Bruiser Chong

I'd imagine playing the Cardinals and Aramis going on a tear are the prime factors for the run.

There's no need for another edition, but damn if that isn't one of the best packages we've seen in R1.

I was going to toss this in the week's baseball thread, but thought it may warrant its own thread. Him being there 11 years means I remember the entire Harold Reynolds era. I was a big fan of his, but had soured on him a bit in recent years. Still, he was one of the more tolerable talking heads. It'll be interesting to see what brought this on.

Props to Francisco Cordero. Guy gave up a leadoff triple in the ninth of a 1-0 and although he loaded the bases, he wound up striking out the side to preserve the shutout...in Coors. Looks like we've got two more 1-0 games in progress.

It wasn't so much bad baserunning as it was lazy. He could've probably legged out a triple had he not walked along with his bat waiting to see if the ball was foul or not. Nice to see Rich Hill finally look like the pitcher Hendry made unavailable in trades all those years.

Amazing what results are yielded when you don't walk half the batters you face. Man, Keith Partridge is 56!

And I don't mean to dwell on this Cedeno thing, but another reason Ronny isn't playing second tonight: he doesn't have a second baseman's glove...and it's going to take several days to get him one. No, I am not making this up. I guess we're supposed to forget all of Hendry's talk about Cedeno being ready to play second as recently as last night. I hate this team.

My god, Beltran's just been sick the last month. He's closing in on 100 RBI and is among the ML leaders in homers. He's finally starting to look like he was worth the contract.

After all that talk about making Cedeno the second baseman if Furcal signed with the Cubs, Dusty says he doesn't have the footwork for the position. Cedeno out of the lineup is okay, but hey, let's give Theriot or Fotenote a chance at second. We already know what Neifi can do.

Arthur Rhodes is none too happy with Cory Lidle's comments about his former team not expecting to win.

And some sources say he's confided in friends he wishes he'd chosen them over Houston.

I know he is, but he's got one of the best hitters in baseball protecting him. It's not like Jacque Jones is batting behind him or something.

Easy, guys, you can't all blow him at once...or can you?

Yeah, I hear that Manny guy's okay. If he ever improves, pitchers may be forced to pitch to Ortiz.

Now we get to hear even more about the clutchness of David Ortiz.

That's all I'm hearing from the Cub PR machine, but isn't his glove overrated? As in, his flashiness has overblown his true defensive value. Hendry actually said during the telecast they were looking to get a couple of prospects from the Dodgers, but when he found out Izturis was available, he just had to go for him. Seriously.

I like how the wheels need to completely fall off before Francona makes a move. They're interviewing Jim Hendry in the booth and he's rattling on about how he thinks Prior's over the hump and he'll be a quality starter the rest of the way. Minutes later, he gives up a grandslam to Orlando Hudson. Orlando Hudson.

I'm converting to another team.

There was no way that was happening for someone that's Maddux's age. Colletti trades prospects that he perceives to have flaws in the first place, but I didn't see anything wrong with Guzman. So him saying that at all is odd. Maddux at any age + $2 million for Caesar Izturis isn't a good deal for the one side, regardless of what universe you're in. When I heard they got Izturis, I thought, "Oh, well I'll bet they got some other pieces with him." Hell no. Picking up $2 million of the check just makes this look like a salary dump.

You trade with the Dodgers to get one of their 392 near MLB-ready prospects, not Neifi Perez lite. And on top of that, they paid for part of amount Maddux is owed. As if Maddux for Izturis straight-up wasn't a bad enough deal. I was ready for the Cubs to part with these guys, but I figured they'd get some decent returns. I don't have much hope for next year now. Something I don't see getting much talk is what becomes of Maddux's spot in the rotation. I hope this doesn't mean Glendon every five days.

Cubs got hosed on the Maddux deal, too. That's really all we could get for Maddux?

Because we know who's going to get most, if not all of the starts. Chacon for Wilson is a steal for the Yankees. Jesus.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the owner of the Astros has ordered Lidge to be traded. I've never seen a guy fall out of favor so quickly.

Surprised to see Chris Shelton demoted to make room for Sean Casey. Remember how well he started the season?

The chances of Maddux being dealt are looking slim now, since now suitable package has been offered to Jim Hendry. Todd Walker's still the most likely Cub to be traded, although there isn't much interest in him. If they're just gonna fill Neifi in his spot, there's no sense in trading him, especially when they won't get much in return.