I love the article in today's Trib that stated that Soriano might be cleared to take batting practice this weekend, and that if he doesn't go to NY for the All Star game that he'll probably head home to the D.R. to check on his home being built.

Here's a novel thought. How about staying in Chicago, working with the trainers & coaches, and getting yourself in prime condition to make an impact upon returning? Geez.

Also, here's a question to the group....why is it that teams have such disparate records home v. away? In the Cubs case, they likely have more fans than the home team in away games, so it's not like they play in hugely hostile environments. It can't be the excuse of "they don't sleep in their own beds, away from the family, etc". Home v. away...the only diffence is who bats first v. last. I just get amazed that the Cubs (or most teams) can't bring the same intensity and focus away from the home park, with no great rationale.

Mike,

I'm not making excuses or even have a direct sense of what it would be like, but have you ever lived out of a suitcase? I imagine there would be a whole set of different distractions that may contribute directly or indirectly to performance. I too am amazed at the difference in records, but in the Cubs case, we realistically just need to stay close until we get healthy.

As far a Soriano is concerned, I feel confident that his conditioning is fine as of today. I am concerned that he is becoming Sosa like and will refuse to work on his timing in game situations at a lower level before jumping into the everyday lineup with the Cubs.

Shutting Rich Hill down for good is long overdue. How long can you wait on a 28 year-old? Good lord, he was supposed to be a stud for the past four years. He's not young anymore, for example, he's only a year and a half younger than Marquis!

If there's a way to get Maddux or Wolf for Murton straight up I think you have to make that move and still pursue the other big names as well. Murton's junk. By the way, I read in the latest Vine Line that Murton is a "fan favorite." They've been writing this about him for the past three years. Why? If he is a favorite, I'd like to ask the (other) fans why? You have a subpar defensive corner OF with little power, bad baserunning skills, and little speed. If everyone's still in love with the 2005 small sample of 140 at-bats maybe we should pursue Chris Shelton as well. Murton couldn't hit 9 HRs in 13 games in a little league park.

Is it ok to blame the busts of Murton, Hill, and Cedeno on Dusty; by the way? That would be awesome.

As for the commentary above on Soriano ... c'mon guys. The All-Star break is a vacation for the players that don't make it. Sori's obviously working hard since he's going to return about two weeks ahead of schedule. It seems like Cubs nation looks for reasons to hate on the guy. Give him a break. He'll come back armed and ready for a huge second half.

I do not understand why we are even thinking about trading for wolf, maddux, millwood, or arroyo. We already have guys that can only pitch 5 innings and give up 6 or 7 runs. These guys are not an improvement over the guys we already have. we need a difference maker if we are going to make a trade. Don't get me wrong, i would probably trade for maddux if it only cost us murton but those other guys will not help us the rest of the season.

I thought they said he would be going on a rehad assignment this time?

Right there with you Chris, either Sabathia or Harden.

I'd trade Murton for Maddux, and then go all out to get CC or Harden as well. Then you have the rotation of Z, Dempster, CC/Harden, Maddux, Lilly (with Gallagher as a spot starter or set up man). Use Marquis and Marshall as trading chips along with EPat, Pie, Cedeno, etc. Too bad that Hill has absolutely no value currently...what a head case!

And to Mike's question, I also don't know why the disparity in home v. road records. For the millions these guys make you'd think they could adjust a bit better on the road to the mental expectations. Let's see, the mound is still the same distance in all stadiums, base paths the same, outfield fence distances pretty comparable, etc. This stuff isn't unique to baseball, but just staggering in general. I don't get it either.

Why aren't my comments posting right away? Am I on probation?

Chris/nick...well said. Why Maddux? we allready got that out of the way, I love him but I don't want him in the team unless he is taking Larry's job at this point. Arroyo sucks, Millwood is lesser than Lilly and Demp.
Wolf could be an upgrade though.

If you remember though, this is the first year in awhile where our Home Record is actually better than our road record. It's usually the other way around, so I welcome the change. In addition, most of the teams out there are doing a lot worse on the road than they are at home.

Does the name Aaron Harang ever been brought up? Is he available? Very solid starter who needs run support...

I would really like to have Harang. From what I have heard, the Reds are in sell mode, apparently they offered Griffey to Seattle, but Seattle said no because they are trying to dump salary. Which reminds me; I read something in the Sporting News about the Mariners. It was basically saying how much of a mess the Mariners club house is, and certain guys, and it said the Bedard is not a good club house guy, always moping around with his head down. After seeing that, I hope we stay away from him.

