Jim Hendry has deservedly received a lot of flack for his off season moves this year.  He rolled the dice on Bradley -- so far coming up a loser, although time may tell a different story -- he took a risk on Fontenot -- also a loser move -- and he dealt for Kevin Gregg after declaring that Wood had no home in Chicago.

The loss of Wood and Mark DeRosa in particular upset a lot of Cub fans.  How many times have we heard or read this year that "da Cubs would be doin' betta with Da-Rosa!"  How many of us lamented that Kerry Wood -- a certifiable "big game pitcher" -- was to be replaced by Kevin Gregg and his hipster-doofus glasses? 

While the fan in me still misses Wood considerably, at this point Hendry's decisions look less decisively poor and more ambiguously positive than they did back in May. 

Wood presently has 14 saves and 4 blown, while posting an ERA of 4.93 through 34.2 innings of work.  Not exactly elite.  Compare that with Gregg, who has 21 saves to 3 blown with an ERA of 3.42 in 47.1 innings of work.

DeRosa, meanwhile, is still hitting the crap out of the ball -- he's batting .266 with 18 homeruns so far this year.  Although, since coming to St. Louis, DeRo is hitting a Fontenesque .244.

Speaking of Fontenot, at this point he has me longing for the days of Mickey Morandini.  Font is batting .229 and should never, ever face another left handed pitcher in a game that matters.

As for Milton Bradley, he is doing better but not great.  He's certainly not earning his contract this season.  He was chosen by the Cubs over guys like Bobby Abreu, Adam Dunn, and Raul Ibanez, all of whom are either lacking power, defense, or a legitimate "I'm doing it clean" argument. 

Nevertheless, the Cubs are now leading the NL Central.  They'd undoubtably be better off with a guy like DeRosa on the team, but Gregg at least is looking very good.  And Bradley?  Meh.  Let's talk about him again in a year.

Who knew that, when Kerry Wood left the Cubs to join the Cleveland Indians this past season he would still contribute two wins to the 2009 team?

Friday night's victory, achieved through a walk-off homerun by Derrek Lee against Wood is like nothing compared with today's, in which Wood imploded on the mound giving the Cubs the victory in the 13th inning.

For the record, before the start of June the Cubs had played in three extra inning games.  Since June, they've played seven long games out of fifteen possibilities.  That's kind of nuts.

It would never have happened without Derrek Lee and Kerry Wood.  Lee hit another homerun today, this time a 2-run shot, which put the Cubs on the board in the 5th.  That was followed with a homerun by Micah Hoffpauir in the 6th, which briefly gave the Cubs the lead until Carlos Marmol came undone in the 7th (his 3rd straight appearance, by the way), which is how the game would look until the 13th.

Amazingly, the Cubs probably should have lost.  They had 12 total hits and 6 walks, failing to score on 19 separate opportunities, and to add insult to injury Dave "Bonus Baby" Patton served up the go-ahead homer to Luis Valbuena in the top of the 13th.  (Valbuena had 2 homeruns himself today against the Cubs.)  That's when Kerry Wood came into play.

Wood came in and promptly surrendered a single to Fukudome but was able to negate a potential hit-and-run by striking out Three Finger.  The only problem was that Fuku managed to steal second anyway and, thanks to a bad throw by Kelly Shoppach was able to advance to third.  At that point Andres Blanco singled home Fooky, reached third on an Aaron Miles single, and scored on a Wood wild pitch.

Thanks, Kerry.  You managed to let yourself get beat by two of the worst hitters on the Cubs roster, and a third Cubs hitter who hasn't so much as scratched the ball since the beginning of May.  If you were still a Cub we'd be livid.

Actually I'm being a little unfair to Kosuke.  He had a 4 for 5 day against the Indians pitchers and also drew a walk.  But still -- getting beat by Blanco and Miles is sort of like losing a boxing match to your 120 pound girlfriend.  Moy embarassing.

The Cubs play for the sweep tomorrow.  Hey, I'm not one to complain or anything but ... maybe they can try to win before their last at bat of the game for once?  Just a thought.

A random question that has arisen in the past couple of days is whether or not Kerry Wood will be offered arbitration by Jim Hendry in order to secure the Cubs draft picks from the team that inevitably signs him to a multi-year deal.

The thing is, like Greg Maddux before him in his final season with the Braves, it's conceivable that Wood would accept arbitration.  Basically, the key factors here are a) loyalty - if he really wants to be a Cub, you never know, b) the free agent market - if the money's not there once the top free agents get locked up, Wood just might be able to win more cash through arbitration than what's being offered by any team, and c) the insane level of denial that exists within us Cub fans - he's not coming back.

