You are a tool, Milton Bradley. Fans aren’t booing you because you are black; they are booing you because you are BAD. And not bad as in “baaaaad,” but bad as in you suck.

Sure, you’re starting to hit now, but it’s too little, too late.

When you combine the lousy first half of the season with his crazy antics and his vitriol toward fans, you can’t help but wish the man would just go directly out of Chicago. Don’t pass Go, don’t collect the money; just get the hell out of town and never come back.

Look, are some Cubs fans racist? Of course, just like some percentage of all Americans are racist. Likewise, I’m sure there is an extremely small percentage of Cubs fans who are Satan worshipers. But don’t paint us all with that same broad brush.

It has been an equal opportunity hate-fest for jerks and lousy players in Chicago. There have been plenty of white and Hispanic players who have been ridden hard over the years at Wrigley Field. Todd Hundley…Ryan Dempster (the closer)…Sammy Sosa after the cork incident…the list goes on.

I really think there is something seriously wrong with Bradley. Waiters? He is paranoid. Meanwhile, keep in mind that even paranoids have real enemies.

Yes, we don’t like him, but it’s not because of the color of his skin. After all, the player known as “Mr. Cub” is a black man.

Whether you release him, trade him, eat his entire salary or part of it—whatever Jim Hendry has to do to admit his mistake and get Bradley the hell away from here…well, that’s just what has to be done.

I can’t envision any scenario where he comes back to the Cubs next season. Hell, he even said he “prays” that games don’t go into extra innings so that he can go home after nine innings.

I wonder if that thought occurred to Bradley when he came to bat with the tying run on base in the ninth inning on Thursday.

You feel hatred? Well, give us specific examples, or HOW ABOUT JUST SHUTTING THE HELL UP FOR A CHANGE?

I don’t know why Hendry couldn’t see what many of us Cubs fans could see with this guy, but it is what it is, and it’s time to cut bait and let this stinky fish off the hook so he can troll in someone else’s waters.

Bradley, your accusations are offensive to Cubs fans. It’s time to dispense with the politically correct talk and just man up and admit the man is a clubhouse cancer who needs to be eradicated.

The sooner the better, come to think of it.

BABIP—Batting average on balls in play: the rate at which batted balls other than home runs become hits has been mainly used to judge pitchers. That is, until the metric was improved by the creation of xBABIP, which has turned out to be a very strong predictor of future performance.

The idea is to separate skill from variance. They’ve isolated a batter’s skill at getting hits on balls in play; therefore, they can uncover players’ performances which are unlikely to be repeated.

Imagine how the Cubs GM, Jim Hendry, could use this information.

Consider a fine recent article by my B/R colleague, Tab Bamford. He rightly points out that signing Aaron Miles was a mistake.

Hendry was apparently blinded by Miles’ .317 BA and his switch-hitting ability (keep in mind that everything Hendry did this past offseason was predicated on the false assumption that we lost in the playoffs because we were too right-hand dominant).

But, if he or his staff of front office dinosaurs had bothered to check xBABIP, they would have found that Miles was among the luckiest hitters in baseball in 2008, and was very likely to regress in 2009.

Everyone made a huge deal last year over the Cubs suddenly new-found emphasis on on-base percentage. As well they should have, since OBP is such a vital statistic when measuring the offensive value of a baseball player.

Yet this emphasis has not seemed to have been fully adopted as an organizational strategy throughout the Cubs system. They continue to draft hitters with a poor batting eye, and are not focusing their efforts on developing this skill at the minor league level.

How many players like Corey Patterson and Felix Pie do we need to see before we recognize the importance of solid strike zone judgment?

It is one of the reasons that Tyler Colvin remains stuck in the minors, with a projection no greater than a fourth outfielder in the bigs. This, despite being a first round draft choice.

Even their top prospect, Josh Vitters, does not take a lot of pitches. He has a nice swing, and I like his potential, but don’t be fooled by his success at Peoria.

Vitters should have been moved up to Daytona at the start of this season. That way, he would have been playing against pitchers more his peer and his results would have been more meaningful.

