Admittedly, I am in the minority on this issue.  Given the circumstances, I think Jim Hendry did an excellent job of trading the troubled Bradley without having to pay a significant amount of money to do it.  In fact, he even got Seattle to throw in some money on the deal. 

Most of the criticism of the deal centers around the fact that Carlos Silva is not very good.  It’s a difficult point to argue.  In 2008, he posted a 4-15 record and a 6.46 ERA.  In 2009, Silva had a 1-3 record and an 8.60 ERA in eight starts before injuring his shoulder and missing most of the remainder of the season.

His contract doesn’t help the situation.  Silva is owed $11.5 million in 2010, another $11.5 million in 2011, and a team option for 2012 worth $12 million with a $2 million buyout.  That’s a lot of money for a guy who apparently isn’t very good.

If I had to defend Silva (which I don’t, but I will), I’d point out that his last two years have been the worst of his career and now that his shoulder is repaired, there’s reason to hope that he’ll rebound to his previous form.  To give you an idea of what Carlos Silva is capable of, his career ERA is 4.72 even after his two disastrous years in 2008-09.

I’d also point out that four times in his eight year career, Silva has pitched 180 or more innings in a season.  So dispite his injury last year, Silva appears to be a workhorse.

Finally, I’d point out that, while Silva stunk up the joint in 2008, he did it for a team that lost 101 games.  Silva may not have helped the cause much, but the Mariners were the worst team in the AL that year, so his record and ERA may be at least partially a result of the team he pitched for.

I’m not sure what critics of the trade expected the Cubs to get in return for Bradley.  At one time early in the off season, I held out hope that Bradley could be included in a package that could possibly net Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays or Brian Roberts and Luke Scott from the Orioles.  That was foolish.  It was nothing more than wishful thinking.

Then I predicted the Cubs would trade Bradley to San Francisco for Aaron Rowand.  In some respects, I think that deal had possibilities, but only if the Giants were willing to risk adding Bradley to their clubhouse.  They wisely were not willing to take that risk.

I threw out a couple of other scenarios that were probably just as unrealistic as those I listed above.  It was during the Winter Meetings that I finally realized that there really was no market for Bradley.  Despite being one of the better hitters OBP-wise in the game, the vast majority of teams simply didn’t want to invite his abrasive personality into their clubhouse.  Texas was only willing to bring Bradley back if the Cubs would pay them $16 million to do it.  Tampa Bay had a potential interest, but only if the Cubs took Pat Burrell off their hands (a player the Cubs could not use) and paid several million dollars for the privilege.

During the Winter Meetings, I finally understood just how little leverage Jim Hendry and the Cubs had.  They had painted themselves into a corner and had made it clear to anyone paying attention that they fully intended on trading Bradley, no matter the cost.  No other team had reason to negotiate too hard.  They knew they had the upper hand.  Hendry and the Cubs were negotiating from a distinct position of weakness.

That’s why my opinion is that Hendry did an excellent job of trading Bradley.  Was it a perfect trade?  Absolutely not.   Will Carlos Silva help the 2010 Cubs?  It’s too early to tell.  But given the circumstances, Jim Hendry made the best of a very bad situation.  Of course, it’s important to remember that the “very bad situation” was of Hendry’s own doing, but in the end, he got the best deal he could reasonably get.

Silva apparently is not good.  He 4-15 with an 6.46 ERA in 2008.  He injured his shoulder early in 2009 and missed most of the season.  While he was available in 2009, he posted a record of 1-3 with an 8.60 ERA. 

Carrie Muskat of MLB.com and Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports have both confirmed the trade.

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Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune is reporting that Seattle will be sending $9 million to the Cubs along with Silva.  That’s a surprise to me.  The reports are still coming in hot and heavy, so we’ll see how things actually shake out.

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Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald confirms that the Cubs are getting $9 million in cash.  Miles may not always get the story first, but he almost always gets it right, so if he says the Cubs are getting $ 9 million, then I believe it.  He also says that the Cubs will be having a press conference to go over all of the details.

