Alright Cubs fans, I’m giving a few of your ranks the opportunity to talk with me about FanForHire.com. The guys from CubsCast.com will be interviewing me for their podcast. Click on over to their site in the next few days to check it out.

Also, be sure to read the update on the home page. All you angry fans can now donate to a good cause and still make me root for the Cubs. I’ve switched the donate buttons over to donate to the Pujols Family Foundation with FanForHire.com in the memo field. This was never about the money it was the principle of the matter (I’ll write more about this soon) and now the money will go to a great cause. Go ahead, DONATE!

What is it with pitchers over 40? According to conventional wisdom, Greg Maddux should be in the twilight of his career… not coming into is prime. Apparently the St. Louis Cardinals’ hitters don’t agree with that line of thinking. Maddux pitched seven shut out innings as the Chicago Cubs avoided the sweep winning 7-3. “Mad Dog” is off to the best start of his career with a record of 4-0 and a tiny ERA of 0.99. While I’m not ready to hand Maddux the Cy Young award just yet, its impossible to ignore the old man’s performance today.

Cubs’ DL now on DL
What’s the worst news a Cubs fan could hear? Ok other than having to repeat the last 97 years over again in some sort of sick twisted baseball oriented Groundhog’s Day, I would have to guess it would be losing Derrek Lee for 8-10 weeks to a broken bone. Well Cubs fans… as much as I hate to see a player hurt, I love seeing you disappointed more… and just in case you’ve been living under a rock recently… Derrek Lee broke his wrist in last night’s game against the Dodgers. Not just one bone, but two. As my buddy the Brit said… “The Cubs were just served an excuse for the entire season on a golden platter.” He pretty much hit the nail on the head… I mean seriously… could you imagine losing Pujols? I will now chop of my hands for having typed that.

Lee is pretty much the heart and soul of the Cubs lineup as well as a Gold Glover at first. The only bright side to this injury is that it happened at the beginning of the season and will not put Lee out for the year. The Cubs are currently only half a game out of first but the rest of the lineup will need to step up and fill the void if the Cubs are going to avoid falling behind the rest of the division (well ok maybe not the Pirates but come on).

Catching Up

Keeping with the Derrek Lee news, the Cubs locked up their now injured slugger for an extra 5 years for a total of $65 million. As a Cardinal fan, I wish Lee had ended up with another team (maybe an outfielder for the Cards?) but this is the best move the Cubs have made since trading for Lee back in ‘04. Oh, and for anyone who worried before the season about the Cubs keeping Todd Walker… he’s batting a cool .406 and has an OPS of 1.065 (Both team leading totals) so I guess that was a decent move or lack there of huh?

Wow… what a way to start off the season. Both the Cards and Cubs started things off right with big wins. The Cardinals pounded the Phillies 13 to 5 while the Cubs hammered the Reds 16 to 7. Of course the Cubs started last year with a 16 run effort and still ended up missing the playoffs. Opening day had plenty of good signs for both teams. The Cards got homeruns from Albert (two of them) and Scott Rolen. Rolen’s shot (a grand slam) certainly helped to calm some of the fears about his lingering health problems. As has been said here before, Scotty Ballgame could be the key to the Cardinals’ success this year. It certainly looks good to see him jump off to a good start.

Another big question mark in the Cardinals lineup entering the season was second base. Those questions may have been answered in a single game. Aaron Miles went 4 for 5 with two RBI’s starting at second base while previously projected starter, Junior Spivey, was optioned to Memphis. Whether Miles retains the job or Spivey ends up returning, let’s hope the offensive production continues.

The Cardinals weren’t the only ones who got a great performance from players who were question marks a week ago. New leadoff hitter Juan Pierre went 3 for 6 with an RBI and scored three times. Todd Walker, the subject of recent trade speculation, drove in 3 runs on 3 hits and scored twice himself.

As my pops said, “One game does not a season make” but hey… every marathon starts with a single step right?

