SAMMY: SAYONARA SAVIOR? Local (Chicago) scribe Mike Kiley reveals Sammy Sosa is serious about trying free-agency at the end of this, his 12th season with the with the Loveable Losers. While "say it isn't so" were the first words that popped into my head, I quickly had another thought: Big Mo. Maybe the thought of a Sammyless future will be the spark that propels this team to overachieve, that inspires McPhail to go totally berserkers in acquiring talent down the stretch.

Oh, and while I'm talking Cubs, I want to get this prediction down in black and white before the season gets too old for predictions: Mark Prior will have a better year than Kerry Wood. (I hope I'm wrong, btw. I hope they both win twenty-plus and share the Cy Young.)