Not that I disagree, but we're not exactly in a position where we have anyone who can fill the void in house starting with the 2010 season. It's probably a good year and a half before Josh Vitters will be ready if he's still with the organization. Big time free agent first baseman are rare. Next year there's Adam LaRoche and Nick Johnson. In 2011 there's Carlos Pena and Adam Dunn. None of those guys are really any better than Derrek Lee, by then they may be, but none of them are great. Adrian Gonzalez can be an FA after 2011, but I can promise you he never goes on the market, he'll be snapped up in a trade before then and signed long term by someone. Really the Cubs' best bet to replace Derrek Lee after next season is do stop gaps until Vitters is ready or make a trade. If the first method is the desired course of action and Derrek Lee's productivity slips (to the point where not a lot of teams would want him), then he's not going to be a bad guy to extend for a season or two until Vitters is fully ready to take over. If the Cubs sour on Vitters or he doesn't pan out or he's traded then the Cubs are probably going to have to make a move, unfortunately our system sucks and shows very little signs of improvement so we're going to be at a disadvantage to Boston or whoever is in the market for the same bats in 2011.