won't be back until September. September won't be a problem because of expanded rosters, and in the playoffs both Ward and Stairs could have spots on the bench because teams don't have to carry as many pitchers.

Tarik Glenn retiring? http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070720/SPORTS03/707200535/1100 If this is true, this is an absolutely huge blow for the Colts. They do have a 2nd year player who played well last year, and they did draft Ugoh this year in the early 2nd round, but Glenn was a Pro Bowl caliber left tackle that has protected Peyton quite well his entire career. He has always been a superb pass blocker, and that will be missed. I can understand his decision though-retire before you get too beat up.