"Manny Being Manny", and the obsessive coverage the EaStern sPorts Network gives it

...Or...

The Days of Brett Favre?

Personally, I can't stand either one. I don't hate the Red Sox, but the Yanks-Sox back and forth in the media is so annoying. "Manny Being Manny" makes it worse so.

Meanwhile, I can't decide who is more of a child in the Favre drama: Favre or the Packers.

Three more words.

From mlbtraderumors.com (Yeah, I know):

Cubs Pursuing Harden In Wake Of Sabathia Deal By Tim Dierkes [July 7 at 8:47am CST]

How will the Cubs counter the Brewers' C.C. Sabathia acquisition?  They simply can't match it, but the next best thing might be Rich Harden.  Harden is also a frontline starter, but he lacks Sabathia's durability.

According to Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times, "the Cubs have spent a lot of time on the phone recently with Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane trying to pry away Harden."  De Luca says they've been discussed a deal for at least a month.  Plan C is apparently Randy Wolf.  Will Carroll says the Cubs "think they match up well for A.J. Burnett."      

Jayson Stark commented on the Harden situation on Thursday:

The A's will consider any offers that allow them to add and subtract at the same time. But any Harden deal would have to at least approach last winter's Dan Haren extravaganza.

A reminder: Baseball America ranked Carlos Gonzalez as the game's #22 prospect, and Brett Anderson was #36.  The Cubs don't have two players like that.  Then add Greg Smith and Dana Eveland, who have combined for a 3.52 ERA in 207 innings this year.  Oh, and toss in Chris Carter and Aaron Cunningham for good measure.  That was a haul, even for an ace like Haren. 

Link.

Ensure our guys get in, especially Fukudome:

As of the last update the National League's tightest race was for the final starting spot in the outfield with Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers trailing Kosuke Fukudome of the Chicago Cubs by a mere 32,925 votes. While the final offline votes continue to be tabulated, in the past 48 hours of exclusive online voting Braun has received 41% more online votes than Fukudome in what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting finishes in the history of fan balloting.

Click Here or on Al's link below to vote.

One person...25 votes.

We should trade Soriano.

BREATHE! BREATHE NOW!

OK.

Despite what you believe, I'm not an idiot. And, I love the Fonze. But, Looking at the Cubs as objectively as I can, I see Soriano as causing serious problems for the Cubs. He may believe he is, but he is not a leadoff hitter. And, if he can't get past this mental block against batting lower in the order at somepoint over the next 6 years of his contract as he ages and he's, presumbably, able to run less he'll cause more problems.

That leads us to our first, and primary, obstacle: his contract. The good news is that the going rate for outfielders is going up, not down. In a couple years, his contract will look better.

The solution is to look at clubs that have a lot of money to throw around, like the Yankees and Red Sox, or clubs that are rebuilding and need a draw, like the Giants.

But, setting aside the issue of the contract for the moment, what should we try for? Starting pitching or a left handed power hitting outfielder?

While our pitching needs shoring up (in my opinoin, and in the opinoin of many others) our more immediate concern is a lefty power hitting outfielder:

Matsui, Abreau, Dunn, Griffey Jr., Crawford, et-al

Pitching wise, how about:

Kazmir, Lincecum or Cain, Bonderman or Verlander, ect.

So, keeping in mind the principle of flame-free posting, what do you think?

I just heard Len and Bob discussing the fact that Fonzie will be back soon, and that he'll bat leadoff.

This has been discussed before, but here we are again.

Now, I love the Fonze, and I love Uncle Lou, but why is the Fonze going bak into the leadoff spot?

We have viable leadoff options in Reed Johnson and Ryan Theriot as well as Cedeno, and Fontenote off the bench. DeRosa could probably even do it on the short term.

Meanwhile, we are insisting on putting a 40 home run gun (in the past, and potentially for the future) free swinger, who struck out 130 times last season, and 160 the year before. Furthermore, with his leg injuries he may not be able to run as he once did.

So the question has to be asked; or rather the question sneed to be asked:

Should Alfonso Soriano bat leadoff

and

Why is Soriano going to bat leadoff again?