I called in because I wanted to know if the Marlins had ANY interest in Jose Cruz Jr. I started out by making a comment about how worthless Jacque Jones had been since picking him up and wouldn't you know it by the end of that night's game he was "designated for assignment" and Robert Andino was brought up from the Minors.

"Joe" is the winner of the Aardvark Trading Company contest. There have been many Joe's who have left a comments at Waxheaven.com but to claim your prize, the e-mail has to come from a "Comcast.net" domain so the wrong person doesn't get the prize.

Thanks to Kris from Cards in the Attic for this great contest! As a little bonus, here's my phone call with David Samson. Next week I plan on grilling him about why the organization doesn't accommodate Bloggers who write about the team in a positive way. Two major newspaper get access and they both have terrible, forced blogs about the Marlins.

You know - the same Tim Byrdak who was unceremoniously cut from an already-questionable bullpen before the season even began?

They flashed his stats on the screen and I was suprised to see his ERA is a sparkling 0.00 in 13 appearances. Couple that with our boy, Jason Grilli sporting a 1.93 ERA with the Colorado Rockies, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Jacque Jones hit 25 home runs for the Florida Marlins, would it?

It's an interesting signing if only for the fact that Jones was recently released by a team that ranks 19th in runs scored and 17th in team batting average. You would think they would keep someone with a career .278 batting average around for a little while longer (Even if he is batting .165 this year). Why would the Marlins, who have plenty of offensive weapons, require Jones' services?

Well, with Josh Willingham out, Cameron Maybin still in the minors and the Ross/Amezega combination batting a whopping .209, Jacque Jones doesn't seem like such a bad option, afterall.

Welcome to Miami, Jacque. Please don't suck.

• The Yankees - Tigers make up on May 11 game has been set for Labor Day, September 1st.
• Is it time for instant replay in baseball? PA has his take on it to why it is time.

Jeter thinks it's time for role players to step up: “It doesn’t matter if people are out. You can bring back Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio, other guys have to step up. Every team deals with injuries over the course of the year.” Jeter said.

Around The League

• Jacque Jones who was recently released by the Tigers has signed with the Marlins.

Jacque Jones, once a 25 home run, 80 RBI man was "designated for assignment" by the Detroit Tigers after posting a .165 batting average and just 1 home run with 5 RBI in 24 games. The Tigers have until the end of the week to release him. If the Fish do pick him up, it could take care of our lead-off spot and put the "Flying Mexican" on the bench. Of course, Jacque would have to find his swing and not be a distraction in the young Marlins clubhouse. I don't think it would hurt to pick him up, although I think Luis Gonzalez is much more deserving of a full-time position, in my opinion.

Source: Sun-Sentinel

"Jones, who can play all three outfield spots, would give the Marlins another veteran left-handed bat off the bench and a candidate to bat leadoff and start in center against right-handers. Getting the bulk of the work against righties, Alfredo Amezaga has struggled atop the order, going 5 for 29 (.172) with two runs through his first two at-bats Monday."

Roger Clemens has aplogized to his family for mistakes he has made in his personal life but did not say what those mistakes were. He also denied some of the accusations against including having an affair with a 15 year old girl when he was 28 that lasted over a decade.

Bad news. Jack Morris thinks it's obvious that Justin Verlander's shoulder is bothering him.

If Verlander is hurt we might as well shut him down. No sense risking long-term injury in a season that is quickly spiraling out of control.

EDIT: I'm now hearing that Gary Sheffield is starting in left. The same Gary Sheffield who said he couldn't throw, thanks to his bum shoulder.

What the hell is going on!?

Seriously - does anybody want to refute my idea to make Brandon Inge our full-time third baseman?

If Jim Leyland is really serious about making the team better -- which was the main reason for switching Carlos Guillen to third in the first place -- he needs to put Inge at third, because chances are good the Tigers would have won today if Inge was manning the position.

I propose making Guillen the full-time DH, bench Gary Sheffield, and put Inge at third. Inge's sterling defensive skills more than make up for his shortcomings at the plate. And it's not like Sheffield is tearing the cover off the ball.

If you want to keep Sheffield in the lineup, move Cabrera to left field, move Guillen back to first, and bench Jacque Jones. This really doesn't improve the defense (which is the point of this exercise) but it keeps Sheffield in the lineup, which is something Leyland will probably do no matter how poorly he's hitting.

But defensive switches aside, the Tigers deserved to lose the game. How can you score six runs in the first, and none the rest of the way?

I didn't watch the entire game, but I watched enough to see quite a few first-pitch swings. It's as if the Tigers thought their six-run first inning would hold up and intimidate the Twins into giving up.

But when is the last time the Twins looked intimidated? They're the most annoying team in baseball, and they showed it today. They stole a victory. Plain and simple. And with the AL Central as close as it is (the Tigers really wasted an opportunity this weekend with the White Sox getting swept by the Blue Jays) a win like this could be huge come September.

The Tigers, on the other hand, looked like they wanted to get the hell out of the Metrodome, so they made Boof Bonser throw approximately 27 pitches over the final five innings of his start. I just had an eerie feeling the way this game was going when the Twins cut the lead to 3. My suspicions were confirmed when my friend called to bitch about Guillen's error. That was the impetus for this post, actually.

Look. At this point in the season, it should be clear to the team that talent alone is not going to win games. I hope today serves as a wake-up call. And judging by the tone of this article on detnews.com, changes might be afoot.

I just hope they're the right ones.

I decided to flip over to ESPN tonight to watch a little of the Angels game.  The first play I see is a base hit to left field by the Angels.  They had a runner on 2nd base and good old Jacque Jones grabs the ball on the run for a play at the plate.    He throws the ball from shallow left field and he throws it straight into the ground.  The shortstop is playing near the edge of the dirt.  This ball traveled about 30 feet and bounced three times.  Now, whether he was trying to hit the cut-off guy or throw it home, nobody will ever know. 

