Bruce Miles

It's true. Ah, it gives me an easy spring-training human-interest story. You can like him or not as a pitcher, but he's one of the best guys I've ever been around.

The stories themselves change over time, and that's why reporters have to revise what they've reported. The market is moving very, very slowly right now. The Cubs still like Peavy, but there's no movement anywhere from any team on getting a deal done soon. With players such as Abreu and Ibanez, much will depend on the kind of money they're asking. That's also been slow to develop. As of now, I can't see the Cubs signing Abreu. I can see them making a run at Ibanez, again, depending on his asking price and how much the Cubs have to work with. Part of that will depend, too, if they're able to move a guy like Marquis. Right now, not much is happening anywhere. That may change once teams decide on arbitration for their own free agents.

Bruce, does Wood have 10-and-5 rights? Right now, he's a free agent. If he signs with the Cubs again, he will have them. I assume that the moment he were to accept an offer of arbitration - even before he "signs a contract" with a defined salary - he would have those rights. True? True. If he accepts arbitration, he's back on the 40-man roster and would have those rights.

Bruce, does Wood have 10-and-5 rights? Right now, he's a free agent. If he signs with the Cubs again, he will have them.

Not so cut and dried on Wood, as your friendly bloggist points out: http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/1031

Ewww. Fontenot in CF would be godawful. You don't have to worry about that one. The Cubs aren't trading him and Marshall for Teahen, either.

So from an insiders perspective, what are the chances that we aquire a decent lefty? Depends what you mean by decent. Those Teahen reports were greatly exaggerated, as were those regarding Furcal. The still like Ibanez, but right now, his price is probably too high. Not being a smart alec, I always say the chances are 50-50. Either they will or they won't. They look at a lot of things that never make the media. The Ceda-for-Gregg trade was one such thing. There aren't a whole lot of good left-handed hitters out there who fit the Cubs' needs and budget.

There will be no platoon at SS. Theriot will start as many games as he did this year. Fontenot will see increased time at second base, filling in at short now and then. DeRosa will have a similar role to what he had this year. If the Cubs don't get an everyday left-handed bat for the outfield _ and they're scarce _ DeRosa could play a lot of right field, with Fontenot playing second.

I like that! I'd just as soon stay away from this rumor stuff, too, since most of it's untrue. So some of it is true! Sure, some of it's true. The hard part is sorting through it all. And no, I don't believe Harden is part of the discussions.

I like that! I'd just as soon stay away from this rumor stuff, too, since most of it's untrue.

So, you are saying there is a deal? No. I was just messin' with you. Trying to get all the info I can, ya know? Oh, I know. Quite OK. :D

So, you are saying there is a deal? No.

Thanks for stopping by, Bruce. What percentage would you give to this getting done? 50/50...better than 50/50? I think the chances are better than 50/50. Unlike the Orioles, the Padres must move Peavy. They'd also like to get it done before the free-agent market opens. It's pretty much in the Padres' court now. It all depends on whose offer Towers likes.

Samardzija has a FULL no-trade clause, and he in no way will be part of this deal. The Fontenot speculation is premature. The Cubs have not offered him. I don't know if the Padres have asked for him, but the Cubs don't want to trade him (but they would if the Pads insisted).

Bruce, I hear this a lot. This team has issues. An unsettled CF situation. No viable major league RF. A below average offensive first baseman. 40% of its starting rotation medically questionable. An extremely shallow bullpen. That's not even addressing the square-peg-in-a-round-hole left fielder or the barely adequate shortstop. Those issues were there for most of the year, and the Cubs still won 97 games. Felix Pie was the opening-day center fielder (much to the delight of a lot of people). Theriot was coming off a .326 OBP season. They didn't get Roberts. They gave their starting catching job to a rookie. No way would Ryan Dempster have a good year as a starting pitcher. Kerry Wood, 34 saves? No way. What the Cubs did is what all teams that are in contention do. They adjusted: Edmonds, Johnson, Harden, Gaudin, Samardzija. They'll adjust this winter, and they'll adjust into 2009. Go around both leagues. Every team has multiple issues. Relative to the NL Central, the Cubs are in pretty good shape. There is an entire off-season for Hendry to build on the success of a 97-win regular season and see what can be done to get the team over the hump.

If the current group wants to re-sign Dempster at the figure you mentioned, I would see no problem for Hendry in getting that done. We don't know who the group will be yet. I can see somewhat of a splash, but Sabathia, I don't know. And he may want to play on the West Coast. Still a lot to be determined on the ownership front.

