Here's what the immediate future of Cubs GM Jim Hendry holds:

Under majestic, climate-controlled glass atriums, you'll be surrounded by nine acres of lush indoor gardens, winding rivers and pathways, and sparkling waterfalls where you can unwind, explore, shop, dine, and be entertained to your heart's content. Highlights include a 44-foot waterfall, fountain shows, and tours aboard our Delta Flatboats - right inside the hotel.

So says the Web site for the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, where the Cubs and the rest of Major League Baseball will convene for the Winter Meetings, which begin on Monday.

Carrie Muskat's latest report at cubs.com seems designed to lower Cub fans' expectations of what the team might accomplish in Nashville. ("Cubs expect minor tweaks at meetings"; is that an expectations-lowering headline or what?) One thing the Cubs definitely won't accomplish at the meetings is signing free agent infielder Kaz Matsui since the Astros beat them to it, pending a player physical and agreement on a few contractual details.

For the Cubs, I think this is a case of addition by non-addition: Matsui was a disaster for the Mets from 2004 through early '06, hitting .256 with a dismal .308 OBP in 239 games. Exposed to the grass fields in America for the first time, he struggled defensively as well. Wrote the New York Times early in Matsui's first season with the Mets...

Many of Matsui's errors have come from waiting for ground balls, then rushing throws. On the fast artificial surfaces in Japan, Matsui could afford to sit back on grounders and casually sidearm the ball to first base. On the dirt infields common in the major leagues, he has to charge the ball more often and throw over the top.

Matsui's hitting numbers in Colorado, spanning 136 games between late '06 and '07, were respectable. He hit .288 last season with 32 stolen bases. KazMat clearly benefited from hitting in Denver's mile-high Coors Field, however: at home he hit .330 with an 864 OPS; away from Coors, the numbers were just .249 and 638.

To be fair, Matsui had the best defensive Zone Rating for all regular second baseman in the National League last season, and he has been a much more solid defender at second than he ever was at shortstop, where he played when he first joined the Mets.

All in all, however, I'm happy that the $15 million destined for Matsui's bank account over the next three years will be Drayton McLane's money and not the Cubs'. And I'm happy that the Cubs won't have to turn Mark DeRosa into some sort of über utility player to make room for the offensively inferior Matsui in the Cub lineup.

Of course there's also the fact that Cubs can put that $15 million to use somewhere else. And right field--Fukudome country--still appears to be the spot to keep your eye on.

AHNY's Japanese correspondent reports that, according to Tokyo newspapers, at least ten Major League teams are after Kosuke Fukudome. The lowest offer he has received is $33 million for 3 years, far above the $18 million/4-year offer to the veteran outfielder from the lone Japanese team still in pursuit, the Yomiuri Giants.

The Tokyo press lists the Cubs, Rangers, San Francisco and the Padres among the favorites to win the bidding. The Rangers are trying to leverage their recent hire of former Cub Jim Colborn as Far East Scout. Colborn has definite Japanese ties, having coached for the Kobe Blue Wave. Also, his Major League resumé includes coaching stints in Los Angeles, where he tutored Hideo Nomo and Kaz Ishii, and with the Mariners, who imported Ichiro during Colborn's time there.

Japanese media are speculating that in the end, Fukudome's annual salary will be the largest ever for a Japanese player, maybe as much as $13-$15 million.

At espn.com today, Jayson Stark mentions a free agent outfielder who actually played in the Major Leagues last season and might be a fit for the Cubs, though he hasn't garnered much attention lately, from the Chicago press or any other outlets–Andruw Jones:

"...it's amazing how little you hear Andruw Jones' name these days. But two front-office men we spoke with said they've figured out the perfect dark-horse destination for him–the Royals.

"'Think about it,' said one of them. 'The GM [former Braves executive Dayton Moore] has ties to him. They have money to spend. They want to make a splash. And they desperately need a center fielder. The fit there is better than you'd think.'"

All I'm going to say is, that John McDonough is an absolute genius!

(You'll find a summary of what the Cubs' NL Central opponents might be looking for next week in Nashville right here.)

I posted some thoughts on the Kerry Wood signing at The Cub Reporter today. If it's too cold outside for you to make the trip over there, I'll summarize here:

I think the Cubs coddled Wood about as effectively as they could have last season, limiting his innings and his exposure to high-pressure situations. But between his injury history and a complete lack of evidence that he can bear the workload of a true closer, I think it's pretty dopey to be thinking of him as our ninth-inning guy.

