Cubs stuck in rut thanks to ownership limbo

It's no news flash that the Cubs need help, and we have it on good authority that they'd take back Mark DeRosa in a heartbeat.

That's assuming Cleveland makes him available in the next few weeks.

What you can't assume is that the Cubs will have any flexibility or power to make it happen.

The problem right now is a form of paralysis at the top of the organization, where the Cubs have been operating without an owner for many months, and there is great frustration within the front office over the lack of authority given to those in charge at Wrigley Field.

The fact is that the shake-up would have extended beyond the hitting coach and to the 40-man roster already if hands weren't tied.

So while Sam Zell slows the sale of the club, and attempts to extract every dollar he can out of Tom Ricketts, the Cubs don't know from day to day what they're allowed to do and what they can even discuss.

It's unconscionable that Zell has allowed this to occur, and you can only imagine the outcry if this were New York and the Yankees. The screaming would have brought some measure of change already.

But the Cubs don't seem to have any recourse, or any idea if they'll be able to make moves between now and July 31, a frightening proposition for Cubs fans.

"It's to the point,'' said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, "where I have to start making some tough decisions and get some other people in the lineup.''

So while the offensive misery continues on the field, as it did in a 4-1 loss to the White Sox Wednesday, it's offensive that the misery of this 27-month long sale continues at Wrigley Field.

If anything good comes out of this - aside from an owner that actually cares - perhaps it will be the removal of the levels of interference between baseball operations and ownership that have been a consistent obstacle for decades.

And if Ricketts indeed gets the team, perhaps he has seen the destructive nature of those walls, and will tear them down immediately.

Danks very much

Saying he had his best stuff of the year, White Sox starter John Danks had little trouble keeping quiet a sleeping Cubs lineup.

"It's the best command I've had for awhile,'' Danks said, after allowing a run on 5 hits with no walks and 9 whiffs. "I was able to be aggressive and throw strikes and make them hit my pitch.

"They have a lot of professional hitters over there with a history of hitting. It's a potent lineup.''

Give the man high marks for being kind under the circumstances.

The forecast

The only thing colder this June than the weather in Chicago has been the Cubs' offense, but that doesn't scare White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen away from picking the North Siders to win the NL Central.

"They're gonna win that division by 10 games - at least,'' Guillen said. "They haven't even played good yet because they haven't hit, but we've played those teams and I think the Cubs are the best team.''

Guillen's assessment might not be exactly what the Cubs' division rivals want to hear.

"I don't care,'' Guillen said. "It's just my opinion.''

The comeback

Lou Piniella was asked if he would be careful with Aramis Ramirez when he returns from a shoulder injury, a laughable notion to which Piniella replied, "Yeah, we'll play him one foot from the line so he doesn't have to dive.''

The truth is there will be no protecting Ramirez from a dislocated shoulder - Piniella keeps calling it "separated'' - that will almost certainly require surgery sooner or later.

It's also the kind of injury that will leave Ramirez susceptible to the exact same problem every time he dives or extends that arm and exposes his shoulder in that fashion.

Simply put, once dislocated, it's a good bet to happen again, especially to a player who was considered fragile even before this injury.

Frankly speaking

As far as Frank Thomas dressing for the White Sox in September and batting once so that he can retire wearing a Sox uniform, Ozzie Guillen said it's up to GM Kenny Williams.

"I don't care. It's OK with me,'' Guillen said. "But that's for Kenny to decide. I think Kenny would say it's OK.

"I think Kenny has a lot of things he'd like to do for Frank when he's really done, but I don't think Frank is ready to say that yet.''

Best at-bat

Paul Konerko, in the top of the eighth, took an inside fastball and somehow forced it through the right side on a hit-and-run, sending to third Dewayne Wise, who later scored an insurance run.

Worst at-bat

Derrek Lee, in the fourth, popping out to center with runners and on first and third, no outs, and the Cubs down 2-0. The Cubs failed to score in the inning.

Global freezing

One Cubs employee on the brutal June weather, after the wind shifted at 11:05 a.m. and dropped the temperature at Wrigley Field about 20 degrees: "This would have been a perfect day for the Winter Classic.''

And finally-

White Sox radio broadcaster Ed Farmer: "If you're going to put Sammy Sosa in the Hall of Fame, why even have one?''

brozner@dailyherald.com