Frustration Boils Over at Not-So-Friendly Confines

The headache continued for the Cubs Friday when starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano and catcher Michael Barrett fought in the dugout and back in the clubhouse, meanwhile the Cubs fell 8-5 to the Atlanta Braves

The month of June began with a bang for the Chicago Cubs, only it was Carlos Zambrano's fist hitting Michael Barrett's face in the dugout Friday afternoon as opposed to a victory.

Losing their fifth consecutive game and ninth in their last 11 games, has the whole team in shambles. After a horrid fifth inning in which the Braves tallied five runs, Zambrano lost it. Confronting Barrett he pointed to his head as if saying, "play smart" after Barrett committed his seventh pass ball and fifth error of the year on the same play. The pass ball allowed runners to move up from second to third and the throwing error enabled the runner to score from third. Barrett responded by pointed to what seemed to be the scoreboard, and then Zambrano returned with a shot to Barrett's face as they both began to push back and forth.

Head coach Lou Pinella confirmed that the fight continued back in the clubhouse before Pinella sent both players home for the day. Barrett headed to the hospital first due to having an injured lip, but there is no word on the exact injury yet.

It seems that the Cubs simply can't get out of their own way. Zambrano was tagged for seven runs, six earned, 13 hits (a career-high) and no strikeouts (first time he hasn't recorded a strikeout after starting a game). On top of that, the Cubs gave up a total of 20 hits to the Braves, while committing two bone head errors including a ball lost in the sun to start the game by shortstop Ryan Theriot. It was yet another day filled with very few positives and many negatives from the starting pitching to the fielding.

In the post-game press conference, Pinella finally lost it at the end when asked how frustrating everything is becoming by stating he needs his players to start playing like major leaguers that can catch and run the bases or else they (Cubs organization) will bring in players that can.

In response to Pinella, I've got a few solutions to your problems. First, move Soriano to second or fifth in the line-up, second, trade Jacque Jones and bring up Felix Pie ASAP, and finally, put Ryan Theriot as the lead-off man for good.

Until these things are taken care of the Cubs will continue to struggle offensively and the frustration will heighten until Pinella as a real explosion on the field. However, at the same time you can't blame Pinella for much, the Cubs' players have been playing like complete garbage over the past two weeks and have dropped to a pathetic 22-30 overall, while falling to a dismal 10-15 at Wrigley Field.

I guess $300 million just doesn't by what it use to.

Dream World: Kobe Heading to Sweet Home Chicago?

Los Angeles Lakers' superstar Kobe Bryant demanded a trade on ESPN 1050 AM hosted by Stephen A. Smith today; however, with no control over a possible trade a lot is up in the air.

Chicago fans start dreaming and believing...the possibility of having arguably the best player in the league and a player in the same realm as Michael Jordan became a small, but nonetheless possibility Wednesday.

All the drama surrounding the Lakers came into light when Kobe discussed his anger over a Laker "insider" blaming him for the departure of Shaquille O'Neal in an article in the Los Angeles Times and how the team promised to build a contender around him. Kobe told Stephen A. Smith that Lakers' owner Jerry Buss was the one responsible for sending Shaq packing stating Buss' said, "Kobe, I am not going to re-sign Shaq. I am not about to pay him $30 million a year or $80 million over three years. No way in hell. I feel like he's getting older. His body is breaking down, and I don't want to pay that money to him when I can get value for him right now rather than wait" (ESPN.com). Later in the day, Shaquille O'Neal said he believed Kobe a thousand percent.

Furthermore, Kobe feels that the organization especially GM Mitch Kupchak has done nothing in regards to building a contender around him and instead have been rebuilding for the last three years. The three-time NBA champion stated that he even suggested going after Carlos Boozer, Jermaine O'Neal, Jason Kidd, and Ron Artest during the last three years and none of them have been fulfilled. Instead, Kobe has been forced to play with the likes of Smush Parker, Jordan Farmar, Kwame Brown, and Ronny Turiat. The only players that should start in the NBA on the Lakers are Andrew Bynum and Luke Walton.