What the Cubs did Monday was sign a driven, injury-prone player to an incentive-rich contract, and that's a combination to keep your eyes on.

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In pursuit of news, any news, about the Japanese nationals like Hiroki Kuroda and Kosuke Fukudome who are supposedly on the Cubs' radar, I have made japanball.com, the Japan Times, and Daily Yomiuri Online regular stops on my daily Web jaunts.

Finally, tonight, I turned up some news, that the Hanshin Tigers have decided to drop out of the Fukudome Derby, leaving "the Yomiuri Giants and major league clubs as the remaining bidders for the 2006 Central League MVP."

Not an earthshaking development...but something.

I now feel validated for having bookmarked the Japan Times, though even before tonight, I'd learned more about sumo wrestling than I realized there was to know.

Mark Gonzales, writing about a former Cub and possible White Sox acquisition in Monday's Chicago Tribune:

Free agent infielder Cesar Izturis is available, but published reports indicate he is seeking a starting job.

On Wednesday, the Brewers signed free agent catcher Jason Kendall to a one-year deal with a vesting option for a second year that will kick in if Kendall starts 115 games this coming season. Since the Brewers traded their '07 starting catcher, Johnny Estrada, to the Mets on Tuesday, the #1 job is clearly Kendall's.

The veteran catcher split last season between the A's and Cubs, hitting an anemic .226 (OPS+ of 48!!!) in 80 games with Oakland before coming to the Cubs in a July trade and hitting .270 with 1 HR, 19 RBI, and a strong .362 OBP in 57 games.

Defensively, the 33-year-old Kendall has been in decline for some time, and last year with the Cubs, the decline continued. Kendall threw out just 5 of 57 (8.8%) would-be base-stealers and allowed 5 passed balls in 432 2/3 innings behind the plate; Estrada, the guy he'll be replacing at Miller Park, threw out 11 of 84 base-stealers (13%) and allowed 5 passed balls in 961 innings caught.

Tom Haudricort of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel justifies the signing by pointing out that the Brewer offense is already loaded (team record 231 home runs last season) and that catching talent is in short supply throughout Major League baseball these days:

What the Brewers want Kendall to do is show some energy, be positive, call good games, work with the pitchers and be on the same page with pitching coach Mike Maddux. At one time or another, Estrada had problems in each of those areas...

The Brewers went after what they felt was the best available option, within reason financially and in the relative short-term. They don't expect Kendall to be Johnny Bench.

Not much chance of that happening, I would say.

I used them all up emailing my friends earlier today. However, I just wrote something at The Cub Reporter about the outgoing team president.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to work up as much bile regarding Crane Kenney. I guess it will just have to be a goal for 2008.

Not knowing anything more about Crane Kenney than what I read here, I'm willing to say that the upshot of today's developments with the Cubs is that we no longer have the least qualified Team President in Major League Baseball.

More later.

I thought this was pretty cool.

I worked up one of these graphs for the Cubs, and it led me to two conclusions:

The Cubs got decent value in 2007 from their three highest paid hitters. And I really have no idea how to use Microsoft Excel.

Kudos to Sons of Steve Garvey.

Nothing much happening with the Cubs today, but in Cincinnati, Reds fans are mourning the passing of Joe Nuxhall, who became the youngest player in Major League history when he stepped on the mound for the Reds in 1944 at the age of 15.

Nuxhall would go on to win 135 games over 16 seasons--15 in a Reds uniform--before retiring just ahead of Opening Day, 1967, so there would be room on the Cincinnati roster for rookie pitcher Gary Nolan. Nuxhall started working as a Reds broadcaster, and in 1974, he was joined in the booth by Marty Brennaman, with whom Nuxhall would form a broadcasting team for 28 seasons.

Most Major League teams, it seems, have that old standby broadcaster who becomes even more intimately connected to the franchise than its logo, its ballpark, its team colors, and these days, its star players. The Dodgers have Scully, the Phillies have Kalas, the Tigers had Harwell. In Brennaman and Nuxhall, the Reds were lucky enough to have two beloved stalwarts.

In my mind, the Cubs had the greatest broadcaster of them all, Jack Brickhouse, and when he died, years after he had stopped broadcasting and many years after he was at the top of his game, I felt as though a great source of my affection for the Cubs had been lost to me forever.