I can't count how many times I saw this happen when Jones wore Cubbie Blue.  His throws to the plate barely made the infield or they cleared homeplate by 20 feet and bounced off the screen. 

I liked Jacque Jones and thought he got a bad rap from the Chicago media, especially WSCR 670AM.  I got real tired of hearing Murph call him "Jacque Strap".  He played a large role in the Cubs making the playoffs last year.  He had a great August and September.

However, when Jacque gears up to throw home, who knows where that ball will initially hit the ground or where it will end up.

I got most of the stars in the two blasters so I am somewhat relieved that no hobby box will be needed, unless I can find one for under $100. In the scan below there is Ryan "R.O.Y" Braun, Hanley "Mr. 50-50" Ramirez, "Overrated" David Wright, Miguel "Arroz Con Pollo" Cabrera, Prince "I'll Have Seconds" Fielder, Alex "Dude Looks Like A Lady" Rodriguez, Derek "I Poisoned Jessical Alba For Every Man" Jeter, Moises Aloooooou, and Jacque "Envious of Pat's Blog" Jones.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL SCAN

What often gets lost in the discussion of Jackie Robinson is that besides breaking the color barrier he was a great baseball player.  In rookie year Robinson lead the Brooklyn Dodgers in; Games, At-Bats, Runs, Hits, Total Bases, Singles, Doubles, Home Runs, Steals, and Sacrifices.  Robinson hit .297 and got on base at a .383 clip his rookie year, Robinson took home the 1947 Rookie of the Year award and finished fifth in the MVP voting.  Robinson went on to win the 1949 MVP award and made six consecutive All-Star games 1949-1954.  Over his ten year career Robinson hit for a .311BA, 273 Doubles, 137 Home Runs, 734 R.B.I., 197 steals, and 740 walks, while only striking out 291 times.  Robinson, also had a career .983 fielding percentage which is very impressive considering he played the vast majority of his games at second base. Jackie Robinson was one of the greatest players to ever play the game of baseball.  His career statistics are Hall of Fame worthy on their own, but they are even more impressive when the hardships he faced as the first African American player are taken into consideration.

A year after Robinson passed Rachel Robinson (Jackie's wife) founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation.  The Foundation is a not-for-profit, that awards four-year college scholarships to academically gifted students of color with financial need, enabling them to attend the college of their choice.  To donate to click here.

Jackie Robinson's career numbers

More Jackie Robinson Day coverage

As for Detroit, once General Manager David Dombroski and Owner Mike Illitch pulled the trigger and landed Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis in an off-season trade, the consensus throughout the baseball-covering media is that the AL Central title should be immediately handed to Detroit. There's just one problem, however. And that's the fact that the Tigers finished second in the division last season, eight games behind the Indians. Cabrera and Willis might be very good pick-ups, but are they enough to make up that eight-game deficit?

Undoubtedly, Cabera will provide a big presence in the Tigers' line-up, in more ways than one. Due to the fact that I don't have a paid subscription to baseballprospectus.com (BP should include a code in the annual edition they print) I cannot readily access the site to find Miggy's 2007 VORP, or value over replacement player, rating. Luckily, over at Dugout Central, I found that Cabrera's 2007 VORP was 71.4, a slight drop from his 78.7 VORP in 2006. VORP is a statistical matrix that configures the amount of runs a player has over a replacement level, or average, player. From 2004 to 2006, Miggy's VORP ranged from 43.5 to 78.7. Admittedly, that last number alone, which reflects Cabrera's .339-26-114 2006 season, could almost close the gap between the Tigers and the Indians, especially when you consider that the player Cabrera is replacing at third base, Brandon Inge, had a VORP that decreased from 15 to 9.4 during the same span of three years. A good rule of thumb is that ten runs equal an extra victory, so by being 60 points better than Inge in terms of VORP translates to Cabrera providing possible wins while manning the hot corner in Detroit next season.

However, pitchers can be measured by VORP as well, which measures their performance over replacement-level pitchers. And Dontrelle Willis's atrocious 2007 season- 10-15 record with a 5.17 ERA in 205 innings- led to a miserable VORP of 0.7. That's right, Dontrelle's entire performance last year couldn't even be ranked one win higher than a replacement pitcher. In fact, Dontrelle contributed more with his bat- a hitter's VORP of 14.7- then he did while on the mound last season. Unfortunately, pitchers don't get to bat in the American League, so Dontrelle's hitting prowess will all be for naught.

The Tigers' desire to pry Miguel Cabrera from the Marlins makes sense. His talents, among other things, are undoubtedly immense, and despite playing half his games in spacious Comerica Park, Miggy should make a run at his first 40 home-run season. However, the silver lining of this deal for fans of opposing AL Central teams is the inclusion of Willis in the deal to land Miggy. It may be too soon to insinuate that Willis is "washed up"- he is, after all, just three years removed from a spectacular 22-win, 65.2 VORP season in 2005. But by all indications, Willis should struggle in his first season in the Junior Circuit, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Willis's 2008 season mirrors the numbers he put up in 2007 very closely.

However, there is one additional player new to the Tigers' roster that will help the team in its hunt to return to the postseason. The Tigers traded prospects Jair Jurdjens and Gorkys Hernandez to the Braves for shortstop Edgar Renteria, who's fresh off a season that included a .332 average in 124games. Renteria's 2007 season translated into a 47.5 VORP, and with Renteria's persence at shortstop, Carlos Guillen can be repositioned at first base, where his 45 VORP replaces the 9.6 VORP compiled in 143 games by current free-agent Sean Casey.

