WINTER MEETINGS

AHHHHH. Beautiful. Warm. Home.

Well here we are, 12 months later, deep in a recession that is slowing down activity during the GM meetings in California, and now the winter meetings in Las Vegas.
One story has come out the the agent for Rafael Furcal has been quoted as saying he doesn't believe teams don't have the money to dump on free agents. While that may be true, aside from a few of the big market teams, everyone has to be careful with money, or they may really find themselves in a huge hole if the economy is a slow healer.

That being said C.C. Sabathia reportedly will sign the most lucrative pitching contract in history with who else? The Yankees. 7 years/160 million. It seems ridiculous yes, but I feel it's a great move for them. I mean it does tie up even more money, but Yankee pitching has been terrible for them and everyone is desperate to get back to the World series and compete with the Red Sox again. Sabathia's arm might fall off, and the team could finish last in the great Al East, but it's always worth a shot to the Yanks.
Of the top ten free agents available according to ESPN, only one has signed. The aforementioned C.C. Sabathia.
Teixeira, Manny, A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe, Furcal, Adam Dunn(Hendry loves him I think, but too expensive, and too many K's), Milton Bradley, Oliver Perez, and Pat Burrell are still waiting for the dominoes to fall.

On the Cubs front: All indications lead to the conclusion that Jake Peavy is the top priority along with a left-handed hitting outfielder. This trade is even more complicated than the Brian Roberts trade rumors of last off-season. The Cubs will be trading players, prospects and the like for Peavy. A third or forth team is to be included for this deal to happen.
Jake Peavy costs a lot of money. 4 years/63 million with an option in 2013 for 22 million.
Jason Marquis and his 9.875 million needs to go in order for this to go down, or so I've heard all this morning. Padres may seem willing to take him on if the Cubs eat a few million of his salary. The Phillies and Orioles are named as the teams involved in this 3 or 4 way trade. I hate to report what I've been reading, but one of the rumors is Cub favorite and heart breaker Mark DeRosa going to the Phillies. He was arguably one of the best players for the club last year, but it is a cost cutting move to acquire Peavy, and also make room for that left handed bat in right field.
Get it? I don't.
Personally, I would love to have Peavy and a lead off hitter. A couple of lefty's in the line-up would be nice for balance, but with all this chatter the Cubs middle infield would be Theriot and Fontenot. I'm not too hot about that. Offensively, both have been better than expected, but the defense will be shaky.
Have the Cubs soured on Kosuke Fukudome already? Hey, coach him. They spent 40 mill. on a guy who's great defensively, runs the bases well, but has a gaping hole in the swing. Are you telling me he cannot eradicate his mistakes? I don't know why we need a left handed right fielder when we just signed him. Trade him then, find someone who will take him. There's always someone out there.
Besides that, I'd still want Brian Roberts if DeRosa goes.

Long post I know, but I might not right on the Cubs for a while if activity is slow.

Second option for the Cubs is signing Randy Johnson for one year, and I repeat, a left handed hitting right fielder. The Peavy trade is the first order, and I expect this to happen before Christmas, so both teams can look elsewhere and not be left out of the rest of the free agents.
Alright, I'm done with that.

Let's wrap it up, with some trades and free agent signings that have already taken place.

Matt Holiday traded to the A's for Huston Street.
Catcher Gerald Laird traded from Texas to Detroit for prospects.
catcher Ramon Hernandez traded from Baltimore to the Reds for utility man Ryan Freel.
Javier Vasquez traded by the Sox to the Braves for prospects.(I believe I heard this morning that Ozzie said he hoped Javier dies! No kidding!)
SS Edgar Renteria signs with the Giants.
Pitcher Mike Hampton signs with the Astros. Clickety Clack.
Mike Lamb(3B) signs with Brewers. Who cares.
Casey Blake signs with the Dodgers, and Mark Loretta I think as well.
SS Khalil Green traded to the Cardinals from San Diego.
RP Alan Embree signs with the Rockies.
Dustin Pedroia signs six year contract with Boston
Closer Francisco Rodriguez signs 3 year/37 million contract with the Mets. Have fun missing the post-season K-Rod!
Kerry Wood has a deal in place, but no announcement yet with the Indians. 2 years/21 million. Good for you buddy. Good for you.

Hope you come back to read more. If you made it this far, thank-you.