No Faith in Theriot?? Cubs scouting shortstops??

According to League Officials the Cubs are currently scouting several shortstops in the ML. The Cubs are possibly looking for more production and better defensive range at the shortstop position. According to Officials the Cubs are currently at the Washington/Cardinal game watching SS Christian Guzman. Guzman is batting leadoff for the Nationals and is posting a .400 avg. in 20 AB's.

Other middle infielders that the Cubs are currently scouting are Jhonny Peralta, Bobby Crosby, Rafael Furcal, and Orlando Cabrera. It seems Crosby and Peralta seem the least likely of the two because of talent the other team would want. But I find Furcal and Cabrera interesting choices because both are at the end of there contracts and by trading for them it would be a win now mentality.

Furcal is owed 13 million this season and the Dodgers would definitely have to pay a portion of that. I am not sure what the Dodgers would want except a third baseman but we do not have one to give up. So it is unknown if they would be a match.

Orlando Cabrera would be my pick. The White Sox made an interesting move this offseason inking Juan Uribe, trading for Cabrera, and signing Alexei Ramirez, who is by nature a shortstop. The Sox definitely have depth at SS position but would rather give up Uribe, but cannot find any any takers. The Sox have the worst farm system in baseball and could use some prospects. I think the Cubs match up very well with the Sox for this trade. By trading O.C. they can insert Alexei at SS, Swisher in CF, and Quentin in LF. I would offer Marshall, Epatt, and Mike Fontenot for Cabrera and go from there.

Although a move this early in the season is very unlikely, it is not impossible. It is nice to know that the Cubs are looking at other options early instead of waiting until it is too late.

Man, Cabrera would look great in Cubbie Blue!!!

Cubs notes.

Here is some tidbits from today-

- Soriano will be moved to leadoff spot and Theriot to the 2 hole. Lou seems pretty pissed off after today and he should be. Losing a hard played, one run game is one thing, losing a game with sloppy play and at bats is unacceptable. I do not think Soriano or Theriot are the answers to leading off but there the only players we have that can fill the roles. That guy in Baltimore would have been great!!

- Cubs still have a mild interest in Crisp but the asking price is too high and they currently do not have a place for him on the team. Unless they are already giving up on Pie.

Marquis heading East???

The Mets have lost there #2 starter, Pedro, for an undetermined amount of time. They are set to give him a MRI today so they can have a better time table on when he is due back. The Mets are now in need for a pitcher. They have no one in the farm that can fill the spot and they are looking to add a pitcher without giving up too much. The Mets are looking at free agents Vargas, Weaver, Wells, and Williams. They also have interest in Marquis, Lee, Morris, and Reyes. This is the Cubs perfect opportunity to dump Marquis and his salary while inserting Lieber into the rotation. I would take a midlevel prospect for Marquis if they paid his contract. I still have a sour taste in my mouth about the way the whole rotation thing was handled. This is a good way to correct that!

Murton to Red Sox soon???

The Red Sox have been upset with JD Drew's "injury woes" and are looking at other possibilities for RF. They currently have CoCo Crisp that can fill the position of right field but they need a young inexpensive righty with power that could platoon with Drew or fill in if he gets hurt. The Sox are not to keen on the idea of having Crisp no power bat in the lineup so they have expressed interest in Matt Murton, Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Kendry Morales, and Juan Rivera.

The Cubs are actively shopping Murton but want a top 3 prospect in return for the slugging red head. The Cubs may require a guy like Jed Lowrie, Oscar Tejeda, Justin Masterson, or Kris Johnson for Murton.

The Pirates are currently looking at Murton as a possible replacement for Bay or Nady if they are traded. The Cubs might ask for Daniel Moskos. The Padres have had their eye on him and the Cubs are rumored to want Will Inman in a deal for Murton.

It just seems that Murton will find a home sooner rather than later.

Opening Day, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Opening Day started with rain delays and a pitchers duel and ending with big blasts and big blow ups. Lets take a look at the good, bad, and the ugly.

The Good-

- Fukudome shut up all his critics by going 3 for 3 with a single, double, 3-run homer, 3 RBI, and a walk. He is worth getting excited about Cub fans. He is the favorite in the NL to win the ROY award.

- Big Z was in form. He took a no decision today but gave up only 3 hits before exiting in the 6th inning with cramps in his arm but he is OK. Its too bad the Cubs could not put up runs early to get the win but when you have Sheets on the mound it is hard to do.

- Pie played some great CF today making some nice catches. Do not worry fans the bat will come around.

- Carlos Marmol is unhittable! I do not know what that pitch he throws that looks like a slider but breaks differently every time he throws it.

The Bad-

- Kerry Wood had a rough debut pitching in the 9th. He hit a batter, gave up 2 hits and 3 runs. I do not think this will be a trend for Woody and I also think the Brewers got pretty lucky on those hits.

- Theriot and Soriano were awful at the plate today. The went 0 for 10 with 4 SO combined. I know it is too early to say this but I feel Theriot is not a leadoff guy and neither is Soriano. Lets hope they can bounce back from today and have a good day at the plate Wednesday.

The Ugly-

- Good news for Cubs fans, Eric Gagne will be closing for the Brewers all year. Gagne was terrible in Boston and starts off awful this year. Good news for Cubs, bad news for Brewers.

- Bob Howry had nothing today! He ball has no movement and he is so predictable when he comes out to pitch. He gave up 2 hits and 1 run giving him the lost today. Howry did not pitch well all Spring and is off to a slow start again this season. He needs to pick it up a bit because we need a solid pen to be successful in the division.

Murton sent to AAA and Carmen Pignatiello to stay with Club.

Today the Cubs set their 25 man roster. They sent Sean Marshall and Matt Murton to AAA Iowa while keeping Carmen Pignatiello as the lone lefty in the pen. They put Scott Eyre on the 15 day DL retroactive to March 23rd. So here is the roster, not to many surprises-

Pitchers

Marquis
Hart
Lilly
Wood
Guzman- 60 day DL
Zambrano
Wuertz
Dempster
Eyre- 15 day DL
Marmol
HIll
Howry
Pignatiello
Lieber

Catchers

Soto
Blanco

Infielders

Theriot
Cedeno
DeRosa
Aram
Font
Lee
Ward

Outfielders

Fukudome
Johnson
Soriano
Pie



In other notes- It seems the Cubs will hold onto Murton until they get a top pitching prospect for him. I tend to agree with the Cubs, no sense in trading Murton just to trade him. He is worth a top 3 pitching prospect in just about any organization considering in full time duty he will put up a .280 avg, 20 hrs, and 80 RBI while playing average defense. There are currently 5 teams that want Murton but some think the asking price is too high.