Update [2007-6-12 14:14:12 by Al]: It appears we're going to have extra tickets. If you were thinking about coming but didn't know how you would get a ticket, email me (link on right sidebar).

Update [2007-6-11 15:34:59 by Al]: To everyone mentioned below, I will email you in the next day or so to confirm you are coming, and to make arrangements to get you your ticket(s) -- probably at the game. See you then! Hey BCBers!

I am posting this because Al and I want to confirm who is going and who is not and who else wants to go to make sure everyone can get a ticket.

Here's a list I have, and I want to know how accurate it is:

> cashcowsquirtingsourmilk
> cubbieboy-1
> Kchance
> MJ
> jessica(might come)
> 26.2cubfan
> roach-1
> Jesse Guam
> Laven-1
> Imtrejo
> giddyup
> gauchodirk

If you guys want to come off the list, go on the list, stay on the list, or whatever please post or  send an email!

Thanks and we hope to see you SATURDAY JUNE 16 the Cubs against Jake Peavy's (and Greg Maddux's)Padres.

I hope everyone is having a terrific day! :)

Today I got a link to this article.

It talks about Sam Zell possibly being close to buying the Trib.  I read the article, and honestly I don't understand it.  Therefore I turned to a site that provides clear explanations about all things related to a Trib sale.

This may have no impact now on the Cubs and large impact later, or maybe no impact now or later.  I don't know, but maybe some of you can provide some more input and make people like me smarter. :)

Happy Friday everyone!

BCB Day is still planned for June 16 for the game against the San Diego Padres at 12:05.

Many people tried to get tickets and failed, while others succeeded and have tickets to help out others.

Please post again if you want to come/are coming.  Tell us if you need tickets for that day, and if some of you have any extras for other BCBers please say so. That way we can get a better idea of how many tickets we need to find.

You should all try to make it if you can. Like I said before, people in real life are way better than online.  Plus, games are always fun anyway.

Any questions, concerns, and thoughts about BCB day can be posted here.

I read this article that's by Carrie Muskat, and I know they do this all the time but I don't care.  I love reading stuff like this, and it makes me happy.   I believe it at least until everything starts getting suspicious.  Actually, the news that Mark Prior is working like every other pitcher is suspicious.

On the first day of workouts for pitchers and catchers, he did everything the other pitchers did, without limitations.

"I think everybody thought I was coming into camp limping, but I'm coming into camp ready to go," he said Friday.

The article also says how he can't listen to everyone about what he should do, and that he will get criticized because he's on a big stage.

He also says he wants to play, and I believe him.  I've never questioned his desire to play.

"I've never judged somebody on whether they're hurting or not. You don't get to this level unless you want to play. You get weeded out in a hurry if you don't want to play."

Just don't question his desire.

"Trust me, I want to play," he said. "It's a lot easier having a day like [Thursday] when I can walk out of here and no one has to come and ask me what's going on with my physical well-being or psychological well-being or whether I covered first or not.

"I want to get back to answering, 'Why did you throw that 1-2 pitch?' or 'What were you thinking in the third inning?' I want to get back to those questions. If I get healthy this spring, hopefully everybody can put this behind us and move on."

I love Mark Prior, and for now I am happy with him. Just in case, I hope he has some invisible bubble wrap to protect himself.

Poll

Will Mark Prior contribute in a positive way to the Cubs season?

61%

Yes.

96 votes

4%

No.

7 votes

30%

Yes, but he will still go on the DL.

47 votes

3%

No, he will not be good enough.

5 votes

155 votes | Poll has closed

Between Henry Blanco and Ronny Cedeno. That's what I saw today on ESPN Deportes.

That would've been awkward to see, but it was actually Cedeno and the pitcher Blanco was catching.

I always watch TV and do my homework at the same time, and today I decided to watch some beisbol.  Felix Pie's team is in the finals like always, and I wanted to see Pie.  I'm not even sure he plays for the Tigres because I never see him, and he didn't play during the time I watched. Miguel Tejada played for the other team, and the game was almost over.  