'Ah ha!' say all those Tiger fans reading this. 'With the combined 71.8 VORP ratings obtained in the trade for Cabrera and Willis, along with the Net increase of 38 VORP through a Renteria-Guillen combo over a Guillen-Casey combo, the combined VORP of nearly 110 equals, roughly, 11 wins, eclipsing the eight-game between the Tigers and the Indians. The AL Central is ours! Mwahahahahaha!" Not so fast, denizens of the Motor City. While on the surface, that arithemtic appears to be correct, I worrisome counter-balance to the Tigers' off-season offensive improvement is the step backwards taken by the Tigers' pitching staff in 2007, which was offensive in an entirely different manner.

Coming into the 2007 season, the Detroit Tigers were my prohibitive favorite to represent the American League in the World Series. One year removed from a series of on-the-mound meltdowns in the 2006 Fall Classic, the Tigers' pitching staff- which by all indications appeared to be the youngest, deepest, and most talented in the league- would ensure the first World Series title to come to Detroit in over twenty years. However, with the exception of Justin Verlander, who followed up his 17-9, 3.63 ERA Rookie of the Year campaign in 2006 with an even better 18-6, 3.66 season in 2007, the Tigers' pitching staff showed they were not ready for prime time, as their aggregate implosions sealed the Tigers' fate of falling short of the playoffs in 2007 rather than making their second consecutive World Series for the first time in over seventy years.

After his breakthrough performance in 2006 (14-8, 4.08 ERA, 202 strikeouts in 214 innings), former 19-game loser Jeremy Bonderman's 2007 appeared to be even better as he started off the season 10-1 record through mid-July. However, Bonderman won just one of nine decisions the rest of the season, eventually getting shut down after he gave up six runs in less than two innings in a start against Seattle in mid-September. Bonderman ended up with an 11-9 record and an ERA nearly an entire run higher than his previous season. While Bonderman may not approach those 19 losses he compiled as a rookie in 2003, expect his struggles to continue in 2008 as he searches for a way to right his ship.

Kenny Rogers, the heart and soul of the Tigers' rotation as he compiled a17-8, 3.84 season in 2006, dealt with health problems in 2007, as The Gambler was limited to just 63 innings in 11 innings. At the age of 42, it has to be wondered just how much juice is left in the tank of the craft left-hander. Nate Robertson, recently signed to a three-year $21 million extension, struggled to follow up his 13-13, 3.84 season in 2006, as he finished with a 9-13 record and a 4.76 ERA. Robertson should be able to reach double figures in 2008, if nothing else. Zach Miner and Mike Maroth, who combined for a 12-8 record and 4.59 ERA in 147 innings in 2006 combined for an 8-6 record in 2007 before Maroth was dealt mid-season to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Perhaps the highlight of the Tigers' pitching staff in 2007 was the emergence of Chad Durbin, a former 16-game loser in 2001 with the Kansas City Royals. Filling in for Rogers in the rotation, Durbin provided 128 solid innings over 36 games, including 19 starts, compiling an 8-7 record and a 4.72 ERA. Unfortunately, the Tigers allowed Durbin to leave as a free agent this off-season, and Chad signed with the Phillies, where I wouldn't be surprised if he further establishes himself as a starter, perhaps filling in for another ancient left-hander in Jaimie Moyer.

And despite the incredible success, don't expect Verlander to continue the .673 winning percentage he's amassed in his first two major league seasons. Although Verlander was able to avoid a "sophomore slump" in his second season, I wouldn't be surprised if he takes a few lumps in his third go-around. Don't be surprised if his winning percentage is more close to the .500 level, while amassing a dozen or so wins.

The reason why I expect the Tigers' starting pitching to be unable to rebound from its step backward in 2007 is the state of the team's bullpen, which looked incredibly dominating in 2006 but decidedly less so one year later. The absence of closer-in-the-making Joel Zumaya had a profound effect in the bullpen, as the loss of his 1.94 ERA over 83 innings in 2006 was never quite replaced as he recuperated from off-season injuries sustained from playing "Guitar Hero". This led to a constant in flux scenario regarding the set-up position for closer Todd Jones, with Bobby Seay's 2.33 ERA in 46 innings over 58 appearances coming close to a respectable performance. But Seay's season was not nearly enough to compensate for the lack of Zumaya's dominating performance, as the ERAs of Fernando Rodney (3.52 to 4.26) and Jason Grilli (4.21 to 4.74) increased from 2006 to 2007, and Tim Byrdak's respectable 3.20 ERA was not enough to replace free agent defector Jaimie Walker's 2.81 ERA in 2006. In short, the bullpen was not as reliable in 2007 as it was the year before, and the questions that continue to surround the bullpen cause doubt with the Tigers' ability of its pitching staff to compete with the two-headed beast of Sabathia-Carmona that heads the Cleveland Indians' staff.

With Zumaya suffering further injuries this off-season, requiring surgery and postponing an appearance with the team until mid-season, the questions that dogged the Tigers' bullpen in 2007 will continue in 2008. As for closer Todd Jones, the veteran followed a 37-save season in 2006 with 38 saves in 2007 and was brought back on a one-year contract during the off-season. The fluid status of the Tigers' bullpen appears not to have affected Jones' save totals, even if his ERA has more than doubled from 2.10 with the Marlins in 2005 to 4.26 last season. Jones should still be able to rack up saves in 2008, however as he is turning 40 in the first month of the season and his considerably less-than-dominating SO/9 IP ratio of 5.5 in his last three years as a closer, it needs to be wondered just how much gas Jones has left in the tank. Either Seay or Grilli may be pressed upon to fill in as closer at some point in 2008, but they will probably more likely become familiar with their roles in the Tigers' bullpen, leading to improved numbers that what they compiled in 2007.

