Pirates DFA Jeff Karstens. Look how he got to the Pirates from the yanks in the first place:

On July 26, 2008, Karstens was acquired by the Pirates with Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, and Dan McCutchen from the New York Yankees for outfielder Xavier Nady and pitcher Damaso Marte.

Dave Littlefield made this trade for the Pirates. He is now the director of Cubs' scouting because he is buddy with JHendry.

Now read these statements:

"Littlefield acquired a reputation throughout MLB as a difficult trading partner, in that his demands during negotiations were often seen as grossly excessive.[3] It was rumored that Littlefield turned down a trade offer in 2005 with former GM of the Philadelphia Phillies, Ed Wade, in which the Pirates would swap pitcher Kip Wells for the Phillies' Ryan Howard.[4] There were also unconfirmed reports that Littlefield turned down trading Howard for pitcher Kris Benson a year earlier."

"In the first 2 years following the Dave Littlefield era, almost every player acquired by Littlefield was purged from the Pirates major league roster, most of them via trade. These trades were made primarily to restock a farm system that was left completely bereft of impact talent and needed to be restocked in order to make the Pirates a long term contender."

Now, does that give you confidence in JHendry regime? Incompetence! Poor talent evaluation! Ricketts needs to make some changes starting with JHendry! NOW!

Regarding the starting pitching on this team. I think Hendry has something up his sleeve. He must of had a chat about with someone who wants different players from different organizations for a bigger piece. He is going to swap some of our non tender candidates for these pieces.

I see one possibly two new arms in the rotation next year. Not sure who they are yet, but after the deal he pulled off earlier this week robbing the Diamondbacks imo, I am going to be a little patient in the next few weeks and see how it unfolds.

I believe we have the talent to fill the holes in the outfield in house. Fuld provides a spark in center and at the top of the order. He is not a full time player however, and may need to find a platoon option for him.

We need a middle infielder, preferably a shortstop. We need a backup corner infielder. If Baker is going to be that super utility in the role of DeRosa, then that makes finding a middle infielder that much more important.

I think when the Cubs announced their needs it was off a little bit, and should be prioritized as:

1 Starting Pitching

2. Middle infielder

3. Power/5th hitter

4. Speed/leadoff hitter

Lilly going down is going to hurt this club more than people realize. Remember in 2008 when Zambrano pitched his no hitter? The next night Lilly pitched better than Zambrano and ended up with a one hit shutout. Rip is right - Lilly is our ACE. He didn't even get a chance to show it in the playoffs against the Dodgers. Gut feeling tells me that Lilly won't be back til May. I just hope he comes back strong, and not like either of the two previous stud pitchers we used to have.

Woody...you might be onto something.

We have a lot of spare pieces with no

clear winners.

You only need 2 lefties in the pen...and maybe a backup in the minors.

Assuming Grabow has one spot.

That leaves Wells/Gorzelanny as either

5th starters/spot starters or long relief.

Gaub and Maine appear ready to take the next step as a short relief lefty....

and while they were high on Gaub...I've read that Maine may be better.

If Pabelbon is not selected in the rule 5

draft...I kind of expect him to take a huge step forward in 2010 (poor showing

in a short AAA stint notwithstanding).

...so he is a midxeason candidate for long relief/spot starting also.

Atkins is a question mark...either he puts it together or is gone...roster space is too valuable.

And then we have the other guys...

Cashner/Coleman/Carpenter that should all be mobing up and pushing the other guys this season.

So pitching wise...there is enough to get a solid starter in a trade.

Then you look at the infield...we have too many backups and no starter other than Theriot.

Fontenot/Baker/Hoffpauir/Fox/Blanco/and of course mini-mighty Miles.

The Cub's might choose to non-tender

Fontenot...but I don't think so...I

think they'll keep him as a back-up...

and hope he returns to his '08 form.

But that still leaves with extras...and no clear starter...so there is at least 2 pieces there for trade....

Everyone thinks Hoffy and Fox...but I'm not so sure.

Regardless, there's trades coming and it should be interesting.

ESPN insider is reporting that the Jays have approached the Cubs about a possible Doc Halladay trade. Don"t know if it's worth the farm, but it would be nice to have a true ace on the staff.

BD,

Check out yesterdays posts on Halladay. I posted a three team deal to get him.