Wow…. where does the time go? I can’t believe I went this long without blogging. Well to make up for it I will do a fast-forward version of recent events (forgive me if they are out of order… this is more of a stream of consciousness type thing). Here we go:

• Mark Prior, Kerry Wood and Wade Miller are all starting the season on the DL. (Saying I told you so would be overkill here I think…. I told you so!)
• The Cubs’ projected opening day starter is from DOUBLE A. You may now laugh and point.
• Pujols hit three home runs against the Mets this past week. One against Pedro and two against Victor Zambrano… back to back MVP? I think so.
• It looks like Hector Luna might not even make the ball club. That would be a shame what with his incredible skill and natural ability.
• Aaron Miles seems to have won the starting second base job at least for now. At least thats what Stltoday says. (click the picture on the right for the full story)
• Sidney Ponson will be the Cardinals 5th starter and Reyes has been optioned back down to Tripple A. This will allow Reyes to continue get the innings in he needs to progress. (as mentioned earlier on this blog, I’d be surprised if we don’t see Jockety deal from our depth at starting pitching.)
• Adam Wainright will pitch out of the bullpen as a long reliever. I have no idea whether that means he gets the first shot as a backup starter or not. I kind of doubt it but hey, at least Wainright is healthy enough to make the club. (I think AW would be one of the first names mentioned in any significant trade made by the Cardinals. Keeping him in the majors most likely ups his value.)
• John Rodriquez looked to have the starting LF job sewn up until injuring his shoulder yesterday. No word yet on who will start opening day. (again, click the picture on the left for the full story).
• There appears to be little truth to the rumor that the Cardinals were trying to trade for former Redbird, Miquel Cairo.
• All of ESPN.com’s experts are predicting the Cardinals will win the Central this year… I’m not sure I like that.
• Both Jim Hendry and Dusty Baker are entering the last year on their contracts. Somehow I don’t think having Wood, Prior and Miller on the shelf to start will help either of them much.
• I predict there are exactly 153 days until Carlos Zambrano’s arm falls off while he is standing on the mound. It will replay on Sports Center rought 4,305 times and each time roughly 3 million Cubs fans will curse the name of Dusty Baker.
• Bud Selig has started an independent investigation into the steroids problem. This book was apparently the straw that broke the camel’s back…. I guess the other 3,478 pieces of evidence could have all been a coincidence but this… this must be legit… we should investigate. (Bud continues to miss the point and only respond when the fans are outraged enough to force his hand. Keep protecting that legacy, Bud, its not like the game will suffer.)

It was a busy day in the baseball world. Cubs fans learned the fate of Mark Prior (sort of) and the United States learned the fate of its team in the World Baseball Classic.

In the WBC, team USA looked sluggish, and tired. In the end, Roger Clemens probably felt like he was pitching for the Astros again. Clemens pitched a pretty good game only giving up a couple of runs, and of course received NO support from his under-achieving offense. While stars like Lee and Damon had to sit out due to injury, the US lineup was still stuffed full with All-Stars that could only come up with one run. To be honest, if that is how you play with your tournament life on the line, you don’t deserve to move on to the next round. And today, team USA didn’t.

Roger, I hope this wasn’t your last game, you deserve better a better end to a Hall of Fame career than the one you were given tonight. You truly did conquer the game.

The other big news in baseball today had to do with the health of Cubs pitcher Mark Prior. Now, as I posted earlier in the week, Prior had been experiencing arm pain and was shut down pending tests. Well, the tests came back and it appears Prior is suffering from a shoulder strain. As is my usual style, I’ll give you the official line, and then I’ll of course let you know what I think.

Company line (Cubs Trainer Mark O’Neal is playing the mouthpiece in this case): “I’m very pleased. There’s bad news, extremely bad news, that could come out of it. Right now, if this is a posterior shoulder strain, we’re going to deal with it like you would a hamstring strain. Unfortunately, it’s in the shoulder. So yes, for us, it’s pretty good news.”

My take: WHAT!?! Did I miss something here? Ok, let me start off by pointing out that this is not exactly the tune they were singing earlier in the week. Cubs GM, Hendry earlier this week said this, “Hopefully, it’s just a little snag and he’s back with a few days setback.” Now correct me if I’m wrong but the news today sounds a bit worse than Hendry’s version doesn’t it? Hendry had him back working in a couple of days and now we hear Prior might not be ready at the start of the season? Sorry, that doesn’t seem like good news for the Cubs.

Secondly, did anyone else notice the tense that O’Neal used? Bad news COULD come out of this. IF its a shoulder strain…. It seems to me that they really don’t have a clue what is going on with this young man’s arm. Would I be shocked if they turned around tomorrow and said it is actually something else? Not at all…. and I bet the Cubs would be pretty pleased about whatever new ailment Prior had too.

