Lewis? You have to be joking.

Fontenot came up when Walker was injured because he was the only other LHB on the 40-man roster, so it's hardly a case of anyone being 'passed over'.

Cedeno has, quite rightly, been preferred to Lewis and for good reason.

He's a SS, Lewis a 2B. He has the better glove. He has speed to burn on the basepaths. He had an excellent Spring Training, winning the Santo/Williams award for best young player in the Cubs camp.

And the lines at Iowa:

Cedeno: .340/.400/.565

Lewis: .136/.211/.173

Not, I would suggest, the toughest of choices.

There are comments by Dusty over at Cubs.com to the effect that, while he prefers his proven veterans, he realises that he's going to have to make some use of the call-ups. My guess is that. if Cedeno shows any competence, he'll cover for Neifi, should he ever be rested, and also for Hairston, Neifi moving to 2nd then.

Fontenot might get the occasional PH.

Of course, Jose Macias will prove me wrong.

All this could change quichly as Hendry and Baker are due to meet this morning to discuss the overall situation. With Nomar clearly out for a long time, they may go outwith the organisation for help.

I'm fairly certain Hendry will pull off a major trade before April is out.

For whom? Soriano? Klesko? Griffey?

For whom? Soriano? Klesko? Griffey?

I have no idea. Hendry always surprises me. I certainly didn't foresee him getting Aramis Ramirez, let alone Nomar Garciaparra. But he seems entirely willing to put together trades when the need presents itself, and as it has here, I'm sure he'll put something together.

For whom? Soriano? Klesko? Griffey?

IIRC, Royce Clayton is still a member in good standing of Dusty's Superfriend Network of mediocre futility players. If the Dbacks ever figure out that he's a waste of money and a roster spot, he could be the Cubs SS solution. That way, Dusty gets *two* Superfriends to start up the middle!!!

Now Hairston's scrappy and has potential to join Dusty's Superfriends Network in a few years, but for now he's best deployed as just a pinch runner and occasional 2B/OF start--when Jose Macias is feeling winded.

This is ridiculous. Regardless of the MI question, the Cubs need to 60-day Garciaparra NOW and bring up Ben Grieve.

I don't like Grieve at all but he's the only LH bench option the Cubs would appear to have, so I have to agree with you.

The other solution to the problem would, I suppose, be to go with Dubois abd bench Holly - he made another misplay in the 6th last night that should have cost a run. But that's not going to happen. Not when Macias was the man on deck at game's end.

So Macias WAS on deck, huh? I wondered. Let's see--he would've represented the tying run in a 4-0 game; who's more likely to hit a grand slam? Macias or Dubois?

That's more depressing than this weekend's weather forecast.

Oh, and what Andere said, although the "noise" suggests the 60 day DL move could happen pretty soon.

Nomar’s on the 15-day DL, but after some evaluation, don’t be surprised if he’s moved to the 60-day very quickly.

You're forgetting that for all Hendry's good qualities -- and there are many -- he apparently has no idea how to manage the 40 man roster.

So Macias WAS on deck, huh?

According to Joe Buck he was. The only reason to douct the veracity of his word would be that neither he nor Hrabosky broke into uncontrollable laughter.

For whom? Soriano? Klesko? Griffey?

I still say floating an offer for Placido Polanco makes sense. He's been unhappy in Philadelphia with the thought of being platooned or made into a supersub, he's a good offensive option in the MI, and he's got some SS under his belt.

He won't give you Perez's defense, but he's also unlikely to put up a .240/.260/.290 line over the next three months.

I fear, though, that any trade will be for an OF, which likely forced Hollandsworth and Dubois to the bench, and it will be an overreaction trade. One of the Cincinnati 4 is probably a good bet, and unfortunately I could see a good young pitcher going in return. It probably wouldn't be Griffey, not for a team saying that it couldn't afford to make any big free agent moves in the offseason.

So Macias WAS on deck, huh?

That's the rumor. Gotta love this bench, though:

Blanco
Dubois
Fontenot
Cedeno
Macias

It's like a spring training B-squad game. At least the constant addition of rookies serves to push Dubois up the list -- Dusty won't use him, but he won't use him over not using Fontenot and Cedeno first.

