A Play for Castillo

The Sun Sentinel is reporting that the Cubs are now in the hunt for Dominican native Luis. Hmm.... Sosa, Alou, Ramirez.... Are the Cubs becoming DR North? I wonder if that means anyone else (cough cough tejada cough cough)?

While Luis would be my second choice, behind Vidro, he's far-in-a-way better than Vina. One way to make Cubs better and the Cards worse is to have them lose Vina while the Cubs get a player better than Vina.

That's Castillo / Vidro.

I'm sure it wasn't a tryptophane test

Well, the A's and Padres finally got around to executing the trade that was anounced a week ago. Here's the kicker from ESPN:

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Oakland asked for scans from an MRI exam on Kotsay, then requested that he have a physical exam. The Padres in turn requested physical exams on Hernandez and Long.
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"Medical exams"? That must be cybermetric speak for "pee in a cup." Anyone who acquires a player these days must only do so after a negative 'roid / THG test. Certainly looks like that was the case here.

While the Sloth and I were downing pasta yesterday (pasta salad for me, linguini and meatballs for him), the name "Richie Sexton" came up. I said to the Sloth, "I'd rather get a guy from a team that the Cubs are going to have to contend with. Like... What's the name of the guy in Florida?"

I went on to use the better example of Bagwell. How getting a Bagwell not only makes the Cubs better, but it makes a quality opponent worse. Milwaukee sucks. Might as well leave Sexton there where he won't bother anyone.

The I come home to see Lee (which is better than C Lee of the South Siders).

Excellent move. All the bitching about the loss of Choi? SHUT UP. He was average at best. His ceiling was sharply lowered last year and he got closer to the floor. The bitching about no position players coming out of the Cubs minors? The point of the minors is to yield solid pros. THAT IS JUST WHAT HAPPENED. The Cubs minors just yielded a 30 homer, gold glove 1st baseman! The bitching about the money....?

Now here, there may be a point. I want TejadaVidro. If getting Lee means none of those guys, then I'm not so sure I love the deal. If my choice is Lee / A Gonz vs. Tejada / Choi, I might go with #2. But not by much.

Besides. The Cubs have oodles of cash to play with. And they free up another $9.5mm after this season when Alou leaves. Money isn't an issue.

Gimme a lineup of Vidro Tejada Sosa Lee Alou Ramirez Patterson Miller and the sign reads AC 000000.

As to the Sloth? Poor guy was forced to cheer for the most overrated team in NCAA Hoops History, the 1989 Illinois Fab 6'5"ers. Other than that? Gotta try a few more restaurants with him. 'Specially as April 1 approaches.

Here's your Premium

So it's now legal to set up a commonly owned corporation and funnel tickets to that corporation for sale at a higher price than face value. That's what the Cubs did last year through Premium Ticket Services and what a judge declared yesterday to be kosher.

Now, there's been a lot of hot air blowing about how this should be illegal because Premium did not pay for the tickets upfront. That's irrelevant. There is such a thing as trade credit. The Cubs could offer such credit to any company for purchasing their inventory of tickets.

What the bigger issue is, and what the judge seemed to ignore (I haven't read the full decision), is that how can one be a legal scalper if one receives preferential treatment by purchasing sequestered tickets? The decision needs to be combed to see if Judge Sophia Hall tested what the Cubs did with their tickets or tested Premium to see if they qualified as a ticket broker.

My bet? She only tested the transaction. And that transaction sure seems to be legal. Not so sure about Premium as a broker.

No Bull

Cartwright is out. Supposedly Pete Myers is in. Yeah, that'll help.

"If sport isn't believable, why keep watching?" scribes Jay Mariotti in a diatribe on why fans aren't more upset by the steroid/THG abuses that abound. Simple. Because sport is entertaining.

Should we stop going to movies like the Matrix (despite their awfulness) because the battle scenes are computer generated? What's next? Complaints that the Hulk was a bad movie because it was unrealistic? Pam Anderson is unwatchable because her boobs are fake?

The American people are worn out by the world. People dying in bomb attacks. A war that was over in March that still claims dozens of youn men's lives each week. An economy that hasn't put people to work in three years. Debts, both personal and public, that threaten to over burden our children. These people need escapsim. I know I do. Yet I should be upset because Sammy's home run binge might be chemically enhanced? Urlacher's sacks of a few years ago might be a byproduct of a needle? He just doesn't get it.

And I thought I was kidding when I suggested Jay was a fish fart.

One Man's Tax Hike

So Dem in GOP clothing Ahhnuld has taken his first move as goobner of California. He's leaving his $175,000 salary in the state's general fund. Isn't that the same as imposing a 100% income tax rate on the governor's salary? I thought it was his money and that the state didn't know how to employ the capital as effectively as the private sector? That's always been the GOP mantra when it comes to taxes.

Roid Monsters

With Ahhnuld now officially a governor, it was interesting to hear details about the 7% of MLB players who tested positive for 'roid use. Seems that THG wasn't one of the drugs tested for. Here's the deal, Hendry. Any free agent you sign must pass a THG test. Testing negative, that is.

There was speculation on the radio who among the free agent class was using. Tejada came up as likely. Now, I want this guy. But not if he's THG positive.

Dawson and A-Rod

So A-Rod becomes the second MVP from a last place team. Despicable. So many good canidadates to choose from (10 guys got first place votes) and they go with the safe choice? My bet is the same two schmoes that didn't vote for the Yankee's Japanese rookie because he played pro ball before (like Jackie Robinson) voted for A-Rod in first place.

