A Rumor the Cubs will Confirm

Jim Hendry laughed off the Gary Sheffield rumors the other day, but according to the Tribune and the Rocky Mountain News, "Cubs sources" admit they are interested in trading for Rockies' outfielder Preston Wilson. According to the Trib article, the Nationals wanted him but refused to give up Ryan Church and pitcher Zach Day. If the Rockies are looking for a young center fielder and a mediocre pitcher, I should think the Cubs would be able to swing that kind of a deal, as long as they don't ask for Felix Pie.

Piling On

The bandwagon is rolling fast, first with the Tribune itself contemplating the Cubs going after Johnny Damon, to Mike Kiley's off-day write-up suggesting Corey could be half-way out the door, to the Tribune website publishing a fan's complaints about Patterson's apparently fan-unfriendly attitude.

Ross's prescience (now there's a candiate for Len's Word of the Day) is undeniable.

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In this morning's article Winded City, the Boston Globe's Gordon Edes explains the Chicago Cubs to Red Sox Nation.

The Enigma in Center

Ross, a poster at Bleed Cubbie Blue, composed an appropriate faux news item last week about Corey Patterson. According to the blurb, Corey was named the Cubs official whipping boy after the departure of LaTroy Hawkins to the Giants.

Interviews like the real one Corey gave to the Daily Herald today will only make sure that this happens!

The headline reads "Patterson Sees Himself as Offensively Versatile". Corey's ego is as big as his talent, but only one of them has reached its full potential. If I were Chuck at Ivy Chat, I'd say it would be easy to switch the adverb and adjective in the headline and it would then be more accurate. But Ross's news item was only a joke, wasn't it?

So Jealous

I am so jealous, not only of those of you who get to see the Cubs in person these days, but also just on TV. The west coast games so far have been on far too late at night for me (the 9 pm central starts are 3 am here). Every morning I've been checking the scoreboard at Yahoo and delighted to see the Cubs on top day after day this week with my breakfast. But I haven't seen a game on MLB.TV or listened to Gameday audio since their last day game in Chicago, so I'm missing out on the hot streak! Oh well, I'll get to see them Sunday on the computer, and hopefully on a real TV next Wednesday.

That was going to be the game I would see them at in person this year, but my trip to Chicago got canceled at the last minute. I am over the disappointment and looking to maybe come over in September. But I put my 3 upper deck box tickets up on Ebay, so if you are interested, please take a look at the following link. You can pick them up at the box office, and the way things are going, get them for a real good price too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6536734241&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

Assignment: Chicago?

Danny Graves, late of the Reds, and Eli Marrero, Kansas City, have both recently been "designated for assignment" by their clubs, and speculation has resulted among Cub fans about the utility of either being signed by GM Jim Hendry after their release.

The Daily Southtown article linked here says the Cubs are mildly interested in both, but that Marrero might require a trade before his 10-day DFA period is up, due to higher demand. Graves' 10-day period has passed as of today.

Maybe....

• Maybe, Moises Alou was a good clubhouse leader (despite his whining with umpires and broadcasters)

• Maybe, Mark Grudzielanek brought more to the team than was visible to the eye

• Maybe, Sammy Sosa wasn't such a big-headed distraction after all

• Perhaps, Paul Bako and Tom Goodwin were extremely effective cheerleaders....

Subtraction by subtraction?

Fantasies Don't Come True

Which Cubs are on your fantasy team? Are you sorry you picked them? I was out of town when my league had its in-person draft in March. I had to have a friend pick my team (don’t ever let that happen to you), and I only had time to tell him to put a couple of Cub players on it. So, what does he do? He goes and picks seven Cubs for my 21-man roster!

Could you name seven Cubs you’d want on your fantasy team, given the team’s performance so far?

Well, I’ve had Nomar, Walker and Wood all sitting on the bench for ages, and wasn’t allowed to replace them until six weeks into the season. Prior has been great for ERA, WHIP and Ks, but I’ve got four other pitchers with as many or more wins than him. I’m very happy with Jeromy Burnitz’s performance in real life, but in a 12-team fantasy league with a pool of all MLB players, you expect a little more from your corner outfielders. Michael Barrett dragged me down in April, but I knew I’d be happy with him by the end of May. Most disappointing, of course, has been Aramis Ramirez. He has fewer RBIs than anyone on my team except for Barrett and Scott Hatteberg (and of course Nomar and Walker). Johnny Damon, who last I checked was a leadoff hitter, has four more RBIs than A-Ram.

My team, the Frank Chances, is currently languishing in 10th place. Although I picked up potential rookie phenom Clint Barmes to replace Nomar, his awesome April has turned into a decidedly average May. Which Cub players are you happy or unhappy with on your fantasy team? And did you find any “lightning in a bottle” from the later rounds of your draft?