The headline on ESPN.com today:

Cubs GM Hendry to mull Baker's future over break

Not discussed in the article: who will be mulling over Hendry's future?

I don’t want to make myself out to be smarter than I am, but here’s what I wrote last August:

It's just like the Cubs to get a good year out of someone, and assume a new permanent level of performance, but it rarely works out that way.

I don't feel very good about Dempster going forward. I'd just as soon they let him walk in the offseason.

Well, of course, as we all know, they didn’t let him walk, and instead signed him to a ridiculous extension.

The league has upheld the 10-game suspension to Michael Barrett, and he will begin serving it tonight.

Carrie Muskat says that "the timing is good for Barrett," but it's hard to imagine how. The Cubs are beginning a six-game AL road trip, so an already problematic offense not only loses their best player but has to find someone to DH, too.

Muskat gives his injury as a reason why it's good timing, but that just makes it worse in my eyes. Barrett has not played the last three games, so the Cubs will now be without him for at least 13 games. This raises the question, why didn't he drop the appeal on Friday, when he hurt his back, and begin serving his suspension at that time? That would have given him time to heal, and also made any 1- or 2-game reduction in the suspension moot, as he would have been out anyway. Put it this way; even in the unlikely event that the suspension would have been reduced three games, he still would have been out ten games.

I don't get it. Maybe I'm missing something.

Kerry Wood is heading back to the DL, and here's what I gather reading the article.

For one thing, Wood isn't hurt. He just needs an extra day or two in between starts. But maybe more, and really, who knows when he'll be able to pitch. So, off to the DL, but not because he's hurt. It's only for a short time. Anyway, he'll be back before the All-Star Game. But he's not hurt!

Frankly, I don't know what to believe.

The other night, I made the almost-yearly trek to Oklahoma City to see the visiting Iowa Cubs. Unfortunately, once again they lost, meaning that they're 0-7 when I am present. Saturday's game wasn't as bad as last year, however.

The final score was 2-1, with the Cubs' lone run coming on a homer by Michael Restovich, who is now hitting .308/.380/.609 for the I-Cubs.

Aardsma's pitched well for Iowa, and Michael Wuertz did pitch poorly in his one appearance after being recalled last week. So, the season-long game of Reliever Roulette continues.

Also, the mention of Ryu brings me to yesterday's game ... in case anyone is interested, you have to go back 11 games, to May 17, to find the last eight homers by the Cubs. I just thought I'd point that out.

I've been meaning to write something up on Juan Pierre for a little while, and after listening to him strike out in the top of the seventh today, I figured it's time.

So I pull up the Official Site today to tune in to Gameday Audio, and I see Carrie Muskat's daily Notes column. Headline: "DH gives Cubs extra hitter". You know, as if this is somehow an advantage.

So, today's the day that Kerry Wood makes his long-awaited return to the Wrigley mound, magically restoring the rotation to greatness, inspiring the Cubs' offense, and curing all sick children and puppies within a ten-mile radius. There hasn't been this much anticipation in a Kerry Wood start since, well, the last time he got hurt. And the time before that. And the time before that.

Myself, I'm willing to settle for six decent innings, and go from there. As happy as I am that he's back, and as well as his rehab starts went, it's important to keep in mind that he hasn't started a major league game for 10 months. There's bound to be a speedbump or two along the way.

No, I don't have any kind of inside info or anything, but this article at the Official Site kind of seals the deal, doesn't it? Have you ever in your life seen an article like this that isn't almost immediately proceeded by the coach's firing? And it's on the Official Site, no less!

I say, Dusty doesn't last the week.

I think Guzman has a bright future if he can stay healthy, but he clearly wasn't ready to pitch in the majors after spending most of the past three years on the DL. Iowa is definitely the right place for him to be right now.

Ryu looks a lot like almost every other pitching prospect the Cubs have had over the past few years. He's hard to hit (37 hits allowed in 42 IP with Iowa this year, and under a hit per inning for his career), but his control can be spotty (well over 3 BB/9 over his minor league career). He has a 3.21 ERA for Iowa this year, giving up only 4 HR in those 42 IP (which is good), but 15 BB (not so good).

So, that hideous losing streak is finally over, with the Cubs victorious behind a good effort from Carlos Zambrano and 8 - count 'em, 8 - runs crossing the plate.

To put that in perspective, the average team scores roughly 4.5 runs per game. Over the past ten games, the Cubs have been averaging 1.1 runs per game. It logically follows, then, that the Cubs scoring 8 runs in a game is roughly equivalent to the average team scoring 32 runs in a game.

OK, fine, maybe that's not the most logical conclusion to draw, but it sure feels about right, doesn't it? At any rate, a victory is a huge relief. Congrats to Jacque Jones, for coming up big at the plate with a two-run homer and a bases loaded double, just when I thought things were getting hopeless.

Now, do it again tomorrow, guys.

A few thoughts during the seventh inning of tonight's game with the Giants:

-- Maybe I'm just trying too hard to find a silver lining in this mess, but despite an underwhelming line in the boxscore - 6 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 4 K - Rich Hill didn't really pitch all that badly. I thought Dusty was asking for trouble bringing him out to start the seventh, and trouble was what he got. Overall, though, I thought Hill did a decent job of throwing strikes, which will be the biggest factor in determining his success going forward.

On the other hand, the Giants are a rather poor offensive team, so it's hard to get too excited. To my eyes, he needs to pick his spots a little better with his fastball, because he was hit pretty hard when he missed. But, he looks close to me.

-- Winning a baseball game seems like an impossible task right now. To mix sports for a minute, every game feels like watching Navy take on Notre Dame; the other team is so much better, and even when you think you have a chance you get blown out.

The Cubs have now scored two runs in their last 3 games, and after yesterday's 8-0 debacle, they've now gone 20 straight innings without scoring a run on my birthday, dating back to 2003. Both of those things are fairly depressing, because it doesn't look like any significant help is coming in the short term.

On the other hand, even though they've been pretty bad themselves over these last four games, things are looking up for the starting rotation with the upcoming return of Wood and Prior. Here's a pitcher-by-pitcher rundown of where things stand:

This week's mailbag is up on the Official Site, and there are two things that warrant comment in my mind.