I flip the channel to NFL network, which had the Bears game on from Sunday. I wanted some baseball though, so I flipped back to ESPN Deportes, and I saw a familiar image.  A man with black hair and a catcher's mask playing for a Venezuelan team? "OH MY GOD!! It's Blanco! Henry Blanco!"  My excitement for Mr. Blanco proved to my sister how much I miss baseball, but she got even more proof later. I went crazy when I saw the camera go to the left side of Miguel Cabrera on the infield.  "RONNY! I miss him!" Cubs baseball needs to start soon before I lose the rest of my brain.

On to the interesting part. The announcers said Ronny had a .724 slugging% for something.  Whatever it was, I think it means Ronny will do horrible in Spring Training. Ronny Cedeno then came up to bat, and of course, I expected a strike out. First pitch, ball one. Second pitch, ball two.  I thought he would swing his way out and ruin his chance.  Ball three. I was shocked. Geremi Gonzalez, IIRC(on the Brewers), sucks so that explains it. Ronny could still hit a weak ground ball like he did so many times in front of us.

He didn't.  

Gonzalez threw him a pitch thisclose to him, and I couldn't even tell if it touched Ronny.  If it did, it was just his jersey or something.  The ball blew by his hips, and Ronny turned around towards the pitcher and looked very angry. He said something to Gonzalez, and then the benches poured out onto the field. Gonzalez got extremely upset with Ronny and flew towards him with his leg up in the air ready to kick him.  He missed Ronny, but it was close. Ronny didn't do anything, but people held him back.  He was really mad. I don't think he ever acted like that here, and I personally think the pitch wasn't that bad.  The pitch was inside, but Ronny thought it was on purpose.  This happened during the second inning of the playoff game.

It took forever(actually about 10 minutes)to eject Ronny and Gonzalez.  Maybe it's just me, but I didn't think Ronny was a crazy Venezuelan that got ejected.  Maybe he's more defensive in his home country.

Hank White(who played against Ronny's team) didn't do anything in the fight that I remember.  He did show his cannon for an arm and almost picked off Randall Simon at first base. The throw was a laser and right on the money, but it was just late to get him out.

I also saw Bobby Abreu, and he was wearing a black sparkly shirt.  He was sitting very close to one of the dugouts.

Yay for Venezuelan baseball!

Poll

Who is your favorite Venezuelan besides Z?

35%

Henry Blanco

37 votes

7%

Ronny Cedeno

8 votes

37%

Johan Santana

39 votes

13%

Miguel Cabrera

14 votes

4%

Bobby Abreu

5 votes

1%

Cesar Izturis

2 votes

105 votes | Poll has closed

I'm not sure how many of you visit Maddog's site, but you all should.  He has interesting stuff over there, and always very detailed but easy to understand at the same time.

Anyway, I saw he posted 2007 Bill James projections  for Cubs players in addition to players the Cubs have been associated with this offseason.

I thought guys would like to see them.

Here are some 2007 ZiPS Projections that Various Styles posted a while ago, so you can compare.   As Maddog says in his posts on his blog, they are pretty similar.

Nobody's stats really make me excited.  Z has a lot of walks.  But, Rich Hill though has a TON of K's and Soriano has 38 homers.  Other than that I'm not impressed and I probably shouldn't be.  Or I'm just being pessimistic right now.  I don't know.  Ramirez has pretty good stats too.

I would've like to see the Bill James projections of this year posted with the actual results from this past season like Various Styles did with the ZiPS.  I also like to see how wrong or right they are.  Maybe Maddog could post some for me? Please? :)

Projections don't say exactly what a player will do, but they are fun to look at.

Well, they aren't really season tickets, but it's a package.

