Roberts and The Cubs...

Well, a day after it was announced that Brian Roberts was not going to be traded -- in some parts of the media, they had a field day.

The first comes from the Baltimore Sun's Keith Van Valkenburg, someone who I strongly agree with when it comes to this issue and basically says that Roberts should have been traded.

It's pretty brutal.

It's unclear if the Orioles realize they are, in fact, allowed to trade with teams other than the Chicago Cubs, but that's between MacPhail and his Rolodex, I suppose.

Either way, watching this saga makes you feel like Roberts is in a relationship where the other person is openly shopping around for something better, flirting with other suitors and then trying to pretend that everything is fine each night when they have to come home and share the same bed.

Roberts needs to be traded, and in the coming months, I hope he is. But not for the Orioles' sake. For his own sake. Because frankly, he deserves better than this. I want to see him get as far away from the madhouse of a franchise before it's too late.

You could argue that Roberts did his share to contribute to the Greek tragedy that is the comic fall of the Orioles, admitting that he used steroids one time in 2003. I'd argue that was more likely a symptom of the toxic environment that surrounded him. Any team that would give Sidney Ponson $20 million has only itself to blame when even its smart players start making dumb decisions.

The Chicago Sun Times, Jay Mariotti takes Chicago GM Jim Hendry to town:

Not since Lyle Lovett was dumped by Julia Roberts, I safely can say, has anyone whiffed on a Roberts like Hendry. He has been eyeballing this deal for months, to the point our heads are ready to explode over the rumors, and, yet, there's still no solid reason to think a trade ever will happen. Why Hendry hasn't shifted his focus to other possible acquisitions, I haven't a clue. The Cubs still need a proven leadoff hitter, a veteran center fielder, at least one more starting pitcher and, for all we know, a healthy second baseman, a real shortstop and a closer who won't break down like Humpty Dumpty.

But Roberts and only Roberts has been on Hendry's brain. And Wednesday, the general manager's balloon was popped by a man who probably enjoys torturing the team that fired him and the fans and media who ripped him. You remember Andrew B. MacPhail, MacFail for short. He is the villain here, the ornery Oriole who wants a better package of talent than Hendry, his ex-underling at Wrigley Field, has been offering. The deal, he insists, is on life support, capable of dying Monday when Opening Day arrives for both teams.

Wow.

Like I said two days ago, both teams needed to make this trade -- not to do it for the sake of a trade -- because both teams had needs.

The Orioles need to rebuild and infuse talent, & the Cubs needed an impact player.

Only the principals know why a trade didn't happen; however, I still think the Orioles blew a golden opportunity to get what they wanted.