This year’s first round pick, Brett Jackson, is another guy who is known for very poor strike zone judgment.

Of course, advanced metrics aren’t limited to hitting. Perhaps if Hendry had considered the available data, he would have noticed that Ryan Dempster was likely to regress to the mean of his career level, rather than continue the success he enjoyed in 2008.

Just as it is laughable to use traditional measures such as batting average and RBI as the primary determinant of a hitter’s value, it is equally moronic to gauge a pitcher’s value based on simple wins and losses.

RBI is a stat of opportunity; it measures the ability of the table setters in your lineup to get on base more than it measures an ability to drive in runs.

And, a pitchers wins and losses are highly dependent on run support.

But the Cubs under Jim Hendry’s watch have not been proponents of using sabermetrics in the way that a lot of clubs have. Heck, the Red Sox even hired the guru himself, Bill James.

Consider some of the following quotes from Hendry over the years, courtesy of Fire Joe Morgan.com:

“Nobody sets out to ignore it. Guys don’t try to have lower on-base percentages. Certain guys in our game are still great players who don’t have high, high on-base percentages.”

On-base percentage is overrated, according to Hendry. The year after he made this comment, the Cubs led the NL in OBP and won 97 games.

“Still, more importantly, you have to knock people in, knock the runs in the right way with two outs in the seventh, eighth and ninth inning.”

So, getting on base is less important than driving in runs “the right way?”

“It goes hand in hand with your experience level as much as looking at the back of a baseball card or a STATS, Inc., book on certain numbers.”

Hey, don’t be bothering Hendry with numbers.

“The game’s all about two things: scoring runs and knocking in runs, and you have to have a balance of all of it.”

Oh really, Jim, no pitching? What about run prevention; i.e., defense? Doesn’t ring a bell?

Okay, enough Hendry bashing. Those of you who read my stuff already know my feelings on the Cubs GM.

But it’s not even so much that he’s a bad GM, it’s just that it’s frustrating to hear such antiquated talk in an information age.

Numbers lie, right? Well, not if you interpret them properly and follow a balanced approach.

We’re not saying to remove the human element of the game, or to totally eliminate your gut instincts.

Just use the data, Jim. That’s all we’re asking, use the data.

Who knows, it just might save you $5 million next time, come to think of it.

-Bob Warja

But don’t fret, Cubs fans. We don’t really need a whole lot of help. In fact, our most pressing needs are to get healthy and to continue to get improved play from the big guns.

While Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley start to heat up (Soriano much more than Bradley), the Cubs also look to the return of catcher Geo Soto in the near future.

Meanwhile, the pitching adds one and subtracts one. Ryan Dempster returned to the active roster on Tuesday, but lone All-Star Ted Lilly is on the disabled list battling shoulder and knee issues.

But that doesn’t mean the Cubs are looking to add a starter. They don’t have the budget in the first place, and their farm system is barren.

Look, the reason the Cards are so active is because they need to be. The Brewers are trying to recapture the magic of last year, when the arrival of CC Sabathia led them to the playoffs.

Yet after trading young players last year, it is doubtful that they will be players for the bigger names such as Roy Halladay or Jarrod Washburn. But I do expect them to obtain a fourth or fifth starter by the deadline.

Speaking of Halladay, if he lands any place (and don’t be surprised if he stays put), it won’t be in the NL Central.

The Cards had been rumored to have had interest in the Toronto ace, but after trading Brett Wallace to obtain Matt Holliday, their only hope of acquiring “Doc” would be to include Colby Rasmus in a package, and that isn’t going to happen.

The Cardinals have landed Mark DeRosa, Julio Lugo, and Matt Holliday in recent deals and they may not be done.

But unlike last year, when the Cubs answered the Brewers’ acquisition of Sabathia by getting Rich Harden, don’t expect them to try and match any deals.

For one thing, Cubs pitching has been mostly stellar. Even the relief corps, much maligned earlier in the season, has pitched well.

For another, unless Jim Hendry can move salary, he likely can’t afford to take on a big contract. Especially now that the rumored Tigers interest in Milton Bradley turned out to be much ado about nothing.

