• Bronco fans seem pretty happy with Orton.  I hold no grudges against the guy.  He’s doing exactly what we’d expect: managing games. [Predominantly Orange]
• A great analysis of how to draft in fantasy basketball taking into account the ever-difficult to gauge percentage categories. [GMTR]
• Jay Cutler series-by-series breakdown from yesterday’s game. [Jay Cutler Superstar]
• I will always link any post I find anywhere on the internet calling for the firing of Joe Morgan.  You can print that. [Sharapova's Thigh]
• The Bears are third in average ticket price at $88 a ticket.  First place? The Cowboys at $160.  That’s fun for the whole family (if you mortgage your house and sell your car). [2009 Team Marketing Report]
• The Jewish Jordan has retired.  I heard rumors he was never that great, but it was still fun to have a “Jewish” Jordan.  I guess. [BDL]
• Some girl gets Mark Grace tattooed on her back.  Apparently she is one of his many road beef.  Oh Gracie, still impressing us after all these years. [HHR]
• Is DeRosa pondering a return to the Cubbies?  Calm down guys, its just talk right now. [Tribune]
• The Packers were not at their best this week against the Bengals.  Nice. [Midwest Sports Fans]

Last week may have been the worst week the Cubs have had in 5 years.  Sure, there have been some losing teams in that period, but no one week where the wheels just came off like they did here.  The record alone– 1-6 –makes the week look better than it actually was.  Here’s a little recap of the week from hell:

Monday: The Cubs went to Atlanta for a one-game makeup.  The Braves are a decent team this year, but definitely not a team that should scare the Cubs.  The Cubbies, however, did something amazing that hasn’t been done by a Cubs team in 20 years.  They got 10 hits but scored no runs in a 9-inning game.  The last time that happened was against the Astros on August 29, 1990.  Oh and this completed a 4 game stretch for Dempster in which he was 0-2 with a 2.10 ERA.  So at least he’s not the problem.  Milton Bradley: 0-1, 1K.

Tuesday: The Cubs head to Detroit to play a 3-game set against a tough Tiger squad.  The only good thing in this game was Marmol’s 1-2-3 inning.  Gregg blew the save on a walk-off home run to Ryan Raburn and the Cubs lost a nailbiter 5-4.  Milton Bradley: 0-2, 2BBs, 1K.

Wednesday: Okay, so the Cubbies lost the opener but it was a close game.  Well they lost a close one on Wednesday too, but this time they stranded 13 runners, which makes me sort of nauseous.  Carlos Marmol was back to his walking ways, walking in a run and throwing only 7 of his 16 pitches for strikes.  Tigers won 5-3.  To this point in the week, the Cubs had scored 7 runs and left 31 men on base.  Yikes. Milton Bradley: 0-2, 3BB, 2Ks.

Thursday: Would the Cubs get swept by the Tigers?  The answer should be obvious at this point.  One thing before I get all negative about this game.  JAKE FOX!  That kid can rake.  Lou needs to get him in the lineup as soon as possible and as often as possible.  He was 3-4 with a home run and a double.  Hoffpauir also had a big home run.  The Cubbies lost, however, 6-5.  The bullpen held up alright, but Lilly gave up 6 runs which was insurmountable with this Cubs offense.  Also allegations of Soto’s marijuana use came to the front this day.  Lou admitted he’s tried pot one time, but “couldn’t tell you the difference between a steroid and reefer.” Milton Bradley: Day off.

Friday:  The Cubs headed to the South Side for a crosstown showdown with the White Sox.  This was actually the one game the Cubbies won this week, although it may have been the worst game of the week for Cubs fans.  Marmol was flat out awful.  He could not find the strike zone, or even come close.  He went 2/3 of an inning, with 2 hits, 3 walks, and 2 earned runs.  Only 10 of his 24 pitches were strikes.  Soto did homer (hell he can get high everyday if he’s going to hit like that), and Fox hit another bomb to help the Cubs overcome Marmol’s trials.  The big story, however, was Milton Bradley.  After flying out in the 6th, he expressed his anger about his struggles by doing what all Cubs seem to do, taking it out on the Gatorade cooler.  Lou had had enough though, and told Bradley to change and leave the ballpark.  Great.  Milton Bradley 0-3, 2Ks.