“Well, it looks like Mark has an incurable variation of the West Nile Anthrax Death Virus but really we’re really quite pleased about this. This could have been really bad news so if in fact he does have this incredibly rare disease in his lungs we’re going to treat it just as if it were in his arm, but unfortunately for us its not… so he’s probably toast. But all in all, we couldn’t be happier.”

I know I’ve heard that type of double speak before… when was that? Hmm…

oh, and of course…

Come on people! I guarantee you this story doesn’t end here.

Well Cub fans, that dark cloud of dread has most likely already settled in above your head but just in case you haven’t heard, let me be the bearer of bad news. Mark Prior is having his rotator cuff examined. Prior, the talented young pitcher, has spent time on the DL in each of his major league seasons and it appears this season might not be any different. While the extent of his injury is not yet known, this is obviously an odious sign for Cubs fans. With the status of Chicago’s other brittle ace, Kerry Wood, still in doubt, the health of Prior has taken on even more importance. As manager Dusty Baker put it “We have to stay positive and keep our fingers crossed.” Not exactly the answer Cubs fans wanted to hear.

The news out of Cubs camp today added fuel to a slowly growing fire of speculation about Prior’s status. The rumors of a possible trade involving the young pitcher earlier in the spring had also stirred speculation of an injury. Prior’s name came up in trade talk for Baltimore Orioles slugger Miguel Tejada, putting his health in the in the public spotlight. When the deal didn’t go through, rumors of health trouble for the pitcher began to circulate. As spring training started, Prior had been under a “strict program” which had caused even more Cubs fans to speculate about a possible injury. And now the team announces today that Prior will undergo tests on his shoulder and might need an MRI on his rotator cuff. You’ll forgive Cub fans if they say they told you so. The rumors had become so rampant that Cub general manager Jim Hendry was forced to address the concerns of Cubbie nation.

“It’s unfortunate. The first time he’s ever complained of discomfort since we got here is today. It will be perceived any way people want to perceive it. There’s no advantage to us holding back until March 14 and then discussing a problem that we knew about earlier. Hopefully, it’s just a little snag and he’s back with a few days setback and he’s back on his program at the end of the week. Today was the first day that he ever told [O’Neal] or Larry that he had discomfort.”

Whether management knew about it earlier this spring or just found out about it today… this is bad news for the Cubs.

First baseman Derek Lee did it again today, hammering a two-run home run against Japan. The long ball was Lee’s third of the tournament and couldn’t have come at a better time as it pulled Team USA back into a 3-3 tie with the very competitve Japanese ballclub. I hate to admit it but it looks like D. Lee is starting right were he left off last year. Of course, Pujols has had a pretty good run with the Dominican Republic (.556 batting average along with 4 walks) so hopefully those two will treat us to another great run for the batting title, MVP, and maybe even the Tripple Crown.

Can I just say right now that the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is one of the best developments for baseball in a long time? I know George (I hate everything good) Steinbrenner thinks it’s a bad idea and you hear all sorts of comments like “What if someone gets hurt?” PLEASE! The players are going to be playing right now anyway whether it is Spring Training (ST) or the WBC. Now sure, the effort and competition is probably not there in ST but as a fan, wouldn’t you rather watch a game where the players are actually trying? I know I would. As a coach or manager or too rich for my own good owner, I would rather let my players get some “real” practice. For the game itself, letting players represent their countries and playing for pride is a BRILLIANT move.

Bottom line… I just cheered when Lee hit a home run and when Brad Lidge struck someone out, and outside of the WBC that would never happen.

According to reports, the Cubs look to be getting closer to signing Derek Lee to an extension. This would pretty much be the smartest thing the Cubs could do since Lee is outstanding. He is perhaps the only Cub player that I dont hate, just out of principle. I mean, its tough to dislike someone who quietly goes about his business of very nearly winning the triple crown.

The Cubs also appear to be leaning towards keeping second baseman Todd Walker. Unable to find enough interest in the former batting champion, Walker has played impressively this spring. In my opinion they should keep him around. He’s not a Soriano or a Roberts but he’ll give the Cubs what they need from the second baseman.

I hate to say it, but it looks like the Cubs are making some smart moves this spring.