I would get to see the Peoria Chiefs in Kane County along with a few other teams.  It's 10 games.  They sent me the prices because I'm so going to the Midwest League All-Star game, so I signed up for info to get those tickets.

Last year I was planning on going to a Chiefs vs. Cougars game, but then I just kind of ran out of time.  I felt very dumb because Don Veal started pitching here, and I could've seen one of our best prospects.  Then he was promoted, so I missed him.

I'm not very well informed on the Cubs minor league system.  If anybody wants to tell me about prospects that may start at Peoria or move up to Peoria, I would appreciate it.  I want to know more about the players I could watch.

I kind of want to buy the package, but I don't know anything about minor league games either.  How is the experience?  I've been to two minor league games, but that was in 4th grade.  I didn't pay much attention to the baseball diamond back then, and I forget anyway.

Maybe you informed people could help me make a decision.  My parents ultimately have the final word since they will pay, but I haven't decided how much I should beg.

Thanks in advance.  Go Chiefs!

Poll

Should Sparkles go see the Chiefs this summer?

61%

Yes!

21 votes

11%

No!

4 votes

26%

Of course, but don't buy a package.

9 votes

34 votes | Poll has closed

In Julie's 2006 BCB Awards diary, some of us started to talk about stalking Matt Murton(or at least I think I was), and the conversation somehow led from visiting Orange Guy in Georgia to going to stare at his glowing hair in Arizona or in left field at Wrigley.  I think we can do both, but first up is spring training(Later on in the offseason, we can start talking about copying the wonderful Athletics Nation and having our own BCB Day).  I believe some people out there said they liked the idea of going down to Arizona to watch our Cubs play. I'm not sure how serious you people were, but I'm starting this diary to start talking about that.  

Jessica and I have started thinking about it, and we have decided that the dates would be around the last weekend/week the Cubs are in Arizona. If a group of us wants to go maybe we could organize ourselves and make the trip together.  We could make it in Jessica's words "sort of a girls outing a la Where the Boys Are. However instead of chasing guys we will just watch the Cubs."  If you really want to chase guys, I don't think we will stop you.  If I go, I'm chasing Z. :)

So, who wants to go and get a nice tan while watching the Cubs? Do you have any ideas for the trip? Already have a planned spring training trip and want to brag about it?  Go ahead and post!

I was originally going to post this as a comment, but maybe more people can help me figure this out.

I have problems.  I sometimes believe what the Cubs say.  That's why I thought Prior was going to be OK at the beginning of the year, but he obviously still isn't.  That's why I thought Woody would be ready for this season if he pitched out of the bullpen last year, but he wasn't either.  This isn't about Wood though, it's about Mark William Prior.  I have lots of questions about him.

Several times, people have said Prior's injuries are mysterious or weird.  That sometimes leads to saying that he needs to shut up and pitch among other things.  Sometimes I feel like people think Prior pretends to be hurt, since his injuries aren't clear.  If they are mysterious it's probably because the Cubs never tell us everything.  They inform us.  They hire the medical staff to diagnose those mysterious injuries.  Sometimes they can't even diagnose them, so does that mean there is nothing to find or doctors/trainers just can't find them?

I like Prior, and you all know that.  But why would he overreact about/fake/(whatever you think he's doing)injuries? And why would the Cubs be so dumb to allow it for a long time and not fix him and make him pitch or just let him go?  He says he's hurt the Cubs know he's important, so they just shut him down.  Even if it's just to be careful I can understand that, but if it continues why would they not go deeper and fix Prior's problem(s)? He's supposed to be a building block for the team, the ace, and the Cubs HELP him get out of pitching?

It just doesn't make sense to me(sorry if this diary doesn't make sense to you).  I don't think he doesn't have the desire to pitch.  It drives me crazy when people question that.  That's my main question.  I already asked it, but I will again. Why do people think Prior doesn't want to pitch?  Maybe I missed/didn't pay attention to an article, a quote, an event that showed you that he isn't like Wood, a competitor that wants to be out there even though he's constantly injured.