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In a news conference held to announce the Bradley-for-Silva trade, Jim Hendry took responsibility for the “Milton Bradley era” not working out.  There’s no dount that signing Bradley was a mistake and thinking he would behave himself was wishful thinking, but I place the vast majoity of the blame on Milton Bradley himself.  He chose to be belligerent and anti-social.  He made that decision, not anyone on the Cubs.  The responsibility for Bradley’s behavior rests solely with Bradley.

That doesn’t mean that Hendry and the Cubs didn’t play a role in this fiasco.  Hendry was responsible for the signing in the first place.  The, he completely mishandled Bradley’s suspension and subsequent comments.  Piniella could also have done a better job of being a mentor and father-figure to Bradley.  However, that’s not Piniella’s style and everyone knew it when the Cubs first signed Bradley.  So it’s difficult to put too much blame on Piniella for not being something he isn’t.

Others were more optimistic about a deal getting done soon.  Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago wrote that the Cubs were on the verge of making a deal and that it could be announced as early as Tuesday.  Of course, Tuesday came and went without any news, but a team source told Bruce Miles that an announcement could come Wednesday.

Jim Hendry and his deputies are being extremely tight lipped about what teams he’s talking to.  Carrie Muskat of MLB.com said that Hendry is talking to an AL team, but that it’s not either Tampa Bay nor Texas.  Later in the day, she Tweeted that is was neither Seattle nor Toronto.  At this point, we don’t know who the mystery team might be.  All we know is who it is not.

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times also lists a mystery team and says that the deal could involve the Cubs receiving a player that they will then have to flip.  Sound familiar?  Wittenmyer confirms that  the deal does not involve the Rays or Rangers.  This is a different rumor than we’ve heard before.

Tomorrow is the final day of the Winter Meetings.  Could a deal be announced tomorrow.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed.  The Milton Bradley soap opera has already dragged on too long.

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Let me change gears a little bit right now and get a little angry.  I’m going to have to manufacture a little anger because, the truth is, I’m really not angry.  But I feel like I should be.

You see, Curtis Granderson, probably the best fit to play center field for the Cubs next year, was traded today by the Tigers to the New York Yankes (MLBTradeRumors.com has the complete story on the three-team trade).  While the Cubs screwed around trying to trade a guy they should have never signed in the first place, other teams made deals, improved their teams, and got themselves ready for 2010.  The Cubs just did a lot of talking.

The Cubs have a few needs they must address this off season, but everything is on hold until they can trade Bradley.  So far, they have lost out on Billy Wagner.  They’ve lost out on Takashi Saito, and today they lost out on Curtis Granderson.  I don’t know if they could have signed/traded for any of these players.  What I do know is that all three could have filled a need for the Cubs.  I also know that all three are now off the board.   Whether or not the Cubs would have acquired any of the three is not the point.  The point is that they couldn’t even get involved on any of them (whether they wanted to or not) because their hands are tied.

Okay, now for a little reality.  I know that Jim Hendry is in a tough position (at least partially of his own making).  The Milton Bradley “situation” is a little complicated and it’s going to take some hard work, creativity, and time to get it figured out.  It sucks that the Bradley is tying the Cubs hands, but that’s the reality of the situation.  Getting angry doesn’t help.

I’m hopeful that Hendry and crew can get a deal done today before the Meetings end.  There’s a window of opportunity here that is closing quickly.  After the meetings, it’s harder to catch up with other GMs and be able to sit down with them at a moment’s notice.  Obviously, deals can be done outside the Winter Meetings.  It happens all of the time.  But the Meetings do provide a once-a-year opportunity that the Cubs need to use to their advantage.

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Does the trade of Curtis Granderson to the Yankees open up any opportunities for the Cubs?  Perhaps.  For instance, what are the Yankees going to do with switch-hitting center fielder Melky Cabrera now?  Is he expendable?  Could he be a fit for the Cubs?  What would the Cubs need to give up to get him?

What about Johnny Damon?  It’s been suggested that trading for Granderson makes it less likely that the Yankees will re-sign Damon.  If so, could Damon be a fit for the Cubs?  Can he still play center field?  Can the Cubs afford him?  Might Damon be the lead-off hitter the Cubs are looking for.

Now that Detroit has traded Granderson, might they be open to a Milton Bradley for Magglio Ordonez swap?  Detroit reportedly needs to dump some salary.  Ordonez is owed $18 million in 2010 with a club (vesting) option in 2011 for $15 million.  He can’t play center field, but he can still hit.  Is Detroit the mystery team all of the writers were talking about?

These are just some random thoughts brought on by the Granderson trade.  As they say, when one door closes, another one opens.  Has another door opened for the Cubs?

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Here’s a random rumor with absolutely no factual basis.  I found it on another blog, but thought it was interesting enough to share here.

Could the mystery AL team be the White Sox?  And could a deal that would send Bradley to the Southside bring Alex Rios to the Northside?

This deal may not be as far fetched as you might think.  Rios is owed $58.7 million between 2010 – 2014.  He also has a club option for 2015 for $13.5 million with a $1 million buyout.  Rios brings a relatively similar skill set to Bradley’s, but without the headaches.  Of course, his contract is for three guaranteed years more than Bradley, so the Cubs are committing much more money long term to Rios.  However, it could be argued that the Cubs would be better off paying more money long-term to have a servicable player than they would be to simply pay another team several million just to take Bradley off their hands.

Ozzie Guillen is said not to be too fond of Rios.  The White Sox are looking for a DH who can also play in the field.  At least in theory, the two teams seem to match up. 

Can you imagine Ozzie Guillen trying to deal with Bradley?  It could potentially be hilarious.  Of course, IF they can make it work, and IF Bradley can return to his 2008 form, the White Sox could really rub it in the Cubs faces.  And we all know they would love to do that.

At the moment, this trade rumor is nothing but speculation.  But isn’t it fun to dream this stuff up and then try to figure how to get it done?

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ESPN announced that the Dalai Lama of baseball, Peter Gammons, will be leaving the network following the Winter Meetings.  I have the utmost respect for Gammons and love to hear his thoughts on all things baseball (and music).  It’s true that he is far too often Red Sox-centric (with a little Yankees news thrown in for good measure), but he’s so good, it’s easy to forgive him.

The announcement from ESPN simply said that Gammons will be pursuing “new endevors.”  I’m not sure what that means, but I’ve heard that he’ll be joining the MLB Network.  Whatever he does, I’m sure he’ll do great.

UPDATE:  MLB.com is reporting that Peter Gammons will be joining both MLB.com and the MLB Network to be an on-air and online analyst.  Gammons will also be working with NESN, the New England-based network that broadcasts the Red Sox games.  The move will presumably allow Gammons to contine to do the work he loves while spending more time at his homes in Boston and Cape Cod.

As a type B free agent, the Cubs could have received a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds of the draft if Harden had turned down arbitration and signed with another team.  However, they must have been afraid that Harden would accept arbitration.  I’m not so sure, but if he had, he likely would have recieved an arbitration award in the $8 – $10 million range.

Harden’s health is always a question mark.  His agent insists that he is completely healthy.  However, as Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald points out, no one knows more about Harden’s health than the Cubs.  They worked with him on a day-to-day basis and had full access to his medical records.  Maybe they know something that the rest of us don’t know.

I was disappointed that the Cubs didn’t offer arb to Harden.  I thought it was a no-lose situation for the Cubs.  Either they re-sign Harden, which shores up their starting rotation, or they get an additional draft pick.

One criticism I have heard about Harden (in addition to not being able to stay healthy), is that he is hard on the bullpen.  Harden averages 6.0 or fewer innings per outing, meaning that the bullpen doesn’t get a rest on days he pitches.  Even so, it’s not unreasonable to pencil him in for 25 starts and 150 innings.  Is that worth $8 – $10 million a year.  In today’s climate, it’s not completely out of bounds.

In any case, it appears that Harden will be wearing a different uniform next year.  Boston and Seattle are already showing strong interest in Harden.  Boston is looking for a back-of-the-rotation starter (ala John Smoltz or Brad Penny) who has some health questions and can be signed reasonably.  I’m not sure that describes Harden, but Boston is interested. 

