Chicago Cubs

When Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry set out to trade suspended outfield pariah Milton Bradley this off-season, he must have known he had relatively little chance of obtaining much in return. Bradley was ready to depart his seventh team in ten big-league seasons, and all but one of the divorces had been messy affairs.

Considering his predicament, then, Hendry could have done worse than he did. Chicago acquired pitcher Carlos Silva, a contractual pariah with the Seattle Mariners, and saved money in doing so.

It's March, so it's once again time to get out the glove oil and rubber bands, clean off or buy new spikes, remember where the lucky batting gloves went, and wonder if you're too fat to play softball.

It's also time to wonder if your favorite player will stay on your favorite team throughout the entire season.

Will 2010 be the last season for Derrek Lee as a Cub? Perhaps, but it looks like there is mutual interest on both sides:

"The last time Derrek Lee was up for a new contract, he signed a five-year extension at the outset of the 2006 season and suffered a season-changing wrist injury a couple of weeks later.

Cubs fans, we should look at the Cardinals agreement with second baseman Felipe Lopez as an insult. With no sure-fire, proven starter at the position, why wouldn't Cubs GM Jim Hendry at least consider signing this guy?

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com tweeted that Lopez only got $1 million in base salary with easily obtainable bonuses that could take the deal to $1.2 million.

Filed:February 25th, 2010

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Seven-and-a-half million dollars is a lot of money to pay to a relief pitcher who walked a career-high 4.98 batters per nine innings in the previous season.

That is especially true if the reliever in question also struck out a career-low 7.09 strikeouts per nine innings in that season.

Yet general manager Jim Hendry and the Chicago Cubs made just such an investment this winter when they inked left-handed hurler John Grabow to a two-year pact.

What can the Chicago Cubs do for an encore in 2010?

2009 started off with the highest of expectations, but a season of hope and promise quickly turned into one of dismal performances and despair.

A team that was predicted to win the National League by most "experts" did not even qualify for the playoffs.

Their season was derailed by injuries early and often, and a manager, front office, and city of fans were left scratching their heads, wondering what the hell happened to a 97-win ball club.

Not since Shawon Dunston have the Cubs had one of the top middle-infield prospects in baseball, but that has changed. There's a kid skyrocketing through the Cubs' organization that might show up at Wrigley Field at some point in 2010.

If you haven't heard of Starlin Castro, here's your introduction.

Angel Guzman is a star-crossed young man.

Injuries have hampered the development of this talented right-handed Venezuelan hurler throughout his career.

Finally, in 2009, he overcame them, stepping brilliantly into the setup role in Chicago's bullpen.

He struck out 47 and walked just 23 in 61 innings, and he allowed the ninth-lowest line drive rate among Major League relievers, according to fangraphs.com.