http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-061111downey,1,6926367.column?coll=cs-c ubs-utility

what do you guys think about this?
what do you guys think about this?
what do you guys think about this?
what do you guys think about this?
what do you guys think about this?
what do you guys think about this?

With the NBA Draft tonight at 6:30 im looking forward to seeing what the Bulls will do with the #2 and the #16 picks in the first round.  I like our young team and i like where John Paxson has them headed with only being a player or two away from being serious contenders in the playoffs for a few years. I like Tyrus Thomas' upside and LaMarcus Aldridge's inside scoring ability is what the Bulls desperately need.  I also heard reports they might try to trade their picks for the likes of Shawn "the matrix" Marion. So itll be interesting to see what happens. Let me know what you think b-ball fans.

Carlos Lee said he'd be interested in playing for the Cubs next year since he still has a home near Chicago and does nothing but hit in Wrigley Field.  But Lee said hes looking for 5 years around 75 million which is way too much for the Brewers. The Cubs should make a serious run at him but maybe only if the deal is in the 50-60 mill. range.  Read the whole article below.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-060627cubsbits,1,7689860.story?coll= cs-cubs-headlines

he'll be playing tomorrow against the twankies due to injuries to bynum and t. wo, cant wait to see him back in a cubs uni  yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusspt/ap06-24-152140.asp?spt=mlb&vts=62420062120

read near bottom of article of AP

http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusspt/ap12-28-175448.asp?spt=mlb&vts=122820051831

      In other news, the Orioles are on the brink of abandoning their effort to trade disgruntled shortstop Miguel Tejada, who has expressed a desire to leave Baltimore because the team has not done enough to improve itself during the offseason.
       ''There is absolutely no deal we find acceptable to trade this very special player to another team,'' an Orioles official said.
       Tejada is entering the third year of a $72 million, six-year contract. He hit .304 with 26 homers and 98 RBIs in 2004, but that wasn't good enough to prevent the Orioles from logging their eighth consecutive losing season.

i hope this is true cause i'd hate to see prior traded

Cubs Acquire John Mabry
The word over at Bernie's Buzz via Viva El Birdos is that the Cubs have signed 35 year-old OF/1B/3B John Mabry to a one-year contract for $1MM.  Mabry is coming off a poor season during which he hit .240/.295/.407 in 246 at-bats.

This rumor is not yet confirmed.  A million bucks sounds a bit high coming off an off year, although Mabry earned $725,000 in 2005.  He was a spectacular role player in 2004, hitting .296/.363/.504 in 87 games.  It may be that Mabry was given more playing time than is good for him in '05.

Mabry's versatility would indicate that Jose Macias might be cut from the 40 man roster.  Macias made $800,000 in 2005 while playing many positions, none of them well.

If you felt a little warmer Friday, that's because the Hot Stove came to town, in a big big way.

ITI has learned from a source close to the Cubs that free agent shortstop Raphael Furcal and the Cubs have all but finalized a deal that will bring the shortstop to Chicago for the next five years, with a mutual option for a sixth year.  The source told ITI that the deal could pay Furcal as much as $100 million including the sixth year and "significant performance bonuses" that included winning a batting title, the stolen base title, and a bonus if he plays in 150 games for each of the first three years of his contract.

The news that Furcal was coming to the North Side would have easily been enough, but our source also had one more juicy bit of info.

The Cubs might make one more deal that could give them arguably the greatest infield in the history of baseball.

The rumor goes that the Cubs are close to finalizing a seven player deal with the Texas Rangers that would bring Alfonso Soriano and Kevin Mench to the Cubs in exchange for Jerome Williams, Todd Walker, and three minor leaguers, one of whom is believed to be right hander David Aardsma, and another shortstop Ronny Cedeno.  According to our source the two clubs have agreed on which players would be dealt, but what is holding it up is exactly what kind of deal Soriano will want in Chicago.

He would likely command a deal similar to Furcal's, and while his addition would solidify the infield, and first four spots in the batting order, there are questions about whether or not the Cubs would be willing to shell out a pair of $100 deals in two weeks to two players.

Still, if Jim Hendry were to pull this off, the Cubs would, once again, become the favorite to win the NL Central, and probably the World Series.  With the addition of Bobby Howry and Scott Eyre, the bullpen appears to be shored up, and if the Cubs were able to sign Furcal and land Soriano, suddenly Felix Pie, even rushed, in center field doesn't look so bad, since he would likely be hitting eighth, with little to no pressure to produce.

The Cubs lineup, even with Pie and fellow youngster Matt Murton in it, would almost certainly be one of the most feared in the NL.  Furcal, Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Mench, Murton, Barrett and Pie.

Be afraid, be very afraid.  The only obvious weakness would appear to be the lack of a left handed bat in the middle of the order, but a quality, older, cheaper, left handed hitting corner outfielder could provide that at least some of the time, and it might not matter.  Yes, the starting pitching will remain in question as long as perennially injured Kerry Wood is still penciled into the rotation, and the trading of Williams would nix one of the top options for temp duty during Wood's inevitable time on the shelf, but the opportunity to assemble a lineup like this comes rarely (unless you're the Yankees).

The Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to trade first baseman Jim Thome to the Chicago White Sox for center fielder Aaron Rowand.

The deal, confirmed by the Phillies, is expected to include major cash considerations due to the size of Thome's contract, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported. The deal is dependent on players passing physicals.

Thome, 35, is due about $12.5 million in 2006 and $14 million in each of the final two seasons of his six-year contract. The Phillies have a club option for 2009, and he has a no-trade clause.

The four-time All-Star hit .207 with seven homers and 30 RBI in 59 games this year before having season-ending surgery on his right elbow in August. Thome has 430 homers since making his major-league debut in 1991.

Rowand, 28, set career highs in 2004 by hitting .310 with 38 doubles, 24 homers and 69 RBI.

He became eligible for salary arbitration for the first time after making $340,000 in 2004, and signed a new contract with the White Sox in January.

He earned $2 million in 2005 and is expected to receive $3.25 million in 2006. Chicago has a club option for 2007 at $5 million and Rowand holds a player option for 2007 at $3.25 million.