Upon reflection of the impact Zumaya's injury had on the club last season, major league owners and management may require a "no Guitar Hero" clause in contracts to accompany the anti-motorcycle and other extreme sports clauses currently in contracts. According to Hardball Times, Zumaya added 12 win shares to the club in 2006, which was instrumental for the club to snatch the Wild Card and an eventual pennant. Those 12 win shares attest to Zumaya's dominance in 2006, a performance that was only half equaled by the six win shares compiled by Seay, his replacement in 2007. Six wins, interestingly enough, were all that separated the Tigers from the Yankees, last year's Wild Card winner. And though it's hard to insist that Zumaya's absence directly led to the poor performance of the Tigers' entire pitching staff, the numbers are there to definitely make such a case.

It's unfortunate that- echoing the 2006 World Series- the performance of the Tigers' pitching staff derailed the team's chances to compete in 2007, as the team's offense last season provided many thrills for Tigers fans.  The 882 runs compiled by Detroit's explosive line-up last year was good enough for second place in the league- beyond the Yankees- and the most scored bya Tigers team in 14 years.  In fact, Detroit's offense last season probably could be the only one in the league that could be compared, statistically, to the heavyweights of the Yankees and the Red Sox in the American League East last year.  And with the discussion of VORP provided by Tiger newcomers, next year's offense should only be better.  Indeed, four players topped 100 runs for the Tigers last year, with Placido Polanco, Curtis Granderson, Magglio Ordonez, and Gary Sheffield doing the trick.  The last time that number of Tigers topped the century mark in runs was way back in 1950. (The 1984 World Series champs, by the way, had zero players topping 100 runs.) 

Granderson and Polanco ccreate a formidable one-two combination at the top of the line-up.  The athletic Granderson placed third in the league with 122 runs, and had at least 20 doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases, a rare feat that was also matched by NL MVP Jimmy Rollins last year.  There is little reason to think that Granderson won't continue roping extra base hits in 2008, though it should be wondered if his 26 stolen bases were a statistical aberration, or if he will continue to include speed as part of the talents that he brings to the table. 

Granderson set the table for Polanco, who was the toughest player in the league to strike out for the second season in a row, as he batted a career-high .341.  Consistently underrated, in 2007 Polanco had a career year as he topped 200 hits for the first time, reached his first All Star Game (thanks, in part, to the AL squad being helemd by Tigers mananger Jim Leyland), and also picked up his first Silver Slugger award.  With a decade of experience beneath his belt, Polanco appears be reaching the peak of his game.  Look for Placido to psossibly even improve on his numbers in 2008, as he makes a stab at his first career batting title.

Of course, Polanco will have to wrest the batting title out of the hands of his teammate Magglio Ordonez, who I feel was wrongly denied the AL MVP last season.  (While Alex Rodriguez had a fine season, isn't he expected to hit 50 homeruns and 100 RBIs on an annual basis?  Why should he be rewarded just for meeting expectations.)  At one point universally despised around the Detroit region as a $75 million debacle (the amount of the contract he signed in the 2005 off-season) as he was limited to just 82 games in the first year his five-year contract, Ordonez backed up the solid numbers he had 2006 with a number of career highs in 2007, including runs (117), hits (216), RBIs (139), doubles (54), walks (76), on-base percentage (.434), slugging percentage (.595), and, of course, batting average (.363) for his first batting title.  The question is what can Magglio do for an encore, as nearly any numbers he puts up will bound to be disappointing to some extent.  He should still hit for a high average in 2008, and will be able to rack up RBIs batting in the middle of this line-up, but it appears that he's not as much of a 30-home run threat as he was earlier in his career, and this will continue to reflect in his extra base totals as they will trend towards doubles over home runs.

As th final player to top 100 runs last season for the Tigers, Gary Sheffield appeared to start the season energized to be reunited with Jim Leyland, who he won a World Series with in 1997 as a member of the Florida Marlins, in an off-season trade from the New York Yankees, who he appeared in just 39 games for in 2006.  Gary was batting .291 with 24 home runs and 69 RBIs by mid-August.  However, shoulder injuries severely limited his performance the rest of the way as he batted just .167 with one home run and six RBIs the rest of the season as the Tigers flailed away for a postseason berth, watching the Wild Card slip from their grasp.  Always a dangerous hitter- even at the age of 39- it needs to be considered that age and a career that's been marked with numerous battles with injuries is finally catching up with Sheffield's effectiveness with a bat. 

As discussed above, by moving Carlos Guillen across the diamond from shortstop to first base, the Tigers have addressed the weaker parts of their line-up.  Guillen has turned into a solid players sicne the Mariners traded him to the Tigers in exchange for Ramon Santiago, the baseball equivalent of three magic beans.  An All-Star in 2007, Guillen set career highs in home runs (21) and RBIs (102), and is always a threat to reach double figures in doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases, as well as driving Mariners fans crazy.  Sean Casey, who Guillen is replacing at first base, might be one of the nicest players in baseball- earning the nickname "The Mayor" to his talkative nature at first base- but his skill set has delined since his days of competing for a batting title with the Cinncinnati Reds in the late 1990s.  In recent years, Casey has struggled to reach a .400 slugging average, which is a negative mark for a first baseman, explaining why Casey is currently languishing on the free agent market.  The Tigers are much improved with the decision to have Guillen man first.  

