I hope Chicago Cubs fans are gearing up for another six months of disappointment, because this winter isn't giving any indication that 2010 will be any better than the season it will follow.
The Cubs closed their 2009 season with one singular goal: Unload Milton Bradley. The marriage was a failure almost immediately, and GM Jim Hendry made it clear when he sent Bradley home for the last few weeks of the season that he couldn't be back in Chicago next year.
Problems arise when you have a single focus, though, and this winter the Cubs have let almost every team in baseball make moves to improve around them while they sit in a crowded office at Wrigley Field hoping the phone rings.
Sorry, Mr. Hendry. Unless you're paying most, if not all, of his salary, nobody wants Bradley.
In fact, if you look at the back of one of Bradley's baseball cards, nobody has ever wanted him for more than one season, which is why Hendry giving him a three-year deal last winter should cost him his job. While Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn were settling for one-year offers, the Cubs jumped the gun and overpaid for a volatile player with as much talent as he has gunpowder in his personality.
Now Hendry is compounding last year's mistake by allowing it to handcuff him this winter.
Hendry wanted to get a center fielder, and sources inside the Cubs leaked that Mike Cameron was his top choice. Cameron is now a member of the Red Sox.
Hendry wanted to improve his bullpen, and apparently liked the idea of JJ Putz coming to Chicago. Well, Putz did precisely that, only to play for the White Sox.
Hendry needs to add depth to his starting rotation, but hasn't been able to make any substantial offers because he needs to move Bradley before he can spend. Meanwhile, John Lackey is now in Boston, Roy Halladay in Philadelphia, Cliff Lee in Seattle, and Joel Piniero is fielding offers from half of baseball.
The Milwaukee Brewers have had a great winter so far, adding Greg Zaun, Randy Wolf, and LaTroy Hawkins to a team that finished only three and a half games behind the Cubs for second last year in the Central.
Even the Baltimore Orioles are making better moves than the Cubs. They traded Chris Ray to Texas for Kevin Millwood, signed closer Mike Gonzalez and infielder Garrett Atkins.
The Cubs, meanwhile, selected a couple players in the Rule Five Draft and have traded away Jake Fox, Aaron Miles, and Aaron Heilman for prospects.
It is becoming clear that Bradley is holding the organization hostage, by their choice, and Hendry could define his tenure as Cubs GM by ending it over a stupid contract for the wrong player. If the Cubs don't make any moves soon, Bradley could cost them another season of contention.
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