Harden is from Vancouver, BC and Seattle is hoping he’d like to pitch close to home next year.  My guess is that money will play a larger role in Harden’s decision on where to sign than location will.

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The Cubs continue to consider Naples, FL to become their Spring Training home.  Tom Rickett’s and other officials from the Cubs visited Florida earlier this week to meet with Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist and representatives from the Naples group trying to lure the Cubs to Naples.

According to Gary Price of Fifth Avenue Advisors, part of the group wanting to develop a new Spring Training facility in Naples for the Cubs, he becomes more confident that the Cubs will move to Florida every time he meets with the team.  He also said that he believes the Cubs interest in Naples is sincere.

I read some opinions in the blogosphere that the Cubs are just using Naples to get more out of Mesa.  I don’t see it.  I think Mesa is going to give the Cubs what they want regardless of whether Naples is in the picture or not.  The Cubs don’t need to pit Naples against Mesa.

Another argument that is being made against Naples is that the Spring Training facilities in Florida are more spread out than those in Arizona.  Travel from Naples to other teams’ Spring Training facilities can be as much as 4-5 hours.  While this is true, I don’t think it is a huge consideration.  I’m sure that the Cubs are much more concerned with the facilities themselves than they are with the travel required for 12-15 Spring Training games.

I still think Naples is a long shot, but I do believe that the Cubs are serious about the possibility of relocating their Spring Training facility there.

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The Cubs can scratch Billy Wagner off their wish list.  He signed yesterday with the Braves for a reported $7 million in 2010 and a team option of $6.5 million for 2011.

I wasn’t counting on the Cubs signing (or even pursuing) Wagner, but I have to wonder how the inability to trade Milton Bradley is affecting the Cubs ability to pursue free agents.  If they had an interest in Wagner, could they have pursued him or does trading Milton Bradley stand in the way of the team making any moves?

Joel Sherman of the New York Post (as reported by Bill Chastain of MLB.com) says that the Bradley for Pat Burrell trade possibility with Tampa Bay is still alive and well.  However, according to Chastain, the amount of money the Cubs throw into the deal remains the sticking point.

This got me thinking.  The Braves are anxious to move either Derek Lowe or Javier Vasquez.  They need to trim payroll, they have a deep rotation, and they need a corner outfield bat.  Would Atlanta be interested in trading Lowe straight up for Bradley?

Bradley is owed $21 million over the next two years.  Lowe is owed $45 million over the next three years.  Without throwing any money into the deal, the Cubs would take on an extra year and $24 million.  At first blush, it seems cost prohibitive.  However, the Cubs will likely have to pay a big chunk of money to get another team to take Bradley.  If you factor that money in, the $24 million more they’d have to take on in a Bradley for Lowe trade doesn’t seem so bad.

By the way, this isn’t a rumor.  It’s just me thinking out loud.  Is it workable?  Who knows.  If Jim Hendry is really good, maybe he can get Atlanta to throw some money into the deal.  Can you imagine that?  The Cubs could move Bradley, get a decent pitcher in return, and actually have some cash come back to them.  Ah, now I’m dreaming.

One of my favorite things is the changing color of the leaves.  Nature’s art show is spectacular.  There’s nothing better than sitting outside on the back porch or down at the lake, enjoying a cool beverage, and taking in the fall colors.  Fall really is a great time of year.

And yet, the fall is a sad time of year for baseball fans.  Baseball’s regular season is coming to a close.  The playoffs are exciting, but they also represent the end to another great season.  And on this, the final day of the regular season, we are counting the time until Spring Training in months rather than weeks or days.

The Cubs won’t be participating in the postseason this year, which is a shame.   And yet, those on us who have been alive for the past two seasons (2007-2008) were treated to back-to-back postseason appearances.  No one under the age of 100 can say the same thing.  Let’s hope that we can see the Cubs back in the postseason soon.

As we head into the postseason, we know that the Yankees, Angels, and Red Sox will continue playing.  The Tigers and Twins are tied in the AL Central, so depending on today’s results, we may have a one-game playoff tomorrow.