I imagine there are many Reds fans feeling the same way tonight.

On Thursday, the Cubs announced the hiring of Mark Riggins as their new Minor League pitching coordinator. For the past 29 years, Riggins has worked for the Cardinals organization, mostly in their minor league system.

In 1995, however, Riggins was Major League pitching coach in St. Louis under Joe Torre and Mike Jorgensen. That's the Joe Torre who formerly managed the Yankees and the post-season-challenged Alex Rodriguez, who will NOT be joining the Cubs in Mesa this spring or ever.

Among Riggins's credits is the vital role he played in helping to rehabilitate the big league career of pitcher-turned-outfielder Rick Ankiel, who, according to the New York Daily News this summer, received a massive supply of human growth hormone from a Florida clinic in 2004.

Ankiel denied then and he denies now that he knowingly broke any baseball rules...much like somebody else whose watermelon-sized head has been all over my television tonight and will surely continue to be, for weeks and weeks and weeks.

You're killing me today, Mark Riggins.

Two and a half months after they picked him up from the Tigers to bolster their attack against left-handed pitching, the Cubs traded outfielder Craig Monroe to Minnesota, where he will be a candidate to split time in left field...and bolster the Twins' attack against left-handed pitching.

In exchange for the arbitration-eligible Monroe, the Cubs will receive a player to be named, likely a low-level minor leaguer. Not a "prospect"; just a minor leaguer.

Maybe Monroe will bolster for Ron Gardenhire more effectively than he did for Lou Piniella. As a Cub, Monroe--who, you'll recall, was left off the post-season roster--hit just .204, with 1 HR and 4 RBI in 49 AB.

"The Cubs have had Jones on the trading block for months. Chicago fans have been exceptionally hard on him because he hasn't lived up to their expectations, and Jones in turn has grown increasingly unhappy in Chicago. In recent days, his playing time under Lou Piniella has seriously diminished."

So reported cbs.sportsline.com last June 26th, when a deal that would have sent Jacque Jones to the Marlins fell through, and the Cubs were stuck with a veteran outfielder who, at the time, was hitting .234 with an execrable .295 on-base percentage and .328 slugging percentage.

Back in June, I thought if Jim Hendry had succeeded in completing that deal, it would have ranked alongside his 2002 trade of Todd Hundley to the Dodgers as masterworks in the category of Take My Problem...Please. (No matter that the Cubs would supposedly have had to pay the remainder of Jones's $4MM 2007 salary and all of his $5MM '08 salary and received just a low-level minor league pitcher from the Marlins in return.)

Jones remained in Chicago, and instead of publicly complaining about being an almost ex-Cub, he turned his season around, hitting .325/.368/.456 the rest of the way and playing a key role in the Cubs' climb to the NL Central title.

As of today, Jacque is a Detroit Tiger, Omar Infante is a Chicago Cub, and I can't get too worked up over either one.

As admirable a fellow as he seems to be personally and as much as he might have helped the Cubs' resurgence last season, the 32-year-old Jones has never been more than a decent Major Leaguer and at times, even that may be a stretch.

Despite the dramatic elevation in batting average over the second half of 2006, his power numbers remained shockingly down--just 5 HR in 453 AB. And while Jones held his own against left-handed pitching in '06, his lifetime numbers against lefties (636 OPS) cast him as something other than an everyday player.

On the bases, Jones was always a mistake waiting to happen.

Defensively, he covered a lot of ground in the Cub outfield, but his throwing arm will remain the stuff of legend around Wrigley Field for a very long time to come. (That's legendarily bad. Like Howard Cosell as a variety show host.)

His departure appears to clear the way for Felix Pie to be the regular centerfielder...unless it doesn't.

As for Infante, a career Tiger, the Cubs say they like his versatility: he played all three OF positions, plus second, short and third last season alone.

As a hitter, however, he's less than not much. In six seasons in Detroit, he has a lifetime OPS+ of just 81, and his lifetime on-base percentage of .298 is enough to conjure memories of...well, I'm not even going to type the name.

It's hard for me to see where Infante has a place on the 2008 Cubs, unless there are plans to trade Ronny Cedeno, in which case Omar could slide into the role of the Good-Glove, No-Hit Guy which every Cub squad seems compelled to fill.

