THUNDERWATCH 2008

The good news? It doesn't look like Thunder Matt Murton is going to Baltimore. I hear he's a fan of The Wire, but that's about as far as his involvement with Mob Town goes.

The bad news? Apparently the Cubs are having discussions trying to trade Thunder Matt to either the Red Sox or Rangers. But the Red Sox are saying that just Murton isn't enough to pry away Coco Crisp. Texas is saying the same in regards to Marlon Byrd.

I can understand why Texas would want Murton. They need all the help they can get. But Murton seems like a terrible fit for Boston. Sure the Red Sox want a decent player for Coco Crisp, but does it really make any sense to trade him for another corner outfielder? Right now Murton is stuck behind Soriano, Pie and Fukudome (and possibly Sam Fuld). In Beantown, he'd be stuck behind JD Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury and Manny.

Then again, the Red Sox have won a few World Series in the past 100 years, so maybe they know what they're doing.

Thunder Matt went 1-3 today in a 12-6 win against the Giants. Murton could easily have gone 3-3, but he didn't want to make the rookies in camp feel bad. What a teammate!

Other Cubs notes:

- Ryan Theriot went 3-3 today, scoring 3 runs and stealing a base. As everyone knows, Spring Training success always translates to regular season success, so expect nothing less than 600 hits and 162 steals from Ryan this year.
- Mike Fontenot hit a triple and a pinch-hit 3 run bomb. Apparently today was a great day for all the French Cubs. Ryan Dempster also won the game. Sure he's Canadian, but that's close enough. By the way, can we go back to calling Fontenot and Theriot "The French Connection" even if one of them is riding the bench all season?
- Mark DeRosa underwent what is known as the "Brant Brown Procedure" today and is expected to resume baseball activities next week. What does it mean when people are set to "resume baseball activities"? Does that mean if he sat around scratching his balls and showering with 10 other grown males before then that he could hurt himself? Anyway, Thunder Matt's Saloon sends its best to Mark.