After being out for nearly a month with a blister probem on his right index finger, on Tuesday, the Chicago Cubs activated closer Kerry Wood from the DL.

To make room for Wood on the 25-man active roster, Scott Eyre was designated for assignment. On Wednesday, Wood pitched a scoreless eighth inning, in the Cubs 11-7 win. Cubs GM Jim Hendry said Eyre cleared trade waivers, giving the Cubs 7 days to work out a deal with someone.

So last week, the Cubs placed closer Kerry Wood on the DL for the 12th time in his 10-year major league career with a blister on his throwing hand. Wood has been out since July 11 with this, and was eligible to come off today. But with the problem still lingering, Wood appears nowhere close to returning. Cubs fans can only hope that this is not a severe problem that lingers, and knowing the Cubs and their history of not being upfront and honest with injuries, this is a concern. Woody, I know I said this to you last year and you told me that everyone says it to you, but I’ll say it anyways: STAY OFF THE DL!! If we are to play deep into October, we’re going to need Woody healthy and ready to come in and close out the 9th.

Since last week, when opening bids for the Cubs were submitted, it has been learned that Tribune Co. cut the # of bids for the Cubs, Wrigley Field, and the team’s 25% stake in ComCast Sports Net Chicago down to 5 from the original 10. Among those 5 bids, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was one of them, and John Canning, considered by many to have had the inside track due to his ties to commissioner Bud Selig, was not. Additionally, it has been learned that Cuban’s bid was the highest at $1.3 Billion.

According to sources close to Canning’s group said that due to the fact Wrigley Field needs anywhere between what they estimated $300-400 million in repairs, any bid over $800 million would make the investment unprofitable, which probably explains why Canning’s group didn’t make it to round 2.

Grade A columnist Jay Mariotti, of the Chicago Sun-Times believes that Sam Zell would have rejected Canning regardless, saying:

It’s tough for Cuban to go on the record these days, particularly with me, a frequent critic of the lords [Bud Selig and Jerry Reinsdorf]. But a source close to the situation reminded me of the underlying story: “MLB can’t be involved until after the Cubs pick someone.” Meaning, Zell and Cuban could bond like long lost brothers, and Cuban’s group could bid a trillion zillion dollars for the Cubs — and it still wouldn’t matter if Bud and Jerry drive the political wedge and opt for their kind of peeps. There is a precedent, by the way. It happened in 2002, when the lords rejected the highest bid for the Boston Red Sox and went with the lower, $660-million bid of Selig’s dude, John Henry.

This might explain why Zell, in an impressive pre-emptive strike, rejected the bid of a big-clout group presumably supported by the lords. John Canning is a Selig guy, an 11 percent owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. He’s a Chicago guy, chairman of private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC. He had men influential in Reinsdorf’s world — Aon Corp. chairman and Chicago 2016 chief Patrick Ryan, Chicago sports mogul Andrew McKenna and restaurant legends Rich Melman and Larry Levy. It’s hard to believe their bid was so low that Zell buried it. But then, given the Red Sox case, can you blame him? This could have been his message to the lords — you can’t politically favor Canning if he isn’t part of the process.

Well since we know what the numbers are, Mariotti is wrong on the front that Canning’s bid wasn’t a low one. But his analysis of it is still a very thoughtful one nonetheless, seeing how Selig and JR are only interested in getting their cronies in. Additionally, when Sam Zell took the Tribune Co. private last year in a heavily leveraged $8.2 billion deal, he took in $13 billion of debt. Next year, in June 2009, Zell has to pay off $750 million of that debt. He is not interested in helping install a crony. He is interested in top dollar, and he realizes that by throwing out the crony, that task becomes a lot easier. Let’s hear a shout-out to Mr. Zell for throwing out John Canning.

