Hire Jim Essian

Everyone who has watched Carlos Silva pitch or eat has gotten sick to his stomach. The pitching part continued today, as Silva gave up eight runs in the third inning to the Angels. Presumably, Aramis Ramirez just stood over at third base and laughed his ass off. For a franchise that didn't have any qualms about throwing actual, productive ... Read More

This week's Muskbox's flight was delayed due to Matt Clement weather. Fortunately, neither rain, nor sleet, nor THUNDER SNOW can keep the Muskbox down forever. The Muskbox just keeps on a-shovelin' until it piles up past your windows. I was wondering if there was any talk of giving Sean Marshall a shot at one of the two starting rotation ... Read More

Let's be honest. You're already tailgating Sunday's NFC Championship game. And I don't blame you one bit. Win or lose, there's going to be a hell of an atmosphere in Chicago and in Soldier Field. I would appreciate a Bears win as much as I appreciate your tips. Make every day clear the way to ... Read More

The Cubs traded the pride of Triton College to the Washington Nationals in exchange for three prospects. God speed, Tom Gorzelanny. I always liked you a lot better than Carlos Silva. ... Read More

Oh, baby. After the hiring of Mike Quade over Ryne Sandberg last week, I could not WAIT for this week's Muskbox. The first question does not disappoint. I haven't seen so much hand-wringing since Koyie Hill tried to grind his own coffee beans. If you're not as excited about Quade vs. Sandberg, how about a little ... Read More

Hey, gang! Skip here again. I understand that the Cubs officially took my name out of the running for their managerial opening and named Mike Quade the manager for 2011 and beyond. I, for one, would like to extend the most heartfelt congratulations to Mike. It must be nice to have that "interim" tag taken off the front ... Read More

As I'm sure you already know (and as Ned Ryerson and Pre reminded me), Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild picked up HIS contract option and will return for the 2011 season. I'm glad Rothschild is going to be back. It's pretty clear now that the idiotic way that the Cubs' pitching staff was handled in the early 2000s ... Read More

Signs appear to be pointing toward Tom Gorzelanny getting demoted to the bullpen once Carlos Zambrano returns to the rotation. Randy Wells, however, has a fair amount of experience as a reliever, he's right-handed, and he just got lit up by the Cardinals this afternoon. Fukudome! VS. Tom Gorzelanny Randy Wells ... Read More

The Cubs' 2010 assault on your brain continues. This week, the Cubs sheepishly admitted that moving Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen was a terrible idea, and that they were fools for thinking it was a wise decision in the first place. No, wait. They didn't. Lou Piniella made up some horseshit story about how he thought ... Read More

Forget the fact that the Cubs have managed to score four runs in two games against one of the worst pitching staffs in the National League. Forget the fact that last night's starter, Charlie Morton, dropped his ERA by 2.27 runs to 10.30 by pitching against your hapless Northsiders. Forget that John Grabow is getting paid $2.7M this ... Read More