So Macias WAS on deck, huh? I wondered. Let's see--he would've represented the tying run in a 4-0 game; who's more likely to hit a grand slam? Macias or Dubois?

Dusty probably wanted to avoid one of them "rally-killing" grand slams.

Dusty probably wanted to avoid one of them "rally-killing" grand slams.

More likely that he didn't want Doobie to go all Ryno on the Cards. Then he might have had to give him some real playing time.

Soriano's probably the most likely candidate for a trade to the Cubs, since they're stocked with good pitching prospects and the Rangers need arms. I'm not sure what they'd offer the Phils for Polanco, as the Phils really need position prospects a lot more than pitchers right now.

From today's Trib:

"We realize [Cedeno] needs to play," Baker said. "We'll just go back to the drawing board and see what the best solution is. … Hopefully, the young guys play older.

"We're asking some of the young guys to do the toughest job there is in baseball—to come off the bench and play and hit. We'll just have to teach and put them on that accelerated program."

GET THEM TO PLAY OLDER! Why didn't we think of that before? This will solve a lot of problems. "You, Dubois! Play like a 33-year-old!"

Also, if coming of the bench is one of the toughest jobs, why doesn't Dusty give them an easier jog--like starting.

Barring that, teaching them seems like a good idea. Good work, Dusty.

I'm fairly certain Hendry will pull off a major trade before April is out.

Dubois for Wilson Betemit.

Dubois for Wilson Betemit.

As long as there's a follow-up trade to get an actual starting LF and force Hollandsworth to the bench. Otherwise, that doesn't make sense.

If Walker comes back pretty soon, I don't think they'll do anything major. I think they see Perez as a passable option at shortstop.

Dubois for Wilson Betemit.

I'd do backflips if JS managed to pull that off. That said, the Braves already have Dubois spiritual brother in Ryan Langerhans and won't use him even though Jordan and Mondesi are stinking it up, so I'm not getting my hopes up.

Kaz Matsui for Angel Guzman and Dubois!

That's the rumor. Gotta love this bench, though:

Blanco
Dubois
Fontenot
Cedeno
Macias

It's like a spring training B-squad game.

Who are you kidding -- that's a lineup that would finish at the bottom of the PCL.

Hey, it could be worse (from a Tribune article):

Cubs GM Jim Hendry said he has not contacted the agent for retired shortstop Barry Larkin and has no plans to do so

Oh yes, let's add a 58-year-old shortstop who hasn't played since last October. And that kind of veteran potential HOF presence would find its way into the lineup, even over the veteranitude of Neifi Perez. Talk about a rock and a hard place.

You know, with all the b!tching Cubs fans do about His Neifiness, I was pretty surprised to find out that he's batted over .360 in over 100 at bats since joining Chicago last season...

You know, with all the b!tching Cubs fans do about His Neifiness, I was pretty surprised to find out that he's batted over .360 in over 100 at bats since joining Chicago last season...

You're as shocked as the rest of us. But it's like a good skit on SNL now -- you can't really enjoy it without worrying that the show is going to start sucking royally again after the commercial break.

Until Kinsler starts playing better, I can't really see Soriano being traded. I think the Rangers don't think Derosa is an every day MI, and for good reason.

Also, the Rangers SP is in the top 3rd in the AL in quality starts. The problem has been their bullpen, which goes back to a few problems:

1. Playing 20 games in 20 days can be very, very tough on a pen
2. Almanzar wasn't with the Rangers for their first 15 or so games, and hasn't been the same (understandably) since coming off the bereavement list
3. Frank Francisco being hurt has forced their more average pitchers to pitch high leverage innings (in conjunction with #2)

So, while I would have very few problems with dealing Soriano if Kinsler picks it up in AAA, it seems unlikely at this point. Especially since Park and Chris Young each had good stats against NYY, and Astacio isn't going to get pulled any time soon after those first 3 starts.

Bringing this full circle, Dubois is rated at 2B in my OOTP league. If he has any sort of previous experience there, his defense can't be worse than Soriano's, and you know the Cubs would include him in the package without thinking twice.