Saturday: Lou decided not to discipline Bradley any further, putting him back in the lineup.  He was hardly the story, though, as this game was an exciting one down to the finish.  In a game the Cubs lost 8-7, no home runs were hit by either team until Podsednik’s walk-off in the bottom of the 9th.  Marmol of course struggled, as did Marshall and Heilman (not Heilman so much, but he did give up a run).  Milton Bradley: 1-5, 1K.

Sunday: At least Zambrano made this one interesting, although its not exactly professional to bean one guy because another guy stole home on you.  Though “class” hasn’t exactly been our M.O. this season so far, Z usually takes the cake.  I would be pretty upset if I was him too.  Its got to suck to know your team won’t give you the run support you need, and that a 4-0 hole is pretty much a loss.  They ended up losing 6-0.  Oh and good news everyone, Chicago favorite Mark DeRosa, who should never have been dealt and is having a very good year in Cleveland, was traded to the Cubs arch-rival St. Louis Cardinals.  Hooray.  Milton Bradley: 0-3, 1BB, 2Ks.

What a terrible week.  Marmol is losing it, Gregg blows a key save, the offense only scores enough runs to lose, Soto smokes pot, and Bradley can’t hit anything except a Gatorade cooler.  In a battle between on-field issues and off-field issues, I’m going to have to give a split decision to off-field issues this week.  Somehow the Cubs have managed to hang around .500.  Before this last week, it felt like if they hung around long enough, eventually things would turn around.  This week definitely made me feel much worse about it, though.  Someone needs to slap Bradley and make Marmol do 100 push-ups every time he throws a ball.

• Here are two relatively new Bulls rumors.  Pick 16 and 26 for the Nets 11th pick sounds fine to me I guess.  Then this crazy Hinrich to Portland rumor that I could definitely get behind. [Yahoo Rumors] + [Blogabull]
• Dusty Baker must be kidding about not knowing his players were using steroids.  He presided over two of the best hitters (who coincidentally did steroids) of the modern baseball era.  [Bleacher Nation]
• DeRosa was good as a Cub, but does he deserve the adoration he got at Wrigley Field this weekend?  I think he did, but some clearly did not. [WV23]
• An old school high school slam dunk contest featuring Kobe Bryant and Tim Thomas.  [Pippen Ain't Easy]
• Random retro Cubs player.  I love this feature.  Hopefully we get to see some Henry Rodriguez and of course Ron Cey. [Friendly Blogfines]
• Ben Gordon talks about his situation heading into free agency. [Docksquad]
• Speaking of Ben Gordon, didn’t you find it strange that he claimed to have that ludicrous offer from Detroit?  Besides the legal implications (it is a violation of rules to make offers to free agents before the period begins July 1), I wonder what Gordon actually knows and doesn’t know about his own situation.  KD takes an interesting look at BG’s situation. [BDL]
• Baseball Players Union head Donald Fehr is resigning.  He did a lot of great things for players’ salaries and benefits, but boy did he dick up the steroid thing. [Shysterball]
• Kerry Wood looked miserable in his return to Wrigley Field.  Who cares?  I love the guy no matter what he does.  [Tribune]

The Cubs won back-to-back divisions in 2007 and 2008.  It seemed like the only thing that went wrong with the Cubs was that their hitters didn’t show up in the playoffs both times.  Otherwise they were clearly the most dominant team in their division and seemed poised to win many more divisions with solid pitching and a potent lineup.  That isn’t to say there were no question marks going into the offseason last fall, but there were no glaring holes that were cause for too much concern.