If you can help it, don't insult Mark Prior(or me or anyone)in your explanation.  I'm serious.  I do need help with this, and with many other things too. College decisions. Ahh!

Anyway, I'm open-minded and ready to listen.

I just have a question.  What do you say, Cub Fans?                                                          

I need a filler: I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z. I love Z.  I love Z. I love Z. I love Z.

Poll

Do you like to be lied to by the Cubs?

22%

The Cubs don't lie to us.

20 votes

19%

Yes, I like being lied to.

17 votes

57%

No, I don't like being lied to.

50 votes

87 votes | Poll has closed

I listened to the game today, and I wasn't really impressed. Prior still needs time:

5 IP, 1ER, 3H, 0BB, 5K

*59 pitches, 42 for strikes

It looks like he's going to get the loss unless the Chiefs do something soon.  He didn't throw many first pitch strikes, even though he did throw strikes. He was efficient, and after he was done he went to the bullpen to throw a little more.  He reached 90 MPH a few times, but not very many.  He was in the 86-89 MPH range.  The run he gave up was because of back-to-back doubles, and the other hit he gave up was an infield hit.  This was a lot better than last time, but his velocity still isn't there.

Keep working, Prior! Go Chiefs!

On WGN Radio today, Andy Masur said that he took the no news about Mark Prior as good news.  He said that they talked to Rothschild today, and that Prior could be in a a minor league game rehab game like Woody did with his first one, which was in a rookie level game.

I hope he comes back and makes things easier on us.  He really can't make it much worse.  Let's hope there's more good news about him this week.

I was checking the box scores of the Iowa Cubs, and I noticed that Pie is hitting leadoff.  I'm not sure if this is just to get him as many at bats as possible, or if it is to see what he can do in that spot or some other reason.  

I love Juan Pierre, and so far I have been very pleased with his performance, effort, and personality.  I don't like Jacque much, and I would rather see him traded and Felix Pie in right field with Pierre in center next year.  That's a little unlikely because we just signed Jacque and for 3 years.  

However, I wouldn't mind seeing Juan Pierre replaced with Pie in center, but the problem is who knows if Pie can hit leadoff.  Pie doesn't necessarily have to come up and hit leadoff, but there isn't any one else to do it either.  I do not want to have somebody bad again in the leadoff spot after this year.

I'm not really sure in what direction the Cubs are going with Pie.  He can be a superstar and has a lot of talent, but what do they want him to do?

Thank goodness it's still very early, but I will continue to keep an eye on Pie.  I hope he does great this year along with the rest of the Cubs prospects.

Z is the Opening Day starter.  But depending on how the WBC works out, he may not be able to pitch on Opening Day.

Maybe Woody can do it again if he is ready to or maybe it's Mark Prior's turn to do it.  Maddux would deserves it since he has been very reliable but putting him first might not be the best choice. Or maybe for some reason you think it will be someone else.

Z is the one that deserves it the most of course, but who should or will get the ball if he can't?

Poll

The Opening Day starter is...

2%

Kerry Wood

2 votes

24%

No one listed here

20 votes

26%

Greg Maddux

22 votes

46%

Mark Prior

39 votes

83 votes | Poll has closed

After hearing some of us say that we would like to see a game with Z and Santana going against each other, I thought about the other things that I wanted to see this year.  

One of the things I wanted to see last year was see Z pitch a no-hitter.  He was really close twice, I think, but it didn't happen.  Maybe he can  make it happen this year.

I want to see Matt Murton hit his first grand slam.  Anything with Murton will be great to see.

I want to see Kerry pitch a lot.  This is what I want to see every year, but as we all know lately it's been a little hard to see happen. After he went 8-9 in 04, I said that I didn't want him to have a losing record next year because he would pitch enough to get wins.  Well, he didn't.  I just want to see him pitch.  

