The first order of business is the return, such as it is, of pitcher Carlos Zambrano to the team.

Zambrano has not been with his teammates since he engaged in a dugout tirade June 25 after he had just given up four runs to the White Sox in the first inning. The Cubs sent Zambrano home, suspended him and then sent him for anger-management treatment.

On Friday in Denver, Zambrano will face his teammates, apologize and then head to the bullpen. A roster move will have to be made to accommodate Zambrano. The Cubs could release veteran reliever Bob Howry, who has been hit hard of late, or they could send a young reliever, such as Brian Schlitter or Justin Berg, to the minor leagues.

On top of that,…

Sure, it’s Lee’s right to decline any trade, something the man has earned through his  “10 & 5″ rights, not to mention his no-trade clause.

However, if Lee was thinking about anyone other than himself, he would acquiesce and go to the Dodgers for another chance at the playoffs, while giving the Cubs an opportunity to land a prospect and secure some salary relief.

But no, it seems that D-Lee either doesn’t want the pressure of being in a pennant race as the new face on a winning team, or he just wants to stick it to the Cubs.

Either way, it’s a selfish move that greatly diminishes his credibility.

Now, if you think this is a sign of loyalty, think again. Being loyal would mean trying to help the team. Plus, just how loyal do you think he will be as a free agent?

Look, Lee is lucky anybody wants him with the kind of season he is having. Meanwhile, this is the second year out of the past three that Lee has stunk up the joint.

I tell you, if I was Jim Hendry, I’d sit him down and tell him to his face that if he wants to stay, fine, but he’ll be sitting on the bench while Tyler Colvin learns the position.

I wonder if that would make Lee change his mind?

Either way, it’s not just petty resentment that I am proposing; rather, it is a move that makes sense since Lee is not likely to return and the Cubs do need to find out what their options are.

Colvin should be someone they look at to replace Lee as the next Cubs first baseman, barring a trade. They have no one at the minor league level ready to take over, and Colvin has the kind of power you want at that position.

But we don’t know if he can play first base, which is why he should get the opportunity now, while the Cubs continue to sink anyway, giving Hendry a more informed opinion as he builds next year’s team.

But Hendry doens’t have the backbone to stand up to Lee this way, so he’ll probably continue to play every day and bat third in the lineup while walking away at the end of the season.

Again, it’s his right. But the Cubs should exercise their rights as well.

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This decision is made especially interesting by the fact that a handful of high profile managers have expiring contracts at the end of this season. This group, coupled with Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg and a few others, makes for an interesting pool from which to select the next Cubs skipper.

So here are eight potential managerial replacements for Sweet Lou, along with my stated odds that each one nails down the job. One thing is for sure, change is on the way on the North Side, and it will all start with the new manager.

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Some will view him as having one of the most dominating combinations of power and speed to ever play the game. Others, mostly Cubs fans, will view him as one of the biggest overpaid players in baseball history.

So, I raise the question, is Soriano a Hall of Famer?

Of course, right now, it’s too early to tell. He still has four years left in his contract, and he will be 38 years old at contract’s end.

Soriano’s  current numbers are not Hall of Fame worthy. He has a career batting average of .278, a total of 308 home runs, and 813 runs scored.

His power numbers are respectable, but nothing great.

Soriano has also stole 261 bags, hit 356 doubles, and has crossed home plate 909 times.

Soriano has about four and a half years to increase his numbers.

I project Soriano to retire with at least 350 home runs, 2,250 hits, 1,200 RBI, 1,200 runs, and 300 steals. While they may not appear to look like Hall of Fame numbers let’s dig a little deeper.

Based on my projections, he will be the seventh member of the 300-300 club. A club that includes Hall of Famers to the likes of Willie Mays, Andre Dawson Bobby Bonds.

Soriano will also be the third member of the 350-300 club and the fifth member of the 2,000-300-300 club. 

Back in 2001, Soriano won the Rookie of the Year Award with the Yankees. Along with being a seven time All-Star and won the gamems MVP honors in 2004.

