Is it too early to start promoting Cedeno for some awards? At the very least, he's keeping Neifi(!) on the bench. I wouldn't mind seeing him hit at lead-off, although I can understand keeping him at #8 in order to minimize the pressure on him. Love the way he keeps on making contact!

With Nomar-Wood-Williamson set to join the major league club tomorrow, who gets chopped?

IDEALLY
DFA - Remlinger, Macias; Mitre back to Iowa

REALISTICALLY
Mitre, Wuertz, Cedeno back to Iowa
...

I will be shocked (shocked!) if Sergio is not sent down to Iowa. For awhile he was riding a sharp slider-decent fastball and looked ready to break out as a decent #4 or 5 pitcher. Instead he seems to have lost control and his slider is not the weapon it was two months ago.

Wuertz seems to be in Dusty's Doghouse(tm) with Novoa currently being the young-arm dujour. Wuertz has the talent and I think given enough work/experience can be an effective reliever for the Cubs.

Like many other bloggers/posters, I wish Cedeno could have been given the starting job for the past month or so. He brought a spark to the big team and seems to have a baseball sense about him. I hope he gets significant playing time next year in the majors (with the Cubs!).

A former Cub gets suspended for the juice. Rafael Palmeiro has been suspended for ten games due to a positive test.

With a quarter of the season over, it's time to put in my two bits.

Saw this quote today from Carrie Muskat's write-up on the Cubs defeat last night, and something said about lack of runs struck a chord:

"'Can't' and 'don't' are negative words I don't use. [Except when describing them, of course.] We can [score runs]," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said.

For those who have braved the 2 hours and 26 minutes of Return of the Sith, you will remember Obi Wan Kenobi's warning: Only Sith deal in absolutes! (which is an absolute in itself). So what am I saying?

Is Dusty a Sith lord in secret? Darth Swingus! Instead of a light saber he wields a Lousiville slugger, with the belief that if the ball is close, SWING. Walks are for wimps.

I go away for a week on vacation and the bottom has nearly fallen out. I had to watch Sunday's game to the end, making sure that the Cubs could actually win a one-run game.

I did go to a Daytona Cubs game last week. I was ready to make some great notes and give a thorough scouting report, but they don't sell pencils with the programs. What's up with that!?!

The boys at Daytona took on the St. Louis' Cardinals minor league team (Palm Beach). Dopirak did OK, but didn't really stand out. The Cubs starter (Petrick) threw an excellent game, and the relievers kept them off the scoreboard in the 8th and 9th. The Cubs hit the Cardinals starter pretty hard, but only scored once in the first 7 innings. The Cubs scored 6 in the 8th, and that was all she wrote.

We went on Seniors night, where those over 55 can buy one get one free ticket (they got a free cap too).

The self-proclaimed Sports Guy, Billy Simmons, has a column coming out in the April 11 issue of ESPN The Magazine. In it he tries to sound nice about waiting for Cub's fans to break their "curse" and join the Red Sox fans. He implies that we have had this bond for years, yet I don't feel it.

Interesting article on pro sports, particularly baseball, as entertainment and not just a competition. Cubs' management probably thought long and hard about the impact of losing their top "entertainer", Sammy "Me Me" Sosa, on ticket sales before trading him. Or maybe not, since Wrigley Field seems to have cult status now, and it would take a few solid years of pathetic losing by the Cubs (not that that has ever happened!) before attendance is significantly affected.

Anyhow, the article looks at Jose Canseco's take on how the fans "want" the players to take steroids - so that they can see more home runs.

And like a logician, he takes his philosophy to its inevitable conclusion. Baseball is not a contest or competition between two teams—the traditional understanding. Instead, "[Baseball] needs to remember that this is a game about individual athletes … . It needs to encourage players to turn themselves into entertainers, and look for new players who are born that way. And the teams have to learn how to market their players that way—the same way pro wrestling does" [ital added].