In general, the main areas that needed to be dealt with were: 1) With Fukudome falling apart last season, the Cubs needed to pick up a power-hitting right-fielder; 2) Jason Marquis had a big contract so he was going to have to go, but who would replace him in the rotation? 3) DeRosa’s contract was a bit large, would they pay him or look elsewhere for the versatility he provided? and 4) Wood’s contract was up, would Hendry let him walk and try to find a closer elsewhere (from within, Marmol, or from without, someone else) and how would the rest of the bullpen fill out?  Let’s take a look at how Hendry addressed those issues and how those decisions have played out so far this season:

1) Fukudome’s meltdown leading to the need for a power-hitting right-fielder:

Hendry had a few options this offseason in this department.  While hindsight is 20/20 and it is easy to second-guess, Hendry took an obvious risk on Milton Bradley.  His attitude issues aside (I don’t think those are a big problem), the injury history was definitely a major concern.  Hendry gave Bradley a 2 year $20 million contract with an option for a 3rd year at $10 million.  So far Bradley has hit .242/.347/.389 (BA/OBP/SLG) with 5 home runs so far this season and spent a considerable amount of time on the bench with nagging injuries.  While those numbers are not spectacular, there is still a lot of time left in the season and he has been heating up of late.  Although his power hasn’t come around completely yet, he is hitting .313 in June and his OBP of .347 for the season (.371 in June) is great by most standards.

Although its a bit early to decide if signing Bradley was a terrible decision, its not to early to look at what the other options were.  Adam Dunn and Raul Ibanez were both available.  Dunn is hitting .265/.404/.544 with 18 home runs so far.  While most people are down on Dunn for his low average and high strikeouts, its clear that he is having another monster season and the Nationals gave him essentially the same contract as Bradley got (without the 3rd year option).  Ibanez is also raking the ball, hitting .312/.371/.656 with 22 home runs.  Although he just landed on the DL this week with a strained groin, his production has been impressive as well.  Although it was impossible for Hendry to see the future, both of these guys were significantly less injury (and attitude) risks.

Grade: C-

2) Jason Marquis Out, Open Spot in the Rotation

Marquis’ contract called for a giant option for the 2009 season, so trading him was a must.  Not to say that he didn’t contribute, but he is an average pitcher and not worth the contract.  With Peavy rumors swirling, Hendry decided to stand pat and trust the guns in his farm system.  The assumption was that Marshall or Samardzija would win the spot in the rotation, with guys like Gaudin and the newly-acquired Heilman competing as well.  Marshall won the spot and performed great for the first couple of months.  When Harden went down, the Cubbies brought up Randy Wells, who has sparkled in his outings (even in the face of a severe lack of run support).  Now that Harden is back, Wells is being kept in the rotation allowing Lou to use Marshall out of the pen as another lefty.  None of these guys are Peavy, but Peavy is out for a while with an injury and Marshall/Wells have worked out beautifully.

Are the Cubs really pursuing Pedro Martinez?  Why?

Grade: A-

3) DeRosa’s Contract was $5.5 Million, Keep Him or Look Elsewhere?

Hendry decided to trade DeRosa right around New Years Eve.  Besides being a great hitting 2nd basemen, he played numerous other positions and brought invaluable versatility to the Cubs.  Hendry acquired Aaron Miles to replace him, with the assumption that Fontenot would compete for the job.  Both Miles and Fontenot have been inconsistent at best.  Miles has been just awful, hitting .202/.240/.261.  Fontenot has been better, hitting .235/.324/.390, but still far inferior to DeRosa, who has put up a line of .279/.349/.477 with 13 home runs.  The hitting isn’t the only problem however, since DeRosa’s versatility would have come in very handy.  While Hendry couldn’t have predicted Aramis Ramirez would go down for such a long stretch, things like that happen and DeRosa gives the team a  great option in case of an injury situation like the one that happened.  This move looks worse and worse everyday as the Cubs struggling offense and injury-riddled infield continue to be a problem.

Grade: D

4) Wood’s Contract was up, Re-Sign Him or Let Him Walk?  And The Rest of The Bullpen?