I wonder if Rich Hill can hit

Mike:
Ill give you even another tidbit to think about (regarding home vs. away records).
Fukudome: As I recall, he is hitting like 100 pts higher at home vs. on the road. Now, consider something: For a guy that has been in the states, what, 4 months, how familiar can he be with ANY place here? If you still need an interpreter, wouldnt even the friendly confines still seem like its "away"?
Strange.
Co Cubs!
By the way, anyone realize that we are now playing the second half of the season already?
The first half went awfully quickly. Having a team playing well is a beautiful thing, isnt it?

No, Rich Hill cannot hit, but his problems do remind me of the CF in that MO city. And that worries me a great deal.

I am a Murton fan, Show, and aside from the "little power" you have described most of the corner outfielder's in MLB. But despite the stats, I don't believe that Murton is without power. Rather, he has a line drive swing. Matt hits the ball very hard, and could develop into a power hitter. Unfortunately there is no room for him to start here. But I'd rather have his bat off the bench than Fontenot when Soriano and Johnson come back.

Show,
No you're not on probation. Just make sure the email address that you enter is correct each time you post a comment (no spaces). That is how comments are approved/not approved.

Gentlemen,
No panic here but I will say w/o hesitation that we are introuble. Simply stated; we need two more SPs. There is no debate. We should throw the farm to Cleveland for CC PERIOD. You never know what they would accept unless you make it so good they can't say no.

I'll say again, Fontenot must be sent down; Cedeno has had enough time to prove he belongs and frankly he does not.

Theriot should remain our SS through the Playoffs. Sori and BIG Z are due back soon so we will score more runs.

Marquis must go only because he's UNPREDICTABLE!!!

Let's win tonight!!!

GO CUBBIES!!!

The "Star System" has prevailed for most contenders since the Yankees blew up rational contract terms several years ago. That means for most contenders excepting the Yankees and Red Sox: 5 (or so) big, long-term contracts totalling $70 mil or so, another 5 (or so) mid-level contracts totalling $35 mil (or so)and 15 low level contracts split among young players not yet elgible for free agency, aging used-to-be's and journeymen role-players with contracts totalling about $15 mil.

Some of the used-to-be's and journeymen can make important differences like Edmonds and Johnson are doing. The young emerging stars and emerging mid-level players must make big differences in team success like Soto, Marmol and Theriot are doing. Mid-level, veteran contract guys like Lilly, Dempster, Wood and Marquis usually have to turn in consistently strong performances for a team to win 90 games. But most critical to team success is high level performance of the team's highly paid "Stars". In the Cubs' case that would be Z, Lee, Rameriz, Soriano and Dome. In our case, the Stars have to be better, collectively, in the second half.

Teams, including the Cubs, are mostly built during the off season via free-agency signings, commitments to minor league players and occasional trades. Budget availability is mostly committed, and teams go into the season thinking "What you see is what you get." Mid-season changes outside the organization (like Edmonds) are low-cost moves that can turn out better or worse than expected.

The foregoing is a long prelude to "What can the Cubs do now?" Budget availability seems critical to possibly getting Sabathia, Burnett or Cook--if they are available. Sabathia and Cook would likely take our top prospects and/or emerging players like Marmol and Gallaghr in a blockbuster deal. Harden and Bedard have low-priced contracts but would take top prospects. Burnett may cost less in prospects but more in salary, and he, Harden and Bedard have injury concerns. Wolf is a mid-level player who would cost less and could be an emergency #3 starter or reliever in a critical short series. Maddux and Millwood have fired most of their shots and likely add very little to our win column. Arroyo is inconsistent, and, like, Maddux and Millwood rarely capable of 2-3 type performances.

I come down to expecting that we will get a Wolf level player and some bull pen help. I think budget issues and reluctance to part with guys like Marmol, Gallagher and Vitters in a blockbuster deal make C.C. and Harden transactions unlikely. If we want to put Marmol in play, we could do a Sabathia deal (but I sure would want to be able to sign him long-term). If we put Vitters and Ceda in play, we could do a Harden deal. We can probably get Burnett or Bedard for Gallagher and Ceda or Castillo. I lean more toward the Burnett/Bedard veterans, if I have some sense that they are committed to fitting in playing at the top of their games, partly because I think of next year too. In Burnett's case, would we get the guy who, in 8 of his last 10 starts has pitched 50 innings, giving up 37H and 15R while walking 24 and striking out 59. That's top of the order stuff. Or would we get the guy who in the other 2 starts gave up 18H and 16 R in 9.1 IP. It is tough as hell to get anythng big done anytime--but I wish JH great success.

I am with JimK on who the realistic targets are. I feel that Seattle is the team most resigned to its fate right now, and could be the easiest to deal with. Plus, Bedard has another year left on his contract so he can be under control until the transistion to new ownership is complete. Not only would the players required to make a Sabathia trade be hard to come up with, but how easy would it be for the current management to approve a long term mega contrat extension that Sabathia will certainly require before he approves any trade? If the Brewers get Sabathia, would that make them a better team than the Cubs?