With Alfonso Soriano on the disabled list and the Cubs looking for a replacement leadoff hitter, it would seem like a perfect fit for the Northsiders to go after veteran outfielder Kenny Lofton. Not only would he be able to bat at the top of the order while Soriano is gone, but him and Reed Johnson would make a much better platoon in center field even when Soriano comes back. Though Jim Edmonds has shown signs of positive improvement in recent games, it’s doubtful he’ll make it through the season as the starter. He just doesn’t have the bat speed for his type of swing at his age.

Lofton still has plenty left in the tank. Last season, he posted a .380 OBP and 21 steals (in 25 attempts) with the Rangers in 84 games after being traded by Cleveland. And he has the advantage of starting midseason so he’ll still be fresh come playoff time.

That sort of speed and veteran leadership at the top of the order would do a lot for the Cubs as they vie for the top seed coming out of the NL. Kenny Lofton has been there (with the Cubs in 2003 even) and has proven he can give a spark to a ballclub time and time again. He may not be the best option available, but rumor has it the Cubs are interested in Randy Winn, a poor man’s Kenny Lofton at best. Why would you give up even a halfway decent prospect for Winn (that you could save as trade bait for C.C. Sebathia or AJ Burnett) when Lofton is still a free agent waiting to be signed?

Like the Edmonds deal, there really is nothing to lose. And with the Cardinals heading for a tailspin with Albert Pujols and 87% of their rotation on the DL, the Cubs have some room for error.

Football head coach Ron Zook made the trip to Wrigley Field on Sunday for Illini Day and assumed the 7th inning stretch duties.

Some people may remember last year’s debacle, when Zook was caught reading the words to “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” from a cheat sheet.

Yesterday’s attempt was a little more inspiring, though if you look closely enough Zook does manage to sneak a couple of suspicious glances at something sitting on the table in front of him . . .

As far as an evaluation goes, pretty much anything beats blatantly reading the words to a song most people learn by the third grade off of a piece of paper. Especially at Wrigley.

It fell somewhere between “I’ve definitely heard worse” and Illinois’ performance in the Rose Bowl.

Zook’s yelling didn’t seem to scare the Cubbies, who went on to win the game 5-3 and complete a weekend sweep of the Rockies.

(Video link credits sportsbybrooks.com and ballhype.com, respectively)

The following post was written by staff intern Kevin Kaplan. He did not invent the Kaplan Test Prep Course. 

Spring training in the MLB is in full swing, and today if you’re a Cardinals fan, you can momentarily rest easy. If you’re a Cubs fan, well, at least you can rest easy with the fact that you can continue to go to Wrigley Field to see the Cubbies battle. Oh, wait, maybe you can’t …

On St. Louis’ side, things are looking pretty good. Albert Pujols tried his best to scare the Cardinals faithful when it came out that surgery might be the answer to an arm injury that he sustained in 2003.

The words of the Cardinal’s physician, Dr. George Paletta, did not make anybody feel any better. Paletta said Pujols experienced a “high grade tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, as well as bone spurs, inflammation and arthritis in the joint — all of which have likely developed as a reaction to the ligament tear.”

Well, on Wednesday it was revealed that Pujols would not be going the route of surgery. That was very bad news to anybody who would be playing the Cardinals, and the Florida Marlins were the first to experience that news firsthand.

In their Thursday morning encounter, Pujols topped off a string of three homeruns in a row by Cardinals batters to top the Marlins 5-2. These spring training games are key for the Cardinals, as their roster seems to be up in the air. Pitching will be an interesting spectacle as the season progresses, but overall the Cards look good. While the Cards won the day, the same couldn’t be said for the Cubs. Falling 2-1 to the Athletics in Cactus League play, the highlight for the Cubs was a three-inning four hit shutout by (former Cardinal) Jason Marquis.

A loss for the Cubs is nothing new, however, and after all it is only Spring Training. The headline news for the Cubs lately has been the fact that they may not be playing in Wrigley Field anymore. Before anyone has a heart attack, the second oldest stadium in the country isn’t going anywhere (though there are renovations planned).

The issue begins with the acquisition of the Cubs franchise by billionaire Sam Zell. The Cubs franchise had been owned by the Chicago Tribune for years, but Zell is now selling them off. The problem is that, as of now, he also plans on selling off the naming rights to the field. This would allow Wrigley Field to be called any number of different things.
Since 1926, Cubbie nation has gone without a pennant, all the while being assured the one constant that America’s most dedicated fans could go to WRIGLEY FIELD and watch their “lovable losers” take
the diamond.

