Headline of the Day: "Cardinals Sign Koyie Hill"

I cannot wait for Cubs pitchers to face him for the first time. Three curves, three strikes, find some pine. Have fun Cardinals.

The hits keep coming: Cubs acquire Anthony Rizzo

It is one good trade after another so far for Theo and Jed as the Cubs trade for highly regarded 1B prospect Anthony Rizzo and pitcher Zach Cates (who?) from the Padres for former first round pick Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na. 25-year-old Cashner is a flame thrower and will be missed--but only if he can manage to stay healthy. Shoulder surgery derailed his 2011 season and his rehab was littered with setbacks.

My first reaction to this trade is wow, how did the Cubs just acquire Anthony Rizzo for only Andrew Cashner?

Heading into the 2011 season Cashner and Rizzo were pretty equally regarded, Cashner having made his Major League debut in 2010 as Baseball America's #95 overall prospect. Rizzo entered the 2011 season as BA's #75 overall prospect and also made it to majors, but was demoted after a horrendous showing of .141/.281/.242 in 153 AB. While this is obviously terrible, it is a small sample size for a 21-year-old in his first big league exposure. Rizzo went on to tear up triple-A to the tune of .331/.404/.652 and his stock looked to be sky high heading into 2012.

While Andrew Cashner has star potential, clearly so does Rizzo who was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Adrian Gonzalez to Boston a year ago. With Cashner's injury and Rizzo's dominance at triple-A this looks like a small price to pay for Theo and Jed as they continue to rebuild the Cubs with one solid trade after another. The previous trades leading up to this all look to be wins for Chicago, but this trade is the huge steal in my opinion.

The pieces are falling into place, slowly but surely, as the Cubs inch closer to respectability.

So long Big Z, you were my boy, but the Cubs had no choice but to put you down like Old Yeller

According to reports, the Cubs have traded former star pitcher Carlos Zambrano, better known as the Big Z, to the Miami Marlins. The Cubs will absorb $15.5 million of the $18 million owed to Zambrano for the 2012 season. In return the Cubs receive 25-year-old Chris Volstad, a former first round pick who is arbitration eligible and under team control through 2014.

Yes, it would have been nice to receive a larger amount of salary relief in this deal. In fact, that seemed to be the whole point of trading Big Z. However, the Cubs made their current and future team better by receiving a major league quality starter in return who has his best years ahead of him.

Sadly, Z's best days are well in the rear view mirror. Volstad, on the other hand, has shown signs of improvement over the past three seasons despite what his bloated 4.59 career ERA may suggest. In addition to posting a career best xFIP of 3.64 in 2011, Volstad has steadily dropped his walks per nine innings after debuting with the Marlins in 2008:

• 2008 - 3.84 BB/9
• 2009 - 3.34 BB/9
• 2010 - 3.09 BB/9
• 2011 - 2.66 BB/9

Volstad's improved control is paired with a high rate of ground balls and a strikeout rate that has hovered around 6 K/9 but peaked at 6.36 k/9 in 2011. His ground ball profile fits quaint Wrigley Field nicely and Volstad's progressively improving K/BB ratio bodes well for his future.

Incredibly, Volstad is an even bigger dude than Zambrano, sporting a 6' 8" 233 lb frame. It seems a player with that kind of height may take a few years to perfect his delivery and improve his command. This is exactly what the Cubs witnessed with 6' 7" Sean Marshall who developed into the best left handed reliever in the league after struggling initially in the majors.

I loved the Big Z. I still do love Z and wish him well with Ozzie Guillen in Miami. From his incredible 2003 rookie season nearly powering the Cubs to their first World Series in decades, to the Gatorade cooler desolation and finally the epic moment when Zambrano threw the home plate umpire out of the game. There never was a dull moment with Carlos Zambrano and I will still proudly wear his jersey. However, this trade was necessary and improves the Cubs both in 2012 and moving forward.

Theo, you've done it again. I will sit back and enjoy the rest of your tenure with the Cubs. This is going to be fun.

Favorite Songs of 2011

Yeah, it is a little late for this list, and I am very interested to hear what 2012 has to offer. There were some impressively catchy songs released this year, but the offering as a whole was a little lacking in depth compared to previous years. A songs list is also just so difficult to finalize because songs are constantly being shifted. Really, a list like this should probably never be made, as music is meant to fit certain moods with one song sounding amazing in a certain setting, and out of place in another. For some reason though, year end lists seem to be built into our DNA. They're also just fun to make. So without any more rambling, here are my favorite songs of 2011.

1. Radiohead – Separator
2. Cut Copy – Need You Now
3. M83 – Steve McQueen
4. Washed Out – Amor Fati
5. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – How Can You Luv Me?
6. M83 – Midnight City
7. Panda Bear – Slow Motion
8. Cut Copy – Take Me Over
9. The War On Drugs – Come to the City
10. Yuck – Operation
11. The Antlers – No Widows
12. Hooray For Earth – Sails
13. Panda Bear – Alsatian Darn
14. Phantogram – Make a Fist
15. Radiohead – Codex
16. Gold Panda – Marriage (Star Slinger Remix)
17. 1, 2, 3 – Riding Coach
18. Cults – You Know What I Mean
19. Blood Diamonds – Grins
20. Twin Sister – Bad Street

Why I love Brandon Morrow moving forward

The former fifth overall pick of the 2006 draft, Brandon Morrow has not exactly delivered on the promise of his 2010 season thus far. His underlying statistics, however, tell a different story.

Terrible Headline of the Day

It's not easy to criticize a headline, because as soon as one does then his or her own headlines are under scrutiny. For me this really does not matter. I don't worry too much about headlines because I assume no one actually reads this blog. So whenever I see a terrible headline, I'm going to share it.

Today's headline comes from MLB.com:

''Gonzalez: Tight races could portend close finishes''

Not only is this brain dead obvious, it's insulting.

Can Brett Lawrie be the next David Wright?

It sure looks like it. Then again I thought Gordon Beckham was the next Chase Utley...