Soriano’s list of accomplishments doesn’t end there.

He made the All-Star team three times as a second basemen and four times as an outfielder. He has won the Silver Slugger Award four times and has made the playoffs five times—including two trips to the Fall Classic.

More impressively, Soriano has had four seasons where he has gone 30-30.

Now, the key stay, in my opinion, that could make Soriano Hall of Fame worthy is his membership in the 40-40 club.

In the history of the game, only four players have achieved 40-40 status: Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano.

However, what do the other three members of the 40-40 club have in common?

They all have been linked to performance-enhancing drugs! If you’re linked to performance enhancing drugs, all your records should be tarnished whether or not you where using them at the time, in my opinion.

There are still lots of “ifs” and “buts” on whether or not Soriano is Hall of Fame quality.

But, if he plays four more seasons, stays healthy, and puts up average numbers, he should be able to produce along the lines of my earlier predictions.

In his prime, Soriano had the best combination of speed and power in the history of the game, and because of that, I think he deserves to go to the Hall of Fame.

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And with the Cubs always looking for the big name rather than the right choice, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if they were to get him as the skipper for 2011.

There is just one problem.

Girardi is one of the most overrated managers in all of baseball. He will not only cost the Cubs a pretty penny, but wins as well.

But he won manager of the year four years ago

He finished fourth in the division with a 78-84 overall record. Not only that, he left his bruises on a lot of young pitchers.

Scott Olson (Girardi year in italics)

2006 (22-year-old rookie a year after having an elbow injury) -180.2 IP, 4.04 era, 1.30 WHIP

2007 – 176.2 IP, 5.81 ERA, 1.76 WHIP
2008 – 201.2 IP, 4.20 ERA, 1.31 WHIP
2009 (Left shoulder surgery to end the season) – 62.2 IP, 6.03 ERA, 1.72 WHIP
2010 (Out in late May with left shoulder tightness) – 43 IP, 3.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP

Josh Johnson (Girardi year in italics)

2006 (22-year-old rookie) – 157 IP, 3.10 ERA, 1.30 WHIP

2007 (Tommy John Surgery) – 15.2 IP, 7.47 ERA, 2.43 WHIP
2008 (returns from Tommy John midseason) – 87.1 IP, 3.61 ERA, 1.35 WHIP
2009 – 209 IP, 3.23 ERA, 1.16 WHIP
2010 – 134.1 IP, 1.61 ERA, 0.97 WHIP

Ricky Nolasco (Girardi year in italics)

2006 (23-year-old rookie) – 140 IP, 4.82 ERA, 1.41 WHIP

2007 (out 75 days with right elbow inflammation) – 21.1 IP, 5.48 ERA, 1.64 WHIP
2008 – 212.1 IP, 3.52 ERA, 1.10 WHIP
2009 – 185 IP, 5.06 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
2010 – 130.1 IP, 4.35 ERA, 1.24 WHIP

Anibal Sanchez (Girardi year in italics)

2006 (22-year-old rookie) – 114.1 IP, 2.83 ERA, 1.19 WHIP

2007 (shoulder problems during spring training, demoted to AAA on May 4, surgery to repair tear in his labrum June 21) – 30 IP, 4.80 ERA, 2.07 WHIP
2008 – (returns midseason) – 51. 2 IP, 5.57 ERA, 1.57 WHIP
2009 – 86 IP, 3.87 ERA, 1.51 WHIP
2010 – 115.1 IP, 3.59 ERA, 1.44 WHIP

Dontrelle Willis (Girardi year in italics)

2003 (Rookie of the Year) – 160.2 IP, 3.30 ERA, 1.28 WHIP
2004 – 197 IP, 4.02 ERA, 1.38 WHIP
2005 – 236.1 IP, 2.63 ERA, 1.13 WHIP

2006 (24 years old) -  223.1 IP, 3.87 ERA, 1.42 WHIP

2007 – 205.1 IP, 5.17 ERA, 1.60 WHIP
2008 – 24 IP, 9.38 ERA, 2.21 WHIP
2009 – 33.2 IP, 7.49 ERA, 1.93 WHIP
2010 – 65.2 IP, 5.62 ERA, 1.95 WHIP

As a Rookie of the Year winner on a World Series winner, Dontrelle Willis pitched 160.2 innings. 

