Soriano swinging away for the fence every at bat is really hurting the team. This is not just a "slump" thing. Too bad that he just feels comfortable there. Paying all that $$$ for Soriano was the worst move IMHO in the last year by Hendry.

Moving Soriano elsewhere in the lineup would do wonders.

We just have to weather the storm. Clearly, the Cardinals aren't going to show any life versus the Brewers.

So, after the Brewers sweep four games, we reassess and go from there. Hopefully, other teams won't roll over like dying dogs.

I know that we should believe everything in the paper, but it was reported that Kenny Williams turned down Renteria from the Braves for Garland even in light of the fact that the Sox are really in need of a solid short stop.

What in the world can make you think that the Sox will take Cedano (who, lets face it, is probably 10-15 times worse then Renteria) and Marshall (who, again, is about 7-10 times worse then Garland)??

Not to mention when you sprinkle in the fact that Kenny would be making a cross-town trade that will make all the Sox fans even more upset and bitter with their season.

I guess I just feel like this post is one of those typical "sports talk radio" calls when someone wants to give up Nefi and Jose Macias for Nomar circa 2002.

Just my take. Go Cubbies, I can't wait until you post that scary scary Harang picture.

I think both teams win with Pie and prospect for garland and dye. I know Pie is off limits, but its just an idea and makes some sense.

the Cubs have lost 8 games, and in those games they have averaged 1.8 runs per game. 4 of the 8 losses contained quality starts by the Cubs starter. A starting pitcher might be nice, but I would submit the reason the Cubs are losing, when they lose, is because of a lack of offense, not a lack of quality starting pitching.

Imo, a nother starter is a luxury, a difference making hitter, probably in RF, is a necessity if the world series is the goal.

As far as Garland goes, by all accounts Williams is trying to unload Contreras, and only wants to get rid of Garland Or Vazquez if he gets the moon. Garland is a solid pitcher, but I don't think you give the moon up for a borderline number 2 starter (career whip 1.37, ERA 4.41). He eats innings, and I'd much rather have him than Maquis obviously, but Williams is going to want Pie, Cedeno and Gallagher for him.

Don't know if this was mentioned elsewhere but...

The Brewers traded Grant Balfour to Tampa Bay for pitcher Seth McClung.

I guess we can't rely on Grant "Ball-Four" to blow anymore games for the Brewers this year.  

but Garland who has complained of shoulder tightness of late is a marginal upgrade over Marshall (who he'd directly be replacing in the rotation)

if he was replacing Marquis... maybe this would make some sense

but a starting pitcher in general isnt what's needed, if Wood comes back we'll have Wood, Marmol, Howry, Dempster

that should be enough bullpen depth for starters to go 6 innings and win games consistently

for the most part we havent had that problem

and last night if Cherry doesnt come in and blow up, we'd likely have won that game

starting pitching isnt the teams biggest problem

and to trade away two of our best trade chips for a slight upgrade in the rotation is silly when we could make a gigantic upgrade in the lineup by acquiring a power hitting OF

IF we're going to make a move at all it should be in RF, our biggest weakness (outside of catcher) all season

our starting pitching has been our biggest strength and while i do believe Marshall will show some regression this year as his ERA climbs closer to the low 4's, high 3's... Garland's only slightly better (probably a mid 3's ERA in the NL Central)... he's NOT an ace

this type of trade would be a horrible reactionary move to the last 2 starts that didnt get us deep into games

for all the complaining on Hill

Hill, Lilly, and Zambrano are all top 20 in the NL in ERA

top 10 in K's

and top 15 in WHIP

Hill is top 5 in WHIP, top 10 in K's, and top 20 in ERA

c'mon.... starting pitching is NOT the issue

Why don't the Cubs go after Dontrelle Willis?  He's having a lousy year and might available on the cheap?

"Not only that, but the Cubs would get a little psychological payback for having had Ed Lynch trade Garland, who was the 10th overall pick in the 1997 draft, away when he was an 18-year-old kid in low-A ball and getting a mediocre middle reliever in return."

so we could end up losing TWICE on Garland trades... both in attempts to add marginal upgrades to contending teams and throwing caution to the wind with regards to our future

sounds like a great way to make up for the original mistake... MAKE ANOTHER ONE!!!!!

and trade away two valuable prospects for a slight upgrade in the rotation

At almost 28, Rich Hill is learning that the NL has figured out to be patient on the looping curve and they'll mash it.

What he has done, when successful it seems, is keeping hitters off-balance when he dramatically mixes speeds on different counts.

That is his only chance. HIGGY will tell you when a fastball comes in at 91-93 with some movement, right after a batter has seen various pitches at 68, 74, 78 - it will be more effective.

Perhaps Marshall has more upside perhaps as he is four years younger and has some similarities.

But it is becoming very difficult to trust the #'s 3, 4, & 5 pitchers with any kind of consistency.

