Today on "B-Squared," Brian and Justin discuss Ted Lilly's probable final start in a Cubs uniform and where he might end up.  Ben Nicholson-Smith from mlbtraderumors.com joins in on the discussion, and also tells us what other Cubs players might be changing home ballparks shortly.  The guys also break down the contributions the youngsters Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro have made.

Read more: B-Squared July 28, 2010

On today's show we first analyzed Carlos Zambrano's 'apology' on ESPN. We talked Cubs/Astros with Dave Kaplan and Mike Meltser. Then we celebrated National Tuesday with Bedo vs. Bernfield and discussed the trade deadline, Matt Garza's no-no, and Joe Mauer's big night.

Read more: B-Squared July 27, 2010

On this Monday edition of "B-Squared," the guys dissect the Cubs frustrating loss to their St. Lou rivals and proclaim it's officially time to start looking forward to 2011 and beyond.  Are both Derrek Lee and Ted Lilly headed out of town in the next few days?  We break it down and tell you where they might land.  Also, the guys discuss the Hawk's HOF induction speech.

Read more: B-Squared July 26, 2010

D'oh.

In his Hall of Fame induction speech, Andre Dawson repeatedly mused that if you love the game of baseball enough, the game will love you back. The moment itself was proof enough to Andre of the truth of his proverb, but the Cubs-Cardinals game that followed presented a pretty convincing rebuttal.

Even though Cubs fans still get caught loving the possibility of sweeping St. Louis and hoping that things would turn a bit less hopeless, baseball has no love for Cubs fans. Every team loses. Every team goes through stretches where they leave runners stranded, watch opposing homers untie games in extras, and find new ways to turn excitement into disappointment at neck-breaking speeds. But chronic losing isn't an every now and then affair with the Cubs.

For the Cubs and their fans, losing is a way of life.

Apparently we love it. Sure, the Cubs had a date with world-champion baseball for a couple, but it's been over a century. I don't know if she's gonna call back. The Cubs and winning have been seeing other people for 102 years. I'll keep loving baseball—yes, Cubs baseball—but with all due respect to the Hawk, I expect my love to go unrequited for another century or two.

I've heard from a lot of Cubs fans who believe the Jim Hendry not-yet firing (and the fire sale that still lacks the spark The Boss told us was essential for such matters) tells you all you really need to know about the Ricketts family. There isn't consensus on what that is, but people's opinions on the matter have galvanized considerably. Here's the gist of some of the varied views:

Read more: What the Past Year Has Told Us About the Ricketts(es)

On Friday afternoon, the Chicago Blackhawks reportedly agreed on a new three-year contract for forward Bryan Bickell.

Listed at 6’4 and 225 pounds, Bickell will be one of the young power forwards fighting to replace Dustin Byfuglien on the Hawks’ roster this season. In 23 career NHL games, the 24-year-old has five goals and one assist.

With a number of forwards and Brian Campbell hurt at the beginning of the 2010 postseason, Bickell dressed for four games and had an assist while skating with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in the Nashville series.

Today on B-Squared, we discussed the Cubs vs. Cardinals rivalry and the dynamics between the fans.  We also talked about how the future of the Cardinals, both immediate and well down the line, affects the Cubs.  We broke down the dynamic of Ryne Sandberg and how he fits into the Cubs managerial search, Bedo inadvertently buring a pair of jerseys near and dear to him, and we had our weekly Fantasy Friday spot with MLB Network's Scott Spinelli.

Read more: B-Squared July 23, 2010

The name of the game is economy today, people. As I I need to economize my energy, because I don't have any. Therefore, we're having a joint headlines/game thread post. If you don't like it, you can go sit with the morans today.

It's hard to get fired up about the prospect of sweeping a team to cut their lead to 8.0 games, but the Cubs should have thought of that before they decided to score 1 run the entire month of June.

But hey, I come bearing good news this morning! Big Z had a Big Night in Iowa yesterday!

Read more: Chicago Cubs Friday Headlines: Here Come The Cards

The Chicago Blackhawks announced on Thursday afternoon that they had dealt veteran forward Marty Reasoner, acquired from Atlanta in the deal that sent Brent Sopel, Ben Eager and Dustin Byfuglien to the Thrashers, to the Florida Panthers for center Jeff Taffe.

Taffe (pronounced TAYFE) is 29 years old, and was originally the 30th overall pick in the first round of the 2000 draft, selected by the St. Louis Blues. He spent most of last season with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, where he accumulated 56 points (28G, 28A) in 61 regular season games, and added seven points (G, 6A) in seven postseason games.

He is listed at 6’3 and 215 pounds, and has 44 points (21 G, 23 A) and 40 PIM in 174 career NHL games with the Phoenix Coyotes, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers.

Most importantly, Taffe has a $550k cap number, saving the Blackhawks $600k against the cap in 2010-11.

Tribune Photo by Phil Velasquez

Let me know if this sounds familiar. The Cubs get a good starting pitching performance, leave a ton of men on base, and lose. I thought I'd heard that one before, too. Once again, Ted Lilly was the benefactor of an offense that forgets how to do much of anything except strike out when there are runners in scoring position.

Such was the case again Wednesday, as the Cubs dropped a 4-3 decision to the Houston Astros in 12 innings. One day after scoring 14 runs, the Cubs left 16 on base including 10 over the last five innings.

Might that have been the last time we'll have seen Ted in a Cubs uniform?

Read more: Chicago Cubs Thursday Headlines: Reversion to Mean Successful