Now, they might not even be able to do that.

When you read this headline, I’m sure the first thing that comes to your head is that here’s just another journalist complaining about the way members of the Baseball Hall of Fame are voted in and that he should get a vote and, God forbid, this Hawk character in the headline he is referring to is Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, a career .239 hitter who has become somewhat revered but mostly hated as the White Sox color commentator.But in the words of Lee Corso–”NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND!”

This will not be like Keith Olbermann’s list of 100 players he thinks should be in the Hall or something like Rick Telander’s column in today’s Sun-Times where he explains why he kept his ballot blank (if only I actually had a vote) or a diatribe about how Pete Rose should be in the Hall (he should) or how the Hall should be converted to a pyramid scheme.

I’m talking about a different Hawk, the one that busted his rear end for the game in a 21-year career that included 12 knee surgeries and, as he told Dan Le Batard, around 63 fluid drainings, “maybe more.”  But even with the chronic knees, this Hall snub has only one disabled list stint to his name, how’s that for toughness?

I’m talking about Andre Dawson, my favorite baseball player of all time. And this is coming from an Atlanta Braves fan, but any fan of the American Pastime should be able to appreciate the nine-time all-star who shares a July 10 birthday with me. Dawson failed to get in the Hall of Fame for the seventh time this year, and if you never saw him throw himself around the Wrigley outfield and terrorize National League pitching, his statistics should be enough for any baseball fan to appreciate: 2,774 hits (more than Gehrig or Ted Williams), 438 homers (more than Dimaggio or Bench), 1,591 RBI (topping Killebrew and McCovey), not to mention being part of the 300 homer-300 steal club. The other members? Try Willie Mays, both Barry and Bobby Bonds, Steve Finley and Reggie Sanders. Spectacular company at the least.

The 1977 NL Rookie of the Year award speaks for itself, along with second place finishes in NL MVP voting in both 1981 and 1983, but the one that takes the cake is his 1987 season, a 49-homer, 137 RBI barrage where he brought national attention to the North Side to take home that MVP trophy even when the Lovable Losers were in last place.

And Dawson’s accomplishments don’t just stand out at the plate, the Miami native won eight gold gloves in the outfield, mainly patrolling the corners, and had eight seasons with assists in double digits, including a whopping 17 in 1978. That’s versatility if I’ve ever seen it.

The biggest thing that should sway Hall voters, well, aside from my whole spiel on this here blog, is the support he receives from current Hall members. Ryne Sandberg, respected throughout the whole baseball community, said this about Dawson at his own Hall induction: “No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more or did it better than Andre Dawson. He’s the best I’ve ever seen. I watched him win an MVP for a last-place team in 1987, and it was the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen in baseball. He did it the right way, the natural way, and he did it in the field and on the bases and in every way, and I hope he will stand up here someday.”

If my words don’t have much clout for you regarding The Hawk, Sandberg’s should. Along with that fact, it’s dissapointing that with all Dawson gave to the game that it won’t love him back. And Dawson refuses to toot his own horn about the matter.

Well Hawk, I appreciate the great plays and surprises you gave a Braves fan on WGN throughout the nineties, not to mention our shared birthday. But somebody needs to toot that horn to get you in the Hall, and I’m willing to be that guy.

I did a hefty analysis of the National League Rookie of the Year race over at Just Baseball, and don’t want to simply repeat it.

You can check it out here.

Ryan Braun’s numbers sure look good on paper, but he’s not very good at defense, if you hadn’t noticed.

Troy Tulowitzki deserved the award.

Alex Rodriguez opted out of his contract a few days ago, and everyone is already going after him. And I mean everyone.

The Toledo Blade reported that A-Rod has an offer on the table.

Wouldn’t it be great to see A-Rod as a Mudhen?

Watching the Cubs game last night (7-2 victory, woot), Bob Brenly and Len Kasper were discussing salary bonuses for players who made the All Star team. Alfonso Soriano, the Cubs zillion dollar outfielder, gets some lofty compensation for making the mid-summer classic. Other players get a lil something extra for finishing with a certain number of Cy Young votes or above third place in the MVP race or for even winning a World Series. Brenly found this quite laughable. He made a good point, saying players are payed large somes of money based on how they’re expected to perform. Why should they get so much for accomplishing feats one would expect of them. With the money the Cubs are giving Soriano, Brenly said, it should be expected he makes the All Star team every year. It’s not like there’s a clause in his contract that he gets less if he doesn’t hit a certain number of home runs, or finishes below a certain place in MVP voting. The MLB Players Association would go nuts if that happened.

