No jaw-dropping news here in ESPN's Hot Stove Report on the NL Central, but Peter Gammons assures that the Cubs are still actively pursuing Jake Peavy and then repeats what everyone, including Jim Hendry, has been saying: the team needs a lefthanded hitter.

Wednesday afternoon on WSCR, Cubs assistant General Manager Randy Bush contradicted something that had been said about new Cub Rich Harden by the Chicago Tribune's Dave van Dyck Wednesday morning...on the very same WSCR.

Van Dyck quoted a scout he spoke to right after Tuesday's trade who said that Harden has reduced his repertoire this season to just two pitches—fastball and change-up—to protect the balky shoulder that has been the culprit behind much of Harden's Disabled List time.

Bush, who heartily endorsed the proposed acquisition of Harden to his boss, Jim Hendry, and personally scouted the hurler this past Sunday when the Athletics played the White Sox in Chicago, said the no-breaking ball assertions about Harden are untrue; that he personally saw him snap off some nasty sliders at U.S. Cellular Field over the weekend.

Apparently we'll see for ourselves on Friday or Saturday, when Harden makes his National League debut against the Giants, whom Harden dominated (6 IP, 1 hit, 9 K, 2 BB and no runs allowed) in an interleague game just four weeks ago.

According to Fangraphs, whose pitch-type data goes back to 2005, Harden has changed his pitching mix quite a bit in the last few seasons. While the righthander is still throwing almost the exact same proportion of fastballs (about 62% of his total pitches), Harden has reduced the number of sliders significantly, from 10.7% to just 5.5%. He has also cut down drastically on the number of split-finger pitches he throws, from 18% to a paltry 7%.

And while, if we are to believe Randy Bush, Harden is not a strict fastball/change-up thrower, he is throwing many more change-ups than he was back in '05: from 9% to around 25%.

A couple more notes on Harden. First, this one from Will Carroll, writing Wednesday for Baseball Prospectus:

The Cubs, clearly in a win-now mode, got an upgrade with some downside. The Cubs were willing to take on that risk after a sign-off from their own doctors and the word of (Doctor) Lewis Yocum...While Harden is always going to be an injury waiting to happen, I think that the risk, and the team's relative assessments of that risk, are going to be the deciding factor in the perception of who "won" this deal.

Finally, a perspective on Harden from none other than the White Sox' A.J. Pierzynski, who fanned twice in three at-bats against him on Sunday and is quoted here from an article in the Oakland Tribune that ran during Spring Training of last season:

Pierzynski compared Harden's stuff to that of Atlanta's John Smoltz. Both combine velocity with a repertoire of other pitches they can call on.

"He can make the ball go down. He has a slider which breaks. His fastball kind of cuts a little bit. Sometimes he can sink it, too," Pierzynski said of Harden. "He can move it up and down. Most guys have one thing or the other, but it's the special guys who have three or four of those."

The Texas Rangers struck a deal on Wednesday with Marlon Byrd, their 30-year-old arbitration-eligible outfielder. Why might this be of interest to Cubs fans? Because, at least according to WMVP's Bruce Levine, Byrd is on Jim Hendry's shopping list.

The right-handed hitting Byrd was drafted by the Phillies in 1999, reached the majors in 2002, and spent three-plus seasons in Philadelphia before he was traded to the Nationals in May of '05. He played with the Nats in '05 and '06, after which he became a free agent and signed with the Rangers.

After starting the '07 season in the minors, he was called up on May 26th and gave the Texas offense an immediate jolt, hitting .375 with a 936 OPS through the end of June. In a total of 109 games for the Rangers last season, Byrd reached career highs in batting average (.307), HR (10), RBI (70), OPS (814) and OPS+ (113).

In six MLB seasons (517 games), Byrd has hit .273/.334/.394, with 355 strikeouts and 137 walks. He has also stolen 36 bases in 48 attempts.

Byrd can play all three outfield positions, though he has seen significantly more time in center field than in either of the corners. Still, according to the Dallas Morning News,

Byrd "is expected to hold down a corner outfield spot this season. Which corner will depend on the health of recently-signed outfielder Milton Bradley."

With the Cubs, Byrd could supplant Matt Murton as a reserve outfielder, back-up Felix Pie or Sam Fuld in center, or maybe hold down the position altogether, until the Cubs deem one of the youngsters ready for the job.

For the benefit of those who haven't properly prepared for the arrival of the newest Cub by learning his native tongue, that headline means "Yes!" (Myself, I've been in Berlitz classes for weeks. It's called devotion to the cause, folks.)

With all of the Kosuke Fukudome rumors and partial truths that the media have reported in recent weeks, I am still coming to grips with the fact that this deal is actually done. But reports to that effect have been all over the Chicago media this evening, led apparently by one from David Kaplan of WGN Radio.