Bottom line:

I think the Cubs are going to spend some money this off-season and land at least one big free agent--perhaps a couple, from both sides of the Pacific--and by the time we get to Spring Training, I just don't see Omar Infante's presence or Jacque Jones's absence having a significant positive or negative influence on the Cubs' prospects in '08.

Finally, in parting, this...

"We like a lot of things about Jacque. He's a very versatile guy. We were very intent on trying to get a left-handed hitter. He's very athletic, has some pop in his bat, an outstanding throwing arm. He's a versatile player and had a lot of upside in him."

--Jim Hendry, 12/20/05, upon signing Jacque Jones

Somehow, the name "Alex Rodriguez" has never appeared on this page. I believe that would make A Hundred Next Years the only site anywhere on the Internets even tangentially related to the sport of baseball to be able to say that.

I guess I just lost the distinction.

Anyway, here's an A-Rod fact you may not have come across unless you read Bruce Jenkins in the San Francisco Chronicle:

You probably know about his 4-for-47 (post-season) slump and his streak of 14 games without an RBI, but this is the most telling stat: Since Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS - the night Boston began its epic comeback from three games down against the Yankees - Rodriguez has come to the plate with 38 runners on base, over the span of 59 at-bats. He left every single one on base, going 0-for-27, right through the Yanks' Division Series loss to Cleveland this month.

In today's Sun-Times, Chris De Luca quotes a Major League GM as predicting that Rodriguez will sign with somebody next month in Nashville, because it's agent Scott Boras's M.O. "to get these things done at the winter meetings."

I don't know how the Cubs would pay him or where they'd put him, but 4-for-47 post-season slump or not, it's impossible not to at least think about what it would be like to have Alex Rodriguez show up in Mesa next February wearing Cubbie blue.

One of my fondest childhood memories is of hauling my shoebox full of baseball cards out onto the sidewalk so I could swap cards with my buddies, who came equipped with their own shoeboxes and their own notions of the value of a 1968 Jose Tartabull or a 1971 Ken Singleton.

It turns out that the 30 Major League General Managers who convened this week in Orlando went through a similar experience.

From mlb.com:

For the first time, the GMs got up individually and announced what their teams' needs are and what they might be willing to trade. Several felt this step could accelerate player movement in the coming weeks.

"Obviously, you don't lay all your cards out there, but at least you get the same kind of indication that people used to scurry around trying to ascertain from other emissaries of that club; I think that's helpful," Astros president of baseball operations Tal Smith said.

"My point is I think the process from the standpoint of potential trades is probably further along than what it normally is, because everybody's got pretty much an idea as to what the other clubs are looking for or what their competition may be."

Whether it accelerates player movement or not, this was unquestionably the most interesting thing I read this week about the GM meetings. The whole thing is kind of mind-blowing.

Who went first?

Did each guy have to introduce himself and his team (lots of new faces in the GM ranks this year) before he addressed the group?

Were some of the GMs in the back of the room doodling on their notepads when they should have been paying attention to whomever was speaking? Or were they making faces at the guy in hopes of getting him to crack up?

Was there a facilitator in the room to keep things moving and admonish those GMs who were talking amongst themselves to hush and be respectful, as they'd want others to be when it was their turn to speak?

I just hope Jim Hendry took good notes. I guess we will find that out in the weeks ahead.

I traded emails today with a baseball-obsessed chum from Japan, and I asked his opinion of outfielder Kosuke Fukodome and pitcher Hiroki Kuroda ("Mr. Complete Game"), both of whom are supposedly of interest this off-season to Jim Hendry and the Cubs.

My friend thinks the 30-year-old Fukodome is an overrated hitter who won't hit a lot of home runs, is not much good in the field, and is slow on the bases; at best, an okay pick-up for the Cubs if they don't have to overspend.

He was more upbeat about the 32-year-old Kuroda, who the Cubs pursued a year ago and who my friend said has a "devastating breaking ball" and "great control."

One other name that came up: Hiroyuki Kobayashi, the closer for the Chiba Lotte Marines and, according to my email pal, possessor of a 95 mph fastball and 92 mph "shuto" (cut fastball).

Finally, my friend answered the most pressing question I had about these Japanese big leaguers: how does one pronounce Fukudome?

His answer--foo-koo-dough-may.

If he lands with the Cubs, I'm sure White Sox and Brewer and Cardinal fans will have their own creative twists on the pronunciation.

