Dawson, Piniella and trade rumors

Andre Dawson: Congrats goes out to the Hawk for being elected into the Hall of Fame. Finally.

Dawson was a true 5-tool player, with an arm in right field that could gun out anyone at any time. No particular stat jumps out at you, but when you look at all of them, you get a complete picture of the complete player he was: 438 HR, 1591 RBI, 314 SB, .279 avg.

Playing 11 years in Montreal, MLB decided Dawson would be inducted as an Expos. Dawson wanted to go in as a Cub. After all, he won his lone MVP award in 1987 on a last-place Cubs team. Of course, he also hit 49, when 49 meant something.

LOU HANGING IT UP: Earlier this week, Lou Piniella decided that at age 67, it's time to hang it up. One of only two men to rack up 1,800 hits and 1,800 wins (Joe Torre is the other), Piniella may have felt that the Cubs' window of opportunity has temporary closed.

"Sweet Lou" will forever be remembered for countless tirades, including this classic during his stint with the Cubs:




So, who will replace Piniella as Cubs manager next year? Names like Bobby Valentine, Fredi and Bob Brenly have been floating aroud. But my money is on Ryne Sandberg.

Ryno may not be the best Xs and Os guy with only four years of minor league managing experience, but he does have the Iowa Cubs in first place. And frankly, he'll excite the fan base. Ryno's a no-nonsense manager, who connects with the fans. And above all else, he's the only Hall-of-Famer managing in the minors.

Trade Talk: The second big deal of trading season shook down today as the Diamondbacks traded Dan Haren to Anaheim for Joe Saunders and minor leaguers Rafael Rodriguez and Patrick Corbin.

So, who's next? Roy Oswalt's going somewhere. My money's on St. Louis. The Detroit Tigers love Adam Dunn. There's better odds Jayson Werth is not a member of the Phillies by Thursday's deadline. Stay tuned for the latest as news happens.