DLee Not Interested In Playing For A Contender... But We Are! BLT Demands Trade!

During an impromptu BLT meeting at an undisclosed location last night (bar), the BLT contributors were discussing Derrek Lee and his gutlessness no-trade clause. It is now a near certainty that Lee will finish the year in Chicago and then find out what a first-baseman with declining skills and no desire to win can fetch on the open market.

I can't fathom him wanting to stay. I could understand if this was year 3 or 4 of a 5-year contract. I can understand him not wanting to go to certain teams. But to not even entertain it at all? How can he want to stay, anyone with any sense should want to get out.

And that's when it hit us. DLee might want to stay but there's no reason we have to. So we decided that we were going to demand a trade ourselves. Surely there's a contending team out there that can use our skills free time to blog about their epic journey towards immortality. However, trading us could prove rather difficult considering we're all vested with our 25-2 protection (At least 25 years as a Cubs fan and 2 years with the same blog). So, we began looking into our options.

As of this morning, these are the teams that are realistically in a pennant race:

Yankees

Rays

Red Sox

White Sox

Twins

Rangers

Braves

Phillies

Reds

Cardinals

Padres

Giants

Right off the bat, the Yankees and Red Sox are eliminated. That corner of the market is pretty well covered by countless blogs and ESPN. Also, I don't do meth nor do I sleep with my cousins, so White Sox and Cardinals are out as well. I've rooted for a team led by Dusty Baker once before and let's just say it didn't turn out well. Reds are out. Phillies? Three World Series appearances in three years? I wouldn't know how to handle that...they're out.

That leaves us only half the field with the Rays, Twins, Rangers, Braves, Padres and Giants. We've submitted our list to our GM and we will hopefully hear something soon. Let us know in the comments if you have a preference, we're all in this together...

We Now Bring You The Part Of The Season Where No-Trade Clauses Bite You In The Ass...

From Tim Dierkes at mlbtraderumors.com in regards to Derrek Lee's no-trade clause:

Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee has full no-trade rights. Reporters have consulted Lee's friends for opinions on whether he'd waive them. ESPN's Jayson Stark tweeted today:

A source who has known Lee for years says it's "highly doubtful" he'd waive his full no-trade to OK any deal at this stage.

That runs counter to what Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports wrote 12 days ago:

Lee has remained noncommittal on the issue of his no-trade clause. But some friends of the Cubs first baseman said this week that they believe he would accept a deal to the right team.

Al Yellon of Bleed Cubbie Blue pointed out to me that Lee remarked a few days after Rosenthal's report, "I would bet that not one of my friends knows who Ken Rosenthal is" (Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune via Twitter).

Here's what we know for sure: first basemen aren't in huge demand, Lee's having a lousy season, and he has a hefty $4.95MM left on his contract.

Here's something else we know. Derrek Lee isn't interested in winning, no wonder he's so happy here...

Piniella Won't Manage Past This Year

Lou Piniella announced today that he will retire at the end of the season, a month and a half after everyone else already quit.

And with that, the great speculation begins. Who will coach the Cubs next season? Will it be the fan favorite Ryno? Will Brenly come out of the booth? Do the Cubs have any interest in Torre or Girardi? Will Trammell get a shot to manage again? Does anyone care?

If You Own This...Please Kill Yourself

Yes, you are seeing that correctly. That, my friends, is a Cubs visor with fake red clown hair sewn in. I'm not sure what's more offensive here? The fact that somebody actually produces these with Cubs' fans as the target audience, or the fact that the sticker below shows that they cost $10 and there was only one left!