A rotation of Z-Lilly-Dempster-X-X

is not going to be good enough. You can't spin that enough.... Not with the worst production from the leadoff spot in the majors......

It's going to take 1 big move ASAP to push this team to the next edge... and you're conning yourself into the next century of misery if you believe its uneccessary...

That is unlikely to happen... cause our GM is a dunce

A few thoughts....

* I would trade our entire starting pitching for Cincy's in a heartbeat.

* I am glad to see DeRosa's sorry ass on the bench the last two games.

* Maybe Soriano should go back to second base and we try to acquire a left fileder who isn't afraid of going back for a ball.

this team is a disgrace....they got cocky, thought they had the division, and look clueless now at the plate, on the mound, and in the field.

all I can say is this...and ESPN radio (can't remember, but think Scott van Pelt) said it perfectly---the defining moment of the season was the other night with St. Louis playing in Colorado, and Pujols scoring from second on a ground out to second base. Point being...they WANTED it more. They want the division more than the Cubs do, and they will do everything it takes to win. But no, not the Cubs....they'll sit with their thumbs up their ass, and hang onto a slim prayer of winning.
That, my friends, is how a division is won...by the evil Cards. I can't stand them. I can't stand the city. I can't stand the players, and most of all I can't stand La Russa. BUT....they know how to win, and we don't. They have the second best record in baseball.

I'm tired of excuses...oh, Hill is wild, DeRosa's in a funk, Pie can't hit, Soriano is absolutely clueless, Marquis is sucking, Lilly is inconsistent, Howry is inconsistent, blah, blah, blah.

Okay, if things are like that, you make changes. You can't hang on this bullsh$t of "promise" and/or "history". Well, guess what, we haven't produced a consistent, everyday position prospect since Mark Grace. Guess what....Lenny Harris had a "history" of being an excellent pinch hitter....so did Troy O'Leary....Eyre and Howry had supposed "histories" (though I debate that strongly) of producing out of the pen....How has that worked out for us by the way?

For crying out loud, I even fell into this love-fest of banking on "promise" from our system, and now I hate myself for it.

Trade Patterson, Colvin, Pie, Marshall, etc.

Actually, here's an idea:

Pie, Colvin, Marshall, and Patterson for Zack Greinke.

How about Marshall, Colvin, Patterson, and (fill in blank) for Dunn? Then flip Soriano for the biggest package of top prospects from another team that we can get, then flip them for a proven young talent like a Hanley Ramirez-type player.

IMO, the only "untouchable" in our system would be Gallagher. All you have to do is look at our stats from the minors right now. We are so de-void of talent it's not even funny. I check box scores from the minors at least every other day, if not every day. I love to see how guys are doing, and outside of maybe James Adducci (who's old for the league he's in), there's not much to be happy about. Pitching-wise, we are soooo terrible, outside of maybe 4 guys if we're lucky. In that, I'd include: Maestri, Russell, Acosta, and Rhee.

Oh, what, I forgot the "Shark" and Veal you say? LOL, are you joking me?!?! Samardzija has 20 walks, and 21 K's in 36 innings...oh, and 31 hits. Yeah, that's a winner right there! Veal? He has better than that...barely....18 walks, 25 K's, and 29 hits in 33 innings.

Rhee, Acosta, and Russell seem to have the best shot at succeeding, and Rhee is on the DL right now.

Eyre hasn't impressed on his rehab I'm hearing, Howry is struggling, and outside of Marmol and maybe Wood, our bullpen is a joke. So, when you have starters that give up 4 home runs in an inning, another that walks the bases loaded AND a run in (and gets sent down the next day, leaving a void for that pitcher that gives up 4 bombs in ONE inning), and the other pitcher in line to take a rotation spot also gives up back to back bombs in the game in relief, and your fifth starter hasn't got a clue, always working himself in and out of jams....it doesn't leave you with good odds of having a playoff season.

Jason B. said it great....Hendry hasn't got a clue, and is always doing this patchwork bullsh$t, half ass job of trying to improve the roster without any definite direction whatsover (see: Soriano, Alfonso).

When outside of Z and Dempster, your rotation is averaging less than five innings...you're in TROUBLE.

WAKE UP CUBS NATION!!!!!!!!!!

The Cards, at present, are RUNNING AWAY with the division, and most of you are I'm sure are still claiming it's too early.hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, well, I bet you all thought the Astros were far inferior to us, didn't you? Well, those same inferior Astros are ONE game behind us in the loss column, and the Cards are 3 games ahead in the loss column. Need I mention that BOTH teams are extremely hot right now, and all with makeshift pitching staffs.

Jason B.....kudos man for the Rothschild info....What a joke that guy is...He's a direct clone of Hendry...If Hendry lost a little weight, they'd even look like each other. I can't fathom how either has lasted this long with such horrible teams, and horrible breakdowns (see 2004, and playoffs last year) Any self-respecting organization that demands excellence would've canned their asses a LONG time ago.

I pray that Cuban gets the team, though that won't happen....For crying out loud, a minority owner of the Brewers----a rival of ours, and friend of Selig, is the front runner!!!! How does that help us?!?

It's a dire outlook, and yeah, I'm pessimistic, but, I CANNOT be this optimistic 'everything is grand' sort of fan, because I'm going by odds.

If you're playing black jack, and the dealer shows an Ace, and you're showing a 5, you're not going to double down are you?

Well, that's what Hendry did in creating this mess. He doubled down on Soriano, when he could have stayed in the game by maximizing his hand elsewhere (trading deadlines, etc)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhh.