At long last, the on-going sale of the Chicago Cubs has finally started, with opening bids having been submitted on Friday. According to the article, 7 groups submitted bids for the Cubs, Wrigley Field, and the Tribune Company’s 25% stake in Comcast Sports Net Chicago. Sources say Mark Cuban was one of the bidders. Experts predict that the sale will fetch over $1 billion, helping Sam Zell knock off some of the $13 billion in debt he owes on the company, in particular, a lump sum payment of $750 million that is due in June 2009. Whether or not the deal gets done by then remains to be seen, and if it goes past that, what will happen when Cuban outbids Canning, but MLB accepts Canning remains to be seen as well. My personal wishes are that this sale drags beyond June 2009, making it more likely that if Cuban is to be rejected despite having the highest bid, Zell will sue saying he is entitled to the highest bid.

So last week, the Cubs and Brewers each made trades for starting pitchers that figure to up the ante in the NL Central race, with the Beermakers acquiring ace CC Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians, and the Cubs acquiring Rich Harden from the Oakland A’s. Their additions give both teams a solid 1-2 punch in Ben Sheets and Sabathia for the Brewers, and Carlos Zambrano and Harden for the Cubs. All 4 of these pitchers are bona fide aces who are among the best in the game. For the Cubs, the only problem is if Harden can stay healthy this season. He has been on the DL 6 times in the last 4 years, all with pitching related problems. Ditto for the Brewers with Sheets, also struck with Wood and Prior Syndrome.

The Cubs should be a little concerned over Harden’s health. The timing of this deal is very fishy, that he was traded about 3 weeks before the deadline. Anyone who has read Moneyball by Michael Lewis would understand how Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane’s mind works, and this move is not consistent with that. Perhaps Beane knows something that the Cubs don’t, and tried dumping off Harden before the injury came out. If Harden makes it through 2008 in one piece, the Cubs could have a very 1-2-3 in Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, and Harden, and a solid #4 in Ted Lilly.

Ultimately, I think the Cubs will end up edging the Brewers (and Cardinals) and win the NL Central, while the Brewers will miss the playoffs, and then Sabathia will bolt town for a 9-figure contract over the winter…possibly with the Cubs.

Recently, Chicago Cubs pitcher Jason Marquis stated that he doesn’t want to have to compete for a spot in the Cubs rotation, and that he wants to be traded if he has to compete for a spot in the rotation, thinking he doesn’t have to.

“I don’t look at it that way. Like I said all along, I’m out there battling the hitters and trying to get better day by day, and if they don’t want me in the rotation here in Chicago, we’ll go from there. We’ll see what happens.”

“As much as I want to be here in Chicago, and I love it, I love the fans and the stadium, I also have a family to worry about, too. I could take my services elsewhere if that’s the case, and I could help another team in that capacity as a starter. My value doesn’t lie in the bullpen in my mind.”

All I got to say to that is, who the fuck does Jason Marquis think he is? If you don’t want to compete for a job, get out, we don’t want you. First, since when does respect trump winning. Second of all, quit acting like you’re Greg Maddux, or Roger Clemens, b/c you’re not. You got that, Will Ohman Jr.?? Geez. He pitched for Dave Duncan and Leo Mazzone, couldn’t figure it out, and he got left off the Cardinals post-season in 2006 despite all the health issues they had. Is it any wonder he sucks?? I think not.

Lou Piniella was not pleased either:

“If that’s the case, he can go somewhere else. Win a spot in the rotation, you don’t have to worry about it.

I’ve got seven starters for five spots. It’s a little bit too early to start talking about what he wants to do, or not do. I’m giving him a chance to compete and win a spot in the rotation. A little bit too early.”

And then, Piniella went on:

“You know, that galls me about Marquis, it really does,” Piniella said. “I’m not pleased with that comment at all. We’ve had a good camp over here, everybody’s getting an opportunity to go out and win a spot in the rotation. Nobody’s going to stand in your way. That’s the easy way out.”

