But trading Z by itself will not right this ship.  We need a new catcher.  Sure, maybe Michael just had a bad week, but these are mistakes a catcher at this level should not be making, and he had made similar mistakes time and time again.

And as good as it was to see Jones finally get a dinger, he's superfluous in an overcrowded outfield made even moreso by the far superior defensively (and, hitting .400 in AAA, it would appear offesively, as well) Felix Pie.  Jones: a ball thrown to the cut-off man should not bounce twice.

And Murton is not a right-fielder.  Another little-league mistake today by him on a popup.  Trade him somewhere that needs a left-fielder.

And can we release Eyre?  Every single appearance he hemorrhages base-runners.  Five singles and one run in two innings, and believe it or not, his ERA went down a fair amount!  Putting him in again and again is not going to work, as it has been made clear.  He must go.

Al, at root, we are Cubs fans because we love the game of baseball and the City of Chicago, but what we really want is to see the teams that we root for to demonstrate the characteristics that we strive for in our personal and professional lives.

One of those characteristics, obviously, is success -- in this case, a team that wins championships.

Absent championship-level success, however, there are many other important factors that I want to see that have been noticeably absent from the 2007 Cubs and, I would say, have been missing from this franchise for some time -- honesty (at least from management which has consistently lied about and obscured the truth about the health and development of players), pride in their job, mastering the basics and doing little things right, paying attention to detail, and having some fun along the way.

As a team, the 2007 Cubs have consistently failed to evince the skill level or the "heart," for lack of a better word, of a championship-level team.  Now they cannot even act like professionals.

Yes, this is a bit of an emotional response, but, rooting for this team is turning into an embarrassment.

Watching and rewatching the scenes from the dugout when a guy in a red shirt comes out to get the trainer Lee runs down the steps to the clubhouse. He and Michael are good friends so I'm sure he wanted to see how Barrett was. Also Henry is the one who drove Michael away.

Barrett will no longer catch for Zambrano.

Until Blanco returns, Hill will remain on the roster.

Teammates will take sides, hopefully not along racial lines, but it could happen that way.

Team chemistry will get worse and additional losses will pile up.

There will be no decisive management action on any player and Zambrano nor Barrett will be traded, at least prior to the season trade deadline.

And Piniella will continue to muddle along, apparently without the strong clubhouse leadership he was known for before arriving at Clark & Addison.

Phone call to Kenny W. makes sense too, and Z might enjoy playing for Ozzie!  Would ChiSox be interested in resigning Z at year's end?  Probably shakey at best; but they could offer longterm now, contingent on 2007 performance criteria...

New players would be in place ASAP.  Too bad Z dislikes Barrett; otherwise could make a package deal, and get Josh Paul back.  What a circus that would be to have Z, Barrett, and AJ in the same battery...brings a real ringing sound to the word "Battery"!

It would be irresponsible for Hendry to deal excusively with the Mets; veteran pitching is always in demand for any team serious about a playoff push.  I worry that Hendry will try to get "win now" talent to save his job, only to have another one of his trades not work out and the Cubs be stuck in a deeper hole.

Besides the team just has too many holes to fill to be competitive, even in the weak NL Central.  Jones, Z, DeRosa, Barrett, Murton, Eyre, and Ohman all need to go...and that's just not going to happen.

I hate to say it, but what REALLY needs to be done is trade Derrek Lee and Aramis to different teams, each for a ton of prospects. There will only be a small drop in attendance...people are going to come to Wrigley regardless of the product on the field.  This way expenses are minimized to make the sale more appealing, and the minors would finally be infused with an abundance of young talent.  Its the best way to a brighter future.  

(Note I would say trade Soriano too, but no one would want that ridiculous contract he has)

Jones
Murton
Floyd
DeRosa
Ward
Eyre
Howry
Izuseless

Any one of them... or even two of them need to be included.

In return, I feel the Cubs MUST recieve the top rated SS prospect in the league, ready to make the leap to the majors NOW, and whatever else is necessary to complete the deal.

This situation is exactly where management shows its true colors.  If Z stays, it says his behavior is acceptable, and it's the rare organization that can tolerate his inexcusable immaturity, especially since it happens over and over, and be successful.  Talent's nice, but the whole Big Z show has run its course and needs to come to an end.

This isn't to say that Barrett is without fault.  It is to say that in the short term, the Cubs need Barrett more than they need a selfish hothead like Zambrano for the simple reason there's no one else to catch, especially now that Blanco's out for awhile.