The Cub first baseman Derrek Lee received the third Rawlings Gold Glove of his career in voting announced by Major League Baseball on Tuesday. As Rob G. recounted here at The Cub Reporter, Lee's award came despite the fact that he finished well behind several other NL first basemen, according to various measurements of defensive proficiency.

But that's often the way with the Gold Glove awards. Originally the brainchild of a Rawlings public relations/sales exec named Elmer Blasco, the Gold Gloves were first handed out in 1957. A committee selected by The Sporting News chose the winners, one at each position in each league, until 1964. At that point, the vote was turned over to MLB managers and coaches, who cast ballots within their respective leagues but may not choose any of their own players.

Human nature and manager & coach nature being what they are, the choices often appear to result from player reputation and voters' habits more than actual observation or reflection. As Baseball Library points out:

Perhaps the most egregious example (of irresponsible voting) was the Gold Glove awarded in 1999 to the Rangers' Rafael Palmeiro, who had played just 28 games at first base and had just been named the league's outstanding DH.

On the other hand (no pun intended), Derrek Lee has certainly distinguished himself as a glove man during his National League career--successfully fielding about 30% more balls than the average NL first baseman in the last ten years--and unlike the aforementioned Palmeiro, Lee is an indisputably good guy.

So, congratulations, D-Lee. Cub fans are happy to have you at first base. And we're very glad you're not Rafael Palmeiro.

Last month, Crain's Chicago Business reported that the process of selling the Cubs was moving forward with all the pace of an Eephus pitch and that the team "looks likely to stay in Tribune hands well into next year...possibly through Opening Day."

Now there's a reason to suspect that the sale of Tribune Company, itself, might not happen anytime soon.

According to Broadcasting & Cable, if, "in the next couple weeks," Tribune Company can't get the FCC to waive its rule prohibiting one corporation from owning a broadcast station and a daily newspaper in the same city, "the financing would unravel, Tribune would be auctioned off in parts, and it would be the end of the company."

When the Tribune and funny-beard-wearing billionaire Sam Zell struck their deal last April, it was assumed that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, no fan of the cross-ownership prohibition, would be able to get the rule changed altogether.

Thanks to political maneuvering and schedule-changing by folks on Capitol Hill, however, Martin has been unable to bring the issue to a vote before the FCC, and he may not be able to do so before mid-November. That makes the issuance of the FCC waiver--right away--critical. According to a Tribune Company executive, mid-November is a "drop-dead date" after which $4.2 billion in financing from investors will simply walk.

(Note: the company's ownership of the Tribune and WGN, which pre-dated the rule, was grandfathered in; in other markets like Los Angeles and Hartford, TribCo received the necessary waivers when purchasing the Times Mirror Co. The grandfathering and waivers do not survive transfers of ownership, however.)

How does all of this impact the Cubs?

If the Zell deal falls apart, I would think Tribune Company's first priority will once again be trying to find a buyer for its core newspaper properties. The selling off of secondary properties, like the Cubs and Wrigley Field and Tribune's share of Comcast Sportsnet, would wait until the larger deal was completed.

In other words, for the forseeable future, all of those prospective buyers will just have to admire the owner's box from afar.

I wonder if anyone has asked John Canning if he'd like to own a newspaper.

The Brewers are tickled pink that they’re on Curt Schilling’s Maybe List.

So are the Cardinals.

The Astros re-signed veteran catcher Brad Ausmus so he could back-up the guy the team actually wants to see behind the plate, J.R. Towles.

The Reds are bringing back Adam Dunn, Scott Hatteberg, Javier Valentin, and, if he’s willing to return for less money, “Everyday Eddie.”

And on Monday, the Pirates will have a new manager, whose name will be Trent Jewett (AAA Indianapolis manager), Joel Skinner (Indians third-base coach), John Russell (Class AAA Lehigh Valley manager), Dave Jauss (Dodgers bench coach; son of Chicago sportswriter, Bill Jauss) or Joey “The Biter” Cora.

If it’s Cora, the Pirates should immediately sign up a local dentist or orthodontist to some sort of sponsorship deal. I realize I have now broken the five-sentence promise, but it’s worth it to spread an old, never substantiated rumor about a member of the White Sox family.

It's official:

Joe Torre is back among the great, unwashed, designated hitter-less masses, and Joe Girardi is now one day closer to becoming the first manager fired by a Steinbrenner not named George.