Scott Eyre to the Phillies.

In a minor move today the Cubs sent Scott Eyre to the Phillies for A ball pitcher Brian Schlitter. Schlitter is 4-3 with a 2.22 ERA, 6 saves, and 58 SO in just 48 innings. He is a good young arm who could be in the Cubs pen in the next 2 years. The Phillies have also agreed to pay the remainder of Eyre's contact.

Eyre DFA, Wood back, and other notes.

-Yesterday the Cubs made room for Wood to come off the DL by DFA LHP Scott Eyre. Eyre has been inconsistent and the injury bug has hit him hard this year. The teams that are said that are interested are the Cards, Brewers, Phillies, and Red Sox. With the Sox having the most interest in the lefty. The Cubs will more than likely be off the hook for the 1.5 million they owe him for the rest of this year.

- I would not be surprised if Howry, Ward, and maybe Lieber are put on waivers this month. Howry has been awful and there are kids like Ceda who have nasty stuff that deserves a shot in the big show. Ward and Lieber are interesting situations, you have guys like Jeff S. and Sean Marshall that are not going anywhere so Lieber could be released or DFA when he comes off the DL. Ward has not been producing like Ward usually does and there is guy in AAA named Hoffpauier who could fill his spot on the bench.

Cubs Rumors and notes.

-Mark Cuban has been named the front runner by MLB execs and by other potential buyers of the Cubs, to win the bid to buy the Cubs. I really hope he becomes the Cubs next owner!

- The Cubs have minor interest in Felipe Lopez. He would be likely to be signed to a minor league contract with the availability to be called up in case of injury or when the roster size increases to 40.

- Lieber will start rehab and could be activated anytime. It is said he could be placed on waivers or outright released to make room for Wood. It hard to make room for a guy when your pen has been solid.

- Hill was doing well until he went to AAA. Do not count on him at all this year.

- Wood is feeling great and threw to some guys today and yesterday. He could be back anytime.

- Of course the Cubs did not make any moves at the deadline but that does not mean the Cubs won't make moves if the right guy is put on waivers. They could also put guys like Lieber on the waiver wire. One rumor is the Rockies have interest in Jason Marquis as their 5th starter, I am not sure if he will pass through waivers but as of right now I like the depth in our rotation.

Manny Rumor Untrue. Cubs trying to get Raul Ibanez and other hot stove talk.

Well the information I got from one of my sources was untrue. The Cubs have no interest in Manny Ramirez and do not like his contract or situation going on in Boston. This team has good chemistry and they do not want to disrupt that with a guy like Manny. It should be noted that the BoSox are interested in Adam Dunn though, just in case your wondering.
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Hot stove is red hot, lets take a look-

- On the Marty and Miller show on 1460 KXnO in Des Moines, they had David Kaplan on and he has some good information on the rumor front. David said the Cubs are trying to acquire Raul Ibanez through a trade with the Mariners. The M's wanted Felix Pie and Donald Veal in a deal for Ibanez and the Cubs said "no" to that. The talks are on going and if they were to acquire Ibanez either Daryl Ward or Jim Edmonds would be traded or put on waivers. Ibanez can play left, right and first base. By the way Ibanez is a lefty who post a .279 Avg., 15 homers, 62 RBI, with a .349 OBP. If acquired, I would imagine he would fill in for Fukudome and Soriano for an off day. You could also move Fukudome to CF and put Raul in RF, which would be OK but your giving up defense. I think I would trade Pie in a deal for him but not Veal. He would be a great upgrade from Edmonds and/or Ward. He would be a great pick up if the price went down.

- Will Carroll said today the Dodgers had brief talks with the Cubs about Scott Eyre and Ronny Cedeno but nothing came of it.

Tonight and tommarow should be a busy days for teams. I would be fine with the Cubs staying how they are or upgrading their team with a guy like Ibanez. I think he would be a decent replacement for Ward, or they could just bring up Hoffpauier again.

Jim says done dealing, yet rumors keep rolling in.

Jim Hendry said yesterday barring an injury the Cubs will stay with what they got but some more rumors have been rolling in.

The first rumors involves the Cubs shopping relievers Scott Eyre and Bob Howry who are both in the final year of their contracts. They could net the Cubs some decent prospects considering the relief market is diminishing by the day. The White Sox could be suitors for both.

The next rumor sounds a little far fetched but if it whispers I will pass it on to you. Theo Epstien has said he will make an effort to deal Manny Ramirez if he waives his no trade clause( which Manram has already he said he would if it benefited him and the BoSox). Manny has a club option for 09-10 for 20 million a season which is pretty steep but a team could just decline it if they do not have the resources or need for Manny next season. While the the trade seems unlikely to me because the Sox are going to want a big hitter in return for him, it is still a possibility. The rumor is a three way deal that involves the Red Sox, Reds, and yes the Cubs. Although I do not have all the names involved, I have heard the Red Sox would get Adam Dunn, the Cubs would get Manny Ramirez, and the Reds would get young pitching and prospects from both clubs I would assume.

