vance_the_cubs_fan

Now the REAL question is, would it be too late? I don't know, but regardless of how impatient we get, you can't force these things. You can't make the other team trade when they aren't ready. We've all heard it, but it takes two to trade.

It's hard not to pitch in a lot of blow-outs when you play for the Royals. Who do you think will be picked? No one on their team is deserving, but someone has to go. Sweeney. He doesn't deserve it, but he leads the team in HR's and SLG. He has a .299 BA which is at least respectable, and he's the most known commodity on the team. If I had to guess I would bet Sweeney would too. But Sisco has a decent shot IMO. I think the fact that he's a middle reliever kills any chance that he has.

It's hard not to pitch in a lot of blow-outs when you play for the Royals. Who do you think will be picked? No one on their team is deserving, but someone has to go. Sweeney. He doesn't deserve it, but he leads the team in HR's and SLG. He has a .299 BA which is at least respectable, and he's the most known commodity on the team.

1. Hairston CF 2. Walker 2B 3. Lee 1B 4. Burnitz RF 5. Ramirez 3B 6. Hollandsworth LF 7. Cedeno SS 8. Barrett C

I think over the next eight games, we should try this line-up: Hairston CF Walker 2B Lee 1B Burntiz RF Ramirez 3B Hollandsworth LF Barrett C

I don't think Sisco will be the all-star. It's hard for any reliever, especially non-closers to be chosen. Add to the fact, he's been used mainly in middle releif in blow-outs, I have a feeling that he'll be over looked regardless of his numbers.

Drese is a pitcher who can be great one time out and completely horrible the next. Texas grew so tired of it, they put him on waivers. Let's hope the really bad Drese shows up. He will walk hitters and can be hit if you get ahead in the count. Our hitters must be patient. I'll be listening to this one on the XM tomorrow as I make my way to Atlanta for Mon-Wed games. Go Cubs!

Even with their nice run, the Astros are still five games under .500. I just don't see them maintaining the success long enough to be a legitimate threat. I could be wrong, but there is less talent there this year than there was last year. To be .500 at the break, They'll have to go 7-1 over their next eight games. I don't forsee that happening. I assume that they'll play well enough to finish the season at or around .500, but not enough to really threaten anyone for a playoff spot.

I'm heading to Turner Field on Monday, so I'll try to take some pics. I'll get some the next time I'm at Minute Maid as well. Will be at Busch later this month, and I'll try to remember to take the camera.

With Toronto's three-year budget, they will have a lot of money to spend this offseason.

This year yes, but those look about AGone's numbers at SS in 2003 But the problem with this year's team is that we have a weak hitting shortstop with no patience, a weak hitting CFer with no patience, and an average left and right fielder. We have to improve somewhere. There's not much out there that would make an impact at SS. Rightfield isn't going anywhere, so we're left with finding improvement in left or center. Right now, CF is the biggest hole in the line-up.

If they have Welly and Mitre caliber prospects, they should be pitching them in the Majors. Their pitching is lousy. You do realize that Mitre (1.36 WHIP, .261 BAA, and 5.52 ERA) and Wellemeyer (1.42WHIP, .231 BAA, 4.74 ERA) don't look like top caliber players to a lot of teams. They may be players that might become that...and both have shown the ability to dominate, neither have done so. What about those two would make Texas think that they could help them enough this year to justify trading away a piece of their future? The Rangers rotation prior to Rogers injury and suspension was: Rogers (2. 46 ERA, 1.28 WHP, 253 BAA) PArk (5.50 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 296 BAA) C. Young (3.33 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, .245 BAA) C. Wilson (7.15 ERA, 2.12 WHip, .715 BAA) R. Rodriguez (3.65 ERA, 1.22 Whip, .276 BAA) Mitre and Welly are better than Park and Wilson, but not any better than Young and Rodriguez. The Rangers released Drese who has performed at or near Mitre's level this year because of inconsistencies. On the farm they have Thomas Diamond (not quite ready) and lefty John Danks. They've shuttled Juan Dominguez back and forth and he's about Welly talent-wise. Welly and Mitre aren't going to be enough to get a key piece of their team. They might give us Delucci for one of them. Throw in both and an outfielder and we could have Hidalgo. We just don't have the player that would make them trade Mench. They don't want quanity, they'll want quality. Zambrano is the closest we have to what they're looking for. We wouldn't, nor shouldn't do that. That's why there isn't a match between the two teams to net Mench. I still think that Welly, Mitre, Rusch, & Williams would be #3, #4, & #5 starters on quite a few teams in the majors. The trade I mentioned would not necessarily help the Rangers this year (since they aren't going to win the Division this year anyhow), but would help in the next 2-4 years when some of their youngsters mature along with players like Welly & Mitre. Also, I would think there are some GMs who realize that Welly & Mitre have been shuffled from starting to relieving to the minors and back again. Put them in a consistent role and they might realize the potential that they show. And you're right that it could help them in the future, but to trade Mench they're going to want more than that. In their minds, Mitre and Welly are no better than Diamond or Danks who will also help them in the future. They would probably have a lot of interest in Mitre and Welly if we're asking for Soriano, Hidalgo, or Delucci. If we're asking for Mench or one of the young core players, then Mitre and Welly aren't even in the ballpark of what they are looking for.

