Indianapolis

Success follows John McDonough wherever he goes.

McDonough, the current president of the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, previously spent a quarter of a century as a rising executive with the Cubs. During that space of time, McDonough's revolutionary ideas changed the entire face of the Cubs' franchise.

From 1983 to 2007, the North Siders had nine winning seasons, as many as they had previously compiled since 1940. They attained the post-season five times, as many as they had made since 1919. 

All is quiet on the northern front in Chicago baseball so far this winter.

Which is odd, because Jim Hendry's last few winters have been highlighted by more big game hunting than a weekend with Ted Nugent.

When a guy's resume includes bringing in names like Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly, Kosuke Fukudome and Milton Bradley, and when you consider how public Hendry's courtship of each player was, the fact that there hasn't been much of a peep from Hendry so far in November is intriguing to say the least.

When it comes down to numbers, right-handed pitchers have an easier go of it in Major League Baseball.

Only about one-quarter of all batters in the league hit left-handed, meaning right-handed pitchers can expect to have the platoon advantage over 75 percent of the hitters they face (removing the admittedly estimable impact of tactical maneuvering).

Lefties, however, always seem to garner the most attention when it comes time to construct or evaluate a team's pitching staff.

For Cubs fans, the Verducci effect is an old and familiar foe, even if they have never heard of it. First set forth by Sports Illustrated baseball guru Tom Verducci , the theory concerns escalating innings totals for young pitchers.

Not sure if anyone read the latest foot-in-mouth interview from Chicago's North Side, but this time it isn't one of the usual suspects.

No, it wasn't Milton Bradley talking about how racist the fans were. And it wasn't Geovany Soto talking about the proper way to pack a bong during the World Baseball Classic.

This time, it was closer-to-be Carlos Marmol. And he was jumping all over the hot stove.

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.

I'm not a fan of the Resident Evil series, nor of very many RPG's. But, as I thought about my many years as a Cubs fan, I compare it to a meeting with Dr. Salvador.

For the uninitiated, or the few people who pretend they don't care, Dr. Salvador is the giant guy with the chainsaw in Resident Evil Four.

Among other things he can do besides cut your head off, he can teleport to the top of a ladder you're climbing and cut your head off, he can teleport ahead of you and cut your head off, he can break down the door of a room you're in and cut your head off-notice a pattern?

So let us think about this for a moment. The following stat line is that of player X's splits against right handed hitters.

451 ABs, 74 Runs, 124 Hits, 19 2Bs, 8 3Bs, 28 HRs, 62 RBIs, 18 SB, 4 CS, 57 BBs, 99 SO, .275 BA, .358 OBP, .539 SLG, .879 OPS.

The rumors are out there. The free agent lists are nearly complete; only uncertainty over player and club option years remains. The trade market is beginning to rediscover itself, for the first time in six weeks or so.

And now, armed with all of that knowledge, we have an opportunity to begin the task of concretely formulating the best plan of action for the Chicago Cubs over the course of the upcoming off-season. It will be an imprecise science; it will also likely not come to fruition, whatever we may propose, because Jim Hendry's mind does not work in the same way as the average fan's...

The Chicago Cubs have announced a press conference for Friday to introduce new owner Tom Ricketts. But allow me to provide an early glimpse into what type of owner he is likely to be.

First off, just who is this guy who plunked down an estimated $642 million (out of the total bid of around $900 million) to buy the Cubs?