With all this coming to fruition and Kobe demanding a trade and then backing off a bit after talking to head coach Phil Jackson, the Chicago Bulls seem like the only viable option to possibly make a trade for the superstar. The Bulls have a huge amount of young talent in the likes of Ben Gordon, Loul Deng, Chris Duhon, Tyrus Thomas, Andres Nocioni and Kirk Hinrich. It seems to me a reasonable trade would be Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni (sign and trade deal), Chris Duhon and the Bulls no. 9 overall pick this year for Kobe Bryant. The Lakers would get a scorer in Gordon, a scrappy and potential scorer in Nocioni, a solid back-up guard in Chris Duhon, and a young talent with the no. 9 pick. The Lakers also have the no. 12 pick in this year's draft and since it is such a deep pool of talent they should be able to get some nice value there.

If the Lakers come calling for Loul Deng and Ben Gordon in any trade combination the Bulls and GM John Paxson would have to shoot down any offer. Taking Deng and Gordon away would leave the Bulls without a number two scorer to support Kobe and although the Bulls would get their closer on offense they would simply lose too much.

Imagine a starting line-up of: PG Kirk Hinrich, SG Kobe Bryant, SF Loul Deng, PF Tyrus Thomas and C Ben Wallace. Now, that is a team that equals a championship!

Chicago would immediately be brought back to dominance in the East since the Jordan era ended in 1998 and have yet another Hall of Famer to lead them to multiple championships. The possibility of Kobe even leaving LA is small, but if any team has the assets to offer a trade it is the Bulls. Here's to wishing good things in Chicago since the Cubs and White Sox have given up playing any decent baseball. Basketball and football are once again taking over Chicago sports.

Take a second and close your eyes, remember the Jordan/Pippen days...now picture the Bryant/Deng days. I know it's the ultimate dream, but here's a toast to those dreams becoming a reality in 2008 and the Chicago Bulls claiming the 2008 championship!

Hunter Will Be A Major Prey This Off-Season

In the last year of his contract, Torii Hunter is hot as the summer heat

For the last ten years, Torii (TORE-ee) Hunter has been the epitome of consistency offensively and defensively for the Minnesota Twins. With his contract year in full swing, Hunter is tearing up the diamond yet again, but may reside elsewhere next year due to his high-rising contract demands on the current market and young superstars on the Twins.

Entering tonight's game, Hunter is batting .317 with 11 homers, 42 runs driven in, nine stolen bases, .350 OBP, and slugging .581. This year he is making $12 million, but could demand upwards of $75 million over five years or $60 million over four years. It's not that the Twins don't want to sign him, but it's the fact they will need to fork up major cash to keep two-time Cy-young award winner Johan Santana and reigning AL MVP Justin Morneau. Santana at age 28 has become arguably the most dominant pitcher in the majors over the last five years, but will become a free agent after the 2008 season. Justin Morneau on the other hand won't be a free agent until after the 2009 season, but with his power, consistency and clutch-hitting he will surely demand top-dollar as well. Morneau so far this year as 15 homers and 39 RBI's including two walk-off homers. With his continued improvement, come 2009 Morneau will surely demand a huge contract in comparison to his current $4.5 million one. With all those figures in mind, the historically cheap Twins will be forced to let the ever-popular Hunter go after this year.

Although neither side truly wants to go their own ways, the time has come for Hunter to move on unless the Twins pony up and pay big dollars to Hunter, Santana, and Morneau. Otherwise, the six-time Gold Glover (01'-06') will be patrolling a different centerfield next year. Hunter could collect his seventh consecutive Gold Glove with his defense thanks to yet another jaw-dropping web gem last night when he robbed White Sox slugger Jim Thome of a solo shot in the Metrodome.

If Hunter is let go without an offer by the Twins expect a lot of teams to prey on the ten-year veteran. At only 31, Hunter is still playing at an extremely high-level in all aspects of the game. On top of his amazing play, the stud centerfielder has the perfect character and work ethic needed for any ballclub. It would be a shame to see Hunter depart from Minnesota, but money issues may force the Twins' hand regardless.