But then Brenly brought up a new point. What if every player was given a base salary and then received bonuses for their production? For example, if you’re a first year player, you earn a base salary of $350,000. If you reach certain milestones, like 15 home runs, you’re compensated extra for that. Virtually every player is competing for their team and for their salary.

Incentive laden contracts are nothing new to sports. Often a club will give a player one of these deals if their coming off a big injury. It’s safe for the organization because if the player can’t return from the injury, it doensn’t have to shell out millions for someone who didn’t produce. It’s also nice for the player because if he does well, he’ll get the pay he deserves. And the club doesn’t mind handing over the money because they’re getting a player who can perform.

The difference between these contracts and the one’s superstars get, which basically give them luxury money for good-er performance, is that many times they’re based off more tangible, more concrete production numbers, not objective ones. Contracts given to recovering players usually have incentives for plate appearances, games played, rushing or passing attempts, or minutes played. Being able to play is the incentive, not the numbers the player put up.

But what if, as Brenly said, everyone got a contract based on “production.” Then you would have to define what is production. In baseball, production is difficult to put into physical terms. Is it home runs? Strike outs? What about diving catches? Or moving a runner from second to third by hitting it to the right side? Can anyone argue that one of these is more important than the other. Home runs are instant runs, but strike outs are instant outs. Diving catches are outs and can save runs. Moving runners along can lead to runs, even if they ultimately hurt OBP and BA.

Moreover, some stats, like BA and wins, don’t give much insite into a players performance. Batting average, though one of the most sacred of statistics, doesn’t really mean anything. Ultimately, it’s how good you are at making contact and getting lucky the ball falls into a gap, not how good you are at reaching base. Wins is another category that means little. It can mean you are a good pitcher, or it can mean that your team gives you lots of run support when you pitch. Which pitcher is better? Pitcher A is 5-17 with a 3.67 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 178 strike outs and 47 walks. Pitcher B is 17-5 with a 4.89 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 178 strike outs and 108 walks. Pitcher B probably got several votes for Cy Young and will make Barry Zito money. Pitcher A is probably looking for employment and will collect Sergio Mitre dollars.

If every player in baseball was competing just to raise their salary to the next tier, the game would no longer be a team sport. Managers would become obsolete because every player would go to the plate trying to hit a home run (the most glorified feat in sports would, after all, definitely have the most lucrative incentive). Why would a player want to sacrifice bunt if it earns no money, when they could just swing for the fences and snag that extra $25,000?

The game has already been tarnished by the millions of dollars players make. But at least they’re playing with guarenteed money, or for the next contract, when GMs will evaluate a player’s overall contribution and abilities (hopefully). This keeps money out of the players head during each at bat, and makes the team’s success more important. Players who don’t hit home runs or steal a lot of bases will still be short changed, after all who would argue that Mark Ellis deserves as much money as Jose Reyes (except maybe Billy Beane). But at least Ellis is playing for the same thing as Reyes: a World Series.

Snap, it’s been a while.

You get in a funk, kind of the like the one Cubs reliever Scott Eyre is in right now, and you can’t get back on track. I’ve been in one of those since finals week and, sorry, but the Sports Blog was in a coma. Luckily, no one pulled the Terry Schiavo plug on this one. (Too soon?)

Once I stopped for finals, I just couldn’t get around to writing. Even though there’s been pleanty to rap a few words about.
So I’m gonna Rachel Ray this thing and cook up a little 30-minute blog for you. Let’s get the ball rolling again.

First, a dash of tennis.

Nadal owns Federer on clay pretty much like Brett Favre verse the Bears on the Frozen Tundra during the ’90s. I’m willing to even put it out there that Nadal let Federer beat him in the clay match leading up to French Open, just to give him that Paris Hilton-jail sentence of hope before demolishing him once again.

But as Nadal won his third straight clay title, one of the kings of grass went down. Five time Wimbledon champ Bjorn Borg had to withdraw from his first grass-court singles match in 26 years after getting bit in the leg by a dog, after trying to break up a fight between his dog and another.

Michael Vick could not be reached for comment on the incident.