Trade looks great for us, but I don't think the Reds or A's would bite. The A's are going to want more talent than that. The Reds won't like trading both Kearns and Dunn. Have the Cubs only get Dunn and Kotsay. Replace Pinto with Hill on the A's side and add Fontenot. Take Welly out on the Reds side. That's a deal I could see more likely to happening.

I think that we'll have acquired a lead-off hitter by the middle of July. I think Baker made his comments knowing that is priority number one on Hendry's to-do list. I think Patterson was given a shot. It was like trying Dempster at closer. If it works, one less piece you need to acquire. Dempster worked out; Patterson didn't. Now it is clear that we don't have a lead-off hitter on this team....unless it is Jerry Jr. My next move would be to bench Patterson over the next seven games and let Hairston try CF. I've stated over and over that I don't think his defense is good enough. I still believe that, but if I'm proven wrong, then once again...one less piece you have to acquire. I don't know if that is what Baker has in mind, but it is definitely worth a shot.

It hasn't been the same problem, though. There were a few weeks in there when his command of the zone was good and he was putting the ball in play, but they were mostly weak groundouts. I still think Corey's getting closer to coming out of it. If he could get a fair strike zone and didn't have to consistently swing at pitches outside of the zone, that would go a long way. And if he can change his swing so he can keep his bat more level while going through the strike zone, that would also help a lot. I don't trade him. His trade value is too low right now. I'd move him to the 7th spot, but not trade him. The fact is that he's hitting poorly even for a seventh hitter. If we acquired a lead-off hitter to play left, we might could try Patterson in the seven hole. On the other hand, if we could get a lead-off hitting CF such as Kotsay, would it be a good move to bench Patterson. As much as I like his potential, I'd rather Hollandsworth come to the plate at key situations than Patterson. Patterson still has value to a team that can be patient with him and try to fix him. If we want to contend for a play-off spot, we don't have that luxury. He's just not hitting. I like the patient approach he's had lately, but he still isn't putting the bat on the ball. Patterson may be used as part of the currency needed to improve this team.

Of all the regulars on the team, Corey is hitting the worst. He's not improved any since the start of the year. I've always been a big supporter of Corey, but I can't do it with any integrity any longer. He's not helping the team and he's hurting us as much as anyone else on the team. If we can make an improvement in CF, then that's an area of weakness we should look to upgrade. We have three areas in which we can seek improvement: CF, LF, and SS. I don't think we'll find anything at SS, so we should look at left or center. If that means Corey goes to the bench or is moved in a trade, so be it. To contend this year, we can't have a CF htting .240 and getting on base at a 280 clip.

For this team to get better we need a lead-off hitter. Two possible guys available are Kotsay and Lawton. I think it's a matter of time before Corey is gone. I don't see too many signs that he'll turn it around.

This is becoming a very frustrating game. Let's get some runs this inning!

I agree. My guess is Hendry is looking to use Corey as the currency to upgrade the team. He's likely shopping for a left and center fielder.

Nomar had one on when they showed him in the dugout today.

This really sucks. How the hell do we only have one run and no walks off Armas!??!? It's time to make a deal for Kotsay. Shift Walker back to the two-hole and our offense will actually be decent.

Game Time! Let's go Cubs!

How long are we going to stick with that line-up? We need some better production at the top.

I wonder how his velocity is... :-k

If they need to trade A-rod for the sake of Chemistry, we can take him.