That's not to say the Tigers' line-up isn't devoid of any weaknesses.  Future Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez may provide a veteran prsence behind the plate, but that didn't prevent a negative slide by the Tigers' pitching staff last year.  Plus his .281 batting average, while respectable, is a far cry from the .334 mark that I-Rod put up in 2004, his first season with the Tigers, and his nine walks and a sub-.300 on-base percentage in over 500 plate appearances indicates a poorer strike zone judgement.  Jacque Jones returns to the American League and takes over in left field for Craig Monroe, who was dealt mid-season to the Cubs last year.  While Jones should benefit from the line-up and hit for a high average, his collapse from 27 home runs in 2006 to just five last season causes concern that the Tigers may have inserted a punchless bat into left field. 

Though there is enough firepower in the line-up to compensate for a lack of punch provided by Jones, the Tigers may give more playing time in left to Marcus Thames, just two years removed from a 26-home run season, or Brandon Inge who, despite his usual low average, could sniff 20 home runs if given enough playing time.  Other bright spot on the Tigers' bench include Mike Hessman- who is perhaps the epitome of a quad-A player, compiling 254 home runs over 12 minor league seasons- and 27-year old infielder Ryan Raburn, who has compiled 104 home runs in seven minor league seasons.

In the final analysis, the addition of Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, and Edgar Renteria doesn't guarantee a division title for the Tigers, though the team may see more seats being filled due to the attraction of its new stars.  However, what the Tigers' off-season acquisitions does ensure is the transfer of the balance of power in the American League, from the East to the Central.  The Tigers should be able to overcome their pitching woes and claim their second American League Wild Card in three years, and face off against the American League East winner.  Perhaps the dispute over which team is the best in the AL Central can be decided in an ALCS pitting the Tigers against the Indians next season, the first of possibly many such playoff match-ups in the future.

Infante sucks and Matsui isn't very good either. Especially if you look at the splits away from and at Coors field. DeRosa was arguably the team MVP last year and they want to turn him back into a utility
guy from the looks of it. I'm no huge Jacque Jones fan either but I guarantee you he puts up better numbers than Infante next year. He has in every other year of his career. And thats in the outfield! Where the cubs NEED players! Or are they expanding major league infields
next year and adding an extra base and I just havent heard about it yet?

This move is awful. I fail to see how Infante fits on this team. Obviously on the bench. And thanks for coming out Fontenot. The Cubs are not the organization for you. We prefer proven, lousy veterans.

Its way different in Chicago than it was in St Louis. There I could focus on specific things like fixing someone's swing or working on fielding. But in Chicago its a complete mess from top to bottom so I need to take a more general approach and get the whole team involved

I guess it mustve been part of the same trade because I also dreamed that Jacque Jones was traded to the Cardinals. I was equally upset about that because Jones has actually been just short of awesome in the second half and trading him to our division rivals would be a huge mistake as much as I was clamoring for his DFAing earlier this summer. Ok, so I'm not a GM.

Anyway the point is that even my subconscious thinks Eckstein is a joke and that Rick Ankiel sucks. Or in Tony LaRussa's words yesterday...

"Marvel is a good word," manager Tony La Russa said. "It's kind of amazing, isn't it? Clutch, too."

And after that story, Yahoo! hits us with three more about the HGH suspicion.

Also, Gabe Gross and apparently the rest of his team are deluded about the Brewers chances of making the playoffs. He said this after they lost yesterday (still thinking they might beat the Reds today, nope):

"... I personally don't think there's anybody in this locker room that doesn't fully expect to be playing in October. I don't think that attitude has changed at all."

top 5th after lilly strikes out, soriano hits a triple. and the announcer (i have no idea who these people are) says "if you love baseball you love triples". maybe, but a scott rolen triple might actually make me vomit. will never happen.

can theriot make it 3-1? of course. he hits it right into left, base hit. like clockwork. i think brendan ryan and eckstein might be the pansiest 2B-SS in the majors. can their hats look bigger on them? i think if youre a world champion team, the least you can do is make it to the playoffs the next year. or else whats the point?

now aramis hits a double and its 2nd and 3rd. who is batting fifth today? fontenot? nope floyd. YES! floyd drives into center and its off the wall! 5-1 cubs. "he pounded that ball", they say. and now its fontenot. bam. fontenot grounds a base hit up the middle, 6-1 cubs. 6 straight hits. jones time... hits it hard but pretty much right at pujols. ok i'll be back...

top 7th they showed a boy with cancer in the stands. the kid met with pujols before the game and "reminded" him that he had hit a home run each of the other two times he has been at the park. albert is reputed to have replied "i'll see if i can keep the streak alive". is it evil of me to hope that doesnt happen? no its probably not since pujols hitting a home run has nothing to do with cancer. thankfully.

its still 6-1, lilly is pitching like a man. it helps that people like scott rolen and so taguchi are pathetic baseball players.

bottom 7th the other "hustler" brendan ryan just bunted on with 2 outs. now lilly is throwing everything way high. and he walks ludwig. prett-y weak. eckstein is up now. and larry rothschild visits the mound. why do all these cardinals choke way the hell up on the bat like little leaguers? its so sad.

if you ever want to know if eckstein takes himself seriously... he does. i bet you mike fontenot (who is one inch taller than eckstein) is never going to write a book about how much he had to overcome to be a baseball player. and eckstein grounds out to fontenot to end the inning. poetic justice. go be a motivational speaker or something, loser.

top 8th jones leads off the 8th with a double. is he for real now? because if so its gonna be hard stopping the cubs. koyie hill is playing today instead of jason OPS kendall. it would be nice to see hill drive in a run here. not gonna happen. is lilly coming out? nope. and he lines a base hit into center! lilly = awesome. suck it gil meche. 7-1 cubs.

soriano now with his 3rd hit. he needs a HR for the cycle. brewers just lost 7-3, btw. and troy percival is pitching right now for the cardinals. i'll be conservative and estimate he is 45 years old... actually he is 42. close enough. they are talking about how its not dave duncans fault the cardinal pitching sucks. whatever. i cant believe the cardinals actually thought they could still be in the race after this week.