In the NL, the Cardinals, Dodgers, Phillies, and Rockies will vy for the chance to represent the NL in the World Series.  It is an exciting time, but I’m going to miss following the Cubs.

Just four more months until Spring Training… 

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Phil Rogers of the Tribune has listed ten different players that could fill the “middle-of-the-order” bat that Lou Piniella said he wants.  Before he lists his candidates, Rogers has to first blast Jim Hendry for signing Kosuke Fukudome and Milton Bradley to fill the void, both failing rather spectacularly.  I don’t have the best memory, but I don’t think anyone claimed that Fukudome was a “big bat” who would fit in the middle of the order.  However, Rogers point about Bradley is well taken.

There are a few names that intrigue me.  I could see Bobby Abreau or Rick Ankiel as possibile solutions.  But the guy that most intrigues me is Adam Dunn.

I have to admit, if you had asked me a couple of weeks ago about adding Adam Dunn to the Cubs, I would have been opposed to it.  But after going through the last two posts (Redefining Production Part 1 and Part 2), I have a new found respect for Dunn.  True, he’s not the most gifted fielder.  He also strikes out a lot.   But there are only a handful of players in the game that contribute more to their team scoring runs.  And as we established previously, the most important attribute in the game is scoring runs.

Rogers also lists Mark DeRosa as a possible bat to add to the Cubs 2010 lineup.  I really like Mark DeRosa and I was critical of Jim Hendry for trading him last offseason.  He’s a guy who leaves it all out on the field and is a great clubhouse guy.  In fact, he was one of the leaders of the Cubs playoff teams.  Even so, I’m afraid that ship has sailed.  DeRosa is going to be a free agent after this season.  He is also going to be 35-years old and is scheduled to have wrist surgery in the off season.  Not a good combination.  It pains me to say it, but I don’t think DeRosa is the solution to the Cubs’ needs.

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Check out these two clips from the Seattle Mariners radio network.  Mike Blowers makes an amazing prediction that actually comes true.

Enjoy!

In an article written by Paul Sullivan of the Tribune, Zambrano explained that he doesn’t always feel the way he felt on Friday.  Then he went on to say:

“Look, this is the only season I haven’t won 16 or 18 or 14 games,” he said. “If it happens again next season, two seasons in a row, I’ll quit. Believe me, I’ll quit. I just have to put this behind me.

As I pointed out in a previous post, Zambrano sometimes has difficulty controlling his emotions.  My guess is that his response to the reporter’s question was another example of him speaking emotionally without thinking. 

Zambrano is owed $53.75 million over the next four years.  I seriously doubt if he’s going to walk away if he has another down year.

Zambrano’s comments made me think of two other guys who have threatened to quit if they don’t play better next year.  Chipper Jones of the Atlana Braves is hitting .273/.393/.446 this year with 18 homeruns and 70 RBI.  Honestly, that’s not so bad, but his homerun and RBI totals, as well as his slugging percentage, are the lowest of his career. 

Jones commented recently that he would walk away from the game rather than endure another season like he has had this year.  Admittedly, he has some pretty high standards.  But would he really walk away?

Next year (2010) will be Jones age 38 year.  He is signed through 2012 with an option for 2013.  His contract calls for a reasonable $13 million per year through 2012.  The 2013 option is a club  option at just $7 million.  Regardless of Jones’ high standards, the Braves are probably getting the production they are paying for.

Another guy with high standards is the Astros’ Lance Berkman.  So far in 2009, the 33-year old Berkman is hitting .268/.399/.505 with 24 homeruns and 77 RBI.  Like Jones, those stats are among the worst of his career.  I suppose that is why he announced earlier in the year that a repeat of this year would lead to his early retirement.

Berkman is owed $14.5 million in 2010 and the Astros hold a club option for 2011 worth $15 million (with a $2 million buyout).  Like Jones, Berkman has had an outstanding career, but it’s hard for me to believe that he would just walk away if he has a sub-par (by his own standards) season in 2010.

