Here in the early goings of the 2008-2009 offseason, it took one day for Jim Hendry to possibly set the tone for what could be an unpredictable couple of months. All he had to do was trade away Jose Ceda for Kevin Gregg and tell the Cubs' faithful that Kerry Wood, a fan favorite, was on his way out.
While Cubs' fans were preparing for the possibility of Wood leaving, I doubt that there were many that thought the situation would come to this conclusion so quickly, if at all. The trade for Gregg may or may not have been the reason for what transpired, but it most likely was the nail in the coffin.
But those moves have been picked apart endlessly since they were announced, so there is no need to elaborate further. There are other moves that need to be made.
I don't think it will come as any surprise to Cubs fans which holes are the most glaring: right field and left-handed hitting. I covered both of these points (to a lesser extent than what I plan to do here) in a previous article. For my thoughts on how to solve the problem internally, consult that article.
Possible Targets in Free Agency
Bobby Abreu, Garret Anderson, Milton Bradley, Russell Branyan, Ben Broussard, Freddie Bynum, Chris Duffy, Adam Dunn, Cliff Floyd, Luis Gonzalez, Ken Griffey Jr., Nathan Haynes, Eric Hinske, Raul Ibanez, Mark Kotsay, Ryan Langerhans, Felipe Lopez, Rob Mackowiak, Paul McAnulty, Laynce Nix, Trot Nixon, Greg Norton, Corey Patterson, Jason Perry, Scott Podsednik, Chris Snelling, Cory Sullivan, Mark Sweeney, Joe Thurston, Jason Tyner, and Brad Wilkerson are all left-handed or switch-hitting free agents with major league outfield experience.
That's 31 players right there, including minor league free agents.
Noticeably missing from this list are Jim Edmonds and Daryle Ward. Since Edmonds is likely retiring and Ward is easily replaced from within, I see no need to include them in this discussion. If there's anyone else I left out, please let me know.
Although I could've sworn that I saw an article stating that the Cubs were not going to pursue Abreu, I have completely failed at finding anything that remotely came close to somewhat resembling even an offhanded comment of some thought that may be interpreted as being something to that effect from somebody that had any link whatsoever to any organization including the name "Cubs."
So what better place to start than with him?
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about 1 month ago
Great article, Matt. I never thought about Travis Snider. He seems like a fine candidate for the 2009 Cubs. (Actually, better than Mark Teahen.) I should have read this article before mine: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/83365-mark-teahen-to-the-north-side#comment_388021
from about 1 month ago
Snider is one of those guys I have my eye on. There isn't any indication that the Jays are willing to give him up, though. A fan cope hope, right?
about 1 month ago
They could trade dereck lee, josh kroeger and reed johnson to the mariners for ichiro
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