No one wanted to see Kerry Wood go, but with a guy like Carlos Marmol in the wings, its seemed like this could work out.  All Hendry needed to do was go out and get a good set-up man so that Marmol could move seamlessly into the closer role.  Instead he went out and got a mediocre closer and an ok middle reliever (Gregg and Heilman).  Gregg has been up and down, going through some very rough patches.  Although most people have focused on how poor he’s been, the truth is he is having a pretty decent season.  He has converted 10/12 save opportunites and his ERA is just shy of 4 (3.99).  He has 30 strikeouts in 29.1 innings.  Although he has put on a few more baserunners than any of us would like (1.43 WHIP), he hasn’t been awful.  Ironically enough, the rest of the bullpen has been the real problem, starting with Marmol and ending with Neil Cotts (thank god that guy is gone).  Marmol’s ERA is 3.77, yes, but he has blown 2 saves in 5 opportunities and given up massive amounts of walks–31 in just 30 innings.  He has been extremely streaky, putting up a 6.00 ERA in April, 1.39 in May, and 5.63 so far in June.  Heilman has a 4.50 and the rest of the bullpen is made up of AAAA-type guys or kids that aren’t quite ready for the show.  The one bright spot in the pen has been Angel Guzman, who is having a great season so far and hopefully will continue to shine.

Overall the bullpen is a mess, however, and the decision to let Woody walk is at the root of the entire problem.  There’s one thing missing in this analysis though: With Wood up on a pedestal, you would assume he is having a great season in Cleveland, right?  Wrong.  Up until May 19, his ERA was 8.31 and he was 5/8 in save opportunities.  Since then however, he has turned it around, giving up no runs and converting on 3/3 saves.  His ERA is still a bit high at 4.63, but he looks to be turning it around.  It’s tough to blame Hendry for this one, since Marmol should be better than he is, but thinking that Kevin Gregg was the answer and not doing anything else substantial to bolster the bullpen was short-sighted at best.

Grade: C-

Overall Offseason Grade: C-

Although looking within for help in the rotation has played out well for Jim Hendry, the rest of his moves (or lack thereof) were poorly planned or just poorly executed.  Milton Bradley has been a bust so far, the bullpen is a mess, and DeRosa would have plugged some serious holes in the Cubs infield.  All that negativity aside, the Cubs are still .500 and battling for the division, even with all the injuries they have sustained.  Hopefully they can turn things around in the second half of the season and make Hendry look like a genius again.

• Jake Peavy says no to the White Sox.  How embarassing. [Smells Like Mascot]
• As embarassing as a 20-0 loss?  I don’t know for sure, but the Sox had a BAD day yesterday. [Deadspin]
• The Bulls have a new GM, sort of, even though Pax is still kind of running things.  Either way, the new guy wants to keep Ben Gordon. [By The Horns] + [Sun-Times]
• Lou is getting angry and D-Lee and Soto may be the first to feel his wrath.  Get ready for the benchings. [Wrigleyville23]
• Get ready for video gambling Chicagoans, because the state senate just passed a bill legalizing it.  WOO!! [Chicago Breaking News]
• Ok Ethan, don’t get too excited, but Mark DeRosa is apparently on the trading block. [Shysterball]
• So now the City is trying to tax Bears season-ticket holders under some amusement tax.  I’m not “amused”. [BlogDown]
• Robert Horry lost his 7 championship rings.  [BDL]
• Well, at least Horry didn’t sell his rings…yet. [Chicago Breaking News]
• The Fridge is out of the hospital.  Whew. [WCG]
• The Bulls are bringing in some potential draftees to work out.  Not exactly the cream of the crop, but they are prospects I guess. [Blogabull]

• Illinois won a tough one over Minnesota last night.  Get ready for Sunday against Michigan State. [ESPN]
• Milton Bradley gets hurt in the first inning.  I know it’s just a strained quadricep, but I’m still in disbelief.  Not really.  But yeah. [Sun-Times]
• LeBron has an answer for Howard’s crazy shot, he’s going to do it underhand.  I wonder if this kind of stuff happened back in the day. [Ball Don't Lie]
• Did Sweet Lou push DeRosa out the door?  I find it hard to believe, but who knows. [Tribune]
• Half-price Bulls tickets are available for some upcoming games.  I’d pay $7 to watch Vinny act confused for 48 minutes. [Chicagoist]
• Zambrano will not be pitching in the WBC (seriously this time, I think). [Bleacher Nation]
• Looks like Thabo is making an impact on the Thunder already.  Though I don’t think giving his new teammate stitches was what they had in mind. [NBA.com]
• Kerry Wood’s back hurts.  I’m not going to laugh, but Zoner is. [Zoner Sports]