Thank goodness Piniella came out and blasted him. If Marquis is going to be a baby like this, I don’t want him on my team. You see what happened to Will Ohman last year? That’s what’s going to happen to you, Will Ohman Jr.

What the hell is Sam Zell doing!? Why the hell is he trying to sell the name of Wrigley Field?

I’ll tell you why. Zell doesn’t give a dam about the Cubs. After all, he is a minority owner in the White Sox, which if Bud Selig realized and decided to do things legally, would make Zell sell his shares in them. But he doesn’t care. His butt buddy Jerry Reinsdorf happens to own the White Sox and said he didn’t care. Very interesting. Isn’t this a conflict of interest?

Zell is just looking to make a buck while MLB sorts out the complications of blocking out Mark Cuban and installing John Canning, a crony who will just be another extension of the Trib.

The writing is on the wall: Zell is a minority owner in the White Sox. Jerry Reinsdorf said he doesn’t care that Zell has stake in both, saying the Cubs is temporary. He happens to be the right-hand man of Bud Selig, so Selig signs off on the waiver. They like John Canning and want to install him as the owner. They are going to do whatever they can to keep Cuban out, while they install this crony who is just an extension of the Trib. So they figure, in addition to screwing over the Cubs, why not piss them off as well, and let Zell make a buck. Unless they plan on adding another 20M a year contract, this money is going into Zell’s pocket. If JR is a man of high integrity as he claims to be, then why is he sticking his nose into the whole ownership situation with the Cubs? Isn’t that a conflict of interest?

While I think what Hitler did was a horrible thing, I wouldn’t mind it had Selig, Reinsdorf and Zell died.

With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training later this week, the 2008 baseball season is just around the corner. With that in mind, it’s time to take a look at Chicago’s prospects this year.

Following the 2007 season in which the Cubs went 85-77, won the NL Central and made the playoffs for the first time since 2003, the Cubs look to make the next step as the 100-year anniversary of their last World Series title approaches and win it all. After their off-season, they are certainly in a position to contend.

With all of the heavy lifting done last off-season during the Cubs $300 million spending spree, many positions were already set on offense heading into the winter, with Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee set to provide the power in a lineup that will include newcomer Kosuke Fukudome, whoever wins the second base and shortstop battles for which Ronny Cedeno, Ryan Theriot, Eric Patterson and Mark DeRosa are battling for, and likely Felix Pie in center, and rookie Geovany Soto catching.

While the battles are not sorted out, all these players battling for a job have some amount of major league experience, and those who ultimately end up winning the starting jobs will undoubtedly make the offense better than last year. The losers will help fortify an already strong bench with Daryle Ward and Henry Blanco. The only question on offense seems to be if Fukudome can handle the transition to MLB. The Cubs certainly hope so, since they shelled out $48 million over four years for a hitter with a career batting average of .305 and an on-base percentage of .397 in Japan.

While the offense doesn’t have many question marks, the pitching does. With Bob Howry, Kerry Wood, Carlos Marmol, Steve Eyre, Michael Wurtz and a couple others, the only question mark in the pen is who will close, since Ryan Dempster is being moved to the rotation. The top three spots in the Cubs rotation are set with Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly and Rich Hill. Jason Marquis, Jon Lieber, Dempster, Sean Marshall, and a few others will fight for spots four and five. While it may seem that they are deep in the rotation, they are not. However, they should be serviceable, as they have a few bodies to eat innings and not tax the pen the way they did in 2005 and 2006.

While things are looking good over on the North Side, they aren’t so bright on the South side. Following a season in which they went 72-90 and battled for the worst record in MLB at times, just two years after winning it all, don’t expect much on the South Side.

After a season in which the offense ranked last in the major leagues in batting average and on-base percentage, the White Sox have done very little to improve the offense. Their Thome-Konerko-Dye-Crede/Pierzynski middle of the order is old and slow. 2007 was no collective slump; it was the offense showing its age. Bringing in Nick Swisher to replace Scott Podsednik is a plus, but it won’t save the team. Same with Orlando Cabrera replacing Juan Uribe. Whether Uribe or Danny Richar is their second baseman, they won’t have any major effective. Same goes for the outfield with Jerry Owens, Carlos Quintin and Brian Anderson battling for the last spot.