Here is why this makes sense to me-

Red Sox- The Sox would get rid of the headache of Manram and get a big lefty bat that has more power and about the same defense as Manny. Not to mention their clubhouse would immediately get better with the Manny circus gone.

Reds- Instead of losing Adam Dunn to free agency and just getting Draft pick compensation for him they would get some good prospects that could help out their pen and rotation. Their farm system is not the greatest so this would really help the restock.

Cubs- While this potential deal could cost the Cubs some good prospects, chemistry issues, and lose some defense in the outfield, it does improve the lineup. Manny is such a great hitter, I would even say one of the best hitters in baseball. With him being in a hitter friendly park would be such a joy to watch. Yes, we would have to deal with Manny being Manny, but gosh what a lineup it would be by adding him in there. One issue is where to put him?? I would think the Cubs would move Fukudome to CF, Soriano in LF, and Manny in RF. Manny in RF does scare me though. The other issue is do you get rid of Edmonds or Johnson??


There is a lot of question marks in this potential rumored deal and I am just passing on what I am hearing. I personally have mixed feeling about the deal but check out this lineup-

Soriano LF
Fukudome CF
Lee 1st
Aram 3b
ManRam RF
Soto C
Derosa 2b
Theriot SS
Pitcher

Cubs to stay put?? Samardzija staying put and a little on Rob Drake.

According to Jim Hendry the Cubs are looking to stay put and not make any deals before the deadline on the 31st. I think the Cubs should at least trade Howry for a minor leaguer, then when Wood is activated he can take Howry's spot on the 25 man roster. That is what I would do anyways. Here is what Jim had to say-

"'You have to stay on top of it,' Hendry said. 'We got an extra bullpen guy in the trade with Oakland in Chad Gaudin. What you obviously need is for [Kerry Wood] to come back healthy and then everything else usually falls in line. And Samardzija is going to give us a lift.'"

On offense, Hendry feels Alfonso Soriano's bat is only going to get hotter. He conclusively adds,

"'We aren't hitting since the break like we want to, but we aren't going to go out and replace our star players because they're having a bad week,' Hendry said. 'And the other players, let's give them their due, the Ryan Theriots, Mike Fontenots, Reed Johnsons and Henry Blancos. Those people are doing more than their fair share. You don't upgrade from that.'"

While I absolutely agree with Hendry, one thing I do not understand is why Jim does not upgrade our pen with a guy like Fuentes, Mahay, Arthur Rhodes, or Jack Taschner. Any one of them would be an upgrade to Howry, Cotts, Marshall, etc. You add one of those guys to your relief core, you would be in great shape.

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Jeff Samardzija looked great on Friday and it looks like when Woody returns on Tuesday, Jeff won't be the one sent to Iowa. Here is what Lou had to say-

If you see a young man throwing the ball like that, I don't think he'll be the guy leaving, I'll tell you that," manager Lou Piniella said Saturday. "If he continues to throw the ball [well], it's almost like trading for a reliever."

I would actually like to see Jeff start some games in place of Marquis, who is so inconsistent the 2nd half of the year. Either way this kid has staying power with the club and I am glad we finally got another fireball in our pen.

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On another note-

Rob Drake needs to be investigated by MLB. He has had issues with Ozzie Guillen( throwing him out last week), Matt Sinatro( throwing him out yesterday), and Sweet Lou ( throwing him out already twice this year. You might remember the first time was when Lou was heading back to the dugout when Drake through him out). He has consistently blown calls at every position on the field and not only against Chicago based teams. This has been going on all season long with Drake and the MLB needs to do something about it.

Cubs need to trade Howry. Should take a look at Roy Halladay.

I usually do not go nuts like some Cubs fans and say " get rid of this player" but in this case we should. Bob Howry once again is scuffling and this time they can't use the excuse that he starts off slow because it is the end of July and he has not came close to turning the corner. Bob is in the last year of his 3 year deal which makes him a perfect candidate to trade. Not to mention the reliever market has few great relievers and not to many average relievers which means you would find a take on Howry after guys like Fuentes, Ohman, and Street find new homes.

Consider that last year he only gave up 31 runs in 78 games and he has already did that ths year in 50 should be enough to get rid of the guy. His era is an awful 5.22 for a late inning reliever, and I think the Cubs should trade him before he doe any more damage. The White Sox, Brewers, Phillies, Mets, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankess should all have interest in the veteran reliever because his price will be a lot lower than Fuentes, Street, etc. Jim needs to trade Howry before he give us higher numbers in the "L" column, plain and simple!