If I'm the GM, I fine and suspend both Zambrano and Barrett, get what I can for Z in a bidding war, and start cutting away the deadwood like JJones and Eyre.  The team can't be remade overnite, but a strong, bold move that speaks to behavior and limits needs to be made right away.

Unfortunately, Jim Hendry is the GM, so what I expect to happen is that Z remains on the team and continues to act like an ass, the team divides over to who to blame for all the poor playing, and the season slowly spirals down in a death spin that makes last year look reasonable.

- Lou P 06/01/07

Normally, I'm not a proponent of anyone losing their job, but this is unacceptable.

This isn't Lou Pinella's fault, it's not Larry Rothschild (at least I don't think it is), and it's surely not Dusty Baker's fault. This is not 1 yr. worth of bad ball clubs being assembled. Yes, chemistry is a tricky thing and putting together a ballclub isn't easy, but there's gotta be something better than what Cub fans have had to endure.

Al, trade Z, laughs...Trade Barrett, JJones, Cliff Floyd, the list is endless.

Barrett must be moved (impending FA) and will cost too much to keep, but also his defense (and I haven't looked at the numbers) might be on the verge of challenging the worst in NL history. This also isn't the first time he's blown up, it's too bad his temper doesn't translate into good defense or he'd be an all-star.

Zambrano should be moved because he'd potentially bring a lot, and well maybe a shakeup might help the club long-term, if not this year. Forget Omar in NY, he won't overpay for Z like people think, and we won't get Wright or Reyes back so to me it just isn't worth moving him to the Mets. Instead, there are plenty of other teams in need of a pitcher with Z's credentials. Go seek them out and see who the highest bidder is.

So what does ESPN lead their shows with tonight? The fight? Or yet another (yawn) Yankee/Red Sox game?

You make the call.

It's no secret that Omar Manaya covets Carlos Zambrano, and he'd be front and center if there are any future talks with clubs about the Cubs dealing zambrano.

My review of the Mets' roster leaves me wondering who(m) the Cubs ask for in any potential deal:

Roster
 No STARTERS AGE B T HT WT DOB 2007 SALARY
47 Glavine, Tom 41 $7,500,000
26 Hernandez, Orlando 37 $5,000,000
33 Maine, John 26 $391,000
45 Martinez, Pedro (DL) $14,002,234
46 Perez, Oliver 25 $2,325,000
30 Sele, Aaron 36 $1,000,000
29 Sosa, Jorge 30 Not available
32 Williams, Dave (DL) $1,250,000
No BULLPEN AGE B T HT WT DOB 2007 SALARY
25 Feliciano, Pedro 30 $602,000
48 Heilman, Aaron 28 $453,000
59 Mota, Guillermo 33 $1,800,000
28 Padilla, Juan (DL) 30  $384,000
50 Sanchez, Duaner (DL) 27 $850,000
60 Schoeneweis, Scott 33 $3,600,000
35 Smith, Joe 23 $380,000
13 Wagner, Billy 35 $10,500,000
No CATCHERS AGE B T HT WT DOB 2007 SALARY
11 Castro, Ramon A. 31 $850,000
16 Lo Duca, Paul 35 $6,250,000
No INFIELDERS AGE B T HT WT DOB 2007 SALARY
21 Delgado, Carlos 34 $14,500,000
3 Easley, Damion 37 $850,000
23 Franco, Julio 48 $1,150,000
6 Gotay, Ruben 24 Not available
7 Reyes, Jose B. 23  $2,875,000
22 Valentin, Jose (DL) 37 $3,800,000
5 Wright, David 24 $1,250,000
No OUTFIELDERS AGE B T HT WT DOB 2007 SALARY
18 Alou, Moises (DL) 40  $7,500,000
15 Beltran, Carlos 30  $13,571,429
10 Chavez, Endy 29 L  $1,725,000
27 Gomez, Carlos 21 R  Not available
20 Green, Shawn (DL) 34  $9,500,000
4 Johnson, Ben J. 25  Not available
17 Newhan, David 33  $575,000
No DESIGNATED HITTERS AGE B T HT WT DOB 2007 SALARY

AAA Affiliate: New Orleans Zephyrs (Roster)
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&cid=588&stn=true&sid=t58 8

Disclaimer * Admittedley, I am no expert in putting together "perfect trades" for any MLB team, so please have patience and save the "You'd have to be nuts" responses for some other time.  What is everyone's "good deal," should the Cubs be forced to make a move with Z to the Mets?  Thanks for responding.

Here's mine

Cubs get:
Jorge Sosa or John Maine
Aaron Heilman
Paul Lo Duca

Mets get:
Zambrano
Barrett

for

Maine
Hielman
Chavez