Roundup

Tonight at 8:05 PM, Mark Prior takes the mound in Albuquerque. He's expected to toss 80 or 90 pitches in a tune up for a start next week. In classic Cubs' leak fashion, the hedge "barring a setback" is printed in the Tribune. I still fully expect that he'll be held back another week and they'll blame the delay on not wanting to pitch Mark in cold weather.

So, let me see. In the Cubs' last two games, they've scored 1 run that didn't come on a homer. Yeah, this is so much different than last year.

Look! LaTroy Hawkins giving up a home run!

Yes, it's too early to bash Corey Patterson. But it's not to early to start wondering if/when we're going to see Jerry Hairston get a crack at leadoff.

So, Dusty Baker would prefer to ignore Steve Stone and Stone's spot on analysis. This ignoring takes the form of an interview addressing how Dusty would like to ignore Stone. Here's a tip, Dusty. Media relations speak for "ignore" is "no comment."