Here is what Joe wrote, in part. I'd post the link, but I don't know if you can get it if you're not a Premium member: "Whatever frustration the Cubs, their management, or their fan base may feel at this moment, what they cannot and should not do is lose sight of the fact that the 2008 Cubs were a very good baseball team. There was no missing link, no fatal flaw, nothing in the construction that portended a short stay in the postseason. They caught a bad matchup and had a three-game losing streak at the wrong time, and the rules of the game don't allow for that. This was the Cubs' fifth three-game losing streak of the season; these things happen even to 94-win teams (actually 97, as we all know). That they lost three in row, to a quality team, is just baseball. That they did so from October 1 through October 4 unfortunately means that they don't get to play on October 5. None of that, however, makes the 2008 Cubs less than what they were: the best team in the NL for six months. It just means they won't win a championship." Joe is pretty good, and he's no Pollyanna, especially where it concerns the Cubs. Last year, the Cubs simply didn't hit against Arizona. This year, their No. 1 starter issued 7 walks. Thay played bad defense in the second game. They couldn't hit a guy they couldn't hit at Dodger Stadium earlier this year. With Furcal back and Ramirez in the lineup, this was a far better Dodger team than what the Cubs saw in May and June.

I understand why people react the way they do. It was a real shame the way the season ended. These playoffs, especially the best of five, are a real crap shoot. The Braves are considered the standard of excellence for what they did for a decade and a half, and they won one World Series. Of course, they got to a few, and Cubs fans would like at least that much of a taste. But this is a better team than the one that came close in 2003. You can take heart in that. But you'll never hear me say "be patient." Just know that your team should be in position to get there for the foreseeable future.

I can only pray it doesn't. A lot these are players are streches to repeat there years, Zambrano and Harden are huge health risks. A team with this high of a payroll and we get two no shows in the playoffs two years in a row, Heads should be rolling. I suggest you take a look at Joe Sheehan's article at Baseball Prospectus. The respected Sheehan says the Cubs and their fans should not lose sight of the fact that they had the best team in the NL and that nothing needs to be torn down. Joe further states that the Cubs became a victim of matchups in the NLDS. That happens in baseball. Heads should be rolling? Whose? You have a large number of players with long-term contracts and several of those with no-trade clauses. Zambrano may indeed be a health risk but he signed a multiyear contract extension for $91.5 million. This team needs some fixing. It doesn't need an overhaul. Agreed. I do want a lefty power stick. And they'll look for one. Fukudome's slide really threw a wrench into things. No one saw that coming after the first two months of the season. I suspect Fontenot will see more playing time next year. I also will be very surprised if Soriano is the leadoff hitter in 2009.

I can only pray it doesn't. A lot these are players are streches to repeat there years, Zambrano and Harden are huge health risks. A team with this high of a payroll and we get two no shows in the playoffs two years in a row, Heads should be rolling. I suggest you take a look at Joe Sheehan's article at Baseball Prospectus. The respected Sheehan says the Cubs and their fans should not lose sight of the fact that they had the best team in the NL and that nothing needs to be torn down. Joe further states that the Cubs became a victim of matchups in the NLDS. That happens in baseball. Heads should be rolling? Whose? You have a large number of players with long-term contracts and several of those with no-trade clauses. Zambrano may indeed be a health risk but he signed a multiyear contract extension for $91.5 million. This team needs some fixing. It doesn't need an overhaul.

The Cubs will look a lot like the team that just finished this season.

Dodgers Furcal, SS Martin, C Ramirez, LF Ethier, RF Loney, 1B Kemp, CF DeWitt, 2B Blake, 3B Billingsley, P Cubs Soriano, LF Theriot, SS Lee, 1B Ramirez, 3B DeRosa, 2B Edmonds, CF Soto, C Fukudome, RF Zambrano, P

Zambrano will start and pitch 1 or 2 innings tomorrow.

What is this "everything" the Herald sensationalized? At no point did I write that DeRosa might miss the postseason. The Herald is in no way a sensationalistic paper. Maybe you ought to read more carefully.

Brewers Cameron, CF Durham, 2B Braun, LF Fielder, 1B Hardy, SS Hart, RF Counsell, 3B Kendall, C Sheets, P Cubs Soriano, LF Fontenot, 2B Lee, 1B Ramirez, 3B Edmonds, CF DeRosa, RF Soto, C Theriot, SS Marquis, P