I want to see the Cubs beat the Reds and rookie/bad pitchers.

I want D-Lee to have another great season.  It doesn't have to be a monster one, just a good one. A season that will prove to everyone that thought 2005 was a fluke that it really wasn't.

I want to see us sweep a series against the Sox.

What do you want to see?  Milestones? Games? Series? Players? This is a Sparkles diary so try to make your comments about nice things. It doesn't even have to be about the Cubs.  Maybe you want to see Sammy get to 600 homers or Pedro's 3000th K(I want to see it).  Or maybe you just want to see good baseball.

Oh, and saying you want to see the Cubs win the World Series in 06 doesn't count because I know you all want to see that! :)

Ken Rosenthal has some new stuff that I found interesting.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5275954

He says Kearns could be a move that the new people with the Reds do.  I would have honestly rather gotten him than Jacque Jones, but anyway.  If he was available, I'm not sure we would be interested anymore thanks to Jacque.  We could platoon him with Jacque, but I don't remember if he's good or bad with righties.

The other info that I found a little confusing was this part:

"Expect more players to back out as the World Baseball Classic draws closer. Giants left fielder Barry Bonds and Astros left fielder Lance Berkman won't play for the U.S. due to physical concerns. Pitchers Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden and Eric Gagne are unlikely to play for Canada for the same reasons."

Ryan is injured?  He seems fine to me. Or is it just that he is worried about the RISK of getting injured? Either way, I didn't like him mentioned in the middle of all these injured people.  It makes me feel paranoid.

Here is a projection for Mark Prior next year:

http://www.rotoauthority.com/2005/12/mark_prior_proj.html

If he gives us this is should we trade him?

The projections is a little more than 200 innings, so that would be good.  16 Wins is also pretty good although they never mean much, but all his other stats are still pretty much typical Mark Prior.

This is just a projection someone at Roto Authority did, and it doesn't mean he will pitch those exact same stats. But it is worth looking at.  I like them, and if we don't get Tejada, and Mark Prior gives us that I think I would be happy.

Of course they can!

In order to try and restore(and hopefully not destroy)some hope lets talk about the Cubs chances of winning the division.  Seriously.

I, being the young, enthusiastic, and hopeful fan believe anything is possible.  But that is just me.

I don't want to talk about getting an all-star team together because besides the fact that doesn't necessarily win you games, having a team of only superstars is hard to do(this means no impossible ideas like if we add Johan Santana to the rotation...).  But anyway, let's talk about our National League Central Division.

Cardinals
Astros
Brewers
Cubs
Reds
Pirates

Can we make a jump from fourth to first?  We say that our offseason is not active, while in my opinion the whole Division hasn't been very active.  The Cards have some question marks in a few places.  They still have Pujols, Edmonds, Rolen, Eckstein, and Molina, but like us, no powerful corner outfielder.  The Astros have moved on without Roger Clemens, at least till May, which destroys their Big Three and leaves an open spot in their rotation.  They have resigned Brad Ausmus and one of their relievers(?), but that's pretty much it. The Reds have a good offense, but no pitching so that doesn't give them a good chance.  The Pirates are still in the process of rebuilding.  The Brewers are possible wild card contenders, although they also have quite a few injury prone people.  Their ace, Ben Sheets, had an injury at the end of the season and I have no idea how that will work out, but the Brew Crew needs him.  However, they still have some good young players on the team.

Will we have the best 25-man roster?  Why or why not?  I know it is early and there are still a zillion seconds till opening day, but someone said we didn't talk about it, so maybe we should, at least a little.

To me, as always, the Cards are the biggest threat.  They have Pujols and a good starting rotation.  But I have hope that the team in the playoffs is the real Cardinals team we will see next year.  If you ask me right now though, I don't feel very threatened by either team.  That doesn't mean I feel the Cubs are threatening either.

There, I talked about the Cubs and the Division.

Cliff Floyd.