As for the teams on the fringe of contending in the Central, the Reds are trying to move some salary, while the Astros aren’t prepared to spend.

According to The Daily Herald’s Bruce Miles, a left-handed reliever appears to top the Cubs’ priority list. Two names to keep an eye on are Washington’s Joe Beimel and Pittsburgh’s John Grabow.

But even if they stand pat, the Cubs should have enough to win this division, in my opinion.

What happens after that is a completely different matter, come to think of it.

-Bob Warja

Yes, there are other differences between the two teams. The Phillies have much more team speed, for example. And they are very successful in picking the right time to steal.

In fact, their stolen base percentage is the best in the National League at 79 percent. The Cubs are last in the NL at just 60 percent.

But the main difference, to me, is the offensive firepower that the Fightin’ bring to the table. And we saw it on display all too painfully in the 13th inning when Jayson Werth hit a walk-off homer to beat the Cubs 4-1 on Tuesday night.

You just knew that a homer would somehow decide this game. And if anyone is going to hit a home run, the odds say it was going to be Philly.

The Phillies lead the league with 130 home runs. They have four players with 20 or more long balls.

But they are not one dimensional.

They are third in OBP; sixth in batting average; first in slugging and OPS. Need I continue?

Let’s see…first in RBI, third in doubles, and perhaps most importantly, they lead the league in runs scored.

Meanwhile, the Cubs rank 13th in runs and 12th in OBP. These were two areas which they excelled in last year.

The pitching has generally been solid for the Cubbies. In fact, their team ERA is much better than the Phils. Hitters are batting a full 20 points higher against Phillies pitching than Cubs pitching.

Control has hurt the Cubs throughout the year. But it’s really been the lack of offense that has plagued the team this year.

What a difference a year makes.

Let’s face it, who scares opposing pitchers in the Cubs everyday lineup? Derrek Lee, maybe. Yet the Phillies have four or five hitters that scare the crap out of a pitcher.

Aramis Ramirez is a trooper for coming back when he easily could have hung up the spikes and had his surgery now, similar to what impending free agent Adrian Beltre did in Seattle.

But “A-Ram” looks like he won’t be ready to hit for power until he gets that shoulder fixed.

While Lou Piniella continues to work with Milton Bradley on his hitting, we can only hope that Alfonso Soriano continues to hit the ball. And a few homers would be nice as well.

At least we got him out of the lead-off role. Unfortunately, our best lead-off hitter may be playing in Iowa. A very small sample, to be sure, but there was simply no room for Sam Fuld.

I know it’s the defending champs and they are on a roll, having won 10 in a row, but two runs in 22 innings just won’t cut it.

Eventually someone is going to start winning consistently in our division, so we better get going. Let’s hope we can improve on that hittability, come to think of it.

-Bob Warja

For the Washington Nationals are a lousy team, let’s face it. But you know what? The Cubs just swept them.

And I like it.

Sure, the Nats are almost 40 games under .500. But for a disappointing team like our Cubs, any good news is welcome. And a four-game win streak certainly qualifies as good news.

Look, to be a contending team you not only need to beat the teams in your division, you also need to beat up on the also-rans.

This was an opportunity for the Cubs to get fat, and so they lined up at the baseball buffet table and ate like pigs.

And a four-game sweep tastes mighty fine, no matter who you beat.

No, this doesn’t mean that all of the Cubs woes have been solved.

We still struggle mightily to hit with runners in scoring position. We have injuries to our starting pitchers, our catcher, and our third baseman needs shoulder surgery.

But hey, you have to start somewhere. And a win streak helps build confidence, which, as Bob Brenly pointed out during Sunday’s broadcast, is so very critical.

Has anyone else noticed that Koyie Hill is doing a nice job filling in for injured Geo Soto?

He threw out the speedy Nyjer Morgan despite a good jump on Sunday. Although Hill doesn’t hit very well, he seems to get hits at the right time.

And with no true backup catcher (Jake Fox should be considered “in emergency, break glass” only), Hill is being counted on to catch every inning of every game.

His is a story of triumph over potential disaster.

