Some Quick Cubs Thoughts

There are a few things going on in the Cubs world this week that deserve mentioning:

• Greg Maddux is retiring. Maddux was one of the great Cubs pitchers of all-time, unfortunately mismanagement by the Chicago Cubs organization led to Maddux leaving for the larger part of his career. I'm not sure what the logic was behind allowing the Mad-Dog to go to Atlanta for all those years, but either way I will always consider him one of my favorite players. He never had the power or nasty stuff that other pitchers had, but he always got it done with possible the best ability to locate a pitch I have ever seen. A funny guy and a great pitcher, you will be missed Greg. I bet he would make a great pitching coach.


• Ron Santo hears from the Hall of Fame today. If he gets the call and gets in it will end one of the most mysterious and unfair omissions from the Hall. There are 19 3rd basemen in the Hall. Of those, Santo is statistically better than more than half of them. Assuming you only compare him to the HOFers of his generation, Brooks Robinson and Harmon Killebrew, he was as effective if not more than those guys, at least by the numbers. In terms of character, I don't need to say much except to acknowledge his courage in battling diabetes and the loss of his legs, his love for the Cubs and devotion to the sport well after his playing days ended, and all the charity and community work he has done for Chicago. Let this man in!


• The Peavy rumor mill has been swirling all fall/winter and doesn't look to stop anytime soon. I haven't addressed it much here because the news ranges from "the Cubs might still be interested in Peavy" to "the Cubs are still interested in Peavy". With no deal being made and no big breakthroughs on this front, it seems pointless to keep reporting. Just as an update though, it appears the Cubs are really the only team left on Peavy's wishlist that seem to have any interest in him. It is unlikely a deal will happen at the winter meetings, however, since the Cubs priority right now is acquiring a left-handed bat.


• The other reason the Peavy deal is not likely to happen is that it looks like Sam Zell may be headed for a fall (a la Gordon Gekko). The Tribune is preparing for the possibility of filing for bankruptcy. Obviously taking on a huge contract like Peavy's would have to be approved by Tribune ownership and that seems unlikely until the financial situation is settled.