In the last couple of days, I've developed a fair amount of respect for some of the players on this team. First, Carlos Zambrano is planning a return, although it's about as pointless as owning an astronaut pen. Then, as Jason previously mentioned, Michael Barrett wants to return while wielding a bulletproof cup.

Hey, it's great that a team this bad has players who are that dedicated, but enough's enough. Send Carlos home. Let Barrett rest. Players don't always know what's best for themselves, and if Dusty trots out the ol' "I let him pitch because he wanted to" excuse, then somebody should ask him if he lets his son stay up late because he "wants to."

A bit of a funny thing in today's Trib article. The Cubs used Bob Howry to close out last night's game, as Ryan Dempster has seemingly lost all ability to get the job done. The relevant part of the article:

Manager Dusty Baker, when asked about his closer for the future, said "we'll address that later. But in the meantime we're going to savor a series win. We haven't had one in a long time.

Uh, no Dusty. You won't address that later. You won't be here later. There is nobody coaching the Cubs right now who gets a say about Ryan Dempster and Bob Howry. If Howry wants the closer's job, he'll have to prove himself to the next guy, as will Dempster.

One other note for today. GROTA hero Bruce Miles wrote up a very interesting article yesterday, pointing out that the Dodgers have been successful in part because they are a disciplined team that draws walks. For those of you who don't know, Miles has agreed to an interview with us, and we will hopefully have that ready for you by the end of next week, so stay tuned.