I have heard and read about him as a possibility for right field.  I think it is possible since we almost traded Sosa for him, and maybe Hendry still has interest or maybe not because that was a long time ago. He played left for the Mets this year, so I'm not sure if he can handle right.  He's a lefty and has power. IIRC he has had quite a few health issues in the past. He is also a little on the old side, but hey it's just a possibility.  

I saw a rumor that the Cubs were/are interested in Tampa Bay's Joey Gathright.  I looked at his stats, and in the majors he hasn't gotten much playing time in Tampa.  He does have pretty good speed, OBP in the minors, and hit for average in the minors, and he didn't strikeout much.  He has no power, but considering Pierre has no power that shouldn't really stop us.  

He could be our leadoff hitter, but he's unproven in that role. He doesn't necessarily have to be our leadoff guy if we get Furcal.  He would play center for us.  I'm doubtful this would happen because this would put 3 young guys in the lineup if Murton and Cedeno make it.

Thoughts?

Wait who?

If you guys haven't noticed yet, I want Furcal to be a Cub.  Some of us want Giles, some want Pierre, and some of us want everything that will get us a World Series.

The bullpen is a big question mark.  It is probably my biggest concern after finding a leadoff guy.  I'm sick of watching blown games because somebody walked in a run or just couldn't hold on.  I love our starters, and it really makes me mad when they pitch their butts off and have nothing to show for it. It's even worse if the Cubbies lose the game.

Who will return?  We had so many people come in and out of the bullpen I didn't consider it a real bullpen.  But we had Michael Wuertz, Roberto Novoa, Will Ohman, Scott Williamson, Sergio Mitre, and Todd Wellemeyer.  There have also been some future possibilities mentioned like John Koronka, Rich Hill, and Angel Guzman.  There are people out there like Howry, Dotel, and Ryan. There are probably other ideas you guys have too.

So, who will be laughing at Ryan Dempster in the bullpen next year?

The World Series is the only thing left to go in the playoffs, and then the offseason really starts.  

When is Hendry's best time to move? And I don't mean the best time to move away from the Cubs.  I'm talking about his offseason work.  And since I hope Hendry has already begun to work on his tough job, I guess my question is when should we see the results?  

Should we see the moves(trades and free-agent signings)early in the offseason when there is supposedly more possibilities or should he wait until later in the offseason to see if other doors open?  

Excuse or no excuse, getting rid of Sammy late wasn't the best thing that happened.  I don't want something like that to happen where the acquisition doesn't get done until really late when there are basically no options left.  

I know a deal involves two sides and that Jim won't always be able to sign people or trade them quickly.  But I don't want to have to wait for big things to happen at the last minute.  That is just going to worry me, and unless Hendry has a deal going to get Johan Santana, I don't see why I have to wait a long time.

Jim Hendry has said that he wants the Cubs next year to come out of the gate stronger to always be above or at least close to the Cardinals.  So he better start that by getting some big work done early. I don't expect him to get everyone at the same time, but I at least want one hole filled early.  And signing a Jose Macias-like player to fill the utility man role doesn't count.

I know we have been talking about this a lot but I found this article.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5004180

I agree with many of its points and I like its comparisons. The part where his nephew says that teenagers who can pick sides will go to the white Sox because it is anti-trendy is true.  I did this for some sports team(maybe I cheered for the packers instead of the bears even though I know nothing about football) and just can't remember.  And I did it just because its fun to have people get mad at you for cheering at a different team, not because I actually liked it.  I have to admit I almost picked the Sox over the Cubs, but I had already seen too much Cubs to let go of them.

This time of year many people pretend to love baseball and be a fan of a team they don't really care about. When I went to school on Monday, there was a group of people asking Sox or Cubs, and if you said Cubs they wrote Go Sox! on your hand.  I bet half of them had no idea who Jose Contreras or AJ Pierzynski was.