According to Wikipedia, “On October 16, 2007, he was using a table saw to cut wood for a window frame. Part of the wood got caught in the saw, and the saw grabbed and his hand was in the way. The saw severed his thumb and severely cut into the other four fingers into his hand. He saved them long enough to re-attach the fingers to his hand, and after many months of therapy, was able to regain motion in his fingers.”

It’s also nice to see Alfonso Soriano heating up.

Despite a dislocated pinkie finger suffered last Thursday, Soriano hit another homer on Sunday. A very streaky hitter who has been awful since May, he can carry a team on his shoulders when hot.

Jake Fox hit his first career home run against a lefty pitcher on Sunday, too.

So what’s next for our troops? Well, they have a rough series against the defending world champs, followed by seven games at home against divisional foes.

The Cardinals embark on a seven-game road trip that also includes a visit to the Phillies. Then they come home for four against the NL-best Dodgers.

The Brewers, meanwhile, have a relatively soft schedule ahead of them.

Milwaukee faces Pittsburgh, Washington and San Diego 10 times over their next 13 games.

The Cubs don’t face the Brewers again until they travel to Miller Park on September 14th for a four-game series.

In another odd twist of scheduling fate, the Cubs don’t face the Cardinals again until they travel to St. Louis for a three-game series beginning on September 18th.

In the meantime, the Cubs will need to continue to improve upon their run production while hoping that the pitching holds up.

Ted Lilly is tentatively scheduled to bring his sore left knee to the mound Monday against Philly. I wonder how long he’ll be able to go if he does start on Monday given the condition of the knee?

The team badly needs a seven inning-plus start from someone. Over the past four games, only Rich Harden has gone longer than five innings, and his was only a six inning stint to start the Nats series.

But as long as they keep winning, we’ll take it. It may only be four games against the worst team in baseball, yet it sure beats losing, come to think of it.

-Bob Warja

For you don’t know this Ryne Sandberg. This Ryno is charging, my friends.

Ryne Sandberg, who seldom, if ever, had a thought as a Cubs player, seems to really have found his personality since ending his playing days.

First, there was the inspiring speech at his HOF ceremony, where he railed against steroid usage in MLB.

And since he has become a manager in the Cubs minor league system, Sandberg has been very vocal with his players, the media, and even the umpires.

The old version was a great player, to be sure, but dull as dishwater. Listening to him talk was like watching paint dry. Going to a yawning festival was more exciting than one of his interviews.

The Ryno you thought you knew didn’t have a strong thought to save his life.

Oh, but it seems the man has changed. In fact, the evolution of Ryne Sandberg the quiet man to Ryne Sandberg the leader who actually has something to say began with his inspiring Hall of Fame speech in 2005.

That’s where he took a stand against steroids, amidst a not-so-veiled rant against a former teammate named Sammy. It was a stirring speech.

Since then, as a manager in the Cubs system, the man has absolutely gone berserk at times. Yes, he actually does have a pulse after all.

He gets thrown out of games more often than Charles Barkley gets thrown out of bars.

He has bumped umpires; he has threatened to eat little children.

Okay, I made that last one up. But I think you get the point.

Sandberg started his minor league managerial career as manager of the Cubs’ Class A affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs, on December 5, 2006. Following the 2008 season, he was promoted to manager of the Cubs’ Double-A minor league team, the Tennessee Smokies.

In his first season as manager of the Chiefs, he took his team to the Midwest League Championship Game.

The same quiet, introverted kid from Spokane, Wash., who was ejected just twice in his 16-year playing career, was tossed five times and suspended once in his first year as a manager.

In his second year with the Chiefs, he was ejected eight times.

So far this year Sandberg has already received a three game suspension for altercations with umpires.

Still think that Ryno hasn’t changed? Well, consider what former teammate and ESPN analyst Rick Sutcliffe has to say.

“I don’t understand it,” Rick Sutcliffe told ESPN.com. “I rode with him for seven straight years to the ballpark and couldn’t get him to say a word. Now he’s getting thrown out of games? Maybe it has something to do with his hair turning gray or falling out. I’m not sure.”

That same ESPN article points to changes in his personal life as possible reasons why Sandberg feels more comfortable in his own skin.

