I'd trade Wellemeyer for either Kendrick or Gallagher straight up, especially Gallagher. Gallagher is going to be a stud, and Kendrick has potential to be the second best pitcher in the Phillies very weak rotation. Don't sell these two short. You've seen Kendrick more than me being in Philly so you could be right about him, but Gallagher is good.
The Phillies are probably the top contenders right now for Burnett though, so don't give up on your team making a move. I'd hope for a little more than Kendrick, but I'd be very happy if he somehow worked his way into the deal to the Jays.
On road to oblivion?
D-BACKS 9, CUBS 2 | With Brewers, Cards gaining, Cubs feeling the heat in unfriendly confines
<!-- Article Publish Date -->July 23, 2008
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<!-- Article By Line -->BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com
<!-- Article's First Paragraph --><!-- BlogBurst ContentStart -->PHOENIX -- Early in the season it was easily explained away by weather or the rigors of an unusual schedule, or simply the fact that it was early in the season.
But as the Cubs' massive home-road offensive disparity reaches four months -- creating more than a .340 difference in winning percentage home and away -- it is becoming a worrisome trend for a team with World Series aspirations.
''I don't know how long it can last, or how long it's going to last,'' shortstop Ryan Theriot said Tuesday even before the Cubs wilted in the desert again in a 9-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks -- the fourth time in five games, ''because I don't know the reason.''
This much is certain: It can't last much longer if the Cubs plan to achieve their goals this season, in large part because St. Louis and Milwaukee have closed fast -- with Milwaukee now just one game back.
And in larger part because the Cubs will finish the season with 16 of their final 22 games on the road -- not to mention the importance of winning on the road in October.
''We know that if we want to do what everybody's hoping and talking about, we need to play better on the road,'' said Cubs coach Alan Trammell, who won a World Series with the 1984 Detroit Tigers.
''How do you do it? You've go to win. It's easy to talk, but going into other places is never easy. The fans are against us -- even with the good support we get on the road -- but the fact is you're going into somebody else's territory.''
But, said manager Lou Piniella, ''You would think for a veteran team you would play better [on the road].''
This after his middle of the order went silent again -- leading to the fifth time in six games the Cubs have scored two runs or fewer.
The Cubs are pitching well enough on the road to win. Through 49 home games, the staff has a 3.74 ERA with opponents hitting .241; through 50 on the road, through Monday, it was 3.94, .248.
The starters have performed particularly well on this trip (2.36 ERA and averaging seven innings a start), with a 1-4 team record show for it -- because of offensive outputs of 1, 1, 0 and 2 runs in those losses.
Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Geovany Soto have combined to go just 4-for-60 (.067) during the trip -- 0-for-11 on Tuesday.
And Jim Edmonds, one of the few hitters who had done anything consistently the first four games of the trip, left early Tuesday because of a sore kneecap.
Piniella said he expected a lot more from the lineup coming out of the All-Star break. In Houston, the Cubs had what looked like favorable pitching matchups and a hitter's ballpark. In Arizona, they faced a struggling team and missed ace Brandon Webb.
''We've got time to right this thing, but we've got to start hitting,'' he said before the game. ''We're getting good pitching, and that's really encouraging, because invariably what you need is pitching down the stretch. But the fact remains that we've struggled offensively for a while. This is not new. If we'd been swinging the bats on this road trip, we'd be having a real nice trip. At the same time, things go in cycles.''
That's about the best explanation -- and source of optimism -- the Cubs seem to have as they look ahead at what figures to be a very rough road late in the season.
Alfonso Soriano should have the rust shaken off by then -- after an expected return tonight. But the road-kill problems existed even before he went on the DL in June.
''Maybe we like our own beds. Maybe the food's better at home, I don't know,'' said Theriot. ''Maybe the lighting's better. Maybe we just so happen to play worse on the road than we do at home.''
Said Lee: ''I can't explain it. I don't think guys feel different on the road or are pressing on the road more than at home. Our intensity has been extremely good these four or five games since the break. It just hasn't happened for us.''
<!-- BlogBurst ContentEnd --><!-- Start Bottom Story -->
D-BACKS 9, CUBS 2 | With Brewers, Cards gaining, Cubs feeling the heat in unfriendly confines
<!-- Article Publish Date -->July 23, 2008
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<!-- Article By Line -->BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com
<!-- Article's First Paragraph --><!-- BlogBurst ContentStart -->PHOENIX -- Early in the season it was easily explained away by weather or the rigors of an unusual schedule, or simply the fact that it was early in the season.
But as the Cubs' massive home-road offensive disparity reaches four months -- creating more than a .340 difference in winning percentage home and away -- it is becoming a worrisome trend for a team with World Series aspirations.
''I don't know how long it can last, or how long it's going to last,'' shortstop Ryan Theriot said Tuesday even before the Cubs wilted in the desert again in a 9-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks -- the fourth time in five games, ''because I don't know the reason.''
This much is certain: It can't last much longer if the Cubs plan to achieve their goals this season, in large part because St. Louis and Milwaukee have closed fast -- with Milwaukee now just one game back.
And in larger part because the Cubs will finish the season with 16 of their final 22 games on the road -- not to mention the importance of winning on the road in October.
''We know that if we want to do what everybody's hoping and talking about, we need to play better on the road,'' said Cubs coach Alan Trammell, who won a World Series with the 1984 Detroit Tigers.
''How do you do it? You've go to win. It's easy to talk, but going into other places is never easy. The fans are against us -- even with the good support we get on the road -- but the fact is you're going into somebody else's territory.''
But, said manager Lou Piniella, ''You would think for a veteran team you would play better [on the road].''
This after his middle of the order went silent again -- leading to the fifth time in six games the Cubs have scored two runs or fewer.
The Cubs are pitching well enough on the road to win. Through 49 home games, the staff has a 3.74 ERA with opponents hitting .241; through 50 on the road, through Monday, it was 3.94, .248.
The starters have performed particularly well on this trip (2.36 ERA and averaging seven innings a start), with a 1-4 team record show for it -- because of offensive outputs of 1, 1, 0 and 2 runs in those losses.
Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Geovany Soto have combined to go just 4-for-60 (.067) during the trip -- 0-for-11 on Tuesday.
And Jim Edmonds, one of the few hitters who had done anything consistently the first four games of the trip, left early Tuesday because of a sore kneecap.
Piniella said he expected a lot more from the lineup coming out of the All-Star break. In Houston, the Cubs had what looked like favorable pitching matchups and a hitter's ballpark. In Arizona, they faced a struggling team and missed ace Brandon Webb.
''We've got time to right this thing, but we've got to start hitting,'' he said before the game. ''We're getting good pitching, and that's really encouraging, because invariably what you need is pitching down the stretch. But the fact remains that we've struggled offensively for a while. This is not new. If we'd been swinging the bats on this road trip, we'd be having a real nice trip. At the same time, things go in cycles.''
That's about the best explanation -- and source of optimism -- the Cubs seem to have as they look ahead at what figures to be a very rough road late in the season.
Alfonso Soriano should have the rust shaken off by then -- after an expected return tonight. But the road-kill problems existed even before he went on the DL in June.
''Maybe we like our own beds. Maybe the food's better at home, I don't know,'' said Theriot. ''Maybe the lighting's better. Maybe we just so happen to play worse on the road than we do at home.''
Said Lee: ''I can't explain it. I don't think guys feel different on the road or are pressing on the road more than at home. Our intensity has been extremely good these four or five games since the break. It just hasn't happened for us.''
<!-- BlogBurst ContentEnd --><!-- Start Bottom Story -->
