"And Now, The End Is Near.."

Or so it might seem after this item about Kerry Wood having a torn rotator cuff wihch says that he is through for the season, and possibly his career, at least as a Cub. As much as many Cub fans like to blame Dusty Baker for Wood's downfall, I still can't blame Baker as much as I do a few others, including Wood himself. Dusty certainly has many faults and there are many reasons that the Cubs should get rid of him, but I don't think Kerry Wood's shoulder problems should be blamed on Baker as much as, say, Hendry, Rothschild or Wood himself. Anyway, I personally hope that the Cubs work out some kind of low-money, low-risk deal with Wood after throwing all that money his way the last few years, so that maybe he can salvage his career as a Cub, while letting Hendry have free agent money to get a good starter next offseason. He does at least seem like a good guy and a good teammate, if not always a healthy one.