If Willis was pitching 160.2 innings, then why were Josh Johnson, Scott Olsen, and Ricky Nolasco, as 22 and 23-year-olds, pitching more or around that same level on a team that was clearly not going to win the World Series?

Notice the setbacks and injuries each of these pitchers have had in their careers and in the case of Willis and Olsen, the essential endings of their careers after Girardi wham-bam-thank-you-ma’amed them in a quest to finish fourth in the division.

The Cubs need look no further than Kerry Wood or Mark Prior to know the effects of overworking pitchers under the age of 25.

Do you want to rebuild a team with young pitching via Giradi’s managing tactics?

But he won a World Series

Is it hard to put together a lineup featuring Jorge Posada, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera, and Nick Swisher? 

Can you close your eyes and point?  You could literally be blind and make a good lineup out of that cast.

The New York Yankees went out and got Girardi not just the best talent in free agency, but in the game in the forms of Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett, while trading for Nick Swisher.

Yes, I’m sure it was hard putting up with the Alex Rodriguez mess, so Girardi put his thinking cap on and played Cody Ransom and Ramiro Pena? 

Really? 

The Yankees went 13-15 during that stint. 

I guess the Yankees forgot to buy Girardi a backup third baseman.

With all the problems that usually come with Alex Rodriguez, Girardi received a gift in the fact in 2009 Rodriguez stayed out of the spotlight and just played baseball. 

Is it really that hard to hand the ball to a healthy Sabathia, Burnett, and Andy Pettitte over and over again?  The only real decision Girardi had during the 2009 season he made a mess of, deciding between the fourth and fifth starter for the Yankees.

Girardi threw around Joba Chamberlain, Chien-Ming Wang, Phillip Hughes, Sergio Mitre, and Chad Gaudin when in reality, for the future of the Yankees, and for the best pitching staff, it clearly should have been Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. 

You do not give up on a 23-year-old like Phillip Hughes and stick him in the bullpen.  Yes, he did a fantastic job in the bullpen, but after starting 13 games three years previous in his rookie season, you give up on him after eight starts?

Seemed as though Girardi finally learned his lesson, starting Hughes in 2010 where he is 12-3 with a 4.04 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP and made the All-Star team, but beware of Girardi breaking his arm as he is on pace for 200 innings in his first year as an everyday starter. 

Hughes has never pitched more than 86 innings.

Chamberlain has never recovered with Girardi’s managing as he’s sporting a 5.95 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP in 42.1 innings out of the bullpen.

What did the Yankees do? Went out and got Girardi Javier Vazquez, since he couldn’t handle the fourth and fifth spots.

Don’t give Girardi credit for finally giving Brett Gardner playing time either. He was forced into that situation as the Yankees did not re-sign Hideki Matsui and traded Melky Cabrera for Vazquez.

Yankees made it easy for Giradi, however, by signing Curtis Granderson.

Best analyzing one can do when looking at the managing of Girardi is what he did two years ago with the New York Yankees.

What happened when the Yankees were hit with injuries to Jeter, Rodriguez, Posada, and the main horses for Girardi’s pitching staff were Mike Mussina and Pettitte?  What happened when Girardi had to do some actual managing? 

The Yankees didn’t make the playoffs for the first time since 1993, finishing with 89 wins.

In the last two seasons, he was given the perfect team under perfectly healthy circumstances and he will most likely finish with perfect results.

What managing did he actually have to do?

Girardi is just a finger that can point to the bullpen when Mariano Rivera needs to come to the rescue, and with one of the worst bullpens in baseball this season, he hasn’t been pointing to the right guys. 

That finger, however, may have another ring on it soon thanks to the All-Star Team New York Yankees.

The Cubs shouldn’t put money in his hand, however, for those purchased rings on his finger.