“He’s also happy with both his personal and professional life. When Sandberg retired from the Cubs in 1994, it was a poorly kept secret that one of the reasons was his troubled marriage with his first wife. But since he married Margaret in 1995, Sandberg has been riding on cloud tops.”

According to knoxnews.com, Ryno isn’t afraid to use discipline on his players.

“I have discipline, I have accountability. I want them to be professional and respectful to the uniform, to the organization, and to the town,” he said. “There are tough consequences if they do not abide by the rules.”

Maybe we shouldn’t be all that surprised by the evolution of Ryno. Behind the scenes, teammates often said he was a quiet instigator who was known for his love of the occasional hotfoot.

Either he has changed or is putting on an act to prove to everyone that he is major league manager material. Managing the Cubs is what he so desperately wants to do next.

And he just may get his chance. One can see Lou Piniella walking away after this season, especially if the Cubs fail to make the playoffs.

At 65, Lou seems to be tiring of the media questions, the scrutiny, the failed expectations. In short, it’s just about time for Sweet Lou to go off and work for the Steinbrenners in his hometown of Tampa, Florida.

At that point, will Ryno be tapped as the next manager of our Cubbies? Well, perhaps. But it may depend on who owns the team by then.

I’m sure that Cubs TV color man Bob Brenly deserves a look. After all, he did win a World Series title as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But the former second sacker may be first in the heart of potential future team owner Tom Ricketts, who got engaged to his wife at Wrigley Field and may have a soft spot in his heart for Ryno.

But is Sandberg ready to manage in the majors? Well, is anyone ever truly ready to manage a team weighed down with the heavy burden of a century of losing?

As Dusty Baker might say, “It’s a tough gig, dude.”

We know that great players often do not make great managers or coaches in professional sports. There are many theories as to why this is so.

Perhaps it’s because they had so much talent that the game came easy to them. Maybe they didn’t spend enough time sitting on the bench talking to the manager when they were players. I think much of it is because they expect their players to have the same abilities and passion for the game as they did.

Let’s hope that if he does get the opportunity, Ryno will be the exception to the rule. I just can’t imagine Sandberg getting booed at Wrigley Field.

Then again, I can’t imagine him arguing with an umpire, either. Like Albert, this man is not a machine after all, come to think of it.

The two sides reached a sale agreement over the weekend and have forwarded the contract to Major League Baseball, according to the report.

The deal must be approved by other baseball owners. With Tribune Co. operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the sale also will need court approval.

So starts the Ricketts era for our Cubbies. But what exactly does this mean?

Well, in the short term, probably nothing.

When the Tribune first purchased the Cubs in 1981, it took two and a half months to finish the deal. While ownership approval will likely be a formality, the whole bankruptcy thing could slow things down just a bit.

And, after dropping $900 million worth of serious coin on the team (yes, I realize he has other investors), don’t expect the Cubs to be major buyers at the trade deadline even in the unlikely event that the sale is completed by then.

The Cubs have been a major success both on and off the field in recent years. Well, except for the playoffs.

But with the team drawing huge crowds every day, and the Cubs saddled with a $140 million payroll, it is very unlikely that Ricketts will give Jim Hendry a blank check to operate with.

So the real questions start with the upcoming offseason. With the ownership settled, the first issue will be whether the Hendry/Piniella team will continue its run.

On the one hand, Hendry’s teams have won two division titles (and hopefully three by then). On the other hand, he has left the team handcuffed with long-term salaries that allow for little flexibility.

With Ricketts a long-time fan who apparently got engaged at Wrigley Field, the romance of Ryne Sandberg as manager must be compelling theatre.

And who knows which advisers will be in his ear telling him what to do?

Even Mark Cuban, who many Cubs fans strongly desired to be the team’s next owner, said in his blog that he wouldn’t spend outrageously if he owned the Cubbies.

Look, Tom Ricketts may be a Cubs fan, but he is a businessman, first and foremost. And the TD Ameritrade founder didn’t get to where he is by making foolish business decisions.

Sure, we’d all love to have this sale completed immediately, leaving Hendry with unlimited funds to correct the mistakes of a regrettable offseason.

