RedFlash

Duhon stays on with the Bulls under this scenerio: the Bulls draft Rose, and trades Hinrich (unless trading Hinrich to a team like Portland for a guard like Rodriguez or Jack or Blake as part of the package back). Otheriwse, Thabo has enough ball handling skills to play backup PG. And I like th idea of trading for the 2nd pick, and I hope Paxson thinks outside the box and gets it done. Heck, even if the Bulls can't trade for the #2 pick, (I believe they can, but they have to get creative) if they could trade for another Top 15 pick (to take a kid like Speights, or Jordan, or even McGee) would be a nice get for Paxson, and a nice summer for Paxs. We will see how the summer plays out.

We'll win this game.

Outside of the fact that Marmol would prolly NOT get too many chances to close out games, seeing as he would have to come in a preserve the game after KW/Howry or Weurtz, blows it? Atleast Marmol gives Wood a chance to save the game, so the game is on Wood. But if the roles are reverse, I don't know how many games Marmol would get to save with Wood/Howry and Weurtz is the hot spots of the game.

Here is why I don't understand why the Cubs don't DFA Marquis. I mean, Estaban Loaiza signed a similar deal (3 yrs $21.75 mill) a yr before Marquis (3 yr $21 mill), and yet the Dodgers recognize Loaiza stinks, and they DFA him, but why haven't the Cubs figure this out with Marquis? I understand Loaiza was closer to the end of the contract then Marquis, but if the Dodgers are willing to cut Loaiza (a similarly ineffective starter) early, then what is the Cubs excuse for Marquis? Loaiza was cut because he sucks. Marquis isn't cut, why?

Skiles will get your team heading into the right direction in no time. Believe me.

I think the selling point would be, he would return to RF in 2009, and his move to CF this yr, would be TEMPORARY. I see Fuku as a player who is willing to help the team win, by doing what he is asked. If the Cubs asked him to play CF for at most 4 months,(with some compensation, of course), I would believe he would agree to playing CF.

Why are we still talking about a player that was barely in the Cubs possesion (under an hour, I will guess was hs tenure with the Cubs)? The Cubs had no interest in Josh Hamilton (no hindsight is allow), and was looking at a potential free money. If the Cubs knew Hamilton would be this good, then sure they may have kept him, but keeping Hamilton was NEVER in the cards, and debating over a player who was all in tense and purposes (<---whatever that saying is) never a Cub, is not a worthy argument for Cubs fans. Had the Cubs kept Hamilton up to the day they signed Cliff Floyd (Jan. 25 2007, about a month later) and/or traded Hamilton before seeing what he could do over Cliff Floyd, is one thing, but Josh Hamilton was only a Cub for at most less then 24 hours. Let's give it a break. This is barely Cub related, and the only reason why it is, is because of the cameo part the Cubs play. For all I care, I look at it as a trade between the Rays and the Reds, with the Cubs recieving money to help facilitate the trade.

They can't, Marquis is starting for the Cubs....

The fact that we are actually having a lively debate about who the take: the stud Derrek Rose, or the stud Michael Beasley, means the Bulls have a good problem on their hands. Anybody who is going to knock Paxso because he could take Beasley, over Rose, needs to go back and rewatch Beasley play. I know it's apples and oranges comparasion but if Kevin Durant (the only NBA player i the last 20 yrs to make Keith Closs look muscle bound---can come in and make an impact as a rookie, then I believe Beasley could make the same impact. Now I understand Seattle needed Durant to start, whereas the Bulls would ease Beasley into the starting role (I surmise it would take less then a month, and the new coach would have Beasley starting over Gooden and Thomas---if either are still on the Bulls). I am a firm believer in the "it's not the size of the dog of the fight, but the size of the fight of the dog" theory of athlethics. With that said, I would take Rose over Beasley, simply because his kind of athelthicism and skillset doesn't come around all that often at his position. Whereas, while Beasley is going to be a star, he kind of players do come around more often. But if the Bulls walked out of the draft with beasley, I would just as estatic. The Bulls are in a no-lose situation, unless they took a Kevin Love, or an Eric Gordon with the 1st pick, which is unlikely. This pointless arguing over who is a better player, is simply that, pointless. The Bulls are leaving the draft with a potential superstar player. Let's leave it at that.

Agreed. DeRo in LF and Cedeno at 2b, should make up for the offense of Soriano. The Cubs need Soriano in August/September/October not necessarily May.

It would be amazing if the Bulls could get Miami's #2 pick, to go along with the #1 pick. How cool would it be if the Bulls walked out of the NBA Draft in June with both Rose AND Beasley? But if not, I much rather have Derrek Rose. Not only would it be a great PR move, but he is a legit PG, who is a legit #1 pick. So it's not like they would be overdrafting a kid for a PR Stunt. I won't cry if the Bulls got Beasley, but I don't like the thought of putting Beasley on the same court as say Hughes and Hinrich. His development would be hurt more playing with those two chuckleheads. IMO, Rose could help improve the developments of Thomas/Noah moreso then Hinrich with Beasley. Rose or Beasley, this is a good problem to have, but I take Rose over Beasley, because you can find a decent scoring option at PF (in fact a combo of Gooden and Thomas may be as effective as Beasley his first season).

