David O'Brien started it all with a tweet saying that the Braves were close to finalizing a deal for a starting pitcher and then Jon Heyman, Jerry Crasnick and Jason Stark said it was Ryan Dempster.

Here's a top 20 Braves prospect list to start speculating upon. I'm hoping Cubs can get one of Randall Delgado or Mike Minor and another decent arm.

Details emerging...

UPDATE #1: MLB.com beat writer for the Braves does say that Delgado could be one of the parts heading to the Cubs.

UPDATE #2: No doubt this is happening now and could be completed by the afternoon. Still awaiting the specifics though.

UPDATE #3: Keith Law speaks, "Filed to ESPN - if the Dempster trade is completed, Randall Delgado is in it, as well as something to balance the money". If that is indeed the complete deal, it's going to be Dempster and $$ for Delgado, or 2 months of Dempster for 5+ years of Delgado at pre-arbitration money until about 2015. 

UPDATE #4: Kapman throws a little water on the fire, saying talks still ongoing. Also rumors now from Jim Bowden that Cubs and Dodgers are waist-deep in a Matt Garza for Zach Lee swap. 

UPDATE #5: The twitter account for Dempster's charity(from which TCR has been banned from for some reason) has this sobering tweet: "THERE IS NO TRADE dont know where this info came from!" Well la-dee-da!

UPDATE #6: Kaplan says the deai is just awaiting Dempster's approval, and judging by Dempster's tweet, that's not a sure thing.

UPDATE #7: So Dempster is refusing to talk about it to reporters, other than to say there is no trade. Delgado's agent hasn't heard anything. As the trade world turns...

UPDATE #8: As I, and I'm sure many others suspected, Heyman is saying the Cubs and Braves have agreed to a deal, but Dempster hasn't waived his 10/5 rights...and it certainly sounds like he's holding on to that bargaining chip for as long as he can.

UPDATE #9: Nightengale with the same info, deal agreed upon between Cubs and Braves, just a matter if Dempster will approve. Len already tweeted a farewell to Dempster.

FINAL UPDATE FOR TODAY: The Cubs brass have told Sveum that no deal is done and earlier reports were false, but does say that Dempster still could be traded. Translation: The Cubs brass fucked up and didn't keep Dempster in the loop and they're in damage control now.

Dan Vogelbach ripped an RBI single through the 3.5 hole and Jorge Soler followed with a 420-ft two-run HR over the berm beyond the left-centerfield fence to highlight a three-run 4th, but the AZL Reds scored six runs over the final five innings and defeated the AZL Cubs 6-4 in Arizona League action tonight at HoHoKam Park in Mesa.

Ron Santo, HOF. Bittersweet, yet hasn't that been the Cub way in Ronnie's life?

Making his professional debut after signing a reported nine-year $30M contract with the Cubs, Cuban defector Jorge Soler went 0-3 as the DH, and the AZL Mariners pushed across a run in the top of the 12th to edge the AZL Cubs 4-3 in Arizona League action tonight at HoHoKam Park in Mesa.

LHP Anthony Prieto and three relievers combined to throw a three-hit shutout, Ben Carhart doubled, singled, walked, and drove-in a run, and Neftali Rosario singled, doubled, and scored two runs, as the AZL Cubs blanked the AZL Dodgers 4-0 in Arizona League action tonight at HoHoKam Park in Mesa.

So reader Virginia Phil had the idea to try and time the inside-the-park home run of speed phenom Billy Hamilton with that of Crazy Legs Campana from last year. By his not-quite scientific standards, Hamilton just edged out Campana by a tenth of a second.

Reader Black Earthling took it  a step farther and synced the two videos for the definitive video proof.

I don't think you'll find anyone in baseball that believes Campana is as fast as Hamilton and you can see in the video Hamilton stumbling just a bit approaching second and what looks like some wide turns at second and third base that you don't see Campana taking from the wide shot and less camera time he's granted. But maybe Campana is just a better at those type of things which ultimately contribute to overall baserunning speed, although I certainly wouldn't point to this one clip as the definitive proof. And as noted by both readers, Hamilton slows up at the end once he realizes he'll be safe. But it's certainly closer than I thought it would be and makes for some fun triviality before tonight's Marlins/Cubs game.

Shawon Dunston Jr ripped an RBI single and a three-run inside-the-park HR and Lendy Castillo threw three innings of shutout ball, leading the AZL Cubs to an 11-8 victory over the AZL Athletics in Arizona League action tonight at Field #2 (Connie Mack Field) at the Papago Park Sports Complex in Phoenix, AZ.  

I'm getting more mileage out of this story than Ian Stewart will get out of his dismal 2012 Chicago Cubs season. In historical terms for 2012, third baseman, Ian Stewart will be just a  small foot(wrist)note at the bottom of the media guide. 

Stewart came to the Cubs in a  "damaged goods" type trade. He didn't have a diagnosis for his 2011 bad left wrist woes and multiple doctors could not find any "structural" damage. Theo and Jed figured that a "non-structural" problem would get better with an off-season of rest.  We all know that this is not the way Cubbery works.

Dan Vogelbach blasted a 415-foot+ two-run home run over the right-centerfield fence in the bottom of the 4th and an RBI double off the LF fence in the bottom of the 6th (he also stole a base), and Lendy Castillo and four relievers combined to throw a two-hitter, as the AZL Cubs defeated the AZL Padres 4-2 in Arizona League action tonight at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ.  

UPDATE: The MLB Rule 4 Draft Competitive Balance Lottery has been postponed until Wednesday 7-18.

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The Rule 4 Competitive Balance and Forfeited Draft Pick lotteries will be held next Monday, and while it does not appear that any MLB club will be forfeiting a 1st round pick as the result of exceeding its Signing Bonus Pool by 5%+ (although it could  still happen), 12 MLB clubs will definitely be awarded Competitive Balance draft picks in next June's Rule 4 Draft (First-Year Player Draft).

(Oh My) Josh Vitters doubled and singled today to nudge his batting average past .300 as the Iowa Cubs, tied with Delmarva of the South Atlantic League for the most one-run losses in MiLB, nipped Omaha for the third straight day at Principal Park. Adrian Cardenas, whose error permitted Omaha to tie the game in the 7th, delivered a walk-off single in the 9th to give the I-Cubs a 6-5 victory.

Blah, blah, blah...I've been swamped and despite the recent not terrible baseball being played, the Cubs don't give me enough reasons to make sure I watch a game.

So I have little to offer today other than a quick recap of Baseball America's recent chat about their midseason Top 50 list which includes one Cub at #25 - Javier Baez (and one former Cub in Hak-Ju Lee at #47).

Dan Vogelbach homered, tripled, and singled twice, drove-in three runs, and scored two more, leading the AZL Cubs to a come-from-behind 9-7 victory over the AZL Athletics in Arizona League action this evening at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ.