Keeping Watch
Reasons to Stay Tuned in to Cubs

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

This season has been brutal, but Dan McNeil of The Score (670-AM) says he's still watching. Why? To track the Cubs strong rookies, including Starlin Castro, Tyler Colvin, and now Thomas Diamond. He also asks: Do you want to miss the next episode of "As the Zambrano Turns"? Exactly. McNeil is a devoted Sox fan, but he's into UFO so we'll trust his judgement. The Sun-Times points out Lou Piniella will likely end up in the Hall of Fame, and Zambrano could be gone next year. So see 'em while you can.

Chicago Tribune: The Chicago Cubs: Why I can't look away
Chicago Sun-Times: Reasons to watch Cubs

Is Next Year the Year?
Numbers Say Cubs Could Be Decent in 2011
So this season is pretty much done. But how will the team do next year? And Counting dives into the numbers and finds the Cubs might be pretty decent, at least offensively. Several Cubs were above the league average of a stat called OWn% (Offensive Winning Percentage) this year. Three Cubs were well below the average (Lee, Ramirez, Theriot), and at least one of those names won't be here next year. If those players are replaced by better players (and Theriot already has been), well, that's a start. Right?

And Counting: Half decent: Setting expectations for the 2011 Cubs (pt. I)

Please, Mr. Postman
A New Cubs Infield? Looks Possible.
Paul Sullivan busts out some strong opinions in his latest mailbag. For starters, he all but calls out Lee and Ramirez by name, saying a player who drops his bat and stands at home plate after a strikeout (i.e., Lee) or loafs back to the dugout after a popup (i.e., Ramirez) "leaves the impression the Cubs are tuned out and ready for Oct. 3." Then he says the 2012 Cubs might feature Castro at third, with Hak-Ju Lee at shortstop and a platoon of Blake DeWitt and Darwin Barney at second. Interesting.

Chicago Tribune: Paul Sullivan's Cubs mailbag

Woodn't It Be Nice
Kerry Wood Looks Back on Career, Cubs
We'll admit, we're a little ambivalent about Kerry Wood. Great Cubs career, a lot of charity work, 20 strikeouts, etc etc. But remember Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS? The Cubs had a 5-3 lead, and he couldn't hold it. Grrr.... Anyway, he's now a Yankee, and in an ESPN profile he says he nearly quit in 2007. "I was literally 30 minutes away from calling Jim Hendry to tell him I was going to retire," he says. Now, he could he win a World Series ring. Good luck, Kerry. We guess.

ESPN New York: Kerry Wood doesn't dwell on 'what-ifs'

Rags to Riches to Rags
The Tale of the Phenom Who Wasn't
Man does not live by Cubs news alone. So every now and then, we'll run a story that's worth reading on its own. Maybe it's about the Cubs, maybe not. Today's Good Read is a look at pitcher Matt Harrington, a phenom who turned down a $4.9 million signing bonus in 2000. He was drafted four more times, and each time he didn't sign. (He eventually tried out for the Cubs in 2006). Now, he changes tires at Costco. Stupid and arrogant? Or just young and confused? You might be surprised what you think.

ESPN: Dream on a Shelf

A Lakeview Post Office will be named for Steve Goodman, the late folk singer who penned "Go Cubs Go"... The Heckler says Lou Piniella will manage the rest of the year in a Tommy Bahama shirt. We love it.

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