If the Chicago Cubs needed any reason to move into a more aggrressive trade posture, Carlos Zambrano's removal from last night's loss to the Tampa Bay Rays provided it.  He was removed in the seventh inning with right shoulder discomfort.  Fortunately for the Cubs, top-of-the-rotation starting pitchers are available in abundance this trading season.  C.C. Sabathia of the Cleveland Indians, Erik Bedard of the Seattle Mariners, and A.J. Burnett of the Toronto Blue Jays are expected to be the subject of trade rumors to every team in play-off contention and looking/needing to shore-up their starting rotations.

What makes the Zambrano injury concerns so well-timed are the statements Jays' SP A.J. Burnett recently made in the Chicago Sun-Times.  To say he wanted out of Toronto wouldn't do them justice so here they are.

"But if something were to happen and I'd have the opportunity to go to a place where baseball is breakfast, lunch, and dinner, that would be awesome. Right now, my focus is with the club, but if something like that were to happen, I'd accept it with open arms."

Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star adds more color when he reports that Burnett placed his condominium on the market at the start of the season and has tipped his cap to the Blue Jays boobirds as he left the fiedl a couple starts back.

A.J. Burnett exercising his opt-out clause and leaving two years and $24 million on the table to get an new contract is a foregone conclusion.  The only question is whether J.P. Ricciardi and the Toronto Blue Jays receive an offer that surpasses the two draft picks they would get when Burnett walks this off-season.  With an offense ranked near the bottom of the American league in Runs and SLG, the line-up needs to be bolstered to properly leverage a pitching staff ranked 3rd in the AL in ERA, 2nd in Ks and 3rd in HRs Allowed.

Can the Chicago Cubs meet the needs of the Blue Jays offense and surpass the value of the two draft picks the Jays would receive for losing Burnett?  I am not so sure.  Is Felix Pie attractive to a team locked into long-term deals with CF Vernon Wells and RF Alex Rios?  Is 2B Eric Patterson attractive to a defense-first middle infield?  Do the Jays accept demoted LHP Rich Hill?  I think the answer to these questions is a defintive "No."

Unless the Cubs are willing to deal the 2008 rookie-of-the-year front runner, Geovanny Soto, I don't think the Cubs can acquire A.J. Burnett despite his professed love to play with a team whose fans eat Cubbie baseball for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The Cubs may have the will to deal for A.J. Burnett, but I don't think they have the way.

Here are my votes in Baseball Happenings'  Rotojunkie  in-season NL voting for the Big Three Awards.  The total votes should be available later this week.

NL CY Young:
1. Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds
3. Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs

The third place vote was the hardest.  It came down to Zambrano or Tim Lincecum.  Lincecum has more strikeouts and a better ERA, but I went with Zambrano for three reasons. 1.) He has allowed just one more run in 10.2 more innings 2.) he has pitched more innings and 3.) The Cubs are in 1st place

NL MVP:
1. Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
2. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
3. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves

This strays from my general rule of selecting MVPs from play-off teams, but the leading hitters from the 1st place clubs pale in comparison to these top three.  Chase Utley, Hanley Ramirez and Derreck Lee just don't compare to the overall production of Berkman, Pujols and Jones.

NL ROY:
1. Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
2. Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta Braves
3. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

The first two choices were easy.  Soto has an OPS of .970 at a demanding defensive position, and Jurrjens is 6th in ERA as a rookie.  The final spot came down to Joey Votto and Kosuke Fukudome.  I went with Votto because his OPS is 46 points higher than Fukudome's OPS.  While the .407 OBP that Kosuke has given the Cubs is exactly what the team needed, I couldn't look past the middle-infielder-esque .420 OPS from the right fielder.

Baseball Happenings dynamic feature that draws on the collective knowledge of the blogging community to provide intelligence on which players are currently considered the leading contenders for the big three baseball awards - MVP, Cy Young and ROY - for the American and National leagues enters its 4th week.  The NL voting will be available here  . 

Here is the way I voted.  My biases for voting in the Cy Young and MVP awards lean towards those hitters and pitchers playing on contending teams.  ROY determination is not tied are strongly to his team's record, but good rookies on expected play-off contenders will get additional consideration.

NL Cy Young:

1.  Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks
2.  Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds
3.  Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs

8-0 on a 1st place team is a lock.  Coming in second is the ERA and Strikeout leader, Edinson Volquez, and closing fast is Chicago Cubs' ace Carlos Zambrano.  I'd expect Zambrano to surpass Volquez shortly, but, until then, I'll just marvel at what Volquez has accomplished.

NL MVP:
1.  Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
2.  Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
3.  Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins

Lance Berkman leads the NL with a 1.235 OPS.  Add sixe stolen bases and you get the best hitter in the NL.  Chase Utley offers a 1.089 OPS and an NL-leading 13 HRs.  He just noses out Florida Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez as a result of those HRs.  Albert Pujols just missed with his .500 OBP, bhut I can't get too excited because of the mere 7 HRs.

NL ROY:
1.  Geovanny Soto, Chicago Cubs
2.  Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago Cubs
3.  Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

Chicago Cubs' catcher Geovanny Soto takes over the top spot with a 1.003 OPS.  Teammate Kosuke Fukudome falls to second because Soto's postion and SLG outpace Kosuke's excellent .481 OBP.  Reds' 1B joey Votto noses out Braves' SP Jair Jurrjens thanks to history-making 3HR/1Sb day.  He is also drawing some walks which should serve to keep his OBP respectable.  In a weaker field, Dodgers' 3B Blake DeWitt would get more props with a slash stat line of 323/398/479 - after doing worse between Hi A & AA last season!