Chicago Cubs

Give Jim Hendry credit. He doesn't get them all right, but he doesn't get them all wrong, either.

On the same day that reports out of both major Chicago newspapers said Hendry will ink middling middle-reliever John Grabow to a two-year extension, he redeemed himself from that gaffe (as I saw it ), by trading reliever Aaron Heilman to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In a move that restores all hope to Chicago Cubs fans, GM Jim Hendry found someone dumber than himself and made a trade.

The Cubs dealt Aaron "The Gas Can" Heilman to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday for minor leaguers Ryne White and Scott...who cares. Heilman's gone, people! Party!

In a related story, the bag of balls that had been rumored to be dealt to Chicago for Heilman is relieved to be staying in Arizona for the winter.

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John Grabow can laugh his way to the bank.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times , Grabow and the Cubs have agreed on a two-year contract extension worth at least $7 million dollars, and Grabow is considered an option to take over the closer's role if Carlos Marmol's control issues cannot resolve themselves.

Tyler Colvin, the Cubs' first-round draft pick in 2006, finally reached the Major Leagues as an emergency mid-September call-up this September. When center fielder Sam Fuld injured his wrist on a spectacular catch (okay, instant replay advocates, a spectacular trap), Reed Johnson was not yet ready to come off the disabled list, so the Cubs called upon Colvin, 24, to fill the space down the stretch of a highly disappointing season.

I was wandering around various baseball sites today, and came across a thought that honestly made me laugh when I first read it.

"[The Cubs] have the finances... have a chance to win, which is what [Roy] Halladay will certainly require, and while the Cubs' farm system isn't atop the league right now, there are a few intriguing talents that could fill out a package for Halladay."

That's on ESPN.com's Rumor Mill. I've read a couple other places that the Cubs might be a "darkhorse" candidate to make a splash for the Blue Jays' ace.

I've been doing my fair share of reading on this site among others about the Cubs' interest in Granderson and what people think of the possible acquisition. Very interesting.

Right now on the Cubs' depth chart, young gun Tyler Colvin is the starting center fielder. As of now, I don't see the Cubs taking a risk on the young guy by throwing him into the mix right away. At least I wouldn't.

Filed: Nov. 18, 2009

Have you ever found yourself reading a well-written piece and feeling like it all sounds logical and sensible, but then you think about it a little more and wonder if the writer is off his meds?

I had a moment like this when I read a recent piece by Fox Sports writer Dayn Perry , who proposes in the column a number of moves that teams need to make this offseason.

So, we've arrived in 2004. The Chicago Cubs have just undergone the worst choke in the history of the NLCS. Stunned, Cubs fans could only watch in horror as Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett dominated the mighty New York Yankees in the World Series.

You'll forgive us if we didn't enjoy the Jan Brady-like feeling running through our veins during that entire series and subsequent off-season.

The Marlins have two rings, and the Cubs continue to play foil for teams we fans thought our teams were better than.

Perhaps there is hope for the writers who vote for the Major League Baseball awards, after all. Then again, it's always one step forward, two steps back with these guys.

One might hope that the preponderance of advanced statistical evidence might educate voters for awards such as Cy Young, MVP, ROY and the Gold Glove.

After all, as younger and (hopefully) more enlightened writers obtain voting rights, the subjective manner of awarding players should improve.

As the Cubs look toward 2010, General Manager Jim Hendry has to be pleased with the quartet he has assembled atop his starting rotation.

In Ted Lilly, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Randy Wells, the Cubs have as deep a four-man staff as any in the National League, albeit not the most talented.