I think it’s hard for Ken Griffey, Jr. to believe it too.  Griffey, who will turn 40 in November, would like to return to the Mariners next year.  This, despite the fact that he is only hitting .214/.323/.395 with 16 homeruns and 50 RBI.  He apparently doesn’t have standards quite as high as Jones or Berkman.

Griffey has been one of the most exciting players of the past two decades.  He is a hero in Seattle and a sure fire Hall of Famer.  But like Willie Mays before him, it is sad to see this once superstar play the way he is playing now after such a brilliant career. 

It’s just my opinion, but I’d like to see Jones and Berkman stick around, but I’d prefer that Ken Griffey, Jr. call it quits.

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I owe a huge apology to Phil Rogers of the Tribune.  In yesterday’s post, I disparaged him for getting the story wrong about Tim Bogar being a front runner for the Astros manager position.  As it turned out, I’m the idiot who got it wrong.  My apologies, Phil.  I don’t always agree with you, but if I’m going to criticize you, I should at least get my facts straight.

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I previously said that I would like to see the Cubs offer Rich Harden arbitration after this season.  I expect him to turn it down, but at least the Cubs will get the draft picks (Harden is a type A free agent).  I also said that I’m opposed to the Cubs offering Harden a multi-year contract.

I stand by what I said, but I’m starting to think that the Cubs may just let Harden walk away without offering him arbitration.  The reason is that the Cubs have some depth when it comes to starting pitching.  We already know that, barring any trades, the Cubs will have Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly and Randy Wells.  Tom Gorzelanny will probably be the fifth starter, although Sean Marshall also has a shot at the starting rotation.  That’s a pretty stout starting rotation even without Harden.

Rich Harden is a very special pitcher when he’s healthy, but history shows that staying healthy is a challenge for him.  He made $7 million in 2009 and is due for a raise.  The Cubs may be better off letting him walk rather than risking an arbitration award of $8 – $12 million.  They could use that money elsewhere and still have a very good pitching staff.

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You’ve got to like Randy Wells attitude.  After losing to the Giants on Sunday,  Lou Piniella seemed unconcerned about his performance, saying that the impressive thing was the way Wells had pitched all year and the fact that he was still going strong in September.  Wells, who is the first Cubs pitcher to notch double digits wins in his rookie season since Kerry Wood, disagreed:

”I don’t believe that at all, no. I hate that,” he said. ”I’m not here as a sideshow or a fill-in. I want to stay here. I want to be part of the rotation next year. And I hate that.

”I’m here to pitch, and I’m here to pitch for a long time. And I don’t like losing. I hate losing. I hate walks. I hate cheap base hits when you could have prevented them. All that is stuff for me to build off of and learn from and try to be even better next year.”

Randy Wells just moved up on my list of favorite Cubs.

Aramis Ramirez and Milton Bradley both homered for the Cubs.  Bradley also drew three walks in the game.  For all of his other faults, Bradley can draw a walk.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals won in Los Angeles, so the Cubs remain 6.0 games behind St. Louis.  The Cubs are 5.o games behind Colorado in the Wildcard race.  The Giants, Marlins and Braves are also ahead of the Cubs in the Wildcard.

The Cubs travel up the Pacific Coast to start a four game series with the Dodgers tonight.  Lefty Tom Gorzelanny (5-2) goes up against Jeff Weaver (5-4).

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As you probably know, Bud Selig is a big fan of this blog and he has jumped on the bandwagon I started the other day to institute a worldwide draft.  Dave Shenin writes in the Washington Post that Selig wants to make an “aggressive” push with the players union to implement a worldwide draft and a hard slotting system when the two sides get together to discuss the 2011 collective bargaining agreement. 

At least in theory, I like the idea of a salary cap tied to revenues as well.  I don’t know if this idea will get any traction, but I don’t think you can continue to have one team outspending another team by a factor of five or six and expect the game to remain healthy.  Of course, as I’ve said in the past, any salary cap must also have a salary floor so that teams don’t take undue advantage of the agreement.  I know a salary cap is a long shot, but I thought I’d throw it out there to give Bud something else to think about.