Getting Randy

If you've forgotten about ex-WGN Radio dude Randy Minkoff, here's a reminder why. Crain's publishes a piece he scribed saying that free agents can be expensive. Thanks for the flash, Gordon. He continues that the Cubs should "stay the course" and that their biggest need is the bulpen.

Right. And the Bears' biggest need is placekicker.

AJ On the Move

So AJ Pierzynski has been traded to the Giants for a few minor leaguers and Joe Nathan. Some of the speculation on why the Cubs backed off on this move is that AJ is a CHC (Club House Cancer). And with Sosa already there.....

Does this mean that the IRod move is more likely? If so, I hope it's a 2 year deal, max.

Off the Juice

So over 5% of MLB players used steroids. I'm shocked, just shocked to find gambling going on here! What this mean is that players were too stupid to cover up and Bud Selig now has to find a new marketing slogan besides "Chicks Dig The Long Ball."

I want to know who at MLB blew this one. MLB obviously loved having their guys juiced. It sold tickets and TV ratings. It got Sammy and McGuire to international fame. How could they have a testing system that was designed to allow its players to continue to inject fail?

What does this mean for the Cubs? Expect Sammy to stay at .275/40/110. And expect Hank Aaron to stay at the top of the HR record for another 30 years.

Red Ass Herring

New Scientist is reporting on fish farting. Initial research suggests that it might be a form of communication and explain how herrings remain in a group after dark. You can hear the sound by clicking here.

Finally someone besides Jay Mariotti that talks out of his ass.

Falling Up

From the Arizona Fall League:

Jason DuBois is hitting .358
John Webb is 4-0 with a 2.42

One of these guys for Vidro and I'm sold.

Hot Stove

Rozner chimes in with AJ Pierzinski and Jose Vidro rumors. Says that AJ could be had for a top pitcher and a prospect while Vidro would go for Cruz and a prospect.

Re: Vidro. Can I drive the limo taking Cruz and picking up Vidro?

Movie Chat

Well, Nemo did set a record with over 8 million copies sold, besting Spider-man. Three cheers for Albert Brooks!

Now Matrix Revolutions. According to Mirriam-Webster's Thesaurus, the following is a list of words to describe this movie.

Entry Word: bad

Function: adjective

Text: 1 falling short of a standard of what is satisfactory

Synonyms amiss, ||bum, ||crappy, dissatisfactory, poor, ||punk, rotten, unsatisfactory, up, wrong
Related Word deficient, inadequate, inferior; careless, slipshod; defective, disordered, off, unsound; execrable, ||lousy, miserable, ||pisspoor, wretched; inadmissible, objectionable, unacceptable; insufferable, intolerable

Idioms below par, not up to snuff (or scratch)

The first movie was amazing. It ended with the followign speech:

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I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid... afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell how it's going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone, and then show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world without you. A world without rules or controls, borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.
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That was the basis for some great follow up. Getting a society to unlearn what it perceives as reality would be a great theme for a series of movies. And people so enamoured with the ultimate gilded jail that they would fight to protect it? Coolness.

Instead, the Wachowski's of Chicago went Lucas. All visuals. No story. And the most boring conversations that would make even the most Trekked out Trekkie wince.

I almost screamed at the screen, "LET'S GO!!!!!" at several points in the film. No tension, no big ideas. And blatant Star Wars riffs. My buddy and I were cracking jokes the whole way through quoting lines from the original Star Wars movies. And those lines fit better than the dialogue that was on the screen.

What a waste. This is what it would feel like if Mark Prior went 7-15 each year for the rest of his career.

Spend an extra $9 and buy Nemo. Skip this dreck.

Tanking

Tank McNamara continues a sendup of fellow Northbrookian Steve Bartman. Not only did Steve interfere with Alou's catch but did some other stuff as well....

Whale of a Tale

Bought Finding Nemo for the wife and elder kid yesterday. Fabulous movie. The animation is for kids, but the story is for adults. If you are over 25, get it and watch it with your dad. Trust me.

On the business side of the flick, Circuit City sold out of DVDs in about 5 hours. They had 600 in stock at the start of the day. I figure that Pixar sold about 8 million copies yesterday at an average price of $18 per.

That $144 million is still not enough cash to pay for the Yankees' payroll.

Nothing to see here....

The Bulls were supposed to be an up-and-coming team. Well, they shot 25% from the floor last night. They're off to a 1-3 start. In fact, the only game they won was when the team retired Jerry Krause's doughnut. The team needs an enema. And John Paxson may just give them one and flush out Bill Cartwright.

This Bulls team is worth talking about as much as Chris Chandler is as the Bears next Superbowl QB. The only thing worth watching might just be and the Matadors.

Washed Sox

So Ozzie Guillen comes back to Chicago. I guess hiring a head coach with no prior head coaching experience at any level works. I mean, it did for Ditka. Cartwright, Dick Jauron, Dave Wannstedt not withstanding.

And Guillen's gonna do so well with a smaller payroll and without Colon and either Lee or Ordonez.

The Short Man Goeth

Billy Wagner was sent to Filthydelpiha for a trio of minor league pitchers today. That means the Cubs' schedule just got easier by 12 games as the Cubs will only face Wagner a maximum of 6 times.

Now, when does St. Loser trade Drew? And when do the Cubs get hopping on Tejada and Vidro?