I only mention the possibility because today has been a slow content day and while we wait for Jason's article on Henry Blanco, I thought you might appreciate having something to discuss.

So - will Hendry offer Wood arbitration?  If he does, would Wood accept?  If Wood wouldn't, why has he not done it?  Questions abound.

Besides, I think "Arbitratin'" Kerry Wood has a certain ring to it.

I'm bummed that Kerry Wood won't be a Cub next year. Like all Cubs fans, Woody was one of my favorites, even if I bad mouthed him a few times when he was hurt. Unfortunately, the Woody era is a thing of the past, but as part of the season review, we get to revisit our favorite Texas fireballer at least one more time.

Kerry Wood was a first round draft pick by the Cubs. I haven't done any research to back this up, but my suspicion is that he was also the Cubs best first round pick in the team's history.

After a mediocre 1997 season, the Cubs felt they needed a little star power at Wrigley, so they brought up the farm-hand who just wasn't ready yet. At least that's what I would tell anyone who would listen for his first five starts. The sixth start was something different, and although I clung to my stubborn opinion about his readiness for the Big leagues, I was a Kerry Wood fan through and through.

Why visit the ancient history of 1998? Because it's the only context that can explain why a Division championship team would purposefully choose to take their occasionally unsteady, but excellent closer out of the bullpen, insert him in the starting rotation, and move an occasionally healthy starter with no history in the bullpen and make him their closer. (Yes, Wood saw some limited bullpen work at the end of '07, and yes the Cubs gave him some nominal competition for the closers role in 2008, but feel free to comment if you thought Jim Hendry actually had Bobby Howry penciled in the closer's role.)

Anyhow, I digress. Wood won the closer's job out of Spring Training and 65% of Cubdom assumed he would do a great job as closer. That's been the eternal dividends of those wonderful May 1998 starts. Kerry Wood has been the hope of this franchise for 11 years.

• The Franchise turned to him for game 3 of the 1998 NLDS.
• The Franchise imploded following his '99 Tommy John Surgery.
• The only hope of the 2000-2002 dark years was a healthy Wood.
• The Franchise reached the playoffs in his next solid healthy season in '03.
• The Franchise put him on the mound for game 5 of the 2003 NLDS.
• The Franchise put him on the mound for game 7 of the 2003 NLCS.
• The Franchise put their hope on him in 2004.
• The Franchise put their hope on him in 2005.
• The Franchise put their hope on him in 2006.
• While briefly out of favor, the Franchise put their hope on him again when he returned healthy in 2007.
• On faith, The Franchise designated him as closer in 2008.

However, the astute Cubs fan will look at this list and realize most of those bullet points ended in disappointment and/or failure. (Even at this point I'm unable to bring myself to blame Wood... it wasn't all his fault.) But, the record doesn't lie and the few Wood successes form a shorter stack than the mound of Wood disappointments.

As a fan base, we were all too eager to expect the unexpected from Wood, and thus it is that I find it a horrible relief to move along, to cut ties with Woody, to ending the tenure of the longest tenured Cub.

Ok, back to the assignment. It is because of those incredibly lofty assumptions and that track record of good performances but disappointing results that I'm not devastated by the loss of a 34 save, 3.26 ERA closer who struck out 84 in 66 innings of work. Yeah, those numbers aren't likely to be repeated in '09 unless Carlos Marmol is truly the second coming of Mariano Rivera, but a warm body (see Borowski, Joe; Beck, Rod; and Jones, Todd) can come close to those numbers on a winning team and GM Hendry apparently feels the proper allocation of scarce resources doesn't involve a 4 year deal for a 31 year old closer with a long history of health problems.

As a fan, I want to disagree with GM Hendry, but I cried uncle after the skillful Rich Harden trade (heist). I don't always like Jim Hendry's style, but no other Cubs GM has ever had a better record when it comes to playoff appearances. (3 of Hendry's 6 full seasons as GM have resulted in a Cubs post-season appearance.)

So, I've forfeited my ability to second guess Hendry, but you're welcome to question the move in the comments.

Kerry Wood delivers a strike in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. He pitched the eleventh and twelth innings striking out three and recording a win.
Image courtesy of The Cubdom Photo Gallery

I'm not at home right now and don't really have time to discuss things going on in the Cubs world.  So, while we've been talking about it for a while in the SB, I thought I'd just open a thread in which you could post your comments about the Kerry Wood departure.