Honestly, I called it too, and that's the funny thing. Soriano and DeRosa were killing us, and sent us into this funk. Yet, both were benched far too late. Now, I'm hearing reports that the clubhouse is super down and out, and all this crap.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080507-chicago-cubs-bad-clubhouse-piniella,1,2608729.story

Funny thing is, we could've traded Soriano to the Angels for the likes of Brandon Wood, Santana, Saunders, etc. when they were desperate for power. Now, they have no need for it. Why again did Hendry trade Pagan? Are we really that inept of an organization?

It's too bad fans can't revolt. The only way to do it is by quit going to games, diminishing the value of the franchise so much that FINALLY they have to do something right. And, obviously, that'll never happen, because 99% of Cubdom is brainwashed and trained to be loyal, no matter what happens. Well, much of the Continental Congress was loyal to the throne, until they could no longer bear the atrocities that Britain was throwing at them, and they finally revolted. Funny thing is, they adopted many of the same laws and taxes the British had, but if the crown had only listened, it would've been a whole different scenario.

Cubs management had the opportunity to listen....we needed OBP....Yet, they went with Soriano, who is afraid of getting on base. They had the opportunity to listen that it's better to give a youngster a shot at the 5th spot in the rotation, rather than give it to a pitcher whom the best pitching coaches in the world (Mazzone and Duncan) couldn't even turn around, and we give him $7 million?!?!? that's laughable....a 3 year deal nevertheless. I guarantee you that Marshall or Gallagher could've met those numbers at a fraction of the cost, and also received valuable experience.

I'd fire Rothschild immediately, and hire Mazzone.

Jason B., you were absolutely right about Rothschild and Z and Marmol. Those are the only guys that have been lights out under his authority from the beginning of their career....everyone else has bombed. Yet, Duncan reclaims all these retreads, and makes them into boy wonders. Ever wonder which pitchers to stay clear of? Any pitcher that struggled before they came to St. Louis, turned their career around (or so we thought) while under Duncan's tutelege, then became free agents, and left. Guys like: Morris, Ray King, Jeff Weaver, Jeff Suppan, etc. And if you go to St. Louis, and still can't turn it around, stay WAY clear. Oh, but wait, we signed Marquis, didn't we?

See how this organization just doesn't make sense.....And it's so hilarious guys....Why don't you read Piniella's comments. I swear, if you think I'm negative, and this and that....just read his comments, and you'll see. He's said stuff like, "i'm starting to see how this organization loses games, and I don't like it," or "things will change".....guess what his boss says? NOTHING. In fact, Hendry made a statement defending Soriano and everyone struggling, and saying no big changes needed to be made. All this after Piniella states big changes need to be made.

WOW>..that's all I can say. to those that disagree, you're nothing but enablers.

Aaron interesting post to say the least haha...there were things i disagree with but i guess it is bound to happen when u write a whole report haha jk jk...on a serious note though i think we are overeacting a little (and i can hear the bashing coming for saying that) but lets be honest, if we get on a tear and Sori starts hitting and Hill comes up and starts pitching like he can instead of going crazy about how bad they are doing we will all be saying how good they are doing and all the posts will be positive not negative...look the overeacting is understandable considering we started great and were playing to our potential and right now we are in a terrible funk...i think the next series could be the answer, but not the only answer...looking at the pitching matchups we can win this series especially since we are at home and i mean that..however, if we dont win its nothing like losing a series to the reds as the D-bags are a good team...also we have the day off tom which is HUGE, everyone that needs a day off will get one without missing a game (ex. D-Lee) and we should be ready to go Friday...anyway Lets go get em this weekend and WHEN we do it should get us on a roll with a favorable schedule over the next week at the Friendly Confines of Beautiful Wrigley Field!

Ryan,

That's the funny thing....who says we have a great team anyway? Or are we told that by Hendry, the biggest tool of all.

Consider this:

"I like our team. There are areas we need to get better at, and for us to win consistently, there are areas we have to get better at, plain and simple," Piniella said. "We don't have a powerhouse here. I don't care what people say. I see this team play daily.

"We have a good team, and it's a team that has to execute, that has to take advantage of opportunities, and has to pitch and has to do all the things teams do to win baseball games. We haven't executed as well in some areas, and we have to get better. If we don't, it's going to be a struggle."

On paper, the Cubs may have the best team in the National League Central, but they haven't shown it consistently on the field. The team isn't "functioning" the way it should, and Piniella said he will make adjustments

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080506&content_id=2650480&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

Look, all I'm saying guys is that if the damn manager gets it....Isn't it about damn time Cub nation gets it?!?!?!?

Simply put: We do NOT have a great team, and Piniella, our manager understands this, but everyone else it seems has rose colored glasses on. Why?

Heres my only gripes.

DeRosa worried me from the get-go. But I dont think hes a problem. He's not Superman. We're playing him all over the field and he's not getting any rest at all.

That said, Soto is a machine. He should be hitting ahead of DeRosa.

I would love to revisit the Roberts trade talks and get a lineup of:

Roberts
Fukudome
Lee
Ramirez
Soto
Soriano
CF of choice (hell maybe even Cedeno if he can handle Center)
Theriot

I like our pitching staff, I really do. We've ran into some kinks, but I think Lou'll figure it out.

Aaron, I put a some of that quote in the game preview for today. Piniella is not happy. His pregame shows this week have been very similar to the quotes from the Tribune. He will make changes....

Also, in case you missed it. Micah Hoffpauir was activated from the DL today and Jake Fox was sent down to Double-A....in the article I have scheduled to post in a few hours.