Something is seriously wrong with professional athletes. As if the rush of playing in front of a zillion watchers for bazillions of dollars isn’t enough, these chumps have to steal, shoot people, go to night clubs, beat women and, oh yea, fight dogs for money. Roger Goodall has been trying to clean up the NFL, David Stern has taken a hard line with the NBA and Bud Selig don’t take no stuff from no one. When will the real authorities start cracking down on professional athletes?

Speaking of crack, Amanda Beard showed her’s (and a little more), in the July issue of Playboy magazine. Now, people are trying to turn this into a women’s rights issue, claiming the photos are demeaning to females and what the gains they have made in athletics. Does posing nude for money take away from the accomplishments Beard has made? Are her gold medals less of a statement for women’s swimming in the U.S. just because she showed her breasts after showing off her breastroke? Tom Brady has never worn his birthday suit for a publication, but if I had a dollar for every time I heard a girl say they watch football because of how hot he is (their words, not mine), I’d be able to pay for the entire swimming team to get neked for Playboy.

But why are we talking swimming? It’s the NBA Finals. It’s been pretty cute to watch. The Spurs run their basketball clinic and the Cavs try to imitate it, but, aww, they just can’t quite get there. But don’t write LeBron off yet. Get him a Scotty or a Shaq and he’ll be back. It’s amazing he got this far as it is.

Just as amazing as how far Selig will go to try to fix this steroids thing. Jason Giambi is being asked to talk with steroid investigators and legislatures about his involvement in steroids. Giambi has all but admitted to the papers that he has taken illegal substances, and now baseball is giving him the opportunity to black list everyone else. But let’s not kid ourselves. There’s only one man they want and that’s Barry Bonds. Selig wants validation for his decision to boycott the chase of the home run record, and who can blame him. Bonds single-handedly destroyed the validity of his sport, just as he’s going to demolish Hank Aaron’s historic mark.

But mark my words, the biggest travesty in baseball isn’t the steroids scandal, it’s the NL Central. More specifically the Cubs. The whole division blows, and on paper, the Cubs have three players who could hit 35+ home runs and drive in at least 100, one of the best pitchers in baseball and supposedly, a great manager. They should be at least 27 games ahead of the Brewers, especially with how their 4th and 5th pitchers, Rich Hill and Sean Marshall have been throwing. Good God.

And good grief, too. People are still talking about Tony Romo’s botched hold that led to the Cowboys’ playoff loss last season. Even Charlie Brown doesn’t care that much about all his failed field-goal attempts after Lucy yanked the ball out from under him. Every time I see a special about the difference between game used balls and kicking balls, all I hear is “Wah wah wah wah wah wah.”

There’s nothing special about this year’s U.S. Open. It looks like scores will be over par again and 80 percent of coverage will be of Tiger even though a no-name will walk home with the title.

Anywho, that’s all I got. Just know the Sports Blog is back, breathing and should be able to play long toss sometime this week.

The Tribune Company was sold to real estate mogul Sam Zell for $8.2 trillion. Zell owns parts of the Bulls and White Sox, but has already said he will try to sell the Chicago Cubs, who the Tribune Company previously owned since 1981 when they purchased it for just over $20 million.

Obviously, the Cubs are worth much more than that now. $20 million barely covers Carlos Zambrano, Alfonso Soriano, Derek Lee or Aramis Ramirez each for one season. So who has the money to buy them?

It could be Mark Cuban, though he denies interest still. Ernie Banks and Ruddie Guiliani both expressed desire in buying the storied franchise.

Who should buy the Cubs? And whoever does, will they be able to pay the ridiculous salaries Jim Hendry has signed these players for? Will the Cubs be bought by an investor or a sports guru who wants to bring a championship to Chicago?

Only time will tell.

Sources at Sports Illustrated have said that the Cubs and ace Carlos Zambrano are close to a five-year deal worth about $85 million. That’s great news for Cubs fans for the future. None of the moves made this offseason would be worth it if the Cubs couldn’t sign the only proven all star pitcher on their staff. If the deal does gets hammered out and the Cubs do sign Zambrano for five years, it will mean that the Cubs will have Zambrano, Aramis Ramirez, Derek Lee and Alfonso Soriano locked up for the next half decade. Add in Felix Pie, the Cubs top prospect who is almost ready to make the jump, along with Ronnie Cedeno, Matt Murton and Rich Hill, all young, talented players, and the Cubs could not only be built for now, but for the next few years as well.