Why would I want to do any of those things? Should I at point have been expecting Kerry Wood to actually be a useful pitcher for the Cubs this season? Cause I sure wasn't. Whether he's out a week or a lifetime doesn't change my outlook on the Cubs one bit.

I'm not talking one bit about expectations.

I'm saying we should hope for the best with Kerry. Regardless of what you expect, why wouldn't you want to see him healthy and doing well, as we've seen this spring?

..."healthy and doing well, as we've seen this spring..."

Until this injury, that is.

1 is totally right.

I've always been a fan of Kerry Wood from a distance but if 2007 is a disappointment I think it would serve both parties if they parted ways. Jason Isringhausen transformed himself from snakebit phenom starter with the Mets into excellent MLB reliever with a new team but it's hard to pull off that move in the same city. Kerry Wood might have 8 years of Jeff Nelson-like relief in his arm. Most teams would love to have that kind of performer but Cub fans in Chicago would always see it as a disappointment from Wood.

I don't think we should expect anything from Wood, or Prior for that matter. I stopped thinking that way after 2005.

But the point is this: Why shouldn't we hope to see Wood healthy and successful? And why would we wish failure upon a Cubs player?

I may not like a player, and maybe I desire to never see him again (Ronny Cedeno comes to mind), but if he were to have a fabulous season and help the Cubs win, why wouldn't I be happy?

Regardless of what I expect from Kerry, I certainly hope to see him become a dominant reliever. That hope, for success and health, is the reason I said what I did above.

I hope Jacque Jones can hit the cutoff man. I hope Aramis Ramirez will leg out pop-ups. I hope Cesar Izturis slugs .450.

Some hope is unreasonable.