If anyone was alarmed by the Internet rumor posted Friday that the Bulls and Pistons are talking about turning the Ben Gordon free-agent signing into a sign-and-trade that would send Allen Iverson to the Bulls, don’t worry.

There is no chance of that happening. In fact, a team source confirmed that the Pistons have not even asked about doing a sign-and-trade for Gordon.

One reason teams might talk about such a thing is Gordon could get a sixth year on his contract if he re-signs with the Bulls and is traded to Detroit. Most people believe the approximately five-year, $55 million deal for Gordon is already above market value, so a sixth year hardly seems necessary.

Well, you can see how much pull I have around here:

Soriano, LF
Theriot, SS
Lee, 1B
Bradley, RF
Fukudome, CF
Fox, 3B
Fontenot, 2B
Hill, C
Zambrano, P

My suggestion was to start Sam Fuld in right or center and lead him off while dropping Soriano to sixth. But Lou makes out the lineup card.

"Obviously, he's done a nice job; we recognize it," Lou said of Fuld, who was on base three times last night. "Yeah, I thought about it all night. Look, I was going to put Soriano in there to play, regardless. I gave him a couple days off. I need for Alfonso to start swinging the bat. I've got all the confidence in the world in him.

"But we recognize, too, believe me, that the other young man (Fuld) has done a real nice job and that, basically, he deserves to be in the lineup, too."

When All-Star Game rosters are announced on Sunday, there is a chance only one White Sox player will make the cut.
They'll probably get two _ but starter Mark Buehrle is a lock to play in his fourth ASG after putting on another pitching clinic at Kansas City Thursday night.
The lefty pitched 8 1/3 innings and allowed only 1 run. Buehrle (8-2) is tied for sixth in the AL in wins, he's second with 116 innings pitched and sixth with a 3.09 ERA.
Selfishly, the Sox wouldn't mind if Buehrle rested over the break, but that's not going to happen. And Buehrle is probably going to get a standing ovation when he takes the mound in the July 14 All-Star Game since it's being played in his hometown (St. Louis).

Since one is the lonliest number, and two can be as bad as one, we'll make it a three-blog night.

It's pretty clear Lou wants nothing to do with talking about moving Soriano out of the leadoff spot. "Let's see what we do," he said tonight when asked if Sam Fuld could get another shot, say, tomorrow. Fuld has been a sparkplug on offense and defense the last two games. It's pretty simple. When you get on base, your big guys can drive in runs.

Soriano has not been getting on base, to the tune of a .296 OBP. He's also not hitting homers or playing very good defense. So what to do?

Enter your consultant.

This is Hawks GM Dale Tallon talking Thursday afternoon: “We’re looking for the right guy, maybe on the back end. We have a lot of assets we can trade.”
This is how I believe the Hawks are going to find that big, physical defenseman they are lacking, via a trade, and Tallon came about as close as he could to confirming it.
The Hawks have a lot of forwards to offer around the league. I wouldn’t be shocked if it was a scorer such as Patrick Sharp or Kris Versteeg that the Hawks at least explore dealing for that “right guy.”

Sam Fuld gets his second straight start in left field and in the leadoff spot tonight when the Cubs play host to the Brewers. Lou said Soriano will be back in there tomorrow and that, yes, he and his .296 OBP would be leading off again.

I asked GM Jim Hendry if the organization had talked of Soriano no longer being a leadoff hitter (if he ever was such a thing) and Jim said no.

Expect the Cubs to announce today they've acquired infielder Jeff Baker from the Colorado Rockies. Details should be forthcoming, but also look for the Cubs to designate infielder-outfielder Ryan Freel for assignment, effectively ending his short stay with the Cubs.

Baker, 27, has been on the 60-day DL since early May with a left-hand injury, and he'll have to take a physical as early as today with the Cubs. This year, he was 3-for-23 in 12 games. For his career, Baker has a batting average of .257, an OBP of .313, a slugging percentage of .458 and an OPS of .771.

The Rockies took the right-handed hitting Baker in the fourth round of the 2002 draft.

In 2007, Baker played in 144 games with the Rockies, batting .222 with an OBP of .296 and 4 homers.

When I spoke to Ben Gordon late Wednesday, after he agreed to a free-agent deal with Detroit, one comment he made was that he felt Bulls fans had been “cheated.”

He didn’t elaborate, but I think he was referring to how the Bulls have given away some quality players in recent years to keep the payroll modest. Tyson Chandler, J.R. Smith and Thabo Sefolosha left for little in return, while some players criticized the decision to send Tim Thomas home during the 2005-06 season. Of course, Bulls’ home attendance has been very strong throughout the decade.

Notice how quiet it's been around the White Sox lately?
That's what winning does _ silences most of the critics.
Listen close, and it's nearly impossible to hear:
*Scott Podsednik is washed up and was only brought back because GM Kenny Williams is still living in the past, specifically 2005.
*Alexei Ramirez is a one-year wonder.
The shortstop couldn't hit in April and couldn't catch it in June, but Ramirez has overcome a lot of criticism (mostly from Ozzie) and is playing like he did over the final five months of last season.
A sore finger forced Ramirez out of Wednesday night's game at Cleveland, and the Sox are hoping it is just a bruise.
*Gordon Beckham is not ready for the big time.
Remember that 0-for-13 the rookie was riding after joining the Sox on June 4? Me neither.

Hawks GM Dale Tallon said earlier on Wednesday after signing Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky that be wasn't done and, sure enough, a few hours later he picked by checking center John Madden.
Madden is a nice addition, and a more than able replacement for Sammy Pahlsson, whose persistent abdominal problems were a concern. He is Columbus' worry now.
Madden is a gamer, a top penalty-killer, solid on faceoffs and can score short-handed goals. He also won the 2001 Selke Trophy with the Devils.
After adding three forwards on Wednesday, don't be surprised if there's a trade in the Hawks' future. The Hawks have a lot of good forwards to use as assets to offer in a deal for a defenseman, if that's the way Tallon wants to go.