Alright, I know there's been some talk about this already but I've been thinking about this lately everytime I hop over to mlbtraderumors and see articles like this.

So the big question is: is it worth it?

Should we invest in a pitcher like this to solidify our pitching staff?

Do we have enough to entice the Padres?

Should we be confident that the back of our rotation will produce like last season?

A user on mlbtraderumors suggested that the Cubs trade Mike Fontenot, Jose Ceda, Felix Pie and Donnie Veal.

If the Padres would make this trade I would jump on it in a heartbeat if I were Hendry. Seems like a good deal for us...... which probably means that it isn't going to be enough.

It could take 1 or 2 more players/prospects which means we would possibly throw in Josh Vitters, Sean Marshall, Jeff Samardzija.

Would it be worth it to give up, say, 4 or 5 players

For a former Cy Young winner a couple years removed, I am leaning toward yes.

Thoughts?

There was an article on ESPN this morning I found pretty interesting.

Apparently Ichiro, one of the best players and most hard-working players on the team, isn't very well liked.

Sometime during the season (around June 19), a teammate for which they don't know, said that they wanted to "knock Ichiro out."

Some of the Mariner teammates reportedly think that Ichiro is cocky and only cares about his own stats.

I don't really know what to think of that Mariner locker room but you sure as hell don't act like a coward behind a sports writer.

On the other side, if Ichiro is as self-centered as he is reported as being it should be expected.

Our "boy", Jim Riggleman, had a great quote about the situation. "When the ship is sinking, the rats are the first ones off. They're the ones scavenging everything on the ship when it's going good, but when it's sinking they're the first ones off."

Whew! Talk about good team chemistry! I'm really glad the Cubs' clubhouse is the polar opposite of this.

Kind of reminds me of the anonymous Sammy Sosa boom box smasher.

Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!Walk-off, please!

Just saw the headline on ESPN.com [See Video]. Tempers flared tonight in a class A minor league game between the Peoria Cubs and the Cincinatti affiliate, Dayton Dragons.

During this event-filled half inning there were three hit batters, managers screaming in eachother's faces, players hurt, and a fan was injured.

Peoria Cubs pitcher Julio Castillo, in a completely uncalled for move, threw a baseball as hard as he could into Dayton's dugout. Too bad this kid has bad command because he airmailed Dayton's dugout and hit a fan who then had to be taken to the hospital

Being suspended or kicked out of the Cubs organization should be the least of Julio's worries because he faces criminal charges and most certainly a lawsuit.

This is just sad. What a way to represent your organizations, huh? So much for enjoying a nice summer evening of baseball.

on Monday in Arizona with the Cubs' rookie team. Tuesday he will then join Triple-A Iowa for their game in Tucson on Tuesday. If All goes well he will hopefully be a spark to this sputtering Cubs offense.

It's definitely better that he goes on this rehab assignment rather than jumping into a major league game. We all saw how it took Soriano a week or two to get back up to par after his last  DL stint.

source

I went to the game tonight, I picked a great night to bankrupt myself for tickets. (It was good to go to a game where the Cubs win... I'm always unlucky and go see a loss).

I noticed and some of you who go to games may have noticed that these t-shirts are back. The 'Horry Cow", "Fukudome You" with the middle finger, and some others were back and they were EVERYWHERE. Even the vendor bragged about having them, acting like he was getting away with murder. It pisses me off that people actually think that those shirts are funny. Having a little humor on a shirt is one thing but these are dispicable shirts and they really cross the line. I had thought they had been taken care of.

Does anyone know why they have resurfaced? Or were they ever 'banned' in the first place. I did notice that they were right across the street and not actually on the property surrounding the ballpark. Still, I think something needs to be done.