bottom 9th scott eyre is on the close this mother out. he walks molina on 4 pitches with 1 out. "he has been touched for runs in 12 of 29 of his appearances" according to the announcer. the emphasis is mine. not as touching as ecksteins book. double play ball, and thats game. thanks for coming out st louis. chicago is now 4-0 in STL this year.

in one appearance at busch stadium this year zambrano is 1-0 1.29 ERA 1.00 WHIP in 7.0 IP. thats actually his only appearance at the new busch. i've got confidence the cubs will win today. lets get this thing underway.

top 1st i'm subjected to the other duncan kid, chris today. sad. along with their dad who looks a lot like this guy:

and the cubs go down 1-2-3 on like 5 pitches. fucking weak.

top 2nd its 1-0 cubs on an RBI single from jacque jones. ramirez has the other cubs hit but floyd was the one that scored due to a FC. i cannot believe i just watched jason kendall ground out to end the inning. is there a reason why this guy is on our team other than "leadership"? even joe morgan was mystified by that trade.

bottom 2nd great story about the duncan family now. chris and dave went to watch shelley play at yankee stadium and, big surprise, they were treated really well at the stadium. they were able to get in and out easily AND had good seats. warms your heart. and chris duncan now strikes out because he sucks at baseball. i hate the duncan family. how sad is it to be a rookie DH? i dont care how many home runs you hit. put a glove on you fag.

and jim edmonds strikes out because he is 96 and also sucks at baseball. and jones retires rolen on a fly out to center. still 1-0 cubs.

top 3rd nothing happening for the cubs besides two strikeouts from Z and theriot and a weak grounder up the middle from soriano that the cards announcers wet their pants over the "amazing" play from the shortstop aaron miles. it was routine. but hey, he is a 2b by trade, everyone.

bottom 3rd now miles at the plate. and he hits a double into CF/RF. yadier molina grounds out but now the man is on 3rd for kip wells who apparently can "swing the bat". and zambrano goes from 0-2 to 3-2 on him. but he struck him out a on check swing, high fastball.

trying to stop adam kennedy now from tying the game. zambrano is apparently having a hard time keeping the ball down. he has already thrown almost 50 pitches, almost half of them balls. but adam kennedy ilves up to expectations and hits it right at cliff floyd to end the inning.

top 4th cubs go down 1-2-3 again. i HATE watching that. it reminds me of april and may. knock it off cubs.

bottom 4th god pujols stance bugs me. i swear the only way to beat zambrano after may is if he walks you. here he walks 2 guys with 2 out after a chris duncan hit. aaron miles thankfully flew out to jones to end it. thats only one single though and the cardinals were threatening with the bases loaded. zambrano gets so agitated and then everything is high.

top 5th oh boy the return of ronny cedeno. derosa came out with apparent left hamstring tendenitis. not cool. cedeno of course gets out.

jones walks! jones was the last cubs to get on base in the 2nd inning too. and now my new least favorite cub, jason kendall and his .083 cub average. and kendall FCs it. serious patheticness. and now zambrano, who looks like ARod compared to kendall gets a hit up the middle on a pitch that looked like it was in the dirt.

i would love to see soriano resume his hot hitting right here. nope, pops it up.

bottom 5th forget what i was saying about zambrano walking guys. the cardinals now have 3 straight hits. kip wells, adam kennedy, and skip schumacher. seriously. this is after a bartman-esque play where the fan interfered a foul ball that couldve been caught on kennedy. pujols pops out its now 2 out, man on 3rd but its 2-1 cardinals. duncan strikes out.

well i knew this wasnt going to be a 1-0 game. i'm pretty sure its not going to be a 2-1 game. so how about someone in addition to jones get on base here?

top 6th haha aaron miles tries to be a hero again but cant make the play on a theriot grounder into center field. i'm not usually vindictive like this but i hate the cardinals and everyone associated with them. so fuck you aaron miles, nice try. you should retire like craig biggio. at least shave that stupid ass goatee.

theriot just got thrown out. yadier molina thinks he is sweet. FUCK.

miles again cant make the play on a sharp grounder by lee. 1 out, 1 on. i love how the cubs NEVER hit home runs. actually wait i dont love that. what the hell? kip wells looks like a goat. he could take aaron miles goatee. 3-1 on ramirez even though the last pitch was inside.

ok, ramirez drops it into shallow right. lee held up at 2nd but probably couldve made 3rd. whatever. 3 straight hits and we have 1 out and men on 1st and 2nd. so fucking lame. but it could be worse, lets go floyd.... keep this going....

shit, pujols made a nice play on a line drive ripped down the line. that blows. its up to mr. minor league ronny cedeno. lets go, show me why you got called up. beautiful! cedeno lines it into left! 2-2 game. ok cedeno, you can be on my team now. here is jones with a chance to take the lead again. imagine if they hadnt tried to steal that fucking base.

jones swings at a shitty pitch. 3-1 on jones now with kendall on deck. *groan* jones with his 2nd walk of the night on what was clearly a check swing but everyone including larussa and darth sidious who bitch and moan about it. god duncan is ugly. give me a break, jones did not swing at your pitchers shit.

doesnt matter jason kendall is now up. any chance he clutches the cubs into the lead? NOPE! he grounds out to short. asshole.

top 7th just kidding, kip wells doesnt look like a goat. he looks like dirk calloway from rushmore.

well i feel slightly bad for ol' dirk now since dumbass scott rolen made a 2-out error on a theriot grounder, lee walked and aramis just drove in his 65th run on a single into left. he is 3 for 4 today. fuck you greg couch you aren't allowed to celebrate that hit. nice work rolen, we have a better third baseman. wells is now in line for his 13th loss of the year. what happened dave duncan? perhaps the jedi are restoring balance to the force?