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Is Lou Piniella going to quit after this season?  Scott Miller at CBSSports.com thinks he might.  Although I enjoyed Miller’s article, be warned, it’s just an opinion piece.  Miller is suggesting that Piniella might walk away after this season.  Piniella doesn’t say that.

What I liked best about the article is the way that Miller detailed all of the things that have gone wrong for the Cubs this year.  I tend to forget all of the diasters and near-disasters that have plagued the Cubs this year.  Things really haven’t broken the Cubs way very often this season.

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Bill Hall has left the building.  Yesterday, I suggested that the Cubs look at adding the former Brewer to their roster to be the utility man for 2010.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), the Mariners beat the Cubs to the punch and traded for Hall.   The Mariners traded a low level pitching prospect for Hall and a lot of money.  Milwaukee will be paying Hall’s salary for the rest of 2009 and a good chuck of his $9.5 million contract next year.

Lossing out on Hall isn’t a big deal, but it does bother me that the Cubs seem to constantly rely on weak hitting backup infielders as bench players each year.  The one exception to that rule over the past several years was acquiring Mark DeRosa, but of course we all know how that ended.  Bill Hall wouldn’t have been the team savior, but he would have been an upgrade.

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Some in Collier County, Florida would like to make a push to bring the Cubs there for Spring Training.  However, the residents and officials in the county don’t seem to be very united. 

According to a report on NBC2.com in Naples, Murray Hendel, a member of the county’s Tourist Development Council, is leading the charge to bring the Cubs to southwest Florida.  But before he can convince the Cubs, he first has to convince the county’s tourism director, Jack Wert.  Wert says that bringing the Cubs or any team to Collier County just isn’t a priority.

“We just aren’t really that same kind of destination.  We’re much more of a resort and beach, and golf destination,” Wert said.

In case you don’t know, Naples likes to think of itself as a posh, upscale community.  There are several spa and golf resorts in the area, along with a lot of overpriced homes on the Gulf of Mexico.  Don’t get me wrong.  Naples is very nice.  In fact, I like it.  But how can a man that makes his living attracting tourist dollars to an area not get behind a movement to attract an MLB ball club?  That just doesn’t make sense to me.

Earlier this year, a group in Vero Beach announced that they would like to attract the Cubs to the empty Dodgertown.  Unlike Naples, Vero Beach and Indian River County would bend over backwards to get the Cubs to move there.  And the history of the Cubs coupled with the history of Dodgertown would be a great match.  I haven’t heard anything about this recently, but I like the idea.

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On his blog, former Dodger GM Fred Claire has a nice piece on Mark Prior.  It’s a bit of a puff piece.  No breaking news here.  But it still gives a good insight into Prior’s outlook on life and baseball.  I’ve always liked Prior.  I was never one of those who bashed him for being soft and not playing through his injuries.  It would be great to see him come back next year healthy and back on top of his game.

Rich Harden earned the victory on Sunday by pitching 6.0 innings of one hit baseball.  The only hit he gave up was a first inning solo homerun to Joey Votto.  In his 6.0 inning stint, Harden struck out eight and didn’t allow any walks.

Ryan Theriot, Aramis Ramirez, Milton Bradley, Alfonso Soriano and Koyie Hill all had two hits on the afternoon.  In fact, Milton Bradley was 2-for-2 with two singles and two walks.  I know it was just two hits and two walks, but the fact that he was on-base each of his plate appearances makes Sunday’s performasnce perhaps his best as a Cub. (Game video and interviews here)

The Astros visit Wrigley starting today for a four game set.  Carlos Zambrano (7-4) takes on Cubs killer Wandy Rodriguez (10-6) in the first match-up of the series.

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There are only five days left (including today) before we run up against the trade deadline.  It’s looking more and more like Roy Halladay will remain with Toronto.  Philadelphia made a push over the weekend, but they were rebuffed by the Blue Jays.  Toronto wants Kyle Drabek and JA Happ – Philadelphia’s two top pitching prospects – but Philly doesn’t want to part with them, at least not both.  It looks like Philly may be turning their attention to the less expensive Cliff Lee.

