Ha ha ha ha. It’s always good to take 5 of 6 from your cross-town rival. I am definitely more excited about the Cubs triumph than seeing a toothless, fightless White Sox team limp through another series. But I have to admit that it’s pretty fun seeing them this way. After the trash-talking I’ve endured following the White Sox World Series run, I’m glad to see that people who are stuck living in 2004 can tuck their heads further in the sand, because the White Sox aren’t going to be good for a long while. The Pale Hose mananged only 2 runs in the three game set. They’ve lost 22 of their last 27. And just for good measure they’re flirting with Kansas City for the worst record in the AL Central.

On the other hand, the Cubs are looking good as of late. Of course they play in the weakest division in baseball, but they’re 7 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. After the Cubs awful start and the Brewers hot start, I’ll take it.

In this weekend’s sweep two things stood out, the Cubs pitching, and Alfonso Soriano. The Cubs starters delivered 3 solid outings. Carlos Zambrano, Rich Hill, and Sean Marshall each pitched well, and when they were done the bullpen actually was able to hold the White Sox. I will need to see the bullpen perform like that against an actual Major League lineup before I get too excited, but I’ll take it.

Alfonso Soriano looks like he’s finally joined the club. He homered in each game of the series, leading off with a homer on Friday and Saturday. That’s what a dominant lead-off hitter does. Soriano also contributed in the field by throwing out Luis Terrero as he tried to tag up and score from third base. Obviously Soriano isn’t going to throw someone out each game, or lead off every game with a home run, but it does seem like he’s heating up. If the Cubs can take the gap down to 5 games by the All Star break, I think they win the NL Central. Even if they don’t I think they will, but I want to give Lou and the boys something to shoot for.

Rod Beck was always entertaining. Whether it was keeping the game interesting in the ninth, or having a beer with a fan in his Winnebago outside the park in AAA Iowa, Shooter always seemed to have fun. The only time he didn’t have a smile on his face was when he was staring down opposing batters. He would stare them down, and swing his arm as he got the sign from his catcher. Apparently Beck struggled with substance abuse later recently. He entered rehab during the 2004 season. Police don’t expect foul play in his death, but they will not know the exact cause of death for a couple of days. Beck is survived by his wife and two children.

What if the Cubs have a fire sale, who do you keep, and who do you get rid of?

Below is a list of most of the position players on the Cubs 40 man roster. The criteria for who stays and who goes is as follows. Who will be there when the Cubs win the World Series. That can be the only means of evaluation if you’re a baseball team. Some will get more attention than others. Let me know if you think I should rethink any of my suggestions to Jim Hendry.

• Henry Blanco - TRADE
  The addition of Rob Bowen makes Blanco expendable. He’s capable of some timely hitting, but will never be your everyday catcher.
• Rob Bowen - KEEP
  You’ve gotta see what this guy can do.
• Koyie Hill - KEEP
  A youngster who the Cubs seem to believe can hold down the catcher postion for years to come.
• Ronny Cedeno - TRADE
  A former favorite, but just is not a major league player. He’s probably a AAAA player.
• Mark DeRosa - KEEP
  A grinder who is capable of playing all over the field. Hits well, and seems to be becoming a leader in the clubhouse.
• Mike Fontenot - KEEP
  I like the way this guy plays second base. Not going to blow your hair back with his hitting but he’s solid.
• Cesar Izturis - TRADE
  A mistake to take this kid last year.
• Derrek Lee - KEEP
  One of the best hitters in the NL. Will be an integral part of the World Series team.
• Aramis Ramirez - KEEP
  When he and Derrek Lee are healthy they are one of the best 3-4 hitters in the big leagues.
• Ryan Theriot - KEEP
  A solid hitter who seems to be hitting his stride with the leather.
• Daryle Ward - TRADE
  Some other team could use him off the bench, and you might be able to pick up someone to shore up the bullpen.
• Cliff Floyd - TRADE
  He won’t stay healthy long enough to be here when the Cubs win the World Series. He’s a nice player when healthy. That just hasn’t been too often or for too long in his career.
• Jacque Jones - TRADE
  Hendry has been shopping this guy since he got him. He’s as good as gone already.
• Matt Murton - TRADE
  He has regressed. It’s probably because the Cubs don’t know what the hell they’re doing with their personnel. If they’re not going to play him, they should get what they can for him.
• Angel Pagan - KEEP
  He’s a good role player. A defensive replacement, and a good pinch-runner.
• Felix Pie - KEEP
  This guy is fun to watch. Sometimes it’s because he makes really weird decisions on the basepaths, but for the most part, he is blossoming into a really good player.
• Alfonso Soriano - KEEP
  Despite the slow start he is a 40/40 player. His skill will diminish, but he will be a star at the top of their lineup for years to come.

