A few pieces of news to start our afternoon...

The Cubs have signed Ryan Theriot clone (but without the speed) Aaron "Aw, Hell Naw!" Miles to a 2-year deal for 4.9 million.  The good news is that Miles is extremely versatile - he can play second, short, third, left, right, sometimes center, and he's even taken the mound on past occasions.  The bad news is that if DeRosa gets traded - or even moved to right field - then Miles is the defacto starting second baseman until Fontenot can take the job from him.

The rumors of the Marquis trade are accumulating, but what we're hearing most this afternoon is that DeRosa is rumored in a trade to Cleveland for young pitching.  Supposedly, Marquis is gone as well, a "done deal" according to Bruce Levin, hinging on de Suck's return from a family vacation to take a physical.

Another done deal may be Milton Bradley, whose signing will apparently be announced once the Cubs clear the salary room currently filled by DeRo and Marquis. And, P.S. Levin says, the Cubs will take another crack at Peavy in January.

In other words, after two long months of nothing, the Cubs might look like this in a week's time:

SP Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster, Harden, ??? (Marshall/Samardzija/Gaudin)
MR Vizcaino, Cotts, Gregg, Marmol, with Marshall, Samardzija, Gaudin, and Wuertz competing for 2 or 3 spots

C Soto, ???
1B Lee
2B Miles, Fontenot
3B Ramirez
SS Theriot, Cedeno
LF Soriano, Gathright
CF Fukudome, Johnson
RF Bradley, Hoffpauir/Pie

I'm down on Miles as a starter, not that you couldn't have guessed that by the nickname I gave him, but as a bench player he makes a ton of sense due to his versatility and his consistency with hitting the ball, even though he doesn't hit it hard or far.

We'll be here with breaking news once it ... well, once it breaks.