I've been around since around the beginning of the season, and I'm really starting to get the grasp around the majority of the opinions regarding the Cubs' personnel decisions.

When management does not do anything to make the team better, the fans complain because they didn't do anything.

When management tinkers around a little here and there, the fans complain because they're still not doing enough.

When management takes some risks to try and better the team, the fans complain because they're being reckless and they're doing too much.  

So basically, Hendry is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.  I guess my only solace is that Jim Hendry doesn't give a rat's ass what any fans, including myself, think and he'll do what he thinks is best.  

Can't wait to see if something gets done by Tuesday.

Get better soon Pat Hughes.

Both Hill and Marquis have the same flaw - they tend to lose focus and command after making mistakes.  They lack the mental toughness to turn the page, clear their mind, and focus on getting the next hitter out.  Zambrano can suffer from time to time with this as well.  Why is it that our good defensive catchers who "call a great game and handle pitchers so well" can't make Hill and Marquis pitch better when the heat is on?  Shouldn't this vacuum in the 3rd and 4th spot of rotation have corrected itself by now?  I guess when it comes to pitching that it really does depend on who's on the mound vs. who's behind the plate.

Garland for Cedeno/Marshall?  No.  Marshall may not have better stuff than Hill but he more than makes up for it with mental toughness and he does do a FAR better job at holding runners on base than Hill.

Garland for Cedeno/Hill?  Maybe.  I will agree with you that if this was the playoffs, I'd rather have Garland than Hill or Marquis on the mound in the short series.  Problem is that the Cubs need to GET to the playoffs first.  So, clearly this trade is not enough.

How about (Garland or Vasquez) and Dye for Ronnie Cedeno, Rich Hill, Jacque Jones and a PTBNL?  Who that PTBNL would be, I do not know but I would take Gallagher and Pie off the table and let them choose anyone from AAA or AA after that.  Maybe their scouting sucks and they'd want Patterson at 2B?  I think that I would do that.

We bring up Pie to handle CF and even platoon with Pagan if necessary.  Dye handles the duties in RF and we get out of the 3 LH SP thing in the rotation.  Everyone wins.

Hendry make this trade happen.  NOW!

 

with Levine this morning

I think the pitching on this team is good enough to get us where we want to go.  It's not perfect, but its as good or better than anybody else's rotation.  I'm equally convinced that there's nobody available out there who we would be able to acquire without overpaying in a way we'd regret.

I'm much more concerned about the offense, and I don't think there's a fix.  We've been hot lately, but I have serious doubts that a line up in which Ramirez and Lee are the only consistent hitters can get us to the post season.

Soriano is, to my mind, a bust.  He's not consistent or disciplined enough to be a leadoff hitter, and he won't hit anywhere else.  He'd be a better than average 5 hitter, but as a leadoff hitter, he's a $17M per year waste.

Theriot is great and doing all that can be expected of him, but he's a .280 guy at best.

Floyd has single digit home runs this year.  Nuf said.

Lee - same thing.

Ramirez - he's amazing and clutch, but still only 16 home runs.

Watching these last few games, I'm just left with the sad sense that we don't have the horses to get it done.  Hope I'm wrong.

I think the Cubs are good enough to make the post season and take it from there. There are problems but every team has problems.We are one hot streak for Soriano away from winning our next 6 games and one cold streak from the bullpen away from losing our next 8.  Most of the above trade ideas are unrealistic or not of much use. As stated before I love Griffey but I have no reason to think he is even available or interested in playing for the Cubs.Trading a starting pitcher is a very, very risky thing to do and other than Griffey I don't think anyone else is worth it.
I admit having in the back of my mind the one WAY out the box deal I would like to see Hendry try : Andruw Jones. Jones is having a very bad year for BA but not bad on power. He is an
FA next year, Boras is his agent and the Braves have almost no hope of keeping him. Now the Braves are in virtually the same
situation as the Cubs in the race but they really, really need pitching help. They might trade him for pitching especially if they pull off a deal for Texiara.
Like I said I am fine with staying pat but if you want to try something out of the box, Jones is the one that I would try for.

the amount of abuse Hill is getting, while everyone ignores Marquis.

Marquis is older, more expensive, and pitches much, much worse on a regular basis.

IF IF IF IF we were to replace any starting pitcher, I think it would have to be Marquis.

Our biggest problem is a lack of offense. Offense makes pitching much easier, and as it is, we have lost too many games like last night were we looked positively inept against the other team's pitcher.

Floyd needs to start hitting for power or leave. And Kendall needs to leave.

braun with another HR . . . wow, this kid is amazing

they are discussing the possibility of sending Marmol to Florida for Willis

anyone figures him out. Another one this afternoon. 1 - 0 Brewers. Unbelievable.

win a game this weekend, we better take the next two or were going to be in a pretty big hole going home

braun with 2 more rbis

in the He Sop Coi deal?