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The Jays are secretly shopping Roy Halladay and I think the Cubs should call the Jays if the have not already. Those of you who do not know Roy Halladay, he is a beast! He is almost guaranteed to give you at least 200 innings pitched a year. In his 10 year career he has only pitched under 200 innings 5 times and is on pace to have 200+ innings this year. He is has never lost over 8 games in a season and is almost guaranteed to give you at least 12 wins a year. In the past 6 years he has went 22-7, 8-8, 12-4, 16-5, 16-7, and is currently 12-7 this year. His lifetime ERA is 3.56 and has a 2.82 ERA this year. OH, and the really good thing is he has 3 years 40 million left on his contract if you count this year. He would cost the Cubs a ton to get, but I think you sell the farm for a guy like that! The guy is a number 1 on every team in baseball and would be a great addition for the Cubs.

Samardzija called up. Wood sent to DL.

Jeff Samazija has been called up because Kerry Wood was placed on the 15 day DL yesterday. Something else that is interesting is that Jeff might get a start this weekend against the Marlins. The Cubs are toying with the idea to push back Harden's starts to every 6 days because his record and ERA are really good when he gets 5+ days of rest. I would support this move if they do in fact make it. It will be nice to see this kid pitch!

Soriano and Eyre back. The Cubs will decide soon on what to do at deadline.

The Cubs have activated Scott Eyre and Soriano from the DL. The sent Micah Hoffpauier and Kevin Hart to AAA. I would not be surprised if Hart and/or Hoffpauier's name comes up in the next week about possible trade chips. Both have had decent success in the ML level and could be a nice addition to a team that may want to start over.

I also think you will start to see Cedeno, Font, Hill, Pie, Ceda, Veal, Vitters, Samj, and others to come up in trade talks which are really starting to heat up with the deadline right around the corner.

The Cubs will decide in the next 4 or 5 days whether they need a bat, reliever, or another starter before the deadline ends on the 31st. They need to see how Soriano's hand is doing and how Eyre looks coming off the DL. Another thing that hinges on wether they make a deal for a reliever is on Wood. He is not likely to head to the DL now which is a relief but they will still keep an eye on him to see if they need to make a deal for a Fuentes, Marte, or Mahay.

The Cubs also look decent at the starting rotation. They could upgrade the rotation by trading or releasing Marquis and getting Burnett but that does not look likely even though the Jays have made it no secret that they would trade A.J.. The Jays said they have not received any calls on Burnett but they have said to like Ronny Cedeno and both teams have been scouting each other the past week or so.

The Cubs could use another bat in this lineup but where and who?? The Cubs should get a good lift from Soriano who returns tonight against the Dbacks but if the Cubs see any inclination that Soriano is not 100% they will make a deal for a big bat. The Cubs would prefer a left handed bat but besides Adam Dunn( will not be traded within the division), Raúl Ibañez ( who is not that big of a bat), and Barry Bonds (we will not go there) there is not much on the market.

One player that does interest the Cubs whether or not Soriano comes back is Matt Holliday. Now I know you all are saying where would he play, but trust me they would find a place for Matt. They could move Fukudome to CF, leave Soriano in LF, and put Holliday in RF. It would be a good defensive outfield, not to mention the lineup with him in it. WOW! The price of Holliday would be astronomical but he would be well worth it. Guys like Vitters, Hoffpauier( could eventually replace Helton), Veal, Marshall, and Ceda would really interest the Rockies. Lets face it they need young good pitching and we have that. Just keep your eye on the Rockies and Holliday because he is likely to be dealt right before the deadline ends, if traded at all.

More Hot Stove Talk

Here is some more rumors and news-

- The Cubs had Chicago Cubs special assistant Ken Kravec at yesterday's Jays/Rays game. Not sure he was looking at, maybe Joe Inglett or Marco Scutaro? It should be also noted that the Cubs have had prior interest in A.J. Burnett but he did not pitch yesterday. It should also be known that the Jays have received no offers for A.J.

- How Soriano returns will determine what the Cubs do before the deadline.

- Here is some news on Soriano thanks to Cubs.com-

Soriano had three plate appearances for the Mesa Cubs -- a rookie-level team -- on Monday morning, as he went 0-for-2 with a walk as the designated hitter.


Soriano reported no lingering effects in his hand and said he would even be ready to come back for Monday night's game in Phoenix against the Diamondbacks.

"I didn't feel anything in my hands and nothing in my fingers," Soriano said. "No pain, that's what's important.


"If they want me to play tonight, I'll play tonight. If they want me to do one more game of rehab, I'll do that. It depends on what the team wants. It's their decision, not my decision."

Soriano said he will likely head down to Tucson for at least one game, where the Iowa Cubs are playing against the Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate, before rejoining the Cubs in Chicago to face the Marlins on Thursday.

I hope he takes at least one or two more rehab games before heading to the field.