I hope Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is joking. Joking, I mean, about standing pat as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches.

Because if Cubs management is serious about making a run for a playoff spot the current roster simply won’t cut it.

There I said it. But I said it before in a post 14 days ago while the Cubs were in the midst of their winning run. Even then I had a sinking feeling that the Cubs could only run so far without the following: a power hitter, another reliable starter, bullpen help, club leadership and support from upper management.

Over the past two games the lack of three of those five criteria have been directly responsible for Chicago’s losses. The Cubs’ chippie offense has shown its capable of scoring runs, but too often it takes double-digit hit totals to outscore the opposition. Meanwhile, the home run ball, or lack of it, has been the difference maker in recent losses to Arizona, St. Louis and Cincinnati.

The simple truth when it comes to starting pitching is Jason Marquis is far too erratic to be trusted to help carry the load down the stretch. There’s a reason the Cardinals left Marquis off their playoff roster last year. And it’s the same reason the Chicago needs to go out and find another starting pitcher.

As for the Chicago Cub bullpen, as good as the corp of relievers has been over the past six weeks is as fragile as they can be. See Friday night’s game against Cincinnati if you need confirmation.

Which when adding the three aforementioned up only adds to my concern after reading Chicago manager Lou Piniella’s comments in today’s Chicago Sun-Times.

”In the conversations that we’ve had to date, there really hasn’t been anything out there that makes it imperative for us to do anything,” Piniella said of trade talks he has had with Hendry. ”We’ll see what happens here over the next three, four days. But my conversations with Jim are basically that to make a move just to make a move doesn’t make much sense.”

Which on the surface I totally agree with. If a trade won’t measurably help your team, then don’t do it.

But the bigger question for myself is, how long does the Chicago Cub braintrust believe the up-down elevator of minor league prospects will continue to pay dividends for the parent club?

Don’t misunderstand me. Nearly all of the kids the parent Cubs have called up have contributed to whatever success Chicago has garnered this season. But for the most part these have all been bit players on the Big Show stage. With the exception of Ryan Theriot, Carlos Marmol and Mike Fontenot, the remainder of the youngsters have seen limited time and have yielded limited success.

Addressing glaring needs through a patchwork approach of minor leaguers doesn’t look like an organization committed to assuring the Cubs reach that next plateau.

So here’s my message to John McDonaugh, Hendry or any other of the Cubs management team who’ll listen: Make a trade. Spend some more money. Find somebody - not just anybody - but somebody who can help this team achieve what Cub fans and the city of Chicago has been yearning for for the past 99 years.

Do it. I’m not kidding.