Sanity Reigns as Jake Peavy Pipe Dream Dies for Cubs

Someone somewhere should be applauding the patience and rational thought process of Chicago Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry, as he kept as many as eight players in Chicago that might have been traded in an effort to acquire San Diego ace Jake Peavy.

Peavy would have looked really, really good in a Cubs uniform. Throwing in line with Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, Ted Lilly, and Ryan Dempster, Peavy might have cemented the Cubs as the best rotation in baseball.

But, what's to say the Cubs won't be fine without him?

Looking at what the Cubs were standing to lose to acquire one player, the longer Padres General Manager Kevin Towers talked, the less sense he made. The laundry list of requirements he was asking for grew by the day, with potential suitors backing away from the table as quickly as his sentences ended.

Somewhere between Monday and Thursday morning of the winter meetings, Towers made a fateful mistake—he showed his hand. Hendry was smart enough to take advantage. The Cubs were the only team left bidding for Peavy.

Hendry saw this as a leveling of the playing field. No longer could Towers make all the demands—if the Cubs were Towers' only option, they suddenly had leverage in negotiations.

Hendry also picked up his cell phone last night and saw dozens of voice mails from all over baseball. Apparently when word broke that Mark DeRosa, the popular do-everything utility player who has emerged as a consistent 20-homer, 80-RBI guy in the past couple years, was available, teams started lining up to make an offer.

Then why would Hendry trade a popular player who is a big part of a repeating division champion just to pick up a piece for another deal? He might be able to improve his own ball club in 2009 without stripping the future out from under the existing talent at the major league level.

Looking around the National League Central, and indeed the entire league, the Cubs aren't that far away from making a strong run. Their division has certainly not distinguished themselves this winter.

The Brewers watched 40 percent of their rotation leave with 100 percent of their momentum. The Cardinals made a deal with San Diego for shortstop Khalil Greene. They still haven't filled the gaping hole that is their bullpen. And Pittsburgh and Cincinnati? They might have enough sponsors left to print programs.

So the Cubs appear to be front-runners in their own division.

Hendry must have taken notice when the Mets signed closer Francisco Rodriguez and traded for closer JJ Putz in the past 48 hours. The Mets' stockpiling, coupled with the Braves' acquiring Javier Vazquez and making a solid offer to AJ Burnett, shows there are teams in the East that mean business. Oh, and the World Champion Phillies are still in that division.

But in October, the best any one division can do is place two teams in the playoffs. So if the Mets choke again, or the injury bug hits Atlanta again, they won't be factors come October.

Meanwhile, Hendry has worked diligently to maintain the relative strength of his farm system while searching for a few remaining pieces to a championship puzzle. The Cubs ownership bidders have, according to interim team President Kenny Crane, allowed for some growth in the team's payroll.

But how much, and at what cost, is to be determined.

One thing has become clear, though. The Cubs are not going to mortgage 2011 and beyond for the sake of adding Peavy in 2009.

And for that, Cubs fans should be thankful.