What if the Cubs have a fire sale, who do you keep, and who do you get rid of?

Below is a list of most of the pitchers on the Cubs 40 man roster. The criteria for who stays and who goes is as follows. Who will be there when the Cubs win the World Series. That can be the only means of evaluation if you’re a baseball team. Some will get more attention than others. Let me know if you think I should rethink any of my suggestions to Jim Hendry.

• Ryan Dempster - KEEP
  I can’t believe I just wrote that, but I think he could be part of a strong bullpen. And this year he has thrown well.
• Scott Eyre - TRADE
  Too itchy. Getting too old.
• Sean Gallagher - KEEP
  Haven’t seen enough of him to ship him out quite yet.
• Rich Hill - KEEP
  This kid is the franchise. A young Tom Glavine.
• Bob Howry - KEEP
  He hasn’t thrown particularly well this year, but I can see him contributing to a stretch run.
• Ted Lilly - KEEP
  Little guy has some spunk. I like that. A good middle of the rotation arm.
• Carlos Marmol - KEEP
  Young kid who is electric. Would love to see him in the closer role soon.
• Jason Marquis - KEEP
  A servicable 4th starter who is pitching over his head right now.
• Sean Marshall - KEEP
  A kid who needs some time to mature, but I think sending him down earlier this year really helped him figure some things out.
• Will Ohman - TRADE
  And not a moment too soon. This guys sucks. Please throw him in any deal and I’ll be happy. I’ll send Hendry a check to get this guy out of town.
• Michael Wuertz - TRADE
  He’s decent. But that’s about all. He’s probably worth more to some other team. Get what you can for him.
• Carlos Zambrano - KEEP
  And re-sign. This guy should retire with a Cubs hat on. If he doesn’t I see Cy Young’s in Big Z’s future. Didn’t we already go through this with Greg Maddux?
• Angel Guzman - TRADE
  On again off again pitcher. Sometimes he looks great, and other times he looks totally confused.

So the Cubs finally did it, they traded away my favorite player. Normally that would make me mad, and it still does just a little. But, I understand. Barrett was in his walk year, was struggling mightily behind the plate, and wasn’t playing nicely with others. Barrett was once looked at as a scrappy leader of this club. His recent penchant for yelling at, or getting yelled at by the top 2 starters on your team is probably what did him in. When you’ve publicly pissed off 40% of your pitching staff, who knows who else you’ve rubbed the wrong way. So far it seems that Koyie Hill has spoken with Johnny Gill, he seems to be rubbing Cubs pitchers the right way (sans Rich Hill’s rough outing on Sunday).

There are a couple angles I think are worth mentioning.

If the Cubs traded Barrett to make Zambrano happy, they better damn well re-sign him. I understand that Hendry and Lou need to make their top guns feel confident in their battery mate. What I wouldn’t understand is if the Cubs sacrifice one of the better offensive catchers in the game for a guy they’re going to let leave at the end of the season. Granted Barrett is in his walk year too, so they conceivably could be without both next season. This should surprise no one, but I want the Cubs to re-sign Zambrano. He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball. He’s has top shelf stuff, and if he’s able to get his head straight consistently he could blossom into a Nolan Ryan-like starter. I also think that Larry Rothschild has a lot to do with his success. It would be interesting to see how Big Z would do without him.

Jim Hendry said all the right things (of course) about going a different direction, and that Barrett is poised to become an All Star, all the stuff you say when you’re glad you were able to deal someone. Time will tell how these prospects (Rob Bowen and Kyler Burke) will shake out. Bowen was a backup this year for the Padres (.268-2-11) and Burke apparently has a lot of power potential. He’s only 19, and has struggled in the low minors. Seems like Bowen will be a solid addition to the club, especially if he can throw a guy out, and catch the ball.

Last but not least, who is my favorite Cub now? I’m not really sure. I’ll think about it and get back to you. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave me a comment.

***UPDATE***
Now that I think about it, I think that they could have or should have tried to get some bullpen help instead of a backup catcher and a class A corner outfielder. I feel like this might be the beginnings of a white flag trade. White flag trades in Chicago actually have turned out pretty well. Of course that was on the south side of town, but it did lay the groundwork for their World Series run.

Make no mistake, I am a Cubs fan. The current series between the Cubs and the Mariners is a actually a treat. But my allegiance is clear. I have one singular rooting interest, the Cubs. I couldn’t want the Cubs to win, and the Mariners to lose these three games more than I currently do. The strangest thing is watching a game at Wrigley Field and not listening to the Cubs broadcast team of Bob Brenly and Len Kasper. It just doesn’t seem right to hear Dave Niehaus, Dave Sims, and Mike Blowers talking about the ivy, and the rooftops like they did on Tuesday evening. The Cubs are in need of a lot more wins, and the Mariners have already gotten their roadtrip off to a good start. Unfortunately, the Mariners came out on top in Tuesday night’s marathon 13 inning game.