The guy also mentions how Sox fans view Cub fans and Cub fans view Sox fans.  So many of us here are not what everyone thinks Cub fans are.  Is there any way to change that?  I find it very unfair.  I have changed my perspective on Sox fans these past few days, but I still saw someone on TV buying World Series tickets with a shirt that said "Cubs Suck."

And I really hope the Sox never ever face the Cubs in the World Series, unless it's the only way the Cubs are going to win. I would go crazy if that happened.

Joe made it 21 scoreless innings before allowing 5 ER in his last 2.1 IP.  His ERA with the Devil Rays is still 1.93.  That is pretty awesome.  
I think some of us have looked back and said that Joe was let go too early.  And if Remlinger was going to be released, they should have released him instead of Joe.  I still think he could help us next year. He has experience and is now healthy. The bullpen for 2006 could be:

Borowski
Dempster(he would close)
Williamson
Ohman
Rusch
VanBuren/Novoa

I actually believe that next year we will have a better bullpen, and if all those guys stay healthy and cut down on the walks, like hopefully every Cubs pitcher will,  I think we could have a pretty decent bullpen.  And there would be no need for Billy Wagner or any other expensive relief guy. And if we did get an expensive relief pitcher, it would only make this bullpen stronger. Although I'm kind of worried about Rusch and his going back to the pitcher he was in Milwaukee. If that continues Rich Hill could replace him in the pen, but I think Rusch could turn it around.  Hendry has tough job in putting a bullpen together once again, but I think it might be a little easier for him this time around.

Or at least I sure hope so.

I was checking the schedule at Comcast Sports Net and found this:

http://chicago.comcastsportsnet.com/view_content_0p.asp?ID=14614

White Sox Renew Interest in Todd Walker

ComcastSportsNet contributor Bruce Levine is reporting the White Sox and Cubs are talking about a possible trade involving second baseman Todd Walker. Walker cleared waivers earlier this month and the Cubs have traded Matt Lawton and Todd Hollandworth in recent days.

With the White Sox's Tadahito Iguchi a leading contender for the Rookie of the Year award at second base, it is not yet known where the White Sox would play Walker should they acquire him. The Sox recently placed third baseman Joe Crede on the disabled list with a broken finger and Walker does have experience playing that position.

The deadline for making trades is 11 p.m.

What is this all about? I think it is a very ridiculous prediction and/or rumor. I almost laughed when I read it. I think Walker is going nowhere.  But still this is just so dumb.

I don't know exactly why, but there has been a negativity on this site and others, but I was just wondering if everyone that has this attitude talks to their kids(or will later on), nephews, or other kids that are Cub fans about the Cubs like this. Would you tell those young Cubs fans this team is done and to forget about it?  Or would you let them figure it out? I don't know, I missed having a childhood with the Cubs to know how I would feel if my parents would talk to me like that. But my dad does do that to me now.  He tells me that the Cubs are the lovable losers and that they never will win.  I don't like that, and I'm not even a kid.  I don't like to hear negative stuff about the things I love.  I kind of like to live in a bubble on these things.  Pretend the Cubs are great and be protected by that bubble, but at the same time I can see reality throught that bubble I just can't feel it. I don't know if what I wrote made sense, and if it did great because I've been curious about this for a while.

And another thing, we always are pointing out holes on this franchise, and how things need to be fixed, and we will probably continue to do so.  But with all this criticizing we do, even though not all of it is bad, I'm really curious to see what will happen if some of the "what ifs" come true.  

What if Kerry Wood wins a Cy Young?
What if Patterson turns things around?
What if the bullpen becomes the best in league?
What if management becomes better even with the people they have now?

