From ESPN uber-scribe Peter Gammons:

Ideally, Cubs manager Lou Piniella would like to bat Kosuke Fukudome up at the top of the order, in the two-hole between Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee. "We still need to do a few things," says Piniella. What he'd like is a left-handed-hitting outfielder to bat fifth behind Aramis Ramirez, and, if necessary, put Fukudome in center field. Problem is, there are few outfield bats available that fit that description. The switch-hitting Milton Bradley might be one, but Texas is unlikely to move him. And after restocking the farm system last year, Rangers GM Jon Daniels would have to get a boffo deal.

Junior Griffey's name came up last year, and the Cubs think Griffey would like playing for Piniella. But Chicago will not pick up Griffey's option for the 2010 season, and Griffey is unlikely to agree to a deal without that option being guaranteed. One possibility is that Ronny Cedeno, who has swung the bat very well, could get time in center field.

Is now a good time to bring up the fact that Lou was talking about Bobby Bonds the other day? Because if you're looking for a left-handed outfielder that has some pop in his bat, you should know that Bobby has a son who is very good at baseball. And he's available as a free agent!

The opposition to this idea can probably be summed up something like this:

OMG ROIDS ROIDS ROIDS ROIDS BAD INFLUENCE ROIDS ROIDS INTEGRITY OF THE GAME ROIDS ROIDS ROIDS!

So the Cubs are probably more likely to pick Jacque Jones back up (Detroit designated him for assignment) than they are to sign Barry to a contract. I don't want to argue the moralistic issues here - mostly because I could care less about them - but I will say this. Junior Griffey is defensively useless in right field. I know, I know, he made a great catch at the wall tonight. Wee. His range as an outfielder is still on the rapid decline.

Sure, you could say the same for Bonds. But here's the difference:

Junior, 2007: .277/.372/.496

Roidy McRoids, 2007: .276/.480/.565

I'd rather have McRoids.

Gammons also says:

Another move that might come soon is that Sean Gallagher could go into the Cubs' rotation. He threw very well Sunday night in relief, he was 38-18 in his minor league career, and he had been sought by the Orioles in Brian Roberts discussions and by the Red Sox in preliminary talks about Coco Crisp, although the Cubs do not feel Crisp fits their need for a mid-lineup hitter.

Marquis is getting skipped his next turn in the rotation, putting him on the same program that Hill was on before his Iowa Vacation. The Cubs could move to a Brewers-eque 13-man pitching staff here soon, as Marshall gets stretched out to start and Eyre comes off the DL. Felix Pie would likely be the odd man out, as we apparently move one day closer to seeing Marquis play the outfield. (I forsee it happening in an eleven inning game at some point this season, I really do.) Piniella talks about Hill briefly:

Marquis is the second Cubs starter to have a start pushed back. Rich Hill was skipped over twice because of off days before being demoted to Triple-A Iowa.

"Losing Hill is a bigger blow than people think," Piniella said. "We're talking about a young pitcher who we penciled in for 15 wins or so, and 200 innings. It's not easy to replace. Let's hope he gets himself straightened out, and quickly."

The Aramis Ramirez vigil continues apace. He may be in the lineup today, but to be honest I'm starting to get a little cynical about it. Maybe it's because Mike Fontenot keeps playing. That makes me cranky.