Excuse me if I'm distracted the next few days. I'm prone to getting jumpy during certain events: women's Olympic figure skating finals, Cubs games, and presidential elections. You'd think Tums would release a special product: Tums 2004, Election Night Special.

There isn't a whole bunch of Cubs news at the moment, but I thought I'd take a look at a couple quotes from Todd Walker's two chats with ESPN last week. Note: these chats are unfortunately only available through an ESPN Insider subscription.

Todd discussed his desire to return to the Cubs while also touching on Nomar' status:

the cubs are my first choice at this point..hopefully it works out..with Nomar, I know he loved chicago, but the cubbies may not be willing to pay him. The yanks and the Angels will.

I think it is actually likely that Todd will return as the second baseman next year, which is fine by me. I'm also intrigued by the idea of Placido Polanco, but I haven't put much thought into the situation yet. Polanco isn't as strong an offensive force as Walker, but he brings truly fantastic fielding to the mix.

I also think that it may be likely that the Cubs bring back Nomar for one year. I think a one-year deal would be terrific for both parties, allowing Nomar to ramp up his value while letting the Cubs enjoy a year in which Nomar is especially motivated to produce.

Later, Walker discussed some other potential Cubs moves:

I think the cubbies may also pursue Beltran if Mo doesn't come back. And the cubbies have Neifi Perez still

The Cubs seem set to become a finalist in the Beltran sweepstakes. I have no idea how his signing would be financially feasible (unless it is a backloaded contract that starts at 10M for 2005), but it could probably be worked out. And as for Neifi -- no, Todd, I will not consider that nightmare scenario.

Walker chatted again a couple days later, and reemphasized his desire to come back as a Cub.

I think there is a good chance I'm coming back but the ball is in the Cubs court.

Jon (CT): Todd - There is no denying Cabrera is better defensively than Nomar. Specifically this year where Nomars heel, really limited his range. I think your one example (cabrera one hop to Millar) seems very petty.

Todd Walker: from your extensive experience in the big leagues, is that where you can say "there is no denying??"

I can understand Todd's frustration at being criticized on his opinions by a non-baseball player, but it is exceedingly dumb to think that you have to play a sport in order to observe it intelligently. If we're not filmmakers are we not allowed to have an opinion on a movie? If I go to a restaurant, can I not evaluate my entree because I'm not a professional chef?

There are many, many things I will never understand about the game of baseball because I didn't play it professionally, but it doesn't take an expert to see that Orlando Cabrera gets to more balls than Nomar -- especially the slightly hobbled Nomar we saw in the field this year. If you're not allowed to make observations about the game, why bother watching?