with all the injuries the pitchers have had it would be good to get them extra rest. It would give Randy Wells less innings which everyone wants and I think Gorzo should be starting. Once September 1st comes along you bring up Atkins, Berg, Shark, and Patton to have enough bullpen depth. I think the season is over and we should be careful with what we have and I think this gives the Cubs a chance to really look and Gorzo and see if they want to pay Harden or not. I know they won’t do it because it looks like they are giving up but in reality I think it may be the smartest move for the team present and future.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano will be put on the 15-day disabled list Saturday because of a sore back, major league baseball sources told ESPNChicago.com

Article also, said Jeff Stevens will most likely be brought back up from Iowa to replace Big-Z on the roster. Glad to see Stevens back up but, not at the expense of Zambrano. Hopefully he won't be out that long but, I wonder if this means LIlly could be back sooner and not take the rehab starts before coming off the DL. 

After the bullpen struggles the last couple of days I was wondering to myself when is this team going to bring up a guy who has been a great closer in the MLB. I know he struggled in Toronto this year but we can't have Shark and Heilman blowing games and BJ would give us another lefty in the pen so that Marshall or Grabow don't just have to Lefty specialists. Also, BJ has pitched 3.2 Inn in Iowa without giving up a run. I am just wondering if anyone has heard anything about when he will be called up.

With starter Ted Lilly on the shelf for approximately three weeks, ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine says Cubs GM Jim Hendry may have been pushed in the direction of adding a starter before Friday's trade deadline. The team could opt to move Sean Marshall back into the rotation, but that would leave manager Lou Piniella without a reliable lefthanded option in the pen.

The Cubbies have spoken to the Pirates about reliever John Grabow, but Levine says a move for Zach Duke or Tom Gorzelanny "may be the right avenue to follow with the loss of Lilly." He lists Carl Pavano, Jon Garland and Doug Davis as other starters available right now.

I have heard rumors of Sam Fuld getting sent down but IMHO I believe that the should DFA Blanco. I know I will get heat for saying this but this blog overrates him he is useless as a hitter and will never be more then a defensive solution. He hasn't played in as long as I can remember and I feel like he is another David Patton. I would like to keep Fuld up who is hitting very well and can be useful as a pinch hitter. Blanco on the other hand has no value except being a backup SS who never plays. Also, I think we should keep Stevens and Shark up because we need the extra bullpen arms after last night. 

The Cubs optioned right-handed pitcher Kevin Hart to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, and they will make a corresponding roster move prior to Friday's home game against the Cardinals.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090709&content_id=5785610&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

In my mind they wouldn't make this move unless something is going on. They need Hart to start again after the All-Star break for Dempster and he will now not be able to come up from Iowa for 10 days. Unless they plan on going to a 4 man rotation for a little bit after the All-Star break but, this gives me a feeling that something is going to happen in the way of a trade or a Signing. 

I was reading today on Cubs.com about Kerry Wood's blister and at the end of the article it talked about Angel Guzman recovering from tommy john surgery. He is throwing a simulated game today and that is all I have heard for now. This may just be me but, if Guzman can come back and his stuff is still good he could be a great addidtion to the bullpen at the end of the year.

I always thought his stuff was great, and when he pitched out of the bullpen last year he looked good. He never succeeded much as a starter but either did Marmol. IMHO I think Guzman could be like Marmol probably not as good but, could be a very succesful power arm in late inning situations for us in the future.  To me this is great news and it could be something that could really help the pen later in the year.

The Chicago Cubs today recalled right-handed pitcher Kevin Hart from Triple-A Iowa and optioned righthander Michael Wuertz to Triple-A.

I am glad they got rid of Wuertz and I like hart but, why not bring up an OF for the next three days. Now we still have 13 Pitchers for no reason. Another thing is that I thought they were trying to make Hart a starter and stretch him out so why call him up now? My feeling is Lou is desperate for another power arm in the bullpen and Hart is the only option that makes sense right now.

After seeing this spreadsheet on MLBTR

 http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/files/chicago_cubs_jim_hendry.xls

I wanted everyone to look it over and see how could Hendry has been in the past in trades. Just look at 2003 the deals that year are amazing.

Question besides the Aramis, Lofton deal what is you favorite Hendry trade. And what is your least favorite I would have to say my Favorite would be Hee-sop Choi for D-Lee and least favorite would be trading Nolasco and Mitre for Pierre

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/07/cubs-pursuing-h.html

It talks about the Dan Haren deal in this article and how good Billy Beane is at getting prospects, the only reason I would not mind trading away prospects is because Harden is still young and can be good for years to come but, he is injury-prone. I would like Harden as a starter but, if we sell the farm for this guy and he gets hurt it could really affect us for years to come. I really would like them togo after Burnett becuase I think he is chaeper and in the NL I believe will be a lot better then his numbers show.

A couple weks ago in one of the fan posts about Ryan Theriot, I stated that niether he or Fontenot get enough respect. I would just like to say again the Mike Fontenot came up clutch, while of Ronny Cedeno had been batting like everyone wants he would have struck out and looked at the Ump like he was an idiot (I swear that is all he ever does anymore). I am not saying that Mike Fontenot is an All-Star but, please people realize he is a good reserve and that I would rather have him pinch hitting or up in a late in situation rather then anyone on the bench besides Ward. Please bring on the hate cause I know its going to coem but, I had to say something because everytime the Cubs have been winning in late innings I feel Fontenot plays some sort of role in it.

The other day and over the last couple weeks we have been talking about Prospects to trade and today i was bored at work and thought i would do some research and try and find some things out about all players at every level. I found a very in depth website in which you can follow any player at any time. The website is http://firstinning.com/prospects/chc/ I feel that many fans do not have knowledge of their teams minor league system so if you would like to become more informed so you know wh you are talking about when you suggest trades here you go. Also i would like to here peoples feed back on top prospects and who they feel will have an impact either in the trade market or with the Cubs in a few years.

It's been suggested that trade showcasing is a misconception.  Nonetheless, Cubs beat writer Paul Sullivan believes they may be doing just that with Matt Murton right now.  Murton was hitting .298/.397/.382 in Triple A, showing much less power than he had in the Majors.  He did pick it up to a .495 SLG in May though.  He has a chance to play left field regularly for the Cubs with Alfonso Soriano out.

Sullivan says the Cubs sent Special Assistant to the GM Ken Kravec to scout the Red Sox recently, perhaps with an eye on Coco Crisp.  He says the Cubs might be willing to trade Boston native Rich Hill in a deal.  Center field does not seem an immediate concern for the Cubs, as Jim Edmonds is hitting .309/.351/.515 in 68 plate appearances for them.

I don't think the cubs should be looking at Coco Crisp, Randy Winn, or any other OF for that matter i want to see some rumors about AJ Burnett start popping up then i'd be happy with Murton being traded.