First of all, Michael Barrett, You’re my favorite Cub. You’re scrappy, you bring a lot of offense from the catcher position, you smack around your rival catcher, get smacked around by Big Z. But my goodness, you have to catch that ball in the top of the 13th, it was there in plenty of time. Sure it was in the dirt a bit, but it’s your job and your team needed you to make that play. Similarly Derrek Lee, you did a great job knocking the ball down, it would have been an amazing play for you to catch it, but again, these are the types of plays your team needs to pull itself together and back into the hunt in the NL Central.

I always like to keep a whipping boy in the Cubs pen, it just helps me cope. Ryan Dempster has pitched his way out of my doghouse, making plenty of room for Will Ohman. Ugh. I’ll take Carlos Marmol, Angel Guzman, or hell, bring back Jeff Fassero, but Will Ohman has some serious getting-guys-out problems. I hope Lou is pitching him, just to expose his weakness, so Jim Hendry has no choice but to get him out of town. It is small consolation that Ohman was used so late in the game. That Lou trusted so many others before he went to Ohman. It helps. It helps me to see that Lou isn’t just as bad at managing a pitching staff as Dusty Baker.

(AP photo)

Edgar Renteria was hit by a pitch in the first inning by Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly. This was obvious retaliation for Braves pitcher Tim Hudson plunking Alfonso Soriano on Saturday. Braves manager Bobby Cox claims that Hudson was not trying to hit Soriano, who hit 3 home runs in the Cubs 9-1 victory on Friday night, but rather that they were trying to pitch him inside to get him to stop crowding the plate. I think that’s manager-speak for “he blasted us, we want him to stop”. Fine by me. I know it’s a part of baseball, a good part I think.

The problem I have is when Renteria (who hit a home run and had 4 RBI on Saturday) gets hit on Sunday and he nearly charges the mound, and then absolutely clobbers Cubs second baseman Mike Fontenot as he slides into second base. That’s a bush league move reminiscent of Albert Belle. If you have a problem Edgar, have your pitcher drill Soriano again, or maybe throw at Lilly himself. That’s kind of how it goes. Don’t take matters into your own hands and go into second base head-hunting.

Renteria was pinch-hit for in the 4th inning because he had a bruised left hand. I wish Bobby Cox would have pulled him out of the game and told reporters that it was because Renteria had made some bad decisions. But alas, Bobby Cox is a baseball man, who protects other baseball men from personal responsibility. Bobby Cox, meet Dusty Baker.

The Cubs were 3-1 with Lou Pinella not in the dugout. I’m not saying… I’m just saying. Maybe Alan Trammel wasn’t as bad as he looked in Detroit. Or I suppose it could be that Zambrano’s pitching with purpose, and Alfonso Soriano is starting to hit the ball. Either way, I’m happy to see the turnaround. What do you say you keep it up when the ole Skipper gets back.

Nevermind the fact that the Cubs had lost 6 in a row coming into their game Sunday, the previous 2 games were evidence enough that the train has come off the tracks. In Friday’s game, the Cubs starting pitcher (and supposed ace) Carlos Zambrano, and their starting catcher Michael Barrett got into a shoving match, that resulted in Barrett getting 6 stitches in his lip.

That silliness was followed by the Cubs manager Lou Piniella blowing his top on Saturday. He came out and argued Angel Pagan getting nailed at third base. It was a close play, but the ump made the right call. Of course we have to expect Lou Piniella will blow up big time a few times a year. That’s the way he rolls. And I understand that he probably wanted to take the heat off of Zambrano and Barrett. I think it’s all stuff a manager should do. I just think that the timing of it all couldn’t be worse. The tirade resulted in Lou being suspended “indefinitely”. So the team that is literally fighting in the dugout will not have the captain of their ship on board until MLB decides when Lou can come back. Just seems like a bad idea. This team needs to pull their heads out of their asses.

The Cubs are far from a good team right now, but they’re also in the weakest division in baseball that is very winnable. Jim Hendry has said that he has approval to add some payroll if (IF) the Cubs are in a position to make a run. I think in Lou’s absence the veteran’s on this team need to step up into a leadership role. I’d like to see Derrek Lee, Michael Barrett and Aramis Ramirez to step and make this team theirs. I would love to be able to say that Alfonso Soriano is the guy to do that. I think your highest paid player should be expected to be a leader, but I just don’t think he is the leader for this team. I think it’s Lee and Barrett. If this Cubs club is going to get back into the race in the NL Central, it will be because those guys step up, throw the team on their backs, and lead this team.