Hail Cesar

Just to expand on one of Jim's thoughts below...

I wasn't a big fan of the Maddux-for-Izturis deal when I heard about it yesterday. But I became certain that the trade was a stinker when I saw this from our old friend Dr. Phil:

It's also hard to believe that the Los Angeles Dodgers would trade 26-year-old shortstop Cesar Izturis, a 2005 All-Star, to have Maddux for the stretch run. Credit both Maddux's stature and the deal-making skills of Jim Hendry for bringing the Cubs the best return of any of baseball's sellers at the deadline for waiver-free trades.

When the weekend's flurry of trades ended Monday, no one had done a better job getting a return on his investment than Hendry, who struck a major blow for the Cubs' uncertain future by landing Izturis. The only organization that came close was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who not coincidentally also dealt with the Dodgers.

Getting the second coming of Neifi is a "major blow" for the team's future? The word "blow" is appropriate, but not in the way Dr. Phil uses it here...

Then there's this nonsense from Mike Downey:

In one of the Cubs' smartest maneuvers of this century, they have found themselves a player who could be a fixture in Wrigley Field's infield for the next five to 10 years.

Izturis is a beauty, a gem. Stick him next to third baseman Aramis Ramirez and leave him there daily for the rest of this year. You won't be sorry. Ronny Cedeno can study him from the dugout or switch to second base. Whatever. A shortstop like this does not come along every day.

Actually, shortstops like that do come along every day. Shake the AAA tree and you can find a bunch of shortstops who can't hit...