Buried at the end of his notes column today, the Sun-Times' Mike Kiley quotes Jim Hendry as saying, "Matt [Murton] is still going to be a heck of a major-league hitter." That should bode well for Murton getting a chance to prove himself over the final half of the season, no matter who the manager is.

On that issue, it appears that the manager will be someone other than Dusty Baker. The three major papers have stories today speculating that Hendry may fire Baker and his coaching staff over the All-Star break. (Side note: These stories are why you can't just rely on the official site -- ostensibly independent from the Cubs and MLB -- for your Cubs news, as it contains nothing about Hendry's comments.) Derek Smart at Cub Town, Al Yellon at Bleed Cubbie Blue, and Mastrick from View From the Bleachers all discuss the speculation.

Derek Smart is right that Hendry's implication that a good performance over the five games prior to the All-Star break might alter his thinking is silly. At the same time, the best time to make a move would be over the break, allowing the necessary time for a shuffling of the deck, and Hendry obviously doesn't want to tip his hand before then.