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On Monday, Zambrano apologized for his dugout tirade a month ago after the first inning versus the Chicago White Sox in which Zambrano felt runs were given up because of shaky defense. Gold Glover Derrek Lee took some of the heat, even though no one had a chance to catch Carlos Quentin’s home run in the left field stands.

Zambrano has been on the restricted list following a three-game suspension after the outburst.

Zambrano additionally professed his love for Chicago and for the Chicago Cubs for helping him receive therapy in the interview.

The Cubs have heard it all before.

Zambrano claimed he was trying to “fire the team up.” I’m not exactly sure how a man with a five-year, $91 million contract calling his team “horsesh*t” is really going to fire a team up, but that’s just me. 

Zambrano sat down with ESPN, aka LeBron James Sportsnet, for what I’m assuming was titled “The Tantrum.” He claimed, which Lee confirmed, that he texted Lee two days later apologizing for the incident.

I’m sure Lee took Zambrano’s “Whaadup, D-LEE? Sorry bout dat yelling thang, LOL,” very seriously.

Apparently phones are no longer used for speaking via voice to people or arranging a face-to-face of some kind.

Zambrano will have a chance to apologize to the rest of his Cubs teammates as he will return to the team Friday in Colorado. 

What Zambrano should really apologize for is completely destroying any trade value he had. In a year when the Cubs’ window has closed on the Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, Lee, and Zambrano era, and rebuilding must begin, any teams even somewhat interested in Zambrano will now have the upper hand.

Now teams know the Cubs want Zambrano out, and even though he is just 29 years old and has a career ERA of 3.58—never having had an ERA above 4.00 in a season, including last year when he had a 3.77 ERA with a 1.38 WHIP, striking out 152 batters in 169.1 innings pitched—teams will do nothing but low-ball the Cubs for him.

Teams can now argue that he is a headcase, he has a huge contract, he was moved to the bullpen this year, and the Cubs want him out.

When a team knows another team wants a player out, why would they give them a fair trade?

It’s too late to apologize, Carlos.

The trade deadline is quickly approaching, and the Cubs tried to show other teams Zambrano could be a starter again. But yet another tantrum in the life of Carlos Zambrano has cost the Cubs.

With Roy Oswalt currently the best option as a starting pitcher for playoff teams, imagine if Zambrano had turned things around.

You think the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, or Philadelphia Phillies couldn’t have used him?

He’s only 29 years old. If he only acted older than five, perhaps the Cubs could have gotten something for him.

Trading Zambrano has become just another “wait til next year” for the Chicago Cubs.

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Silva (10-4) showed the Astros his good stuff tonight; he pitched five innings yielding only one run, five hits, and one walk, and striking out four.  The Cubs’ offence and their bullpen took care of the rest.

The Astros scored first of their two runs in the bottom of the first.  Right fielder Michael Bourn reached second with a double.  He moved to third base on shortstop Angel Sanchez’s groundout and scored on a single by Lance Berkman.

The Cubs responded in the next at-bats by scoring two runs.  Center fielder Marlon Byrd drew a walk from the Astros starter, Wesley Wright (0-1), to start the second inning.  Alfonzo Soriano doubled to the right field as Byrd advanced to third.  On a 2-0 count, Geovany Soto cleared the bases by hitting a double to left field. 

They added two more runs in the third inning.  With one out, the Cubs had back-to-back hits: a double from first baseman Derrek Lee and a single third baseman Aramis Ramirez.  Byrd grounded into a fielder’s choice that drove in Lee from third base.  Byrd also crossed the plate with Soriano’s second double of the night. 

In the sixth, second baseball Ryan Theriot homered for the first time this season as he added the fifth run for the Cubs.

Catcher Goevanny Soto left the game after the sixth inning due to a foot injury.  Koyie Hill replaced him for the rest of the game.

Having thrown 90 pitches, Silva was pulled in the sixth inning when he was due up to bat.  Justin Berg, who relieved Silva, gave up the Astros’ second and last run.  Then three other Cubs relievers shut down the Astros the rest of the night.  Carlos Marmol earned his 19th save this season.

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