But really, how many more major moves do the Cubs need to entrust Hendry with at this point? If a top-three payroll isn’t enough to win the division, why believe that adding to that payroll would put us over the top?

The truth is, regardless of who generally manages this team, it will largely be the same next year, unless the Cubs find a taker for the likes of Soriano and/or Bradley, similar to how Hendry was able to unload Todd Hundley years ago.

But that may not be so bad after all.

True, there are a lot of “ifs” in the following statement, but if Randy Wells is the real deal, and if they can find someone (anyone) to fill in capably at the leadoff spot instead of Soriano, and if Harden (or his replacement) becomes a pitching stud, and if the bullpen gets fixed, and if…

Hey, we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. More to come. Meanwhile, it is good to know that we have an owner now.

The impact of the Ricketts family ownership is a book whose first chapter has yet to be written. Meanwhile, let’s hope the Cubs return to “owning” the division, come to think of it.

Many times on this very site I have either called for you to be traded or have expressed frustration with both your inability to hit for power as well as your seemingly nonchalant attitude.

I have said that you were indifferent; that you were sleeping through at-bats that never even came close to the numbers you displayed in 2005, when you hit .335, with 46 homers and 107 RBI.

True, you still aren’t likely to ever approach those numbers again, which raises suspicions that you were on PEDs that year.

Look, such obvious one season anomalies still perplex me. I don’t take the steroid comment back at all.

But in thinking that you were washed up? OK, I admit, I was wrong.

Apparently you do care, and you are capable of producing numbers that are meaningful.

To that, I owe you an apology.

Oh, I know you make millions so it’s hard to feel much sympathy.

But, your reputation is at stake and so I feel a need to at least acknowledge what you have done recently.

Your seven RBI on Thursday versus Milwaukee is the most since Ernie Banks in the 1960’s.

That’s significant.

You may be the only Cub to be selected for the All-Star team in St, Louis. That is following a year in which no less than eight Cubs made the team in 2008.

But it’s a sign of how things have changed. This team is not very good, but you have been good at a time when the rest of the team has gone into an offensive slumber.

I know there are lots of great first basemen, many better than you. But the Cubs have to be represented by someone, so it might as well be you.

And I admit that I never saw this coming. In fact, I had given up on you, my friend.

I knew you were still a capable defensive first baseman, yet until recently I thought that you were washed up offensively.

So I am sorry, Mr. Lee. Now keep it up or I will take this back, come to think of it.

Yours truly,

Bob Warja

Still, I found Geo’s explanation that this was “an isolated incident” to be borderline ridiculous.

Look, the WBC is a big deal to Puerto Rico. And Geo knew, in advance, that he would be tested.

Recognizing that, I feel that someone really has to be a habitual pot smoker for him to not be willing (or able) to quit long enough to pass a drug test.

Thus, whether it was the guilt of knowing that the news was going to come out, or the fact that the drug made Geo hungry enough to eat half of Puerto Rico, it obviously has affected his season.

Geo came into the season fat and looking sluggish. Now, whether due to the weight of the impending announcement off his shoulders, or perhaps some new-found sobriety, Soto is starting to hit the ball with more authority. His performance is critical for the Cubs.

Dare I say he’s “smoking” hot?

Cubs Manager Lou Piniella Admits He Smoked Dope Too

Hey, the Cubs clubhouse must be a wild place following a victory, what with all the pot heads on this team! Seriously, however, Lou’s admission that he once tried marijuana is hilarious.

Lou said it did nothing for him, which, as smokers know, is often what happens the first couple times one tries pot.

But it is still a funny visual to think of the crazy Cubs manager high on dope, isn’t it?

Should we change his nickname from “Sweet Lou” to “Sweet Leaf Lou”?

Milton Bradley Told to Take His Glove and Go Home

Finally, Lou gets some guts and does what he admits he should have done before: stand up to this idiot and take charge of his clubhouse.

This was the Lou we all thought we were getting when he was hired to replace the sleepy dude, Dusty Baker.