And the biggest question: what if the Cubs win the World Series?  What if they win it with Dusty managing?  What if they win it and Patterson is on the roster?  What if they win it and Neifi or a similar player hits it off the pole like Bellhorn did for the Red Sox? What will we do?  Will we swallow all this criticizing?  Will we be even harder on the Cubs when they get us what we want?  Or will we give them a break? Will the Dusty haters stop disliking him? I think Al asked this in the Why are We Here thread, and how winning it would change us fans.  But will it change us?  Will it make us better?  What will we do if some of these things that we see as unlikely happen? I know what I'm going to do, I'm going to laugh, and enjoy that happening.  Hopefully, I still have a long life ahead of me, so I hope I get to see some of this.

And I'm not necessarily talking about these things happening now, but I'm not necessarily talking about them happening 2050.  I'm just talking.

These are a lot of questions, and it is impossible to answer them all correctly.  But in baseball who knows.  I'm just so curious.

I love baseball because it is so unpredictable.  I still like to guess anyway.  

The Cubs have to jump many teams, and seems to be the bigger task than the 6 1/2 games out.   I have always seen the Astros as the team to beat, but the Phillies are still there.  I didn't really care about the Phillies because I thought they would play themselves out of it, and they still might, but they are pretty close to Houston.  Washington has been bad like some of us thought, and I think they will fall out of it even though they are only 1 game back.  The Marlins have good pitching, and they are the second biggest threat in my eyes after Houston.  The Mets are now injured, and I'm pretty sure they won't do very well anyway. And the Brewers are right with us, so I don't think they should be completely ignored.

I believe, and always will, although we all now this will be tough.  Even Dusty has said that we need to worry about getting to .500 and then about the Wild Card.  We might do great against Houston, but then we might have to worry about someone else.  Who is the team to beat for this Wild Card?  Is it still Houston??  

Right at this second, I think that Houston is the team to beat, but the Phillies won't leave me alone.

I'm very optimistic that Nomar is going to be back to the Cubs soon.  I listened to the game today online and he was good.  Nomar batted in the 2 spot.

His AB's

1-Flyout to medium right
2-Flyout to center
3-Popped up(this was with a chance to drive in a run)
4- 2-run RBI single to right center

He was also involved in a 6-3 DP.  The announcer said he jumped over the runner coming in and that it was a good test for Nomar and sounded very excited about it, so I'm hoping that it was.  He also made another play at SS successfully.  Nomar sounds healthy to me, and I hope he keeps progressing.

The Chiefs won the game 7-3.  I was glad I listened to the game, not only because of Nomar, but because of the young Eric Patterson.  He is someone to be excited about.  I know the same thing is said about many others, but he has the highest average in their league and now is on a 10-game hit streak.  He stole a base, had two hits and 2 RBIs.  Not only that, but he ran fast from first to get Nomar his second RBI on his hit.  He sounds great to me.

There has been a lot of talk about this during the week, and this new World Cup like event is interesting.  But I still don't really like it.  I was reading and article with Gary Sheffields comments at http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/3756500 and I agree with him.

I don't like the idea of Big Z going to pitch for venezuela or Aramis playing for the Dominican.  Especially because it is going to happen during Spring Training.  Players could get hurt, because some injuries can't be prevented even if they monitor the players.  I like what is trying to be accomplished, but I'm just not really for it.  I guess we will have to wait and hope no Cubs goes on the rosters.

I have definitely not forgotten about Nomar as most of you have not either, but some people have.  We dont get any updates anymore as much as we did with Kerry or Mark.  I haven't heard much about him in a while, and I dont know if anyone else has.  The latest I heard was on the radio today when someone was smart enough to ask.  The guy said the cubs were being optimistic in the beginning of june and said  he could be back before the all-star break(i dont remember hearing such a thing) but maybe they have been keeping his rehab low key because its going good.

Anyway, my hopes are up after seeing Mark come back so fast, maybe Nomar can do it too.  If I havent heard much about Nomar lately its because the cubs have had 2 pitchers on the DL but I'm sure Nomar would get more focus now (him being the only piece of the cubs puzzle missing).  If you guys no anything about Nomar that I don't  post and let me know.  Meanwhile, Neifi! stay good at SS.