Both the Rangers and Angels remain interested in Halladay.  However, the Angels likely don’t have the prospects Toronto wants.  The Rangers have the prospects and the willingness to trade them, but it looks like they don’t have the payroll flexibility to take on Halladay’s contract.

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The Cardinals obtained Matt Holliday from the A’s in exchange for top prospect Brett Wallace and two other minor league prospects.  They previously obtained Mark DeRosa from Cleveland for pitching prospect Chris Perez and a PTBNL.  The PTBNL was named yesterday and it was Jess Todd.  According to MLB Trade Rumors, Todd was highly thought of in the Cardinals organization and Baseball America had him listed as the Cardinals #4 prospect.

The Cardinals are obviously going all in to win the NL Central this year.  They’re mortgaging their future and draining their farm system for a shot at the brass ring right now.  However, I’m not sure that they have the horses to get it done this year, and trading away so many of their top prospects is going to make it more difficult to win in years to come.

Milwaukee has been involved in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, but they are on the outside looking in.  Instead, they have turned their attention to Jerrod Washburn of the Seattle Mariners.  According to Tom Hardicourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Seattle is looking for a shortstop and the Brewers have two good ones in JJ Hardy and Alcides Escobar.  Trading away either one for a few months of Washburn would be a high price to pay, but the Brewers may think they have a leg up on re-signing him when he becomes a free agent at the end of the year since Washburn is a Wisconsin native.

Washburn could probably help the Brewers, but he’s no CC Sabathia.  If they are looking to catch that lightning in a bottle again, they’re probably in for disappointment.  Sabathia put the Brewers on his back last year after he was acquired from Cleveland, and he led them into the playoffs.  It’s doubtful that Washburn can do the same.

Houston, who is just 2.0 games behind the Cubs in third place, is unlikely to make any moves at the trade deadline.  In an interview with Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (and reported by MLB Trade Rumors), Houston GM Ed Wade said:

“We’re having conversations with clubs, but I don’t expect us to be doing much of anything,” Wade said. “The key components aren’t going to change, and that’s the economics and the talent in the system. Those things aren’t going to change overnight. If something makes sense we’ll pursue it, but there’s nothing going on now.”

That leaves the Cubs.  What are they going to do at the deadline?  Considering the ownership situation, don’t expect any blockbuster trades.  However, acquiring something less that Roy Halladay may be a possibility.

Jim Hendry is looking for a left-handed bullpen arm and George Sherrill of Baltimore is the most likely target.  He is a closer for the Orioles right now, but would probably be used as a LOOGY by the Cubs.  That would allow the Cubs to move Sean Marshall back into the rotation to sub for Ted Lilly while he’s on the DL.

Hendry may also be looking for a starting pitcher, especially since Lilly jumped on the DL.  Possibilities include Zach Duke and Tom Gorzelanny of the Pirates.

Speaking of the Pirates, might Freddie Sanchez be Chicago bound?  It’s a longshot, but the Mike Fontenot experiement at second base hasn’t gone so well and I’m sure Lou Piniella would feel more comfortable trotting Sanchez out to second every day instead of Fontenot (or Aaron Miles or Andres Blanco).

Is there any possibility of moving Bradley at the deadline?  I suppose anything is possible, but it’s unlikely.  I wouldn’t mind swapping bad contracts with the Angels for Gary Matthews, Jr. or Toronto for Vernon Wells.  I spoke about this previously here.

I understand that both Matthews and Wells are overpaid.  I also understand that they would cost the Cubs more than the Cubs are currently paying Bradley.  However, I see Bradley as a clubhouse cancer that is going to eat away at the team for the remainder of his contract.  Paying  to get rid of the cancer is a good idea and it just might bring back something useful.  For instance, either Matthews or Wells are better CF options than the Cubs currently have.  Putting either one in CF would allow Piniella to move Kosuke Fukudome back to his natural position in RF.

Having said all of this, it’s probably not going to happen.  Even if the Angels or Blue Jays were interested, the Cubs probably can’t take on the additional payroll at the moment.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t dream.