bottom 7th fucking cedeno CANNOT play short. mother fucker. i swear to god why was i so willing to say he can play on this team after one hit. marmol now has to face pujols after cedeno couldnt glove a grounder from encarnacion.

and pujols thankfully grounds to ramirez and not cedeno to end the inning. how many times have we (cubs fan) seen cedeno fuck up on defense. what do we need him for? fontenot can play a better short i'm sure.

bottom 8th howry is in, i'm nervous. too nervous to type. that inning was brutal. scott rolen took a 1-2 pitch right on the outside corner that was clearly a strike even to rolen, but this ump who has been questionable for both sides the entire game, called it a ball. than rolen got a hit up the middle. thankfully aaron miles flew out to pagan in right to end it. maybe the cubs offense can wake up for real and add some insurance runs.

top 9th wow. weird game. soriano just struck out but the third base umpire had called time before the pitch somehow. the scoreboard was wrong and said ball four on the previous pitch and piniella questioned that. and soriano strikes out now for real. on ball four by the way.

theriot the cubs last chance to add runs in this game. 4 pitch walk. how bout a nice derrek lee double right here? and theriot steals second.

wha? i swear derrek lee just took ball four but they are calling it ball three on the scoreboard? geez. base hit though! thats way better. 4-2 chicago. ok it wasnt ball four. the pitch when theriot stole second was called a strike. still, weird game. i love having lee back and i love that its 4-2.

bottom 9th ok dempster is in to close this out but molina gets a hit. i'm ready for this game to be over.... god i would love a closer i have confidence in. how bout a double play... probably not when this pinch runner on first is gonna be running on everything.

taguchi flies out, shouldnt be surprising to anyone. now eckstein is up. gotta love all that energy and hustle eck gives you as he readies his stance bouncing up and down like he is on one of those springy fry-guy things on a mcdonalds playground. and he grounds to theriot at second. thanks for not hitting it to cedeno.

fucking hell. this ludwig dork just got a hit and its 4-3 after soriano bobbled it. pujols now up to end the game.... yep groundout to theriot. very close but cubs win. shit what a game that was. how bout a fucking blowout tomorrow.

Cubs Vs Pirates

The Pirates and the Cubs both enter the game on runs of 7-3.  However, the Cubs have gone 19-11 over their last 30 and the Pirates in the same time period are 15-15.  The Pirates have had the Cub's number the last two years.  The Cubs in 2006 and 2007 are currently 9-13 against the Pirates.  Tonight the Cubs Ted Lilly will be taking on the Pirates John Van Benschoten.

Ted Lilly (7-4, 3.84)

After struggling in June (5.40 ERA), Lilly rebounded and pitched a great game against the the Nationals in his last start.  He threw 7 innings allowed 3 hits and a run.  Ted Lilly is slightly less effective against righties (.696)  than lefties (.559).  Lilly has been struggling lately limiting the walk.  He has walked 8 batters over his last 2 starts.  However, this trend will likely not continue.  Lilly has struck out 92 while only walking 26 in 105.1 innings pitched this year.  In 4 games against the Pirates, the Bucs have had his number.  He has allowed 9 earned runs in 14.2 innings pitched.  Lilly has 4 hits in 34 tries this year.  He also has 2 sacrifices on the year.

John Van Benschoten (0-2, 4.35)

Van Benschoten was called up June 15th from AAA Indianapolis and will be making his 4th start of his year and the 9th of his career.  He made his major league debut August 18th, 2004.  Over his career he is 1-5 with a 5.84 era in 50 innings pitched.  So far this year, righties (.726 OPS) have given him much more trouble than lefties (.482 OPS).  Van Benschoten has been lights out in the first inning this year.  He has yet to give up a hit or a walk in the 1st inning.  At the plate, Van Benschoten has 1 hit in 13 at bats and 2 sacrifices.  His one hit was homerun back in 2004.

Today's Lineups:

Cubs (Career Vs Van Benschoten)

Alfonso Soriano LF  (No History)
Ryan Theriot SS  (No History)
Derrek Lee 1B  (No History)
Aramis Ramirez 3B  (No History)
Daryle Ward RF  (No History)
Mark DeRosa 2B  (No History)
Jacque Jones CF  (No History)
Koyie Hill C  (No History)
Ted Lilly P

Pirates (Career Vs Ted Lilly)

Jose Bautista 3B  (.143, 1-7, 1 RBI)
Freddy Sanchez 2B  (.333, 2-6)
Xavier Nady CF  (.667, 2-3)
Jason Bay LF  (.167, 1-6)
Josh Phelps 1B  (.333, 3-9)
Ryan Doumit RF  (.500, 1-2, 1 RBI)
Ronny Paulino C  (.600, 3-5, 1 homerun, 3 RBIs)
Jack Wilson SS (.333, 2-6, 1 RBI)
John Van Benschoten P

update: the tribune is now reporting it as true.but without saying what the cubs got in return. they are basically paying the marlins to take him and start him in CF. so sad. so sad.

 I'm actually pretty happy Jacque Jones is getting traded.  He was never really given a fair shake at Wrigley field.  The fans have been really hard on him since he signed here.  He's been nothing but a solid contributor to the team and by all accounts a stand-up guy.  I hope the move is good for him.

For links click: here and here and here

Last link seems to indicate the cubs will be receiving a pitcher from A ball.

 The best confirmation I can find is a piece by Ken Rosenthal located here.  He says the deal has hit a snag revolving around money.  He also indicated that as of 6 est Jones has not been informed of the trade.  UPDATE:  It looks like the deal at least for now has fallen apart due to the above mentioned snag.

