Do the Cubs need a starter?  or reliever?  Here's the reason Hendry may be having trouble: the pickings of pitchers who will be FAs at the end of this season is mighty slim (or unrealistic).  Not that he can't target others (I'd love Guthrie from BAL), but these are the guys most likely on the market.

* - 2009 Option (team or player)

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It looks like the first Oriole domino is about to fall: Bedard to the Mariners.

According to ESPN Deportes, Adam Jones was unexpectedly pulled from his Venezuelan Winter League team to fly to Baltimore for a physical.

The Seattle Times is also reporting that Bedard to the Mariners is about to go down: http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/mariners/

That portion is accurate. Take the following with a pound of salt:

According to other sources, Roberts to the Cubs will not be far behind. MacPhail wanted to deal his #1 chip first, before dealing Roberts.

Not sure if this is really worth an entire diary, but Yakyushop has received another shipment of Chunichi Dragons jerseys. In selected sizes, of course.

To order a personalized jersey will run you $99.95 plus approximately $9.00 shipping.

From the site: Note: This jersey is difficult to obtain, and there has been strong demand since Kosuke Fukudome signed with the Cubs. As a result, particular sizes may be unavailable from time to time.

Here's the link: http://www.yakyushop.net/products.php?cat=15

.... according to ESPN 1000. This story is a couple of hours old, so I'm surprised it hasn't been posted yet.  The 48-hour clock is now ticking for the Cubs to work out a deal, the A's to pull Stewart back, or the A's to simply say "he's all yours."

Stewart is currently batting .298 with 9 HRs and 35 RBI, 35 BBs, .761 OPS.

Have at.

Here's a link to the Fortune article about a potential next owner for the Cubs.

Link: http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/25/magazines/fortune/cubs.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007062508

From the article: "observers say that if Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has his way, John Canning Jr., CEO of Madison Dearborn Partners, will be the Cubs' next owner."

Happy Birthday to all Marines and their families.  231 years and still going strong!  Ooh Rah!

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I've been thinking about who would be the best TV color man for the Cubs should Bob Brenly leave for a managerial position as expected.  I would LOVE to see either Al Leiter or Eric Karros get the job.  Both are extremely bright, knowledgeable, and articulate... the total antithesis of the boorish Joe Morgan.