ESPN is reporting that Ade Gonzalez had a meeting with the Padres' GM yesterday--possibly about a trade. All I can say is that the White Sox better not land him! I want him for the Cubs. Adrian has 40 hr, 119 BB, and won the Gold Glove at 1B. NICE!

Boseph, congrats on predicting 82-80 for the Cubs in 2009. That was exceedingly close, and very nicely done.

At the start of 2009 (if my memory is right) I predicted here at ChiCubsOnline:

Zambrano 14 wins; actual--9 wins

Lilly 17 wins; actual--12 wins

Dempster 14 wins; actual--11 wins

Hardin 10 wins; acutal--9 wins

Marshall (the then 5th starter) 6 wins

Actual: Wells, 12 wins. (Marshall was 2-5 in 9 starts with a 5.25 ERA).

Z, Lilly, Dempster and Hardin all spent time on the DL. As I analyse them for 2010 I would say:

Z is in decline. We may not see 14 wins out of him anymore for arm reasons as well as his case of "Milton Bradley disease."

Lilly: still like him alot. He's our ace, imo.

Dempster: it is all about control for Rick. His control wasn't spot on in 2009 as it was in 2008, and his ERA and W-L record showed it. It will be the same issue in 2010. Currently I am not looking for more than 12 wins out of him in 2010.

Wells: led all Cubs' starters in ERA with 3.05 mark; has a lower K per 9 innings rate than any Cubs' starter. That's nerve racking. Lefties hit him at a .310 clip last year; righties only .235. He's Jon Lieber, folks. Lives off of his slider that he learned when the Jays picked him off the Cubs in Rule V draft (thanks!). Needs another pitch to keep the lefties off of him. I like this guy and his work ethic. He can be a consistent 12-15 game winner if he picks up one more pitch.

Marshall: is a spot starter at best, and a 2nd tier situational lefty out of the pen.

Hardin is most likely gone. He's not more than he was this year: 26 starts, on the DL every year; doesn't pitch as well in the daytime because hitters see him a little better; he'll pick up 9 wins somewhere else in 2010.

Gorzelanny: he can be good; he can be awful. "Inconsistant" is the word Aaron would use, I think. As a starter they hit him at a .273 clip (not good--the NL avg was .259). ERA was 5.40. What saved him from being totally awful was 36 k in 31.2 IP. If he pitches more to contact, his ERA runs into the 6's and 7's. As a Cubs' fan, I hope for the best, but this guy can make a man nervous.

Rip, thanks for the run down on the pitching staff. It's an accurate assessment in my view.

Zambrano is the wild card.

He certainly has the capability of putting an amazing season together...

But he moves to his own drummer...and

that drummer would have to pick up the beat with more dedication.

It's funny...in a weird sort of way...

both Zambrano and Bradley share that trait. Both of them let their heads

get in the way of an incredible talent.

The Cubs need to pair payroll somewhere

just to be flexible enough to take advantage of the opportunities out there.

2 obvious...tradeable pieces to do that...are Zambrano and DLee.

I believe Zambrano would waive his no trade for a chance at the title.

A sign and trade extension for DLee makes

a lot of sense...Lee gets extra years in exchange for waiving his no trade clause.

So...Z goes to either Boston/ Angels (If they lose Lackey)/Yankees/Phillies.

(Whoever does not get Halladay or Lackey)

Look to the West coast for a DLee trade...that would be his preference.

Lilly is untradeable just now...until we see how he comes back from surgery...but if he does well...will be a trade candidate at the deadline. ( I don;t see us resigning him to a mega deal extension.)

Bradley is neutral...whether he stays or goes...his trade will do little to help the team...except to take a constant irritant out of sight.

Any way you look at it...2010 is a transition year...2011 will field a totally different look...and 2012/13

we should be able to start thinking playoffs and dominence again.

IF...Hendry doesn't screw up now.

Rip:

Pick the Cubs to win it all next year and if you win I will send you a prize.

Wouldn't that be glorious? I'm making the kool-aid right now !!!

Neil,

Thank you so very much for ChicagoCubsOnline! It is a great site, and I always come here for my Cubs' news because you always have the most information and the best analysis available anywhere. I also appreciate all of the posters here because they make insightful comments without all of the vitriolic bile you see elsewhere. You run a very classy site. Keep up the good work! And thank you so much!