I'll just say this - it's a real bummer for a bunch of reasons, but it's hardly the end of the world.  In a sport where people come and go constantly, it's just a fact of life.  Got comments?  Post 'em if you've got 'em.

Rob checking in:

What we have here is yet another casaulty of the Free-Agent Era. (using my old man voice) Back when I was a youngun, star players were basically indentured servants to their club. If someone as popular, yet brittle, as Woody was around, the club would low-ball him, and he'd have no choice but to accept the Cubs' contract and spend the rest of his days with us. Sooner or later he'd move down the ladder until eventually he was the last man out of the bullpen, to be trotted out in blow-outs or on Ladies' Day.

Of course, if he wasn't making millions every year, he'd probably have hung it up three years ago, when his arm wasn't coming around, and nobody could figure out the problem. Then we wouldn't have him around, anyhow.

I always felt he was the heart and soul of the team, and I figured if and when the day would come when he left, I would seriously consider turning in the Die-Hard card and following cricket or tennis or some shit like that. However, with us being so close to a champion, and with our ability to pick up a Kevin Gregg or whatever his name is for Chump Change, Wood is an unnecessary luxury that we really didn't need.

Sooner or later, I will have digested this well enough to give the man the tribute he deserves, probably when he signs elsewhere. Right now, I'm just like the rest of you, waiting for my Peavy/Dempster/Roberts fix.

I had just turned 13 the winter when Andre Dawson left Chicago, and his departure was beyond befuddling - it was astonishing.  It was absurd.

He was a man who helped define an era of Cubs baseball.  He came to Chicago with a breaking body and a blank check, telling then-GM Dallas Green to fill out whatever he thought was appropriate.  He then proceeded to earn the nickname "Awesome," hitting 49 homeruns and driving in 137 RBI in both his first year as a Cub and my first year as a fan.  He became the MVP of the entire National League while playing for a last place ball team.

It's hard to describe how closely I aligned myself with his career.  I batted like him.  I played the outfield like him.  If I ever had achy knees, I'd think "just like Andre!"  as if that was something to be excited or happy about.  I collected his baseball cards the way that magpies collect objects that shine.

Andre Dawson wasn't just a part of my childhood experience following the Cubs, he defined it.  He was A Cub, capital A, capital C, tied and true through and through.  In 1992, I was coping with my third year of having lived away from home, learning of the Cubs scores only because of Baseball Weekly, and I was certainly aware that, at the age of 37, maybe the man with the bad knees - if they could even be called knees anymore - was winding down.  He batted .277, up from his previous year's performance, but his homerun and RBI totals were down - he only hit 22 and drove in 90.  But he was also only one homerun away from the 400th of his career.  How cool would it have been for Dawson to reach that milestone in a Cubs uniform on a cold day in April?  How awesome would it have been?

But it didn't happen, Larry Himes chased him out of town for the chance to elevate the selfish-but-talented Sammy Sosa, and I learned for the first time in my life that my favorite player will not always retire as a member of my favorite team.

Surely you know by where I'm going with this.

Jim Hendry announced today that the Cubs were cutting ties with Kerry Wood.  Hendry is quoted saying "I think we all feel that Kerry is certainly deserving of a three- or four-year contract.  He’s done everything this organization has asked for the last 14 years, been a warrior the last couple of years... we felt it was time Kerry goes out and does what’s best for him and his family, and gets a huge multi-year deal if possible."

You could probably take everything I wrote about Dawson and say the same thing about Wood.  Just switch "knees" with "shoulder and elbow," and you might see a parallel.  In some ways, I think it's easier - I was especially attached to Dawson because he'd essentially been there from the first day that I was a Cub fan.  In some ways, it's harder - Wood was pretty much born a Cub.  He's been pitching with a C on his hat since before he stopped growing.  If we've had conversations about players we thought would retire as Cubs, Wood surely would have appeared at the top of any lists made.

But I guess that this is a life lesson.  We aren't children forever.  Sooner or later, we grow up and experience loss.  We also experience gains, discoveries, and more.  Losing Kerry Wood is certainly disappointing, maybe even heart-breakingly so.  But in baseball, like in life, it's bound to happen eventually, the machine keeps moving, and there will always be other players out there who will grab our imagination the way that Wood did more than a decade ago.

