"Ryne Sandberg, who prided himself on playing the game 'the right way' during his 16-year Cubs career, used the platform of his Hall of Fame induction Sunday to lash out at the me-first attitudes and lack of respect for baseball he sees as prevalent among certain present-day superstars," reports the Chicago Tribune. Read the text of Sandberg's speech.

As the non-waiver trading deadline passe at for 4:00 PM EDT today the Cubs aquired Matt Lawton from the Pirates for Jody Gerut. Lawton is hitting .273 with 10 HR's and 44 RBI's. Lawton also adds speed to Cubs. He has 16 stolen bases this year. He may also solve their leadoff problem seeing as he has a .380 OBP. This will give Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez more chances to drive in runs.The Cubs are also a good fit for Lawton because the play the majority of their games during the day and Lawton has a .298 AVG during day games.He has struck out only 19 times durig day games compared to 61 during night games. Also during July Lawton hit .301. So Lawton should be a great addition to the Cubs.

There's nothing on the official site yet [EDIT: Now there is], but ESPN has reported that the Cubs have acquired OF Matt Lawton from the Pirates in return for Jody Gerut. Gerut has been pulled from the game today, so I figure it's a done deal. As far as that goes, Lawton is a better player, but it's not bound to be a consequential move, as neither one is really fit to play a corner outfield spot on a daily basis. So I'm inclined to ask, "Why bother?"

1:20pm CT. Greg Maddux v. Brandon Webb. Game preview.

Let's get a win on the day Ryne Sandberg is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

With barely a rumor coming out of the Cubs camp just days before the trade deadline, we're all wondering if something's boiling or not. The Cubs, in fact, are one of the few teams with no real speculations and rumors flying around, but lots of "advice" coming from the outside...and even much of that has to do with the offseason. For example, Dayn Perry (of Fox Sports) thinks the Cubs should start gearing up to trade Kerry Wood before Opening Day 2006.

However, let's float a few "what if" thoughts around...

"Before Thursday’s game, the Cubs reinstated outfielder Adam Greenberg to the active list and optioned him to Class AA West Tenn," reports the Daily Herald. "Greenberg had been on the disabled list since July 15 with a concussion." Greenberg's limited time with the big league club (1 pitch seen) was expected following the acquisition of Jody Gerut.

1:20pm CT. Mark Prior v. Javier Vazquez. Game preview.

On a night in which the Cubs' 1st pick of the 2004 draft, Grant Johnson, threw 6 shutout innings (2 hits; 0 walks; 8 K's), Nomar Garciaparra went 0-1 (a flyout) with 2 walks in the second game of his rehab assignment. He started one double play in the field before being replaced in the 6th inning.

1:20pm CT. Jerome Williams v. Brad Halsey. Game preview.

I asked Randy Hundley this question many years ago and he was able to answer it instantly. Can anyone here do the same?

Who were the catchers (besides Randy Hundley) for the Cubs between 1970 and 1975.

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Adam Rittenberg of the Daily Herald reports on Matt Murton's patience at the plate. It is clear that Murton understands what it takes to be a productive hitter. "'I really try and make the pitcher give me a pitch to hit and force him to get into counts sometimes where he has to come over the plate more often,' Murton said before Wednesday's game. 'It's not like the Cubs came to me and said that we have to do this. I just know it's important to be a patient hitter.'"

Note that Murton does not attribute his desire to have patience at the plate to the Cubs' teaching. And also note that patience, to Murton, does not mean looking for walks, but looking for hittable pitches and hitters' counts, taking the walks if they come.

Nomar Garciaparra went 1-4 in the first game of his rehab assignment today, a 7-3 7-inning win for low-A Peoria. His line-drive single to center drove in 2 runs in the 6th inning. Garciaparra also had two assists and a putout without an error in the field.

Alex Ciepley at Baseball Toaster looks at the Nomar trade one year later: "In the short term, the Red Sox won the deal, winning the World Series--though you could argue, and I imagine fairly competently, that this trade had little to do with their eventual success. But one year later, it looks like the Cubs may indeed have gotten the best player in the deal. And his name's not Nomar." . . . more