Chicago Cubs Baseball

Chicago Cub baseball fans don’t ask for much. A World Series championship every 100 years. A division title every few. Respectability throughout.

So in December when major league baseball’s winter meetings roll around, Cubdom turns its attention to whatever warm-weather spot the brain trusts gathers at and awaits word for the blockbuster deal that sometimes happens, but most of the time does not.

Like this past winter meeting. Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, manager Lou Piniella and whomever else that brought Cub luggage landed in Nashville last week. Four days later the Cubs contingent left no lighter on the roster, but with just as many holes to fill as when the trip began.

Maybe moreso. While in Nashville, Hendry traded disgruntled lefty Will (Bad) Ohman and recent pickup Omar Infante to Atlanta for Double A pitching prospect Jose Ascanio, a hard-throwing right-hander who saw limited major league action with the Braves in 2006 and ‘07.

Hendry and crew also picked up relief pitcher Tim Lahey from Tampa Bay for cash. Lahey was the first player chosen in this year’s Rule 5 draft and must stay on the Cubs active roster or offered back to his old club with a $25,000 price tag.

At first blush it would appear Papa Cub went into hibernation rather than on a hunt for fresh meat. But no worries, Piniella tells us.

“[Hendry] promised me that by Christmas, I’ll be very happy,” Piniella said. “Things take time to materialize. We have a fairly good game plan. At the same time, things we would be interested in doing now, other teams want us to wait. I like our game plan — just have some patience and it will come to fruition.”

As a reminder, Christmas is around the corner and down the block and the Cubs still are looking for a left-handed hitting outfielder. From all indications Hendry and the Cubs are banking on Japanese free agent Kosuke Fukudome to fill that role.

Fukudome’s decision this weekend to forego signing with a Japanese team in favor of a United States club, was but one hurdle the Cubs have cleared. Three others are San Diego, Texas and the White Sox - all teams that have shown interest.

From all accounts, it may be a three-team bidding war right now with the signing of Milton Bradley by Texas today. San Diego and the Chicago Cubs appear to be the two clubs most interested and most willing to meet Fukudome’s monetary demands.

An announcement from Fukudome and his agent Joe Urbon could come as quickly as this week. Which would make a nice stocking stuffer for Piniella and the Cubs and finally give the rest of us a fun name to mispronounce.