It's like with Andre Dawson.  He's been gone from Chicago for 16 years.  He's now a man in his 50's, more than a decade removed from his last exploit, his final heroic play.  Even the selfish bastard who replaced him is gone.  This is life, and let it be a reminder to enjoy it more while we have it.  So, I guess the moral of the story is this: the next time the Cubs leave you seething with disappointment, maybe leave a little extra room for appreciation.  Carlos Zambrano will not always be here.  Aramis Ramirez will be gone long before most of us are.  Geovany Soto, the Rookie of the Year, will be gone in the blink of an eye.

Appreciate.  Otherwise the Cubs are just a bunch of faceless guys in pyjamas, and who wants to watch that, even if they win?

I'm picturing a visual right now of a herd of GM's storming toward a payphone, hefting the woman operating the phone over and behind their heads and fighting each other to determine who gets to call up Kerry Wood and Ryan Dempster first.  Or they could just use their cell phones.

The Tribune is reporting that tomorrow is The Deadline! where, should a pending free agent not be re-signed, he can receive offers from other teams.

The Cubs don't seem too concerned about The Deadline!, but I'm sure there are some loyal Cub fans out there who worry like me that Kerry Wood will get swept off his feet by some Johnny Come Latelys who'll throw money and years at him.

However, I'll leave you with this thought.  Jim Hendry has yet to lose a talented player he's wanted to keep.  Maybe that thought will keep you warm, although I'm inclined to feel nervous still because, who knows, maybe he doesn't want Wood or Dempster.  And quite frankly, for the money he's asking for, maybe not wanting Dempster is for the best.

It's getting closer to the point where Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood should start receiving outlandish and ridiculous contract offers from teams desperate for a starter and closer. Meanwhile, Jim Hendry's focus remains on Jake Peavy, which Paul Sullivan reports could affect whether or not the two fan favorites return to Chicago next season.

Considering how up-in-the-air the bullpen is, and especially considering how much Kerry Wood means to the team and their fans, I think that Hendry re-signing Wood is a no-brainer.  However, Dempster obviously becomes a low-priority so long as Peavy may accept a trade to Chicago.

Now, something that Sully reflects on in his piece is this: The question Dempster must ask himself is: Why should I take a hometown discount when the team is apparently willing to spend more money on Peavy?

Obviously I can't get into the mind of Clownsevelt, but I can tell you how I would feel were I in his position.  Dempster appears to like Chicago, and he is apparently willing to take a discount to remain a Cub.  While he hasn't expressed a willingness to take a paycut to improve the talent of the team - ala Sutcliffe in '87, who was willing to take a six figure cut in pay if it meant signing Andre Dawson - I can't believe that Dempster would oppose the acquisition of an uber-talented starting pitcher like Peavy, as it improves the team's chances of winning next season, with one exception.

If Peavy comes, it is likely that Dempster goes.  That's the issue at hand.  But what if Hendry was able to sign Peavy, and re-sign Dempster?  If he's able to find a taker for Marquis, it's a wash - Peavy's contract pays only $500k more next season than the contract of the Marquis de Suck.

It's also likely that Hendry should have the money to pay Kerry Wood what he's worth.  In fact, Hendry certainly has the money for Dempster, too.  I don't think the dollar figures are the issues, I think the years desired are what is holding things up.  Dempster certainly wants minimally a 4-year deal - that's a year too many, and Wood probably wants minimally a 3-year-deal, which Hendry might be reluctant to offer.

I realize that the money train isn't unlimited, the Cubs have a budget, and we all want to see them upgrade the offense, but comparably there's no reason they can't do both.  It's just a matter of Hendry needing to go bargain hunting for an outfielder if he pulls off a Supra Upgrade of his rotation.  Regardless, it remains a cunundrum, but it is one with a potentially very happy outcome.  Let's just hope that Hendry doesn't try to grab too much and come away with nothing at all.

Free Agency is the devil.  Three decades ago, one could safely assume that your favorite player would stay with his team from Year One to his retirement.  There are aspects of that which are really cool, because entire generations of baseball fans grew up cheering for the same player at the age of 20 as they did back when they were 7.

These days, players bounce around teams like a pinball.  They are rarely loyal, almost never obligated, and they can perhaps best be characterized as being mercenaries.  Point of fact, there are very few veterans in their early-to-mid 30's who remain with the team that drafted them.  Guys like Jason Varitek, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera are rare and, not coincidentally, ridiculously well-compensated by their teams. Funny thing is, the Cubs have a guy like that.  His name is Kerry Wood.