If Joe Crede’s back doesn’t hold up following surgery last season, Josh Fields will replace him at third. If both are healthy, however, the White Sox have already said that they will not be playing on the major league team together. They won’t play Fields in the outfield and Crede at third. If they were playing together, they could at least have a decent offense, but they don’t want to. The real reason behind this is because Joe Crede’s agent is Scott Boras, a long-time foe of owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

While the offense will continue to be anemic, don’t expect the rotation to bail out the team the way they did in 2005. Don’t even expect them to keep the team afloat. After Mark Buerhle and Javier Vazquez, the White Sox have no one.

Trading away John Garland to get Orlando Cabrera has stripped their rotation of depth. Jose Contreras is old and continuing to show that he was just a one-year wonder. Following the horrendous performances of John Danks and Gavin Floyd in 2007, the White Sox are kidding themselves if they believe Floyd and Danks can hold up the back end of the rotation.

The pen is better after signing Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink to go with Big Bobby Jenks, but with the rotation as horrible as it is, don’t expect them to have the ball with the lead very often.

The Cubs said they made their first steps towards a title in 2007, and they are poised to continue on that path. The White Sox, in the words of Kenny Williams were embarrassed by the 2007 season, and will be damned if they go through that again. Looks like they’re going to be damned once again. Look for a repeat of the 2007 baseball season in Chicago, only with better results (if you’re a Cubs fan), or worse results (if you’re a Sox fan)

John Paxson. Kenny Williams. Jim Hendry. Jerry Angelo.

What do these 4 men have in common? Aside from being GM’s of Chicago sports teams? I’ll tell you what. They all suck. None of them are any good. Angelo is a moron when it comes to constructing the Bears. Kenny Williams thinks he can build a team to win it all while being cheap. John Paxson thinks the team he’s built can contend for a title. Jim Hendry likes to acquire garbage, and when he has a chance to get rid of that garbage for something useful, he either hangs on to the player and lets him walk, or he waits until his value is so low that all other teams offer him in return is garbage. Why can’t we have competent GM’s around here!!??

Last week it was announced that Bud Selig’s contract as commissioner of MLB was extended 3 years through the 2012 season. This move was done on the heals of Capitol Hill blasting Selig for allowing this steroids problem to develop on his watch. Selig likes to brag that baseball is in a golden era with record attendance and revenue figures. Got news for you, bud: Just like steroids got the players bigger, they got the game bigger too. You wallet was on roids too. Bud Selig makes about $15M a year, all thanks to the juice. Steroids brought MLB back to life after 1994 players strike. There’s a reason Selig did nothing: His wallet was growing.

Selig did nothing about steroids until Congress forced him to act after Jose Canseco’s book Juiced came out. Bud Selig wasn’t really interested in cleaning the game up. Despite the fact that he has been grilled by Congress, Selig sleeps easily at night, because at the end of the day, he takes him $15M a year, and he and JR do it in the ass.

Speaking of JR, in regards to Selig’s extension, this ensures that the Selig-JR tag team will be around through the 2012 season. This is bad news for Cubs fans. It all but ensures that Mark Cuban will not be the next owner of the Cubs. Because MLB is so corrupt, they are going to take John Canning’s bid no matter how high Cuban’s bid is. The only hope Cuban wins is if there is a lawsuit. Before Selig was extended, there was hope that the sale would drag beyond 2009 when Selig would hack off and the new commissioner would come in and tell JR to fuck off, he only gets his one vote, but that is now gone with Selig extended. JR only has his power b/c he’s so tight with Selig.

Ladies and germs, please welcome John Canning as the new owner of the Chicago Cubs.