Cubs Losing Out... Bye to Jim Hendry? Fire Sale?

Here is an update for the latest concerning the Cubs....

- The Cubs will not have guys like Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee next season but that is no shock to anyone. But losing out to guys like Matsui (which they had some interest in), Cameron (their number one off season target), Figgins (a guy that was on their wish list), and still having club house cancer Milton Bradley is a shock to everyone.

- According to the Tribune the Cubs now have Marlon Byrd as their top off season target. His agent is the same as Bradleys and probably in order to land Byrd they will have to overpay like what they did with Bradley. Just do not do that!

- We have heard all along that the Cubs will trade Bradley and there is "no way he is on the north side next season" but in a section on MLB Daily Dish it says the Cubs may approach Bradley about staying. If they is the case then we need a new GM and fast.

- Back up plans if they lose out on Byrd are Scott Podsednik and Rick Ankiel. Pods cannot handle CF but he does provide a legit lead off hitter but that is where I draw the line for complements for Pods. He is not the answer. Ankiel on the other hand is intriguing to me. I think he would be better than both Pods and Byrd but that is just an opinion.

- If the Cubs get a left handed hitting CF they may look for a right handed fourth outfielder than can play CF as well. The ideal candidate for the Cubs would be Rajai Davis. He can play all three outfield spots, hits for average, great defender, and true leadoff man stealing 41 bases last season. But that makes to much sense for Jim so it will not happen.

- The Cubs were considering a trade for Juan Pierre earlier this off season but that quickly went away when he was traded to the southside.

- Levine says that the Cubs will trade Bradley to the Rays for Burrell sooner or later maybe even this week. Of course we have heard that before. It should also be noted that the Cubs will not save any more this year by trading Bradley. The only money they will save is in 2011 and that may not even be possible. According to the Tribune the Cubs need about 10 million to add to payroll to contend in the NL Central (especially since Matt Holliday is likely to sign with the Cards). I think the Cubs need to add 15 million to payroll this season because they need a starting 2nd baseman (Hudson or Lopez), starting CF ( Ankiel or someone through trade), bench players ( need at least two), pen guy (not as big of a need but still a need), and starter (lets face it with Lilly out, Z's inability to stay healthy, the Cubs need depth). That would chew up 15 million easily.

- Rosenthal says the Cubs are in pursuit of free agent Joel Pinero. That is interesting because Jim says the Cubs will not add a starter and Joel is looking for 10 million over 4 years. If we cannot even add a backup infielder then what makes him think we can add Pinero?

- Ron Santo signed a three year extension with WGN radio yesterday. At least that is some good news.

- All revenue this season will go back into Wrigley then payroll of the Cubs.

- Capps wants to close games and likely priced his way out of the Cubs reach.

- Rumor has it that if Jim does not successfully unload Milton Bradley without releasing him he will be terminated after the 2010 season or sooner according to Cub officials. The back loaded contracts, no trade clauses, and long term deals have really hurt Jim and the Cubs. The Cubs are also not thrilled with the state the ball club is in now because every move Jim Hendry has done or been working on has been mistakes he made last season.

- If Jim Hendry is in fact fired before the beginning of the season it will like prompt a fire sale. According to sources the Cubs would wait until players like Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Johnny Damon, etc find homes then make players like Carlos Zambrano, Fukudome, Soriano, and many other players available. By doing that they would have a market for those players by shopping them to the teams that lost out on Lacky, Bay, Holliday, Damon, etc. I should note that even players like Ryan Dempster, Aramis Ramirez, Ted Lilly, and Shark have all also been linked to the fire sale. Those are players I would hold onto if I was in their position. To be honest I hope it does not come down to a firesale and the Ricketts family committ to 2010 but if they are just going to put a band aid on a broken arm then I would prefer they just start up the fire sale.

Until Next Time......