Cubs acquire Nevin from Texas

The Cubs GM finally made a move to help bring another source of offense to the lineup. This week the team traded Jerry Hairston to the Rangers for first basemen/DH Phil Nevin. For some idiotic reason Jim Hendry goes after players who are struggling at the plate and that nobody wants. The stats prove my case. Nevin is hitting .216 in 46 games with 9 homeruns and 31 RBIs. He's batted .204 since joining the Rangers in July 2005.

Yes, Nevin can give the team some extra power, although how often will he reach base or be effective? Against the Reds earlier this week the Cubs have demonstrated their ability to drive in runs, especially with the aid from Jacque Jones. The whole focal point from the management's viewpoint should be to maintain consistency with run production. Obviously, on Wednesday this didn't happen when Zambrano had another good outing, but came up short to lose the game. Without sufficient run support for the pitching rotation the club is doomed. They can't expect to win close games by only putting up 2-3 on the board.

It took Jim Hendry over a month to make a deal. That part is okay, the problem is he fails to negotiate with buyers in the market who have the best talent available. I'm not saying Nevin won't contribute much, but the Cubs would benefit the most by having proven talent with postseason experience. The GM doesn't want to give up much in return for such a commodity. He'd rather strike weak proposals to retrieve mediocre players then watch the team slip downhill and stay there the rest of the season. The outfield alignment remains unsettled too. I hope there will dramatic changes with the team's performance in the near future.