In other news, The Cubs will call up right hander Billy Petrick once the Jacque Jones trade is finalized.  Petrick is 1-1 2.37 era and whip of .99.  He has struck out 33 and walked only 8 in 30.1 innings pitched.  UPDATE:  It appears Petrick has replaced Dempster on the roster.  Dempster was placed on the 15 day DL with a strained oblique.  To make room for Petrick on the 40 man, Wade Miller was moved to the 60 day DL.

Taking the Mound tonight is Jason Marquis for the Cubs and He will be facing Tim Hudson of the Braves.

Jason Marquis (5-2, 2.84)

Marquis got off to a fast start this year, but has struggled in 3 of his last 5 starts.  He is winless in his last 5 games.  From a historical perspective this really isn't surprising (this doesn't mean it isn't concerning).  Marquis has always performed better in the first half of the season.  For his career he is 42-25 with a 4.14 era before the all-star break.  That is compared with a 19-29 record with a 4.81 era after the all-star break.  I usually don't put a whole lot of stock in win-loss record, but it will be interesting to see how he performs as the season rolls on.   Despite the winless streak Marquis is still pitching pretty well and keeping the ball in the park.  If he can continue to keep the ball in the park and walks down he'll have success.   So far this year the wind has blown out at Wrigley one third of the time (7 times in 28 games).  It'll be interesting to see if he continues to keep the ball in the park when the last summer comes and the wind starts blowing out.  Marquis is a former Brave and has only faced his previous team 4 times.  In those 4 games he was absolutely shalacked.  In 3 starts he is 0-2 with a 14.40 era.  That is 24 earned runs in 15 innings pitched... Ouch.  Although, this is exaggerated a bit by a terrible start last year.  he allowed 12 runs in 5 innings pitched.  I sure LaRussa left him in the game to take one for the team.  Even if you take away that start he has not been good (12 runs in 10 innings pitched).  Lets hope for better success tonight.

Tim Hudson (6-4, 3.09)

Like Marquis, Tim Hudson has struggled recently.  In his last 6 starts he is 1-3 with a 6.66 era.  Don't be fooled though, he is in the top ten for quality starts and in the top five for innings pitched.  He has pitch 7 or more innings 9 times this year out of 13 starts.  This includes a streak of 7 straight to start the year.  He also had a streak of 4 straight 8 innings starts.  He has also pitched well against the Cubs.  In 4 starts he is 2-0 with 3.00 era.  In other words, Hudson is a dangerous and underrated starter.

Lineups

Cubs (Career Vs Hudson)

Alfonso Soriano LF  (.176, 6-34, 3 HRs, 6 RBIs)
Felix Pie CF  (No History)
Derrek Lee 1B  (.250, 2-8, 1 HR, 2 RBIs)
Michael Barrett C  (.400, 4-10)
Jacque Jones RF  (.324, 11-34, 3 HRs, 3 RBIs)
Mark DeRosa 3B  (No History)
Mike Fontenot 2B  (No History)
Cesar Izturis SS  (.286, 2-7)
Jason Marquis P

Braves (Career Vs Marquis)

Kelly Johnson 2B  (.333, 1-3)
Willie Harris LF  (.000, 0-3)
Edgar Renteria SS  (.286, 2-7, 3 RBIs)
Andruw Jones CF  (.700, 7-10, 4 HRs, 11 RBIs)
Brian McCann C  (.200, 1-5)
Jeff Francoeur RF  (.250, 1-4)
Scott Thorman 1B  (.667, 2-3)
Yunel Escobar  3B  (No History)
Tim Hudson P

With the fight in the dugout and the Lou Piniella tirade the Cubs really hit rock bottom.  But once you hit the bottom the only place left to go is up.  I really do believe that Lou's tirade did inspire the team.  Michael Barrett and Alfonso Soriano said things to the effect that you'll try much harder for a manager who will go out there and fight for you.  There have been lots of rumors in the press about there being discontent in Cub's clubhouse.  I think these rumors are extremely overblown.  How can a team already be disgruntled after a little over 2 months.  I think the primary reason for discontent would have to be losing.   The team and the majority of the players on it have been playing horrible.  I think the players are probably externalizing their frustrations a bit.  Once the team starts winning again the problems in the clubhouse will be gone.  For example, When Michael Barrettstole second base and scored, guess who was one of the first to congratulate him in the dugout.  That's right, Carlos Zambrano gave him a high five and a pat on the back.  Winning solves everything.

Transactions and Trade Rumors

I'm sure you all know that Felix Pie was called up from AAA and Daryle Wardwas placed on the DL.  I doubt that Ward is actually really hurt.  The injury report says something about back spasms but I'm sure it is just a stalling tactic.  The Cubs want Pie to play every day so that means somebody has to go.  With Soriano in left, I expect to see Matt Murton or Jacque Jones traded shortly.  So far neither player has played up their potential.  The Cubs tried real hard to trade Jones in the offseason, and they are believed to be still shopping him.  Jacques Joneshas a pretty good contract and I'm actually surprised there hasn't been more interest.  Rumors are the Padres and the Whitesox are interested.  With Lou Piniella at the helm I would guess the Cubs would want an established reliever in return, something the White Sox can not afford to give.  That leaves the Padres as the likely destination.  Matt Murton isn't that likely to be dealt.  He still has options left and at a worse case scenario he could be sent down to Iowa.  Considering Murton's success last year that would be a huge mistake.  He's has nothing left to prove in the minors and is at worst a good 4th outfielder.  He is one of the team's most patient hitter, and as we all known patience is not the Cub's strong point.  If Murton is the odd man out, I would hope the Cub's would trade him.