Yeah!!!

with 0-10 reyes on the hill, the brewers could win that one with their aaa lineup

looked it up, D. Lee came over in the HEE SOPI Choi  deal,  uh, not bad.

tonight is not going to be pretty.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9aa_1185606406

6-0 brewers
with another game tonight

Lets go cards
lets go Pujos
I feel dirty

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool as opposed to opening your mouth and proving them right?

What has cost this team wins all year long?

Bad pitching out of the Pen (You remember all all the one run games we have lost because the Pen sucks).

And the offense completely shuts down for a week or chokes in key situations (You remember the 4 games we have lost this season because we could not score a run with a runner on third and no outs.)

1-5 the Cubs have the best starting rotation in the National league.  

The one place we don't need to upgrade is the the starting rotation but you want to give away two of our best trading chips for more starting pitching?

Brilliant!

This team needs a real closer and a big scary bat to hit 4th or 5th.

Is your suggestion bold? Yes.  Does it make the team better? Maybe, but very little.  Does it truly address the real needs?  No.

when we hired lou before the season than we should be doing all we can to get either another power bat and/or another starting pitcher.  The team we have right now is not good enough to win a championship, let alone win a division just yet.  The brewers have a much better hitting team than we do.  If we really want to win now then lets go out, make a statement, and trade some propsects to get a bat or arm.  The only prospect that should be untouchable is pie, everyone else is fair game, its been 98 years, I don't think we should be forced to wait to the future to see a winner, get the job done now

I think there is one team out there with three players who fulfill our needs at the moment, in one way or another.  If you wanted to swing one deal, I think the Pirates have Ian Snell (a power #3 starter to follow Z and Lilly), Damaso Marte (a power lefty reliever, though I know Al and others aren't big fans, I think he's a good LOOGIE that would solve the Prince Fielders and Dunns of the division) and Xavier Nady for the hole in right field.

Each of those three guys the Pirates have said on separate occasions are not available, including Marte, who they seem to be quite married to.  But if Hendry came in with a decent offer with a # of prospects, I think the Pirates would bite.  And with Snell and Nady, I think this could be a Bobby Hill-for-Aramis type steal.  (Bobby Hill, after all, was a top 40 prospect in the league in '03.)  

I think Sean Marshall, Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson, and Matt Murton for Nady, Snell, and Marte gets it done.  The Pirates may demand Pie, and if so, personally I'd say sub Pie for Murton and still do the deal.  The short term and long term benefits on our side are significant.  

At least it would solve time in not having to negotiate with multiple teams.  It may not be totally realistic, but it's not super crazy either.

Lets just ahve a fire sale ;)

hit better while up, because right now all I see is Corey patterson and I would like the cubs to deal him while the dealing is good.

And if Soriano really is so fragile ( I don't buy it...I think ridiculously streaky is the better description) that Pie has an effect on his playing...then we are screwed for 7+ years

I can't believe we're in panic mode and suggesting we change the strongest part of the team because we lost last night. Let's be honest. If Jones had scored, Dempster would have pitched the 9th and we probably would have won.

If that happened, would anyone have suggested breaking up our rotation? If there is a time for patience, it's now. We've been playing real well through July. Get through the weekend and assess our team.

Then get rid of JJ. He's still a terrible player and I see no reason to think he'll improve. And please, don't tell me a few decent ABs make him a good player.

If the Cubs take the next two in Cincy. Then all will be well again.

Of course, the way the gutless punk Cardinals are playing, the Cubs could win the next two and still be three games out.

continuing my pnderance of Soriano's fragile psyche...I agree Theriot should lead off.  I know Soriano eats it anywhere but leading off, but I don't care...he needs to suck it up and produce.

I say wait for him to get back into one of his hot streaks then drop him down to the 2 hole.

-OR- give him one of those giant Red wiffle ball bats because even the giant piece of lumber he uses now comes up empty way too much for a lead off hitter.

I just jumped out of my chair because the Cardinals won!!! What the hell is wrong with me?

2.5 lets go!

That's really good news.

phat

The gutless punks came back.

Maybe they aren't completely useless after all.

Of course, they will still probably drop the next two.

Time to close the gap to at least 2.5 today. I refuse to believe the Cards will sweep a doubleheader.

Plus, I don't want those idiots getting too uppity and thinking they can catch us.

It's all fine and good for the Cards to have success this weekend, but they need to be stamped out with extreme prejudice after that.

Cards good or Brewers bad?  (didn't see any of the game)

Rooting for the Cardinals . It is too weird. Not that I wasn't doing it but it just feels really, really strange.

Seeing how the Brewers lost today really made me feel better about our loss last night.

People in Milwaukee are prob. freaking out saying how they can't blow leads and how the Brewers are def. going to be out of it.