I would not be at all disappointed if the Bulls walked out of the draft with Beasley or Rose (and I would be beyond estatic if the Bulls can somehow acquire the Heat pick), but the reality is, Hinrich has more trade value then Gooden/Thomas thus, you can get a better value in return for Hinrich then Gooden and/or Thomas. IMO, as much as Beasley will be a great player in the NBA, Rose is a more pressing need. Hinrich is a fine player, but Rose is everything Hinrich is not. Rose to Thomas or Noah, would be the Bulls version of Paul to Chandler, or Williams, to Boozer. Every great team needs a great floor general, and this yr especially, Hinrich seemed to disappear to often. I love Beasley's game, and he'll be a monster (and if the Bulls could somehow trade for the Heat #2 pick, IDK what I would do), but the fact is....Rose is...A: plays a position that is surely needed. B: Would provide the instant PR move the Bulls need to get interest back into the team. IMO, if the draft happened tomorrow, Rose would/could and SHOULD be the pick. Now, if the Heat would consider a deal of the 2nd pick, I would love to walk out of the draft with Rose AND Beasley.

The Cubs WILL WIN THIS GAME.

The Cubs won't have the Bulls winning the lottery to hide behind if they lose this game. So I am going to call it, the Cubs will WIN this game. I see a(nother) Lee and an ARamabomb later in the game.

I believe that should be Lee's argument against Lou, for taking today off. Lee does not like to sit out a game, and I bet he will use the argument of "we can win the series" as justification for not sitting out. Like Hoffpauir, I like the fact that Lou wants to get him some playing time instead of rotting on the bench, but if the Cubs can win a series, you must keep your best hitters in the lineup. With Lee starting to get out of his slump, I can't see keeping him out of the rubber match against Houston.

IDK about that, I would say Greg Maddux was a better pure pitcher then Pedro.

Beasley plays a position that the Bulls need to fill as well. Don't get me wrong, I'd love either of them. This is an awesome position to be in. I still think Paxson is high on Hinrich though and that ultimately he's going to take Beasley. As much as Paxson still loves his first pick in Hinrich, but he's still equally still high on Thomas and Noah. Paxson has to take Rose, not because he is only the best G to come into the league since Wade (I said G, not a hybrid G/F like Anthony/James), but because of the good PR they would get for drafting the home grown talent. You almost have to take Rose.

I hope Ascanio comes in and simply is so good or the Cubs, to a point that they can't afford to send him down again. I'm not asking for Carlos Marmol Part 2, I'm asking for a hybrid of Weurtz/Marmol. If he does, then the Cubs bullpen will simply be such a weapon, that teams will literally cry themsevles to sleep.

I tell you one thing, if I was a pitcher there would be only one non-Cubs catcher I would want to throw to, and that is Jason Varitek. Hideo Nomo Clay Buchholz Jon Lester Derek Lowe All four of these pitchers have thrown no-hitters with Jason Varitek as the catcher. No other catcher in history can say that. Not to mention Curt Schilling had a 1 hitter with Varitek behind the plate. In other words....if I was a pitcher, I would definately want to throw to Vartiek. Vartiek will be a very good manager when his playing days are over.

Am I the only one who believes Hendry/Piniella are beginning to see Dempster as a the "#2 starter" they are looking for? And if they do see Dempster as that (I don't, I see Lilly as a good #3, and Dempster as a good #4), I could see them going after a mediocre Steve Trachsel esque acquisition at the deadline. I hope they go after the "target" at the deadline, but after all, this is still Hendry's Cub, and I could see them going after a mediocre player, instead of a possible impact player.

Soto with the INSIDE THE PARKER.........Never seen Soto was so fast!!!!!!!!!!!

Don 't forget about Jason Schmidt, David Nied, Bruce Chen, Horacio Ramirez, etc, etc, etc...

Unfortunately they've been winning with this. I would agree with you on Bourne (.192/.262/.276/.538), but not on Matsui (.283/.374/.396/.770). You're not reading that wrong, in 110 at bats, Matsui has done well for the Astros. Will he keep it up? Prolly not, but right now, he has to be taken as a semi-threat in the lineup. There's only two legit threat in the Astros lineup; Berkman and Lee. Tejada is a expensive singles hitter, and Pence is a swingaholic. Towles is the 3rd best catcher in the division (behind THE best catcher Soto, and the 2nd best catcher Molina). So if Dempster/Gallagher and Lilly keeps the bases empty then Berkman and Lee won't hurt the Cubs (and you know they will) as much. So I like the Cubs chance of taking atleast two from the Astros. edit: One more things....the Astros have Moehler (4.58 era), Sampson (6.46) and Chacon (4.14) going in the series. So if the Cubs don't take atleast two handily, I be disappointed. This series is definately looking like an opportunity for Lee and ARam to get their bats going.

We get to see the Astros versions of Corey Patterson (Michael Borne) and Nefti Perez (Kaz Matsui) at the top of the Stros's order. So, Berkman/Lee/Tejada/Pence should not have too many RBI opportunities.

It's the Montgomery Advertiser, and Chirinos hit 3 TRIPLES in one game, tying a mark for triples hit in a game set back in 1985, I believe.