Look, this should be no surprise to the Cubs. Didn’t Jim Hendry say that the team was lacking fire? Well, Bradley gets angry and does his best Big Z impression and he gets tossed while Lou chuckles at Zambrano?

Well, not so fast. Apparently there is more to this story than has been reported. According to sources on the Bleed Cubbie Blue website, Bradley had words with Carlos Zambrano, and has routinely been the last player to arrive to games.

The site goes on to quote unnamed sources as indicating that writers in the other cities where Milton has played have called him “a clubhouse cancer in the truest sense of the word”.

A former teammate called Bradley “the biggest a-hole he had ever had as a teammate.”

While many of us suspected this was a marriage doomed to fail, few of us thought that Milton would struggle as badly on offense as he has.

I guess his antics are much more tolerable when the team is winning and he is hitting.

This is on you, Jim Hendry. I wish the Cubs would just release him. But that won’t happen, not with a guaranteed $30 million over three years.

Cubs Take Game One vs. White Sox

In the “my bad team is better than your bad team” series, the Cubs drew first blood. So much for momentum.

The Sox had just come off of winning a three-game series vs. the best team in baseball, while the Cubs had lost four in a row.

Yet the Cubbies walk into the Cell and edge the Sox. Yes, baseball is an unpredictable sport.

What to do with Jake Fox?

In many ways, this is a welcome problem to have. With no designated hitter in the NL, the Cubs seem to have cornered the market on players who can hit but don’t have a position.

While Fox has looked fine at third base so far, the reports are that he is brutal defensively. But we do know the man can hit AAA pitching.

We cannot get too carried away by his recent power surge because, as we learned from the hot starts of Kosuke Fukudome and the early impressions of Micah Hoffpauir, major league pitchers eventually learn to adjust.

But the early returns seem to indicate that Jake can rake. If so, I believe Lou will continue to find a spot for him, even if it’s behind the plate, where he started his career.

Mark DeRosa is Traded to the Cardinals

Sure, the trade that sent DeRosa to the Indians was awful. And sure, we’re all sorry that the Cubs couldn’t re-acquire him.

But the real salt-in-the-wound moment came when Cleveland traded the versatile DeRosa to the St. Louis Cardinals. I mean, come on, did it have to be the Cardinals?

Look, Mark isn’t an elite player, but he can play many positions, has some power (his 13 homers would be second on the current Cubs squad), and he is a stand up guy in the clubhouse.

Jim Hendry, your off-season just got worse, come to think of it.

-Bob Warja

That year, the Cubs remained in contention into September despite an offense that produced only 72 home runs.

Dave Kingman led the way with 28, but no one else ended in double digits (Bobby Murcer hit only 9 after having hit 27 the year prior).

As I watched the Cubs offense fall asleep during a 2-0 loss to the Braves on Monday, I was reminded that, despite the recent surge in offense, this year’s Cubs will have to struggle mightily for runs all season.

The Cubs failed to score despite having 13 base runners: 10 from singles and three being walks.

Sure, the return of Aramis Ramirez should help. But it may take him awhile to get his timing down. Also, there will be the question of just how healthy he will be for the remainder of the season.

This year’s club already has hit 72 homers, so it is much more powerful than the ’78 team. Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee each are on pace to hit 30 or more long balls.

The Cubs rank 27th out of 30 in runs scored (280), and 26th in batting average (.247). Interestingly, while the 2008 club led the league in on-base percentage, this year’s version ranks only 20th in OBP (.324).

In 1978, despite the woeful lack of power, that team managed to rank fifth in runs scored, with 664.

So, while last night’s game could qualify as that “Rush Street Offense”, this year’s team is more powerful, yet isn’t as adept at run production as their counterparts from 31 years ago.

Still, it was only a one game set-back.

Now the Cubs are in Detroit for a three game matchup with the first place Tigers, the Cubs’ plane having landed about 1:20 AM Eastern time.

After that, it’s on to the Cell for three against the arch rival White Sox, a series that is always emotionally draining with high intensity. Every win and loss is exaggerated, and every mistake is magnified.

Let’s hope the Cubs bring the heavy lumber, come to think of it.

-Bob Warja