It is no fun when the Cubs are losing. Whether the pressure is getting to this team or the luck they had in the begining of the season is finally wearing off or a combination of both. Ivy Chat says we should be upset at Jim Hendry at why Rey Ordonez is still on the roster, much less getting starting time. I have questioned that since day one.

So with the Cubs going down fast I scour the rumour wires to see if the Cubs are up to anything important. Sadly it is silent.

I am going to call attention again to Shannon Stewart of the Minnesota Twins. This is the problem that Minn faces with Stewart expected back after the all-star break.

Lew Ford - LF - .313 BA - 9 HR - 42 RBI
Jacque Jones - RF - .264 BA - 14 HR - 49 RBI
Torri Hunter - CF - .282 BA - 11 HR - 42 RBI

Right now Minn is interested in Miguel Batista of Toronto. Mainly because Batista will only make about 4 million per year and is a pretty good pitcher.

Minn has a decision to make on who to keep in their OF and who is expendable. And who ever is expendable they will trade for some pitching.

The main stumbling block is the 38 year old Moises Alou. I have no idea what interest he might recieve if put on the trade block. I would think that maybe the Dodgers, or San Francisco might need a veteran offensive bat down the stretch.

While Shannon Stewart is not the left handed bat we need he is the lead off hitter we desire and he is 8 years younger than Alou. And who could be upset with what Stewart brings to the table? .302 BA, .369 career OBP, and will give you about 20-30 steals a year.

With no teams really looking to give away the players we need, Jim Hendry will probably just sit on his hands and ride this sinking ship to the bottom. He can not pull off a straight up deal for talent to save his life. Playing .500 baseball like we did last year is not going to win the division this year.

And if the Cubs completly fall off the wagon in July we just might be sellers instead of buyers. I am tired of suffering through lousy play for a week or two and then the Cubs suddenly find themselves and win a few good series and then they go back to playing like crap, then suddenly win a few more series. My gut tells me this team will not get 10 games above .500 this year even if Wood and Prior suddenly find the magical groove and pitch like all-stars in the second half.

It is not throwing in the towel on my part, I am not giving up on the season, I am just coming to terms with reality right now. Unless there is a major shakeup in the offense the rest of the season looks bleak. The Cubs will taunt us with flashes of brilliance but it wont be sustained like the Cardinals success has been this season.

And as I come to the end of this rant, I came back to Rey Ordonez. If the Cubs were serious about fielding the best team possible this jack ass would still be sitting in his house waiting for some desperate team to call him. Funny thing was 29 other teams know light hitting SS's who play pretty good defense are a dime a dozen in most teams minor leagues. The Cubs apparently feel no other prospect in our minors can out perform the great Rey Ordonez and to me I find that extremly sad.

I know Rey Rey isnt the cause of our offensive problems but it certainly does not help to give him starts, much less insert him in our #2 spot in the order.

Come on Cubbies, let's get back on the wagon and get back in this division race.