Around 10pm, Pat Boyle of Comcast Sportsnight reported that he had spoken to Jim Hendry shortly before going on the air, and Hendry confirmed the Cubs had signed the Japanese star to a four-year deal. Hendry did not confirm a dollar figure; Boyle said Comcast's sources placed the number at somewhere around $14MM per season.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports phoned into the Comcast show and said Fukudome had actually made up his mind to come to the U.S. several days ago, when Rosenthal reported that he had. Rosenthal contends Fukudome and his representatives only denied a decision had been made because Japanese baseball etiquette dictates that a player formally and respectfully inform the team he is leaving of his plans before he starts to entertain new offers.

(Respectful behavior in baseball negotiations--funny stuff, huh? Fukudome really does have a big adjustment in front of him.)

More from Foxy Ken:

• Scouts say the U.S. player whose game most resembles Fukudome's is Raul Ibanez of the Mariners, who, ironically, was rumored to be on Jim Hendry's radar if Fukudome landed elsewhere. (For those not well versed in Ibanez, the 12-year, career American Leaguer is a lifetime .285 hitter. His 162-game average line over those 12 seasons--21 HRs, 91 RBI, .345 OBP, .471 SLG and an OPS+ of 111.)
  

• Fukudome could hit as high as second in the batting order, but could also be a big contributor lower in the lineup.

• Fukudome should be fully recovered by Opening Day from the elbow problems and endoscopic surgery that ended his 2007 season in Japan.

• The Fukudome signing will not help the Cubs pry Brian Roberts loose from the Orioles. The problem is not that Jim Hendry has been unable to focus his attention on striking a deal with Andy MacPhail; it's that Orioles owner Peter Angelos has a management-crush on Roberts, one of his favorite players, and MacPhail will have to do a lot of sweet talking, tap dancing, and maybe a few other things to persuade Angelos that it's in the O's interest to trade Roberts at all.

• Speaking of the trade discussions with the Orioles, don't expect Felix Pie to be part of any deal. The Cubs don't want to trade him and have told Baltimore as much.

Rosenthal's bottom line: Fukudome is going to a difference-maker for the Cubs.

Lastly, I would be remiss and completely out of character if I didn't point out how utterly and profoundly ecstatic I am that Kosuke Fukudome will NOT be wearing the black pinstripes of the Chicago White Sox.

So I'm going to point that out--I'm beside myself with joy.

So, Mr. Fukudome, you need a day or two more to ponder the biggest decision of your career, if not your life. (Frankly, I don't know where you get off keeping so many baseball fans on pins and needles.)

Just so you're aware, Mr. Lifetime .300 Hitter and Potential National League All-Star, the Cubs aren't intimidated by the possibility that you could choose to stay close to home or sign with some other Major League team: our GM, Jim Hendry, will have plenty of other free agent, left-handed-hitting outfielders to choose from.

I'm talking Barry Bonds, Milton Bradley, Darin Erstad, Steve Finley (yes, he's still alive), Luis Gonzalez, Shawn Green, John-Ford Griffin, Geoff Jenkins, Ricky Ledee, Kenny Lofton (he was swell back in '03), Rob Mackowiak, David Newhan, Trot Nixon, Orlando Palmeiro (it's his brother who has the steroid and truth-telling issues), Corey Patterson, Scott Podsednik (that groin injury will heal some day), John Rodriguez, Brandon Watson and DeWayne Wise. Yes, that DeWayne Wise.

By my count, Mr. Fukudome, that's 19 alternatives with previous big league experience, 18 of whom--to the best of my knowledge--are not under federal indictment.

Just wanted you to know where we stand, sir.

We await your answer.

"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

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.

Today cubs.com presented a 1,280-word interview with Cubs GM Jim Hendry as he looks back on the '07 season and looks forward to the team's organizational meetings in Arizona at the end of the month.

I know how busy you must be, with leaves to rake, storm windows to repair before the cold weather hits, etc., etc., so I have chopped the article down to a pithy 98 words.

Here are they are:

• The playoff loss to Arizona will not directly dictate Hendry's off-season roster moves.
• Hendry is not sure whether the Cubs will be more focused on signing free agents or promoting from within the system this winter.
• Cub fans suggest a lot of dumb trades.
• Geo Soto has a good chance to be the Cubs' Opening Day catcher.
• The pending Tribune sale won't hinder Hendry's ability to spend money.
• Hendry thought Lou Piniella's coaching staff did a good job this season.
• The quality of the Cubs' minor league system proved itself in '07.
• The Cubs scouting department is among the game's best.

There it is: all you need to know about what's on Jim Hendry's mind.

Now you can get to work. Those leaves aren't going to rake themselves, ya know?