Wood has now been a part of the Cubs organization for more than 13 years.  He has seen highs and lows - he's suffered through elbow and shoulder injuries, he's become the toast of the town, he's seen multiple 90+ loss teams, and he's reached the playoffs in a Cubs uniform more than any other player in the organization's history.  He's also displayed unusual loyalty - since his arm injuries really became the story of his career, Wood has made compromises to stay a Cub.  He's accepted one-year deals heavy in bonuses, even though other teams have been willing to take a multi-year chance on him.

This past season, Wood was converted to closer.  He went through rocky periods, but he turned out to be reliable and, at times, all-out dominant.  He also again missed one big chunk of time in the season - a full month battling (of all things) a blister. But he's proven that he is a serviceable closer, his arm was not a problem at all this year, and he is again a pending free agent who will likely be coveted by numerous teams.  Can Jim Hendry bring him back?

It's questionable.  The current hanging issue is years.  Wood's already given the Cubs a few one-year deals.  He's worked to prove that he can be reliable.  The current rumor is that he wants a 3 year deal minimally, while the Cubs may be reluctant to give him more than 2 years.

I think that a compromise might be something like I suggested in my massive Free Agency article last week:

Offer Wood a 2 year deal which pays somewhere between 7-8 million a season.  Include minimally 1 and perhaps 2 option years which automatically kick in if Wood meets an innings pitched requirement of, say, 100 between Years 1 and 2.  Hell, do it just like this:

Year 1: 6.5 million
Year 2: 7.5 million
Year 3: If 100 innings pitched in Yrs 1 and 2, 8.5 million, can be voided by the pitcher
Year 4: If 160 innings pitched in Yrs 1, 2, and 3, 9.5 million, can be voided by the pitcher

Hopefully this would keep Wood happy.  It would also make him very well-paid (if not overpaid) to be the closer.

Regardless, Kerry Wood actually likes Chicago.  He is actually loyal to this city, this team, and the fans.  He may go, but I don't think he will, and if any player on the current Cubs team has a chance of wearing a Cubs uniform from Day First to Day Last, it's Kerry Wood.

And remember.  Jim Hendry has a track record of retaining any and every free agent Cub he's wanted to keep.  Does anybody here think there's a chance that Hendry doesn't want to keep Kerry Wood a Cub?

Now that Hendry’s extension is out of the way, he’s started to talk about the direction the Cubs are headed in this offseason. The interesting thing is that the storyline is shaping up to be Dempster stays, and Wood goes.

From Bruce Miles:

"I had a lot of talks with Ryan - not dollars and cents talks - during the season," Hendry said. "Ryan knows we want him to stay here. He's never expressed a desire that he wanted to leave. We have not had formal conversations yet. But I expect to speak with Ryan's agent and Ryan himself, possibly, in the next week or so."

And Carrie Muskat:

"Ryan knows we want him to stay here, and he's never expressed a desire that he wants to leave," Hendry said Monday. "Certainly, the year he had and type of clubhouse presence he is and total team guy, we certainly have every intention of trying to keep Ryan."

Now, here’s what he says about Wood:

"We're going to get our plan together, and we'll try to move forward with what we think is best for the organization," Hendry said. "Kerry has done a terrific job in the closing role. But at the same time, there's a lot of conversations that have to happen with his representatives and him as to what his desires are and what type of contract he's looking for."

The tenor there seems different. Keep in mind that Wood is probably the consolation prize for whoever wins loses the K-Rod Derby – it’s a thin crop at closer this offseason, especially if Hoffman gets retained by the Padres and the Brewers exercise their option on Salomon Torres. There’s nothing the hot stove loves to do more than shower stupid money on relief pitching. Especially for guys who are “proven closers.”

Also, Kremlinologists among you can have fun parsing this statement about Felix Pie:

"We feel Felix is going to be a good player," Hendry said. "You're talking about a 23-year-old kid. He'll be an out-of-options player. Without any kind of injury or significant change, he'll have a very good chance to make the ballclub out of Spring Training."

Of course, I’m glad that Hendry isn’t simply looking at this as a way to fix the team’s October “problem”:

"I don't know how you differentiate between you build a team for April to September and then you try to build something different for October," Hendry said. "We had as good a team as there was in the National League. We had the best record. We just played bad baseball for three days. We stunk last year against the Diamondbacks. We're all going to put our heads together and see if there are other ways we think we can improve the club. All you do is try to get in every year and keep working on trying to get better once you get in there to accomplish that goal. There's a whole history in professional sports of clubs that kept getting close and kept getting close and finally they knocked that door in. That's what we're going to continue to try to do."

Your milage may vary.