The Cubs are coming down to the wire in their negotiations with Mark Prior, who needs to be offered a contract by December 12th to remain a Cub.  There now appear to be a number of teams in the hunt for the former franchise, and it seems almost inevitable that the Cubs will deal him now rather than lose him later.

To me, that's just bad business sense.  The Cubs should offer Prior his contract, they should let him get healthy, and they should let him pitch for a few months.  If, in July, Prior is healthy and effective, the Cubs can offer him a contract extension.  If he chooses not to accept, that would be the time to deal him, as the Cubs are almost certainly not going to get a lot of value for such a damaged arm.  And if his arm stays damaged and he fails to perform, then, oh well, the gamble failed and the Cubs lose him for nothing, rather than for next-to-nothing.

Regardless, it seems that next year's rotation will include the craptacular Ryan Dempster and Jason Marquis - a painful combination with little upside, unless Jim can swing some kind of miracle trade.

It sure would be nice to have a potential ace up our sleeves, but it just doesn't seem to be in the cards.  ...hey, a metaphor that wasn't mixed!  Beautiful!