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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.

Remember that Jacque was one of the players that Lou was working on his swing in late June. He was working on shortening that swing, and so far it is has looked quite good. I'd probably keep Jacque the rest of the year unless he becomes a person of pretty good value for another team that could be used to strengthen the club in another area. I also like how Jacque has looked better against left-handers in the last week or two. He doesn't look completely overmatched against them-in fact, I think he had 2 walks and two hits against left-handers on Wednesday and Thursday, and took one other at-bat to 3-2 before flying out. I'm not saying that Jacque should ever start against a left-hander, but it's still nice to see.

I really don't understand what happened to Barrett's patience all of a sudden. He hasn't drawn a walk since June 9th. That's 88 AB's in a row now without a single walk. That's a very, very long streak for a guy who hasn't been awful in the patience department for quite a while. Only 4 hits in the Phillies-Padres game through 7 btw-it certainly has lived up to its billing as a pitchers duel.

I guess you missed when he did exactly that twice during 2005 then :D

The Dodgers losing would benefit the Cubs more. That way even if San Diego wins tonight they move into a tie with the Dodgers for the Division/Wild Card, and that would make it easier for the Cubs to possibly move up in the WC race this weekend.